Carbon Dots Green Synthesis for Ultra-Trace Determination of Ceftriaxone Using Response Surface Methodology.

The present study sought to develop a facile and green synthetic approach for producing fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) from a natural biomass using aqueous extraction of carbonized blue crab shell. Spherical carbon dots (6.00 ± 3.0 nm) exhibited an extended emission range with excellent quantum yield (14.5 ± 3.5%). In order to measure ceftriaxone, we offered a simple and sensitive method, based on fluorescence quenching of carbon dots in plasma and water with recovery values of 94.5-104.1%. Furthermore, with usage of central composite design (CCD) based response surface methodology (RSM); we optimized the effect of different factors. In addition, ANOVA evaluated the accuracy and suitability of quadratic model. Under optimal conditions, fluorescence quenching revealed a sensitive response in the concentration range of 20-1000 nM with the limit of detection 9.0 nM for ceftriaxone. Finally, carbon dots-based fluorescence quenching procedure was able to quantify ceftriaxone in plasma, as well as mineral and tap water. Spiked samples achieved satisfactory efficiencies.

A novel application of carbon dots for colorimetric determination of fenitrothion insecticide based on the microextraction method.

In this work, the intrinsic colorimetric property of carbon dots (CDs) was utilized for the determination of fenitrothion by applying dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) method. Label free CDs are extracted into carbon tetrachloride via assistance of trioctylmethylammonium chloride (Aliquat 336), which also acts as a disperser agent in this technique. The enriched CDs show an absorption signal at 365nm, which increases in the presence of fenitrothion. The absorbance increase of CDs in organic phase was used as an analytical signal for the determination of fenitrothion. The synthesized CDs were characterized by UV-visible, fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM). Under the optimized conditions, beer's law was obeyed in the range of 1.0-250.0ngmL-1 of fenitrothion with the limit of detection for fenitrothion was 0.2ngmL-1. The relative standard deviation for eight replicate measurements of fenitrothion at concentrations of 25 and 100ngmL-1 were calculated to be 1.5 and 3.7%, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied in the determination of fenitrothion in water samples with satisfactory results.

Regulatory effect of caffeic acid phenethyl ester on type I collagen and interferon-gamma in bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rat.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic lung disease of unknown etiology. Recent investigations have demonstrated that the impaired immune response is a common characteristic feature of IPF. Unfortunately, no definitive and effective drug treatment is available that could improve or at least inhibit the progressive course of this fatal disease. That is why one of the main priorities of pulmonary fibrosis investigations is to identify novel and effective molecular targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions. caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is one of the most interesting bioactive compounds extracted from bee propolis. It has been shown that CAPE has an antioxidant activity and modulatory impact on immune system. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to investigate the regulatory effects of CAPE on the levels of type I collagen (COL-1) and Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) in bleomycin (BLM)-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry procedure was employed to assess the effects of CAPE on lung tissue. In this study, male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups (n=8) included 1: Positive control group: bleomycin (BLM). 2: Negative (saline) control group. 3, 4: Treatment groups of 1 and 2: BLM+CAPE (5 and 10 µmol/kg/day, respectively). (5: Sham group: CAPE (10 µmol/kg/day). BLM application resulted in significant changes in the level of studied parameters as compared to the controls. CAPE could decrease type I collagen concentration, modulate IFN-γ level, increase the animals' body weight and decrease the lung index dose-dependently, compared with model group. In conclusion, CAPE may provide a novel therapeutic target for treating pulmonary fibrosis.

The genotoxicity study of garlic and pasipy herbal drops by peripheral blood micronucleus test.

The in vivo rodent micronucleus test is widely used as a genotoxic assay to detect the clastogenic activity of chemicals. In this research the genotoxic effects of herbal drops of garlic and pasipy were evaluated using the micronucleus test. Maximum Tolerated Dose (MTD) was determined by a dose-response test. For each medicine three treatment groups were considered with doses of MTD, 1/2 MTD and 1/4 MTD according to the CSGMT protocol (1995 Japan). Drugs were administered orally to mice (test groups). Mitomicin C was used as a known genotoxic agent in positive control group. The peripheral blood samples before treatment (zero time samples) were considered as negative control. The appearance of a micronucleus is used as an index for genotoxic potential. The results obtained indicated that the herbal drops showed genotoxicity effect and it was dose-dependent compared to the negative control group. This genotoxicity was significant (p < 0.05) but the genotoxic effects of garlic and pasipy were "not significant" compared to the historical negative control group (p > 0.05). Therefore our results if compared to the negative control group is significant and it is worthy of consideration.