Captopril supported on magnetic graphene nitride, a sustainable and green catalyst for one-pot multicomponent synthesis of 2-amino-4H-chromene and 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrimidine.

Captopril (CAP) is a safe, cost-effective, and environmentally organic compound that can be used as an effective organo-catalyst. Functional groups of captopril make it capable to attach to solid support and acting as promoters in organic transformations. In this work, captopril was attached to the surface of magnetic graphene nitride by employing a linker agent. The synthesized composite efficiently catalyzed two multicomponent reactions including the synthesis of 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyrimidine and 2-amino-4H-chromene derivatives. A large library of functional targeted products was synthesized in mild reaction conditions. More importantly, this catalyst was stable and magnetically recycled and reused for at least five runs without losing catalytic activity.

Retraction: Design of 1-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide as the first nanostructured molten salt and its catalytic application in the condensation reaction of various aromatic aldehydes, amides and ß-naphthol compared with tin dioxide nanoparticles.

[This retracts the article DOI: 10.1039/C5RA02718G.].

Magnetic solid-phase extraction of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs from environmental water samples using polyamidoamine dendrimer functionalized with magnetite nanoparticles as a sorbent.

A novel polyamidoamine dendrimer functionalized with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@PAMAM) had been fabricated and used as magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) adsorbent. The Fe3O4@PAMAM nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron spectroscopy, elemental analytical, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The MSPE method coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography with an ultraviolet detection system was applied for the separation/analysis of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Major parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of the selected drugs were optimized. Under optimal conditions, the enrichment factors for the proposed method were 701835. The linear range, limit of detection, correlation coefficient (r), and relative standard deviation (RSD) were found to be 0.15-500 ng mL-1, 0.050.08 ng mL-1, 0.99320.9967, and 4.5-7.0% (n = 5, 0.2, 10 and 300 ng mL-1), respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of NSAIDs in the real water samples. The recoveries of spiked water samples were in the range of 93.6-98.9% with RSDs varying from 6.1% to 9.0%, showing the good accuracy of the method.

Application of FT-IR spectroscopy on breast cancer serum analysis.

Breast cancer is regarded as the most malignant tumor among women throughout the world. Therefore, early detection and proper diagnostic methods have been known to help save women's lives. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, coupled with PCA-LDA analysis, is a new technique to investigate the characteristics of serum in breast cancer. In this study, 43 breast cancer and 43 healthy serum samples were collected, and the FT-IR spectra were recorded for each one. Then, PCA analysis and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were used to analyze the spectral data. The results showed that there were differences between the spectra of the two groups. Discriminating wavenumbers were associated with several spectral differences over the 950-1200cm-1(sugar), 1190-1350cm-1 (collagen), 1475-1710cm-1 (protein), 1710-1760cm-1 (ester), 2800-3000cm-1 (stretching motions of -CH2 & -CH3), and 3090-3700cm-1 (NH stretching) regions. PCA-LDA performance on serum IR could recognize changes between the control and the breast cancer cases. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of PCA-LDA analysis for 3000-3600cm-1 (NH stretching) were found to be 83%, 84%, 74% for the control and 80%, 76%, 72% for the breast cancer cases, respectively. The results showed that the major spectral differences between the two groups were related to the differences in protein conformation in serum samples. It can be concluded that FT-IR spectroscopy, together with multivariate data analysis, is able to discriminate between breast cancer and healthy serum samples.

Chemical Composition, Antioxidant and Biological Activities of the Essential Oil and Extract of the Seeds of Glycine max (Soybean) from North Iran.

Glycine max (L.) Merrill (soybean) is a major leguminous crop, cultivated globally as well as in Iran. This study examines the chemical composition of soybean essential oil, and evaluates the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of seeds on various plant pathogens that commonly cause irreparable damages to agricultural crops. The essential oil of soybean seeds was analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Antimicrobial activity was tested against 14 microorganisms, including three gram-positive, five gram-negative bacteria, and six fungi, using disk diffusion method and the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration technique. The soybean seeds were also subjected to screening for possible antioxidant activity by using catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. Forty components were identified, representing 96.68% of the total oil. The major constituents of the oil were carvacrol (13.44%), (E,E)-2,4-decadienal (9.15%), p-allylanisole (5.65%), p-cymene (4.87%), and limonene (4.75%). The oil showed significant activity against Pseudomonas syringae subsp. syringae, Rathayibacter toxicus with MIC = 25 µg/mL, and Pyricularia oryzae with MIC = 12.5 µg/mL. In addition, the free radical scavenging capacity of the essential oil was determined with an IC50 value of 162.35 µg/mL. Our results suggest that this plant may be a potential source of biocide, for economical and environmentally friendly disease control strategies. It may also be a good candidate for further biological and pharmacological investigations.

Enantioseparation performance of CNTs as chiral selectors for the separation of ibuprofen isomers: a dispersion corrected DFT study.

The enantioseparation of chiral drugs has been of great interest in the modern pharmaceutical industry since the majority of bioorganic compounds are chiral. In this work, we have investigated the ability of pristine and defected (10, 5) chiral carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in enantioseparation of chiral R-/S-ibuprofen isomers. The interactions between the two enantiomers of ibuprofen and the outer surface and inner side wall of the chiral CNTs have been evaluated. We utilized dispersion-corrected density functional theory (DFT) calculations within the framework of the GGA-PBE scheme for the systems under study. The results indicated that the inner side walls of the defected (10, 5) CNTs exhibited the highest energy difference (ΔU0) between the pairs of considered enantiomers with the energy difference of about 1.4 kcal mol-1, indicating that these nanotubes are a promising candidate in enantioseparation processes. The effect of solvation has also been considered in the calculations and it was found that changing the dielectric properties of the medium cannot affect the overall interactions between the drug and CNT. The electronic properties of the considered systems did not change upon the interaction between the incorporated molecules and the type of interaction was found to be dispersion-governed physisorption.

Preparation, characterization and application of nanosized CuO/HZSM-5 as an efficient and heterogeneous catalyst for the N-formylation of amines at room temperature.

An efficient and new method for the synthesis of formamides using HZSM-5 zeolite supported copper oxide nanoparticles as an efficient and heterogeneous catalyst is reported. The catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), temperature programmed desorption of ammonia (TPD-NH3) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). This method has the advantages of eliminating homogeneous catalysts and provides simple methodology with easy work up. Excellent yields of the corresponding formamides were obtained through this cost-effective protocol under solvent-free conditions with shorter reaction time. The catalyst was easily isolated from the reaction mixture by filtration and reused several times without significant loss in its catalytic.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship study of benzofuran-based chalconoids bearing benzylpyridinium moiety as potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

A series of benzofuran-based chalconoids 6a-v were designed and synthesized as new potential AChE inhibitors. The in vitro assay of synthesized compounds 6a-v showed that most compounds had significant anti-AChE activity at micromolar or sub-micromolar levels. Among the tested compounds, 3-pyridinium derivative 6m bearing N-(2-bromobenzyl) moiety and 7-methoxy substituent on the benzofuran ring exhibited superior activity. This compound with IC50 value of 0.027 µM was as potent as standard drug donepezil.

Curcumin: a natural product for diabetes and its complications.

Curcumin is the yellow-colored bioactive constituent of the perennial plant, Curcuma longa L., which possesses a wide range of physiological and pharmacological properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, neuroprotective and anti-diabetic activities. Anti-diabetic activity of curcumin may be due to its potent ability to suppress oxidative stress and inflammation. Moreover, it shows a beneficial role on the diabetesinduced endothelial dysfunction and induces a down-regulation of nuclear factor-kappa B. Curcumin possesses a protective role against advanced glycation as well as collagen crosslinking and through this way, mitigates advanced glycation end products-induced complications of diabetes. Curcumin also reduces blood glucose, and the levels of glycosylated hemoglobin in diabetic rat through the regulation of polyol pathway. It also suppresses increased bone resorption through the inhibition of osteoclastogenesis and expression of the AP-1 transcription factors, c-fos and c-jun, in diabetic animals. Overall, scientific literature shows that curcumin possesses anti-diabetic effects and mitigates diabetes complications. Here we report a systematical discussion on the beneficial role of curcumin on diabetes and its complications with emphasis on its molecular mechanisms of actions.

Phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activities of the constituents isolated from Koelreuteria paniculata leaves.

Methanolic extract of Golden rain leaves was fractionated by column chromatography on silica gel and 18 fractions were obtained. Antimicrobial activities of fractions were investigated against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as quality control bacteria and fungus Pyricularia grisea which causes Blast disease in rice. Fractions showed more antibacterial activity at 0.04 g/mL concentration only on B. subtilis and S. aureus as gram positive bacteria. Also, three fractions indicated excellent antifungal effect on fungus P. grisea. Moreover, in the present study, fractions that showed very good effect on microorganisms were used for gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis to identify different phytochemicals.

Potent acetylcholinesterase inhibitors: design, synthesis, biological evaluation, and docking study of acridone linked to 1,2,3-triazole derivatives.

A novel series of acridone linked to 1,2,3-triazole derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated in vitro for their acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) inhibitory activities. The synthetic approach was started from the reaction of 2-bromobenzoic acid with aniline derivatives and subsequent cyclization reaction to give acridone derivatives. Then, reaction of the later compounds with propargyl bromide followed by azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (click reaction) led to the formation of the title compounds in good yields. Among the synthesized compounds, 10-((1-(4-chlorobenzyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl)-2-methoxyacridin-9(10H)-one 9g, depicted the most potent anti-AChE activity (IC50 = 7.31 µM). Also, docking study confirmed the results obtained through in vitro experiments and predicted possible binding conformation.

The use of antibacterial activity of ZnO nanoparticles in the treatment of municipal wastewater.

Nanotechnology holds great potential in advanced water and wastewater treatment to improve treatment efficiency. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have received considerable attention due to their unique antibacterial activities toward various microorganisms that are commonly found in the environment. In the present study, ZnO NPs were synthesized through both mechano-chemical and sol-gel methods. The synthesized ZnO NPs were characterized through X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques. Then, their antibacterial activities against separated wastewater bacteria were evaluated by determining the zone inhibitor, the minimum inhibitory concentration, and the minimum bactericidal concentration. The results were compared with those obtained from wastewater after chlorine disinfection and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. These studies demonstrated that the antibacterial activity of ZnO NPs depends on the type and the strain of bacteria. They have also demonstrated that the activity increases as the concentration of ZnO NPs increases. Overall, the experimental results suggest that ZnO NPs can potentially be an antibacterial reagent to treat wastewater. They can particularly be applied as a complementary method with UV disinfection. Thus, they can be developed as antibacterial agents to improve wastewater quality.

Efficient and convenient synthesis of 1,8-dioxodecahydroacridine derivatives using Cu-doped ZnO nanocrystalline powder as a catalyst under solvent-free conditions.

A simple and convenient one-step method for synthesis of acridines and their derivatives from condensation of aromatic aldehydes, cyclic diketones, and aryl amines using Cu-doped ZnO nanocrystalline powder as a catalyst is reported. The present protocol provides several advantages such as good yields, short reaction time, easy workup, and simplicity in operation.

Interaction of different extracts of Primula heterochroma Stapf. with red blood cell membrane lipids and proteins: antioxidant and antihemolytic effects.

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to plants as potent natural drugs for their ameliorative roles against free-radical-mediated oxidative stress. Therefore, their interactions with cell membrane lipids and proteins, which generally serve as primary targets of lipid peroxidation, are of much interest. In the current investigation, in vitro and ex vivo studies are performed in order to estimate possible effects of different extracts of Primula heterochroma Stapf. on red blood cell membranes of rat erythrocytes using colorimetric methods. The results indicate that binding of the extracts to lipids and proteins of red blood cell membranes both significantly inhibits lipid peroxidation, and also increases red blood cell integrity against hemolysis. Moreover, a polyphenol extract, in particular, demonstrates notable antihemolytic activity in hydrogen peroxide-induced hemolysis model (IC(50) = 199.49 ± 9.1 µg ml(-1)).

Biochemical activities of acetone extracts of Hyssopus angustifolius.

Antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of acetone extracts of Hyssopus angustifolius flowers, leaf and stems were investigated employing different in vitro and ex vivo assay systems. IC50, for 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging activity were 239.4 +/- 8.4 microg/mL for flowers, 357.8 +/- 11.1 microg/mL for stems and 182.5 +/- 7.5 microg/mL for leaf. All extracts showed moderate nitric oxide scavenging activity. The leaf extract exhibited better hydrogen peroxide scavenging and Fe2+ chelating activity than the others (IC50 were 261.0 +/- 6.2 microg/mL for hydrogen peroxide and 534.0 +/- 9.9 microg/mL for Fe3+ chelating activity). The extracts exhibited good antioxidant activity in linoleic acid peroxidation system and weak reducing power ability. The leaf extract showed better antihemolytic activity than the flower and stem (IC50 = 65.7 +/- 1.8 microg/mL).

Antioxidant, antihemolytic, and inhibitory activities of endemic Primula heterochroma against Fe2+-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in rat brain in vitro.

CONTEXT: The genus Primula (Primulaceae) has been used in traditional medicine to treat convulsion and microbial or viral infections. OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we evaluate antioxidant, antihemolytic, and protective effects of flavonoid-rich fractions of endemic Primula heterochroma Stapf. (Primulaceae) against Fe(2+)-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in rat brain in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Aerial parts of plant were defatted and extracted with 60% acetone. Then, 60% acetone extract was fractionated sequentially with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and water. Antioxidant activity of fractions was evaluated by employing six different assays, i.e., 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH) and hydrogen peroxide scavenging, metal chelating and reducing power activities and hemoglobin-induced linoleic acid system and Fe(2+)-induced lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress in rat brain. Also, its antihemolytic activity was determined using 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride-induced hemolysis in rat erythrocyts. RESULTS: Among the flavonoid-rich fractions of Primula heterochroma, aqueous fraction demonstrated the most protective effect through decreasing brain thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels at a dose 200 µg mL(-1) (40%, p < 0.001 versus iron group). Also, the aqueous fraction showed better activity in Fe(2+) chelating (89 ± 3.8 µg mL(-1)) and DPPH radical scavenging (394.4 ± 18.4 µg mL(-1)) models than other fractions. The probable protective mechanism of flavonoid-rich fractions may be attributed to their Fe(2+) chelating, DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power activities. Also, the n-hexane fraction demonstrated a higher protective effect in the hemoglobin-induced linoleic acid system and 2,2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride-induced hemolysis (67 ± 2.6 µg mL(-1)). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Results of this study demonstrate Primula heterochroma is a rich source of natural antioxidant compounds.

Biological activities of ethyl acetate extract of different parts of Hyssopus angustifolius.

CONTEXT: Hyssopus angustifolius M. Bieb. (Lamiaceae) is one of the most important medicinal plants in Iranian traditional medicine for the treatment of lung inflammation, laryngitis and cough relief. Much attention has been paid to this medicinal plant because of its traditional uses. OBJECTIVE: The present study examined the antioxidant and antihemolytic activities of ethyl acetate extract of stems, leaf and flowers of Hyssopus angustifolius. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Antioxidant activity of extracts was evaluated by employing six different models, i.e., DPPH, nitric oxide and hydrogen peroxide scavenging, metal chelating and reducing power activities and hemoglobin-induced linoleic acid system. Also, antihemolytic activity was evaluated against hydrogen peroxide-induced hemolysis. RESULTS: Flowers extract showed the better activity than leaf and stems extracts in DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 was 275.4 ± 7.6 µg mL⁻¹). Leaf, stems and flowers extracts showed good nitric oxide scavenging activity (IC50 were 376.6 ± 11.4 µg mL⁻¹ for flowers, 297.6 ± 9.6 µg mL⁻¹ µg mL⁻¹ for leaves and 837.8 ± 19.2 µg mL⁻¹ for stems). The leaf extract exhibited better hydrogen peroxide scavenging and Fe²âº chelating activity than stems and flowers extracts. In hemoglobin-induced linoleic acid system, all of the extracts exhibited very good activity. Also, extracts show weak reducing power activity. The ethyl acetate extract of leaf showed better antihemolytic activity than the flower and stems (IC50 was 94.0 ± 2.4 µg mL⁻¹). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: These findings give a scientific basis to the traditional usage of Hyssopus angustifolius, also showing its potential as rich sources of natural antioxidant compounds.