Magnesium Deficiency and Cardiometabolic Disease

Magnesium (Mg²⁺) has many physiological functions within the body. These include important roles in maintaining cardiovascular functioning, where it contributes to the regulation of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling, endothelial functioning and haemostasis. The haemostatic roles of Mg²⁺ impact upon both the protein and cellular arms of coagulation. In this review, we examine how Mg²⁺ homeostasis is maintained within the body and highlight the various molecular roles attributed to Mg²⁺ in the cardiovascular system. In addition, we describe how nutritional and/or disease-associated magnesium deficiency, seen in some metabolic conditions, has the potential to influence cardiac and vascular outcomes. Finally, we also examine the potential for magnesium supplements to be employed in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disorders and in the management of cardiometabolic health.

Dipodal Tetraamide Derivatives of 1,10-Diaza-18-Crown-6 and Alkylmalonic Acids-Synthesis and Use as Ionophores in Ion Selective Membrane Electrodes

Novel dipodal derivatives of an 18-membered diaza-crown ether with two diamide chains featuring methylmalonic or butylmalonic acid residues were obtained and tested as ionophores in ion-selective plasticized membrane electrodes. The objective of the study was to identify measurement conditions which ensure the most favorable performance for magnesium ion-selective electrodes. The relationship between the molar lipophilic anion salt-to-ionophore ratio and selectivity of electrodes was examined. The best result was obtained for the conventional electrode containing Mg2 ionophore. Calculated selectivity coefficients were as follows: logK_Mg/Ca = −2.77, logK_Mg/Na = −3.46 and logK_Mg.K = −2.24 (SSM, 1M).

Rapid Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots for Effective Detection of Ferric Ions and as Fluorescent Ink

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have attracted much attention of many researchers because of their low cytotoxicity, good optical stability, and excellent photoluminescence property, which make them novel nanostructured materials in many application fields ranging from energy to biomedicine and the environment. In this work, highly fluorescent nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (N-GQDs) were synthesized through microwave heating using sodium citrate and triethanolamine as raw materials. The as-prepared N-GQDs showed considerable bright blue fluorescence with a quantum yield of 8% and excellent uniform dispersion with an average diameter of approximately 5.6 nm; they also exhibited excellent stability and pH-sensitive properties. Furthermore, we demonstrated the application of N-GQDs as probes for metal ion detection. The results indicated that N-GQDs responded rapidly toward Fe3+ because of the static quenching mechanism. A detection method was proposed, with detection linear in two ranges from 20 to 70 nM (F = -0.9666 C Fe 3+ (nM) + 608.85 (R = 0.9740)) and from 1 to 100 μM (F = -12.04 C Fe 3+ (μM) + 1191.94 (R = 0.9541)); the lowest detection limit of 9.7 nM for Fe3+ was obtained. The results obtained in this work lay the foundation for the development of high-performance and robust metal ion detection sensors. Moreover, it can also possibly be used as a new type of fluorescent ink.