Spin-coatable, photopatternable magnetic nanocomposite thin films for MEMS device applications - Kandpal, Manoj; Sharan, C.; Palaparthy, V.; Tiwary, N.; Poddar, P.; Rao, V. Ramgopal (RSC Advances, 2015)
Magnetic nanomaterials' (especially metals) air stability and compatibility with standard micro-fabrication technologies are often a concern for development of MEMS-based magnetic devices. In this paper, we report an air-stable, photo-patternable and spin-coatable magnetic thin film preparation process for MEMS applications. This magnetic nanocomposite thin film was prepared by incorporating carbon capped ferromagnetic cobalt nanoparticles of dimension 20-80 nm into the SU-8 matrix. TEM, XRD and EDAX analyses were done, to investigate the crystal structure, dispersion and phase stability of the films. The SQUID magnetometry and MFM measurements of the film confirmed its magnetic response at room temperature and the retention of its magnetic properties over a period of time. The material compatibility for MEMS device applications was demonstrated through fabrication of a suspended circular membrane of radius similar to 250 mu m, having four U-shaped beams, of dimension similar to 270 x 50 mu m each. Three conventional lithography steps and a sacrificial release layer of similar to 1 mm thick oxide was used for the fabrication. The membrane was characterized by evaluating its spring constant and resonant frequency. The spring constant and resonant frequencies were estimated to be similar to 4.2 N m(-1) and similar to 29 kHz respectively. Finally, we demonstrated the actuation of the magnetic membrane by an off-chip generated magnetic field, for its possible use as a MEMS device.

Spirochromone-chalcone conjugates as antitubercular agents: synthesis, bio evaluation and molecular modeling studies - Mujahid, Mohammad; Perumal, Yogeeswari; Sriram, D.; Basavanag, U. M. V.; Dıaz-Cervantes, Erik; Cordoba-Bahena, Luis; Robles, Juvencio; Gonnade, Rajesh Ghanshyam; Karthikeyan, Muthukumarasamy; Vyas, Renu; Krishnan, M. Muthu (RSC Advances, 2015)
A new series of spirochromone annulated chalcone conjugates were synthesized and evaluated for their antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain. These compounds were subjected to molecular modeling studies using docking and chemoinformatics based approaches. The docking simulations were performed against a range of known receptors for chalcone derived compounds to reveal MTB phosphotyrosine phosphatase B [MtbPtpB] protein as the most probable target based on the high binding affinity scores. Five compounds exhibit significant inhibition, showing minimum inhibitory concentration values i.e. MIC values ranging from 3.13–12.5 μg mL−1. Further analysis of the synthesized compounds with known and in-house developed chemoinformatics tools unequivocally established their potential as anti-tubercular compounds. QSAR modeling revealed a quantitative relationship between biological activities and frontier molecular orbital energies of synthesized compounds. The predictive model can be employed further for virtual screening of new compounds in this series.

Stable field emission from layered MoS2 nanosheets in high vacuum and observation of 1/f noise - Kashid, Ranjit V.; Joag, Pracheetee D.; Thripuranthaka, M.; Rout, Chandra S.; Late, Dattatray J.; More, Mahendra A. (Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, 2015)
Field emission and current noise of hydrothermally synthesized MoS2 nanosheets are investigated in ultra-high-vacuum and industrially suited high-vacuum conditions. The study reveals that the emission turn-on field is pressure dependent. Moreover, the MoS2 nanosheets exhibit more stable field-electron emission in high-vacuum than in ultra-high-vacuum conditions. The investigations on field-emission current fluctuations show features of 1/f-type noise in ultra-high-vacuum and high-vacuum conditions, attributed to adsorption and desorption processes. The post-field-emission results indicate the MoS2 nanosheets are a robust field emitter in high-vacuum conditions.
Keywords: Electron emission; layered materials; MoS2; Noise measurement; Raman spectroscopy

Star telechelic poly(L-lactide) ionomers - Kulkarni, Amruta; Lele, Ashish K.; Sivaram, Swaminathan; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Velankar, Sachin; Chatterji, Apratim (Macromolecules, 2015)
Poly(L-lactide) (PLA), a biodegradable and biorenewable polymer, has many excellent properties that are equivalent to those of petroleum-derived plastics such as polystyrene, aromatic polyesters, etc. However, a major disadvantage of PLA which limits its processability is its poor melt elasticity. In this work we explore the possibility of improving the viscoelastic properties of PLA melt by incorporating ionic groups on the polymer. Specifically, we demonstrate the synthesis of star telechelic PLA anionomers by a three-step procedure involving synthesis of Star PIA, converting the hydroxyl end groups into carboxylic acid end groups, and finally converting these into ionic groups. Rheology data showed a dramatic increase in the elasticity of the star telechelic ionomer melts relative to the Star PLA melts. The viscoelasticity of star telechelic ionomers melts could be modulated by varying the number of ionic groups per molecule.

Structure mediation in substrate binding and post-translational processing of penicillin acylases: Information from mutant structures of Kluyvera citrophila penicillin G acylase - Chand, Deepak; Varshney, NishantKumar; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Panigrahi, Priyabrata; Brannigan, James A.; Wilkinson, Anthony J.; Suresh, C. G. (Protein Science, 2015)
Penicillin acylases are industrially important enzymes for the production of 6-APA, which is used extensively in the synthesis of secondary antibiotics. The enzyme translates into an inactive single chain precursor that subsequently gets processed by the removal of a spacer peptide connecting the chains of the mature active heterodimer. We have cloned the penicillin G acylase from Kluyvera citrophila (KcPGA) and prepared two mutants by site-directed mutagenesis. Replacement of N-terminal serine of the beta-subunit with cysteine (Ser beta 1Cys) resulted in a fully processed but inactive enzyme. The second mutant in which this serine is replaced by glycine (Ser beta 1Gly) remained in the unprocessed and inactive form. The crystals of both mutants belonged to space group P1 with four molecules in the asymmetric unit. The three-dimensional structures of these mutants were refined at resolutions 2.8 and 2.5 angstrom, respectively. Comparison of these structures with similar structures of Escherichia coli PGA (EcPGA) revealed various conformational changes that lead to autocatalytic processing and consequent removal of the spacer peptide. The large displacements of residues such as Arg168 and Arg477 toward the N-terminal cleavage site of the spacer peptide or the conformational changes of Arg145 and Phe146 near the active site in these structures suggested probable steps in the processing dynamics. A comparison between the structures of the processed Serb1Cys mutant and that of the processed form of EcPGA showed conformational differences in residues Arg alpha 145, Phe alpha 146, and Phe beta 24 at the substrate binding pocket. Three conformational transitions of Arg alpha 145 and Phe alpha 146 residues were seen when processed and unprocessed forms of KcPGA were compared with the substrate bound structure of EcPGA. Structure mediation in activity difference between KcPGA and EcPGA toward acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) is elucidated.
Keywords: acyl homoserine lactone; autocatalytic processing; conformational changes; KcPGA_Ser beta 1Cys; KcPGA_Ser beta 1Gly; Ntn hydrolase

Structure of nanorod assembly in the gyroid phase of diblock copolymer - Chakraborty, Souvik; Roy, Sudip (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2015)
Diblock copolymers undergo microphase separation to form various microstructures, for example, lamellar, gyroid, cylindrical, cubic phases depending on compostion and segregation strength (Flory-Huggins parameter chi). Thus, it can act as template to organize doped nanomaterials into different 3D self-assembled structures located within the block copolymer matrix. Gyroid phase is One of the microstructures formed by block copolymer. It has a curved interfacial surface providing confinements throughout the matrix and thus can regulate the shape and sizes of self-assembled nanorods doped in it. Mesoscale simulation of model systems has been performed to explore the structure and dynamics of self-assembly of bundles formed by nanorods of different flexibilities in the gyroid phase of diblock copolymer matrix. Bundles of different shapes and sizes have been found to be formed depending on the nanorod bending flexibility and copolymer-nanorod interactions. The shape anisotropy (kappa(2)) and radius of gyration (R-g(2)) of bundles situated at different interfacial confining locations of block copolymer-matrices have been investigated as a function of nanorod flexibility and nanorod-diblock copolymer miscibility.

Studies toward the total synthesis of cytospolide E - Vadhadiya, Paresh M.; Rout, Jeetendra K.; Ramana, C. V. (Tetrahedron, 2015)
In this manuscript, we describe various approaches that we have examined towards the total synthesis of Cytospolide E. We initially attempted the RCM approach employing first and second generation Grubbs and Grubbs-Hoyeda catalysts resulting in the exclusive synthesis of the Z-isomer of Cytospolide E. With the Furstner catalyst, the dimerization involving the less hindered olefin was the exclusive event. Alternative approach documented is a successful cross-metathesis leading to a seco-acid with the requisite E-configuration and undesired macrodiolide formation during the attempted Shiina's lactonization. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 20-Membered macrodiolide; Nonenolide; Ring closing metathesis; Shiina lactonization; Yamaguchi esterification

Surface-modified single wall carbon nanohorn as an effective electrocatalyst for platinum-free fuel cell cathodes - Unni, SreeKuttan M.; Ramadas, Sarath; Illathvalappil, Rajith; Bhange, Siddheshwar N.; Kurungot, Sreekumar (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015)
Platinum (Pt) and its alloys are routinely used in the cathodes of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) due to their high electrocatalytic activity in oxygen reduction reactions (ORRs). A variety of alternative materials have been examined as alternatives to Pt, but most of these had low activity and their performance deteriorated even further in use. In the present study an alternate electrocatalyst has been examined, obtained by a simple surface modification of single-walled carbon nanohorns by simultaneous doping with Fe and N at 900 degrees C (FeNCNH-900). This had an ORR activity superior to that of 40 wt% Pt on carbon (Pt/C). Compared to Pt/C, FeNCNH-900 gave a 30 mV improvement in onset potential and a 20 mV gain in half-wave potential in an ORR. Its high activity is the result of the simultaneous modulation achieved by the high surface area and the microporosity of carbon nanohorns, together with the establishment of the desired nitrogen-iron coordinated pyrrolic active centres. The catalyst showed excellent electrochemical stability and, most notably, its ORR activity was still increasing after 1000 cycles. Single-cell fuel cell performance using FeNCNH-900 as cathode catalyst showed a maximum power density of 35 mW cm(-2) under alkaline conditions.

Synthesis and characterization of PEPO grafted carboxymethyl guar and carboxymethyl tamarind as new thermo-associating polymers - Gupta, Nivika R.; Torris, Arun A. T.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Ducouret, Guylaine; Hourdet, Dominique; Creton, Costantino; Badiger, Manohar V. (Carbohydrate Polymers, 2015)
New thermo associating polymers were designed and synthesized by grafting amino terminated poly(ethylene oxide-co-propylene oxide) (PEPO) onto carboxymethyl guar (CMG) and carboxymethyl tamarind (CMT). The grafting was performed by coupling reaction between-NH2 groups of PEPO and -COOH groups of CMG and CMT using water-soluble EDC/NHS as coupling agents. The grafting efficiency and the temperature of thermo-association, T-assoc in the copolymer were studied by NMR spectroscopy. The graft copolymers, CMG-g-PEPO and CMT-g-PEPO exhibited interesting thermo-associating behavior which was evidenced by the detailed rheological and fluorescence measurements. The visco-elastic properties (storage modulus, G'; loss modulus, G'') of the copolymer solutions were investigated using oscillatory shear experiments. The influence of salt and surfactant on the T-assoc was also studied by rheology, where the phenomenon of ``Salting out'' and ``Salting in'' was observed for salt and surfactant, respectively, which can give an easy access to tunable properties of these copolymers. These thermo-associating polymers with biodegradable nature of CMG and CMT can have potential applications as smart injectables in controlled release technology and as thickeners in cosmetics and pharmaceutical formulations. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Carboxymethyl guar; Carboxymethyl tamarind; Pluronics; Rheology; Solution behavior; Thermo-associating polymers

Synthesis and characterization of thermotropic liquid crystalline polyimides - Mane, Sachin; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chavan, Nayaku (Bulletin of Materials Science, 2015)
Non-symmetrical and linear dyad-based mesogens were synthesised containing imine or ester bridging group. In the present work, due to the absence of branching in diamine-based mesogen, the structure has-rigidity inversely imine/ester bridging groups between two benzene rings imparts-flexible property to the mesogen and consequently rigid-flexible property has been balanced. The synthesised mesogens were characterized by different techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) were synthesised using pyromellitic dianhydride and 4-[(4-aminobenzylidene)amino]aniline or 4-aminophenyl-4-aminobenzoate. Subsequently, thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (TLCPs) have also been evaluated to obtain optical microscopy textures at different temperatures which demonstrated interesting and notable changes. It is worth noting that marble-like textures were observed upto 200A degrees C.
Keywords: Diamine; liquid crystalline polymer; mesogen; optical microscopy textures; pyromellitic dianhydride

Synthesis, crystal structure and in vitro DNA binding studies of combretastatin A-4 analogue - Rizvi, Masood Ahmad; Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Yaseen, Zahid; Gupta, Vivek; Khan, Khaliquz Zaman (Croatica Chemica Acta, 2015)
Synthesis of a novel Combretastatin A-4 analogue using Schiff's reaction of benzil and 4-aminoantipyrine has been achieved under solvent free conditions. The structure of compound was examined spectroscopically and confirmed from single crystal diffraction studies. The synthesized Combretastatin A-4 analogue was investigated for its DNA binding ability as the plausible mechanism for its antitumor activity. The binding propensity of the synthesized compound with calf-thymus (CT) DNA was monitored with absorption and emission spectrophotometric titrations. The calculations predict a binding constant of 7.24 x 10(4) for the complex of the synthesized compound with CT DNA which is comparable in magnitude to that of DNA binding of bactericidal drug enoxacin and typical intercalation indicator ethidium bromide (EB). Competitive binding studies of the synthesized compound with EB using fluorescence titration reveal that it displaces the DNA-bound EB and binds in intercalative mode which was further supported by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The probable site and binding energy of the compound with DNA was further theoretically investigated by molecular docking studies. The significant DNA binding ability of the synthesized Combretastatin A4 analogue as revealed from this study could be related to the anticancer activity of the Combretastatin A4.
Keywords: benzil; bio-physical; combretastatin A-4; crystal structure; DNA binding; ethidium bromide; fluorescence; phenazones

Synthesis of 3-Thia-1-dethiacephems via Regioselective Iodocyclization Reaction - Garud, Dinesh R.; Rode, Navnath D.; Bathe, Sagar R.; Ranpise, Vinod S.; Joshi, Ramesh A.; Joshi, Rohini R.; Koketsu, Mamoru (Synthesis-Stuttgart, 2015)
The key N-homopropargylthiourea intermediates, N-substituted 2-oxo-4-propargylazetidine-1-carbothioamides, were prepared by the reaction of a 4-propargylazetidin-2-one with isothiocyanates. Bicyclic -lactams, i.e. 3-thia-1-dethiacephems, were prepared via highly regioselective iodocyclization reaction of N-substituted 2-oxo-4-propargylazetidine-1-carbothioamides with molecular iodine at room temperature in moderate to excellent yields. A variety of functional groups were well tolerated under the reaction conditions.
Keywords: -lactams; 3-thia-1-dethiacephems; Iodocyclization; Regioselective; thiourea

Synthesis of N-aryl beta-amino alcohols by trifluoroacetic acid promoted multicomponent coupling of aziridines, arynes, and water - Roy, Tony; Baviskar, Dnyaneshwar R.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
A transition-metal-free, three-component coupling involving N-substituted aziridines, arynes, and water promoted by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) has been reported. The reaction furnished medicinally important N-aryl beta-amino alcohol derivatives in moderate to good yields. In addition, the use of azetidines in this reaction afforded N-aryl gamma-amino alcohol derivatives.

Synthesis of novel N-cyclopentenyl-lactams using the aube reaction - Shinde, Madhuri V.; Ople, Rohini S.; Sangtani, Ekta; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
A novel and convenient method utilizing the Aube reaction to access a new class of compounds that are similar to carbocyclic nucleosides is reported. The azido alcohol derived from Vince lactam undergoes the Aube reaction with various cyclic ketones to give cyclopentenyl-substituted lactams. Upon dihydroxylation, this affords the N-cyclopentenyl-lactam compounds in racemic form. Given the numerous uses of nucleosides and related compounds, we were interested in the synthesis of carbocylic nucleoside mimics. The attempts and results are described herein.
Keywords: Aube reaction; Biological activity; carbocyclic nucleosides; cyclopentenylated lactams; cyclopentylated lactams

Synthesis of novel silica-polyimide nanocomposite films using aromatic-amino modified silica nanoparticles: mechanical, thermal and morphological investigations - Ghorpade, Ravindra V.; Rajan, C. R.; Chavan, Nayaku; Ponrathnam, S. (Express Polymer Letters, 2015)
Silica nanoparticles were modified with aromatic amino groups and modified-silica/polyimide composite films were prepared using them. 3,3!, 4,4!-Benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4!-oxydianiline (ODA) were used as precursors for polyimide matrix. The structures of the modified nanoparticles and hybrid nanocomposites were identified using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometry. The hybrid composite films were evaluated for mechanical, thermal and morphological characteristics. Morphological results describe a uniform dispersion of silica particles in the polymer matrix. The thermal stability and mechanical properties of polyimide composite were improved, and the decomposition temperature was increased when the amount of silica nanoparticles was increased.
Keywords: hybrid polyimide composites; mechanical properties; Nanocomposites; nanoparticle modification; Thermal properties

Target cum flexibility: synthesis of indolo[1,2-b]isoquinoline derivatives via cobalt-catalyzed [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization - Swami, Anuradha; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Synlett, 2015)
A modular approach for the synthesis of small molecules having the unnatural 6,11-dihydroindolo[1,2-b]isoquinoline tetracyclic core has been documented. An acid-catalyzed Friedel-Crafts-type C2-alkylation of N-propargyl indole with a suitably activated alkynol has been used to prepare the key indole-derived diynes. The cobalt-catalyzed [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization of these diynes has been studied with various internal/terminal alkynes and with nitriles.
Keywords: 2-b]-isoquinoline; cobalt; Indole; indolo[1; Pyridine; [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization

Targeting a chemorefractory COLO205 (BRAF V600E) cell line using substituted benzo[alpha]phenoxazines - Pal, Sanjima; Konkimalla, V. Badireenath; Kathawate, Laxmi; Rao, Soniya S.; Gejji, Shridhar P.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Weyhermueller, Thomas; Salunke-Gawali, Sunita (RSC Advances, 2015)
Mutational activations of the oncogene BRAF (especially BRAF V600E) result in a poor prognosis for colon cancer patients and are associated with chemoresistance rendering them refractory to treatment. The development of novel bioactive compounds with specific targeting abilities under such conditions is an urgent need in drug discovery. In this report we synthesize and characterize three fluorescent benzo[alpha]phenoxazine compounds (10R-benzo[alpha]phenoxazine-5-one, 1B; R = Cl, 2B; R = CH3, 3B; R = H) and their anticancer activities are evaluated in a COLO205 cell line. All three compounds with a log P value around 2 were cell permeable. However, 2B and 3B showed specific cytotoxicity in a malignant COLO205 cell line with a BRAF mutation (V600E) in comparison to a non-malignant wild-type BRAF HEK293T cell line. From further cell-based assays (cell cycle analysis, DNA fragmentation and caspase activation), we conclude that 2B and 3B treatment-induced selective cell death by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase and caspase-mediated apoptosis (activation of the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways) are present only in BRAF V600E COLO205 cells. Further studies in the drug discovery pipeline might help develop these benzo[alpha]phenoxazines as promising chemotherapeutics for such refractory mutated cancers.

Terahertz spectroscopy and solid-state density functional theory calculations of cyanobenzaldehyde isomers - Dash, Jyotirmayee; Ray, Shaurnik; Nallappan, Kathirvel; Kaware, Vaibhav; Basutkar, Nitin B.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Ambade, Ashootosh V.; Joshi, Kavita; Pesala, Bala (Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2015)
Spectral signatures in the terahertz (THz) frequency region are mainly due to bulk vibrations of the molecules. These resonances are highly sensitive to the relative position of atoms in a molecule as well as the crystal packing arrangement. To understand the variation of THz resonances, THz spectra (2-10 THz) of three structural isomers: 2-, 3-, and 4-cyanobenzaldehyde have been studied. THz spectra obtained from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry of these isomers show that the resonances are distinctly different especially below 5 THz. For understanding the intermolecular interactions due to hydrogen bonds, four molecule cluster simulations of each of the isomers have been carried out using the B3LYP density functional with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set in Gaussian09 software and the compliance constants are obtained. However, to understand the exact reason behind the observed resonances, simulation of each isomer considering the full crystal structure is essential. The crystal structure of each isomer has been determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis for carrying out crystal structure simulations. Density functional theory (DFT) simulations using CRYSTAL14 software, utilizing the hybrid density functional B3LYP, have been carried out to understand the vibrational modes. The bond lengths and bond angles from the optimized structures are compared with the XRD results in terms of root-mean-square-deviation (RMSD) values. Very low RMSD values confirm the overall accuracy of the results. The simulations are able to predict most of the spectral features exhibited by the isomers. The results show that low frequency modes (<3 THz) are mediated through hydrogen bonds and are dominated by intermolecular vibrations.

Total syntheses and biological evaluation of (+/-)-botryosphaeridione, (+/-)-pleodendione, 4-epi-periconianone B, and analogues - Handore, Kishor L.; Jadhav, Prakash D.; Hazra, Bibhabasu; Basu, Anirban; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2015)
The total syntheses of (+/-)-botryosphaeridione, (+/-)-pleodendione, (+/-)-hoaensieremodione, 4-epi-periconianone B, and their analogues have been accomplished for the first time. All the synthesized target compounds were screened in neural anti-inflammatory assays using LPS induced microglia cells (N9). Among them, compounds 1 and 21 were identified as potential lead compounds for further profiling.
Keywords: antineuroinflammatoty agents; bohyosphaeridione; Natural product; pleodendione; Total synthesis

Total synthesis and structural revision of mycalol, an anticancer natural product from the marine source - Seetharamsingh, B.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Organic Letters, 2015)
The total synthesis of an anticancer (anaplastic thyroid) natural lipid mycalol has been accomplished for the first time. Synthesis of originally proposed structure necessitated the revision of structure in which the position of acetate group moved from C20 to C19 and a change in stereochemistry of the glycerol unit.

Total synthesis of (+)-petromyroxol - Mullapudi, Venkanna Babu; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2015)
The total synthesis of (+)-petromyroxol establishing its absolute configuration has been accomplished. The strategy developed employs easily accessible carbohydrate building blocks and comprises flexible and scalable chemistry that allowed the synthesis of (+)-petromyroxol along with its three diastereomers varying the stereochemistry mainly at C5 and/or C6. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Glucose diacetonide; Petromyroxol; Pheromone; Sea Lamprey; Total synthesis

Total synthesis of sinenside A - Vadhadiya, Paresh M.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2015)
The first total synthesis of norlignan glucoside sinenside A has been accomplished. An intramolecular acetalization reaction has been employed as the key skeletal construct to forge the central cyclic disaccharide core. The trans-1,2-diol configuration present in the cyclic disaccharide of this natural product is unique and has been addressed by setting this configuration at the beginning. A 1,2-orthoester group has been selected as a handle for both sp glycosidation and for differentiation of the C2'-OH (that participates in the key acetalization reaction) of the sugar unit.

Tuning magnetic behavior of nanoscale cobalt sulfide and its nanocomposite with an engineering thermoplastic - Rumale, Narendra; Arbuj, Sudhir S.; Umarji, Govind; Shinde, Manish; Mulik, Uttam P.; Joy, Pattayil Alias; Amalnerkar, Dinesh P. (Journal of Electronic Materials, 2015)
Nanocomposites containing magnetic nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix with good thermal stability (up to 200A degrees C) are technologically important. We report an environmentally benign solid-solid approach for synthesis of cobalt sulfide and its nanocomposite using a thermally stable matrix of polyphenylene sulfide. Physicochemical characterizations reveal the formation of nanoclusters of the hexagonal phase CoS. Even though bulk CoS is nonmagnetic, magnetization studies exhibit anomalous magnetic behavior for phase-pure nanoscale CoS and its nanocomposites.
Keywords: Nanocomposite; polyphenylene sulfide; Solid-solid reaction; superparamagnetic

Two phase flow boiling pressure drop in small channels - Sardeshpande, Madhavi V.; Shastri, Parikshit; Ranade, Vivek V. (IUTAM Symposium on multiphase flows with phase change: challenges and opportunities, 2015)
Two-phase pressure drop, flow instability and boiling regime identifications are an essential step in the design of a variety of plant in the power and process industries. Despite the wide spread applications, significant experimental data on flow boiling in small channel is not available. In the present work, experimental set-up was designed for studying boiling flows in 19 mm ID tube and identifies flow regimes at various mass and heat flux conditions by varying inlet fluid temperature. The steady-state pressure data was collected and flow regimes identified using pressure drop and pressure fluctuations inside the channel. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: flow boiling; flow instability; pressure drop; regime identification

Vitellibacter nionensis sp nov., isolated from a shallow water hydrothermal vent - Rajasabapathy, Raju; Mohandass, Chellandi; Yoon, Jung-Hoon; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Liu, Qing; Thi-Nhan Khieu; Chu Ky Son; Li, Wen-Jun; Colaco, Ana (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2015)
A novel, Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, rod-shaped yellow bacterium, designated VBW088(T) was isolated from a shallow water hydrothermal vent in Espalamaca in the Azores. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain VBW088(T) clustered with three type strains of species of the genus Vitellibacter and exhibited a sequence similarity of 97.3% with Vitellibacter soesokkakensis RSSK-12(T). However, strain VBW088(T) and V. soesokkakensis RSSK-12(T) exhibited low DNA-DNA relatedness (12.7 +/- 3.5 %). Strain VBW088(T) was positive for catalase and oxidase. Growth occurred at 10-37 degrees C, with the optimum at 80 degrees C, and at pH 6.0-8.0 (optimum pH 6.0) and in up to 5% (w/v) NaCl with optimum growth at 1-2% (w/v) NaCl. The major fatty acids (>10%) were iso-C-15:0 (33.5%) and iso-C-17:0 3-OH (32.0%). The polar lipids detected in strain VBW088(T) consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, one unidentified aminolipid and three unidentified phospholipids. The DNA G+C content of strain VBW088(T) was 36.7 mol%. On the basis of phylogenetic inference, DNA-DNA relatedness, chemotaxonomic analysis and physiological data, the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Vitellibacter, for which the name Vitellibacter nionensis sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain as VBW088(T). (=KCTC 32420(T)=MCC 2354(T)).

Void fraction measurement using electrical capacitance tomography and high speed photography - Sardeshpande, Madhavi V.; Harinarayan, Sagar; Ranade, Vivek V. (Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 2015)
Gas-liquid flows are encountered in variety of industrial applications including boilers, distillation towers, chemical reactors, oil pipelines, nuclear reactors etc. The measurement of two-phase flow parameters such as flow regime and void fraction is considerably important and play an important role in characterization of the hydrodynamic behavior of such gas-liquid two phase systems. The void fraction is a dimensionless quantity and is often termed as ``holdup or fraction'' in two-phase flows. According to industrial applications; it is essential to develop measurement technique for void fraction measurement which can work in hot and opaque systems. Therefore, an attempt was made here to establish electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) facility for measuring void fraction and flow regimes as well as develop suitable data processing methodologies. In the present work, focus was to measure void fraction using ECT technique and compares it with conventional and high speed photography technique. Therefore, that will give guidelines of using ECT technique for hot and opaque systems like boiling flows. (C) 2014 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier BM. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ECT; Flow regimes; Two phase flow; Void fraction

3-Aminothiophenecarboxylic acid (3-Atc)-induced folding in peptides - Ingole, Tukaram S.; Kotmale, Amol S.; Gawade, Rupesh L.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (New Journal of Chemistry, 2016)
This paper describes the consequences of incorporating a constrained heterocyclic aromatic b-amino acid 3-aminothiophenecarboxylic acid (3-Atc) into peptides containing beta-turn forming elements such as Pro-Gly motif and the effect on the secondary structural architecture of the entire peptide backbone. Conformational investigations of oligomers comprising an alpha,beta,alpha peptide sequence were carried out by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, solution-state NMR, nOe-restrained MD simulation and circular dichroism studies. The results suggested that these peptide sequences assume helical architecture. The helical folding in the oligomers was found to be devoid of inter-residual H-bonding, instead found to be stabilized by a co-operative effect of 6-membered H-bonding within the 3-Atc unit and conformational restrictions of individual amino acids in the peptide backbone.

Actinorectispora indica gen. nov., sp nov isolated from soil, a member of the family pseudonocardiaceae - Quadri, Syed Raziuddin; Tian, Xin-Peng; Zhang, Jing; Al Ruwaili, Jamal; Hozzein, Wael N.; Agsar, Dayanand; Li, Wen-Jun; Dastager, Syed Gulam (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2016)
The taxonomic positions of three Gram-stain-positive, aerobic strains, designated YIM 75722, 75726 and 75728(T), and isolated from a soil sample collected from Kurnool of Andhra Pradesh province, India, were assessed using a polyphasic approach. Growth was observed at pH 7.0-10.0 (optimum pH 7.0), 15-28 degrees C (optimum 28 degrees C) and 0-8% (w/v) NaCl (grew without NaCl). Strains showed cylindrical spores with straight-chain morphology on aerial mycelium, but did not reveal sporangium-like structures or fragmentation of the substrate mycelium. Whole-cell hydrolysates of all strains contained galactose and ribose as the diagnostic sugars and meso-diaminopimelic acid as the diamino acid. The predominant menaquinone was MK-9(H-4); MK-9 (H-6) and MK-10 (H-4) were present in smaller amounts. The phospholipid pattern consisted mainly of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. The major fatty acids were i-C-15: 0, ai-C-15: 0, i-C-17 : 0 and ai-C-17 : 0. The genomic DNA G+C content was 68.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealed that strain YIM 75728(T) should be placed within the family Pseudonocardiaceae, in which the strain formed a distinct lineage. The combination of phylogenetic analysis, phenotypic characteristics and chemotaxonomic data support the conclusion that strain YIM 75728(T) represents a novel species of a novel genus of the family Pseudonocardiaceae for which the name Actinorectispora indica gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed. Strain YIM 75728(T) (=DSM 45410(T)=CCTCC AA 209065(T)) is the type strain of Actinorectispora indica. Strain YIM 75728(T) was considered as the type strain over the other two strains based on the highest sequence read length of the strain.

Additive mediated syn-anti conformational tuning at nucleation to capture elusive polymorphs: remarkable role of extended pi-stacking interactions in driving the self-assembly - Gawade, Rupesh L.; Chakravarty, Debamitra K.; Kotmale, Amol; Sangtani, Ekta; Joshi, Pranaya V.; Ahmed, Awais; Mane, Manoj V.; Das, Susanta; Vanka, Kumar; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Crystal Growth & Design, 2016)
Understanding the process of prenucleation clustering at supersaturating stage is of significant importance to envisage the polymorphism in crystalline materials. Preferential formation of a thermodynamically stable crystal form suggests energetically favored patterns of interactions which control molecular aggregation during nucleation. Introduction of additives during crystallization is sometimes used as a suitable strategy to obtain metastable polymorphs in cases where it is not easy to capture the same by conventional crystallization methods. Comparative analysis of energy relationships and intermolecular interactions between thermodynamically stable and metastable crystal forms provides valuable clues about the nature of growth synthons at prenucleation clustering and preferential crystallization of the thermodynamic form. Conformationally flexible sulfonamide/sulfoester derivatives constituting electron rich and electron deficient aromatic rings were synthesized to study the interplay between pi-stacking and hydrogen bonding synthons. We have identified and characterized the thermodynamically stable and metastable elusive polymorphs of aromatic sulfonamides 1 and 2 and sulfoesters 3 and 4. However, these compounds eluded polymorphism during crystallisation from various common solvents/conditions and only produced thermodynamically stable crystals forms (form I crystals). Surprisingly, exploitation of pyrazinamide as an additive in different stoichiometric ratios during crystallization gave elusive polymorphs [three for 1 (form 1II, form 1III, and form 1IV) and one each for 2 (form 2II), 3 (form 3II), and 4 (form 4II)]. Molecules in stable crystal forms of these compounds are linked via extended chains of parallel displaced pi...pi stacking interactions that seem to play a vital role in driving the self-assembly of molecules and subsequently governing the nucleation process. In contrast, molecules in metastable polymorphs are devoid of such extended pi-stacking assemblies. Interestingly, differential scanning calorimetry, hot stage microscopy, and X-ray crystallographic studies confirmed the thermal crystal-to-crystal transition of all three metastable polymorphs of 1 (form 1II, form 1III, and form 1IV) to its thermodynamically stable crystal form (form 1I). Conformational analysis of molecule 1 using density functional theory calculations also validated higher stability for syn conformation (observed in Form 1I crystals) over anti and midway conformations (seen in metastable polymorphs). Melt crystallization of form 1I crystals of 1 on the larger face (001) of delta-pyrazinamide and lattice matching analysis (GRACE) revealed that the layered arrangement of molecules of delta-pyrazinamide (on 001 face) during heterogeneous nucleation acts as a template (heteroepitaxy) to provide a preferential site for the nucleation of new metastable polymorphs by selectively inhibiting the most preferred crystal form from growing into the nucleus. Solution state one- and two-dimensional (NOESY) H-1 NMR, scanning electron microscopy, and a Cambridge Structural Database survey were conducted to substantiate the role of additives during crystallization.

Alkyne [2+2+2]-cyclotrimerization approach for synthesis of 6,7-cyclopropylallocolchicinoids - More, Atul A.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Employing a cobalt-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] alkyne cyclotrimerization as the final step, the short and efficient synthesis of cyclopropylallocolchicinoid and its analogues having functional group variations at C9 and/or C10 and C11 of ring C has been accomplished.

Angiotensin II analogs comprised of pro-amb (gamma-turn scaffold) as angiotensin II type 2 (AT(2)) receptor agonists - Jedhe, Ganesh S.; Kotmale, Amol S.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Pasha, Santosh; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Chemical Communications, 2016)
We describe herein the design, synthesis and conformational investigation of Pro-Amb (proline-3-amino-2-methoxybenzoic acid) incorporated Angiotensin II and its truncated analogues. Solution-state NMR and CD studies suggest gamma-turn-like conformation in Pro-Amb analogs in aqueous solution. Furthermore, Pro-Amb analogs have been shown to act as AT(2) receptor agonists.

Aryne [2,3] stevens rearrangement - Roy, Tony; Thangaraj, Manikandan; Kaicharla, Trinadh; Kamath, Rupa V.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Letters, 2016)
Arynes are employed in the transition-metal-free and mild [2,3] Stevens rearrangement of tertiary allylic amines for the synthesis of functionalized homoallylic amines in moderate to good yield with a broad substrate scope. The key nitrogen ylide intermediate was generated by the N-arylation of allyl amines using arynes. Moreover, the reaction of chiral allyl amines with arynes resulted in the enantiospecific synthesis of homoallylic amines. In addition, preliminary studies on the [1,2] Stevens rearrangement is also presented.

Atomically thin WS2 nanosheets based gas sensor - Late, D. J.; Kanawade, R. V.; Kannan, P. K.; Rout, C. S. (Sensor Letters, 2016)
We report here the UV light and NO2 gas sensing properties of atomically thin few-layered WS2 nanosheets synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method. For the UV sensor, the response time was observed to be <15 s whereas the recovery time was <56 s. The Few layered WS2 nanosheets sensor devices were also tested for different concentration of NO2 gas at room temperature and 100 °C. The response time was observed to be <60 s whereas recovery time was >10 min. Further, the response and recovery time can be shortened by UV illumination or by removing the absorbed gas by heating the device at higher temperature. Our results open up the new avenues for gas sensors based on two-dimensional inorganic layered materials.

Balancing omega-6: Omega-3 ratios in oilseeds - Chirmade, T. P.; Sanghi, S.; Rajwade, A .V.; Gupta, V. S.; Kadoo, N. Y. (Omega-3 fatty acids: keys to nutritional health, 2016)
Fats and oils are the essential constituents of human diet, and nearly 80 % of these are obtained from plants. The predominant fatty acids present in plant oils are saturated and unsaturated compounds with straight aliphatic chains of carbon atoms and a single carboxyl group. Depending on the position of the first double bond from the methyl end in the fatty acyl chain, the mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids can be denoted as -9, -6, or -3. Excess consumption of -6 fatty acids has greatly and unfavorably increased the -6: -3 ratio up to 25:1, which is associated with prevalence of many negative health effects, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Because the -3 fatty acids (FAs) are the precursors for synthesis of anti-inflammatory eicosanoids, balancing the -6: -3 ratio is vital. The easiest approach to achieve this would be consumption of oils rich in -3 FAs, such as linseed oil. Alternatively, the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway in plants producing high -6 FAs can be altered by biotechnological means, so that they produce higher proportion of -3 FAs. This chapter describes the current knowledge of the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway in plants, including the genes involved, their temporal and spatial expression patterns, and various fluxes that they drive. The choice of oilseeds, genes, and promoters for modulating the fatty acid biosynthesis flux from -6 to -3 fatty acids is also dealt with. The potential hurdles in achieving these and possible solutions have also been described.

Biogenic green synthesis of monodispersed gum kondagogu (Cochlospermum gossypium) iron nanocomposite material and its application in germination and growth of mung bean (Vigna radiata) as a plant model - Raju, Dugyala; Mehta, Urmil J.; Beedu, Sashidhar Rao (IET Nanobiotechnology, 2016)
An eco-friendly green and one-pot synthesis of highly monodispersed iron (Fe) nanoparticles (NPs) by using a natural biopolymer, gum kondagogu (GK) as reducing and capping agent is proposed. The NPs synthesised were characterised by ultra-violet-visible spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. As the concentration of gum and time increases, the intensity of NPs formation increased. The NPs were highly monodispersed with uniform circular shapes of 2-6 nm in size. The formed NPs were crystalline in nature which was confirmed by diffraction analysis. The conversion ratio of Fe ionic form to NPs was 21% which was quantified by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). Fe is essential for plant growth and development. A study was conducted to examine the effect of these NPs on the growth of mung bean (Vigna radiata). The radical length and biomass was increased in seeds exposed to Fe NPs than the ions. The uptake of Fe NPs by the sprouts was also quantified by ICP-MS, in which Fe was more in mung bean seeds exposed to NPs. The -amylase activity was increased in the seeds exposed to NPs. The observed increase in the biomass by Fe NPs and seed germination may facilitate its application in the agriculture as an important cost-effective method for plant growth.
Keywords: alpha-amylase activity; Biogenic green synthesis; biological techniques; Biomass; Cochlospermum gossypium; diffraction analysis; enzymes; Fe; gum concentration; high-monodispersed iron nanoparticles; inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy; ionic-to-nanoparticle iron conversion ratio; iron; monodispersed gum kondagogu; monodispersed gum kondagogu iron nanocomposite material; mung bean germination; mung bean growth; Nanobiotechnology; Nanocomposites; nanoparticle formation; Nanoparticles; natural biopolymer; plant growth; plant model; scanning electron microscopy; size 2 nm to 6 nm; transmission electron microscopy; ultraviolet spectra; ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy; Vigna radiata; visible spectra; X-ray diffraction

Biosynthesis of fluorescent Bi2S3 nanoparticles and their application as dual-functionSPECT-CT probe for animal imaging - Uddin, Imran; Ahmad, Absar; Siddiqui, Ejaz Ahmad; Rahaman, Sk. Hasanur; Gambhir, Sanjay (Current Topics In Medicinal Chemistry, 2016)
Bismuth sulphide (Bi2S3) is an excellent semiconductor and its nanoparticles have numerous significant applications including photovoltaic materials, photodiode arrays, bio-imaging, etc. Nevertheless, these nanoparticles when fabricated by chemical and physical routes tend to easily aggregate in colloidal solutions, are eco-unfriendly, cumbrous and very broad in size distribution. The aim of the present manuscript was to ecologically fabricate water dispersible, safe and stable Bi2S3 nanoparticles such that these may find use in animal imaging, diagnostics, cell labeling and other biomedical applications. Herein, we for the first time have biosynthesized highly fluorescent, natural protein capped Bi2S3 nanoparticles by subjecting the fungus Fusarium oxysporum to bismuth nitrate pentahydrate [Bi(NO3)(3).5H(2)O] alongwith sodium sulphite (Na2SO3) as precursor salts under ambient conditions of temperature, pressure and pH. The nanoparticles were completely characterized using recognized standard techniques. These natural protein capped Bi2S3 nanoparticles are quasi-spherical in shape with an average particle size of 15 nm, maintain long term stability and show semiconductor behavior having blue shift with a band gap of 3.04 eV. Semiconductor nanocrystals are fundamentally much more fluorescent than the toxic fluorescent chemical compounds (fluorophores) which are presently largely employed in imaging, immunohistochemistry, biochemistry, etc. Biologically fabricated fluorescent nanoparticles may replace organic fluorophores and aid in rapid development of biomedical nanotechnology. Thus, biodistribution study of the so-formed Bi2S3 nanoparticles in male Sprague Dawley rats was done by radiolabelling with Technitium-99m (Tc-99m) and clearance time from blood was calculated. The nanoparticles were then employed in SPECT-CT probe for animal imaging where these imparted iodine equivalent contrast.

Cascade synthesis of 2-cyanoacrylamides through deacetalization and/or knoevenagelcondensation followed by selective monohydration of acetals and aldehydes over solid acidferrites - Kamble, Sumit B.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Chemcatchem, 2016)
A new protocol of cascade synthesis for biologically active 2-cyanoacrylamides (1) was developed. The reaction proceeds over a novel magnetically retrievable solid-acid composite of iron oxide, poly(vinylpyrrolidone) and phosphotungstic acid (Fe3O4/PVP-PWA) in AcOH-H2O medium under reflux conditions. This transformation is facilitated through single-site Bronsted acid catalyzed cascade reactions involving deacetalization and/or Knoevenagel condensation followed by selective monohydration of nitriles starting from acetals (5) and aldehydes (2) with malononitrile (3). A series of aldehydes, dimethyl and diethyl acetals, along with some heterocyclic aldehydes were successfully transformed to 2-cyanoacrylamides with >95% yields. TEM images confirmed the coating of the PVP over nanosized Fe3O4. Stereoselective monohydration of 2-benzylidenemalononitriles (4) to E isomers was demonstrated by NOESY experiments. The catalyst could be efficiently recycled seven times on employment of both acetals and aldehydes as substrates, as a result of its magnetic nature.

Catalysis and catalytic processes - Ranade, V. V.; Joshi, S. S. (Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals, 2016)
Catalytic reactions are ubiquitous in chemical and allied industries. A homogeneous or heterogeneous catalyst that provides an alternative route of reaction with lower activation energy and better control of selectivity can make a substantial impact on process viability and economics. In this chapter, the basics of catalysis and catalytic processes are introduced. Some aspects of reaction and reactor engineering required to realize catalytic processes in practice are also discussed. In addition, the organization of the book is outlined.

Catalysis for fine and specialty chemicals - Joshi, S. S.; Bhatnagar, A.; Ranade, V. V. (Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals, 2016)
The fine and specialty chemical industry is extremely diverse, encompassing pharmaceuticals, dyestuffs, food additives, agrochemicals, polymer additives, flavors and fragrances, various chemical intermediates, etc. Fine and specialty chemicals have been around for more than 100 years and they are produced with the aim of either being used as is or in the form of additives/formulations. These organic chemicals are generally manufactured in batch or semibatch processes. Most of these generally involve multistep processes and often generate significant by-products/effluents per kg of useful products. Catalysis can be effectively used to reduce such waste generation and to minimize consumption of raw materials. In this chapter, we present various applications of homogeneous, as well as heterogeneous catalysis and catalytic processes, which are particularly relevant to fine and specialty chemicals

Catalytic decarboxylation of non-edible oils over three-dimensional, mesoporous silica-supported Pd - Raut, Ravindra; Banakar, Vikram V.; Darbha, Srinivas (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2016)
Deoxygenation of fatty acids (oleic and stearic acids) and non-edible oil (jatropha oil) over Pd(1-5 wt%) supported on two structurally different, three-dimensional, mesoporous silica (SBA-12 and SBA-16) catalysts was investigated. Pd/SBA-16 (cubic mesoporous structure with space group Im (3) over barm) showed higher catalytic activity than Pd/SBA-12 (hexagonal mesoporous structure with space group p6(3)/mmc). The influence of reaction parameters like temperature, H-2 pressure and Pd content as well as the nature of the feedstock on catalytic activity and product selectivity was studied. A temperature of above 320 degrees C, reaction time of 5 h and Pd content (on silica surface) of 3 wt% enabled complete conversion of the fatty compounds into diesel-range hydrocarbons. Deoxygenation proceeded through hydrodeoxygenation and decarboxylation mechanisms when a saturated (stearic) acid was used as a feed while it advanced mainly through decarboxylation route when an unsaturated (oleic) acid was employed. Higher surface hydrophobicity and smaller size particles of Pd are the possible causes for the superior catalytic activity of Pd/SBA-16. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biofuel; Deoxygenation; Diesel-range hydrocarbons; Mesoporous silica; Supported palladium; Vegetable oil

Catalytic reaction engineering - Gunjal, P. R.; Ranade, V. V. (Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals, 2016)
hemical reaction engineering has contributed remarkably in bringing laboratory-developed chemistry into commercial practice. Reaction engineering is useful for analysis of reactions, identifying rate-limiting steps, determining overall rates, selection of reactor configuration and design and scale-up of reactors. Reaction engineering also provides useful insights into catalytic cycles and provides clues for improving catalyst systems. It essentially includes all the activities necessary to evolve best possible hardware and operating protocol for the reactor to carry out the desired transformation of raw materials (or reactants) into value-added products. This chapter provides an overview of reaction engineering aspects of catalytic processes.

Cetyl alcohol and oleic acid sophorolipids exhibit anticancer activity - Dubey, P.; Raina, P.; Prabhune, A.; Kaul-Ghanekar, R. (International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2016)
Objective: Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipid biosurfactants that have been shown to have anticancer activity. We investigated the anti-cancer activity of cetyl alcohol sophorolipids (CAS) and oleic acid sophorolipids (OAS) in breast cancer (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231), cervical cancer (SiHa, HeLa) and non-cancerous (HaCaT and RAW264.7) cell lines. Methods: For cell viability assay, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, SiHa, HeLa, HaCaT and RAW264.7 cell lines were treated with different concentrations (0-160 μg/ml) of OAS and CAS for 24h. The cell viability was determined by MTT dye uptake method. Cell proliferation assay was determined by using trypan blue dye exclusion method. Results: Our preliminary data shows that compared to OAS, CAS exhibited more significant reduction in the viability of MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and SiHa. However, compared to CAS, OAS induced more decrease in viability in HeLa cells. Interestingly, both the types of SLs did not affect the viability of non-cancerous cells. Moreover, CAS, when used as a coating material, induced proliferation in macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Conclusion: The present study provides an important clue towards the anti-cancer potential of OAS and CAS derived from Candida bombicola. Interestingly, the ability of CAS to promote the proliferation of non-cancerous cells suggests its future application as a scaffold for enhancing the adhesion and proliferation of normal cells.

Characterization of two coleopteran alpha-amylases and molecular insights into their differential inhibition by synthetic alpha-amylase inhibitor, acarbose - Channale, Sonal M.; Bhide, Amey J.; Yadav, Yashpal; Kashyap, Garima; Pawar, Pankaj K.; Maheshwari, V. L.; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Giri, Ashok P. (Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2016)
Post-harvest insect infestation of stored grains makes them unfit for human consumption and leads to severe economic loss. Here, we report functional and structural characterization of two coleopteran alpha-amylases viz. Callosobruchus chinensis alpha-amylase (CcAmy) and Tribolium castaneum alpha-amylase (TcAmy) along with their interactions with proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous alpha-amylase inhibitors. Secondary structural alignment of CcAmy and TcAmy with other coleopteran alpha-amylases revealed conserved motifs, active sites, di-sulfide bonds and two point mutations at spatially conserved substrate or inhibitor binding sites. Homology modeling and molecular docking showed structural differences between these two enzymes. Both the enzymes had similar optimum pH values but differed in their optimum temperature. Overall, pattern of enzyme stabilities were similar under various temperature and pH conditions. Further, CcAmy and TcAmy differed in their substrate affinity and catalytic efficiency towards starch and amylopectin. HPLC analysis detected common amylolytic products like maltose and maltotriose while glucose and malto-tetrose were unique in CcAmy and TcAmy catalyzed reactions respectively. At very low concentrations, wheat alpha-amylase inhibitor was found to be superior over the acarbose as far as complete inhibition of amylolytic activities of CcAmy and TcAmy was concerned. Mechanism underlying differential amylolytic reaction inhibition by acarbose was discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acarbose; alpha-amylase; alpha-amylase inhibitor; Callosobruchus chinensis; Coleoptera; Tribolium castaneum

Characterizing flow and solid suspension in optimax crystallization workstation - Sardeshpande, M.; Pandit, A.; Vedantam, S.; Ranade, V. V. (North American Mixing Forum 2016 - Core Programming Area at the 2016 AIChE Annual Meeting, 2016)

Characterizing the nanoclay induced constrained amorphous region in model segmented polyurethane-urea/clay nanocomposites and its implications on gas barrier properties - Rath, Sangram K.; Sudarshan, Kathi; Bhavsar, Rupesh S.; Kharul, Ulhas K.; Pujari, Pradeep K.; Patri, Manoranjan; Khakhar, Devang V. (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016)
There has been an increasing recognition of the fact that purely geometric factors associated with clay platelet dispersion in a polymer matrix cannot adequately explain the barrier properties of polymer/clay nanocomposites. The objective of the present work is to understand the nanoclay induced structural changes in a polyurethane-urea matrix and clay dispersion at different length scales using segment-specific characterization techniques and implications of the same in gas barrier properties using He, N-2 and CO2 as probe molecules. Wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and positron annihilation life time spectroscopy (PALS) studies revealed nanoclay induced alterations in the chain packing of the amorphous soft segments of the polyurethane matrix at a molecular scale of a few Angstroms. The hard segment organization and the phase morphology of the nanocomposites, spanning length scales of several nanometers, were investigated by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Furthermore, the presence of a constrained amorphous region surrounding the nanoclay was confirmed from AFM, WAXD and PALS results. Several pertinent structural variables from the gas transport point of view were deduced from these characterization techniques to understand the effect of the barrier properties in tandem with the clay dispersion morphology.

Chord length distribution to particle size distribution - Pandit, Ajinkya V.; Ranade, Vivek V. (AICHE Journal, 2016)
A simple model is presented to extract the particle size distribution (PSD) from the chord length distribution measured using a focused beam reflectance measurement probe. The model can be implemented using simple spread sheeting tools and does not require the description of additional parameters as opposed to previous models. The model was validated for two systems consisting of spherical ceramic beads by comparing model predicted PSD against the PSD obtained through image analysis (IA). Then, the model was evaluated by considering various systems consisting of irregularly shaped particles (sand/zinc dust/plasma alumina). Model predictions accurately predicted the mean but over-predicted the variance of the PSD in comparison with the PSD obtained from IA. However, overall, a reasonable agreement was observed. Finally, the model was shown to be accurate in predicting PSD in comparison with the measured PSD for systems of practical relevance such as for paracetamol and p-aminophenol crystals. (c) 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 4215-4228, 2016

Chromium free high temperature water-gas shift catalyst for the production of hydrogen from waste derived synthesis gas - Jha, Ajay; Jeong, Dae-Woon; Lee, Yeol-Lim; Jang, Won-Jun; Shim, Jae-Oh; Jeon, Kyung-Won; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Roh, Hyun-Seog (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2016)
A comparative study between monometallic (Me-CeO2, Me =Zn, Cu, Fe and Co) and Ni-doped bimetallic (Me-Ni-CeO2) catalysts has been performed in the high temperature water-gas shift (HT-WGS) reaction using waste derived synthesis gas. Experimental results revealed that Me-Ni-CeO2 exhibited higher catalytic performance than simple Me-CeO2 catalysts. Within the Me-Ni-CeO2 series, Co-Ni-CeO2 exhibited excellent and stable catalytic performance (CO conversion > 90%) at a very high GHSV of 143,000 h(-1). The existence of high" concentration of Ce3+ ions and oxygen vacancies on the catalyst surface were responsible for the increased WGS activity of Co-Ni-CeO2. In addition, Co-Ni-CeO2 maintains a stable performance for 50 h. However, commercial Fe2O3-Cr2O3 catalyst showed a steep decline from their initial CO conversion values 15-10% within 5 h. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: CeO2; Co-Ni-CeO2; Lattice strain; oxygen vacancies; Water-gas shift

"Click" polymerization: a convenient strategy to prepare designer fullerene materials - Krishnamurthy, Munusamy; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam; Arulkashmir, Arulraj; Raghavendra, V.; Murali, Adhigan; Jaisankar, Sellamuthu N.; Murugan, P.; Gurusamy-Thangavelu, Senthil A.; Nasar, A. Sultan; Mandal, Asit Baran; Samanta, Debasis (Materials & Design, 2016)
"Click" polymeric assemblies of fullerenes, thiophenes and aryl compounds were prepared for the first time to study their spectroscopic/chemical/electronic characteristics and possible applications in photovoltaic cells. The GPC and NMR spectroscopic data confirmed a moderate to high degree of polymerization while microscopic pictures showed well-defined arrangements of fullerenes. The FTIR studies indicated that the product is free from starting azide materials, whereas thermogravimetric analysis data suggested a good stability. Band gap of the material was determined using UV-Vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetric techniques and compared with computational investigation. The fullerene copolymer was fabricated as acceptor material in a bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CO2 Laser direct written MOF-based metal-decorated and heteroatom-doped porous graphene for flexible all-solid-state microsupercapacitor with extremely high cycling stability - Basu, Aniruddha; Roy, Kingshuk; Sharma, Neha; Nandi, Shyamapada; Vaidhyanathan, Ramanathan; Rane, Sunit; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
Over the past decade, flexible and wearable microelectronic devices and systems have gained significant importance. Because portable power source is an essential need of such wearable devices, currently there is considerable research emphasis on the development of planar interdigitated micro energy-torage devices by employing diverse precursor materials to obtain functional materials (functional carbon, oxides, etc.) with the desirable set of properties. Herein we report for the first time the use of metal organic framework (MOF) and zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-67) for high-wavelength photothermal laser direct writing of metal-decorated, heteroatom-doped, porous few-layer graphene electrodes for microsupercapacitor application. We argue that the specific attributes of MOF as a precursor and the high-wavelength laser writing approach (which creates extremely high localized and transient temperature (>2500 degrees C) due to strong absorption by lattice vibrations) are together responsible for the peculiar interesting properties of the carbon material thus synthesized, thereby rendering extremely high cycling stability to the corresponding microsupercapacitor device. Our device exhibits near 100% retention after 200 000 cycles as well as stability under 150 degrees bending.

Complexation key to a pH locked redox reaction - Rizvi, Masood Ahmad; Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Shams, Tahir; Khan, Khaliquz Zaman (Journal of Chemical Education, 2016)
An unfavorable pH can block a feasible electron transfer for a pH dependent redox reaction. In this experiment, a series of potentiometric titrations demonstrate the sequential loss in feasibility of iron(II) dichromate redox reaction over a pH range of 0-4. The pH at which this reaction failed to occur was termed as a pH locked reaction. The comparative ability of 10 selected iron binding ligands with varied propensity for the redox potential modification of Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox couple to restore/unlock the pH locked redox reaction is shown using potentiometric titrations. The spectrophotometric speciation analysis of Fe(III) Tiron complexation with pH was carried out to explain the differing ability of EDTA and Tiron to unlock the reaction under different pH Conditions. The experiment illustrates how environmental, biological redox reactions avoid severe laboratory conditions to occur and can be explored in the design of novel redox systems for natural attenuation of environmental toxins to their non- or lesser-toxic forms. The experiment also demonstrates prudent laboratory practice for safe waste disposal.
Keywords: Analytical Chemistry; Aqueous Solution Chemistry; Coordination Compounds; Oxidation/Reduction; pH; Physical Chemistry; Potentiometry; Second-Year Undergraduate; Thermodynamics; Titration/Volumetric Analysis; Upper-Division Undergraduate

Constructing covalent organic frameworks in water via dynamic covalent bonding - Thote, Jayshri; Aiyappa, Harshitha Barike; Kumar, Raya Rahul; Kandambeth, Sharath; Biswal, Bishnu P.; Shinde, Digambar Balaji; Roy, Neha Chaki; Banerjee, Rahul (Iucrj, 2016)
The formation of keto-enamine based crystalline, porous polymers in water is investigated for the first time. Facile access to the Schiff base reaction in water has been exploited to synthesize stable porous structures using the principles of Dynamic Covalent Chemistry (DCC). Most credibly, the water-based Covalent Organic Frameworks (COFs) possess chemical as well as physical properties such as crystallinity, surface area and porosity, which is comparable to their solvothermal counterparts. The formation of COFs in water is further investigated by understanding the nature of the monomers formed using hydroxy and non-hydroxy analogues of the aldehyde. This synthetic route paves a new way to synthesize COFs using a viable, greener route by utilization of the DCC principles in conjunction with the keto-enol tautomerism to synthesize useful, stable and porous COFs in water.

Crystal structure, computational studies, and stereoselectivity in the synthesis of 2-aryl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids via insitu imine intermediate - Jagtap, Rohidas M.; Rizvi, Masood A.; Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Pardeshi, Satish K. (Journal of Sulfur Chemistry, 2016)
This article presents the synthesis of (2R/2S,4R)-2-aryl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids via nucleophilic addition of L-Cysteine on aromatic aldehydes involving a yield and time-effective room temperature reaction in an aqueous DMSO medium in the presence of NaHCO3 as a base. The synthesized diastereomers were spectroscopically characterized and quantified for diastereomeric excess by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The impact of the type and position of substituent in aromatic aldehydes on reaction time, % yield, H-1 NMR shift at newly formed chiral center [C(2)-H], and diastereomeric excess (de%) have been investigated. A plausible mechanism for stereoselectivity via an in situ imine intermediate is proposed using real-time IR monitoring of the synthetic reaction based on the significant signals at 1597, 1593cm(-1) for imine (C=N) stretching. The imine mechanism for stereoselectivity was further supported by NMR studies of azomethine C-13 NMR signals at 159, 160ppm and by the single crystal structure of hitherto unknown (2S,4R)-3-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)thiazolidine-4-carbox ylic acid (3a) obtained as a major diastereomer in the synthesis of the butyloxy carbonyl (BOC) derivative of (2R/2S,4R)-2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid. The significant ortho-OH effect of phenolic hydroxyl group leading to strong hydrogen bondings plays a vital role in the formation of 2S,4R BOC derivative stereoselectively. The frontier molecular orbitals, possible electronic excitations, IR band characterizations, and reactivity parameters of newly reported compound (3a) have been predicted using quantum chemical descriptors from density functional theory. The theoretical exploration of experimental spectra using time-dependent DFT indicated a (-*) transition between HOMO and LUMO in the ultraviolet region.
Keywords: 2-aryl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acids; density function theory; frontier molecular orbitals; imine intermediate; X-ray crystal structure

Cu-Catalyzed iminative hydroolefination of unactivated alkynes en route to 4-imino-tetrahydropyridines and 4-aminopyridines - Kumar, Ravi; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Reddy, Maddi Sridhar (Chemical Communications, 2016)
A general method for synthesizing 4-imino tetrahydropyridine derivatives is achieved, from readily available beta-enaminones and sulfonyl azides, which comprises a sequential copper catalyzed ketenimine formation and its hitherto inaccessible intramolecular hydrovinylation. The products are shown as ready precursors for highly valuable 4-sulfonamidopyridine derivatives via DDQ mediated oxidation.

Cu-catalyzed sequential C-N bond formations: expeditious synthesis of tetracyclic indoloindol-3-ones - Kulkarni, Anand M.; Srinivas, Kolluru; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 2016)
The tetracyclic indoloindol-3-one core has been forged from easily accessible 2,2'-bis-bromochalcones employing a reaction cascade comprising Cu-catalyzed SNAr with azide; nitrene C-H insertion and intramolecular Ullmann reaction with all three C-N bond formations in one-go.

Culture conditions for the production of thermostable lipase by thermomyces lanuginosus - Sreelatha, B.; Vankudoth, Koteswara Rao; Kumar, R. Ranjith; Girisham, Sivadevuni; Reddy, S. M. (Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 2016)
In the present investigation lipase production by three strains of thermophilic Thermomyces lanuginosus (GSLMBKU-10, GSLMBKU-13 and GSLMBKU-14) was carried out in submerged fermentation process. Olive oil and triacetin (0.1%) were added to the basal medium, which stimulated the lipase production. The maximum lipase was produced by GSLMBKU-10 and GSLMBKU-13 in yeast extract starch medium supplemented with triacetin (0.1%). The optimum pH was recorded at 6.0, 6.5 and 7.0 by GSLMBKU-10, GSLMBKU-13 and GSLMBKU-14 respectively. T. lanuginosus GSLMBKU-10 strains failed to produce lipase at pH 8.0. The optimum temperature for lipase production was observed at 45 °C by GSLMBKU-14 and GSLMBKU-10, while that for GSLMBKU-13 was at 50 °C. The marginal temperature ranged from 45 °C to 50 °C for both lipase production and vegetative growth by the three strains of T. lanuginosus under study. In conclusion, the GSLMBKU-13 strain was comparatively superior in the production of lipase than the other two strains under investigation.

Cutaneous exposure to clinically-relevant pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) proteins promote T(H)2-dependent sensitization and IgE-mediated anaphylaxis in Balb/c mice - Gupta, Rinkesh Kumar; Kumar, Sandeep; Gupta, Kriti; Sharma, Akanksha; Roy, Ruchi; Verma, Alok Kumar; Chaudhari, Bhushan P.; Das, Mukul; Ansari, Irfan Ahmad; Dwivedi, Premendra D. (Journal of Immunotoxicology, 2016)
Epicutaneous (EC) sensitization to food allergens may occur when the skin has been lightly damaged. The study here tested whether cutaneous exposure to pigeon pea protein(s) may cause allergic sensitization. BALB/c mice were either orally gavaged or epicutaneously sensitized by repeated application of pigeon pea crude protein extract (CPE) on undamaged areas of skin without any adjuvant; afterwards, both groups were orally challenged with the pigeon pea CPE. Anaphylactic symptoms along with measures of body temperature, MCPT-1, TSLP, pigeon pea-specific IgE and IgG(1), myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, T(H)2 cytokines, T(H)2 transcription factors (TFs) and filaggrin expression were determined. Mast cell staining, eosinophil levels and histopathological analysis of the skin and intestines were also performed. In the epicutaneously-sensitized mice, elevated levels of specific IgE and IgG(1), as well as of MCPT-1, TSLP, T(H)2 cytokines and TFs, higher anaphylactic scores and histological changes in the skin and intestine were indicative of sensitization ability via both routes in the pigeon pea CPE-treated hosts. Elevated levels of mast cells were observed in both the skin and intestine; increased levels of eosinophils and MPO activity were noted only in the skin. Decreased levels of filaggrin in skin may have played a key role in the skin barrier dysfunction, increasing the chances of sensitization. Therefore, the experimental data support the hypothesis that in addition to oral exposure, skin exposure to food allergens can promote T(H)2-dependent sensitization, IgE-mediated anaphylaxis and intestinal changes after oral challenge. Based on this, an avoidance of cutaneous exposures to allergens might prevent development of food anaphylaxis.

Decoding the morphological diversity in two dimensional crystalline porous polymers by core planarity modulation - Halder, Arjun; Kandambeth, Sharath; Biswal, Bishnu P.; Kaur, Gagandeep; Roy, Neha Chaki; Addicoat, Matthew A.; Salunke, Jagadish K.; Banerjee, Subhrashis; Vanka, Kumar; Heine, Thomas; Verma, Sandeep; Banerjee, Rahul (Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 2016)

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel azaspiro analogs of linezolid as antibacterial and antitubercular agents - Gadekar, Pradip K.; Roychowdhury, Abhijit; Kharkar, Prashant S.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Arkile, Manisha A.; Manek, Hardik; Sarkar, Dhiman; Sharma, Rajiv; Vijayakumar, V.; Sarveswari, S. (European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2016)
The design, synthesis and antimicrobial evaluation of a novel series of azaspiro analogues of linezolid (1) have been described. Linezolid comprises of a morpholine ring which is known for its metabolism related liabilities. Therefore, the key modification made in the linezolid structure was the replacement of morpholine moiety with its bioisostere, 2-oxa-6-azaspiro[3.3]heptane. Furthermore, the replacement of N-acetyl terminal of 1 with various aromatic or aliphatic functionalities was carried out. The title compounds were evaluated against a panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Subsequent structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies identified several compounds with mixed antibacterial and antitubercular profiles. Compound 22 (IC50 0.72, 0.51, 0.88, 0.49 mu g/mL for Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, respectively) exhibited similar antibacterial profile as I. The N-acetyl derivative 18 was similar to 1 in antitubercular profile. Thus, the present study successfully demonstrated the use of azaspiro substructure in the medicinal chemistry of antibacterial and antitubercular agents. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Differentiating process performance of various coagulants in removal of congo red and orange G dyes - Prajapati, Kavita; Sorokhaibam, Laxmi Gayatri; Bhandari, Vinay M.; Killedar, D. J.; Ranade, Vivek V. (International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering, 2016)
Two refractory azo dyes-Congo red and Orange G, especially at high concentrations were subjected to coagulation with different conventional coagulants and newer formulations developed from Aluminum sulfate, Iron (III) chloride, Aluminium chloride, Poly diallydimethylammonium chloride (Poly DADMAC) and Poly Aluminium Chloride (PAC). The highest COD reduction of 99 % was obtained with PAC SAB 18 (Powder Grade PAC) for Congo red at pH 4.5 while the color removal of 99 % was achieved with almost all the coagulants in the present study at specific pH within 3-8. The optimum dose for the iron-based coagulant is 200 mg/L while that of aluminum-based coagulants and PAC is 150-200 mg/L. Results showed that Orange G was more difficult to remove with a maximum COD removal of 65 % and 35 % color removal using various formulations. The combinational formulations of inorganic-inorganic and inorganic- organic produced a substantial enhancement in COD and color removal and reduced sludge. PAC-Fe30/70 produces the minimum sludge of 50 mL/g on Congo red. pH in the range 3-9 showed high reductions in COD and color (90-99 %) for Congo red while jerky rise in COD and color reduction was observed in the case of Orange G after pH 9. An attempt to understand the dye coagulation mechanism has been made based on the specific difference in dye structure and cation speciation.
Keywords: coagulation; Congo red; dye removal; Orange G; Wastewater treatment

Disinfection of water using vortex diode as hydrodynamic cavitation reactor - Gaikwad, V.; Ranade, V. (Asian Journal of Chemistry, 2016)
Hydrodynamic cavitation offers distinct advantages for water disinfection and wastewater treatment particularly at large scales of operations. Vortex Diode is a fluidic device, which is conventionally used as a leaky non-return valve in nuclear industry. Recently this device was shown to be effective hydrodynamic cavitation device. In the present study, we have investigated use of cavitation in vortex diode for water disinfection application. Escherichia coli contaminated water is treated successfully using vortex diode. The operating parameters desirable for the disinfection are investigated. The performance is evaluated based on the reduction in the colony forming unit (CFU/mL) of E. coli count estimated by standard spread plate method. The presented results will be useful for identifying appropriate operating conditions for using vortex diode to effectively reduce the bacterial load and disinfect water.

Disruption of native beta-turns: consequence of folding competition between native and orthanilic acid proline-based pseudo beta-turn - Ingole, Tukaram S.; Vijayadas, Kuruppanthara N.; Chaitanya, K. N.; Kotmale, Amol S.; Gawade, Rupesh L.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Five tetrapeptides comprising beta-turn-forming elements and a pseudo beta-turn (C9 H-bonding) based on an SAntPro (orthanilic acid - proline) motif were designed and synthesized. Their extensive conformational investigation by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, solution-state 2D NMR spectroscopic, and nOe-restrained MD simulation studies revealed the formation of C14 or C9 folding and disruption of the native beta-turn (C10 H-bonding) architecture. The striking difference between the psi(psi(2)) angle of ``i + 2'' residues of native beta-turn and designed peptides suggest that formation of the native beta-turn is not favored. The results suggest that other turn-forming motifs can dramatically modulate the stability of the native beta-turn structure.
Keywords: Conformation analysis; hydrogen bonds; Peptidomimetics; structure elucidation

Diversity of arsenic resistant bacteria from Lonar lake: A meteorite impact alkaline crater lake in Indi - Bagade, A. V.; Paul, D.; Rikame, T.; Giri, A. P.; Dhotre, D.; Pawar, S.; Kodam, K. (Arsenic Research and Global Sustainability - Proceedings of the 6th International Congress on Arsenic in the Environment, AS 2016, 2016)
Lonar lake known for its meteorite impact origin and highly alkaline environment harbors a plethora of diverse organisms. Arsenic transforming microbe diversity from Lonar remains unexplored. We attempted to explore the microorganisms causing arsenic transformation using culture-dependent and independent approaches. Amongst the 67 microbes isolated, Bacillus infantis L4-18 and Bacillus solimangrovi L4-7b could oxidise 15 mM arsenite in 8 days. None of the cultures could reduce arsenate. All the other isolates resisted 2 mM arsenic. In the culture independent approach, microbial diversity revealed Bacteroides (41.9%), followed by Proteobacteria (17.9%), Firmicutes (14.2%), Actinobacteria (13.9%), occurring in the Lonar sediment sample. This study provides foundation to study microbial arsenic biogeochemical cycle along with other biochemical cycles and microbial function in Lonar lake eco system.

Dr. V. Jagannathan (1921-2015) Obituary - Rao, Mala; Deshpande, Vasanti; Ingle, Prabhakar (National Academy Science Letters-India, 2016)

Dynamic, reversible oxidative addition of highly polar bonds to a transition metal - Bertermann, Ruediger; Boehnke, Julian; Braunschweig, Holger; Dewhurst, Rian D.; Kupfer, Thomas; Muessig, Jonas H.; Pentecost, Leanne; Radacki, Krzysztof; Sen, Sakya S.; Vargas, Alfredo (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2016)
The combination of Pt complexes and indium trihalides leads to compounds that form equilibria in solution between their In X oxidative addition (OA) products (Pt indyl complexes) and their metal-only Lewis pair (MOLP) isomers (LnPt -> InX3). The position of the equilibria can be altered reversibly by changing the solvent, while the equilibria can be reversibly and irreversibly driven toward the MOLP products by addition of further donor ligands. The results mark the first observation of an equilibrium between MOLP and OA isomers, as well as the most polar bond ever observed to undergo reversible oxidative addition to a metal complex. In addition, we present the first structural characterization of MOLP and oxidative addition isomers of the same compound. The relative energies of the MOLP and OA isomers were calculated by DFT methods, and the possibility of solvent-mediated isomerization is discussed.

Earth abundant iron-rich N-doped graphene based spacer and cavity materials for surface plasmon-coupled emission enhancements - Srinivasan, Venkatesh; Vernekar, Dnyanesh; Jaiswal, Garima; Jagadeesan, Dinesh; Ramamurthy, Sai Sathish (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
We demonstrate for the first time the use of Fe based nanoparticles on N-doped graphene as spacer and cavity materials and study their plasmonic effect on the spontaneous emission of a radiating dipole. Fe-C-MF was produced by pyrolizing FeOOH and melamine formaldehyde precursor on graphene, while Fe-C-PH was produced by pyrolizing the Fe-phenanthroline complex on graphene. The use of the Fe-C-MF composite consisting of Fe-rich crystalline phases supported on N-doped graphene presented a spacer material with 116-fold fluorescence enhancements. On the other hand, the Fe-C-PH/Ag based cavity resulted in an 82-fold enhancement in Surface Plasmon-Coupled Emission (SPCE), with high directionality and polarization of Rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) emission owing to Casimir and Purcell effects. The use of a mobile phone as a cost-effective fluorescence detection device in the present work opens up a flexible perspective for the study of different nanomaterials as tunable substrates in cavity mode and spacer applications.
Keywords: Casimir effect; fluorescence enhancements; iron carbides; N-doped graphene; Purcell factor; surface plasmon-coupled emission

Effect of additives on formation and decomposition kinetics of methane clathrate hydrates: application in energy storage and transportation - Kumar, Asheesh; Kushwaha, Omkar Singh; Rangsunvigit, Pramoch; Linga, Praveen; Kumar, Rajnish (Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2016)
Methane gas storage and transportation via clathrate hydrates is proposed to be a potential solution for large-scale energy storage. In this work, we study the formation and decomposition kinetics of methane hydrates (MH) in a laboratory-scale unstirred crystallizer. The present investigation demonstrates comparative studies of hydrate formation and dissociation kinetics in the presence of tetrahydrofuran (55.6 and 27.8mmol/mol, 5.56 and 2.78mol% THF) and sodium dodecyl sulphate (1mg/g, 0.1wt% SDS). Moreover, the storage capacity and hydrate formation kinetics in both the systems are discussed. In a recent work, enhanced methane hydrate growth in the presence of THF at close to atmospheric conditions was demonstrated. The emphasis of the current work is to study the stability of hydrates to understand dissociation kinetics by measuring the rate of hydrate decomposition at different temperatures. Hydrate stability measurements were performed at -8, -3, 2, 10, and 20 degrees C to study the decomposition rates of MH and self-preservation in presence of the two additives THF and SDS.

Effect of orifice shape on water disinfection efficacy - Gaikwad, V.; Gaikwad, S.; Ranade, V. (Pollution Research, 2016)
Hydrodynamic cavitation offers distinct advantages for water disinfection and waste watei treatment particularly at large scales of operations. For applying hydrodynamic cavitation foi water disinfection/treatment, water stream to be treated is passed through a fluidic device ir which there exists a low pressure region. Cavities are generated in this region when the pressurt falls below vapour pressure (in absence of any dissolved gases). These cavities are then collapsec when they travel to regions of higher pressure and lead to very high shear, temperatures anc pressures in localized regions. These high pressure/temperature as well as high shear facilitati disinfection as well as reduction in chemical oxygen demand, colour and amonical nitrogen in the water. In this work, we have investigated hydrodynamic cavitation generated by five difieren orifices have been studied which have different shapes with same fractional open area and have tested their effectiveness for water disinfection. The efficacy of generated cavitation on wate disinfection was quantified based on measurements of non-pathogenic E. coli colony forminj units (CFU/mL). The presented results and analysis will be useful for designing hydrodynamii cavitation based systems for water disinfection

Effect of plasma treatment on multilayer graphene: X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, surface morphology investigations and work function measurements - Patil, Urmila V.; Pawbake, Amit S.; Machuno, Luis G. B.; Gelamo, Rogerio V.; Jadkar, Sandesh R.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar; Late, Dattatray J. (RSC Advances, 2016)
We report here the effect of plasma treatment on multilayer graphene samples as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and surface morphology studies with atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The plasma treatment was modified to introduce controlled levels of defects and functionalities to the graphene samples to give tunable properties. The elemental composition and structure were investigated by XPS and micro Raman spectroscopy. The XPS study showed that there was a slight variation in the sp(2)/sp(3) hybridization ratio between the plasma-treated samples and the pristine sample. Kelvin probe measurements were carried out on all the multilayer graphene samples and indicated a slight variation in the work function of the graphene samples after plasma treatment.

Effect of plug temperature on the strain and thickness distribution ofcomponents made by plug assist thermoforming - Marathe, D.; Rokade, D.; Azad, Lal Busher; Jadhav, Kishor; Mahajan, Sunil; Ahmad, Zubair; Gupta, S.; Kulkarni, S.; Juvekar, Vinay A.; Lele, Ashish K. (International Polymer Processing, 2016)
Plug temperature is a key parameter affecting the thickness distribution of thermoplastic components made by plug assist thermoforming. For a specified pair of plug and plastic sheet, the variation in plug temperature can alter the coefficient of friction (COF) between the pair. We show here how the temperature dependence of COF influences the nature and extent of biaxial stretching of the sheet and consequently the thickness distribution of the thermoformed component. In the present study, high impact polystyrene (HIPS) sheets were thermoformed into axisymmetric cups using a plug-assist process in which the aluminum plug temperature (T-plug) was varied from ambient to above the glass transition temperature of HIPS (similar to 100 degrees C). Biaxial strain maps on the surfaces of the formed cups were measured and quantified using Grid Strain Analysis (GSA). Thickness distributions of the cups were also measured. Temperature dependent COF between HIPS and aluminum was determined independently using a rotational rheometer. The measured COF was low for T < 100 degrees C, whereas it increased appreciably at and above 100 degrees C. We conclude that when T-plug < 100 degrees C the HIPS sheet slips on the plug during forming, and this results in biaxial stretching of the base and walls of the formed cup. In contrast for T-plug > 100 degrees C, a significant reduction in the magnitude of slip is expected. Here the sheet is gripped at the clamp and by the plug during forming which causes reduced biaxial stretching of the base and increased uniaxial stretching of the walls of the cup. Simulations of plug-assist thermoforming using a temperature dependent COF showed qualitative agreement with the GSA data thereby supporting our inferences.

Effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone at methane hydrate-liquid water interface. application in flow assurance and natural gas hydrate exploitation - Choudhary, Nilesh; Das, Subhadip; Roy, Sudip; Kumar, Rajnish (Fuel, 2016)

Effect of process intensifying parameters on the hydrodynamic cavitation based degradation of commercial pesticide (methomyl) in the aqueous solution - Raut-Jadhav, Sunita; Saini, Daulat; Sonawane, Shirish; Pandit, Aniruddha (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2016)
Methomyl, a carbamate pesticide, is classified as a pesticide of category-1 toxicity and hence shows harmful effects on both human and aquatic life. In the present work, the degradation of methomyl has been studied by using hydrodynamic cavitation reactor (HC) and its combination with intensifying agents such as H2O2, fenton reagent and ozone (hybrid processes). Initially, the optimization of operating parameters such pH and inlet pressure to the cavitating device (circular venturi) has been carried out for maximizing the efficacy of hydrodynamic cavitation. Further degradation study of methomyl by the application of hybrid processes was carried out at an optimal pH of 2.5 and the optimal inlet pressure of 5 bar. Significant synergetic effect has been observed in case of all the hybrid processes studied. Synergetic coefficient of 5.8, 13.41 and 47.6 has been obtained by combining hydrodynamic cavitation with H2O2, fenton process and ozone respectively. Efficacy of individual and hybrid processes has also been obtained in terms of energy efficiency and extent of mineralization. HC + Ozone process has proved to be the most effective process having highest synergetic coefficient, energy efficiency and the extent of mineralization. The study has also encompassed the identification of intermediate by-products generated during the degradation and has proposed the probable degradation pathway. It has been conclusively established that hydrodynamic cavitation in the presence of intensifying agents can effectively be used for complete degradation of methomyl. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs); Hydrodynamic cavitation; Methomyl; Synergetic coefficient; Venturi

Effective and selective oxidation of 2-butanol over Mn supported catalyst systems - Prabu, Kandasamy; Prabu, Marimuthu; Venugopal, Ashok Kumar; Venugopalan, Aswathy Thareparambil; Sandilya, W. V. Y. Sai; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2016)
Oxidation of alcohols to their corresponding aldehydes/ketones is an important reaction in industries as well as in academic perspective. Selective oxidation (Selox) of alcohols like methanol, ethanol and propanol are well studied in literature; however, alcohols like butanol, pentanol, octanol is a challenging task. Selective oxidation of 2-butanol to methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is an important reaction due to its wide range of applications. Herein, we demonstrated the selective oxidation of 2-butanol to MEK over Mn supported on different oxide supports. A series of MnxOy-Al2O3 (MA), MnxOy-CeO2 (MC), MnxOy-ZrO2 (MZ) and MnxOy-SiO2 (MS) catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation followed by hydrothermal method. As synthesised catalysts were characterised by various physico-chemical characterisation techniques. It was found that the presence of Mn3O4 species in MA and MZ catalysts is responsible for maximum catalytic activity towards 2-butanol oxidation. MA catalyst conferred a maximum 2-butanol conversion of 51% and 88% selectivity towards MEK. XPS analysis revealed that Mn in MA catalyst exists in +2 and +3 oxidation states and responsible for 2-butanol oxidation. Moreover it was found that the acidity of the catalyst also plays an important role in catalytic activity. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of thermal treatment of ZnO-ZnCr2O4 catalyst on the particle size and product selectivity in dehydrocyclization of crude glycerol and ethylenediamine - Sarkari, Reema; Krishna, Vankudoth; Sudhakar, Medak; Rao, Tumula Venkateshwar; Padmasri, Aytam Hari; Srinivas, Darbha; Venugopal, Akula (Kinetics and Catalysis, 2016)
The ZnO-ZnCr2O4 (Zn-Cr-O) sample obtained by decomposition of Zn-Cr hydrotalcite precursor was subjected to the thermal treatment at different temperatures and the physico-chemical properties of the Zn-Cr-O system were compared with its catalytic behavior in dehydrocyclization of crude glycerol and ethylenediamine (EDA). Upon high temperature treatment of Zn-Cr-O the Cr6+ ions underwent autoreduction to form stable Cr3+ species and the particle size of both ZnO and ZnCr2O4 increased dramatically. Thermal effect did not influence the intermolecular cyclisation of EDA to form pyrazine. By contrast, an inversely proportional dependence was found between the rate of formation of 2-methylpyrazine and the particle size of Zn-Cr-O whereas the rate of 2-pyrazinylmethanol was directly proportional to the particle size.

Efficacy of zero-valent copper (Cu-0) nanoparticles and reducing agents for dechlorination of mono chloroaromatics - Raut, Sandesh S.; Kamble, Sanjay P.; Kulkarni, Prashant S. (Chemosphere, 2016)
The zero-valent copper (Cu-0) nanoparticles were prepared by chemical reduction method. The morphology of nanoparticles was investigated by using X ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X ray, UV-visible spectrophotometer and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analyser. The Cu-0 nanoparticles along with reducing agents, NaBH4/5% acidified alcohol were used for the dechlorination of chloroaromatics at room temperature. Chlorobenzene (Cl-B), chlorotoluene (Cl-T), chloropyridine (Cl-Py) and chlorobiphenyl (Cl-BPh) were selected as the contaminants. The effect of various operating parameters such as pH, concentration of the catalyst and reducing agent (NaBH4), and recycling of the catalyst on dechlorination were studied. Nearly complete dechlorination of all the chloroaromatics were achieved in the presence of Cu-0 nanoparticles (2.5 g L-1) and NaBH4 (1.0 g L-1.) within 12 h. On the contrary, approximately 70% of dechlorination was observed in the presence of 5% acidified alcohol at similar experimental conditions. The dechlorination mechanism highlighted the importance of Cu-0 nanoparticles as a surface mediator. The kinetics of the dechlorination of chloroaromatics was investigated and compared with chloroaliphatics. The dechlorination rate differed from 0.23 h(-1) (Cl-B) to 0.15 h(-1) (Cl-BPh) in the presence of Cu-0 nanoparticles and NaBH4. The effectiveness of Cu nanoparticles with NaBH4 (1 g L-1) and 5% acidified alcohol as electron donors were studied by oxidation-reduction potential and observed to be -1016 mV and -670 mV, respectively. Final products of the dechlorination were benzene, toluene, pyridine and biphenyl, as identified by gas chromatograph mass spectrometer and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acidified alcohol; ChloroAromatics; Hydrodechlorination; NaBH4; Wastewater treatment; Zero-valent copper (Cu-0) nanoparticles

Efficient methods for preparing silicon compounds - Sen, Sakya S.; Roesky, H. W. (Academic Press, 2016)
Efficient Methods for Preparing Silicon Compounds is a unique and valuable handbook for chemists and students involved in advanced studies of preparative chemistry in academia and industry. Organized by the various coordination numbers (from two to six) of the central silicon atom of the reported compounds, this book provides researchers with a handy and immediate reference for any compound or properties needed in the area. Edited by a renowned expert in the field, each chapter explores a different type of compound, thoroughly illustrated with useful schemes and supplemented by additional references. Knowledgeable contributors report on a broad range of compounds on which they have published and which are already used on a broad scale or have the potential to be used in the very near future to develop a new field of research or application in silicon chemistry. Includes contributions and edits from leading experts in the field Includes detailed chemical schemes and useful references for each preparative method Organized by the coordination numbers of the central silicon atom for each compound for easy navigation Serves as a go-to primer for researchers in novel compositions of silicon matter.

Electronic structure and properties of layered gallium telluride - Shenoy, U. Sandhya; Gupta, Uttam; Narang, Deepa S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Waghmare, Umesh V.; Rao, C. N. R. (Chemical Physics Letters, 2016)
Layer-dependent electronic structure and properties of gallium monochalcogenides, GaX where X=S, Se, Te, have been investigated using first-principles calculations based on various functionals, with a motivation to assess their use in photocatalytic water splitting. Since hydrogen evolution by water splitting using visible light provides a promising way for solar energy conversion, both theoretical and experimental studies have been carried out on the photochemical hydrogen evolution by GaTe. We also present the Raman spectra of GaTe examined by both theory and experiment. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Employing carboxylic acids in aryne multicomponent coupling triggered by aziridines/azetidines - Roy, Tony; Bhojgude, Sachin Suresh; Kaicharla, Trinadh; Thangaraj, Manikandan; Garai, Bikash; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 2016)
The transition-metal-free aryne multicomponent coupling (MCC) involving carboxylic acids initiated by aziridines/azetidines has been reported. The use of aziridines as nucleophiles afforded N-aryl beta-amino alcohol derivatives and the application of azetidines as nucleophilic triggers furnished N-aryl gamma-amino alcohol derivatives in moderate to good yields. These reactions proceed under mild conditions and result in the formation of a new carbon-nitrogen bond and a new carbon-oxygen bond. The utility of carboxylic acids in aryne MCCs has been demonstrated, and the synthetic potential of phenols as acid surrogates in the present aryne MCCs has been realized.

Enantiospecific formal synthesis of inthomycin C - Athawale, Paresh R.; Kashinath, K.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Chemistry Select, 2016)
An enantiospecific synthesis of Hatakeyama's intermediate enynol has been accomplished in both enantiomeric forms. As these intermediates can be converted to (3R)-inthomycin C and (3S)-inthomycin C through respective enynol intermediates using reported procedures, present effort may be regarded as formal synthesis of inthomycin C in both enantiomeric forms. Our synthesis highlights the use of pantolactone chiral pool and thus reconfirms the previously assigned absolute stereochemistry as 3R to the natural product inthomycin C.

Encapsulation of yeast (Saccharomyces cereviciae) by spray drying for extension of shelf life - Chandralekha, A.; Tavanandi, A. Hrishikesh; Amrutha, N.; Hebbar, H. Umesh; Raghavarao, K. S. M. S.; Gadre, Ramchandra V. (Drying Technology, 2016)
The objective of the present work was to encapsulate yeast using different carrier materials and examine their efficacy in retaining viability of cells after spray drying. Slurry containing yeast cells along with known amount of carrier material (maltodextrin, corn starch, gum arabic, acacia gum, polyethylene glycol 8000, -cyclodextrin, and skimmed milk powder, one at a time) was added and served as feed. Among these carrier materials attempted, corn starch and maltodextrin showed the best results with respect to powder yield (59%, w/w) and cell survival (80.5%), respectively. However, considering both survival and powder yield (67 and 59% w/w, respectively), corn starch was observed to be the most suitable carrier material.
Keywords: Cell viability; Encapsulation; freeze-drying; spray drying; Yeast

Enhanced clathrate hydrate formation kinetics at near ambient temperatures and moderate pressures: Application to natural gas storage - Veluswamy, Hari Prakash; Kumar, Sharad; Kumar, Rajnish; Rangsunvigit, Pramoch; Linga, Praveen (Fuel, 2016)
SNG (solidified natural gas) technology via clathrate hydrates is a potential method for large scale stationary storage of natural gas. Clathrate hydrate formation kinetics in presence of methane and 5.6 mol% tetrahydrofuran (THF) was investigated in an unstirred reactor configuration at moderate pressure and temperature conditions. It is well known that the presence of THF generally improves the thermodynamic stability of the resulting hydrate. In order to study the scale-up potential of this approach, kinetics of hydrate growth at temperatures close to ambient conditions and moderate pressures is required. Hydrate formation experiments were performed at three different temperatures - 283.2 K, 288.2 K and 293.2 K and at experimental pressures of 7.2 MPa, 5.0 and 3.0 MPa. Further, we report a synergistic effect of kinetic promotion of mixed methane hydrate formation by coupling THF and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at 293.2 K. For the first time, we observe rapid mixed methane/THF hydrate formation kinetics at 293.2 K in presence of just 100 ppm sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant with methane gas uptake of 3.45 (+/- 0.17) kmol/m(3) of water in 1 h. This is also the first study to demonstrate such rapid hydrate formation kinetics with significant methane storage capacity at temperature of 293.2 K (closer to the ambient temperature). Further, substantial methane gas uptake of 3.52 (+/- 0.13) kmol/m(3) of water is possible even at reduced experimental pressure of 3.0 MPa and 283.2 K in 2 h. Minimal energy requirement in an unstirred reactor for mixed methane/THF hydrate formation storage can propel the SNG technology for large scale commercial deployment. Further improvement in the process can be achieved by optimizing the cooling requirement through innovative reactor design and operating the process in a semi-batch or continuous mode. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Methane hydrates; Natural gas storage; Rapid kinetics; surfactant; Tetrahydrofuran; Unstirred reactor

Enhancement in rate of photocatalysis upon catalyst recycling - Sorathiya, Kalpesh; Mishra, Biswajit; Kalarikkal, Abhishek; Reddy, Kasala Prabhakar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Khushalani, Deepa (Scientific Reports, 2016)
Recyclability is an important aspect for heterogeneous photo-catalysts. Ease of recovery and stability of the photo-catalyst in terms of efficiency over the number of cycles are highly desired and in fact it is ideal if the efficiency is constant and it should not decrease marginally with each cycle. Presented here is a seminal observation in which the photocatalytic activity is shown to improve with increasing number of catalytic cycles (it is 1.7 times better after the 1st cycle and 3.1 times better after the 2nd cycle). Specifically, nanorods of pure TiO2 and TiO2 doped with controlled amount of tungsten have been used to degrade two model pollutants: Phenol and Rhodamine B under exclusive visible light illumination. It was found that, in case of 1 mol.% W incorporation, rate of photocatalysis and also the range of visible light absorption of the photocatalyst increased after the photocatalysis as compared to before photocatalysis. This aspect is unique for doped TiO2 and hence provides an intriguing way to mitigate low photoactivity.

Epilogue - Ranade, V. V.; Joshi, S. S. (Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals, 2016)
This chapter recaptures the key points and the lessons learned from our experience in applying the material discussed in this book to addressing industrially relevant issues. Some comments on future trends in catalysis and catalytic processes are included. We hope that this book will stimulate further work on this very important area from an industrial as well as a scientific point of view.

Evaluating the anticancer activity and nanoparticulate nature of homeopathic preparations of Terminalia chebula - Wani, Kirtee; Shah, Nilesh; Prabhune, Asmita; Jadhav, Arun; Ranjekar, Prabhakar; Kaul-Ghanekar, Ruchika (Homeopathy, 2016)
Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women and is the second leading cause of cancer death. Homeopathic medicines are part of the alternative medicines that are given as a supportive therapy in breast cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the anticancer activity of commercially available homeopathic preparations of Terminalia chebula (TC) and evaluate their nanoparticulate nature. Methods: Mother tincture (MT) and other homeopathic preparations (3X, 6C and 30C) of TC were tested for their effect on the viability of breast cancer (MDAMB231 and MCF7) and non-cancerous (HEK 293) cell lines by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Cell growth assay was performed to analyze the effect of the different potencies on the growth kinetics of breast cancer cells. MT and 6C were evaluated for the presence of nanoparticles by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results: MT decreased the viability of breast cancer (MDAMB231 and MCF7) and non-cancerous (HEK 293) cells. However, the other potencies (3X, 6C and 30C) decreased the viability of only breast cancer cells without affecting the viability of the non-cancerous cells. All the potencies, MT, 3X, 6C and 30C, reduced growth kinetics of breast cancer cells, more specifically at 1:10 dilution at 24, 48 and 72 h. Under SEM, MT appeared as a mesh-like structure whereas under TEM, it showed presence of nanoclusters. On the other hand, 6C potency contained 20 nm sized nanoparticles. Conclusion: The current study reports the anticancer activity of homeopathic preparations of TC against breast cancer and reveals their nanoparticulate nature. These preliminary results warrant further mechanistic studies at both in vitro and in vivo levels to evaluate the potential of TC as nanomedicine in breast cancer.

Expedient cobalt-catalyzed C–H alkynylation of (enantiopure) benzylamines - Landge, Vinod Gokulkrishna; Midya, Siba Prasad; Rana, Jagannath; Shinde, Dinesh R.; Balaraman, Ekambaram (Organic Letters, 2016)
A unified strategy for cobalt-catalyzed ortho-C-H bond alkynylation of benzylamines is reported. Simple, commercially available CoBr2 was used as a cobalt source. The developed alkynylation strategy is robust and efficient and has a broad substrate scope including 1 degrees, 2 degrees, and 3 degrees benzylamines. The mechanistic study shows that C-H bond cleavage is reversible, and the kinetic study illustrates that the rate of reaction depends solely on the catalyst.
Keywords: Terminal Alkynes; Bond Activation; Directed Functionalization; Aminoquinoline Benzamides; Ortho-C(Sp(2))-H Bonds; Mechanistic Insights; Selective Access; Carbon-Hydrogen; Nickel; Annulation

Exploring activity differences between the hydroformylation catalysts: Insights from theory - Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Rizvi, Masood Ahmad; Pandey, Pippalad; Vanka, Kumar (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 2016)
Hydroformylation catalysis is the most important homogeneous catalysis process of the current day. The current computational investigation aims to understand the nature of the hydroformylation process when monodentate ligands are employed. The complete catalytic cycle for different monodentate ligands bound to the rhodium center has been studied with full quantum chemical calculations, with density functional theory (DFT). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic investigation of the relative free energy surfaces for mono-coordinate monodentate and bi-coordinated monodentate ligands in hydroformylation catalysis. The results indicate that the barriers are lower for the mono-coordinate monodentate species in comparison to the bi-coordinate monodentate, for all the ligand cases studied, indicating higher activity for the mono-coordinate monodentate active species. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Density functional theory (DFT) calculations; Hydroformylation; Monodentate; Rhodium

First total synthesis of gliomasolide C and formal total synthesis of sch-725674 - Seetharamsingh, B.; Khairnar, Pankaj V.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Syntheses of two 14-membered macrolides Sch-725674 and Gliomasolide C are described here. The first total synthesis of Gliomasolide C, the short synthesis of Sch-725674, and regios elective Wacker oxidation of internal olefin are the highlights of this disclosure. In addition, a key macrocyde with orthogonal functionalities was designed and synthesized on a gram scale for the generation of analogues.

Fluoride-mediated dephosphonylation of α-diazo-β-carbonyl phosphonates - Phatake, Ravindra S.; Mullapudi, Venkanna Babu; Wakchaure, Vivek Chandrakant; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
The possibility of fluoride-mediated selective dephosphonylation of α-diazo-β-carbonyl phosphonates such as the Ohira-Bestmann reagent has been proposed and executed. The resulting α-diazocarbonyl intermediates undergo a (3 + 2)-cycloaddition at room temperature with conjugated olefins and benzynes. Interestingly, under the current conditions, the resulting cycloaddition products underwent either N-acylation (with excess α-diazo-β-carbonyl phosphonates) or Michael addition (with conjugated olefins).

Free energy of bare and capped gold nanoparticles permeating through a lipid bilayer - Mhashal, Anil R.; Roy, Sudip (Chemphyschem, 2016)
Herein, we study the permeation free energy of bare and octane-thiol-capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) translocating through a lipid membrane. To investigate this, we have pulled the bare and capped AuNPs from bulk water to the membrane interior and estimated the free energy cost. The adsorption of the bare AuNP on the bilayer surface is energetically favorable but further loading inside it requires energy. However, the estimated free-energy barrier for loading the capped AuNP into the lipid membrane is much higher compared to bare AuNP. We also demonstrate the details of the permeation process of bare and capped AuNPs. Bare AuNP induces the curvature in the lipid membrane whereas capped AuNP creates an opening in the interacting monolayer and get inserted into the membrane. The insertion of capped AuNP induces a partial unzipping of the lipid bilayer, which results in the ordering of the local lipids interacting with the nanoparticle. However, bare AuNP disrupts the lipid membrane by pushing the lipid molecules inside the membrane. We also analyze pore formation due to the insertion of capped AuNP into the membrane, which results in water molecules penetrating the hydrophobic region.

Fungal cell membrane-promising drug target for antifungal therapy - Sant, D. G.; Tupe, Santosh Genba; Ramana, Chepuri V.; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Journal of Applied Microbiology, 2016)
Increase in invasive fungal infections over the past few years especially in immunocompromised patients prompted the search for new antifungal agents with improved efficacy. Current antifungal armoury includes very few effective drugs like Amphotericin B; new generation azoles, including voriconazole and posaconazole; echinocandins like caspofungin and micafungin to name a few. Azole class of antifungals which target the fungal cell membrane are the first choice of treatment for many years because of their effectiveness. As the fungal cell membrane is predominantly made up of sterols, glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids, the role of lipids in pathogenesis and target identification for improved therapeutics were largely pursued by researchers during the last few years. Present review focuses on cell membrane as an antifungal target with emphasis on membrane biogenesis, structure and function of cell membrane, cell membrane inhibitors, screening assays, recent advances and future prospects.

Fusarium oxysporum mediates systems metabolic reprogramming of chickpea roots as revealed by a combination of proteomics and metabolomics - Kumar, Yashwant; Zhang, Limin; Panigrahi, Priyabrata; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Dewangan, Veena; Chavan, Sachin G.; Kunjir, Shrikant M.; Wu, Xiangyu; Li, Ning; Rajmohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Giri, Ashok P.; et al. (Plant Biotechnology Journal, 2016)
Molecular changes elicited by plants in response to fungal attack and how this affects plant-pathogen interaction, including susceptibility or resistance, remain elusive. We studied the dynamics in root metabolism during compatible and incompatible interactions between chickpea and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Foc), using quantitative label-free proteomics and NMR-based metabolomics. Results demonstrated differential expression of proteins and metabolites upon Foc inoculations in the resistant plants compared with the susceptible ones. Additionally, expression analysis of candidate genes supported the proteomic and metabolic variations in the chickpea roots upon Foc inoculation. In particular, we found that the resistant plants revealed significant increase in the carbon and nitrogen metabolism; generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lignification and phytoalexins. The levels of some of the pathogenesis-related proteins were significantly higher upon Foc inoculation in the resistant plant. Interestingly, results also exhibited the crucial role of altered Yang cycle, which contributed in different methylation reactions and unfolded protein response in the chickpea roots against Foc. Overall, the observed modulations in the metabolic flux as outcome of several orchestrated molecular events are determinant of plant's role in chickpea-Foc interactions.
Keywords: Chickpea; fusarium oxysporum; Metabolomics; NMR; plant-pathogen interaction; proteomics

GAME9 regulates the biosynthesis of steroidal alkaloids and upstream isoprenoids in the plant mevalonate pathway - Cardenas, Pablo D.; Sonawane, Prashant D.; Pollier, Jacob; Vanden Bossche, Robin; Dewangan, Veena; Weithorn, Efrat; Tal, Lior; Meir, Sagit; Rogachev, Ilana; Malitsky, Sergey; Giri, Ashok P.; Goossens, Alain; et al. (Nature Communications, 2016)
Steroidal glycoalkaloids (SGAs) are cholesterol-derived molecules produced by solanaceous species. They contribute to pathogen defence but are toxic to humans and considered as anti-nutritional compounds. Here we show that GLYCOALKALOID METABOLISM 9 (GAME9), an APETALA2/Ethylene Response Factor, related to regulators of alkaloid production in tobacco and Catharanthus roseus, controls SGA biosynthesis. GAME9 knockdown and overexpression in tomato and potato alters expression of SGAs and upstream mevalonate pathway genes including the cholesterol biosynthesis gene STEROL SIDE CHAIN REDUCTASE 2 (SSR2). Levels of SGAs, C24-alkylsterols and the upstream mevalonate and cholesterol pathways intermediates are modified in these plants. Delta(7)-STEROL-C5(6)-DESATURASE (C5-SD) in the hitherto unresolved cholesterol pathway is a direct target of GAME9. Transactivation and promoter-binding assays show that GAME9 exerts its activity either directly or cooperatively with the SlMYC2 transcription factor as in the case of the C5-SD gene promoter. Our findings provide insight into the regulation of SGA biosynthesis and means for manipulating these metabolites in crops.

Glucose sensing and low-threshold field emission from MnCo2O4 nanosheets - Naik, Kusha Kumar; Khare, Ruchita T.; More, Mahendra A.; Late, Dattatray J.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar (RSC Advances, 2016)
Manganese cobalt oxide (MnCo2O4) nanosheets were grown on nickel (Ni) foam by a simple electrodeposition method. The as-synthesized nanosheets were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The Ni foam supports the growth of MnCo2O4 nanosheets without any aggregation, thereby increasing its catalytic and electronic properties. The electrochemical studies show that MnCo2O4 exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards glucose sensing applications. The MnCo2O4 based glucose sensor shows a good sensitivity value of 8.2 mA mM(-1) cm(-2), with a response time of 19 s. In addition to this, field emission studies of as-synthesized MnCo2O4 reveal a low turn-on field value of 1.9 V mm(-1) and good emission current stability, demonstrating MnCo2O4 nanosheets as a good field emitter material.

Gold(I) catalyzed [1,3] O -> C rearrangement of benzylvinyl ethers - Kona, Chandrababu Naidu; Patil, Mahesh N.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 2016)
A simple procedure for the preparation of 3-(hetero) arylpropionaldehydes has been developed employing a gold-catalyzed [1,3]-rearrangement of vinyl ethers. Using this protocol, Canthoxal, an aromatic aldehyde used in perfumery, has been prepared on a gram scale.

Green approach to dye wastewater treatment using biocoagulants - Chethana, M.; Sorokhaibam, Laxmi Gayatri; Bhandari, Vinay M.; Raja, S.; Ranade, Vivek V. (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016)
The present study focuses on newer biocoagulants, bioformulations, and the understanding of coagulant behavior with biocoagulants in relation to chemical coagulants. Newer biocoagulants, seeds of Azadirachta indica (AI) and pads of Acanthocereus tetragonus, are discussed along with two known biocoagulants, Moringa oleifera and Cicer arietinum seeds. Dye removal studies were carried out using widely reported Congo red dye to facilitate easy comparison with other conventional coagulants and the effect of various parameters such as initial dye concentration, pH, coagulant dose, etc. are discussed in detail. The use of biocoagulant was found to be highly effective, and up to 99% dye removal was achieved for coagulant doses in the range of 300-1500 mg/L. It was also observed that coagulation is pH sensitive, similar to chemical coagulants. Although the biocoagulant dose is relatively higher than the conventional chemical coagulants, a good value for the sludge volume index, similar to 50 mL/g for 1 h and 30 min, respectively, was obtained for the two coagulants, Acanthocereus tetragonus and Moringa oleifera. A very high particle count compared to chemical coagulants was observed using a focused beam reflectance measurement. Bioformulation with chemical coagulants such as alum, ferric, and aluminum based coagulants can, not only lower doses of biocoagulants (up to one-third) but can also result in significant improvement in the coagulation performance, up to 50% or more.
Keywords: coagulation; dye removal; Effluent treatment; flocculation; pollution

GSH Induced controlled release of levofloxacin from a purpose-built prodrug: luminescence response for probing the drug release in escherichia coli and staphylococcus aureus - Pal, Suman; Ramu, Vadde; Taye, Nandaraj; Mogare, Devraj G.; Yeware, Amar M.; Sarkar, Dhiman; Reddy, D. Srinivasa; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Bioconjugate Chemistry, 2016)
Fluoroquinolones are third-generation broad spectrum bactericidal antibiotics and work against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Levofloxacin (L), a fluoroquinolone, is widely used in anti-infective chemotherapy and treatment of urinary tract infection and pneumonia. The main pathogen for urinary tract infections is Escherichia colt, and Streptococcus pneumoniae is responsible for pneumonia, predominantly a lower respiratory tract infection. Poor permeability of L leads to the use of higher dose of this drug and excess drug in the outer cellular fluid leads to central nervous system (CNS) abnormality. One way to counter this is to improve the lipophilicity of the drug molecule, and accordingly, we have synthesized two new Levofloxacin derivatives, which participated in the spatiotemporal release of drug via disulfide bond cleavage induced by glutathione (GSH). Recent studies with Streptococcus mutants suggest that it is localized in epithelial lining fluid (ELF) of the normal lower respiratory tract and the effective [GSH] in ELF is similar to 430 mu M. E. coli typically cause urinary tract infections and the concentration of GSH in porcine bladder epithelium is reported as 0.6 mM for a healthy human. Thus, for the present study we have chosen two important bacteria (Gram + ve and Gram - ve), which are operational in regions having high extracellular GSH concentration. Interestingly, this supports our design of new lipophilic Levofloxacin based prodrugs, which released effective drug on reaction with GSH. Higher lipophilicity favored improved uptake of the prodrugs. Site specific release of the drug (L) could be achieved following a glutathione mediated biochemical transformation process through cleavage of a disulfide bond of these purpose-built prodrugs. Further, appropriate design helped us to demonstrate that it is possible also to control the kinetics of the drug release from respective prodrugs. Associated luminescence enhancement helps in probing the release of the drug from the prodrug in bacteria and helps in elucidating the mechanistic pathway of the transformation. Such an example is scarce in the contemporary literature.

H2S detection using low-cost SnO2 nano-particle Bi-layer OFETs - Surya, Sandeep G.; Ashwath, B. S. Narayan; Mishra, Sushma; Karthik, A. R. B.; Sastry, A. B.; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Rangappa, Dinesh; Rao, V. Ramgopal (Sensors and Actuators B-Chemical, 2016)
In this article, a unique platform with an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) integrated with metal oxide nanoparticles for sensing of H2S gas is presented. Metal oxide nanoparticles such as SnO2 and ZnO synthesized using herbal techniques were used in the fabrication of OFETs using a bi-layer technique. The as -synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by Field Effect Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-vis Spectroscopy (UV-vis) to establish the material properties. We showed that the SnO2 based OFETs displayed better response for H2S at room temperature (25 degrees C) compared to the OFETs fabricated with ZnO. The characterization of the sensors by using extracted electrical parameters like field-effect mobility ([1), On -Current (Ion), threshold voltage (VT) and saturation current (ID]) establish the fact that the SnO2 based OFETs detect H2S gas at room temperature. Plausible mechanisms explaining the H2S gas detection by bi-layer film were discussed. On the other hand, the sensitivity of these OFETs against other reducing gases was less. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: bi-layer; H2S detection; Metal-oxide; OFETs; Sensor

High-index faceted Au nanocrystals with highly controllable optical properties and electro-catalytic activity - Rajendra, Ranguwar; Gangadharan, Pranav K.; Tripathi, Shalini; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ballav, Nirmalya (Nanoscale, 2016)
We introduce a new and naturally abundant mild reducing agent, tannic acid, to improve the seed-mediated growth method for the synthesis of elongated tetrahexahedral Au nanocrystals enclosed with high-index (730) planes, at room-temperature. The control of the dimensions, plasmonics and electro-catalysis of such high-index faceted nanocrystals is remarkable.

Highly active bile salt hydrolase from enterococcus faecalis shows positive cooperative kinetics - Chand, Deepak; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Suresh, C. G. (Process Biochemistry, 2016)
Bile salt hydrolase (BSH; cholylglycine hydrolase, EC 3.5.1.24) is an important enzyme that catalyses the deconjugation of bile acids conjugated with glycine or taurine and assists in the reduction of blood cholesterol levels. In the present study, we report the cloning, overexpression and characterisation of BSH gene from a gut-associated microbe Enterococcus faecalis (EfBSH). The overexpressed protein in Escherichia coli was purified to homogeneity. Optimum pH and temperature for activity were found to be 5.0 and 50 degrees C, respectively. The enzyme was considerably stable in the pH range of 5.0-7.0 and at a temperature of up to 50 degrees C. It showed high specific activity of 1390 U mg(-1) and 1289 U mg-1 for substrates such as glycocholic acid (GCA) and glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA), respectively. The effect of additives on enzyme activity was assessed, and the detergent Triton X showed a marginally enhanced activity. The enzyme demonstrated unique enzyme kinetics of non-linear regression, thereby displaying positive cooperativity. In addition, the modulating effect of the non-substrate ligand Pen V on the hydrolysing ability of EfBSH towards bile acid such as GDCA was measured. It was observed that Pen V significantly enhanced the BSH activity. This is markedly different from the previously reported competitive inhibition of BSH activity by Pen V. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Allosteric regulation; Bile acids; Bile salt hydrolase; Enzyme kinetics; Gut organism; Penicillin V acylase

Highly selective direct azidation of alcohols over a heterogeneous povidone-phosphotungstic solid acid catalyst - Kamble, Sumit; More, Sagar; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (New Journal of Chemistry, 2016)
A simple protocol for the selective azidation of alcohols is developed using a solid acid hybrid of a povidone and phosphotungstic acid (PVP-PWA) using azidotrimethylsilane as an azide source at room temperature. In a broad substrate scope, various activated as well as unactivated benzylic and diphenyl alcohols were treated smoothly with TMS-N-3 to selectively produce only azide products with excellent yields in a very short reaction time of 2 h. FT-IR confirmed the stability of the catalyst with retention of the Keggins structure after the reaction. Recycling experiments demonstrated the reusability of the PVP PWA (3:1) several times without losing its original activity.

Hydrogel-derived soft materials for biomimetic and energy-related functions - Goudappagouda,; Wakchaure, V. C.; Ranjeesh, K. C.; Babu, S. S. (Australian Journal of Chemistry, 2016)
Supramolecular assembly of molecules leading to gelation of large amount of solvents is always a fascinating topic of research. In the very recent past, the exciting developments have marked hydrogels as intriguing materials with excellent features. Hydrogel scaffolds enable the accommodation of organic and/or inorganic guest materials to deliver diverse applications. Hydrogels have been exploited to generate soft materials with mechanical anisotropy, tunable rigidity, self-healing properties, as well as photocatalytic capabilities towards H2 production. Remarkably, the combination of a photocatalyst and a light-harvesting system in the gel matrix provides a unique means to photocatalytic H2 production. The biomimetic applications of hydrogels have also generated much attraction due to their potential demonstrations. The diverse applications underline the significance of such a soft gel medium to reach the final goal. Herein, important reports pertaining to the use of hydrogels as an effective way to generate advanced materials for biomimetic and energy-related issues are discussed.

I-2-mediated regioselective C-3 azidation of indoles - Prasad, Pragati K.; Kalshetti, Rupali G.; Reddi, Rambabu N.; Kamble, Sanjay P.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2016)
An unprecedented synthesis of novel 3-azido indoles has been developed using I-2 and NaN3 in high yields and excellent regio-selectivity. The reaction proceeds under metal-free conditions at room temperature. Essentially, an umpolung in reactivity at the C-3 position of indole has been achieved by the activation of indoles with I-2.

Identification of noreremophilane-based inhibitors of angiogenesis using zebrafish assays - Muthukumarasamy, Kalai Mangai; Handore, Kishor L.; Kakade, Dipti N.; Shinde, Madhuri V.; Ranjan, Shashi; Kumar, Naveen; Sehrawat, Seema; Sachidanandan, Chetana; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2016)

Immobilization of pectinase on reusable polymer support for clarification of apple juice - Rajdeo, Kishor; Harini, Tirunagari; Lavanya, Kuna; Fadnavis, Nitin W. (Food and Bioproducts Processing, 2016)
Pectinase (E.C.3.2.1.15) was successfully immobilized on recyclable polymer matrix. The immobilization matrix was prepared by reaction of polyethyleneimine (mol. wt. 70,000) with epoxy-activated acrylate copolymer DILBEAD-VWR. The enzyme pectinase was first adsorbed on the polymer at pH 7.0 via ion exchange and then stabilized by crosslinking with dextran aldehyde. While the free enzyme shows a pH-optimum of 5.0, the immobilized enzyme exhibited high level of activity in a broad pH range of pH 3.0-7.0. Although the thermal stability of free and immobilized enzymes was similar, at room temperature, the immobilized enzyme could be recycled more than 10 times with loss of less than 5% of its activity during clarification of apple juice. On the eventual loss of enzyme activity, the immobilized enzyme and dextran aldehyde can be easily removed from the polymer by a simple treatment with 1N HCl and the polymer can be reused for immobilization of a fresh batch of enzyme. This support also can be reused several times, making the process economically attractive. The properties of apple juice treated with immobilized enzyme were similar to those of that treated with free pectinase. (C) 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Apple juice; Dextran aldehyde; Immobilization; Pectinase; Polyethyleneimine; Polymer

In vitro and ex vivo antitubercular activity of diarylheptanoids from the rhizomes of alpinia officinarum hance - Honmore, Varsha S.; Rojatkar, Supada R.; Nawale, Laxman U.; Arkile, Manisha A.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Natu, Arun D.; Sarkar, Dhiman (Natural Product Research, 2016)
Phytochemical investigation of methanol extract of the rhizomes of Alpinia officinarum Hance afforded four known diarylheptanoids 1,7-diphenylhept-4-en-3-one (1), 5-hydroxy-1,7-diphenyl-3-heptanone (2), 5-hydroxy-7-(4 ''-hydroxy-3 ''-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone (3), and 7-(4 ''-hydroxy-3 ''-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl heptan-3-one (4).The acetate derivative of (4), 7-(4 ''-actetate-3 ''-methoxy phenyl)-1-phenyl heptan-3-one (5), was prepared. These diarylheptanoids exhibited promising in vitro and ex vivo antitubercular activity for the first time against dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra with the IC50 values between 0.3447.69 and 0.1322.91 mu M, respectively. All compounds showed comparable activity against Mycobacterium bovis BCG (dormant phage) and did not show any activity against two gram + ve and two gram -ve bacterial strains. These compounds were also weakly cytotoxic up to 300 mu M against three human cancer cell lines THP-1, Panc-1 and A549.

Incorporation of rigid polyaromatic groups in polybenzimidazole-based polymeric ionic liquids: assertive effects on gas permeation properties - Shaligram, Sayali V.; Rewar, Anita S.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Kharul, Ulhas K. (Polymer, 2016)
Polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) have emerged as promising membrane materials for CO2 separation. The present work is aimed at investigating the effects of incorporation of rigid polyaromatic hydrocarbons, viz., pyrene and anthracene, in polybenzimidazole-based PILs. The effects of substituent and anion variation on the gas permeation properties of PILs using pure gases were examined at 20 atm upstream pressure. The results were correlated with physical properties of PILs. The pyrene substituted PIL exhibited similar to 10 fold increase in CO2 permeability as compared to its precursor polymer PBI-BuI. The combination of a CO2 specific anion and bulky group substitution offered higher CO2 permeability as well as appreciable permselectivity than their structural analogue that was devoid of IL functionality. The permeation properties of present PILs were superior to those of conventional glassy polymers such as polysulfone, matrimid and polycarbonate which are widely studied for their gas permeation properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Gas permeation; membranes; Polymeric ionic liquids

Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals - Joshi, S. S.; Ranade, V. V. (Elsevier Inc., 2016)
Industrial Catalytic Processes for Fine and Specialty Chemicals provides a comprehensive methodology and state-of-the art toolbox for industrial catalysis. The book begins by introducing the reader to the interesting, challenging, and important field of catalysis and catalytic processes. The fundamentals of catalysis and catalytic processes are fully covered before delving into the important industrial applications of catalysis and catalytic processes, with an emphasis on green and sustainable technologies. Several case studies illustrate new and sustainable ways of designing catalysts and catalytic processes. The intended audience of the book includes researchers in academia and industry, as well as chemical engineers, process development chemists, and technologists working in chemical industries and industrial research laboratories. Discusses the fundamentals of catalytic processes, catalyst preparation and characterization, and reaction engineering Outlines the homogeneous catalytic processes as they apply to specialty chemicals Introduces industrial catalysis and catalytic processes for fine chemicals Includes a number of case studies to demonstrate the various processes and methods for designing green catalysts.

Industrial wastewater treatment for fertilizer industry a case study - Bhandari, Vinay M.; Sorokhaibam, Laxmi Gayatri; Ranade, Vivek V. (Desalination and Water Treatment, 2016)
Wastewaters from chemical fertilizer industry mainly contain organics, alcohols, ammonia, nitrates, phosphorous, heavy metals such as cadmium and suspended solids. The nature of effluent streams varies in terms of its constituents and complexity. The present work attempts to fill the void in the literature that mostly reports synthetic wastewater treatment studies, by evaluating effluent treatment solutions and comparison of different methods for real wastewaters from the fertilizer industry. An attempt has been made to devise suitable methodology mainly using a new device in the form of vortex diode for hydrodynamic cavitation and also using adsorption, for several real wastewater streams from different locations in one major fertilizer industry of Maharashtra, India. The strategy involved characterization of wastewaters, studies on the effective removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and devising solutions for effective reduction in ammoniacal nitrogena more serious issue in the fertilizer industry. The characterization of wastewaters from different streams revealed huge variation in COD from 50 to 140,000ppm and ammoniacal nitrogen from 6 to 1,700ppm. Some effluent streams contained alcohol up to 5%. Hydrodynamic cavitation using vortex diode and adsorption with modified carbons were used to treat these streams. Cavitation studies were carried out on a pilot plant and the effect of pressure drop, cavitating device and process intensification were studied. It was observed that the effluent treatment strategy requires careful identification and application of suitable treatment method on the basis of the nature of the effluent. Also, hydrodynamic cavitation, using vortex diode appears to be techno-economically attractive option in treating fertilizer wastewaters giving a very high reduction in COD and ammoniacal nitrogen (up to 85%), similar to adsorption. The results clearly identify potential of newer methodologies in the treatment of effluents in the fertilizer industry.

Intensification of degradation of methomyl (carbamate group pesticide) by using the combination of ultrasonic cavitation and process intensifying additives - Raut-Jadhav, Sunita; Pinjari, Dipak V.; Saini, Daulat R.; Sonawane, Shirish H.; Pandit, Aniruddha B. (Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2016)
In the present work, the degradation of methomyl has been carried out by using the ultrasound cavitation (US) and its combination with H2O2, Fenton and photo-Fenton process. The study of effect of operating pH and ultrasound power density has indicated that maximum extent of degradation of 28.57% could be obtained at the optimal pH of 2.5 and power density of 0.155 W/mL. Application of US in combination with H2O2, Fenton and photo-Fenton process has further accelerated the rate of degradation of methomyl with complete degradation of methomyl in 27 min, 18 min and 9 min respectively. Mineralization study has proved that a combination of US and photo -Fenton process is the most effective process with maximum extent of mineralization of 78.8%. Comparison of energy efficiency and cost effectiveness of various processes has indicated that the electrical cost of 79892.34 Rs./m(3) for ultrasonic degradation of methomyl has drastically reduced to 2277.00 Rs./m(3), 1518.00 Rs./m(3) and 807.58 Rs./m(3) by using US in combination with H2O2, Fenton and photo-Fenton process respectively. The cost analysis has also indicated that the combination of US and photo-Fenton process is the most energy efficient and cost effective process. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Fenton; Hydrogen peroxide; Methomyl; Photo-Fenton; Synergistic coefficient; Ultrasound cavitation

Intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling of 2,3-diaryl acrylic compounds: access to substituted phenanthrenes - Gupta, Vijay; Rao, V. U. Bhaskara; Das, Tamal; Vanka, Kumar; Singh, Ravi P. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
A simple, facile, and environmentally benign intramolecular dehydrogenative coupling of various 1,2-diarylethylenes for the synthesis of phenanthrenes in excellent yield has been described. This new methodology uses ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as a promoter at room temperature and has been extended to intermolecular synthesis of biaryl compounds. The electron transfer from methoxyarene to cerium leads to cationic radical formation, which further proceeds to intramolecular coupling. Preliminary mechanistic investigation by EPR spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation suggested a similar view.

Ion exchange resin catalyzed reactions-An overview - Bhandari, V. M.; Sorokhaibam, L. G.; Ranade, V. V. (Industrial catalytic processes for fine and specialty chemicals, 2016)
This chapter gives an overview of ion exchange resins as catalyst for a variety of reactions. Emphasis is placed on the use of resin as a catalyst rather than on reactions. Various aspects of resin catalysis, such as types of reactions where resin can be used, the physical form of resin and activity, and issues pertaining to its application as a catalyst are discussed. Advantages and disadvantages of resins as catalyst for different types of reactions are highlighted. Aspects like reactor configurations, selection of resin, process integration, process separations and the environmental impact of using resins as catalysts are also included. Possible future developments in the ion exchange catalysis area are also highlighted.

Ir(III)-catalyzed carbenoid functionalization of benzamides: synthesis of N-methoxyisoquinolinediones and N-methoxyisoquinolinones - Phatake, Ravindra S.; Patel, Pitambar; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
A mild and efficient Ir(III)-catalyzed C-H carbenoid functionalization strategy has been developed to access. N-methoxyisoquinolinediones and N-methoxyisoquinolinones. The reaction proceeds efficiently in high yield at room temperature over a broad range of substrates without requirement of any additional oxidants or a base.

Ir(III)-catalyzed synthesis of isoquinoline N-oxides from aryloxime and alpha-diazocarbonyl compounds - Phatake, Ravindra S.; Patel, Pitambar; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
An efficient Ir(III)-catalyzed C-H activation and annulations of aryloxime with a-diazocarbonyl compounds has been developed for the synthesis of substituted isoquinoline N-oxides. The reaction proceeds under mild atmospheric conditions, without any external oxidants and releases N-2 and H2O as the byproducts. In addition, synthetic applications of the N-oxide products have been established by performing further functionalization. An interesting dimeric iridacyclic complex allied through a bis-silver carboxylate bridge has been isolated that efficiently catalyzed the reaction.

Isolates of alpinia officinarum hance as COX-2 inhibitors: evidence from anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and molecular docking studies - Honmore, Varsha S.; Kandhare, Amit D.; Kadam, Parag P.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Sarkar, Dhiman; Bodhankar, Subhash L.; Zanwar, Anand A.; Rojatkar, Supada R.; Natu, Arun D. (International Immunopharmacology, 2016)
Background: Inflammation triggered by oxidative stress can cause various ailments, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, diabetes etc. In the last few years, there has been a renewed interest in studying the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action of plant constituents such as flavonoids and diarylheptanoids. Aim: To evaluate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activity and the total phenolic content of isolated compounds from Alpinia officinarum rhizomes. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to study the binding mode of these compounds into the active site of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX -2). Methods: A. officinarum rhizomes were extracted by maceration, using methanol. This extract was further fractionated by partitioning with hexane, chloroform and ethyl acetate and these fractions on further purification resulted in isolation of five pure compounds. Characterization was carried out by using H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and MS. They were further evaluated for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity using carrageenan-induced paw edema model in rats. Molecular docking study was performed using Glide module integrated in Schrodinger molecular modeling software. Results: The compounds were identified as 1,7-diphenylhept-4-en-3-one (1), 5-hydroxy-1,7-diphenyl-3-heptanone (2), 3,5,7-trihydroxyflavone (Galangin, 3), 3,5,7-trihydroxy-4'-methoxyflavone (Kaempferide, 4) and 5-hydroxy-7-(4 `'-hydroxy-3 `'-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone (5). The compound-3 and compound-5 (10 mg/kg) showed significant (p < 0.001) antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Moreover, total phenolic content was detected as 72.96 mg and 51.18 mg gallic acid equivalent respectively. All the five isolates were found to be good binders with COX-2 (average docking score -9.03). Conclusions: Galangin and 5-hydroxy-7-(4 `'-hydroxy-3 `'-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone exhibited anti-inflammatory and in-vitro antioxidant activity which may be due to presence of phenolic content in it. The molecular docking study revealed that these compounds have affinity towards COX-2 active site which can further be explored as selective COX-2 inhibitors. The results obtained in this work justify the use of A. officinarum in the treatment of inflammatory disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 5-Hydroxy-7-(4 `'-hydroxy-3 `'-methoxyphenyl)-1-phenyl-3-heptanone; Alpinia officinarum; Anti-inflammatory; Antioxidant; COX-2 inhibitors; Galangin

Isolation and characterization of new lignin streams derived from extractive-ammonia (EA) pretreatment - Sousa, Leonardo da Costa; Foston, Marcus; Bokade, Vijay V.; Azarpira, Ali; Lu, Fachuang; Ragauskas, Arthur J.; Ralph, John; Dale, Bruce E.; Balan, Venkatesh (Green Chemistry, 2016)
One of the key challenges facing lignin conversion to fuels and chemicals is related to the level of carbohydrate and ash impurities found in extracted lignin. Structural modifications of lignin may also occur as a result of biomass pretreatment and harsh lignin extraction protocols. Extractive-Ammonia (EA) is a new pretreatment technology that uses liquid ammonia to cleave lignin-carbohydrate complexes, decrystallize cellulose, solubilize lignin, and selectively extract Lignin from lignocellulosic biomass, enabling better utilization of both lignin and carbohydrate components in a biorefinery. The EA-based biorefinery produces two different lignin-rich streams, with different properties, that could potentially be upgraded to fuels and chemicals using green processes. In this work, a water/ethanol-based fractionation method was developed to enrich the ammonia-soluble extractives, resulting in a major product stream containing 92% lignin. Detailed characterization of the various streams resulting from EA treatment, including compositional analysis, structural characterization by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry, elemental analysis, molecular weight analysis, and thermo-gravimetric analysis provides a broad evaluation of the EA derived lignin product stream structures and properties, assessing their potential for commercial applications. In summary, EA-derived lignins preserve much of lignin's functionality, including the sensitive (3-aryl ether units. Nitrogen incorporation was observed in the lignin-rich streams, notably due to the presence of hydroxycinnamoyl amides formed during ammonia pretreatment.

Isothermal titration calorimetric study of the ionic liquid solutions in alcohols in extreme dilutions: an investigation of ion-solvent interactions - Rai, Gitanjali; Jain, Preeti; Kumar, Anil (Journal of Solution Chemistry, 2016)
In this work an effort has been made to show the effect of an alcohol-rich environment on imidazolium-based ionic liquids at 298.15 K using an isothermal titration calorimeter. It is divulged from this study that the thermal behavior expressed in terms of excess partial molar enthalpy, \( H_{\text{IL}}^{\text{E}} \), of ionic liquids in various linear alcohols is governed by the increasing hydrophobicity of the residual alkyl group attached to the cation of an ionic liquid and to the alcohol molecules. An interesting observation about the systems consisting of ethylated residuals on both the cations of the ionic liquid and the alcohol molecules is that these systems do not follow the trend exhibited by other ionic liquid–alcohol systems. Interesting information on ionic interactions is obtained by using a simple methodology that gives the enthalpic interaction parameter \( H_{{I{\text{L - IL}}}}^{\text{E}} \).
Keywords: Ionic liquidsAlcoholsExcess enthalpyIsothermal titration calorimeter

Lewis acid catalyzed selective reactions of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with 2-naphthols - Kaicharla, Trinadh; Roy, Tony; Thangaraj, Manikandan; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2016)
Lewis acid-catalyzed reactions of 2-substituted cyclopropane 1,1-dicarboxylates with 2-naphthols is reported. The reaction exhibits tunable selectivity depending on the nature of Lewis acid employed and proceed as a dearomatization/rearomatization sequence. With Bi(OTf)(3) as the Lewis acid, a highly selective dehydrative [3+2] cyclopentannulation takes place leading to the formation of naphthalene-fused cyclopentanes. Interestingly, engaging Sc(OTf)(3) as the Lewis acid, a Friedel-Crafts-type addition of 2-naphthols to cyclo-propanes takes place, thus affording functionalized 2-naphthols. Both reactions furnished the target products in high regioselectivity and moderate to high yields.
Keywords: annulations; arenes; Lewis acids; reaction mechanisms; small ring systems

Ligand-free Pd catalyzed cross-coupling reactions in an aqueous hydrotropic medium - Jadhav, Sanjay N.; Kumbhar, Arjun S.; Rode, Chadrashekhar V.; Salunkhe, Rajashri S. (Green Chemistry, 2016)
A simple, efficient and ligand-free protocol for the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction and base-free Heck-Matsuda reactions under mild reaction conditions have been developed over palladium supported on activated carbon (Pd/C) in an aqueous hydrotropic solution. The catalyst Pd/C was fully characterized by TG-DTA, SEM, EDS, XRD, XPS, BET and ICP-AES analyses. This green methodology represents a cost-effective and operationally convenient method for the synthesis of a variety of biaryls, prochiral ketones, and acrylates under the conditions that are tolerant for a broad range of functional groups with good to excellent yields. The developed Pd/C-aqueous hydrotrope combined catalytic system is well suited for the 3R approach (reducible, robust, and recyclable) for different cross-coupling reactions without an appreciable loss of its activity.

Mixing studies in unbaffled stirred tank reactor using electrical resistance tomography - Sardeshpande, Madhavi V.; Kumar, Gaurav; Aditya, T.; Ranade, Vivek V. (Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 2016)
Unbaffled stirred tanks are extensively used in chemical process industries for variety of applications including semi-batch reactions. In un-baffled stirred tanks, impeller rotation generates a vortex and reactants are added into this vortex. There is a growing interest towards understanding the mixing performance of such unbaffled stirred vessels. The present work is aimed at providing experimental results on mixing time and solid particle distribution inside an unbaffled vessel using electrical resistance tomography (ERT). A methodology for using ERT for characterizing vortex and mixing in unbaffled stirred vessel was established. The ERT was used to measure the mixing time with and without solid particles (glass beads, 250 mu m) in a stirred reactor. In this study, ERT technique was effectively applied for imaging solid-liquid flow and developed suitable data processing methodologies. It observed that estimated liquid phase mixing time for Un-baffled vessel was more as compared to baffled vessel. Radial solid concentration profiles showed Gaussian distribution inside the vessel. The presented methodology of using ERT and experimental results will be useful for designing and estimating mixing and solid distribution in unbaffled stirred tanks. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ERT; Mixing time; Radial solid concentration; Unbaffled stirred tank

Modified photo-electrochemical and photo-voltaic properties of solvothermally crystallised TiO2 nanotube arrays - Banki, Manmadha Rao; Tathavadekar, Mukta; Chunchu, Venkatrao; Roy, Somnath C. (Journal of Materials Science-Materials in Electronics, 2016)
TiO2 nanotube arrays formed by electrochemical anodization of Ti metal foil are crystallized through a solvothermal technique at 200 A degrees C (as compared to conventional annealing at 550 A degrees C), which results in anatase phase with granular morphology. The photo-current measurements reveal a higher current-density under the visible light for solvothermally crystallized samples. The photo-current behavior has been analysed and correlated with defect state characterization using X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, Photo-luminescence, Electron paramagnetic resonance and Mott-Schottky measurements. These studies indicate an oxygen vacancy related defect state at 1.14 eV below the conduction band. Also, the density of defect states in solvothermally crystallised samples is an order of magnite, the photo-voltaic properties are studied through dye-sensitised solar cells. I-Vude higher than that in conventionally annealed samples. Furthermor characteristics of DSSC fabricated with solvothermally crystallised samples show comparable efficiency but higher dye-adsorption with respect to the conventionally annealed samples. Such a comparable efficiency at a lower thermal budget leads to reduced 'energy pay-back time' in solar cells fabricated with solvothermally crystallised TiO2 nanotube arrays. Finally, we demonstrate a proof-of-concept design of flexible solar cell based on TiO2 nanotubes grown on Kapton substrate and crystallised through the solvothermal technique.

Modulation of charge carrier mobility by side-chain engineering of bi(thienylenevinylene)thiophene containing PPE-PPVs - Jadhav, Rupali R.; Camaioni, Nadia; Oppelt, Kerstin; Tinti, Francesca; Gazzano, Massimo; Fattori, Valeria; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Rathgeber, Silke; Hoppe, Harald; Egbe, Daniel A. M. (RSC Advances, 2016)
Four 2-dimensional conjugated poly(p-phenylene-ethynylene)-alt-poly(p-phenylene-vinylene) polymers containing a lateral bi(thienylenevinylene)thiophene unit (BTE-PVs) were synthesised and characterised. The investigated polymers share the same conjugated structure, but differ in the anchoring positions of solubilising linear octyloxy/branched 2-ethylhexyloxy side-chains. UV-vis spectra of the polymers in dilute chloroform solutions and as thin films were studied. X-Ray diffraction patterns as well as the bulk charge transport of polymer films cast from chlorobenzene solutions were also investigated. A dramatic effect of the solubilising side-chains on the charge carrier mobility of BTE-PV films was observed, with bulk hole mobility values ranging between 1.3 x 10(-5) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and 2.2 x 10(-2) cm(2) V-1 s(-1), which is not ascribable to evident structural variations of the polymer films. It is shown that the combination of linear octyloxy and branched 2-ethylhexyloxy side-chains is favorable for the charge transport properties of BTE-PVs, compared to the incorporation of only linear or only branched side-chains.

Molecules with O-acetyl group protect protein glycation by acetylating lysine residues - Vannuruswamy, Garikapati; Jagadeeshaprasad, Mashanipalya G.; Kashinath, K.; Kesavan, Suresh K.; Bhat, Shweta; Korwar, Arvind M.; Chougale, Ashok D.; Boppana, Ramanamurthy; Reddy, D. Srinivasa; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (RSC Advances, 2016)
Pharmaceutical intervention for reduction of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) is considered as a therapeutic strategy to attenuate the pathogenesis of diabetes. Many molecules have been reported to possess antiglycation activity, one such example is acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). It protects proteins from glycation by acetylating the lysine residues. Therefore, in this study we have synthesized and screened molecules containing free N-acetyl, O-acetyl and acetophenone groups. All the selected molecules in this study showed glycation inhibition but interestingly, only molecules with O-acetyl but not N-acetyl and acetophenone groups were capable of acetylating lysine residue. Furthermore, we have demonstrated that pre-acetylation or aspirin treatment prior to the induction of diabetes helps in reducing HbA1c and AGE formation in the streptozotocin induced diabetic mice. Hence pre-acetylation may have an additional therapeutic efficacy of reducing AGE levels in vivo. Incorporation of O-acetyl group into anti-diabetic molecules could be a useful strategy, as it may have an additive effect in reducing AGEs. Identification of such novel acetylating agents represents a new area in the drug discovery process.

Multifunctional copper dimer: structure, band gap energy, catalysis, magnetism, oxygen reduction reaction and proton conductivity - Sarkar, D.; Chandra Rao, P.; Aiyappa, H. B.; Kurungot, S.; Mandal, S.; Ramanujam, K.; Mandal, S. (RSC Advances, 2016)
A new dimeric copper complex namely, [Cu2(PDA)2(Ald)2(H2O)2]·8H2O, 1, (where PDA = 2,4-pyridine dicarboxylic acid, Ald = aldrithiol) has been synthesized through a slow diffusion technique. Compound 1 is a molecular structure and assembled through H-bonding forming a supramolecular architecture. The CuO2N3 units bridged through an aldrithiol molecule to form the dimeric structure. The lattice water molecules are linked through H-bonding to form the decameric water cluster. The decameric water clusters are H-bonded to each other to form the 1D chain which resulted in excellent water stability and conduction of protons under humid conditions. Band gap energy and magnetic measurements show that compound 1 is a semiconductor and paramagnetic in nature. Further the compound is shown as a selective heterogeneous catalyst for styrene and cyclohexene epoxidation. This also shows a facile oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and can be used as a promising Pt-free cathode in alkaline Direct Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC). The present results suggest that compound 1 is a promising multifunctional material

Multi-gram scale synthesis of hunanamycin A, an antibiotic natural product from the marine source - Shingare, Rahul D.; Farhana, Sa Ada; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Tetrahedron Letters, 2016)
A simple, practical, and biomimetic approach to access antibiotic natural product hunanamycin A starting from readily available inexpensive material Riboflavin is disclosed here. The present synthesis consists of three operationally simple, protecting group free steps and it is far superior when compared with the previous route. Using this route one can make multi-gram quantities of the natural product which will help in further biological assays, in particular exploring the potential of treating food infections. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Antibacterial; Biomimetic synthesis; Gram scale synthesis; Natural product; Riboflavin

Next-generation ammonia pretreatment enhances cellulosic biofuel production - Sousa, Leonardo da Costa; Jin, Mingjie; Chundawat, Shishir P. S.; Bokade, Vijay V.; Tang, Xiaoyu; Azarpira, Ali; Lu, Fachuang; Avci, Utku; Humpula, James; Uppugundla, Nirmal; Gunawan, Christa; Pattathil, Sivakumar; et al. (Energy & Environmental Science, 2016)
A new liquid ammonia pretreatment methodology called Extractive Ammonia (EA) was developed to simultaneously convert native crystalline cellulose I-beta (CI) to a highly digestible cellulose IIII (CIII) allomorph and selectively extract up to B45% of the lignin from lignocellulosic biomass with near-quantitative retention of all polysaccharides. EA pretreated corn stover yielded a higher fermentable sugar yield compared to the older Ammonia Fiber Expansion (AFEX) process while using 60% lower enzyme loading. The EA process preserves extracted lignin functionalities, offering the potential to co-produce lignin-derived fuels and chemicals in the biorefinery. The single-stage EA fractionation process achieves high biofuel yields (18.2 kg ethanol per 100 kg untreated corn stover, dry weight basis), comparable to those achieved using ionic liquid pretreatments. The EA process achieves these ethanol yields at industrially-relevant conditions using low enzyme loading (7.5 mg protein per g glucan) and high solids loading (8% glucan, w/v).

N-heterocyclic-carbene-catalyzed regioselective oxidative ring-opening of epoxides with aromatic aldehydes: a facile entry to alpha-acyloxyketones - Reddi, Rambabu N.; Gontala, Arjun; Prasad, Pragati K.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
A high-yielding synthesis of -acyloxyketones using a N-heterocyclic-carbene (NHC)-catalyzed, oxidative ring-opening of epoxides with aromatic aldehydes is described. This regioselective, oxidative process utilizes a N-bromosuccinimide (NBS)/DMSO combination as the oxidant system and Et3N as the base under mild reaction conditions.
Keywords: aldehydes; epoxides; halogen oxidants; N-heterocyclic carbenes; oxygen

Non-catalytic deep desulphurization process using hydrodynamic cavitation - Suryawanshi, Nalinee B.; Bhandari, Vinay M.; Sorokhaibam, Laxmi Gayatri; Ranade, Vivek V. (Scientific Reports, 2016)
A novel approach is developed for desulphurization of fuels or organics without use of catalyst. In this process, organic and aqueous phases are mixed in a predefined manner under ambient conditions and passed through a cavitating device. Vapor cavities formed in the cavitating device are then collapsed which generate (in-situ) oxidizing species which react with the sulphur moiety resulting in the removal of sulphur from the organic phase. In this work, vortex diode was used as a cavitating device. Three organic solvents (n-octane, toluene and n-octanol) containing known amount of a model sulphur compound (thiophene) up to initial concentrations of 500 ppm were used to verify the proposed method. A very high removal of sulphur content to the extent of 100% was demonstrated. The nature of organic phase and the ratio of aqueous to organic phase were found to be the most important process parameters. The results were also verified and substantiated using commercial diesel as a solvent. The developed process has great potential for deep of various organics, in general, and for transportation fuels, in particular.

Notch1-MAPK signaling axis regulates CD133+ cancer stem cell-mediated melanoma growth and angiogenesis - Kumar, Dhiraj; Kumar, Santosh; Gorain, Mahadeo; Tomar, Deepti; Patil, Harshal S.; Radharani, Nalukurthi N. V.; Kumar, Totakura V. S.; Patil, Tushar V.; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Kundu, Gopal C. (Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 2016)
Functional characterization and understanding of the intricate signaling mechanisms in stem-like cells is crucial for the development of effective therapies in melanoma. We have studied whether melanoma cells are phenotypically distinct and hierarchically organized according to their tumorigenic nature. We report that melanoma-specific CD133(+) cancer stem cells exhibit increased tumor-initiating potential, tumor-endothelial cell interaction, and lung metastasis. These cells are able to transdifferentiate into an endothelial-like phenotype when cultured under endothelial differentiation-promoting conditions. Mechanistically, Notch1 upregulates mitogen-activated protein kinase activation through CD133, which ultimately controls vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase expression in CD133(+) stem cells leading to melanoma growth, angiogenesis, and lung metastasis. Blockade or genetic ablation of Notch1 and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways abolishes melanoma cell migration and angiogenesis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and reporter assays revealed that Notch1 intracellular domain regulates CD133 expression at the transcriptional level. Andrographolide inhibits Notch1 intracellular domain expression, Notch1 intracellular domaindependent CD133-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase and activator protein-1 activation, and epithelial to mesenchymal-specific gene expression, ultimately attenuating melanoma growth and lung metastasis. Human malignant melanoma specimen analyses revealed a strong correlation between Notch1 intracellular domain, CD133, and p-p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase expression and malignant melanoma progression. Thus, targeting Notch1 and its regulated signaling network may have potential therapeutic implications for the management of cancer stem cell-mediated melanoma progression.

Observation of magnetic anomalies in one-step solvothermally synthesized nickel-cobalt ferrite nanoparticles - Datt, Gopal; Sen Bishwas, Mousumi; Raja, M. Manivel; Abhyankar, A. C. (Nanoscale, 2016)
Magnetic anomalies corresponding to the Verwey transition and reorientation of anisotropic vacancies are observed at 151 K and 306 K, respectively, in NiCoFe2O4 nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by a modified-solvothermal method followed by annealing. Cationic disorder and spherical shape induced non-stoichiometry suppress the Verwey transition in the as-synthesized NPs. On the other hand, reorientation of anisotropic vacancies is quite robust. XRD and electron microscopy investigations confirm a single phase spinel structure and the surface morphology of the as-synthesized NPs changes from spherical to octahedral upon annealing. Rietveld analysis reveals that the Ni2+ ions migrate from tetrahedral (A) to octahedral (B) sites upon annealing. The Mossbauer results show canted spins in both the NPs and the strength of superexchange is stronger in Co-O-Fe than Ni-O-Fe. Magnetic force images show that the as-synthesised NPs are single-domain whereas the annealed NPs are multi-domain octahedral particles. The FMR study reveals that both the NPs have a broad FMR line-width; and resonance properties are consistent with the random anisotropy model. The broad inhomogeneous FMR line-width, observation of the Verwey transition, tuning of the magnetic domain structure as well as the magnetic properties suggest that the NiCoFe2O4 ferrite NPs may be promising for future generation spintronics, magneto-electronics, and ultra-high-density recording media as well as for radar absorbing applications.

O-Quinone methides via oxone-mediated benzofuran oxidative dearomatization and their intramolecular cycloaddition with carbonyl groups: an expeditious construction of the central tetracyclic core of integrastatins, epicoccolide A, and epicocconigrone A - More, Atul A.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
The intramolecular cycloaddition of o-quinone methides (o-QMs) with a carbonyl group has been envisaged and executed successfully in the context of constructing the complex and rare [6,6,6,6]-tetracyclic core found in the integrastatins, epicoccolide A, and epicocconigrone A. These transient o-QMs were generated easily from the oxidative dearomatization of the corresponding C2-(aryl)benzofuran by employing Oxone in acetone-water at rt. The subsequent cydoaddition with the carbonyl (or conjugated olefin) present on the C2-aryl group was spontaneous.

Oxidative intramolecular 1,2-amino-oxygenation of alkynes under Au(I)/Au(III)-catalysis: discovery of pyridinium-oxazole dyad as novel lonic fluorophore - Shaikh, Aslam C.; Ranade, Dnyanesh S.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Kulkarni, Prasad P.; Patil, Nitin T. (Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 2016)

Penicillin acylases revisited: importance beyond their industrial utility - Avinash, Vellore Sunder; Pundle, Archana Vishnu; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Suresh, Cheravakkattu Gopalan (Critical Reviews In Biotechnology, 2016)
It is of great importance to study the physiological roles of enzymes in nature; however, in some cases, it is not easily apparent. Penicillin acylases are pharmaceutically important enzymes that cleave the acyl side chains of penicillins, thus paving the way for production of newer semi-synthetic antibiotics. They are classified according to the type of penicillin (G or V) that they preferentially hydrolyze. Penicillin acylases are also used in the resolution of racemic mixtures and peptide synthesis. However, it is rather unfortunate that the focus on the use of penicillin acylases for industrial applications has stolen the spotlight from the study of the importance of these enzymes in natural metabolism. The penicillin acylases, so far characterized from different organisms, show differences in their structural nature and substrate spectrum. These enzymes are also closely related to the bacterial signalling phenomenon, quorum sensing, as detailed in this review. This review details studies on biochemical and structural characteristics of recently discovered penicillin acylases. We also attempt to organize the available insights into the possible in vivo role of penicillin acylases and related enzymes and emphasize the need to refocus research efforts in this direction.
Keywords: beta-lactam; choloyl glycine; in vivo role; Ntn hydrolases; pathogenicity; quorum sensing; regulation; signalling

Phenothiazine and carbazole substituted pyrene based electroluminescent organic semiconductors for OLED devices - Salunke, Jagadish K.; Wong, F. L.; Feron, Krishna; Manzhos, Sergei; Lo, Ming Fai; Shinde, Durgaprasad; Patil, Abhijeet; Lee, C. S.; Roy, V. A. L.; Sonar, Prashant; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P. (Journal of Materials Chemistry C, 2016)
Due to their easy availability, low cost and opportunities for exploiting reactions of bromo substituents, 1,3,6,8-tetrabromopyrene has attracted major attention in the organic electronics community for designing and constructing novel classes of pyrene based organic semiconducting functional materials. In the present work, 1,3,6,8-tetrabromo pyrene was transformed into the corresponding tetrasubstituted carbazole and phenothiazine derivatives using the classical Suzuki coupling reaction. These newly synthesized materials with a carbazole substituent (PY-CA) and a phenothiazine substituent (PY-PH) were characterised thoroughly and were successfully used as an active light-emitting layer in organic light emitting diodes which resulted in blue and green emission with promising device performance. PY-CA exhibited the maximum brightness at around 2500 cd m(-2) and the power efficiency of 1.5 lm W-1 while that of PY-PH exhibited 2116 cd m(-2) and 0.45 lm W-1 respectively.

Photoluminescent tetrahedral d(10)-metal Schiff base complexes exhibiting highly ordered mesomorphism - Chakraborty, Sutapa; Purkayastha, Debraj Dhar; Das, Gobinda; Bhattacharjee, Chira R.; Mondal, Paritosh; Prasad, S. Krishna; Rao, D. S. Shankar (Polyhedron, 2016)
A series of four-coordinate d(10)-metal complexes of the type [ML2] {M = Zn, Cd, Hg; L = 4-nitro-2-((octadecylimino)methyl)phenol}, incorporating a new N-alkylated bidentate [N,O]-donor salicylaldimine Schiff base ligand, has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR, UV-Vis, H-1 NMR and FAB-mass spectroscopies. The ligand is non-mesomorphic and devoid of any photoluminescence. The zinc(II) and cadmium(II) complexes displayed highly ordered mesophases reminiscent of soft crystals. The phases have been characterized by polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies. The complex of mercury(II) decomposed prior to melting. An orthogonal symmetry with a `herringbone' array for the zinc complex and a primitive triclinic symmetry (p(1)) for the cadmium complex, respectively, has been proposed. The complexes exhibited fluorescence at room temperature, both in the solution and in the solid state, with emission maxima in the blue region. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations carried out using the GAUSSIAN 09 program at the B3LYP level revealed a distorted tetrahedral geometry around the metal center in all the complexes. Natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis suggested appreciable charge transfer from the ligand to the metal center in the complexes. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Density functional theory; Luminescence; Mesophase; Schiff base; X-ray diffraction

Polybenzimidazole based polymeric ionic liquids possessing partial ionic character: effects of anion exchange on their gas permeation properties - Rewar, Anita S.; Shaligram, Sayali V.; Kharul, Ulhas K. (Journal of Membrane Science, 2016)
Polymeric ionic liquids (PILs) are emerging as promising membrane materials for CO2 separation. Present work is in continuation with our earlier efforts on evaluating gas permeation properties (especially, CO2) of film forming PILs based on polybenzimidazoles and efforts towards improving their permeability by structural tuning. This work specifically aims at evaluating effect of anion variation in chosen PILs possessing partial N-quaternization of imidazole moiety of PBI-Bul. Three anions (viz., Tf2N-, BF4- and Ac-) were chosen for the bromide exchange of two PILs, viz., [TBzPBI-Bul][Br](10) and [TBzPBI-Bul][Br](18), possessing degree of PEI N-quaternization (DQ) as 10 and 18%, respectively. Concurrent effects of variation in anion and DQ were analyzed in terms of physical and gas permeation properties of the resulting PILs. All of them possessed amorphous nature, adequate thermal stability ( >= 250 degrees C) and solvent solubility, which are primary requisites towards their applicability as a membrane material. PILs possessing BF4- anion exhibited improved CO2 permeability coefficient as well as its permselectivity over CH4 and N-2, in comparison to their counterparts with other anions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Anion exchange; Gas separation; Polybenzimidazole; Polymeric ionic liquids (PILs)

Porous thin films towards bridging the material gap in heterogeneous catalysis - Dubey, Anjani; Kolekar, Sadhu K.; Gnanakumar, Edwin S.; Roy, Kanak; Vinod, C. P.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Catalysis, Structure & Reactivity, 2016)
An attempt has been made to bridge the material gap, existing between ideal single crystals and real-world powder nanocatalyst employed in surface science and heterogeneous catalysis, respectively. Simple wet chemical method (sol–gel and spin-coating deposition) has been applied to make continuous Ce1 − xZrxO2 (x = 0–1) (CZ) thin films with uniform thickness (~40 nm) and smooth surface characteristics. Uniform thickness and surface smoothness of the films over a large area was supported by a variety of measurements. Molecular beam (MB) studies of O2 adsorption on CZ surfaces reveals the oxygen storage capacity (OSC), and sticking coefficient increases from 400 to 800 K. Porous nature of Ce-rich CZ compositions enhances O2 adsorption and OSC, predominantly due to O-diffusion and redox nature, even at 400 K. A good correlation exists between MB measurements made on CZ films for oxygen adsorption, and OSC, and ambient pressure CO oxidation on powder form of CZ; this demonstrates the large potential to bridge the material gap. CZ was particularly chosen as a model system for the present studies, since it has been well-studied and a correlation between surface science properties made on thin films and catalysis on powder CZ materials could be a litmus test. Ambient catalysis on ceria-zirconia nanocatalyst correlates well with surface properties measured through molecular beam on thinfilm and close the material gap.

Probing the ATP-induced conformational flexibility of the PcrA helicase protein using molecular dynamics simulation - Mhashal, Anil R.; Choudhury, Chandan Kumar; Roy, Sudip (Journal of Molecular Modeling, 2016)
Helicases are enzymes that unwind double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) into its single-stranded components. It is important to understand the binding and unbinding of ATP from the active sites of helicases, as this knowledge can be used to elucidate the functionality of helicases during the unwinding of dsDNA. In this work, we investigated the unbinding of ATP and its effect on the active-site residues of the helicase PcrA using molecular dynamic simulations. To mimic the unbinding process of ATP from the active site of the helicase, we simulated the application of an external force that pulls ATP from the active site and computed the free-energy change during this process. We estimated an energy cost of similar to 85 kJ/mol for the transformation of the helicase from the ATP-bound state (1QHH) to the ATP-free state (1PJR). Unbinding led to conformational changes in the residues of the protein at the active site. Some of the residues at the ATP-binding site were significantly reoriented when the ATP was pulled. We observed a clear competition between reorientation of the residues and energy stabilization by hydrogen bonds between the ATP and active-site residues. We also checked the flexibility of the PcrA protein using a principal component analysis of domain motion. We found that the ATP-free state of the helicase is more flexible than the ATP-bound state.
Keywords: ATP; DNA helicase; PcrA; Residue reorientation; Translocation; Umbrella sampling; Unwinding

Processing of TGA data: analysis of isoconversional and model fitting methods - Jain, Ankit A.; Mehra, Anurag; Ranade, Vivek V. (Fuel, 2016)
Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) is routinely used to characterize coal. Apart from proximate analysis, TGA data is also used to characterize kinetics of devolatilization and char combustion. Various methods have been proposed to process the TGA data [isoconversional or model free methods such as Friedman method, Kissinger method, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method (FWO), Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose method (KAS) or single or multi-reaction models (SRMs/MRMs) and distributed activation energy models (DAEMs)]. In this work, we have critically examined various models for processing TGA data obtained with typical Indian coal. A generalized equation has been proposed to encompass different models as special cases. We have also considered a model based on a possibility of distribution of frequency factor along with constant or distribution of activation energies. The results of TGA data described by different models were critically analyzed. The presented results and methodology will be useful for selecting appropriate strategy for processing TGA data. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: DAEM; High ash coal; Isoconversional methods; Pyrolysis; TGA

Product distribution in hydrogenation of styrene oxide over Pd/chitosan catalyst - Viswanadhan, Maya; Potdar, Aparna; Divakaran, Anumon V.; Badiger, Manohar V.; Rode, Chandrashekhar (Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2016)
Palladium-decorated chitosan catalyst was synthesized by an impregnation method by varying the Pd loading in the range of 1-6 %, and was evaluated for the regioselective hydrogenation of styrene oxide. In order to correlate the chemical and textural properties with the catalytic activity, all the prepared catalysts were characterized by techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron spectroscopy, thermo-gravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed desorption of NH3, and CO2 and N-2 physisorption. The synthesized catalysts were utilized for the efficient and regioselective ring opening of styrene oxide by hydrogenation under different conditions. The complete conversion of styrene oxide with 65 % selectivity for 2-phenyl ethanol and 33 % for 1-phenyl ethanol were obtained using 4 % Pd/CS catalyst at 70 degrees C temperature and 3 MPa pressure. The mechanism for the regio selective ring opening of styrene oxide to 1- and 2-phenyl ethanol was also proposed on the basis of properties of the catalyst support, catalytic activity and selectivity. These results indicated that the catalytic activity and selectivity of the catalysts were affected by the nature of support. Further, the basic properties of the support play an important role in the selectivity of the styrene oxide hydrogenation reaction.

Promotional effect of Fe on the performance of supported Cu catalyst for ambient pressure hydrogenation of furfural - Manikandan, Marimuthu; Venugopal, Ashok Kumar; Nagpure, Atul S.; Chilukuri, Satyanarayana V.; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy (RSC Advances, 2016)
A noble-metal free FeCu based bimetallic catalyst system prepared by facile co-impregnation method was found to be highly admirable for vapour phase selective hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol at ambient pressure. Monometallic Cu/gamma-Al2O3, Fe/gamma-Al2O3 and bimetallic FeCu/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts with different Fe loadings were prepared. Structural and morphological features of the catalysts were thoroughly investigated by several physico-chemical characterization techniques. The influence of various reaction parameters, such as Fe loading, reaction temperature and flow of reactants was examined with respect to furfural conversion and furfuryl alcohol yield. The results clearly showed that an optimum amount of Fe is necessary to enhance the catalytic activity of monometallic Cu/gamma-Al2O3 for the selective hydrogenation of furfural. The catalyst FC-10 with 10 wt% Fe exhibited excellent activity which led to high furfural conversion (>93%) and furfuryl alcohol selectivity (>98%) under mild reaction conditions. The higher activity of bimetallic FeCu/gamma-Al2O3 compared to monometallic Cu/gamma-Al2O3 is ascribed to the formation of FeCu bimetallic particles and the existence of oxygen vacancies in the Fe oxide system. The superior activity after Fe loading on the Cu-based catalyst was attributed to the synergy between Cu and Fe. A plausible mechanism is proposed to explain the promoting effect of Fe, which involves synergism between Fe sites with strong oxophilic nature and Cu sites with a high ability for hydrogen activation. Based on the activity results, prolonged catalytic activity and spent catalyst analysis, the developed FeCu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst is inexpensive, eco-benign and robust, which makes it a promising candidate for the efficient conversion of biomass-derived substrates to fine chemicals and drop-in biofuels.

Protein-dependent membrane interaction of a partially disordered protein complex with oleic acid : Implications for cancer lipidomics - Chaudhuri, Arunima; Prasanna, Xavier; Agiru, Priyanka; Chakraborty, Hirak; Rydstrom, Anna; Ho, James C. S.; Svanborg, Catharina; Sengupta, Durba; Chattopadhyay, Amitabha (Scientific Reports, 2016)
Bovine α-lactalbumin (BLA) forms cytotoxic complexes with oleic acid (OA) that perturbs tumor cell membranes, but molecular determinants of these membrane-interactions remain poorly understood. Here, we aim to obtain molecular insights into the interaction of BLA/BLA-OA complex with model membranes. We characterized the folding state of BLA-OA complex using tryptophan fluorescence and resolved residue-specific interactions of BLA with OA using molecular dynamics simulation. We integrated membrane-binding data using a voltage-sensitive probe and molecular dynamics (MD) to demonstrate the preferential interaction of the BLA-OA complex with negatively charged membranes. We identified amino acid residues of BLA and BLA-OA complex as determinants of these membrane interactions using MD, functionally corroborated by uptake of the corresponding α-LA peptides across tumor cell membranes. The results suggest that the α-LA component of these cytotoxic complexes confers specificity for tumor cell membranes through protein interactions that are maintained even in the lipid complex, in the presence of OA.

Proteomic insight reveals elevated levels of albumin in circulating immunecomplexes in diabetic plasma - Bhat, Shweta; Jagadeeshaprasad, Mashanipalya G.; Patil, Yugendra R.; Shaikh, Mahemud L.; Regin, Bhaskaran S.; Mohan, Viswanathan; Giri, Ashok P.; Balasubramanyam, Muthuswamy; Boppana, Ramanamurthy; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 2016)
A Hyperglycemic condition in diabetes promotes formation of advanced glycation end products, which are known to elicit immune response and form complexes with immunoglobulins called circulating immune complexes. To investigate the involvement of advanced glycation end product (AGE)-modified proteins in the elicitation of an immune response, circulating immune complexes were isolated and proteins associated were identified and characterized. Label-free-based mass spectrometric analysis of circulating immune complexes in clinical plasma of prediabetic, newly diagnosed diabetes, and diabetic microalbuminurea revealed elevated levels of serum albumin in the circulating immune complexes, which were also observed to be AGE modified. Further, to examine the role of glycation, circulating immune complexeswere analyzed in the streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice treated with or without aminoguanidine, a prototype glycation inhibitor. Mass spectrometric analysis of circulating immune complexes showed elevated levels of serum albumin in plasma from diabetic mice over that of control animals. Aminoguanidine-treated diabetic mice displayed decreased AGE modification of plasma albumin, accompanied by a reduced level of albumin in the circulating immune complexes. In addition, elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1b, IL-2, and TNF-alpha were observed in diabetes, which were reduced with aminoguanidine treatment, suggesting the involvement of glycation in the immune response.

Rapid methane hydrate formation to develop a cost effective large scale energy storage system - Veluswamy, Hari Prakash; Wong, Alison Jia Hui; Babu, Ponnivalavan; Kumar, Rajnish; Kulprathipanja, Santi; Rangsunvigit, Pramoch; Linga, Praveen (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2016)
Natural gas (NG) is the cleanest burning fossil fuel and its usage can significantly reduce CO2 emissions from power plants. With its widespread use, there is an ever increasing need to develop technologies to store NG on a large scale. NG storage via clathrate hydrates is the best option for a large scale storage system because of its non-explosive nature, mild storage conditions, high volumetric capacity and being an environmentally benign process. In this work, we demonstrate a new method to achieve rapid methane hydrate formation in an unstirred tank reactor configuration (UTR) at moderate temperature and pressure conditions employing tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a promoter. For the first time, THF is reported to act both as a thermodynamic and an excellent kinetic promoter for methane hydrate formation. We demonstrate a multi-scale experimental validation of our method to a volumetric sample scale-up factor of 120 and internal reactor diameter scale-up factor of 10. Further, new insights on the dissociation behavior of the hydrates are reported. There is a competitive edge for storing NG via clathrate hydrates compared to compressed natural gas storage both in terms of cost and safety. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Energy storage; Enhanced kinetics; Gas hydrates; Natural gas storage; Tetrahydrofuran; Unstirred tank reactor

Recursive orthogonal least square based soft sensor for batch distillation - Mehta, S.; Ramani, H.; Yelgatte, N. N.; Rahman, I. (Chemical product and process modeling, 2016)
A multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) model, namely Recursive Orthogonal Least Square (ROLS) based radial basis function (RBF) is developed to estimate product compositions in a batch distillation process from temperature measurements. The process data is generated by simulating the differential equations of the batch distillation process, changing the initial feed composition and boiluprate from batch to batch. Moreover, the reflux ratio is also randomly varied within each batch to represent the exact dynamics of the batch distillation. Temperature and distillate composition is correlated by the RBF trained by ROLS algorithm. A Single RBF network estimate the quality of products in real-time. The results show that ROLS based estimator give correct composition estimations for a batch distillation process. The robustness of the ROLS algorithm and low computational requirement makes the estimator attractive for on-line use.

Reductive cyclization of levulinic acid to gamma-valerolactone over non-noble bimetallic nanocomposite - Kadu, Brijesh S.; Hengne, Amol M.; Biradar, Narayan S.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Chikate, Rajeev C. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2016)
Bimetallic nanoparticles have diverse applications in catalytic processes owing to the differences in individual properties that contribute to their increased catalytic activity. To further improve the efficiency, they are dispersed in an inert support that enhances the catalytic activity toward organic transformations. In this study, we report simple, facile, and cost-effective chemical route for the fabrication of nanocomposites with Fe-Ni bimetallic nanoparticles supported on montmorillonite (MMT) possessing variation in the Fe and Ni content. These composites are characterized with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy surface area, and NH3-TPD. Fe Ni bimetallic nanoparticles are well-dispersed within MMT structure having particle sizes of about 30-40 nm. Among various compositions of Fe-Ni/MMT catalysts, composite with 25% Fe and 25% Ni exhibits >99% LA conversion with 98% selectivity to GVL within 1 h. IPA is found to be better solvent for levulinic acid (LA) to gamma-valerolactone (GVL) conversion, while substantial leaching of iron takes place when water is used as a solvent. It is observed that bimetallic sites are responsible for reduction of LA, while strong acidic sites of MMT are favoring subsequent cyclization to GVL. XPS analysis of fresh and reused Fe-Ni/MMT composites suggest that the catalyst surface does not undergo any chemical change during successive cycles, and the catalytic activity is retained up to six cycles. The plausible mechanism for LA to GVL conversion involves reductive cyclization processes through formation of levulinate ester that undergoes lactonization due to synergism in bimetallic nanoparticles and MMT clay.

Re-engineering of PIP3-antagonist triazole PITENIN's chemical scaffold: development of novel antifungal leads - Pulya, Sravani; Kommagalla, Yadagiri; Sant, Duhita G.; Jorwekar, Shweta U.; Tupe, Santosh G.; Deshpande, Mukund V.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (RSC Advances, 2016)
A novel 4-(1-phenyl-1-hydroxyethyl)-1-(o-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole was designed by integrating the structural features of triazole PITENIN anticancer agents and the azole class of antifungal drugs. A two-step protocol comprising the Barbier propargylation and Cu-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition was established to synthesise a diverse set of compounds of this class. Their screening against a wide range of human fungal pathogens led to identification of several potential antifungal hits and some of them displayed better antifungal activity than fluconazole against Candida glabrata, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus and Aspergillus niger. Mode of action studies revealed that their antifungal activity was resulting either from the inhibition of lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase enzyme (leading to ergosterol depletion) or by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Regioselective oxo-amination of alkenes and enol ethers with N-bromosuccinimide-dimethyl sulfoxide combination: a facile synthesis of alpha-amino-ketones and esters - Prasad, Pragati K.; Reddi, Rambabu N.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Organic Letters, 2016)
An unprecedented conversion of alkenes and enol ethers to the corresponding a-imido carbonyl compounds with excellent regioselectivity and yields has been developed. This oxo-amination process employs readily available N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and secondary amines as N-sources and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as the oxidant and also leads to the production of amino alcohols in a single step on reduction, thus broadening the scope of this operationally simple reaction. For the first time, the formation of reactive Me2S+-O-Br species generated by the interaction of NBS with DMSO has been proven.

Reporter nanoparticle that monitors its anticancer efficacy in real time - Kulkarni, Ashish; Rao, Poornima; Natarajan, Siva; Goldman, Aaron; Sabbisetti, Venkata S.; Khater, Yashika; Korimerla, Navya; Chandrasekar, Vineethkrishna; Mashelkar, Raghunath Anant; Sengupta, Shiladitya (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016)
The ability to monitor the efficacy of an anticancer treatment in real time can have a critical effect on the outcome. Currently, clinical readouts of efficacy rely on indirect or anatomic measurements, which occur over prolonged time scales postchemotherapy or postimmunotherapy and may not be concordant with the actual effect. Here we describe the biology-inspired engineering of a simple 2-in-1 reporter nanoparticle that not only delivers a cytotoxic or an immunotherapy payload to the tumor but also reports back on the efficacy in real time. The reporter nanoparticles are engineered from a novel two-staged stimuli-responsive polymeric material with an optimal ratio of an enzyme-cleavable drug or immunotherapy (effector elements) and a drug function-activatable reporter element. The spatiotemporally constrained delivery of the effector and the reporter elements in a single nanoparticle produces maximum signal enhancement due to the availability of the reporter element in the same cell as the drug, thereby effectively capturing the temporal apoptosis process. Using chemotherapy-sensitive and chemotherapy-resistant tumors in vivo, we show that the reporter nanoparticles can provide a real-time noninvasive readout of tumor response to chemotherapy. The reporter nanoparticle can also monitor the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibition in melanoma. The self-reporting capability, for the first time to our knowledge, captures an anticancer nanoparticle in action in vivo.
Keywords: chemotherapy; immunotherapy; monitoring; nanoparticle; reporter

Repurposing of a drug scaffold: identification of novel sila analogues of rimonabant as potent antitubercular agents - Ramesh, Remya; Shingare, Rahul D.; Kumar, Vinod; Anand, Amitesh; Swetha, B.; Veeraraghavan, Sridhar; Viswanadha, Srikant; Ummanni, Ramesh; Gokhale, Rajesh S.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2016)
The structural similarity between an MmpL3 inhibitor BM212, and a cannabinoid receptor modulator rimonabant, prompted us to investigate the anti-tubercular activity of rimonabant and its analogues. Further optimization, particularly through incorporation of silicon into the scaffold, resulted in new compounds with significant improvement in anti-tubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv). The sila analogue 18a was found to be the most potent antimycobacterial compound (MIC, 31 ng/mL) from this series with an excellent selectivity index. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Repurposing of old drugs: identification of novel sila analogues of rimonabant as potent antitubercular agents - Ramesh, R.; Shingare, R.; Anand, Amitesh; Veeraraghavan, S.; Viswanadha, S.; Ummanni, R.; Gokhale, R.; Reddy, D. S. (International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2016)

Residue dependent hydrogen-bonding preferences in orthanilic acid-based short peptide beta-turn motifs - Jedhe, Ganesh S.; Vijayadas, Kuruppanthara N.; Kotmale, Amol S.; Sangtani, Ekta; Shinde, Dinesh R.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (RSC Advances, 2016)
This communication describes the competition between native beta-turn (C10) and 2-aminobenzenesulfonic acid (SAnt)( orthanilic acid)-based pseudo beta-turn (C11) in their hybrid peptides. Solid-state crystal structure and solution-state NMR studies revealed that C10 and C11 can be simultaneously observed under appropriate conditions. The variable temperature NMR coefficient data suggest that the isolated C11/C14 hydrogen bond is weaker in comparison with the consecutive C10 and C11 turns.

Robust highly flexible all-solid-state micro pseudocapacitor based on ternary oxide CuCo2O4 having ultrathin porous nanowall type morphology blended with CNT - Basu, Aniruddha; Bhardwaj, Monika; Gawli, Yogesh; Rode, Chandrasekhar V.; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Chemistryselect, 2016)
In this work we demonstrate a facile approach to the fabrication of all solid state flexible interdigitated micro pseudocapacitor device using pre-synthesized CuCo2O4 (CCO) ternary metal oxide as the electrode material. The hydrothermally synthesized CCO exhibits a peculiar 3D interconnected aligned porous nanowall type morphology which is highly desirable for storage as well as charge transfer. The device is fabricated using CO2 laser scribing technique and the PVA-H3PO4 gel electrolyte is used as the electrolyte. The as-synthesized CCO as well as its blend with 10 wt.% CNT are examined for the electrochemical performance. CNT blending is shown to reduce the charge transfer resistance dramatically, thereby enhancing the pseudo capacitance. The areal capacitance of 2.29 mF cm(-2) is obtained from the solid state device. Moreover, the CCO-CNT electrode also shows a high stability upto 9000 cycles without a sign of further decay. Importantly, the devices also retain over 65% of their initial capacitance after 1000 large angle (608) bending cycles and 93% of the initial capacitance under 1208 bending condition, thanks to the mechanical flexibility afforded by CNTs without disrupting conducting paths.

Role of acceptor strength on OFET properties of small molecular organic semiconducting materials with D-A-D architecture - Sasikumar, M.; Bharath, D.; Kumar, G. Siva; Chereddy, Narendra Reddy; Chithiravel, S.; Krishnamoorthy, K.; Shanigaram, Balaiah; Bhanuprakash, K.; Rao, V. Jayathirtha (Synthetic Metals, 2016)
Two organic semiconducting materials 2,5-didodecyl-3,6-bis(4-(11-dodecyl-11H-benzo[a]carbazol-8yl)phenyl)pyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrole-1,4(2H,5H)-dione. (BCDPP) and 1,5-didodecyl-3,7-bis(4-(11-dodecyl-11H-benzo[a]carbazol-8-yl)phenyl)dipyrrolo[3,2-b:3',2'-e]pyrazine-2,6(1H,5H)-dione (BCPzDP) with D-A-D architecture have been designed, synthesized and well characterized. Both the materials have benzocarbazole donor end-capping units. While BCDPP contains well explored diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP), BCPzDP possesses electron deficient dipyrrolopyrazinedione (PzDP) as acceptor moiety. The importance of the nature of acceptor moiety in tuning the charge transport properties of the synthesized materials is explored. Thermal, photo-physical and electrochemical properties of these materials are measured and solution processed OFETs are fabricated. OFETs with BCDPP show unipolar p-type semiconducting properties with hole mobility of 1.02 x 10(-4) cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and OFETs of BCPzDP exhibit ambipolar charge transport behaviour with optimal saturation hole and electron mobilities of 0.0054 and 0.0013 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), respectively. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of aliasing and interacting factors in the enhanced production of dehalogenase from Yarrowia lipolytica for degradation of brominated compounds - Vatsal, Aakanksha; Potdar, Chirag; Smita S. Zinjarde; Kumar, V. Ravi; Kulkarni, Bhasker D.; RaviKumar, Ameeta (Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 2016)
Use of persistent organobromines for industrial applications has led to their accumulation in environment. Yarrowia lipolytica NCIM 3589, a tropical marine yeast, degrades and detoxifies bromocompounds by an initial hydrolytic step. By optimizing culture conditions with 1-bromodecane as reference compound, the dehalogenase involved was remarkably enhanced 13-fold (384.13 U/ml) by a hybrid statistical Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design of experiments. Studies bring out in a novel way the role of aliasing and other masked interactions in growth media factors. Importantly, the enzyme acted on C3-C16 bromoalkanes and bromoaromatics, thereby generalizing the 'green chemistry' applicability of optimized media formulation for biotechnological applications. (C) 2016 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Role of aliphatic hydrocarbon content in non-solvating porogens toward porosity of cross-linked microbeads - Mane, Sachin; Badiger, Manohar V.; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, Surendra; Chavan, Nayaku (Polymer, 2016)
Megaporous spherical acrylate copolymer beads were synthesized by suspension polymerization using non-solvating porogens. Non-solvating porogens with higher aliphatic hydrocarbon content generated megaporous morphology with lower surface area. Surface area increased and inversely megaporosity was decreased with decrease in the aliphatic hydrocarbon content of porogen. Megaporosity (5.47 mu m) and pore volume of 5.52 cm(3)/g was obtained with n-decanol. Thermal property of copolymer is a function of type (rigidity/flexibility/elemental composition) and concentration (cross-link density) of monomer and cross-linker. Copolymer containing rigid cross-linker (divinylbenzene) had better thermal stability over copolymer with flexible cross-linker (ethylene dimethacrylate). Further, higher concentration of rigid cross-linker or lower concentration of flexible cross-linker enhanced the thermal stability. Porous polymers are potentially recognized as a solid support for solid-phase synthesis. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Cross-linked microbeads; Interfacial tension; Megaporosity; Non-solvating porogens; Thermal properties

Scalability of coarse-grained potentials generated from iterative boltzmann inversion forpolymers: case study on polycarbonates - Choudhury, Chandan Kumar; Carbone, Paola; Roy, Sudip (Macromolecular Theory and Simulations, 2016)
Using systematic coarse-grained (CG) techniques such as iterative Boltzmann inversion (IBI) is an efficient means to simulate high molecular weight polymer melts within reasonable computational time. One drawback of such an approach is however the need to carry out extensive atomistic simulations in order to extrapolate the necessary distributions to derive the inter and intrabead force field parameters. Here it is shown that it is possible to use atomistic simulations of relative short oligomers to develop the CG model for high molecular weight polymers. In particular for the specific case of polycarbonates, it is found that the structural properties (end-to-end distance, radius of gyration and their distributions) are similar irrespective of whether the CG potentials are derived from 5-mer or 10-mer melt systems. Dynamical properties of the CG systems are smoother and faster than the atomistic ones. Scaling factor, derived by overlapping the CG mean square displacement curves (obtained from different CG IBI potentials) over the atomistic ones, also scales the autocorrelation functions. A prediction of the dynamical scaling factor in the case of the unavailability of atomistic simulations is also discussed. The dynamical properties of the CG melts are modeled reasonably well by all the CG potentials derived from atomistic simulations of short oligomers.

Selectivity engineering of the diazotization reaction in a continuous flow reactor - Shukla, C. A.; Kulkarni, Amol A.; Ranade, Vivek V. (Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 2016)
In situ generated diazonium salts are useful intermediates for the synthesis of fine chemicals and active pharmaceutical ingredients. This paper presents a methodology for selectivity engineering of the diazotization reaction in a continuous reactor. The yield of diazotization was found to depend on mixing, dispersion, reaction kinetics, operating temperature and residence time. Initially, experimental data and an isothermal axial dispersion model were used for estimating mixing time. A correlation for estimating mixing time for different flow reactors is proposed. The model predictions were compared with the experimental data. The validated axial dispersion model and Central Composite Design (CCD) were used to optimize diazotization in a straight tube reactor (1.78 mL). The model was then used for scaling-up of aniline diazotization from a straight tube reactor to a proprietary AmAR3 reactor (scale-up ratio of ∼20). The initial concentration, inlet temperature, average heat capacity of the reaction mixture, mixing, residence time (distribution) and available heat transfer area per unit volume of the reactor were found to be the key parameters for scaling-up of the diazotization reaction. The presented approach and results will be useful to practicing chemists and engineers for enhancing the selectivity of diazotization reactions in continuous reactors.

Self- assembly of isomannide-based monoesters of C18-fatty acids and their cellular uptake studies - Dhasaiyan, Prabhu; Parekh, Nimisha; Reddy, T. Vijai Kumar; Rani, G. Sandhya; Devi, B. L. A. Prabhavathi; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad (RSC Advances, 2016)
The self-assembling behavior of oleic, elaidic and stearic acid-isomannide glycolipids is revealed. Amongst these, oleic and elaidic acid-based isomannide lipids self-assembled to form microspheres which were efficiently taken up by cancer cell lines enabling their usage for drug delivery applications.

Sequence characterization and in silico structure prediction of fatty acid desaturases in linseed varieties with differential fatty acid composition - Rajwade, Ashwini V.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2016)
BACKGROUND: Linseed is the richest agricultural source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid (FA) that offers several nutritional benefits. In the present study, sequence characterization of six desaturase genes (SAD1, SAD2, FAD2, FAD2-2, FAD3A and FAD3B) and 3D structure prediction of their proteins from ten Indian linseed varieties differing in ALA content were performed to determine whether the nucleotide and amino acid (AA) sequence variants have any functional implications in differential accumulation of ALA or other FAs in linseed. RESULTS: The SAD and FAD2 genes exhibited few sequence variations among the ten varieties, forming only one or two protein isoforms. In contrast, the FAD3A and FAD3B genes showed more sequence variations and three or four protein isoforms. Interestingly, the two high-ALA varieties NL260 and Padmini had the same FAD3B nucleotide and protein isoforms, which differed from all other varieties. Surprisingly, no AA changes altered the 3D structures of the desaturase proteins. CONCLUSION: Several nucleotide and AA sequence variations in desaturase genes were observed; however, they did not alter the 3D structure of any desaturase protein and were not correlated with FA levels among the ten linseed varieties, which had different ALA contents. This suggests a complex regulatory process of biosynthesis of FAs in linseed. (C) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

Shear stress increases cytotoxicity and reduces transfection efficiency of liposomal gene delivery to CHO-S cells - Rawat, Jyoti; Gadgil, Mugdha (Cytotechnology, 2016)
Animal cells in suspension experience shear stress in different situations such as in vivo due to hemodynamics, or in vitro due to agitation in large-scale bioreactors. Shear stress is known to affect cell physiology, including binding and uptake of extracellular cargo. In adherent cells the effects of exposure to shear stress on particle binding kinetics and uptake have been studied. There are however no reports on the effect of shear stress on extracellular cargo delivery to suspension cells. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of shear stress on transfection of CHO-S cells using Lipofectamine 2000 in a simple flow apparatus. Our results show decreased cell growth and transfection efficiency upon lipoplex assisted transfection of CHO-S while being subjected to shear stress. This effect is not seen to the same extent when cells are exposed to shear stress in absence of the lipoplex complex and subsequently transfected, or if the lipoplex is subjected to shear stress and subsequently used to transfect the cells. It is also not seen to the same extent when cells are exposed to shear stress in presence of liposome alone, suggesting that the observed effect is dependent on interaction of the lipoplex with cells in the presence of shear stress. These results suggest that studies involving liposomal DNA delivery in presence of shear stress such as large scale transient protein expression should account for the effect of shear during lipoplex assisted DNA delivery.

Silanetriols and aluminosilicates - Sen, Sakya S.; Roesky, Herbert W. (Efficient methods for preparing silicon compounds, 2016)

Silk fibroin-sophorolipid gelation: deciphering the underlying mechanism - Dubey, Parul; Kumar, Sugam; Aswal, Vinod K.; Ravindranathan, Sapna; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Prabhune, Asmita; Nisal, Anuya (Biomacromolecules, 2016)
Silk fibroin (SF) protein, produced by silkworm Bombyx mori, is a promising biomaterial, while sophorolipid (SL) is an amphiphilic functional biosurfactant synthesized by nonpathogenic yeast Candida bombicola. SL is a mixture of two forms, acidic (ASL) and lactonic (LSL), which when added to SF results in accelerated gelation of silk fibroin. LSL is known to have multiple biological functionalities and hence hydrogels of these green molecules have promising applications in the biomedical sector. In this work, SANS, NMR, and rheology are employed to examine the assembling properties of individual and mixed SLs and their interactions with SF to understand the mechanism that leads to rapid gelation. SANS and NMR studies show that ASL assembles to form charged micelles, while LSL forms micellar assemblies and aggregates of a mass fractal nature. ASL and LSL together form larger mixed micelles, all of which interact differently with SF. It is shown that preferential binding of LSL to SF causes rapid unfolding of the SF chain leading to the formation of intermolecular beta sheets, which trigger fast gelation. Based on the observations, a mechanism for gelation of SF in the presence of different sophorolipids is proposed.

Single pot transfer hydrogenation and aldolization of furfural over metal oxide catalysts - Biradar, Narayan S.; Hengne, Amol M.; Sakate, S. S.; Swami, R. K.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (Catalysis Letters, 2016)
One pot catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of furfural to furfuryl alcohol (FAL) by using hydrogen producing alcohols and simultaneous aldolization of carbonyl compounds produced during CTH, with furfural was achieved over non-noble metal oxides with bifunctional sites. Basic sites of MgO responsible for abstraction of proton showed complete conversion of furfural to give FAL and C8 monomer in a ratio of 3:1, respectively, the later altered to 1:1 by incorporating Al into MgO. Catalyst stability was established by its four cycles study. [GRAPHICS]
Keywords: Aldol; furfural; Furfuryl alcohol; Metal oxides; transfer hydrogenation

SnS2 nanoflakes for efficient humidity and alcohol sensing at room temperature - Bharatula, Lakshmi Deepika; Erande, Manisha B.; Mulla, Imtiaz S.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar; Late, Dattatray J. (RSC Advances, 2016)
We report a one step facile hydrothermal synthesis of layered SnS2 nanoflakes. The as-synthesized nanosheets are characterized using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The humidity sensing behavior of SnS2 nanoflake sensor device were investigated in the range of 11-97% of relative humidity (RH) at room temperature. The response time of similar to 85 s and recovery time of similar to 6 s were observed for the SnS2 nanoflake based humidity sensor. A maximum sensitivity of 11.300% is recorded. We also investigate the SnS2 nanoflake based alcohol sensing properties towards methanol, ethanol and iso-propyl alcohol. An exclusive selectivity towards methanol with a response of 1580 is shown as compared to other analytes. The response time of similar to 67 s and recovery time of just 5 s were observed for the SnS2 nanoflake based methanol sensor.

Solution chemistry-based nano-structuring of copper dendrites for efficient use in catalysis and superhydrophobic surfaces - Bakthavatsalam, Rangarajan; Ghosh, Subrata; Biswas, Ratul Kumar; Saxena, Aayushi; Raja, Alagar; Thotiyl, Musthafa Ottakam; Wadhai, Sandip; Banpurkar, Arun G.; Kundu, Janardan (RSC Advances, 2016)
Despite their performance and economic advantages over Ag and Au, there have been no focused research efforts on the nano-structuring of Cu dendrites with respect to fine-tuning their structure/morphology towards the efficiency enhancement of suitable applications. Reported here is a simple, versatile, environmentally-friendly and galvanic replacement reaction-based solution chemistry methodology to synthesize highly nano-structured copper dendrites targeted towards the efficiency enhancement of desired applications. Herein, copper is deposited galvanically on an Al foil in the presence of NaCl/HCl, wherein the chloride anions augment an uninterrupted replacement reaction. The growth process of Cu dendrites has been probed in detail. The presence of acid, the type of Cu2+ precursor salt, the Cu2+ ion concentration, the surfactant concentration and the reaction temperature are all demonstrated to provide useful means of modulating the surface structure/morphology of the dendrites. Notably, dendrites formed in the presence of acid are found to be highly nano-structured. Moreover, it is also found that the morphology/structure of the obtained Cu deposit depends considerably upon the choice of the Cu2+ precursor salt, a parameter that has been completely overlooked in the past. The acid-induced nano-structuring of the dendrites is exploited for enhancing their efficiency in the catalytic reduction of para-nitrophenol and for fabricating self-cleaning superhydrophobic surfaces. These nano-structured dendrites are demonstrated to have the highest ever normalized rate constant for the catalytic reduction reaction. Superhydrophobic surfaces fabricated using these dendrites demonstrate excellent self-cleaning abilities, showing a high contact angle (159 degrees) with low contact angle hysteresis (2 degrees). This facile synthetic strategy for the fabrication of highly nano-structured Cu dendrites is expected to open up avenues for the production of Cu-based low-cost functional nano/micro-materials.

Solution-phase synthesis of the macrocyclic core of teixobactin - Dhara, Santu; Gunjal, Vidya B.; Handore, Kishor L.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Towards the total chemical synthesis of the exceptionally potent antibiotic teixobactin, we synthesized the macrocyclic core of a natural product by using a solution-phase approach. The gramscale synthesis of L-allo-enduracididine and Shiina macrolactonization are highlights of the present disclosure.

Streptomyces lonarensis sp nov., isolated from lonar lake, a meteorite salt water lake in India - Sharma, Trupti K.; Mawlankar, Rahul R.; Sonalkar, Vidya V.; Shinde, Vidhya K.; Zhan, Jing; Li, Wen-Jun; Rele, Meenakshi V.; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Kumar, Lalitha Sunil (Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek International Journal of General and Molecular Microbiology, 2016)
A novel alkaliphilic actinomycete, strain NCL716(T), was isolated from a soil sample collected from the vicinity of Lonar Lake, an alkaline salt water meteorite lake in Buldhana district of Maharashtra State in India. The strain was characterised using a polyphasic taxonomic approach which confirmed that it belongs to the genus Streptomyces. Growth was observed over a pH range of 7-11 at 28 A degrees C. The cell wall was found to contain ll-diaminopimelic acid and traces of meso-diaminopimelic acid. The major fatty acid components were identified as iso-C-16:0 (46.8 %), C-17:1 (12.4 %), anteiso-C-15:0 (5.1 %) and anteiso-C-17:1 (4.8 %). The major polar lipids were identified as diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylinositol. The major menaquinones were determined to be MK-9 (H-6) (70.3 %), MK-9 (H-4) (15.5 %) and MK-9 (H-8) (7.2 %). The G+C content of the DNA of the type strain was determined to be 71.4 mol %. The 16S rRNA gene sequence has been deposited in GenBank with accession number FJ919811. Although the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain NCL716(T) shares > 99 % similarity with that of Streptomyces bohaiensis strain 11A07(T), DNA-DNA hybridization revealed only 33.2 +/- A 3.0 % relatedness between them. Moreover, these two strains can be readily distinguished by some distinct phenotypic characteristics. Hence, on the basis of phenotypic and genetic analyses, it is proposed that strain NCL716(T) represents a novel species of the genus Streptomyces, for which the name Streptomyces lonarensis sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is NCL 716(T) (=DSM 42084(T) = MTCC 11708(T) = KCTC 39684(T)).
Keywords: Alkaliphile; DDH analysis; Polyphasic taxonomy; Streptomyces lonarensis sp nov.

Structural analysis of a penicillin V acylase from pectobacterium atrosepticum confirms the importance of two Trp residues for activity and specificity - Avinash, Vellore Sunder; Panigrahi, Priyabrata; Chand, Deepak; Pundle, Archana; Suresh, Cheravakattu Gopalan; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar (Journal of Structural Biology, 2016)
Penicillin V acylases (PVA) catalyze the deacylation of the beta-lactam antibiotic phenoxymethylpenicillin (Pen V). They are members of the Ntn hydrolase family and possess an N-terminal cysteine as the main catalytic nucleophile residue. They form the evolutionarily related cholylglycine hydrolase (CGH) group which includes bile salt hydrolases (BSH) responsible for bile deconjugation. Even though a few PVA and BSH structures have been reported, no structure of a functional PVA from Gram-negative bacteria is available. Here, we report the crystal structure of a highly active PVA from Gram-negative Pectobacterium atrosepticum (PaPVA) at 2.5 angstrom resolution. Structural comparison with PVAs from Gram-positive bacteria revealed that PaPVA had a distinctive tetrameric structure and active site organization. In addition, mutagenesis of key active site residues and biochemical characterization of the resultant variants elucidated the role of these residues in substrate binding and catalysis. The importance of residue Trp23 and Trp87 side chains in binding and correct positioning of Pen V by PVAs was confirmed using mutagenesis and substrate docking with a 15 ns molecular dynamics simulation. These results establish the unique nature of Gram-negative CGHs and necessitate further research about their substrate spectrum. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Aromatic stacking; Cholylglycine hydrolase; molecular dynamics; Mutagenesis; Oligomeric interactions

Structural and conformational properties of polybenzimidazoles in melt and phosphoric acid solution: a polyelectrolyte membrane for fuel cells - Pahari, Swagata; Roy, Sudip (RSC Advances, 2016)
Poly[2,2'-(p-phenylene)-5,5'-bibenzimidazole (PBI) and poly(2,5-benzimidazole) (ABPBI) doped with phosphoric acid (PA) are considered as potential polymer electrolyte membranes for high temperature fuel cells. Conformational and structural properties of polymer chains in the presence of PA govern the function of the membrane. Therefore, in this work, a single chain conformational analysis of ABPBI and PBI in melt as well as in PA was performed using classical molecular dynamics simulations. End-to-end distance and the radius of gyration reveal significant changes in the conformations of PBI and ABPBI in PA. The structural changes are analyzed locally segment-wise as well as globally in these polymers. The shape and nature of the curvature along the chain is found to be significantly different for ABPBI and PBI. The role of the solvent (PA) on the chain backbone structure is explored for PA doped ABPBI and PBI chains. The PA arrangement along the backbone confirms that benzimidazole density in the case of both of the polymers determines the PA absorbing capacity. The H-bonding interactions between various atoms of the polymer backbone and the atoms of the PA molecules are evaluated along the polymer chain which relates to the arrangement of PA along the backbone. The reasons for the varying number of H-bonds along ABPBI and PBI which in turn has a significant effect on the stiffness of the chains are investigated.

Structural insight into self assembly of sophorolipids: a molecular dynamics simulation study - Pandey, Prithvi Raj; Dhasaiyan, Prabhu; Bhagavatula L. V. Prasad; Roy, Sudip (Zeitschrift Fur Physikalische Chemie-International Journal of Research in Physical Chemistry & Chemical Physics, 2016)
Sophorolipids contain hydrophilic head groups at the ends of a long hydrophobic tail. As a result, sophorolipids can self assemble into variety of structures in water. Atomistic self assembly simulations of sophorolipids are performed in water. Two sophorolipids, oleic acid sophorolipid and linolenic acid sophorolipid, differing in number of double bonds in the hydrophobic tail are considered for this study. Long time self assembly simulations are performed considering 1 :3 lipid to water ratio by weight for both oleic and linolenic acid sophorolipids. In addition to 1 : 3 ratio, long time self assembly simulations are also performed with 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 ratios for linolenic acid sophorolipids. Distinctions in structural arrangements of sophorolipid molecules in the self assembled configuration for all the systems are investigated. The present study aims to provide structural insight into the different self assembled configurations of sophorolipids in water.
Keywords: MD Simulation; self assembly; sophorolipids; United Atom Force Field

Structural-functional insights and studies on saccharide binding of Sophora japonica seed lectin - Yadav, Priya; Shahane, Ganesh; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Sengupta, Durba; Gaikwad, Sushama (International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2016)
Functional and conformational transitions of the Sophora japonica seed lectin (SJL) were studied in detail using bioinformatics and biophysical tools. Homology model of the lectin displayed all the characteristics of the legume lectin monomer and the experimental observations correlated well with the structural information. In silico studies were performed by protein-ligand docking, calculating the respective binding energies and the residues involved in the interactions were derived from LigPlot(+) analysis. Fluorescence titrations showed three times higher affinity of T-antigen disaccharide than N-acetyl galactosamine (GaINAc) towards SJL indicating extended sugar binding site of the lectin. Thermodynamic parameters of T-antigen binding to SJL indicated the process to be endothermic and entropically driven while those of GaINAc showed biphasic process. SDS-PAGE showed post-translationally modified homotetrameric species of the lectin under native conditions. In presence of guanidine hydrochloride (0.5-5.0 M), the tetramer first dissociated into dimers followed by unfolding of the protein as indicated by size exclusion chromatography, fluorescence and CD spectroscopy. Different structural rearrangements were observed during thermal denaturation of SJL at physiological pH 7.2, native pH 8.5 and molten globule inducing pH 1.0. Topological information revealed by solute quenching studies at respective pH indicated differential hydrophobic environment and charge density around tryptophan residues. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dissociation; docking; Homology model; Ligand binding; Sophora japonica seed lectin; Thermal transitions

Studies on the static and dynamic properties of different types of polyester industrial yarns - Samui, Barun Kumar; Dasgupta, Saikat; Mukhopadhyay, R.; Ramesh, C.; Chakrabarty, Debabrata (Journal of the Textile Institute, 2016)
Four major types of polyester industrial yarns, viz. high tenacity (HT), high modulus low shrinkage (HMLS), low shrinkage (LS) and super low shrinkage (SLS) polyester yarns, were studied for their static and dynamic properties. An attempt has been made to establish a linkage between static and dynamic properties of these yarns with its structure and with its end applications. HMLS and HT polyester yarns have lower tan delta and work loss, which are the desired characteristics required for its end applications which include tire and conveyer belt. Higher overall orientation and higher fraction of tie molecules helped to achieve these properties in HT and HMLS polyester yarns. LS and SLS polyester yarns are mostly used for static applications. Low thermal shrinkage is the key requirement for the downstream processes of these yarns. Lower amorphous orientation in these two yarns is primarily responsible for achieving very low thermal shrinkage. A good co-relation has been established between the peak temperature of work loss (in slow speed hysteresis test) and the peak temperature of tan delta (in high-speed dynamic test).
Keywords: creep; modulus; polyester; shrinkage; tan delta; work loss

Substrate-controlled selectivity switch in the three-component coupling involving arynes, aromatic tertiary amines, and CO2 - Bhojgude, Sachin Suresh; Roy, Tony; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Letters, 2016)
The transition-metal-free multicomponent coupling involving arynes, aromatic tertiary amines, and CO2 is reported. The reaction exhibits switchable selectivity depending on the electronic nature of the aromatic amines used. With amines bearing electron-releasing/neutral groups as the nucleophilic trigger, the reaction afforded 2-arylamino benzoates via a nitrogen to oxygen alkyl group migration. Employing electron-deficient amines in the reaction furnished 2-aminoaryl benzoates proceeding via the aryl to aryl amino group migration resembling a Smiles rearrangement.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of palmyrolide a macrocycles as sodium channel blockers towards neuroprotection - Philkhana, Satish Chandra; Mehrotra, Suneet; Murray, Thomas F.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2016)
Palmyrolide A is a neuroprotective macrolide isolated by Gerwick and coworkers in 2010. This natural product is known to suppress neuronal spontaneous calcium ion oscillations through its voltage-gated sodium channel blocking ability which is of significant interest in CNS drug discovery. Herein, we give a detailed account on total synthesis of (+)-palmyrolide A and synthesis of a focused library of macrocycles around the scaffold, followed by their biological evaluation. Use of the chiral pool approach, Zhu's oxidative homologation, access to unnatural cis-palmyrolide A, preparation of 18 new analogues and identification of macrolides with improved sodium channel blocking activity are the important features of the present paper. As a measure of potency as voltage-gated sodium channel blockers, all the synthesized analogues were profiled for their ability to inhibit the veratridine-stimulated Na+ influx in murine primary neuronal cultures. Four macrocycles were found to be more potent or comparable to that of the natural product (-)-palmyrolide A. The most potent compound from this series 20 was structurally simplified and readily accessible in good quantities for further biological profiling.

Synthesis and characterization of FeTiO3 ceramics - Gambhire, Anil B.; Lande, Machhindra K.; Rathod, Sandip B.; Arbad, Balasaheb R.; Vidhate, Kaluram N.; Gholap, Ramakrishna S.; Patil, Kashinath R. (Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 2016)
Nanocrystalline FeTiO3 ceramics powders were prepared by the sol-gel process combined with a surfactant-assisted template method. The resulting powders were calcined at different temperatures ranging from 150 degrees C to 600 degrees C for 2 h in an air. The results revealed that a pure hexagonal phase of FeTiO3 could be obtained at low temperature, 600 degrees C. The phase evolution of FeTiO3 was investigated by X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Particle size and morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). (C) 2011 Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
Keywords: Electron microscopy; hexagonal phase; Nanoparticles; sol-gel process; Ti-O bond

Synthesis and characterization of superhydrophobic-superoleophilic surface - Mahadik, Satish A.; Pedraza, Fernado D.; Relekar, Brahmanand P.; Parale, Vinayak. G.; Lohar, Gaurav M.; Thorat, Sagar S. (Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology, 2016)
The binary superhydrophobic-superhydrophilic surface has been successfully achieved by a combination of nanoscale texture roughness on micro-textured cotton thread network by layer-by-layer deposition method through the single-step sol-gel route. Furthermore, microstructures with improved wettability were produced, in which silica nanotextures were grown without modifying the chemical method to form superoleophilic and superhydrophobic networks. A superoleophilic surface (oil contact angle 0A degrees) and a superhydrophobic coated cotton fabric with surface free energy of gamma (total) = 13. 23 +/- A 0.37 mJ m(-2) (water contact angle of 167 +/- A 1A degrees and a small sliding angle of 4 +/- A 1A degrees) were successfully obtained. The results were exemplified here by the creation of immiscible oils separation membranes, and the innumerable applications of this technology also include self-cleaning fabrics, antistaining fabrics, water purification, and antiwetting fabrics for military applications.
Keywords: contact angle; Layer-by-layer deposition method; sol-gel processing; Superhydrophobic-superoleophilic surface

Synthesis and characterization of thermally stable polyimides with a pendent phenothiazine unit based on new diamine 10-(3,5-diaminobenzoyl)phenothiazine - Ghorpade, Ravindra V.; Thorave, Asmita K.; Rajan, C. R.; Chavan, Nayaku; Ponrathnam, S. (High Performance Polymers, 2016)
A novel diamine 10-(3,5-diaminobenzoyl)phenothiazine (DBPT) with a side chain containing phenothiazine unit was synthesized. A new family of polyimides (PIs) containing phenothiazine unit in the side chains has been successfully synthesized by direct polycondensation of DBPT with pyromellitic dianhydride, 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tertacarboxylic dianhydride, and 4,4'-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODA) via a conventional two-step chemical imidization process. The yield of polymers was good enough, which were soluble in most organic solvents. The molecular orbital energy gaps, thermal stability, and crystallinity of PIs were investigated by molecular modeling, thermogravimetric analysis, and wide-angle X-ray scattering, respectively. Thermal properties of polymers were good enough to permit the use of these PIs in various applications; only 49% weight loss is detected at 900 degrees C in nitrogen atmosphere. X-Ray diffraction clearly reveals the amorphous nature of PIs. A quantum modeling study (density functional theory) has shown the influence of dianhydride structure on the energy difference of highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy levels.
Keywords: phenothiazine-containing diamine; Polyimide; thermally stable polymer

Synthesis of functionalized 6-hydroxy-2-oxindole derivatives by phenoxide cyclization - Reddy, B. Narendraprasad; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
An apparent intramolecular cross-dehydrogenative coupling of N-(3-hydrox)monoanilide of maleic esters comprising base promoted phenoxide cyclization and subsequent base-mediated aerobic oxidation was developed to synthesize a variety of 2-(6-hydroxy-2-oxoindolin-3-ylidene)-acetate derivatives. The isolation of intermediate cyclized products during the large scale reactions and their ready dehydrogenation with 1 equiv of base support this proposed two-step path.

Synthesis of functionalized amino epoxides by a three-component coupling involving aziridines, arynes and aldehydes - Roy, Tony; Thangaraj, Manikandan; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Chemical Communications, 2016)
A transition-metal-free three-component coupling involving N-substituted aziridines, arynes and aldehydes resulting in the formation of trisubstituted N-aryl alpha-amino epoxides has been demonstrated. The reaction likely proceeds via the highly strained cyclic nitrogen ylide intermediates generated from aziridines and arynes.

Synthesis of Ni-doped ZnO nanostructures by low-temperature wet chemical method and their enhanced field emission properties - Rana, Amit Kumar; Bankar, Prashant; Kumar, Yogendra; More, Mahendra A.; Late, Dattatray J.; Shirage, Parasharam M. (RSC Advances, 2016)
In this study, we report an enhancement in the field emission (FE) properties of ZnO nanostructures obtained by doping with Ni at a base pressure of similar to 1 x 10(-8) mbar, which were grown by a simple wet chemical process. The ZnO nanostructures exhibited a single-crystalline wurtzite structure up to a Ni doping level of 10%. FESEM showed a change in the morphology of the nanostructures from thick nanoneedles to nanoflakes via thin nanorods with an increase in the Ni doping level in ZnO. The turn-on field required to generate a field emission (FE) current density of 1 mu A cm(-2) was found to be 2.5, 2.3, 1.8 and 1.7 V mu mcm(-2) for ZnO (Ni0%), ZnO (Ni5%), ZnO (Ni7.5%) and ZnO (Ni10%), respectively. A maximum current density of similar to 872 mu A cm(-2) was achievable, which was generated at an applied field of 3.1 V mu m cm(-2) for a Ni doping level of 10% in ZnO. Long-term operational current stability was recorded at a preset value of 5 mA for a duration of 3 h and was found to be very high. The experimental results indicate that Ni-doped ZnO-based field emitters can open up many opportunities for their potential use as an electron source in flat panel displays, transmission electron microscopy, and the generation of X-rays. Thus, the simple low-temperature (similar to 80 degrees C) wet chemical synthesis approach and the robust nature of the ZnO nanostructure field emitter can provide prospects for the future development of cost-effective electron sources.

Synthesis of renewable copolyacetals with tunable degradation - Rajput, Bhausaheb S.; Chander, Umesh; Arole, Kailash; Stempfle, Florian; Menon, Shamal K.; Mecking, Stefan; Chikkali, Samir H. (Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 2016)
Acetal metathesis copolymerization (AMCP) of renewable isohexide diacetals and aliphatic long-chain diacetals is reported and access to a small family of copolyacetals has been established. Crucial 1-2D NMR and MALDI-ToF-MS findings unambiguously confirm the existence of a copolymeric structure. In a stark contrast to the earlier reported isohexide-polyacetals, the current copolyacetals reveal very slow degradation. Hydrolytic degradation of copolyacetal pellets is extremely slow at pH 7, whereas only 30% degradation over a period of 15 d is observed in 9 M hydrochloric acid solution. GPC investigations reveal that with increasing chain-length the rate of degradation reduces, whereas copolyacetals with short-chain aliphatic segments display a faster degradation profile. The reduced rate of degradation can be attributed to the hydrophobic nature of long-chain acetal segments. In situ NMR spectroscopy reveals the existence of formates, hemiacetals, and diols as degradation products. Thus, the rate of degradation can be tuned by the judicious choice of isohexide-diacetal and linear-diacetals in a copolyacetal.
Keywords: copolyacetals; degradable polymers; diacetals; isohexides; renewable polymers

Synthesis of revised structure of klaivanolide (acetylmelodorinol) - Raut, Gajanan N.; Wagh, Sachin B.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Arkivoc, 2016)
Klaivanolide (acetylmelodorinol) is an anti-leishmanial/anti-trypanosomal agent isolated from Uvaria klaineana and the structure was originally assigned as a 7-membered lactone with extended conjugation and S-configuration at the lactone junction. Very recently, the structure of klaivanolide was revised as previously known compound acetylmelodorinol. Now, we have synthesized the revised structure in racemic form using a short route.
Keywords: acetylmelodorinol; Klaivanolide; leishmaniasis; Natural product

Synthesis of silicon(II) compounds and their reactions - Sen, Sakya S.; Roesky, Herbert W. (Efficient methods for preparing silicon compounds, 2016)

Template determines whether chemically identical nanoparticle scaffolds show elastic recovery or plastic failure - Suresh, Karthika; Patil, Shivprasad; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil Ramanpillai; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy (Langmuir, 2016)
Subtle variations in the preparation of ice-templated nanoparticle assemblies yield monoliths that are chemically identical but exhibit qualitatively different mechanical behavior. We ice template aqueous dispersions to prepare macroporous monoliths largely comprising silica nanoparticles held together by a crosslinked polymer mesh. When the polymer is crosslinked in the presence of ice crystals, we obtain an elastic sponge that is capable of recovery after imposition of large compressive strains (up to 80%). If, however, the ice is lyophilized before the polymer is crosslinked, we obtain a plastic monolith that fails even for modest strains (less than 10%). The elastic sponge and the plastic monolith are chemically identical; they have the same organic content, the same ratio of polymer to crosslinker, and the same average crosslink density. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was used to probe the local mechanical properties of the crosslinked polymer mesh. These measurements indicate that plastic monoliths dissipate significantly more energy and have a larger spatial variation in local mechanical response relative to the elastic sponges. We believe that this behavior might correlate with a wider spatial distribution of crosslinks in plastic scaffolds relative to elastic scaffolds.

Three way catalytic converter reactions aspects at near ambient temperatures on modified pd-surfaces - Roy, Kanak; Jain, Ruchi; Ghosalya, Manoj Kumar; Reddy, Kasala Prabhakar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Comptes Rendus Chimie, 2016)
The dissolution of oxygen in palladium plays an important role in palladium catalysis. The present study shows that the surface modification (SM) due to the dissolution of atomic oxygen into the subsurfaces of palladium can be used as a control to tune its catalytic activity. CO oxidation and NO + H-2 + O-2 reaction was separately carried out on metallic Pd and on surface modified Pd using a molecular beam instrument and the results were compared. The metallic Pd does not show activity below 400 K for both reactions, whereas the SM-Pd shows activity at near-ambient temperatures. The electronic change due to SM was investigated using ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy, and the investigation clearly shows the effect of subsurface oxygen in the ambient temperature activity of palladium. (C) 2016 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Three-phase slurry reactors - Buwa, V. V.; Roy, S.; Ranade, V. V. (Multiphase catalytic reactors: theory, design, manufacturing, and applications, 2016)
Many of the chemical reactors employed in various sectors of the process andchemical industries, suchas petroleumrefining,downstream processing and petrochemicals, bulk and specialty chemicals, and pharmaceuticals, involve reactants and products in three phases. The ubiquitous presence of three-phase reactors comes from the fact that many of the reactants are liquids under reaction conditions, to be treated with a gas like hydrogen, and in the presence of a heterogeneous catalyst that is usually a solid. This requirement leads to two broad modes of contacting one in which the catalyst is held stationary in a "fixed" or a "packed bed" and one in which the catalyst is set free to move, along with the flowing fluid phases, during their sojourn through the reactor vessel.The choice ofwhether the catalyst should be fixed ormoving is usually dictated by the relative dominance of transport rates and intrinsic kinetics. If the reaction chemistry is intrinsically slow (when external and internalmass transfer of chemical species from the fluid phases to the porous catalyst is not rate limiting), packed bed reactor that allows very high catalyst loading is usually preferred. Packed beds, however, do not constitute the main topic of discussion in this monograph. Still, three-phase packed beds and slurry reactors are really parts of the same continuum of three-phase catalytic reactors andhave beendiscussedcomprehensively about three decades back in the classic book by P.A. Ramachandran and R.V. Chaudhari (Three Phase Catalytic Reactors. NewYork:Gordon and Breach Science Publishers; 1983). The same authors published earlier a review of three-phase slurry reactors (Chaudhari RV, Ramachandran PA. Three phase slurry reactors. AIChE J. 1980;26(2):177-199). This chapter builds on these authors' works and attempts to update the reader on developments in the field over the past few decades while retaining the essential reactionandreactorengineering aspects.The focus isonthe design, scale-up, and operation of three-phase slurry reactor systems

Total synthesis and structural assignment of hexaketide xylarinolb and its C1-epimer - Mullapudi, Venkanna Babu; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
The total synthesis of two isomeric hexaketides isolated along with sordarial, which have the proposed relative arabino and ribo configurations, has been executed. A Rh-catalyzed [2+2+2]-alkyne cyclotrimerization has been employed as the key reaction to construct the central dihydroisobenzofuran core. The absolute configuration of the xylarinolB hexaketide has been established as l-arabino. This is the first natural product of this family for which the absolute configuration has been determined, and this can be extended to provide structural details of several of related hexaketides.
Keywords: hexaketides; sordarial; Wilkinson's catalyst; xylarinolB; {[2+2+2]-cyclotrimerization

Total synthesis of integrastatin B enabled by a benzofuran oxidative dearomatization cascade - More, Atul A.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Organic Letters, 2016)
The first total synthesis of integrastatin B, a potent HIV-1 integrase inhibitor, has been accomplished in seven steps with a 17.9% overall yield employing easily accessible starting compounds. The Oxone-mediated oxidative benzofuran dearomatization cascade has been employed as the key skeletal construct to forge the central tetracyclic nucleus.

Total synthesis of (-)-nardoaristolone B - Ople, Rohini S.; Handore, Kishor L.; Kamat, Nidhi S.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
A stereoselective total synthesis of (-)-Nardoaristolone B, a nor-aristolane sesquiterpenoid natural product with an unusual 3/5/6 tricyclic ring system is described. The highlights of the present work includes use of (+)-(R)-Pulegone as a chiral-pool starting material, ring-closing metathesis, allylic oxidation and stereoselective cyclopropanation. In addition, a new analogue of Nardoaristolone B (minor product from the final step) was isolated in pure form and fully characterized with the help of single-crystal X-ray analysis.
Keywords: Chiral pool; cyclopropanation; Nardoaristolone B; Natural products; Total synthesis

Total synthesis of the marine natural product solomonamide B necessitates stereochemical revision - Kashinath, K.; Jachak, Gorakhnath R.; Athawale, Paresh R.; Marelli, Udaya Kiran; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Organic Letters, 2016)
The first total synthesis of the proposed structure of solomonamide B has been achieved. However, the H-1 and C-13 NMR spectral data of the synthesized compound was not exactly matching with that of the natural solomonamide B. This prompted us to revise the originally proposed structure, in particular, the stereochemistry of the nonpeptide part, which was confirmed by its total synthesis. During the course of the synthesis, we have developed an interesting hydroxy group directed Wacker oxidation of internal olefins in a macrocyclic setting.

Transfer hydrogenation of biomass-derived levulinic acid to gamma-valerolactone over supported Ni catalysts - Hengne, Amol M.; Kadu, Brijesh S.; Biradar, Narayan S.; Chikate, Rajeev C.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (RSC Advances, 2016)
A sustainable process of catalytic transfer hydrogenation (CTH) of levulinic acid (LA) to gamma-valerolactone (GVL) was investigated over Ni on various supports (Al2O3, ZnO, MMT and SiO2) in the presence of isopropanol (IPA) as the H-donor. Among these, the montmorillonite (MMT) supported Ni catalyst showed almost complete LA conversion (>99%) and selectivity (>99%) to GVL within 1 h. XRD and XPS results showed that the concentration of the metallic species significantly enhanced (two to four times) in the recovered sample as compared to the freshly prepared Ni/MMT. This was due to the in situ reduction of Ni2+ species present on the catalyst surface, through liberated H-2 under the reaction conditions. The strong acid strength of MMT, evidenced by NH3-TPD and py-IR, facilitated the esterification of LA as well as cyclization to GVL. The conversion-selectivity pattern was found to decrease in the IPA-water mixture while, it remained unchanged in the IPA-acetone mixture. Our catalyst could be efficiently recycled up to five times with consistent CTH activity and selectivity to GVL. The plausible mechanism of LA to GVL conversion involves the formation of a levulinate ester with IPA that favours its simultaneous hydrogenation and cyclization in a spontaneous manner to give GVL and regenerating IPA for sustainability.

Transferability of different classical force fields for right and left handed alpha-helices constructed from enantiomeric amino acids - Biswas, Santu; Sarkar, Sujit; Pandey, Prithvi Raj; Roy, Sudip (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016)
Amino acids can form D and L enantiomers, of which the L enantiomer is abundant in nature. The naturally occurring L enantiomer has a greater preference for a right handed helical conformation, and the D enantiomer for a left handed helical conformation. The other conformations, that is, left handed helical conformations of the L enantiomers and right handed helical conformations of the D enantiomers, are not common. The energetic differences between left and right handed alpha helical peptide chains constructed from enantiomeric amino acids are investigated using quantum chemical calculations (using the M06/6-311g(d,p) level of theory). Further, the performances of commonly used biomolecular force fields (OPLS/AA, CHARMM27/CMAP and AMBER) to represent the different helical conformations (left and right handed) constructed from enantiomeric (D and L) amino acids are evaluated. 5- and 10-mer chains from D and L enantiomers of alanine, leucine, lysine, and glutamic acid, in right and left handed helical conformations, are considered in the study. Thus, in total, 32 a-helical polypeptides (4 amino acids x 4 conformations of 5-mer and 10-mer) are studied. Conclusions, with regards to the performance of the force fields, are derived keeping the quantum optimized geometry as the benchmark, and on the basis of phi and psi angle calculations, hydrogen bond analysis, and different long range helical order parameters.

Treatment of the pesticide industry effluent using hydrodynamic cavitation and its combination with process intensifying additives (H2O2 and ozone) - Raut-Jadhav, Sunita; Badve, Mandar P.; Pinjari, Dipak V.; Saini, Daulat R.; Sonawane, Shirish H.; Pandit, Aniruddha B. (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2016)
Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and its combination with H2O2 and ozone have been applied in the present work for the treatment of industrial pesticide effluent. Initially, the effect of dilution of the effluent on the efficacy of hydrodynamic cavitation has been studied using circular venturi as a cavitator. Although an increase in the extent of dilution has not shown any beneficial effect on the actual moles of pollutant degraded, hybrid processes have been studied using 1:5 dilution due to very high TDS content of the effluent. Treatment of the industrial pesticide effluent using HC + ozone (3 gbh) process has demonstrated that the biodegradability index (BI) of the effluent increases from 0.123 to 0.324 after 2 h of operation. The rate of COD and TOC reduction has also increased by many folds by using HC in combination with ozone. In addition this, the treatment of industrial pesticide effluent using HC + H2O2 has also indicated that the rate of COD and TOC reduction increases significantly by using HC in combination with various loadings of H2O2. The study of interference of added H2O2 on the COD analysis has exhibited that the COD equivalence is 0.441 mg/L for 1 mg/L of H2O2. The energy efficiency and operating cost of various hybrid processes have been compared based on the cavitational yield and the cost of electricity. The combined process of HC and H2O2 has observed to be the most cost-effective one due to its higher cavitational yield and lower power consumption. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biodegradability index; Hydrodynamic cavitation; Hydrogen peroxide; Industrial pesticide effluent; Ozone; Venturi

Tuning emission responses of a triphenylamine derivative in host-guest complexes and an unusual dynamic inclusion phenomenon - Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Mandal, Amal K.; Maity, Arunava; Ravindranathan, Sapna; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Das, Amitava (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
A newly synthesized triphenylamine derivative (1Cl(3)) shows significant differences in inclusion complex formation with two different macrocyclic hosts, cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). Detailed investigations by NMR spectroscopy reveal that CB[7] forms a 1:3 host-guest complex ([1 center dot 3{CB[7]}]Cl-3) in which three arms of 1Cl(3) are bound to three host molecules. On the other hand, beta-CD forms a dynamic 1:1 inclusion complex ([1 center dotbeta-CD]Cl-3) by binding to only one of the three arms of 1Cl(3) at a given time. The formation of a 1:1 host-guest complex with beta-CD and 1:3 host-guest complex with CB[7] was also confirmed from the results of the isothermal titration calorimetric studies. Interestingly, 1Cl(3) exhibits a rare dual emission property in solution at room temperature with the lower and higher energy bands arising from a locally excited state and an intramolecular charge-transfer transition, respectively. The difference in inclusion complex formation behavior of 1Cl(3) with the two macrocyclic hosts results in the stabilization of different emission states in the two inclusion complexes. The fundamental difference in the electrostatic surface potentials, cavity polarities, and shapes of the two macrocyclic hosts could account for the formation of the different inclusion complexes with distinct luminescence responses.

Two-phase flow boiling in 19mm tube: experiments and CFD modelling - Sardeshpande, Madhavi V.; Raymond, Barlev; Ranade, Vivek V. (Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2016)
Boiling flows are encountered in a wide range of industrial applications such as boilers, nuclear reactors, electronic cooling, and various types of chemical reactors. Heat transfer coefficients, flow boiling regimes, flow instabilities, pressure drops, and conditions like dry-out are some of the key issues in every boiling flow study. It is observed that a limited experimental database is available for the 19mm ID channel diameter, i.e. a typical tube diameter of steam generator. Therefore, in the present work, the experimental setup was designed for studying boiling flows in a 19mm ID tube in such a way that different flow regimes occurring in a steam generator tube (from pre-heating of sub-cooled water to dry-out) could be investigated by varying inlet conditions. The reported results cover a reasonable range: 8-27kW/m(2) and 2.9-5.9kg/m(2)s heat and mass flux conditions, respectively. A basic computational flow model was also developed to facilitate interpretation of the obtained data. The presented design of the experimental setup and the approach of mimicking different types of steam generator tubes as well as presented experimental and simulated results are useful for gaining insight into complex boiling flows in tubes, and provide a sound basis for further work in this area.
Keywords: CFD; Flow regimes; two-phase flow boiling; vapour quality

Two-phase flow boiling pressure drop in small channels - Sardeshpande, Madhavi V.; Shastri, Parikshit; Ranade, Vivek V. (International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow, 2016)
Two-phase flow boiling in small channels finds a variety of applications in power and process industries. Heat transfer, boiling flow regimes, flow instabilities, pressure drop and dry out are some of the key issues related to two-phase flow boiling in channels. In this work, the focus is on pressure drop in two-phase flow boiling in tubes of 19 mm diameter. These tubes are typically used in steam generators. Relatively limited experimental database is available on 19 mm ID tube. Therefore, in the present work, the experimental set-up is designed for studying flow boiling in 19 mm ID tube in such a way that any of the different flow regimes occurring in a steam generator tube (from pre-heating of sub-cooled water to dry-out) can be investigated by varying inlet conditions. The reported results cover a reasonable range of heat and mass flux conditions such as 9-27 kW/m(2) and 2.9-5.9 kg/m(2) s respectively. In this paper, various existing correlations are assessed against experimental data for the pressure drop in a single, vertical channel during flow boiling of water at near-atmospheric pressure. A special feature of these experiments is that time-dependent pressures are measured at four locations along the channel. The steady-state pressure drop is estimated and the identification of boiling flow regimes is done with transient characteristics using time series analysis. Experimental data and corresponding results are compared with the reported correlations. The results will be useful for understanding key aspects of flow boiling in small channels. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Urinary proteome alterations in HER2 enriched breast cancer revealed by multipronged quantitative proteomics - Gajbhiye, Akshada; Dabhi, Raju; Taunk, Khushman; Vannuruswamy, Garikapati; RoyChoudhury, Sourav; Adhav, Ragini; Seal, Shubhendu; Mane, Anupama; Bayatigeri, Santhakumari; Santra, Manas K.; Chaudhury, Koel; Rapole, Srikanth (Proteomics, 2016)
Globally, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women. Although biomarker discoveries through various proteomic approaches of tissue and serum samples have been studied in breast cancer, urinary proteome alterations in breast cancer are least studied. Urine being a noninvasive biofluid and a significant source of proteins, it has the potential in early diagnosis of breast cancer. This study used complementary quantitative gel-based and gel-free proteomic approaches to find a panel of urinary protein markers that could discriminate HER2 enriched (HE) subtype breast cancer from the healthy controls. A total of 183 differentially expressed proteins were identified using three complementary approaches, namely 2D-DIGE, iTRAQ, and sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectra. The differentially expressed proteins were subjected to various bioinformatics analyses for deciphering the biological context of these proteins using protein analysis through evolutionary relationships, database for annotation, visualization and integrated discovery, and STRING. Multivariate statistical analysis was undertaken to identify the set of most significant proteins, which could discriminate HE breast cancer from healthy controls. Immunoblotting and MRM-based validation in a separate cohort testified a panel of 21 proteins such as zinc-alpha2-glycoprotein, A2GL, retinol-binding protein 4, annexin A1, SAP3, SRC8, gelsolin, kininogen 1, CO9, clusterin, ceruloplasmin, and alpha 1-antitrypsin could be a panel of candidate markers that could discriminate HE breast cancer from healthy controls.
Keywords: 2D-DIGE; Biomedicine; Breast cancer; HER2 enriched; SWATH; Urinary biomarkers

Validation of force fields of rubber through glass-transition temperature calculation by microsecond atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulation - Sharma, Pragati; Roy, Sudip; Karimi-Varzaneh, Hossein Ali (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2016)
Microsecond atomic-scale molecular dynamics simulation has been employed to calculate the glass-transition temperature (T-g) of cis- and trans-1,4-polybutadiene (PB) and 1,4-polyisoprene (PI). Both all-atomistic and united-atom models have been simulated using force fields, already available in literature. The accuracy of these decade old force fields has been tested by comparing calculated glass-transition temperatures to the corresponding experimental values. T-g depicts the phase transition in elastomers and substantially affects various physical properties of polymers, and hence the reproducibility of T-g becomes very crucial from a thermodynamic point of view. Such validation using T-g also evaluates the ability of these force fields to be used for advanced materials like rubber nanocomposites, where T-g is greatly affected by the presence of fillers. We have calculated T-g for a total of eight systems, featuring all-atom and united-atom models of cis- and trans-PI and-PB, which are the major constituents of natural and synthetic rubber. Tuning and refinement of the force fields has also been done using quantum-chemical calculations to obtain desirable density and T-g. Thus, a set of properly validated force fields, capable of reproducing various macroscopic properties of rubber, has been provided. A novel polymer equilibration protocol, involving potential energy convergence as the equilibration criterion, has been proposed. We demonstrate that not only macroscopic polymer properties like density, thermal expansion coefficient, and T-g but also local structural characteristics like end-to-end distance (R) and radius of gyration (R-g) and mechanical properties like bulk modulus have also been equilibrated using our strategy. Complete decay of end-to-end vector autocorrelation function with time also supports proper equilibration using our strategy.

4-Phenyl quinoline derivatives as potential serotonin receptor ligands with antiproliferative activity - Joshi, Pranaya V.; Sayed, Alim A.; RaviKumar, Ameeta; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Zinjarde, Smita S. (European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2017)
Antagonists of signaling receptors are often effective non-toxic therapeutic agents. Over the years, there have been evidences describing the role of serotonin or 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in development of cancer. Although there are reports on the antiproliferative effects of some serotonin receptor antagonists, there are very few investigations related to understanding their structure-activity relationships. In this study, we report the screening of a library of 4-phenyl quinoline derivatives for their antiproliferative activities. Preliminary docking studies indicated that these ligands had the ability to bind to two of the serotonin. receptors, 5-HT1B and 5-HT2B. The results of the in silico experiments were validated by performing in vitro studies on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The ethylpiperazine derivatives showed maximum toxicity against this cancer cell line. The compounds inhibited Calcium ion efflux (induced by serotonin) and ERK activation. One of the most active 4-phenyl quinoline derivatives (H3a) also induced apoptosis, thereby, suggesting the use of this scaffold as a potential anticancer drug. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Access to fused tricyclic gamma-butyrolactones, a natural product -like scaffold - Kalmode, Hanuman P.; Handore, Kishor L.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Journal Of Organic Chemistry, 2017)
Serendipitous findings of an acid mediated skeletal rearrangement of bicydo-beta-ketoester having cyclopropyl ring to access fused tricyclic gamma-butyrolactones has been described. This novel transformation has been optimized to 30 mol% p-toluenesulfonic acid (p-TSA) in toluene using Dean Stark apparatus, where the aldol condensation, cyclopropyl ring opening followed by cyclization took place in a single-pot operation. The resulting tricyclic compounds are interesting chemotype with natural product resemblance and may find useful applications in the future.

Acyclic αγα-tripeptides with fluorinated- and nonfluorinated-furanoid sugar framework: importance of fluoro substituent in reverse-turn induced self-assembly and transmembrane ion-transport activity - Burade, S. S.; Shinde, S. V.; Bhuma, N.; Kumbhar, N.; Kotmale, A.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Gonnade, R. G.; Talukdar, P.; Dhavale, D. D. (Journal Of Organic Chemistry, 2017)
Acyclic αγα-tripeptides derived from fluorinated-furanoid sugar amino acid frameworks act as reverse-turn inducers with a U-shaped conformation, whereas the corresponding nonfluorinated αγα-tripeptides show random peptide conformations. The NMR studies showed the presence of bifurcated weak intramolecular hydrogen bonding (F···HN) and N+···Fδ- charge-dipole attraction compel the amide carbonyl groups to orient antiperiplanar to the C-F bond, thus, demonstrating the role of the fluorine substituent in stabilizing the U-shaped conformation. The NOESY data indicate that the U-shaped tripeptides self-assembly formation is stabilized by the intermolecular hydrogen bonding between C=O···HN with antiparallel orientation. This fact is supported by ESI-MS data, which showed mass peaks up to the pentameric self-assembly, even in the gas phase. The morphological analysis by FE-SEM, on solid samples, showed arrangement of fibers into nanorods. The antiparallel self-assembled pore of the fluorinated tripeptides illustrates the selective ion-transport activity. The experimental findings were supported by DFT studies.