In this work, MgO supported Fe–Co–Mn nanoparticles (MgO-FCM-NPs) are synthesized and utilized as adsorbent for the successful removal of Rhodamine B dye (RhB) from aqueous environments. In the first ...step, the synthesized MgO-FCM-NPs are identified using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibration sample magnetization (VSM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. In the second step, the effects of different adsorption conditions such as solution pH (3–13), dye concentration (10–120 mg L−1), adsorbent dosage (0.04–0.12 g L−1), temperature (298–318 K) and contact time (20–100 min) are investigated. The pH 7 is found to be the optimized pH and the equilibrium is reached in 60 min for RhB adsorption onto MgO-FCM-NPs. The maximum adsorption capacity of RhB onto MgO-FCM-NPs is found to 1106 mg g−1 at pH 7, temperature 318 K and contact time 60 min using 120 mg L−1 RhB concentration. The adsorption data is fitted better to Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.999) in comparison to Freundlich and Temkin equilibrium isotherm models. The n (Freundlich constant) values are in between 1–10, suggesting desirable adsorption of RhB onto MgO-FCM-NPs. Further the adsorption process of RhB onto MgO-FCM-NPs is followed pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2 = 0.9999). The negative values of Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) represents spontaneity of the process and the positive values of enthalpy (ΔH°) of RhB adsorption onto MgO-FCM-NPs indicates the endothermic nature. Finally, it is concluded that the MgO-FCM-NPs could be used for effective RhB removal from textile effluents.
Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder of the endocrine system characterized by persistent hyperglycemia appears due to the deficiency or ineffective use of insulin. The glucose level of diabetic ...patients increases after every meal and medically recommended drugs are used to control hyperglycemia. Alpha-glucosidase inhibitors are used as antidiabetic medicine to delay the hydrolysis of complex carbohydrates. Acarbose, miglitol, and voglibose are commercial drugs but patients suffer side effects of flatulence, bloating, diarrhea, and loss of hunger. To explore a new antidiabetic drug, a series of benzotriazinone carboxamides was synthesized and their alpha-glucosidase inhibition potentials were measured using in vitro experiments. The compounds 14k and 14l were found to be strong inhibitors compared to the standard drug acarbose with IC50 values of 27.13 ± 0.12 and 32.14 ± 0.11 μM, respectively. In silico study of 14k and 14l was carried out using molecular docking to identify the type of interactions developed between these compounds and enzyme sites. Both potent compounds 14k and 14l exhibited effective docking scores by making their interactions with selected amino acid residues. Chemical hardness and orbital energy gap values were investigated using DFT studies and results depicted affinity of 14k and 14l towards biological molecules. All computational findings were found to be in good agreement with in vitro results.
In this study, low cost synthesis of three-dimensional mesoporous amino-functionalized silica nanoparticles (AFS-NPs) were synthesized by sol–gel method with the addition of two different silica ...modifiers, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) to two different silica sources, tetramethoxyorthosilicate (TMOS) and tetraethoxyorthosilicate (TEOS) separately. The presence of amino group on synthesized nanoparticles from the four different combinations was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The synthesized AFS-NPs were of narrow particle size within the range of 500–600nm and having high specific surface area (148m2g−1). The AFS-NPs were then utilized to investigate the adsorptive removal of COD from palm oil mil effluent (POME). The maximum removal efficiency (>90%) of AFS-NPs was found at pH 7, adsorbent dose 0.25g and temperature 30°C. At equilibrium the maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 271.11mgg−1. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm gave the best fit to the experimental data signifying the presence of adsorption monolayer on the surface of the adsorbent. The results have positively qualified grafted silica nanoparticles as one of the adsorptive media for removal of COD from POME.
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the negative impact of unforeseen contaminants such as metals in commonly consumed food items, which pose a threat to human well-being. ...Therefore, it is of utmost importance to evaluate the levels of these contaminants to guarantee the safe consumption of these food items. The goal of the current research is to determine the levels of essential (EMs: Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, and Zn) and potentially toxic metals (PTMs: Al, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb) in various brands of wheat-based sweets. One hundred samples were collected and analysed via flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) and inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Also, the current study was to investigate the distribution, correlation, and multivariate analysis of 13 metals (Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Al, Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb). Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to interpret the metals’ association. The concentration (mg/kg) ranges of EMs were, in order, Mg (12.70–65.67), Ca (24.02–209.12), Mn (1.32–9.61), Fe (4.55–111.23), Co (0.32–8.94), Cu (2.12–8.61), and Zn (2.60–19.36), while the concentration (mg/kg) ranges of PTMs were, in order, Al (0.32–0.87), Cr (0.17–5.74), Ni (0.36–1.54), Cd (0.16–0.56), and Pb (0.14–0.92), and As was not detected in any sample under investigation. The HCA data revealed that Co, Al, and Ni form clusters with other metals. Sweets are prepared at high temperatures, and the elevated temperatures can increase the likelihood of Ni and Al leaching from stainless steel. Tolerable dietary intake (TDI) values for Ni were higher than the values established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The CR value found for the Ni and Cr was at the threshold level of cancer risk, if an amount of 25 g were to be used over a lifetime. In a nutshell, this study highlights the monitoring of EM and PTM levels in wheat-based sweets, and from a food safety perspective, the study is important for consumers of wheat-based sweets.
This study entails the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with good selectivity coefficients for azo dye as a potential sorbent material to extract azo dye from polluted aqueous ...media. A series of MIPs for methyl red (MR) as a template, were synthesized by changing the molar ratio of functional monomers, via precipitation polymerization format of non-covalent approach. Water-soluble functional monomer; acrylic acid (AA) was used to weave the frame work of polymers while ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) was utilized as crosslinking monomer. The impact of different experimental parameters, such as mole ratio of monomer (functional) to crosslinking monomer on the molecular recognition was investigated. The highly efficient and selective MR-MIP was used for the removal of spiked MR dye from different water samples. The selected imprinted polymer, MR1-MIP was able to selectively remove the MR molecules from aqueous media. A significant amount of dye was removed by MR1-MIP from the river water samples with a high degree of removal efficiency i.e. 92.25%. The imprinting factor of 3.75 for MR1-MIP indicated that the high selectivity in terms of adsorption for MR. A minimum loss of only ~ 3.35% in the removal efficiency within ten sequential cycles of adsorption–desorption study evidenced that MR-MIPs could be used as the most cost effective and best sorbent for the removal of MR from polluted water. Furthermore, the structural properties of MR-MIPs were characterized by FTIR and EDX, whereas TGA, SEM and BET were used to describe the thermal, morphological and surface structures of the particles, respectively.
Graphical Abstract
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder in which the pancreas secretes insulin but the body cells do not recognize it. As a result, carbohydrate metabolism causes hyperglycemia, which may ...be fatal for various organs. This disease is increasing day by day and it is prevalent among people of all ages, including young adults and children. Acarbose and miglitol are famous alpha-glucosidase inhibitors but they complicate patients with the problems of flatulence, pain, bloating, diarrhea, and loss of appetite. To overcome these challenges, it is crucial to discover new anti-diabetic drugs with minimal side effects. For this purpose, benzotriazinone sulfonamides were synthesized and their structures were characterized by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. In vitro alpha-glucosidase inhibition studies of all synthesized hybrids were conducted using the spectrophotometric method. The synthesized compounds revealed moderate-to-good inhibition activity; in particular, nitro derivatives 12e and 12f were found to be the most effective inhibitors against this enzyme, with IC50 values of 32.37 ± 0.15 µM and 37.75 ± 0.11 µM. In silico studies, including molecular docking as well as DFT analysis, also strengthened the experimental findings. Both leading compounds 12e and 12f showed strong hydrogen bonding interactions within the enzyme cavity. DFT studies also reinforced the strong binding interactions of these derivatives with biological molecules due to their lowest chemical hardness values and lowest orbital energy gap values.
The scientific interest in developing the advanced metal based compounds to inhibit and control bacterial infections is continuously rising. Keeping in view their pharmacological significance, two ...new bioactive symmetrical phenylenediamine mono- and bis-Schiff bases, 2-{(4-aminophenyl)iminomethyl}-6-methoxyphenol (L1) and 2,2'-{benzene-1,2-diylbisnitrilomethylylidene}bis(6-methoxyphenol) (L2) have been synthesized and characterized by using physical techniques, spectral methods, elemental and DFT based computational analysis with B3LYP/6-311++G(d, p) basis set. Furthermore, the synthesized ligands were complexed with VO, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn ions in ratio M:L,1:2 and 1:1, respectively. All the complexes exhibited significant antibacterial action against all tested bacterial strains. But overall, the zinc complexes possessed higher antibacterial activity. These results concluded that metal complexes might be promising induction in the upcoming time for medical purposes.
In the current study, nitrofurazone- (NFZ) and lidocaine-loaded (LD) silica microspheres were fabricated to address pathological indications of skin infections. The microspheres were prepared by the ...sol-gel method applying the Box-Behnken design and evaluated for size distribution, morphology, zeta potential, physico-chemical compatibility, XRD, thermogravimetric analysis, antibacterial and cytotoxicity activities. The comparative in vitro drug release study of microspheres revealed a 30% release of NFZ and 33% of LD after 8 h. The microspheres showed 81% percentage yield (PY) and 71.9% entrapment efficiency. XRD patterns confirmed the entrapment of NFZ-LD in silica microspheres with a significant reduction in crystallinity of the drugs. Thermal and FTIR studies proved the absence of any profound interactions of the formulation ingredients. The smooth spherical microspheres had a -28 mV zeta potential and a 10-100 µm size distribution. In vitro antibacterial activities of the NFZ-LD microspheres showed an increased zone of inhibition compared to pure drug suspensions. The in vivo efficacy tested on rabbits showed a comparatively rapid wound healing with complete lack of skin irritation impact. The cytotoxicity studies revealed more acceptability of silica microspheres with negligible harm to cells. The study suggests that the NFZ- and LD-loaded silica microspheres would be an ideal system for accelerating and promoting rapid healing of various acute and chronic wounds.
In the present work, a novel continuous flow system (CFS) is developed for the preconcentration and determination of Cr (VI) using
static biomass immobilized onto an effective and low-cost solid ...support of powdered eggshells. A mini glass column packed with the immobilized biosorbent is incorporated in a CFS for the preconcentration and determination of Cr (VI) from aqueous solutions. The method is based on preconcentration, washing and elution steps followed by colorimetric detection with 1,5-diphenyl carbazide in sulphuric acid. The effects of several variables such as pH, retention time, flow rate, eluent concentration and loaded volume are studied. Under optimal conditions, the CFS method has a linear range between 10 and 100 μg L
and a detection limit of 6.25 μg L
for the determination of Cr (VI). The sampling frequency is 10 samples per hour with a preconcentration time of 5 mins. Furthermore, after washing with a 0.1 M buffer (pH 3.0), the activity of the biosorbent is regenerated and remained comparable for more than 200 cycles. Scanning electron microscopy reveals a successful immobilization of biomass on eggshells powder and precipitation of Cr (VI) on the bacterial cell surface. The proposed method proves highly sensitive and could be suitable for the determination of Cr (VI) at an ultra-trace level.
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In the current study, sustained release salicylic acid (SA) and ketoconazole (KCZ) loaded silica nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) were encapsulated in natural macromolecule-alginate (ALG) ...based scaffold through freeze gelation method for an effective treatment of commonly prevailed fatal fungal infections. After statistical optimization by central composite rotatable design (CCRD), the optimized scaffold was subjected to comparative in vitro/in vivo antifungal, skin irritation, wound healing, cytotoxicity, and histopathological evaluations. In physico-chemical characterization performed through X-ray diffraction (p-XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), an absolute lack of structural interactions was found between drugs and formulation components. The zeta potential and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed spherical, highly porous negatively charged (–23.1) SiO2-NPs having a size distribution of 40–80 nm with successful encapsulation in negatively charged scaffold (-20.2 mV). The entrapment efficiency and drugs release exhibited visible quadratic influence of formulation variables on scaffold. The optimized ALG-scaffold demonstrated comparatively an enhanced in vitro, in vivo antifungal activity, least cytotoxicity and rapid wound healing efficacy in histopathological evaluation by sustained drugs release up to 14-days without any skin irritation effect. The study suggested the potential of alginate scaffold for not only the endurance of drugs loaded SiO2-NPs but also for the simultaneous co-delivery of medicaments fulfilling the need of consistent prolonged availability of drugs for better fungal therapeutics.
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