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In the current study, 40 albino male rats were investigated to evaluate the impact of Nano‐curcumin (Nano‐CUR) administration against Tartrazine (TZ)‐induced variations in kidney and liver histology and their related functions. The liver function biomarkers are (glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma‐glutamyl transaminase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin (T. BiLL)), whereas the kidney biomarkers are (creatinine, uric acid, urea, globulin, total protein (TP)), as well as blood parameters of (serum glucose (sGlu), alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP), protein Kinase‐C (PKC)) and lipid profiles that include (total lipids (TL), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol (LDL‐C), high‐density L‐C (HDL‐C), and very‐low‐density L‐C (VLDL‐C)). The collected rats were randomly separated into four different groups (G1, G2, G3, and G4) of 10 rats each, where G1 stands for control, G2 for TZ‐ingestion, G3 for Nano‐CUR‐ingestion, and G4 for (TZ + Nano‐CUR mix.) ingestion. TZ‐ingestion significantly (p <.05) increases the liver function enzymes' activity, total bilirubin and kidney biomarkers (creatinine, urea, uric acid, total protein (TP), globulin (Glu)). Also, TZ‐ingestion significantly increased sGlu, PKC, AFP, as well as lipid profiles, while there were significant (p <.05) decreases in HDL‐C and albumin (Alb) concentrations compared to control. Histopathological changes in liver, such as dilatation of blood sinusoids and central vein with hemorrhage and necrosis, were observed due to TZ‐ingestion. Similarly, TZ‐ingestion influenced kidney tissues in terms of tubular dilatation with tubular degeneration, thickened basement membrane, and dilatation of the glomerular capillaries. Markedly, the administration of Nano‐CUR significantly decreased liver and kidney function enzymes as well as sGlu, AFP, and PKC, whereas it significantly increased serum Alb and HDL‐C levels compared to control and TZ‐ingested rats. All values arranged around normal control values. Also, the liver tissue of Nano‐CUR‐ingested rats showed a normal arrangement of normal blood sinusoids(s), hepatic cords, and hepatocytes as compared to controls. The same results were also found in the section of rat kidney ingested with 2.00 g of Nano‐CUR/(kg B.W.) showing near‐normal architecture as compared to control rats. The liver tissue of rats ingested by a mixture of (7.5 mg of TZ + 2.0 g of Nano‐CUR/kg B.W.) showed little necrosis. Similarly, a section of rat kidney ingested a mixture of (7.5 mg of TZ + 2.00 g of Nano‐CUR/kg B.W.) which revealed mild tubular degeneration and dilatation of the glomerular capillaries. These results support the protective and therapeutic effects of Nano‐CUR on the histology of liver and kidneys and their related function biomarkers. Also, Nano‐CUR corrects the imbalance in serum glucose (sGlu), AFP, PKC, and lipid profiles in TZ‐ingested rats compared to control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, fast, highly efficient and direct method using ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry has been established for the simultaneous separation, identification and quantitation of a few saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in olive oils from various countries. No sample pretreatment techniques were employed such as extraction or derivatization for the analysis of target acids from oil samples, as the oil samples were just diluted, filtered and then directly injected to the instrument. The chromatographic separations of all target fatty acids were achieved on a Hypersil Gold C 18 column of particle size 1.9 μm, 50 × 2.1 mm I.D, while the gradient elution using a binary mobile phase mixture of acetonitrile and water at a flow rate of 1.5 ml/min was adopted for achieving optimum separations. The identification and quantitation of target compounds was accomplished using selected ion reaction monitoring mode. The recoveries of the fatty acids were obtained higher than 89% with good validation parameters; linearity (r 2 > 0.992), detection limit between 0.09 and 0.24 μg/ml, run to run and day to day precisions with percent relative standard deviation lower than 2.4% at both low (1 μg/ml) and medium (10 μg/ml) concentration levels. The total content of fatty acids in each individual oils was found in the range of 472.63–7751.20 μg/ml of olive oil, while oleic acid was found to be the major fatty acid among all analyzed oils with the amount 3785.94 μg/ml (maximum) in Syrian olive oil. The obtained validation parameters confirm that the proposed analytical method is rapid, sensitive, reproducible and simple and it could be applied for the successful evaluation of fatty acids in various oils and other matrices. All the fatty acids were efficiently eluted in a time of less than 8 min with well resolved peaks by employing the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry was used for the simultaneous separation and determination of reducing monosaccharides (fructose and glucose), a non-reducing disaccharide (sucrose) and oligosaccharides (kestose and nystose) in HILIC mode. The chromatographic separation of all saccharides was performed on a BEH amide column using an acetonitrile–water gradient elution. The detection was carried out using selected ion recording (SIR) acquisition mode. The validation of the proposed method showed that the limit of detection and limit of quantification values for the five analyzed compounds were in the range of 0.25–0.69 μg/mL and 0.82–3.58 μg/mL, respectively; while the response was linear in the range of 1–50 μg/mL. The developed method showed potential usefulness for a rapid and sensitive analysis of underivatized saccharides and was used for determination of sugars in three date samples (Sefri, Mabroom, Ghassab) which were soxhlet extracted by ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the cellular synergistic and antagonistic effects of mixing tartrazine (TZ) with curcumin (CUR) or curcumin-nanoparticles (CUR-NPs) were investigated. The in vivo administration of TZ, CUR, CUR-NPs, and TZ mixed with CUR or CUR-NPs at 75:25 or 50:50 ratios were tested. The results indicated that CUR and CUR -NPs reduced the cytotoxicity effects of TZ on skin fibroblast BJ-1 (ATCC® CRL-2522™) normal cells. However, among the tested materials, CUR-NPs had highest in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity compared to TZ. Furthermore, CUR-NPs and CUR exhibited anticancer activity against HepG-2 liver cancer cells via apoptosis induction. The key apoptosis protein genes Caspase-3, p53, and Bax were upregulated, whereas Bc-2, which exhibits anti-apoptosis activity, was downregulated. Our results indicated that the nano-formulation of CUR alters its physicochemical properties, including the size and shape, and increases its antioxidant and anticancer properties. CUR-NPs also overcome the side effect of using TZ as a yellow color and food preservative additive, due to its reduced toxicity, oxidative stress, and carcinogenicity. In agreement with our previous findings, CUR and CUR-NPs were able to protect against cellular oxidative stress by stimulating endogenous antioxidant defense enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), reduced glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST). We conclude that the nano-formulation of CUR exhibits economic benefits as a new strategy to use CUR as a food additive at the cellular level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluates the regulatory effect of Nano-Curcumin (Nano-CUR) against tartrazine (TZ)-induced injuries on apoptosis-related gene expression (i.e., p53, CASP-3 and CASP-9), antioxidant status, and DNA damages in bone marrow in treated rats. Male rats were arbitrarily separated into five groups, and each group was comprised of 10 rats each. The 1st group served as control (G1). The 2nd group ingested 7.5 mg TZ/kg. b.w. (body weight). The 3rd group ingested Nano-CUR 1 g/kg b.w. The 4th and 5th groups were respectively administered with (1 g Nano-CUR + 7.5 mg TZ/kg. b.w.) and (2 g Nano-CUR + 7.5 mg TZ/kg. b.w.). At the end of the experiment, blood samples, livers, and kidneys were collected. Livers and kidneys were homogenized and used for the analysis of reduced glutathione, malonaldhyde, total antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxide antioxidant enzyme activities, apoptosis-related gene expression, and genotoxicity by comit test. The ingestion of TZ for 50 days resulted in significant decreases in body, and kidney weights in rats and a relative increase in the liver weight compared to control. In contrast, the ingestion of Nano-CUR with TZ remarkably upgraded the body weight and relative liver weight compared to the normal range in the control. Aditionally, TZ ingestion in rats increased the oxidative stress biomarkers lipid peroxide (LPO) and malonaldehyde (MDA) significantly, whereas it decreased the reduced glutathione (GSH) levels and total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Similarly, the levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) significantly deteriorated in response to TZ ingestion. Moreover, the results revealed a remarkable up-regulation in the level of expression for the three examined genes, including p53, CASP-3, and CASP-9 in TZ-ingested rats compared to the control. On the other hand, the comet assay result indicates that the ingestion of TZ induced DNA damage in bone marrow. Notably, the administration of Nano-CUR protected the kidney and liver of TZ-ingested rats as evidenced by a significant elevation in all antioxidant activities of tested enzymes (i.e, SOD, GPx, and CAT), vital recovery in GSH and TAC levels, and a statistical decrease in LPO and MDA compared to TZ-ingested rats. Interestingly, the ingestion of rats with TZ modulates the observed up-regulation in the level of expression for the chosen genes, indicating the interfering role in the signaling transduction process of TZ-mediated poisoning. The results indicate that the administration of Nano-CUR may protect against TZ-induced DNA damage in bone marrow. According to the results, Nano-CUR exerted a potential protective effect against oxidative stress, DNA damage, and the up-regulation of apoptosis-related genes induced by TZ ingested to rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new coordination complexes were synthesized, which are formulated as [Cu2(cis‐1,4‐chdc)(4,4′‐Me2bpy)4] ⋅ 2(ClO4−) ⋅ H2O (1) and [Cu2(cis‐1,4‐chdc)(5,5′‐Me2bpy)4] ⋅ 2(ClO4−) ⋅ H2O (2), using cis‐1,4‐cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (cis‐1,4‐H2chdc), 4,4′‐dimethyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine (4,4′‐Me2bpy), 5,5′‐dimethyl‐2,2′‐bipyridine (5,5′‐Me2bpy). Interestingly, cis‐1,4‐chdc adopts chair form in 1 and boat conformation in 2. This conformational change impacts the DNA binding capacities of the complexes as revealed by spectrophotometry, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and docking studies. The complex 1 having the chair conformation shows higher affinity towards the DNA base pairs due to anti‐alignment of the planar aromatic pyridyl rings of 4,4′‐Me2bpy, which strongly intercalates with the adenosine base pairs of DNA by formation of three π–π stacking and two extra π‐positive stacking interactions between adenosine bases and positively charged nitrogen. Conversely, 5,5′‐Me2bpy with planar aromatic pyridyl rings of complex 2 shows bis‐intercalation with weak affinities toward base pairs by formation of two π–π stacking and one π‐positive stacking interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major issue is the production of green and sustainable energy while the development of an effective, affordable, readily available with a higher rate of oxygen and hydrogen evolution reactions is need of the time. Here in present work, we fabricated CuScS 2 , CoO, and CuScS 2 /CoO to replace the extremely expensive Pt/C and IrO 2 that are employed as the benchmark materials for water electrolysis. We have also investigated their electrochemical performance in an alkaline environment for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The CuScS 2 /CoO nanocomposite is more effective electrode material than CuScS 2 and CoO. The composite material shows smaller overpotential (179 mV) and reduced Tafel slope (46 mV dec−1) value than individual materials to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2. The better efficiency of the composite material is due to well-distinct good shape with greater BET surface area, and relatively small resistance to charge transfer. Furthermore, the CuScS 2 /CoO exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic as well as photocatalytic performance in comparison to CuScS 2 and CoO. This research provides a valuable guide for developing an OER electrocatalyst in an alkaline medium and shows better electrochemical as well as photocatalytic performance of CuScS 2 /CoO nanomaterials. • CuScS 4 /CoO was synthesized through hydrothermal method. • CuScS 4 /CoO electrocatalysts reveals low overpotential, onset potential and Tafel slope and high stability toward OER. • Superior OER activity is due to controlled uniform morphology with greater active sites, high specific area and porosity. • The Modified material CuScS 4 /CoO) showed outstanding stability for about 50 h and up to 3000 multiple CV cycles. • The fabricated material also responses 92% degradation efficiency under visible light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shigellosis is one of the major causes of death in children worldwide. Flavonoids and phenolic acids are expected to demonstrate anti-shigellosis activity and anti-diarrheal properties. The aerial part of A. integrifolia is commonly used against diarrhea. This study aimed to identify flavonoids and phenolic acids responsible for this therapeutic purpose. Antioxidant activity, total phenol content, and total flavonoid content were determined. The antibacterial activity of the aerial part against Shigella spp. was also tested using the agar well diffusion method. HPLC analysis was performed using UHPLC-DAD for different extracts of the aerial part. Autodock Vina in the PyRx platform was used to screen responsible components. Ciprofloxacin was used as a reference drug. An enzyme taking part in pyrimidine biosynthesis was used as a target protein. Molecular docking results were visualized using Discovery Studio and LigPlot1.4.5 software. Antioxidant activity, total phenol content, and total flavonoid content are more significant for the aerial part of A. integrifolia. From HPLC analysis, the presence of the flavonoids, quercetin, myricetin, and rutin and the phenolic acids gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, and syringic acid were identified from the aerial part of A. integrifolia. Regarding the antibacterial activity, the aerial part shows considerable activity against Shigella spp. Binding energies, RMSD and Ki values, interaction type, and distance are considered to identify the components most likely responsible for the therapeutic effects and observed activity. Antioxidant activity, total phenol content, and total flavonoid content of the aerial part are in line with anti-shigellosis activity. The top five components that are most likely potentially responsible for therapeutic purposes and anti-shigellosis activity are chlorogenic acid, rutin, dihydroquercetin, dihydromyricetin, and kaempferol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment aimed to optimize the protein extraction from mosambi peel powder using Support Vector Regression and Genetic Algorithm. The protein was extracted using the pH shift method with ultrasound treatment. A model based on Support Vector Regression (SVR) was created to predict protein yield extraction from mosambi peel powder based on extraction parameters such as particle size (150, 375, and 600 m), ultrasonic (US) time (5, 8, and 11 min), and amplitude (50%, 70%, and 90%). The model accurately predicted both seen and unseen data (R2 = 0.9934 and 0.989, respectively). The trained SVR model was optimized using the Genetic Algorithm to maximize the extraction yield. The optimized model predicted the yield of 55.24% at particle size 187.496 μm, time 10.79 min, and 53.15% amplitude. The model prediction was validated experimentally, and 54.24% yield with 90.2% crude protein was obtained at the optimal settings. The recovered mosambi peel protein isolate shows 26.3% emulsion stability, 1.34 ml/g water‐holding capacity, 3.1 ml/g oil‐holding capacity, and 30% foaming capacity. The XRD of the protein isolate suggested the dominating amorphous nature with a crystallinity index of 27.35. In conclusion, the mosambi peel protein isolate has good functional properties and can be used as a functional ingredient in the food industry. Practical Implications: The fruit industry by‐products have been used for the extraction of phytochemicals and dietary fibers. However, there are a few investigations on protein extraction from these by‐products. Protein derived from these sources can be employed as a functional component in the development of new food products or to boost the protein content of existing ones. This will also aid farmers and producers by reducing waste and increasing the value of juice by‐products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports the synthesis of pure V2O5 and Ni-doped V2O5 nanoparticles via co-precipitation method, exploring diverse concentrations of Ni2+ in V2O5 system. The valent reduction of V, Ni, Oxygen stabilization and formation of V2O5 and Ni-doped V2O5 nanoparticles were evident by characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Photoluminescence and UV–Visible Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy. Bandgap variations and Crystallite size of pure V2O5 and Ni-doped V2O5 nanoparticles confirmed the reduction of Ni+ and V+ their difference was found to be ∆Eg = 1.52 eV and 24–43 nm, respectively. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis examined oxidation states and binding energies which is vital for understanding structural and compositional aspects. Evaluation of bacterial endurance against gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative bacteria (E.coli), coupled with antioxidant activity measurements via 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, indicate the successful utilization of the synthesized nanoparticles for biomedical and wastewater treatment applications. In contagious diseases, Ni/V2O5 nanoparticles showed superior activity against both S. aureus and E. coli. Photocatalytic activity against MB (98%) and Rh–B (88%) dyes under visible light irradiation was also evaluated with Ni/V2O5 nanoparticles which is exhibiting enhanced performance. Pseudo-first-order kinetics revealed accelerated dye degradation upon Ni ion incorporation, suggesting improved electron–hole pair activity and ROS formation. The AOP facilitated by the photocatalyst holds promise for wastewater treatment, with advantages such as absence of secondary product formation and presence of activated electrons. The in-depth investigation about the properties of Ni2+ into V2O5 lead us towards the cost effective and multifunctional applications of these nanoparticles at industrial level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An isocratic analytical method based on liquid chromatographic determination with UV detection is described for the determination of isatin in spiked plasma and in its synthetic mixture. The separation of the isatin was achieved on a betasil C-8 column using a mobile phase consisting of a binary mixture of acetonitrile and buffer (Na2CO3 + NaHCO3). The linearity, accuracy and precision were found to be acceptable over the concentration range (5-150 mg/L). LOD and LOQ were found to be 1.09 and 3.3 mg/L, respectively. The developed LC method with UV-visible detection offers simplicity, selectivity, precision and accuracy. It produces a symmetric peak shape and reasonable retention time. No interference was observed with the excipients found in the drug formulation. Forced degradation studies were also conducted on the isatin samples and the results shows that the newly developed method is able to determine the content of isatin in presence of its degradation products. The proposed method when applied to the determination of isatin in spiked plasma samples produced a recovery ranging from 96.0-98.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Activated carbon/Silver/Titanium dioxide nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by hydrothermal method using jasmine flower extract. The reactions of reduction, stabilization and capping were executed from the biomolecules of jasmine flower extract. The decoration of activated carbon and noble metal to the metal oxide enhanced the properties in all ways. As the modified structural, optical and morphological properties of as-prepared nanocomposite were characterized using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–visible spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscope (SEM) with Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Transmission electron microscope (TEM). The photocatalytic activities under sunlight were evaluated by the degradation of methylene blue (MB). Antibacterial activity was tested against E. coli and S. aureus. The characterization results show that the Activated carbon/Silver/Titanium dioxide nanocomposite is crystalline, needle like morphology and highly optically active catalyst. The investigated Activated carbon/Silver/Titanium dioxide nanocomposite shows 96% maximum degradation efficiency at the end of 120 min under visible light irradiation. The degradation efficiency and antibacterial activity are readily higher than that of commercial TiO2. The plasmonic support to the activated carbon and titanium nanoparticles creates a large surface area, active sites and accelerated the free radical generation. These characteristics demonstrated that the prepared Activated carbon/Silver/Titanium dioxide nanocomposite material is highly suitable for the decomposition of methylene blue and wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregation of the mixture of anionic surfactant – sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and an anionic dye – bromocresol green sodium salt (BCG) was investigated by conductometric technique in water and alcoholic/diolic media within a temperature range of 300.55–320.55 K (with 5 K interval). The observed critical micelle concentration (cmc) decreases with surging of the concentration of BCG, following the same trend for β value. In presence of additives (ethanol, propanol, and ethylene glycol), the cmc value decreases up to a certain concentration and then the cmc values start enhancing with increasing concentration in all the cases. With the increased additive percentage, the β values continually decrease. Again, the cmc value increases gradually with the increase of temperature both in water and aq. additives media. The free energy of studied aggregation phenomena is negative which experiences an augmentation with the escalation of temperature. The increased negative value of free energy at elevated temperature indicates that the process becomes more spontaneous at a higher temperature. The Δ H m 0 and Δ S m 0 values reveal that the probable interaction forces between BCG and SDS are hydrophobic, ion-ion, as well as electrostatic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to isolate and characterize moringa leaf protein (MLP) via HPLC and evaluate its consumption's effects through rat model. Four groups of Albino Wistar rats (n = 25 each) along with a control group (n = 25) were acclimatized. The isolated MLP was added to the basal diet (casein; control) in various percentages (25, 50, 75, 100%) for a 21-day experimental period. On three intervals (1st, 11th, 21st days), blood samples were collected and subjected for hematological and biochemical examination (Renal Function Test (RFT), Liver Function Test (LFT)). MLP contained a variety of essential and non-essential amino acids in substantial amounts. The Protein Efficiency Ratio (PER) of 50% MLP-treated group was the highest (1.72) among MLP treatments. Increases in feed intake and weight were observed in treated rats compared to the control. The hematological profile of the rats revealed increases in Hemoglobin (Hb) (7.9–14.0%), White Blood Cell (WBC) (35.9–51.5%), Red Blood Cell (RBC) (17.1–22.2%), Hematocrit (HCT) (13.1–22.9%), and platelets levels (36.5–40.6%) from day 1. Protein isolates decreased liver parameters but resulted in non-significant changes in liver and kidney functions in rats. Further investigation is needed to determine the safe daily intake of MLP. • The Protein Efficiency Ratio of 50% MLP-treated group was the highest among MLP ones. • Increases in feed intake and weight were observed in MLP-treated rats. • Hemoglobin, White Blood Cell, Red Blood Cell, Hematocrit, platelets increased starting day 11. • No toxic effects of isolated protein on kidneys and liver of rats were revealed. • Moringa leaves can be a good plant-based meat-protein alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Cu(II) based 1D zig–zag coordination polymer [Cu 2 (5-nip) 2 (3-brpy) 2 ·(H 2 O) 2 ·(DMF) 2 ] (1); (H 2 5-nip = 5-nitroisophthalic acid and 3-brpy = 3-bromopyridine) was synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, UV–Vis spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy and TGA analysis. The interaction between CT-DNA was illustrated through a Benesi-Hildebrand plot. Finally, docking study was conducted to assess its DNA binding affinity. [Display omitted] A Cu(II) compound [Cu 2 (5-nip) 2 (3-brpy) 2 ·(H 2 O) 2 ·(DMF) 2 ] (1) was synthesized using 5-nitroisophthalic acid (H 2 5-nip) and 3-bromopyridine (3-brpy) employing slow diffusion technique. Visibly distinct blue-colored crystals of compound 1 were obtained. Single crystal X-ray analysis discloses that compound 1 crystallizes in the triclinic system, having space group P 1 ¯ with cell dimensions a = 12.4491(14) Å, b = 13.6238(15) Å, c = 14.3315(15) Å; α = 68.027(3)°, β = 69.914(3)°, γ = 87.173(3)°and V = 2108.3(4)Å3. The compound contains core metal atom Cu(II) that is hexa -coordinated to 5-nip, 3-brpy, dimethylformamide (DMF), and aqua molecule resulting in one- dimensional coordination polymer (1D CP), propagated via strands of 5-nip bridges. The pyridine-based ligand and aqua ligands are decorated as arms on both sides of Cu(II) centers. The prominence of hydrogen bonding interactions in compound 1 was found which leads to the formation of 1D double-chain strand. The combination of 5-nip and 3-brpy ligands is responsible for the strong affinity towards DNA molecules for compound 1. Docking studies have been employed to examine DNA binding affinity. Hirshfeld surface analysis was carried out in order to check out the nature of intermolecular interactions and packing modes of compound 1 in the crystalline state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current study, new biomasses were prepared from fungi isolates including, Penicillium chrysogenum and Aspergillus ustus and utilized for the removal of heavy metals. During the study, the influences of various experimental factors including solution pH, temperature, and contact time on biosorption process were investigated. The synthesized fungi biosorbents were successfully applied for the removal of heavy metals from various waste effluents. The experimental results were indicated the excellent uptake property of the materials for target heavy metals. The average concentrations of Cd (II), Cu (II), and Pb (II) in different wastewater samples collected from Western, Eastern, and Northern region of Saudi Arabia were found to be in the range of 2.6–234 µg/L. The concentrations of Cu(II) in all the analyzed contaminated water samples were fairly exceeded the maximum concentration level for drinking water stipulated by World Health Organization. The applied biosorption technique for heavy metal removal is new, low cost and was adopted in eco-friendly way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, chromatographic techniques have the potential to be greener in order to reduce the environmental impact. In this work, a new simple, sensitive, efficient, and green analytical method based on UHPLC-MS has been developed for a quick determination of methylxanthines including caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline in tea. Under the optimum conditions, a baseline separation has been achieved within 30 seconds, using isocratic elution consisting of 90% water and only 10% acetonitrile at 0.5 mL/min flow rate (3 mL acetonitrile per hour). The mass spectrometer was operated with the SIR mode in ESI+. The developed method was found to be linear in the range of 0.03–5 μg/mL, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.9995 for the three compounds. The respective values of LOD were found to be 0.025, 0.015, and 0.01 μg/mL for caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline, respectively. The proposed assay was applied to 30 commercial tea samples of different brands. Both caffeine and theobromine were found in all tea samples with maximum concentration in sample no. 15, corresponding to 32.6 and 2.72 mg/g of caffeine and theobromine, respectively. On the contrary, theophylline was not detected at all in most samples. When compared with all previous studies that dealt with the same compounds in different matrices, the developed method was found to be the fastest, allowing high-throughput analyses with more than 100 samples/h. The results prove that the method is suitable for routine analysis of methylxanthines and to distinguish the quality of tea samples of various brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convolvulus austroaegyptiacus Abdallah & Sa’ad (CA) and Convolvulus pilosellifolius Desr. (CP) are commonly used in the Saudi Arabia folk medicine. They are potent in treating the ulcers and skin diseases. The lack of information about their biological activities led us to investigate the possible biological activities by determination of antibacterial and antioxidant activities of total ethanolic extracts and various fractions. Total flavonoid contents of the plants were determined by colorimetric method while total phenols were determined by using Folin-Ciocalteu method. In vitro antibacterial activity was studied against E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and B. subtilis, and the total antioxidant capacity was evaluated by radical scavenging method. IC50 were found to be 21.81, 17.62, and 3.31 μg/mL for CA, CP, and vitamin C, respectively, while the lowest MIC value of 0.25 mg/mL was recorded with CP extract against B. subtilis. Around 21 compounds are tentatively elucidated from both plants using rapid, simple, and high-resolution analytical technique for chemical profiling of natural compounds by direct analysis in real-time of flight-mass spectrometry, of which 17 were not isolated or reported previously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • HPLC and spectrophotometric methods were developed to quantify febuxostat in pharmaceuticals and spiked wastewater samples. • Response surface methodology via Box-Behnken experimental design optimised the HPLC analysis's critical factors. • Youden and Steiner's robustness test was performed with the selected parameter's proposed and alternative conditions. • According to ICH guidelines, low-cost methods were validated. This study applied an optimized Box- Behnken Design (BBD) to develop visible spectrophotometry and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for quantitating febuxostat (FBX) in pharmaceutical preparations and spiked wastewater samples. A visible spectrophotometric method was developed by the reaction of FBX with a universal oxidant, potassium permanganate (KMnO 4), in alkaline media, absorbed at 605 nm was exploited to determine FBX in pharmaceutical preparations. While the BBD was used to optimize the most significant factors that influenced the chromatographic analysis for quantifying FBX. The calibration plot was linear between 0.1 and 6.4 μg/mL for HPLC and 0.75–11.8 μg/mL for the spectrophotometric method. BBD is an effective design for optimizing reaction conditions to minimize the number of experiments and the cost of the method. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) via BBD optimized the chromatographic procedure. The international conference on harmonization (ICH) guidelines evaluated validation parameters linearity, precision, accuracy, detection limits, and quantitation. Furthermore, Youden's robustness test using factorial combinations of the chosen analytical parameters was performed and investigated the influence of alternative conditions. The simplicity of the spectrophotometric and HPLC methods suggests their practical use in the quality control analysis of febuxostat. Moreover, it is economical, consumes a minimum amount of organic solvent, and has good accuracy and precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a clear need to make energy cheap, readily accessible and green, while ensuring its production does not contribute to further climate change. Of all the options available, photovoltaics offer the highest probability of delivering a meaningful and sustainable change in the way society produces its energy. One approach to the development of such photovoltaics involves the use of polymers. These systems offer the advantages of cheap production, flexibility (and hence a range of deployment opportunities) and tunability of light absorption. However, there are issues with polymer-based photovoltaic systems and one significant effort to improve these systems has involved the use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). This review will focus on those efforts. CNTs have been used in virtually every component of the devices to help charge conduction, improve electrode flexibility and in some cases as active light absorbing materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Synthesis and X-ray crystallographic analysis of a Zn(II) based two-dimensioanl metal–organic framework (MOF) • The MOF constructs a 3D supra molecular network by the combination of hydrogen bonding and π···π interactions. • Quantitative analysis of RDB, RB and EY which facilitated the estimation of dyes removal from synthetic materials. • Hirshfeld analysis also supports the experimental results. A Zn(II) bearing two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic framework (MOF) of [Zn 2 (muco) 2 (4-nvp) 2 ]·CH 3 OH (1) has been prepared at room temperature by slow diffusion method. The prepared MOF has been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) technique. The compound 1 constructs a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular network by the combination of hydrogen bonding and π···π interactions. Hirshfeld surface analysis has also been carried out to investigate the impact of non-covalent interactions in crystal packing. Furthermore, the synthesized compound 1 has been exploited as effective sorbent for the spectrophotometric estimation of cationic and anionic dyes namely, Rhodamin–B (RDB), Rose Bengal (RB) and Eosine-Y (EY). The maximum absorbances (λ max) of the compound 1 with above dyes were measured at 553 nm, 550 nm and 516 nm respectively. The dye RDB follows Beer-Lambert law in the concentration range of 1.0–6.0 μg/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.980; RB follows in the concentration range of 2.4 × 10−4–1.21 × 10−3 μg/mL with correlation coefficient of 0.999 and EY follows in the concentration range of 0.4–3.0 μg/mL with correaltion coefficient of 0.999. After sorption of dyes, MOF 1 shows a drastic change in its ε max value. The developed method has the potential to be applied for quantitative estimation of the dyes in the real sample analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Influence of hydrotrope on micellization of zwitterionic surfactants were studied. • Effect of different temperatures were also investigated. • cmc values decrease almost linearly with increase in hydrotropes mole fraction and temperatures. • Thermodynamic parameters disclosed electrostatic and hydrophobic interaction between components. • Doping of surfactants with hydrotropes amplify the solubilizing power and subdue cmc value. Analogous novel zwitterionic dimeric surfactants in the sequence of 2-dodecylphosphate,1-(N,N-dimethyl,N-dodecylammonium)ethane abbreviated as C 12 (-)–2–C 12 (+); 2-dodecylphosphate,1-(N,N-dimethyl,N-tetradecylammonium)ethane abbreviated as C 12 (-)–2–C 14 (+); and 2-dodecylphosphate,1-(N,N-dimethyl,N-hexadecylammonium)ethane abbreviated as C 12 (-)–2–C 16 (+); with phosphodiester anion and quaternary ammonium salt as hydrophilic and the methylene chains as hydrophobic groups, two methylene groups separate the two headgroups, were prepared, and the effect of aromatic hydrotropes aniline hydrochloride (AHC) and sodium salicylate (NaSal) on the mode of micellization at four unlike temperatures with a difference of 5 K in aqueous medium by the method of conductivity were studied. The decrease in cmc of zwitterionic surfactants with the addition/increase in bulk mole fraction of NaSal and AHC is almost linear. But anionic NaSal is more productive as compared to the cationic hydrotrope AHC in reducing the critical micelle concentration (cmc). Negative values of interaction parameter (β m) were found to decline with extension in one of the hydrophobic chain lengths keeping the other hydrophobic chain length identical. Symmetrical zwitterionic surfactants interact more strongly via headgroups and hydrocarbon tails with aromatic hydrotropes and decrease the cmc effectively by concealing of headgroups and hydrophobic forces operating mutually thus promotes micellar shape transition by alteration of micelle surface curvature. The enthalpy of micellization Δ mic H ° suggest an endothermic process and the negative value of free energy of micellization Δ mic G ° due to encouraging augmentation in entropy of micellization Δ mic S °. The doping of surfactants with organic salts or hydrotropes amplifies the solubilizing power, viscosity and subdue the cmc value. Such systems promise to improve the performance used in separation methods, drug permeation, and delivery as these surfactants are less toxic and less sensitive to changes in pH and ionic strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aflatoxins AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2 are toxic secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus and posses a potential threat to food safety. In the present work, liquid-liquid extraction and ultraperformance LC- MS/ MS method has been applied for the determination of four naturally occurring aflatoxins AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2 in nonalcoholic beer. Aflatoxins extraction from nonalcoholic beer was carried out using liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The effects of solvent-types were studied to obtain maximum recovery of the target analytes with minimum contamination. Among different solvents, the aflatoxins extraction was best achieved using ethyl acetate. The obtained recoveries were ranged from 85 to 96% with good quality parameters: LOD values between 0.001 and 0.003 ng/mL, linearity of the calibration curve ( r2 > 0.999), and repeatability (run-to-run) and reproducibility (day-to-day) precisions with RSDs lower than 5% ( n = 5) achieved at 0.50 ng/mL concentration. The optimized liquid-liquid extraction in combination with ultraperformance LC- MS/ MS was applied successfully to the analysis of AFB1, AFB2, AFG1, and AFG2 aflatoxins in 11 nonalcoholic beers and were detected up to 15.31 ng/L in some of the samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorpromazine hydrochloride (CPMH) is an anti-psychotic drug, belongs to phenothiazine derivative extensively used for psychotic disorders. Overdosage of CPMH leads to bipolar and hyperactive disorders. In this report, we designed copper oxide (CuO), tin oxide (SnO 2), and copper oxide/tin oxide nanoparticles (CuO/SnO 2 NPs) through an eco-friendly co-precipitation technique. The physicochemical properties of different metal oxides and binary metal oxide were analyzed via diverse characterization techniques. A disposable screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) was utilized for determining the electrochemical property and electrocatalytic activity of CuO, SnO 2, and CuO/SnO 2 NPs towards CPMH detection. From the results, CuO/SnO 2 NPs/SPCE outcomes with lower charge transfer resistance, higher active surface area, enhanced anodic current compared to other electrodes. The excellence in the limit of detection (1 nM) of CuO/SnO 2 NPs/SPCE was much beneficial compared to previously reported literature. Besides the selectivity, reproducibility, and repeatability outcomes with the satisfactory results. Moreover, the developed CuO/SnO 2 NPs sensor was applied for real sample investigation in the environmental water sample, and found results deliver an accepted recovery percentage (100.08 to 102.91%). From all above analysis, it's clear that as-fabricated CuO/SnO 2 NPs modified sensor was potential for electrocatalytic detection of CPMH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel cycloheptylbenzothiazole-2-carboxamide were designed. • Nine derivatives were successfully synthesised and characterised. • Good inhibitory activity found in TCP1020 bladder cancer cell lines. • Synthesized compounds have good docking score for ligand-protein complex. Bladder cancer is one of the deadly cancer with 16,390 deaths in 2015-16 alone and 76,960 new cases. The matter of concern is more severe with very limited options of treatment and lack of new drugs, cisplatin and doxorubicin are the only two drugs mostly used in therapy. This situation along with the epidemiological data calls for the development of newer better and safer agents. Herein, we report nine novel benzothiazole derivatives based on structure-based drug discovery and molecular modelling approaches. Newly designed compounds were synthesized following a four-step reaction and were characterized for structural confirmation. These novel compounds were evaluated on the MTT assay for their in vitro efficiency using the TCP1020 cell lines. These were further analysed for their mechanism of action based on in silico studies. Two compounds of the series exhibit promising results which are in agreement with the in-silico studies. It was found that the methyl group at the seventh position to the nitrogen decreases the electron affinity of the series and is thus responsible for the activity in 4e. The methyl substituted compound 4e and fluoro substituted compound 4i shows the highest activities with an IC 50 of 10.1 ± 0.2 and 7.8 ± 0.7 respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The first time, the Au@MWCNT-PVCL is used as a thermo-reversible electrocatalyst. • The Au@MWCNT-PVCL is used for the thermo-reversible detection of herbicide PCR. • The designed sensor achieved a low LOD of 1.5 nM at 40 °C than 25 °C. • Au@MWCNT-PVCL has an excellent sensitivity of 9.51 μA μM−1 cm−2 at 40 °C. • Excellent recovery results attained in agricultural and environmental samples. Picloram (PCR), a vastly utilized chlorinated herbicide, is very stable in water and soil with severe ecological and health impacts. It is necessary to establish a fast and highly sensitive technique for accurately detecting trace level PCR in agricultural and environmental samples. We employed a temperature-responsive poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-tethered multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-PVCL) decorated gold nanoparticles (Au@MWCNT-PVCL) catalyst on the electrochemical sensor for the sensitive "On/Off" switch-like detection of PCR. The effect of temperature-sensitive catalyst surface chemistry on electrocatalytic activity was scrutinized. Results showed that the hydrophilic surface of PVCL at 25 °C (LCST) that immensely upgraded PCR oxidation on the catalyst in the electrochemical reaction, signifying the "On" state. The detection of the Au@MWCNT-PVCL modified electrode ranged from 0.02–183 μM with a low detection limit (LOD) of 1.5 nM at 40 °C toward PCR. The proposed sensor was successfully used to detect PCR in real agricultural and environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Zeolite enslaved Pd2+, Ni2+ complexes were used novel as heterogenous catalysts. • Polycyclic heterocycles was synthesized in ethanolic medium. • Characterized by FTIR, magnetic susceptibility, N 2 sorption, XRD, XPS, FE-SEM. • The synthesis by Suzuki coupling reactions was provided impressive yields. • Catalyst may be used for important polycyclic heterocycles under greener conditions. In the present work we report the construction of zeolite enslaved transition metal complexes (Pd2+, Ni2 +) as novel heterogenous catalysts for synthesis of polycyclic heterocycles using suzuki–miyaura cross coupling reaction in ethanolic medium. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by employing UV–Vis, FT-IR, magnetic susceptibility, N 2 sorption, XRD, XPS, FE-SEM analysis. Results of the study advocate that newly developed catalysts give rise to a rapid and easy synthesis of various polycyclic heterocycles by Suzuki coupling reactions in impressive yields. In conclusion, developed catalyst may be used as versatile tool in the synthesis of various industrially and pharmaceutically important polycyclic heterocycles under greener conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promethazine hydrochloride (PMH) is used to treat nausea, vomiting related diseases, allergic reactions, etc. Herein, by applying conductivity measurement technique, interaction between PMH drug and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB) was determined in presence of sodium salts (NaCl, Na 2 SO 4) having different concentrations at a fixed temperature (310.55 K) and a fixed salt concentration at different temperatures (300.55–320.55 K) with an interval of the temperature of 5.0 K. The single critical micelle concentration (CMC) for mixture of both components in attendance of salts was observed. In the occurrence of different salts (NaCl, Na 2 SO 4) the CMC values were found to decrease in magnitude compared to those in water and thus electrolytes create a favorable environment for early micelle formation of PMH + TTAB. The obtained negative Δ G 0 m values imply the spontaneity of the micellization phenomena. Various physico-chemical indicators including Gibbs free energy change (Δ G 0 m), enthalpy change (Δ H 0 m), entropy change (Δ S 0 m), molar heat capacity (Δ C 0 m), etc. were evaluated and demonstrated clearly. The intrinsic enthalpy gain (Δ H 0,⁎ m), as well as the compensation temperature (T c), were also determined and explained carefully. Molecular dynamics simulation technique was employed to unveil the mechanism of drug-surfactant interactions present at the atomic level, which revealed the fine treaty with the experimental outcomes. Interaction of TTAB with PMH in absence/presence of NaCl. Unlabelled Image • Interaction of promethazine hydrochloride with TTAB is studied in salt solution. • Critical micelle concentrations (CMC) are dependent on the alteration of temperature. • Micellization of TTAB + drug in salt solution is spontaneous process. • Hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions between PMH and TTAB in salt solution are proposed. • Molecular dynamics simulation was employed to unveil the drug-TTAB interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitroaromatic and nitroamine compounds such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) are teratogenic, cytotoxic, and may cause cellular mutations in humans, animals, plants, and microorganisms. Microbial-based bioremediation technologies have been shown to offer several advantages against the cellular toxicity of nitro-organic compounds. Thus, the current study was designed to evaluate the ability of Trichoderma viride to degrade nitrogenous explosives, such as TNT, by microbiological assay and Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis. In this study, T. viride fungus was shown to have the ability to decompose, and TNT explosives were used at doses of 50 and 100 ppm on the respective growth media as a nitrogenous source needed for normal growth. The GC/MS analysis confirmed the biodegradable efficiency of TNT, whereas the initial retention peak of the TNT compounds disappeared, and another two peaks appeared at the retention times of 9.31 and 13.14 min. Mass spectrum analysis identified 5-(hydroxymethyl)-2-furancarboxaldehyde with the molecular formula C6H6O3 and a molecular weight of 126 g·mol−1 as the major compound, and 4-propyl benzaldehyde with a formula of C10H12O and a molecular weight of 148 g mol−1 as the minor compound, both resulting from the biodegradation of TNT by T. viride. In conclusion, T. viride could be used in microbial-based bioremediation technologies as a biological agent to eradicate the toxicity of the TNT explosive. In addition, future molecular-based studies should be conducted to clearly identify the enzymes and the corresponding genes that give T. viride the ability to degrade and remediate TNT explosives. This could help in the eradication of soils contaminated with explosives or other toxic biohazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]