Photophysical and biological aspects of α, ß-unsaturated ketones: Experimental and in silico approach.

In this work, four fluorinated α, ß-unsaturated ketones named as 3-(3-bromophenyl)-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (1), 3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (2), 3-(3-bromo-5-chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl) prop-2-en-1-one (3) and 3-(2-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl)-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (4) were synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt reaction. The synthesized molecules were then characterized through ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and mass spectrometry. The antioxidant potential, Urease inhibition, and interaction of compounds 1-4 with Salmon sperm DNA were experimentally explored and supported by molecular docking studies. The synthesized compounds strongly interact with SS-DNA through intercalative mode. It was noticed that compound 1 served as potent Urease inhibitor while compound 4 as better antioxidant among synthesized compounds. Moreover, frontier molecular orbitals, nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, natural bond orbitals, molecular electrostatic potential, natural population analysis, and photophysical properties of synthesized compounds were accomplished through density functional theory and time-dependent density functional theory. The band gap of all the compounds have been worked out using Taucs method. In addition to that, a precise comparative account of UV and IR data obtained from theoretical and experimental findings showed good agreement between theoretical and experimental data. The findings of our studies reflected that compounds 1-4 possess better NLO properties than Urea standard and the band gap data also reflected their prospective use towards optoelectronic materials. The better NLO behavior of compounds was attributed to the noncentrosymmetric structure of synthesized compounds.

Key Electronic, Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Designed Disubstituted Quinoline with Carbazole Compounds.

Organic materials development, especially in terms of nonlinear optical (NLO) performance, has become progressively more significant owing to their rising and promising applications in potential photonic devices. Organic moieties such as carbazole and quinoline play a vital role in charge transfer applications in optoelectronics. This study reports and characterizes the donor-acceptor-donor-π-acceptor (D-A-D-π-A) configured novel designed compounds, namely, Q3D1-Q3D3, Q4D1-Q1D2, and Q5D1. We further analyze the structure-property relationship between the quinoline-carbazole compounds for which density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations were performed at the B3LYP/6-311G(d,p) level to obtain the optimized geometries, natural bonding orbital (NBO), NLO analysis, electronic properties, and absorption spectra of all mentioned compounds. The computed values of λmax, 364, 360, and 361 nm for Q3, Q4, and Q5 show good agreement of their experimental values: 349, 347, and 323 nm, respectively. The designed compounds (Q3D1-Q5D1) exhibited a smaller energy gap with a maximum redshift than the reference molecules (Q3-Q5), which govern their promising NLO behavior. The NBO evaluation revealed that the extended hyperconjugation stabilizes these systems and caused a promising NLO response. The dipole polarizabilities and hyperpolarizability (ß) values of Q3D1-Q3D3, Q4D1-Q1D2, and Q5D1 exceed those of the reference Q3, Q4, and Q5 molecules. These data suggest that the NLO active compounds, Q3D1-Q3D3, Q4D1-Q1D2, and Q5D1, may find their place in future hi-tech optical devices.

In and Beyond COVID-19: US Academic Pharmaceutical Science and Engineering Community Must Engage to Meet Critical National Needs.

The supply of affordable, high-quality pharmaceuticals to US patients has been on a critical path for decades. In and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, this critical path has become tortuous. To regain reliability, reshoring of the pharmaceutical supply chain to the USA is now a vital national security need. Reshoring the pharmaceutical supply with old know-how and outdated technologies that cause inherent unpredictability and adverse environmental impact will neither provide the security we seek nor will it be competitive and affordable. The challenge at hand is complex akin to redesigning systems, including corporate and public research and development, manufacturing, regulatory, and education ones. The US academic community must be engaged in progressing solutions needed to counter emergencies in the COVID-19 pandemic and in building new methods to reshore the pharmaceutical supply chain beyond the pandemic.

Electron Donor and Acceptor Influence on the Nonlinear Optical Response of Diacetylene-Functionalized Organic Materials (DFOMs): Density Functional Theory Calculations.

Herein, we report the quantum chemical results based on density functional theory for the polarizability (α) and first hyperpolarizability (ß) values of diacetylene-functionalized organic molecules (DFOM) containing an electron acceptor (A) unit in the form of nitro group and electron donor (D) unit in the form of amino group. Six DFOM 1-6 have been designed by structural tailoring of the synthesized chromophore 4,4'-(buta-1,3-diyne-1,4-diyl) dianiline (R) and the influence of the D and A moieties on α and ß was explored. Ground state geometries, HOMO-LUMO energies, and natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis of all DFOM (R and 1-6) were explored through B3LYP level of DFT and 6-31G(d,p) basis set. The polarizability (α), first hyperpolarizability (ß) values were computed using B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (gas phase), CAM-B3LYP (solvent DMSO) methods and 6-31G(d,p) basis set combination. UV-Visible analysis was performed at CAM-B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory. Results illustrated that much reduced energy gap in the range of 2.212-2.809 eV was observed in designed DFOM 1-6 as compared to parent molecule R (4.405 eV). Designed DFOM (except for 2 and 4) were found red shifted compared to parent molecule R. An absorption at longer wavelength was observed for 6 with 371.46 nm. NBO analysis confirmed the involvement of extended conjugation and as well as charge transfer character towards the promising NLO response and red shift of molecules under study. Overall, compound 6 displayed large α and ßtot, computed to be 333.40 (a.u) (B3LYP gas), 302.38 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP gas), 380.46 (a.u.) (CAM-B3LYP solvent) and 24708.79 (a.u), 11841.93 (a.u.), 25053.32 (a.u) measured from B3LYP (gas), CAM-B3LYP (gas) and CAM-B3LYP (DMSO) methods respectively. This investigation provides a theoretical framework for conversion of centrosymmetric molecules into non-centrosymmetric architectures to discover NLO candidates for modern hi-tech applications.

Pharmaceutical "New Prior Knowledge": Twenty-First Century Assurance of Therapeutic Equivalence.

Facilitating utility of prior knowledge to accelerate evidence-based new drug development is a focus of several communities of knowledge, such as clinical pharmacology. For example, progress has been made via modeling and simulation of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic relationships in the more effective use of "End of Phase 2" regulatory meetings for a New Drug Application (NDA). Facilitating utility of prior "Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls" (CMC) knowledge to accelerate new drug development and regulatory review process is also a topic of significant interest. This paper focuses on facilitating the utility of prior pharmaceutical formulation knowledge to accelerate drug product development and regulatory review of generic and biosimilar products. This knowledge is described as New Prior Knowledge (NPK) because research is often needed to fill ontological (i.e., the domain of connectivity between concepts and phenomena), epistemological (i.e., distinguishing knowledge or justified belief from the opinion), and methodological gaps in information derived a decade or so ago. The corporate economic advantages of such knowledge are derived, in part, when significant portions remain a trade secret. The proposed NPK seeks to generate knowledge about critical aspects of pharmaceutical quality and failure modes to place it in the public domain and to facilitate accelerated and more confident development and regulatory review of generic products. The paradoxical combination of "new" and "prior knowledge" is chosen deliberately to highlight both a distinction from proprietary and trade secret information and to acknowledge certain historical dogmas inherent in the current practices. Considerations for operationalizing NPK are also summarized.

New Insights on Solid-State Changes in the Levothyroxine Sodium Pentahydrate during Dehydration and its Relationship to Chemical Instability.

Levothyroxine sodium pentahydrate (LEVO) tablets have been on the US market since the mid-twentieth century and remain the most highly prescribed product. Unfortunately, levothyroxine sodium tablets have also been one of the most highly recalled products due to potency and dissolution failures on stability. In 2008, the assay limits were tightened, yet the recalls did not decline, which highlights the serious quality concerns remaining to be elucidated. The aim of the present investigation was to test the hypothesis that the solid-state physical instability of LEVO precedes the chemical instability leading to product failure. The failure mode was hypothesized to be the dehydration of the crystal hydrate, when exposed to certain humidity and temperature conditions, followed by the oxidation of the API through vacated channels. It was previously reported by the authors that LEVO degradation occurred in the presence of oxygen at a low relative humidity (RH). Furthermore, powder X-ray diffractometry shows changes in the crystal lattice of LEVO initially and through the dehydration stages. Storage of LEVO at RT and 40 °C at 4-6% RH for 12 days shows a decrease in d-spacing of the (00 l) planes. Based on a structure solution from the powder data of the dehydrated material, the basic packing motif persists to varying degrees even when fully dehydrated along with disordering. Therefore, the crystal structure changes of LEVO depend on RH and temperature and are now explicable at the structural level for the first time. This exemplifies the dire need for "new prior knowledge" in generic product development.

Comprehensive Analysis of Phytochemical Constituents and Ethnopharmacological Investigation of Genus Datura.

The genus Datura comprises wild shrub plants that belong to the Solanaceae family. Naturally, they possess both medicinal and poisonous properties due to the presence of many biologically active phytochemical constituents. Traditionally, Datura had been used for mystic and religious purposes, as a natural drug to treat asthma, pain, gout, boils, abscesses, and wounds, and as psychoactive infusions and fumitories. Different Datura species exhibit diverse ethnopharmacological activities against different diseases, and many ancient and traditional cultures have used various forms of Datura to treat ailments and to prevent many diseases. In this article, we comprehensively summarize various phytochemical constituents isolated from Datura, their pharmacological properties against different diseases, parts of the plants used as traditional therapeutic agents, regions where they are located, and botanical descriptions of different Datura species. The ethnopharmacological properties of Datura may provide new insights for discovery and development of natural drugs. Further research is needed for the investigation of mechanisms of action and to develop safety profiles of the phytochemical constituents isolated from Datura species.

PHARMACOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HISPIDULIN - A NATURAL BIOACTIVE FLAVONE.

Hispidulin is well-known natural bioactive flavone on behalf of its pharmacological aspects. This review contains data on isolation, synthetic methodology, pharmacokinetics and bioactivities of hispidulin. The article provides a critical assessment of present knowledge about hispidulin with some clear conclusions, perspectives and directions for future research in potential applications.

PHARMACOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF HISPIDULIN--A NATURAL BIOACTIVE FLAVONE.

Hispidulin is well-known natural bioactive flavone on behalf of its pharmacological aspects. This review contains data on isolation, synthetic methodology, pharmacokinetics and bioactivities of hispidulin. The article provides a critical assessment of present knowledge about hispidulin with some clear conclusions, perspectives and directions for future research in potential applications.

Emerging trends and challenges in polysaccharide derived materials for wound care applications: A review.

Polysaccharides are favourable and promising biopolymers for wound care applications due to their abundant natural availability, low cost and excellent biocompatibility. They possess different functional groups, such as carboxylic, hydroxyl and amino, and can easily be modified to obtain the desirable properties and various forms. This review systematically analyses the recent progress in polysaccharides derived materials for wound care applications, emphasizing the most commonly used cellulose, chitosan, alginate, starch, dextran and hyaluronic acid derived materials. The distinctive attributes of each polysaccharide derived wound care material are discussed in detail, along with their different forms, i.e., films, membranes, sponges, nanoemulsions, nanofibers, scaffolds, nanocomposites and hydrogels. The processing methods to develop polysaccharides derived wound care materials are also summarized. In the end, challenges related to polysaccharides derived materials in wound care management are listed, and suggestions are given to expand their utilization in the future to compete with conventional wound healing materials.

A first principles based prediction of electronic and nonlinear optical properties towards cyclopenta thiophene chromophores with benzothiophene acceptor moieties.

In the current work, organic cyclopenta-thiophene (CPT) based derivatives (FICR and FICD1-FICD5) were designed by the modulation of end-capped acceptor group of the reference molecule i.e., FICR, to explore their nonlinear optical (NLO) response. The effect of terminal acceptor and donor groups in the tailored compounds was explored by using DFT based quantum calculations. The UV-Vis analysis, frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs), transition density matrix (TDM), natural bond orbitals (NBOs), density of states (DOS), nonlinear optical (NLO) analyses were performed at M06/6-311G(d,p) functional. The LUMO-HOMO band gaps of FICD1-FICD5 were found to be smaller (1.75-1.92 eV) comparative to FICR (1.98 eV). Moreover, the global reactivity parameters (GRPs) were correlated with the results of other analyses. FICD2 and FICD5 with lowest band gap 1.73 and 1.75 eV showed less hardness (0.86 and 0.87 eV, respectively), high softness (0.58 and 0.57 eV-1), and larger absorption spectrum (815 and 813 nm) in gaseous phase and (889 and 880 nm) in solvent phase among all entitled compounds. All the designed chromophores (FICD1-FICD5) demonstrated a significant NLO response as compared to FICR. Particularly, FICD2 and FICD5 exhibited the highest average linear polarizability (<α>) [2.86 × 10-22 and 2.88 × 10-22 esu], first hyperpolarizability (ßtot) (8.43 × 10-27 and 8.35 × 10-27 esu) and second hyperpolarizability (γtot) (13.20 × 10-32 and 13.0 × 10-32 esu) values as compared to the other derivatives. In nutshell, structural modeling of CPT based chromophores with extended acceptors, can be significantly utilized to achieve potential NLO materials.

Theoretical design of alkaline earthides M+(36 adz) Be- (M+ = V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, and Zn) with excellent nonlinear optical response and ultraviolet transparency.

A novel series of alkaline earthides containing eight complexes based upon 36adz complexant are designed by placing carefully transition metals (V-Zn) on inner side and alkaline earth metal outer side of the complexant i.e., M+(36adz) Be- (M+ = V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn). All the designed compounds are electronically and thermodynamically stable as evaluated by their interaction energy and vertical ionization potential respectively. Moreover, the true nature of alkaline earthides is verified through NBOs and FMO study, showing negative charge and excess electrons on alkaline earth metal respectively. Furthermore, true alkaline earthides characteristics are evaluated graphically by spectra of partial density state (PDOS). The energy gap (HOMO -LUMO gap) is very small (ranging 2.95 eV-1.89 eV), when it is compared with pure cage 36adz HOMO-LUMO gap i.e., 8.50 eV. All the complexes show a very small value of transition energy ranging from 1.68eV to 0.89eV. Also, these possess higher hyper polarizability values up to 2.8 x 105au (for Co+(36adz) Be-). Furthermore, an increase in hyper polarizability was observed by applying external electric field on complexes. The remarkable increase of 100fold in hyper polarizability of Zn+(36adz) Be- complex is determined after application of external electric field i.e., from 1.7 x 104 au to 1.7 x 106 au when complex is subjected to external electric field of 0.001 au strength. So, when external electric field is applied on complexes it enhances the charge transfer, polarizability and hyper polarizability of complexes and proves to be effective for designing of true alkaline earthides with remarkable NLO response.

Fabrication of Novel 3-D Nanocomposites of HAp-TiC-h-BN-ZrO2: Enhanced Mechanical Performances and In Vivo Toxicity Study for Biomedical Applications.

Due to excellent biocompatibility, bioactivities, and osteoconductivity, hydroxyapatite (HAp) is considered as one of the most suitable biomaterials for numerous biomedical applications. Herein, HAp was fabricated using a bottom-up approach, i.e., a wet chemical method, and its composites with TiC, h-BN, and ZrO2 were fabricated by a solid-state reaction method with enhanced mechanical and biological performances. Structural, surface morphology, and mechanical behavior of the fabricated composites were characterized using various characterization techniques. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy study revealed a randomly oriented rod-like morphology, with the length and width of these nanorods ranging from 78 to 122 and from 9 to 13 nm. Moreover, the mechanical characterizations of the composite HZBT4 (80HAp-10TiC-5h-BN-5ZrO2) reveal a very high compressive strength (246 MPa), which is comparable to that of the steel (250 MPa), fracture toughness (14.78 MPa m1/2), and Young's modulus (1.02 GPa). In order to check the biocompatibility of the composites, numerous biological tests were also performed on different body organs of healthy adult Sprague-Dawley rats. This study suggests that the composite HZBT4 could not reveal any significant influence on the hematological, serum biochemical, and histopathological parameters. Hence, the fabricated composite can be used for several biological applications, such as bone implants, bone grafting, and bone regeneration.

Fabrication, structural, and enhanced mechanical behavior of MgO substituted PMMA composites for dental applications.

The most common denture material used for dentistry is poly-methyl-methacrylate (PMMA). Usually, the polymeric PMMA material has numerous biological, mechanical and cost-effective shortcomings. Hence, to resolve such types of drawbacks, attempts have been made to investigate fillers of the PMMA like alumina (Al2O3), silica (SiO2), zirconia (ZrO2) etc. For the enhancement of the PMMA properties a suitable additive is required for its orthopedic applications. Herein, the main motive of this study was to synthesize a magnesium oxide (MgO) reinforced polymer-based hybrid nano-composites by using heat cure method with superior optical, biological and mechanical characteristics. For the structural and vibrational studies of the composites, XRD and FT-IR were carried out. Herein, the percentage of crystallinity for all the fabricated composites were also calculated and found to be 14.79-30.31. Various physical and optical parameters such as density, band gap, Urbach energy, cutoff energy, cutoff wavelength, steepness parameter, electron-phonon interaction, refractive index, and optical dielectric constant were also studied and their values are found to be in the range of 1.21-1.394 g/cm3, 5.44-5.48 eV, 0.167-0.027 eV, 5.68 eV, 218 nm, 0.156-0.962, 4.273-0.693, 1.937-1.932, and 3.752-3.731 respectively. To evaluate the mechanical properties like compressive strength, flexural strength, and fracture toughness of the composites a Universal Testing Machine (UTM) was used and their values were 60.3 and 101 MPa, 78 and 40.3 MPa, 5.85 and 9.8 MPa-m1/2 respectively. Tribological tests of the composites were also carried out. In order to check the toxicity, MTT assay was also carried out for the PM0 and PM15 [(x)MgO + (100 - x) (C5O2H8)n] (x = 0 and 15) composites. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the structural, physical, optical, and biological features of the fabricated PMMA-MgO composites, highlighting the potential of the PM15 composite with its enhanced density, mechanical strength, and excellent biocompatibility for denture applications.

Synthesis, characterization, computational assay and anti-inflammatory activity of thiosemicarbazone derivatives: Highly potent and efficacious for COX inhibitors.

Multiple studies in the literature have demonstrated that synthetic compounds containing heterocyclic rings possess a reparative potential against acute and chronic inflammation. In the present study, two novel thiosemicarbazone derivatives based on l-ethyl-6-(thiophen-2-yl)indoline-2,3-dione with different phenyl substituted thiosemicarbazides were synthesized by condensation reaction and the structures of proposed target compounds (KP-2 and KP-5) were confirmed by UV-VIS, FTIR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR. In-vitro anti-inflammatory behavior of KP-2 and KP-5 was confirmed by bovine serum albumin (BSA) and ovine serum albumin (OSA) analysis. Acute and chronic anti-inflammatory potential of synthesized compounds were evaluated by using carrageenan and complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) as inflammation-inducing agents, respectively. Inhibition of pro-inflammatory mediators and prevention of protein denaturation owing to synchronization of more electronegative flouro-groups substituted on phenyl rings along with heterocyclic indoline ring provides anti-inflammatory effects and are corroborated by radiological, histopathological analysis. Additional support was provided through density functional theory (DFT) and molecular docking. KP-5 exhibited excellent lead-likeness based on its physicochemical parameters, making it a viable drug candidate. The synthesized compounds also showed promising ADMET properties, enhancing their potential as therapeutic agents. These findings emphasize the pivotal role of new compounds for drug design and development.

Benzimidazolium quaternary ammonium salts: synthesis, single crystal and Hirshfeld surface exploration supported by theoretical analysis.

Owing to the broad applications of quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), we present the synthesis of benzimidazolium-based analogues with variation in the alkyl and alkoxy group at N-1 and N-3 positions. All the compounds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques and found stable to air and moisture both in the solid and solution state. Moreover, molecular structures were established through single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The crystal packing of the compounds was stabilized by numerous intermolecular interactions explored by Hirshfeld surface analysis. The enrichment ratio was calculated for the pairs of chemical species to acquire the highest propensity to form contacts. Void analysis was carried out to check the mechanical response of the compounds. Furthermore, theoretical investigations were also performed to explore the optoelectronic properties of compounds. Natural population analysis (NPA) has been conducted to evaluate the distribution of charges on the synthesized compounds, whereas high band gaps of the synthesized compounds by frontier molecular orbital (FMO) analysis indicated their stability. Nonlinear optical (NLO) analysis revealed that the synthesized QAS demonstrates significantly improved NLO behaviour than the standard urea.

Factors affecting migration of tertiary alkyl groups in reactions of alkylboronic esters with bromomethyllithium.

The reactions of bromomethyllithium with tert-alkylboronic esters could be of great potential for the formation of quaternary carbon centers but often give poor yields/conversions. Calculations and experimental evidence show that tert-alkyl groups migrate less effectively than other types of alkyl group in such reactions and that O-migration competes. Furthermore, slow/incomplete capture of the bromomethyl reagent by the boronic ester is a problem in more hindered systems, and an additional competing reaction, possibly Li-Br exchange on the bromomethylborate species, also leads to lower yields of migrated products. Based on this, experimental protocols have been devised in which the competing reactions are largely suppressed, leading to higher conversions to migrated product for several substrates.

Recent Progress in Proteins-Based Micelles as Drug Delivery Carriers.

Proteins-derived polymeric micelles have gained attention and revolutionized the biomedical field. Proteins are considered a favorable choice for developing micelles because of their biocompatibility, harmlessness, greater blood circulation and solubilization of poorly soluble drugs. They exhibit great potential in drug delivery systems as capable of controlled loading, distribution and function of loaded agents to the targeted sites within the body. Protein micelles successfully cross biological barriers and can be incorporated into various formulation designs employed in biomedical applications. This review emphasizes the recent advances of protein-based polymeric micelles for drug delivery to targeted sites of various diseases. Most studied protein-based micelles such as soy, gelatin, casein and collagen are discussed in detail, and their applications are highlighted. Finally, the future perspectives and forthcoming challenges for protein-based polymeric micelles have been reviewed with anticipated further advances.

Tailoring the solar cell efficiency of Y-series based non-fullerene acceptors through end cap modification.

Y-series-based non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) have achieved significant deliberation by chemists and physicists because the promising optical and photochemical properties associated with high-performance OSCs can be further tuned through end-capped modification. In this work, such modifications of Y-series benzothiadiazole-based NFAs were accomplished theoretically to propose new acceptors for photovoltaic cells (PVCs). The recently synthesized Y-series non-fullerene acceptor m-BTP-PhC6 was taken as a reference acceptor. We designed five new acceptors (BTP1-BTP5) through the structural modification at both ends of acceptor groups and evaluated their performance by applying DFT and TD-DFT. The newly engineered molecules exhibited a narrower bandgap (Eg) than the reference (R) resulting in better intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Further, the designed acceptors expressed the maximum absorption in the region of 600-800 nm revealing a redshift in their absorption spectrum. Low excitation energy and low exciton binding energy were noted for designed acceptors confirming them as better candidates for high PCE of solar cells. Low reorganizational energy for the mobility of holes and electrons was also observed for the designed molecules, indicating improved charge transfer properties. The newly tailored acceptor BTP4 was found to be the promising candidate among all acceptors because of lower bandgap, lower exciton binding energy, reorganizational energy, and redshift of the absorption spectrum. The complex analysis of BTP4 with donor polymer PTB7-Th and PM6 was executed at the same DFT level. Furthermore, FMOs studies showed relatively rich electron density in the acceptor groups of LUMO as compared to the reference molecule. The overall theoretical results of this study showed that the designed acceptors played a productive and effective role in uplifting the efficiency of fullerene-free energy devices.