A novel α-amylase was isolated successfully from Glaciozyma antarctica PI12 using DNA walking and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) methods. The structure of this psychrophilic α-amylase (AmyPI12) from G. antarctica PI12 has yet to be studied in detail. A 3D model of AmyPI12 was built using a homology modelling approach to search for a suitable template and to generate an optimum target-template alignment, followed by model building using MODELLER9.9. Analysis of the AmyPI12 model revealed the presence of binding sites for a conserved calcium ion (CaI), non-conserved calcium ions (CaII and CaIII) and a sodium ion (Na). Compared with its template-the thermostable α-amylase from Bacillus stearothermophilus (BSTA)-the binding of CaII, CaIII and Na ions in AmyPI12 was observed to be looser, which suggests that the low stability of AmyPI12 allows the protein to work at different temperature scales. The AmyPI12 amino acid sequence and model were compared with thermophilic α-amylases from Bacillus species that provided the highest structural similarities with AmyPI12. These comparative studies will enable identification of possible determinants of cold adaptation.
A cationic Schiff base ligand, TSB (L) and its Zn (II) complex (1) were synthesized and characterized by using CHN, (1)H-NMR, FT-IR, UV, LC-MS, and X-ray methods. Their ability to inhibit topoisomerase I, DNA cleavage activities, and cytotoxicity were studied. X-ray diffraction study shows that the mononuclear complex 1 is four coordinated with distorted tetrahedral geometry. The singly deprotonated Schiff base ligand L acts as a bidentate ON-donor ligand. Complexation of L increases the inhibitory strength on topoisomerase I activity. Complex 1 could fully inhibit topoisomerase I activity at 250 μM, while L did not show any inhibitory effect on topoisomerase I activity. In addition, L and complex 1 could cleave pBR322 DNA in a concentration and time dependent profile. Surprisingly, L has better DNA cleavage activity than complex 1. The cleavage of DNA by complex 1 is altered in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, L and complex 1 are mildly cytotoxic towards human ovarian cancer A2780 and hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2.
Carbon dots have great potential to be utilised as an optical sensing probe due to its unique photoluminescence and less toxic properties. This work reports a simple and novel synthesis method of carbon dots via direct acid hydrolysis of bovine serum albumin protein in a one-pot approach. Optimisation of the important synthetic parameters has been performed which consists of temperature effect, acid to protein ratio and kinetics of reaction. Higher temperature has promoted better yield with shorter reaction time. The carbon dots obtained shows a strong emission at the wavelength of 400 nm with an optimum excitation of 305 nm. The potential of the carbon dots as optical sensing probe has been investigated on with different cations that are of environmental and health concern. The fluorescence of the carbon dots was significantly quenched particularly by lead (II) ions in a selective manner. Further analytical study has been performed to leverage the performance of the carbon dots for lead (II) ions sensing using the standard Stern-Volmer relationship. The sensing probe has a dynamic linear range up to 6.0 mM with a Stern-Volmer constant of 605.99 M(-1) and a limit of detection (LOD) of 5.05 μM. The probe performance was highly repeatable with a standard deviation below 3.0%. The probe suggested in this study demonstrates the potential of a more economical and greener approach that uses protein based carbon dots for sensing of heavy metal ions.
Tuning the characteristics of solvents to fit industrial requirements has currently become a major interest in both academic and industrial communities, notably in the field of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), which are considered one of the most promising green alternatives to molecular organic solvents. In this work, several sets of imidazolium-based ionic liquids were synthesized, and their toxicities were assessed towards four human pathogens bacteria to investigate how tunability can affect this characteristic. Additionally, the toxicity of particular RTILs bearing an amino acid anion was introduced in this work. EC50 values (50% effective concentration) were established, and significant variations were observed; although all studied ILs displayed an imidazolium moiety, the toxicity values were found to vary between 0.05 mM for the most toxic to 85.57 mM for the least toxic. Linear quantitative structure activity relationship models were then developed using the charge density distribution (σ-profiles) as molecular descriptors, which can yield accuracies as high as 95%.
Like chiral organic drugs, the chemical and biological properties of metal complexes can be dependent on chirality. Two pairs of [Cu(phen)(ala)(H2O)]X·xH2O (phen=1.10-phenanthroline: X=NO3(-); ala: l-alanine (l-ala), 1 and d-alanine (d-ala) 2; and (X=Cl(-); ala: l-ala, 3 and d-ala, 4) complex salts (x=number of lattice water molecules) have been synthesized and characterized. The crystal structure of 3 has been determined. The same pair of enantiomeric species, viz. [Cu(phen)(l-ala)(H2O)](+) and [Cu(phen)(d-ala)(H2O)](+), have been identified to be present in the aqueous solutions of both 1 and 3, and in those of both 2 and 4 respectively. Both 3 and 4 bind more strongly to ds(AT)6 than ds(CG)6. There is no or insignificant effect of the chirality of 3 and 4 on the production of hydroxyl radicals, binding to deoxyribonucleic acid from calf thymus (CT-DNA), ds(CG)6, G-quadruplex and 17-base pair duplex, and inhibition of both topoisomerase I and proteasome. Among the three proteasome proteolytic sites, the trypsin-like site is inhibited most strongly by these complexes. However, the chirality of 3 and 4 does affect the number of restriction enzymes inhibited, and their binding constants towards ds(AT)6 and serum albumin.
This work presents a simple green synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) by using an aqueous extract of Etlingera elatior (torch ginger). The metabolites present in E. elatior, including sugars, proteins, polyphenols, and flavonoids, were known to play important roles in reducing metal ions and supporting the subsequent stability of nanoparticles. The present work aimed to investigate the ability of the E. elatior extract to synthesise AuNPs via the reduction of gold (III) chloride hydrate and characterise the properties of the nanoparticles produced. The antioxidant properties of the E. elatior extract were evaluated by analysing the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents. To ascertain the formation of AuNPs, the synthesised particles were characterised using the ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) microscopy, and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurement. The properties of the green synthesised AuNPs were shown to be comparable to the AuNPs produced using a conventional reducing agent, sodium citrate. The UV-Vis measured the surface plasmon resonance of the AuNPs, and a band centered at 529 nm was obtained. The FTIR results proved that the extract contained the O-H functional group that is responsible for capping the nanoparticles. The HRTEM images showed that the green synthesized AuNPs were of various shapes and the average of the nanoparticles' hydrodynamic diameter was 31.5 ± 0.5 nm. Meanwhile, the zeta potential of -32.0 ± 0.4 mV indicates the high stability and negative charge of the AuNPs. We further successfully demonstrated that using the green synthesised AuNPs as the nanocomposite to modify the working surface of screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE/Cs/AuNPs) enhanced the rate of electron transfer and provided a sensitive platform for the detection of Cu(II) ions.
Quantum dots are fluorescent semiconductor nanoparticles that can be utilised for sensing applications. This paper evaluates the ability to leverage their analytical potential using an integrated fluorescent sensing probe that is portable, cost effective and simple to handle. ZnO quantum dots were prepared using the simple sol-gel hydrolysis method at ambient conditions and found to be significantly and specifically quenched by copper (II) ions. This ZnO quantum dots system has been incorporated into an in-house developed miniature fluorescent probe for the detection of copper (II) ions in aqueous medium. The probe was developed using a low power handheld black light as excitation source and three photo-detectors as sensor. The sensing chamber placed between the light source and detectors was made of 4-sided clear quartz windows. The chamber was housed within a dark compartment to avoid stray light interference. The probe was operated using a microcontroller (Arduino Uno Revision 3) that has been programmed with the analytical response and the working algorithm of the electronics. The probe was sourced with a 12 V rechargeable battery pack and the analytical readouts were given directly using a LCD display panel. Analytical optimisations of the ZnO quantum dots system and the probe have been performed and further described. The probe was found to have a linear response range up to 0.45 mM (R(2)=0.9930) towards copper (II) ion with a limit of detection of 7.68×10(-7) M. The probe has high repeatable and reliable performance.
AIMS: The study aimed to optimize the growth and evaluate the production of putative dermal bioactives from Lactobacillus rhamnosus FTDC 8313 using response surface methodology, in the presence of divalent metal ions, namely manganese and magnesium.
METHODS AND RESULTS: A central composite design matrix (alpha value of ± 1.414) was generated with two independent factors, namely manganese sulphate (MnSO(4) ) and magnesium sulphate (MgSO(4) ). The second-order regression model indicated that the quadratic model was significant (P < 0.01), suggesting that the model accurately represented the data in the experimental region. Three-dimensional response surfaces predicted an optimum point with maximum growth of 10.59 log(10) CFU ml(-1) . The combination that produced the optimum point was 0.80 mg ml(-1) MnSO(4) and 1.09 mg ml(-1) MgSO(4) . A validation experiment was performed, and data obtained showed a deviation of 0.30% from the predicted value, ascertaining the predictions and the reliability of the regression model used. Effects of divalent metal ions on the production of putative dermal bioactives, namely hyaluronic acid, diacetyl, peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid and organic acids in the region of optimized growth, were evaluated using 3D response surfaces generated. Evaluation based on the individual and interaction effects showed that both manganese and magnesium played an important role in the production of these putative bioactives.
CONCLUSIONS: Optimum growth of Lact. rhamnosus FTDC 8313 in reconstituted skimmed milk was achieved at 10.59 log(10) CFU ml(-1) in the presence of MnSO(4) (0.80 mg ml(-1) ) and MgSO(4) (1.09 mg ml(-1) ). Production of putative dermal bioactive and inhibitory compounds including hyaluronic acid, diacetyl, peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid and organic acids at the regions of optimized growth showed potential dermal applications.
SIGNIFICANT AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This research can serve as a fundamental study to further evaluate the potential of Lactobacillus strains in non-gut-related roles such as dermal applications.
This work evaluates the performance of ionic liquid in supported liquid membrane (SLM) for the removal of phenol from wastewater. Ionic liquids are organic salts entirely composed of organic cations and either organic or inorganic anions. Due to the fact that the vapor pressure of ionic liquid is not detectable and they are sparingly soluble in most conventional solvents, they can be applied in SLM as the organic phase. In this work, 1-n-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium salts, [C(n)MIM](+)[X](-) have been investigated so as to determine an optimal supported ionic liquid membrane. The effect of operational parameters such as pH, stirring speed and the concentration of stripping agent has been studied, and an evaluation of different membrane supports were also carried out. With a minimal amount of the ionic liquid 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogensulfate, 85% phenol removal could be achieved by using polytetrafluoroethylene hydrophobic membrane filter in the SLM.
A new poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) based cadmium (Cd)-ion selective electrode (ISE) was developed. The 4-vinyl pyridine (4VP) was first polymerized electrochemically on the surface of graphite, later characterized by FTIR, SEM/EDX and then optimized as ISE for Cd. At optimal pH 6.4, slope of 27.7±0.8mVdecade(-1), linear concentration range of 1×10(-7) to 1.0×10(-1)M Cd(2+) and limit of detection (S/N=3) of 2.51×10(-8)M were obtained. The ISE was very selective towards Cd(2+), with K(pot)<1×10(-2) in the presence of the usual cations and anions in water samples. Response time and shelf life of less than 1min and 90 days, respectively, were observed. Its application was tested in various types of samples.
Ionic liquids (ILs) are class of solvent whose properties can be modified and tuned to meet industrial requirements. However, a high number of potentially available cations and anions leads to an even increasing members of newly-synthesized ionic liquids, adding to the complexity of understanding on their impact on aquatic organisms. Quantitative structure activity∖property relationship (QSAR∖QSPR) technique has been proven to be a useful method for toxicity prediction. In this work,σ-profile descriptors were used to build linear and non-linear QSAR models to predict the ecotoxicities of a wide variety of ILs towards bioluminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Linear model was constructed using five descriptors resulting in high accuracy prediction of 0.906. The model performance and stability were ascertained using k-fold cross validation method. The selected descriptors set from the linear model was then used in multilayer perceptron (MLP) technique to develop the non-linear model, the accuracy of the model was further enhanced achieving high correlation coefficient with the lowest value being 0.961 with the highest mean square error of 0.157.
A promising method of Carbon dioxide (CO2) valorization is to use green microalgae photosynthesis to process biofuel. Two Phase Partitioning Bioreactors (TPPBR) offer the possibility to use non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) to enhance CO2 solubility; thus making CO2 available to maximize algae growth. This requires relatively less toxic hydrophobic Ionic Liquids (ILs) that comprise a new class of ionic compounds with remarkable physicochemical properties and thus qualifies them as NAPL candidates. This paper concerns the synthesis of ILs with octyl and butyl chains as well as different cations containing aromatic (imidazolium, pyridinium) and non-aromatic (piperidinum, pyrrolidinium) rings for CO2 absorption studies. The authors measured their respective toxicity levels on microalgae species, specifically, Scenedesmus quadricauda, Chlorella vulgaris and Botryococcus braunii. Results revealed that octyl-based ILs were more toxic than butyl-based analogues. Such was the case for bmim-PF6 at double saturation with an absorbance of 0.11, compared to Omim-PF6 at 0.17, bmim-NTf2 at 0.02, and Omim-NTf2 at 0.14, respectively. CO2 uptake results for ILs bearing octyl-based chains compared to the butyl analog were 54% (nCO2/nIL) (i.e., moles of CO2 moles of IL) and 38% (nCO2/nIL), respectively. Conclusively, 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium absorbed 13% (nCO2/nIL) and appeared the least toxic, having an absorbance of 0.25 at 688 nm (double saturation at 7 d) compared to 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium, which showed the highest toxicity with zero absorbance. Accordingly, these findings suggest that 1-butyl-1-methylpiperidinium is capable of transporting CO2 to a system containing green microalgae without causing significant harm; thus allowing its use in TPPBR technology.
This work was aimed to evaluate the feasibility of castor bean residue based activated carbons prepared through metals chloride activation. The activated carbons were characterized for textural properties and surface chemistry, and the adsorption data of rhodamine B were established to investigate the removal performance. Zinc chloride-activated carbon with specific surface area of 395 m(2)/g displayed a higher adsorption capacity of 175 mg/g. Magnesium chloride and iron(III) chloride are less toxic and promising agents for composite chemical activation. The adsorption data obeyed Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetics model. The rate-limiting step in the adsorption of rhodamine B is film diffusion. The positive values of enthalpy and entropy indicate that the adsorption is endothermic and spontaneous at high temperature.
The study aimed to evaluate the effects of Mn(2+) and Mg(2+) on lactic acid production using response surface methodology and to further study their effects on interactions between the enzymes and substrates along the hexose monophosphate pathway using a molecular modelling approach.
The n-butyramido, isobutyramido, benzamido, and furancarboxamido functions profoundly modulate the electronics of the stilbene olefinic and NH groups and the corresponding radical cations in ways that influence the efficiency of the cyclization due presumably to conformational and stereoelectronic factors. For example, isobutyramido- stilbene undergoes FeCl(3) promoted cyclization to produce only indoline, while n-butyramidostilbene, under the same conditions, produces both indoline and bisindoline.
The objectives of the present work were to prepare castor oil-based nano-sized emulsion containing cationic droplets stabilized by poloxamer-chitosan emulgator film and to assess the kinetic stability of the prepared cationic emulsion after subjecting it to thermal processing and freeze-thaw cycling. Presence of cryoprotectants (5%, w/w, sucrose +5%, w/w, sorbitol) improved the stability of emulsions to droplet aggregation during freeze-thaw cycling. After storing the emulsion at 4 degrees C, 25 degrees C, and 37 degrees C over a period of up to 6 months, no significant change was noted in mean diameter of the dispersed oil droplets. However, the emulsion stored at the highest temperature did show a progressive decrease in the pH and zeta potential values, whereas the emulsion kept at the lowest temperatures did not. This indicates that at 37 degrees C, free fatty acids were formed from the castor oil, and consequently, the liberated free fatty acids were responsible for the reduction in the emulsion pH and zeta potential values. Thus, the injectable castor oil-based nano-sized emulsion could be useful for incorporating various active pharmaceutical ingredients that are in size from small molecular drugs to large macromolecules such as oligonucleotides.
Landfill leachate is one of the major contamination sources. In this study, the ability of synthetic ion exchange resins which carry different mobile ion for removing color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and ammonia nitrogen (NH(3)-N) from stabilized leachate was investigated. The synthetic resin INDION 225 Na as a cationic exchanger and INDION FFIP MB as an anionic exchanger were used in this study. INDION 225 Na was used in hydrogen form (H(+)) and in sodium form (Na(+)), while INDION FFIP MB resin was used in hydroxide form (OH(-)) and in calcium form (Cl(-)) form. The results indicated better removal of color, COD and NH(3)-N by using INDION 225 Na in H(+) as compared with Na(+) form, while no performance differences were observed by using INDION FFIP MB in OH(-) or Cl(-) form. Applying cationic resin followed by anionic resin achieved 97, 88 and 94, percent removal of color, COD and NH(3)-N. The residual amounts were 160 Pt-Co, 290 mg/L and 110 mg/L of color, COD and NH(3)-N respectively.
In this paper, pineapple stem (PS) waste, an agricultural waste available in large quantity in Malaysia, was utilized as low-cost adsorbent to remove basic dye (methylene blue, MB) from aqueous solution by adsorption. Batch mode experiments were conducted at 30 degrees C to study the effects of initial concentration of methylene blue, contact time and pH on dye adsorption. Equilibrium adsorption isotherms and kinetic were investigated. The experimental data were analyzed by the Langmuir and Freundlich models and the isotherm data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm with monolayer adsorption capacity of 119.05mg/g. The kinetic data obtained at different concentrations were analyzed using a pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equation and intraparticle diffusion equation. The experimental data fitted very well the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The PS was found to be very effective adsorbent for MB adsorption.
Oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibers were employed to remove dyes from aqueous solutions via adsorption approaches. The EFB fibers were modified using citric acid (CA) and polyethylenimine (PEI) to produce anionic and cationic adsorbents, respectively. The CA modified EFB fibers (CA-EFB) and PEI-modified EFB fibers (PEI-EFB) were used to study the efficiency in removing cationic methylene blue (MB) and anionic phenol red (PR) from aqueous solutions, respectively, at different pHs, temperatures and initial dye concentrations. The adsorption data for MB on the CA-EFB fitted the Langmuir isotherm, while the adsorption of PR on the PEI-EFB fitted the Freundlich isotherm, suggesting a monolayer and heterogeneous adsorption behavior of the adsorption processes, respectively. Both modified fibers can be regenerated up to seven adsorption/desorption cycles while still providing as least 70% of the initial adsorption capacity.