Precipitation and kinetics of fungal cellulases

Summary The cellulases of two mould fungi namely Penicillium oxalicum Curie et Thom and Helminthosporium cyclops Drechsler were precipitated either by organic solvents or inorganic salts. Acetone seems to be the most suitable precipitant for these enzymes. The action of some factors including temperature, p_H value, enzyme concentration and reaction time on the enzymatic activity was also investigated.     

Association of the myosin heavy chain 9 gene single nucleotide polymorphism with inflammatory bowel disease

BackgroundTo date, the cause of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains a mystery. A balance between cell proliferation and apoptosis maintains intestinal tissue homeostasis. Dissociation-induced myosin-actin contraction results in stem cell apoptosis. This study aiming to evaluate the influence of the myosin heavy chain 9 (MYH9) gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on inflammatory bowel disease.Subjectsand methods: The study carried on eighty patients with IBD and seventy controls. All participants subjected to history taking, thorough physical examination, colonoscopy and laboratory investigations. Genotyping performed for rs4821480 and rs3752462 by SNP assay real-time PCR methods.ResultsOn analyzing rs3752462 CT and TT genotypes were significantly more frequent in IBD patients as compared to controls with 4.6 fold increase in the risk of IBD. While on analyzing rs4821480, The TG and GG genotypes have significant increased distribution among the IBD patients as compared to the controls with 5.3 fold increase in the risk of IBD and higher prevalence of GG genotype in patients with low hemoglobin level and higher BMI.ConclusionThe rs3752462 T allele and rs4821480 G allele of MYH9 are associated with more susceptibility to IBD.     

Optimization and validation of spectrofluorimetric method for determination of cefadroxile and cefuroxime sodium in pharmaceutical formulations

A simple, accurate, precise and validated spectrofluorimetric method is proposed for the determination of two cephalosporins, namely, cefadroxile (cefa) and cefuroxime sodium (cefu) in pharmaceutical formulations. The method is based on a reaction between cephalosporins with 1,2‐naphthoquinone‐4‐sulfonate in alkaline medium, to form fluorescent derivatives that are extracted with chloroform and subsequently measured at 610 and 605 nm after excitation at 470 and 460 nm for cefa and cefu respectively. The optimum experimental conditions have been studied. Beer's law is obeyed over the concentrations of 20–70 ng/mL and 15–40 ng/mL for cefa and cefu, respectively. The detection limits were 4.46 ng/mL and 3.02 ng/mL with a linear regression correlation coefficient of 0.9984 and 0.998, and recoveries ranging 97.50–109.96% and 95.73–98.89% for cefa and cefu, respectively. The effects of pH, temperature, reaction time, 1,2‐naphthoquinone‐4‐sulfonic concentration and extraction solvent on the determination of cefa and cefu, have been examined. The proposed method can be applied for the determination of cefa and cefu in pharmaceutical formulations in quality control laboratories. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chiral Separation of the Clinically Important Compounds Fucose and Pipecolic Acid Using CE: Determination of the Most Effective Chiral Selector

In this study, simple electrophoretic methods were developed for the chiral separation of the clinically important compounds fucose and pipecolic acid. In recent years, these analytes, and particularly their individual enantiomers, have attracted considerable attention due to their role in biological functions and disorders. The detectability and sensitivity of pipecolic acid and fucose were improved by reacting them with fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl chloride (FMOC‐Cl) and 5‐amino‐2‐naphthalene‐sulfonic acid (ANSA), respectively. The enantioseparation conditions were optimized by initially investigating the type of the chiral selector. Different chiral selectors, such as polymeric surfactants and cyclodextrins, were used and the most effective ones were determined with regard to resolution and analysis time. A 10‐mM β‐cyclodextrin was able to separate the enantiomers of ANSA‐DL‐fucose and the polymeric surfactant poly(sodium N‐undecanoyl‐LL‐leucine‐valinate) was able to separate the enantiomers of FMOC‐DL‐pipecolic acid, with resolution values of 3.45 and 2.78, respectively. Additional parameters, such as the concentration and the pH of the background electrolyte (BGE), the concentration of the chiral selector, and the addition of modifiers were examined in order to optimize the separations. The addition of the chiral ionic liquid D‐alanine tert‐butyl ester lactate into the BGE was also investigated, for the first time, in order to improve resolution of the enantiomers. Chirality 25:556–560, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Studies on the antioxidant properties of some phytoestrogens

Isoflavones genistein and daidzein are nonsteroidal phytoestrogens occurring mainly in soybean foods. These phytoestrogens possess estrogenic properties and show a variety of health benefits as anti‐inflammatory agents. However, the mechanism of their action has not been identified in detail. The aim of this study is to characterize the antioxidant powers of genistein, daidzein and daidzein metabolite–equol through their activities to scavenge superoxide anion radical (O^?₂^?), hydroxyl radical (HO^?), 2,2–diphenyl–1‐picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH^?) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) using chemiluminescence and spectrophotometry techniques. Potassium superoxide in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and 18‐crown‐6 ether were used as a source of O^?₂^?. Hydroxyl radicals were produced using the Fenton reaction. In free radical assays, genistein had the IC₅₀ values (an amount of antioxidant concentration required to decrease the initial radical concentration by 50%) 0.391 ± 0.012 mM for O^?₂^?, 0.621 ± 0.028 mM for HO^? and 1.89 ± 0.16 mM for DPPH^?. The IC₅₀ values for daidzein for these free radicals were 1.924 ± 0.011 mM, 0.702 ± 0.012 mM and 2.81 ± 0.03 mM, respectively. Equol was the most active the free radical scavenger with IC₅₀ = 0.451 ± 0.018 mM for HO^? and IC₅₀ = 1.36 ± 0.11 mM for DPPH^?. All tested compounds exerted a significant effect on the H₂O₂: IC₅₀ = 18.1 ± 1.1 μM for genistein, IC₅₀ = 2.1 ± 0.5 μM for daidzein, and IC₅₀ = 1.06 ± 0.2 μM for equol. These findings show that genistein, daidzein and equol are effective free radical scavengers and possess high antioxidant power in vitro. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Theoretical and Molecular Docking Study of Ketoconazole on Heptakis(2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin as Chiral Selector

A molecular docking study, using molecular mechanics calculations with AutoDock and semi‐empirical PM3 calculations, was used to predict the enantiodiscrimination of heptakis(2,3,6‐tri‐O‐methyl)‐β‐cyclodextrin (TMβCD) and ketoconazole (KTZ) enantiomers. A Density Functional Theory (DFT) single‐point calculation at the level of B3LYP/6‐311G (d,p) was performed for the PM3‐optimized complexes to obtain more accurate binding energy and the electronic structures of the complexes. The difference in energies of the inclusion complexes between the KTZ enantiomers and TMβCD is probably a measure of chiral discrimination, which results in the separation of the enantiomers as observed in the experimental studies. Chirality 28:209–214, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Studies on the antioxidant activity of some chromonylrhodanine derivatives

Fifteen chromonylrhodamine derivatives (CRs) were synthesized and the antioxidant activity levels were evaluated for the first time. The antioxidant activity potencies of these chromone derivatives were evaluated towards superoxide anion radicals, hydroxyl radicals and 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radicals. Also, the total antioxidant capacity of the tested compounds was measured using the ferric‐ferrozine assay. The antioxidant activities were investigated using a chemiluminescence (CL) assay, spectrophotometry measurements, direct electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and the EPR spin‐trapping technique. The 5,5‐dimethyl‐ 1‐pyrroline‐1‐oxide (DMPO) was applied as spin trap. Eleven of the 15 chromone compounds exhibited a decrease in the CL accompanying the superoxide anion radical produced in anhydrous dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), ranging from 71–94% at concentration of 1 mmol /L; four of these compounds enhanced light emission in the range 231–672%. Similarly, these compounds caused 28–58% inhibition in the intensity of the DMPO‐OOH radical EPR signal and the DMPO‐OH radical (from 12–48%). Furthermore, three of these compounds showed very good antioxidant response towards the DPPH radical (EC₅₀: 0.51–0.56 µmol/L) and the high reduction potentials. These findings demonstrate that the chromone compounds tested may be considered as effective free radicals scavengers, a finding that is of great pharmacological importance. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Supramolecular interaction of 18‐crown‐6 ether with mesalazine and spectrofluorimetric determination of mesalazine in pharmaceutical formulations

The supramolecular interaction of protonated mesalazine (MSZ) and 18‐crown‐6 ether (18C6) has been examined by Ultraviolet–visible, FT‐IR and fluorescence spectroscopy. The formation of the inclusion complex has been confirmed based on the changes of the spectral properties. The MSZ–18C6 host–guest complex formed in (1:1) stoichiometry and the inclusion constant (K = 1.411 × 10² L mol^–1) was ascertained by the typical double reciprocal plots. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters (ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS°) of (MSZ‐18C6) were obtained. Based on the remarkable enhancement of the fluorescence intensity of MSZ produced through complex formation, a simple, accurate, rapid and highly sensitive spectrofluorometric method for the determination of MSZ in aqueous solution in the presence of 18C6 was developed. The measurement of relative fluorescence intensity was carried with excitation at 298 nm, emission 410 nm. All variables affecting the reactions were studied and optimized. Beer's law was obeyed in the concentration range of 0.1–0.9 µg/mL. The absorbance was found to increase linearly with increasing concentration of MSZ. The molar absorptivity, Sandell sensitivity, limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were calculated. The validity of the described method was assessed, and the method was successfully applied to the determination of MSZ in its pharmaceutical formulation. In addition, a solid inclusion complex was synthesized by the coprecipitation method. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Plant regeneration via somatic embryogenesis in Schlumbergera truncata

Somatic embryogenesis was induced from phylloclade explants of Schlumbergera truncata cv. Russian Dancer. Callus developed on phylloclade explants and sub-cultured over a period of 16 months on MS medium containing mainly cytokinins was superior for the induction of somatic embryos compared to callus grown for a shorter time in the establishment medium. Sub-culture of callus grown in SH-or MS-based liquid media supplemented with 7.0 μM kinetin and transferred onto solid MS-based medium with either 0.45 μM 2,4-D or without hormones resulted in the differentiation into somatic embryos. SH-based medium proved better than MS-based medium when used as the first medium for the induction of somatic embryogenesis. However, somatic embryogenesis, contrary to adventitious shoot formation, was reduced when 2,4-D was included in the MS-based medium used for final transfer compared to the medium without growth regulators, indicating that a critical hormonal balance was reached. Somatic embryos developed root and shoot poles when grown on G medium. On this medium approximately 70% germination was recorded in the embryos that were differentiated earlier from the callus that was grown for a longer time in the establishment medium. This callus was grown on either SH- or MS-based medium supplemented with 7.0 μM kinetin, and then transferred after 30 days (from SH medium) onto MS medium without hormones or after 40 days (from MS medium) onto MS medium with 0.45 μM 2,4-D. Furthermore, plants from somatic embryos were successfully potted in soil and showed further growth and formation of a second set of phylloclades (secondary phylloclades). Histological studies showed that somatic embryos had no detectable connection with the mother explants and that advanced stages of somatic embryos had a contained vascular system. In addition to the normal dicotyledonous embryos, anomalous embryos with multiple cotyledons and vase-like embryos were observed. Secondary embryos were also recorded in this study.