A chloride-responsive molecular switch: driving ion transport and empowering antibacterial properties.

A molecular switch was developed to recognize and transport Cl- across lipid bilayers. The XRD-crystal structure and NOESY NMR spectra of a potent 4-aminoquinazoline analogue confirmed Cl--induced conformation changes. Systematic biophysical studies revealed that the quinazoline moiety forms cooperative interactions of H+ and Cl- ions with the thiourea moiety, resulting in the transport of H+/Cl- across the membranes. A pH-dependent analysis revealed that the transport of Cl- by the potent compound increased in an acidic environment. The potent compound could also transport H+/Cl- across Gram-positive bacteria, leading to antibacterial activities.

Stimuli-responsive assembly and disassembly of anionic suprasomes with tunable antibacterial activity.

Host-guest complexation-based suprasomes successfully deliver benzimidazolium amphiphiles. ß-CD and Zn2+ or an acidic environment act as the stimuli for the assembly and disassembly of suprasomes. The supramolecular nanomedicine developed by encapsulating tetracycline showed strong and tunable antibacterial activity and holds potential for the next-generation vesicle-based drug delivery system.

Biodegradation of low, medium and high molecular weight phthalate by Gordonia sp. in a batch system: Kinetics and phytotoxicity analyses.

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are highly toxic compounds and can disrupt the hormonal balance of human, animal, and aquatic organisms. Due to the hazardous nature of such compounds, their removal from constituent wastewater before discharging into the environment is mandatory. This study focused on the biodegradation of dimethyl phthalates (DMP), di-n-butyl phthalates (DBP), and di-n-octyl phthalates (DnOP) by Gordonia sp. in a batch system. Initially, five different concentrations of DBP, DMP, and DnOP (200-1000 mg/L) were chosen individually as the sole carbon source to examine their effect on the biodegradation and biomass growth of Gordonia sp. Complete degradation of DBP and DMP was achieved up to 1000 mg/L initial concentration within 96 h, whereas in case of DnOP, the degradation value was only 83.5% at 120 h for the same initial concentration. The experimental data were fitted into various substrate inhibition kinetic models, and accurate predicted values of degradation of all the three PAEs were obtained using the Tiesser model in comparison with other models, which yielded the highest and lowest R2 and SSE values of 0.99 and 0.02 × 10-4, respectively. In addition, the phytotoxicity of PAEs degraded samples was assessed and more than 50% germination index value was observed for DMP and DBP degraded sample which established the treatment efficiency of Gordonia sp. in degrading DMP and DBP. Hence, high DMP and DEP degradation and phytotoxicity removal efficiency of Gordonia sp. demonstrate its potential for the treatment of PAEs contaminated wastewater.

100% degradation of DBP and DMP was achieved at 200­1000 mg/L initial concentrations.This is the first study on evaluation of DMP, DBP, and DnOP inhibition on Gordonia sp.Teisser model accurately described the inhibitory effect of phthalate.DMP and DEP degraded samples (1000 mg/L Initial concentration) showed negligible effect on chickpea seeds germination.