Drug-ionic surfactant interactions: density, sound speed, spectroscopic, and electrochemical studies.

The failure of antibiotics against infectious diseases has become a global health issue due to the incessant use of antibiotics in the community and a lack of entry of new antibacterial drugs onto the market. The limited knowledge of biophysical interactions of existing antibiotics with bio-membranes is one of the major hurdles to design and develop more effective antibiotics. Surfactant systems are the simplest biological membrane models that not only mimic the cell membrane functions but are also used to investigate the biophysical interactions between pharmaceutical drugs and bio-membranes at the molecular level. In this work, volumetric and acoustic studies were used to investigate the molecular interactions of moxifloxacin (MXF), a potential antibacterial drug, with ionic surfactants (dodecyl-tri-methyl-ammonium bromide (DTAB), a cationic surfactant and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), an anionic surfactant) under physiological conditions (phosphate buffer, pH 7.4) at T = 298.15-313.15 K at an interval of 5 K. Various volumetric and acoustic parameters were computed from the density and sound speed data and interpreted in terms of MXF-ionic surfactant interaction using electrostriction effect and co-sphere overlap model. Absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry were further used to determine the binding, partitioning, and related free energies of MXF with ionic micelles.

Development and validation of an economical uric acid-Fe3+/Fe2+-ferrozine-based colorimetric assay to estimate uric acid level of pure and biological samples.

This work presents the development and validation of a simple, rapid, and cost-effective spectrophotometric method for quantitative analysis of uric acid in biological samples. The method relies upon uric acid-led reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) of sample/standard solutions which stoichiometrically engages ferrozine to form a magenta-colored complex. Different parameters including pH, metal and chelator concentrations, temperature, etc., were optimized for the maximum intensity and stability of the complex. The uric acid concentrations of synthetic/plasma solutions were determined by comparing the color intensity of Fe(ferrozine)3 2+ complex produced by test solution with the standard curve formed by known uric acid concentrations. The method was validated in accordance with ICH guidelines and subjected to human plasma analysis. The results obtained were compared with a reference (enzymatic) method which revealed that there was no significant difference between the two methods at 95% confidence level. The method is highly specific, precise, linear, accurate, and robust.

Phytochemical and in vitro total antioxidant capacity analyses of peel extracts of different cultivars of Cucumis melo and Citrullus lanatus.

CONTEXT: Cucumis melo Linn. (Cucurbitaceae) and Citrullus lanatus Thunb. (Cucurbitaceae) are desert vegetables popular for their nutritional value and year round availability. The pulp and seeds of these plants are used for dietary purposes or as medications for certain ailments in the folk medicinal system. Peels of the fruit are either wasted or used as feed of grazing animals. OBJECTIVE: A detailed investigation regarding the chemical constituents and antioxidative analyses of the peel extract of fully ripened fruits from different cultivars of the two vegetables was carried out here for the first time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chemical constituents of the peel extracts of C. melo and C. lanatus cultivars in methanol, 1-butanol, chloroform and n-hexane were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and the antioxidative properties were evaluated using standard in vitro antioxidative assays. RESULTS: The results demonstrated large variation in the chemical constituents of the extracts including alkanes, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids and their esters, cyclic ketones, aldehydes, phenolic compounds and anthocyanin derivatives. Total phenolic content ranged from 2.96-0.85 mg/L gallic acid equivalents for different extracts. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Employing GC-MS analyses and standard in vitro antioxidative assays, the data presented here clearly demonstrate the potency of C. melo and C. lanatus extracts as antioxidant and radical scavenger plants which may be used as good sources of natural antioxidants. The peels of both the plants can be added to the diet at various stages to compensate food shortage and dietary deficiency problems of living beings.

Methyl 4-{[(4-methyl-phen-yl)sulfon-yl]amino}-benzoate.

In the mol-ecule of the title compound, C(15)H(15)NO(4)S, the dihedral angle between the two rings is 88.05 (7)°. The methyl ester group is nearly coplanar with the adjacent ring [dihedral angle = 2.81 (10)°], whereas it is oriented at 86.90 (9)° with respect to the plane of the ring attached to the -SO(2)- group. Weak intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonding completes S(5) and S(6) ring motifs. The mol-ecules form one-dimensional polymeric C(8) chains along the [010] direction due to N-H⋯O hydrogen bonding and these chains are linked by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network.

4-Methyl-N-{4-[(5-methyl-1,2-oxazol-3-yl)sulfamo-yl]phen-yl}benzene-sulfonamide.

In the title compound, C(17)H(17)N(3)O(5)S(2), the dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 81.27 (8)° and the heterocyclic ring is oriented at 9.1 (2) and 76.01 (9)° with respect to these rings. Mol-ecules are connected via N-H⋯N and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating an R(2) (2)(8) motif, into chains running along the [001] direction. There is also an intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond completing an S(6) ring motif. The polymeric chains are inter-linked through inter-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

A triclinic polymorph of N-[4-(4-methyl-benzene-sulfonamido)-phenyl-sulfon-yl]acetamide.

In the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(15)H(16)N(2)O(5)S(2), there are two symmetry-independent mol-ecules which adopt similar conformations, with dihedral angles between the aromatic rings of 59.30 (8) and 61.81 (8)°, and dihedral angles between acetamide group and the benzene ring of 77.08 (10) and 78.40 (10)°. Each type of mol-ecule forms similar one-dimensional polymeric structures extending along the b axis via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. These hydrogen bonds generate two types of centrosymmetric motifs, R(2) (2)(8) and R(2) (2)(20). Moreover C-H⋯O inter-actions assemble the mol-ecules into a three-dimensional framework. The crystal structure was determined from a non-merohedral twin [ratio of the twin components = 0.322 (4):0.678 (4)].

4-[2-(Anthracen-9-yl-methyl-idene)hydrazinyl-idene]-3-chloro-1-methyl-3,4-dihydro-1H-2λ(6),1-benzothia-zine-2,2-dione.

In the title compound, C(24)H(18)ClN(3)O(2)S, the dihedral angle between the benzene ring and the anthracene ring system is 41.10 (8)°. The thia-zine ring has a half-chair conformation and the Cl atom is in an axial orientation. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions, generating C(8) chains along [100]. A C-H⋯N short contact occurs in the mol-ecule, generating an S(6) ring.

'Breast Cancer Resistance Likelihood and Personalized Treatment Through Integrated Multiomics'.

In recent times, enormous progress has been made in improving the diagnosis and therapeutic strategies for breast carcinoma, yet it remains the most prevalent cancer and second highest contributor to cancer-related deaths in women. Breast cancer (BC) affects one in eight females globally. In 2018 alone, 1.4 million cases were identified worldwide in postmenopausal women and 645,000 cases in premenopausal females, and this burden is constantly increasing. This shows that still a lot of efforts are required to discover therapeutic remedies for this disease. One of the major clinical complications associated with the treatment of breast carcinoma is the development of therapeutic resistance. Multidrug resistance (MDR) and consequent relapse on therapy are prevalent issues related to breast carcinoma; it is due to our incomplete understanding of the molecular mechanisms of breast carcinoma disease. Therefore, elucidating the molecular mechanisms involved in drug resistance is critical. For management of breast carcinoma, the treatment decision not only depends on the assessment of prognosis factors but also on the evaluation of pathological and clinical factors. Integrated data assessments of these multiple factors of breast carcinoma through multiomics can provide significant insight and hope for making therapeutic decisions. This omics approach is particularly helpful since it identifies the biomarkers of disease progression and treatment progress by collective characterization and quantification of pools of biological molecules within and among the cancerous cells. The scrupulous understanding of cancer and its treatment at the molecular level led to the concept of a personalized approach, which is one of the most significant advancements in modern oncology. Likewise, there are certain genetic and non-genetic tests available for BC which can help in personalized therapy. Genetically inherited risks can be screened for personal predisposition to BC, and genetic changes or variations (mutations) can also be identified to decide on the best treatment. Ultimately, further understanding of BC at the molecular level (multiomics) will define more precise choices in personalized medicine. In this review, we have summarized therapeutic resistance associated with BC and the techniques used for its management.

N-Carbamoyl Alanine-Mediated Selective Targeting for CHEK2-Null Colorectal Cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the major causes of cancer-linked mortality worldwide. Selective therapeutic approaches toward cancer are the need of the hour to combat cancer. Synthetic lethality is a pragmatic targeted cancer therapy in which cancer cell-specific vulnerabilities such as genetic defects/somatic mutations are exploited for selective cancer therapy by targeting genetic interactors (synthetic lethal interactors) of such mutation/defects present in cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the synthetic lethal interaction between checkpoint kinase 2 (CHEK2) and peroxiredoxin-2 (PRDX2) in CRC cells to precisely target CRC cells having CHEK2 defects. We have performed siRNA-mediated silencing and n-carbamoyl alanine (NCA)-mediated inhibition of PRDX2 in CHEK2-null HCT116 cells to confirm the synthetic lethal (SL) interaction between PRDX2 and CHEK2 as the cell population reduced significantly after silencing/inhibition of PRDX2. Additionally, treatment with NCA resulted in an increased level of total ROS in both cell types (HCT116 and CHEK2-null HCT116 cells), which further confirms that inhibition of PRDX2 results in an increased ROS level, which are mainly responsible for DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). ROS-induced DNA DSBs get repaired in HCT116 cells, in which CHEK2 is in the normal functional state, but these DNA DSBs persist in CHEK2-null HCT116 cells as confirmed by the immunofluorescence analysis of 53BP1 and γ-H2AX. Finally, CHEK2-null HCT116 cells undergo apoptosis due to persistent DNA damage as confirmed by immunofluorescence analysis of cleaved caspase-3. The findings of this study suggest that PRDX2 has a SL interaction with CHEK2, and this interaction can be exploited for the targeted cancer therapy using NCA as a drug inhibitor of PRDX2 for the therapy of colorectal cancer having CHEK2 defects. Further studies are warranted to confirm the interaction in the preclinical model.

Modeling of Textile Dye Removal from Wastewater Using Innovative Oxidation Technologies (Fe(II)/Chlorine and H2O2/Periodate Processes): Artificial Neural Network-Particle Swarm Optimization Hybrid Model.

An efficient optimization technique based on a metaheuristic and an artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm has been devised. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and ANN were used to estimate the removal of two textile dyes from wastewater (reactive green 12, RG12, and toluidine blue, TB) using two unique oxidation processes: Fe(II)/chlorine and H2O2/periodate. A previous study has revealed that operating conditions substantially influence removal efficiency. Data points were gathered for the experimental studies that developed our ANN-PSO model. The PSO was used to determine the optimum ANN parameter values. Based on the two processes tested (Fe(II)/chlorine and H2O2/periodate), the proposed hybrid model (ANN-PSO) has been demonstrated to be the most successful in terms of establishing the optimal ANN parameters and brilliantly forecasting data for RG12 and TP elimination yield with the coefficient of determination (R2) topped 0.99 for three distinct ratio data sets.

Structure-Based In Silico Investigation of Agonists for Proteins Involved in Breast Cancer.

Cancer is recognized as one of the main causes of mortality worldwide by the World Health Organization. The high cost of currently available cancer therapy and certain limitations of current treatment make it necessary to search for novel, cost-effective, and efficient methods of cancer treatment. Therefore, in the current investigation, sixty-two compounds from five medicinal plants (Tinospora cordifolia, Ocimum tenuiflorum, Podophyllum hexandrum, Andrographis paniculata, and Beta vulgaris) and two proteins that are associated with breast cancer, i.e., HER4/ErbB4 kinase and ERα were selected. Selected compounds were screened using Lipinski's rule, which resulted in eighteen molecules being ruled out. The remaining forty-four compounds were then taken forward for docking studies followed by molecular dynamics studies of the best screened complexes. Results showed that isocolumbin, isopropylideneandrographolide, and 14-acetylandrographolide were potential lead compounds against the selected breast cancer receptors. Furthermore, in vitro studies are required to confirm the efficacy of the lead compounds.

Nanoparticle-Mediated PRDX2 Inhibition for Specific Targeting of CHK2-Null Colorectal Cancer.

Synthetic lethality is a pragmatic targeted cancer therapy approach in which cancer cells harboring genetic alterations are exploited for the specific killing of cancer cells. Earlier, we have established a synthetic lethal (SL) interaction between two genes that are CHK2 and PRDX2 in colorectal cancer (CRC) cells. The SL interaction between CHK2 and PRDX2 resulted in selective targeting of CHK2-defective CRC cells. N-Carbamoyl alanine (NCA) is a PRDX2 inhibitor and is a peptide-like organic compound, which degrades after oral administration in harsh gastric pH. To overcome the limitations of NCA, a chitosan-based nanocarrier was developed for the entrapment of NCA. In this study, we targeted the SL interaction between PRDX2 and CHK2 using NCA-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (NCA-Chit NPs) to selectively inhibit the CHK2-null HCT116 cells. NCA-Chit NPs were assessed for various physicochemical characterizations such as the hydrodynamic diameter (size), zeta potential, and polydispersity index using a Zetasizer. Additionally, morphological studies for the shape and size of NPs were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Cellular uptake of NPs was confirmed using confocal microscopy, which exhibited that nanoparticles were able to internalize into the HCT116 cells. Blank Chit NPs were found to be cytocompatible as they did not exert any cytotoxic effects on hTERT, L929, and Caco-2 cells (intestinal epithelial cells). Importantly, NCA-Chit NPs were quite hemocompatible also. In the form of an NCA-chitosan nanoformulation, the efficacy was enhanced by about 8 times compared to free form of NCA towards selective killing of CHK2-null HCT116 cells as compared to HCT116 cells. The chitosan-based nanoformulation for NCA was developed to augment the efficacy of the NCA for enhanced cell death of colorectal cancer cells having CHK2 defects.

Enhanced Antioxidant Effects of Naringenin Nanoparticles Synthesized using the High-Energy Ball Milling Method.

Naringenin, one of the flavonoid components, is majorly found in and obtained from grapefruits and oranges. Naringenin also acts as a potent antioxidant, which possesses hypolipidemic as well as anti-inflammatory potential. Naringenin reduces the expressions of several inflammatory mediators, viz., NF-κB, cycloxygenase-2, and other cytokine mediators. In spite of having various biological effects, the clinical application of naringenin is restricted due to its very poor aqueous solubility. In the present study, the high-energy ball milling method was employed for the preparation of naringenin nanoparticles without using any chemical with an aim to enhance the anti-oxidant potential of naringenin. The milled naringenin nanoparticles were characterized for their physicochemical properties using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction. Additionally, the effects of milling time and temperature were further assessed on the solubility of crude and milled naringenin samples. The antioxidant potential of milled naringenin was evaluated with various assays such as DHE, DCFDA, and cleaved caspase-3 using SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. The nanoparticle size of naringenin after milling was confirmed using SEM analysis. Crystalline peaks for milled and crude samples of naringenin also established that both the naringenin forms were in the crystalline form. The solubility of naringenin was enhanced depending on the milling time and temperature. Moreover, crude and milled naringenin were found to be cytocompatible up to doses of 120 µM each for the duration of 24 and 48 h. It was also observed that milled naringenin at the doses of 1, 2, and 5 µM significantly reduced the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by H2O2 and exhibited superior ROS scavenging effects as compared to those of crude or un-milled forms of naringenin. Furthermore, milled naringenin at the doses of 1 and 2 µM inhibited H2O2-induced cell death, as shown by immunofluorescence staining of cleaved caspase-3 and Annexin-V PI flow cytometry analysis. Conclusively, it could be suggested that the size reduction of naringenin using high-energy ball milling techniques substantially enhanced the antioxidant potential as compared to naïve or crude naringenin, which may be attributed to its enhanced solubility due to reduced size.

Vimentin Suppresses Inflammation and Tumorigenesis in the Mouse Intestine.

Vimentin has been implicated in wound healing, inflammation, and cancer, but its functional contribution to intestinal diseases is poorly understood. To study how vimentin is involved during tissue injury and repair of simple epithelium, we induced colonic epithelial cell damage in the vimentin null (Vim-/-) mouse model. Vim-/- mice challenged with dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) had worse colitis manifestations than wild-type (WT) mice. Vim-/- colons also produced more reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, possibly contributing to the pathogenesis of gut inflammation and tumorigenesis than in WT mice. We subsequently describe that CD11b+ macrophages served as the mainly cellular source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production via vimentin-ROS-pSTAT3-interleukin-6 inflammatory pathways. Further, we demonstrated that Vim-/- mice did not develop colitis-associated cancer model upon DSS treatment spontaneously but increased tumor numbers and size in the distal colon in the azoxymethane/DSS model comparing with WT mice. Thus, vimentin has a crucial role in protection from colitis induction and tumorigenesis of the colon.

Analysis of the Compositional Features and Codon Usage Pattern of Genes Involved in Human Autophagy.

Autophagy plays an intricate role in paradigmatic human pathologies such as cancer, and neurodegenerative, cardiovascular, and autoimmune disorders. Autophagy regulation is performed by a set of autophagy-related (ATG) genes, first recognized in yeast genome and subsequently identified in other species, including humans. Several other genes have been identified to be involved in the process of autophagy either directly or indirectly. Studying the codon usage bias (CUB) of genes is crucial for understanding their genome biology and molecular evolution. Here, we examined the usage pattern of nucleotide and synonymous codons and the influence of evolutionary forces in genes involved in human autophagy. The coding sequences (CDS) of the protein coding human autophagy genes were retrieved from the NCBI nucleotide database and analyzed using various web tools and software to understand their nucleotide composition and codon usage pattern. The effective number of codons (ENC) in all genes involved in human autophagy ranges between 33.26 and 54.6 with a mean value of 45.05, indicating an overall low CUB. The nucleotide composition analysis of the autophagy genes revealed that the genes were marginally rich in GC content that significantly influenced the codon usage pattern. The relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) revealed 3 over-represented and 10 under-represented codons. Both natural selection and mutational pressure were the key forces influencing the codon usage pattern of the genes involved in human autophagy.

N-[4-(p-Toluenesulfonamido)phen-ylsulfon-yl]acetamide.

In the title compound, C(15)H(16)N(2)O(5)S(2), the dihedral between the two aromatic rings is 81.33 (6)°. In the crystal, pairs of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules into centrosymmetric dimers, which are further connected via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds into a chain running along [01].

Poly[[di-µ-aqua-(µ-4-formyl-2-meth-oxy-phenol-ato)disodium] 4-formyl-2-meth-oxy-phenolate].

In the title coordination polymer, {[Na(2)(C(8)H(7)O(3))(H(2)O)(4)](C(8)H(7)O(3))}(n), all the non-H atoms except the water O atoms lie on a crystallographic mirror plane. One sodium cation is bonded to four water O atoms and one vanillinate O atom in a distorted square-based pyramidal arrangement; the other Na(+) ion is six-coordinated by four water O atoms and two vanillinate O atoms in an irregular geometry. One of the vanillinate anions is directly bonded to two sodium ions, whilst the other only inter-acts with the polymeric network by way of hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, a two-dimensional polymeric array is formed; this is reinforced by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which generate R(2) (1)(6) and R(2) (2)(20) loops.

Antioxidant potential and radical scavenging effects of various extracts from Abutilon indicum and Abutilon muticum.

Abutilon indicum L. (Malvaceae) and Abutilon muticum DC. (Malvaceae) are traditional medicinal herbs used for analgesic, anthelmintic, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic properties. These effects may be correlated with the presence of antioxidant compounds. Extracts in organic solvents from the aerial parts and roots of both species were prepared and evaluated for their total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total phenolic content, and total flavonoid content. The Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) of all the extracts of both plants was found, employing ABTS and FRAP assays. TEAC values ranged from 3.019 to 10.5 muM for n-hexane and butanol fractions of Abutilon indicum and from 2.247 to 14.208 muM for n-hexane and butanol fractions of Abutilon muticum, respectively, using the ABTS assay. The FRAP assay showed reducing powers of the fractions in the order of butanol > ethyl acetate > chloroform > n-hexane and butanol > chloroform > hexane > ethyl acetate for Abutilon indicum and Abutilon muticum, respectively. EC(50) and T(EC50) values for the extracts of both plants were determined using the DPPH free radical assay. The reaction kinetics with this free radical indicated the presence of both slow reacting and fast reacting antioxidant components in the extracts of both plants. The antioxidant/radical scavenging capacity of the extracts was found to be a dose-dependent activity. The results obtained in the present study indicate that both Abutilon species are potential sources of natural antioxidants.

Chemical profile and therapeutic potentials of Xylocarpus moluccensis (Lam.) M. Roem.: A literature-based review.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Historically, mangrove plants are among the potential sources of foods and remedies for humans living in the forests and nearby communities. Xylocarpus moluccensis (Lam.) M. Roem., an important mangrove medicinal plant, has been traditionally used for many purposes such as treatment of fever, dysentery, diarrhea, swelling, and abdominal disorders. The aim of the present work was to summarize the chemical reports and biological activities of the mangrove medicinal plant X. moluccensis based on information collected from different databases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An up-to-date search (till Aug 2019) was carried out in databases such as PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and various patient offices (e.g., WIPO, CIPO, USPTO) using the keywords: 'Xylocarpus moluccensis', and/or paired with 'ethnobotanical use', and 'phytochemical'. In vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo studies were included. RESULTS: Findings suggest that X. moluccensis contains various important minerals and phytochemicals, where flavonoids, terpenes and terpenoids are the most prominent isolated phyto-constituents of X. moluccensis. Extracts/fractions or isolated compounds from this plant possess diverse biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, antineoplastic, anti-diarrheal, insecticidal, anti-feedant, neuropharmacological (e.g., central nervous system depressant), anti-atherosclerotic, and lipid-lowering activity. Only one report suggests that the methanol and aqueous extracts of this plant did not exert cytotoxic effects on normal mouse fibroblast cells. However, no clinical studies were reported. CONCLUSIONS: Taken all together, X. moluccensis may be one of the best sources of pharmacologically active lead compounds. More research, however, is necessary to establish the safety and efficacy, and its toxicogenetic effects in animal models.

(1E)-1-[4-(Dimethyl-amino)phen-yl]pent-1-en-3-one.

The title mol-ecule, C(13)H(17)NO, is close to planar: the dihedral angle betweent the dimethyl amino group and the benzene ring is 7.94 (19)°. No significant inter-molecular inter-actions are observed in the crystal structure.