Review: Self-radiolysis of compounds containing tritium and carbon-14.

Energy released from beta emission causes molecules that incorporate tritium (3 H) and carbon-14 (14 C) atoms to be less stable than their stable labeled counterparts, thus making radiolabeled compounds prone to self-radiolysis. This literature review examines the stability of organic compounds incorporating 3 H and 14 C atoms and discusses stability of the compound with respect to functional groups within the radiolabeled molecules. The goal of this paper is to serve as a reference for the stability of radiolabeled compounds.

Review: radiolabeled polymers containing covalently bound (3) H and (14) C.

Radiolabeled compounds are invaluable tools used to study synthetic and biological processes. Radiolabeled polymers find uses in mechanistic pathway elucidation, bioincorporation studies, biodegradation studies, and drug delivery applications. This literature review examines the syntheses (or biosyntheses), physical properties, and applications of radiolabeled polymers which contain covalently bound tritium and carbon-14 atoms.

A comparison of the anti-Staphylococcus aureus activity of extracts from commonly used medicinal plants.

BACKGROUND: Resurgences of Staphylococcus aureus infection continue globally, with antibiotic resistance increasing dramatically, making these infections more difficult to treat. S. aureus epidemics impose public health threats, and economic burdens on health care costs worldwide, presenting challenges modern medicine struggles to control. OBJECTIVE: In order to answer today's call for effective treatments against S. aureus, we evaluated and compared various botanical extracts that have historically been suggested as useful for their antimicrobial properties against S. aureus. DESIGN: Briefly, S. aureus cultures were treated with selected botanical extracts and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determined. In addition, to obtain more quantitative measures on bacterial growth, 24-hour growth studies were done to examine the temporal activity and stability of various botanicals on bacterial replication. RESULTS: The antimicrobial activity observed for the botanical extracts used in this comparative evaluation of efficacy included both bacteriostatic and bacteriocidal activity against S. aureus. Highly effective botanicals including Salvia officinalis, Eucalyptus globulus, Coleus forskohlii, Coptis chinensis, Turnera diffusa, and Larrea tridentata exhibited MIC values ranging from 60 to 300 µg/mL and a 10(6)-fold reduction in bacterial replication. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi and Allium sativum were slightly less effective, exhibiting MIC values ranging from 90 to 400 µg/mL and a 10(5)-fold reduction, while Anemopsis californica gave MIC value of 360 µg/mL and a 10(4)-fold reduction in bacterial replication. Many botanicals, especially at lower doses, had an initial inhibitory effect followed by a recovery in bacterial replication. Such botanicals included E. globulus, C. chinensis, T. diffusa, A. californica, and Berberis vulgaris. CONCLUSIONS: Our data demonstrate that S. officinalis, E. globulus, C. forskohlii, A. uva-ursi, C. chinensis, T. diffusa, A. californica, A. sativum, and L. tridentata all show promising direct antimicrobial activity against S. aureus. For many of these botanicals, strong bacteriocidal activity was observed at higher concentrations, but even at lower concentrations, bacteriostatic activity was evident. Other botanicals including B. vulgaris, Baptisia tinctoria, and Glycyrrhiza glabra showed moderate activity against S. aureus, while Schisandra chinensis, Echinacea angustifolia, and Polygonum multiflorum were shown to be ineffective.