Thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric fine particulate matter

Nigella sativa L. seed extracts promote wound healing progress by activating VEGF and PDGF signaling pathways: An in vitro and in silico study

Background: A significant area of clinical research is the development of natural wound healing products and the management of chronic wounds. Healing wounds with medicinal plants has been a practice of ancient civilizations for centuries. Nigella sativa L (N. sativa) is a medicinal plant that has several pharmacological properties. Methods: The present study evaluated the wound healing properties of Nigella sativa L. ( N. sativa) seed extracts using normal cell lines such as normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs) and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). The expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) were analyzed through western blot analysis. Furthermore, computational analyses were carried out to screen the potential bioactive compounds for wound healing applications. Results: The results of the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (MTS) assay revealed that, all the tested solvent extracts of N. sativa seeds (including ethanol, ethyl acetate, chloroform, and petroleum ether) did not exert any cytotoxic effects at the tested concentrations. Furthermore, the western blot analysis showed elevated levels of VEGF and PDGF upon treatment with N. sativa seed extracts. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of N. sativa extracts identified 268 phytocompounds. Molecular docking studies revealed that three phytocompounds of N. sativa extracts, including tricyclo[20.8.0.0(7,16)]triacontane, 1(22),7(16)-diepoxy-, adaphostin and obeticholic acid had strong binding affinity with wound healing-related target proteins, showing docking scores ranging from -5.5 to -10.9 Kcal/mol. These compounds had acceptable Absorption, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion (ADME) properties. Conclusions: Based on these results, N. sativa seed extracts might possess potential wound healing properties owing to the presence of a wide range of bioactive components.

Recent Developments of Liquid Chromatography Stationary Phases for Compound Separation: From Proteins to Small Organic Compounds

Compound separation plays a key role in producing and analyzing chemical compounds. Various methods are offered to obtain high-quality separation results. Liquid chromatography is one of the most common tools used in compound separation across length scales, from larger biomacromolecules to smaller organic compounds. Liquid chromatography also allows ease of modification, the ability to combine compatible mobile and stationary phases, the ability to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses, and the ability to concentrate samples. Notably, the main feature of a liquid chromatography setup is the stationary phase. The stationary phase directly interacts with the samples via various basic mode of interactions based on affinity, size, and electrostatic interactions. Different interactions between compounds and the stationary phase will eventually result in compound separation. Recent years have witnessed the development of stationary phases to increase binding selectivity, tunability, and reusability. To demonstrate the use of liquid chromatography across length scales of target molecules, this review discusses the recent development of stationary phases for separating macromolecule proteins and small organic compounds, such as small chiral molecules and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).