Carbon Dots Modified Multi Dopants Nitrogen and Boron for an Early Detection of Lead in the Environment.

The remarkable optical properties and strong biocompatibility of carbon dots make them highly promising for applications in biochemical sensing and environmental testing. These carbon dots possess a surface that is easily modifiable. In this study, carbon dots have been successfully synthesized and modified by the addition of N and B dopants using the microwave method, along with the functionalization of their surface functional groups with bovine serum albumin (BSA). The maximum fluorescence intensity of N, B-CDs is observed at 462 nm when excited at a wavelength of 352 nm. N, B-CDs have a spherical size with a diameter ranging from 2 to 6 nm, confirmed by UV-Vis absorption spectra and the presence of functional groups in the FT-IR absorption patterns. BSA-functionalized N, B-CDs as the fluorescent probe demonstrate great potential as a sensor for Pb(II) ions in water, with a very low detection limit of 1.05 µg/L. This research could contribute to the development of fluorescence nanosensors.

Efficient removal of Cr(VI) contaminant using recoverable silica from volcanic ash as natural adsorbent: Synthesis and activity in the mechanism and kinetic adsorption.

Modification of silica purified from the Merapi volcanic ash with magnetic material of Fe3O4 and attachment of cetyl triamine bromide (CTA-Br) on the magnetic cored has been performed to provide recoverable and positive surfaced of natural adsorbent. The magnetic cored was prepared via co-precipitation and CTA-Br attachment was conducted by a facile strategy. Then, the modified adsorbents were characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, and FTIR instruments and examined for removing anionic Cr(VI) from the water media. The characterization data confirmed that crystals of Fe3O4 coated by SiO2 that has been bound with CTA-Br have been successfully formed. Additionally, increasing CTA-Br loaded gives thicker lamination on Fe3O4@SiO2/CTA-Br, but the CTA-Br loaded with higher than 0.25 mmol, leads to the coating peeled out. It is also demonstrated that Fe3O4@SiO2/CTA-Br prepared with CTA-Br 0.25 mmol is ideal for Cr(VI) anionic removal, regarding to the highest adsorption and very good separation or recovery process. Moreover, the optimal dose of Fe3O4@SiO2/CTA-Br in the Cr(VI) removal was observed at 0.25 g/20 mL under condition of pH 3 for 60 min. The adsorption of Cr(VI) well fits the Langmuir isotherm model with an adsorption capacity of 3.38 mg g-1 and is in a good agreement with pseudo-second order giving kinetic constant at 0.005 g mg-1 min-1. Thus, it is clear that the natural adsorbent material with recoverable properties for more efficient and wider application of removal Cr(VI) contaminant was expected from this study.

Molecular Dynamics of Cobalt Protoporphyrin Antagonism of the Cancer Suppressor REV-ERBß.

Nuclear receptor REV-ERBß is an overexpressed oncoprotein that has been used as a target for cancer treatment. The metal-complex nature of its ligand, iron protoporphyrin IX (Heme), enables the REV-ERBß to be used for multiple therapeutic modalities as a photonuclease, a photosensitizer, or a fluorescence imaging agent. The replacement of iron with cobalt as the metal center of protoporphyrin IX changes the ligand from an agonist to an antagonist of REV-ERBß. The mechanism behind that phenomenon is still unclear, despite the availability of crystal structures of REV-ERBß in complex with Heme and cobalt protoporphyrin IX (CoPP). This study used molecular dynamic simulations to compare the effects of REV-ERBß binding to Heme and CoPP, respectively. The initial poses of Heme and CoPP in complex with agonist and antagonist forms of REV-ERBß were predicted using molecular docking. The binding energies of each ligand were calculated using the MM/PBSA method. The computed binding affinity of Heme to REV-ERBß was stronger than that of CoPP, in agreement with experimental results. CoPP altered the conformation of the ligand-binding site of REV-ERBß, disrupting the binding site for nuclear receptor corepressor, which is required for REV-ERBß to regulate the transcription of downstream target genes. Those results suggest that a subtle change in the metal center of porphyrin can change the behavior of porphyrin in cancer cell signaling. Therefore, modification of porphyrin-based agents for cancer therapy should be conducted carefully to avoid triggering unfavorable effects.

Permeability improvement of polyethersulfone-polietylene glycol (PEG-PES) flat sheet type membranes by tripolyphosphate-crosslinked chitosan (TPP-CS) coating.

In this study, improvement of urea and creatinine permeability of polyethersulfone (PES) membrane by coating with synthesized tripolyphosphate-crosslinked chitosan (TPP-CS) has been conducted. Original and modified membranes, e.g. pristine PES, polyethersulfone-polyethylene glycol (PES-PEG) and PES-PEG/TPP-CS membranes were characterized using FTIR, DTG, SEM, AFM, water uptake, contact angles, porosity measurement, tensile strength test and permeation tests against urea and creatinine. The results show that the PES modification by TPP-CS coating has been successfully carried out. The water uptake ability, hydrophilicity and porosity of the modified membranes increase significantly to a greater degree. All modified membranes have good thermal stability and tensile strength and their permeation ability towards urea and creatinine increase with the increasing concentration of TPP-CS. PES membrane has urea clearance ability of 7.36 mg/dL and creatinine of 0.014 mg/dL; membrane PES-PEG shows urea clearance of 11.87 mg/dL and creatinine of 0.32 mg/dL; while PES-PEG/TPP-CS membrane gives urea clearance of 20.87-36.40 mg/dL and creatinine in the range of 0.52-0.78 mg/dL. These results suggest that the PES-PEG membrane coated with TPP-CS is superior and can be used as potential material for hemodialysis membrane.

A Density-Functional Study of the Conformational Preference of Acetylcholine in the Neutral Hydrolysis.

Acetylcholine, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease, is widely known to have conformers. The preference of each conformer to undergo neutral hydrolysis is yet to be considered. In this study, we employed density-functional calculations to build the conformers and investigated their preference in one-step neutral hydrolysis. The results showed the preference in ten possible hydrolysis pathways involving seven acetylcholine conformers (reactant), four transition state structures, and two choline conformers (product). Three out of the seven acetylcholine conformers predicted from the results confirmed experimental findings on the conformers stability. We suggested that two out of ten possible pathways were observed in the experimental results based on agreement in reaction energy. Eventually, this study will emphasize the importance of considering acetylcholine conformers in its hydrolysis study.

In vitro hemocompatibility of PVA-alginate ester as a candidate for hemodialysis membrane.

Alginate based biopolymer with improved physical and chemical properties after esterification using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been studied for possible application as a hemodialysis membrane. The alginic acid to vinyl alcohol molar ratio was predetermined at 0, 0.1, 0.5 and 1. Mechanical strength, hydrophilicity and Ca(2+) adsorption of the membrane before and after modification were evaluated. The obtained PVA-alginate (PVA-Alg) ester membrane was also confirmed using FTIR and SEM. It shows that the PVA-Alg membrane tensile strength is higher than that of native alginate. The water contact angle of the membrane was found to be around 33-50°. The Ca(2+) adsorption capacity tends to decrease with the increase in molar ratio. Furthermore, the modified PVA-Alg ester membrane achieves better protein adsorption and platelet adhesion than the unmodified one. It also exhibits a dialysis performance of 47.1-50.0% for clearance of urea and 42.2-44.6% for clearance of creatinine, respectively. It is expected that this PVA-Alg ester may challenge cellulose acetate for potential application as hemodialysis membranes.