Rose Bengal incorporated to α-cyclodextrin microparticles for photodynamic therapy against the cariogenic microorganism Streptococcus mutans.

Rose Bengal@α-cyclodextrin (RB@α-CD) microparticles (µPs) were prepared and the RB inclusion in α-CD was experimentally demonstrated through infrared, UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The RB inclusion in α-CD was theoretically investigated using classical molecular mechanics calculations, the simulation results showing that RB can be included in both the narrow and wide apertures of the α-cyclodextrin ring with configurations exhibiting average binding energies of about 27 kcal mol-1. The prepared RB@α-CD microparticles were characterized through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and it was demonstrated that they are highly efficient in the photodynamic therapy against a Streptococcus mutans (the main bacteria of cariogenic dental plaque) suspension, as a concentration of RB@α-CD µPs 10 times smaller than the usual concentration of pure RB is still capable to produce significant antibacterial activity.

Invited review: impact of specific nutrient interventions during mid-to-late gestation on physiological traits important for survival of multiple-born lambs.

To improve production efficiency, the sheep meat industry has increased flock prolificacy. However, multiple-born lambs have lower birth weights, increased mortality and reduced growth rate compared with single-born lambs. Lamb mortality is a major issue for livestock farming globally and solutions are required to increase survival to realise the value of increased flock fecundity. Nutrition during gestation can influence maternal-foetal placental nutrient transfer and thus foetal growth and organ/tissue development, as well as improve postnatal productivity. This review covers the challenges and opportunities associated with increased prolificacy, highlights gaps in our knowledge and identifies some opportunities for how targeted intervention with specific nutrients during mid-to-late pregnancy may influence lamb survival and productivity with a specific focus on pasture-based systems. This time frame was selected as intervention strategies in short-time windows post-pregnancy scanning and before lambing to improve lamb survival in high-risk groups (e.g. triplets) are likely to be the most practical and economically feasible options for pasture-based extensive farming systems.

Vibrational Spectroscopy and Phonon-Related Properties of the L-Aspartic Acid Anhydrous Monoclinic Crystal.

The infrared absorption and Raman scattering spectra of the monoclinic P21 l-aspartic acid anhydrous crystal were recorded and interpreted with the help of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The effect of dispersive forces was taken into account, and the optimized unit cells allowed us to obtain the vibrational normal modes. The computed data exhibits good agreement with the measurements for low wavenumbers, allowing for a very good assignment of the infrared and Raman spectral features. The vibrational spectra of the two lowest energy conformers of the l-aspartic molecule were also evaluated using the hybrid B3LYP functional for the sake of comparison, showing that the molecular calculations give a limited description of the measured IR and Raman spectra of the l-aspartic acid crystal for wavenumbers below 1000 cm(-1). The results obtained reinforce the need to use solid-state calculations to describe the vibrational properties of molecular crystals instead of calculations for a single isolated molecule picture even for wavenumbers beyond the range usually associated with lattice modes (200 cm(-1) < ω < 1000 cm(-1)).

Identification of amino acids associated with skeletal muscle growth in late gestation and at weaning in lambs of well-nourished sheep.

The objective of this study was to determine the association between intracellular free AA (FAA) profiles in skeletal muscle with muscle growth in twin and singleton fetuses in late pregnancy and at weaning, under an ad libitum feeding regime of the dam. Plasma from singleton- (n = 9) and twin-bearing (n = 10) ewes at d 140 of pregnancy and FAA in the semitendinosus muscle (STM) from the corresponding fetuses were studied. At weaning, intracellular STM FAA concentrations were compared between twins at the same age as singletons (Twin(age); n = 17) and at the same weight as singletons (Twin(wt); n = 17) to that of singletons (n = 20). Twin fetuses were 15% lighter (P = 0.03) with a 20% lighter STM (P = 0.02) compared to singletons. Maternal plasma FAA were similar (P ≥ 0.17) between singleton- and twin-bearing ewes. Twin fetuses had greater (P < 0.05) plasma concentrations of glutamine, histidine, and methionine and lower (P < 0.05) concentrations of aspartate, citrulline, glutamate, and ornithine compared with singletons. In fetal STM, twins had lower (P < 0.05) concentrations of aspartate and valine and greater (P < 0.01) concentration of methionine. Correlations were found between fetal STM weight and intracellular concentrations of arginine (r = 0.66, P < 0.01) and glutamine (r = 0.49, P < 0.01). Compared to singletons at weaning, Twin(age) were 16% lighter (P < 0.01) and the STM weight was proportionately 16% lighter (P < 0.01). For Twin(wt), the magnitude of the difference for STM weight was reduced to 8% lighter (P = 0.02). Compared to singletons, Twin(age) lambs had greater (P < 0.05) intracellular concentrations of glutamine, histidine, threonine, asparagine, alanine, serine, and glutamate but reduced taurine. The differences in FAA concentrations were less between Twin(wt) and singletons than between Twin(age) and singletons. Positive correlations were found between leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, threonine, and tyrosine muscle concentration and STM weight at weaning. Males differed from females in intracellular FAA both in late pregnancy and at weaning. Twins had reduced RNA content during pregnancy and at weaning, suggesting a lower capacity for protein accretion. These data suggest that specific FAA concentrations are associated with differences in muscle growth during late pregnancy, notably arginine and glutamine, and reduced protein synthesis capacity. However, the relevance of specific FAA varies according to stage of development and sex of the lamb.

L-Asparagine crystals with wide gap semiconductor features: optical absorption measurements and density functional theory computations.

Results of optical absorption measurements are presented together with calculated structural, electronic, and optical properties for the anhydrous monoclinic L-asparagine crystal. Density functional theory (DFT) within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) including dispersion effects (TS, Grimme) was employed to perform the calculations. The optical absorption measurements revealed that the anhydrous monoclinic L-asparagine crystal is a wide band gap material with 4.95 eV main gap energy. DFT-GGA+TS simulations, on the other hand, produced structural parameters in very good agreement with X-ray data. The lattice parameter differences Δa, Δb, Δc between theory and experiment were as small as 0.020, 0.051, and 0.022 Å, respectively. The calculated band gap energy is smaller than the experimental data by about 15%, with a 4.23 eV indirect band gap corresponding to Z → Γ and Z → ß transitions. Three other indirect band gaps of 4.30 eV, 4.32 eV, and 4.36 eV are assigned to α3 → Γ, α1 → Γ, and α2 → Γ transitions, respectively. Δ-sol computations, on the other hand, predict a main band gap of 5.00 eV, just 50 meV above the experimental value. Electronic wavefunctions mainly originating from O 2p-carboxyl, C 2p-side chain, and C 2p-carboxyl orbitals contribute most significantly to the highest valence and lowest conduction energy bands, respectively. By varying the lattice parameters from their converged equilibrium values, we show that the unit cell is less stiff along the b direction than for the a and c directions. Effective mass calculations suggest that hole transport behavior is more anisotropic than electron transport, but the mass values allow for some charge mobility except along a direction perpendicular to the molecular layers of L-asparagine which form the crystal, so anhydrous monoclinic L-asparagine crystals could behave as wide gap semiconductors. Finally, the calculations point to a high degree of optical anisotropy for the absorption and complex dielectric function, with more structured curves for incident light polarized along the 100 and 101 directions.

Anhydrous crystals of DNA bases are wide gap semiconductors.

We present the structural, electronic, and optical properties of anhydrous crystals of DNA nucleobases (guanine, adenine, cytosine, and thymine) found after DFT (Density Functional Theory) calculations within the local density approximation, as well as experimental measurements of optical absorption for powders of these crystals. Guanine and cytosine (adenine and thymine) anhydrous crystals are predicted from the DFT simulations to be direct (indirect) band gap semiconductors, with values 2.68 eV and 3.30 eV (2.83 eV and 3.22 eV), respectively, while the experimentally estimated band gaps we have measured are 3.83 eV and 3.84 eV (3.89 eV and 4.07 eV), in the same order. The electronic effective masses we have obtained at band extremes show that, at low temperatures, these crystals behave like wide gap semiconductors for electrons moving along the nucleobases stacking direction, while the hole transport are somewhat limited. Lastly, the calculated electronic dielectric functions of DNA nucleobases crystals in the parallel and perpendicular directions to the stacking planes exhibit a high degree of anisotropy (except cytosine), in agreement with published experimental results.