Complexation of Macrocyclic Compounds with Silver Ions in Surfactant Media

This paper is a report on the complexation studies of silverions with certain water soluble crown ethers viz., 15-crown-5,18-crown-6, cyclam, diaza 15-crown-5 and certain water insolublecrown ethers viz., benzo 15-crown-5, dibenzodiaza 15-crown-4,dibenzyldiaza 18-crown-6 in some nonionic surfactants viz.,polyoxyethylated alkyl phenol (TX 100), polyoxyethylene (20)sorbiton monolaurate (Tween 20), polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitonmonoleate (Tween 80) and polyoxyethylated glyco monolaurylether (Brij 35) by potentiometry. In addition, conductometry wasalso used to study the complexation of oxa crown ethers to comparethe results obtained by potentiometry, which were found to be ingood agreement with each other. The complexation studies indicate1:1 complex formation between the silver ion and macrocycle, thelog_ML ⁿ⁺ values being in the range 1 to 9.     

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of Cobalt(II) in synthetic and pharmaceutical samples using Cyanex 923.

Cyanex 923 has been proposed as a sensitive analytical reagent for the direct extractive spectrophotometric determination of cobalt(II). Cobalt(II) forms a blue-colored complex with Cyanex 923 in the organic phase. The maximum absorbance of the complex is measured at 635 nm. Beer's law was obeyed in the range 58.9 - 589.0 microg of cobalt. The molar absorptivitiy and Sandell's sensitivity of the complex was calculated to be 6.79 x 10920 l mol(-1) cm(-1) and 0.088 microg cm(-2), respectively. The nature of the extracted species was found to be Co(SCN)2 x 2S. An excellent linearity with a correlation coefficient value of 0.999 was obtained for the Co(II)-Cyanex 923 complex. Stability and regeneration of the reagent (Cyanex 923) for reuse is the main advantage of the present method. The method was successfully applied to the determination of cobalt in synthetic mixtures and pharmaceutical samples was found to give values close to the actual ones. Standard alloy samples, such as high-speed tool BCS 484 and 485, have been tested for the determination of cobalt for the purpose of validating the present method. The results of the proposed method are comparable with atomic absorption spectrometry and were found to be in good agreement.     

Fibers and 3D mesh scaffolds from biodegradable starch-based blends: production and characterization

The aim of this work is the production of fibers from biodegradable polymers to obtain 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering of hard tissues. The scaffolds required for this highly demanding application need to have, as well as the biological and mechanical characteristics, a high degree of porosity with suitable dimensions for cell seeding and proliferation. Furthermore, the open cell porosity should have adequate interconnectivity for a continuous flow of nutrients and outflow of cell metabolic residues as well as to allow cell growth into confluent layers. Blends of corn starch, a natural biodegradable polymer, with other synthetic polymers (poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol), poly(epsilon-caprolactone), poly(lactic acid)) were selected for this work because of their good balance of properties, namely biocompatibility, processability and mechanical properties. Melt spinning was used to produce fibers from all the blends and 3D meshes from one of the starch-poly(lactic acid) blends. The experimental characterization included the evaluation of the tensile mechanical properties and thermal properties of the fibers and the compression stiffness, porosity and degradation behavior of the 3D meshes. Light microscopy picture of 3D meshes.     

Second-derivative spectrophotometric study on the interactions of chlorpromazine and triflupromazine with bovine serum albumin

The second-derivative spectra of chlorpromazine (CPZ) or triflupromazine (TFZ) in buffer solutions (pH 7.4) containing various amounts of BSA (the reference solutions contained the same amount of BSA) showed derivative isosbestic points. The residual background signals derived from incomplete suppression of BSA signals can be entirely eliminated in the second-derivative spectra and BSA has spectrophotometrically one kind of binding site for CPZ or TFZ. The fractions of the drugs bound to BSA were calculated from the derivative intensity differences (ΔD values) of CPZ or TFZ before and after the addition of BSA. Scatchard plot experiments suggested that the binding of the drugs to BSA could be explained as a partition like non-specific binding model. The association constants (K) of CPZ or TFZ with BSA were calculated from the ΔD values according to the non-specific binding model by a nonlinear least-squares method. The K values were almost constant for all of the drug concentrations studied, and good reproducibility was obtained. The fractions predicted by the K values were in good coincidence to the observed values. These results confirm the usefulness of the proposed derivative method which does not need any separation procedures.     

WAXS study on orthorhombic crystalline phases in hot-drawn high density polyethylene: POLYMER CHARACTERISATION

The temperature dependence in the range 23–135°C of hot-drawn HDPE plates maintained free from contraction was investigated by WAXS and DSC. A specially designed cylindrical chamber was used for the WAXS patterns. The results confirm the coexistence of two populations of orthorhombic crystals which have different lattice and thermal behaviour. The crystal lattice parameter a shows expansion, while b exhibits expansion up to 90°C, followed by contraction as the temperature is raised to melting. On the other hand, the c parameter is practically constant.     

Radical-initiated homopolymerization and copolymerization of ethyl α-hydroxymethylacrylate

Ethyl α-hydroxymethylacrylate (EHMA) was synthesized and homopolymerized in bulk and in solution. The poly(EHMA) is readily soluble in alcohol, acetone, tetrahydrofuran, and methylene chloride at room temperature. Intramolecular lactone formation occurred when poly(EHMA) was heated to 180–230°C. The kinetics of EHMA homopolymerization was investigated in ethyl acetate, using α,α′-azobisisobutylonitrile as an initiator. The rate of polymerization R_p was expressed by R_p = k[AIBN]^0.50[EHMA]^1.4 and the overall activation energy was calculated as 71.9 kJ/mol. Kinetic constants for EHMA polymerization were obtained as follows: k_p/k = 0.17L^0.9mol^?0.9s^?0.5; 2fk_d = 1.5 × 10^?5 s^?1. The relative reactivity ratios of EHMA(M₂) copolymerization with styrene (r₁ = 0.472, r₂ = 0.564) in ethyl acetate were obtained. Applying the Q-e scheme led to Q = 0.84 and e = 0.35 for EHMA.     

35Cl NQR zeeman study of perchloro-bicyclopentadienyl by a pulsed FT nor spectrometer

Zeeman measurements were performed on ³⁵Cl NQR lines in a single crystal of perchloro-bicyclopentadienyl at room temperature by a pulsed FT NQR system. The compound gives ten NQR lines : ν₁ = 36347.6, ν₂ = 36361.2, ν₃ = 36634.2, ν₄ = 36684.8, ν₅ = 36715.5, ν₆ = 37008.0, ν₇ = 37194.4, ν₈ = 37266.9, ν₉ = 38871.1, and ν₀ = 39323.8(kHz) at 291.5 K. Each line yields two electric field gradients (efgt's) in a magnetic field. The asymmetry parameters (η) of ν₁, ν₂, ν₃, ν₄, ν₅, ν₆, ν₇, ν₈, ν₉ and ν₀ are 14.1, 14.0, 14.2, 13.9, 14.5, 9.6, 10.3, 12.1, 4.2 and 4.8%, respectively. From the relative orientations between the principal axes of the efgt's, the molecular structure has been deduced. The molecule has a cisoid conformation rotated by 51^o from the pure $\text{s}$-cis form. The rotation angle agrees well with the value calculated using Urey-Bradley force field constants.     

Misuse of Cardiac Lipid upon Exposure to Toxic Trace Elements—A Focused Review

Heavy metals and metalloids like cadmium, arsenic, mercury, and lead are frequently found in the soil, water, food, and atmosphere; trace amounts can cause serious health issues to the human organism. These toxic trace elements (TTE) affect almost all the organs, mainly the heart, kidney, liver, lungs, and the nervous system, through increased free radical formation, DNA damage, lipid peroxidation, and protein sulfhydryl depletion. This work aims to advance our understanding of the mechanisms behind lipid accumulation via increased free fatty acid levels in circulation due to TTEs. The increased lipid level in the myocardium worsens the heart function. This dysregulation of the lipid metabolism leads to damage in the structure of the myocardium, inclusive fibrosis in cardiac tissue, myocyte apoptosis, and decreased contractility due to mitochondrial dysfunction. Additionally, it is discussed herein how exposure to cadmium decreases the heart rate, contractile tension, the conductivity of the atrioventricular node, and coronary flow rate. Arsenic may induce atherosclerosis by increasing platelet aggregation and reducing fibrinolysis, as exposure interferes with apolipoprotein (Apo) levels, resulting in the rise of the Apo-B/Apo-A1 ratio and an elevated risk of acute cardiovascular events. Concerning mercury and lead, these toxicants can cause hypertension, myocardial infarction, and carotid atherosclerosis, in association with the generation of free radicals and oxidative stress. This review offers a complete overview of the critical factors and biomarkers of lipid and TTE-induced cardiotoxicity useful for developing future protective interventions.     

S‐Nitrosoglutathione‐Based Nitric Oxide‐Releasing Nanofibers Exhibit Dual Antimicrobial and Antithrombotic Activity for Biomedical Applications

The novel use of nanofibers as a physical barrier between blood and medical devices has allowed for modifiable, innovative surface coatings on devices ordinarily plagued by thrombosis, delayed healing, and chronic infection. In this study, the nitric oxide (NO) donor S‐nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) is blended with the biodegradable polymers polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polylactic acid (PLA) for the fabrication of hemocompatible, antibacterial nanofibers tailored for blood‐contacting applications. Stress/strain behavior of different concentrations of PHB and PLA is recorded to optimize the mechanical properties of the nanofibers. Nanofibers incorporated with different concentrations of GSNO (10, 15, 20 wt%) are evaluated based on their NO‐releasing kinetics. PLA/PHB + 20 wt% GSNO nanofibers display the greatest NO release over 72 h (0.4–1.5 × 10^?10 mol mg^?1 min^?1). NO‐releasing fibers successfully reduce viable adhered bacterial counts by ≈80% after 24 h of exposure to Staphylococcus aureus. NO‐releasing nanofibers exposed to porcine plasma reduce platelet adhesion by 64.6% compared to control nanofibers. The nanofibers are found noncytotoxic (>95% viability) toward NIH/3T3 mouse fibroblasts, and 4′,6‐diamidino‐2‐phenylindole and phalloidin staining shows that fibroblasts cultured on NO‐releasing fibers have improved cellular adhesion and functionality. Therefore, these novel NO‐releasing nanofibers provide a safe antimicrobial and hemocompatible coating for blood‐contacting medical devices.