Photocatalysis of environmental organic pollutants and antioxidant activity of flavonoid conjugated gold nanoparticles.

The unique properties of nanomaterials have the potential application in different fields of biomedical application along with the management of environmental pollutants. This research work involved the isolation of hesperidin from the orange peel and the preparation of hesperidin gold nanoparticles by the chemical reduction method. The high substrate specificity and lower band gap enable the excitation of gold nanoparticles in visible light. Hence gold nanoparticles are chosen nowadays for the management and removal of organic pollutants. The efficacy of hesperidin gold nanoparticles was evaluated by the photocatalytic activity on organic dyes and pollutants like methyl orange, methylene blue, bromocresol green, and 4 - nitro phenol with sodium borohydride as reducing agent and the antioxidant study by scavenging of free radicals of DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl free radicals of hydrogen peroxide. The kinetics of photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes and 4 - nitro phenol was found to follow the first order with rate constants of 10 × 10-3, 37 × 10-3, 23 × 10-3 and 49 × 10-3 min-1 for methyl orange, methylene blue, bromocresol green and 4 - nitro phenol respectively. The hesperidin gold nanoparticles showed significant antioxidant activity as compared to ascorbic acid as standard. The flavonoid conjugated gold nanoparticles can be an efficient antioxidant and photocatalyst for the management of different diseases and wastewater treatment respectively.

Development and characterization of pellets for targeted delivery of 5-fluorouracil and phytic acid for treatment of colon cancer in Wistar rat.

The present study was designed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of metal chelator and anticancer drug in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). Pellets containing Phytic acid, 5- Fluorouracil (5-FU), Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) PH 101, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC) and Barium sulfate were prepared by using extrusion spheronization technique. Prepared pellets were coated with Eudragit S100 to achieve colon-specific drug delivery. Pellets were characterized for various pharmaceutical and micromeritic attributes. The in vivo therapeutic efficacy comprising of both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters was determined in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC) induced cancer animal model. Phytic acid and 5-FU combinations seem to exert higher cytotoxic activity via increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level by chelating manganese. Further pharmacokinetic studies reveled approximately 50% lower Cmax in the finished formulation, indicates lower systemic exposure to the drug. X-ray radiography ensures the localized delivery of the encapsulated drug. Histopathological studies indicated no significant local toxicity compared to the uncoated formulation. Results inferred that the proposed combination has superior anticancer activity with minimum systemic and local toxicity and it opens a new avenue in the treatment of colorectal cancer.