Kinetics and electrochemical studies on superoxide

Rate constants for the reaction of superoxide O^- ₂ with various substrates were obtained through stationary electrode polarography theory and technique. In solvent acetonitrile, the substrate and the rate constants of the reaction O^- ₂ + AH^{- k2}Product, are, AH = isopropanol (k₂ < 0.01 M^-1 s^-1); ethanol (k₂ = 1.42 × 10² M^-1 s^-1); methanol (k₂ = 1.1 × 10⁷ M^-1 s^-1), H₂O (k₂ = 1.0 × 10⁵ M^-1 s^-1). In MeCN, O^-2 was found to be rather unreactive towards glucose and acetone but it reacts with fructose and sucrose catalytically. However, in DMF2, O^- ₂reacts with glucose and fructose with k2 order of 105 M-1 s-1. The mechanism of the reaction of O^- ₂ with the substrates (AH) is proposed as O^- ₃ + AH k₂O, AH^k2 _k-1 k [O₂H + AH]^-, _k-2O₂H + A^- with k₁ = 10⁹ M^-1 s^-1 and k^-1 = 10⁸ -10⁹ s^-1. With these values of k_-1 and k₁, k k₂(obs). The reversible E_1/2 for O₂ + e O^- ₂ in various solvents: MeCN, acetone, isopropanol, methanol, H₂O were obtained either directly from the reversible voltammogram or from experimental voltammograms and the rate constants obtained (as above) using stationary electrode polargraphy theory; E_1/2 being -0.82 (MeCN),-0.85 (acetone),-0.72 (isopropanol);-0.66 (MeOH),-0.56 (H2O) vs SCE.     

Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Compounds from Bidens spp. Using HPLC-DAD and GC-MS Analysis and Their Biological Activity as Anticancer Molecules

The genus Bidens a member of family Compositae, is widely documented as an ethno-medicinally important genus of plants. In the present study, anticancer potential of three ethno-medicinally important species i.e., B. bipinnata, B. biternata and B. pilosa were tested. For in-vitro evaluation, an MTT (Thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide) assay was performed against cervical cancer cells (HeLa), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG), and adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549). For in vivo evaluation, Artemia salina, Danio rerio, and Caenorhabditis elegans were used. Among all the tested extracts, the ethanol extract of B. biternata appeared to have highest anticancer activity, and the compounds responsible for this activity were identified to be Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl), 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone, and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol. This is the first report of the isolation of Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate from the genus Bidens and the first report of 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol from B. biternata. Among the isolated compounds, 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone showed the highest anticancer activity with an LD50 value of 236.7 µg/mL. Therefore, this compound carries promising potential for being established as a pharmaceutical for chemoprevention and chemotherapy.     

Optical and dielectric properties of fluorinated ethylene propylene and tetrafluoroethylene–perfluoro(alkoxy vinyl ether) copolymer films modified by low energy N and C ion beams

Fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) and tetrafluoroethylene–perfluoro(alkoxy vinyl ether) (PFA) copolymer films were irradiated in vacuum with 60 keV C⁴⁺ and N⁴⁺ ions to fluences ranging from 1.0×10¹² to 5.0×10¹⁵ cm⁻². Changes in optical and dielectric properties were analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis), Raman and dielectric relaxation spectroscopies. Direct and indirect energy band gap values were determined from the absorption edge in the 200–800 nm region using Tauc's relation. The values of the direct energy gap have been found to be greater than the corresponding values of the indirect energy gap. Significant changes in the index of refraction, and β and γ dielectric relaxations were observed in the case of N⁴⁺ irradiated FEP and PFA samples.     

Grafting of poly(sodium styrenesulfonate) onto gold surface from NaNO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solution

The chemical grafting of thiol terminated poly(sodium styrenesulfonate)(HS-PSSS) chains from sodium nitrate (NaNO_3) salt solution to a gold surface was investigated with a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) in different salt concentrations.It was found that at low salt concentration grafting density of HS-PSSS was low and the grafted chains adopted a mushroom conformation.With the increase of salt concentration polyelectrolyte chains underwent a transition toward coiled stat...     

Thiourea Derivatives,Simple in Structure but Efficient Enzyme Inhibitors and Mercury Sensors

In this study six unsymmetrical thiourea derivatives, 1-isobutyl-3-cyclohexylthiourea (1), 1-tert-butyl-3-cyclohexylthiourea (2), 1-(3-chlorophenyl)-3-cyclohexylthiourea (3), 1-(1,1-dibutyl)-3-phenylthiourea (4), 1-(2-chlorophenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (5) and 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-phenylthiourea (6) were obtained in the laboratory under aerobic conditions. Compounds 3 and 4 are crystalline and their structure was determined for their single crystal. Compounds 3 is monoclinic system with space group P2₁/n while compound 4 is trigonal, space group R³:H. Compounds (1–6) were tested for their anti-cholinesterase activity against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase (hereafter abbreviated as, AChE and BChE, respectively). Potentials (all compounds) as sensing probes for determination of deadly toxic metal (mercury) using spectrofluorimetric technique were also investigated. Compound 3 exhibited better enzyme inhibition IC₅₀ values of 50, and 60 µg/mL against AChE and BChE with docking score of −10.01, and −8.04 kJ/mol, respectively. The compound also showed moderate sensitivity during fluorescence studies.     

Extraction procedures in gas chromatographic determination of pesticides

Pesticides are necessary for increasing agricultural productivity; however, their enormous use contaminates air, water and food. Among various organic pesticides, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) are most persistent; and though their use is banned, they are still used illegally. In contrast to OCPs, organophosphorous pesticides are less persistent and used most extensively, while synthetic pyrethroid pesticides are the least toxic and used as insecticides. Extensive use of these pesticides is vulnerable to the ecosystem. Various extraction methods are used worldwide both by the regulatory bodies and private laboratories for the determination of multi-residue pesticides in leafy vegetables. This mini review presents an update on extraction procedure in gas chromatographic methods of pesticides analysis in various samples with special emphasis on leafy vegetables. We have covered six years of work from 2008–2013, discussing various extraction methods and their applications.     

Numerical Analysis of Unsteady Magneto-Biphase Williamson Fluid Flow with Time Dependent Magnetic Field

Numerical investigation of the dusty Williamson fluid with the dependency of time has been done in current disquisition. The flow of multiphase liquid/particle suspension saturating the medium is caused by stretching of porous surface. The influence of magnetic field and heat generation/absorption is observed. It is assumed that particle has a spherical shape and distributed uniformly in fluid matrix. The unsteady two-dimensional problems are modeled for both fluid and particle phase using conservation of mass, momentum and heat transfer. The finalized model generates the non-dimensioned parameters, namely Weissenberg number, unsteadiness parameter, magnetic parameter,heat generation/absorption parameter, Prandtl number, fluid particle interaction parameter, and mass concentration parameters. The numerical solution is obtained. Locality of skin friction and Nusselt number is deliberately focused to help of tables and graphs. While inferencing the current article it is clearly observed that increment of Williamson parameter, unsteadiness parameter, magnetic parameter, volume fraction parameter, and mass concentration parameter reduces the velocity profile of fluid and solid particles as well. And increment of Prandtl number, unsteadiness parameter,volume fraction parameter, and mass concentration parameter reduces the temperature profile of fluid and solid particles as well.     

Cosmological solutions with charged black holes

We consider the problem of constructing cosmological solutions of the Einstein–Maxwell equations that contain multiple charged black holes. By considering the field equations as a set of constraint and evolution equations, we construct exact initial data for N charged black holes on a hypersphere. This corresponds to the maximum of expansion of a cosmological solution, and provides sufficient information for a unique evolution. We then consider the specific example of a universe that contains eight charged black holes, and show that the existence of non-zero electric charge reduces the scale of the cosmological region of the space. These solutions generalize the Majumdar–Papapetrou solutions away from the extremal limit of charged black holes, and provide what we believe to be some of the first relativistic calculations of the effects of electric charge on cosmological backreaction.     

Quantum dots assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric detection of carbohydrates: qualitative and quantitative analysis

A quantum dots (QDs) assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometric (QDA‐LDI‐MS) strategy was proposed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of a series of carbohydrates. The adsorption of carbohydrates on the modified surface of different QDs as the matrices depended mainly on the formation of hydrogen bonding, which led to higher MS intensity than those with conventional organic matrix. The effects of QDs concentration and sample preparation method were explored for improving the selective ionization process and the detection sensitivity. The proposed approach offered a new dimension to the application of QDs as matrices for MALDI‐MS research of carbohydrates. It could be used for quantitative measurement of glucose concentration in human serum with good performance. The QDs served as a matrix showed the advantages of low background, higher sensitivity, convenient sample preparation and excellent stability under vacuum. The QDs assisted LDI‐MS approach has promising application to the analysis of carbohydrates in complex biological samples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.