Characterization, antibacterial, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities of ZnO nanoparticles using Coptidis Rhizoma.

Here, we report a simple, eco-friendly and inexpensive approach for the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) using Coptidis Rhizoma. The ZnO NPs were characterized by UV-visible absorption spectroscopy, FTIR, SEM-EDX, TGA, TEM, SAED and XRD. TEM images confirmed the presence of spherical and rod shaped ZnO NPs in the range of 2.90-25.20 nm. Green synthesized ZnO NPS exhibited moderate antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and excellent DPPH free radical scavenging activity. Synthesized ZnO NPs had no toxic effects on the RAW 264.7 cell line.

Anti-melanoma, tyrosinase inhibitory and anti-microbial activities of gold nanoparticles synthesized from aqueous leaf extracts of Teraxacum officinale.

There has been a tenacious search for pharmaceuticals of natural origin, as they are cost-effective and are noted for having little or no side effects. The rate at which diseases are developing resistance to synthetic drugs is quite alarming, and the side effects of these drugs remain an excruciating agony to the pharmaceutical industry. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have wide applications in current technology. However, their use in medicine has not been adequately explored. Chemical methods for the synthesis are associated with environmental benignity and tissue toxicity on in vivo administration. For the first time, we have synthesized AuNPs from leaf extracts of Teraxacum officinale that were found to have significant anti-melanoma, tyrosinase inhibitory and anti-microbial effects, and hence stand as promising candidates for use in cosmetics medical and food industries.

Cadmium induced changes on proline, antioxidant enzymes, nitrate and nitrite reductases in Arachis hypogaea L.

The groundnut, Arachis hypogaea seedlings, when grown in pot cultures for 10-25 days at 25, 50, 100 microM CdCl2, showed a marked decline in growth compared to control. Similar trend was observed for nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR) activities whereas proline, peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) showed increasing trend when observed on the 10th day of the experiment. Changes have occurred in the physiological and biochemical activities which are observed even at low Cd levels (25 microM). At 100 microM concentration, with increase in experimental days, Cd has imposed drastic decrease in leaf and stem respectively where nitrate reductase has varied from 20.87-79.41 and 29.11-72.91% and nitrite reductase 21.66-79.41 and 43.58-75.92% respectively. Contrastingly Cd treated plant tissues showed an increase in proline 111.2-159.87% (percentage changes) and 131.23-212.16% for leaves and stems respectively. In addition cadmium caused significant changes in the activity of antioxidative enzymes, peroxidase 48.12-72.19% in leaf and 37.71-75.25% in stem and catalase 64.86-143.92% in leaf and 129.13-214.74% in stem as compared to control. The study concludes that the activities of NR, NiR, proline, POD, CAT are inhibited suggesting that Arachis hypogaea seedlings are under Cd stress affecting their growth.

Effect of industrial effluent on the morphological parameters and chlorophyll content of green gram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb).

A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of biomass power plant effluent on seed germination, seedling growth and chlorophyll content of green gram (variety LGG 460) have been estimated at different effluent concentrations and time intervals. The effluent is alkaline in nature (pH 8.5), odorless, and comprises of heavy metals such as Cr (0.071 mg l(-1)), Cu (0.014 mg l(-1)), Mn (0.036mg l(-1)), Fe (0.05 mg l(-1)), Co (0.31 mg l(-1)), Ni (0.041 mg l(-1)), Cd (0.028 mg l(-1)), Pb (0.108 mg l(-1)) and Zn (6.73 mg l(-1)). The germination percentage of seed, seedling growth and chlorophyll content showed a gradual decline with increase in effluent concentration. It has been observed that at 25% effluent concentration, there is growth in the root length (3.50 cm seedling(-1)), an increase in shoot length (23.90 cm seedling(-1)) and total chlorophyll content (4.467 mg g(-1) fresh weight) up to 20 days. After 20 day there is decline in all the parameters observed. However at higher concentrations of the effluent, toxic effects were observed from 20th day. This suggests that the effluent can be used safely for green gram cultivation, only after proper treatment and dilution.

Novel approach to synthesize NiCo2S4 composite for high-performance supercapacitor application with different molar ratio of Ni and Co.

Here, we developed a new approach to synthesize NiCo2S4 thin films for supercapacitor application using the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method on Ni mesh with different molar ratios of Ni and Co precursors. The five different NiCo2S4 electrodes affect the electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor. The NiCo2S4 thin films demonstrate superior supercapacitance performance with a significantly higher specific capacitance of 1427 F g-1 at a scan rate of 20 mV s-1. These results indicate that ternary NiCo2S4 thin films are more effective electrodes compared to binary metal oxides and metal sulfides.

Phytotoxicity of cadmium on protein, proline and antioxidant enzyme activities in growing Arachis hypogaea L. seedlings.

Phytotoxicity of cadmium on growing Arachis hypogaea L. seedlings was studied. Seeds were exposed to 25, 50, and 100 micromol/L CdCl2 concentrations, for a period of 10, 15, 20 and 25 d. The extent of damage to chlorophyll, protein, proline, nitrate and nitrite reductase, antioxidant enzyme activity in leaves and roots were evaluated after 10 d of cadmium stress. The higher concentration of cadmium (100 micromol/L) resulted (leaves and roots) total chlorophyll 91.01%, protein 79.51%, 83.61%, nitrate reductase 79.39%, 80.72% and nitrite reductase 77.07%, 75.88% activity decreased with increase in cadmium concentrations and exposure periods. Cadmium caused significant changes in the activity of antioxidative enzymes. Contrastingly Cd treated plant tissues showed an increase in proline 159.87%, 239.6%, gluthion reductase (GR) 337.72%, 306.14%, superoxide disumutase (SOD) 688.56%, 381.72%, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) 226.47%, 252.14%, peroxidase (POD) 72.19%, 60.29% and catalase (CAT) 228.96%, 214.74% as compared to control. Cadmium stress caused a significant increase in the rate of SOD activity in leaves and roots of plant species. Results show the crop A. hypogaea is highly sensitive even at very low cadmium concentrations.

Ultra-sonication-assisted silver nanoparticles using Panax ginseng root extract and their anti-cancer and antiviral activities.

A simple, inexpensive ultra-sonication method was used to synthesize quasi spherical silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with an aqueous extract from Panax ginseng roots. This method has the advantages of being completely eco-friendly and allows increased reaction rates, uniform dispersal of the nanoparticles in liquids, and effective breaking of aggregates. Biomolecules present in plant extracts are often used to reduce metal ions to nanoparticles in a single-step green synthesis route. The formation of the AgNPs was characterized using UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), energy- dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The formation of AgNPs (456 nm) was confirmed by UV-vis spectroscopy. HR-TEM analysis revealed that most of the AgNPs were quasi spherical with sizes ranging from approximately 5 to 15 nm. The crystalline nature of the AgNPs was confirmed by XRD, and the presence of elemental silver was confirmed by energy-dispersive X -ray analysis. The AgNPs showed dose-dependent cytotoxicity towards HeLa cells in vitro (3.88% at 0.005 M, 5.11% at 0.01 M, 7.52% at 0.015 M, 11.19% at 0.02 M, and 19.45% at 0.025 M) as revealed by sulforhodamine B assay. They were also shown to be virucidal against the influenza A virus (strain A/PR/8). Hence, the present facile, eco-friendly, and efficient method results in the synthesis of AgNPs that can act as an alternative biomaterial for future biomedical applications.

Determination of surface properties and Gutmann's Lewis acidity-basicity parameters of thiourea and melamine polymerized graphitic carbon nitride sheets by inverse gas chromatography.

Melamine and thiourea-derived graphitic carbon nitrides (M-GCN/T-GCN) were synthesized and characterized. The surface properties were investigated using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and compared. Net retention volumes of M-GCN and T-GCN were measured with n-alkanes (C5-C10) and polar probes. The London dispersive surface free energies (γsd), calculated using Schultz and Dorris-Gray methods, decreased linearly with increasing temperature. The specific components of the enthalpy and entropy of adsorption for the polar probes were obtained using the Schultz, Dong, and Sawyer-Brookman methods. The Gutmann's Lewis acid-base parameters, Ka and Kb, were determined using the surface free energy (ΔGaS) via these methods. The surface character 'S' values (Kb/Ka) of M-GCN and T-GCN using the respective methods are 4.04, 3.78, and 5.08 and 4.11, 5.27, and 2.86. Hence, the surfaces contain more basic than acidic sites and could interact strongly with acidic media. Thus, IGC elucidates the surface charges of the GCN matrix resulting from surface chemical modification.

Anti-Proliferative Effect of Copper Oxide Nanorods Against Human Cervical Carcinoma Cells.

Metal oxide nanoparticles have been widely investigated for its use in the pharmacological field. The present study was aimed to investigate the cytotoxicity of copper oxide nanorods in human cervical carcinoma cells. The effect of copper oxide nanorods on cell viability was determined by sulforhodamine-B (SRB) assay. The fluorescence and confocal microscopy analyzes showed the cell rounding and nuclear fragmentation following exposure of copper oxide nanorods. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was increased and could initiate membrane lipid peroxidation, which in turn regulate cytokinetic movements of cells. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of p53 and caspase 3 was increased, which further confirms the occurrence of apoptosis at the transcriptional level. Furthermore, caspase-3 enzyme activity was increased, which also confirms the occurrence of apoptosis in tumor cells at the translational level. Taking all our experimental results together, it may suggest that the copper oxide nanorods could be a potential anti-tumor agent to inhibit cancer cell proliferation.

In vitro anticancer potential of BaCO3 nanoparticles synthesized via green route.

Green synthesis of nanoparticles is a growing research area because of their potential applications in nanomedicine. Barium carbonate nanoparticles (BaCO3 NPs) were synthesized using an aqueous extract of Mangifera indica seed as a reducing agent. These particles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), Energy-dispersive-X-ray (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. HR-TEM images are confirmed that green synthesized BaCO3 NPs have spherical, triangular and uneven shapes. EDX analysis confirmed the presence of Ba, C and O. The peaks at 2θ of 19.45, 23.90, 24.29, 27.72, 33.71, 34.08, 34.60, 41.98, 42.95, 44.18, 44.85, and 46.78 corresponding to (110), (111), (021), (002), (200), (112), (130), (221), (041), (202), (132) and (113) showed that BaCO3 NPs average size was ~18.3 nm. SAED pattern confirmed that BaCO3 NPs are crystalline nature. BaCO3 NPs significantly inhibited cervical carcinoma cells, as evidenced by cytotoxicity assay. Immunofluorescence and fluorescence assays showed that BaCO3 NPs increased the expression and activity of caspase-3, an autocatalytic enzyme that promotes apoptosis. According to the results, green synthesis route has great potential for easy, rapid, inexpensive, eco-friendly and efficient development of novel multifunctional nanoparticles for the treatment of cancer.

Differential Sensitivity of Madin-darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) Cells to Epinephrine.

Catecholamines regulate a variety of cellular functions in the mammalian kidney. The present study was aimed to investigate the differential sensitivity of Madin-Darby Kidney Cells (MDCK cells) to epinephrine in a dose-dependent manner. The loss of adhesion and altered cell shape were observed in MDCK cells. The presence of apoptosis and necrosis were studied by the fluorescence microscope and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis showed several surface microvilli, and cells were rounded having ruffled and crenated surface. Agarose gel electrophoresis study showed the presence of smearing, which further confirms the occurrence of necrosis. The fluorescence staining study showed the increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Up-regulation of p53, bax, and caspase 3 mRNA expressions was evidenced by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Caspase 3 activity was also increased in epinephrine treated cells. Our experimental results do not imply that the epinephrine should not be used in the clinical treatments. However, our results add a research note of caution on the possible cytotoxic effect of maximal doses of epinephrine over a prolonged time.

Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesized using Polygala tenuifolia root extract.

The exploitation of various plant materials for the green synthesis of nanoparticles is considered an eco-friendly technology because it does not involve toxic chemicals. In this study, zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were synthesized using the root extract of Polygala tenuifolia. Synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, FTIR, TGA, TEM, SEM and EDX. Anti-inflammatory activity was investigated in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophages, whereas antioxidant activity was examined using a DPPH free radical assay. ZnO NPs demonstrated moderate antioxidant activity by scavenging 45.47% DPPH at 1mg/mL and revealed excellent anti-inflammatory activity by dose-dependently suppressing both mRNA and protein expressions of iNOS, COX-2, IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α.

Mycosynthesis: antibacterial, antioxidant and antiproliferative activities of silver nanoparticles synthesized from Inonotus obliquus (Chaga mushroom) extract.

In the present study, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were rapidly synthesized from silver nitrate solution at room temperature using Inonotus obliquus extract. The mycogenic synthesized AgNPs were characterized by UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). SEM revealed mostly spherical nanoparticles ranging from 14.7 to 35.2nm in size. All AgNPs concentrations showed good ABT radical scavenging activity. Further, AgNPs showed effective antibacterial activity against both gram negative and gram positive bacteria and antiproliferative activity toward A549 human lung cancer (CCL-185) and MCF-7 human breast cancer (HTB-22) cell lines. The samples demonstrated considerably high antibacterial, and antiproliferative activities against bacterial strains and cell lines.

Cultural heritage: a potential pollution source in museum.

INTRODUCTION: The purposes of this study, as part of research projects for establishing the preservation environment of domestic cultural properties, are to identify the hazardous environmental factors which have a possibility to cause damages on long-term preservation of cultural heritage within the museum exhibition halls and the storages area, and to provide the basic data for the future establishment of preservation environment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The temperature (23.5 and 20.6°C,) relative humidity (52.1% and 55.4%), PM10 (31.5 and 18.9 µg/m3), CO2 (472.7 and 526.8 ppm), HCHO (20.8 and 34.0 µg/m3), CO (0.3 and 0.3 ppm), NO2 (0.012 and 0.004 ppm), TVOCs (493.6 and 788.9 µg/m3), O3 (0.003 and 0.002 ppm), Rn (0.7 and 1.5 pCi/L), and SO2 (0.003 and 0.002 ppm) as chemical factors, and airborne bacteria and fungi as biological factors, were selected for this research subjects of hazardous environmental factors, which were the subjects of the study conducted by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage from 2006 to 2008, and the subjects of related domestic researches performed in fragments. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The concentration distributions of selected hazardous environmental factors in a museum environment were calculated by using the inverse variance weighted average in meta-analysis, and the concentration distributions possibly emerging in a museum exhibition halls and storages were computed through Monte Carlo simulation in order to minimize the uncertainty that can be caused from meagerness of related domestic researches.

An in vitro analysis of antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities of solvent fractions of Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion) leaf.

The persistent upsurge in multidrug resistance of common pathogens and global increase in the incidence of noninfectious diseases such as cancers and diabetes has led to an urgent need for the discovery of novel and affordable pharmaceuticals. Taraxacum officinale commonly called dandelion has been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of various conditions. Although the antimicrobial and antiproliferative properties of various crude extracts of T. officinale have been reported, there is little report on the antimicrobial and antiproliferative activities of its solvent fractions. In this study, various solvent fractions from the crude methanolic extract of T. officinale leaves were examined for their antiproliferative and antimicrobial activities with the aim of providing a baseline data for the discovery of the antiproliferative and antimicrobial phytocompounds in T. officinale leaves. Whereas, methylene chloride fraction showed the highest antiproferative activity, inhibiting 97 % proliferation of SGT oral cancer cells the butanol fraction showed the highest antimicrobial activity in both disc diffusion and broth dilution assays. Therefore the methylene chloride and the butanolic fractions could respectively act as leads for the discovery of important anticancer and antimicrobial phytocompounds from T. officinale.

Effect of industrial effluent on the morphological parameters and chlorophyll content of green gram (Phaseolus aureus Roxb).

A pot culture experiment was conducted to study the effect of biomass power plant effluent on seed germination, seedling growth and chlorophyll content of green gram (variety LGG 460) have been estimated at different effluent concentrations and time intervals. The effluent is alkaline in nature (pH 8.5), odorless, and comprises of heavy metals such as Cr (0.071 mg l-1),Cu (0.014 mg l-1), Mn (0.036 mg l-1), Fe (0.05 mg l-1),Co (0.31 mg l-1), Ni (0.041 mg l-1),Cd (0.028 mg l-1), Pb (0.108 mg l-1) and Zn (6.73 mg l-1). The germination percentage of seed, seedling growth and chlorophyll content showed a gradual decline with increase in effluent concentration. It has been observed that at 25% effluent concentration, there is growth in the root length (3.50 cm seedling-1), an increase in shoot length (23.90 cm seedling-1) and total chlorophyll content (4.467 mg g-1 fresh weight) up to 20 days. After 20th day there is decline in all the parameters observed. However, at higher concentrations of the effluent, toxic effects were observed from 20th day. This suggests that the effluent can be used safely for green gram cultivation, only after proper treatment and dilution.

Cadmium induced changes on proline, antioxidant enzymes, nitrate and nitrite reductases in Arachis hypogaea L.

The groundnut, Arachis hypogaea seedlings, when grown in pot cultures for 10–25 days at 25, 50, 100 "M CdCl2 , showed a marked decline in growth compared to control. Similar trend was observed for nitrate reductase (NR) and nitrite reductase (NiR) activities whereas proline, peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) showed increasing trend when observed on the 10th day of the experiment. Changes have occurred in the physiological and biochemical activities which are observed even at low Cd levels (25 "M). At 100 "M concentration, with increase in experimental days, Cd has imposed drastic decrease in leaf and stem respectively, where nitrate reductase has varied from 20.87 – 79.41 and 29.11 – 72.91 % and nitrite reductase 21.66 – 79.41 and 43.58 – 75.92% respectively. Contrastingly Cd treated plant tissues showed an increase in proline 111.2 – 159.87 % (percentage changes) and 131.23 – 212.16 % for leaves and stems respectively, In addition cadmium caused significant changes in the activity of antioxidative enzymes, peroxidase 48.12 – 72.19 % in leaf and 37.71 – 75.25 % in stem and catalase 64.86 – 143.92 % in leaf and 129.13 – 214.74 % in stem as compared to control. The study concludes that the activities of NR, NiR, proline, POD, CAT are inhibited suggesting that Arachis hypogaea seedlings are under Cd stress affecting their growth.