Observation of an unprecedented Cu Bis-His site: crystal structure of the H129V mutant of nitrite reductase

Copper nitrite reductases contain both an electron-transfer type 1 Cu site and a catalytic type 2 Cu site. We have mutated one of the type 2 copper ligating histidines to observe the effect on catalytic turnover. This mutation has created a unique site where Cu is ligated by 2 His Nepsilon2 atoms alone.     

Kinetic Spectrophotometric Determination of Ritodrine Hydrochloride in Dosage Forms

A simple and sensitive kinetic method was developed for the determination of ritodrine hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based upon a kinetic investigation of the oxidation reaction of the drug with alkaline potassium permenganate at room temperature for a fixed 12.5 min; the absorbance of the colored permenganate ion was measured at 609 nm. The absorbance concentration plots were rectilinear over the range of 1.6–11.2 μg mL^?1 (r = 0.9992) with a minimum detectability of 0.096 μgmL^?1 (2.88 × 10^?7 M). The different experimental parameters affecting the development and stability of color were carefully studied and optimized. The determination of ritodrine hydrochloride by the fixed concentration and rate constant methods is also feasible with the calibration equations obtained, but the fixed time method has been found to be more applicable. The proposed method was applied successfully to the determination of ritodrine hydrochloride in tablets and ampoules with average recoveries of 100.37 ± 0.93% and 100.42 ± 0.87%, respectively. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using a reference method for comparison. A proposal of the reaction pathway is also presented.     

Using fluorescence resonance energy transfer to measure distances along individual DNA molecules: corrections due to nonideal transfer

Single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer has been extensively used to measure distance changes and kinetics in various biomolecular systems. However, due to complications involving multiple de-excitation pathways of the dyes, the absolute inter-dye distance information has seldom been recovered. To circumvent this we directly probe the relative variations in the quantum yield of individual fluorophores. B-DNA was used as a scaffold to position the donor (Cy3 or TMR) at precise distances from the acceptor (Cy5) within the Forster radius. We found that the variation in the Cy3 quantum yield is approximately 5 times larger than that of TMR. By taking into account the molecule-to-molecule variability in the acceptor/donor quantum yield ratio, the apparent fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiencies were scaled to yield the theoretical values. We obtained very good agreement with a physical model that predicts distances along B-DNA.     

Synthesis and reactions of 3-thioxo[1,2,4]-triazino[3,2-b]quinazolin-10-ones

Thiation of [1,2,4]triazino[3,2-b]quinazoline-3,10-dione 1 proceeds selectively to give the 3-thioxo-analog 3 . The latter was converted to the corresponding 3-methylthio derivative 4 which was reacted with aniline and hydrazine to give the corresponding anilino- and hydrazino derivatives 5 and 7 . Compound 7 was converted to the hydrazones 8a,b and into the novel heterocyclic ring systems [1,2,4]triazolo[4′,3′:4,5][1,2,4]triazino-[3,2-b]quinazolin-7-ones 9, 10a,b and tetrazolo[1′,5′:4,5][1,2,4]triazino[3,2-b]quinazolin-7-one 11 .     

L-Amino Acid Esters Studies: Part II: Synthesis of N-(Dimethoxy/3,5-Diacetoxybenzoyl)-L-Amino Acid Hydrazides and their Reactions with Aldehydes and Ketones

The synthesis of N-(dimethoxy and 3, 5-diacetoxybenzoyl) -L- amino acid hydrazides, and their reactions with some aldehydes and ketones are described.     

Determination of primordial radionuclide concentrations in UAE groundwater using high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Groundwater is the most valuable resource in arid regions, such as UAE. Estimations of natural radionuclide concentrations are important to...     

Preparation and Characterization of Poly Vinyl Alcohol/Poly Vinyl Pyrrolidone/Clay Based Nanocomposite by Gamma Irradiation

A series of PVA/PVP/clay nanocomposite were prepared by gamma irradiation with different clay contents of (0.15, 0.3, 1, 1.5, 3 and 5 wt%). The gelation content and swelling behavior were investigated. The morphology and structure of PVA/PVP/clay nanocomposite and dispersion of the clay nanoparticles in the polymeric matrix were examined by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The introduction of clay into polymeric matrix was investigated by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is observed that, the increase of the clay content causes a decrease in the swelling percent. The thermal stability studies confirmed that the introduction of clay lead to an increase in the thermal stability. The TEM results showed that the clay nanoparticles are interchelated or exfoliated in the polymeric matrix. Some desirable characteristics such as relatively good swelling and excellent barrier capability against microbe penetration suggested that PVA/PVP/clay nanocomposite can be a good candidate as a wound dressing.     

1,3,4-Oxadiazole N-Mannich Bases: Synthesis,Antimicrobial, and Anti-Proliferative Activities

The reaction of 5-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2(3H)-thione 3 with formaldehyde solution and primary aromatic amines or 1-substituted piperazines, in ethanol at room temperature yielded the corresponding N-Mannich bases 3-arylaminomethyl-5-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2(3H)-thiones 4a–l or 3-[(4-substituted piperazin-1-yl)methyl]-5-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole-2(3H)-thiones 5a–d, respectively. The in vitro inhibitory activity of compounds 4a–l and 5a–d was assessed against pathogenic Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria, and the yeast-like pathogenic fungus Candida albicans. The piperazinomethyl derivatives 5c and 5d displayed broad-spectrum antibacterial activities the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) 0.5–8 μg/mL) and compounds 4j, 4l, 5a, and 5b showed potent activity against the tested Gram-positive bacteria. In addition, the anti-proliferative activity of the compounds was evaluated against prostate cancer (PC3), human colorectal cancer (HCT-116), human hepatocellular carcinoma (HePG-2), human epithelioid carcinoma (HeLa), and human breast cancer (MCF7) cell lines. The optimum anti-proliferative activity was attained by compounds 4l, 5a, 5c, and 5d.