Synthesis and Antimicrobial Analysis of High Surface Area Strontium-Substituted Calcium Phosphate Nanostructures for Bone Regeneration

Continuous microwave-assisted flow synthesis has been used as a simple, more efficient, and low-cost route to fabricate a range of nanosized (<100 nm) strontium-substituted calcium phosphates. In this study, fine nanopowder was synthesized via a continuous flow synthesis with microwave assistance from the solutions of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (with strontium nitrate as Sr2+ ion source) and diammonium hydrogen phosphate at pH 10 with a time duration of 5 min. The morphological characterization of the obtained powder has been carried out by employing techniques such as transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis. The chemical structural analysis to evaluate the surface properties was made by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Zeta potential analysis was performed to evaluate the colloidal stability of the particles. Antimicrobial studies were performed for all the compositions using four bacterial strains and an opportunistic human fungal pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina. It was found that the nanoproduct with high strontium content (15 wt% of strontium) showed pronounced antibacterial potential against M. luteus while it completely arrested the fungal growth after 48 h by all of its concentrations. Thus the synthesis strategy described herein facilitated the rapid production of nanosized Sr-substituted CaPs with excellent biological performance suitable for a bone replacement application.

Sustainable, economical and rapid treatment of multiple lung diseases using therapeutic potential of curcumin nanoparticles

The study was designed to prepare pure curcumin nanoparticles in rapid and simple way for target specific drug delivery to kill bacteria lying deep down within the alveoli of lungs via inhaler. Three different methods including evaporation precipitation of nanosuspension (ENP), solid dispersion (SD) and anti-solvent precipitation (ASP) were selected to prepare nanocurcumin in pure form in very simple way. This was done to compare their efficiency in terms of particle size obtained and water solubility and bacterial toxicity of as prepared curcumin nanoparticles. In this comparative study, curcumin NPs obtained from three different methods having particles size 65.3 nm, 98.7 nm and 47.4 nm respectively. The NPs were characterized using various techniques like SEM, XRD, UV-Visible and FTIR for their particle size determination and solubility evaluation. These particles were screened off against five bacterial strains causing lung diseases. AB3 prepared by ASP method, being smallest sized nanostructures, showed maximum solubility in water. These nanoparticles can be used as drug directly via inhaler to the target area without using any support or nano-carrier. In this way minimum dose formulation is required to target bacteria.

Curcumin nanoparticles: physicochemical fabrication, characterization, antioxidant, enzyme inhibition, molecular docking and simulation studies

Curcumin is an extensively studied natural compound due to its extensive biological applications. However, there are some drawbacks linked to this compound such as poor absorption, low water-solubility, quick systemic elimination, fast metabolism, poor pharmacokinetics, low bioavailability, low penetration targeting efficacy and low stability. To overcome these drawbacks, curcumin is encapsulated in nano-carriers. In the current studies, we synthesized nanoparticles of curcumin without using nanocarriers by different methods such as nano-suspension (Cur-NSM), sonication (Cur-SM) and anti-solvent precipitation (Cur-ASP) to enhance the solubility of curcumin in water. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by FTIR, SEM and XRD analysis. These curcumin nanoparticles were screened for their solubilities in water, DPPH scavenging, amylase, α-glucosidase and β-glucosidase enzymatic activities. The particle size of nano-curcumin was found to be in the 47.4-98.7 nm range. The reduction in particle size of curcumin dramatically increases its solubility in water to 79.2 μg mL^-1, whereas the solubility of curcumin is just 0.98 μg mL^-1. Cur-ASP showed the highest free radical scavenging potential (48.84 ± 0.98%) which was comparable with standard BHT (50.48 ± 1.11%) at 75.0 μg mL^-1. As well, Cur-ASP showed the highest inhibition of α-amylase (68.67 ± 1.02%), α-glucosidase (58.30 ± 0.52%), and β-glucosidase (64.80 ± 0.43%) at 100 μg mL^-1 which is comparable with standard drug acarbose. The greater surface area of nanoparticles exposes the various groups of curcumin for blocking the binding sites of enzymes. This strategy may be helpful in designing curcumin as a potent therapeutic agent against diabetes mellitus. Further, the molecular interactions of curcumin with α-amylase, α-glucosidase, β-glucosidase, and polyphenol oxidase were assessed by analyzing the plausible binding modes of curcumin in the binding pocket of each receptor. The best binding mode of curcumin was used to make complexes with the target proteins and their stability was confirmed by 50 ns MD simulation.

Assessment of potentially toxic metal(loid)s contamination in soil near the industrial landfill and impact on human health: an evaluation of risk

The generation of solid waste is increasing with each passing day due to rapid urbanization and industrialization and has become a matter of concern for the international community. Leachate leakages from landfills pollute the soil and can potentially harm the human health. In this paper, inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometric studies were employed to assess and analyze the composition of metals (Ba, Cd, Pb, Hg, Cu, Cr and Mn) and metalloid (As) in soil samples. Results of Cr, Mn, Cu, As, Ba, Cd, Pb and Hg from CRM (certified reference material, SRM 2709a) of San Joaquin soil were evaluated and reported in terms of percent recoveries which were in the range of 97.6-102.9% and show outstanding extraction efficiency. Other than copper, where the permitted limit set by the EU is specified as 50-140 mg/kg in soil, the average amount of all the metals in soil was found within the permissible limits provided by WHO, the European Community (EU) and US EPA. Soil contaminated with Hg (PERI = 100) and Cd (PERI = 145.50) posed an ecological risk significantly. Pollution load index (PLI) value is greater than 1, while degree of contamination (Cdeg) value is less than 32 which indicated that the soil is polluted and considerably contaminated with metals and metalloid, respectively. In terms of the average daily dosage (ADD) of soil, children received the highest doses of all metals (ADDing = 1.315 × 10-7 - 2.470 × 10-3 and ADDderm = 9.939 × 10-7 - 5.292 × 10-11), whereas ADDing (1.409 × 10-8 - 2.646 × 10-4) was found greater in adults. For all metals except for Ba, the hazard quotient (HQ) trend in both children and adults was observed to be HQing > HQderm > HQinh of soil. Children who are at the lower edge of cancer risk had a lifetime cancer risk (LCR) of 2.039 × 10-4 for Cr from various paths of soil exposure.

Cerium Oxide Nanorods Synthesized by Dalbergia sissoo Extract for Antioxidant, Cytotoxicity, and Photocatalytic Applications

In this study, cerium oxide nanorods (CeO₂-NRs) were synthesized by using the phytochemicals present in the Dalbergia sissoo extract. The physiochemical characteristics of the as-prepared CeO₂-NRs were investigated by using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD). The SEM and UV-VIS analyses revealed that the acquired nanomaterials possessed a rod-like morphology while the XRD results further confirmed that the synthesized NRs exhibited a cubic crystal lattice system. The antioxidant capacity of the synthesized CeO₂-NRs was investigated by using several in vitro biochemical assays. It was observed that the synthesized NRs exhibited better antioxidant potential in comparison to the industrial antioxidant of the butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) in 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay. The biochemical assays, including lipid peroxidation (LPO), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and catalase activity (CAT), were also performed in the human lymphocytes incubated with the CeO₂-NRs to investigate the impact of the NRs on these oxidative biomarkers. Enhanced reductive capabilities were observed in all the assays, revealing that the NRs possess excellent antioxidant properties. Moreover, the cytotoxic potential of the CeO₂-NRs was also investigated with the MTT assay. The CeO₂-NRs were found to effectively kill off the cancerous cells (MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line), further indicating that the synthesized NRs exhibit anticancer potential as well. One of the major applications studied for the prepared CeO₂-NRs was performing the statistical optimization of the photocatalytic degradation reaction of the methyl orange (MO) dye. The reaction was optimized by using the technique of response surface methodology (RSM). This advanced approach facilitates the development of the predictive model on the basis of central composite design (CCD) for this degradation reaction. The maximum degradation of 99.31% was achieved at the experimental optimized conditions, which corresponded rather well with the predicted percentage degradation values of 99.58%. These results indicate that the developed predictive model can effectively explain the performed experimental reaction. To conclude, the CeO₂-NRs exhibited excellent results for multiple applications.

Catalytic degradation of MO and MB dyes under solar and UV light irradiation using ZnO fabricated using Syzygium Cumini leaf extract

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) were fabricated using Syzygium cumini leave extract as a reducing and capping agent. The ZnO NPs were characterized using various techniques including scanning electron microscopy, UV-Visible and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) techniques. The ZnO nanoparticles size was in 0.2–1 µm range and spherical in shape. Photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO NPs for the removal of MB (methylene blue) and MO (methyl orange) was investigated under solar and UV light expire. Photocatalytic efficiency of ZnO NPs was promising, which was found to be high under UV irradiation versus solar light. The ZnO NPs was confirmed as appropriate photocatalytic agent with significant potential for the removal of dye from wastewater.

Metal-Organic Framework-Based Composites for the Detection and Monitoring of Pharmaceutical Compounds in Biological and Environmental Matrices

The production of synthetic drugs is considered a huge milestone in the healthcare sector, transforming the overall health, aging, and lifestyle of the general population. Due to the surge in production and consumption, pharmaceutical drugs have emerged as potential environmental pollutants that are toxic with low biodegradability. Traditional chromatographic techniques in practice are time-consuming and expensive, despite good precision. Alternatively, electroanalytical techniques are recently identified to be selective, rapid, sensitive, and easier for drug detection. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are known for their intrinsic porous nature, high surface area, and diversity in structural design that provides credible drug-sensing capacities. Long-term reusability and maintaining chemo-structural integrity are major challenges that are countered by ligand-metal combinations, optimization of synthetic conditions, functionalization, and direct MOFs growth over the electrode surface. Moreover, chemical instability and lower conductivities limited the mass commercialization of MOF-based materials in the fields of biosensing, imaging, drug release, therapeutics, and clinical diagnostics. This review is dedicated to analyzing the various combinations of MOFs used for electrochemical detection of pharmaceutical drugs, comprising antibiotics, analgesics, anticancer, antituberculosis, and veterinary drugs. Furthermore, the relationship between the composition, morphology and structural properties of MOFs with their detection capabilities for each drug species is elucidated.

Analytical method development and determination of hydrocortisone acetate and fusidic acid simultaneously in cream formulation, by reversed-phase HPLC

In this study, an accurate, simple, economical, precise and reproducible reversed-phase HPLC method was developed for the estimation of fusidic acid and hydrocortisone acetate, according to the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines, in a cream formulation. Chromatographic separation was achieved by isocratic elution, on a Shimadzu reversed-phased high-pressure liquid chromatography instrument, equipped with a C₁₈ column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) and UV detector at 225 nm wavelength, using acetonitrile and 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (60:40), as a mobile phase and diluent, at flow rate 2 ml/min and an injection volume of 20 μl. The calibration curves were acquired with concentration range 80-120% and mean percentage recoveries for hydrocortisone acetate and fusidic acid were 100.14 and 100.81%, respectively. The limits of detection was obtained as 6.0667 and 6.807 μm ml^-1 and the limits of quantification were 20.204 and 20.628 μm ml^-1 for hydrocortisone acetate and fusidic acid, respectively. All of the validation parameters were within the acceptance criteria, as per International Conference on Harmonization requirements, for hydrocortisone acetate and fusidic acid. This method was found to be validated, simple, rapid and applicable for the simultaneous estimation of hydrocortisone acetate and fusidic acid by reversed-phased high-pressure liquid chromatography, for routine analytical testing in quality control, with a run time of 8 min.

Healing potential of Adiantum capillus-veneris L. plant extract on bisphenol A-induced hepatic toxicity in male albino rats

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a widely used environmental pollutant in the production of plastics but causes hepatotoxicity in mammals. In the present study, we studied the BPA-induced oxidative stress in rats and ameliorative potential of Adiantum capillus-veneris L. plant. It was concluded that the BPA can reduce the body and liver weight, increase in biochemical levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), total bilirubin, and disturb the normal hepatic physiology, histology, and metabolism. Additionally, liver histology shows hepatic necrosis, congestion, and vacuolization in exposed individuals. In contrast, simultaneous exposure of A. capillus-veneris and BPA showed declining trend in serum biomarker levels and normal histopathological structures. We conclude that the A. capillus-veneris plant is antioxidant in nature and can reduce the BPA-induced toxicity. These findings are very helpful to understand the BPA-induced hepatic toxicity and ameliorative potential of A. capillus-veneris plant and are of great importance in risk assessment of xenobiotics.

Electrochemical determination of folic acid: A short review

Folic acid (FA) is an electroactive compound of biological origin. It helps our body to produce and maintain healthy cells. It can significantly reduce the occurrence of neural tube defects and also prevents change in DNA structure. FA deficiency can lead to various health risks. Therefore, a sensitive, specific, and reproducible way of FA detection is essential. A number of analytical methods are in practice for the quantification of FA. However, electroanalytical methods are attracting much attention because of their advantage over conventional methods, as they are fast, simple, sensitive, and cost effective. Moreover, modification of electrodes offers control over size and morphology which allows miniaturization for applicability in portable electrochemical devices.

Bisphenol A exposure and healing effects of Adiantum capillus-veneris L. plant extract (APE) in bisphenol A-induced reproductive toxicity in albino rats

The current study presents the bisphenol A exposure and the ameliorative effects of Adiantum capillus-veneris on testicular toxicity induced by bisphenol A. Adult male albino rats were divided into five groups of five animals each: A (control), B (vehicle control), C (toxic), D (protective), and E (ameliorative) were served distilled water, olive oil, bisphenol A (BPA) at 100 mg/kg body weight, A. capillus-veneris plant extract at 25 mg/kg body weight, and BPA + A. capillus-veneris, respectively. All of the doses were administered orally for 15 days, and the rats were then sacrificed. Blood samples for the testosterone assay and both testes were collected for histological examination. The body weight, paired testes weight, relative tissue weight index, Johnsen scoring of tubules, and level of serum testosterone decreased in BPA-treated rats. Similarly, histological examination of the testes in BPA-treated animals revealed a lower number of Leydig cells, an irregular basement membrane, sloughing of germinal layers, vacuolization, a lower number of spermatocytes, and debris in the lumen. However, co-administration of A. capillus-veneris with BPA increased the total antioxidative capacity (330.82 ± 22.46 μmol/mg protein) of the testes and restored the serum testosterone level (1.70 ng/ml); histological features showed restoration in the stages of spermatogenesis. Conclusively, A. capillus-veneris plant extract overcomes the estrogenic effects of BPA on the reproductive system of rats and protects rats' testes against BPA-induced injury/damage via an antioxidative mechanism that appears to be conciliated.

Antifungal activity of flavonoids isolated from mango (Mangifera indica L.) leaves

Five flavonoids, namely (-)-epicatechin-3-O-β-glucopyranoside (1), 5-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxylphenyl)pyrano[3,2-g]chromene-4(8H)-one (2), 6-(p-hydroxybenzyl)taxifolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (tricuspid) (3), quercetin-3-O-α-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (4) and (-)-epicatechin(2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H-chromene-3,5,7-triol (5), were isolated from the leaves of mango (Mangifera indica L.). Antifungal activity of these compounds was evaluated against five fungal species, namely Alternaria alternata (Fr.) Keissler, Aspergillus fumigatus Fresenius, Aspergillus niger van Tieghem, Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. and Penicillium citrii. Six concentrations, namely 100, 300, 500, 700, 900 and 1000 ppm of each of the five flavonoids were employed by means of the poisoned medium technique. All concentrations of the five test flavonoids significantly suppressed fungal growth. However, the specificity of different test compounds was evident against different fungal species. In general, antifungal activity of the flavonoids was gradually increased by increasing their concentrations. The highest concentration (of 1000 ppm) of compounds 1-5 reduced the growth of different target fungal species by 63-97%, 56-96%, 76-99%, 76-98% and 82-96%, respectively.

Herbicidal activity of flavonoids of mango leaves against Parthenium hysterophorus L

This study was undertaken to investigate the herbicidal activity of mango (Mangifera indica L.) leaves against parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.). The aqueous leaf extract at 15% concentration (on fresh weight basis) significantly reduced germination, shoot length and the shoot and root biomasses of parthenium seedlings. In a leaf residue incorporation pot trial, 2% residue incorporation treatment significantly suppressed the root and shoot biomasses of parthenium, while a 5% residue treatment completely stopped the growth of the weed. Five flavonoids, namely (-)-epicatechin-3-O-β-glucopyranoside (1), 5-hydroxy-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyrano[3,2-g]chromene-4(8H)-one (2), 6-(p-hydroxybenzyl)taxifolin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (tricuspid) (3), quercetin-3-O-α-glucopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (4) and (-)-epicatechin(2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H chromene-3,5,7-triol (5) were isolated from mango leaves. In a laboratory bioassay, 50 ppm solution of compounds 3 and 4 caused yellowing of the parthenium seedlings. A 250 ppm solution of compound 4 also significantly reduced germination and the root and shoot lengths of parthenium seedlings. This study concludes that compound 4 exhibits herbicidal activity against parthenium weed.