Vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) is a powerful tool for the structure determination of dissolved molecules. However, the application of VCD to nanostructures is limited up to now due to the ...weakness of the effect and hence the low signal intensities. Here we show that the addition of a small amount of cobalt(
ii
) drastically enhances the VCD signals of a thiolate-protected gold cluster Au
25
(Capt)
18
(Capt = captopril) in aqueous solution. An increase of VCD signal intensity of at least one order of magnitude is observed. The enhancement depends on the amount of CoCl
2
added but almost an order of magnitude enhancement is already observed at a cluster : CoCl
2
ratio of 1 : 1. In contrast, circular dichroism (CD) and infrared spectra hardly change. The increase in VCD intensity goes along with a qualitative change of the spectrum and the enhancement increases with time reaching a stable state only after several hours. The enhancement is due to an interaction between the cobalt(
ii
) and the cluster, which also leads to quenching of its fluorescence. The behaviour is completely different for free captopril, where the addition of cobalt(
ii
) salt does not affect the VCD spectrum.
Co
2+
leads to the drastic enhancement of vibrational circular dichroism of a thiolate-protected gold cluster.
Coconut snowball (Naru/ Ladoo) is a conventional Indian sweet made out of coconut endosperm and sugar/ jaggery. However, coconut snowball has a limited shelf-life (3–4 weeks) and lose their textural ...properties with time in refrigerated conditions, due to the presence of high amounts of saturated fatty acids. This present study is aimed to utilize tender endosperm (Talsas/ Nungu) of Palmyra palm (
Borassus flabellifer
) as an ingredient for coconut snowball to improve its nutritional and sensory attributes. In this study, the optimum cooking time, amount of coconut, and Talsas endosperm obtained through Box-Behnken model were 22.5 min, 52.25% and 22.5%, respectively. Fortification increased the levels of total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, ferric reducing antioxidant activity, and 2, 2′-Azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6 sulfonic acid) radical scavenging property by 45.39%, 3.25-fold, 6.68-fold and 2.34-fold, respectively. HPLC analysis of Naru samples revealed the presence of six polyphenols (kaemferol, myricetin, gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, quercetin, rutin). Additionally, in-vitro lipid digestibility, lipid oxidation studies microbiological analysis, and sensory studies were conducted to determine the role of Talsas endosperm substitution in coconut snowball. Based on these experiments, it can be concluded that fortification of Coconut Naru with Talsas endosperm significantly enhanced its nutritional profile, antioxidant capacity, sensory characteristics, and shelf life by only up to 75 days.
Palm sap sugar is a sweetener which is made from the sap or nectar collected from different varieties/species of palm trees. It has huge scope as an alternative sweetener in Indian market. It is a ...natural alternative to unhealthy cane sugar and is more beneficial for farmers as well. Some of its characteristic features are low GI value and its macro (Glucose: 0.49–86.90 g/100 ml, Fructose: 0.26–1.61, Sucrose: 5.30–27.00 g/100 ml) and micro (K: 65.28–1326.0, Na: 2.85–117.5, Mg: 0.54–31.00, Ca: 0.24–79.00 mg/100 ml) nutritional content. Palm sugar also has impact on colour, aroma and taste profile of the final product. The taste, sensory profile and nutritional attributes of palm sugar vary on the basis of its species, region of growth and climatic conditions. At present, traditional processing of palm sap leads to lower yield and higher expenses. There is huge potential in the field of development in processing techniques (Traditional processing, spray drying, membrane technology, and vacuum drying) to optimize the production of palm sugar. Palm sugar and other products from different parts of palm can be used to make a variety of other value-added products like toffees, chocolates, cola, toddy wine, candy, and palm vinegar etc. The purpose of this review paper is to summarise the composition of palm sap, distinctive qualities of the extracted sap, various production procedures, nutritional and physico-chemical properties of palm sugar, and the development of functional foods using palm sugar.
Metal nanomaterials have attracted extensive attention in biological labeling and imaging due to their controllable physical and chemical properties. Recently, a lot of effort has been devoted to ...preparing various ultrasmall and functional copper nanoclusters (CuNCs) with different emissions from blue to red, soluble both in organic and aqueous phases. Herein, a novel one-step synthetic method is proposed for the preparation of stable water-soluble glutathione-capped (GSH-capped) CuNCs. The resulting nanoclusters have a good dispersibility and stability in aqueous media. The stability was examined by several test experiments. The mass detection in ESI-HRMS mode allowed ionization of several doubly charged species with formula Cu5L6, Cu6L6, Cu7L6, Cu8L6, and Cu9L6 (L = C10H16N3O6S). The use of advanced separation techniques including liquid chromatography (HPLC), gel electrophoresis (PAGE), and capillary electrophoresis (CE) allowed the separation of several clusters, some of which are larger than Au25(GS)18, as shown by PAGE. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on successful size-separation of CuNCs. Moreover, the synthesized CuNCs show a dose-dependent antimicrobial effect. At lower cluster concentration the growth of bacteria is partially reduced. However, at higher concentrations, the bacterial growth is completely restricted.
Chirality is an important determinant of the optical and electronic properties of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Pristine zigzag SWNTs have been functionalized with lipids by a solid state ...functionalization process. Neither the lipids nor the SWNTs show a circular dichroism (CD) signal prior to functionalization. Upon functionalization, a change in the joint density of electronic states occurs which is reflected by a three-peak G' band profile and the emergence of a CD signal. A molecular mechanism for the emergent CD signal associated with this lipid-specific self-assembly is described.
Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an important drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and malaria. HCQ targets specifically to nucleic acids for its action. However, the mechanism of HCQ binding ...and the effect of its binding on the stability of DNA are elusive. In this study, the binding mechanism of HCQ and the effect of binding on stability of different sequences of DNA have been investigated using spectroscopic and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques. HCQ binds with all of the sequences of DNA and stabilizes them. However, binding efficacy of HCQ with DNA depends on its sequences as the binding constant is highest for pure guanine–cytosine (G–C) rich DNA and decreases with the increase of adenine–thymine (A–T) bases. HCQ prefers to interact with AT DNA through the minor groove whereas the major groove along with intercalation are the favorable binding mode in the case of GC DNA. The binding of HCQ in the major groove of GC DNA enhances the stacking between the bases compared to the case of AT DNA which leads to higher stability for GC DNA. It appears that the groove switching of HCQ is correlated with binding affinity as well as stability of different sequences of DNA.
Fruit seeds are leftovers from a variety of culinary sectors. They are generally unutilized and contribute greatly to global disposals. These seeds not only possess various nutritional attributes but ...also have many heath-beneficial properties. One way to make use of these seeds is to extract their bioactive components and create fortified food items. Nowadays, researchers are highly interested in creating innovative functional meals and food components from these unconventional resources. The main objective of this manuscript was to determine the usefulness of seed powder from 70 highly consumed fruits, including Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Banana, Blackberry, Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Cherry, Common plum, Cranberry, Gooseberry, Jackfruit, Jamun, Kiwi, Lemon, Mahua, Mango, Melon, Olive, Orange, and many more have been presented. The nutritional attributes, phytochemical composition, health advantages, nanotechnology applications, and toxicity of these fruit seeds have been fully depicted. This study also goes into in-depth detailing on creating useful food items out of these seeds, such as bakery goods, milk products, cereal-based goods, and meat products. It also identifies enzymes purified from these seeds along with their biochemical applications and any research openings in this area.
Traditionally, vegetables are consumed as ingredients of daily household meals. Before cooking, vegetables are washed thoroughly, unpeeled, and deseeded, followed by chopping into desired shapes and ...sizes. Vegetable peels and seeds are also byproducts of various food industries. If they are not used, they will contribute significantly to global garbage. On the contrary, developing novel functional foods and food ingredients out of unorthodox sources has become a trending issue among researchers. The focus of this review was to access the utility of seed flour from 16 commonly eaten seed‐bearing vegetables such as ash gourd (Benincasa hispida), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia), bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima), capsicum (Capsicum annuum), drumstick (Moringa oleifera), Gnetum (Gnetum gnemon), hemp (Cannabis sativa), lady's finger (Abelmoschus esculentus), noni (Morinda citrifolia), pointed gourd (Trichosanthes dioica), pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangular), snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina), spine gourd (Momordica dioica), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) have been presented. A complete picture of the nutritional qualities, phytochemical constituents, health benefits of these vegetable seeds, and their impact on the fortification of ready‐to‐eat foods have been illustrated. The development of functional food goods (bakery products, milk products, cereal‐based products, and meat products) from food waste (vegetable seeds) is extensively discussed in this study. It also highlights possible research gaps related to this field.
Novelty impact statement
Waste management is a key challenge to achieve the goal of sustainable development, particularly for the vegetable processing industries. Vegetable seeds contribute a hefty share in food waste generation and can be valorized as a food fortification and/or preservation agent.
From the ancient period, Green leafy vegetables (GLV) are part of the daily diet and were believed to have several health beneficial properties. Later it has been proved that GLV has outstanding ...nutritional value and can be used for medicinal benefits. GLV is particularly rich in minerals like iron, calcium, and zinc. These are also rich in vitamins like beta carotene, vitamin E, K, B and vitamin C. In addition, some anti-nutritional elements in GLV can be reduced if it is grown properly and processed properly before consumption. Tropical countries have a wide variety of these green plants such as Red Spinach, Amaranth, Malabar Spinach, Taro Leaf, Fenugreek leaf, Bengal Gram Leaves, Radish Leaves, Mustard Leaves, and many more. This review focuses on listing this wide range of GLVs (in total 54 underutilized GLVs) and their compositions in a comparative manner. GLV also possesses medicinal activities due to its rich bioactive and nutritional potential. Different processing techniques may alter the nutritional and bioactive potential of the GLVs significantly. The GLVs have been considered a food fortification agent, though not explored widely. All of these findings suggest that increasing GLV consumption could provide nutritional requirements necessary for proper growth as well as adequate protection against diseases caused by malnutrition.
Atomically precise gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) are an emerging class of quantum-sized nanomaterials with well-defined molecular structures and unique biophysical properties, rendering them highly ...attractive for biological applications. We set out to study the impact of different ligand shells of atomically similar nanoclusters on cellular recognition and response. To understand the effects of atomically precise nanoclusters with identical composition on cells, we selected two different water-soluble gold nanoclusters protected with captopril (Capt) and glutathione (GSH): Au
(Capt)
(CNC) and Au
(GSH)
(GNC), respectively. We demonstrated that a change of the ligand of the cluster completely changes its biological functions. Whereas both nanoclusters are capable of internalization, only CNC exhibits remarkable cytotoxicity, more specifically on cancer cells. CNC shows enhanced cytotoxicity by inhibiting the OXPHOS of mitochondria, possibly by inhibiting the ATP synthase complex of the electron transport chain (ETC), and by initiating the leakage of electrons into the mitochondrial lumen. The resulting increase in both mitochondrial and total cellular ROS triggers cell death indicated by the appearance of cellular markers of apoptosis. Remarkably, this effect of nanoclusters is independent of any external light source excitation. Our findings point to the prevailing importance of the ligand shell for applications of atomically precise nanoclusters in biology and medicine.
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