Dietary flaxseed oil and fish oil ameliorates renal oxidative stress, protein glycation, and inflammation in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats - Jangale, Nivedita M.; Devarshi, Prasad P.; Bansode, Sneha B.; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Harsulkar, Abhay M. (Journal of Physiology and Biochemistry, 2016)
Protective and prophylactic effects of omega-3 fatty acids on oxidative stress and inflammation are well known. We assessed beneficial effects of flaxseed oil and fish oil on streptozotocin (65 mg/kg; i.p.)-nicotinamide (110 mg/kg; i.p.) induced diabetic rats by studying renal expression of antioxidant and inflammatory genes. Diabetic rats given 10 % flaxseed oil or 10 % fish oil diet for 35 days showed significant decrease in renal lipid peroxidation. Flaxseed oil diet resulted in up-regulation of renal superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1) (activity and expression) and glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) expression. Furthermore, both diets up-regulated catalase (CAT) (activity and expression) and down-regulated heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. Both diets were able to limit the renal advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formation and reduced receptor of AGE (RAGE) protein expression significantly. Expressions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and NF-kappa B p65 subunit were down-regulated significantly by flaxseed oil or fish oil diet. The histological tubular injuries were also lowered by both diets. These results suggest that dietary omega-3 fatty acids may slow the progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN) associated with oxidative stress, glycation, and inflammation in the kidney.
Keywords: Diabetes; Fish oil; Flaxseed oil; Glycation; Kidney; Streptozotocin

Diethylamine-catalyzed environmentally benign synthesis of 1-oxo-hexahydroxanthenes and bis-coumarins at ambient temperature - Kupwade, Ravindra V.; Pandit, Kapil S.; Desai, Uday V.; Kulkarni, Makarand A.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P. (Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2016)
An extremely simple, economical and environmentally benign protocol has been described for one-pot synthesis of 1-oxo-hexahydroxanthenes by pseudo three-component condensation between salicylaldehydes and dimedone, cyclohexane-1,3dione or 5-methyl cyclohexane-1,3-dione using diethylamine as the catalyst. Based upon the mechanism of the reaction, the protocol has been extended towards the synthesis of tetraketones and bis-coumarins.

Direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO2 and methanol over CeO2 catalysts of different morphologies - Unnikrishnan, P.; Darbha, Srinivas (Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2016)
The direct synthesis of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) from carbon dioxide (CO2) and methanol is an attractive approach towards conversion of the greenhouse gas - CO2 into value-added chemicals and fuels. Ceria (CeO2) catalyzes this reaction. But the conversion efficiency of CeO2 is enhanced when the byproduct water in the reaction medium is separated by employing trapping agents like 2-cyanopyridine (2-CP). In this work, the influence of morphology of CeO2 on the direct synthesis of DMC in presence of 2-CP is reported. CeO2 catalysts of cube, rod, spindle and irregular morphology (Ce - C, Ce - R, Ce - S and Ce - N, respectively) were prepared, characterized and studied as catalysts in the said reaction conducted in a batch mode. Among all, Ce - S shows superior catalytic performance with nearly 100 mol% of DMC selectivity. Catalytic activity correlates with the concentration of acid and base sites of medium strength as well as defect sites. Ce - S has an optimum number of these active sites and thereby shows superior catalytic performance.
Keywords: acid-base catalysis; ceria; CO2 utilization; Dimethyl carbonate; influence of morphology

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.

Does the position of the electron-donating nitrogen atom in the ring system influence the efficiency of a dye-sensitized solar cell? A computational study - Biswas, Abul Kalam; Barik, Sunirmal; Das, Amitava; Ganguly, Bishwajit (Journal of Molecular Modeling, 2016)
We have reported a number of new metal-free organic dyes (2-6) that have cyclic asymmetric benzotripyrrole derivatives as donor groups with peripheral nitrogen atoms in the ring, fluorine and thiophene groups as pi-spacers, and a cyanoacrylic acid acceptor group. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations were employed to examine the influence of the position of the donor nitrogen atom and pi-conjugation on solar cell performance. The calculated electron-injection driving force (Delta G(inject)), electron-regeneration driving force (Delta G(regen)), light-harvesting efficiency (LHE), dipole moment (mu(normal)), and number of electrons transferred (Delta q) indicate that dyes 3, 4, and 6 have significantly higher efficiencies than reference dye 1, which exhibits high efficiency. We also extended our comparison to some other reported dyes, 7-9, which have a donor nitrogen atom in the middle of the ring system. The computed results suggest that dye 6 possesses a higher incident photon to current conversion efficiency (IPCE) than reported dyes 7-9. Thus, the use of donor groups with peripheral nitrogen atoms appears to lead to more efficient dyes than those in which the nitrogen atom is present in the middle of the donor ring system.
Keywords: DFT; Dye-sensitized solar cells; Organic dyes; Position effect; TD-DFT

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

Draft genome sequence of arthrobacter enclensis NCIM 5488T for secondary metabolism - Neurgaonkar, P. S.; Dharne, M. S.; Dastager, S. G. (Genome Announcements, 2016)
Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Arthrobacter enclensis NCIM 5488T, an actinobacterium isolated from a marine sediment sample from Chorao Island, Goa, India. This draft genome sequence consists of 4,226,231 bp with a G+C content of 67.08%, 3,888 protein-coding genes, 50 tRNAs, and 10 rRNAs. Analysis of the genome using bioinformatics tools such as antiSMASH and NaPDoS showed the presence of many unique natural product biosynthetic gene clusters.

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.

Editorial: actinobacteria in special and extreme habitats: diversity, function roles, and environmental adaptations - Qin, Sheng; Li, Wen-Jun; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Hozzein, Wael N. (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2016)
Keywords: actinobacteria; activities; diversity; environmental adaptation; omics technologies; special and extreme environments

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 sintering temperature and vinca petals extract on structural and magnetic properties of delafossite CuFeO2 - Dhruv, Preksha N.; Solanki, Neha; Kulkarni, Shailja; Jotania, R. B. (International Conference On Condensed Matter and Applied Physics (ICC 2015), 2016)
Delathssite CuFeO2, multi ferroic powder was synthesized using Sol-Gel auto combustion method. Influence of vinea flower petals extract on structural and magnetic properly of CuFeO2 were investigated. X-ray analysis of normal samples (synthesized without presence of vinca petals extract) shows formation of hematite and ferrite phases while the sample synthesized in presence of vinca petals extract show only mono phase. The absorption bands in FTIR spectra present between 510-460 cm(-1)in both the samples are due to stretching of Fe-O vibrations. VSM analysis shows that the squareness ratio (Mr/Ms) of the sample prepared using vinca petals extract obtains value of squareness ratio <0.5, which attributes multi domain formation of samples.
International Conference on Condensed Matter and Applied Physics (ICC), Bikaner, INDIA, OCT 30-31, 2015

Effective noncovalent functionalization of poly(ethylene glycol) to reduced graphene oxidenanosheets through gamma-radiolysis for enhanced lubrication - Gupta, Bhavana; Kumar, Niranjan; Panda, Kalpataru; Melvin, Ambrose A.; Joshi, Shailesh; Dash, Sitaram; Tyagi, Ashok Kumar (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016)
High-quality reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets (NSs) were synthesized by the oxidation of graphite followed by hydrazine treatment for the reduction of the oxygen functionalities. gamma-Radiolysis was then used for the functionalization of the rGO-NSs with poly(ethylene glycol) 200 (PEG200). The functionalization resulted in the intercalation of PEG200 molecules in rGO through hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of rGO and the oxygen atoms of PEG200 molecules. This resulted in an increase in the d spacing of the graphene sheets and a decrease in the defect density of the carbon network in the rGO. The friction coefficient and wear of sliding steel surfaces were reduced by 38% and 55%, respectively, when 0.03 mg mL(-1) PEG200-functionalized rGO dispersed in PEG200 was used. The lubrication properties can be described by bipolar interactions between PEG200 and rGO, leading to effective dispersion. Chemical analysis of wear particles showed decomposition of rGO into nanosized graphite domains, as exhibited by mechanical energy produced in tribo-contact. Moreover, these domains formed effective and stable tribofilms on the steel wear tracks that easily sheared under the action of contact stress. This significantly enhanced the antifriction and antiwear properties, resulting in improved oxidation resistance of PEG200 under the tribo-contact. It was found that, at high rGO concentrations, the lubrication efficiency decreased as a result of graphene-graphene intersheet collisions, producing mechanical energy and chemical defects at contact interfaces.

Electrocatalytic water oxidation by a molecular cobalt complex through a high valent cobalt oxo intermediate - Das, Debasree; Pattanayak, Santanu; Singh, Kundan K.; Garai, Bikash; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Chemical Communications, 2016)
Biuret-modified tetraamidomacrocyclic cobalt complex [Co-III-bTAML]- is shown to catalyze electrochemical water oxidation at basic pH leading to the formation of O-2. Electrochemical and spectroscopic studies indicate a high valent cobalt oxo intermediate isoelectronic to Co-V(O) as the active oxidant. The kinetic isotope effect of 8.63 indicates an atom proton transfer mechanism.

Electron detachment and subsequent structural changes of water clusters - Das, Susanta; Sengupta, Turbasu; Dutta, Achintya Kumar; Pal, Sourav (Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2016)
A cost-effective equation of motion coupled cluster method, EOMIP-CCSD(2), is used to investigate vertical and adiabatic ionization potential as well as ionization-induced structural changes of water clusters and compared with CCSD(T), CASPT2, and MP2 methods. The moderate N-5 scaling and low storage requirement yields EOMIP-CCSD (2) calculation feasible even for reasonably large molecules and clusters with accuracy comparable to CCSD(T) method at much cheaper computational cost. Our calculations shed light on the authenticity of EOMIP-CCSD(2) results and establish a reliable method to study of ionization energy of molecular clusters. We have further investigated the performance of several classes of DFT functionals for ionization energies of water clusters to benchmark the results and to get a reliable functionals for the same.

Epoxide ring-opening reaction by using sol-gel-synthesized palladium supported on a strontium hydroxyl fluoride catalyst - Acham, Vaibhav R.; Dongare, Mohan K.; Kemnitz, Erhard; Umbarkar, Shubhangi B. (Comptes Rendus Chimie, 2016)
Palladium supported on a strontium hydroxyl fluoride catalyst was synthesized by a one-pot fluorolytic sol-gel method. The prepared catalyst was characterized by various physicochemical techniques. The sol-gel method has led to the formation of a high surface area (57 m(2)g(-1)), mesoporous (pore diameter = 13.0 nm) catalyst with uniform dispersion of Pd nanoparticles of size similar to 7 nm on the surface of strontium hydroxyl fluoride. The catalyst was used for epoxide alcoholysis, and 100% conversion was obtained with 96% selectivity for beta-alkoxy alcohols under mild conditions: The catalyst could be recycled for up to three catalytic cycles without any appreciable decrease in conversion and selectivity, indicating the stability of the catalyst under the reaction conditions. Further, the mechanism of alcoholysis was proposed on the basis of the physicochemical characteristics of the catalyst and on the basis of the products formed during the catalytic reaction. (C) 2016 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Experimental investigation to elucidate why tetrahydrofuran rapidly promotes methane hydrate formation kinetics: applicable to energy storage - Kumar, Asheesh; Daraboina, Nagu; Kumar, Rajnish; Linga, Praveen (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016)
Methane storage as SNG (solidified natural gas) in the form of clathrate hydrates is an emerging, economically feasible and environmentally benign technology for large scale storage. Mixed tetrahydrofuran (THF)-methane (CH4) hydrates offer a paradigm shift to milder storage conditions and faster hydrate formation kinetics, providing a promising scenario to scale up the SNG technology. In this work, we synthesize mixed THF-CH4 hydrates in a high pressure microdifferential scanning calorimeter (HP mu-DSC) to elucidate the two-step hydrate formation mechanism of mixed THF-CH4 hydrate identifying the synergism between THF and CH4. Heat flow change during hydrate formation and dissociation of mixed THF-CH4 hydrates formed in the presence of 5.56 mol % THF (stoichiometric composition) were monitored. The two step-mechanism of mixed THF-CH4 hydrate formation was further confirmed by the pressure-temperature profile and visual observations with a sample volume scale -up of about 350 times that of mu-DSC experiments.

Exploration of magnetically separable Ag@AgxNiy core/graded-alloy-shell nanostructures - Kumar, Mukesh; Soni, Kiran; Satpati, Biswarup; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Deka, Sasanka (Chemical Communications, 2016)
We report novel bimetallic Ag@AgxNiy core@graded-alloy-shell nanoparticles (CGAS NPs), i.e. single Ag core NPs shelled by an AgxNiy graded alloy and stabilized by the CTAB surfactant employing a novel synthesis method. These Ag@AgxNiy CGAS NPs demonstrated superior catalytic performance in the synthesis of biologically active 3-amino alkylated indoles under green conditions.

Exploration of the diastereoselectivity in an unusual Grignard reaction and its application towards the synthesis of styryl lactones 7-epi-(+)-goniodiol and 8-epi-(-)-goniodiol - Chavan, Subhash P.; Khatod, Harshali S.; Das, Tamal; Vanka, Kumar (RSC Advances, 2016)
An unusual diastereoselective Grignard reaction is explored, where the Grignard reagents are derived from 1,n-dihaloalkanes. A steric bias due to the presence of a quaternary centre adjacent to the acetonide ester at the benzylic position is responsible for the formation of an intramolecularly reduced product in almost quantitative yield. This steric hindrance is responsible for the diastereoselectivity observed with a variety of aromatic as well as aliphatic esters. The unusual Grignard reaction furnishes long chain secondary alcohols possessing a terminal olefin, which are synthetically important intermediates. As an application of this method, the diastereoselective synthesis of styryl lactones viz. 7-epi-(+)-goniodiol (29) and 8-epi(-)-goniodiol (30) has been achieved.

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

Exploring the reducing role of boron: added insights from theory - Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Vanka, Kumar (Dalton Transactions, 2016)
Carbon-carbon coupling in CO molecules is a challenging proposition, and very few main group complexes have been shown to effect this process. A recently reported triply bonded diboryne system (1) is notable for coupling four CO molecules to produce a (bis) boralactone species. The current full quantum chemical computational investigation with density functional theory (DFT) provides important insights into the nature of the CO coupling process by triply bonded diboryne systems. The complete reaction pathway leading to the formation of the (bis) boralactone has been determined. Factors that make this system so successful in coupling CO groups have been elucidated, and pertinent issues, such as why the coupling process stops after four CO additions, have been explored. Also, importantly, insights have been gained through the natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis into how the back-donation from diboryne activates CO.

Expression of proteins involved in digestion and detoxification are regulated in helicoverpa armigera to cope up with chlorpyrifos insecticide - Dawkar, Vishal V.; Chikate, Yojana R.; More, Tushar H.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Insect Science, 2016)
Helicoverpa armigera is a key pest in many vital crops, which is mainly controlled by chemical strategies. To manage this pest is becoming challenging due to its ability and evolution of resistance against insecticides. Further, its subsequent spread on nonhost plant is remarkable in recent times. Hence, decoding resistance mechanism against phytochemicals and synthetic insecticides is a major challenge. The present work describes that the digestion, defense and immunity related enzymes are associated with chlorpyrifos resistance in H. armigera. Proteomic analysis of H. armigera gut tissue upon feeding on chlorpyrifos containing diet (CH) and artificial diet (AD) using nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry identified upregulated 23-proteins in CH fed larvae. Database searches combined with gene ontology analysis revealed that the identified gut proteins engrossed in digestion, proteins crucial for immunity, adaptive responses to stress, and detoxification. Biochemical and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis of candidate proteins indicated that insects were struggling to get nutrients and energy in presence of CH, while at the same time endeavoring to metabolize chlorpyrifos. Moreover, we proposed a potential processing pathway of chlorpyrifos in H. armigera gut by examining the metabolites using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. H. armigera exhibit a range of intriguing behavioral, morphological adaptations and resistance to insecticides by regulating expression of proteins involved in digestion and detoxification mechanisms to cope up with chlorpyrifos. In these contexts, as gut is a rich repository of biological information; profound analysis of gut tissues can give clues of detoxification and resistance mechanism in insects.
Keywords: chlorpyrifos; Helicoverpa armigera; insecticide resistance; proteomics; real-time PCR

F and CF3 substituted solution processable oligo para-phenylenevinylene for ambipolar and hole-transporting organic field effect transistors - Chini, Mrinmoy Kumar; Das, Chayanika; Chatterjee, Shyambo (Chemical Physics Letters, 2016)
We have synthesized benzotrifluoromethyl group substituted para-phenylenevinylene oligomer (denoted as PI) and a cooligomer (denoted as PII) by Gilch polymerization route. The ambipolar field-effect transistor (FET) material PI shows hole and electron mobility 1 x 10 (4) cm(2) V (1) s (1) and 2 x 10 (5) cm(2) V (1) s (1) respectively. PII shows only hole mobility as high as 0.05 cm(2) V (1) s (1) as p-type material. This work highlights the progress of hole-transporting as well as ambipolar material for para-phenylenevinylene derivatives. The results are enlightened on the basis of presence of electronegative substituents and structural modification of the oligomer backbone. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Facile access to a Ge(II) dication stabilized by isocyanides - Swamy, V. S. V. S. N.; Yadav, Sandeep; Pal, Shiv; Das, Tamal; Vanka, Kumar; Sen, Sakya S. (Chemical Communications, 2016)
Herein, we introduce isocyanide as a ligand in main group chemistry and describe the facile isolation of a Ge(II) dication. The reaction of 2,6-dimethylphenylisocyanide with GeCl2 leads to the formation of a Ge(II) dication with two [GeCl3](-) molecules as counter anions. The dicationic Ge(II) center is bound to four isocyanide ligands and also holds a lone pair of electrons. DFT calculations reveal that the dication is stabilized only by sigma-donation from the four isocyanide ligands. Natural population analysis gives a charge of +0.74 on the Ge(II) center, indicating that the positive charge is shared by the isocyanide substituents.

Facile green synthesis of BCN nanosheets as high-performance electrode material for electrochemical energy storage - Karbhal, Indrapal; Devarapalli, Rami Reddy; Debgupta, Joyashish; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K.; Ajayan, Pulickel M.; Shelke, Manjusha V. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2016)
Two-dimensional hexagonal boron carbon nitride (BCN) nanosheets (NSs) were synthesized by new approach in which a mixture of glucose and an adduct of boric acid (H3BO3) and urea (NH2CONH2) is heated at 900 degrees C. The method is green, scalable and gives a high yield of BCN NSs with average size of about 1 mm and thickness of about 13 nm. Structural characterization of the as-synthesized material was carried out by several techniques, and its energy-storage properties were evaluated electrochemically. The material showed excellent capacitive behaviour with a specific capacitance as high as 244 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1). The material retains up to 96% of its initial capacity after 3000 cycles at a current density of 5 A g(-1).
Keywords: boron; Doping; Electrochemistry; Nanoparticles; nitrides

Fingering instability in the flow of a power-law fluid on a rotating disc - Arora, Akash; Doshi, Pankaj (Physics of Fluids, 2016)
A computational study of the flow of a non-Newtonian power law fluid on a spinning disc is considered here. The main goal of this work is to examine the effect of non-Newtonian nature of the fluid on the flow development and associated contact line instability. The governing mass and momentum balance equations are simplified using the lubrication theory. The resulting model equation is a fourth order non-linear PDE which describes the spatial and temporal evolutions of film thickness. The movement of the contact line is modeled using a constant angle slip model. To solve this moving boundary problem, a numerical method is developed using a Galerkin/finite element method based approach. The numerical results show that the spreading rate of the fluid strongly depends on power law exponent n. It increases with the increase in the shear thinning character of the fluid (n < 1) and decreases with the increase in shear thickening nature of the fluid (n > 1). It is also observed that the capillary ridge becomes sharper with the value of n. In order to examine the stability of these ridges, a linear stability theory is also developed for these power law fluids. The dispersion relationship depicting the growth rate for a given wave number has been reported and compared for different power-law fluids. It is found that the growth rate of the instability decreases as the fluid becomes more shear thinning in nature, whereas it increases for more shear thickening fluids. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.

Fingering instability of a suspension film spreading on a spinning disk - Kulkarni, Mayuresh; Sahoo, Subhadarshinee; Doshi, Pankaj; Orpe, Ashish V. (Physics of Fluids, 2016)
The spreading of a thin film of suspension on a spinning disk and the accompanying contact line instability is studied through flow visualization experiments. The critical radius for the onset of instability shows an increase with increase in the particle fraction (phi(p)) before decreasing slightly at the highest value of phi(p) studied, while the instability wavelength (lambda) exhibits a non-monotonic dependence. The value of lambda is close to that for a partially wetting liquid at lower phi(p), it decreases with increasing phi(p) to a minimum before increasing again at largest phi(p). The non-monotonic trends observed for lambda are discussed in light of the linear stability analysis of thin film equations derived for suspensions by Cook et al. [''Linear stability of particle-laden thin films,'' Eur. Phys. J.: Spec. Top. 166, 77 (2009)] and Balmforth et al. [''Surface tension driven fingering of a viscoplastic film,'' J. Non Newtonian Fluid Mech. 142, 143 (2007)]. Published by AIP Publishing.

Flexible microsupercapacitors using silk and cotton substrates - Das, Chayanika; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
Flexible microsupercapacitors (MSCs) are needed to power ultrasmall wearable electronic devices. Silk cocoons comprise microfibers of silk, which is an attractive natural resource to fabricate MSCs. These fibers are insulators; hence, they must be converted to conducting surfaces. Polyphenols from green tea have been used as a protective layer that also acted as a reducing agent for silver ions. The reduction of silver ions resulted in the formation of silver nanoparticles that subsequently reduced gold ions to gold. The gold film imparts conductivity to the silk fiber without affecting the mechanical strength of the silk fiber. The mechanical strength of uncoated silk fiber and gold coated silk fiber were found to be 5.2 and 5 GPa, respectively. A pseudocapacitive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), was used as the active material to fabricate MSCs. The MSCs showed an impressive gravimetric capacitance of 500 F/g and areal capacitance of 62 mF/cm(2). The power and energy densities were calculated to be 2458 W/kg and 44 Wh/kg, respectively. The device was coiled on a cylinder, and the performance of the device was found to be same as that of the uncoiled device. To demonstrate that the approach is not specific to silk, we also coated gold on cotton fibers using the protocol used to coat gold on silk. Coiled and uncoiled supercapacitors were fabricated using PEDOT coated cotton fibers. The gravimetric capacitance was found to be 250 F/g with energy and power densities of 5.5 Wh/kg and 1118 W/kg, respectively. We have also demonstrated that the devices can be connected in parallel and series to improve the performance of the miniaturized devices.

Fluorescent probe for bisulfite ions: its application to two-photon tissue imaging - Agarwalla, Hridesh; Pal, Suman; Paul, Anirban; Jun, Yong Woong; Bae, Juryang; Ahn, Kyo Han; Srivastava, Divesh N.; Das, Amitava (Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2016)
A benzoxazinone based fluorescent probe for the specific and efficient detection of bisulfite ions in aqueous medium is described. The probe formed a bisulfite/sulphite adduct with an associated turn-on fluorescence response in the red wavelength region. No interference was observed in the detection process from all possible competing anions and molecules, including cyanide ion, cysteine, homocysteine and glutathione. In addition, the probe showed a fast response time, low detection limit, and cell membrane permeability. Furthermore, the probe was two-photon excitable, enabling imaging of endogenous bisulfite ions in HeLa cells as well as in deep tissues from different organs of mouse.

Functional characterization and transient expression manipulation of a new sesquiterpene synthase involved in beta-caryophyllene accumulation in Ocimum - Jayaramaiah, Ramesha H.; Anand, Atul; Beedkar, Supriya D.; Dholakia, Shushan B.; Punekar, Sachin A.; Kalunke, Raviraj M.; Gade, Wasudeo N.; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Giri, Ashok P. (Biochemical And Biophysical Research Communications, 2016)
The genus Ocimum has a unique blend of diverse secondary metabolites, with major proportion of terpenoids including mono- and sesquiterpenes. Although, beta-Caryophyllene, bicyclic sesquiterpene, is one of the major terpene found in Ocimum species and known to possess several biological activities, not much is known about its biosynthesis in Ocimum. Here, we describe isolation and characterization of beta-caryophyllene synthase gene from Ocimum kilimandscharicum Gurke (OkBCS- GenBank accession no. KP226502). The open reading frame of 1629 bp encoded a protein of 542 amino acids with molecular mass of 63.6 kDa and pl value of 5.66. The deduced amino acid sequence revealed 50-70% similarity with known sesquiterpene synthases from angiosperms. Recombinant OkBCS converted farnesyl diphosphate to beta-caryophyllene as a major product (94%) and 6% alpha-humulene. Expression variation of OkBCS well corroborated with beta-caryophyllene levels in different tissues from five Ocimum species. OkBCS transcript revealed higher expression in leaves and flowers. Further, agro-infiltration based transient expression manipulation with OkBCS over-expression and silencing confirmed its role in beta-caryophyllene biosynthesis. These findings may potentially be further utilized to improve plant defense against insect pests. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: beta-Caryophyllene; Natural product biosynthesis; Ocimum; Terpene synthase; Transient expression

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

Gadolinium(III)-based porous luminescent metal-organic frameworks for bimodal imaging - Kundu, Tanay; Mitra, Shouvik; Diaz Diaz, David; Banerjee, Rahul (Chempluschem, 2016)
Gd-III-based metal-organic frameworks, Gd-pDBI-1 and Gd-pDBI-2, have been synthesized using the linker pDBI (pDBI=1,4-bis(5-carboxy-1H-benzimidazole-2yl)benzene). They exhibited structural diversity due to subtle change in reaction constituents. Owing to the judicious choice of the fluorescent linker, the materials could be used for bimodal imaging (fluorescent and magnetic resonance) and displayed a modest T1 relaxivity value.

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.

Gas-solid interaction of H-2-Ce0.95Zr0.05O2: new insights into surface participation in heterogeneous catalysis - Jain, Ruchi; Dubey, Anjani; Ghosalya, Manoj Kumar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Catalysis Science & Technology, 2016)
A direct interaction between a reduction medium (H-2) and a Ce0.95Zr0.05O2 (CZ) solid surface was explored through ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy (APPES), with conventional X-ray and He-I photon sources, in H-2 atmosphere up to 0.1 mbar pressure and 773 K. A porous CZ thin film was prepared by a combination of sol-gel and spin-coating methods, and was employed to understand the redox nature of ceria under reduction conditions. The maximum of 45% Ce3+ along with the corresponding oxygen vacancy was observed due to reduction. An unprecedented decrease in the valence band (VB) energy up to 1.4 eV was observed on reduction along with a narrowing of VB. The highest occupied energy band derived from Ce 4f also shifts closer to E-F. H-2 molecular vibration observed in VB-APPES was employed as a probe to explore the surface potential changes along with the dynamic change in the nature of the surface under reduction conditions. The surface potential decreases by 0.27 eV up to 673 K, and then it reverts by 0.24 eV on further reduction at 773 K for different reasons. Further, an enhancement in the Ce 5d-O 2p interaction occurs at the expense of the Ce 4f-O 2p interaction under the above reduction conditions. Vacuum annealing and H-2 reduction after that show significantly more VB shift and enhanced reduction than H-2 reduction alone. Although Ce reduction occurs on high temperature vacuum annealing of CZ, a significantly lower amount of oxygen vacancies appears. This study shows the dynamic changes in the nature of the surface due to a gas (H-2)-solid (CZ) interaction and ensuing electronic structure changes that influence heterogeneous catalysis. It also underscores the necessity to study the catalytic materials under in situ conditions or closer to that.

Glucose-derived porous carbon-coated silicon nanowires as efficient electrodes for aqueous micro-supercapacitors - Devarapalli, Rami Reddy; Szunerits, Sabine; Coffinier, Yannick; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Boukherroub, Rabah (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
In this study, we report on carbon coating of vertically aligned silicon nanowire (SiNWs) arrays via a simple hydrothermal process using glucose as carbon precursor. Using this process, a thin carbon layer is uniformly deposited on the SiNWs. Under optimized conditions, the coated SiNWs electrode showed better electrochemical energy storage capacity as well as exceptional stability in aqueous system as compared to uncoated SiNWs. The as-measured capacitance reached 25.64 mF/cm(2) with a good stability up to 25000 charging/discharging cycles in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous solution.
Keywords: carbon coating; glucose precursor; hydrothermal; microsupercapacitors; silicon nanowires

Glycopolypeptide-grafted bioactive polyionic complex vesicles (PICsomes) and their specific polyvalent interactions - Pandey, Bhawana; Mahato, Jaladhar; Cotta, Karishma Berta; Das, Soumen; Sharma, Dharmendar Kumar; Sen Gupta, Sayam; Chowdhury, Arindam (ACS Omega, 2016)
Glycopolypeptide-based self-assembled nano-/microstructures with surface-tethered carbohydrates are excellent mimics of glycoproteins on the cell surface. To expand the broad repertoire of glycopolypeptide-based supramolecular soft structures such as polymersomes formed via self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers, we have developed a new class of polyionic complex vesicles (PICsomes) with glycopolypeptides grafted on the external surface. Oppositely charged hydrophilic block copolymers of glycopolypeptide(20)-b-poly-L-lysine(100) and PEG(2k)-b-poly-L-glutamate(100) [PEG = poly(ethylene glycol)] were synthesized using a combination of ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydrides and ``click'' chemistry. Under physiological conditions, the catiomer and aniomer self-assemble to form glycopolypeptide-conjugated PICsomes (GP-PICsomes) of micrometer dimensions. Electron and atomic force microscopy suggests a hollow morphology of the PICsomes, with inner aqueous pool (core) and peripheral PIC (shell) regions. Owing to their relatively large (similar to micrometers) size, the hollowness of the supramolecular structure could be established via fluorescence microscopy of single GP-PICsomes, both in solution and under dry conditions, using spatially distributed fluorescent probes. Furthermore, the dynamics of single PICsomes in solution could be imaged in real time, which also allowed us to test for multivalent interactions between PICsomes mediated by a carbohydrate (mannose)-binding protein (lectin, Con-A). The immediate association of several GP-PICsomes in the presence of Con-A and their eventual aggregation to form large insoluble aggregate clusters reveal that upon self-assembly carbohydrate moieties protrude on the outer surface which retains their biochemical activity. Challenge experiments with excess mannose reveal fast deaggregation of GP-PICsomes as opposed to that in the presence of excess galactose, which further establishes the specificity of lectin-mediated polyvalent interactions of the GP-PICsomes.

Green leaf to inorganic leaf: a case study of ZnO - Sathu, Naveen K.; Devaraji, Perumal; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Journal of Nanoscienceand Nanotechnology, 2016)
Can we use green leaves, available freely in our gardens, as a template for making inorganic leaf, while retaining the nanospace available within the leaf architecture. The answer is 'yes', and it is demonstrated with inorganic leaf made up of ZnO, by intercalating Zn2+ ions into the porous channels of the champa (Plumeria, Magnolia champaca) tree leaves. TEM studies reveal a variety of macro-micro-nanospace available in the inorganic leaf ZnO (IL-ZnO), and suggest the possibility of exploiting the same to produce natural nano-architecture for various applications. A speciality of the present work is the maximum suppression of defects in photoluminescence of IL-ZnO leaf, compared to the commercial ZnO, which is exploited for light harvesting through chemical conversion. Benzene to phenol conversion was studied in UV light and IL-ZnO show significant conversion and yield demonstrating C-H activation at ambient temperature.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from purple acid phosphatase apoenzyme isolated from a new source limonia acidissima - Pawar, Omkar; Deshpande, Neelima; Dagade, Sharda; Waghmode, Shobha; Joshi, Preeti Nigam (Journal of Experimental Nanoscience, 2016)
Green synthesis of nanoparticles is regarded as a safe and non-toxic process whereas conventional synthesis using chemical methods produces toxic substance. This study provides a novel insight for enzymatic synthesis method of silver nanoparticles using purple acid phosphatase, isolated from Limonia acidissima (wood apple) as a new source and used in the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Stable silver nanoparticles were produced by sonochemical method using apoenzyme as a stabilising and capping agent and were characterised by various physicochemical techniques like UV-Visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray study shows that nanoparticles are composed of silver and silver oxide. The synthesised nanoparticles exhibited excellent antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus.
Keywords: green synthesis; Limonia acidissima; purple acid phosphatase; silver nanoparticles

Green synthesis of stable Cu(0) nanoparticles onto reduced graphene oxide nanosheets: a reusable catalyst for the synthesis of symmetrical biaryls from arylboronic acids under base-free conditions (vol 5, pg 1251, 2015) - Hussain, Najrul; Gogoi, Pranjal; Azhagan, Muniraj Vedi Kuyil; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Das, Manash R. (Catalysis Science & Technology, 2016)
Correction for ‘Green synthesis of stable Cu(0) nanoparticles onto reduced graphene oxide nanosheets: a reusable catalyst for the synthesis of symmetrical biaryls from arylboronic acids under base-free conditions’ by Najrul Hussain et al., Catal. Sci. Technol., 2015, 5, 1251–1260.

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.

High hydroxide conductivity in a chemically stable crystalline metal-organic framework containing a water-hydroxide supramolecular chain - Nagarkar, Sanjog S.; Anothumakkool, Bihag; Desai, Aamod V.; Shirolkar, Mandar M.; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Chemical Communications, 2016)
A chemically stable cationic MOF encapsulating an in situ formed water-hydroxide supramolecular anionic chain is realized for high hydroxide (OH-) ion conductivity in the solid-state (Type A). High OH- ion conductivity and low activation energy of the MOF demonstrate the advantage of the in situ incorporation of OH- ions to achieve efficient OH- ion conduction in the solid-state.

High-performance organic-inorganic hybrid piezo-nanogenerator via interface enhancedpolarization effects for self-powered electronic systems - Dhakras, Dipti; Ogale, Satishchandra (Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2016)
An electrospun fi ber based wearable organic-inorganic hybrid piezonanogenerator compose of suitably engineered P(VDF-TrFE) and BaTiO3 nanostructures is reported. In the case of the device with an electrospun mat of piezoelectric beta-phase P(VDF-TrFE) and BaTiO3 nanoparticulates fi lled in the interfi ber open spaces, a power density of 16 mu W cm(-2) is realized at an applied impact of 0.02 MPa (which essentially corresponds to the thumb pressure). A similar device, with BaTiO 3 additionally embedded in the P(VDF-TrFE) fi bers during their formation, renders a signifi cantly higher peak power density of 28 mu W cm(-2) with instantaneous power density of approximate to 8.8 mu W cm(-2) at the same touch pressure. This performance is attributed to the high density of interfaces in such a device and the corresponding enhancement in the dielectric response. It is demonstrated that the power generated from such a hybrid device structure can be used for small scale applications such as charging a mobile phone.

Hydrogen adsorption in ZIF-7: A DFT and ab-initio molecular dynamics study - Dixit, Mudit; Major, Dan Thomas; Pal, Sourav (Chemical Physics Letters, 2016)
Primary H-2 adsorption sites in a zeolitic imidazolate framework, ZIF-7, are identified using ab-initio density functional theory (DFT) based molecular dynamics annealing simulations. The simulations suggest several low energy adsorption sites. The effect of light transition metal decoration on hydrogen storage properties was studied. Our ab-intio DFT calculations illustrate that decorating the ZIF with Sc increases both the number of H-2 molecules, as well as the H-2 binding energy. The binding energy (similar to 25 kJ/mol per H-2) at 8H(2) loading in the pore, suggests that Sc-ZIFs can be potential candidates for hydrogen storage. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs): a new class of porous crystalline proton-conducting materials - Karmakar, Avishek; Illathvalappil, Rajith; Anothumakkool, Bihag; Sen, Arunabha; Samanta, Partha; Desai, Aamod V.; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2016)
Two porous hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) based on arene sulfonates and guanidinium ions are reported. As a result of the presence of ionic backbones appended with protonic source, the compounds exhibit ultra-high proton conduction values (sigma) 0.75x 10(-2)Scm(-1) and 1.8x10(-2)Scm(-1) under humidified conditions. Also, they have very low activation energy values and the highest proton conductivity at ambient conditions (low humidity and at moderate temperature) among porous crystalline materials, such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). These values are not only comparable to the conventionally used proton exchange membranes, such as Nafion used in fuel cell technologies, but is also the highest value reported in organic-based porous architectures. Notably, this report inaugurates the usage of crystalline hydrogen-bonded porous organic frameworks as solid-state proton conducting materials.
Keywords: guanidinium; hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks; porous crystalline frameworks; proton conduction; sulfonates

Improved all-polymer solar cell performance of n-type naphthalene diimide-bithiophene P(NDI2OD-T2) copolymer by incorporation of perylene diimide as coacceptor - Sharma, Sandeep; Kolhe, Nagesh B.; Gupta, Vinay; Bharti, Vishal; Sharma, Abhishek; Datt, Ram; Chand, Suresh; Asha, S. K. (Macromolecules, 2016)
Naphthalene diimide-bithiophene P(NDI2OD-T2) is a well-known donor-acceptor polymer, previously explored as n-type material in all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs) and organic field effect transistor (OFETs) applications. The optical, bulk, electrochemical, and semiconducting properties of P(NDI2OD-T2) polymer were tuned via random incorporation of perylene diimide (PDI) as coacceptor with naphthalene diimide (NDI). Three random copolymers containing 2,2'-bithiophene as donor unit and varying compositions of naphthalene diimide (NDI) and perylene diimide (xPDI, x = 15, 30, and 50 mol % of PDI) as two mixed acceptors were synthesized by Stille coupling copolymerization. Proton NMR spectra recorded in CD Cl-3 showed that the pi-pi stacking induced aggregation among the naphthalene units could be successfully disrupted by the random incorporation of bulky PDI units. The newly synthesized random copolymers were investigated as electron acceptors in BHJ all-PSCs, and their performance was compared with P(NDI2OD-T2) as reference polymer. An enhanced PCE of 5.03% was observed for BHJ all-PSCs (all-polymer solar cells) fabricated using NDI-Th-PDI30 as acceptor and PTB7-Th as donor, while the reference polymer blend with the same donor polymer exhibited PCE of 2.97% efficiency under similar conditions. SCLC bulk carrier mobility measured for blend devices showed improved charge mobility compared to reference polymer, with PTB7-Th:NDI-Th-PDI30 blend device exhibiting the high hole and electron mobility of 4.2 x 10(-4) and 1.5 x 10(-4) cm(2)/(V s), respectively. This work demonstrates the importance of molecular design via random copolymer strategy to control the bulk crystallinity, compatibility, blend morphology, and solar cell performance of n-type copolymers.

In situ fabrication of highly crystalline CdS decorated Bi2S3 nanowires (nano-heterostructure) for visible light photocatalyst application - Panmand, Rajendra P.; Sethi, Yogesh A.; Deokar, Rajashree S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Gholap, Haribhau M.; Baeg, Jin-Ook; Kale, Bharat B. (RSC Advances, 2016)
In situ synthesis of the orthorhombic Bi2S3 nanowires decorated with hexagonal CdS nanoparticles (nano-heterostructure) has been demonstrated by a facile solvothermal method. The tiny 5-7 nm CdS spherical nanoparticles are decorated on the surfaces of 30-40 nm Bi2S3 nanowires, successfully. Structural, morphological and optical studies clearly show the existence of CdS on the nanowires. A possible sequential deposition growth mechanism is proposed on the basis of experimental results to reveal the formation of the nano heterostructure. The heterostructures have been used as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production as well as degradation of methylene blue under solar light. The maximum hydrogen evolution i.e. 4560 and 2340 mu mol h(-1) 0.5 g was obtained from H2S splitting and glycerol degradation for Bi2S3 NWs decorated with CdS nanoparticles (nano-heterostructure) which is higher than that of the Bi2S3 NWs (3000 and 1170 mu mol h(-1) 0.5 g, respectively). The enhanced photocatalytical hydrogen evolution efficiency of the heterostructures is mainly attributed to its nanostructure. In the nano heterostructure, the CdS nanoparticles control the charge carrier transition, recombination, and separation, while the Bi2S3 nanowire serves as a support for the CdS nanoparticles. The photogenerated electron's migration is faster than the holes from the inside of a CdS nanoparticle to its surface or to the phase interface, resulting in a relatively higher hole density inside the CdS nanoparticle leaving electron density at surface of the Bi2S3 NWs. This influences the photocatalytic activity under solar light. Such nano-heterostructures may have potential in other photocatalytic reactions.

Influence of kinetic and thermodynamic promoters on post-combustion carbon dioxide capture through gas hydrate crystallization - Kumar, A.; Bhattacharjee, G.; Barmecha, V.; Diwan, S.; Kushwaha, O. S. (Journal of environmental chemical engineering, 2016)
In the present work, we report enhanced kinetics of hydrate formation in the presence of kinetic and thermodynamic promoters, SDS (sodium dodecyl sulphate) and THF (tetrahydrofuran) respectively. Hydrate formation was carried out in a fixed bed reactor for post-combustion capture of CO2. Silica sand was used as a fixed bed medium to capture CO2 from a CO2/N2/SO2 (17.7 mol% CO2, 1.05 mol% SO2 and balance N2) gas mixture by hydrate crystallisation. Experiments were performed at a constant temperature (273.65 K) and at different pressures (9.5 and 2.45 MPa) in batch mode. It was found that the addition of SDS enhances the rate and gas uptake of gas hydrate formation. A higher gas consumption was achieved by using 5.56 mol% THF compared to 1.0 and 3.0 mol% THF.

Interplaying intrinsic and extrinsic proton conductivities in covalent organic frameworks - Chandra, Suman; Kundu, Tanay; Dey, Kaushik; Addicoat, Matthew A.; Heine, Thomas; Banerjee, Rahul (Chemistry of Materials, 2016)
A sulfonic-acid-based covalent organic framework (TpPa-SO3H) has been synthesized that exhibits intrinsic proton conductivity under anhydrous conditions. The sulfonic acid groups are aligned on the two-dimensional (2D) layers at periodic intervals and promote the proton hopping inside the hexagonal one-dimensional channel. The intrinsic proton conductivity of TpPa-SO3H was measured as 1.7 X 10(-5) S cm(-1) at 120 degrees C under anhydrous conditions. To enhance the proton conductivity, we have synthesized a hybrid COF TpPa(SO3H-Py) by a ligand-based solid-solution approach that contains sulfonic acid as the acidic site, as well as pyridine as the basic site, in order to immobilize acidic proton carrier molecules. Impregnation of phytic acid molecules inside the framework increases the anhydrous proton conductivity up to 5 x 10(-4) S cm(-1) at 120 degrees C. Such an approach highlights the advantage and first-time use of hybrid COF for interplaying intrinsic to extrinsic proton conductivity.

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.

Investigation of microbial diversity in geothermal hot springs in Unkeshwar, India, based on 16S rRNA amplicon metagenome sequencing - Mehetre, Gajanan T.; Paranjpe, Aditi; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Dharne, Mahesh S. (Genome Announcements, 2016)
Microbial diversity in geothermal waters of the Unkeshwar hot springs in Maharashtra, India, was studied using 16S rRNA amplicon metagenomic sequencing. Taxonomic analysis revealed the presence of Bacteroidetes , Proteobacteria , Cyanobacteria , Actinobacteria , Archeae , and OD1 phyla. Metabolic function prediction analysis indicated a battery of biological information systems indicating rich and novel microbial diversity, with potential biotechnological applications in this niche.

Ionic liquids catalyzed lignin liquefaction: mechanistic studies using TPO-MS, FT-IR, RAMAN and 1D, 2D-HSQC/NOSEY NMR - Singh, Sandip K.; Dhepe, Paresh Laxmikant (Green Chemistry, 2016)
Valorization of a profusely available alternate resource, biomass and in particular its 3-D intricate component lignin into low molecular weight aromatic products are used as platform chemicals and fuel additives, and developing a low temperature catalytic process is imperative in preserving atom efficiency. Ionic liquids, due to their unique properties, offer an advantage to develop such methods under milder conditions. Herein, we show use of -SO3H functionalized imidazolium based various recyclable Bronsted acidic ionic liquids (BAILs) in catalytic quantity under ambient pressure at 120 degrees C for depolymerization of lignin (60 000 g mol(-1)) into THF soluble products with high efficiency (78% yield, 95% +/- 5% mass balance). The decoding of this efficiency by 1D and 2D (HSQC/NOSEY) NMR, FT-IR and RAMAN studies exemplify that the -OH group(s) interact with the electron deficient BAIL cation. The mechanistic insights unraveled in this study open a plethora of opportunities to design catalysts for developing efficient processes.

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.

Isolation of lignin by organosolv process from different varieties of rice husk: Understanding their physical and chemical properties - Singh, Sandip K.; Dhepe, Paresh Laxmikant (Bioresource Technology, 2016)

Laser shielding and thermal ablation characteristics of resorcinol formaldehyde/boronnitride composites for thermal protection systems - Daniel, Alex; Badhe, Yutika; Srikanth, Ivaturi; Gokhale, Suresh; Balasubramanian, Kandasubramanian (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2016)
Resorcinol formaldehyde (RF) composites were modified by incorporating different weight ratios of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) through a novel in situ polymerization technique. Temperature modulated SAXS was used to understand the changes in polymer network due to h-BN addition. The ablation performance of RF BN composites was evaluated by pulsed laser and oxyacetylene torch tests. Linear ablation resistance under oxyacetylene conditions improved by 18%. Laser ablation resistance increased by 44%. The reasons for improved ablation resistance for RF BN composites were studied using XRD, FTIR, and XPS methods which indicated that h-BN undergoes phase transformation at higher temperatures and also displays typical floral assimilation leading to significant energy consumption. This results in improved ablation resistance. These findings could lead to fabrication of RF BN based thermal protection systems (TPS) having better protection capabilities.

Low turn-on field and high field emission current density from Ag/TiO 2 nanocomposite - Patil, Girish P.; Deore, Amol B.; Bagal, Vivekanand S.; Late, Dattatray J.; More, Mahendra A.; Chavan, Padmakar G. (Chemical Physics Letters, 2016)
High current density of 1.24 mA/cm2 was drawn at an applied field of 4.4 V/μm from Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite. Also the turn-on field has been reduced from 3.9 V/μm to 2.7 V/μm for the emission current density of 10 μA/cm2. Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite was synthesized by using UV-switchable reducing agent. TiO2 nanotube wall was decorated by Ag nanoparticles with average diameter of 17 nm. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on the field emission studies of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite. Simple synthesis route coupled with superior field emission properties indicate the possible use of Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite for micro/nanoelectronic devices.

Low-overpotential electrocatalytic water splitting with noble-metal-free nanoparticles supported in a sp(3) n-rich flexible COF - Mullangi, Dinesh; Dhavale, Vishal M.; Shalini, Sorout; Nandi, Shyamapada; Collins, Sean; Woo, Tom; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Vaidhyanathan, Ramanathan (Advanced Energy Materials, 2016)
Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are crystalline organic polymers with tunable structures. Here, a COF is prepared using building units with highly flexible tetrahedral sp(3) nitrogens. This flexibility gives rise to structural changes which generate mesopores capable of confining very small (<2 nm sized) non-noble-metal-based nanoparticles (NPs). This nanocomposite shows exceptional activity toward the oxygen-evolution reaction from alkaline water with an overpotential of 258 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm(-2). The overpotential observed in the COF-nanoparticle system is the best in class, and is close to the current record of approximate to 200 mV for any noble-metalfree electrocatalytic water splitting system-the Fe-Co-Ni metal-oxide-film system. Also, it possesses outstanding kinetics (Tafel slope of 38.9 mV dec(-1)) for the reaction. The COF is able to stabilize such small-sized NP in the absence of any capping agent because of the COF-Ni(OH)(2) interactions arising from the N-rich backbone of the COF. Density-functional-theory modeling of the interaction between the hexagonal Ni(OH)(2) nanosheets and the COF shows that in the most favorable configuration the Ni(OH)(2) nanosheets are sandwiched between the sp(3) nitrogens of the adjacent COF layers and this can be crucial to maximizing their synergistic interactions.

Mechanically tunable curcumin incorporated polyurethane hydrogels as potential biomaterials - Divakaran, Anumon V.; Azad, Lal Busher; Surwase, Sachin S.; Torris, Arun A. T.; Badiger, Manohar V. (Chemistry of Materials, 2016)
We report here on the one-pot synthesis and characterization of curcumin incorporated polyethylene glycol polyurethane (PU-CUR) hydrogels using PEG-4000, 4, 4'-methylenebis (cyclohexyl isocyanate), curcumin in the presence of a cross-linker, 1,2,6 hexanetriol (HT). Besides the physical entrapment, curcumin also provides a partial cross linking in the 3-D structure of the hydrogel. The degree of swelling in hydrogels could be controlled by varying the amount of HT as well as curcumin. The structural characterization of hydrogels was performed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, UV and fluorescence spectroscopy. The wide-angle X-ray scattering studies revealed the existence of crystalline domains of PEG, and the small-angle X-ray scattering studies showed the presence of lamellar microstructures. Porous structure in the hydrogel was created by cryogenic treatment and lyophilization. Scanning electron microscopy and microcomputed tomography imaging of hydrogels showed the presence of interconnected pores. The mechanical strength of the hydrogels was measured using a universal testing machine. The observed tensile and breaking compression strengths for the equilibrium swollen gels were found to be in the range of 0.22-0.73 MPa and 1.65-4.6 MPa, respectively. Detailed in vitro biological experiments showed the biocompatibility of gels, cytostatic dosage of curcumin, selective toxicity toward cancer cell lines, and antibacterial property. These gels show promising applications as scaffolds and implants in tissue engineering.

Mechanistic insights into pincer-ligated palladium-catalyzed arylation of azoles with aryl Iodides: evidence of a Pd-II-Pd-IV-Pd-II pathway - Khake, Shrikant M.; Jagtap, Rahul A.; Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Vanka, Kumar; Punji, Benudhar (Organometallics, 2016)
Pincer-based (R2POCNR′2)PdCl complexes along with CuI cocatalyst catalyze the arylation of azoles with aryl iodides to give the 2-arylated azole products. Herein, we report an extensive mechanistic investigation for the direct arylation of azoles involving a well-defined and highly efficient (iPr2POCNEt2)PdCl (2a) catalyst, which emphasizes a rare PdII–PdIV–PdII redox catalytic pathway. Kinetic studies and deuterium labeling experiments indicate that the C–H bond cleavage on azoles occurs via two distinct routes in a reversible manner. Controlled reactivity of the catalyst 2a underlines the iodo derivative (iPr2POCNEt2)PdI (3a) to be the resting state of the catalyst. The intermediate species (iPr2POCNEt2)Pd-benzothiazolyl (4a) has been isolated and structurally characterized. A determination of reaction rates of compound 4a with electronically different aryl iodides has revealed the kinetic significance of the oxidative addition of the C(sp2)–X electrophile, aryl iodide, to complex 4a. Furthermore, the reactivity behavior of 4a suggests that the arylation of benzothiazole proceeds via an oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathway involving a (iPr2POCNEt2)PdIV(benzothiazolyl)(Ar)I species, which is strongly supported by DFT calculations.

Molecular cloning and characterization of O-methyltransferase from mango fruit (mangifera indica cv. alphonso) - Chidley, Hemangi G.; Oak, Pranjali S.; Deshpande, Ashish B.; Pujari, Keshav H.; Giri, Ashok P.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Molecular Biotechnology, 2016)
Flavour of ripe Alphonso mango is invariably dominated by the de novo appearance of lactones and furanones during ripening. Of these, furanones comprising furaneol (4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone) and mesifuran (2,5-dimethyl-4-methoxy-3(2H)-furanone) are of particular importance due to their sweet, fruity caramel-like flavour characters and low odour detection thresholds. We isolated a 1056 bp complete open reading frame of a cDNA encoding S-adenosyl-l-methionine-dependent O-methyltransferase from Alphonso mango. The recombinantly expressed enzyme, MiOMTS showed substrate specificity towards furaneol and protocatechuic aldehyde synthesizing mesifuran and vanillin, respectively, in an in vitro assay reaction. A semi-quantitative PCR analysis showed fruit-specific expression of MiOMTS transcripts. Quantitative real-time PCR displayed ripening-related expression pattern of MiOMTS in both pulp and skin of Alphonso mango. Also, early and significantly enhanced accumulation of its transcripts was detected in pulp and skin of ethylene-treated fruits. Ripening-related and fruit-specific expression profile of MiOMTS and substrate specificity towards furaneol is a suggestive of its involvement in the synthesis of mesifuran in Alphonso mango. Moreover, a significant trigger in the expression of MiOMTS transcripts in ethylene-treated fruits point towards the transcriptional regulation of mesifuran biosynthesis by ethylene.
Keywords: Ethylene; expression; Flavour; Mango; Mesifuran; Ripening

Molecular-Pillar-supported functionalized reduced graphene-oxide for energy efficient lubrication - Gupta, Bhavana; Kumar, Niranjan; Panda, Kalpataru; Melvin, Ambrose A.; Joshi, Shailesh; Dash, Sitaram (Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2016)
Molecular-pillar-supported basal plane of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is fabricated by polymerizing polyaniline (PANI). In the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG200), the gamma-radiolysis is used for modifying the functionalization and improving the structural symmetry of PANI and PEG grafted rGO (PANI-PEG-g-rGO). The PANI is covalently and noncovalently grafted onto the surface of the graphene sheets. Carboxyl groups of rGO are linked to the nitrogen atoms in the PANI backbone and an accompanying noncovalent interaction between alkyl chains of grafted PANI and hydrooxylated rGO is formed. Raman and Fourier transform infra-red results confirm existence of stretching vibrations of benzenoid and quinonoid rings in PANI-PEG-g-rGO-functionalized composite, indicating grafting between PANI and rGO through pi-pi interaction. Furthermore, PEG-functionalization through hydrogen bonding with rGO is confirmed when hydroxyl group from the rGO combines with oxygen of PEG. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals significant increase in carbon, while loading PANI network with rGO followed by gamma-irradiation. Antifriction and antiwear properties of graphene nanocomposite are considerably enhanced to 68.4% and 48%, respectively, as compared to pristine PEG. The unique lubrication properties are explained by PEG functionalized molecular PANI-pillar structure across basal plane of rGO.

Nevirapine loaded core shell gold nanoparticles by double emulsion solvent evaporation: invitro and in vivo evaluation - Dalvi, Bhagyashree R.; Siddiqui, Ejaz A.; Syed, Asad S.; Velhal, Shilpa M.; Ahmad, Absar; Bandivdekar, Atmaram B.; Devarajan, Padma V. (Current Drug Delivery, 2016)
Background: HIV/AIDS is a macrophage resident infection localized in the reticuloendothelial system and remote locations of brain and bone marrow. We present core shell nanoparticles of gold(AuNPs) and nevirapine(NVP) for targeted delivery to the multiple HIV reservoirs. The aim of the study was to design core shell NVP loaded AuNPs with high drug loading and to evaluate biodistribution of the nanoparticles in possible HIV reservoirs in vivo. A specific objective was to assess the possible synergy of AuNPs with NVP on anti-HIV activity in vitro. Method: Core shell nanoparticles were prepared by double emulsion solvent evaporation method and characterized. Results: Glyceryl monostearate-nevirapine-gold nanoparticles(GMS-NVP-AuNPs) revealed high entrapment efficiency (> 70%), high loading (similar to 40%), particle size < 250 nm and zeta potential -35.9 +/- 1.41mv and exhibited sustained release with good stability. Surface plasmon resonance indicated shell formation while SEM coupled EDAX confirmed the presence of Au. TEM confirmed formation of spherical core shell nanoparticles. GMS-NVP-AuNPs revealed low hemolysis (< 10 %) and serum stability upto 6 h. GMS-NVP-AuNPs exhibited rapid, high and sustained accumulation in the possible HIV reservoir organs, including the major organs of liver, spleen, lymph nodes, thymus and also remote locations of brain, ovary and bone marrow. High cell viability and enhanced uptake in PBMC's and TZM-bl cells were observed. While uptake in PBMC's proposed monocytes/macrophages enabled brain delivery. GMS-NVP-AuNPs demonstrated synergistic anti-HIV activity. Conclusion: The superior anti-HIV activity in vitro coupled with extensive localization of the nanoparticles in multiple HIV reservoirs suggests great promise of the core shell GMS-NVP-AuNPs for improved therapy of HIV.

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).

Nitrogen doping in oxygen-deficient Ca2Fe2O5: a strategy for efficient oxygen reduction oxide catalysts - Jijil, Chamundi P.; Lokanathan, Moorthi; Chithiravel, Sundaresan; Nayak, Chandrani; Bhattacharyya, Dibyendu; Jha, Shambhu Nath; Babu, P. D.; Kakade, Bhalchandra A.; Devi, R. Nandini (ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2016)

Nucleophilic nitration of arynes by sodium nitrite and its multicomponent reaction leading to double-functionalized arenes - Dhokale, Ranjeet A.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (Organic Letters, 2016)
An unusual nucleophilic nitration of arynes by NaNO2 in the presence of water has been developed, and the concept was further demonstrated to accomplish a double functionalization of arynes using a multicomponent reaction protocol to synthesize pharmaceutically important (2-nitrophenyl)methanol derivatives. Such substitution ortho to -NO2 is difficult by other means. The reaction conditions are mild and avoid the use of strong acids, expensive transition metal catalysts, and additives.

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.

Parasitism by Chelonus blackburni (Hymenoptera) affects food consumption and development of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera) and cellular architecture of the midgut - Sanap, Yogita; Dawkar, Vishal V.; Giri, Ashok P.; Sen, Avalokiteswar; Pandit, Radhakrishna S. (Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology, 2016)
Biological control agents are vital components of an integrated pest management strategy, and this is frequently referred to as natural control. Natural enemies of insect pests include predators, parasitoids, and pathogens. Among them, a parasitoid, Chelonus blackburni (Cameron), was found to be the best biological control agent for the polyphagous pest, Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner). C. blackburni alters the feeding performance of H. annigera larvae upon parasitism and as a result severely affects growth and development. Moreover, it shortens the feeding period of H. armigera and increases mortality. Furthermore, total hemocyte count (THC) was significantly decreased in parasitized larvae than control. Parasitized H. armigera had 26% less number of blood cells compared to healthy larvae. Histological studies showed that the structure of midgut of H. annigera is drastically affected by C. blackburni leading to reduced food consumption, which ultimately led to larval death. The present study provides an insight to changes involved in H. annigera due to parasitism by C blackburni, a parasite that could be used as an effective biocontrol agent to manage H. armigera. (C) 2015 Korean Society of Applied Entomology, Taiwan Entomological Society and Malaysian Plant Protection Society. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pd-catalyzed reductive cleavage of N-N bond in dibenzyl-1-alkylhydrazine-1,2-dicarboxylates with PMHS: application to a formal enantioselective synthesis of (R)-sitagliptin - Dey, Soumen; Gadakh, Sunita K.; Ahuja, Brij Bhushan; Kamble, Sanjay P.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron Letters, 2016)
An environmentally benign approach involving Pd-catalyzed reductive N-N bond cleavage in dibenzyl-1-alkylhydrazine-1,2-dicarboxylates leading to the synthesis of N-(tert-butoxy)carbamates under very mild conditions has been described. PMHS serves as an inexpensive source of hydride in MeOH/deionized H2O medium. This protocol has been successfully applied in the formal synthesis of (R)-sitagliptin, an anti-diabetic drug. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: anti-Diabetic; Environmentally benign; Hydrazine; PMHS; Reductive cleavage

Peeping into genomic architecture by re-sequencing of Ochrobactrum intermedium M86 strain during laboratory adapted conditions - Gohil, K. N.; Neurgaonkar, P. S.; Paranjpe, A.; Dastager, S. G.; Dharne, M. S. (Genomics Data, 2016)
Advances in de novo sequencing technologies allow us to track deeper insights into microbial genomes for restructuring events during the course of their evolution inside and outside the host. Bacterial species belonging to Ochrobactrum genus are being reported as emerging, and opportunistic pathogens in this technology driven era probably due to insertion and deletion of genes. The Ochrobactrum intermedium M86 was isolated in 2005 from a case of non-ulcer dyspeptic human stomach followed by its first draft genome sequence in 2009. Here we report re-sequencing of O. intermedium M86 laboratory adapted strain in terms of gain and loss of genes. We also attempted for finer scale genome sequence with 10 times more genome coverage than earlier one followed by comparative evaluation on Ion PGM and Illumina MiSeq. Despite their similarities at genomic level, lab-adapted strain mainly lacked genes encoding for transposase protein, insertion elements family, phage tail-proteins that were not detected in original strain on both chromosomes. Interestingly, a 5 kb indel was detected in chromosome 2 that was absent in original strain mapped with phage integrase gene of Rhizobium spp. and may be acquired and integrated through horizontal gene transfer indicating the gene loss and gene gain phenomenon in this genus. Majority of indel fragments did not match with known genes indicating more bioinformatic dissection of this fragment. Additionally we report genes related to antibiotic resistance, heavy metal tolerance in earlier and re-sequenced strain. Though SNPs detected, there did not span urease and flagellar genes. We also conclude that third generation sequencing technologies might be useful for understanding genomic architecture and re-arrangement of genes in the genome due to their ability of larger coverage that can be used to trace evolutionary aspects in microbial system.

Photocatalytic H-2 evolution from water-methanol mixtures on InGaO3(ZnO)(m) with an anisotropic layered structure modified with CuO and NiO cocatalysts - Narendranath, Soumya B.; Thekkeparambil, Saranya V.; George, Leena; Thundiyil, Shibin; Devi, R. Nandini (Journal of Molecular Catalysis A-Chemical, 2016)
InGaO3(ZnO)(m) series of oxides is found to be active for photocatalytic H-2 evolution from water-methanol mixtures. The structure of this series is highly anisotropic with InO6 octahedral layers sandwiching Ga/ZnOn polyhedra. The structural anisotropy in which the conducting layer is spatially separated from the charge generation sites may help in suppressing charge recombination and consequently enhance catalytic activity. The band gaps of the series obtained from absorption spectra are above 3.6 eV and hence they are not active under visible light irradiation. H-2 evolution is considerably enhanced under UV light on employing NiO as cocatalyst due to facile electron transfer from InGaO3(ZnO)(m). to NiO. However, when CuO is used as cocatalyst, visible light activity could be brought out. Due to the very low band gap of CuO, it can act as a sensitizer absorbing in visible light. The band positions become conducive for H-2 evolution due to band alignments consequent to electron accumulation in CuO conduction band. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: InGaO3(ZnO)(m); photocatalytic water splitting; visible light; XPS; XRD

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

Pick and choose the spectroscopic method to calibrate the local electric field inside proteins - Haldar, Tapas; Kashid, Somnath M.; Deb, Pranab; Kesh, Sandeep; Bagchi, Sayan (Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, 2016)
Electrostatic interactions in proteins play a crucial role in determining the structure function relation in biomolecules. In recent years, fluorescent probes have been extensively employed to interrogate the polarity in biological cavities through dielectric constants or semiempirical polarity scales. A choice of multiple spectroscopic methods, not limited by fluorophores, along with a molecular level description of electrostatics involving solute-solvent interactions, would allow more flexibility to pick and choose the experimental technique to determine the local electrostatics within protein interiors. In this work we report that ultraviolet/visible-absorption, infrared-absorption, or C-13 NMR can be used to calibrate the local electric field in both hydrogen bonded and non-hydrogen bonded protein environments. The local electric field at the binding site of a serum protein has been determined using the absorption wavelength as well as the carbonyl stretching frequency of its natural steroid substrate, testosterone. Excellent agreement is observed in the results obtained from two independent spectroscopic techniques.

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.

Potential dual role of eugenol in inhibiting advanced glycation end products in diabetes: proteomic and mechanistic insights - Singh, Priyanka; Jayaramaiah, Ramesha H.; Agawane, Sachin B.; Vannuruswamy, Garikapati; Korwar, Arvind M.; Anand, Atul; Dhaygude, Vitthal S.; Shaikh, Mahemud L.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Boppana, Ramanamurthy; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; et al. (Scientific Reports, 2016)
Medicinally important genus Ocimum harbors a vast pool of chemically diverse metabolites. Current study aims at identifying anti-diabetic candidate compounds from Ocimum species. Major metabolites in O. kilimandscharicum, O. tenuiflorum, O. gratissimum were purified, characterized and evaluated for anti-glycation activity. In vitro inhibition of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) by eugenol was found to be highest. Preliminary biophysical analysis and blind docking studies to understand eugenol-albumin interaction indicated eugenol to possess strong binding affinity for surface exposed lysines. However, binding of eugenol to bovine serum albumin (BSA) did not result in significant change in secondary structure of protein. In vivo diabetic mice model studies with eugenol showed reduction in blood glucose levels by 38% likely due to inhibition of alpha-glucosidase while insulin and glycated hemoglobin levels remain unchanged. Western blotting using anti-AGE antibody and mass spectrometry detected notably fewer AGE modified peptides upon eugenol treatment both in vivo and in vitro. Histopathological examination revealed comparatively lesser lesions in eugenol-treated mice. Thus, we propose eugenol has dual mode of action in combating diabetes; it lowers blood glucose by inhibiting a-glucosidase and prevents AGE formation by binding to epsilon-amine group on lysine, protecting it from glycation, offering potential use in diabetic management.

Problem solving and environmentally benign approach toward diversity oriented synthesis of novel 2-amino-3-phenyl (or Alkyl) sulfonyl-4H-chromenes at ambient temperature - Pandit, Kapil S.; Kupwade, Ravindra V.; Chavan, Pramod V.; Desai, Uday V.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Kodam, Kisan M. (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2016)
A problem solving, environmentally benign, and diversity oriented protocol has been described for multi component synthesis of medicinally privileged 2-amino-3-phenyl (or methyl) sulfonyl-4H-chromenes by one-pot, three component condensation among aldehydes, phenyl (or methyl) sulphonyl acetonitrile, and alpha-naphthol, 3-dimethylamino phenol, 4-hydroxy-N-methyl-quinoline-2-one as well as 4-hydroxycarbazole, using diethylamine as an efficient organo catalyst. The catalyst employed is commercially available, inexpensive, and nontoxic. Ambient reaction conditions, very high yields, wide scope, and avoidance of conventional isolation as well as chromatographic purification have improved the practical utility of this protocol manifold.
Keywords: 2-Amino-3-methylsulfonyl-4H-chromenes; 2-Amino-3-phenylsulfonyl-4H-chromenes; diethylamine; green chemistry; Multicomponent synthesis; organocatalyst

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.

Promising field electron emission performance of vertically aligned one dimensional (1D) brookite (beta) TiO2 nanorods - Devan, Rupesh S.; Ma, Yuan-Ron; More, Mahendra A.; Khare, Ruchita T.; Antad, Vivek V.; Patil, Ranjit A.; Thakare, Vishal P.; Dhayal, Rajendra S.; Schmidt-Mende, Lukas (RSC Advances, 2016)
We evidence field-electron emission (FE) studies on the large-area array of one-dimensional (1D) brookite (beta) TiO2 nanorods. The pure 1D beta-TiO2 nanorods of 10 nm width and 760 nm long were synthesized on Si substrate utilizing hot-filament metal vapor deposition technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis evidenced the beta-TiO2 nanorods to be composed of orthorhombic crystals in brookite (beta) phase. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the formation of pure stoichiometric (i.e. 1 : 1.98) 1D TiO2 nanorods. The values of turn-on field, required to draw current density of 10 mA cm(-2), was observed 3.9 V mu m(-1) for pristine 1D beta-TiO2 nanorods emitters, which were found significantly lower than doped/undoped 1D TiO2 nanostructures (i.e. nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods) based field emitters. The enhanced FE behavior of the TiO2/Si emitter can be attributed to modulation of electronic properties due to the high aspect ratio of vertically aligned TiO2 nanorods. Furthermore, the orthodox emission situation of pristine TiO2/Si emitters exhibit good emission stability and reveal their potentials as promising FE material.

Proton play in the formation of low molecular weight chitosan (LWCS) by hydrolyzing chitosan with a carbon based solid acid - Krishnan, R. Akhil; Deshmukh, Pranjal; Agarwal, Siddharth; Purohit, Poorvi; Dhoble, Deepa Arun; Waske, Prashant; Khandekar, Dileep; Jain, Ratnesh; Dandekar, Prajakta (Carbohydrate Polymers, 2016)
Low molecular weight chitosan (LWCS) constitute a special class of value added chemicals that are primarily obtained from crustacean shells, which are the main water pollutants from crabs and shrimp processing centers. Unlike chitin and chitosan, LWCS possess improved solubility in water and aqueous solutions, making them widely applicable in numerous fields ranging from drug delivery to waste water treatment. Among the methods employed for their production, chemical breakdown by strong liquid acids has yielded good success. However, this method is met with severe concerns arising from the harsh nature of liquid acids, which may corrode the reactors for commercial synthesis, and their limited reusability. The physical methods like ultrasound and microwave are energy intensive in nature, while the enzymatic methods are expensive and offers limited scope for reuse. We have attempted to overcome these problems by employing carbon based solid acid (CSA) for hydrolyzing chitosan to LWCS. CSA can be easily produced using activated carbon, a cost-effective and easily available raw material. Reactions were carried out between chitosan and CSA in a hydrothermal glass reactor and the products, separated by cold centrifugation, were purified and dried. The dried products were characterized for their molecular weight and solubility. Results indicated more than ten-fold decrease in the molecular weight of chitosan and the product exhibited water solubility. The CSA could be used upto four times, without regeneration, to give a consistent quality product. The aqueous solution of resulting LWCS exhibited a pH of 6.03 +/- 0.11, as against the acidic pH range of solutions of commercially available LWCS, indicating its suitability for biomedical applications. Our investigation facilitates a `green approach' that may be employed for commercial production of value added chemicals from waste products of marine industry. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Carbon based solid acid; Chitosan; green synthesis; Hydrolysis; Low molecular weight chitosan

Proton-coupled electron transfer in a hydrogen-bonded charge transfer complex - Verma, Sandeep; Aute, Sunil; Das, Amitava; Ghosh, Hirendra N. (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2016)
A proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction in a hydrogen bonded charge-transfer (CT) complex of 4-([2,2'-bipyridin]-4-yl)phenol (bpy-phenol) with a F- ion has been investigated by ultrafast time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. The phenolic receptor molecule, bpy-phenol, binds to the F- ion through a hydrogen bond and senses the F- ion-via the Stokes-shifted CT band. Upon photoexcitation, CT from the phenol residue to the bpy residue promotes proton transfer from the phenol radical cation (ArOH center dot+) to the fluoride ion at ultrafast time scales of <150 fs (instrument response function limited) and 3 ps, separately. The fast and slow proton-transfer times are linked to two different types of hydrogen-bonding networks between the phenol residue and fluoride ion. Crystalline water in the fluoride salt hydrates mediates the proton-transfer reaction. This work demonstrates the participation of a hydrogen-bonded water bridge within a PCET reaction in a water restricted environment.

Purification and partial characterization of novel penicillin V acylase from Acinetobacter sp AP24 isolated from loktak lake, an indo-burma biodiversity hotspot - Philem, Pushparani Devi; Sonalkar, Vidya V.; Dharne, Mahesh S.; Prabhune, Asmita (Preparative Biochemistry & Biotechnology, 2016)
Members of the bacterial genus Acinetobacter have attracted great attention over the past few decades, on account of their various biotechnological applications and clinical implications. In this study, we are reporting the first experimental penicillin V acylase (PVA) activity from this genus. Penicillin acylases are pharmaceutically important enzymes widely used in the synthesis of semisynthetic beta-lactam antibiotics. The bacterium, identified as Acinetobacter sp. AP24, was isolated from the water of Loktak Lake (Manipur, India), an Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. PVA production was increased threefold in an optimized medium with 0.2% sodium glutamate and 1% glucose as nitrogen and carbon sources respectively, after 24hr of fermentation at 28 degrees C and pH 7.0 with shaking at 180rpm. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by cation-exchange chromatography using SP-sepharose resin. The PVA is a homotetramer with subunit molecular mass of 34 kD. The enzyme was highly specific toward penicillin V with optimal hydrolytic activity at 40 degrees C and pH 7.5. The enzyme was stable from pH 5.0 to 9.0 at 25 degrees C for 2hr. The enzyme retained 75% activity after 1hr of incubation at 40 degrees C at pH 7.5.
Keywords: 6-APA; Acinetobacter; Loktak Lake; Penicillin V acylase

PVAc/PEDOT:PSS/graphene-iron oxide nanocomposite (GINC): an efficient thermoelectric material - Dey, Abhijit; Maity, Arunava; Khan, Md Abdul Shafeeuulla; Sikder, Arun Kanti; Chattopadhyay, Santanu (RSC Advances, 2016)
A green method for the synthesis of a graphene-iron oxide nanocomposite (GINC) and its PVAc based polymer nanocomposites was reported in an earlier communication. The fabricated PVAc-GINC film exhibited a conductivity of 2.18 x 104 S m(-1) with a Seebeck coefficient of 38.8 mu V K-1. Hence, the power factor (PF) reached a value of 32.90 mu W m(-1) K-2 which is 27 fold higher than a thermoelectric material based on a PVAc-graphene composite as reported in the contemporary literature. In continuation of the above mentioned study, PEDOT:PSS was used to further enhance the power factor (PT) and figure of merit (ZT) of the system. During evaluation, a PEDOT: PSS/GINC composite (5 : 95) showed a remarkable increase in various thermoelectric properties like electrical conductivity (8.0 x 10(4) S m(-1)) with a Seebeck coefficient of 25.42 mu V K-1 and thermal conductivity 0.90 m(-1) K-1. Hence PF and ZT reach up to 51.93 mW m(-1) K-2 and 0.017, respectively. To improve the mechanical strength of the polymer composite, cellulose fibre was also employed. By the addition of cellulose fibre, though the mechanical strength of the composite increases the PF reaches 5.6, which is 10 times lower than the PEDOT:PSS/GINC composite.

Pyramiding PvPGIP2 and TAXI-III but not PvPGIP2 and PMEI enhances resistance against fusarium graminearum - Tundo, Silvio; Kalunke, Raviraj; Janni, Michela; Volpi, Chiara; Lionetti, Vincenzo; Bellincampi, Daniela; Favaron, Francesco; D'Ovidio, Renato (Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, 2016)
Plant protein inhibitors counteract the activity of cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) secreted by pathogens to breach the plant cell-wall barrier. Transgenic plants expressing a single protein inhibitor restrict pathogen infections. However, since pathogens secrete a number of CWDEs at the onset of infection, we combined more inhibitors in a single wheat genotype to reinforce further the cell-wall barrier. We combined polygalacturonase (PG) inhibiting protein (PGIP) and pectin methyl esterase inhibitor (PMEI), both controlling the activity of PG, one of the first CWDEs secreted during infection. We also pyramided PGIP and TAXI-M, a xylanase inhibitor that controls the activity of xylanases, key factors for the degradation of xylan, a main component of cereal cell wall. We demonstrated that the pyramiding of PGIP and PMEI did not contribute to any further improvement of disease resistance. However, the presence of both pectinase inhibitors ensured a broader spectrum of disease resistance. Conversely, the PGIP and TAXI-HI combination contributed to further improvement of Fusarium head blight (FHB) resistance, probably because these inhibitors target the activity of different types of CWDEs, i.e., PGs and xylanases. Worth mentioning, the reduction of FHB symptoms is accompanied by a reduction of deoxynivalenol accumulation with a foreseen great benefit to human and animal health.

Radio-frequency triggered heating and drug release using doxorubicin-loaded LSMO nanoparticles for bimodal treatment of breast cancer - Kulkarni, Vaishnavi M.; Bodas, Dhananjay; Dhoble, Deepa; Ghormade, Vandana; Paknikar, Kishore (Colloids and Surfaces B-Biointerfaces, 2016)
Radio-frequency responsive nanomaterials combined with drugs for simultaneous hyperthermia and drug delivery are potential anti-cancer agents. In this study, chitosan coated La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 nanoparticles (C-LSMO NPs) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction, dynamic light scattering, Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer, scanning electron and atomic force microscopy, Under low radio-frequency (365 kHz, RF), C-LSMO NPs (90 nm) showed good colloidal stability (+22 mV), superparamagnetic nature (15.4 emu/g) and heating capacity (57.4W/g SAR value). Chitosan facilitated doxorubicin entrapment (76%) resulted in DC-LSMO NPs that showed drug release upon a 5 min RF exposure. MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cancer cells responded to a 5 min RF exposure in the presence of bimodal DC-LSMO NPs with a significant decrease in viability to 73% and 88% (Pearson correlation, r = 1, P<0.01) respectively, as compared to hyperthermia alone. Internalization of DC-LSMO NPs via the endosomal pathway led to an efficient localization of doxorubicin within the cell nucleus. The ensuing DNA damage, heat shock protein induction, and caspase production triggered apoptotic cell death. Moreover, DC-LSMO NPs successfully restricted the migration of metastatic MDA-MB-231 cancer cells. These data suggest that DC-LSMO NPs are potential bimodal therapeutic agents for cancer treatment and hold promise against disease recurrence and drug resistance. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reclassification of bacillus isronensis shivaji et al. 2009 as solibacillus isronensis comb. nov and emended description of genus solibacillus krishnamurthi et al. 2009 - Mual, Poonam; Singh, Nitin Kumar; Verma, Ashish; Schumann, Peter; Krishnamurthi, Srinivasan; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Mayilraj, Shanmugam (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2016)
An investigation into the taxonomic position of Bacillus isronensis MTCC 7902(T) revealed that the strain shares a common phylogenetic lineage with Solibacillus silvestris MTCC 10789(T). It displays considerable overlap in phenotypic properties with the genus Solibacillus, including endospore shape and position, oxidase and catalase activities, presence of iso-C-15 : 0, C-16 : (1)omega 7c alcohol and iso-C-17 : 1 omega 7c as major cellular fatty acids, A4 alpha-type cell-wall peptidoglycan, polar lipids and menaquinone pattern. These features reinforce the findings of molecular phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene, gyrB gene and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequences and, in line with the recommendations of Kampfer et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 56 (2006), 781-786], provide justification for the transfer of Bacillus isronensis from the genus Bacillus to Solibacillus as Solibacillus isronensis comb. nov. The type strain is B3W22(T) (=MTCC 7902(T) =DSM 21046(T) =JCM 13838(T)). An emended description of the genus Solibacillus is also provided.

Reduced graphene oxide modified electrodes for sensitive sensing of gliadin in food samples - Chekin, Fereshteh; Singh, Santosh K.; Vasilescu, Alina; Dhavale, Vishal M.; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Boukherroub, Rabah; Szunerits, Sabine (ACS Sensors, 2016)
Incidences of food allergies are on the rise, which can greatly affect the well-being of children as well as adults. Intolerance to gluten, a protein composite of gliadin and glutenin, present in wheat, barley, and rye and several cereals, can be the causative agent of celiac disease (CD) and other allergic reactions. A gluten-free diet has become essential for people affected by CD, and consequently, the amount of gluten in food products needs to be strictly controlled. In this paper, we report an electrochemical label-free immunosensor for ultrasensitive and specific detection of gliadin. The sensor takes advantage of the specific properties of porous reduced graphene oxide (prGO) covalently functionalized with anti-gliadin antibodies using 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid as linker molecule. Using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and [Fe(CN)6](3-/4-) as a redox probe, a decrease of current is linked to the presence of gliadin. The sensor achieved a detection limit of 1.2 ng mL(-1) over a 1.2-34 ng mL(-1) linear range with high selectivity. The advantages offered by this sensor are the possibility to regenerate the surface of the immunosensor, its rapid and ease of production, as well as applicability for the screening of gliadin concentrations in real food samples, as shown here.
Keywords: anti-gliadin antibody; food samples; gliadin; Immunosensor; Porous reduced graphene oxide

Reductive nitrosylation of nickel(II) complex by nitric oxide followed by nitrous oxide release - Ghosh, Somnath; Deka, Hemanta; Dangat, Yuvraj B.; Saha, Soumen; Gogoi, Kuldeep; Vanka, Kumar; Mondal, Biplab (Dalton Transactions, 2016)
Ni(II) complex of ligand L (L = bis(2-ethyl-4-methylimidazol-5-yl)methane) in methanol solution reacts with an equivalent amount of NO resulting in a corresponding Ni(I) complex. Adding further NO equivalent affords a Ni(I)-nitrosyl intermediate with the NiNO(10) configuration. This nitrosyl intermediate upon subsequent reaction with additional NO results in the release of N2O and formation of a Ni(II)-nitrito complex. Crystallographic characterization of the nitrito complex revealed a symmetric eta(2)-O,O-nitrito bonding to the metal ion. This study demonstrates the reductive nitrosylation of a Ni(II) center followed by N2O release in the presence of excess NO.

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).

Removal of arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] ions from wastewater using TFA and TAFA resins: computational intelligence based reaction modeling and optimization - Patil-Shinde, V.; Mulani, K. B.; Donde, K.; Chavan, N. N.; Ponrathnam, S.; Tambe, S. S. (Journal of environmental chemical engineering, 2016)
Being significantly toxic, removal of arsenic forms an important part of the drinking- and waste-water treatment. Tannin is a polyphenol-rich substrate that efficiently and adsorptively binds to the multivalent metal ions. In this study, tannin-formaldehyde (TFA) and tannin-aniline-formaldehyde (TAFA) resins were synthesized and employed successfully for an adsorptive removal of arsenite [As(III)] and arsenate [As(V)] ions from the contaminated water. Next, a computational intelligence (CI) based hybrid strategy was used to model and optimize the resin-based adsorption of As(III) and As(V) ions for securing optimal reaction conditions. This strategy first uses an exclusively reaction data driven modeling strategy, namely, genetic programming (GP) to predict the extent (%) of As(III)/As(V) adsorbed on TFA and TAFA resins. Next, the input space of the GP-based models consisting of the reaction condition variables/parameters was optimized using genetic algorithm (GA) method; the objective of this optimization was to maximize the adsorption of As(III) and As(V) ions on the two resins. Finally, the sets of optimal reaction conditions provided by GP-GA hybrid method were verified experimentally the results of which indicate that the optimized conditions have lead to 0.3% and 1.3% increase in the adsorption of As(III) and As(V) ions on TFA resin. More significantly, the optimized conditions have increased the adsorption of As(III) and As(V) on TAFA resin by 3.02% and 12.77%, respectively. The GP-GA based strategy introduced here can be gainfully utilized for modeling and optimization of similar type of contaminant-removal processes.

Restricted diet breadth of the larvae of antheraea assamensis and the role of the labrum-epipharynx and galeal sensilla - Bora, Dipsikha S.; Deka, Bhabesh; Sen, Avolikiteswar (Entomological Research, 2016)
The silkworm, Antheraea assamensisHelfer (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), grows primarily on Persea bombycina and Litsea polyantha. To understand if the restricted diet breadth is due to the specific role of gustatory sensilla of the larvae of A.assamensis, the same fifth instar larvae retaining only labrum-epipharynx or galeal sensilla were subjected to food choice tests. The foods used were leaves of two host-plant and two non-host-plant species. Mean per cent consumption and per cent of choosing larvae were used as parameters for drawing conclusions. The finding indicated involvement of the labrum-epipharynx for acceptance and galeal sensilla for rejection of a non-host-plant species. Scanning electron microscope studies revealed the presence of two sensilla on the galea, one lateral and one medial sensilla styloconicum and two gustatory sensilla in the epipharynx of A.assamensis. The study revealed the key role of galeal sensilla in the restrictive diet-breadth of A.assamensis.
Keywords: food choice; galea; gustatory organs; labrum

Rhodium-catalyzed ortho C-H bond activation of arylamines for the synthesis of quinoline carboxylates - Gadakh, Sunita K.; Dey, Soumen; Sudalai, A. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2016)
The rhodium catalyzed annulation of anilines with alkynic esters allowing for the high-yield synthesis of quinoline carboxylates with excellent regioselectivity is described. This unprecedented reaction employs either formic acid as the C1 source and reductant or copper(II) as the oxidant and is proposed to proceed via rhodacycle of in situ generated amide and enamine ester followed by ortho C-H activation of arylamines with rhodium as the catalyst.

RNAi of selected candidate genes interrupts growth and development of Helicoverpa armigera - Chikate, Yojana R.; Dawkar, Vishal V.; Barbole, Ranjit S.; Tilak, Priyadarshini V.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 2016)
Helicoverpa armigera is one of the major crop pests and is less amenable to current pest control approaches. RNA interference (RNAi) is emerging as a potent arsenal for the insect pest control over current methods. Here, we examined the effect on growth and development in H. armigera by targeting various enzymes/proteins such as proteases like trypsins (HaTry2, 3, 4 and 6), chymotrypsin (HaChy4) and cysteine protease like cathepsin (HaCATHL); glutathione S-transferases (HaGST1a, 6 and 8); esterases (HaAce4, HaJHE); catalase (HaCAT); super-oxide-dismutase (HaCu/ZnSOD); fatty acid binding protein (HaFabp) and chitin deacetylase (HaCda5b) through dsRNA approach. Significant downregulation of cognate mRNA expression and reduced activity of trypsin and GST-like enzyme were evident upon feeding candidate dsRNAs to the larvae. Among these, the highest mortality was observed in HaAce4 dsRNA fed larvae followed by HaJHE; HaCAT; HaCuZnSOD; HaFabp and HaTry3 whereas remaining ones showed relatively lower mortality. Furthermore, the dsRNA fed larvae showed significant reduction in the larval mass and abnormalities at the different stages of H. armigera development compared to their control diets. For example, malformed larvae, pupae and moth at a dose of 60 pg/day were evident in high number of individual insects fed on dsRNA containing diets. Moreover, the growth and development of insects and moths were retarded in dsRNA fed larvae. These findings might provide potential new candidates for designing effective dsRNA as pesticide in crop protection. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Role of helical spring locked washer in bolted join tanalysis: A review - Wagh, H. K.; Desale, G. R.; Tripathi, K. (International Journal of Structural Integrity, 2016)
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to give a brief introduction of helical spring locked washer along with extensive literatures survey on role of helical spring locked washer in bolted joint analysis. It is very small component of bolted joint assembly, but it play vital role in holding the assembly components together. Helical shape of it produces spring effect in the assembly which is used for keeping the assembly in tension and that is lock the assembly under dynamic loading due to vibrations to avoid the accident. Design/methodology/approach-The critical literatures survey identifies role of helical spring locked washer in different areas such as design optimization, mechanism of loosening-resistant components, bolted joint analysis, finite element-based modeling, analysis and simulation. The related literatures show contribution of helical spring washers in evaluation of anti-loosening performance of assemblies as compare to other types of washers. Findings-It proposed that design optimization of helical spring locked washer is needed as it improves the performance in the form of load-deflection characteristics, load bearing capacity and provides the best locking force for optimize functionality. Originality/value-The originality or value of this paper is to finding research gaps in literatures by dividing literatures into seven different research areas and concentrating the only on role of helical spring locked washer in bolted joint analysis.

Ru-TiO2 semiconducting nanoparticles for the photo-catalytic degradation of bromothymol blue - Kulkarni, R. M.; Malladi, R. S.; Hanagadakar, M. S.; Doddamani, M. R.; Santhakumari, B.; Kulkarni, S. D. (Journal of Materials Science-Materials in Electronics, 2016)
Photo-catalytic degradation of bromothymol blue (BTB) in an aqueous medium by Ru-TiO2 using UVC (254 nm) irradiation was investigated for a pH range of 4.0-8.0. The liquid impregnation method was used to synthesize 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 % ruthenium doped TiO2 (Ru-TiO2) nanoparticles. The characterizations of resulting nanoparticles were done using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis. The crystallite sizes of doped and undoped nanoparticles were determined from X-ray diffraction spectra using Scherrer equation. The average crystallite size of undoped TiO2 was found to be 17.00 nm, whereas the crystallite sizes of 0.2, 0.4 and 0.8 % Ru-TiO2 were 16.67, 15.70 and 14.40 nm respectively. The TEM images confirm the particle sizes to be 10-40 nm. Pseudo-first order rate constants (k(obs)) determined were found to decrease with increase in pH. The effect of BTB Concentration, catalyst dosage, a percentage of doping of photo catalyst, pH and UV light intensity of BTB on the degradation rate were also examined.

Seeding of Au on CdSe/CdS nanoplates using Langmuir-Blodgett technique - Das, Subhasis; Satpati, Biswarup; Chauhan, Himani; Deka, Sasanka; Ghosalya, Manoj Kumar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Bala, Tanushree (RSC Advances, 2016)
Oleyl amine capped CdSe/CdS nanoplates were synthesized by hot injection technique which formed a stable monolayer over both a water subphase and an aqueous HAuCl4 subphase using a Langmuir-Blodgett trough. Au islands were generated at the edge as well as on one specific surface of the flat nanoplates by exploiting the reducing capacity of oleyl amine to form Au nanoseeds from AuCl4- ions. The initial Au nanoseeds changed to a shell surrounding these nanoplates on prolonged exposure to the subphase containing the Au precursor. Monolayer of the hybrid structures was deposited onto suitable substrates for characterization by a number of different techniques and to study the photocatalytic activity. The same substrate with the monolayers could be re-used in several cycles of photocatalysis.

Selenium-containing fused bicyclic heterocycle diselenolodiselenole: field effect transistorstudy and structure property relationship - Debnath, Sashi; Chithiravel, Sundaresan; Sharma, Sagar; Bedi, Anjan; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam; Zade, Sanjio S. (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
The first application of the diselenolodiselenole (C4Se4) heterocycle as an active organic field effect transistor materials is demonstrated here. C4Se4 derivatives (2a-2d) were obtained by using a newly developed straightforward diselenocyclization protocol, which includes the reaction of diynes with selenium powder at elevated temperature. C4Se4 derivatives exhibit strong donor characteristics and planar structure (except 2d). The atomic force microscopic analysis and thin-film X-ray diffraction pattern of compounds 2a-2d indicated the formation of distinct crystalline films that contain large domains. A scanning electron microscopy study of compound 2b showed development of symmetrical grains with an average diameter of 150 nm. Interestingly, 2b exhibited superior hole mobility, approaching 0.027 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) with a transconductance of 9.2 mu S. This study correlate the effect of p-stacking, Se center dot center dot center dot Se intermolecular interaction, and planarity with the charge transport properties and performance in the field effect transistor devices. We have shown that the planarity in C4Se4 derivatives was achieved by varying the end groups attached to the C4Se4 core. In turn, optoelectronic properties can also be tuned for all these derivatives by end-group variation.

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.

Self-exfoliated metal-organic nanosheets through hydrolytic unfolding of metal-organic polyhedra - Garai, Bikash; Mallick, Arijit; Das, Anuja; Mukherjee, Rabibrata; Banerjee, Rahul (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2016)
Few-layers thick metal-organic nanosheets have been synthesized using water-assisted solid-state transformation through a combined top-down and bottom-up approach. The metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) convert into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) which subsequently selfexfoliate into few-layered metal-organic nanosheets. These MOP crystals experience a hydrophobicity gradient with the inner surface during contact with water because of the existence of hydrophobic spikes on their outer surface. When the amount of water available for interaction is higher, the resultant layers are not stacked to form bulk materials; instead few-layered nanosheets with high uniformity were obtained in high yield. The phenomenon has resulted high yield production of uniformly distributed layered metal-organic nanosheets from three different MOPs, showing its general adaptability.

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.

Site-selective synthesis and characterization of BODIPY-acetylene copolymers and their transistor properties - Debnath, Sashi; Singh, Saumya; Bedi, Anjan; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam; Zade, Sanjio S. (Journal of Polymer Science Part A-Polymer Chemistry, 2016)
To study the effect of site-selective copolymerization of borondipyrromethene (BODIPY) with acetylene on the structural and optoelectronic properties, three copolymers P1-P3 were synthesized by the Sonogashira cross-coupling of BODIPY units with diacetylene and bromine capping through all the possible linkages: alpha-alpha (P1), alpha-beta (P2), and beta-beta (P3). The optoelectronic properties of the polymers were investigated systematically to understand the effect of site-selective polymerization. The HOMO levels of the polymers were significantly tuned from P1 to P3 with negligible change in the LUMO levels. Broadening of absorption spectra from P3 to P1 was observed because of increase in the extent of conjugation. Additionally, the charge transport properties of these polymers in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) revealed that P1 and P3 exhibited only p-type mobility, whereas P2 exhibited electron mobility. Notably, the further investigations of the surface morphology of polymer films by atomic force microscopy (AFM) unveiled that comb like nanostructural arrangements in P3 was beneficial for the charge-carrier mobility over the circular arrangements in P1 and P2. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: acetylene; BODIPY; DFT; low-band gap

Situ fabrication of highly crystalline CdS decorated Bi2S3 nanowires (nano-heterostructure) for visible light photocatalyst application - Panmand, Rajendra P.; Sethi, Yogesh A.; Deokar, Rajashree S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Gholap, Haribhau M.; Baeg, Jin-Ook; Kale, Bharat B. (RSC Advances, 2016)
In situ synthesis of the orthorhombic Bi2S3 nanowires decorated with hexagonal CdS nanoparticles (nano-heterostructure) has been demonstrated by a facile solvothermal method. The tiny 5-7 nm CdS spherical nanoparticles are decorated on the surfaces of 30-40 nm Bi2S3 nanowires, successfully. Structural, morphological and optical studies clearly show the existence of CdS on the nanowires. A possible sequential deposition growth mechanism is proposed on the basis of experimental results to reveal the formation of the nano heterostructure. The heterostructures have been used as a photocatalyst for hydrogen production as well as degradation of methylene blue under solar light. The maximum hydrogen evolution i.e. 4560 and 2340 mu mol h(-1) 0.5 g was obtained from H2S splitting and glycerol degradation for Bi2S3 NWs decorated with CdS nanoparticles (nano-heterostructure) which is higher than that of the Bi2S3 NWs (3000 and 1170 mu mol h(-1) 0.5 g, respectively). The enhanced photocatalytical hydrogen evolution efficiency of the heterostructures is mainly attributed to its nanostructure. In the nano heterostructure, the CdS nanoparticles control the charge carrier transition, recombination, and separation, while the Bi2S3 nanowire serves as a support for the CdS nanoparticles. The photogenerated electron's migration is faster than the holes from the inside of a CdS nanoparticle to its surface or to the phase interface, resulting in a relatively higher hole density inside the CdS nanoparticle leaving electron density at surface of the Bi2S3 NWs. This influences the photocatalytic activity under solar light. Such nano-heterostructures may have potential in other photocatalytic reactions.

Sol-gel synthesised WO3 nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica for liquid phase nitration of aromatics - Kulal, A. B.; Dongare, Mohan K.; Shubhangi B. Umbarkar (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2016)
A series of WO3/SiO2 catalysts have been prepared by sol-gel method using ammonium metatungstate and ethyl silicate-40 (ES-40) as WO3 and SiO2 precursors respectively. The sol-gel method has led to the formation of WO3 nano-particles of 2-5 nm well dispersed on mesoporous silica along with some WO3' agglomerates. Formation of monoclinic WO3 was seen on the catalysts above 5 wt% WO3 loading by XRD analysis. Silica has shown very high surface area of 606 m(2)/g which decreased gradually upto 368 m(2)/g with 20 wt% WO3 loading. 20 wt% WO3/SiO2 catalyst has shown maximum acidity (0.56 mmol NH3/g) with presence of both Lewis and Bronsted acidity. UV-vis DRS analysis showed formation of polytungstate species along with WO3 on silica surface. The prepared catalysts were used for liquid phase nitration of aromatics using 70% nitric acid as nitrating agent without using any sulfuric acid. Very high conversion (99%) was obtained for p-cresol nitration with very high selectivity (99%) for 2-nitro p-cresol. The water formed during the reaction was removed azeotropically using ethylene dichloride as solvent. In case of o-xylene 74% conversion was obtained with 54% selectivity for 4-nitro o-xylene. The effect of different WO3 precursors on nitration efficiency was studied using sodium tungstate and tungstic acid as precursors. However,ammonium metatungstate showed the highest acidity. Sodium tungstate showed formation of dimer of sodium tungstate which did not show any acidity and hence no activity for nitration. The mechanism for nitration using WO3/SiO2 has been proposed based on polarisation of water on tungsten centre generating Bronsted acidity which can further generate nitronium ion giving subsequently nitration of the aromatic ring. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Aromatic nitration; heterogeneous catalysis; Regioselective; Sol-gel synthesis; Water polarization

Solid acid catalyzed synthesis of furans from carbohydrates - Bhaumik, Prasenjit; Dhepe, Paresh Laxmikant (Catalysis Reviews-Science and Engineering, 2016)
The alternative feedstock, biomass (particularly lignocelluloses), having the profuse availability, is promising for the synthesis of several value-added chemicals which are currently obtained from fossil feedstock. In this article, the synthesis of two extremely significant furan chemicals viz. furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are discussed. In the synthesis of furans from biomass, numerous challenges, i.e., use of edible sugars as substrates, selectivity to furans, their isolation in pure form, reuse of catalyst, environmental issues, etc., are perceived and in the recent past researchers tried to resolve those by developing advance methodologies. This article comprehensively summarizes the latest progress made in the above-mentioned areas and also provides commentary on the analyses of results, rationale for observed activity and mechanisms, etc. It also discusses future aspects of this work.
Keywords: Biomass conversion; carbohydrates; cellulose; furans; furfural; hemicelluloses; HMF; solid acid catalyst

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.

Specific receptor for hydrazine: mapping the in situ release of hydrazine in live cells and in an in vitro enzymatic assay - Ali, Firoj; Anila, H. A.; Taye, Nandaraj; Mogare, Devraj G.; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Chemical Communications, 2016)
We report a new chemodosimetric reagent capable of detecting hydrazine in the presence of several other competing amine derivatives and ionic analytes of biological relevance. This reagent has been utilized for real time monitoring of in situ N2H4 release during the metabolism of a crucial tuberculosis drug, isoniazid, in live HepG2 cells. The fluorescence response of the reagent based on its specific reaction with N2H4 is used for developing an in vitro assay for aminoacylase-1.

Strategic Preparation of Efficient and Durable NiCo Alloy Supported N-Doped Porous Graphene as an Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst: A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation - Singh, Santosh K.; Kumar, Deepak; Dhavale, Vishal M.; Pal, Sourav; Kurungot, Sreekumar (Advanced Materials Interfaces, 2016)
Development of an efficient and durable water splitting electrocatalyst holds a great commitment for the future energy devices. The real application of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts mainly suffers from sluggish kinetics and high overpotential except for the Ir and Ru-based systems. However, the high cost and vulnerability of the Ir and Ru metals are the main hostiles to use them for marketization. Herein, a high-performance OER electrocatalyst consisting of NiCo alloy nanoparticles supported on high surface area N-doped porous graphene (NiCo/pNGr(75: 25)) is reported. The importance of the doped-N for achieving the uniform dispersion-cum-effective interaction of the size controlled NiCo alloy nanoparticles has been explicitly investigated by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photo electron spectroscopy, Raman, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, etc. The electrochemical analysis of NiCo/pNGr(75: 25) shows an overpotential of approximate to 260 mV at 10 mA cm(-2) with a smaller Tafel slope of approximate to 87 mV dec(-1) and long catalytic durability. DFT calculations are done to check the interaction between the NiCo alloy nanoparticles and the defective sites of pNGr and also with the doped-N, which could be attained for maintaining long catalytic durability. Furthermore, NiCo/pNGr(75: 25) is used as an OER catalyst to fabricate an electrolyzer, which works at very low potential of 1.5 V in 1 M KOH.

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 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

Studies of synergy between metal-support interfaces and selective hydrogenation of HMF to DMF in water - Goyal, Reena; Sarkar, Bipul; Bag, Arijit; Siddiqui, Nazia; Dumbre, Deepa K.; Lucas, Nishita; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar; Bordoloi, Ankur (Journal of Catalysis, 2016)
Metal-support interfaces play a very important role in heterogeneous catalysis. The interfacial interactions not only are responsible for stabilizing the necessary oxidation state to facilitate the reaction but also enhance the stability of the catalyst system. Nano dispersion of Ni on mesoporous nitrogen-rich carbon material has been achieved using two different synthesis methods. It was observed that nickel (0) gets stabilized by strong interfacial interaction with the nitrogen atoms of the support material, and the material was found to be very economic and efficient for the conversion of HMF to DMF in aqueous medium. The material shows >= 99% conversion to 5-(hydroxymethyl) furfural (HMF) within 6 h of reaction with 98.7% DMF selectivity. A unique correlation between synthesis methods and particle sizes with catalytic performance has been observed for these newly developed materials. Furthermore, a DFT calculation has been performed to predict the reaction mechanism. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: biofuels; Biomass; Hydrogenation; mesoporous carbon; Ni-CNx

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

Sunlight assisted degradation of dye molecules and reduction of toxic Cr(VI) in aqueous medium using magnetically recoverable Fe3O4/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite - Boruah, Purna K.; Borthakur, Priyakshree; Darabdhara, Gitashree; Kamaja, Chaitanya Krishna; Karbhal, Indrapal; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Phukan, Pallabi; Saikia, Dulen; Das, Manash R. (RSC Advances, 2016)
In view of the significant impact of magnetically recoverable catalysts in photocatalytic applications, Fe3O4/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposite photocatalyst was synthesized by adopting an eco-friendly solution chemistry approach and has been characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite is efficiently utilized towards photocatalytic degradation of carcinogenic and mutagenic cationic as well as anionic dye molecules namely methyl green (MG), methyl blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) under direct sunlight irradiation. The Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite also demonstrated excellent photocatalytic reduction of aqueous Cr(VI) solution to nontoxic aqueous Cr(III) solution of more than 96% within 25 min under sunlight irradiation. Moreover, reusability of the magnetically recovered photocatalyst was studied efficiently up to 10 cycles in the degradation process. The catalyst was also characterized after the degradation of the dye molecule and the particle size of the Fe3O4 nanoparticles on the rGO sheets remained unchanged. The present investigation focuses on the importance of the use of Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite towards photocatalytic degradation of waste water containing organic dye pollutants and toxic Cr(VI), as an easily recoverable and reusable photocatalyst with potential for many environmental remediation applications.

Supramolecular metallogel that imparts self-healing properties to other gel networks - Feldner, Tobias; Haering, Marleen; Saha, Subhadeep; Esquena, Jordi; Banerjee, Rahul; Diaz, David Diaz (Chemistry of Materials, 2016)
A unique proton conductive and moldable supramolecular metallogel (CuA-Ox-gel) made upon mixing at room temperature well-defined stock solutions of Cu(OAc)(2). H2O and oxalic acid dehydrate was found to have self-healing properties. Remarkably, the system also displayed an unprecedented ability to impart self-healing properties to other gel networks lacking this capacity. A self-healed CuA-Ox metallogel was found to have essentially the same nanofibrillar morphology, thermal stability, rheological properties, and conductivity as the freshly prepared sample. The discovery also allowed the fabrication of self-healing conductive composites containing conductive carbonaceous materials. Overall, this work serves as a proof of concept for the transfer of self-healing properties between completely different gel networks.

Surface chemical bonds, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, and dielectric constant of SiO2 nanospheres in-situ decorated with Ag-nanoparticles by electron-irradiation - Phatangare, A. B.; Dhole, S. D.; Dahiwale, S. S.; Mathe, V. L.; Bhoraskar, S. V.; Late, Dattatray J.; Bhoraskar, V. N. (Journal of Applied Physics, 2016)
Nanostructures of dielectric materials decorated with metal nanoparticles are of great scientific interest; however, the involved synthesis methods are complicated and require multistep chemical processing, including functionalization of the dielectric surfaces. In the present work, without chemical processes, silver nanoparticles of average sizes in the range of 11 to 15 nm were in-situ synthesized and decorated on SiO2 nanospheres in a single step process by irradiating a solution (AgNO3-polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-SiO2 nanospheres) with 6 MeV electrons at 1.5 x 10(15) e(-)/cm(2), 3.0 x 10(15) e(-)/cm(2), and 4.5 x 10(15) e(-)/cm(2) fluences. The electron irradiated solutions were characterized with different surface and other techniques. The results revealed that the SiO2 nanospheres were uniformly decorated with Ag nanoparticles, and the prominent chemical bonds involved were Ag-O, Si-O-Ag, and Si-Ag. Moreover, the sizes and the decoration density of Ag nanoparticles could be tailored by varying electron fluence. The Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) of 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP) solutions was studied using substrates in the form of thin coatings of the solutions of Ag-decorated SiO2 nanospheres. The appearance of the characteristic SERS peaks of both 4-ATP and 4, 4'-dimercaptoazobenzene (4, 4'-DMAB) in Raman spectra confirmed the conversion of a fraction of 4-ATP into 4, 4'-DMAB in the presence of Ag nanoparticles. Composites in the form of thin films were synthesized from the mixture solutions of PVP and Ag-decorated SiO2 nanospheres. The dielectric constant of each thin film was higher as compared to polymers, and could be tailored by varying electron fluence used for decorating Ag nanoparticles. Published by AIP Publishing.

Surface modification of aligned CdO nanosheets and their enhanced field emission properties - Bagal, Vivekanand S.; Patil, Girish P.; Deore, Amol B.; Suryawanshi, Sachin R.; Late, Dattatray J.; More, Mahendra A.; Chavan, Padmakar G. (RSC Advances, 2016)
Porous aligned CdO nanosheets were grown on a cadmium (Cd) substrate by the simple and cost effective method of thermal annealing. Further, decoration of gold (Au) nanoparticles on the porous aligned CdO nanosheets (specimen A) was achieved by coating with a Au thin film and subsequent annealing treatment. The average diameters of decorated Au nanoparticles were found to be 15 nm, 21 nm and 28 nm for the Au thin films with 20 s, 40 s and 60 s (specimens B, C, and D) coating times. Detailed characterizations, such as structural and morphological analysis of porous CdO nanosheets and Au/CdO nanocomposite (Au decorated porous CdO nanosheets), have been carried out using a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Field emission studies of specimens A, B, C and D were carried out in the planar diode configuration. Turn-on fields of 1.9 V mu m(-1), 1.1 V mu m(-1), 2.4 V mu m(-1) and 2.8 V mu m(-1) have been found for the emission current density of 10 RA cm(-2) for specimens A, B, C and D, respectively. The observed low turn -on field of specimen B (Au diameter of 15 nm) was found to be superior to other semiconducting nanostructures reported in the literature. The field emission current stability over a period of 3 h at the preset current density of 1 RA cm(-2) is found to be excellent for all specimens. To the best of our knowledge, field emission studies along with surface modification of porous aligned CdO nanosheets have not been reported in the literature. The simple synthesis route, facile surface modification and the superior field emission results make the present emitter very suitable for micro/nano electronic devices.

Switch-on NIR probe for specific detection of Hg2+ ion in aqueous medium and in mitochondria - Agarwalla, Hrideshg; Mahajan, Pankaj S.; Sahu, Debashis; Taye, Nandaraj; Ganguly, Bishwajit; Mhaske, Santosh B.; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Inorganic Chemistry, 2016)
A new 4,4-difluoro-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (BODIPY)-based probe molecule (L) is synthesized for specific binding to Hg2+ ion in physiological condition with an associated luminescence ON response in the near-IR region of the spectrum. Appropriate functionalization in the 5-position of each of two pyrrole moieties with styryl functionality in a BODIPY core helped us in achieving the extended conjugation and a facile intramolecular charge transfer transition with a narrow energy gap for frontier orbitals. This accounted for a poor emission quantum yield for the probe molecule L. Binding to. Hg2+ helped in interrupting the facile intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) process that was initially operational for L. This resulted in a hypsochromic shift of absorption band and a turn-on luminescence response with lambda(Em)(max) of 650 nm on specific binding to Hg2+. Observed spectral changes are rationalized based on quantum chemical calculations. Interestingly, this reagent is found to be localized preferentially in the mitochondria of the live human colon cancer (Hct116) cells. Mitochondria is one of the major targets for localization of He2+, which actually decreases the mitochondrial membrane potential and modifies various proteins having sulfudryl functionality(ies) to cause cell apoptosis. Considering these, ability of the present reagent to specifically recognize Hg2+] in the mitochondrial region of the live Hct116 cells has significance.

Synthesis and antitubercular activity of new 1,3,4-oxadiazoles bearing pyridyl and thiazolyl scaffolds - Dhumal, Sambhaji T.; Deshmukh, Amarsinh R.; Bhosle, Manisha R.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Nawale, Laxman U.; Sarkar, Dhiman; Mane, Ramrao A. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2016)
In search of more potent and safe new antitubercular agents, here new 2-pyridinyl substituted thiazolyl-5-aryl-1,3,4-oxadiazoles (6a-o), have been designed and synthesized using thionicotinamide as a starting, following novel multistep synthetic route. An intermediate, pyridinyl substituted thiazolyl acid hydrazide (4) when condensed with benzoic acids/nicotinic acids (5a-o) in the presence of silica supported POCl3 yielded better to excellent yields of the title compounds. All the synthesized compounds (6a-o) and intermediate acid hydrazide (4) have been screened for their in vitro antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (MTB) and Mycobacterium bovis BCG. Amongst them, 6f, 6j, 6l and 6o have revealed promising activity against M. bovis BCG at concentrations less than 3 mu g/mL. These compounds have shown low cytotoxicity (CC50: > 100 mu g/mL) towards four human cancer cell lines. Molecular docking study has also been performed against mycobacterial enoyl reductase (InhA) enzyme to gain an insight into the binding modes of these molecules and recorded good binding affinity. The ADME properties the title products have also been analyzed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 1; 3; 4-Oxadiazole; Antitubercular activity; Cytotoxicity; Molecular docking; Pyridine; Thiazole

Synthesis and characterization of well-defined random and block copolymers of epsilon-caprolactone with l-lactide as an additive for toughening polylactide: Influence of the molecular architecture - Deokar, Megha D.; Idage, Susheela B.; Idage, Bhaskar B.; Sivaram, Swaminathan (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2016)
Well-defined multiarmed star random and block copolymers of epsilon-caprolactone with l-lactide with controlled molecular weights, low polydispersities, and precise numbers of arms were synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization of respective cyclic ester monomers. The polymers were characterized by H-1-NMR and C-13-NMR to determine their chemical composition, molecular structure, degree of randomness, and proof of block copolymer formation. Gel permeation chromatography was used to establish the degree of branching. Star-branched random copolymers exhibited lower glass-transition temperatures (T-g's) compared to a linear random copolymer. When the star random copolymers were melt-blended with poly(l-lactic acid) (PLA), we observed that the elongation of the blend increased with the number of arms of the copolymer. Six-armed block copolymers, which exhibited higher T-g's, caused the maximum improvement in elongation. In all cases, improvements in the elongation were achieved with no loss of stiffness in the PLA blends. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43267.
Keywords: biodegradable; copolymers; differential scanning calorimetry; mechanical properties; ring-opening polymerization

Synthesis and docking studies of pyrazine-thiazolidinone hybrid scaffold targeting dormant tuberculosis - Chitre, T. S.; Asgaonkar, K. D.; Miniyar, P. B.; Dharme, A. B.; Arkile, Manisha A.; Yeware, A.; Sarkar, Dhiman; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Jha, Prakash C. (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2016)
The persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in dormant stage assists the pathogen to develop resistance against current antimycobactrial drugs. To address this issue, we report herein the synthesis of N-(4-oxo-2 substituted thiazolidin-3yl) pyrazine-2-carbohydrazide derivatives designed by following the molecular hybridization approach using pyrazine and thiazolidenone scaffolds. The compounds were evaluated against MTB H37Ra and Mycobacterium bovis BCG in dormancy model. Most of the compounds had IC50 values in 0.3-1 mu g/ml range. The active compounds were further tested for anti-proliferative activity against THP-1, Panc-1, A549, and MCF-7 cell lines using MTT assay and exhibited no significant cytotoxicity. We also report molecular docking studies using active analogs and MTB Decaprenylphosphoryl-beta-D-ribose-2'-epimerase (DprE1) to rationalize the biological activity and to provide an insight into the probable mechanism of action and binding mode of hybridized structures. The results obtained validate the use of molecular hybridization approach and also suggest that reported compounds can provide a novel pharmacophore to synthesize lead compounds against dormat MTB. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: docking; Dormant; Hybrid design; Pyrazine; Thiazolidenone; tuberculosis

Synthesis and evaluation of thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-ones as potential antitubercular agents (vol 6, pg 2209, 2015) - Borate, Hanumant B.; Annadate, Ritesh A.; Vagh, Sandip S.; Pisal, Mahesh M.; Deokate, Sagar B.; Arkile, Manisha A.; Jadhav, Nandadeep J.; Nawale, Laxman U.; Sarkar, Dhiman (Medchemcomm, 2016)

Synthesis, biological evaluation and molecular docking study of some novel indole and pyridine based 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives as potential antitubercular agents - Desai, N. C.; Somani, Hardik; Trivedi, Amit; Bhatt, Kandarp; Nawale, Laxman; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Jha, Prakash C.; Sarkar, Dhiman (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2016)
A series of indole and pyridine based 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives 5a-t were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra (MTB) and Mycobacterium bovis BCG both in active and dormant state. Compounds 5b, 5e, 5g and 5q exhibited very good antitubercular activity. All the newly synthesized compounds 5a-t were further evaluated for antiproliferative activity against HeLa, A549 and PANC-1 cell lines using modified MTT assay and found to be noncytotoxic. On the basis of cytotoxicity and MIC values against Mycobacterium bovis BCG, selectivity index (SI) of most active compounds 5b, 5e, 5g and 5q was calculated (SI = GI(50)/MIC) in active and dormant state. Compounds 5b, 5e and 5g demonstrated SI values >= 10 against all three cell lines and were found to safe for advance screening. Compounds 5a-t were further screened for their antibacterial activity against four bacteria strains to assess their selectivity towards MTB. In addition, the molecular docking studies revealed the binding modes of these compounds in active site of enoyl reductase (InhA), which in turn helped to establish a structural basis of inhibition of mycobacteria. The potency, low cytotoxicity and selectivity of these compounds make them valid lead compounds for further optimization. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 1; 3; 4-Oxadiazole; Antitubercular activity; Cytotoxicity; Indole; Molecular docking; Pyridine

Synthesis, biological valuation, and QSAR studies of novel pyrazole bearing pyridyl oxadiazole analogues as potential antimicrobial agents - Desai, N. C.; Kotadiya, G. M.; Trivedi, A. R.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Jha, Prakash C. (Medicinal Chemistry Research, 2016)
A new series of 1-(2-(3-(4-nitrophenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-5-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4 -oxadiazol-3(2H)-yl)-3-(aryl)prop-2-en-1-ones (5a-l) were synthesized by a simple and efficient synthetic protocol. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR and Mass spectroscopy. The resulting structural diversity was screened for its antimicrobial activity the following bacterial and fungal strains: two Gram-positive bacteria [Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC-96), Streptococcus pyogenes (MTCC-442)], two Gram-negative bacteria [Escherichia coli (MTCC-443), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC-1688)] and three fungal species (C. albicans, A. niger and A. clavatus). Following this, in vitro cytotoxicity activity against HeLa cell lines was measured by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazoliumbromide] assay. The observations derived from the diverse assays were utilized for building classification models based on a binary QSAR approach termed recursive partitioning (RP) analysis to probe the physic-chemical properties influencing the SAR for molecules. The decision tree derived from RP analysis could highlight structural characteristics that discriminate the actives from inactives which can serve as guide to design molecules with improved potency. In silico ADME predictions were performed to gauge their pharmacokinetic, safety and drug likeness profile.
Keywords: 1; 3; 4-Oxadiazole; Antimicrobial activity; Cytotoxicity; Pyrazole; Pyridine; QSAR

Synthesis of novel Cu2S nanohusks as high performance counter electrode for CdS/CdSe sensitized solar cell - Kamaja, Chaitanya Krishna; Devarapalli, Rami Reddy; Dave, Yasha; Debgupta, Joyashish; Shelke, Manjusha V. (Journal of Power Sources, 2016)
An important component of quantum dot sensitized solar cells (QDSSC) is the counter electrode which mediates the regeneration of oxidized quantum dots by reducing the polysulphide electrolyte. However, design and synthesis of an efficient counter electrode material is a challenging task. Herein, we report the synthesis of a unique Cu2S nanohusks directly on FTO coated glass substrates by electrodeposition and used as a counter electrode in QDSSC. When these electrodes are used for the reduction of polysulfide electrolyte in QDSSC, they exhibit higher catalytic activity and photovoltaic performance as compared to the Platinum counter electrode. The power conversion efficiency of about 4.68% has been achieved by optimizing the deposition time of Cu2S. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: counter electrode; Cu2S electrodeposition; Cu2S nanohusks; Quantum dot-sensitized solar cell

Synthesis of polyhydroxylated conidine alkaloid as a conformationally restricted azasugar - Pal, Sujit; Dumbre, Shrinivas G. (Synlett, 2016)
A conformationally restricted polyhydroxylated 1-azabicyclo[4.2.0]octane core has been synthesized in search for a potent selective glycosidase inhibitor. The key feature of the synthesis involves the high stereoselective photoelectron-transfer-promoted cyclization of the strained alpha-trimethylsilylmethylazetidine moiety to the tethered pi functionality.

Synthesis of Sn-containing anatase (TiO2) by sol-gel method and their performance in catalytic water splitting under visible light as a function of tin content - Tangale, N. P.; Niphadkar, P. S.; Samuel, V.; Deshpande, Suvarna S.; Joshi, P. N.; Awate, S. V. (Materials Letters, 2016)
Sol-gel route was employed to prepare a series of Sn-containing anatase with different molar (Ti/Sn) ratios ranging from 49 to 1. Samples were characterized by powder XRD, UV-vis, XPS, SEM, EDAX, low temperature N-2 sorption technique and Raman Spectroscopy. Except anatase phase, no other crystalline phase was observed when Ti/Sn molar ratio was varied from 49 to 9 and for Sn free sample. However, further decrease in the ratio lead to the appearance of additional SnO2 phase whose peak intensities were increased with the increase in the tin content. Irrespective of tin content, all samples showed red-shift in UV-vis spectra. Moreover, samples showed Raman shift to higher vibration side from 143 cm(-1) to 147 cm(-1) indicating the doping of Sn2+ into TiO2. By virtue of low band gap, anatase crystallite size and an absence of XRD visible SnO2, ST (19) has shown maximum photocatalytic activity upon 1 wt% Pt loading. It has exhibited the highest rate (0.1264 mmole/g/h) for visible light induced hydrogen evolution by water splitting. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Semiconductors; Sn2+ doped titania; SnO2/TiO2; Sol-gel preparation; visible light; water splitting

Temperature dependent raman spectroscopy and sensing behavior of few layer SnSe2nanosheets - Pawbake, Amit S.; Date, Abhijit; Jadkar, Sandesh R.; Late, Dattatray J. (Chemistryselect, 2016)
Two- dimensional (2D) tin diselenide (SnSe2) nanosheets were synthesized using solvothermal route in one step and perform its humidity sensing, photo sensing and temperature dependant Raman spectroscopy studies. The sensor devices based on few layer SnSe2 nanosheets were prepared and which shows fast response as well as recovery time along with good long-term stability and high sensitivity. The photo sensing behavior shows the typical response time and recovery time to be similar to 310 ms and similar to 340 ms respectively for visible light illumination. The room temperature humidity sensing behaviors were studied in the range of 11-97% relative humidity (RH). The ob-served sensitivity of similar to 81% with response time of similar to 74 sec and recovery time of similar to 30 sec were calculated for the few layer SnSe2 nanosheets based humidity sensor. The humidity sensing results confirms the high stability of the device even after six months of time. The temperature dependent Raman spectroscopy investigation in the range of 80 K to 593 K were carried out which shows the negative temperature coefficient and softening of Raman modes as we increases the temperature. The softening modes of SnSe2 nanosheets due to temperature were explained on the basis of a double resonance process which is more active in an atomically thin sample.

Template-free sol-gel synthesis of high surface area mesoporous silica based catalysts for esterification of di-carboxylic acids - More, Pavan M.; Umbarkar, Shubhangi B.; Dongare, Mohan K. (Comptes Rendus Chimie, 2016)
High surface area mesoporous silica based catalysts have been prepared by a simple hydrolysis/sol-gel process without using any organic template and hydrothermal treatment. A controlled hydrolysis of ethyl silicate-40, an industrial bulk chemical, as a silica precursor, resulted in the formation of very high surface area (719 m(2)/g) mesoporous (pore size 67 angstrom and pore volume 1.19 cc/g) silica. The formation of mesoporous silica has been correlated with the polymeric nature of the ethyl silicate-40 silica precursor which on hydrolysis and further condensation forms long chain silica species which hinders the formation of a close condensed structure thus creating larger pores resulting in the formation of high surface mesoporous silica. Ethyl silicate-40 was used further for preparing a solid acid catalyst by supporting molybdenum oxide nanoparticles on mesoporous silica by a simple hydrolysis sol gel synthesis procedure. The catalysts showed very high acidity as determined by NH3-TPD with the presence of Lewis as well as Brensted acidity. These catalysts showed very high catalytic activity for esterification: a typical acid catalyzed organic transformation of various mono- and di-carboxylic acids with a range of alcohols. The in situ formed silicomolybdic acid heteropoly-anion species during the catalytic reactions were found to be catalytically active species for these reactions. Ethyl silicate-40, an industrial bulk silica precursor, has shown a good potential for its use as a silica precursor for the preparation of mesoporous silica based heterogeneous catalysts on a larger scale at a lower cost. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of Academie des sciences.

TiO2 modification by gold (Au) for photocatalytic hydrogen (H-2) production - Gupta, Bhavana; Melvin, Ambrose A.; Matthews, Tom; Dash, Sitaram; Tyagi, A. K. (Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2016)
TiO2 is indeed one of the widely used semiconductors employed for photocatalytic hydrogen production. Most of its photocatalytic activity-is achieved in its crystalline form. However, its photocatalytic activity is limited to ultraviolet region. For making TiO2 visible light active; Au deposition is strongly recommended due to its surface plasmon feature. Au deposition enhances the photocatalytic activity of both crystalline and nanocrystalline TiO2. Efficiency of photocatalytic activity is controlled by shape and size of Au nanoparticle subsequently the synthetic methodology plays an important role. Herein, we furnish a brief description of TiO2-Au nanocomposite synthesis by different methods viz. sol-gel, photodeposition, deposition-precipitation simple reducing method and dispersion method. A discussion on physical properties of the resultant material is also provided. Three different types of mechanism has been described depending on the type of irradiation and form of TiO2 (crystalline and nanocrytalline). A comparative hydrogen production yield is also tabulated to get an idea about the best synthesis methodology and form of TiO2 for efficient photocatalysis. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Gold nanoparticle; Hydrogen generation; Nanocomposite; Photocatalysis; TiO2

Transition metal doped aluminum clusters: an account of spin - Sengupta, Turbasu; Das, Susanta; Pal, Sourav (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2016)
The influence of spin on the properties of small sized transition metal doped aluminum clusters are investigated in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). Detailed analysis on minimum spin doped aluminum clusters has shown prominent indication of odd even oscillation in various calculated properties, supporting the presence of jellium shell structures within them. However, optimized high spin ground state counterparts, on the other hand, show rather smooth trends consistent with the properties of bulk materials. Resemblance to the bulk transition metals is further reflected in the gradual declining trends of heat of adsorption of CO2 molecule on cluster surface by sequentially changing the dopant atom from scandium to zinc. All the observations are also compared and found to be consistent with the earlier theoretical and experimental findings as obtained in the current literature. The similarities in the properties between atomic clusters and the bulk material is of utter importance and indeed precious considering the promising influence of the acquired information in understanding the process of evolution of nanoparticles from constituent atoms.

Tunable nanocarrier morphologies from glycopolypeptide-based amphiphilic biocompatible star copolymers and their carbohydrate specific intracellular delivery - Pati, Debasis; Das, Soumen; Patil, Naganath G.; Parekh, Nimisha; Anjum, Dalaver H.; Dhaware, Vinita; Ambade, Ashootosh V.; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Biomacromolecules, 2016)
Nanocarriers with carbohydrates on the surface represent a very interesting class of drug-delivery vehicles because carbohydrates are involved in biomolecular recognition events in vivo. We have synthesized biocompatible miktoarm star copolymers comprising glycopolypeptide and poly(e-caprolactone) chains using ring-opening polymerization and ``click chemistry''. The amphiphilic copolymers were self-assembled in water into morphologies such as nanorods, polymersomes, and micelles with carbohydrates displayed on the surface. We demonstrate that the formation of nanostructure could be tuned by chain length of the blocks and was not affected by the type of sugar residue. These nanostructures were characterized in detail using a variety of techniques such as TEM, AFM, cryogenic electron microscopy, spectrally resolved fluorescence imaging, and dye encapsulation techniques. We show that it is possible to sequester both hydrophobic as well as hydrophilic dyes within the nanostructures. Finally, we show that these noncytotoxic mannosylated rods and polymersomes were selectively and efficiently taken up by MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, demonstrating their potential as nanocarriers for drug delivery.

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-layer spin coating flow of newtonian liquids: a computational study - Sahoo, Subhadarshinee; Arora, Akash; Doshi, Pankaj (Computers & Fluids, 2016)
Spin coating is the most commonly used method in industries to form coating films of desired thickness and functionality. In case of two-layer spin coating process, stratified layers of two immiscible liquids are deposited onto the substrate simultaneously, which spread and thin to form two-layer coating film of finite thickness. Questions concerning the effect of surface/interfacial tension on uniformity of these films and contact line evolution are relevant and need thorough investigation. Therefore, an axisymmetric model governing the flow of two-layer spin coating process is developed here. Liquids used for the study are assumed to be Newtonian and fully wetting. The contact line singularity is resolved using a precursor layer model and the governing equations are simplified using lubrication approximation. A Galerkin finite-element method (G/FEM) based scheme is developed to solve the resulting fourth order non-linear PDEs. Simulation results reveal that the fluid properties like ratio of the viscosity of upper layer fluid to lower layer and ratio of the upper gas-liquid surface tension to inner liquid-liquid interfacial tension have profound impact on the time evolution of the film profile, contact radius and shape of the capillary ridges. It is observed that a uniform two-layer film surrounded by thin single layer film is formed when the viscosity ratio is small. On the contrary, when viscosity ratio is large, a thin two-layer film surrounded by bulky capillary ridges is formed. Similarly, the results also show that sharpness of capillary ridge increases with decrease in the surface tension ratio. Further, it is found that increase in the precursor layer thickness increases the spreading rate, thereby making the film more uniform. Finally, the uniformity of the final two-layer film does not get affected by the initial volume of fluid present in the upper layer. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Axisymmetric flow; Mathematical modeling; Multi-layer coating; Precursor layer model; Thin-film flow; Two-layer spin coating

Ultrahydrophobic fluorous metal-organic framework derived recyclable composite as apromising platform to tackle marine oil spills - Mukherjee, Soumya; Kansara, Ankit M.; Saha, Debasis; Gonnade, Rajesh; Mullangi, Dinesh; Manna, Biplab; Desai, Aamod V.; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Singh, Puyam S.; Mukherjee, Arnab; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2016)
Derived from a strategically chosen hexafluorinated dicarboxylate linker aimed at the designed synthesis of a superhydrophobic metal-organic framework (MOF), the fluorine-rich nanospace of a water-stable MOF (UHMOF-100) exhibits excellent water-repellent features. It registered the highest water contact angle (approximate to 176 degrees) in the MOF domain, marking the first example of an ultrahydrophobic MOF. Various experimental and theoretical studies reinforce its distinc-tive water-repellent characteristics, and the conjugation of superoleophilicity and unparalleled hydrophobicity of a MOF material has been coherently exploited to achieve real-time oil/water separation in recyclable membrane form, with significant absorption capacity performance. This is also the first report of an oil/water separating fluorinated ultrahydrophobic MOF-based membrane material, with potential promise for tackling marine oil spillages.

Understanding endothelial dysfunction in diabetic cardiovascular complications using mass spectrometry-based proteomics - Banarjee, Reema; Sharma, Akshay; Bai, Shakuntala; Deshmukh, Arati; Kazi, Rubina; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (Heart, 2016)

Understanding the electron transfer process in ZnO-naphthol azobenzoic acid composites from photophysical characterisation - George, Leena; Kunhikannan, Athira K.; Illathvalappil, Rajith; Ottoor, Divya; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Devi, R. Nandini (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016)
Semiconductor nanoparticles surface modified with organic molecules capable of visible light absorption and effectively transferring the electrons to the catalytic sites have the potential to be good photocatalysts. ZnO nanoparticles of size similar to 3 nm are grafted with two azonaphthols, one conjugated and the other non-conjugated. The photophysical properties of modified ZnO indicate an effective electron transfer from the conjugated azonaphthol to ZnO but not in the case of the non-conjugated molecule. It is also observed from lifetime studies that the conjugated molecule stabilises the defect sites on ZnO nanoparticles. It is possible that excited electrons from the conjugated molecule are transferred to specific defect sites in ZnO. This apparently does not occur in the non-conjugated molecule, bringing to focus the importance of the photophysical characteristics of organic modifiers in designing visible light active photocatalysts.

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

Use of the term "crystal engineering" in the regulatory and patent literature of pharmaceutical solid forms. some comments - Desiraju, Gautam R.; Nangia, Ashwini (Crystal Growth & Design, 2016)

Valorization of coffee bean waste: a coffee bean waste derived multifunctional catalyst for photocatalytic hydrogen production and electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions - Unni, SreeKuttan M.; George, Leena; Bhange, Siddheshwar N.; Devi, R. Nandini; Kurungot, Sreekumar (RSC Advances, 2016)
Here, we report the valorization of coffee bean waste (CBW) by producing nitrogen doped porous carbon (p-Cof) having both photocatalytic and electrocatalytic properties using a silica templating method. Morphological investigation of p-Cof reveals the presence of assemblies of highly porous flat carbon blocks. p-Cof exhibits a high surface area (1213 m(2) g(-1)) and a wide range of micro-and mesopores with good electrical conductivity. Along with this, the surface of p-Cof displays the presence of graphitic and pyridone-type nitrogen coordinations, which help p-Cof to perform as a multifunctional catalyst as revealed from its catalytic activities towards photocatalytic hydrogen production (PHP) and electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactions. p-Cof produces 334 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) of hydrogen from water under visible light and 575 mmol h(-1) g(-1) of hydrogen under solar light irradiation with excellent stability. Along with this, p-Cof also displays improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in alkaline medium. A better onset potential (0.91 V vs. RHE) and half-wave potential (0.75 V vs. RHE) are displayed by p-Cof compared to the catalyst derived from the simple annealing of CBW without employing the silica template. Along with the better electrochemical activity, p-Cof shows excellent ORR kinetics and electrochemical stability compared to the current state-of-the-art Pt/C.

Various types of separation membranes - Das, Debasree; Datta, Anindya; Contractor, Aliasgar Qutub (Current Science, 2016)
Membrane-based separation is a superior alternative to conventional processes in many separation problems of practical importance. For maximum effectiveness, both high selectivity and flux are desirable. This article summarizes the global efforts at designing new membrane materials, particularly carbon nanotube (CNT)-based membranes, to achieve the twin objectives mentioned above. Interest in CNT emanates from the excellent transport property of molecules through its frictionless smooth walls, with/without functionalization at the end tips. Permeation of water through graphene oxide (GO) channels, which are otherwise impermeable to solutes, has also generated considerable interest, and GO is being viewed as a promising material for separations. The performances of conducting polymers like polypyrrole, polyaniline, polythiophene-3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene and their different composites have been studied as a function of changes in morphology and redox behaviour, and this aspect too is covered in the present article. Also, the dependence of the separation performances based on the size, charge and hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties has been discussed in detail. Advances in understanding will have an important bearing on future developments in separation science.
Keywords: carbon nanotube; conducting polymers; flux; graphene oxide; permeability; separation membranes

Venkataraman Jagannathan (1921-2015) - Deshpande, Mukund V. (Current Science, 2016)

Versatile Cu-II metal-organic framework exhibiting high gas storage capacity with selectivity for CO2: conversion of CO2 to cyclic carbonate and other catalytic abilities - De, Dinesh; Pal, Tapan K.; Neogi, Subhadip; Senthilkumar, S.; Das, Debasree; Sen Gupta, Sayam; Bharadwaj, Parimal K. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2016)
A linear tetracarboxylic acid ligand, H4L, with a pendent amine moiety solvothermally forms two isostructural metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) L-M (M=Zn-II, Cu-II). Framework L-Cu can also be obtained from L-Zn by post- synthetic metathesis without losing crystallinity. Compared with L-Zn, the L-Cu framework exhibits high thermal stability and allows removal of guest solvent and metal-bound water molecules to afford the highly porous, L-Cu. At 77K, L-Cu absorbs 2.57wt% of H-2 at 1bar, which increases significantly to 4.67wt% at 36bar. The framework absorbs substantially high amounts of methane (238.38cm(3)g(-1), 17.03wt%) at 303K and 60bar. The CH4 absorption at 303K gives a total volumetric capacity of 166cm(3)(STP)cm(-3) at 35bar (223.25cm(3)g(-1), 15.95wt%). Interestingly, the NH2 groups in the linker, which decorate the channel surface, allow a remarkable 39.0wt% of CO2 to be absorbed at 1bar and 273K, which comes within the dominion of the most famous MOFs for CO2 absorption. Also, L-Cu shows pronounced selectivity for CO2 absorption over CH4, N-2, and H-2 at 273K. The absorbed CO2 can be converted to value-added cyclic carbonates under relatively mild reaction conditions (20bar, 120 degrees C). Finally, L-Cu is found to be an excellent heterogeneous catalyst in regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (click reactions) and provides an efficient, economic route for the one-pot synthesis of structurally divergent propargylamines through three-component coupling of alkynes, amines, and aldehydes.
Keywords: click reactions; CO2 absorption; cyclic carbonate; heterogeneous catalysis; metal-organic frameworks

Vitro and in silico antifungal efficacy of nitrogen- doped carbon nanohorn ( NCNH) against rhizoctonia solani - Dharni, Seema; Sanchita; Unni, SreeKuttan M.; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Samad, Abdul; Sharma, Ashok; Patra, Dharani Dhar (Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics, 2016)
We have investigated in vitro antifungal efficiency of nitrogen-doped carbon nanohorn (NCNH) against Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani) plant pathogenic fungi. NCNH with size of 50-60nm and concentrations of 10, 50, 100, and 150gmL(-1) were used. The results showed that growth of fungi in the presence of NCNH was significantly (p>.05) inhibited at 150gmL(-1) (85.13 +/-.97) after 72h. The results were validated through computational approaches. Molecular docking analysis of NCNH with endochitinase protein of R. solani was performed to validate the potential of antifungal activity of NCNH. Docking results showed different conformations of interaction of NCNH with endochitinase enzyme. The conformation with least binding energy -13.54kcal/mol was considered further. It is likely that NCNH interacts with the pathogens by mechanically wrapping, which may be one of the major toxicity actions of NCNH against R. solani. The analysis showed that NCNH might interwinds to endochitinase of R. solani leading to the deactivation of the enzyme. To best of our knowledge, this is the first report of antifungal efficacy of NCNH against R. solani and provides useful information about the application of NCNH in resisting crop disease.
Keywords: docking; endochitinase; nitrogen-doped carbon nanohorn; Rhizoctonia solani

Wide band gap and conducting tungsten carbide(WC) thin films prepared by hot wire chemical vapor deposition(HW-CVD) method - Pawbake, Amit; Waykar, Ravindra; Jadhavar, Ashok; Kulkarni, Rupali; Waman, Vaishali; Date, Abhijit; Late, Dattatray J.; Pathan, Habib; Jadkar, Sandesh (Materials Letters, 2016)
In this letter, we report synthesis of tungsten carbide (WC) thin films having wide band gap(3.22-3.3 eV) with high electrical conductivity (80-1260 S/cm) by HW-CVD using heated using heated W filament and Tetra-fluoro-methane (CF4) gas. Formation of WC was confirmed by low angle XRD, Raman spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. UV-Visible spectroscopy analysis revealed that the synthesized films have high transmission at wavelength 500 nm. Electrical properties measured using Hall measurement show that these films are semiconductor. The obtained results imply that the growth of WC thin films is mainly from the atomic species(W and C) evaporated from the hot filament. The HW-CVD opens a novel route to synthesize wide band gap and conducting WC at a cost-efficient way for DSSCs and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). (C) 2016 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Acetone and methanol fruit extracts of terminalia paniculata inhibit HIV-1 infection in vitro - Durge, Ankita; Jadaun, Pratiksha; Wadhwani, Ashish; Chinchansure, Ashish A.; Said, Madhukar; Thulasiram, H. V.; Joshi, Swati P.; Kulkarni, Smita S. (Natural Product Research, 2017)
In this study, we report the in vitro anti-HIV1 activity of acetone and methanol extracts of fruit of Terminalia paniculata. Cytotoxicity tests were conducted on TZM-bl cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), the CC50 values of both the extracts were 260g/mL. Using TZM-bl cells, the extracts were tested for their ability to inhibit replication of two primary isolates HIV-1 (X4, Subtype D) and HIV-1 (R5, Subtype C). The activity against HIV-1 primary isolate (R5, Subtype C) was confirmed using activated PBMC and by quantification of HIV-1 p24 antigen. Both the extracts showed anti-HIV1 activity in a dose-dependent manner. The EC50 values of the acetone and methanol extracts of T. paniculata were 10.3g/mL. The enzymatic assays were performed to determine the mechanism of action which indicated that the anti-HIV1 activity might be due to inhibition of reverse transcriptase (77.7% inhibition) and protease (69.9% inhibition) enzymes.

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.

Agro-industrial wastes for production of biosurfactant by bacillus subtilis ANR 88 and its application in synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles - Rane, Ashwini N.; Baikar, Vishakha V.; Kumar, D. V. Ravi; Deopurkar, Rajendra L. (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017)
Biosurfactants, surface-active amphiphilic compounds, despite having a wide range of applications, have a high cost of production, which severely restricts their use. For cheaper production of biosurfactant, we investigated the potential of the indigenously isolated biosurfactant producing organism, Bacillus subtilis ANR 88, to grow on different cheap carbon sources (molasses, whey, and extracts of potato peels, orange peels, banana peels, and bagasse). We found that, B. subtilis ANR 88 used significant amounts of total sugar to produce cell biomass and biosurfactant. The biosurfactant production in minimal medium containing glucose as sole source of carbon was 0.207 g/l and the same with molasses as carbon source was 0.241 g/l. With whey as carbon source, isolate failed to produce biosurfactant. Amongst the extracts of the agro-wastes, the extracts of bagasse and orange peels gave 0.127 and 0.089 g/l of biosurfactant respectively. One-variable-at-a-time (OVAT) studies carried out to optimize the production of biosurfactant by B. subtilis ANR 88 resulted into maximum biosurfactant yield of 0.513 g/l in medium: molasses 4%, ammonium ferric citrate 0.25%, pH 7. Plackett-Burman design based statistical method for optimization increased the production of biosurfactant to 0.746 g/l, which is 3.6-fold of that produced on glucose. The biosurfactant produced by B. subtilis ANR 88 was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR); it showed that the biosurfactant contained alkyl as well as peptide groups. The biosurfactant of B. subtilis ANR 88 was found effective in the synthesis of silver as well as gold nanoparticles in the total absence of conventional chemical reducing agents. Interestingly, nanoparticles produced were almost uniform in their size and shapes i.e., spherical silver (4-18 nm) and hexagonal gold nanoparticles (40-60 nm), as evident in TEM images.

Allostreptomyces indica sp. nov., isolated from India - Sahu, A.K. (Journal of Antibiotics, 2017)
A novel actinobacterium, designated strain YIM 75704T, was isolated from a limestone quarry located at Gulbarga, Karnataka, India. The novel strain has showed typical morphological and chemotaxonomic characteristics of the family Streptomycetaceae. Comparison of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that this strain represents a novel member of the family Streptomycetaceae and exhibited 99.0% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with the type species of the recently described novel genus Allostreptomyces, that is, Allostreptomyces psammosilenae, whereas other species of Streptomyces were below 95% sequence similarity. The cell hydrolysates contained the LL-isomer of diaminopimelic acid and the predominant quinones were MK-9 (H 6, H 8 and H 4). The polar lipid profile consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositolmannosides and three unknown phospholipids. The DNA G+C content was 75.0 mol%. A polyphasic study of the strain with morphological, phenotypic, phylogenetic and with DNA-DNA hybridization evidence with related members showed that this strain represents novel species of Allostreptomyces for which the name Allostreptomyces indica sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain is YIM 75704 T (= DSM 41985T =CCTCC AA 209051T = NCIM 5485T).

Ambient CO oxidation on in-situ generated Co3O4 spinel surfaces with random morphology - Dubey, Anjani; Reddy, Kasala Prabhakar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (ChemistrySelect, 2017)
The influence of the Co3O4 morphology on its redox behavior and catalytic performance in the CO oxidation reaction is studied. Three different Co3O4 morphologies were synthesized by precipitation and hydrothermal methods. TEM and SEM observations clearly show the different obtained morphologies: rods, wires and a mixture of plates and cubes. The textural properties depend on the morphology and the redox ones on the particle size. XRD analysis reveals a spinel structure in all solids but a preferential exposition of the [110] plane is presented in the Co3O4 rods. This preferential exposition, along with its higher specific surface area provides the rods with more efficient oxygen storage capacity resulting in an excellent catalytic performance compared to the other two morphologies.

Ammonia-modified graphene sheets decorated with magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles for the photocatalytic and photo-Fenton degradation of phenolic compounds under sunlight irradiation - Boruah, Purna K.; Sharma, Bhagyasmeeta; Karbhal, Indrapal; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Das, Manash R. (Journal of hazardous materials, 2017)
Synthesis of easily separable and eco-friendly efficient catalyst with both photocatalytic and photo-Fenton degradation properties is of great importance for environment remediation application. Herein, ammonia-modified graphene (AG) sheets decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (AG/Fe3O4) as a magnetically recoverable photocatalyst by a simple in situ solution chemistry approach. First, we have functionalized graphene oxide (GO) sheets by amide functional group and then Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) are doped onto the functionalized GO surface. The AG/Fe3O4 nanocomposite showed efficient photocatalytic activity towards degradation of phenol (92.43%), 2-nitrophenol (2-NP) (98%) and 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) (97.15%) within 70–120 min. Consequently, in case of photo-Fenton degradation phenomenon, 93.56% phenol, 98.76% 2-NP and 98.06% of 2-CP degradation were achieved within 50–80 min using AG/Fe3O4 nanocomposite under sunlight irradiation. The synergistic effect between amide functionalized graphene and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) enhances the photocatalytic activity by preventing the recombination rate of electron-hole-pair in Fe3O4 NPs. Furthermore, the remarkable reusability of the AG/Fe3O4 nanocomposite was observed up to ten cycles during the photocatalytic degradation of these phenolic compounds.

Analysis of electrical and thermal conductivities of polyethersulfone-graphite based hybrid nanocomposites - Ramanujam, B. T. S.; Radhakrishnan, S.; Deshpande, Shripad D. (Macromolecular Research, 2017)
Polyethersulfone (PES)-7 wt% graphite- x wt% filler (carbon black (CB), carbon nanofiber (CNF), expanded graphite (ExGr)) hybrid composites are synthesized by solution blending route. The electrical percolation threshold in hybrid composites varies exponentially with the aspect ratio of the second conducting filler. The aspect ratio of the second conducting filler has been found to vary in the order CB < CNF < ExGr. The percolation threshold is identified at 0.05 wt%, 0.4 wt%, 1.3 wt% for ExGr, CNF and CB added PES-7 wt% graphite composites. Through plane thermal conductivity of PES-x wt% graphite-y wt% CB (x=10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, y=0, 3, 7) hybrid composites has been found to increase with the addition of CB. Thermal conductivity has been increased to 0.42 W/m-K when 7 wt% CB is added to PES-60 wt% graphite from 0.2 W/m-K. Reduction of interparticular distance with the increased loading of CB facilitates better thermal transport. Aspect ratios of second conducting fillers have been found out from transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis.

Anti-microbial activity of chrysomycin a produced by streptomyces sp. against mycobacterium tuberculosis - Balaji, Muralikrishnan; Dan, Vipin Mohan; Joseph, Vinodh; Jamsheena, Vellekkatt; Ramachandran, Ranjit; Thomas, Sabu; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Kumar, K. Santhosh; Lankalapalli, Ravi Shankar; Kumar, R. Ajay (RSC Advances, 2017)
Limited efficacy of the BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) vaccine against adult tuberculosis and the emergence of resistance to existing anti-tuberculosis drugs compel discovery of novel antibiotics against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Actinomycetes are still an attractive platform for the discovery of new antimicrobials, especially from untapped natural hotspots, despite the belief that they are an exhausted resource after repeated re-discoveries. Herein we report the isolation and identification of chrysomycin A from an actinomycete isolated from a coastal area in Kerala. We show for the first time that it has antimycobacterial activity. It was found to be bactericidal to planktonic and intracellular M. tuberculosis with an MIC of 3.125 μg mL⁻¹; it is non-hemolytic and has negligible cytotoxicity. The actinomycete that produces chrysomycin A was found to be a Streptomyces sp. through 16S rRNA gene sequencing.

Anti-proliferative effect of novel primary cetyl alcohol derived sophorolipids against human cervical cancer cells HeLa - Nawale, Laxman; Dubey, Parul; Chaudhari, Bhushan; Sarkar, Dhiman; Prabhune, Asmita (Plos One, 2017)
Sophorolipids (SLs) are glycolipid biosurfactants that have been shown to display anticancer activity. In the present study, we report anti-proliferative studies on purified forms of novel SLs synthesized using cetyl alcohol as the substrate (referred as SLCA) and their anticancer mechanism in human cervical cancer cells. Antiproliferative effect of column purified SLCA fractions (A, B, C, D, E and F) was examined in panel of human cancer cell lines as well as primary cells. Among these fractions, SLCA B and C significantly inhibited the survival of HeLa and HCT 116 cells without affecting the viability of normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The two fractions were identified as cetyl alcohol sophorolipids with non-hydroxylated tail differing in the degree of acetylation on sophorose head group. At an IC50 concentration SLCA B (16.32 mu g ml(-1)) and SLCA C (14.14 mu g ml(-1)) blocked the cell cycle progression of HeLa cells at G1/S phase in time-dependent manner. Moreover, SLCA B and SLCA C induced apoptosis in HeLa cells through an increase in intracellular Ca2+ leading to depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential and increase in the caspase-3, -8 and -9 activity. All these findings suggest that these SLCAs could be explored for their chemopreventive potential in cervical cancer.

Assessing therapeutic potential of molecules: molecular property diagnostic suite for tuberculosis - Gaur, A. S.; Bhardwaj, A.; Sharma, A.; John, L.; Vivek, M. R.; Tripathi, N.; Bharatam, P. V.; Kumar, R.; Janardhan, S.; Mori, A.; Banerji, A.; Lynn, A. M.; et al. (Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2017)
Abstract: Molecular Property Diagnostic Suite (MPDS TB) is a web tool (http://mpds.osdd.net) designed to assist the in silico drug discovery attempts towards Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). MPDS TB tool has nine modules which are classified into data library (1–3), data processing (4–5) and data analysis (6–9). Module 1 is a repository of literature and related information available on the Mtb. Module 2 deals with the protein target analysis of the chosen disease area. Module 3 is the compound library consisting of 110.31 million unique molecules generated from public domain databases and custom designed search tools. Module 4 contains tools for chemical file format conversions and 2D to 3D coordinate conversions. Module 5 helps in calculating the molecular descriptors. Module 6 specifically handles QSAR model development tools using descriptors generated in the Module 5. Module 7 integrates the AutoDock Vina algorithm for docking, while module 8 provides screening filters. Module 9 provides the necessary visualization tools for both small and large molecules. The workflow-based open source web portal, MPDS TB 1.0.1 can be a potential enabler for scientists engaged in drug discovery in general and in anti-TB research in particular. Graphical Abstract: SYNOPSIS: A web-based MPDS TB Galaxy tool is developed for assessing therapeutic potential of molecules. MPDS TB is categorized into Data Library, Data Processing and Data Analysis. It can be a potential enabler for scientists engaged in drug discovery in general and in anti-TB research in particular. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2017, Indian Academy of Sciences.
Keywords: chemical analysis; Chemoinformatics; computational chemistry; Diagnosis; Drug discovery portal; Information analysis; Libraries; Molecular graphics; Molecules; Neglected diseases; Open science; Portals; tuberculosis; Web-based technology; Websites

Band alignment and charge transfer pathway in three phase anatase-rutile-brookite TiO2 nanotubes: an efficient photocatalyst for water splitting - Preethi, L. K.; Mathews, Tom; Nand, Mangla; Jha, S. N.; Chinnakonda, Gopinath S.; Dash, Sitaram (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2017)
The study reports electrochemical synthesis, phase evolution and hydrogen generation efficiency of anatase, anatase-rutile and anatase-rutile-brookite (ARB) TiO2 nanotubes for the first time. The SEM and TEM micrographs confirm the tubular morphology of the samples. The presence of anatase, rutile and brookite phases in a single nanotube is confirmed from high resolution TEM analysis. The water splitting efficiency of the three systems are studied under one sun illumination. It is observed that the anatase-rutile-brookite TiO2 nanotubes are highly efficient compared to anatase-rutile or anatase TiO2 nanotubes. The hydrogen generated by ARB composites, after four hours of one sun illumination, is found to be nearly twice that of anatase TiO2 nanotubes and 1.6 times that of anatase-rutile TiO2 nanotubes. The results suggest that the ARB in single nanotube having two junction interfaces, highly facilitate interparticle charge transfer compared to single junction anatase-rutile or bare anatase TiO2 nanotubes. From the deconvolution of PL spectra and the synchrotron radiation assisted valence band edge analysis, the band diagram for the anatase-rutile-brookite phase is constructed. The charge separation and its transfer pathway for efficient photo-assisted water splitting are delineated. This opens a new route for the simple synthesis and study of tri-phase TiO2 for efficient photocatalytic water splitting compared to the widely studied two phase TiO2. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.
Keywords: Anatase-Rutile-Brookite; Hydrogen generation; nanotubes; Photocatalysis; photoluminescence; Valence band edge

Base-free and catalyst-free synthesis of functionalized dihydrobenzoxazoles via vinylogous carbonate to carbamate rearrangement - Das, Tamal Kanti; Mondal, Santigopal; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Letters, 2017)
An unexpected, catalyst-free, and base-free intramolecular cyclization of N-aryloxyacrylate aldimines, under thermal conditions leading to the synthesis of functionalized dihydrobenzoxazoles, is reported. The reaction features a unique rearrangement of vinylogous carbonates to vinylogous carbamates resulting in a new carbon–oxygen and carbon–nitrogen bond construction. The reaction tolerates a broad range of functional groups and the desired products are formed in moderate to good yields.

Biosurfactant surfactin as a kinetic promoter for methane hydrate formation - Bhattacharjee, Gaurav; Barmecha, Vivek; Pradhan, Darshan; Naik, Rajesh; Zare, Kirti; Mawlankar, Rahul R.; Dastager, Syed Gulam; Kushwaha, Omkar Singh; Kumar, Rajnish (Energy Procedia, 2017)
In the present study, the effect of the biosurfactant Surfactin on methane hydrate formation kinetics was studied. Initially, several marine derived species were screened for the presence of Surfactin. The polymerase chain reaction technique was used as the preliminary screening step for Surfactin which was then followed up by a couple of different assays to provide conclusive evidence of the same. Based on these tests, the D-9 bacterial strain was identified as a producer of Surfactin. Once the presence of Surfactin had been proven, its effect on methane hydrate formation kinetics was investigated upon by carrying out hydrate formation experiments in a stirred tank reactor. The cell free supernatant containing Surfactin was itself used as the hydrate forming solution without any further processing. It was found that the presence of Surfactin in the system greatly enhances hydrate formation kinetics as compared to pure water. In fact the kinetics in presence of Surfactin also surpassed that obtained with 1 wt% SDS, the most commonly used synthetic kinetic hydrate promoter. This basic study can pave the way for more sophisticated research on the use of biosurfactants as kinetic promoters with a view on rapid methane hydrate formation kinetics for applications such as methane separation, storage and transport.

Can fungi compete with marine sources for chitosan production? - Ghormade, V. (International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2017)
Chitosan, a β-1,4-linked glucosamine polymer is formed by deacetylation of chitin. It has a wide range of applications from agriculture to human health care products. Chitosan is commercially produced from shellfish, shrimp waste, crab and lobster processing using strong alkalis at high temperatures for long time periods. The production of chitin and chitosan from fungal sources has gained increased attention in recent years due to potential advantages in terms of homogenous polymer length, high degree of deacetylation and solubility over the current marine source. Zygomycetous fungi such as Absidia coerulea, Benjaminiella poitrasii, Cunninghamella elegans, Gongrenella butleri, Mucor rouxii, Mucor racemosus and Rhizopus oryzae have been studied extensively. Isolation of chitosan are reported from few edible basidiomycetous fungi like Agaricus bisporus, Lentinula edodes and Pleurotus sajor-caju. Other organisms from mycotech industries explored for chitosan production are Aspergillus niger, Penicillium chrysogenum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other wine yeasts. Number of aspects such as value addition to the existing applications of fungi, utilization of waste from agriculture sector, and issues and challenges for the production of fungal chitosan to compete with existing sources, metabolic engineering and novel applications have been discussed to adjudge the potential of fungal sources for commercial chitosan production.
Keywords: Cell wall; Chitin/chitosan; Waste Mycelial Biomass; Zygomycetous Fungi

Capillary uptake in macroporous compressible sponges - Chatterjee, Soumyajyoti; Doshi, Pankaj; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy (Soft Matter, 2017)
The capillarity-driven uptake of liquid in swellable, highly porous sponges is of significant industrial importance. Sponges prepared using polymers and their composites with carbon nanotubes and graphene have been reported, with extraordinary solvent uptake capacities and with the ability to separate oil from water. However, the effect of systematic variation of sponge characteristics on solvent uptake has not been investigated. Here, we report experiments that study capillary uptake in a variety of flexible, centimetre-sized macroporous cylindrical sponges. We used ice-templating to prepare a series of model macroporous sponges in which the porosity, modulus and composition were systematically varied. We investigated two kinds of sponge: (a) those composed purely of cross-linked polymers and (b) those prepared as composites of inorganic particles and polymers. Both kinds of sponge are flexible and exhibit elastic recovery after large compressive deformation. All sponges were characterized thoroughly with respect to their pore microstructure and elastic modulus. When one end of a sponge is plunged into a large reservoir, water rises through capillary action against gravity. We observed a transition from an inertial capillary regime, where the liquid column height rose linearly with time, t, to a viscous capillary regime, where the liquid height rose with time t(0.5). We showed that these results can be rationalized using analyses developed for rigid sponges. We combined differential momentum balance equations for uptake in rigid capillaries with the phenomenological Ergun-Forchheimer relations to account for the effect of the sponge microstructure. This approach works remarkably well in the viscous capillary regime and shows that capillary uptake is governed primarily by the total porosity and pore dimensions of soft sponges.
Keywords: aerogels; Building blocks; Catalyst Supports; Contact-angels; Dynamics; flow; Organic Liquids; Porous-Media; Rise

Carbene or C1 polymerization - De Bruin, B.; Chikkali, S.H. (Metal-catalyzed polymerization: fundamentals to applications, 2017)
As noted in Chapter 2, metal-catalyzed polymerization of carbon-carbon double bond (C=C) containing monomers is most widely known and today we produce roughly 180 million tons of polyolefins every year. 1 In this so-called olefin polymerization or vinyl insertion polymerization method, each monomer delivers two carbon (C2) atoms in each propagation step. Insertion polymerization of monomers delivering only one carbon unit in each chain growth step is named as C1 or carbene polymerization (see Figure 3.1). 2 In the recent past, C1 polymerization techniques are being viewed as a valuable alternative to the classical C2 polymerization methods. Not only this but also C1 polymerization offer distinct advantages over C2 polymerization and thus opens up new avenues for the development of new material with polymer properties that are very difficult to achieve using traditional C2 polymerization methods. In this chapter we will discuss the significance of C1 polymerization and the different methods used for C1 polymerization, will summarize the recent developments, and will highlight the elementary steps involved in it.

Carbonylation of glycerol with urea to glycerol carbonate over supported Zn catalysts - Kondawar, S. E.; Mane, R. B.; Vasishta, A.; More, S. B.; Dhengale, S. D.; Rode, C. V. (Applied Petrochemical Research, 2017)
Glycerol carbonylation with urea is a very feasible option to produce glycerol carbonate with a net result of CO2 fixation through urea synthesis. The prerequisite of an efficient catalyst for this reaction is to possess both acid and basic sites together. Several acidic supports were screened for ZnO catalyst in this work and Zn/MCM-41 was found to exhibit the best activity and almost complete selectivity to glycerol carbonate (GC). Although, non-catalytic glycerol carbonylation resulted in GC formation but glycerol conversion achieved was twice with Zn/MCM-41 as a catalyst. Further to that increase in Zn loading from 2 to 5% resulted in increase in glycerol conversion from 63 to 82%. The prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, NH3 and CO2-TPD and effects of reaction parameters such as catalyst loading, glycerol to urea mole ratio and temperature on glycerol conversion and GC selectivity in batch mode of operation were also studied. Time on stream activity of 5% Zn/MCM-41 catalyst for continuous carbonylation of glycerol was also studied for ~100 h with an average conversion of ~55% and complete selectivity to GC. This indicated five times lower productivity of GC per h due to lower residence time than that in a batch operation as compared to that of a continuous operation. Activation energy estimated from the Arrhenius plot was found to be 39.82 kJ mol−1 suggesting that the reaction is kinetically controlled. A reaction pathway mediated by acid and basic sites of the Zn/MCM-41 catalyst is also proposed.
Keywords: Acid–base ratio; Continuous process; Glycerol carbonate; Glycerol-urea carbonylation; reaction pathway; Supported Zn; Zn loading

Catalyst-free oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and diethylamine catalyzed oxidation of sulfides to sulfones using oxone as an oxidant - Kupwade, R. V.; Khot, S. S.; Lad, U. P.; Desai, U. V.; Wadgaonkar, P. P. (Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2017)
We describe here our journey from the failure of our attempts in controlled oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using an Oxone(A (R))-KBr combination to our success in the development of a catalyst-free protocol for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using Oxone as an oxidant. We also describe the failure of our attempts at the oxidation of sulfides to sulfones using an excess of Oxone-KBr as well as Oxone, and our success towards the development of a rapid, scalable and chromatography-free protocol for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfones using diethylamine-Oxone as an unprecedented catalyst-oxidant combination. [GRAPHICS] .
Keywords: diethylamine; organocatalysis; Oxidation; Oxone; Sulfones; Sulfoxides

Catalytic conversion of biomass - Dhepe, Paresh; Tomishige, Keiichi; Wu, Kevin C. -W. (Chemcatchem, 2017)

Catalytic macroporous biohydrogels made of ferritin-encapsulated gold nanoparticles - Kumari, Sushma; Haring, Marleen; Sen Gupta, Sayam; Diaz, David Diaz (Chempluschem, 2017)
Reported is a modular approach for the incorporation and stabilization of gold nanoparticles inside a three-dimensional macroporous hydrogel made of ferritin. The strategy, which involves the dynamic templating of surfactant H-1 domains, demineralization, and remineralization helps to overcome aggregation and degradation issues usually associated with bare-metal-based nanocatalysts. The catalytic activity of the so-synthesized bionanocomposite hydrogel was demonstrated in both nitroaldol (Henry) and nitroreduction model reactions in aqueous solution at room temperature. An interesting synergistic effect between basic residues of the protein and the gold nanoparticles was found in the nitroaldol reaction when carried out in water in the presence of a phase-transfer catalyst. Furthermore, the reduction of 4-nitrophenol and 4-nitroaniline catalyzed by the nanocomposite scaffold in the presence of NaBH4 proceeded significantly faster than that using other known Au- and Ag-based catalysts under similar conditions.

Cerium-based metal-organic framework having inherent oxidase-like activity applicable for colorimetric sensing of biothiols and aerobic oxidation of thiols - Dalapati, Rana; Sakthivel, Balasubramanian; Ghosalya, Manoj K.; Dhakshinamoorthy, Amarajothi; Biswas, Shyam (Crystengcomm, 2017)
A cerium-basedmetal-organic framework (MOF; 1) with a UiO-66 (UiO: University of Oslo) framework topology was synthesized solvothermally by employing 3,4-dimethylthieno[2,3-b] thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylic acid as a ligand. The MOF was thoroughly characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric and N-2 sorption analyses. The activated material (1') retained its structural integrity in water, acetic acid and 1 M HCl solution. XPS investigation reveals the presence of both Ce(III) and Ce(IV) ions in 1. Owing to the presence of mixed-valence cerium ions, 1' was able to oxidize the chromogenic peroxidase substrate 3,3', 5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) or 2,2'azinobis.3- ethylbenzothizoline-6-sulfonic acid) (AzBTS) in the absence of an external oxidizing agent. Thus, it showed inherent oxidase-like catalytic properties. Inspired by the excellent oxidase-mimicking activity of 1', a protocol was developed for the rapid colorimetric sensing of biothiols in NaAc buffer (0.2 M, pH = 4). The sensing ability of 1' towards cysteine was also demonstrated in human blood plasma. Furthermore, the redox-active cerium ions enabled 1' to exhibit excellent heterogeneous catalytic performance in aerobic oxidation catalysis of thiol compounds. The material is reusable (both as a sensor and as a catalyst), lowcost and highly stable, which renders it a promising candidate for the monitoring of biothiols in immunoassays and medical diagnosis as well as for industrial oxidation catalysis.

Chiral discrimination through h-1 nmr and luminescence spectroscopy: dynamic processes and solid strip for chiral recognition - Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Maity, Arunava; Dey, Ananta; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Ravindranathan, Sapna; Das, Amitava (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2017)
The appropriate choice of the host molecules with well-defined optical activity (S-H/R-H) helps in the differentiation between two secondary ammonium ion-derivative guest molecules with different optical activities (R-G/S-G) based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)based luminescence responses. Crown ether-based host molecules with opposite chiral configurations (R-H, S-H) have been derived from 1,1'-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) derivatives that have axially chiral biaryl centers. These chiral crown ethers form host-guest complexes (i.e., [2] pseudoro-taxanes) with chiral secondary ammonium ion derivatives (R-G, S-G). NMR spectroscopic studies show that the complexes are in a dynamic equilibrium in solution. Results of the H-1 NMR and fluorescence spectroscopic studies indicate a head-on orientation of the host and guest in the [2] pseudorotaxanes. The difference in the efficiency in the FRET-based responses between anthracene and the BINOL derivatives allow efficient chiral discrimination of the guests. Isothermal titration calorimetry and NMR investigations reveal that inclusion complexes between hosts and guests of the same chirality (R-H center dot R-G, S-H center dot S-G) are more stable relative to those of opposite chirality (R-H center dot S-G, S-H center dot R-G). However, FRET-based energy-transfer efficiency is higher for R-H center dot S-G and S-H center dot R-G complexes. NMR spectroscopic studies show that the relative orientation of the guest in the host cavity is significantly different when the host binds a guest of the same or opposite chirality; furthermore, the latter is more favorable for FRET, thus enabling discrimination between enantiomers. Interestingly, chiral discrimination of guest ions could also be achieved by using silica surfaces modified with chiral host molecules.

Click-chemistry-based multicomponent condensation approach for design and synthesis of spirochromene-tethered 1,2,3-triazoles as potential antitubercular agents - Chavan, Pramod V.; Pandit, Kapil S.; Desai, Uday V.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Nawale, Laxman; Bhansali, Sujit; Sarkar, Dhiman (Research on Chemical Intermediates, 2017)

Co-catalytic metal oxide nanoparticles decorated silicon/hematite core shell nanowire arrays as efficient photo electrodes for water splitting - Devarapalli, Rami Reddy; Kamaja, Chaitanya Krishna; Shelke, Manjusha V. (ChemistrySelect, 2017)
By looking global energy demands, development of highly efficient stable semiconductor photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting is highly desirable. Herein, we have fabricated co-catalytic nanoparticles decorated Silicon nanowire (SiNWs)/Hematite(Fe2O3) core sell structures as photo anodes and studied the PEC water oxidation properties. As, Fe2O3 possess weak oxidation kinetics, decoration of NiO and Co3O4 nanoparticles on SiNW/Fe2O3 by hydrothermal method, which acts as co-catalysts to improves the water oxidation reactions. It was found that decoration of Co3O4 nanoparticles enhances the photocurrent up to 2.6 times, whereas for NiO nanoparticles improvement is of 1.5 times when compared to the undecorated electrodes. Along with enhancement of photocurrents, it also shows shift of onset potentials. The effect of the co-catalytic nanoparticles on the enhancement of photocurrent and charge transfer resistance at the interface of electrode-electrolyte have been studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Further, flat band potentials of the photo electrodes have been measured by using Mott-schottky analysis.
Keywords: Co-catalysts; photo anodes; Photoelectrochemical cell; silicon nanowires; water splitting

Compositional dependence of electrical conduction in solution grown Zn1-xCrxSe thin films: a correlation - Deshmukh, S. L.; Pingale, P. C.; Chavan, G. T.; Pawar, S. T.; Prakshale, V. M.; Kamble, S. S.; Jadkar, S. R.; Chaure, N. B.; Gopinath, C. S.; Maldar, N. N.; Deshmukh, L. P. (Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics, 2017)
Zinc selenide (ZnSe) has a typical band gap of 2.7 eV suitable for window application and can easily be synthesized using a liquid phase chemical bath deposition. An attempt is made to tune its band gap and other characteristics to cope with a maxima of the solar spectrum by deliberate addition of Cr3+. ZnSe and Zn1-xCrxSe (0 <= x <= 0.35) thin films were obtained under the controlled deposition conditions (temperature = 70 A degrees C, time = 210 min, pH = 10, etc). The compositional analysis showed Zn2+ replacement by Cr3+. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed chemical states of the constituents Zn, Cr and Se as 2(+), 3(+) and 2(-) respectively. The electrical conductivity and thermo-power measurements in the 300-550 K temperature range showed semiconducting nature of the material and that the electrical conduction is of the n-type. The electrical conductivity is found to be increased continuously up to x = 0.05 and then decreased for further increase in x. The Hall-probe measurements also confirmed n-type conduction. The average Hall coefficient for pure ZnSe is -1.03 x 10(7) cm(3)/C whereas, it is -4.55 x 10(6) cm(3)/C for a sample with x = 0.35.

Control of polymerization reactors - Schurk, F. J; Deshpande, P. B; Leffew, K. W.; Nadkarni, V. M. (CRC Press, 2017)
This reference and text provides an in-depth description of developments in control techniques and their application to polymerization reactors and offers important introductory background information on polymerization reaction engineering.;Discussing modelling, identification, linear, nonlinear and multivariable schemes, Control of Polymerization Reactors: presents all available techniques that can be used to control reactors properly for optimal performance; shows how to manipulate pivotal variables that affect reactor control; examines methods for deriving dynamic process models to improve reactor efficiency; reviews reactor control problems and points out end-use properties; supplies methods for measuring process variables, and ways to estimate variables that can’t be measured; and explains how single-input, single-output (SISO) strategies can be effectively used for control.;Filled with illustrative examples to clarify concepts, including more than 730 figures, tables and equations, Control of Polymerization Reactors is intended for use as a reference for chemical, process development, process design, research and development, control systems, and polymer engineers; and polymer chemists and physicists; as well as a text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in polymerization reactor control courses.

Convenient route for Au@Ti-SiO2 nanocatalyst synthesis and its application for room temperature CO oxidation - Soni, Yogita; Kumar, Anumol Erumpukuthical Ashok; Nayak, Chandrani; Deepak, Francis Leonard; Vinod, C. P. (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2017)
Small gold nanoparticles.of size less than 5 nm encapsulated inside titanium modified silica shell have been reported. Here, a modified sol-gel method, which is a one-step process, produces Au@Ti-SiO2 nanocatalyst with a good control of titanium loading. With a titanium loading of 0.9 and 2.2 wt % in silica, unprecedented low temperature activity (full conversion) is observed for this catalyst for CO oxidation reaction compared to Au@SiO2 catalyst. A combination of optimum sized gold nanoparticles with a large amount of oxygen vacancies created due to Ti incorporation in silica matrix is considered to be the reason for this enhanced catalytic activity. The size of.gold nanoparticles is maintained even after high temperature pretreatments, which show the benefit of encapsulation. The effect of the various pretreatments on the catalytic activity has also been reported.

Copper Cobalt Sulfide Nanosheets Realizing a Promising Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction - Chauhan, Meenakshi; Reddy, Kasala Prabhakar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Deka, Sasanka (ACS Catalysis, 2017)
Nanostructured CuCo2S4, a mixed metal thiospinel, is found to be a benchmark electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in this study with a low overpotential, a low Tafel slope, a high durability, and a high turnover frequency (TOF) at lower mass loadings. Nanosheets of CuCo2S4 are realized from a hydrothermal synthesis method in which the average thickness of the sheets is found to be in the range of 815 nm. Aggregated nanosheets form a highly open hierarchical structure. When used as an electrocatalyst, CuCo2S4 nanosheets offer an overpotential value of 310 mV at a 10 mA cm(2) current density, which remains consistent for 10000 measured cycles in a 1 M KOH electrolyte. A chronoamperometric study reveals constant oxygen evolution for 12 h at a 10 mV s(-1) scan rate without any degradation of the activity. Furthermore, the calculated mass activity of the CuCo2S4 electrocatalyst is found to be 14.29 A/g and to afford a TOF value of 0.1431 s(-1) at 310 mV at a mass loading of 0.7 mg cm(-2). For comparison, nanostructures of Co3S4 and Cu0.5Co2.5S4 have been synthesized using a similar method followed for CuCo2S4. When compared to the OER activities among these three thiospinels and standard IrO2, CuCo2S4 nanosheets offered the highest OER activities at the same mass loading (0.7 mg/cm(-2)). Extensive X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance analyses for a mechanistic study reveal that introduction of Cu into the Co3S4 lattice enhances the oxygen evolution and kinetics by offering Cu2+ sites for utilitarian adsorption of OH, O, and OOH reactive species and also by offering a highly active high-spin state of octahedral Co3+ for OER catalysis.
Keywords: Bifunctional Electrocatalyst; Catalyst; Cuco2s4; Efficient Electrocatalyst; electrocatalyst; Electronic-structure; Nanoparticles; Nanosheet; oxide; oxygen evolution; performance; Recent Progress; Water oxidation; Water Splitting Hydrogen Evolution

Corrigendum: Agro-Industrial wastes for production of biosurfactant by bacillus subtilis ANR 88 and its application in synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles [Front. Microbiol. 8, (492)] DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00492 - Rane, A.N.; Baikar, V. V.; Ravi Kumar, V.; Deopurkar, R. L. (Frontiers in Microbiology, 2017)

Cucurbit[7]uril induced formation of fret-enabled unilamellar lipid vesicles - Kushwaha, Shilpi; Maity, Arunava; Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Ravindranathan, Sapna; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Das, Amitava (Langmuir, 2017)
A unique fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) process is found to be operational in a unilamellar lipid self-assembly in the aqueous phase. A newly synthesized naphthyl based long chain lipid derivative [N-(naphthalene-1-ylmethyl)tetradecane-1-ammonium chloride, 14NA(+)] forms various self-assembled architectures in the aqueous phase. Controlled changes in lipid concentration lead to a transition of the self-assemblies from micelles to vesicles to rods. In the presence of cucurbit[7]uril (CB7), 14NA(+) forms a host-guest [2]pseudorotaxane complex (CB7(sic)14NA(+)) and secondary interactions lead to the formation of a lipid bilayer with hydrophobic pockets situated in between the layers. The change in the structure of 14NA(+) assemblies, interaction with CB7 and formation of supramolecular assemblies of CB7(sic)14NA(+) were examined using light scattering, spectroscopic, and microscopic techniques. Entrapment of a luminescent dye, anthracene within the hydrophobic bilayer of the supramolecular assembly CB7(sic)14NA(+) favors a modified luminescent response due to an efficient FRET process. Further, the FRET process could be controlled by thermal and chemical stimuli that induce transformation of unilamellar vesicles.

Data on the effect of oral feeding of Arachidonic acid or Docosahexanoic acid on haematopoiesis in mice - Limbkar, K. (Data in Brief, 2017)
Stem cells have peculiar property to self-renew and differentiate. It is important to control their fate in safe and effective ways for their therapeutic use. The mediators of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) namely Arachidonic acid (AA) and Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) are known to play a role in haematopoiesis via various metabolic pathways [1]. However the direct effect of purified AA or DHA on haematopoiesis has not been well investigated yet. We have reported that oral administration of PUFAs enhanced haematopoiesis in mice [2]. Signaling Leukocyte Antigen Molecule (SLAM) (CD48−CD150+) phenotype consists of pure population of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Herein we observed higher percentage of SLAM (CD48−CD150+) phenotype in the bone marrow (BM) cells of mice fed with AA or DHA compared to PBS fed control mice. Data from engraftment study depicts that BM from AA/DHA-fed mice showed higher absolute number of donor cells in recipient mice compared to control. The enhanced hematopoiesis observed in AA/DHA-fed mice was returned to normal when the mice were kept on normal diet for six weeks (after ten days of oral feeding). We confirmed GCMS (Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy) retention times of AA and DHA by co-injecting fatty acid extract from AA or DHA fed mice with purified AA or DHA standards respectively. Representative flow cytometry profile of Lin−Sca-1+c-kit+(LSK) cells showed higher expression of CXCR4 protein and ligands of Wnt, Notch1 signaling in BM of AA/DHA-fed mice

DBU-mediated diastereoselective aldol-type cyanomethylation of isatins - Rao, V. U. Bhaskara; Kumar, Krishna; Das, Tamal; Vanka, Kumar (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2017)
An efficient, metal-free approach to 3-substituted 3-hydroxybxindole by DBU-mediated highly diastereoselective addition of aryl acetonitrile to N-protected isatin under mild conditions has been developed. The reaction proceeds smoothly to produce respective cyanomethylated adducts in good yield and excellent diastereoselectivity. Further transformation of the cyanide group allowed the synthesis of an advance intermediate of corresponding (+/-) CPC analogue. The mechanistic insight :toward the aldol-type cyanomethylation, of N-tritylisatin with benzyl cyanide was obtained by DFT calculations.

Defluoridation of drinking water using fe-al mixed metal hydroxides - Telang, T.; Deosarkar, M.P.; Shetty, R.; Kamble, S.P. (Novel Water Treatment and Separation Methods: Simulation of Chemical Processes, 2017)
In this chapter, we report findings from study carried out on removal of fluoride from drinking or potable water using Fe-Al mixed metal hydroxides. For experimental analysis, the product mixed Fe-Al hydroxides was prepared by applying a co-precipitation method. The resulting metal hydroxide was thoroughly characterized using analytical tests of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. In order to characterize the equilibrium behavior of adsorbent, we study experimentally the effects of different operating parameters. The selected parameters for analysis are adsorbent loading, initial fluoride concentration, pH of the solution, and interfering ions (usually present in groundwater). The equilibrium adsorption data was later fitted for Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and experimental observations show a maximum fluoride adsorption capacity of 2.05 mg.g-1. The experimental results reveal that the adsorption dynamics follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Demonstrating the role of anchoring functionality in interfacial electron transfer dynamics in newly synthesized BODIPY-TiO2 nanostructure composite - Ghosh, Hirendra N.; Das, Amitava; Aute, Sunil; Maity, Partha (New Journal of Chemistry, 2017)
New Bodipy derivatives (Dye 1 and 2) having catechol or resorcinol functionality for anchoring to the nanostructured (NS) TiO2 surfaces have been synthesized. Extended conjugation at one of the two pyrrole rings at the C3 position has helped us in achieving the desired control in tuning the optical and redox properties of the BODIPY based dye molecules. Relative emission quantum yields (em1 = ~52 ± 2% and em2 = 54 ± 2%) are found to be much higher in polar aprotic solvent (acetonitrile), while this are found to be substantially lower for dye 1 in polar protic solvent. Steady state optical absorption studies reveal the formation of a strong charge transfer complex between dye 1 and NS-TiO2, while this interaction is much weaker for dye 2. Transient absorption studies have been carried out for 1/NS-TiO2 and 2/NS-TiO2 systems following excitation with a laser source of 400 nm for understanding the charge transfer dynamics. Results of the transient absorption spectral studies helped in elucidating role of anchoring functionality in influencing the dynamics of the interfacial electron transfer and the charge recombination process in ultrafast time scale.

Dendrimeric amide- and carbamate-linked lysine-based efficient molecular transporters - Yadav, Amit Kumar; Dey, Namit; Chattopadhyay, Sabyasachi; Ganguli, Munia; Fernandes, Moneesha (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2017)
Amide- and carbamate-linked dendrimeric oligomers are reported as molecular transporters. They effectively complex with pDNA and transport it into cells at an efficiency superior to Lipofectamine, when complexation is carried out by incubation overnight. The carbamate-linked K2C is superior to amide-linked K2A; their pDNA complexes have very low associated cytotoxicity.

Description of Lysinibacillus telephonicus sp nov., isolated from the screen of a cellular phone - Rahi, Praveen; Kurli, Rashmi; Khairnar, Mitesh; Jagtap, Shubhangi; Pansare, Aabeejjeet N.; Dastager, Syed G.; Shouche, Yogesh S. (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2017)
A novel bacterial strain, designate dS5H2222(T), was isolated form the screen of a cellular phone. The cells were Gram-stainpositive, rod-shaped, aerobic and motile, and endospores are formed. S5H2222(T) grew as pale white colonies on trypticase soy agar and the best growth was observed at 37 degrees C (10- 55 degrees C) and at pH 7.0 (5.0-9.0). S5H2222(T) could tolerate up to 10% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences placed this strain within the genus Lysinibacillus and it exhibited high 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity to Lysinibacillus halotolerans LAM612(T) (97.8 %), Lysinibacillus chungkukjangi2RL3-2(T) (97.4 %) and Lysinibacillus sinduriensis BLB-1(T) (97.2 %). TheDNA- DNA relatedness of the strain with L. halotolerans JCM 19611(T), L. chungkukjangi KACC 16626(T) and L. sinduriensis KACC 16611(T) was 57, 64 and 55% respectively. The genomic DNA G+C content was 39.8 mol%. The major fatty acids of S5H2222(T) were iso-C-15:0, anteiso-C-15:0, iso-C-16:0 and anteiso-C-17:0. MK-7 was the only menaquinone and the main polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine, four unidentified polar lipids were also present. The diagnostic amino acids in the cell wall peptidoglycan contained Lys-Asp (type A4 alpha). On the basis of the results of the phenotypic and genotypic characterizations, it was concluded that S5H2222(T) represents a novel species of the genus Lysinibacillus, for which the name Lysinibacillus telephonicus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S5H2222(T) (=MCC 3065 T =KACC 18714(T)=LMG 29294(T)).

Development of ARM based embedded controller for mass flow controller system - Iyer, N.; Shinde, S.; Dhawale, T.; Shelar, N. (9th International Conference on Trends in Industrial Measurement and Automation, TIMA 2017., 2017)
The purpose for this paper is to describe the central Embedded Controller development done for Mass Flow Controllers (MFCs) M100B system. Work caters to control M100B MFCs being used for one of the systems at National Chemical Laboratory. M100B MFC accurately measures and controls the mass flow rates of gases. The central controller for this system is non functional and technology is outdated and hence new central embedded controller is developed for the system. Development is done using ARM7 32-bit RISC microcontroller Philips LPC2148, as low power and high frequency design. Serial ADCs are interfaced to ARM microcontroller. LCD display 20×4 is used for display of run status, diagnostic and error messages. Touch keypad is designed and interfaced for setting of mass flow rate for different MFCs against MFC number selected by keypad. The software development is done using Keil micro vision 4. This ARM based controller is a real time system with display of diagnostic and error messages.

Development of metarhizium anisopliae as a mycoinsecticide: from isolation to field performance - Tupe, Santosh G.; Pathan, Ejaj K.; Deshpande, Mukund V. (Jove-Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2017)
A major concern when developing commercial mycoinsecticides is the kill speed compared to that of chemical insecticides. Therefore, isolation and screening for the selection of a fast-acting, highly virulent entomopathogenic fungus are important steps. Entomopathogenic fungi, such as Metarhizium, Beauveria, and Nomurea, which act by contact, are better suited than Bacillus thuringiensis or nucleopolyhedrosis virus (NPV), which must be ingested by the insect pest. In the present work, we isolated 68 Metarhizium strains from infected insects using a soil dilution and bait method. The isolates were identified by the amplification and sequencing of the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 and 26S rDNA region. The most virulent strain of Metarhizium anisopliae was selected based on the median lethal concentration (LC50) and time (LT50) obtained in insect bioassays against III-instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera. The mass production of spores by the selected strain was carried out with solid-state fermentation (SSF) using rice as a substrate for 14 days. Spores were extracted from the sporulated biomass using 0.1% tween-80, and different formulations of the spores were prepared. Field trials of the formulations for the control of an H. armigera infestation in pigeon peas were carried out by randomized block design. The infestation control levels obtained with oil and aqueous formulations (78.0% and 70.9%, respectively) were better than the 63.4% obtained with chemical pesticide.

Diastase induced green synthesis of bilayered reduced graphene oxide and its decoration with gold nanoparticles - Maddinedi, Sireesh Babu; Mandal, Badal Kumar; Patil, Sagar Hindurao; Andhalkar, Vaibhav Vilas; Ranjan, Shivendu; Dasgupta, Nandita (Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B-Biology, 2017)
In this paper, we report an enzyme dependent, green one-pot deoxygenation cum decoration method to synthesize diastase-conjugated reduced graphene oxide (DRG) nanosheets, DRG/gold nanoparticles (DRG/Au) composite. The DRG synthesis was completed in 7 h under heating at 90 degrees C on water bath. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM) study has revealed the formation of bilayered reduced graphene oxide sheets. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of DRG/Au composite have shown the uniform decoration of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) onto the DRG nanosheet surface. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman results additionally have shown the functionalization of enzyme molecules onto the DRG nanosheet surface after reduction making it as an effective platform towards the efficient binding of gold nanoparticles. In vitro cytotoxicity studies by MIT assay on A549 and HCT116 cell lines exhibited that the cytotoxicity of the prepared graphene oxide (GO), DRG and DRG/Au is dose dependant. These results have shown that this synthetic method is effective for the production of large scale graphene in a low cost, simple and green method. Since this process avoids the use of hazardous and toxic substances, the produced DRG/Au composites are likely to offer various potential applications in biology and medicine. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V

Diethylamine Dess-Martin periodinane: an efficient catalyst-oxidant combination in a sequential, one-pot synthesis of difficult to access 2-amino-3,5-dicarbonitrile-6-sulfanylpyridines at ambient temperature - Kupwade, Ravindra V.; Khot, Supriya; Kulkarni, M. A.; Desai, Uday V.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P. (RSC Advances, 2017)
Herein, diethylamine Dess–Martin periodinane has been demonstrated for the first time as an efficient catalyst–oxidant combination in a sequential, one-pot synthesis of medicinally privileged but difficult to access 2-amino-3,5-dicarbonitrile-6-sulfanylpyridines via a pseudo-four component reaction between 2,6-disubstituted benzaldehydes, malononitrile, and thiols. Ambient reaction conditions, excellent yields, and total avoidance of conventional isolation as well as purification are the noteworthy merits of this developed protocol.

Dihydropyrimidinone-isatin hybrids as novel non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors - Devale, T. L.; Parikh, J.; Miniyar, P.; Sharma, P.; Shrivastava, B.; Murumkar, P. (Bioorganic Chemistry, 2017)
A novel series of substituted N-(2-( 2,3-dioxoindolin-1-yl) acetyl)-2-oxo-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyrimidine-5carboxamide was designed, synthesized and evaluated for in vitro Reverse Transcriptase (RT) inhibitory activity. This series is a combination of peculiar structural features from leading scaffolds of [(2-hydroxye thoxy) methyl]-6-(phenylthio) thymine (HEPT) and oxyindole. In vitro screening led to identification of two hybrids (9c and 9d) possessing higher RT inhibitory activity than the standard rilpivirine. Docking study was performed to study the binding orientations of synthesized hybrids towards RT enzyme.

Direct production of furfural in one-pot fashion from raw biomass using bronsted acidic ionic liquids - Matsagar, Babasaheb M.; Hossain, Shahriar A.; Islam, Tofazzal; Alamri, Hatem R.; Alothman, Zeid A.; Yamauchi, Yusuke; Dhepe, Paresh L.; Wu, Kevin C. W. (Scientific Reports, 2017)
The conversion of raw biomass into C5-sugars and furfural was demonstrated with the one-pot method using Bronsted acidic ionic liquids (BAILs) without any mineral acids or metal halides. Various BAILs were synthesized and characterized using NMR, FT-IR, TGA, and CHNS microanalysis and were used as the catalyst for raw biomass conversion. The remarkably high yield (i.e. 88%) of C5 sugars from bagasse can be obtained using 1-methyl-3(3-sulfopropyl)-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate ([C3SO3HMIM][HSO4]) BAIL catalyst in a water medium. Similarly, the [C3SO3HMIM][HSO4] BAIL also converts the bagasse into furfural with very high yield (73%) in one-pot method using a water/toluene biphasic solvent system.

Diversity of natural yeast flora of grapes and its significance in wine making - Deshpande, M.V.; Mane, S.S.; Ghormade, V.; Tupe, S.G. (Yeast Diversity in Human Welfare, 2017)
The biodiversity of yeasts associated with grapes has been studied in different regions of wine producing countries throughout the world. Most of the species associated with the wine environment are similar, while some species are specifically associated with specific regions. Though Saccharomyces cerevisiae is primarily used for fermentation of grape juice, its occurrence is low on grape berries. Non-Saccharomyces yeasts belonging to the genera Torulaspora, Hanseniaspora, Pichia, Candida, Issatchenkia, Metschnikowia etc. are in abundance in grape musts and may dominate the early stages of fermentation. Subsequently, S. cerevisiae proliferates, becomes dominant and completes the wine fermentation. Therefore, yeasts diversity associated with the grapes and must significantly contribute to the quality and varietal character of wine. In present review, the diversity of yeasts associated with vineyard, winery, succession of yeasts during fermentation and their role in wine quality is discussed. The knowledge will be useful to monitor and control the fermentation with respect to quality and spoilage.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of spiroannulated benzofuran-3-one scaffold of leptosphaerin C and congeners via aryne insertion - Dhokale, Ranjeet A.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2017)
A concise synthesis of functionalized cyclohexenone-fused spirobenzofuran-3-ones under mild reaction conditions was developed. The reaction proceeds via insertion of aryne into the C-O bond followed by a regioselective intramolecular conjugate addition. The use of silyl-protected acid was crucial for the transformation. This protocol was successfully applied for the synthesis of leptosphaerin C core and its novel analogues.

Domibacillus mangrovi sp nov and domibacillus epiphyticus sp nov., isolated from marine habitats of the central west coast of India - Verma, Ashish; Ojha, Anup Kumar; Dastager, Syed G.; Natarajan, Rameshkumar; Mayilraj, Shanmugam; Krishnamurthi, Srinivasan (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2017)
While studying culturable bacterial diversity in different marine habitats of the central west coast of India, two novel Gramstain-positive, strictly aerobic, motile, endospore-forming and rod-shaped bacterial strains designated as SAOS 44(T) and SAB 38(T) were isolated from mangrove sediment soil and the surface of a macroalga, respectively. The strains were taxonomically characterized by using a polyphasic approach and genomic methods. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing placed the strains firmly in the genus Domibacillus and were most closely related to Domibacillus antri KCTC 33636(T). The predominant fatty acids were iso-C-15 : 0 and anteiso-C-15 : 0. The major polar lipids were diphosphatidylglycerol and phosphatidylglycerol in addition to an aminophosphoglycolipid. MK-6 was the only respiratory quinone. The range of values of digital DNA-DNA hybridization (19.2-24.9 %) and the ortho-average nucleotide identity (74.1-81.4 %) among strains SAOS 44(T), SAB 38(T) and other Domibacillus species clearly supports their status as a distinct and novel species for which the names Domibacillus mangrovi sp. nov. SAOS 44(T) (=DSM 100930(T)=KCTC 33820(T)=MTCC 12571(T)) and Domibacillus epiphyticus sp. nov. SAB 38(T) (=DSM 100929(T)= KCTC 33830(T)=MTCC 12575(T)) are proposed, respectively.

Draft genome sequence of lactobacillus plantarum strains E2C2 and E2C5 isolated from human stool culture - Suryavanshi, Mangesh V.; Paul, Dhiraj; Doijad, Swapnil P.; Bhute, Shrikant S.; Hingamire, Tejashri B.; Gune, Rahul P.; Shouche, Yogesh S. (Standards in Genomic Sciences, 2017)
Probiotic Lactobacillus species offer various health benefits, thus have been employed in treatment and prevention of various diseases. Due to the differences in the isolation source and the site of action, most of the lactobacilli tested in-vitro for probiotics properties fail to extend similar effects in-vivo. Consequently, the search of autochthonous, efficacious and probably population specific probiotics is a high priority in the probiotics research. In this regards, whole genome sequencing of as many Lactobacillus as possible will help to deepen our understanding of biology and their health effects. Here, we provide the genomic insights of two coherent oxalic acid tolerant Lactobacillus species (E2C2 and E2C5) isolated from two different healthy human gut flora. These two isolates were found to have higher tolerance towards oxalic acid (300 mM sodium oxalate). The draft genome of strain E2C2 consists of 3,603,563 bp with 3289 protein-coding genes, 94 RNA genes, and 43.99% GC content, while E2C5 contained 3,615,168 bp, 3293 coding genes (93.4% of the total genes), 95 RNA genes and 43.97% GC content. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis followed by in silico DNA-DNA hybridization studies, both the strains were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum belonging to family Lactobacillaceae within the phylum Firmicutes. Both the strains were genomically identical, sharing 99.99% CDS that showed 112 SNPs. Both the strains also exhibited deconjugation activity for the bile salts while genome analysis revealed that the L. plantarum strains E2C2 and E2C5 also have the ability to produce vitamins, biotin, alpha-and beta-glucosidase suggesting potential probiotic activities of the isolates. The description presented here is based on the draft genomes of strains E2C2 and E2C5 which are submitted to GenBank under the accession numbers LSST00000000.1 and LTCD00000000.1, respectively.

Dynamic metabolic reprogramming of steroidal glycol-alkaloid and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis may impart early blight resistance in wild tomato (Solanum arcanum Peralta) - Shinde, Balkrishna A.; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Hussain, Khalid; Panda, Sayantan; Meir, Sagit; Rogachev, Ilana; Aharoni, Asaph; Giri, Ashok P.; Kamble, Avinash C. (Plant Molecular Biology, 2017)
Alternaria solani severely affects tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield causing early blight (EB) disease in tropical environment. Wild relative, Solanum arcanum Peralta could be a potential source of EB resistance; however, its underlying molecular mechanism largely remains unexplored. Hence, non-targeted metabolomics was applied on resistant and susceptible S. arcanum accessions upon A. solani inoculation to unravel metabolic dynamics during different stages of disease progression. Total 2047 potential metabolite peaks (mass signals) were detected of which 681 and 684 metabolites revealed significant modulation and clear differentiation in resistant and susceptible accessions, respectively. Majority of the EB-triggered metabolic changes were active from steroidal glycol-alkaloid (SGA), lignin and flavonoid biosynthetic pathways. Further, biochemical and gene expression analyses of key enzymes from these pathways positively correlated with phenotypic variation in the S. arcanum accessions indicating their potential role in EB. Additionally, transcription factors regulating lignin biosynthesis were also up-regulated in resistant plants and electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed sequence-specific binding of rSaWRKY1 with MYB20 promoter. Moreover, transcript accumulation of key genes from phenylpropanoid and SGA pathways along with WRKY and MYB in WRKY1 transgenic tomato lines supported above findings. Overall, this study highlights vital roles of SGAs as phytoalexins and phenylpropanoids along with lignin accumulation unrevealing possible mechanistic basis of EB resistance in wild tomato.

Effect of postharvest ethylene treatment on sugar content, glycosidase activity and its gene expression in mango fruit - Chidley, Hemangi G.; Deshpande, Ashish B.; Oak, Pranjali S.; Pujari, Keshav H.; Giri, Ashok P.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2017)
BACKGROUND: Ripening-associated softening is one of the important attributes that largely determines the shelf-life of mango (Mangifera indica Linn.) fruits. To reveal the effect of pre-climacteric ethylene treatment on ripening-related softening of Alphonso mango, ethylene treatment was given to mature, raw Alphonso fruits. Changes in the pool of reducing and non-reducing sugars, enzymatic activity of three glycosidases: ss-D-galactosidase, alpha-D-mannosidase and ss-D-glucosidase and their relative transcript abundance were analysed for control and ethylene treated fruits during ripening. RESULTS: Early activity of all the three glycosidases and accelerated accumulation of reducing and non-reducing sugars on ethylene treatment was evident. ss-D-Galactosidase showed the highest activity among three glycosidases in control fruits and marked increase in activity upon ethylene treatment. This was confirmed by the histochemical assay of its activity in control and ethylene treated ripe fruits. Relative transcript abundance revealed high transcript levels of ss-D-galactosidase in control fruits. Ethylene-treated fruits showed early and remarkable increase in the ss-D-galactosidase transcriptswhile alpha-D-mannosidase transcript variants displayed early accumulation. CONCLUSION: Thefindings suggest reduction in the shelf-life of Alphonso mango upon pre-climacteric ethylene treatment, a significant role of ss-D-galactosidase and alpha-D-mannosidase in the ripening related softening of Alphonso fruits and transcriptional regulation of their expression by ethylene. (C) 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

Effect of reduction protocol of Pd catalysts on product distribution in furfural hydrogenation - Date, N. S.; Biradar, N. S.; Chikate, R. C.; Rode, C. V. (ChemistrySelect, 2017)
Single step conversion of furfural to ring hydrogenation and decarbonylation products, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) in high selectivity was achieved by controlling the particle size of Pd/C catalyst. The particle size variation of Pd/C catalysts in the range of 3.8 to 22 nm could be achieved by employing different reducing agents. Of particular interest was the NaBH4 reduced catalyst (Pd-B/C), which gave the lowest crystallite size of 4.8 nm due to incorporation of B into the inner lattices of Pd-Pd. This phase was evidenced by a characteristic XRD peak of Pd-B at 2q=38.85 degrees as well as a shift of (111) peak (40.07 degrees) of Pd towards the lower value (39.8 degrees). As compared to formaldehyde reduced catalyst (Pd-F/C), Pd-B/C catalyst completely suppressed the formation of furfuryl alcohol to give > 65% selectivity to 2-MeTHF and THF. At 180 degrees C, almost equal distribution of side chain hydrogenation and ring opening products, 2-MF (45%) and PeDO (37 %), respectively, was observed while, higher temperature clearly favoured ring hydrogenation and decarbonylation reactions to give 2-MeTHF and THF.

Effect of viscoelastic relaxation modes on stability of extrusion film casting process modeled using multi-mode Phan-Thien-Tanner constitutive equation - Dhadwal, Renu; Banik, Sourya; Doshi, Pankaj; Pol, Harshawardhan (Applied Mathematical Modelling, 2017)
Extrusion film casting (EFC) is a commercially important process that is used to produce a significant quantity of polymer films, sheets and coatings for both industrial and household applications. Recently, we have demonstrated the influence of polymer chain architecture on the extent of necking under isothermal as well as non-isothermal film casting operation for commercially relevant polyolefin based materials [1-4]. In the present research, we focus on another instability that frequently occurs in high-speed EFC process called as draw resonance. Draw resonance manifests itself as an instability that causes periodic fluctuations in both the width as well as thickness of the extruded molten film above a critical draw ratio (DR). In this work, we have carried out a linear stability analysis of the isothermal EFC process using a multi-mode Phan-Thien-Tanner (PTT) constitutive equation to determine the onset of draw resonance. We show that as the number of relaxation modes is increased there is a dramatic change in the stability regions. In particular, there is a marked variation in the stability regions obtained by Simulating the multi-mode model and those obtained by taking averaged relaxation time of the modes. Additionally, as the number of faster-relaxing modes in a multi-mode spectrum is progressively increased, the process becomes increasingly stable as the level of elasticity in the melt decreases. Finally, the addition of a long relaxation mode in a multi-mode spectrum is akin to adding a long chain branch to a linear polymer that leads to a reduction in film necking and in many cases to enhanced process stability. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficient hydrogenation of concentrated aqueous furfural solutions in to furfuryl alcohol under ambient conditions in presence of PtCo bimetallic catalysts - Dohade, Manisha; Dhepe, Paresh Laxmikant (Green Chemistry, 2017)
Furfural (FAL), a major biomass-derived chemical, can be hydrogenated to yield the industrially importantplatform chemical, furfuryl alcohol (FOL). Although heterogeneous catalyst-based methods are known toyield FOL from dilute solutions of FAL, they mainly operate at high temperatures and/or high pressures ofhydrogen and in the presence of organic solvents. In this work, we employ bimetallic PtCo/C catalysts withvarying metal concentrations to achieve the maximum possible FOL yield (100%) at 35 °C under 0.1 MPa H2in water. With concentrated FAL (40 wt%) at 50 °C and under 1 MPa H2pressure, 86% yield of FOL wasobserved. Moreover, eﬃcient catalyst recycling was observed over at least four runs with marginal loss inactivity due to handling error and isolation of FOL in pure form conﬁrmed by NMR and HPLC.Characterization of catalysts with several physico-chemical techniques (XRD, TEM, XPS, ICP, TPR) revealsthe presence of electron-rich Pt and ionic Co species in proximity with each other and these worksynergistically to facilitate maximum possible yield of FOL under ambient conditions and in water medium

Efficient oxidation of ethyl benzene using in situ generated molybdenum acetylide oxo-peroxo complex as recyclable catalyst - Khomane, Sonali B.; Doke, Dhananjay S.; Dongare, M. K.; Halligudi, S. B.; Umbarkar, S. B. (Applied Catalysis A-General, 2017)
Selective oxidation of various alkanes/alkyl aromatics to corresponding carbonyl compounds has been carried out with very high conversion (similar to 98%) and selectivity (up to 100%) for carbonyl compounds using cyclopentadienyl molybdenum acetylide complex, CpMo(CO)(3)(C CPh) (1) as catalyst and tert-butyl hydrogen peroxide (TBHP) as an oxidant and turnover number (TON) of 88 was obtained with turnover frequency (TOF) of 2.45 h(-1). Mo acetylide oxo-peroxo species is formed in situ by reaction of 1 with TBHP during the course of reaction as catalytically active species. Interestingly even though the catalytically active species is homogeneous in nature it could be recycled very easily by recovering the catalytically active species as solid after addition of diethyl ether, and separating the products into organic phase. In the case of ethyl benzene oxidation, even after three recycles no appreciable loss in ethyl benzene conversion and acetophenone selectivity was observed. This complex showed high catalytic activity for the oxo functionalization of other alkyl aromatics and alkanes such as substituted ethyl benzenes, toluene as well as cyclohexane. TBHP was found to be more efficient oxidant than hydrogen peroxide for this oxidation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alkyl aromatics; Carbonyl compounds; Homogeneous catalysis; Molybdenum acetylide complex; Oxo-peroxo species

Efficient synthesis of the opioid analgesic (R)-phenampromide via an aziridinium ion - Mujahid, Mohammad; Mujumdar, Prashant; Sasikumar, Murugesan; Deshmukh, Shirish P.; Muthukrishnan, Murugan (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2017)
A simple and efficient synthesis of the opioid analgesic agent (R)-phenampromide with high enantiopurity (> 99% ee) via the formation of an aziridinium ion as a key step using commercially available starting material is described. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Elastic compressible energy storage devices from ice templated polymer gels treated with polyphenols - Das, Chayanika; Chatterjee, Soumyajyoti; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy; Krishnarnoorthy, Kothandam (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2017)
Design and fabrication of rechargeable energy storage devices that are robust to mechanical deformation is essential for wearable electronics. We report the preparation of compressible supercapacitors that retain their specific capacitance after large compression and that recover elastically after at least a hundred compression expansion cycles. Compressible supercapacitors are prepared using a facile, scalable method that readily yields centimeter-scale macroporous objects. We ice template a solution of polyethylenimine in green tea extract to prepare a macroporous cross-linked polymer gel (PG) whose walls are impregnated with green tea derived polyphenols. As the PG is insulating, we impart conductivity by deposition of gold on it. Gold deposition is done in two steps: first, silver nanoparticles are formed on the PG walls by in situ reduction by polyphenols and then gold films are deposited on these walls. Gold coated PGs (GPGs) were used as electrodes to deposit poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as a pseudocapacitive material. The specific capacitance of PEDOT coated GPGs (PGPG) was found to be 253 F/g at 1 A/g. PGPG could be compressed and expanded over a hundred cycles without any suffering mechanical failure or loss of capacitative performance. The capacitance was found to be 243 F/g upon compressing the device to 25% of its original size (viz. compressive strain = 75%). Thus, even large compression does not affect the device performance. This device shows power and energy densities of 2715 W/kg and 22 Wh/kg, respectively, in the uncompressed state. The macroporous nature of PGPG makes it possible to fill the PGPG pores with gel electrolyte. We report that the gel electrolyte filled supercapacitor exhibited a specific capacitance of 200 F/g, which increased by 4% upon 75% compression.

Electrochemical formation of Fe-V (O) and mechanism of its reaction with water during O-O bond formation - Pattanayak, Santanu; Chowdhury, Debarati Roy; Garai, Bikash; Singh, Kundan K.; Paul, Amit; Dhar, Basab B.; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2017)
A detailed electrochemical investigation of a series of iron complexes (biuret-modified tetraamido iron macrocycles FeIII-bTAML), including the first electrochemical generation of Fe-V(O), and demonstration of their efficacy as homogeneous catalysts for electrochemical water oxidation (WO) in aqueous medium are reported. Spectroelectrochemical and mass spectral studies indicated FeV(O) as the active oxidant, formed due to two redox transitions, which were assigned as Fe-IV(O)/Fe-III(OH2)and Fe-V(O)/Fe-IV(O). The spectral properties of both of these high-valent iron oxo species perfectly match those of their chemically synthesised versions, which were thoroughly characterised by several spectroscopic techniques. The O-O bond-formation step occurs by nucleophilic attack of H2O on FeV(O). A kinetic isotope effect of 3.2 indicates an atom-proton transfer (APT) mechanism. The reaction of chemically synthesised Fe-V(O) in CH3CN and water was directly probed by electrochemistry and was found to be first-order in water. The pK(a) value of the buffer base plays a critical role in the rate-determining step by increasing the reaction rate several-fold. The electronic effect on redox potential, WO rates, and onset overpotential was studied by employing a series of iron complexes. The catalytic activity was enhanced by the presence of electron-withdrawing groups on the bTAML framework. Changing the substituents from OMe to NO2 resulted in an eightfold increase in reaction rate, while the overpotential increased threefold.

Electrochemical water oxidation catalyzed by an in situ generated alpha-Co(OH)(2) film on zeolite-Y surface - Bose, Suranjana; Debgupta, Joyashish; Ramsundar, Rani M.; Das, Samar K. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2017)
The design and synthesis of an efficient and robust water-oxidation catalyst with inexpensive materials remains an important challenge in the context of artificial photosynthesis. Herein, a simple but unique technique is reported to in situ generate a thin-film of alpha-Co(OH)(2) on the surface of zeolite-Y [hereafter referred to as Y-alpha-Co(OH)(2)] that acts as an efficient and stable catalyst for electrochemical water oxidation in alkaline medium. Catalyst Y-alpha-Co(OH)(2) is so stable that it retains its catalytic activity even after 2000 cyclic voltammetric cycles of water oxidation. Expectedly, the chemical composition of alpha-Co(OH)(2) on the surface of zeolite-Y remains same as that of parent Y-alpha-Co(OH)(2) after 2000 electrocatalytic cycles. A Tafel slope as low as 59 mV decade(-1) in 0.1m KOH (pH 13) suggests faster oxygen evolution kinetics (overpotential = 329 mV; turnover frequency = 0.35 mol O-2 (mol Co)(-1)s(-1) at 1 mA cm(-2)) than the existing alpha-Co(OH)(2)-based electrocatalysts operating in alkaline medium.

Electronic control on linear versus branched alkylation of 2-/3-aroylbenzofurans with acrylates: combined DFT and synthetic studies - Srinivas, Kolluru; Dangat, Yuvraj; Kommagalla, Yadagiri; Vanka, Kumar; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2017)
Investigations on the factors that govern unusual branched alkylation of 2-aroylbenzofurans with acrylates by Ru-catalyzed carbonyl-directed C-H activation has been carried out by calculating the kinetics associated with the two key steps-the coordination of the acrylate with the intermediate ruthenacycle and the subsequent migratory insertion reaction-studied with the help of DFT calculations. Eight possible orientations for each mode of alkylation have been considered for the calculations. From these calculations, it has been understood that there is a synergistic operation of the steric and electronic effects favoring the branched alkylation. Further DFT investigations on the alkylation of the isomeric 3-aroylbenzofurans indicated a preference for the linear alkylation and this has been verified experimentally. Overall, the observed/calculated complementary selectivity in the alkylation of 2-/3-aroylbenzofurans with acrylates reveals that the substrate-dependent charge distribution of the Ru-C bond in the intermediate ruthenacycle is an important determining factor and thus the current work opens up a new domain of substrate design for controlling regioselectivity.
Keywords: acrylates; Alkylation; aroylbenzofuran; C-H activation; Density functional calculations

Enantioselective synthesis of functionalized β-lactones by NHC-catalyzed aldol lactonization of ketoacids - Mondal, Santigopal; Mukherjee, Subrata; Das, Tamal Kanti; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2017)
N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed intramolecular aldol lactonization of readily available ketoacids leading to the enantioselective synthesis of cyclopentane-fused β-lactones is presented. The reaction proceeds via the generation of NHC-bound enolate intermediates formed from the ketoacids in the presence of the peptide coupling reagent HATU and NHC generated from the chiral triazolium salt. The functionalized β-lactones are formed under mild conditions in high yields and enantioselectivities.

Enhanced proton conduction by post-synthetic covalent modification in a porous covalent framework - Samanta, Partha; Desai, Aamod V.; Anothumakkool, Bihag; Shirolkar, Mandar M.; Karmakar, Avishek; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2017)
A highly chemically stable porous covalent framework (PCF-1) based on ether linkages has been synthesized, which exhibits no loss up to similar to 500 degrees C along with retention of integrity under acidic, basic and oxidative reagent conditions. Owing to its thermal and chemical stability, post-synthetic covalent modification was executed for the introduction of pendant sulphonic acid (-SO3H) groups. The covalently modified compound (PCF-1-SO3H) presents a remarkably high conductivity (ca. 0.026 S cm(-1)), with an similar to 130 fold enhancement in proton conductivity over the parent compound. This value is comparable with those of commercially used Nafion-based proton conducting materials and stands as the highest known value in the regime of post-synthetically modified porous organic frameworks. It is noteworthy to mention that PCF-1 is stable in both acidic and alkaline media, which is not commonly observed for most of the porous materials trialed as proton conducting materials, including metal organic frameworks.

Environmentally benign bioderived carbon microspheres-supported molybdena nanoparticles as catalyst for the epoxidation reaction - Doke, Dhananjay S.; Umbarkar, Shubhangi B.; Gawande, Manoj B.; Zbori, Radek; Biradar, Ankush V. (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2017)
A one pot synthesis of molybdenum oxide nanoparticles (NPs supported on bioderived carbon microspheres is reported. The catalyst was synthesized by the low temperature hydrothermal (LTH) method using D-glucose and bagasse as the carbon source. The carbonization of bagasse resulted in the formation of nonuniform carbon microspheres while glucose resulted in uniform carbon spheres. SEM and STEM elemental mapping show the uniform distribution of molybdenum oxide NPs over the carbon microspheres. XPS spectroscopy confirmed that molybdenum was in the Mo6+ oxidation state. The 1% MoO3 supported on carbon microspheres derived from D-glucose showed excellent catalytic activity up to 100% olefin conversion with 100% epoxide selectivity using organic tent-butyl hydroperoxide as an oxidant. The catalyst was successfully used for up to five cycles without losing substantial activity and selectivity.
Keywords: Carbon microspheres; epoxidation; heterogeneous catalysis; Hydrothermal synthesis; TBHP