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Abstract Several studies have documented that treatment by cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) on plants foster seed germination and growth in recent years. However, the molecular processes that underlie the action of CAPP on the seeds and plants remain mostly enigmatic. We here introduce gemmae of Marchantia polymorpha, a basal liverwort, as a novel model plant material suitable for CAPP research. Treating the gemmae with CAPP for a constant time interval at low power resulted in consistent growth enhancement, while growth inhibition at higher power in a dose-dependent manner. These results distinctly demonstrate that CAPP irradiation can positively and negatively regulate plant growth depending on the plasma intensity of irradiation, offering a suitable experimental system for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the action of CAPP in plants.

This study investigates the propagation dynamics of plasma streamers in a packed-bed dielectric barrier discharge using a 2D particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision model. To accurately simulate the high-intensity discharge and streamer propagation mechanism at atmospheric pressure, additional algorithms for particle merging and a new electron mechanism are incorporated into the traditional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision model. To validate the accuracy of this improved model, qualitative comparisons are made with experimental measurements from the existing literature. The results show that the speed of streamer propagation and the distribution of plasma are strongly influenced by the dielectric constant of the packed pellet, which is commonly used as a catalyst. In cases with a moderate dielectric constant, the presence of a strong electric field between the pellet and dielectric layer on the electrode significantly enhances the discharge. This enables the streamer to propagate swiftly along the pellet surface and results in a wider spread of plasma. Conversely, a very high dielectric constant impedes streamer propagation and leads to localized discharge with high intensity. The improved model algorithms derived from this research offer valuable insights for simulating high-density plasma discharge and optimizing plasma processing applications.

Abstract This study provides the health effects assessment of rice cultivated from plasma-irradiated seeds. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated from seeds with plasma irradiation showed a growth improvement (slope-ratios of with plasma to without plasma were 1.066, 1.042, and 1.255 for tiller, and earing, and ripening periods, respectively) and an 4% increase in yield. The cultivated rice was used for repeated oral administrations to mice for 4-week period. Distilled water and rice cultivated from seeds without plasma irradiation were also used as control. The weights of the lung, kidney, liver, and spleen, with corresponding average values of 0.22 g, 0.72 g, 2.1 g, and 0.17 g for w/ plasma group and 0.22 g, 0.68 g, 2.16 g, and 0.14 g for w/o plasma group, respectively, showing no effect due to the administration of rice cultivated from plasma-irradiated seeds. Nutritional status, liver function, kidney function, and lipid, neutral fat profiles, and glucose metabolism have no significant difference between with and without plasma groups. These results show no obvious subacute effects were observed on rice grains cultivated and harvested from the mother plant that experienced growth improvement by plasma irradiation. This study provides a new finding that there is no apparent adverse health effect on the grains harvested from the plasma-irradiated seeds.

Colossal research on CO2 and N2 conversion using non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology has been ongoing since many years. The primary focus is on CO and NH3 production through CO2 and N2 conversion, respectively, with high conversion efficiency and low energy consumption with or without catalysts. Although in the present study, we propose that the NTP can assist in converting CO2 and N2 to plant nutrients in the form of plasma-treated/activated water. We used a homemade streamer plasma device and produced plasma-activated water (PAW) using CO2 and N2 feed gas, CO2-activated water (CAW) and N2-activated water (NAW). Later, we used CAW and NAW to treat the radish seeds and evaluate the germination rate, germination percentage, and seeding growth. To understand the chemical changes in PAW after the NTP treatment, we performed a chemical analysis to detect NO2¯, NO3¯, NH4+, and H2O2 along with the PAW pH and temperature shift. Additionally, to understand the other species produced in the gas phase, we simulated chemical reactions using COMSOL Multiphysics® software. Our results show that NOx and NHx species are less produced in CAW than in NAW, but CO2-generated PAW offers a significantly more substantial effect on enhancing the germination rate and seeding growth than NAW. Therefore, we suggested that CO and H2O2 formed during CAW production trigger early germination and growth enhancement. Furthermore, the total plasma reactor energy consumption, NO3¯ and NH4+ selective production percentage, and N2 conversion percentage were calculated. To our best knowledge, this is the first study that uses plasma-assisted CO2 conversion as a nutrient for plant growth.

This study reports the response of lettuce seeds undergoing dormancy breaking and early senescence to DBD plasma irradiation. A heat map of germination percentages at 12 h reveals that dormancy has broken at 39 days' storage, and that one minute of plasma irradiation enhances germination in dormant seeds. Plasma irradiation does not affect those seeds where dormancy has already broken. Early senescence via storage was estimated using ESR measurements and the molecular modification of quercetin. This study reveals that lettuce seed susceptibility to plasma irradiation depends on storage duration and conditions, with dormancy state as a critical variable modulating the impact of plasma irradiation.

The present study focused on CO _2 capture, storage, and conversion through the innovative integration of plasma–ionic liquid (IL) technology. For the first time, we employed plasma-IL technology to confront climate change challenges. We utilized 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride IL to capture and store CO _2 under atmospheric pressure, and subsequently employed plasma to induce the transformation of IL-captured CO _2 into CO. Furthermore, we performed computer simulations to enhance our understanding of the CO _2 and CO capture processes of water and IL solutions. This comprehensive approach provides valuable insights into the potential of plasma–IL technology as a viable solution for climate change.

Abstract Discharge plasma irradiates seeds with reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). However, RONS introduced in seeds by plasma irradiation have not been successfully detected thus far. This study provides experimental evidence that nitrate ion NO3 − is introduced in lettuce seeds as RONS upon irradiation with atmospheric-pressure air dielectric barrier discharge plasma. Plasma irradiation for 5 min promotes seed germination. The components of the plasma-irradiated seeds were examined using electrospray ionization quantum mass spectrometry (ESI QMS), which revealed that the plasma irradiation introduced an ion with a mass of 62 m/z in detectable amounts. This ion was identified as NO3 − by liquid chromatography (LC), multiple wavelength detector (MWD), and LC-ESI QMS. A one-dimensional simulation at electron temperature Te = 1 eV, electron density Ne = 1013/m3, and gas temperature Tg = 300 K indicated the introduction of NO3 −, involving nitric oxide NO. NO3 − is one of the most important ions that trigger signal transduction for germination when introduced in seeds. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that there was no change on the surface of the seeds after plasma irradiation. Plasma irradiation is an effective method of introducing NO3 − in seeds in a dry process without causing damage.

The potential of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) in biomedical applications has received significant interest, due to its ability to generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Upon exposure to living cells, CAP triggers alterations in various cellular components, such as the cell membrane. However, the permeation of RONS across nitrated and oxidized membranes remains understudied. To address this gap, we conducted molecular dynamics simulations, to investigate the permeation capabilities of RONS across modified cell membranes. This computational study investigated the translocation processes of less hydrophilic and hydrophilic RONS across the phospholipid bilayer (PLB), with various degrees of oxidation and nitration, and elucidated the impact of RONS on PLB permeability. The simulation results showed that less hydrophilic species, i.e., NO, NO2, N2O4, and O3, have a higher penetration ability through nitro-oxidized PLB compared to hydrophilic RONS, i.e., HNO3, s-cis-HONO, s-trans-HONO, H2O2, HO2, and OH. In particular, nitro-oxidation of PLB, induced by, e.g., cold atmospheric plasma, has minimal impact on the penetration of free energy barriers of less hydrophilic species, while it lowers these barriers for hydrophilic RONS, thereby enhancing their translocation across nitro-oxidized PLB. This research contributes to a better understanding of the translocation abilities of RONS in the field of plasma biomedical applications and highlights the need for further analysis of their role in intracellular signaling pathways.

Abstract The use of low-temperature plasma for the pre-sowing seed treatment is still in the early stage of research; thus, numerous factors affecting germination percentage, seedling growth, and yield remains unknown. This study aimed to estimate how two critical factors, such as harvest year and seed coat color, affect the percentage of germination and seedling growth after plasma treatment. Radish seeds stored for 2 and 1 year after harvesting (harvested in 2017 and 2018) were sorted into two colors (brown and grey) to investigate the plasma effect on harvest year and seed coat color. We analyzed the amounts of seed phytohormones and antioxidant (γ-tocopherol) were analyzed using mass spectrometry, and physical changes were studied using SEM, EDX, and EPR to understand the mechanism of plasma-induced changes in radish seeds. The obtained results revealed that plasma treatment on seeds affects the germination kinetics, and the maximal germination percentage depends on seed color and the time of seed storage after harvest. Through this study, for the first time, we demonstrated that physical and chemical changes in radish seeds after plasma treatment depends upon the seed color and harvest year. Positive effects of plasma treatment on growth are stronger for sprouts from seeds harvested in 2017 than in 2018. The plasma treatment effect on the sprouts germinated from grey seeds effect was stronger than sprouts from brown radish seeds. The amounts of gibberellin A3 and abscisic acid in control seeds strongly depended on the seed color, and plasma induced changes were better in grey seeds harvested in 2017. Therefore, this study reveals that Air scalar-DBD plasma's reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) can efficiently accelerate germination and growth in older seeds.

The advancement of the information age has intensified the focus on photosensitive materials for information storage devices. To develop new photosensitive two azobenzene side-chain polymers i.e., poly(E)-3-(4-((4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl)phenoxy)propyl acrylate (polymer-1) and poly(E)-3-(4-((2-methoxy-4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl)phenoxy)propyl acrylate (polymer-2), were developed, and their diffraction efficiency was evaluated. The impact of ionic liquids (ILs) on the diffraction efficiency was evaluated by combining the polymers with imidazolium and ammonium families of ILs such as 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide [Bmim]Br, 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-bromide [Emim]Br (imidazolium ILs), and triethylammonium methanesulfonate [TMEAS] (ammonium IL). The molecular interaction of both azobenzene side-chain polymers with the ILs was evaluated before the diffraction efficiency studies by employing UV–vis, FT-IR, and confocal Raman spectroscopies. The spectroscopic studies revealed the interaction of the polymers with the imidazolium and ammonium ILs. The mean diffraction efficiency of polymers-1 and −2 were ∼0.05 and ∼0.022%, respectively. After the addition of the ILs, the diffraction efficiency increased. The highest diffraction efficiency was achieved with the polymer-2 + [Emim]Br system of 3.5% and polymer-2 + TEMS combination of 4.03%. Therefore, although the diffraction efficiency of polymer-1 was higher than that of polymer-2, after adding the ILs, the diffraction efficiency of polymer-2 surpassed that of the polymer-1 + ILs system.

Over the past few years, polymers shown comprehensive utilization in optical devices, solar cells, sensors, and other such devices. However, the efficiency of these devices remains a problem. We have synthesized new thiophene based, lowband gap polymer, poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d] [1,3] selenazole) (PHVTS) and investigated the interactions between the PHVTS and ionic liquids (ILs), in this study. We have used imidazolium- and ammonium-family ILs, and studied the interactions using various spectroscopic techniques such UV–visible, FTIR, and confocal Raman spectroscopies. Additionally, we studied surface morphology of the polymer-IL film. Spectroscopic studies show that both families of ILs can interact with the newly synthesized polymer poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d] [1,3] selenazole). However, the imidazolium-family Ionic Liquid-polymer (IL-polymer) mixture films show higher conductivities than ammonium-family IL–polymer mixture films.

To meet the needs of the hungry population, it is critical to boost agricultural product production while minimizing contaminated waste. The use of two nonthermal technologies, pulsed electric field (PEF) and nonthermal plasma (NTP), is increasing every day. As both PEF and NTP are relatively newer areas, there is limited knowledge about these two technologies and their modes of action. Studies showed that PEF treatment on the plant seeds helps germination and seedling growth. The positive impact of PEF intensity is highly dependent on the seed coat type and plant species. Another nonthermal technology, NTP, affects seed germination, seedling growth, yield, and resilience to abiotic stress when generated at varying pressures with and without different feed gases. Early germination, germination rate, and germination percentage were all improved when the seedlings were treated with NTP. Similarly to the PEF treatment, NTP had a negative or no effect on germination. This review examined the effects of PEF and NTP on seed germination and analyzed the situation and mechanism behind the positive or negative effect. Deactivation of proteins and enzymes to extend the shelf life of beverages is another prominent application of PEF and NTP. The interaction of PEF and NTP with proteins aids in understanding the microscopic mechanism of these technologies. Therefore, we covered in this review the potential structural and functional changes in proteins/enzymes as a result of PEF and NTP, as well as a comparison of the benefits and drawbacks of these two technologies.

Abstract Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has great potential for sterilization in the food industry, by deactivation of thermophilic bacteria, but the underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Therefore, we investigate here whether CAP is able to denature/modify protein from thermophilic bacteria. We focus on MTH1880 (MTH) from Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum as model protein, which we treated with dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma operating in air for 10, 15 and 20 mins. We analysed the structural changes of MTH using circular dichroism, fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy, as well as the thermal and chemical denaturation, upon CAP treatment. Additionally, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to determine the stability, flexibility and solvent accessible surface area (SASA) of both the native and oxidised protein.

Abstract Both gamma rays and atmospheric pressure plasma are known to have anticancer properties. While their mechanism actions are still not clear, in some contexts they work in similar manner, while in other contexts they work differently. So to understand these relationships, we have studied Myoglobin protein after the treatment of gamma rays and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma, and analyzed the changes in thermodynamic properties and changes in the secondary structure of protein after both treatments. The thermodynamic properties were analyzed using chemical and thermal denaturation after both treatments. We have also studied the action of gamma rays and DBD plasma on myoglobin in the presence of osmolytes, such as sorbitol and trehalose. For deep understanding of the action of gamma rays and DBD plasma, we have analyzed the reactive species generated by them in buffer at all treatment conditions. Finally, we have used molecular dynamic simulation to understand the hydrogen peroxide action on myoglobin with or without osmolytes, to gain deeper insight into how the osmolytes can protect the protein structure from the reactive species generated by gamma rays and DBD plasma.

Abstract Most cancer cells have telomerase activity because they can express the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene. Therefore, the inhibition of the hTERT expression can play an important role in controlling cancer cell proliferation. Our current study aims to inhibit hTERT expression. For this, we synthesized graphene oxide (GO) and a functionalized multiwall carbon nanotube (f-MWCNT), latter treated them with cold atmospheric pressure plasma for further analysis of the hTERT expression. The inhibition of hTERT expression by GO, f-MWCNT, plasma activated GO solution (PGOS), and plasma activated f-MWCNT solution (PCNTS), was studied using two lung cancer cell lines, A549 and H460. The hTERT experimental results revealed that GO and PGOS sufficiently decreased the hTERT concentration, while f-MWCNT and PCNTS were unable to inhibit the hTERT concentration. Therefore, to understand the inhibition mechanism of hTERT, we studied the binding properties of GO and PGOS with telomere binding protein (AtTRB2). The interaction studies were carried out using circular dichroism, fluorescence, 1H-15N NMR spectroscopy, and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) binding assay. We also used docking simulation to have an better understanding of the interactions between GO nanosheets and AtTRB2 protein. Our results may provide new insights that can benefit in biomedical treatments.

Abstract Myogenic precursors are myoblasts that have a potency to differentiate into muscle fibers on injury and maintain the regenerative power of skeletal muscle. However, the roles of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) in muscle development and myoblast differentiation are largely unknown. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effects of exogenous NO generated by a microwave plasma torch on rat myoblastic L6 cell proliferation and differentiation. We observed that the differentiation of L6 myogenic precursor cells into myotubes was significantly enhanced after NO treatment. The expression of the myogenesis marker proteins and mRNA level, such as myoD, myogenin, and myosin heavy chain (MHC), as well as the cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) level, were significantly increased after the NO treatment, without creating toxicity. Moreover, we observed that the oxidative stress signaling [extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (Erks), and Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)] phosphorylation was higher in NO treated cells than in the control cells [without NO treatment]. Therefore, these results reveal the exogenous NO role in regulating myoblast differentiation through the oxidative stress signaling pathway. Through this work, we can suggest that exogenous NO can help in cell differentiation and tissue regeneration, which provides new possibilities for plasma medicine.

Abstract The variation in the biological function of proteins plays an important role in plasma medicine and sterilization. Several non-thermal plasma sources with different feeding gases are used worldwide for plasma treatment, including dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and atmospheric-pressure plasma jet (APPJ) as the most commonly used sources. Therefore, in the present work, we used both DBD and APPJ plasma sources with N2 and air as feeding gases to evaluate the effects on the structural, thermodynamic, and activity changes of enzymes. In the current work, we used lysozyme as a model enzyme and verified the structural changes using circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence, and X-ray crystallography. In addition, we investigated the lysozyme thermodynamics using CD thermal analysis and changes in the B-factor from X-ray crystallography. The results showed that lysozyme activity decreased after the plasma treatment. From these analyses, we concluded that N2-feeding gas plasma disturbs the structure and activity of lysozyme more than Air feeding gas plasma in our experimental studies. This study provides novel fundamental information on the changes to enzymes upon plasma treatment, which has been absent from the literature until now.

A mild and efficient catalytic method has been developed to synthesize 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones in high yield by one-pot three component Biginelli condensation in the presence of triethylammonium acetate (TEAA) which acts as catalyst/reaction medium. Further, we have studied the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of these synthesized 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones. All the synthesized compounds reveal the significant antioxidant properties, these properties have been studied using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging and cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC) assays. In addition, to this, these compounds also show the good antibacterial activity against four human pathogenic bacteria.

Conducting polymer has many applications in electronics, optical devices, sensors, and so on; however, there is still a massive scope of improvement in this area. Therefore, towards this aim, in this study, we synthesized a new thiophene-based conducting polymer, 2-heptadecyl-5-hexyl-6-(5-methylthiophen-2-yl)-4-(5-((E)-prop-1-enyl)thiophen-2-yl)-5H-pyrrolo[3,4-d]thiazole (HHMPT). Further, to increase its application, the interactions between the conducting polymer (HHMPT) and ionic liquids (ILs) were investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and confocal Raman spectroscopy techniques. Moreover, film roughness and conductivity of the polymer film with or without ILs were also studied. The imidazolium- and ammonium family ILs with the potential to interact with the newly synthesized conducting polymer were used. The results of the interaction studies revealed that the imidazolium family IL-polymer mixtures and ammonium family IL-polymer mixtures have almost similar conductivity at low concentration of ILs. This study provides an insight into the combined effect of a polymer and ILs and may generate many theoretical and experimental opportunities.

The indole nucleus is an important element of many natural and synthetic molecules with significant biological activity. This review covers some of the relevant and recent achievements in the biological, chemical and pharmacological activity of important indole derivatives in the areas of drug discovery and analysis.

Non-thermal plasmas are emerging as a novel tool for the treatment of living tissues for biological and medical purpose. In this study, we described the effect of 4 min dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma on both T98G cancer and HEK normal cell lines in the presence of different concentrations of osmolytes. This treatment strategy shows a specific inhibitory effect of a 240 s plasma exposure in the presence of osmolytes against T98G brain cancer cells only, but not on HEK normal cells. Based on these interesting properties of osmolytes, a non-thermal plasma appears to be a potential anticancer treatment strategy for different kinds of cancers in the presence of osmolytes.

Four ammonium and imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) have been synthesized and screened against the T98G cell line (brain cancer) and HEK normal cells. Treatment induced metabolic cell death (MTT), growth inhibition, clonogenic inhibition were studied as cellular response parameters. Treatment with ILs enhanced growth inhibition and cell death in a concentration dependent manner in both the T98G and HEK cell lines. At higher concentrations (>0.09 mg/mL) the cytotoxic effects of the ILs were highly significant. An inhibitory effect on clonogenic capacity was also observed after cell treatment. Amongst all ILs; IL 4 (BMIMCl) exhibited potent activity against T98G brain cancer cells. Despite potent in-vitro activity, all ILs exhibited less cytotoxicity against the normal human HEK cells at all effective concentrations.

We report the functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) via the 1,3-dipolar [3+2] cycloaddition of aromatic azides, which resulted in a detangled CNT as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Carboxylic moieties (-COOH) on aromatic azide result in highly stable aqueous dispersion (max. conc. ~ 10 mg/mL H2O), making the suitable for inkjet printing. Printed patterns on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flexible substrate exhibit low sheet resistivity ~65 Ω. cm, which is attributed to enhanced conductivity. Fabricated Supercapacitors (SC) assembled using these printed substrates exhibit good electrochemical performance in organic as well as aqueous electrolytes. High energy and power density (57.8 Wh/kg and 0.85 kW/kg) in 1M H2SO4 aqueous electrolyte demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed supercapacitor. Capacitive retention varies from ~85-94% with columbic efficiency ~95% after 1000 charge/discharge cycles in different electrolytes, demonstrating the excellent potential of the device for futuristic power applications.

In this information age, different kinds of photosensitive materials have been used in the manufacture of information storage devices. But these photosensitive materials have the bane of low diffraction efficiency. In order to solve this problem, we have synthesized a novel photosensitive polymer from epoxy-based azopolymers (with three types of azochromophores). Furthermore, we have studied the interaction between this newly synthesized azopolymer and ionic liquids (ILs). For this purpose, we have used the ammonium and imidazolium families of ILs, such as diethylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (DEAP), tributylammonium methyl sulfate (TBMS), triethylammonium 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid (TASA), and 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim]Cl). To investigate the molecular interaction between azopolymer and ILs, we have used the following spectroscopic methods of analysis: UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and confocal Raman spectroscopy. In this study, we have developed new photosensitive materials by combining polymer with ILs.

In this work, we have explored the thermophysical properties of tetraalkylammonium hydroxide ionic liquids (ILs) such as tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAH) and tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) with isomers of butanol (1-butanol, 2-butanol and 2-methyl-2-propanol) within the temperature range 293.15-313.15 K, with interval of 5 K and over the varied concentration range of ILs. The molecular interactions between ILs and butanol isomers are essential for understanding the function of ILs in related measures and excess functions are sensitive probe for the molecular interactions. Therefore, we calculated the excess molar volume (V(E) ) and the deviation in isentropic compressibility (Δκs ) using the experimental values such as densities (ρ) and ultrasonic sound velocities (u) that are measured over the whole compositions range at five different temperatures (293.15, 298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15 K) and atmospheric pressure. These excess functions were adequately correlated by using the Redlich-Kister polynomial equation. It was observed that for all studied systems, the V(E) and Δκs values are negative for the whole composition range at 293.15 K. And, the excess function follows the sequence: 2-butanol>1-butanol>2-methyl-2-propanol, which reveals that (primary or secondary or tertiary) position of hydroxyl group influence the magnitude of interactions with ILs. The negative values of excess functions are contributions from the ion-dipole interaction, hydrogen bonding and packing efficiency between the ILs and butanol isomers. Hence, the position of hydroxyl group plays an important role in the interactions with ILs. The hydrogen bonding features between ILs and alcohols were analysed using molecular modelling program by using HyperChem 7.

Antioxidant and nematicidal properties were evaluated for R. emodi extractives which are extracted by standardizing and adopting accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) method along with traditional Soxhlet extraction. The extracted material was separated using flash chromatography and the separation conditions and solvents were standardized for the extracted plant constituents. The purity was detected by using analytical reverse phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). LC-MS/MS detection in the direct infusion mode of the isolated, purified products afforded four anthraquinones, characterized by their infrared spectra (IR) and 1H spectra as chrysophanol, physcion, emodin, and aloe-emodin. Five antraquinone glucoside derivatives and piceatannol-3-O-β-d-glucopyranoside have also been detected from the extracted product. During in vitro evaluation the antioxidant potential of methanolic crude extract (CE1) was the highest, followed by ethyl acetate crude extract (CE2) and chloroform extract (CE3) in DPPH radical scavenging activity. The CE1 also demonstrated outstanding nematicidal activity as compared with other extracts, pure anthraquinones, and even positive control azadirachtin. The study conclusively demonstrated the antioxidant potential of R. emodi extracts and also its ability in extenuating the Meloidogyne incognita (root-knot nematode). The bioassay results can be extrapolated to actual field condition and clinical studies.

In this paper, we have examined the conductivity and interaction studies of ammonium and imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) with the newly synthesised low bandgap polymer (Poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d]thiazole) (PHVTT)). Use of low bandgap polymers is the most suitable way to harvest a broader spectrum of solar radiations for solar cells. But, still there is lack of most efficient low bandgap polymer. In order to solve this problem, we have synthesised a new low bandgap polymer and investigated its interaction with the ILs to enhance its conductivity. ILs may undergo almost unlimited structural variations; these structural variations have attracted extensive attention in polymer studies. The aim of present work is to illustrate the state of art progress of implementing the interaction of ILs (protic and aprotic ILs) with newly synthesised low bandgap polymer. In addition to this, our UV-Vis spectroscopy, confocal Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR spectroscopy results have revealed that all studied ILs (tributylmethylammonium methyl sulfate ([N1444][MeSO4] from ammonium family) and 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim]Cl, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl from imidazolium family) have potential to interact with polymer. Our semi empirical calculation with help of Hyperchem 7 shows that protic IL ([Mim]Cl) interacts strongly with the low bandgap polymer through the H-bonding. Further, protic ILs shows enhanced conductivity than aprotic ILs in association with low bandgap polymer. This study provides the combined effect of low bandgap polymer and ILs that may generate many theoretical and experimental opportunities.

In this paper, we have examined the effect of ammonium and imidazolium based ionic liquids (ILs) on the stability and activity of proteolytic enzyme α-chymotrypsin (CT) in the presence of cold atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). The present work aims to illustrate the state of art implementing the combined action of ILs and APPJ on the enzyme stability and activity. Our circular dichroism (CD), fluorescence and enzyme activity results of CT have revealed that buffer and all studied ILs {triethylammonium hydrogen sulphate (TEAS) from ammonium family and 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium chloride ([Bmim][Cl]), 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim][Cl]) from imidazolium family} are notable to act as protective agents against the deleterious action of the APPJ, except triethylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (TEAP) ammonium IL. However, TEAP attenuates strongly the deleterious action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) created by APPJ on native structure of CT. Further, TEAP is able to retain the enzymatic activity after APPJ exposure which is absent in all the other systems.This study provides the first combined effect of APPJ and ILs on biomolecules that may generate many theoretical and experimental opportunities. Through this methodology, we can utilise both enzyme and plasma simultaneously without affecting the enzyme structure and activity on the material surface; which can prove to be applicable in various fields.

In this study, the photosensitive materials for information storage devices are presented. The polymers were prepared using surface relief-grating (SRG) fabrication with a diode-pumped solid-state (DPSS) laser of 532 nm, and the diffraction efficiency (DE) of the polymer is assessed with a low-power DPSS laser at 633 nm. However, the diffraction efficiency of the azofunctionalized epoxy-based polymer is low, even after 15 min of exposure. To improve the efficiency and reduce the time it takes for the DE measurements of the photosensitive polymer, we combined the polymer and the ionic liquids (ILs). We investigated various ILs, such as 1-methylimidazolium chloride ([Mim]Cl) from the imidazolium family IL and diethylammonium dihydrogen phosphate (DEAP), triethylammonium 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid (TASA) and tributylmethylammonium methyl sulfate (TBMS) from ammonium family ILs. For the first time, we observed that DE has dramatically increased the DEAP-polymer mixture in 4 min compared to polymer (alone) and other polymer-IL mixtures. Therefore, DEAP IL can help improve the efficiency of the DE measurements in less time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new efficient catalytic method for aza/thia-Michael addition reactions of amines/thiols with higher product yields has been developed. Combining single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) with triethylammonium hydrogen phosphate (TEAP) ionic liquid (IL) can work as a catalyst. We utilized Raman spectroscopy to gain insight into the interactions between IL and SWCNT. The interactions between SWCNT with TEAP were confirmed by the increasing intensity ratios and spectral shift in wavelength of the Raman D and G bands of SWCNT. Further, the morphology of the resulting composite materials of TEAP and SWCNT was determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Higher product yield in reduced reaction time is the key advantage of using bucky gel as a catalyst for Michael reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a biocompatible ionic liquid, triethyl ammonium acetate (TEAA), that attenuates the denaturation action of a non-ionic chaotrope, urea, on the industrially relevant proteolytic enzyme α-chymotrypsin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the wide scope of molecular interactions between the highly polar compound of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and ammonium ionic liquids (ILs), we have measured thermophysical properties such as densities (ρ) and ultrasonic sound velocities (u) over the whole composition range at temperatures ranging from 25 to 50 °C under atmospheric pressure. To gain some insight into the several aggregations of molecular interactions present in these mixed solvents, we predicted the excess molar volume (VE) and the deviations in isentropic compressibilities (ΔKs) as a function of the concentration of IL. These results are fitted to the Redlich−Kister polynomials. The materials investigated in the present study included the hydroxide series of ammonium ILs of tetramethylammonium hydroxide [(CH3)4N][OH] (TMAH), tetraethylammonium hydroxide [(C2H5)4N][OH] (TEAH), and tetrapropylammonium hydroxide [(C2H7)4N][OH] (TPAH). The intermolecular interactions and structural effects were analyzed on the basis of the measured and the derived properties. A qualitative analysis of the results is discussed in terms of the ion−dipole and ion-pair interactions, and hydrogen bonding between ILs and DMF molecules and their structural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzymes are very sensitive and highly complex systems, exhibiting a substantial degree of structural variability in their folded state. In the presence of cosolvents, the fluctuations among vast numbers of folded and unfolded conformations occur via many different pathways, and alternatively, enzymes can be stabilized or destabilized. To understand the contribution of osmolytes and denaturants on the stabilization, related to the associated structural changes and enzyme activity of α-chymotrypsin (CT), we have monitored differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), circular dichroism (CD), enzyme activity, and gel electrophoresis as a function of osmolyte or denaturant concentration. The present investigation compares the compatibility of osmolytes and deleterious effects of denaturants on the structure, function, and enzyme activity of CT. This comparison has provided new important insight on the contribution of cosolvent effects on protein folding/unfolding, enzyme activity, and understanding of protein−solvent interactions. Our DSC results reveal that the enthalpy change (ΔH) and Gibbs free energy of change (ΔGu) of CT in osmolyte (trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), betaine, sarcosine, proline, and sucrose) increase linearly as osmolyte concentration increases, while those values decrease sharply in the presence of denaturants (urea and guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)). The modifications in the secondary structure of this β/β protein, as quantified by the CD spectra, showed reasonable enhancement for β-strands in the presence of the osmolytes as compared to buffer, which contributes to its stabilization power. Evidently, we observed that naturally occurring osmolytes have a dominant contribution to the stabilization of CT while not enhancing its enzyme activity. In contrast, our results revealed that the denaturants enhanced the surface of the enzyme by binding to the surface of CT, which leads to zero enzyme activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A new, highly efficient, inexpensive, recyclable, mild, convenient, and green protocol for chemoselective aza/thia-Michael addition reactions of amines/thiols to α,β-unsaturated compounds using triethylammonium acetate (TEAA) ionic liquid was developed. The catalyst can be recycled ten times and obviate the need for toxic and expensive catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the interest in treating cancer cells with plasma treated media (PTM) and plasma treated water (PTW) has increased tremendously. However, the actions of PTM and PTW are still not entirely understood. For instance, it is not clear whether the action of PTM is due to a modification in proteins/amino acids after plasma treatment of the media, or due to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated from the plasma, or a combination of both effects. To differentiate between the actions of RONS and modified proteins/amino acids on the treatment of cancer cells, we compared the effects of PTM and PTW on two different pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (MiaPaca-2, BxPc3) and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) (hPSC128-SV). PSCs closely interact with cancer cells to create a tumor-promoting environment that stimulates local tumor progression and metastasis. We treated culture media and deionized water with a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet, and subsequently applied this PTM/PTW at various ratios to the pancreatic cancer and PSC cell lines. We evaluated cell death, intracellular ROS concentrations and the mRNA expression profiles of four oxidative stress-related genes, i.e. Mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1) and DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). Our findings demonstrate that PTM and PTW have a similar efficacy to kill pancreatic cancer cells, while PTW is slightly more effective in killing PSCs, as compared to PTM. Furthermore, we observed an enhancement of the intracellular ROS concentrations in both pancreatic cancer cells and PSCs. Thus, it is likely that under our experimental conditions, the anti-cancer activity of PTM can be attributed more to the RONS present in the treated liquid, than to the modification of proteins/amino acids in the media. Furthermore, the fact that the chemo-resistant PSCs were killed by PTM/PTW may offer possibilities for new anti-cancer therapies for pancreatic cancer cells, including PSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present work, we have generated reactive species (RS) through microsecond-pulsed plasma (MPP) in the cell culture media using a Marx generator with point–point electrodes of approximately 0.06 J discharge energy/pulse. RS generated in culture media through MPP have a selective action between growth of the H460 lung cancer cells and L132 normal lung cells. We observed that MPP-activated media (MPP-AM) induced apoptosis on H460 lung cancer cells through an oxidative DNA damage cascade. Additionally, we studied the apoptosis-related mRNA expression, DNA oxidation and polymerase-1 (PARP-1) cleaved analysis from treated cancer cells. The result proves that radicals generated through MPP play a pivotal role in the activation of media that induces the selective killing effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have studied the action of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma irradiation using various feeding gases on seeds of Raphanus sativus L. and analysis their growth. Our experimental data shows that Air, O2, and NO(10%)+N2 feeding gases plasma irradiation enhanced plant growth, whereas N2, He and Ar feeding gases plasma irradiation had little influence on plant growth. Moreover, humid air plasma irradiation was more effective in growth enhancement than dry one. More than 2.3 times faster growth was observed by 3 min air plasma irradiation with 40-90% relative humidity. The reactive species generated by plasma in gas phase were detected using optical emission spectroscopy and in liquid phase by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. We concluded that OH and O radicals were key species for plant growth enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]