Sustainable and green persulfate-based chemiluminescent method for on-site estimation of chemical oxygen demand in waters.

The standard method for estimating the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of water bodies uses dichromate as the main oxidant, a chemical agent whose use has been restricted in the European Union since 2017. This method is hazardous, time-consuming, and burdensome to adapt to on-site measurements. As an alternative and following the current trends of sustainable and green chemistry, a method using the less toxic reagent sodium persulfate as the oxidizing agent has been developed. In this method an excess of persulfate, activated through heating in an alkaline solution, oxidizes the chemically degradable organic fraction through a 2-step radical mechanism. The remaining persulfate is evaluated by chemiluminescence (CL) using luminol and a portable charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The method provided quantitative recoveries and a sample throughput of >60 samples h-1. It was validated in river water samples by comparison of COD estimations with the standard dichromate method (R = 0.973, p < 0.05) and with a UV-Vis permanganate-based method (R = 0.9998, p < 0.05), the latter being also used for drinking waters. The proposed method is a sustainable and green alternative to the previous used methods. Overall, the method using activated persulfate is suitable for use as COD quantitation/screening tool in surface waters. Considering that its main components are portable, it can be ultimately adapted for in situ analysis at the point of need.

Selective chemiluminescent TURN-ON quantitative bioassay and imaging of intracellular hydrogen peroxide in human living cells.

Hydrogen peroxide is an unavoidable by-product of cell metabolism, but when it is not properly managed by the body it can lead to several pathologies (e.g., premature aging, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, cancer). Several methods have been proposed for the measurement of intracellular H2O2 but none of them has proven to be selective. We developed a rapid all-in-one chemiluminescent bioassay for the quantification of H2O2 in living cells with a low limit of detection (0.15 µM). The method relies on an adamantylidene-1,2-dioxetane lipophilic probe containing an arylboronate moiety; upon reaction with H2O2 the arylboronate moiety is converted to the correspondent phenol and the molecule decomposes leading to an excited-state fragment that emits light. The probe has been successfully employed for quantifying intracellular H2O2 in living human endothelial, colon and keratinocyte cells exposed to different pro-oxidant stimuli (i.e., menadione, phorbol myristate acetate and lipopolysaccharide). Imaging experiments clearly localize the chemiluminescence emission inside the cells. Treatment of cells with antioxidant molecules leads to a dose-dependent decrease of intracellular H2O2 levels. As a proof of concept, the bioassay has been used to measure the antioxidant activity of extracts from Brassica juncea wastes, which contain glucosinolates, isothiocyanates and other antioxidant molecules.

Peptides from Cauliflower By-Products, Obtained by an Efficient, Ecosustainable, and Semi-Industrial Method, Exert Protective Effects on Endothelial Function.

The large amount of cauliflower industry waste represents an unexplored source of bioactive compounds. In this work, peptide hydrolysates from cauliflower leaves were characterized by combined bioanalytical approaches. Twelve peptide fractions were studied to evaluate unexplored biological activities by effect-based cellular bioassays. A potent inhibition of intracellular xanthine oxidase activity was observed in human vascular endothelial cells treated with one fraction, with an IC50 = 8.3 ± 0.6 µg/ml. A different fraction significantly induced the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 1 and decreased the tumor necrosis factor α-induced VCAM-1 expression, thus leading to a significant improvement in the viability of human vascular endothelial cells. Shotgun peptidomics and bioinformatics were used to retrieve the most probable bioactive peptide sequences. Our study shows that peptides from cauliflower waste should be recycled for producing valuable products useful for the prevention of endothelial dysfunction linked to atherogenesis progression.

Novel role of the nutraceutical bioactive compound berberine in lectin-like OxLDL receptor 1-mediated endothelial dysfunction in comparison to lovastatin.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Oxidized LDL (oxLDL) or pro-inflammatory stimuli lead to increased oxidative stress linked to endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. The oxLDL receptor-1 (LOX1) is elevated within atheromas and cholesterol-lowering statins inhibit LOX1 expression. Berberine (BBR), an alkaloid extracted from plants of gender Berberis, has lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory activity. However, its role in regulating LOX1-mediated signaling is still unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of BBR on oxLDL- and TNFα-induced endothelial dysfunction in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and to compare it with that of lovastatin (LOVA). METHODS AND RESULTS: Cytotoxicity was determined by lactate dehydrogenase assay. Antioxidant capacity was measured with chemiluminescent and fluorescent method and intracellular ROS levels through a fluorescent dye. Gene and protein expression levels were assayed by qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. HUVECs exposure to oxLDL (30 µg/ml) or TNFα (10 ng/ml) for 24 h led to a significant increase in LOX1 expression, effect abrogated by BBR (5 µM) and LOVA (5 µM). BBR but not LOVA treatment abolished the TNFα-induced cytotoxicity and restored the activation of Akt signaling. In spite of a low direct antioxidant capacity, both compounds reduced intracellular ROS levels generated by treatment of TNFα but only BBR inhibited NOX2 expression, MAPK/Erk1/2 signaling and subsequent NF-κB target genes VCAM and ICAM expression, induced by TNFα. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrated for the first time that BBR could prevent the oxLDL and TNFα - induced LOX1 expression and oxidative stress, key events that lead to NOX, MAPK/Erk1/2 and NF-κB activation linked to endothelial dysfunction. CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS STUDIED IN THIS ARTICLE: Berberine (PubChem CID: 2353); Lovastatin (PubChem CID: 53232).

A new sensitive and quantitative chemiluminescent assay to monitor intracellular xanthine oxidase activity for rapid screening of inhibitors in living endothelial cells.

Xanthine oxidase (XO) is an important enzyme, expressed at high levels in the vasculature in endothelial cells, that catalyzes the hydroxylation of hypoxanthine to xanthine and xanthine to uric acid. Excessive production of uric acid results in hyperuricemia linked to gout and cardiovascular diseases. Testing inhibition of XO is important for detection of potentially effective drugs or natural products that could be used to treat diseases caused by increased XO activity. In the present study, for the first time, we developed an in vitro chemiluminescent bioassay to determine XO activity in living endothelial cells and the IC50 value of oxypurinol, the active metabolite of the inhibitor drug allopurinol. Intracellular XO activity was measured in less than 20 min with a luminol/catalyst-based chemiluminescence assay able to measure XO with a limit of 0.4 µU/mL. Oxypurinol addition to 5 × 103 cells (ranging from 5.0 to 0.0 µM) caused a linear decrease in XO activity, with an IC50 of 1.0 ± 0.5 µM. The detection system developed was low-cost, rapid, reproducible, and easily miniaturizable so suitable to be used on small quantities of cells.

Luciferase Genes as Reporter Reactions: How to Use Them in Molecular Biology?

: The latest advances in molecular biology have made available several biotechnological tools that take advantage of the high detectability and quantum efficiency of bioluminescence (BL), with an ever-increasing number of novel applications in environmental, pharmaceutical, food, and forensic fields. Indeed, BL proteins are being used to develop ultrasensitive binding assays and cell-based assays, thanks to their high detectability and to the availability of highly sensitive BL instruments. The appealing aspect of molecular biology tools relying on BL reactions is their general applicability in both in vitro assays, such as cell cultures or purified proteins, and in vivo settings, such as in whole-animal BL imaging. The aim of this chapter is to provide the reader with an overview of state-of-the-art bioluminescent tools based on luciferase genes, highlighting molecular biology strategies that have been applied so far, together with some selected examples.

No output or runaway?

A 75-year-old male was implanted with a Telectronics Meta DDDR model 1250 pacemaker 47 months ago. The patient was evaluated in-office for symptomatic complaints of dizziness, palpitations, and "too slow or too fast" pulse rates. Upon examination, the device displayed sudden no output manifestations for which the device had been recalled. However, the device further displayed erratic paced rates to 200 ppm, switching between VVIR and DDDR modes. To the best of our knowledge, this is a previously unreported manifestation in this recalled device and needs to be addressed due to its potentially hazardous patient effects.

A verified report of spurious programming: a case study.

A case of unintentional misprogramming is described in which a DDDR pacemaker, programmed to the VVIR mode, reverted to the originally programmed parameters and mode. The misprogramming requires that a particular sequence of steps be followed and has been verified by the manufacturer. This misprogramming may be clinically significant and can be reproduced in an entire family of current pacemakers based on the same software platform.

Somatostatin inhibits urinary cyclic AMP excretion in diabetic rats.

Short term (30 min) infusion of cyclic somatostatin (50 microgram/rat), insulin (1 U/rat) or the two together significantly suppressed urinary cyclic AMP excretion in streptozotocin-diabetic rats. While somatostatin tended to increase cyclic GMP excretion, insulin had an opposite effect in diabetic but not in normal rats. It is suggested that somatostatin suppresses cyclic AMP excretion by inhibiting directly adenylate cyclase in liver and perhaps in other organs. The possibility that suppression of urinary cyclic AMP is due to inhibition of glucagon secretion is also considered.