In this study, initially 11 different bacterial strains were tested for the degradation capabilities against Basic Orange 2 dye. In initial screening with 78.90% degradation activity, Escherichia ...coli emerged as the most promising strain to degrade the selected dye, and was then employed in subsequent experiments. For further enhancing the degradation capability of selected bacteria, the effects of various physicochemical parameters were also evaluated. Among the tested parameters, 20 ppm dye concentration, 1666 mg/L glucose concentration, a temperature of 40 °C, 666 mg/L sodium chloride concentration, pH 7, 1000 mg/L urea concentration, a 3-day incubation period and the use of sodium benzoate as a redox mediator (666 mg/L) were found to be ideal conditions to get the highest decolorization/degradation activities. Finally, all the mentioned parameters were combined in a single set of experiments, and the decolorization capacity of the bacteria was enhanced to 89.88%. The effect of pH, dye concentration, incubation time and temperature were found to be responsible for the optimum degradation of dye (p < 0.05), as predicted from the ANOVA (analysis of variance) of the response surface methodology. The metabolites were collected after completion of the process and characterized through Fourier transform irradiation (FTIR) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). From the data obtained, a proposed mechanism was deduced where it was assumed that the azo bond of the dye was broken by the azoreductase enzyme of the bacteria, resulting in the formation of aniline and 3, 4-diaminobezeminium chloride. The aniline was then further converted to benzene by deamination by the action of the bacterial deaminase enzyme. The benzene ring, after subsequent methylation, was transformed into o-xylene, while 3, 4-diaminobezeminium chloride was converted to p-xylene by enzymatic action. These findings suggest that Escherichia coli is a capable strain to be used in the bioremediation of textile effluents containing azo dyes. However, the selected bacterial strain may need to be further investigated for other dyes as well.
In the current study, chlorpyrifos was used as a test chemical to evaluate its possible toxicological effect on birds. A total of 45 adult male Japanese quails were divided into five groups (A to E). ...Each group, containing 9 birds was further divided into 3 sub-groups (containing 3 birds each). Group A served as control, while all other groups and sub-groups were exposed to selected pesticide for different trial periods. Chlorpyrifos sub-lethal doses were orally administered daily at the rate of 3, 6, 9, and 12 mg/kg body weight per day to group B, C, D, and E, respectively. Birds were kept under observation for behavioral changes throughout the trial periods. Clinical signs, histological alterations, genotoxicity, and blood biochemical alterations were recorded after each 15-day trial. Mild to moderate clinical signs like staggering gait, tremors, diarrhea, dullness, less frequency of crowing, and decrease foam production were observed in group D and E throughout the study. The changes in the body weight gain and blood biochemical parameters among different groups at a given trial period were insignificant. The appearance of micronuclei in group E birds was more significant, indicating that nucleus damage was dose-dependent while to lesser extent duration-dependent. The comet assay showed significant dose- and duration-dependent DNA damage among various groups. In comparison with control group, extensive histological degenerative alterations in the liver, testes, and kidneys were observed in birds of group D and E, where mild to severe alteration like congestion, vacuolation, necrosis, apoptosis, karyopyknosis, extensive degeneration, and alteration in many cellular structures were noticeable.
Indigofera linifolia is a medicinally important plant, and by virtue of its rich phytochemical composition, this plant is widely used as essential component in traditional medication systems. Due to ...its wide range of medicinal applications, the extract-loaded chitosan (Ext+Ch), extract-loaded PEG (Ext+PEG), and extract-loaded locust bean gum (Ext+LGB) nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared in the present study. The prepared NPs were then evaluated for their antibacterial, antioxidant, and antidiabetic potentials. Antibacterial activities of the crude extract and the synthesized NPs were performed following standard procedures reported in the literature. The antioxidant capabilities of extract and NPs were evaluated using DPPH free radical scavenging assay. The antidiabetic potential of the samples was evaluated against α-amylase and α-glucosidase. Ext+PEG NPs showed more potent antibacterial activity against the selected strains of bacteria with the highest activity against Escherichia coli. The lowest antibacterial potential was observed for Ext+LGB NPs. The Ext+LGB NPs IC50 value of 39 μg/mL was found to be the most potent inhibitor of DPPH free radicals. Ext+LGB NPs showed a greater extent of inhibition against α-glucosidase and α-amylase with an IC50 of 83 and 78 μg/mL, whereas for the standard acarbose the IC50 values recorded against the mentioned enzymes were 69 and 74 μg/mL, respectively. A high concentration of phenolics and flavonoids in the crude extract was confirmed through TPC and TFC tests, HPLC profiling, and GC–MS analysis. It was considered that the observed antibacterial, antidiabetic, and antioxidant potential might be due the presence of these phenolics and flavonoids detected. The plant could thus be considered as a potential candidate to be used as a remedy of the mentioned health complications. However, further research in this regard is needed to isolate the exact responsible compounds of the observed biological potentials exhibited by the crude extract. Further, toxicity and pharmacological evaluations in animal models are also needed to establish the safety or toxicity profile of the plant.
Dargai District Malakand, Pakistan, is a tax-free zone that attracts many industrialists to install their plants in this area. Along with other industries, a number of steel mills are polluting the ...natural environment of this locality. This study aimed to evaluate heavy metals levels in steel mills effluents and fabricate an efficient adsorbent from the leaves of plants growing on the banks of the drainage lines of the industries and having high phytoremediation capabilities, through chemical modifications. Initially, the effluents were analyzed for heavy metal concentrations, then the leaves of a plant (Pteris vittata) with better phytoremediation capability were chemically modified. The leaves of Pteris vittata were crushed into a fine powder, followed by chemical modification with HNO3, then washed with distilled water, neutralized with NaOH and finally activated through calcium chloride to enhance its biosorption ability, abbreviated as CMPVL. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), surface area analyzer, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) were used to characterize the CMPVL. The modified leaves in the powdered form were then used for the reclamation of Fe(II) present in the effluents of the mentioned industries. Batch biosorption tests were performed under varied physicochemical conditions of pH (2–9), contact time (10–140 min), temperature (293–333 K), biosorbent dose (0.01–0.13 g), and initial metal concentration (20–300 mg L−1) to optimize the removal of the selected metal. Langmuir, Jovanovic, Freundlich, Temkin, and Harkins–Jura isotherm models were used to assess the equilibrium data. With a high R2 value of 0.977, the Langmuir model offered an excellent match to the equilibrium data. The pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, power function, intraparticle diffusion, and Natarajan–Khalaf models were applied to experimental kinetics data. With R2 values of 0.999, the pseudo-second order model well fitted the obtained data. The Van’t Hoff equation was used to calculate ΔH°, ΔS° and ΔG° of Fe(II) sorption on CMPVL. The ∆H° and ∆G° were negative, whereas ΔS° was positive, suggesting that the biosorption process was exothermic, favorable, and spontaneous. The selected plant leaves were found to be efficient in the reclamation of iron from the industrial effluents (as the plant has a high natural capability for remediating the selected metal ion) after chemical modification and may be used as an alternative to activated carbon as being a low-cost material and a high phytoremediator of iron metal. Such natural phenomena of phytoremediation should be utilized in obtaining efficient adsorbents for other metals as well.
In the current work, bis-thiourea derivatives have been synthesized through condensation reaction between isothiocynates and diamines in dry acetone to form
(1,2-bis(
-benzoylthioureido) benzene),
...(1,3-bis(
-benzoylthioureido) benzene), and
(1,4-bis(
-benzoylthioureido) benzene). The structures of new synthesized derivatives were confirmed through melting point and spectroscopic technique such as
HNMR only. The synthesized compounds were assessed for acute toxicity test and are proved free of toxicity. The derivatives were further tested as anti-inflammatory agents by
lipoxygenase enzyme inhibition studies, molecular docking, and
carrageenan-induced paw edema assay, and histamine-induced edema test. The overall observations presented that compounds
and
possess promising anti-inflammatory potential, while compound SK2 is found to be a good anti-inflammatory agent.
In the present work, several new glycoconjugates (
were generated from glycopyranosyl-α-trichloroacetimidates (sugar-OTCA) as glycosyl donors and dimethyl-
-tartrate as an aglycone acceptor in good ...to excellent yields. In the synthetic protocol, various monosaccharides were transformed into pentaacetylated derivatives and then into glycopyranosyl-α-trichloroacetimidates. Afterward, the sugar-OTCA was reacted with dimethyl-
-tartrate using Schmidt’s trichloroacetimidate protocol to give the desired products. The newly synthesized glycoconjugates were characterized by FT-IR,
H, and
C-NMR spectroscopic analytical methods. All the target compounds (
) were tested
against various strains of bacteria and fungi at different concentrations. The results revealed that the target compounds had encouraging antibacterial and antifungal potential. The antileishmanial activity of the target compounds against Leishmania tropica promastigotes was also investigated. The
results were further supported by the
docking study that indicated minimum values of the docking scores and binding energies for the resulting complexes obtained by the favorable interactions between the target compounds (
) and the selected strains of bacteria and fungi. The docking results proposed promising antibacterial and antifungal activities of the target compounds (
against the selected bacterial and fungal species.
Contamination of fresh water bodies like riverine system is utmost concerned environmental issue. This study was aimed to assess the concentration of heavy metals in River Kabul and their ...bioaccumulation by freshwater mussel. Comet assay was used to evaluate the genotoxic effect of heavy metals on hemocytes of freshwater mussel. The concentration of heavy metals in water was in the order of Zn > Pb > Ni > Cu > Mn > Fe > Cr > Cd, in sediments were Fe > Zn > Cr > Ni > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cd and in the soft tissues of freshwater mussel were in order of Fe > Zn > Mn > Pb > Cu > Cr > Ni > Cd. The hemocytes of mussels from polluted sites showed significantly higher (
p
< 0.05) DNA damage as compared to reference site. The study showed that pollutants from industries, municipal, domestic and agricultural sources cause heavy metals contamination in River Kabul.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has had a profound impact on global health and socio-economic conditions. To ...date, various vaccines have been administered worldwide in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Despite vaccination efforts, there have been complications. Existing antiviral drugs have shown limited effectiveness, prompting the use of computational methods to understand the dynamics of the virus and develop suitable treatments. The current study focuses on using biocompatible para-sulfonato-calix4arenes to dock against two key proteins of SARS-CoV-2, namely ribonucleic acid (RNA)-dependent RNA polymerase, and helicase. Docking results indicate a strong binding affinity of these compounds to the target proteins, with higher scores compared to commonly used medications. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulation validates the docking results, showing stable protein-ligand complexes over time. The compounds are also screened for absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion properties and toxicity, suggesting their potential as lead candidates for inhibiting the virus’s key proteins. However, further in vivo and in vitro studies are recommended to confirm these findings.
Abstract
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) constitute the largest protein family involved in signal transduction and are the main targets for drug delivery. The metabotropic glutamate receptors ...(mGluRs) are class C of GPCRs that contribute to the modulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission which regulates vital physiological processes and is recognized as a potential therapeutic target throughout the central nervous system. Intracellular C-terminal domains of mGluR are the main targets for proteins regulating these receptors and are also involved in alternative splicing, regulation by phosphorylation, and modulatory protein-protein interactions. Class C of GPCRs exist as dimers and is mediated by interactions between the venus tryflap domain and the transmembrane domain. The mGluR5 variant F can be regulated by both positive and negative allosteric modulators that can potentiate or inhibit the endogenous ligand and glutamate, respectively. Moreover, mGluR5 is involved in many disorders including fragile X syndrome/autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, addiction, chronic pain and epilepsy, etc. The main purpose of current computational work is to determine the 3D structures of the target protein and their active sites to design new drug molecules as potential biochemical agents. The 3D model of the mGluR5 variant F was constructed through homology modeling techniques using MOE and I-TESSER programs. RAMPAGE and ERRATE online servers were used for the 3D structure evaluation and validation. Furthermore, the mGluR5 variant F was docked with 20 mavoglurant derivatives that act as antagonists. Mavoglurant derivatives
3, 4, 6, 10, 13, 18,
and
19
showed a maximum of four interactions with the mGluR5 variant F, whereas derivatives
7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17
and
20
showed a maximum of three interactions with the mGluR5 variant F. The remaining four mavoglurant derivatives expressed two interactions each with mGluR5 variant F. The docking score for these derivatives ranged between −15.55 and −08.210 kcal mol
−1
suggesting their strong interactions with the mGluR5 variant F. Their 3D structure and docking study provides a potential base for the synthesis of new drug candidates to treat brain disorders.
