Sequestration of cyanide ions from aqueous medium by physio-chemically fabricated biochar of peels of banana and grape fruit in ecofriendly way.

Pakistan is an agricultural country producing plenty of fruits, like: mango, banana, apple, peaches, grapes, plums, variety of citrus fruits including lemon, grapefruit, and oranges. So far the peels of most of the fruits are usually wasted and not properly utilized anywhere. In this work, the peels of banana and grapefruit are converted into biochar by slow pyrolysis under controlled supply of air and used for sequestering cyanide ions from aqueous medium after chemical modification with ZnCl2 and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The modified biochar was characterized by various instrumental techniques, like: SEM, FTIR, TGA, and CHNS. Different parameters, like: time, temperature, pH, and dose of adsorbent affecting the adsorption of cyanide ions, onto prepared biochar were optimized and to understand the adsorption phenomenon, kinetic and thermodynamic studies were performed. Concentration of cyanide ions was estimated by employing standard ion selective electrode system and it is found that Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate treated biochar of banana peels shown more adsorption capacity, i.e.,: 17.080 mg/g as compared to all samples. Present work revealed that the biochar produced from the fruit waste has sufficient potential to eliminate trace quantities of cyanide from water, especially after treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate.

An industrial area in Asian and African countries where mining is done using traditional techniques is the major cause of cyanide toxicity in wastewater streams. So, here chemically fabricated biochar made by peels of banana and grape fruit is employed for removal of cyanide ion for controlling aquatic pollution using local resources in green way. Favorable results indicated the feasibility of this process, which is cost effective, convenient, ecofriendly, and sustainable.

Separation of Amino Acids, Dyes, and Pigments Using Novel Pressurized Circular TLC Assembly for Secure Medical Imaging Applications.

A novel pressurized flow system for circular thin-layer chromatography (PC-TLC) has been successfully established and employed for the separation of amino acids, dyes, and pigments for safe medical imaging applications. In this system, the mobile phase is applied to a regular TLC plate through the tube and needle of an intravenous infusion set. The needle was fused in a hole underneath the center of the plate, while the second side end of the tube was connected to a microburette containing the solvent. This new assembly proved itself better in terms of separation time (within 5 minutes) and controlled flow of the solvent and horizontal movement of analyte components over chromatograms with better separation and R f values (glutamine: 0.26, valine: 0.44, phenylalanine: 0.60, chlorophyll a: 0.52, chlorophyll b: 0.43, xanthophyll: 0.18, carotenoid: 0.97, and pheophytin: 0.60) when a number of samples of amino acids, dyes, and pigments were separated by the developed apparatus and the conventional TLC procedure. The developed method was found distinctly rapid, precise, and eco-friendly (less solvent consuming) as compared to traditional ascending TLC.

Efficacy of Various Types of Berries Extract for the Synthesis of ZnO Nanocomposites and Exploring Their Antimicrobial Potential for Use in Herbal Medicines.

Nanoscience has developed various greener approaches as an alternate method for the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanocomposites. The present study discusses the efficacy of berries extract for the synthesis of ZnO nanocomposites. Characterization of synthesized nanocomposite were done by SEM, UV/VIS spectrophotometry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and XRD techniques. The crystalline nature of the synthesized nanoparticles was verified by XRD pattern in the range of 10-80 nm. The UV absorption peak of Elaeagnus umbellata (ZnO-EU) nanocomposite at 340 nm, Rubus idaeus (ZnO-Ri) nanocomposite at 360 nm, and Rubus fruticosus (ZnO-Rf) nanocomposite at 360 nm was observed. The nanocomposites were analyzed for their antimicrobial activity and found to be effective against three phytopathogens. The antimicrobial activity of ZnO nanocomposites showed good results against Escherichia coli (341), Staphylococcus aureus (345B), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5994 NLF). This study presents a simple and inexpensive approach for synthesizing zinc oxide nanocomposites with effective antibacterial activity.

A Comparison Of Skeletal Age Of Thalassaemic Patients Of 9-15 Years With Chronological Age By Radiography.

BACKGROUND: Thalassemia is inherited disorder characterized by haemolytic anaemia, due to complete absence or reduced ß-globin chain synthesis, stimulating pathological bone marrow overstimulation and altered erythropoiesis. The change in bone mass ultimately results into miss interpretation of bone age once assed from x-ray radiograph. The aims compare skeletal age of thalassaemic children of 9-15 years with chronological age by x-ray wrist bones. METHODS: This was cross sectional analytical study; the study was conducted in conjunction with Fatimid Hospital Peshawar Pakistan and Out Patients Department (OPD) of paediatrics for minor illness (other than Thalassemia) Khyber Teaching Hospital August 2014 to January 2015. A total 156 samples were selected convenient sampling to make comparison of bone age and chronological age between thalassaemic children (age 9-15years) and age sex matched normal control. A structure data collection check list was used to collect data X-ray findings (bone age). SPSS 20 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The results showed a total of 156 children with their mean age 11.9±2.2, male were 97 (62.2%) and females 59 (37.8%). Out of thalassaemic (n=76) majority 49 (62.8%) were male as compared to female 29 (37.2%). The mean chorological age among both of group were not significantly different (p=0.67). However, the bone age was significantly different from each other (p=0001). Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that was strong correlation between erupt teeth and bone age (r=0.462, p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: Skeletal age assessment was found to be suboptimal along with chronological age in children and adolescents suffering from thalassemia.

Development of 99mTc-5-fluorouracil as a potential tumor diagnostic agent.

5-Fluorouracil is a well know drug for chemotherapy of various types of cancer. In the present study, we radiolabeled 5-fluorouracil with (99m)Tc for a diagnostic study of cancer. After successful labeling of the drug we performed an animal study to evaluate the potential of this radiopharmaceutical as a tumor diagnostic agent. The results showed 98.1 ± 1.2% labeling efficacy of 5-fluorouracil with (99m)Tc. The in vitro stability of the radiolabeled drug at room temperature at 4 hr of post-labeling was >96.5 ± 0.4%. The binding of the radiolabeled drug with plasma proteins was 66.6 ± 3%. Partition coefficient results showed that this drug is hydrophilic in nature. Biodistribution study in rabbit models displayed faint uptake in liver. Both kidney and bladder were prominent as excretory route of the labeled drug. Bioevaluation was performed in Swiss Webster mice having naturally developed tumor. Mice were dissected, uptake of drug in various organs was studied and results showed prominent uptake in liver and tumor. Tumor was further investigated by histopathological study.

In house development of (99m)Tc-Rhenium sulfide colloidal nanoparticles for sentinel lymph node detection.

In this study, rhenium sulfide colloidal nanoparticles were developed as radiopharmaceutical for sentinel lymph node detection. We directly used rhenium sulfide as a starting material for the preparation of colloidal nanoparticles. UV-visible spectrophotometry was used for characterization of in house developed colloidal particles. The size distribution of radioactive particles was studied by using membrane filtration method. The percentage of radiolabeled colloidal nanoparticles was determined by paper chromatography (PC). The study also includes in vitro stability, protein binding in human blood and bioevaluation in a rabbit model. The results indicate that 77.27 ± 3.26 % particles of size less than 20nm (suitable for lymphoscintigraphy) were radiolabeled. (99m)Tc labeled rhenium sulfide labeling efficacy with the radiometal is 98.5 ± 0.5%, which remains considerably stable beyond 5h at room temperature. Furthermore, it was observed that 70.2 ± 1.3% radiolabeled colloid complex showed binding with the blood protein. Bioevaluation results show the remarkable achievement of our radiopharmaceutical. The in house prepared (99m)Tc labeled rhenium sulfide colloidal nanoparticles reached the sentinel node within 15 min of post injection. These results indicate that (99m)Tc labeled rhenium sulfide colloid nanoparticles kit produced by a novel procedure seems of significant potential as a feasible candidate for further development to be used in clinical practice.

Preperation of (99m)Tc labeled 5-fluorouracil as a potential diagnostic agent in advanced breast cancer: first clinical trial.

The chemotherapeutic drug 5-fluorouracil (5FU) is used for treatment of various types of cancers. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potential of this drug as a diagnostic radiopharmaceutical in advanced breast cancer. We have labeled 5FU by using the stannous chloride reduction method with 555MBq of technetium-99m ((99m)Tc). The (99m)Tc-5FU was injected intravenously in 4 patients having advanced breast cancer. Dynamic and static images were taken at various time intervals till 2h. Whole body images were used to calculate the percentage of the injected dose, in each organ. Target to non target ratio was calculated to find out the optimum time for imaging. In conclusion, our study showed that (99m)Tc-5FU was a promising agent for diagnosing advanced breast cancer with optimum visualization at 1h.

Antimicrobial Activities of Novel Bis-Piperidinium Compounds.

The antimicrobial activity of two new series of bis-piperidinium compounds with alkyl chains of different lengths against bacterial (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and fungal strains (Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Rhodolorula rubera, Lipomyces lopofera and Candida albicans), are described. Antimicrobial activities of the synthesized compounds were compared to that of dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride. Bis-piperidinium salts possessing 12-16 carbon side chains showed better antimicrobial properties as compared to the standard dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride.

Removal of chromium on Polyalthia longifolia leaves biomass.

Adsorption is an environmental friendly process for removal and/or recovery of heavy metals from wastewater. In recent years, it has been substantiated as a popular technique to treat industrial waste effluents, with significant advantages. In this work, batchwise removal of chromium (III) ions from water by Polyalthia longifolia leaves was studied as a function of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time, and agitation speed. Surface characteristics of the leaves were evaluated by recording IR spectra. The Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin adsorption isotherms were employed to explain the sorption process. It was found that one gram of leaves can remove 1.87 mg of trivalent chromium when working at pH 3.0. It has been concluded that Polyalthia longifolia leaves can be used as cost-effective and benign adsorbents for removal of Cr(III) ions from wastewater.

Removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) from water by adsorption on peels of banana.

The adsorption of lead(II) and cadmium(II) on peels of banana has been studied in batch mode using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy for metal estimation. Concerned parameters like adsorbent dose, pH, contact time and agitation speed were investigated. Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were employed to describe adsorption equilibrium. The maximum amounts of cadmium(II) and lead(II) adsorbed (qm), as evaluated by Langmuir isotherm, were 5.71 mg and 2.18 mg per gram of powder of banana peels, respectively. Study concluded that banana peels, a waste material, have good potential as an adsorbent to remove toxic metals like lead and cadmium from water.

Removal of chromium (III) by using coal as adsorbent.

The adsorption of Cr(III) by two different coal varieties from Lakhra and Thar coalfields (Pakistan) have been studied in batch mode. The effect of adsorbent dose, pH, contact time and agitation speed on the adsorption of Cr(III) by both the coals were investigated. Adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 40-50 min. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherms were used to elucidate the observed sorption phenomena. The maximum Cr(III) removal was 2.61 mg of Cr(III) per gram of LC (Lakhra coal) and 2.55 mg of Cr(III) per gram of TC (Thar coal) as evaluated from Langmuir isotherm. The heat of sorption was in the range 3.75-3.87 kJ/mol as evaluated from Temkin isotherm. Best results were obtained at pH>5. It is proposed that low rank coals of Pakistan can be used for removal of toxic metals like Cr(III) from industrial effluents/waste waters.

A novel application of quaternary ammonium compounds as antibacterial hybrid coating on glass surfaces.

A hybrid coating is prepared on a glass surface by a sol-gel process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and Q(4)N(+)-Si(OR)(3). Transparent coatings with smooth surfaces were investigated against both Gram-positive (Escherichia coli) and Gram-negative bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus). A rapid decrease of the count for both strains was observed within 72 h. A significant correlation has been observed between the concentration of Q(4)N(+)-Si(OR)(S) and the antibacterial activity which has been thoroughly investigated.

A new spectrophotometric method for the determination of promethazine-HCl from pure and pharmaceutical preparations.

Promethazine-HCl reacts with potassium persulphate to give a pinkish red color complex exhibiting maximum absorbance at 515nm. The reaction is selective for promethazine-HCl, with 1mug/mL as visual limit of identification and provides a basis for a new spectrophotometric determination method. The color forming reaction obeys Beer's Law from 0.001 to 0.125mg/mL of promethazine-HCl. The relative standard deviation does not exceed 0.005mg/mL. The method is successfully applied to pure and pharmaceutical formulations of promethazine-HCl. The quantitative assessment of tolerable amounts of possible interferants was also studied. The results are reproducible within +/-1% and in good agreement with those obtained by the standard procedure.