A DFT study on the electronic detection of mercaptopurine drug by boron carbide nanosheets

In Silico Detection and Conveyance Feasibility of Antifungal Prodrug Flucytosine on the Surface of Pristine and Germanium-Doped SiC Nanosheet

The work describes a novel sensing and transportation feasibility of the well-established antifungal drug Flucytosine (5-FC) using a 2D Silicon carbide (SiC) and Germanium-doped Silicon carbide (Ge@SiC) nanosheet via PBE level of Density functional theory. The computational study revealed that the drug molecules adhere to SiC and Ge@SiC sheets, maintaining their structural properties through physisorption on SiC and chemisorption on Ge@SiC. The charge transfer process associated with the adsorption is observed by Lowdin charge analysis and both the SiC and Ge@SiC sheets are identified as a feasible oxidation-based nanosensor for the drug. The results of electronic property calculation revealed a reduction in bandgap by 48.2% and 44.8% on SiC and Ge@SiC sheets respectively on adsorption of the drug, highlighting SiC nanosheet to be used as a bandgap-based sensing device. Sensing response at room temperature and human body temperature suggested that, the SiC sheet has an excellent selectivity to Flucytosine drug. The drug's desorption efficiency from the carrier is analyzed using recovery time analysis at different temperatures and frequencies, suggesting the SiC nanosheet to be a better candidate. Together, the study highlights the potential sensing ability of SiC nanosheet for Flucytosine in contrast to the existing 0-D nanostructures.

A State-of-the-Art Review on the Recent Advances of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapeutic Application in Systematic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease with an unknown etiology that has widespread clinical and immunological manifestations. Despite the increase in knowledge about the pathogenesis process and the increase in treatment options, however, the treatments fail in half of the cases. Therefore, there is still a need for research on new therapies. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are powerful regulators of the immune system and can reduce the symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus. This study aimed to review the mechanisms of immune system modulation by MSCs and the role of these cells in the treatment of SLE. MSCs suppress T lymphocytes through various mechanisms, including the production of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-B), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), nitric oxide (NO), and indolamine 2 and 3-oxygenase (IDO). In addition, MSCs inhibit the production of their autoantibodies by inhibiting the differentiation of lymphocytes. The production of autoantibodies against nuclear antigens is an important feature of SLE. On the other hand, MSCs inhibit antigen delivery by antigen-presenting cells (APCs) to T lymphocytes. Studies in animal models have shown the effectiveness of these cells in treating SLE. However, few studies have been performed on the effectiveness of this treatment in humans. It can be expected that new treatment strategies for SLE will be introduced in the future, given the promising results of MSCs application.

A density functional theory study on the adsorption of Mercaptopurine anti-cancer drug and Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages as a drug delivery

Targeted drug delivery along with the most negligible side effects, is the most important challenge in the designing of the novel anti-cancer drug delivery. Therefore, the interaction of Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages as the carrier for Mercaptopurine (MP) anti-cancer drug was studied by density functional theory calculations to design a novel carrier. The adsorption of MP drug on Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages is suitable energetically. In this study, electronic parameters and Gibbs free energy of complexes of Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages with two configuration MP drug (N and S) were investigated. In addition, CuBN has a short recovery time, but ZnBN has more selectivity for MP drug. It is predicted that the MP drug over both Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages can be used as a suitable drug delivery system. Configuration -S of MP drug in both nanocage is more appropriate than configuration -N. Analysis of frontier molecular orbitals, UV-VIS spectra and density of states plots of the designed complexes confirmed adsorption MP drug on Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages. This research predicted which Cu/Zn-doped boron nitride nanocages can be used as acceptable carriers for MP anti-cancer drug.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Enhanced anti-cancer effect of artemisinin- and curcumin-loaded niosomal nanoparticles against human colon cancer cells

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third broadly identified cancer in the world. The ineffectiveness of colorectal cancer treatment is redundantly reported. Natural bioactive compounds have gained popularity in reducing the drawback of conventional anti-cancer agents. Curcumin (Cur) and Artemisinin (Art) are materials of a natural source that have been utilized to treat numerous kinds of cancers. Although the benefits of bioactive materials, their utilization is limited because of poor solubility, bioavailability, and low dispersion rate in aqueous media. Nano delivery system such as niosome can improve the bioavailability and stability of bioactive compounds within the drug. In current work, we used Cur-Art co-loaded niosomal nanoparticles (Cur-Art NioNPs) as an anti-tumor factor versus colorectal cancer cell line. The synthesized formulations were characterized using dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and FTIR. The proliferation ability of the cells and expression of apoptosis-associated gene were MTT assay and qRT-PCR, respectively. Cur-Art NioNPs exhibited well distributed with an encapsulation efficiency of 80.27% and 85.5% for Cur and Art. The NioNPs had good release and degradation properties, and had no negative effect on the survival and proliferation ability of SW480 cells. Importantly, nanoformulation form of Cur and Art significantly displayed higher toxicity effect against SW480 cells. Furthermore, Cur-Art NioNPs increased Bax, Fas, and p53 gene expressions and suppressed Bcl2, Rb, and Cyclin D 1 gene expressions. In summary, these results display the niosome NPs as a first report of nano-combinational application of the natural herbal substances with a one-step fabricated co-delivery system for effective colorectal cancer.

Metal-decorated γ-graphyne as a drug transporting agent for the mercaptopurine chemotherapy drug: a DFT study

In recent years, carbon-based two-dimensional (2D) materials have gained popularity as the carriers of various anticancer therapy drugs, which could reduce the crucial side effects by directly applying the drugs to the intended tumor cells. In this study, through first-principles density functional theory simulations, we have investigated the adsorption properties of a famous cancer chemotherapy drug called mercaptopurine (MC) on a 2D γ-graphyne (GYN) monolayer. Analyzing the geometric and electronic properties, we can summarize that the MC interaction with the pristine GYN is weak, with a small adsorption energy of -0.15 eV, which is too low for potential applications. Therefore, we have decorated the GYN monolayer with biocompatible metals such as Al, Ag, and Cu to trigger the adsorption capacity. The Al- and Cu-decorated GYN offered improved adsorption towards MC compared to the pristine case. The drug release from these metal-decorated systems was examined by creating an acidic environment. In addition, the desorption temperature of the drug from the system was also evaluated using ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. The calculations demonstrated that the Al-decorated GYN is a potential vehicle for MC drug delivery because of the favourable adsorption energy of -0.63 eV, charge transfer of 0.17e and desorption temperature above 270 K. The current research will stimulate the investigation of other low-dimensional carbon materials for drug-delivery applications.

CFD-based simulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial plants

Greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is considered one of the challenging concerns in industrial plants, and to emit the appropriate designation in nitrogen oxide reduction, it is required to implement proper numerical simulation procedures. In this study, ANSYS Fluent® software is used as dynamic software to solve heat and mass flow transfer numerically by considering non-structured networks for complex geometries. Dry nitrogen oxide burners have an additional thermocouple to provide an extra fuel pathway to combine with air. Then, standard K-ε is used in the numerical simulations to calculate thermal efficiency in combustion processes for turbulent flow regimes. It can cause the removal of 50% of nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. Furthermore, by the increase of temperature, nitrogen oxide concentration has been increased in the system. After 1975 K, Fuel has been changed to dry fuel, and therefore nitrogen oxide concentration increased because the steam can provide a relatively non-combustible compound increase than fuel. On the other hand, regarding the water volume increase at inlet steam, nitrogen oxide volume percentage has been decreased dramatically, especially in the first periods of water volume increase. Consequently, when the steam percentage is increased instead of water, nitrogen oxide reduction is increased. Moreover, our simulation results have a proper match with Gibbs energy equilibrium.

Characterization of titanium influences on structure and thermodynamic stability of novel C20-nTin nanofullerenes (n=1-5): a density functional perspective

In this survey, effects of titanium heteroatom(s) on structural parameters and thermodynamic stability of C₂₀ fullerene and its C_20-nTi_n derivatives (n = 1-5) are compared and contrasted, at DFT levels of theory. The results show that in going from C₁₉Ti₁ to C₁₅Ti₅, binding energy increases while absolute value heat of atomization decreases. According to vibrational frequency analysis, excepting C₁₆Ti_4-1, the other optimized structures give no imaginary frequency as true minima. The calculated binding energy of 887.12 kcal mol^-1/atom displays C₁₅Ti₅ as the most thermodynamically stable heterofullerene. It has C_s symmetry and contains five titanium atoms alternatively in equatorial position. The substitutional doping of C₂₀ fullerene leads to high Mülliken charge distribution upon the surfaces of the resulted heterofullerenes especially C₁₉Ti₁ as suitable hydrogen storage. The contour plots indicate the most negative electrostatic potential by red color for C atoms, whereas the most positive electrostatic potential by yellow color for Ti heteroatoms. The contour plots and multiwfn analysis exhibit charge transfer from titanium heteroatoms to the neighboring carbon atoms. Furthermore, the resulted electron density maps from multiwfn qualitatively confirm the contour plot's findings. The hydrogen adsorption is an endothermic process for C₂₀ fullerene and exothermic process for C_20-nTi_n heterofullerenes. Major criteria examined for thermodynamic stability; from C₁₉Ti₁ to C₁₅Ti₅, binding energy and hydrogen adsorption increase while heat of atomization decreases.