Synergistic antibacterial and mosquitocidal effect of Passiflora foetida synthesized silver nanoparticles.

Silver nanoparticles are opted to have various applications in different fields ranging from traditional medicines to culinary items. It is toxic and most effective against bacteria, fungi viruses, parasites, parasite carrying vectors such as mosquitoes and their larvae and other eukaryotic microorganisms at low concentration without any side effects and toxicity to humans. In view of these data, the present research has been investigated by synthesizing silver nanoparticles using 1mM silver nitrate and aqueous extract of Passiflora foetida. The variation of nanoparticles in size and shape concerning the concentration of extract prepared were analysed. The formation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed by colour changing from yellowish green to reddish-brown implicating the surface plasmon resonance. Further, it was concluded by obtaining an absorbance peak at 420 nm using UV-Visible spectrophotometer analysis. FTIR analysis was used to identify the capping ligands, which included alkanes, aromatic groups and nitro compounds. The average grain size of ~12 nm to 14 nm with crystalline phase was revealed by X-ray Diffraction studies. The SEM images depicted the surface morphology with agglomeration; TEM studies showed the shape of nanoparticles as spherical and hexagonal with sizes ranging from 40 nm to 100 nm and EDAX analysis confirmed the presence of elemental silver as the principal constituent. The characterized silver nanoparticles were then tested for synergistic antibacterial effects with tetracycline, and the results show that they are more active against E. coli and S. aureus, but moderately effective against B. cereus and K. pneumoniae . It also had a strong larval and pupal toxic effects on the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti with the highest mortality. As a result, silver nanoparticles could be a viable alternative for a variety of applications.

The Advanced LIGO photon calibrators.

The two interferometers of the Laser Interferometry Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) recently detected gravitational waves from the mergers of binary black hole systems. Accurate calibration of the output of these detectors was crucial for the observation of these events and the extraction of parameters of the sources. The principal tools used to calibrate the responses of the second-generation (Advanced) LIGO detectors to gravitational waves are systems based on radiation pressure and referred to as photon calibrators. These systems, which were completely redesigned for Advanced LIGO, include several significant upgrades that enable them to meet the calibration requirements of second-generation gravitational wave detectors in the new era of gravitational-wave astronomy. We report on the design, implementation, and operation of these Advanced LIGO photon calibrators that are currently providing fiducial displacements on the order of 10-18m/Hz with accuracy and precision of better than 1%.

Evaluation of Stress-Induced Microbial Siderophore from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain S1 as a Potential Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitor in Wound Healing Applications.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are zinc-dependent proteolytic enzymes capable of causing various inflammatory and various degenerative diseases if over-expressed. The active site of these enzymes is a zinc binding motif which binds to the specific site on the substrate and induce degradation. Hence an inhibitor is required to form a complex with zinc motif which hampers the binding ability of MMPs. To obtain novel MMPs inhibitor for wound healing, the chelating activity of siderophore from the microbial source was focused. During screening for siderophore production, strain S1 produced the highest amount of siderophore in the minimal salts medium. The isolate was confirmed as Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain S1 based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The activity of the siderophore was assayed using chrome azurol sulphonate and purified by the chromatographic techniques. The structural evidence through Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra revealed that the isolated siderophore is a catecholate type with the distinctive characters. The positive results of calcein and fluozin-3 assays indicate that siderophore could bind to divalent metal ions, namely Fe(2+) and Zn(2+). As the siderophore compound focused on wound healing property, the in vitro studies revealed the viability of NH3T3 fibroblast cells and its efficiency in matrix modulating was confirmed through gelatin zymogram.