Influence of biochar on improving hydrological and nutrient status of two decomposed soils for yield of medicinal plant - Pinellia ternata

The root tuber of Pinellia ternata has been used as a traditional therapeutic herbal medicine. It is reported to impart beneficial attributes in recovering COVID-19 patients. To meet an increasing demand of P. ternata, this study is intended to investigate the effects of biochar on the soil hydrological and agronomic properties of two decomposed soils (i.e., completely decomposed granite (CDG) and lateritic soil) for the growth of P. ternata. The plant was grown in instrumented pots with different biochar application rate (0%, 3% and 5%) for a period of three months. Peanut shell biochar inclusion in both soils resulted in reduction of soil hydraulic conductivity and increase in soil water retention capacity. These alterations in hydrological properties were attributed to measured change in total porosity, biochar intra pore and hydrophilic functional groups. The macro-nutrient (i.e., N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) concentration of both soils increased substantially, while the pH and cation exchange capacity levels in the amended soils were altered to facilitate optimum growth of P. ternata. The tuber biomass in biochar amended CDG at all amendment rate increases by up to 70%. In case of lateritic soil, the tuber biomass increased by 23% at only 5% biochar application rate. All treatments satisfied the minimum succinic acid concentration required as per pharmacopoeia standard index. The lower tuber biomass exhibits a higher succinic acid concentration regardless of the soil type used to grow P. ternata. The biochar improved the yield and quality of P. ternata in both soils.

Phycochemistry and bioactivity of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites.

Microbes are a huge contributor to people's health around the world since they produce a lot of beneficial secondary metabolites. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic bacteria cosmopolitan in nature. Adaptability of cyanobacteria to wide spectrum of environment can be contributed to the production of various secondary metabolites which are also therapeutic in nature. As a result, they are a good option for the development of medicinal molecules. These metabolites could be interesting COVID-19 therapeutic options because the majority of these compounds have demonstrated substantial pharmacological actions, such as neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity, and antiviral activity against HCMV, HSV-1, HHV-6, and HIV-1. They have been reported to produce a single metabolite active against wide spectrum of microbes like Fischerella ambigua produces ambigols active against bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Similarly, Moorea producens produces malygomides O and P, majusculamide C and somocystinamide which are active against bacteria, fungi and tumour cells, respectively. In addition to the above, Moorea sp. produce apratoxin A and dolastatin 15 possessing anti cancerous activity but unfortunately till date only brentuximab vedotin (trade name Adcetris), a medication derived from marine peptides, for the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma and anaplastic large cell lymphoma has been approved by FDA. However, several publications have effectively described and categorised cyanobacterial medicines based on their biological action. In present review, an effort is made to categorize cyanobacterial metabolites on the basis of their phycochemistry. The goal of this review is to categorise cyanobacterial metabolites based on their chemical functional group, which has yet to be described.

Sensitivity enhancement of microelectromechanical sensors using femtosecond laser for biological and chemical applications

Rapid, selective, and highly sensitive microelectromechanical sensors are a promising technology for biosensing, medical recognition, and the detection of chemical hazards. At the same time, the surfaces of silicon microcantilevers cannot bond with thiols and cannot be functionalized without a bonding layer, such as gold. Therefore, in past literature, the surfaces of silicon microcantilevers have been coated with gold to facilitate their bonding with the thiol functional groups on the probe layers. However, gold coating produces thermal noise in the results owing to the metallic effect. Accordingly, this study aimed to modify the surface of silicon microcantilevers by patterning it using femtosecond laser (FSL) micromachining so that it could bond with the thiol functional groups with high sensitivity. The surface patterning of silicon microcantilevers enhances their physical, micromechanical, and chemical properties, increasing sensitivity by increasing the quality factor, specific surface area, and creating trapping areas on the microcantilever surfaces. The surfaces of the silicon microcantilever were patterned by microgrooves aligned from the free end to the bounded end, with each microgroove comprising submicrogrooves. To demonstrate their use in a biosensing applications, the modified microcantilevers were functionalized to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2;COVID-19) by immobilizing thiolated oligonucleotides on the surfaces, which worked as the probe layer. The modified biosensor was used to detect low concentrations of SSDNA sequence targets ranging from 300 nM down to 100 pM. The modified silicon-microcantilever sensors were directly functionalized without a joining layer, such as a gold layer. The results revealed a selective response to SARS-CoV-2 SSDNA down to a 9-nM concentration. To detect hazardous chemicals, the modified microcantilever was functionalized using reduced L-cysteine to detect Pb2+ at low concentrations down to 100 pM. The results revealed enhanced sensitivity and selectivity and demonstrated that the FSL patterning activated the microcantilevers to bond with probe layers through the interaction of the silanol created on the surface with the functional groups, such as the thiols, on the probe layers. The microcantilevers patterned with 10 microgrooves exhibited higher responses than those patterned with seven microgrooves. © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Systematic Review of Amino Acid-Based Adsorbents for CO2 Capture

The rise of carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere emphasises the need for improving the current carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. A conventional absorption method that utilises amine-based solvent is known to cause corrosion to process equipment. The solvent is easily degraded and has high energy requirement for regeneration. Amino acids are suitable candidates to replace traditional alkanolamines attributed to their identical amino functional group. In addition, amino acid salt is a green material due to its extremely low toxicity, low volatility, less corrosive, and high efficiency to capture CO2. Previous studies have shown promising results in CO2 capture using amino acids salts solutions and amino acid ionic liquids. Currently, amino acid solvents are also utilised to enhance the adsorption capacity of solid sorbents. This systematic review is the first to summarise the currently available amino acid-based adsorbents for CO2 capture using PRISMA method. Physical and chemical properties of the adsorbents that contribute to effective CO2 capture are thoroughly discussed. A total of four categories of amino acid-based adsorbents are evaluated for their CO2 adsorption capacities. The regeneration studies are briefly discussed and several limitations associated with amino acid-based adsorbents for CO2 capture are presented before the conclusion.

Functionalization of Porphyrins Using Metal-Catalyzed C–H Activation

The review is devoted to the C–H functionalization of porphyrins. Porphyrins exhibit the properties of organic semiconductors, light energy converters, chemical and electrochemical catalysts, and photocatalysts. The review describes the iridium- and palladium-catalyzed direct functionalization of porphyrins, with more attention given to the results obtained in our laboratory. The development and improvement of synthetic methods that do not require preliminary modification of the substrate with various functional groups are extremely important for the preparation of new organic materials based on porphyrins. This makes it possible to simplify the synthetic procedure, to make the synthesis more economical, environmentally safe, and simple to perform.

Shallot (Allium cepa L.) Planted In The Ts-of-RAMSAR-Classification Ecosystem Is Still Beneficial In The COVID-19 Treatment

Rich in quercetin, shallot (Allium cepa L.) use is beneficial in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic since effective vaccines and pharmacotherapy are still in development. The study aimed to characterize functional groups of shallot tubers planted in the inorganic soil of the seasonal freshwater-wetland (IS-SFW)/Ts-of-RAMSAR-classification ecosystem. The shallot tubers that grew in IS-SFW for 60 days were manually harvested, sun-dried for seven days, and stored for two months before been pressed to produce sample juices. The peaks of wavenumber resulted from FTIR analysis were compared to the infrared database to determine possibly functional groups. The findings showed spectra changed in the fingerprint but not in the mid-IR other regions, indicated the IS-SFW did not affect functional groups beneficial in the COVID-19 treatment. The study concluded that shallot planted in IS-SFW is still beneficial in the COVID-19 treatment.

Expanding the chemical space of 3(5)-functionalized 1,2,4-triazoles.

An efficient approach to the gram-scale synthesis of 3(5)-substituted, 1,3- and 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-triazole-derived building blocks is described. The key synthetic precursors - 1,2,4-triazole-3(5)-carboxylates (20 examples, 35-89% yield) were prepared from readily available acyl hydrazides and ethyl 2-ethoxy-2-iminoacetate hydrochloride. Further transformations were performed following the convergent synthetic strategy and allowed the preparation of 1,3- and 1,5-disubstituted 1,2,4-triazole-derived esters (16 examples, 25-75% yield), 3(5)-substituted, 1,3- and 1,5-disubstituted carboxylate salts (18 examples, 78-93% yield), amides (5 examples, 82-93% yield), nitriles (5 examples, 30-85% yield), hydrazides (6 examples, 84-89% yield), and hydroxamic acids (3 examples, 73-78% yield). Considering wide applications of the 1,2,4-triazole motif in medicinal chemistry, these compounds are valuable building blocks for lead-oriented synthesis; they have also great potential for coordination chemistry. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10593-022-03064-z.

Characterization of cellulose acetate functional groups synthesized from corn husk (Zea mays)

The use of masks is very important to reduce transmission of the COVID 19 virus. Therefore, an innovation is needed from mask materials is that are environmentally friendly, have good filtration quality and have anti-virus agents. An alternative way to provide masks with good filterability using a raw material of cellulose acetate. Cellulose acetate has fibrils that are bonded together so that it can form dense fibers. Fiber is a semipermeable layer that functions as a particle filtration. Therefore, this study aims to get cellulose from corn husks via delignification. The research method consisted of extracting cellulose from corn husks and further synthesizing cellulose acetate. FTIR results showed an absorption peak at wave numbers 3349 cm-1, 1728 cm-1, 1252 cm-1, and 1031 cm-1. These peaks indicated the presence functional groups of OH, C=O, aryl ether, and C-O. This functional group indicates a cellulose acetate compound.