Synthetic precursor to vertical TiO2 nanowires - Mishra, Biswajit; Ghildiyal, P.; Agarkar, Shruti A.; Khushalani, Deepa (Materials Research Express, 2014)
An easy protocol for improvement in formation of the photoanode in a dye sensitized solar cell is addressed. Specifically, a novel synthesis for the formation of a TiO2 precursor: titanium butanediolate, is detailed. This precursor is found to have higher thermal and temporal stability than commercially available TiO2 precursors and it has successfully been employed in the one-pot synthesis of rutile nanowires grown directly on a conducting substrate: fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO). This synthesis has been further extended to directly form a mixed phase TiO2 film consisting of rutile nanowires along with anatase spherical particles on FTO and this assembly has been used as the photoanode in a dye-sensitized solar cell. The synergistic effect of the two phases has provided a net DSSC efficiency of 4.61% with FF = 61%.
Keywords: Nanomaterials; Nanowires; TiO2

Towards a sustainable and near ambient DeNO(x) under lean burn conditions: a revisit to no reduction on virgin and modified pd(111) surfaces - Roy, Kanak; Jain, Ruchi; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (ACS Catalysis, 2014)
Catalytic conversion of NO in the presence of H-2 and O-2 has been studied on Pd(111) surfaces, by using a molecular beam instrument with mass spectrometry detection, as a function of temperature and reactants composition. N-2 and H2O are the major products observed, along with NH3 and N2O minor products under all conditions studied. Particular attention has been paid to the influence of O-2 addition toward NO dissociation. Although O-2-rich compositions were found to inhibit the deNO(x) activity of the Pd catalyst, some enhancement in NO reduction to N-2 was also observed up to a certain O-2 content. The reason for this behavior was determined to be the effective consumption of the H-2 in the mixture by the added O-2 and O atoms from NO dissociation. NO was proven to compete favorably against O-2 for the consumption of H-2, especially <= 550 K, to produce N-2 and H2O. Compared with other elementary reaction steps, a slow decay observed with the 2H + 0 -> H2O step under SS beam oscillation conditions demonstrates its contribution to the rate-limiting nature of the overall reaction. Pd(111) surfaces modified with O atoms in the subsurface (Md-Pd(111)) induces steady-state NO reduction at near-ambient temperatures (325 K) and opens up a possibility to achieve room temperature emission control. A 50% increase in the reaction rates was observed at the reaction maximum on Md-Pd(111), as compared with virgin surfaces. Oxygen adsorption is severely limited below 400 K, and effective NO + H-2 reaction occurs on Md-Pd(111) surfaces. Valence band photoemission with a UV light source (He I) under different oxygen pressures with APPES clearly identified the characteristics of the Md-Pd(111) surfaces and PdO. The electron-deficient or cationic nature of Md-Pd(111) surfaces enhances the NO dissociation and inhibits oxygen chemisorption <= 400 K under lean-burn conditions.
Keywords: deNO(x); heterogeneous catalysis; Hydrogen; lean burn; molecular beam; nitric oxide; Palladium; surface modification

Tryptophan environment and functional characterization of a kinetically stable serine protease containing a polyproline II fold - Rohamare, Sonali B.; Gaikwad, Sushama M. (Journal of Fluorescence, 2014)
The single tryptophan residue from Nocardiopsis sp. serine protease (NprotI) was studied for its microenvironment using steady state and time-resolved fluorescence. The emission maximum was observed at 353 nm with excitation at 295 nm indicating tryptophan to be solvent exposed. Upon denaturation with 6 M guanidinum thiocyanate (GuSCN) the emission maxima was shifted to 360 nm. Solute quenching studies were performed with neutral (acrylamide) and ionic (I- and Cs+) quenchers to probe the exposure and accessibility of tryptophan residue of the protein. Maximum quenching was observed with acrylamide. In the native state, quenching was not observed with Cs+ indicating presence of only positively charged environment surrounding tryptophan. However; in denatured protein, quenching was observed with Cs+, indicating charge reorientation after denaturation. No quenching was observed with Cs+ even at pH 1.0 or 10.0; while at acidic pH, a higher rate of quenching was observed with KI. This indicated presence of more positive charge surrounding tryptophan at acidic pH. In time resolved fluorescence measurements, the fluorescence decay curves could be best fitted to monoexponential pattern with lifetimes of 5.13 ns for NprotI indicating one conformer of the trp. Chemical modification studies with phenyl glyoxal suggested presence of Arg near the active site of the enzyme. No inhibition was seen with soyabean trypsin and limabean inhibitors, while, CanPI uncompetitively inhibited NprotI. Various salts from Hofmeister series were shown to decrease the activity and PPII content of NprotI.
Keywords: Fluorescence quenching; Hofmeister series; Nocardiopsis; Serine protease; Tryptophan

Two-in-one: inherent anhydrous and water-assisted high proton conduction in a 3D metal-organic framework - Nagarkar, Sanjog S.; Unni, SreeKuttan M.; Sharma, Amitosh; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2014)
The development of solid-state proton-conducting materials with high conductivity that operate under both anhydrous and humidified conditions is currently of great interest in fuel-cell technology. A 3Dmetal-organic framework (MOF) with acid-base pairs in its coordination space that efficiently conducts protons under both anhydrous and humid conditions has now been developed. The anhydrous proton conductivity for this MOF is among the highest values that have been reported for MOF materials, whereas its water-assisted proton conductivity is comparable to that of the organic polymer Nafion, which is currently used for practical applications. Unlike other MOFs, which conduct protons either under anhydrous or humid conditions, this compound should represent a considerable advance in the development of efficient solid-state proton-conducting materials that work under both anhydrous and humid conditions.
Keywords: conducting materials; fuel cells; metal-organic frameworks; porous materials; proton conduction

Two-phase flow in metal monoliths: hydrodynamics and liquid-liquid extraction - Deshpande, Jaydeep B.; Gosavi, Abha; Kulkarni, Amol A. (Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2014)
This work aims to explore the application of metal monoliths as a scale-up option for efficient liquid-liquid extraction. The pressure drop, mass transfer and residence time distribution are measured for low Ca (approximate to 10(-5)) with monoliths having three different cell densities. The cross-over section between two monoliths was seen to enhance mixing in the column. However, the RTD of two-phase liquid-liquid up-flow was inferior to the single phase RTD. For higher cell density substrates, the cross-over zones seem to cause trapping of slugs due to non-superimposing channel ends. Relatively high shear rates through the film of continuous phase helped enhance the mass transfer rates, thereby helping to achieve the desired extraction in a short column. The entrance sections and cross-over zones between the monoliths adversely affected the extraction for higher cell density monoliths. The analysis of data supports use of low cell density monolith for better performance and scale up.
Keywords: capillary; hydrodynamics; liquid-liquid extraction; monolith; slug flow

Uptake of Azo dyes into silk glands for production of colored silk cocoons using a green feeding approach - Nisal, Anuya; Trivedy, Kanika; Mohammad, Hasan; Panneri, Suyana; Sen Gupta, Sayam; Lele, Ashish K.; Manchala, Ramesh; Kumar, Nirmal S.; Gadgil, Mugdha; Khandelwal, Harish B.; More, Snehal; Laxman, Ryali Seeta (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2014)
Dyeing of textile fabrics is considered to be one of the most polluting industries today, and there is a need to develop green processes that can reduce this pollution. A promising technology that can potentially cleanup the dyeing of silk fibers that are widely used for textile applications would involve the generation of intrinsically colored silk cocoons. This can be achieved by feeding of Bombyx mori silkworm larvae with a modified feed of mulberry leaves containing a sprayed dye solution. This process significantly reduces the need for treating toxic dye effluents that are generated in traditional dyeing processes. In this report, we have evaluated a set of seven different azo dyes that are used in the textile industry for dyeing to produce intrinsically dyed silk. The dyes used in the study had similar chemical structures with systematically varying partition coefficients. The results suggest that while some dyes produced intrinsically colored silk other did not. Careful evaluation of the physical properties of these related azo dyes suggest that the balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic character is necessary for diffusion of the dye from the alimentary canal of the silkworm larva into the hemolymph and later into the silk glands. The partition coefficient of the dye also determines the preferential association of the dye with either sericin or fibroin protein in the silkworm gland and finally into the cocoon. These insights are extremely important in development of novel dye molecules that can be successfully fed to Bombyx mori silkworm larvae for producing intrinsically colored silk of various colors and shades.
Keywords: Azo dyes; Biochemical pathways; Color silk; Dye uptake; `' Green `' silk

UV photoelectron spectroscopy at near ambient pressures: mapping valence band electronic structure changes from Cu to CuO - Roy, Kanak; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Analytical Chemistry, 2014)
Valence band (VB) changes and hence electronic structure evolution was directly observed with low kinetic energy (KE) electrons at near ambient pressure (NAP) conditions with He I photon source in a custom built laboratory ambient pressure photoelectron spectrometer (Lab-APPES). Polycrystalline Cu surfaces were gradually oxidized in O-2 to Cu2O, to a mixture of Cu2O + CuO, and finally to CuO between 300 and 625 K and at NAP. Typical VB features for Cu, Cu2O, and CuO were observed, and the results corroborate well with core level and Auger spectral changes. High mean free path associated with low KE electrons, very low or no inelastic scattering, and effective pumping and the design of electrostatic lens regime help to minimize the electron attenuation at NAP conditions. The present results extend the capabilities of the APPES tool to explore the in situ evolution of electronic structure of materials at NAP and high temperatures.

Way toward ``dietary pesticides'': molecular investigation of insecticidal action of caffeic acid against helicoverpa armigera - Joshi, Rakesh S.; Wagh, T. P.; Sharma, N.; Mulani, Fayaj A.; Sonavane, U.; Thulasiram, H. V.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2014)
Bioprospecting of natural molecules is essential to overcome serious environmental issues and pesticide resistance in insects. Here we are reporting insights into insecticidal activity of a plant natural phenol. In silico and in vitro screening of multiple molecules supported by in vivo validations suggested that caffeic acid (CA) is a potent inhibitor of Helicoverpa armigera gut proteases. Protease activity and gene expression were altered in CA-fed larvae. The structure-activity relationship of CA highlighted that all the functional groups are crucial for inhibition of protease activity. Biophysical studies and molecular dynamic simulations revealed that sequential binding of multiple CA molecules induces conformational changes in the protease(s) and thus lead to a significant decline in their activity. CA treatment significantly inhibits the insect's detoxification enzymes, thus intensifying the insecticidal effect. Our findings suggest that CA can be implicated as a potent insecticidal molecule and explored for the development of effective dietary pesticides.
Keywords: Caffeic acid; Helicoverpa armigera; insecticidal activity; protease inhibitor

ZnO(N)-Spiro-MeOTAD hybrid photodiode: an efficient self-powered fast-response UV (visible) photosensor - Game, Onkar; Singh, Upendra; Kumari, Tanya; Banpurkar, Arun; Ogale, Satishchandra (Nanoscale, 2014)
Organic-inorganic hybrid photo-detectors with a self-sufficient mode of operation represent a research area of great current interest. In most efficient photodetectors and optoelectronic devices compound semiconductors containing toxic elements such as Cd, As, Te, S, Se etc. are used and these are also expensive. Hence there is also a rapidly growing interest in replacing these with environmentally friendly and earth-abundant materials. Herein, we report a facile solution-processed fabrication of a self-powered organic-inorganic hybrid photodetector using n-type oriented ZnO nanorods and p-type Spiro-MeOTAD semiconductor. ZnO is eco-friendly and earth-abundant, and Spiro-MeOTAD is nonhazardous. We show that the latter has far less toxicity than the toxic elements stated above. This visible blind UV photodetector shows high sensitivity (10(2)) and a UV/visible rejection ratio of 300. It also exhibits fast response times of tau(rise) similar to 200 mu s and tau(fall) similar to 950 mu s. Importantly, with a small modification of nitrogen incorporation in ZnO one can also realize a highly-sensitive self-powered visible light photodetector with at least 1000% (or higher) improvements in quality factors (photocurrent/sensitivity/response time) as compared to previously reported organic-inorganic hybrid photo-detectors based on metal-chalcogenides (CdS-PANI or CuInSe2-P3HT). Interestingly, the broadband sensitivity of such N:ZnO-Spiro-MeOTAD photodiode enables sensing of low intensity (similar to 28 mu W cm(-2)) ambient white light with a high photocurrent density of 120 nA cm(-2) making it an efficient ambient white light detector.

Abiotic stress induces change in cinnamoyl CoA reductase (CCR) protein abundance and lignin deposition in developing seedlings of Leucaena leucocephala - Srivastava, Sameer; Vishwakarma, Rishi K.; Arafat, Yasir Ali; Gupta, Sushim K.; Khan, Bashir Mohammad (Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 2015)
Aboitic stress such as drought and salinity are class of major threats, which plants undergo through their lifetime. Lignin deposition is one of the responses to such abiotic stresses. The gene encoding Cinnamoyl CoA Reductase (CCR) is a key gene for lignin biosynthesis, which has been shown to be over-expressed under stress conditions. In the present study, developing seedlings of Leucaena leucocephala (Vernacular name: Subabul, White popinac) were treated with 1 % mannitol and 200 mM NaCl to mimic drought and salinity stress conditions, respectively. Enzyme linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) based expression pattern of CCR protein was monitored coupled with Phlorogucinol/HCl activity staining of lignin in transverse sections of developing L. leucocephala seedlings under stress. Our result suggests a differential lignification pattern in developing root and stem under stress conditions. Increase in lignification was observed in mannitol treated stems and corresponding CCR protein accumulation was also higher than control and salt stress treated samples. On the contrary CCR protein was lower in NaCl treated stems and corresponding lignin deposition was also low. Developing root tissue showed a high level of CCR content and lignin deposition than stem samples under all conditions tested. Overall result suggested that lignin accumulation was not affected much in case of developing root however developing stems were significantly affected under drought and salinity stress condition.

Acid stability of the kinetically stable alkaline serine protease possessing polyproline II fold - Rohamare, Sonali; Javdekar, Vaishali; Dalal, Sayli A.; Nareddy, Pavan Kumar; Swamy, Musti J.; Gaikwad, Sushama M. (Protein Journal, 2015)
The kinetically stable alkaline serine protease from Nocardiopsis sp.; NprotI, possessing polyproline II fold (PPII) was characterized for its pH stability using proteolytic assay, fluorescence and Circular Dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). NprotI was found to be functionally stable when incubated at pH 1.0, even after 24 h, while after incubation at pH 10.0, drastic loss in the activity was observed. The enzyme showed enhanced activity after incubation at pH 1.0 and 3.0, at higher temperature (50-60 A degrees C). NprotI maintained the overall PPII fold in broad pH range as seen using far UV CD spectroscopy. The PPII fold of NprotI incubated at pH 1.0 remained fairly intact up to 70 A degrees C. Based on the isodichroic point and T-m values revealed by secondary structural transitions, different modes of thermal denaturation at pH 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0 were observed. DSC studies of NprotI incubated at acidic pH (pH 1.0-5.0) showed T-m values in the range of 74-76 A degrees C while significant decrease in T-m (63.8 A degrees C) was observed at pH 10.0. NprotI could be chemically denatured at pH 5.0 (stability pH) only with guanidine thiocynate. NprotI can be classified as type III protein among the three acid denatured states. Acid tolerant and thermostable NprotI can serve as a potential candidate for biotechnological applications.
Keywords: Acid stability; DSC; Kinetic stability; Polyproline fold; Protease; Thermal unfolding

Activation by pretreatment of Ag-Au/Al2O3 bimetallic catalyst to improve low temperature HC-SCR of NOx for lean burn engine exhaust - More, Pavan M.; Nguyen, Duy L.; Granger, Pascal; Dujardin, Christophe; Dongare, Mohan K.; Shubhangi B. Umbarkar (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2015)
Bimetallic Ag-Au/Al2O3 catalyst was synthesised by successive impregnation of 1% Au and 1% Ag on in-house prepared high surface area alumina (450 m(2)/g). The corresponding monometallic catalysts were also prepared by loading 1% Ag or 1% Au on the same high surface area alumina for comparison. The catalysts were characterised by various physico-chemical techniques and tested for SCR activity under lean burn engine exhaust conditions. Ag-Au/Al2O3 catalyst prepared by successive impregnation method showed considerably higher NO reduction (100%) to N-2 compared to 1% Au/Al2O3 (70%) whereas the activity was comparable with that of 1% Ag/Al2O3 (96%). The effect of various pretreatments on SCR activity of Ag-Au/Al2O3 was studied and pretreatment at 250 degrees C in flow of hydrogen was found to give the best results with 100% NO conversion to N-2 at 353 degrees C. Further ageing of the catalyst under reaction feed at 500 degrees C resulted in considerable increase in low temperature activity of bimetallic catalyst with similar to 40% NO conversion at 222 degrees C. Even though the SCR activity of pretreated Ag-Au/Al2O3 and Ag/Al2O3 were comparable, after ageing the Ag-Au/Al2O3 showed significantly higher NO conversion (95%) compared to Ag/Al2O3 (83%) and Au/Al2O3 (70%). The formation of H-2 and CO due to steam reforming of higher hydrocarbon (decane) was evidenced at the temperature of highest deNO(x) activity. Detailed investigation of the textural properties of the pretreated and aged catalysts showed presence of well dispersed metallic Au and Ag-n(delta+) clusters after pretreatment in hydrogen at 250 degrees C. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Ag-Au bimetallic catalyst; Catalyst ageing; dispersion; Low temperature HC-SCR; Steam reforming

Advances and recent applications in LC-MS and HPLC - Azharuddin, Quazi Syed; Mahajan, Devidas T.; Masand, Vijay H.; Alafeefy, Ahmed M.; Gajbhiye, Jayant M.; El-Sayed, Nahed Nasser Eid; Wajid, Abdul; Mohammad, Noor (Elsevier, 2015)
Advances and Recent Applications in LC-MS and HPLC presents the most recent developments in liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques. The book’s content reaches across a range of disciplines and cites several case studies to effectively capture the advanced applications that make LC-MS and HPLC multifunctional and exacting techniques. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry systems generate chromatograms of column peaks and can provide molecular weights of separated materials and their solvent complexes. However, while these systems can provide structural information to confirm the identity of the compounds separated, the process is very expensive. This book provides identification of simple compounds resulting from fragmentation studies and their subsequent results, offering the reader access to information unavailable elsewhere and allowing researchers to avoid incurring the costs associated with obtaining the hands-on results that LC-MS systems generate. Applicable to chemical analysis, bioanalysis, and medicinal chemistry, as well as pharmaceutical science, synthetic chemistry, and industrial chemistry, Advances and Recent Applications in LC-MS and HPLC is a multidisciplinary reference that arms scientists with the latest research. Detailed case studies enable researchers to make the book's concepts immediately implementable.

Advances in molecular quantum chemistry contained in the Q-Chem 4 program package - Shao, Yihan; Gan, Zhengting; Epifanovsky, Evgeny; Gilbert, Andrew T. B.; Wormit, Michael; Kussmann, Joerg; Lange, Adrian W.; Behn, Andrew; Deng, Jia; Feng, Xintian; Ghosh, Debashree (Molecular Physics, 2015)
A summary of the technical advances that are incorporated in the fourth major release of the Q-Chem quantum chemistry program is provided, covering approximately the last seven years. These include developments in density functional theory methods and algorithms, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) property evaluation, coupled cluster and perturbation theories, methods for electronically excited and open-shell species, tools for treating extended environments, algorithms for walking on potential surfaces, analysis tools, energy and electron transfer modelling, parallel computing capabilities, and graphical user interfaces. In addition, a selection of example case studies that illustrate these capabilities is given. These include extensive benchmarks of the comparative accuracy of modern density functionals for bonded and non-bonded interactions, tests of attenuated second order Moller-Plesset (MP2) methods for intermolecular interactions, a variety of parallel performance benchmarks, and tests of the accuracy of implicit solvation models. Some specific chemical examples include calculations on the strongly correlated Cr-2 dimer, exploring zeolite-catalysed ethane dehydrogenation, energy decomposition analysis of a charged ter-molecular complex arising from glycerol photoionisation, and natural transition orbitals for a Frenkel exciton state in a nine-unit model of a self-assembling nanotube.

Agriproteomics of bread wheat: comparative proteomics and network analyses of grain size variation - Dawkar, Vishal V.; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Gupta, Vidya S. (OMICS-A Journal Of Integrative Biology, 2015)
Agriproteomics signifies the merging of agriculture research and proteomics systems science and is impacting plant research and societal development. Wheat is a frequently consumed foodstuff, has highly variable grain size that in effect contributes to wheat grain yield and the end-product quality. Very limited information is available on molecular basis of grain size due to complex multifactorial nature of this trait. Here, using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, we investigated the proteomics profiles from grains of wheat genotypes, Rye selection 111 (RS111) and Chinese spring (CS), which differ in their size. Significant differences in protein expression were found, including 33 proteins uniquely present in RS111 and 32 only in CS, while 54 proteins were expressed from both genotypes. Among differentially expressed proteins, 22 were upregulated, while 21 proteins were downregulated in RS111 compared to CS. Functional classification revealed their role in energy metabolism, seed storage, stress tolerance and transcription. Further, protein interactive network analysis was performed to predict the targets of identified proteins. Significantly different interactions patterns were observed between these genotypes with detection of proteins such as Cyp450, Sus2, and WRKY that could potentially affect seed size. The present study illustrates the potentials of agriproteomics as a veritable new frontier of plant omics research.

Alumina-supported copper iodide: an efficient and recyclable catalyst for microwave-assisted synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles via three-component reaction in water - Agalave, Sandip G.; Pharande, Shrikant G.; Gade, Swapna M.; Pore, Vandana S. (Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
A one-pot procedure for the synthesis of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles by a three-component reaction of allyl or benzyl halides, sodium azide, and terminal alkynes over a neutral alumina-supported copper iodide catalyst has been developed. The products were isolated by simple filtration followed by washing of the catalyst with acetone. The products were obtained in almost pure form in up to 98% yield (TON 495). The catalyst can be recycled for more than eight subsequent reactions. The halides are directly converted into triazoles via in situ formation of azides and thus handling of hazardous azides can be avoided. The broad scope of this protocol is shown by the synthesis of a variety of diversely substituted 1,2,3-triazoles and also two-component azide-alkyne click reaction. The key features of this procedure are the use of water as a solvent, recyclability of the catalyst up to eight runs without appreciable loss of activity, and high yields of products. The catalyst has been fully characterized by FTIR, solid-state NMR and EDX spectroscopy, ESEM, TGA, and XRD.
Keywords: 1; 2; 3-triazoles; 4; copper(I) iodide; Cycloaddition; disubstituted 1; Microwave chemistry; supported catalysts

Ammonium persulfate activated DMSO as a one-carbon synthon for the synthesis of methylenebisamides and other applications - Mahajan, Pankaj S.; Tanpure, Subhash D.; More, Namita A.; Gajbhiye, Jayant M.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Activation of DMSO to work as an economical and environmentally benign one-carbon synthon has been achieved by using a bench-top reagent ammonium persulfate for general and efficient access to symmetrical methylenebisamides from primary amides. This methodology was used to achieve a three-component Mannich reaction using acetophenone, saccharin and DMSO to furnish a beta-amino ketone. It also provided a metal-free synthesis of thiadiazole and bis(phenyl)methane. Effectively, this method uses DMSO as a safer surrogate to formaldehyde. A mechanism for methylenebisamide formation involving radical intermediates has been proposed based on mechanistic studies.

Analysis of pantaprazole na monohydrate and sesquihydrate by powder x-ray diffraction (PXRD) - Mahajan, Devidas T.; Mohmad, Noor; Raut, D. M.; Gajbhiye, Jayant M. (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery, 2015)
Pantaprazole Na monohydrate and sesquihydrate were characterized by PXRD.significant difference in the diffraction patterns of Pantaprazole Na hydrates. The sesquihydrate contains all the diffraction peaks of monohydrate in addition to peaks.

Analytical and bioanalytical UHPLC-MS method validation for determination of metformin, a bigunaide and sitagliptin, a DPP-4 inhibitor - Nakrani, Mital; Bairagee, Deepika; Goyal, Pradeep; Santhakumari, B. (International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015)

Antibacterial non-woven nanofibers of curcumin acrylate oligomers - Killi, Naresh; Paul, Vejendla Luke; Gundloori, Rathna Venkata Naga (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)
Two new (meth) acrylate monomers, namely, 4-((1E,6E)-7-(4'-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3,5-dioxohepta-1,6-dienyl)-2-m ethoxyphenyl acrylate or curcumin monoacrylate (CmA) and 4-((1E, 6E)-7-(4'-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)- 3,5-dioxohepta-1,6-dienyl)-2-methoxyphenyl methacrylate or curcumin monomethacrylate (CmMA), are synthesized by reacting (1E, 6E)-1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)hepta-1,6-diene-3,5-dione (curcumin) with acryloyl chloride and methacryloyl chloride, respectively. The respective derivatives are polymerized by free radical polymerization using an initiator, 2,2-azobisisobutyrontrile (AIBN), to obtain the oligomer of curcumin monoacrylate (OCM) and the oligomer of curcumin monomethacrylate (OCMA). The oligomers are characterized by FTIR, H-1 NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The molecular weights of the oligomers are determined by GPC to range between 2000 and 5500 Da. The melting temperature (T-m) and degradation temperature of the respective oligomers are evaluated by thermal analysis. The melting temperature of the oligomers ranged from 195 to 197 degrees C. Antibacterial studies are evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus, in which the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of OCA1 is 27 mg mL(-1). The blends of the individual oligomers with poly(lactic acid) are electrospun to obtain the respective non-woven nanofiber mats. Nanofibers are formed, with the diameter ranging from 400 to 750 nm, and the nanofiber mats are porous. Because the nanofiber mats are antibacterial and highly porous, they may have potential application as a wound dressing material for tissue regeneration.

Arsenic detection in water: YPO4:Eu3+ nanoparticles - Ghosh, Debasish; Luwang, Meitram Niraj (Journal of Solid State Chemistry, 2015)
This work reports on the novel technique of detection of arsenic in aqueous solution utilising the luminescence properties of lanthanide doped nanomaterials. Eu3+ (5%) doped YPO(4)nanorodswere utilised for the said experiment. Co-precipitation method was used for the synthesis of the materials and characterised them with different instrumental techniques like X-ray diffraction (XRD), Infra-red (IR), UV-absorption, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence studies. This nanoparticle can adsorb both arsenic and arsenious acids. We studied the effect of arsenic adsorption on the luminescence behaviour of the nanoparticles. Arsenic acid enhanced the luminescence intensity whereas arsenious acid quenched the luminescence. This luminescence enhancement or quenching is related with arsenic concentration. This relation of luminescence property with concentration of arsenic can be used to detect arsenic in industrial waste. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Arsenic detection; Luminescence; Nanomaterials

Association between serum albumin and glycated hemoglobin in Asian Indian subjects - Tiwari, Shalbha; Botahle, Manish; Hasan, Imtiaz; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Sayyad, Mehmood G.; Basu, Rita; Basu, Ananda; Unnikrishnan A. G. (Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2015)
Protein glycation plays a significant role in diabetic complications. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is a known predictor of diabetes and its complications. Albumin, found to be profoundly glycated in diabetes, and its level could regulate plasma protein as well as hemoglobin glycation. We aimed to evaluate the association between variations in albumin level with HbA1c in the Asian Indian population. We screened data of 929 subjects who have had a simultaneous measurement of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c and albumin levels via the same blood collection. Data were analyzed by SPSS for 610 subjects who met the study criteria. There was a significant negative correlation between HbA1c and albumin concentration (r = -0.284; P < 0.001). Univariate analysis showed the statistically significant decrease of average HbA1c but not for fasting plasma glucose (FPG) across increasing tertiles of albumin. Stepwise multiple regression model showed a significant correlation between HbA1c and serum albumin (P < 0.05), FPG (P < 0.001), hemoglobin (Hb) (P < 0.001) and serum globulin (P < 0.05). FPG was the strongest predictor (63.4%) of variation of HbA1c. The albumin concentration (r = -0.114) accounted for 0.3% (P < 0.05) of the total variance in HbA1c independent of age, body mass index, FPG, Hb, creatinine, total protein and globulin. It was also observed that HbA1c decreases with increasing albumin concentration in those having FPG between 100 to <126 mg/dl. Serum albumin negatively correlates with HbA1c in Asian Indians independent of other variables. This study suggests that predicting diabetes and its complication based on the HbA1c needs to be further investigated in Indian subjects.

Asymmetric vinylogous michael reaction of cyclic enones with silyloxy furans - Jadhav, Amol P.; Rao, V. U. Bhaskara; Singh, Pradeep; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Singh, Ravi P. (Chemical Communications, 2015)
The asymmetric vinylogous Michael reaction of cyclohexenone/medium and large cyclic enones with 2-silyloxyfuran is still a synthetic challenge. In this report, we have explored 1,4-conjugate addition of an enantioselective chiral, primary diamine catalyzed, 2-silyloxy furan to various cyclic enones and beta-substituted cyclic enones. The reaction provided syn-Michael adducts (cycloalkane connected gamma-butenolide) with good yields, diastereo and enantioselectivities. Furthermore, the synthetic potential of these syn-Michael adducts is demonstrated by 1,4-addition of nucleophiles on the butenolide substructure.

Benzylation of acetic acid to benzyl acetate over highly active and reusable micro/meso-HZSM-5 - Nandiwale, Kakasaheb Y.; Galande, Nitish D.; Raut, Sunil A.; Bokade, Vijay V. (Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 2015)
Catalytic benzylation of acetic acid (AA) with benzyl alcohol (BA) to benzyl acetate was studied over zeolites viz. H-ZSM-5 (microporous, medium pore), Micro/Meso-HZSM-5 (combination of micro- and meso pore), H-Beta (microporous, large pore) to investigate catalytic activity and selectivity towards benzyl acetate. Micro/Meso-HZSM-5 obtained by desilication post-treatment has been employed as a heterogeneous catalyst for benzylation reaction probably for the first time. Micro/Meso-HZSM-5 was found to be a promising catalyst for benzylation with AA conversion of 94%, selectivity towards benzyl acetate of 95%. The detailed optimization of process parameters such as molar ratio, catalyst loading, reaction temperature and time was also presented. Micro/Meso-HZSM-5 catalyst was observed to be stable for six cycles (1 fresh and 5 recycles). The first order reaction kinetics (R-2 >0.98) indicated that reaction rate constants increased with increasing reaction temperature. The activation energy for benzylation of AA with BA over Micro/Meso-HZSM-5 was obtained to be 15.07 kJ mol(-1), which is far less than the reported. (C) 2014 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Acetic acid; Benzyl acetate; Benzyl alcohol; Benzylation; Micro/Meso-HZSM-5; Reaction kinetics

Bioactive polymersomes self-assembled from amphiphilic.PPO-glycopolypeptides: synthesis, characterization, and dual-dye encapsulation - Das, Soumen; Sharma, Dharmendar Kumar; Chakrabarty, Suman; Chowdhury, Arindam; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Langmuir, 2015)
Glycopolypeptide-based polymersomes have promising applications as vehicles for targeted drug delivery because they are capable of encapsulating different pharmaceuticals of diverse polarity as well as interacting with specific cell surfaces due to their hollow structural morphology and bioactive surfaces. We have synthesized glycopolypeptide-b-poly(propylene oxide) by ROP of glyco-N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) using the hydrophobic amine-terminated poly(propylene oxide) (PPO) as the initiator. This block copolymer is composed of an FDA-approved PPO hydrophobic block in conjugation with hydrophilic glycopolypeptides which are expected to be biocompatible. We demonstrate the formation of glycopolypeptide-based polymersomes from the self-assembly of glycopolypeptide-b-poly(propylene oxide) in which the presence of an ordered helical glycopolypeptide segment is required for their self-assembly into spherical nanoscale (similar to 50 nm) polymersomes. The polymersomes were characterized in detail using a variety of techniques such as TEM, AFM, cryo-SEM, and light-scattering measurements. As a model for drugs, both hydrophobic (RBOE) and hydrophilic (calcein) dyes have been incorporated within the polymersomes from solution. To substantiate the simultaneous entrapment of the two dyes, spectrally resolved fluorescence microscopy was performed on the glycopeptide polymersomes cast on a glass substrate. We show that it is possible to visualize individual nanoscale polymersomes and effectively probe the dyes colocalization and energy-transfer behaviors therein as well as investigate the variation in dual-dye encapsulation over a large number of single polymersomes. Finally, we show that the galactose moieties present on the surface can specifically recognize lectin RCA(120), which reveals that the polymersomes surface is indeed biologically active.

Biocatalyst development for lactic acid production at acidic pH using inter-generic protoplast fusion - Singhvi, Mamata; Gurjar, Gayatri; Gupta, Vidya; Gokhale, Digambar V. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Global warming and environmental problems force us to develop sustainable processes based on the use of biocatalysts that are eco-friendly with the least potential toxicity. Lactic acid fermentation at neutral pH generates a large amount of gypsum during down-stream processing. Hence it is essential to develop Lactobacillus strains which produce lactic acid at acidic pH thus making the whole downstream process environmentally friendly. Fusant F3 was generated using protoplast fusion between Lactobacillus delbrueckii Mut Uc-3 and Acetobacter pasteurianus NCIM 2314 on solid media at pH 4.0. Fusant F3 was further treated by UV irradiation to generate a mutant, FM1, with improvements in acid tolerance which produced five-fold more lactic acid than the parent strain at acidic pH. The molecular studies using RAPD markers demonstrated that the fusant is derived from both the parental strains, Acetobacter and Lactobacillus and the mutant is derived from the fusant. The utilization of such acid tolerant strains could be able to produce free lactic acid at acidic pH without using neutralizing agents and will offer an effective means for designing environmentally benign processes for lactic acid production.

Biochemical, structural and functional diversity between two digestive alpha-amylases from helicoverpa armigera - Bhide, Amey J.; Channale, Sonal M.; Patil, Sucheta S.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Giri, Ashok P. (Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta-General Subjects, 2015)
Background: Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera) feeds on various plants using diverse digestive enzymes as one of the survival tool-kit. The aim of the present study was to understand biochemical properties of recombinant alpha-amylases of H. armigera viz., HaAmy1 and HaAmy2. Methods: The open reading frames of HaAmy1 and HaAmy2 were cloned in Pichia pastoris and expressed heterologously. Purified recombinant enzymes were characterized for their biochemical and biophysical attributes using established methods. Results: Sequence alignment and homology modeling showed that HaAmy1 and HaAmy2 were conserved in their amino acid sequences and structures. HaAmy1 and HaAmy2 showed optimum activity at 60 degrees C; however, they differed in their optimum pH. Furthermore, HaAmy2 showed higher affinity for starch and amylopectin whereas HaAmy1 had higher catalytic efficiency. HaAmy1 and HaAmy2 were inhibited to the same magnitude by a synthetic amylase inhibitor (acarbose) while wheat amylase inhibitor showed about 2-fold higher inhibition of HaAmy1 than HaAmy2 at pH 7 while 6-fold difference at pH 11. Interactions of HaAmy1 and HaAmy2 with wheat amylase inhibitor revealed 2:1 stoichiometric ratio and much more complex interaction with HaAmy1. Conclusions: The diversity of amylases in perspective of their biochemical and biophysical properties, and their differential interactions with amylase inhibitors signify the potential role of these enzymes in adaptation of H. armigera on diverse plant diets. General significance: Characterization of digestive enzymes of H. armigera provides the molecular basis for the polyphagous nature and thus could assist in designing future strategies for the insect control. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha-amylases; Amylase inhibitors; Digestive enzymes; Enzyme activity; Helicoverpa armigera

Biomass exploitation - a challenge finding its way to reality - Singhvi, Mamata S.; Gokhale, Digambar V. (Current Science, 2015)
Lignocellulosic biomass holds the key to supplying the basic needs of society for sustainable production of chemicals and fuels without impacting the human food supply. The production of second-generation biofuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass has not yet been commercialized due to its complex and recalcitrance structure. Therefore, the challenges involved in the production of lignocellulosic biomass-derived fuels and chemicals must be addressed. Search for economic pretreatment methods has been recognized as one of the main hurdles for processing of biomass to biofuels and chemicals. The conversion of all biomass components, lignin in particular, would greatly contribute to the economic viability of biomass-based processes for second-generation biofuels and chemicals. Hydrolysis of lignocellulose carbohydrates into fermentable sugars requires a suitable cellulase enzyme cocktail acting on both raw as well as pretreated biomass. Depending on raw material and pretreatment technology, the enzyme mixtures must be designed to degrade biomass carbohydrates. Recent publications on GVL-pretreatment to solubilize and degrade carbohydrates in biomass and CelA enzyme acting on raw biomass would probably meet the challenges in biomass conversion technologies.

Bio-physical evaluation and in vivo delivery of plant proteinase inhibitor immobilized on silica nanospheres - Khandelwal, Neha; Doke, Dhananjay S.; Khandare, Jayant J.; Jawale, Priyanka V.; Biradar, Ankush V.; Giri, Ashok P. (Colloids and Surfaces B-Biointerfaces, 2015)
Recombinant expression of Capsicum annuum proteinase inhibitors (CanPI-13) and its application via synthetic carrier for the crop protection is the prime objective of our study. Herein, we explored proteinase inhibitor peptide immobilization on silica based nanospheres and rods followed by its pH mediated release in vitro and in vivo. Initial studies suggested silica nanospheres to be a suitable candidate for peptide immobilization. Furthermore, the interactions were characterized biophysically to ascertain their conformational stability and biological activity. Interestingly, bioactive peptide loading at acidic pH on nanospheres was found to be 62% and showed 56% of peptide release at pH 10, simulating gut milieu of the target pest Helicoverpa armigera. Additionally, in vivo study demonstrated significant reduction in insect body mass (158 mg) as compared to the control insects (265 mg) on 8th day after feeding with CanPI-13 based silica nanospheres. The study confirms that peptide immobilized silica nanosphere is capable of affecting overall growth and development of the feeding insects, which is known to hamper fecundity and fertility of the insects. Our study illustrates the utility and development of peptide-nanocarrier based platform in delivering diverse biologically active complexes specific to gut pH of H. armigera. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Biodelivery; Helicovera armigera; Protein `corona'; Proteinase inhibitor; Silica nanospheres

Blends of shellac as nanofiber formulations for wound healing - Vannuruswamy, Garikapati; Rathna, Gundloori Venkata Naga; Gadgil, Bhagyashri Shashikant Thorat; Gadad, Anand Panchakshari (Journal of Bioactive and Compatible Polymers, 2015)
Shellac is being used in food, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. It is seldom used for biomedical applications due to its poor mechanical property and instability. We designed thermoresponsive shellac-based bioactive nanofiber mats that mimic extracellular matrix to extend their utility in wound healing. Various blend compositions of shellac, gelatin, and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) enriched with a bioactive agent, nadifloxacin, were prepared and nanofiber mats were fabricated. The morphology of the nanofiber formation was influenced by the concentration of polymer, drug, and polymer blend composition. Polymer-drug interactions and thermal and crystalline properties of nanofiber mats were analyzed. The shellac/gelatin/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) blend of composition 3%/7%/3% (w/v) was chosen to evaluate in vitro drug release. Release studies recorded slow, constant, and sustained release for 140h. The release kinetics and mechanism confirmed zero-order release with resultant r(2) values greater than 0.99, and the Korsmeyer-Peppas release exponent (n) was slightly higher than 0.8, which indicated that drug diffusion was anomalous or non-Fickian type and drug release followed diffusion involving chain stretching. Indirect cytotoxicity studies recorded insignificant toxicity against normal human fibroblast cells. In vivo studies demonstrated that drug-loaded nanofiber mats were more suitable for faster tissue regeneration as compared to nanofiber mats without drug and commercial nadifloxacin cream.
Keywords: drug release and mechanism; nanofibers; Shellac; thermoresponsive; tissue regeneration

Calcium phosphate nanocapsule crowned multiwalled carbon nanotubes for pH triggered intracellular anticancer drug release - Banerjee, Shashwat S.; Todkar, Kiran J.; Khutale, Ganesh V.; Chate, Govind P.; Biradar, Ankush V.; Gawande, Manoj B.; Zboril, Radek; Khandare, Jayant J. (Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2015)
We report calcium phosphate (CaP) nanocapsule crowned multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT-GSH-G4-CaP) as a novel platform for intracellular delivery of an anticancer drug. As a proof-of-concept, CNT-GSH-G4-CaP demonstrates release of anticancer drug doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX) within intracellular lysosomes from the interior cavity of CNT upon pH triggered CaP dissolution. Importantly, we found that the CNT with a CaP nanolid can efficiently prevent untimely drug release at physiological pH but promotes DOX release at increased acidic milieu as observed in subcellular compartments such as lysosomes (similar to 5.0). This ``zero premature release'' characteristic is of clinical significance in delivering cytotoxic drugs, by reducing systemic toxicity and thus beneficial for the effective anticancer treatment. We envision that this pH triggered CaP crowned CNT nanosystem would lead to a new generation of self-regulated platforms for intracellular delivery of a variety of anticancer drugs.

Can silicon substituted metal-free organic dyes achieve better efficiency compared to silicon free organic dyes? a computational study - Biswas, Abul Kalam; Das, Amitava; Ganguly, Bishwajit (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015)
The power conversion efficiency of metal-free organic dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is now comparable to ruthenium-based polypyridyl and zinc-based porphyrin dyes. We have computationally investigated the structural, electronic and optical properties of a series of metal free organic dyes and their corresponding silicon substituted dyes. The DFT and TD-DFT calculations revealed that silicon substituted organic dyes have higher efficiency than the corresponding silicon free organic dyes. The computational results showed that the presence of silole units as a spacer group can significantly affect the performance of DSSCs compared to typically using thiophene as a spacer unit. These results corroborate the experimental observations reported in the literature. The time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations performed at the CPCM-CAM-B3LYP/6-31+G* level of theory showed better agreement with the experimental absorption spectra of some reported metal free organic dyes having silole in the spacer group compared to other functionals and are employed in this study. Indoline donor based dye 5 showed a much shorter absorption spectrum (absorption peak at 425 nm) and smaller electron injection driving force (Delta G(injection) = -1.77 eV) than the corresponding dye 8 containing silicon substituted indoline as a donor and a silole group as a spacer unit. lambda(max) = 502 nm and Delta G(injection) = -1.82 eV calculated for dye 8 are much larger than the corresponding silicon free dye 5. The silicon based dye 8 helps in achieving a much lower DGregeneration value than 5, which can facilitate the faster electron injection rate from the dye to the semiconductor TiO2. Dye 8 should also have a higher V-oc value compared to other dyes (5-7) due to favourable interaction with the electrolyte (I-/I-3(-)). The higher planarity and better conjugation in dye 8 facilitate the transfer of electrons from the dye molecules to the semiconductor TiO2. The calculations performed with phenyl protecting groups near the silicon center of the dye molecule 8 to diminish the dimerization process showed very similar optical properties as obtained with the corresponding unprotected dye system. The designed julolidine and pyrrolo-indolizine donor based dyes also showed a similar trend as observed for indoline donor based dyes.

Can we shift and/or broaden the catalysis regime towards ambient temperature? - Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Roy, Kanak; Nagarajan, Sankaranarayanan (ChemCatChem, 2015)
An attempt was made to shift the temperature regime of oxidation catalysis towards ambient temperatures by employing surface modification (SM) as a handle. Systematic SM of Pd(111) was performed by O-atom diffusion into the subsurfaces. Virgin and modified Pd(111) catalysts were evaluated for CO oxidation. Typical CO poisoning observed on virgin surfaces was partially lifted, and ambient CO oxidation was observed on the modified surfaces. CO oxidation was followed by the molecular beam method and near-ambient pressure (NAP) photoelectron spectroscopy under different pressure regimes. UV valence band spectral analysis of the SM and the CO+O-2 reaction on modified Pd(111) surfaces under NAP conditions demonstrated changes in the electronic structures of the surfaces with a change in surface potential by 0.35eV and directly probed CO2 formation under the reaction conditions. Supported metal catalysts may be subjected to SM and evaluated for a shift in the catalysis regime for many different reactions.
Keywords: heterogeneous catalysis; Oxidation; photoelectron spectroscopy; surface chemistry; surface modification

Catalyst-dependent selectivity in the relay catalytic branching cascade - Bansode, Avinash H.; Shaikh, Aslam C.; Kavthe, Rahul D.; Thorat, Shridhar; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Patil, Nitin T. (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2015)
The synthesis of small organic molecules as probes for discovering new therapeutic agents has been an important aspect of chemical biology. One of the best ways to access collections of small molecules is to use various techniques in diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS). Recently, a new form of DOS, namely relay catalytic branching cascades (RCBCs), has been introduced, wherein a common type of starting material reacts with several scaffold-building agents (SBAs) to obtain structurally diverse molecular scaffolds under the influence of catalysts. Herein, the RCBC reaction of a common type of substrate with SBAs is reported to give two different types of molecular scaffolds and their formation is essentially dependent on the type of catalyst used.
Keywords: alkynols; cascade synthesis; chemoselectivity; diversity-oriented synthesis; Homogeneous catalysis

Catalytic upgrading of citric acid to environmental friendly tri-butyl citrate plasticizer over ultra stable phosphonated Y zeolite - Nandiwale, Kakasaheb Y.; Gogoi, Pranjal; Bokade, Vijay V. (Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 2015)
The catalytic synthesis of non-toxic/eco-friendly tributyl citrate (TBC) plasticizer by esterification of renewable citric acid (CA) with butanol would be completely sustainable route. In this context, catalytic performance of parent ultra stable Y (USY) and phosphonated USY catalysts were investigated for TBC synthesis. Parent USY and phosphonated USY catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption-desorption, NH3 temperature programmed desorption (TPD), pyridine-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), FTIR, SEM, ICP. The influence of various process parameters such as phosphorous (P) loading (0 to 4 wt/%), catalyst loading (5-25%), molar ratio of CA to n-butanol (1:4 to 1:12), reaction temperature (383-423 K) and reaction time (1-5 h) have been investigated over USY catalyst with aim to maximize CA conversion and TBC yield. Amongst the studied catalysts, the 2% (w/w) P/USY was found to be highly potential catalyst with complete CA conversion (100%) and 93% TBC yield. The present method of using 2% (w/w) P/USY catalyst for the synthesis of TBC would be environmentally benign in the context of bio-renewable synthetic route, high catalytic activity, non-toxic product, long term stability and reusability of catalyst (five catalytic cycles). (c) 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved,
Keywords: Butanol; Citric acid; heterogeneous catalysis; Plasticizer; Tributyl citrate

Cathepsins of lepidopteran insects: aspects and prospects - Saikhedkar, Nidhi; Summanwar, Aarohi; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2015)
Molecular understanding of lepidopteran physiology has revealed that proteases consist of one of the central regulatory/reacting system for insect growth and survival. Among the various proteases, cathepsins are the most crucial cellular proteases, which play vital roles during insect development. In the present review, we have discussed various aspects of the lepidopteran insect cathepsins, emphasizing their roles in processes like development, growth, metamorphosis, apoptosis and immunity. Cathepsins are categorized into different types on the basis of their sequence diversification, leading to variation in structure and catalytic function. Cathepsins exhibit tissue and stage specific expression pattern which is fine-tuned by a delicate balance of expression, compartmentalization, zymogen activation, inhibition by protein inhibitors and degradation. The indispensability of cathepsins as cellular proteases in the above mentioned processes proposes them as novel targets for designing effective and specific insect controlling strategies. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Cathepsin; Cysteine/aspartate protease; Development; Lepidoptera; Pest control; Stress response

Cell line development for biomanufacturing processes: recent advances and an outlook - Le, Huong; Vishwanathan, Nandita; Jacob, Nitya M.; Gadgil, Mugdha; Hu, Wei-Shou (Biotechnology Letters, 2015)
At the core of a biomanufacturing process for recombinant proteins is the production cell line. It influences the productivity and product quality. Its characteristics also dictate process development, as the process is optimized to complement the producing cell to achieve the target productivity and quality. Advances in the past decade, from vector design to cell line screening, have greatly expanded our capability to attain producing cell lines with certain desired traits. Increasing availability of genomic and transcriptomic resources for industrially important cell lines coupled with advances in genome editing technology have opened new avenues for cell line development. These developments are poised to help biosimilar manufacturing, which requires targeting pre-defined product quality attributes, e.g., glycoform, to match the innovator's range. This review summarizes recent advances and discusses future possibilities in this area.
Keywords: Biomanufacturing; Biosimilars; Cell line development; CHO cells genomics; Genome editing; Transcriptomics

Chemically chargeable photo battery - Thimmappa, Ravikumar; Paswan, Bhuneshwar; Gaikwad, Pramod; Devendrachari, Mruthyunjayachari Chattanahalli; Kotresh, Harish Makri Nimbegondi; Mohan, Ramsundar Rani; Alias, Joy Pattayil; Thotiyl, Musthafa Ottakam (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015)
Here we show a surrogate strategy for power production, wherein light is used to actuate a discharge Chemistry in the cathode of an aqueous rechargeable battery (ARB). The proposed photo battery consists of a titaninm nitride photoanode, promising. cathode:material iron(III) hexacyanoferrate(II) as the battery active species, and Na2S2O8 as the chemical charging agent The photo battery delivered negligible capacity in the dark and the capacity shot up to 77.8 mAh/g when artificially shined light, confirming that the battery chemistry is light driven. In the ambient light, the device retained 72% of its artificial light discharge capacity with a stable cycling for more than 100 cycles. Further, an unprecedented means for charging the battery rapidly is presented using Na2S2O8 and it revitalized the battery in 30 s without any external bias. This methodology of expending a photoanode extends to a battery that is free from dissolution of active materials, irreversible structural changes, spontaneous deinsertion reactions, and safety concerns commonly encountered in the state of the art anode materials in ARBs. Apart from bringing out a sustainable way for power production, this device opens up avenues for charging the battery in the likely events of electrical input unavailability, while solving the critcial issues of longer charging time and higher charging voltage.

Chemically grafted graphite nanosheets dispersed in poly(ethylene-glycol) by gamma-radiolysis for enhanced lubrication - Gupta, Bhavana; Panda, Kalpataru; Kumar, Niranjan; Melvin, Ambrose A.; Dash, Sitaram; Tyagi, Ashok Kumar (RSC Advances, 2015)
Graphite nanosheets (Gr-NS) dispersed in poly(ethylene-glycol) (PEG200) medium were subjected to various doses of gamma-irradiation. Hydroxyl functional groups present in PEG are chemically grafted through hydrogen bonding with hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxylic groups of Gr-NS. The grafting process is driven by the generation of active radicals from solvent radiolysis. Chemical grafting was investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. The results of spectroscopic studies revealed reduction in oxygen functionality of PEG-Gr-NS at higher doses of gamma-irradiation. The gamma-irradiation not only bridges the functionalities between PEG and PEG-Gr-NS but edge and basal plane defects in Gr-NS are further reduced as is evident from Raman analysis. The inter-planar sheet distance in Gr-NS is increased due to intercalated chemical grafting with PEG molecules. The chemical grafting between PEG and Gr-NS and reduction in defects enhance the tribological properties with a decrease of 26% and 32% for the friction coefficient and wear, respectively as compared to PEG alone. The lubrication mechanism is mediated through inter-planar weak forces when PEG is chemically grafted with Gr-NS. The electrostatic interaction of PEG with Gr-NS acts as a molecular bridge thus enhancing the sustainability of tribo-stress. Additionally, in the presence of functionalized PEG-Gr-NS tribo-contact conditions, evidence of deposited graphitic tribo-film was observed from micro-Raman spectroscopy inside the steel wear track. This film further enhanced lubrication mediated through low shear strength interlayer graphite sheets and therefore, antiwear properties were synergistically improved.

Chromerid genomes reveal the evolutionary path from photosynthetic algae to obligate intracellular parasites - Woo, Yong H.; Ansari, Hifzur; Otto, Thomas D.; Klinger, Christen M.; Kolisko, Martin; Michalek, Jan; Saxena, Alka; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Tayyrov, Annageldi; Veluchamy, Alaguraj; Ali, Shahjahan; Bernal, Axel; et al. (Elife, 2015)
The eukaryotic phylum Apicomplexa encompasses thousands of obligate intracellular parasites of humans and animals with immense socio-economic and health impacts. We sequenced nuclear genomes of Chromera velia and Vitrella brassicaformis, free-living non-parasitic photosynthetic algae closely related to apicomplexans. Proteins from key metabolic pathways and from the endomembrane trafficking systems associated with a free-living lifestyle have been progressively and non-randomly lost during adaptation to parasitism. The free-living ancestor contained a broad repertoire of genes many of which were repurposed for parasitic processes, such as extracellular proteins, components of a motility apparatus, and DNA-and RNA-binding protein families. Based on transcriptome analyses across 36 environmental conditions, Chromera orthologs of apicomplexan invasion-related motility genes were co-regulated with genes encoding the flagellar apparatus, supporting the functional contribution of flagella to the evolution of invasion machinery. This study provides insights into how obligate parasites with diverse life strategies arose from a once free-living phototrophic marine alga.

Cloning, expression and in silico studies of a serine protease from a marine actinomycete (Nocardiopsis sp NCIM 5124) - Rohamare, Sonali; Gaikwad, Sushama M.; Jones, Dafydd; Bhavnani, Varsha; Pal, Jayanta; Sharma, Ranu; Chatterjee, Prathit (Process Biochemistry, 2015)
A serine protease (N. protease), from Nocardiopsis sp., was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and investigated for its potential kinetic stability. Protein expression using two vectors, pET-22b (+) and pET-39b (+) was compared based on proper folding and soluble expression of the protein. pET-39b (+) was found to be a better vector for soluble expression of this protease containing disulfide bonds. In silico studies were also carried out for N. protease. Homology modeling suggested N. protease to be a member of PA clan of proteases. The phylogenetic analysis showed relatedness of N. protease to kinetically stable proteases. Molecular docking studies performed exhibited interaction of a peptide substrate with catalytic pocket of the enzyme. High temperature MD simulations were performed on N. protease to study its unfolding behavior and comparisons were made with alpha LP. A novel approach to study `cooperativity' of protein unfolding was undertaken, wherein `P' value analysis based on phi and psi values of the protein was performed. Data showed sharper P value transition for alpha LP when compared to N. protease thus indicating relatively less kinetic stability of N. protease. Present study holds significance as the non-streptomycete actinomycetes group is least explored and ensures industrially important enzymes with exceptional stabilities. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Actinomycetes; Cloning and expression; Kinetic stability; Protease; Thermal simulation

Co-catalyzed two-stereocentered hydrolytic kinetic resolution: application to the synthesis of yashabushidiols A and B and the lactone unit of compactin and mevinolin - Gadakh, Sunita K.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Tetrahedron-Asymmetry, 2015)
A short and efficient enantioselective synthesis of yashabushidiols A and B and the beta-hydroxy-delta-lactone moiety of compactin and mevinolin with high enantiomeric purity (98% ee) is described starting from commercially available materials. The strategy mainly comprises of iodine-induced intramolecular electrophilic addition of a carbonate occurring in a highly diastereoselective fashion and the Co-catalyzed two-stereocentered hydrolytic kinetic resolution of a functionalized epoxide as the chiral inducing step. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cocrystallization of 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene with its para-, meta-, and ortho-ditoluates: insight into cocrystal formation and clues for the construction of supramolecular assemblies capable of intermolecular acyl group transfer reactivity - Tamboli, Majid I.; Bahadur, Vir; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Shashidhar, Mysore S. (Crystal Growth & Design, 2015)
2,3-Dihydroxynaphthalene forms 2:1 cocrystals with its p-ditoluate and 1:1 cocrystals with its m-ditoluate but not with the o-ditoluate. In 2:1 cocrystals of the p-ditoluate, naphthalene diol molecules form a dimeric motif through OH...O hydrogen bonding interactions. The adjacent dimers sandwich the molecules of p-ditoluate through C-H...pi interactions. In 1:1 cocrystals of the m-ditoluate, naphthalene diol molecules generate a zigzag pattern through O-H...O hydrogen bonding interaction involving -OH of the diol and the C=O of the m-ditoluate. Intermolecular toluoyl group transfer reaction was more facile in cocrystals of the p-ditoluate as compared to cocrystals of the m-ditoluate. This difference in reactivity is consistent with the relative geometry of the electrophile (El, C-O) and the nucleophile (Nu, OH) in these cocrystals. A comparison of the cocrystallization behavior and structure of the two cocrystals with their constituents suggests that the position of the methyl group is crucial for cocrystal formation. A survey of the CSD revealed that the incidence of polymorphism and cocrystals formation decreases (number of hits) in the order para- > ortho- > meta- for disubstituted benzene derivatives. This suggests that compounds prone to exhibit polymorphism have more propensities to form cocrystals as compared to those that resist polymorphism. This information could be useful while selecting cocrystal formers and construction of supramolecular functional assemblies with desired properties.

Coherent fusion of water array and protonated amine in a metal-sulfate-based coordination polymer for proton conduction - Manna, Biplab; Anothumakkool, Bihag; Desai, Aamod V.; Samanta, Partha; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Ghosh, Sujit K. (Inorganic Chemistry, 2015)
A new function of metal-sulfate-based co-ordination polymer (CP) for proton,conduction Was investigated through rational integration of a continuous water array and protonated amine in the coordination space of the CP. The H-bonded arrays of watet molecules along with nitrogen-rich aromatic cation (protonated melamine) facilitate proton conduction in the compound under humid conditions. Although several reports of metal-oxalate/phosphate-based CPs showing proton conduction are known, this is the first designed synthesis of a metal sulfate-based CP bearing-Water arrays functioning as a solid-state proton conductor:

Colossal increase in negative magnetization, exchange bias and coercivity in samarium chromite due to a strong coupling between Sm3+-Cr3+ spins sublattices - Gupta, Preeti; Bhargava, Richa; Poddar, Pankaj (Journal of Physics D-Applied Physics, 2015)
We report giant temperature dependent negative magnetization (magnetization reversal) along with a large exchange bias and large coercivity in SmCrO3. The static magnetization measurements show the negative magnetization below similar to 192 K, due to competition between the external field, thermal activation energy and antiparallel Sm3+-Cr3+ spin interaction. At further lower temperatures, Sm3+ spins show an increased alignment due to the internal induced field of Cr3+ spins with minimum magnetization similar to - 0.037 emu g(-1). The temperature dependent exchange bias shows non-monotonic behavior. At 35 K, the exchange bias ceases to exist due to the orientation of Sm3+ moments with respect to canted Cr3+ moments. The crossover temperature decreases from similar to 191 K at 100 Oe to similar to 153 K at 250 Oe. The training effect further confirms the exchange bias in SmCrO3. The dynamic magnetization measurements exhibit anomalies around spin reorientation transition (T-SR similar to 34 K) and Neel transition (T-N similar to 192 K) which is consistent with static measurement and no frequency dependence was observed. The room temperature Raman spectra of SmCrO3 show peaks at similar to 364, similar to 375 and similar to 456 cm(-1) suggesting O-Cr-O bending modes within the octahedral.
Keywords: exchange bias; multiferroics etc; negative magnetization; samarium chromite; spin reorientation

Core-shell nanoparticles: synthesis and applications in catalysis and electrocatalysis - Gawande, Manoj B.; Goswami, Anandarup; Asefa, Tewodros; Guo, Huizhang; Biradar, Ankush V.; Peng, Dong-Liang; Zboril, Radek; Varma, Rajender S. (Chemical Society Reviews, 2015)
Core-shell nanoparticles (CSNs) are a class of nanostructured materials that have recently received increased attention owing to their interesting properties and broad range of applications in catalysis, biology, materials chemistry and sensors. By rationally tuning the cores as well as the shells of such materials, a range of core-shell nanoparticles can be produced with tailorable properties that can play important roles in various catalytic processes and offer sustainable solutions to current energy problems. Various synthetic methods for preparing different classes of CSNs, including the Stober method, solvothermal method, one-pot synthetic method involving surfactants, etc., are briefly mentioned here. The roles of various classes of CSNs are exemplified for both catalytic and electrocatalytic applications, including oxidation, reduction, coupling reactions, etc.

Crystal structures of the pyrazinamide-p-aminobenzoic acid (1/1) cocrystal and the transamidation reaction product 4-(pyrazine-2-carboxamido)-benzoic acid in the molten state - Thorat, Shridhar H.; Sahu, Sanjay Kumar; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Acta Crystallographica Section C-Structural Chemistry, 2015)
The synthesis of pharmaceutical cocrystals is a strategy to enhance the performance of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) without affecting their therapeutic efficiency. The 1: 1 pharmaceutical cocrystal of the antituberculosis drug pyrazinamide (PZA) and the cocrystal former p-aminobenzoic acid (p-ABA), C7H7NO2- C5H5N3O, (1), was synthesized successfully and characterized by relevant solid-state characterization methods. The cocrystal crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/n containing one molecule of each component. Both molecules associate via intermolecular O-H center dot center dot center dot O and NH center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonds [O center dot center dot center dot O = 2.6102 (15)angstrom and O-H center dot center dot center dot O = 168.3 (19)degrees; N center dot center dot center dot O = 2.9259 (18) angstrom and N-H center dot center dot center dot O = 167.7 (16)degrees] to generate a dimeric acidamide synthon. Neighbouring dimers are linked centrosymmetrically through N-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions [N center dot center dot center dot O = 3.1201 (18) angstrom and N-H center dot center dot center dot O = 136.9 (14)degrees] to form a tetrameric assembly supplemented by C-H center dot center dot center dot N interactions [C center dot center dot center dot N = 3.5277 (19) angstrom and C-H center dot center dot center dot N = 147 degrees]. Linking of these tetrameric assemblies through N-H center dot center dot center dot O [N center dot center dot center dot O = 3.3026 (19) angstrom and N-H center dot center dot center dot O = 143.1 (17)degrees], NH center dot center dot center dot N [N center dot center dot center dot N = 3.221 (2) angstrom and N-H center dot center dot center dot N = 177.9 (17)degrees] and C-H center dot center dot center dot O [C center dot center dot center dot O = 3.5354 (18) angstrom and C-H center dot center dot center dot O = 152 degrees] interactions creates the twodimensional packing. Recrystallization of the cocrystals from the molten state revealed the formation of 4-(pyrazine-2-carboxamido) benzoic acid, C12H9N3O3, (2), through a transamidation reaction between PZA and p-ABA. Carboxamide (2) crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 with one molecule in the asymmetric unit. Molecules of (2) form a centrosymmetric dimeric homosynthon through an acid-acid O-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bond [O center dot center dot center dot O = 2.666 (3) angstrom and O-H center dot center dot center dot O = 178 (4) degrees]. Neighbouring assemblies are connected centrosymmetrically via a C-H center dot center dot center dot N interaction [C center dot center dot center dot N = 3.365 (3) angstrom and C-H center dot center dot center dot N = 142 degrees] engaging the pyrazine groups to generate a linear chain. Adjacent chains are connected loosely via C-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions [C center dot center dot center dot O = 3.212 (3) angstrom and CH center dot center dot center dot O = 149 degrees] to generate a two-dimensional sheet structure. Closely associated two-dimensional sheets in both compounds are stacked via aromatic pi-stacking interactions engaging the pyrazine and benzene rings to create a threedimensional multi-stack structure.
Keywords: acid-amide hetero-synthon; active pharmaceutical ingredient (API); cocrystal; crystal structure; hydrogen bonding; molten-state reaction; powder diffraction; transamidation reaction

Cytostatic ruthenium(II)-platinum(II) bis(terpyridyl) anticancer complex that blocks entry into sphase by up-regulating p27(KIP1) - Ramu, Vadde; Gill, Martin R.; Jarman, Paul J.; Turton, David; Thomas, Jim A.; Das, Amitava; Smythe, Carl (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2015)
Cytostatic agents that interfere with specific cellular components to prevent cancer cell growth offer an attractive alternative, or complement, to traditional cytotoxic chemotherapy. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a new binuclear Ru-II-Pt-II complex [Ru(tpy)(tpypma)Pt(Cl)(DMSO)](3+) (tpy=2,2:6,2-terpyridine and tpypma=4-([2,2:6,2-terpyridine]-4-yl)-N-(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)aniline), VR54, which employs the extended terpyridine tpypma ligand to link the two metal centres. In cell-free conditions, VR54 binds DNA by non-intercalative reversible mechanisms (K-b=1.3x10(5)M(-1)) and does not irreversibly bind guanosine. Cellular studies reveal that VR54 suppresses proliferation of A2780 ovarian cancer cells with no cross-resistance in the A2780CIS cisplatin-resistant cell line. Through the preparation of mononuclear Ru-II and Pt-II structural derivatives it was determined that both metal centres are required for this anti-proliferative activity. In stark contrast to cisplatin, VR54 neither activates the DNA-damage response network nor induces significant levels of cell death. Instead, VR54 is cytostatic and inhibits cell proliferation by up-regulating the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(KIP1) and inhibiting retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation, which blocks entry into Sphase and results in G1 cell cycle arrest. Thus, VR54 inhibits cancer cell growth by a gain of function at the G1 restriction point. This is the first metal-coordination compound to demonstrate such activity.
Keywords: antitumor agents; cytostatic; p27KIP1; platinum drugs; ruthenium terpyridine

Development of a mathematical model for animal cell culture without pH control and its application for evaluation of clone screening outcomes in shake flask culture - Gadgil, Mugdha (Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, 2015)
BACKGROUNDCurrently used mathematical models for animal cell growth and metabolism cannot simulate changing culture pH and its effect on metabolism, and hence cannot accurately model cultures lacking pH control. Animal cell cultures are however widely cultured at a small scale without pH control, e.g. for clone screening during cell line development. A mathematical model for animal cell growth without pH control is developed and applied to design optimal conditions for clone screening without pH control. RESULTSThe mathematical model successfully simulates published data for suspension CHO culture in shake flasks. It is further used to simulate clonal heterogeneity and predict relative clone performance in different culture conditions. Predictions of correlation coefficients between clone titers in batch and fed batch screening conditions and pH controlled fed batch agree with published values. Fed batch mode is predicted to give better screening outcomes than batch, but only for clones able to consume lactate. Simulations reveal that culture duration of the screening assay has a large effect on the screening outcome and optimal durations differ based on the ability or inability of clones to consume lactate. CONCLUSIONThis study presents a tool for optimal design of screening assay for clone selection without pH control. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry
Keywords: clone screening; clone selection; culture duration; high throughput screening; lactate consumption; mathematical model with pH effects; pH control for animal cell culture

Development of diagnostic fragment ion library for glycated peptides of human serum albumin: targeted quantification in prediabetic, diabetic, and microalbuminuria plasma by parallel reaction monitoring, SWATH, and MSE - Korwar, Arvind M.; Vannuruswamy, Garikapati; Jagadeeshaprasad, Mashanipalya G.; Jayaramaiah, Ramesha H.; Bhat, Shweta; Regin, Bhaskaran S.; Ramaswamy, Sureshkumar; Giri, Ashok P.; Mohan, Viswanathan; Balasubramanyam, Muthuswamy; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 2015)
Human serum albumin is one of the most abundant plasma proteins that readily undergoes glycation, thus glycated albumin has been suggested as an additional marker for monitoring glycemic status. Hitherto, only Amadori-modified peptides of albumin were quantified. In this study, we report the construction of fragment ion library for Amadori-modified lysine (AML), N(epsilon)-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML)-, and N(epsilon)-(carboxyethyl) lysine (CEL)-modified peptides of the corresponding synthetically modified albumin using high resolution accurate mass spectrometry (HR/AM). The glycated peptides were manually inspected and validated for their modification. Further, the fragment ion library was used for quantification of glycated peptides of albumin in the context of diabetes. Targeted Sequential Window Acquisition of all THeoretical Mass Spectra (SWATH) analysis in pooled plasma samples of control, prediabetes, diabetes, and microalbuminuria, has led to identification and quantification of 13 glycated peptides comprised of four AML, seven CML, and two CEL modifications, representing nine lysine sites of albumin. Five lysine sites namely K549, K438, K490, K88, and K375, were observed to be highly sensitive for glycation modification as their respective m/z showed maximum fold change and had both AML and CML modifications. Thus, peptides involving these lysine sites could be potential novel markers to assess the degree of glycation in diabetes.

Diastereoselective synthesis of cyclopentanone-fused spirooxindoles by N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed homoenolate annulation with isatilidenes - Patra, Atanu; Bhunia, Anup; Yetra, Santhivardhana Reddy; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Chemistry Frontiers, 2015)
N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed formal [3 + 2] annulation of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes with N-substituted isatilidenes resulting in the diastereoselective synthesis of cyclopentanone-fused spirooxindoles is demonstrated. Mechanistically, the reaction proceeds via the generation of homoenolate equivalent intermediates from NHC and enals, which on interception with isatilidenes afford spiroheterocyclic compounds bearing an all-carbon quaternary spiro-center in moderate to good yields and generally with high diastereoselectivity. Moreover, the functionalization of the spirooxindoles as well as the initial studies on the enantioselective version of this reaction are presented.

Discovery of rimonabant and its potential analogues as anti-TB drug candidates - Gajbhiye, J. M.; More, Namita A.; Patil, Manoj D.; Ummanni, R.; Kotapalli, S. S.; Yogeeswari, P.; Sriram, D.; Masand, Vijay H. (Medicinal Chemistry Research, 2015)
Rimonabant and its analogues have been synthesized in moderate to good yields using a simple synthetic route. All the newly synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro screening against M. tuberculosis and M. smegmatis. The most potent analogue JMG-14 exhibits MIC value of 3.13 compared to 3.25 and 50 A mu g/ml for ethambutol and pyrazinamide, respectively. The molecular docking reveals that pyrazole ring, number and position of halogen atoms play a crucial role in deciding interactions with MTCYP-121. These findings open up a new avenue in the search of potent anti-TB drugs with rimonabant and its novel analogue JMG-14 as lead molecules.
Keywords: Diaryl pyrazoles; H37Rv; MTCYP-121; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Rimonabant; tuberculosis

Doxorubicin-conjugated beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ multifunctional, phosphor nanorods: a multimodal, luminescent, magnetic probe for simultaneous optical and magnetic resonance imaging and an excellent pH-triggered anti-cancer drug delivery nanovehicle - Padhye, Preeti; Alam, Aftab; Ghorai, Suvankar; Chattopadhyay, Sarnit; Poddar, Pankaj (Nanoscale, 2015)
Herein, we report the fabrication of a multifunctional nanoprobe based on highly monodispersed, optically and magnetically active, biocompatible, PEI-functionalized, highly crystalline beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ nanorods as an excellent multi-modal optical/magnetic imaging tool and a pH-triggered intracellular drug delivery nanovehicle. The static and dynamic photoluminescence spectroscopy showed the presence of sharp emission peaks, with long lifetimes (similar to 3.5 milliseconds), suitable for optical imaging. The static magnetic susceptibility measurements at room temperature showed a strong paramagnetic signal (chi similar to 3.8 x 10(-5) emu g(-1) Oe(-1)). The nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements showed fair T-1 relaxivity (r(1) = 1.14 s(-1) mM(-1)) and magnetic resonance imaging gave enhanced T-1-weighted MRI images with increased concentrations of beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ making them suitable for simultaneous magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, an anticancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX) was conjugated to the amine-functionalized beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ nanorods via pH-sensitive hydrazone bond linkages enabling them as a pH-triggered, site-specific drug delivery nanovehicle for DOX release inside tumor cells. A comparison between in vitro DOX release studies undertaken in normal physiological (pH 7.4) and acidic (pH 5.0) environments showed an enhanced DOX dissociation (similar to 80%) at pH 5.0. The multifunctional material was also applied as an optical probe to confirm the conjugation of DOX and to monitor DOX release via a fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. The DOX-conjugated beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ nanorods exhibited a cytotoxic effect on MCF-7 breast cancer cells and their uptake by MCF-7 cells was demonstrated using confocal laser scanning microscopy and flow cytometry. The comparative cellular uptakes of free DOX and DOX-conjugated beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ nanorods were studied in tumor microenvironment conditions (pH 6.5) using confocal imaging, which showed an increased uptake of DOX-conjugated beta-NaYF4:Gd3+/Tb3+ nanorods. Thus, DOX-conjugated beta-NaYF4:Get(3+)/Tb3+ nanorods combining pH-triggered drug delivery, efficient luminescence and paramagnetic properties are promising for a potential multifunctional platform for cancer therapy, biodetection, and optical and magnetic resonance imaging.

Drug-drug molecular salt hydrate of an anticancer drug gefitinib and a loop diuretic drug furosemide: an alternative for multidrug treatment - Thorat, Shridhar H.; Sahu, Sanjay Kumar; Patwadkar, Manjusha V.; Badiger, Manohar V.; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015)
A 1:1 monohydrate salt containing gefitinib, an orally administrated chemotherapy treatment for lung and breast cancers and furosemide, a loop diuretic drug, commonly used in the treatment of hypertension and edema, has been prepared. The molecular salt crystallized in triclinic P-1 space group. The CO bond lengths (similar to 1.26 angstrom) in the COOH group show that proton transfer has occurred from furosemide to morpholine moiety of the gefitinib suggesting cocrystal to be ionic. The morpholine moiety of the gefitinib showed significant conformational change because of its involvement in conformation dictating the strong N-H center dot center dot center dot O hydrogen bonding interaction. The strong hydrogen bonding interaction between gefitinib and furosemide places their benzene rings in stacking mode to facilitate the generation of pi-stack dimers. The neighboring dimers are bridged to each other via water molecule through N-H center dot center dot center dot O, C-H center dot center dot center dot O, O-H center dot center dot center dot N, and O-H center dot center dot center dot O interactions. The remarkable stability of the salt hydrate could be attributed to the strong hydrogen bonding interactions in the crystal structure. Interestingly, release of water from the lattice at 140 degrees C produced new anhydrous salt that has better solubility and dissolution rate than salt hydrate. The drug-drug molecular salt may have some bearing on the treatment of patient suffering from anticancer and hypertension. (C) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association
Keywords: cancer chemotherapy; cocrystals; crystal engineering; crystal structure; dissolution rate; hydrate; phase transition; solubility; stability; thermal analysis

Ecological turmoil in evolutionary dynamics of plant-insect interactions: defense to offence - Mishra, Manasi; Lomate, Purushottam R.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Punekar, Sachin A.; Gupta, Vidya S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Planta, 2015)
Available history manifests contemporary diversity that exists in plant-insect interactions. A radical thinking is necessary for developing strategies that can co-opt natural insect-plant mutualism, ecology and environmental safety for crop protection since current agricultural practices can reduce species richness and evenness. The global environmental changes, such as increased temperature, CO (2) and ozone levels, biological invasions, land-use change and habitat fragmentation together play a significant role in re-shaping the plant-insect multi-trophic interactions. Diverse natural products need to be studied and explored for their biological functions as insect pest control agents. In order to assure the success of an integrated pest management strategy, human activities need to be harmonized to minimize the global climate changes. Plant-insect interaction is one of the most primitive and co-evolved associations, often influenced by surrounding changes. In this review, we account the persistence and evolution of plant-insect interactions, with particular focus on the effect of climate change and human interference on these interactions. Plants and insects have been maintaining their existence through a mutual service-resource relationship while defending themselves. We provide a comprehensive catalog of various defense strategies employed by the plants and/or insects. Furthermore, several important factors such as accelerated diversification, imbalance in the mutualism, and chemical arms race between plants and insects as indirect consequences of human practices are highlighted. Inappropriate implementation of several modern agricultural practices has resulted in (i) endangered mutualisms, (ii) pest status and resistance in insects and (iii) ecological instability. Moreover, altered environmental conditions eventually triggered the resetting of plant-insect interactions. Hence, multitrophic approaches that can harmonize human activities and minimize their interference in native plant-insect interactions are needed to maintain natural balance between the existence of plants and insects.
Keywords: Climatic change; Co-evolution; Ecosystem; Human interference; Plant-insect interaction

Efficient Ag-nanoparticle embedded semi-IPN hydrogel for catalytic applications - Patwadkar, Manjusha V.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Badiger, Manohar V. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Silver nanoparticle embedded semi-IPN hydrogels based on a combination of poly(acrylamide) and poly(aspartic acid) were synthesized. These semi-IPN hydrogel networks can potentially serve as micro or nano reactors for entrapment of metal nanoparticles. Current methodology allows us to entrap metal nanoparticles throughout hydrogel networks via poly(aspartic acid) chains which are dispersed homogeneously in the gel matrix. The Ag-NPs were characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The Ag embedded hydrogels catalyze the reduction of 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol in the presence of NaBH4 very efficiently at room temperature with good recyclability upto 3 cycles.

Efficient shoots regeneration and genetic transformation of bacopa monniera - Kumari, Uma; Vishwakarma, Rishi K.; Gupta, Neha; Ruby; Shirgurkar, M. V.; Khan, Bashir Mohammad (Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 2015)
Bacopa monniera is an important source of metabolites with pharmaceutical value. It has been regarded as a valuable medicinal plant and its entire commercial requirement is met from wild natural population. Recently, metabolic engineering has emerged as an important solution for sustained supply of assured and quality raw material for the production of active principles. Present report describes efficient in vitro multiplication and transformation method for geneticmanipulation of this species. MS medium supplemented with 2 mgl(-1) BA and 0.2 mgl(-1) IAA was found optimum for maximum shoot regeneration (98.33 %) from in vitro leaves with 2-3 longitudinal cuts. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation method was used for generating transgenic B. monniera plants. Putative transformants were confirmed by GUS assay and PCR based confirmation of hptII gene. DNA blot analysis showed single copy insertion of transgene cassette. An average of 87.5 % of the regenerated shoots were found PCR positive for hptII gene and GUS activity was detected in leaves of transgenic shoots at a frequency of 82.5 % The efficient multiple shoots regeneration system described herein may help in mass production of B. monniera plant. Also, the high frequency transformation protocol described here can be used for genetic engineering of B. monniera for enhancement of its pharmaceutically important metabolites.

Enantiospecific synthesis of both enantiomers of the longtailed mealybug pheromone and their evaluation in a new zealand vineyard - Ramesh, Remya; Bell, Vaughn; Twidle, Andrew M.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
The irregular monoterpenoid sex pheromone of Pseudococcus longispinus and its enantiomer were prepared from the corresponding bornyl acetates. The use of readily accessible chiral starting materials and lactone lactone rearrangement are the highlights of the present synthesis. The biological activities of the two enantiomers and racemic mixture were tested in a New Zealand vineyard. The (S)-(+)-enantiomer was significantly more attractive to P. longispinus males than the racemic mixture or the (R)-(-)-enantiomer.

Engineering proteins for thermostability with iRDP web server - Panigrahi, Priyabrata; Sule, Manas; Ghanate, Avinash; Ramasamy, Sureshkumar; Suresh, C. G. (Plos One, 2015)
Engineering protein molecules with desired structure and biological functions has been an elusive goal. Development of industrially viable proteins with improved properties such as stability, catalytic activity and altered specificity by modifying the structure of an existing protein has widely been targeted through rational protein engineering. Although a range of factors contributing to thermal stability have been identified and widely researched, the in silico implementation of these as strategies directed towards enhancement of protein stability has not yet been explored extensively. A wide range of structural analysis tools is currently available for in silico protein engineering. However these tools concentrate on only a limited number of factors or individual protein structures, resulting in cumbersome and time-consuming analysis. The iRDP web server presented here provides a unified platform comprising of iCAPS, iStability and iMutants modules. Each module addresses different facets of effective rational engineering of proteins aiming towards enhanced stability. While iCAPS aids in selection of target protein based on factors contributing to structural stability, iStability uniquely offers in silico implementation of known thermostabilization strategies in proteins for identification and stability prediction of potential stabilizing mutation sites. iMutants aims to assess mutants based on changes in local interaction network and degree of residue conservation at the mutation sites. Each module was validated using an extensively diverse dataset. The server is freely accessible at http://irdp.ncl.res.in and has no login requirements.

Enhanced electron field emission from NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays - Naik, Kusha Kumar; Khare, Ruchita T.; Gelamo, Rogerio V.; More, Mahendra A.; Thapa, Ranjit; Late, Dattatray J.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar (Materials Research Express, 2015)
Electron emission properties of electrodeposited spinel NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays grown on Ni foam have been studied. The work function of NiCo2O4 was calculated by density functional theory using the plane-wave basis set and used to estimate the field enhancement factor. The NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays exhibited a low turn-on field of 1.86 V mu m(-1) at 1 mu A cm(-2) and current density of 686 mu A cm(-2) at 3.2 V mu m(-1), with field enhancement factor beta = 1460 and good field emission current stability. The field emission properties of the NiCo2O4 nanosheet arrays showed enhanced performance compared to chemically prepared NiCo2O4 nanosheets. Hence, the nanosheet arrays have great potential as robust high performance vertical structure electron emitters for future flat panel displays and vacuum electronic device applications.
Keywords: Density functional theory; field emission; nanosheets; NiCo2O4; spinel

Enhanced field emission of plasma treated multilayer graphene - Khare, Ruchita T.; Gelamo, Rogerio V.; More, Mahendra A.; Late, Dattatray J.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar (Applied Physics Letters, 2015)
Electron emission properties of multilayer graphene (MLG) prepared by a facile exfoliation technique have been studied. Effect of CO2 Ar, N-2, plasma treatment was studied using Raman spectroscopy and investigated for field emission based application. The CO2 plasma treated multilayer graphene shows an enhanced field emission behavior with a low turn on field of 0.18 V/mu m and high emission current density of 1.89 mA/cm(2) at an applied field of 0.35 V/mu m. Further the plasma treated MLG exhibits excellent current stability at a lower and higher emission current value. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Enhancing efficiency of perovskite solar cell via surface microstructuring: superior grain growth and light harvesting effect - Tathavadekar, Mukta C.; Agarkar, Shruti A.; Game, Onkar S.; Bansode, Umesh P.; Kulkarni, Sneha A.; Mhaisalkar, Subodh G.; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Solar Energy, 2015)
We have introduced a novel approach to enhance the perovskite solar cell efficiency by controlling the grain growth and light harvesting properties of perovskite crystallites. Instead of using a mesoporous TiO2 layer, we have modified the surface microstructuring of the TiO2 film by dispensing nano assembled TiO2 submicron structures (nanobeads, NBs) on TiO2 compact layer. With this new approach solar cell efficiency was improved significantly through an increase in both J(sc) and V-oc. This high efficiency is attributed to crystallite size of the perovskite phase. These also act as light scattering centers giving higher current density and reduced recombination effects giving higher open circuit voltage. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Grain growth; Light harvesting; Perovskite solar cells; TiO2 nanobeads

Expression of stable reference genes and SPINDLY gene in response to gibberellic acid application at different stages of grapevine development - Upadhyay, A.; Jogaiah, S.; Maske, S. R.; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Gupta, V. S. (Biologia Plantarum, 2015)
Gibberellic acid (GA(3)) is widely used at different stages of berry development, and to understand the molecular mechanism of its action requires identification of stable reference genes. We sprayed grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Thompson Seedless with GA(3) at rachis stage for rachis elongation, at flower cluster stage for flower thinning, and at 3 - 4 mm berry stage for berry elongation. Tissue samples were collected at different time points after GA(3) application. The expression of 10 candidate reference genes was analyzed using 4 different algorithms to assess their suitability for real time-PCR data normalization. Based on the overall ranking, PP2A, Sutra, and SAND were identified as the most stably expressed genes across all samples. With regard to different stages, tubulin, EF1 alpha, and UBC were the most stable genes during rachis elongation; PP2A, SAND, and Sutra were the most suitable at the flower cluster and berry stages. The expression of GA signaling gene SPINDLY (VvSpy) was analyzed to validate the stable reference genes. After the GA(3) application, the expression of VvSpy was reduced at the rachis stage but did not change at the flower cluster and berry stages. The expression profile of VvSpy was comparable when two or three reference genes were used for data normalization.
Keywords: developmental stages; Vitis vinifera

Extrusion film casting of long chain branched polypropylene - Chikhalikar, Kalyani; Banik, Sourya; Azad, Lal Busher; Jadhav, Kishor; Mahajan, Sunil; Ahmad, Zubair; Kulkarni, Surendra; Gupta, Surendra; Doshi, Pankaj; Pol, Harshawardhan; Lele, Ashish K. (Polymer Engineering and Science, 2015)
Extrusion film casting (EFC) is an important melt processing operation which is extensively used to make polypropylene (PP) films. Linear PP shows significant amount of necking and draw resonance during EFC. One of the ways to reduce necking is to introduce long chain branches (LCB) on the polymer backbone. The long branches impart extensional strain hardening behavior thereby stabilizing the melt flow. In this work, we investigate the influence of long chain branching in polypropylene on the extent of necking in the EFC process. Laboratory scale EFC experiments were performed on homopolymer PP of linear and long chain branched architectures. Simulations of the EFC process were carried out using the one-dimensional flow model of Silagy et al., Polym. Eng. Sci.,36, 2614 (1996) into which we incorporate two different multi-mode molecular constitutive equations namely, the eXtended Pom-Pom' equation (XPP, for long chain branched PP) and the Rolie-Poly' equation (RP-S, for linear PP). Our experimental data confirm that presence of long chain branching in PP reduces the extent of necking and our numerical predictions show qualitative agreement with experimental data, thereby elucidating the role of chain architecture on the extent of necking. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1977-1987, 2015. (c) 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

Facile gamma radiolytic methodology for TiO2-rGO synthesis: effect on photo-catalytic H-2 evolution - Gupta, Bhavana; Melvin, Ambrose A.; Matthews, Tom; Dhara, S.; Dash, Sitaram; Tyagi, A. K. (International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015)
TiO2 (P25) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is synthesized by gamma-radiolytic technique using water-ethanol solvent medium. Visible light absorpdon was confirmed by UV-Visible spectroscopy. Photoluminescence (PL) study revealed a decline in electron-hole recombination rate signalled by a sharp fall in luminescence of TiO2. Under such scenario, electron transfer from TiO2 conduction band to the conjugated sheet becomes a preferred pathway in the presence of rGO, which is further confirmed by photocurrent measurement. TiO2 -rGO composite with 1 wt. % rGO was found to be the best composition in terms of visible light absorption, while retaining TiO2 crystallinity. Transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopic studies confirmed the coating of rGO sheet with TiO2 nanoparticles. TiO2 -rGO was found to show about 150 times higher photocatalytic H-2 generation under 250 W UV-Visible light irradiation than pristine TiO2. In addition to this, TiO2 -rGO composite shows hydrogen production yield of 35 mu mol/h.g under visible light (lambda = 400 nm) irradiation. Thus gamma-radiolysis can be considered to be a viable technique, which helps in synthesizing photocatalytically active nanocomposite with high H-2 evolution rate. In the light of these interesting aspects, a detail investigation is carried out to study the effect of rGO concentration and illumination time on photocatalytic yield. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: gamma-radiolysis; H-2 production; Photocatalysis; Reduced graphene oxide; TiO2

Feasibility of ionization-mediated pathway for ultraviolet-induced melanin damage - Mandal, Mukunda; Das, Tamal; Grewal, Baljinder K.; Ghosh, Debashree (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2015)
Melanin is the pigment found in human skin that is responsible for both photoprotection and photodamage. Recently there have been reports that greater photodamage of DNA occurs when cells containing melanin are irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) radiation, thus suggesting that the photoproducts of melanin cause DNA damage. Photoionization processes have also been implicated in the photodegradation of melanin. However, not much is known about the oxidation potential of melanin and its monomers. In this work we calculate the ionization energies of monomers, dimers, and few oligomers of eumelanin to estimate the threshold energy required for the ionization of eumelanin. We find that this threshold is within the UV-B region for eumelanin. We also look at the charge and spin distributions of the various ionized states of the monomers that are formed to understand which of the ionization channels might favor monomerization from a covalent dimer.

First naphthosemiquinone complex of K+ with vitamin K3 analog: experiment and density functional theory - Kathawate, Laxmi; Gejji, Shridhar P.; Yeole, Sachin D.; Verma, Prakash L.; Puranik, Vedavati G.; Salunke-Gawali, Sunita (Journal of Molecular Structure, 2015)
Synthesis and characterization of potassium complex of 2-hydroxy-3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone (phthiocol), the vitamin K3 analog, has been carried out using FT-IR, UV-Vis, H-1 and C-13 NMR, EPR, cyclic voltammetry and single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments combined with the density functional theory. It has been observed that naphthosemiquinone binds to two K+ ions extending the polymeric chain through bridging oxygens O(2) and O(3). The crystal network possesses hydrogen bonding interactions from coordinated water molecules showing water channels along the c-axis. C-13 NMR spectra revealed that the complexation of phthiocol with potassium ion engenders deshielding of C(2) signals, which appear at delta = similar to 14.6 ppm whereas those of C(3) exhibit up-field signals near delta similar to 6.9 ppm. These inferences are supported by the M06-2x based density functional theory. Electrochemical experiments further suggest that reduction of naphthosemiquinone results in only a cathodic peak from catechol. A triplet state arising from interactions between neighboring phthiocol anion lead to a half field signal at g = 4.1 in the polycrystalline X-band EPR spectra at 133 K. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: C-13 NMR; DFT; hydrogen bonding; Naphthosemiquinone; Phthiocol; Vitamin K3

First regioselective iodocyclization reaction of 3-aryl-5-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles - Rode, Navnath D.; Sonawane, Amol D.; Garud, Dinesh R.; Joshi, Rohini R.; Joshi, Ramesh A.; Likhite, Anjali P. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2015)
The regioselective iodocyclization reaction of 3-aryl-5-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles is described for the first time. The iodocyclization reaction of 3-aryl-5-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles using molecular iodine afforded diiodo-compound which on Cul-catalyzed intramolecular C-N coupling reaction gave six-membered 2-aryl-51141,2,4]triazolo[5,1-b][1,3]thiazines, whereas, the five membered 3-aryl-5,6-dihydrothiazolo[2,3-c][1,2,4]triazoles were obtained exclusively when the iodocyclization reaction of 3-aryl-5-(prop-2-ynylthio)-1H-1,2,4-triazoles was carried out using NIS. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Iodocyclization; Regloselective; Thiazine; Triazole

First synthesis of nitrosporeusines, alkaloids with multiple biological activities - Philkhana, Satish Chandra; Jachak, Gorakhnath R.; Gunjal, Vidya B.; Dhage, Nagsen M.; Bansode, Ajay H.; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Tetrahedron Letters, 2015)
Synthesis of nitrosporeusines A and B, thioester-bearing alkaloids from the Arctic Streptomyces nitrosporeus with exceptional biological activity is disclosed for the first time. In addition, we have prepared another biologically important natural product, maleimycin, in optically pure form using a gram-scale enzymatic resolution method. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Enzymatic resolution; Influenza H1N1 virus; Maleimycin; Michael reaction; Nitrosporeusine

Fluorescent cadmium telluride quantum dots embedded chitosan nanoparticles: a stable, biocompatible preparation for bio-imaging - Ghormade, Vandana; Gholap, Haribhau; Kale, Sonia; Kulkarni, Vaishnavi; Bhat, Suresh; Paknikar, Kishore (Journal of Biomaterials Science-Polymer Edition, 2015)
Fluorescent cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) are an optically attractive option for bioimaging, but are known to display high cytotoxicity. Nanoparticles synthesized from chitosan, a natural biopolymer of beta 1-4 linked glucosamine, display good biocompatibility and cellular uptake. A facile, green synthetic strategy has been developed to embed green fluorescent cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs) in biocompatible CNPs to obtain a safer preparation than `as is' QDs. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy showed the crystal lattice corresponding to CdTe QDs embedded in CNPs while thermogravimetry confirmed their polymeric composition. Electrostatic interactions between thiol-capped QDs (4nm, -57mV) and CNPs (\~300nm, +38mV) generated CdTe QDs-embedded CNPs that were stable up to three months. Further, viability of NIH3T3 mouse fibroblast cells in vitro increased in presence of QDs-embedded CNPs as compared to bare QDs. At the highest concentration (10 mu g/ml), the former shows 34 and 39% increase in viability at 24 and 48h, respectively, as compared to the latter. This shows that chitosan nanoparticles do not release the QDs up to 48h and do not cause extended toxicity. Furthermore, hydrolytic enzymes such as lysozyme and chitinase did not degrade chitosan nanoparticles. Moreover, QDs-embedded CNPs show enhanced internalization in NIH3T3 cells as compared to bare QDs. This method offers ease of synthesis and handling of stable, luminescent, biocompatible CdTe QDs-embedded CNPs with a favorable toxicity profile and better cellular uptake with potential for bioimaging and targeted detection of cellular components.
Keywords: Biocompatible; bioimaging; CdTe quantum dots; chitosan nanoparticles; Toxicity

Fluorescent probe for specific detection of cysteine in the lipid dense region of cells - Ali, Firoj; Anila, H. A.; Taye, Nandaraj; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Chemical Communications, 2015)
A new cysteine (Cys) specific chemodosimetric reagent (ER-F) is used in imaging of endogenous Cys localized in the lipid dense region of the live Hct116 cells and the release of Cys within HepG2 cells from a drug following a biochemical transformation. A silica surface, modified with ER-F, could be used for quantitative estimation of Cys present in aqueous solution (pH 7.2) and in a human blood plasma (HBP).

Fluorescent probes for the detection of cyanide ions in aqueous medium: cellular uptake and assay for beta-glucosidase and hydroxynitrile lyase - Agarwalla, Hridesh; Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Sharma, Dharmendar Kumar; Basu, Santanu Kumar; Jadhav, Sameer; Chowdhury, Arindam; Das, Amitava (Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2015)
A chemodosimteric reagent (1) for the efficient detection of cyanide species (CN- and/or HCN) in aq. medium as well as under physiological conditions has been described. Selective reaction of the cyanide species with this reagent in the presence of all common interfering anions, amino acids and glutathione (GSH) led to the generation of the corresponding cyanohydrin derivative. The formation of the cyanohydrin derivative of the probe is associated with a visually detectable change in solution fluorescence in aq. buffer medium with 1.9 mu M NaCN, the threshold limit set by WHO for the safe drinking water and this makes this fluorogenic sensor an ideal candidate for in-field applications. An apparent switch on the luminescence response, ultralow detection limit, low response time, cell membrane permeability and insignificant toxicity are key features of a probe molecule, which gives it a distinct edge over previously reported chemodosimetric reagents for the detection of cyanide species (CN- or HCN) in an aqueous environment. This methodology could be used for developing a generalized and efficient fluorescence-based assay for crucial enzymes like beta-glucosidase and hydroxynitrile lyase. Furthermore, spectrally-resolved fluorescence microscopy measurements on single-cells revealed that this sensor molecule could also be used for imaging the cellular uptake of cyanide species from aq. solution contaminated with NaCN. Our results confirmed that statistical analysis of integrated intensity and transition energy obtained from the emission spectra collected over various microscopic sub-cellular regions can potentially be used to discriminate the effects of local cellular environments and that due to cyanide detection.

Formal asymmetric synthesis of (2S,4R)-4-hydroxypipecolic acid via Co(III)(salen)-catalyzed two stereocentered HKR of racemic azido epoxide - Kamble, Rohit B.; Gadre, Shubhankar Haribhau; Suryavanshi, Gurunath M. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2015)
An efficient formal synthesis of (2S,4R)-4-hydroxypipecolic acid has been achieved in high optical purity (99% ee) from readily available benzaldehyde. The strategy employs an iodine-induced intramolecular cyclization of a carbonate and Co-catalyzed Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution (HKR) of two stereocentered racemic azido epoxide as the key reactions to construct chiral 1,3-amino alcohol functionality. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Azido epoxide; Hydrolytic kinetic resolution; lodocyclization; Piperidine

Fractional photo-current dependence of graphene quantum dots prepared from carbon nanotubes - Kundu, Sumana; Ghosh, Sujoy; Fralaide, Michael; Narayanan, T. N.; Pillai, Vijayamohanan K.; Talapatra, Saikat (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015)
We report on the photo-conductivity studies of chemically synthesized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) of average size 12 nm obtained by the oxidative acid treatment of MWCNTs. The dependence of photocurrent I-ph (I-ph = I-ill - I-dark) on the laser intensity P under a wide range of laser intensities (5 mW <= P <= 60 mW) shows a fractional power dependence of I-ph on light intensity. The temperature dependence (300 K < T < 50 K) of I-ph observed in thin films of these GQDs indicates that in the higher temperature region (T > similar to 100 K), as the temperature increases, the number of thermally generated carriers increase resulting in increased I-ph. At sufficiently low temperatures (T <= 100 K), a constant I-ph is observed, indicating a constant photocarrier density. Such a behavior is typically observed in many photoactive disordered semiconductors, which are often used in a variety of applications. We believe that the investigations presented here will enhance our understanding of the photocurrent generation phenomenon in chemically obtained GQDs.

Freezing tendency towards 4-coordinated amorphous networks causes an increase in the heat capacity of supercooled Stillinger-Weber silicon - Apte, Pankaj A.; Pingua, Nandlal; Gautam, Arvind Kumar; Kumar, Uday; Willow, Soohaeng Yoo; Zeng, Xiao Cheng; Kulkarni, B. D. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Supercooled liquid silicon (Si), modeled by the Stillinger-Weber (SW) potential, has been shown to undergo transition to low density amorphous phases at 1060 K in previous studies. Furthermore, the constant pressure heat capacity C-p has been found to exhibit a large increase as the liquid is cooled to 1060 K. In this work, we examine the nature of the equilibrium and the relaxation process of supercooled SW Si in the temperature range of 1060 K to 1070 K at zero pressure. We find that the relaxation of the supercooled liquid leads to a sharp irreversible decrease in the fluctuation of the two body energy of the largest connected network of 4-coordinated particles. Such a process implies a tightening of the bonds (i.e. freezing or jamming) of the network, and is accompanied by a sharp increase in the fraction of the 4-coordinated particles in the system. We find that the jamming (or freezing) process shows a sudden acceleration across a dynamical instability point that occurs at a unique potential energy state of the network. Further, we find that the occurrence of the dynamical instability is associated with the appearance of a straight line region in the cumulative potential energy distributions with a configurational temperature close to 1060 K. We conclude that the supercooled liquid state must be regarded as a constrained equilibrium state, since the accessible microstates are constrained by the inherent tendency of the system to approach the dynamical instability point. Thus all properties of supercooled liquid SW-Si, including the rise in C-p at 1060 K, can be attributed to the freezing tendency of the 4-coordinated particle network.

Furosemide cocrystals with pyridines: an interesting case of color cocrystal polymorphism - Sangtani, Ekta; Sahu, Sanjay Kumar; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Gawade, Rupesh L.; Jha, Kunal K.; Munshi, Parthapratim; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Crystal Growth & Design, 2015)
Furosemide (FS), a loop diuretic drug commonly used for the treatment of hypertension and edema, exhibited color cocrystal polymorphism with coformer 4,4'-bipyridine (4BPY) in the stoichiometry 2:1, albeit both the API and the cocrystal former are colorless. Crystallization from ethanol, isopropanol, ethanol-water (v/v, 1/1) mixture, and acetonitrile yielded pale yellow (form II, thin needles) and orange (form 1II, blocks) cocrystals concomitantly. Needles appeared from solution within a day, while the blocks were obtained after 1-2 days from the same flask, indicating that yellow needles were formed faster and the orange blocks were perhaps formed under thermodynamic conditions. Form 1I cocrystals could also be produced from the variety of common solvents. Cocrystallization of FS with 2,2'-bipyridine (2BPY) and 4-aminopyridine (4AP) gave colorless cocrystals 2 and 3, respectively, and did not exhibit polymorphism. The single-crystal X-ray structures, powder X-ray diffraction, photophysical characterization, differential scanning calorimetry, hot stage microscopy studies, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations provide insight into the structure property relationship. The common structural features observed in all of the structures is the formation of sandwich motifs comprising FS and pyridines through pi-stacking interactions. These motifs are linked differently through hydrogen bonding interactions in all three directions. The significant color difference between the two cocrystals dimorphs could be attributed to the different pi-stacking patterns and hydrogen bonding interactions between molecules of FS and 4BPY in their cocrystal structures. Investigation on the origin of the color difference using DFT calculations revealed the decrease in HOMO-LUMO gap for form 1II cocrystals (orange) compared to form 1I crystals (light yellow). The crystal-to-crystal thermal transformation of form 1I crystals to form 1II crystals of 1 suggests the role of pi-stacking assemblies in driving the self-assembly.

Genetic programming based quantitative structure-retention relationships for the prediction of Kovats retention indices - Goel, Purva; Bapat, Sanket; Vyas, Renu; Tambe, Amruta; Tambe, Sanjeev S. (Journal of Chromatography A, 2015)
The development of quantitative structure-retention relationships (QSRR) aims at constructing an appropriate linear/nonlinear model for the prediction of the retention behavior (such as Kovats retention index) of a solute on a chromatographic column. Commonly, multi-linear regression and artificial neural networks are used in the QSRR development in the gas chromatography (GC). In this study, an artificial intelligence based data-driven modeling formalism, namely genetic programming (GP), has been introduced for the development of quantitative structure based models predicting Kovats retention indices (KRI). The novelty of the GP formalism is that given an example dataset, it searches and optimizes both the form (structure) and the parameters of an appropriate linear/nonlinear data-fitting model. Thus, it is not necessary to pre-specify the form of the data-fitting model in the GP-based modeling. These models are also less complex, simple to understand, and easy to deploy. The effectiveness of GP in constructing QSRRs has been demonstrated by developing models predicting KRIs of light hydrocarbons (case study-I) and adamantane derivatives (case study-II). In each case study, two-, three- and four-descriptor models have been developed using the KRI data available in the literature. The results of these studies clearly indicate that the GP-based models possess an excellent KRI prediction accuracy and generalization capability. Specifically, the best performing four-descriptor models in both the case studies have yielded high (>0.9) values of the coefficient of determination (R-2) and low values of root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute percent error (MAPE) for training, test and validation set data. The characteristic feature of this study is that it introduces a practical and an effective GP-based method for developing QSRRs in gas chromatography that can be gainfully utilized for developing other types of data-driven models in chromatography science. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Gas chromatography; genetic programming; Kovats retention index; Molecular descriptors; Quantitative structure-retention relationships

Genotype x environment interactions and QTL clusters underlying dough rheology traits in triticum aestivum L. - Prashant, Ramya; Mani, Elangovan; Rai, Richa; Gupta, R. K.; Tiwari, Ratan; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Oak, Manoj; Roeder, Marion; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Gupta, Vidya (Journal of Cereal Science, 2015)
Genetic dissection of dough rheology traits (DRT) in hexaploid wheat was carried out using nine mixograph characters evaluated in two consecutive years in three agro-climatic zones in India in an RIL population (HI977 x HD2329). Pearson correlations determined in each year-location indicated 15 stable trait inter-relationships among them but inconsistent correlations with loaf volume (LV) were observed. Using AMMI analysis we derived patterns in G x E interactions (GEI) indicating 6-47% contribution for the DRT. Composite interval mapping using a linkage map of 202 SSR markers identified 144 DRT QTLs of which, 96 were detected in single- and the rest in two to five year-locations. Sixteen QTL clusters located on ten chromosomes were identified and only three of them on chromosomes 1B, 5B and 6D involved LV QTLs. For each trait, majority of the DRT QTLs detected in single as well as multiple environments showed location-specificity and suggested that owing to GEI, breeding for wheat dough quality might need careful selection of QTLs targeted for individual agro-climatic zones. The inconsistent correlations of DRT and LV and differential locations of their QTLs in this population corroborated that using dough rheological traits alone to predict LV might pose challenges during wheat improvement. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: AMMI analysis; Dough rheology; Mixograph; QTL

Green approach for the decoration of Pd nanoparticles on graphene nanosheets: an in situ process for the reduction of C-C double bonds and a reusable catalyst for the suzuki cross-coupling reaction - Hussain, Najrul; Borah, Ashwini; Darabdhara, Gitashree; Gogoi, Pranjal; Azhagan, Muniraj Vedi Kuyil; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Das, Manash R. (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)
A new strategy for in situ synthesis of palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) decorated on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets with controlled size and shape is reported. This strategy was designed as three processes in one pot, namely, (a) reduction of graphene oxide, (b) formation of Pd NPs on the rGO nanosheets and (c) simultaneous reduction of olefin. In this synthesis process, a hydrogen atmosphere was used to develop the Pd NPs-rGO nanocatalyst, which is reusable and easily separable. The influence of the size and morphology of the Pd-rGO-H-2 catalyst on the catalytic activity in the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction was investigated by comparing with other catalysts, Pd-rGO-As and Pd-rGO-Gl, and they were synthesized by different reducing agents, ascorbic acid and glucose, respectively. The catalysts were characterized by electron microscopy (HRTEM, SEM), FT-IR, XRD and XPS. The Pd-rGO-H-2 catalyst was found to possess excellent catalytic activity and recyclability in the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction under mild reaction conditions.

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 - Hussain, Najrul; Gogoi, Pranjal; Azhagan, Muniraj Vedi Kuyil; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Das, Manash R. (Catalysis Science & Technology, 2015)
Highly stable Cu(0) nanoparticles were synthesized on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets using a cost-effective and green method. The synthesized Cu(0)-nanoparticle-rGO composites exhibit excellent catalytic activity for the synthesis of symmetrical biaryls from arylboronic acids under microwave irradiation. The reaction proceeds smoothly in base-free conditions with easy recovery and reuse of the catalyst. The methodology is compatible with various functional groups and provides an attractive protocol for the synthesis of symmetrical biaryls with very good yields. HRTEM, XPS and XRD analyses showed the catalyst to be recyclable. The Cu(0) nanoparticles are stable in the rGO nanosheets, and the particle size distribution and oxidation state of the Cu(0) nanoparticle remain the same after performing the chemical reaction.

Heterogeneously catalyzed strategies for the deconstruction of high density polyethylene: plastic waste valorisation to fuels - Burange, Anand S.; Gawande, Manoj B.; Lam, Frank L. Y.; Jayaram, Radha V.; Luque, Rafael (Green Chemistry, 2015)
The plastic industry generates enormous quantities of plastics at projected rates (both production and consumption) which can significantly threaten our environment in terms of plastic waste generation. High density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the main fractions of municipal solid waste which has a remarkable potential to be valorised into fuels (e.g. bio-oils). Catalytic degradation is an innovative alternative process to transform plastic waste into such value added products. This mini review was aimed to discuss the most relevant and recent catalysts developed for the catalytic degradation of HDPE including metal oxides, sulphated metal oxides, zeolites, nanostructured zeolites, molecular sieves, fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts, metal carbonates and mesoporous materials for the production of chemicals and fuels (e.g. diesel and gasolines). Activities and selectivities as well as important effects of additives, particle size, catalyst to polymer ratios and also recent approaches for waste management will be discussed.

Hierarchical CdS nanostructure by Lawesson's reagent and its enhanced photocatalytic hydrogen production - Pandit, Vikram U.; Arbuj, Sudhir S.; Hawaldar, Ranjit R.; Kshirsagar, Pradnya V.; Deshmukh, Amarsinh J.; Ambekar, Jalindar D.; Mulik, Uttam P.; Gosavi, Suresh W.; Kale, Bharat B. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Lawesson's reagent (LR) has been effectively exploited for the synthesis of hierarchical architectures of cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanostructures for the first time. The X-ray diffractograms of the as synthesised CdS nanostructures confirm the formation of hexagonal CdS. The broadness of the XRD peaks clearly indicates the nanocrystalline nature of CdS with average crystallite size of 4 nm. A FESEM study revealed the formation of hierarchical nanostructures, whereas a TEM study showed that the hierarchical arrangement is composed of nanosized CdS particles. A band-gap i.e. 2.4 eV was derived from diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The photoluminescence spectrum showed an emission peak at 535 and 568 nm which can be attributed to band-edge emission and surface emissions or possible metal vacancies, respectively. Considering the band-gap within the visible region, the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution performance of these CdS nanostructures was performed under visible light irradiation from hydrogen sulphide and water, respectively. Utmost hydrogen evolution i.e. 14 136 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) and 2065 mu mol h(-1) g(-1) was observed over a naked CdS nanostructure via H2S and water decomposition, respectively. The amount of hydrogen obtained by H2S splitting is much higher as compared to earlier reports.

High molecular weight polylactic acids by polyesterification using diisopropylcarbodiimide (DIPC) and 4-(dimethylamino) pyridinium ptoluene sulfonate (DPTS) - Shyamroy, S.; Garnaik, Baijayantimala; Sivaram, S. (Polymer Bulletin, 2015)
High molecular weight poly(l-lactic acid) has been prepared from the corresponding functionally terminated oligomers employing a polyesterification method at room temperature using diisopropylcarbodiimide and 4-(dimethylamino) pyridinium-p-toluene sulfonate. Self-condensation of hydroxyl and carboxylic acid-terminated poly(l-lactic acid) oligomers (M (n) : similar to 1,000) resulted in polymers with high molecular weights (M (n) > 45,000) under mild conditions. End-group analysis by MALDI-TOF provided evidence for N-acylurea formation in the product under the reaction conditions employed.

Highly emissive organic solids with remarkably broad color tunability based on N,C-chelate, four-coordinate organoborons - Shaikh, Aslam C.; Ranade, Dnyanesh S.; Thorat, Shridhar; Maity, Arunava; Kulkarni, Prasad P.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Munshi, Parthapratim; Patil, Nitin T. (Chemical Communications, 2015)
Molecular fluorophores based on N,C-chelate, four-coordinate organo-borons exhibit tunable solid-state emission colors that cover the whole visible region from blue to red. The emission color can be tuned through the substituents on either quinolines or the boron center.

Highly enantioselective Pd-catalyzed synthesis of P-stereogenic supramolecular phosphines, self-assembly, and implication - Koshti, Vijay S.; Mote, Nilesh R.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Chikkali, Samir H. (Organometallics, 2015)
Metal-catalyzed asymmetric addition of a secondary phosphine to an aryl halide is one of the most efficient and reliable approaches for the construction of enantiopure carbon phosphorus bonds. An isolated Pd(II) complex (5) catalyzes the carbon phosphorus coupling reaction between tolylphenylphosphine (la) and 3-iodophenylurea (2b), which proceeds with an unprecedented enantiomeric excess (ee) of 97%. The generality of the strategy has been demonstrated by preparing a small library of a new class of P-stereogenic phosphines with an in-built hydrogen bonding motif for the first time. The P-stereogenic phosphines self-assemble on a metal template via deliberately installed hydrogen-bonding motifs and mimic the bidentate ligand coordination. Interestingly, when it was employed in asymmetric hydrogenation, the supramolecular phosphine {1-(3-(phenyl(o-toly)phosphanyl)pheny)ureal} (6b) produced the corresponding hydrogenated product with the highest enantiomeric excess of 99% along with excellent conversion, demonstrating the potential of these enantioenriched P-chirogenic supramolecular phosphines in asymmetric catalysis.

Hybrid perovskite films by a new variant of pulsed excimer laser deposition: a room-temperature dry process - Bansode, Umesh P.; Naphade, Rounak; Game, Onkar S.; Agarkar, Shruti A.; Ogale, Satishchandra (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015)
A new variant of the classic pulsed laser deposition (PLD) process is introduced as a room-temperature dry process for the growth and stoichiometry control of hybrid perovskite films through the use of nonstoichiometric single target ablation and off-axis growth. Mixed halide hybrid perovskite films nominally represented by CH(3)NH(3)PbI(3-x)A(x) (A = Cl or F) are also grown and are shown to reveal interesting trends in the optical properties and photoresponse. Growth of good quality lead-free CH3NH3SnI3 films is also demonstrated, and the corresponding optical properties are presented. Finally, perovskite solar cells fabricated at room temperature (which makes the process adaptable to flexible substrates) are shown to yield a conversion efficiency of about 7.7%.

Hydrogen bond and ligand dissociation dynamics in fluoride sensing of Re(I)-polypyridyl complex - Verma, Sandeep; Aute, Sunil; Das, Amitava; Ghosh, Hirendra N. (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2015)
Hydrogen bonding interaction plays an essential role in the early phases of molecular recognition and colorimetric sensing of various anions in aprotic media. In this work, the host-guest interaction between fac-[Re(CO)(3)Cl(L)] with L = 4-([2,2'-bipyridin]-4-yl)phenol and fluoride ions is investigated for the hydrogen bond dynamics and the changing local coordination environment. The stoichiometric studies using H-1 NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopies have shown that proton transfer in the H-bonded phenol-fluoride complex activates the dissociation of the CO ligand in the Re(I) center. The phenol-to-phenolate conversion during formation of HF2- ion induces nucleophilic lability of the CO ligand which is probed by intraligand charge transfer (ILCT) and ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) transitions in transient absorption spectroscopy. After photoexcitation, phenol-phenoxide conversion rapidly equilibrates in 280 fs time scale and the ensuing excited state [ReII(bpy(center dot-)-phenolate(-))(CO)(3)Cl]* undergoes CO dissociation in the ultrafast time scale of similar to 3 ps. A concerted mechanism of hydrogen cleavage and coordination change is established in anion sensing studies of the rhenium complex.

Identification of Th1/Th2 regulatory switch to promote healing response during Leishmaniasis: a computational approach - Ganguli, Piyali; Choudhury, Saikat; Choudhury, Shomeek; Sarkar, Ram Rup (EURASIP Journal on Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, 2015)
Leishmania devices its survival strategy by suppressing the host’s immune functions. The antigen molecules produced by Leishmania interferes with the host’s cell signaling cascades and consequently changes the protein expression pattern of the antigen-presenting cell (APC). This creates an environment suitable for the switching of the T-cell responses from a healing Th1 response to a non-healing Th2 response that is favorable for the continued survival of the parasite inside the host APC. Using a reconstructed signaling network of the intracellular and intercellular reactions between a Leishmania infected APC and T-cell, we propose a computational model to predict the inhibitory effect of the Leishmania infected APC on the T-cell and to identify the regulators of this Th1-/Th2-switching behavior as observed during Leishmania infection. In this work, we hypothesize that a complete removal of the parasite could only be achieved with a simultaneous up-regulation of the healing Th1 response and stimulation of nitric oxide (NO) production from the APCs, and downregulation of the non-healing Th2 response and thereby propose several unique combinations of protein molecules that could elicit this anti-Leishmania immune response. Our results indicate that TLR3 may play a positive role in eliciting NO synthesis, while TLR2 may be responsible for inhibiting an anti-Leishmania immune response. Also, TLR3 overexpression (in the APC), when combined with SHP2 inhibition (in the T cell), produces an anti-Leishmania response that is better than the conventional IFN-gamma or IL12 treatment. A similar anti-Leishmania response is also obtained in another combination where TLR3 (in APC) is overexpressed, and SHC and MKP (of T cell) are inhibited and activated, respectively. Through our study, we also observe that Leishmania infection may induce an upregulation of IFN-beta production from the APC that may lead to an upregulation of the RAP1 and SOCS3 proteins inside the T cell, the potential inhibitors of MAPK and JAK-STAT signaling pathways, respectively, via the TYK2-mediated pathway. This study not only enhances our knowledge in understanding the Th1/Th2 regulatory switch to promote healing response during leishmaniasis but also helps to identify novel combinations of proteins as potential immunomodulators. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13637-015-0032-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Influence of cultivar, ripeness, blanching, drying, irradiation, and pectin recovery on alk(en)ylresorcinols in mango peels - Geerkens, Christian Hubert; Miller-Rostek, Petra; Matejka, Anna Elisabeth; Nene, Sanjay; Kammerer, Dietmar Rolf; Carle, Reinhold; Schweiggert, Ralf Martin (European Food Research and Technology, 2015)
The influence of different technological treatments on alk(en)ylresorcinol (AR) contents and pattern in mango peels was evaluated using peels from six different mango cultivars. AR concentrations were shown to highly depend on the cultivar. While high AR concentrations were observed in the analyzed monoembryonic cultivars, AR contents in the polyembryonic cultivar Nam Dokmai were significantly lower. Furthermore, for monoembryonic cultivars, AR levels in the peels of ripe fruits were found to be higher than in unripe ones, while AR levels in cv. Nam Dokmai were independent of the ripeness degree. Convective oven drying resulted in a significant reduction in AR contents when compared to lyophilization. Blanching prior to drying diminished AR yields, thus being unsuitable for satisfactory AR recovery. Gamma irradiation did not significantly affect the AR contents. Since depectinization of mango peels significantly concentrated AR amounts in the depectinized pomace, the consecutive extraction of pectin and ARs allows the dual valorization of mango peels. Considering the treatments investigated, the retention of ARs carrying saturated and unsaturated side chains did not differ under acidic conditions, heating, and irradiation, respectively. Consequently, the 1,3-dihydroxybenzene structure was concluded to be the most labile moiety of the AR molecule.
Keywords: Alkylresorcinol; By-products; Monoembryonic; Polyembryonic; Pomace; Ultrasound

Insect trehalase: physiological significance and potential applications - Shukla, Ekta; Thorat, Leena J.; Nath, Bimalendu B.; Gaikwad, Sushama M. (Glycobiology, 2015)
Trehalose, a non-reducing disaccharide, is widespread throughout the biological world. It is the major blood sugar in insects playing a crucial role as an instant source of energy and in dealing with abiotic stresses. The hydrolysis of trehalose is under the enzymatic control of trehalase. The enzyme trehalase is gaining interest in insect physiology as it regulates energy metabolism and glucose generation via trehalose catabolism. The two forms of insect trehalase namely, Tre-1 and Tre-2, are important in energy supply, growth, metamorphosis, stress recovery, chitin synthesis and insect flight. Insect trehalase has not been reviewed in depth and the information available is quite scattered. The present mini review discusses our recent understanding of the regulation, mechanism and biochemical characterization of insect trehalase with respect to its physiological role in vital life functions. We also highlight the molecular and biochemical properties of insect trehalase that makes it amenable to competitive inhibition by most glycosidase inhibitors. Due to its crucial role in carbon metabolism in insects, application of inhibitors against trehalose can form a promising area towards formulating strategies for insect pest control.
Keywords: carbohydrate metabolism; glycosidase inhibitor; glycoside hydrolase; trehalase; trehalose

Insertion copolymerization of difunctional polar vinyl monomers with ethylene - Gaikwad, Shahaji R.; Deshmukh, Satej S.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Rajamohanan, P. R.; Chikkali, Samir H. (ACS Macro Letters, 2015)
A single-step synthesis, structural characterization and application of a neutral, acetonitrile ligated, palladium-phosphinesulfonate complex [{P<\^>O}PdMe(L)] (P<\^>O = K-2-P,O Ar2PC6H4SO2O with Ar = 2-MeOC6H4; L = CH3CN) (3) in coordination/insertion copolymerization of ethylene with difunctional olefin is investigated. In a significant development, complex 3 was found to catalyze insertion copolymerization of industrially relevant 1,1-disubstituted difunctional vinyl monomers for the first time. Thus, insertion copolymerization of ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate (ECA or super glue) and trifluoromethyl acrylic acid (TFMAA) with ethylene produced the corresponding copolymers with 6.5% ECA and 3% TFMAA incorporation. Increasing the concentration of difunctional olefins led to higher incorporation but at the expense of lower activities. These observations indicate that complex 3 tolerates difunctional vinyl monomers and provides direct access to difunctional polyolefins that have not been attempted before.

Intramolecular cyclization of carbonate and thiocarbonate derivatives of myo-inositol in the solid state: implications for acyl group transfer reactions in molecular crystals - Tamboli, Majid I.; Shashidhar, Mysore S.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Krishnaswamy, Shobhana (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2015)
Racemic 4-O-phenoxycarbonyl and 4-O-phenoxythiocarbonyl derivatives of myo-inositol orthoformate undergo thermal intramolecular cyclization in the solid state to yield the corresponding 4,6-bridged carbonates and thiocarbonates, respectively. The thermal cyclization also occurs in the solution and molten states, but less efficiently, suggesting that these cyclization reactions are aided by molecular pre-organization, although not strictly topochemically controlled. Crystal structures of two carbonates and a thiocarbonate clearly revealed that the relative orientation of the electrophile and the nucleophile in the crystal lattice facilitates the intramolecular cyclization reaction and forbids the intermolecular reaction. The correlation observed between the chemical reactivity and the non-covalent interactions in the crystal of the reactants provides a way to estimate the chemical stability of analogous molecules in the solid state.
Keywords: crystal engineering; cyclitols; inositols; nucleophilic substitution; solid-phase synthesis

Investigation of phosphoproteome in RAGE signaling - Batkulwar, Kedar B.; Bansode, Sneha B.; Patil, Gouri V.; Godbole, Rashmi K.; Kazi, Rubina S.; Chinnathambi, Subashchandrabose; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (Proteomics, 2015)
The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is one of the most important proteins implicated in diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. It is a pattern recognition receptor by virtue of its ability to interact with multiple ligands, RAGE activates several signal transduction pathways through involvement of various kinases that phosphorylate their respective substrates. Only few substrates have been known to be phosphorylated in response to activation by RAGE (e.g., nuclear factor kappa B); however, it is possible that these kinases can phosphorylate multiple substrates depending upon their expression and localization, leading to altered cellular responses in different cell types and conditions. One such example is, glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta which is known to phosphorylate glycogen synthase, acts downstream to RAGE, and hyperphosphorylates microtubule-associated protein tau causing neuronal damage. Thus, it is important to understand the role of various RAGE-activated kinases and their substrates. Therefore, we have reviewed here the details of RAGE-activated kinases in response to different ligands and their respective phosphoproteome. Furthermore, we discuss the analysis of the data mined for known substrates of these kinases from the PhosphoSitePlus (http://www.phosphosite.org) database, and the role of some of the important substrates involved in cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. In summary, this review provides information on RAGE-activated kinases and their phosphoproteome, which will be helpful in understanding the possible role of RAGE and its ligands in progression of diseases.
Keywords: Cell biology; Disease; Glycation; Kinase; Phosphoproteome; RAGE

Investigation of the effect of amino acid chirality in the internucleoside linker on DNA:DNA and DNA : RNA duplex stability - Seema Bagmare; Gunjal, Anita D.; Kumar, Vaijayanti A. (Tetrahedron, 2015)
Enzymatically and chemically stable amide-linked di/oligonucleosides are highly desired synthetic targets in which the phosphodiester linkages in native DNA are replaced by amide linkers of appropriate length and stereochemistry. The five-atom amide-linked dimers, synthesized from 3'-amino-3'-deoxy thymidine, (alpha-(L/D) proline/prochiral glycine and thymidine/uridine-4'carboxylic acid derivatives, were incorporated into the DNA backbone to achieve partial replacement of selected phosphodiester linkages. The results stressed the importance of the chirality of linker amino acid. D-Proline was found to be the most compatible as an internucleoside linker in the DNA backbone to stabilize the complexes with DNA or RNA as compared to L-proline and glycine. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: alpha-Amino acid; Chiral amide linkage; DNA; Five-atom amide linkage; L/D-Proline

Lannea coromandelica attenuates glucagon and oxyntomodulin mediated cAMP formation in HEK cells stably-expressing human glucagon receptor - Walunj, Sameer; Gupta, Rajesh; Joshi, Swati P.; Sabharwal, Sushma G.; Joshi, Kalpana (Journal of Herbal Medicine, 2015)
Antagonism of glucagon is a potential therapeutic approach for Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The bark extract of Lannea coromandelica has been reported to have hypoglycemic or anti-diabetic effects on animal models and human subjects. The aim of this study was to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of L. coromandelica extract as a glucagon receptor antagonist. The aqueous extract of L. coromandelica bark attenuated glucagon-mediated cAMP formation in a concentration dependent manner with an IC50 value of 4.24 +/- 1.31 mu g/ml. It shifted a concentration response curve of glucagon towards the right with a 4, 21 and 40-fold change in IC50 at 6.25, 12.5 and 25 mu g/ml of extract, respectively. Additionally, it attenuated an oxyntomodulin-mediated cAMP response. The extract was found specifically to inhibit glucagon mediated cAMP formation since it was ineffective in reducing cAMP levels nonspecifically-elevated by forskolin. The data support that the aqueous extract of L. coromandelica antagonizes the glucagon receptor and has the potential to reduce glucagon mediated liver glucose output. (C) 2015 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
Keywords: cAMP; Diabetes; Glucagon; Lannea coromandelica; Mechanism; Oxyntomodulin

Lifetime of inner-shell hole states of Ar (2p) and Kr (3d) using equation-of-motion coupled cluster method - Ghosh, Aryya; Pal, Sourav; Vaval, Nayana (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2015)

Long chain branched impact copolymer of polypropylene: microstructure and rheology - Chikhalikar, Kalyani; Deshpande, Anushree; Pol, Harshawardhan; Dhoble, Deepa Arun; Jha, Saroj; Jadhav, Kishor; Mahajan, Sunil; Ahmad, Zubair; Kulkarni, Surendra; Gupta, Surendra; Lele, Ashish K. (Polymer Engineering and Science, 2015)
A biphasic impact copolymer of polypropylene (ICP) was modified with peroxide by reactive extrusion process resulting in reduced melt flow index, improved melt strength, and higher die swell. The polymers were for the first time subjected to systematic rheological and microstructural characterization in an effort to understand their structure-property relations. In shear rheological tests, the modified ICP displayed higher flow activation energy, reduced values of loss tangent and nearly equal frequency dependence of storage and loss modulli. The modified ICP also showed strain hardening behaviour in uniaxial extensional rheology and higher crystallization temperature in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). All these are definitive indications of the presence of long chain branches (LCB). Fitting the rheological data of modified ICPs with the eXtended Pom Pom (XPP) model indicated the presence of LCB on the higher molecular weight fraction in the polymer, a result which was corroborated with multi-detector high temperature gel permeation chromatography (HT-GPC). More importantly, the matrix and rubber phases of the ICP were separately characterized for presence of long chain branching by rheology, DSC and HT-GPC. The results indicate that while LCB existed in the matrix phase, microgels were present in both phases indicating that the reaction with peroxide occurred in both phases. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:1463-1474, 2015. (c) 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers

Low-temperature sintering and microwave dielectric properties of Zn2SiO4 ceramic added with crystalline zinc borate - Chaware, Varsha; Deshmukh, Ravindra; Sarode, Chetan; Gokhale, Suresh; Phatak, Girish (Journal of Electronic Materials, 2015)
The physical and dielectric properties of composites of known microwave materials, Zn2SiO4 and Zn3B2O6, prepared by solid-state reaction, were investigated with the purpose of developing a low-loss dielectric material for low-temperature co-fired ceramic applications. An off-stoichiometric phase of Zn2SiO4 with extra SiO2 was used to avoid the occurrence of unreacted ZnO. During sintering, zinc borate was found to partially react with residual SiO2 to form Zn2SiO4. The residual zinc borate was converted to a boron-rich glassy phase which helped to reduce the sintering temperature of the composite. Good relative sintering density (> 90%) at temperatures below the melting temperature of zinc borate is indicative of a sintering mechanism of diffusion-based mass transfer. Composites containing 15 wt.% zinc borate, 2.5 wt.% lithium carbonate and 20 wt.% zinc borate in zinc silicate had dielectric constants of 6.8 and 6.1, quality factors (Qxf) of 48,800 and 94,300 GHz when sintered at 900A degrees C and 950A degrees C, respectively. These quality factor results are close to the best values reported for zinc silicate at these sintering temperatures.
Keywords: dielectric constant; LTCC; quality factor; sintering density; zinc borate; zinc silicate

Manganese increases high mannose glycoform on monoclonal antibody expressed in cho when glucose is absent or limiting: implications for use of alternate sugars - Surve, Tanaya; Gadgil, Mugdha (Biotechnology Progress, 2015)
Alternate sugars such as galactose and fructose are metabolized at a slower rate than glucose and result in lower accumulation of lactate. While low lactate accumulation is desirable, we report that complete substitution of glucose with these sugars results in an increase in M5 high mannose glycans. Surprisingly, this increase is much higher when the culture is supplemented with manganese: for example, when cells are cultured with galactose, M5 high mannose glycan content increased from 5% at 1 nM Mn2+ in the basal medium to 32% with 16 mu M Mn2+ supplementation. When galactose is supplemented with glucose maintained at low concentrations, a small reduction in high mannose glycans is seen. In control cultures with glucose, the high mannose content was however <2% in this range of Mn2+ concentration. By varying Mn2+ and glucose supplementation levels, with or without galactose, we systematically demonstrate that Mn2+ concentration and glucose availability, together, significantly affect the high mannose glycan content. To our knowledge, this is the first report that shows that the effect of Mn2+ on high mannose glycan content depends on glucose availability. At each Mn2+ supplementation level evaluated, galactosylation percentages were highest for cultures where galactose was supplemented with glucose at non-limiting concentration. (c) 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 31:460-467, 2015
Keywords: CHO; fructose; galactose; glucose; glycosylation; high-mannose glycan; manganese

Mathematical modeling of combinatorial regulation suggests that apparent positive regulation of targets by miRNA could be an artifact resulting from competition for mRNA - Nyayanit, Dimpal; Gadgil, Chetan J. (RNA-A Publication of the RNA Society, 2015)
MicroRNAs bind to and regulate the abundance and activity of target messenger RNA through sequestration, enhanced degradation, and suppression of translation. Although miRNA have a predominantly negative effect on the target protein concentration, several reports have demonstrated a positive effect of miRNA, i.e., increase in target protein concentration on miRNA overexpression and decrease in target concentration on miRNA repression. miRNA-target pair-specific effects such as protection of mRNA degradation owing to miRNA binding can explain some of these effects. However, considering such pairs in isolation might be an oversimplification of the RNA biology, as it is known that one miRNA interacts with several targets, and conversely target mRNA are subject to regulation by several miRNAs. We formulate a mathematical model of this combinatorial regulation of targets by multiple miRNA. Through mathematical analysis and numerical simulations of this model, we show that miRNA that individually have a negative effect on their targets may exhibit an apparently positive net effect when the concentration of one miRNA is experimentally perturbed by repression/overexpression in such a multi-miRNA multitarget situation. We show that this apparent unexpected effect is due to competition and will not be observed when miRNA interact noncompetitively with the target mRNA. This result suggests that some of the observed unusual positive effects of miRNA may be due to the combinatorial complexity of the system rather than due to any inherently unusual positive effect of the miRNA on its target.
Keywords: combinatorial binding; mathematical model; miRNA; post-transcriptional regulation

M-Au/TiO2 (M = Ag, Pd, and Pt) nanophotocatalyst for overall solar water splitting: role of interfaces - Melvin, Ambrose A.; Illath, Kavya; Das, Tanmay; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy; Bhattacharyya, Somnath; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Nanoscale, 2015)
M-Au/TiO2 (M = Ag, Pd, Pt) composites were prepared through a facile one-pot photodeposition synthesis and evaluated for solar water splitting (SWS) with and without a sacrificial agent. The M-Au combination exhibits a dominant role in augmenting the H2 generation activity by forming a bi-metallic system. Degussa P25 was used as a TiO2 substrate to photodeposit Au followed by Au + M (M = Ag/Pd/Pt). The SWS activity of the M-Au/TiO2 was determined through photocatalytic H-2 production in the presence of methanol as a sacrificial agent under one sun conditions with an AM1.5 filter. The highest H-2 yield was observed for Pt-0.5-Au-1/TiO2 and was around 1.3 +/- 0.07 mmol h(-1) g(-1), with an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 6.4%. Pt-0.5-Au-1/TiO2 also demonstrated the same activity for 25 cycles of five hours each for 125 h. Critically, the same Pt-0.5-Au-1/TiO2 catalyst was active in overall SWS (OSWS) without any sacrificial agent, with an AQY = 0.8%. The amount of Au and/or Pt was varied to obtain the optimum composition and it was found that the Pt0.5-Au1/TiO2 composition exhibits the best activity. Detailed characterization by physico-chemical, spectral and microscopy measurements was carried out to obtain an in-depth understanding of the origin of the photocatalytic activity of Pt-0.5-Au-1/TiO2. These in-depth studies show that gold interacts predominantly with oxygen vacancies present on titania surfaces, and Pt preferentially interacts with gold for an effective electron-hole pair separation at Pt-Au interfaces and electron storage in metal particles. The Pt in Pt-0.5-Au-1/TiO2 is electronically and catalytically different from the Pt in Pt/TiO2 and it is predicted that the former suppresses the oxygen reduction reaction.

Mechanism of alcohol oxidation by Fe-V(O) at room temperature - Ghosh, Munmun; Nikhil, Y. L. K.; Dhar, Basab B.; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Inorganic Chemistry, 2015)
{Selective oxidation of alcohol to its corresponding carbonyl compound is an important chemical process in biological as well as industrial reactions, The heme containing enzyme CytP450 has been known to selectively oxidize akohols to their corresponding carbonyl compounds. The mechanism of this reaction, which involves high-valent Fe-IV(O)-porphyrin(center dot+) intermediate with alcohol, has been well-studied extensively both with the native enzyme and with model complexes. In this paper, we report for the first time the mechanistic insight of, alcohol oxidation with Fe-V(O) complex of biuret TAML (bTAML), Which is isoelectronic with Fe-IV(O)-porphyrin(center dot+) intermediate form in CytP450. The oxidations displayed saturation kinetics, which allowed us to determine both the binding constants and first-order rate constants for the reaction. The K and k values observed for thel oxidation of benzyl alcohol by Fe-V(O) at room temperature (K = 300 M-1

Mechanism of oxygen atom transfer from Fe-V(O) to olefins at room temperature - Singh, Kundan K.; Tiwari, Mrityunjay K.; Dhar, Basab B.; Vanka, Kumar; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Inorganic Chemistry, 2015)
In biological oxidations, the intermediate Fe-V(0)(OH) has been proposed to be the active species for catalyzing the epoxidation of alkenes by nonheme iron complexes. However, no study has been reported yet that elucidates the mechanism of direct O-atom transfer during the reaction of Fe-V(0) with alkenes to form the corresponding epoxide. For the first time, we study the mechanism of O-atom transfer to alkenes using the Fe-V(0) complex of biuret-modified Fe-TAML at room temperature. The second-order rate constant (k(2)) for the reaction of different alkenes with Fe-V(0) was determined under single-turnover conditions. An 8000-fold rate difference was found between electron-rich (4-methoxystyrene; k(2) = 216 M-1 s(-1)) and electron-deficient (methyl transcinnamate; k(2) = 0.03 M-1 s(-1)) substrates. This rate difference indicates the electrophilic character of Fe-V(0). The use of cis-stilbene as a mechanistic probe leads to the formation of both cis- and trans-stilbene epoxides (73:27). This suggests the formation of a radical intermediate, which would allow C-C bond rotation to yield both stereoisomers of stilbene-epoxide. Additionally, a Hammett rho value of -0.56 was obtained for the para-substituted styrene derivatives. Detailed DFT calculations show that the reaction proceeds via a two-step process through a doublet spin surface. Finally, using biuret-modified Fe-TAML as the catalyst and NaOCl as the oxidant under catalytic conditions epoxide was formed with modest yields and turnover numbers.

Metabolic profiling of chickpea-Fusarium interaction identifies differential modulation of disease resistance pathways - Kumar, Yashwant; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Panigrahi, Priyabrata; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Giri, Ashok P.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Phytochemistry, 2015)
Chickpea is the third most widely grown legume in the world and mainly used as a vegetarian source of human dietary protein. Fusarium wilt, caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceri (Foc), is one of the major threats to global chickpea production. Host resistance is the best way to protect crops from diseases; however, in spite of using various approaches, the mechanism of Foc resistance in chickpea remains largely obscure. In the present study, non-targeted metabolic profiling at several time points of resistant and susceptible chickpea cultivars using high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was applied to better understand the mechanistic basis of wilt resistance or susceptibility. Multivariate analysis of the data (OPLS-DA) revealed discriminating metabolites in chickpea root tissue after Foc inoculation such as flavonoids, isoflavonoids, alkaloids, amino acids and sugars. Foc inoculated resistant plants had more flavonoids and isoflavonoids along with their malonyl conjugates. Many antifungal metabolites that were induced after Foc infection viz, aurantion-obstine beta-glucosides and querecitin were elevated in resistant cultivar. Overall, diverse genetic and biochemical mechanisms were operational in the resistant cultivar for Foc defense as compared to the susceptible plant. The resistant chickpea plants employed the above-mentioned metabolic pathways as potential defense strategy against Foc. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chickpea; Fusarium wilt; LC-MS; Metabolomics; OPLS-DA; Phytoalexin

Modular synthesis of dihydroxyacetone monoalkyl ethers and isosteric 1-hydroxy-2-alkanones - Gueclue, Deniz; Rale, Madhura; Fessner, Wolf-Dieter (European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
Straightforward methods for the efficient, systematic preparation of libraries of the title compound classes have been evaluated. A general and efficient modular route to dihydroxyacetone monoethers was developed based on trityl glycidol, which, through epoxide opening, oxidation, and deprotection, provided variously alkylated ethers by three routine operations in good overall yields (eight examples, 24-59%). The preparation of structurally related 1-hydroxyalkanones depends on the availability of the most economic starting materials and on their physicochemical properties. Thus, the most practical one-step approaches consisted of the sec-selective oxidation of short-chain 1,2-diols (<= C-6) using NaOCl, and the direct ketohydroxylation of 1-alkenes (>= C-6) using buffered stoichiometric KMnO4 or catalytic RuO4 with reoxidation by oxone, for which mostly good overall yields were achieved on a multigram scale (nine examples, 15-78%).
Keywords: Alkylation; Hydroxylation; Ketones; Oxidation; Oxygenation; Regioselectivity; synthetic methods

Molecular docking and QSAR analyses for understanding the antimalarial activity of some 7-substituted-4-aminoquinoline derivatives - Shibi, I. G.; Aswathy, L.; Jisha, Radhakrishnan S.; Masand, Vijay H.; Divyachandran, A.; Gajbhiye, J. M. (European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2015)
The quinoline moiety is one of the widely studied scaffolds for generating derivatives with various pharmacophoric groups due to its potential antimalarial activities. In the present study, a series of 7-substituted-4-aminoquinoline derivatives were selected to understand their antimalarial properties computationally by molecular modeling techniques including 2D QSAR, comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA), comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) and molecular docking. The 2D-QSAR model built with four descriptors selected by genetic algorithm technique and CoMFA model showed satisfactory statistical results (Q(2) = 0.540, R-ncv(2) = 0.881, F value = 157.09). A reliable CoMSIA model out of the fourteen different combinations has a Q(2) value of 0.638. The molecular docking studies of the compounds for 1CET as the protein target revealed that ten compounds showed maximum interactions with the binding site of the protein. The present study highlights the unique binding signatures of the ligands within the active site groove of the target and it explains the subtle differences in their EC50 values and their mechanism of inhibition. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular Fe-complex as a catalyst probe for in-gel visual detection of proteins via signal amplification - Kumari, Sushma; Panda, Chakadola; Mazumdar, Shyamalava; Sen Gupta, Sayam (Chemical Communications, 2015)
We report the use of a molecular peroxidase mimic biuret-Fe-TAML for chemoselective labeling of proteins and the subsequent visual detection (<0.1 pmoles) of the conjugate in a polyacrylamide gel by catalytic signal amplification. Use of this probe in activity based protein profiling (ABPP) of serine proteases is also demonstrated.

Molecular mechanism underlying recruitment and insertion of lipid-anchored LC3 protein into membranes - Thukral, Lipi; Sengupta, Durba; Ramkumar, Amrita; Murthy, Divya; Agrawal, Nikhil; Gokhale, Rajesh S. (Biophysical Journal, 2015)
Lipid modification of cytoplasmic proteins initiates membrane engagement that triggers diverse cellular processes. Despite the abundance of lipidated proteins in the human proteome, the key determinants underlying membrane recognition and insertion are poorly understood. Here, we define the course of spontaneous membrane insertion of LC3 protein modified with phosphatidylethanolamine using multiple coarse-grain simulations. The partitioning of the lipid anchor chains proceeds through a concerted process, with its two acyl chains inserting one after the other. Concurrently, a conformational rearrangement involving the alpha-helix III of LC3, especially in the three basic residues Lys(65), Arg(68), and Arg(69), ensures stable insertion of the phosphatidylethanolamine anchor into membranes. Mutational studies validate the crucial role of these residues, and further live-cell imaging analysis shows a substantial reduction in the formation of autophagic vesicles for the mutant proteins. Our study captures the process of water-favored LC3 protein recruitment to the membrane and thus opens, to our knowledge, new avenues to explore the cellular dynamics underlying vesicular trafficking.

Mono- and binuclear palladacycles via regioselective C-H bond activation: syntheses, mechanistic insights and catalytic activity in direct arylation of azoles - Pandey, Dilip K.; Khake, Shrikant M.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Punji, Benudhar (RSC Advances, 2015)
{Regioselective C-H bond palladation of the hybrid pincer-type ligands, 3-R2PO-C6H4-1-(CH2NPr2)-Pr-i [(POCNiPr2)-P-R2-H; R = Ph (1a)

Multifaceted core-shell nanoparticles: superparamagnetism and biocompatibility - Sardar, Debasmita; Neogi, S. K.; Bandyopadhyay, Sanjoy; Satpati, Biswarup; Ahir, Manisha; Adhikary, Arghya; Jain, Ruchi; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Bala, Tanushree (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)
NicoreAgshell nanoparticles were synthesized by redox transmetallation reaction. Reduction potential match was encouraging to attempt the synthesis of the NicoreAushell system too. However, it could be achieved only after an effective surface modification on the Ni-core. Thorough characterization (UV-Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, XRD, XPS, FTIR, TEM, and EDX) proved the necessity of surface modification and the success of synthesis of both types of core-shell structures. The chemical composition and topography were determined using STEM-HAADF analysis and EFTEM imaging. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirmed the surface modification of Ni nanoparticles and the interactions involved between the ligands and metals (in the core and/or the shell) at various steps of the synthetic process. Even after the formation of the noble metal shell, the magnetic core was found to retain its superparamagnetic nature. In addition, the Au-shell protected the core from aerial oxidation and decreased toxicity as compared to pristine Ni nanoparticles as observed by MTT assay on normal cells (PBMCs).

N-(3-Aminoalkyl)proline derivatives with potent antigycation activity - Chilukuri, Harsha; Kolekar, Yogesh M.; Bhosle, Govind S.; Godbole, Rashmi K.; Kazi, Rubina S.; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Fernandes, Moneesha (RSC Advances, 2015)
The importance of amino acids in the therapy of conditions such as renal failure, neurological disorders and congenital defects has been documented. Some amino acids such as lysine and glycine have also been reported to have antiglycating activity. Herein we report the synthesis of a new series of N-(3-aminoalkyl)proline derivatives which are non-natural in nature. The compounds were unambiguously characterized by NMR, mass and IR spectroscopy. Their in vitro antiglycation activity was studied by circular dichroism and fluorescence spectrometry. The mechanism of action was also studied and found to take place by inhibition of Amadori product formation. The inhibition of AGE formation was further confirmed by western blot and LC-MS/MS analyses and the IC50 values of the potent compounds were determined. Compounds containing hydroxyl substituents at C4 were found to have superior antiglycation properties than those containing azide substituents at the same position. The compounds were additionally found to possess good anti-oxidant properties, which could lead to further reduction in AGE formation. Moreover, the title compounds were found to have low cytotoxicity in mammalian cells, another important attribute. Thus, the title compounds represent a novel promising class of antiglycating agents.

Nanocrystalline Fe-Fe2O3 particle-deposited N-doped graphene as an activity-modulated Pt-free electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction - Dhavale, Vishal M.; Singh, Santosh K.; Nadeema, Ayasha; Gaikwad, Sachin S.; Kurungot, Sreekumar (Nanoscale, 2015)
The size-controlled growth of nanocrystalline Fe-Fe2O3 particles (2-3 nm) and their concomitant dispersion on N-doped graphene (Fe-Fe2O3/NGr) could be attained when the mutually assisted redox reaction between NGr and Fe3+ ions could be controlled within the aqueous droplets of a water-in-oil emulsion. The synergistic interaction existing between Fe-Fe2O3 and NGr helped the system to narrow down the overpotential for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) by bringing a significant positive shift to the reduction onset potential, which is just 15 mV higher than its Pt-counterpart. In addition, the half-wave potential (E-1/2) of Fe-Fe2O3/NGr is found to be improved by a considerable amount of 135 mV in comparison to the system formed by dispersing Fe-Fe2O3 nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (Fe-Fe2O3/RGO), which indicates the presence of a higher number of active sites in Fe-Fe2O3/NGr. Despite this, the ORR kinetics of Fe-Fe2O3/NGr are found to be shifted significantly to the preferred 4-electron-transfer pathway compared to NGr and Fe-Fe2O3/RGO. Consequently, the H2O2% was found to be reduced by 78.3% for Fe-Fe2O3/NGr (13.0%) in comparison to Fe-Fe2O3/RGO (51.2%) and NGr (41.0%) at -0.30 V (vs. Hg/HgO). This difference in the yield of H2O2 formed between the systems along with the improvements observed in terms of the oxygen reduction onset and E-1/2 in the case of Fe-Fe2O3/NGr reveals the activity modulation achieved for the latter is due to the coexistence of factors such as the presence of the mixed valancies of iron nanoparticles, small size and homogeneous distribution of Fe-Fe2O3 nanoparticles and the electronic modifications induced by the doped nitrogen in NGr. A controlled interplay of these factors looks like worked favorably in the case of Fe-Fe2O3/NGr. As a realistic system level validation, Fe-Fe2O3/NGr was employed as the cathode electrode of a single cell in a solid alkaline electrolyte membrane fuel cell (AEMFC). The system could display an open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.73 V and maximum power and current densities of 54.40 mW cm(-2) and 200 mA cm(-2), respectively, which are comparable to the performance characteristics of a similar system derived by using 40 wt% Pt/C as the cathode electrode.

Nanostructured 2D MoS2 honeycomb and hierarchical 3D CdMoS4 marigold nanoflowers for hydrogen production under solar light - Kadam, Sunil R.; Late, Dattatray J.; Panmand, Rajendra P.; Kulkarni, Milind V.; Nikam, Latesh K.; Gosavi, Suresh W.; Park, Chan J.; Kale, Bharat B. (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015)
Unique two dimensional (2D) honeycomb layered MoS2 nanostructures and hierarchical 3D marigold nanoflowers of CdMoS4 were designed using a template free and facile solvothermal method. The MoS2 structure is depicted with a sheet like morphology with lateral dimensions of 5-10 mu m and a thickness of similar to 200 nm and a honeycomb nanostructure architecture produced via the self-assembling of vertically grown thin hexagonal nanosheets with a thickness of 2-3 nm. The 3D CdMoS4 marigold nanoflower architecture comprised thin nanopetals with lateral dimensions of 1-2 mu m and a thickness of a few nm. The CdMoS4 and MoS2 structures displayed hydrogen ( H-2) production rates of 25 445 and 12 555 mu mol h(-1) g(-1), respectively. The apparent quantum yields of hydrogen production were observed to be 35.34% and 17.18% for CdMoS4 and MoS2, respectively. The 3D nanostructured marigold flowers of CdMoS4 and honeycomb like 2D nanostructure of MoS2 were responsible for higher photocatalytic activity due to inhibition of the charge carrier recombination. The prima facie observation of H-2 production showed that the ternary semiconductor confers enhanced photocatalytic activity for H-2 generation due to its unique structure. Such structures can be designed and implemented in other transition metal dichalcogenide based ternary materials for enhanced photocatalytic and other applications.

New imaging reagents for lipid dense regions in live cells and the nucleus in fixed MCF-7 cells - Ramu, Vadde; Ali, Firoj; Taye, Nandaraj; Garai, Bikash; Alam, Aftab; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 2015)
Two new uracil (U) and 5-flurouracil (5-FU) labeled ruthenium(II)-polypyridyl based cellular imaging reagents are reported. Confocal laser scanning microscopic images with live and paraformaldehyde (PFA) fixed MCF-7 cells are examined using these two low-cytotoxic reagents. Experimental results show that these two complexes, appropriately functionalized with U (1) and 5-FU (2), have specific affinity for the lipid dense regions like the endoplasmic reticulum, cell membrane, and cytoplasmic vacuoles in live MCF-7 cells, and dye internalization in these regions happened following an endocytosis pathway. Interestingly, these two complexes are found to be localized in the nucleus of the PFA fixed cells. For fixed cells, presumably the lipid layer disruption helped in the explicit localization of the complexes 1 and 2 in the cell nucleus through specific interaction with cellular DNA. Poor and non-specific internalization of an analogous model complex 3, without having a U or 5-FU moiety, reveals the definite influence of U or 5-FU as well as the role of lipophilicity of the respective complex 1 and 2 in the cellular internalization process. Apart from these, a large Stokes shift (similar to 160 nm) and an appreciably long lived (MLCT)-M-3 excited state (similar to 320 ns) in aq. buffer medium (pH 7.4) are other key features for complexes 1 and 2. Unlike the common nuclear DNA staining reagents like DAPI, these low-cytotoxic reagents are found to be highly stable towards photo-bleaching upon irradiation with 455 nm at the MLCT band for these complexes.

N-Heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed diastereoselective synthesis of β-lactone-fused cyclopentanes using homoenolate annulation reaction - Mukherjee, Subrata; Mondal, Santigopal; Patra, Atanu; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Chemical Communications, 2015)
NHC-catalyzed annulation of enals with 2-enoylpyridines or 2-enoylpyridine N-oxides leading to the diastereoselective synthesis of β-lactone-fused cyclopentanes is reported. The reaction proceeds via the generation of homoenolate equivalent intermediates and tolerates a broad range of functional groups.

Novel 2,6-diformyl-4-methyl phenol based chemosensor for Zn-II ion by ratiometric displacement of Cd-II ion and its application for cell imaging on human melanoma cancer cells - Mitra, Debarshan; Venkatathari, N.; Sabharwal, S. C.; Godbole, S. V.; Tyagi, A. K.; Das, Sangbrita (Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 2015)
A new chelating ligand [4-methyl-2,6-bis-(pyridin-2-yl-hydrazonomethyl)-phenol] (1) was prepared by the condensation of 2-hydrazinylpyridine with 2,6-diformyl-p-cresol. Compound 1 exhibits weak fluorescence due to intramolecular photoinduced electron transfer (PET). The sensor (1) demonstrates Zn2+-specific emission enhancement due to ``PET off'' process through a 1 : 1 binding mode with the metal ion. The fluorescence quantum yield of the chemosensor 1 is only 0.020, and it increases more than 14-fold (0.280) in the presence of one equivalent of the zinc ion. Interestingly, the introduction of other metal ions causes the fluorescence intensity to remain either unchanged or weakened except for Cd2+. Ratiometric displacement of Cd2+ ion from the complex by Zn2+ ion supports the formation of more stable sensor-Zn2+ complex over the sensor-Cd2+ complex. The experimental findings have been correlated with theoretical results using B3LYP functional and 6-31G(d,p), LANL2DZ basis set for Cd2+ (2) and Zn2+ (3) complex, respectively, by Density Functional Theory (DFT) method. Moreover, the ability of probe 1 to sense Zn2+ within human melanoma cancer cells has been explored, and the Zn2+-probing process in living cells was reversible. [Mn-2(PHMP)(2)](ClO4)(2) (4) and [Ni-2(PHMP)(H2O)(5)](NO3)(3) (5) have been also synthesized and characterized crystallographically and spectroscopically to understand the ligating behavior of the ligand PHMP.
Keywords: Cd-II ion; Chemosensor; Density functional theory; human melanoma cancer cells; photoinduced electron transfer; Zn-II ion

Novel one-pot multi-component synthesis of 3,3 `-disubstituted oxindole and spirooxindole scaffolds via Sn-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H functionalization of azaarenes by sequential Knoevenagel-Michael-cyclization reaction - Chavan, Santosh S.; Pathan, Mohsinkhan Y.; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Mulla, Shafeek Abdul Rashid (RSC Advances, 2015)
Sn-catalyzed C(sp(3))-H bond functionalization of 2-methyl azaarenes/2-(azaaryl)methanes has been achieved for the first time in a one-pot multi-component reaction with isatin and active methylene compounds via tandem sequential Knoevenagel-Michael-intramolecular C-N cyclization. This strategy provides new cost-effective access to potent and biologically/medicinally important spirooxindoles/3,3'-disubstituted 2-oxindoles in good to excellent yields.

Nucleophilic fluorination using imidazolium based ionic liquid bearing tert-alcohol moiety - Shinde, Sandip S.; Patil, Sunil N.; Ghatge, Amruta; Kumar, Pradeep (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)

One-pot synthesis of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone surface functionalised SrF2:Eu3+ nanoparticles: trace level detection of water - Ghosh, Debasish; Luwang, Meitram Niraj (RSC Advances, 2015)
This work reports the one pot synthesis of 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) surface functionalised SrF2:Eu3+ nanoparticles. The nanoparticles were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), infra-red (IR), UV-absorption, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and photoluminescence studies. Sensitization of Eu3+ ion by TTA in SrF2 nanoparticle matrix gives an enhanced luminescence in dry aprotic solvents like tetrahydrofuran (THF), acetonitrile (AN), dichloromethane (DCM) etc. We studied the effect of trace quantity of water on luminescence of the particles in THF solvent. Even a trace level of water content in the solvent is able to quench the luminescence significantly and quenching enhances with addition of more and more water. This approach of luminescence quenching strategy of detecting a minute trace level of water molecules has a potential application in the estimation of water in various dry organic solvents like THF.

Optimisation of parameters affecting the performance of single compartment CEDI unit - Thorat, Prathamesh P.; Desale, G. R.; Gajjal, S. Y.; Patil, Sagar R. (1ST International Conference on Computing Communication Control and Automation ICCUBEA 2015, 2015)
The present work describes the production of the ultrapure water using Continuous Electro-deionization (CEDI) method. TheCEDI unit consist of ion exchange membranes, Mixed Bed-12 (MB-12) ion exchange resin and electrodes to remove ion impurities from feed water. The product water from the RO unit is supplied to the CEDI unit. The Quality of the ultra-pure water is determined by the amount of ions present in the water. Higher quality of Ultra-pure water is obtained when the maximum number of ions is transferred through the membranes. The Parameters affecting the performance of the CEDI unit are identified and optimized for maximum ions exchange. Inorder to reduce the number of experimentsTaguchi method was used for optimisation of operating parameters. An orthogonal L array (three factor and three level) was employed to evaluate the effect of feed concentration (35,40and 45 ppm), Flow rate (8, 9 and 10 LPH) and voltage (22, 23, 24 volts). Thus it was observed that increasing the applied voltage anddecreasing the waterflow rateincreases the number of ions transfers through the membrane. However, decreasing water flow rate has certain limits as it decreases the production capacity of the unit. Also it is observed that decreasing the ions in the feed water decreases the overall transfer of ions.
Keywords: Continuous Electro-deionization; Ion Exchange membranes; Optimisation; Taguchi method; Ultrapure Water

Oxidative and membrane stress-mediated antibacterial activity of WS2 and rGO-WS2 nanosheets - Navale, Govinda R.; Rout, Chandra Sekhar; Gohil, Kushal N.; Dharne, Mahesh S.; Late, Dattatray J.; Shinde, Sandip S. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Graphene-based materials have strong cytotoxic attributes against bacteria due to their unique physicochemical properties. We examined the antibacterial activities of nanosheets of the graphene analogue tungsten disulphide (WS2) and a composite of reduced graphene oxide-tungsten disulphide (rGO-WS2), comparing them with reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by a time and concentration dependent viability assay and growth curve studies against four bacterial strains: Gram negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium), and Gram positive Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis). The nanosheets of the rGO-WS2 composite caused a more significant retardation in bacterial growth and inhibitory effect on the tested bacterial strains than WS2, followed by rGO. The tested E. coli and B. subtilis strains were more susceptible than the other strains. A mechanistic study revealed that rGO and WS2 did not produce the superoxide anion (O-2(-)) or reactive oxygen species (ROS), but the nanocomposite of rGO-WS2 did produce both. However, all these materials did oxidize glutathione, which serves as a redox state mediator in bacteria. We conclude that the antimicrobial mechanism is due to the combined effect of initial cell deposition on the rGO-WS2 materials, the membrane stress due to direct contact with the nanosheets, and the produced superoxide anion-independent oxidation mechanisms. The beneficial aspects of the physicochemical properties of rGO-WS2, such as its size and conductivity, can be precisely customized to reduce its health and environmental risk factors.

p-Aminobenzoic acid (pABA) sensitization of LaF3:Tb3+ nanoparticles and its applications in the detection of explosive materials - Ghosh, Debasish; Luwang, Meitram Niraj (RSC Advances, 2015)
This work reports the utilization of water dispersible terbium (Tb3+) doped spherical LaF3 nanoparticles (similar to 5 nm) surface functionalised with p-aminobenzoic acid (pABA) for the detection of aromatic nitro explosives. The functionalised nanoparticles show remarkable sensitivity to a number of highly electron deficient aromatic nitro compounds like picric acid (PA), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP) etc. All of these nitro compounds can be detected easily at ppm level using this luminescence quenching technique whereas in the case of TNT it can detect concentrations as low as 50 ppb. This novel approach of utilising the Tb3+ doped NPs sensitised by pABA has potential application in the detection of explosive materials.

Pd-catalyzed benzylic C-H oxidation of cyclotriveratrylene - product diversity - Senthilkumar, B.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Ramana, C. V. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2015)
The inner-rim functionalization of CTV has been examined by employing Pd-catalyzed benzylic oxidation. The outcome of the oxidation depends upon the solvent and co-oxidants employed. An interesting array of CTV derivatives has been synthesized with a simple change in the conditions.

Perturbative order analysis of the similarity transformed hamiltonian in fock-space coupled cluster theory: difference energy and electric response properties - Bhattacharya, Debarati; Dutta, Achintya Kumar; Gupta, Jitendra; Pal, Sourav (Molecular Physics, 2015)
A perturbative analysis of the ground-state similarity transformed Hamiltonian and its effect on the various Fock-space coupled cluster (FSCC) sectors is presented through calculation of ionisation potential, electron affinity, excitation energies and response properties. Various truncation schemes of the effective Hamiltonian are presented with explicit form of the defining equations. Based on such a truncation, the approximate methods are labelled as FSCC(n), where n represents the correlation energy of the ionised, electron attached or excited states corrected at least up to nth order within coupled cluster singles and doubles scheme (CCSD). A lower scaling CC2 type of approach (abbreviated as FS-CC2) is compared against the group of FSCC(n) methods for energies. Electric response properties have been compared and contrasted for the two lower scaling methods: FSCC(2) and FS-CC2. The various truncated methods are tested for a number of small molecules. The results obtained from a range of truncated methods are compared against full FSCCSD calculations.
Keywords: electric response properties; Fock space; perturbative order; similarity transformed Hamiltonian

Phosphonated USY, a promising catalyst for the development of environmentally benign biodiesel (methyl acetate) process - Nandiwale, Kakasaheb Y.; Gopal, Gahana C.; Bokade, Vijay V. (Journal of Energy Chemistry, 2015)
The present study focuses on the evaluation of the potential applicability of Ultra Stable Y (USY) and phosphonated USY (1 wt%-4 wt% phosphorous loading) as heterogeneous catalysts for biodiesel (methyl acetate) production. The synthesized catalysts were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunaer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area, total acidity by temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia (TPD-NH3) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectra. The performances of catalysts were evaluated for the transesterification of butyl acetate with methanol (a model reaction in biodiesel production). In view to obtain a maximum yield of methyl acetate, the optimization of process parameters such as reactant molar ratio, catalyst loading, reaction temperature and reaction time was performed. All the phosphonated USY catalysts showed higher catalytic activity than the parent USY, which can be attributed to the increase of total acidity due to phosphonation. 2 wt% P/USY (2% phosphorous loaded on USY) exhibited 92% methyl acetate yield with 100% selectivity, which was proved to be a potential catalyst for biodiesel production. The invented catalyst was found to be stable and reusable for five catalytic cycles, demonstrating that it might be a environmentally benign catalytic process.
Keywords: Biodiesel; methyl acetate; phosphonated USY; transesterification

Photo-responsive pseudorotaxanes and assemblies - Mandal, Amal Kumar; Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Das, Amitava (Chemical Society Reviews, 2015)
Chemists have achieved a predictable control over various non-covalent interactions and have used these weak interactions in their favour for developing a plethora of intricate functional structures. In this tutorial review we have summarized reports on such supramolecular structures that describe the rational approach in designing host and/or guest components, tagged with an appropriate fluorophore, for achieving the modified optical responses on formation of an assembly. This has relevance for designing new photo-responsive smart or adaptive stimuli responsive functional materials, self- healable materials, with interesting photo-physical property. These are also important in the area of supramolecular chemistry and biophysical chemistry in predicting the relative conformation in solution.

Pore surface engineering in porous, chemically stable covalent organic frameworks for water adsorption - Biswal, Bishnu P.; Kandambeth, Sharath; Chandra, Suman; Shinde, Digambar Balaji; Bera, Saibal; Karak, Suvendu; Garai, Bikash; Kharul, Ulhas K.; Banerjee, Rahul (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2015)
Herein, we have explored the possibility of a class of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) as water adsorbing materials. We have selected, synthesized 12 chemically stable functionalized Schiff base COFs and thoroughly studied their water uptake behaviour. Further, a deep understanding was developed with these COFs towards the effects of condensation pressure of water and hydrophilic/hydrophobic groups present in the COF pores on water absorption capacity and ultimately, their recyclability. Among all reported COFs, TpPa-1 shows the highest water uptake of 30 wt% (368 cm(3) g(-1); 17 mmol g(-1)) at P/P-0 = 0.3, which is also comparable with the recently reported carbon materials and few well known MOFs. This study also reveals that the overall water uptake of COFs can be tuned systematically based on chemical functionality and pore size in a wider window of relative pressures.

Potential applications of glucosyltransferases in terpene glucoside production: impacts on the use of aroma and fragrance - Schwab, Wilfried; Fischer, Thilo C.; Giri, Ashok; Wuest, Matthias (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2015)
The detection of glucoconjugated forms of monoterpene alcohols in rose petals in the late 1960s opened the new field of nonvolatile aroma precursors in flavor research. It is now well established that odorless glycosides represent a significant pool of aroma precursors in plants where they act as preformed but inactivated defense or attractive chemicals. Technical improvements in the separation and identification of plant secondary metabolites have provided a multitude of chemical structures, but functional characterization of glycosyltransferases that catalyze their formation lags behind. As technical efforts and costs for DNA sequencing dramatically dropped during the last decade, the number of plant genome sequences increased significantly, thus providing opportunities to functionally characterize the glycosyltransferase gene families in plants. These studies yielded the first glycosyltransferase genes that encode efficient biocatalysts for the production of monoterpene glucosides. They have applications in the food, feed, chemical, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries as slow release aroma chemicals.

Preferential enrichment of DL-leucine using cocrystal formation with oxalic acid under nonequilibrium crystallization conditions - Manoj, Kochunnoonny; Takahashi, Hiroki; Morita, Yoko; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Iwama, Sekai; Tsue, Hirohito; Tamura, Rui (Chirality, 2015)
By utilizing the preferential enrichment (PE) technique, we achieved an improved enantiomeric resolution of DL-leucine (Leu) using a 1:1 cocrystal (DL-1) of DL-Leu and oxalic acid. The crystal structure analysis of DL-1 indicated the occurrence of a novel type of phase transition and subsequent preferential redissolution of one enantiomer from the resulting crystals into solution. Chirality 27:405-410 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: chiral resolution; cocrystal formation; leucine; phase transition; preferential enrichment

Preparation of mesoporous titanosilicate with isolated Ti active centers for cyclohexene oxidation - Gupta, S.; Vinod, C. P.; Jagadeesan, Dinesh (RSC Advances, 2015)
We report the preparation of mesoporous titanosilicate with active Ti centres using CTAB as the structure directing agent and ethylenediamine as the complexing agent (TSC-ED). The finalmaterial contained isolated Ti4+ centres substituting Si4+ in the mesoporous silica framework. The crucial role played by ethylenediamine in complexing with Ti4+ during the sol-gel process and preventing the phase segregation of TiO2 was studied systematically. The textural parameters, structural order, morphology, nature and co-ordination of Ti species were analyzed using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis diffused reflectance spectroscopy (UV-vis DRS), UV resonance Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transition electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Finally, the catalysts were tested for catalytic activity in the oxidation of cyclohexene using various oxidants.

Process optimization by response surface methodology for transesterification of renewable ethyl acetate to butyl acetate biofuel additive over borated USY zeolite - Nandiwale, Kakasaheb Y.; Galande, Nitish D.; Bokade, Vijay V. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Butyl acetate, a renewable biofuel additive was synthesized by transesterification of butanol with ethyl acetate via a renewable and sustainable route. Use of fermentation derived bio-butanol and bio-ethyl acetate for synthesis of butyl acetate would be a more advantageous route over conventional Fischer Esterification. For the first time, a heterogeneous zeolite catalyst such as Ultra Stable Y (USY) and its modified versions obtained by borating on parent USY were used for the synthesis of butyl acetate. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to optimize the process parameters for transesterification of butanol with ethyl acetate over a 4% (w/w) B-USY catalyst. The influence of three crucial process variables such as catalyst loading, molar ratio, and reaction temperature on yield of butyl acetate were addressed by Box-Behnken experimental design (BBD). 4% (w/w) B-USY was proved to be a potential catalyst with 96% yield of butyl acetate at optimum process parameters. The 4% (w/w) B-USY catalyst was found to be reusable for 6 catalytic cycles.

Production of polyunsaturated fatty acids in recombinant lipomyces starkeyi through submerged fermentation - Salunke, Devyani; Manglekar, Rupali; Gadre, Ramchandra V.; Nene, Sanjay; Harsulkar, Abhay M. (Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering, 2015)
Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are known to play an important role in human health and nutrition. Considering the limitation of LCPUFA sources, it is necessary to search new avenues for their production. Oleaginous yeasts are an attractive target for harvesting single cell oil, mainly because of the ease of cultivation with cheaper raw material. Lipomyces starkeyi is one such oleaginous yeast, which can accumulate oil to the extent of 60 % of its biomass and where genetic transformation can be achieved. In our earlier work, Delta 15 desaturase gene (AEP37840) from flax was transformed into L. starkeyi. In the present work, we report optimization of medium for the production of omega-3 enriched oil from this transformed yeast. A basic medium containing 20 g/l glucose as a carbon source and 10 g/l yeast extract as a nitrogen source was used during fermentation. At regular time intervals, glucose was fed to maintain high C:N ratio (65:10) during fermentation. Under the most favorable conditions, dry biomass and total lipid content were 18 and 7.29 g/l, respectively. Prior to genetic transformation, L. starkeyi contained 56.03 mg/l DHA along with 71.4 mg/l EPA and 42.2 mg/l ALA. Genetic engineering of this yeast resulted in a strain that produced 1080 mg/l DHA (17.4 %) along with 74.28 mg/l EPA and 126.72 mg/l ALA possibly through modification of PUFA biosynthetic pathway. To the best of our knowledge, this is a first report of DHA enrichment and opens up avenues for LCPUFA production through L. starkeyi.
Keywords: Fermentation; LCPUFA; Lipid production; Oleaginous yeast

Purification and characterization of an agglutinin from datura innoxia with antineoplastic activity - Singh, Ruby; Nawale, Laxman; Gaikwad, Sushama M.; Suresha, C. G. (National Science Day, At CSIR-NCL, 2015)
Lectins are carbohydrate binding proteins of non-immune origin. Due to their multivalency, lectins can be easily detected using agglutination. Lectins are reported to induce cytotoxicity or inhibition of growth in various cancer cells., hence good therapeutic startegy against cancer. Factors such as specificity, stability, assay rapidity, and costs combine to make lectins attractive diagnostic reagents. Datura innoxia belongs to family of Solanaceae.All parts of the plant are hallucinogenic, hypnotic and narcotic. Application: at low dose acts as pain killer, relieves asthma and rheumatism.

Radical-mediated dehydrative preparation of cyclic imides using (NH4)(2)S2O8-DMSO: application to the synthesis of vernakalant - Garad, Dnyaneshwar N.; Tanpure, Subhash D.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
Ammonium persulfate-dimethyl sulfoxide (APS-DMSO) has been developed as an efficient and new dehydrating reagent for a convenient one-pot process for the synthesis of miscellaneous cyclic imides in high yields starting from readily available primary amines and cyclic anhydrides. A plausible radical mechanism involving DMSO has been proposed. The application of this facile one-pot imide forming process has been demonstrated for a practical synthesis of vernakalant.
Keywords: APS-DMSO; imides; practical synthesis; radical-mediated; vernakalant

Ranking of reactions based on sensitivity of protein noise depends on the choice of noise measure - Gokhale, Sucheta A.; Gadgil, Chetan J. (Plos One, 2015)
Gene expression is a stochastic process. Identification of the step maximally affecting noise in the protein level is an important aspect of investigation of gene product distribution. There are numerous experimental and theoretical studies that seek to identify this important step. However, these studies have used two different measures of noise, viz. coefficient of variation and Fano factor, and have compared different processes leading to contradictory observations regarding the important step. In this study, we performed systematic global and local sensitivity analysis on two models of gene expression to investigate relative contribution of reaction rate parameters to steady state noise in the protein level using both the measures of noise. We analytically and computationally showed that the ranking of parameters based on the sensitivity of the noise to variation in a given parameter is a strong function of the choice of the noise measure. If the Fano factor is used as the noise measure, translation is the important step whereas for coefficient of variation, transcription is the important step. We derived an analytical expression for local sensitivity and used it to explain the distinct contributions of each reaction parameter to the two measures of noise. We extended the analysis to a generic linear catalysis reaction system and observed that the reaction network topology was an important factor influencing the local sensitivity of the two measures of noise. Our study suggested that, for the analysis of contributions of reactions to the noise, consideration of both the measures of noise is important.

Rational approach towards enhancing solar water splitting: a case study of Au-RGO/N-RGO-TiO2 - Bharad, Pradnya A.; Sivaranjani, Kumarsrinivasan; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Nanoscale, 2015)
A rational approach was employed to enhance the solar water splitting (SWS) efficiency by systematically combining various important factors that helps to increase the photocatalytic activity. The rational approach includes four important parameters, namely, charge generation through simulated sunlight absorption, charge separation and diffusion, charge utilization through redox reaction, and the electronic integration of all of the above three factors. The complexity of the TiO2 based catalyst and its SWS activity was increased systematically by adding reduced graphene oxide (RGO) or N-doped RGO and/or nanogold. Au-N-RGO-TiO2 shows the maximum apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 2.46% with a H-2 yield (525 mu mol g(-1) h(-1)) from aqueous methanol, and overall water splitting activity (22 mu mol g(-1) h(-1); AQY = 0.1%) without any sacrificial agent under one sun conditions. This exercise helps to understand the factors which help to enhance the SWS activity. Activity enhancement was observed when there is synergy among the components, especially the simulated sunlight absorption (or one sun conditions), charge separation/conduction and charge utilization. Electronic integration among the components provides the synergy for efficient solar light harvesting. In our opinion, the above synergy helps to increase the overall utilization of charge carriers towards the higher activity.

Rational preparation of Ag and Au bimetallic catalysts for the hydrocarbon-SCR of NOx: sequential deposition vs. coprecipitation method - More, Pavan M.; Nguyen, D. L.; Dongare, Mohan K.; Shubhangi B. Umbarkar; Nuns, N.; Girardon, J. S.; Dujardin, Christophe; Lancelot, Christine; Mamede, Anne-Sophie; Granger, P. (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2015)
This study emphasizes the importance of the preparation method for bimetallic Au-Ag catalysts supported on alumina in the selective reduction of NOx by hydrocarbons with gas feed compositions representative of diesel fuelled engine exhaust gas. An optimal balance between oxidative and reductive surface properties is obtained when Au and Ag are successively introduced. Significant re-dispersion processes take place when the catalyst runs at 500 degrees C leading to a gain in activity at low temperature and ascribed to a better interaction between Au and Ag species. Co-precipitation leads to a preferential formation of intermetallic Au-Ag particles which is detrimental to the catalytic performances. Aging at 500 degrees C leads to a significant particle sintering and a strengthening of the metallic character. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Au-Ag particles; Co-precipitation; DeNO(x) reaction; HC-SCR

Reaction of N-heterocyclic carbenes with chalcones leading to the synthesis of deoxy-breslow intermediates in their oxidized form - Bhunia, Anup; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Chemical Communications, 2015)
The synthesis of deoxy-Breslow intermediates in their oxidized form has been developed via the reaction of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) with chalcones. Moreover, the initial tetrahedral adduct formed from the 1,4-addition of NHCs to chalcones is also isolated.

Reactivity and operational stability of N-Tailed TAMLs through kinetic studies of the catalyzed oxidation of orange II by H2O2: synthesis and x-ray structure of an N-Phenyl TAML - Warner, Genoa R.; Mills, Matthew R.; Enslin, Clarissa; Pattanayak, Shantanu; Panda, Chakadola; Panda, Tamas Kumar; Sen Gupta, Sayam; Ryabov, Alexander D.; Collins, Terrence J. (Chemistry A-European Journal, 2015)
{The catalytic activity of the N-tailed (biuret) TAML (tetraamido macrocyclic ligand) activators [Fe{4-XC6H3-1,2-(NCOCMe2NCO)(2)NR}Cl](2-) (3; N atoms in boldface are coordinated to the central iron atom; the same nomenclature is used in for compounds 1 and 2 below), [X
Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide; iron; kinetics; Oxidation; reaction mechanisms

Recent developments in solar H-2 generation from water splitting - Rajaambal, Sivaraman; Sivaranjani, Kumarsrinivasan; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Journal of Chemical Sciences, 2015)
Hydrogen production from water and sunlight through photocatalysis could become one of the channels, in the not-so-distant future, to meet a part of ever growing energy demands. However, accomplishing solar water splitting through semiconductor particulate photocatalysis seems to be the `Holy Grail' problem of science. In the present mini-review, some of the critical strategies of semiconductor photocatalysis are focused with the aim of enumerating underlying critical factors such as visible light harvesting, charge carrier separation, conduction and their utilization that determine the quantum efficiency. We attempted to bring out the essential requirements expected in a material for facile water splitting by explaining important and new designs contributed in the last decade. The newly emerged designs in semiconductor architecture employing nanoscience towards meeting the critical factors of facile photocatalysis are elucidated. The importance of band gap engineering is emphasized to utilize potential wide band gap semiconductors. Assistance of metal nanostructures and quantum dots to semiconductors attains vital importance as they are exuberant visible light harvesters and charge carrier amplifiers. Benevolent use of quantum dots in solar water splitting and photoelectrochemical water splitting provides scope to revolutionize the quantum efficiency by its multiple exciton generation features. A list of drawbacks and issues that hamper the much needed breakthrough in photocatalysis of water splitting is provided to invite attention to address them and move towards sustainable water splitting.
Keywords: Hydrogen; nanomaterial; Photocatalysis; quantum dot; Semiconductor; visible light; water splitting

Recyclable ionic liquid iodinating reagent for solvent free, regioselective iodination of activated aromatic and heteroaromatic amines - Deshmukh, Amarsinh; Gore, Babasaheb; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Swamy, Vincent P. (RSC Advances, 2015)
This article describes a simple, efficient method for iodination of activated aromatic and heteroaromatic amines using recyclable 1-butyl-3-methylpyridinium dichloroiodate (BMPDCI) as an ionic liquid iodinating reagent, in the absence of any solvent. The main advantages are a simple efficient procedure, good yields and no need for any base/toxic heavy metals, or oxidizing agents. The ionic liquid was recovered and recycled in five subsequent reactions, without much loss of activity. This method was applied for the synthesis of the antiprotozoal drug iodoquinol and the antifungal drug clioquinol.

Regioselective and diastereoselective iodocyclization reaction of alkene-thioureas: an efficient approach to bicyclic beta-lactams - Garud, Dinesh R.; Sonawane, Amol D.; Auti, Jyoti B.; Rode, Navnath D.; Ranpise, Vinod R.; Joshi, Rohini R.; Joshi, Ramesh A. (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)
Bicyclic beta-lactams, i.e. 3-thia-1-dethiacephams, were synthesized via a highly regioselective and diastereoselective iodocyclization reaction of alkene-thioureas with molecular iodine. Furthermore, the structure of 3-thia-1-dethiacepham was confirmed by a chemical method, the dehydrohalogenation reaction using DBU.

Reversal of H-bonding direction by N-sulfonation in a synthetic reverse-turn peptide motif - Vijayadas, Kuruppanthara N.; Kotmale, Amol S.; Thorat, Shridhar H.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Nair, Roshna V.; Rajamohanan, Pattuparambil R.; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2015)
This communication depicts an intriguing example of hydrogen-bonding reversal upon introduction of a sulfonamide linkage at the N-terminus of a synthetic reverse-turn peptide motif. The ready availability of two sulfonyl oxygen atoms, as hydrogen-bonding acceptors, combined with the inherent twisted conformation of sulfonamides are seen to act as switches that engage/disengage the hydrogen-bond at the sticky ends/termini.

Rh-catalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives from phenolic acetates and acrylates via C-H bond activation - Gadakh, Sunita K.; Dey, Soumen; Sudalai, Arumugarn (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015)
An efficient annulation strategy involving the reaction of phenolic acetates with acrylates in the presence of [Rh-2(OAc)(4)] as catalyst and formic acid as reducing agent, leading to the high yield synthesis of coumarin derivatives, has been developed. The addition of NaOAc as a base increased the yield of the products. The reaction is quite Successful for both electron rich as well as electron deficient phenolic acetates, affording coumarins with excellent regioselectivity, and proceeds via, C-H bond activation proven by deuterium incorporation studies.

Rifampicin reduces advanced glycation end products and activates DAF-16 to increase lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans - Golegaonkar, Sandeep; Tabrez, Syed S.; Pandit, Awadhesh; Sethurathinam, Shalini; Jagadeeshaprasad, Mashanipalya G.; Bansode, Sneha B.; Sampathkumar, Srinivasa-Gopalan; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Mukhopadhyay, Arnab (Aging Cell, 2015)
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are formed when glucose reacts nonenzymatically with proteins; these modifications are implicated in aging and pathogenesis of many age-related diseases including type II diabetes, atherosclerosis, and neurodegenerative disorders. Thus, pharmaceutical interventions that can reduce AGEs may delay age-onset diseases and extend lifespan. Using LC-MSE, we show that rifampicin (RIF) reduces glycation of important cellular proteins in vivo and consequently increases lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans by up to 60%. RIF analog rifamycin SV (RSV) possesses similar properties, while rifaximin (RMN) lacks antiglycation activity and therefore fails to affect lifespan positively. The efficacy of RIF and RSV as potent antiglycating agents may be attributed to the presence of a p-dihydroxyl moiety that can potentially undergo spontaneous oxidation to yield highly reactive p-quinone structures, a feature absent in RMN. We also show that supplementing rifampicin late in adulthood is sufficient to increase lifespan. For its effect on longevity, rifampicin requires DAF-18 (nematode PTEN) as well as JNK-1 and activates DAF-16, the FOXO homolog. Interestingly, the drug treatment modulates transcription of a different subset of DAF-16 target genes, those not controlled by the conserved Insulin-IGF-1-like signaling pathway. RIF failed to increase the lifespan of daf-16 null mutant despite reducing glycation, showing thereby that DAF-16 may not directly affect AGE formation. Together, our data suggest that the dual ability to reduce glycation in vivo and activate prolongevity processes through DAF-16 makes RIF and RSV effective lifespan-extending interventions.
Keywords: advanced glycation end products; aging; Caenorhabditis elegans; DAF-16; Glycation; lifespan; rifampicin

RNA stem-loop to G-quadruplex equilibrium controls mature MicroRNA production inside the cell - Pandey, Satyaprakash; Agarwala, Prachi; Jayaraj, Gopal Gunanathan; Gargallo, Raimundo; Maiti, Souvik (Biochemistry, 2015)
The biological role of the existence of overlapping structures in RNA is possible yet remains very unexplored. G-Rich tracts of RNA form G-quadruplexes, while GC-rich sequences prefer stem-loop structures. The equilibrium between alternate structures within RNA may occur and influence its functionality. We tested the equilibrium between G-quadruplex and stem-loop structure in RNA and its effect on biological processes using pre-miRNA as a model system. Dicer enzyme recognizes canonical stem-loop structures in pre-miRNA to produce mature miRNAs. Deviation from stem-loop leads to deregulated mature miRNA levels, providing readout of the existence of an alternate structure per se G-quadruplex-mediated structural interference in miRNA maturation. In vitro analysis using beacon and Dicer cleavage assays indicated that mature miRNA levels depend on relative amounts of K+: and Mg2+ ions, suggesting an ion-dependent structural shift. Further in cellulo studies with and without TmPyP4 (RNA G-quadruplex destabilizer) demonstrated that miRNA biogenesis is modulated by G-quadruplex to stem-loop equilibrium in a subset of pre-miRNAs. Our combined analysis thus provides evidence of the formation of noncanonical G-quaciruplexes in competition with canonical stem-loop structure inside the cell and its effect on miRNA maturation in a comprehensive manner.

Role of aliovalent cation doping in the activity of nanocrystalline CdS for visible-light-driven H-2 production from water - Korake, Prakash V.; Achary, Srungarpu N.; Gupta, Narendra M. (International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2015)
This study was aimed at discerning the enhancement in the visible-light-driven water splitting activity of nanocrystalline CdS photocatalysts because of their doping with a small amount of an aliovalent cation (Ag+ or Cr3+). The CdS/Cr-x (x = 0-2.3 wt%) and CdS/Ag-x (x = 0-1.5 wt%) samples, which were synthesized using a one-step hydrothermal method, were characterized systematically for their crystallographic, morphological, interfacial, and photo-physical properties. The Rietveld refinement of the powder X-ray diffraction data enabled us to quantify the doping-effect on the phase composition and lattice parameters. As compared to pure CdS, the samples containing similar to 0.2 wt% of Cr or Ag showed two or tenfold enhancement in the rate of H-2 evolution from water, respectively, when sulfide-sulfite ions were used as sacrificial electron donors. This pyramidal trend, i.e. maximum activity for a specific impurity content, which decreased on decreasing as well as increasing the amount of doping, did not occur owing to the presence of a secondary-phase metal sulfide or a dispersed metal cocatalyst. Our study revealed that instead of the widely advocated mechanism involving inter-semiconductor or semiconductor-to-metal electron transfer steps, the doping-modified photoactivity of CdS was governed by certain bulk and surface properties such as the cation-dependent particle nucleation, dominance of hex-CdS facets, and structural defects. Additionally, impurity-induced sub-bandgap charge-trapping states also contributed to the overall quantum efficiency. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Role of tumor cell surface lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP1) and its associated carbohydrates in lung metastasis - Agarwal, Akhil Kumar; Srinivasan, Nithya; Godbole, Rashmi K.; More, Shyam K.; Budnar, Srikanth; Gude, Rajiv P.; Kalraiya, Rajiv D. (Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 2015)
Expression of lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP1) on the surface correlates with metastatic potential of B16 melanoma cells. Downregulation of their expression in high metastatic (B16F10) cells reduced their surface expression and metastatic potential. Present investigations explore if overexpression of LAMP1 on the surface of low metastatic (B16F1) cells augment their metastatic ability, and if so, how? B16F1 cells were transduced with lentiviral vector carrying mutant-LAMP1 (Y386A) (mutLAMP1). Surface expression of LAMP1 and carbohydrates was analyzed by flow cytometry, immunofluorescence and/or immunoprecipitation and Western blotting. Cell spreading and motility were assessed on components of extracellular matrix (ECM) (fibronectin) and basement membrane (BM) (matrigel), and galectin-3-coated coverslips/plates. Metastatic potential was assessed using experimental metastasis assay. Pre-incubation with anti-LAMP1 antibodies significantly reduced lung metastasis of B16F10 cells. Overexpression of mutLAMP1 significantly increased its surface expression on B16F1 cells, resulting in increased cellular spreading and motility on fibronectin and matrigel. LAMP1 is the major carrier of poly-N-acetyllactosamine (polyLacNAc) on B16F10 cells. However, significantly higher expression of mutLAMP1 had no effect on galectin-3 binding on cell surface or on spreading or motility of cells on galectin-3-coated coverslips/plates. These cells also failed to show any gain in metastatic ability. This could be because LAMP1 from these cells carried significantly lower levels of polyLacNAc in comparison with B16F10 cells. PolyLacNAc on B16F10 cells and galectin-3 on lungs are the major participants in melanoma metastasis. Although surface LAMP1 promotes interactions with organ ECM and BM, carbohydrates on LAMP1 play a decisive role in dictating lung metastasis.
Keywords: 6 branched N-oligosaccharides; beta 1; Cell surface LAMP1; Galectin-3; Motility; Organ-specific metastasis; Poly-N-acetyllactosamine

RXR-carbamate - a novel molecular transporter for skin - Natarajan, Poornemaa; Patil, Kiran M.; Vij, Manika; Yadav, Amit K.; Kumar, Vaijayanti A.; Ganguli, Munia; Fernandes, Moneesha (Molecular Therapy, 2015)
18th Annual Meeting of the American-Society-of-Gene-and-Cell-Therapy (ASGCT), New Orleans, LA, MAY 13-16, 2015

SBA-15-oxynitrides as a solid-base catalyst: effect of nitridation temperature on catalytic activity - Singh, Baljeet; Mote, Kaustubh R.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Madhu, Perunthiruthy K.; Polshettiwar, Vivek (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2015)
Solid bases, such as SBA-15-oxynitrides, have attracted considerable interest for potential applications as catalysts in important industrial processes. Reported herein is that by simply tuning the temperature of nitridation (ammonolysis), the catalytic activity of these solid bases can be enhanced. Solid-state NMR spectroscopy and XPS studies provided the reasoning behind this change in activity.
Keywords: heterogeneous catalysis; Nanostructures; NMR spectroscopy; photoelectron spectroscopy; solid-state structures

Seeded on-surface supramolecular growth for large area conductive donor-acceptor assembly - Goudappagouda; Chithiravel, Sundaresan; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam; Gosavi, Suresh W.; Babu, Sukumaran Santhosh (Chemical Communications, 2015)
Charge transport features of organic semiconductor assemblies are of paramount importance. However, large-area extended supramolecular structures of donor-acceptor combinations with controlled self-assembly pathways are hardly accessible. In this context, as a representative example, seeded on-surface supramolecular growth of tetrathiafulvalene and tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TTF-TCNQ) using active termini of solution-formed sheaves has been introduced to form an extended assembly. We demonstrate for the first time, the creation of a large-area donor-acceptor assembly on the surface, which is practically very tedious, using a seeded, evaporation-assisted growth process. The excellent molecular ordering in this assembly is substantiated by its good electrical conductivity (similar to 10(-2) S cm(-1)). The on-surface assembly via both internally formed and externally added sheaf-like seeds open new pathways in supramolecular chemistry and device applications.

Shape-selective oriented cerium oxide nanocrystals permit assessment of the effect of the exposed facets on catalytic activity and oxygen storage capacity - Sreeremya, Thadathil S.; Krishnan, Asha; Remani, Kottayilpadi C.; Patil, Kashinath R.; Brougham, Dermot F.; Ghosh, Swapankumar (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2015)
The catalytic performance of a range of nanocrystalline CeO2 samples, prepared to have different morphologies, was measured using two accepted indicators; oxygen storage and diesel soot combustion. The same powders were characterized hi detail by HR-TEM, XRD, XPS, and Raman methods. The study demonstrates that activity is determined by the relative fraction of the active crystallographic planes, not by the specific surface area of the powders. The physical study is a step toward quantitative evaluation of the relative contribution to activity of the different facets. The synthetic protocol permits fabrication of CeO2 nanostructures with preferentially grown active planes, and therefore has potential in developing catalytic applications and in nanocompositing.
Keywords: ceria; chemical activities; crystal facets; nanocrystals; texture coefficient

Single crystal-to-single crystal site-selective postsynthetic metal exchange in a Zn-MOF based on semi-rigid tricarboxylic acid and access to bimetallic MOFs - Bajpai, Alankriti; Chandrasekhar, Pujari; Govardhan, Savitha; Banerjee, Rahul; Moorthy, Jarugu Narasimha (Chemistry-A European Journal, 2015)
The metal ions in a neutral Zn-MOF constructed from tritopic triacid H3L with inherent concave features, rigid core, and peripheral flexibility are found to exist in two distinct SBUs, that is, 0D and 1D. This has allowed site-selective postsynthetic metal exchange (PSME) to be investigated and reactivities of the metal ions in two different environments in coordination polymers to be contrasted for the first time. Site-selective transmetalation of Zn ions in the discrete environment is shown to occur in a single crystal-to-single crystal (SCSC) fashion, with metal ions such as Fe3+, Ru3+, Cu2+, Co2+, etc., whereas those that are part of 1D SBU sustain structural integrity, leading to novel bimetallic MOFs, which are inaccessible by conventional approaches. To the best of our knowledge, site-selective postsynthetic exchange of an intraframework metal ion in a MOF that contains metal ions in discrete as well as polymeric SBUs is heretofore unprecedented.
Keywords: coordination polymers; metal-exchange; metal-organic frameworks; Metathesis; X-ray crystallography

Singlet-triplet gaps in polyacenes: a delicate balance between dynamic and static correlations investigated by spin-flip methods - Ibeji, Collins U.; Ghosh, Debashree (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015)
Over the last few years people have been interested in the process of singlet fission, owing to its relevance to solar cell technology. The energetics of singlet fission is intimately related to singlet-triplet (ST) gaps and energies of singlet excited states. However, accurate calculations of ST gaps in polyacenes are complicated due to near degeneracies in the pi orbitals, and therefore, have been quite challenging. The spin-flip equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (SF-EOM-CC) and its perturbative approximation have been shown to correctly treat situations involving electronic degeneracies and near degeneracies. In this work, we use various spin-flip methods to benchmark the ST gaps of small polyacenes and show that the error in the ST gaps with respect to the experiment is small and does not increase appreciably with the system size. The diradical and polyradical character of the polyacene ground states increase with the system size. However, for the small polyacenes the open-shell character of the ground state is still small enough to be treated using single reference methods.

Solid state organic amine detection in a photochromic porous metal organic framework - Mallick, Arijit; Garai, Bikash; Addicoat, Matthew A.; Petkov, Petko St.; Heine, Thomas; Banerjee, Rahul (Chemical Science, 2015)
A new Mg(II) based photochromic porous metal-organic framework (MOF) has been synthesized bearing naphthalenediimide (NDI) chromophoric unit. This MOF (Mg-NDI) shows instant and reversible solvatochromic behavior in presence of solvents with different polarity. Mg-NDI also exhibits fast and reversible photochromism via radical formation. Due to the presence of electron deficient NDI moiety, this MOF exhibits selective organic amine (electron rich) sensing in solid state. The organic amine detection has been confirmed by photoluminescence quenching experiment and visual color change.

Specific reagent for Cr(III): imaging cellular uptake of Cr(III) in Hct116 cells and theoretical rationalization - Ali, Firoj; Saha, Sukdeb; Maity, Arunava; Taye, Nandaraj; Si, Mrinal Kanti; Suresh, E.; Ganguly, Bishwajit; Chattopadhyay, Samit; Das, Amitava (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2015)
A new rhodamine-based reagent (L-1), trapped inside the micellar structure of biologically benign Triton-X 100, could be used for specific recognition of Cr(III) in aqueous buffer medium having physiological pH. This visible light excitable reagent on selective binding to Cr(III) resulted in a strong fluorescence turn-on response with a maximum at similar to 583 nm and tail of that luminescence band extended until 650 nm, an optical response that is desired for avoiding the cellular autofluorescence. Interference studies confirm that other metal ions do not interfere with the detection process of Cr(III) in aqueous buffer medium having pH 7.2. To examine the nature of binding of Cr(III) to L-1, various spectroscopic studies are performed with the model reagent L-1 which tend to support Cr(III)-eta(2)-olefin pi-interactions involving two olefin bonds in molecular probe L-1. Computational studies are also performed with another model reagent L-M to examine the possibility of such Cr(III)-eta(2)-olefin pi-interactions. Presumably, polar functional groups of the model reagent L-M upon coordination to the Cr(III) center effectively reduce the formal charge on the metal ion and this is further substantiated by results of the theoretical studies. This assembly is found to be cell membrane permeable and shows insignificant toxicity toward live colon cancer cells (Hct116). Confocal laser scanning microscopic studies further revealed that the reagent L-1 could be used as an imaging reagent for detection of cellular uptake of Cr(III) in pure aqueous buffer medium by Hct116 cells. Examples of a specific reagent for paramagnetic Cr(III) with luminescence ON response are scanty in the contemporary literature. This ligand design helped us in achieving the turn on response by utilizing the conversion from spirolactam to an acyclic xanthene form on coordination to Cr(III).

Spectroscopic and ab initio investigation of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene-amine complexes: coexistence of C-H center dot center dot center dot N and lone-pair center dot center dot center dot pi complexes and intermolecular coulombic decay - Mondal, Sohidul Islam; Dey, Arghya; Sen, Saumik; Patwari, G. Naresh; Ghosh, Debashree (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015)
Binary complexes of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene with methylamine, dimethylamine, trimethylamine and triethylamine were investigated using one colour resonant two photon ionization and infrared-optical double resonance spectroscopic techniques combined with high level ab initio calculations. All four amines form C-Ac-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen-bonded complexes. Additionally trimethylamine and triethylamine form complexes characterized by Lp center dot center dot center dot pi interactions, due to the electron deficient nature of the phenyl ring of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene. The Lp center dot center dot center dot pi interacting structure of the 2,6-difluorophenylacetylenetrimethylamine complex is about 1.5 kJ mol(-1) higher in energy than the C-Ac-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen-bonded structure, which is the global minimum. Energy decomposition analysis indicates that the electrostatics and dispersion interactions favour the formation of C-Ac-H center dot center dot center dot N and Lp center dot center dot center dot pi complexes, respectively. Interestingly the C-Ac-H center dot center dot center dot N hydrogen-bonded complex of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene-triethylamine showed a smaller shift in the acetylenic C-H stretching frequency than the 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene-trimethylamine complex. The observed fragmentation of the binary complexes of 2,6-difluorophenylacetylene with the four amines following resonant two-photon ionization can be explained on the basis of the intermolecular coulombic decay process.

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

Starch (Tapioca) to carbon dots: an efficient green approach to an on-off-on photoluminescence probe for fluoride ion sensing - Basu, Aniruddha; Suryawanshi, Anil; Kumawat, Begraj; Dandia, Anshu; Guin, Debanjan; Ogale, Satishchandra B. (Analyst, 2015)
Photoluminescent carbon dots of 4-5 nm size were prepared from starch (Tapioca Sago) through a solution method under mild conditions. The as-prepared carbon dots were used as photoluminescence probes for highly anion selective fluoride ion detection in aqueous solutions. A ready-to-use device is also demonstrated.

Structural features of diverse Pin-II proteinase inhibitor genes from capsicum annuum - Mahajan, Neha S.; Dewangan, Veena; Lomate, Purushottam R.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Mishra, Manasi; Gupta, Vidya S.; Giri, Ashok P. (Planta, 2015)
The proteinase inhibitor (PI) genes from Capsicum annuum were characterized with respect to their UTR, introns and promoter elements. The occurrence of PIs with circularly permuted domain organization was evident. Several potato inhibitor II (Pin-II) type proteinase inhibitor (PI) genes have been analyzed from Capsicum annuum (L.) with respect to their differential expression during plant defense response. However, complete gene characterization of any of these C. annuum PIs (CanPIs) has not been carried out so far. Complete gene architectures of a previously identified CanPI-7 (Beads-on-string, Type A) and a member of newly isolated Bracelet type B, CanPI-69 are reported in this study. The 5' UTR (untranslated region), 3'UTR, and intronic sequences of both the CanPI genes were obtained. The genomic sequence of CanPI-7 exhibited, exon 1 (49 base pair, bp) and exon 2 (740 bp) interrupted by a 294-bp long type I intron. We noted the occurrence of three multi-domain PIs (CanPI-69, 70, 71) with circularly permuted domain organization. CanPI-69 was found to possess exon 1 (49 bp), exon 2 (551 bp) and a 584-bp long type I intron. The upstream sequence analysis of CanPI-7 and CanPI-69 predicted various transcription factor-binding sites including TATA and CAAT boxes, hormone-responsive elements (ABRELATERD1, DOFCOREZM, ERELEE4), and a defense-responsive element (WRKY71OS). Binding of transcription factors such as zinc finger motif MADS-box and MYB to the promoter regions was confirmed using electrophoretic mobility shift assay followed by mass spectrometric identification. The 3' UTR analysis for 25 CanPI genes revealed unique/distinct 3' UTR sequence for each gene. Structures of three domain CanPIs of type A and B were predicted and further analyzed for their attributes. This investigation of CanPI gene architecture will enable the better understanding of the genetic elements present in CanPIs.
Keywords: CanPI; Capsicum; Gene architecture; Promoter; Proteinase inhibitor

Sulfuryl chloride promoted gem-dichlorination-dehydrochlorination in alkyl benzothiazinylacetates: synthesis of the skeleton of trichochrome pigments - Jangir, Ravi; Gadre, Smita R.; N. P. Argade (Synthesis-Stuttgart, 2015)
Chemo- and stereoselective total synthesis of the basic trichochrome skeleton is described starting from o-aminothiophenol and maleic anhydride in very good overall yield. The process involves the synthesis of the corresponding 1,4-benzothiazin-2-ylacetates followed by their sulfuryl chloride induced dihalogenation-dehydrohalogenation and a second condensation with o-aminothiophenol as key steps.
Keywords: condensations; halogenation; maleic anhydride; o-aminothiophenol; trichochrome framework

Supramolecular scaffolds on glass slides as sugar based rewritable sensors for bacteria - Gade, Madhuri; Paul, Ajay; Alex, Catherine; Choudhury, Devika; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Kikkeri, Raghavendra (Chemical Communications, 2015)
We describe here the sugar functionalized beta-cyclodextrin-ferrocene glass slides as fully reversible bacterial biosensors under the influence of external adamantane carboxylic acid. The prototype D-mannose - E. coli ORN 178 and L-fucose - P. aeruginosa interactions serve as a model to illustrate the new approach.

Surface site modulations by conjugated organic molecules to enhance visible light activity of ZnO nanostructures in photocatalytic water splitting - George, Leena; Sappati, Subrahmanyam; Ghosh, Prasenjit; Devi, R. Nandini (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015)
Surface modification of ZnO nanoparticles is identified as a method of modulating surface sites advantageously. ZnO nanoparticles of two different sizes are surface modified with a conjugated organic moiety to enable electron conduction and transfer. Enhanced H-2 evolution from water-methanol mixtures was observed in the composite systems compared to pristine ZnO under visible light irradiation without any cocatalyst. The system is also marginally active in water splitting in pure water without any sacrificial agents. Photophysical characterization indicates that even though reducing size into the nanoregime affects the band gap detrimentally, modifications by simple conjugated organic molecules assist in enhanced visible light activity. The experimental observations are corroborated with computational studies, which also point to a localization of valence band maximum of the interface on the organic moiety and conduction band minimum on ZnO.

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

Synthesis, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial screening of newer thiophene-fused arylpyrazolyl 1,3,4-oxadiazoles - Mahajan, Pravin S.; Nikam, Mukesh; Chate, Asha; Nimbalkar, Urja; Patil, Vrushali; Bobade, Anil; Chaudhari, Abhay; Deolankar, Dattatray; Javale, Balasaheb; Gill, Charansingh H. (Phosphorus Sulfur and Silicon and the Related Elements, 2015)
A series of newer 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives 3a-h, 5a-h containing a thiophene fused with pyrazole moiety of pharmacological significance have been synthesized. The compounds were characterized by H-1 NMR, IR, and mass spectral techniques. The compounds were screened for their in vitro antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities. Among them, Compounds 3b (EC50-14.98) and 3f (EC50-12.21) showed significant antioxidant activity. Compound 3a (EC50-15.23) showed good anti-inflammatory activity. Compound 3d was found as the most active derivative against bacterial and fungal strains.
Keywords: 1; 3; 4-Oxadiazole; Anti-inflammatory; Antimicrobial; Antioxidant; EC50; Thiophene-fused pyrazole

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

Synthesis, DNA interaction and anticancer activity of 2-anthryl substituted benzimidazole derivatives - Sontakke, Vyankat A.; Kate, Anup N.; Ghosh, Sougata; More, Piyush; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Kumbhar, Navanath M.; Kumbhar, Anupa A.; Chopade, Balu Ananda; Shinde, Vaishali S. (New Journal of Chemistry, 2015)
2-Anthryl benzimidazole derivatives (5-7) with hydrogen, carboxyl and benzoyl substituents at the 5th position have been synthesized using a silica supported periodic acid catalyst. The DNA cleavage activity of 5-7 was studied in the presence of light using pBR322 plasmid DNA and was shown to vary with substitution at the 5th position of benzimidazole derivatives. DNA binding studies using ethidium bromide displacement assay demonstrated the non-intercalative binding mode of 5-7. The anticancer activity of these target molecules was tested against MCF-7 and HL-60 cell lines, and they exhibited remarkable activity in the micromolar range. Cellular uptake and morphological changes were confirmed by fluorescence and confocal microscopy. A molecular docking study was carried out to explore the DNA binding mechanism of 5-7.

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

Synthesis of naturally occurring (+)-osmundalactone and 4-epi-(+)-osmundalactone from triacetyl-O-D-glucal - Kotammagari, Tharun K.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Bhattacharya, Asish K. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2015)
An efficient total synthesis of (+)-osmundalactone 1 has been achieved starting from readily available triacetyl-O-D-glucal 6 employing Ferrier rearrangement and Jones oxidation as key steps. Also, synthesis of 4-epi-(+)-osmundalactone 2 was accomplished from the common key intermediate 9. The absolute stereochemistry of (+)-osmundalactone 1 and a precursor of 4-epi-(+)-osmundalactone 2 have been established by single crystal X-ray analysis. The overall yield of compound 1 and 2 from triacetyl-O-D-glucal 6 is 13% and 8%, respectively. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Bioactive molecules; carbohydrates; D-glucal; Ferrier rearrangement; Pyrones

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

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

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

Temperature and magnetic field-assisted switching of magnetization and observation of exchange bias in YbCrO3 nanocrystals - Gupta, Preeti; Poddar, Pankaj (Inorganic Chemistry, 2015)
In this paper, we demonstrate an interesting feature in YbCrO3 (YCO) nanocrystals, in which the material shows temperature and external magnetic field-assisted switching (a complete sign reversal) of zero field cooled magnetization (M-ZFC) and observation of exchange bias (EB) as a result of competing spin interaction at low temperature. This feature can be applied in nonvolatile memories, where, simply by changing the magnitude of the H-ext and T, the polarity of the magnetization can be switched between negative and positive. We also observed negative magnetization in YCO. Our results showed that, below its Neel temperature (T-N approximate to 119 K), the M-ZFC crosses over to negative sign for H < 1000 Oe. At 60 K, YCO showed a significant negative M-ZFC approximate to -0.05 emu/g (at 100 Oe) due to the competing effects of Yb3+, Cr3+ spins, thermal activation energy, and Hext. At further lower temperatures, the M-ZFC showed a crossover to positive values, and the crossover temperature showed the dependence on H-ext (similar to 19 K for 100 Oe curve). The YCO also showed H-ext T-dependent H-EB, which changed its sign with T. The observed T-dependent sign reversal in the EB was closely associated with the sign reversal of M-ZFC. The symmetric shift in field-cooled isothermal hysteresis curves confirmed that the observed EB was not due to the unsaturated minor loop. The training cycle further confirmed that the H-EB value decreased to similar to 2% of the initial value of observed EB, which was very small compared to the observed H-EB in YCO, which indicated stable spin configuration at the locally formed ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic interface.

Temporal protein expression pattern in intracellular signalling cascade during T-cell activation: a computational study - Ganguli, Piyali; Chowdhury, Saikat; Bhowmick, Rupa; Sarkar, Ram Rup (Journal of Biosciences, 2015)
Various T-cell co-receptor molecules and calcium channel CRAC play a pivotal role in the maintenance of cell's functional responses by regulating the production of effector molecules (mostly cytokines) that aids in immune clearance and also maintaining the cell in a functionally active state. Any defect in these co-receptor signalling pathways may lead to an altered expression pattern of the effector molecules. To study the propagation of such defects with time and their effect on the intracellular protein expression patterns, a comprehensive and largest pathway map of T-cell activation network is reconstructed manually. The entire pathway reactions are then translated using logical equations and simulated using the published time series microarray expression data as inputs. After validating the model, the effect of in silico knock down of co-receptor molecules on the expression patterns of their downstream proteins is studied and simultaneously the changes in the phenotypic behaviours of the T-cell population are predicted, which shows significant variations among the proteins expression and the signalling routes through which the response is propagated in the cytoplasm. This integrative computational approach serves as a valuable technique to study the changes in protein expression patterns and helps to predict variations in the cellular behaviour.
Keywords: Boolean model; co-receptors and CRAC channel; synchronous and asynchronous simulation; T-cell signalling pathway; temporal gene expression patterns

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

Theoretical insight of nitric oxide adsorption on neutral and charged Pd-n (n=1-5) clusters - Begum, Pakiza; Gogoi, Pranjal; Mishra, Bhupesh Kumar; Deka, Ramesh Chandra (International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, 2015)
Density functional theory (DFT) calculations within the framework of generalized gradient approximation have been used to systematically investigate the adsorption of nitric oxide (NO) molecule on neutral, cationic, and anionic Pd-n (n=1-5) clusters. NO coordinate to one Pd atom of the cluster by the end-on mode, where the tilted end-on structure is more favorable due to the additional electron in the * orbital. On the contrary, in the neutral and cationic Pd-2 system, NO coordinates to the bridge site of cluster preferably by the side-on mode. Charge transfer between Pd clusters and NO molecule and the corresponding weakening of NO bond is an essential factor for the adsorption. The NO stretching frequency follow the order of cationic>neutral>anionic. Binding energy of NO on anionic clusters is found to be greater than those of neutral and cationic clusters. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Keywords: Density functional theory; electronic property; geometric configuration; NO adsorption; small palladium cluster

Thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of transmembrane helix association - Pawar, Aiswarya B.; Deshpande, Sneha A.; Gopal, Srinivasa M.; Wassenaar, Tsjerk A.; Athale, Chaitanya A.; Sengupta, Durba (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2015)
The transient dimerization of transmembrane proteins is an important event in several cellular processes and computational methods are being increasingly used to quantify their underlying energetics. Here, we probe the thermodynamics and kinetics of a simple transmembrane dimer to understand membrane protein association. A multi-step framework has been developed in which the dimerization profiles are calculated from coarse-grain molecular dynamics simulations, followed by meso-scale simulations using parameters calculated from the coarse-grain model. The calculated value of Delta G(assoc) is approx. -20 kJ mol(-1) and is consistent between three methods. Interestingly, the meso-scale stochastic model reveals low dimer percentages at physiologically-relevant concentrations, despite a favorable Delta G(assoc). We identify generic driving forces arising from the protein backbone and lipid bilayer and complementary factors, such as protein density, that govern self-interactions in membranes. Our results provide an important contribution in understanding membrane protein organization and linking molecular, nano-scale computational studies to meso-scale experimental data.

Thermotropic liquid crystalline polyesters derived from bis-(4-hydroxybenzoyloxy)-2-methyl-1,4-benzene and aliphatic dicarboxylic acid chlorides - Mulani, Khudbudin Baban; Momin, Mohasin Shamshuddin; Ganjave, Nitin V.; Chavan, Nayaku (Bulletin of Materials Science, 2015)
A series of thermotropic liquid crystalline polyesters derived from bis-(4-hydroxybenzoyloxy)-2-methyl-1,4-benzene(BHBOMB) and aliphatic dicarboxylic acid chlorides were investigated. All these polyesters were synthesized by interfacial polycondensation method and characterized by differential scanning calorimetry and wide-angle X-ray diffractometer. These polyesters consist of BHBOMB as a mesogenic diol and aliphatic diacid chlorides were used as flexible spacers. The length of oligomethylene units in polymer was varied from the trimethylene to the dodecamethylene groups. The transition temperatures and thermodynamic properties were studied for all these polymers. All these polyesters were soluble in chlorinated solvents such as chloroform, dichloromethane, dichloroethane, etc. More importantly, all these polyesters exhibited very large mesophase stability.
Keywords: dicarboxylic acid chloride; interfacial polycondensation; Liquid crystalline polyesters; rigid diol; thermotropic

Three-component coupling involving arynes, aromatic tertiary amines, and aldehydes via aryl-aryl amino group migration - Bhojgude, Sachin Suresh; Baviskar, Dnyaneshwar R.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Biju, Akkattu T. (Organic Letters, 2015)
The transition-Metal-free multicomponent coupling of arynes, aromatic tertiary amines, and aldehydes proceeding via the aryl to aryl amino group migration has been demonstrated. This protocol allows rapid access to ortho-functionalized tertiary amines in moderate to good yields. Moreover, activated ketones can also be used as the aldehyde Component in the present reaction. The similarity of the aryl-aryl tertiary amino group migration with the Smiles rearrangement is striking.

Titanium superoxide - a stable recyclable heterogeneous catalyst for oxidative esterification of aldehydes with alkylarenes or alcohols using TBHP as an oxidant - Dey, Soumen; Gadakh, Sunita K.; Sudalai, A. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2015)
Titanium superoxide efficiently catalysed the oxidative esterification of aldehydes with alkylarenes or alcohols, under truly heterogeneous conditions, to afford the corresponding benzyl and alkyl esters in excellent yields. Mechanistic studies have established that this ``one pot'' direct oxidative esterification process proceeds through a radical pathway, proven by a FTIR spectral study of a titanium superoxide-aldehyde complex as well as spin trapping experiments with TEMPO. The intramolecular version of this protocol has been successfully demonstrated in the concise synthesis of 3-butylphthalide, an anti-convulsant drug.

Towards comprehension of complex chemical evolution and diversification of terpene and phenylpropanoid pathways in Ocimum species - Singh, Priyanka; Kalunke, Raviraj M.; Giri, Ashok P. (RSC Advances, 2015)
Ocimum species present a wide array of diverse secondary metabolites possessing immense medicinal and economic value. The importance of this genus is undisputable and exemplified in the ancient science of Chinese and Indian (Ayurveda) traditional medicine. Unlike several other plant species of Artemisia, Salvia, Catharanthus, Taxus, Mentha, etc. that are largely exploited, detailed characterization and identification of important metabolites from Ocimum species remained unexplored. Till date, most of the analyzed Ocimum species are predominantly rich in either phenylpropanoids or terpenoids. Metabolite data suggests domination of a unique set of signature compounds in all species. However, molecular pathways leading to the production, accumulation and metabolism of these compounds are poorly understood. The past few years have witnessed an upsurge in our understanding of the complex and intricately woven secondary metabolic pathways. Such information is generated through systematic analysis and correlation of metabolite profiling with transcriptomics data sets from different Ocimum species. The present review is aimed at integrating our current knowledge to understand the active secondary metabolic pathways, the key players in flux regulation including external stimuli, differential gene expression, transcription factors, microRNAs, enzyme promiscuity, etc. Extensive analysis of available data identifies events that may have contributed to evolve Ocimum species rich with a specific set of metabolites, thus, shedding light on pathway diversification. We believe that a better understanding of the multi-level regulation of intermediates and metabolites will help us harness the inherent diversity of Ocimum species optimally.

Two new potential barcodes to discriminate dalbergia species - Bhagwat, Rasika M.; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Kadoo, Narendra Y.; Balasundaran, M.; Gupta, Vidya S. (Plos One, 2015)
DNA barcoding enables precise identification of species from analysis of unique DNA sequence of a target gene. The present study was undertaken to develop barcodes for different species of the genus Dalbergia, an economically important timber plant and is widely distributed in the tropics. Ten Dalbergia species selected from the Western Ghats of India were evaluated using three regions in the plastid genome (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA), a nuclear transcribed spacer (nrITS) and their combinations, in order to discriminate them at species level. Five criteria: (i) inter and intraspecific distances, (ii) Neighbor Joining (NJ) trees, (iii) Best Match (BM) and Best Close Match (BCM), (iv) character based rank test and (v) Wilcoxon signed rank test were used for species discrimination. Among the evaluated loci, rbcL had the highest success rate for amplification and sequencing (97.6%), followed by matK (97.0%), trnH-psbA (94.7%) and nrITS (80.5%). The inter and intraspecific distances, along with Wilcoxon signed rank test, indicated a higher divergence for nrITS. The BM and BCM approaches revealed the highest rate of correct species identification (100%) with matK, matK+rbcL and matK+trnH-psb loci. These three loci, along with nrITS, were further supported by character based identification method. Considering the overall performance of these loci and their ranking with different approaches, we suggest matK and matK+rbcL as the most suitable barcodes to unambiguously differentiate Dalbergia species. These findings will potentially be helpful in delineating the various species of Dalbergia genus, as well as other related genera.

Ultrafast electron injection, hole transfer, and charge recombination dynamics in cdse QD super-sensitized Re(I)-polypyridyl complexes with catechol and resorcinol moiety: effect of coupling - Debnath, Tushar; Maity, Partha; Banerjee, Tanmay; Das, Amitava; Ghosh, Hirendra N. (Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2015)
Ultrafast charge-transfer dynamics have been demonstrated in CdSe quantum dots (QD) using two Re(I)-polypyridyl complexes having pendent catechol (Re1,2) and resorcinol (Re1,3) as the sensitizer molecules. The energy level diagram of CdSe QD and Re1,2 and Re1,3 sensitizer reveals that photoexcited hole of CdSe QD can be transferred to both Re1,2 and Re1,3 molecule, and photoexcited Re1,2 and Re1,3 can inject electron in the conduction band, which has been confirmed by steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence studies with selective photoexcitation. Femtosecond transient absorption studies have been carried out to monitor charge-transfer dynamics in early time scale. Transient absorption spectra show formation of cation radicals for both Re1,2 and Re1,3 in the 550-650 nm region with a peak at 590 nm region and broad absorption in the 650-1000 nm region, which can be attributed to photoexcited electron in the conduction band of CdSe QD. Charge recombination was determined by monitoring the decay of cation radicals as well as decay of an electron and found to be slower in the Re1,3/CdSe system as compared to that of the Re1,2/CdSe system, which is due to weaker electronic coupling in the former system.

Unprecedented ferrocene-quinoline conjugates: facile proton conduction via 1D helical water chains and a selective chemosensor for Zn(II) ions in water - Ponniah, Joseph S.; Barik, Subrat Kumar; Borthakur, Rosmita; Thakur, Arunabha; Garai, Bikash; Janaa, Sourita; Ghosh, Sundargopal (RSC Advances, 2015)
Two novel ferrocene-quinoline derivatives 3 (C22H19O2N3Fe) and 4 (C34H28O4N6Fe) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Compound 3 exhibits good proton conductivity through 1D helical water chains. In addition, both compounds 3 and 4 selectively detect Zn2+ ions in water with a detection limit of 2 ppb through multiple channels.

Using Raman and dielectric spectroscopy to elucidate the spin phonon and magnetoelectric coupling in DyCrO3 nanoplatelets - Gupta, Preeti; Poddar, Pankaj (RSC Advances, 2015)
In this study, we report the phonon-mode assignment of DyCrO3 nanoplatelets by Raman spectroscopy. The temperature dependent Raman studies indicate the shift in the phonon frequency of most intense modes of DyCrO3 and the observed change in Raman line-width is correlated with the spin-phonon coupling. The impedance spectroscopy reveals anomalies in the dielectric constant vs. temperature curve in the proximity of the magnetic transitions, thereby hinting towards possible weak magnetoelectric coupling in DyCrO3 nanoplatelets. For the first time, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and photocatalytic activity of DyCrO3 nanoplatelets have been reported. The optical absorption spectrum gives the band gap similar to 2.8 eV for DyCrO3 nanoplatelets suggesting them as a good candidate for studying photocatalytic activity. The DyCrO3 nanoplatelets showed an efficient photocatalytic activity by degrading 65% methyl orange after 8 h irradiation.

Zinc inhibits glycation induced structural, functional modifications in albumin and protects erythrocytes from glycated albumin toxicity - Tupe, Rashmi; Kulkarni, Amruta; Adeshara, Krishna; Sankhe, Neena; Shaikh, Shamim; Dalai, Sayli; Bhosale, Siddharth H.; Gaikwad, Sushama M. (International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2015)
The present work aims to investigate the concentration and time dependant effect of zinc on the in vitro non enzymatic modifications of albumin by diabetic levels of glucose. Further, preventive and curative effect of zinc was studied by adding zinc before and after initiation of glycation respectively. Glycation of albumin was done at different concentrations of zinc (125, 250 and 500 mu M) at different time intervals (21,28 and 35 days) with appropriate controls. The antiglycation potential of zinc was assessed by estimating different markers of albumin glycation (fructosamines, carbonyls, bound sugar, AGEs), structural modifications (free amino, thiol group, beta amyloid, native PAGE, ANS binding, fluorescence lifetime decay and CD analysis) and functional properties (antioxidant activity, hemolysis). Zinc at highest concentration (500 mu M) significantly reduced modifications of albumin which was comparable to aminoguanidine and also protected secondary and tertiary structure of albumin after 28 days of incubation. Zinc exhibited significant protective effect on erythrocytes by inhibiting hemolysis. Thus the present study indicate preventive mode of albumin glycation inhibition by zinc. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Albumin; Erythrocytes; Glycation

[2]Pseudorotaxane formation with fret based luminescence response: demonstration ofboolean operations through self sorting on solid surface - Gangopadhyay, Monalisa; Maity, Arunava; Dey, Ananta; Das, Amitava (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Binary pseudorotaxane formation between an aza crown derivative as host (H) and two different imidazolium derivatives as guests (G(1) and G(2)) have been studied in detail by NMR (H-1 NMR, 2D NOESY), optical (steady state electronic and emission spectroscopy), and mass spectroscopy. Binding stoichiometry (1:1), association constant for the respective [2]pseudorotaxane formation (K-a(H center dot G1) = (2.61 +/- 0.015) X 10(3) M-1 and K-a(H center dot G2) = (1.27 +/- 0.16) X 10(3) M-1), and associated thermodynamic parameters are also evaluated based on isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) studies. FRET based luminescence ON responses are observed on formation of the binary pseudorotaxane (H center dot G(1) and H center dot G(2)) in a nonpolar medium like dichlororriethane. The thermodynamic feasibility of such an energy transfer process is also examined. The higher affinity of H and 18-crown-6 toward K+, as compared to those toward G(1) or G(2), and the reversibility in the host- guest binding process are utilized in demonstrating the self-sorting phenomena with associated changes in luminescence responses that could be correlated for Boolean operators like YES, INHIBIT, OR, and AND gates.

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

3D Polyaniline architecture by concurrent inorganic and organic acid doping for superior and robust high rate supercapacitor performance - Gawli, Yogesh; Banerjee, Abhik; Dhakras, Dipti; Deo, Meenal S.; Bulani, Dinesh; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P.; Shelke, Manjusha; Ogale, Satishchandra (Scientific Reports, 2016)

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

Anti-oxidant properties of ficus religiosa L. Bark extract on human keratinocytes - Dixit, Shailesh S.; Kulkarni, Atul; Seo, Hyo Hyun; Gadgil, Jayant; Dingre, Medini; Umar, Ahmad; Moh, Sang Hyun; Parasharami, Varsha A. (Science of Advanced Materials, 2016)
Ficus religiosa (Sacred Fig) is a medicinally important tree, native to the Indian subcontinent. It has been extensively pharmacologically researched species having wide spectrum of medicinal properties. All parts of F. religiosa tree are known to possess important medicinal properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing and skin diseases etc. However, effects of F. religiosa on skin cells line HaCaT was not studied for its antioxidant properties. In this report we have investigated F. religiosa bark aqueous extract for its antioxidant properties on human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cell line using DPPH, superoxide dismutase 1, superoxide dismutase 2 and catalase assay. We observed that F. religiosa bark aqueous extract efficiently scavenged (80%) DPPH radicals. Superoxide dismutase1 assay of F. religiosa bark aqueous extract effectively scavenged superoxide radicals (O-2(-)) and showed dose dependent activity. Reactive oxygen species were trapped by superoxide dismutase 2 assay of F. religiosa bark aqueous extract and form hydrogen peroxide. Catalase assay results revelled that hydrogen peroxide was further decomposed to give water and oxygen. Thus various anti-oxidant assays of F. religiosa bark aqueous extract indicate that it efficiently reduced the reactive oxygen species in skin cells.
Keywords: Anti-Oxidant; Catalase Assay; DPPH Assay; Ficus religiosa; Keratinocyte HaCaT Cell Line; Moraceae; SOD Assay

Application of roof-shape amines as chiral solvating agents for discrimination of optically active acids by NMR spectroscopy: study of match-mismatch effect and crystal structure of the diastereomeric salts - Gupta, Riddhi; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Bedekar, Ashutosh V. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2016)
Optically active roof-shape amines were prepared and scanned as chiral solvating agents to study molecular recognition of acids by NMR analysis. Three types of amines were studied to establish a match mismatch effect for structurally diverse acid analytes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis was performed on the diastereomeric salts of roof shape amines and both isomers of mandelic acid to establish molecular conformation and correlate the absolute configuration with the observed NMR shift. The present system also recognizes the two isomers of weakly acidic BINOL and its derivatives.

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

Attempt to correlate surface physics and chemical properties : molecular beam and Kelvin probe investigations of Ce 1-x Zr x O 2 thin films - Kolekar, Sadhu K.; Dubey, Anjani; Date, Kalyani S.; Datar, Suwarna; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2016)
What is the correlation between physical properties of the surfaces (such as surface potential, electronic nature of the surface), and chemical and catalysis properties (such as chemisorption, sticking probability of surface)? An attempt has been made to explore any correlation that might exist between the physical and chemical properties of thin film surfaces. Kelvin probe microscopy (KPM) and the molecular beam (MB) methods were employed to carry out the surface potential, and oxygen adsorption and oxygen storage capacity (OSC) measurements on Ce1−xZrxO2 thin films. A sol–gel synthesis procedure and spin-coating deposition method have been applied to make continuous nanocrystalline Ce1−xZrxO2 (x = 0–1) (CZ) thin films with uniform thickness (35–50 nm); however, surface roughness and porosity inherently changes with CZ composition. MB studies of O2 adsorption on CZ reveal high OSC for Ce0.9Zr0.1O2, which also exhibits highly porous and significantly rough surface characteristics. The surface potential observed from KPM studies varied between 30 and 80 mV, with Ce-rich compositions exhibiting the highest surface potential. Surface potential shows large changes after reduction or oxidation of the CZ film demonstrating the influence of Ce3+/Ce4+ on surface potential, which is also a key to catalytic activity for ceria-based catalysts. The surface potential measured from KPM and the OSC measured from MB vary linearly and they depend on the Ce3+/Ce4+ ratio. More and detailed studies are suggested to arrive at a correlation between the physical and chemical properties of the surfaces.

Au(I)/Ag(I) co-operative catalysis: interception of Ag-bound carbocations with α-gold(I) enals in the imino-alkyne cyclizations with N-allenamides - Bagle, Pradip N.; Mane, Manoj V.; Vanka, Kumar; Shinde, Dinesh R.; Shaikh, Samir R.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Patil, Nitin T. (Chemical Communications, 2016)

Azadirachta indica triterpenoids promote osteoblast differentiation and mineralization in vitro and in vivo - Kushwaha, Priyanka; Khedgikar, Vikram; Haldar, Saikat; Gautam, Jyoti; Mulani, Fayaj A.; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Trivedi, Ritu (Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2016)
Terpenoids were isolated using chromatographic purification through solvent purification technique and identified as Azadirone (1), Epoxyazadiradione (2) Azadiradione (3) Gedunin (4) Nimbin (5) Salannin (6) Azadirachtin A (7) and Azadirachtin B (8) from Azadirachta indica. Out of eight compounds, only three compounds had osteogenic activity and enhanced osteoblast proliferation, differentiation and mineralization in osteoblast cells. Active compounds stimulated osteogenic genes ALP, RunX-2 and OCN expressions in vitro, but Azadirachtin A had a maximum ability to stimulate osteoblast differentiation and mineralization compared to other two active compounds. For in vivo study, Azadirachtin A injected subcutaneously in pups, which enhanced osteogenic gene expressions and promoted bone formation rate significantly. Here, we conclude that active compounds of Azadirachta indica have osteogenic activity and Azadirachtin A has a beneficial effects on bone. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: ALP and mineralization assay; Balb/c mice pups; Calvarial osteoblast cells; Gene expressions

Azadirachtin a interacts with er alpha domain and regulates bone formation - Kushwaha, P.; Khedgikar, V.; Gautam, J.; Kumar, A.; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Mishra, P. R.; Trivedi, P. K.; Trivedi, R. (Osteoporosis International, 2016)

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

Benz–amidinato stabilized a monomeric calcium Iodide and a lithium calciate(II) cluster featuring group 1 and group 2 elements - Yadav, Sandeep; Swamy, V. S. V. S. N.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Sen, Sakya S. (ChemistrySelect, 2016)
Soluble calcium halides reported so far are mostly dimeric in nature. The halides occupy the bridging position and thus provide additional coordination to the metal. We obtained a monomeric calcium iodide [{PhC(NiPr)(2)} CaI(thf)(3)] (1) from the reaction of [PhC(NiPr)(2)] Li with Cal(2) in THF. The compound has been stabilized by electronic donation and steric shielding from the amidinate ligand as well as coordination of three THF molecules. 1 does not show any propensity towards ligand exchange reaction. When the same reaction is carried out in diethyl ether instead of THF, it led to the formation of a Li calciate(II) cluster of composition L2Ca4I8Li4O (L= PhC(NiPr)(2)) (2) with an encapsulated O2+ in the middle of a tetrahedron spanned by four Ca2+ ions. 2 represents a metal-rich halide comprising of both alkali and alkaline earth metals which is quite unprecedented. Another notable aspect is that the amidinate ligand binds to the calcium atom in chelating bidentate mode in 1, whereas in 2 each N atom of the amidinate ligands binds to two Ca atoms leading to bridging bis-chelating coordination mode.

Bilayer cryogel wound dressing and skin regeneration grafts for the treatment of acute skinwounds - Priya, S. Geetha; Gupta, Ankur; Jain, Era; Sarkar, Joyita; Damania, Apeksha; Jagdale, Pankaj R.; Chaudhari, Bhushan P.; Gupta, Kailash C.; Kumar, Ashok (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016)
In this study, the potential of cryogel bilayer wound dressing and skin regenerating graft for the treatment of surgically created full thickness wounds was evaluated. The top layer was composed of polyvinylpyrrolidone-iodine (PVP-I) and served as the antiseptic layer, while the bottom regenerative layer was made using gelatin cryogel. Both components of the bilayer showed typical features of a cryogel interconnected macropore network, rapid swelling, high water uptake capacity of about 90%. Both PVP and gelatin cryogel showed high tensile strength of 45 and 10 kPa, respectively. Gelatin cryogel sheets were essentially elastic and could be stretched without any visible deformation. The antiseptic PVP-I layer cryogel sheet showed sustained iodine release and suppressed microbial growth when tested with skin pathogens (zone of inhibition cm for sheet of 0.9 cm diameter). The gelatin cryogel sheet degraded in vitro in weeks. The gelatin cryogel sheet supported cell infiltration, attachment, and proliferation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes. Microparticles loaded with bioactive molecules (mannose-6-phosphate and human fibrinogen) were also incorporated in the gelatin cryogel sheets for their role in enhancing skin regeneration and scar free wound healing. In vivo evaluation of healing capacity of the bilayer cryogel was checked in rabbits by creating full thickness wound, defect (diameter 2 cm). Macroscopic and microscopic observation at regular time intervals for 4 weeks demonstrated better and faster skin regeneration in the wound treated with cryogel bilayer as compared to untreated defect and the repair was comparable to commercial skin regeneration scaffold Neuskin-F. Complete skin regeneration was observed after 4 weeks' of implantation with no sign of inflammatory response. Defects implanted with cryogel having mannose-6-phosphate showed no scar formation,, while the wound treated with bilayer incorporated with human fibrinogen microparticles showed early signs of skin regeneration; epidermis formation occurred at 2 weeks after implantation.