Catalytic reductive deoxygenation of esters to ethers driven by hydrosilane activation through non-covalent interactions with a fluorinated borate salt - Rysak, Vincent; Dixit, Ruchi; Trivelli, Xavier; Merle, Nicolas; Agbossou-Niedercorn, Francine; Vanka, Kumar; Michon, Christophe (Catalysis Science & Technology, 2020)
We report the catalytic and transition metal-free reductive deoxygenation of esters to ethers through the use of a hydrosilane and a fluorinated borate BArF salt as a catalyst. Experimental and theoretical studies support the role of noncovalent interactions between the fluorinated catalyst, the hydrosilane and the ester substrate in the reaction mechanism.

CD44, a predominant protein in methylglyoxal-induced secretome of muscle cells, is elevated in diabetic plasma - Bai, Shakuntala; Chaurasiya, Arvindkumar H.; Banarjee, Reema; Walke, Prachi B.; Rashid, Faraz; Unnikrishnan, Ambika G.; Kulkarni, Mahesh J. (ACS Omega, 2020)
Methylglyoxal (MG), a glycolytic intermediate and reactive dicarbonyl, is responsible for exacerbation of insulin resistance and diabetic complication. In this study, NIG-induced secretome of rat muscle cells was identified and relatively quantified by SWATH-MS. A total of 643 proteins were identified in MG induced' secretome, of which 82 proteins were upregulated and 99 proteins were downregulated by more than 1.3-fold in SWATH analysis. Further, secretory proteins from the dassical secretory pathway and nonclassical secretory pathway were identified using SignalP and SecretomeP, respectively. A total of 180 proteins were identified with SignalP, and 113 proteins were identified with SecretomeP. The differentially expressed proteins were functionallyannotated by KEGG pathway analysis using Cytoscape soft ware with plugin clusterMaker. The differentially expressed proteins were'sfound to he involved m various pathways like extracellular matrix (ECM) receptor interaction, leukocyte transendothelial migration, fluid shear tress and atherosclerosis, complement and coagulation cascades, and lysosomal pathway. Since the MG levels are high in diabetic conditions, the presence of MG-induced isecreted proteins was inspected `by profiling human plasma of healthy and diabetic subjects (n = 10 each). CD44, a predominant MG -induced secreted protein, was found to be elevated in the diabetic plasma and to have a role in the development of insulin resistance.

Chapter 18 - Advances in agrochemical remediation using nanoparticles - Abin Sebastian; Ashwini Nangia; Majeti Narasimha Vara Prasad (Agrochemicals Detection, Treatment and Remediation, 2020)
Agrochemical pollution is a serious threat to environmental safety. Exposure to agrochemicals had deleterious health effects such as nervous system damage and cancer. Biological magnification of persistent agrochemicals also occurred. Hence, remediation approaches for agrochemical pollution must be a holistic approach, including environment and crop produces. The advent of nanotechnology helped to formulate highly efficient methods for the remediation of agrochemicals. High reactive surface area and very small packing space requirements made usage of nanoparticles as a popular agent in agrochemical remediation. Growing interests in surface-engineered nanoparticles promise complete removal of agrochemicals from the environment. Nanosorbents immobilized agrochemicals in the soil and helped microbial degradation of these compounds. However, many of the agrochemicals are persistent, and hence complete removal of these residues practice via photocatalysis. Photocatalytic degradation of persistent agrochemicals using bimetallic nanocomposites widely adopted. Large-scale environmental remediation of agrochemicals in soil, water, and agriculture products achieved via nanoparticles-based agrochemical cleaning systems such as thin-film fixed-bed reactors and nano-phytoremediation.
Keywords: agrochemical cleaning systems; nanosorbents; Pesticides; Photocatalysis; surface engineering

Chapter 9. continuous flow synthesis of nanomaterials - Kulkarni, Amol A.; Jundale, Rajashri B. (Flow Chemistry, 2020)
Continuous flow synthesis of nanoparticles is now a well-accepted and reliable synthesis approach that gives consistent product properties. This chapter aims to do a critical analysis of the recent work in some of the relevant areas and gives specific recommendations where flow synthesis of nanomaterials can be realized as a reliable manufacturing process. The chapter also highlights the typical engineering issues that one needs to consider while transforming a batch synthesis protocol into continuous mode and its scale-up.

Chapter 9 - CRISPR-Cas9 for therapy: the challenges and ways to overcome them - Sundaram Acharya; Souvik Maiti; Debojyoti Chakraborty (Genome Engineering via CRISPR-Cas9 System, 2020)
Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated (CRISPR Cas) is a component of the prokaryotic adaptive immune system which has been repurposed for genome editing in recent years. The precision, simplicity and flexibility of this system have opened up a broad range of biological applications covering basic research to biotechnology and medicine. Additionally, the multiplexing capabilities of CRISPR offers a promising approach for modeling or correcting common polygenic disorders along with its monogenic and infectious counterparts. Although CRISPR is not completely precise and questions remain regarding its specificity and modes of delivery, the robustness and wide applicability of this genome editing tool has opened up numerous ways to address these issues. In this chapter, we will discuss about initial progress toward CRISPR therapeutics, existing delivery modalities, the challenges before CRISPR editing before it becomes a therapeutic possibility and the ongoing efforts toward developing a perfect CRISPR system for bench to bedside application.
Keywords: CRISPR therapeutics; CRISPR-Cas9; iPSC

Characterisation of hyper tolerant Bacillus firmus L-148 for arsenic oxidation - Bagade, Aditi; Nandre, Vinod; Paul, Dhiraj; Patil, Yugendra; Sharma, Nisha; Giri, Ashok; Kodam, Kisan (Environmental Pollution, 2020)
Groundwater arsenic pollution causes millions of deaths worldwide. Long term natural and anthropogenic activities have increased arsenic levels in groundwater causing higher threats of arsenic exposure. Arsenic hyper-tolerant Firmicute Bacillus firmus L-148 was isolated from arsenic limiting Lonar lake soil, which tolerated more than 3 M arsenic and could oxidize 75 mM arsenite [As(III)] in 14 days. It oxidized As(III) in presence of heavy metals and had unusual pH optima at 9.2. B. firmus L-148 was studied at the biochemical, protein, genomic and transcript level for understanding its arsenic oxidizing machinery. The proteomic and transcript analysis exhibited the presence of ars and aio operon and supported the inducible nature of ars operon. Robust, hyper-tolerant, fast As(III) oxidizing, least nutrient requiring and multi-metal resistance qualities of the strain were used in microcosm studies for bioremediation. Artificial groundwater mimicking microcosm with 75 mM As(III) was developed. Modulation of carbon source, iron and multi metals affected growth and As(III) oxidation rate. The As(III) oxidation was recorded to be 77% in 15 days in presence of sodium acetate and Fe ions. This microcosm study can be explored for bioremediation of arsenic contaminated water and followed by precipitation using other methods. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Arsenic hyper-tolerance; Lonar lake; Microcosm studies; Multi-metal resistance; Next generation sequencing

Characterization of multidrug resistance in Vibriospecies isolated from marine invertebrates from Andaman Sea - Kumari, Prabla; Poddar, Abhijit; Das, Subrata K. (3 Biotech, 2020)
This study describes the abundance of multidrug-resistantVibriosassociated with marine invertebrate hosts from the Andaman Sea, India. Thirty-eightVibriostrains were isolated from surface mucus layers of coralPorites,Goniastrea, Pocillopora, Fungia, and eggs of spiny lobster (Panulirus penicillatus). Phenotypically, the majority of strains exhibited growth at a wide range of temperatures, salt tolerance, and diverse nutritional requirements. All the strains had more than 97% 16S rRNA sequence similarity with type species of the genusVibriowhereVibrio fortis, andVibrio alginolyticuswere predominant. Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) using eight housekeeping genes namelyftsZ,gapA,gyrB,mreB,pyrH,recA,rpoA,andtopAdistributed the strains into 6 reported clades i.e.,Harveyi, Ponticus, Nereis, Orientalis, Splendidus,andMediterraneiwhere nearly half of the total strains represented the cladeHarveyi, followed by the cladeSplendidus.Likewise, the PFGE profile indicated genomic heterogeneity among the strains resulting in their distribution in five major clusters. Resistance to different antimicrobials was tested following the disc diffusion method where all strains were found susceptible to chloramphenicol (30 mu g) and resistant to streptomycin (10 mu g), vancomycin (30 mu g), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (25 mu g). Moreover, the resistant phenotype to other antimicrobials confirmed the abundance of multidrug resistance strains in this marine environment.
Keywords: Drug-resistant; Genetic diversity; marine invertebrate; Multilocus sequence analysis; Vibrio

Chemoselective ring closure of 4-(3-Methyl-2-oxo-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)butanal leading to pandalizine A - Yadav, Mahesh B.; Pandhade, Kailas R.; Argade, Narshinha P. (ACS Omega, 2020)
Starting from methylmaleic anhydride, a facile total synthesis of pandalizine A alkaloid is described via the regioselective reduction of methylmaleimide and acid-catalyzed enolization of 4-(3-methyl-2-oxo-2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)butanal followed by chemoselective intramolecular dehydrative cyclization as the key steps. It is noteworthy that the analogous model system with an additional beta-methyl group followed an alternative chemoselective intermolecular aldol condensation pathway.

Chiron approach to formal synthesis of both antipodes of cis 3-hydroxypipecolic acid (vol 55, pg 6423, 2014) - Chavan, Subhash P.; Khairnar, Lalit B.; Chavan, Prakash N.; Dumare, Nilesh B.; Kalbhor, Dinesh B.; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2020)

Co (9) S (8) nanoparticle-supported nitrogen-doped carbon as a robust catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in both acidic and alkaline conditions - Illathvalappil, Rajith; Kurungot, Sreekumar (ChemElectroChem, 2020)
The present work illustrates the synthesis of an efficient and durable catalyst for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) which is active both in the alkaline and acidic conditions by dispersing few-layer graphitic carbon coated Co(9)S(8)nanoparticles on the nitrogen-doped carbon (NVC-G) support (Co9S8/NVC-G). The size of the Co(9)S(8)nanoparticles is nearly 7-8 nm and the particles are found to be dispersed homogeneously on the NVC-G support. The few-layer graphitic carbon formed on the surface of Co(9)S(8)nanoparticles is assisting to accomplish their small size and it also prevents agglomeration of the nanoparticles. The ORR activity of the obtained material was analyzed in both 0.1 M KOH and 0.5 M H(2)SO(4)solutions. Co9S8/NVC-G displays nearly 70 mV overpotential compared to thestate-of-the-artPt/C in 0.1 M KOH solution. The half-wave potential (E-1/2) difference of the present system is nearly 75 mV with the commercial Pt/C. Co9S8/NVC-G displays promising ORR activity in the acidic conditions as well with nearly 140 mV overpotential compared to its Pt/C counterpart. The system shows about 170 mV lowerE(1/2)value with Pt/C. The system shows good stability both in acidic and basic conditions compared to the Pt/C system. Finally, testing of a single cell of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was performed by employing Co9S8/NVC-G as the cathode catalyst and Nafion-212 as the proton exchange membrane. The system displays a maximum power density of 245 mW cm(-2)in H-2-O(2)and 115 mW cm(-2)in H-2-air feeding conditions.
Keywords: cobalt sulfide; fuel cells; Nanoparticles; nitrogen-doped carbon; oxygen reduction reaction

CO2 hydrogenation to formate by palladium nanoparticles supported on N-incorporated periodic mesoporous organosilica - Betsy, K. J.; Lazar, Anish; Pavithran, Anjuna; Vinod, C. P. (ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2020)
Development of a heterogeneous catalyst capable of selective transformation of CO2 to valuable products still remains a challenge. In this article, we account for the surfactant-directed synthesis of a new framework-incorporated nitrogen-containing periodic mesoporous organosilica nanosphere (NPMO). A thoroughly characterized N-incorporated hybrid PMO was utilized as a platform for stabilizing well-dispersed and easily accessible Pd nanoparticles (Pd-NPMO) without using any stabilizing agents or expensive dendrimers. Further, this bifunctional hybrid catalyst has been demonstrated to heterogeneously catalyze aqueous phase CO2 hydrogenation (CO2/H-2 ratio 1:3) for the direct synthesis of formate under 4 MPa pressure and at 100 degrees C. To validate the superior performance of the Pd-NPMO catalyst, we compared the activity with Pd-SBA-15 catalysts, and the results showed a 10-fold increase in turnover frequency of 108 h(-1) using Pd on NPMO which envisaged the crucial role of nitrogen sites in this catalyst to boost the CO2 valorization to formate.
Keywords: CO2 hydrogenation; Formic acid synthesis; Hybrid silica; Pd nanoparticles; PMO

Cobalt-based metal complexes prevent repeat tau aggregation and nontoxic to neuronal cells - Gorantla, V. Nalini; Balaraman, Ekambaram; Chinnathambi, Subashchandrabose (International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2020)
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder with an alarming increase in the death rate every year. AD is characterised by an aberrant accumulation of proteins in the form of aggregates. The axonal microtubule-associated protein Tau and arnyloid-beta undergo structural transition to beta-sheet rich structure and form aggregates in neuronal soma as well as in the extracellular region. The loss of Tau from microtubules leads to the disintegration of axon and causing neuronal degeneration. This led to the development of effective drugs against AD, to prevent Tau aggregation. Here, we synthesized and screen metal-based complexes to prevent Tau protein aggregation. ThS fluorescence and TEM suggested the role of synthetic cobalt complexes in inhibiting Tau aggregation. CD spectroscopy showed that these complexes prevented conformational changes in Tau to beta-sheet. CBMCs were not toxic at lower concentrations and formed non-toxic Tau species. L1 and L2 prevented membrane leakage: whereas, higher concentrations of L3 caused membrane leakage as observed by LDH release assay. The overall results indicate the synthetic cobalt complexes to be a promising molecule against AD. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Cobalt-based metals; Tau Aggregation; Tau inhibition; Tau toxicity

Co@CoAl-layered double hydroxide/nitrogen-doped graphene composite catalyst for Al-H2O-based batteries: simultaneous hydrogen production and electricity generation - Nadeema, Ayasha; Pandurang Kharabe, Geeta; Prakash Biswal, Dibya; Kurungot, Sreekumar (ChemElectroChem, 2020)
Currently, the low energy efficiency of water electrolysis has compelled research toward the development of novel and energy-effective strategies for low-cost H-2 generation. In this context, we report a new concept of simultaneous H-2 and electricity generation by separating out the exothermic self-sustained Al-H2O reaction via electrochemistry. In addition, to catalyze the cathodic water reduction reaction, a single-pot and environmentally benign synthesis method is adopted. It results in the design of an electrocatalyst composed of Co@CoAl-layered double hydroxide core-shell nanospheres anchored over in situ generated N-doped graphene. Toward the water reduction reaction, the designed catalyst shows a negative voltage shift of mere around 113 mV with respect to the commercial Pt/C catalyst to reach the benchmark 10 mA cm(-2), with excellent stability of approximately 86 % voltage retention after 12 h of continuous operation. The catalytic superiority of our material is evident when taken for battery-level testing; the fabricated device was able to deliver an average output voltage of around 0.95 V at a discharge current density of 5 mA cm(-2) along with H-2 liberation, which was also detected and quantified through gas chromatography.
Keywords: Al-H2O fuel cells; chronopotentiometry; core-shell structures; hydrogen evolution reaction; layered double hydroxides

Co-gasification of high ash coal–biomass blends in a fluidized bed gasifier: - Tiwary, Shishir; Ghugare, Suhas B.; Chavan, Prakash D.; Saha, Sujan; Datta, Sudipta; Sahu, Gajanan; Tambe, Sanjeev S. (Waste and Biomass Valorization, 2020)
Co-gasification (COG) is a clean-coal technology that uses a binary blend of coal and biomass for generating the product gas; it is environment-friendly since it emits lesser quantities of pollutants compared to the coal gasification process. Although coals found in many countries contain high percentages of ash, co-gasification studies involving such coals, and the process modeling thereof, are rare. Accordingly, this study presents results of the co-gasification experiments conducted in a fluidized-bed gasifier (FBG) pilot plant using as a feed the blends of high ash Indian coals with three biomasses, namely, rice husk, press mud, and sawdust. Since the underlying physicochemical phenomena are complex and nonlinear, modeling of the COG process has been performed using three computational intelligence (CI)-based methods namely, genetic programming, artificial neural networks, and support vector regression. Each of these formalisms was employed separately to develop models predicting four COG performance variables, namely, total gas yield, carbon conversion efficiency, heating value of product gas, and cold gas efficiency. All the CI-based models exhibit an excellent prediction accuracy and generalization performance. The co-gasification experiments and their modeling presented here for a pilot-plant FBG can be gainfully utilized in the efficient design and operation of the corresponding commercial scale co-gasifiers utilizing high ash coals.

Combinatorial approach through in vitro regeneration and phytochemical profiling of ceropegia media (huber) ans.: a potential way forward in the conservation of an endangered medicinal plant from the western ghats in India - Pandey, Meena; Dholakia, Bhushan B.; Jayaramaiah, Ramesha H.; Punekar, Sachin A.; Giri, Ashok P. (Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, 2020)
Ceropegia mediais an endemic and endangered plant as its propagation through seeds is unreliable due to low germination, slow growth and seedling decay under natural conditions. Also, tubers of this plant are edible serving as carbohydrate source with medicinal values leading to severe population decline in the natural habitat. To provide a sustainable solution, an efficient in vitro propagation protocol along with phytochemical profiling was developed forC. media. Callus cultures were induced from seedling and wild leaf tissues using the most effective Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D; 2 mu M) and sucrose (3%). Somatic embryos were acquired on MS medium with 1 mu M 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 1 mu M 2,4-D. Conversion into plantlets was attained only from tissue culture-derived seedling leaf (TCDSL) explant. Further, in vitro tuberization was achieved from TCDSL callus with BAP and Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). AgNO(3)as an elicitor had a positive effect on both fresh and dry weights of callus. Successful acclimatization (58%) was attained after two months resulting in normal phenotype in pots. Further, metabolite profiles of ten different tissues from wild and in vitro plants were compared. Total 82 compounds comprising alkaloids, fatty acids, fatty acid ester, steroids, terpenes and hydrocarbons were identified. Overall, results suggested enhanced production of selected metabolites with in vitro propagation and AgNO3, alleviating the problem of unavailability of planting materials. Thus, the current study might offer potential ways for the conservation of such RED enlisted species asC. media. [GRAHICS]
Keywords: Ceropegia media; GC-MS; Microtuberization; Secondary metabolites; Silver nitrate; somatic embryogenesis

Comparative proteomics unravels the differences in salt stress response of own-rooted and 110R-grafted thompson seedless grapevines - Patil, Sucheta; Shinde, Manisha; Prashant, Ramya; Kadoo, Narendra; Upadhyay, Anuradha; Gupta, Vidya (Journal of Proteome Research, 2020)
Thompson Seedless, a commonly grown table grape variety, is sensitive to salinity when grown on its own roots, and therefore, it is frequently grafted onto salinity-tolerant wild grapevine rootstocks. Rising soil salinity is a growing concern in irrigated agricultural systems. The accumulation of salts near the root zone severely hampers plant growth, leading to a decrease in the productive lifespan of grapevine and causing heavy yield losses to the farmer. In the present study, we investigated the differences in response to salinity between own-rooted Thompson Seedless (TSOR) and 110R-grafted Thompson Seedless (TS110R) grapevines, wherein 110R is reported to be a salt-tolerant rootstock. The grapevines were subjected to salt stress by treating them with a 150 mM NaCl solution. The stress-induced changes in protein abundance were investigated using a label-free shotgun proteomics approach at three time points viz. 6 h, 48 h, and 7 days of salt treatment. A total of 2793 proteins were identified, of which 246 were differentially abundant at various time-points in TSOR and TS110R vines. The abundance of proteins involved in several biological processes such as photosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, translation, chlorophyll biosynthesis, and generation of precursor metabolites was significantly affected by salt stress in both the vines but at different stages of stress. The results revealed that TSOR vines responded fervently to salt stress, while TS110R vines adopted a preventive approach. The findings of this study add to the knowledge of salinity response in woody and grafted plants and hence open the scope for further studies on salt stress-specific differences induced by grafting.
Keywords: 110R rootstock; gene ontology; grafting; label-free proteomics; salt stress; Vitis vinifera

Comprehensive metagenomic insights into a unique mass gathering and bathing event reveals transient influence on a riverine ecosystem - Yadav, Rakeshkumar; Rajput, Vinay; Gohil, Kushal; Khairnar, Krishna; Dharne, Mahesh (Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2020)
The religious mass gathering and bathing can pose a multitude of significant public health challenges and lead to severe alterations in the river microbial ecology. The Pandharpur Wari is an annual pilgrimage of Maharashtra, India, where millions of devotees carry the footprints of the saint-poets and pay their obeisance to Lord Vitthal on the 11th day of moon's waxing phase (Ashadi Ekadashi). As a part of the ritual, the engrossed devotees, walk over 250 km, take a first holy dip in a sacred river Indrayani at Alandi and secondly in Bhima River at Pandharpur. The MinION-based shotgun metagenomic approach was employed to examine the impact of spiritual mass bathing on environmental changes (concerning the river microbial community structure and functions); and public health aspects (in terms of changes in the pathogenic potential and antibiotic resistance). The analysis of bathing and post-bathing samples of both the rivers revealed alterations in the alpha and beta diversity, indicating significant spatiotemporal variations in the overall microbial structure and function. Furthermore, the analysis revealed up to 80% of differences in the abundance of virulence genes between the bathing and post bathing samples. We observed parallel increase of priority skin and enteric pathogens (ranging from 11% to 80%) such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa during the bathing event. Moreover, we observed a significant increase in the antibiotic resistance in the bathing samples of Bhima and Indrayani rivers respectively. Altogether, this is the first comprehensive metagenomic study unravelling the influence of religious mass-bathing on the riverine ecosystem.
Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Mass bathing; MinION sequencing; Priority pathogens; Virulence genes

Concise enantioselective synthesis of (R)-(+)-goniothalamin oxide, a trypanocidal active agent via L-prolinol catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of cinnamaldehyde - Kumar, B. Senthil; Mandle, Ram D.; Kamble, Sanjay P.; Sudalai, Arumugam (Indian Journal of Chemistry Section B-Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry, 2020)
A short and straight-forward enantioselective synthesis of (R)-(+)-goniothalamin oxide 2 has been achieved with an overall yield of 39% and 99% ee. The synthetic approach involves L-prolinol catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of cinnamaldehyde followed by Lewis acid-mediated diastereoselective allylation of epoxy aldehyde as the key chiral-inducing steps.
Keywords: Allylation; asymmetric epoxidation; Esterification; Grubbs' catalyst; L-prolinol catalyst; Ring closing metathesis

Conjunctive photoluminescence enhancement through plasmonic and photonic band-gap pathways in a chiral self-assembled system - Baral, Marlin; Krishna Prasad, S.; Bhat, Sachin A.; Nayak, Rashmi A.; Yelamaggad, C. V. (ChemPhotoChem, 2020)
We describe two parallel pathways for enhancing the intrinsic photoluminescence of an organic emitter dispersed in a liquid crystal (LC) medium. The pathways have independent origins: (i) Metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) incorporating gold nanoparticles having an organic shell of pro-mesogenic cholesterol esters; and (ii) Matching the photonic band gap (PBG) due to the helical structure in a self-assembled chiral system with the excitation wavelength. This unprecedented combination of both pathways achieves a level of photoluminescence exceeding the sum of the contribution from the individual methods. This conjunctive protocol results in an overall enhancement by a factor of 37 between the emitter dispersed in a non-chiral LC and that appealing to both MEF and PBG pathways. Circular polarized luminescence measurements also show that this protocol helps in effective discrimination of chiral light achieving a large dissymmetry factor whose magnitude (+0.33) is comparable to the highest recorded to date. Electric field switching between two states is also shown to result in appreciable fluorescence modulation. Being generic in nature the protocol employed can be adapted to a variety of situations with the large magnitude as well the modulation level suitable for applications such as biosensors, various analyte detection, and other photonic devices.
Keywords: chirality; circularly polarized luminescence; liquid crystals; photonic band-gap; plasmonics

Connecting microscopic structures, mesoscale assemblies, and macroscopic architectures in 3D-printed hierarchical porous covalent organic framework foams - Mohammed, Abdul Khayum; Usgaonkar, Saurabh; Kanheerampockil, Fayis; Karak, Suvendu; Halder, Arjun; Tharkar, Minakshi; Addicoat, Matthew; Ajithkumar, Thalasseril G.; Banerjee, Rahul (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2020)
The induction of macro and mesopores into two-dimensional porous covalent organic frameworks (COFs) could enhance the exposure of the intrinsic micropores toward the pollutant environment, thereby, improving the performance. However, the challenge is to build a continuous hierarchically porous macro-architecture of crystalline organic materials in the bulk scale. In this regard, we have strategized a novel synthetic method to create hierarchically porous COF foams consisting of ordered micropores (2-2.2 nm) and disordered meso and macropores (50 nm to 200 mu m) as well as ordered macropores (1.5 mm to 2 cm). Herein, graphene oxide was used for creating disordered macro and mesopores in COF-GO foams. Considering the rheological features of the precursor hydrogel, we could integrate crystalline and porous COF-GO foams into self-supported three-dimensional (3D)-printed objects with the desired shapes and sizes. Therefore, we have engineered the 3D macro-architecture of COF-GO foams into complex geometries keeping their structural order and continuous porosity intact over a range of more than a million (10(-9) m to 10(-3) m). The interconnected 3D openings in these COF-GO foams further enhance the rapid and efficient uptake of organic and inorganic pollutants from water (>95% removal within 30 s). The abundant distribution of interconnected macroporous volume (55%) throughout the COF-GO foam matrix enhances the flow of water (1.13 x 10(-3) m.s(-1)) which results in efficient mass transport and adsorption.

Construction of unique SCF3-containing building blocks via allylic alkylation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts - Halder, Priyanka; Pol, Mahesh D.; Ahire, Milind M.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2020)
Lewis base-catalyzed allylic alkylation of Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts with alpha-SCF3 ketones has been demonstrated. The developed strategy provides efficient access to a series of highly functionalized scaffolds featuring trifluoromethanesufinyl motif on a stereogenic carbon.

Continuous Flow Synthesis of Nanomaterials - Kulkarni, Amol A.; Jundale, R. B. (Continuous Flow Synthesis of Nanomaterials, 2020)

Continuous interfacial centrifugal separation and recovery of silver nanoparticles - Deshpande, Jaydeep B.; Navale, Govinda R.; Dharne, Mahesh S.; Kulkarni, Amol A. (Chemical Engineering & Technology, 2020)
Continuous-flow separation and recovery of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using an annular centrifugal extractor (ACE) is demonstrated. Separation was achieved at the liquid-liquid interface based on the balance between centrifugal force and the solubility of the capping agent. A mathematical model is presented to understand the mechanism in greater detail. The separation of poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP)-coated AgNPs in an ACE using a strong immiscible solvent was performed. The material accumulated at the interface was separated periodically without discontinuing the operation. The method is also suitable for separation of large particles or 1D/2D nanostructures even employing a single annular centrifugal extractor. Stable AgNPs were selected for a detailed antimicrobial activity study.
Keywords: Annular centrifugal extractor; Antimicrobial activity; Continuous-flow separation; Liquid-liquid interface; silver nanoparticles

Continuous time random walk concepts applied to extended mode coupling theory: a study of the Stokes? Einstein breakdown - Nandi, Manoj Kumar; Bhattacharyya, Sarika Maitra (Journal of Physics-Condensed Matter, 2020)
In an attempt to extend the mode coupling theory (MCT) to lower temperatures, some years back an Unified theory was proposed which within the MCT framework incorporated the activated dynamics via the random first order transition theory (RFOT). The theory successfully showed that there is hopping induced diffusive dynamics and the modified MCT coupled to the activated motion continues till low temperatures. Here we show that the theory although successful in describing other properties of supercooled liquids is unable to capture the Stokes?Einstein breakdown. We then show using continuous time random work (CTRW) formalism that the Unified theory is equivalent to a CTRW dynamics in presence of two waiting time distributions. It is known from earlier work on CTRW that in such cases the total dynamics is dominated by the fast motion. This explains the failure of the Unified theory in predicting the SE breakdown as both the structural relaxation and the diffusion process are described by the comparatively fast MCT like dynamics. The study also predicts that other forms of extended MCT with Markovian hopping kernel will face a similar issue. We next modify the Unified theory by applying the concept of renewal theory, usually used in CTRW models where the distribution has a long tail. According to this theory the first jump given by the persistent time is slower than the subsequent jumps given by the exchange time. We first show that for systems with two waiting time distributions even when both the distributions are exponential the persistent time is larger than the exchange time. We also identify the persistent time with the slower activated process. The extended Unified theory can now explain the SE breakdown. In this extended theory at low temperatures the structural relaxation is described by the activated dynamics whereas the diffusion is primarily determined by the MCT like dynamics leading to a decoupling between them. We also calculate a dynamic lengthscale from the wavenumber dependence of the relaxation time. We find that this dynamic length scale grows faster than the static length scale.
Keywords: continuous time random walk; mode coupling theory; Stokes?Einstein breakdown

Controlled synthesis of two-dimensional (2-D) ultra-thin bismuth selenide (Bi2Se3) nanosheets by bottom-up solution-phase chemistry and its electrical transport properties for thermoelectric application - Bin Masood, Khalid; Kumar, Pushpendra; Giri, Rajiv; Singh, Jai (FlatChem, 2020)
Bismuth Selenide and associated compounds inheriting stacked layered structure represent a unique class of materials where bulks are insulating with conducting surfaces, best known as thermoelectric materials. The bottom-up solution-based approach is a convenient alternative producing ultrathin high quality two-dimensional Bi2Se3 nanosheets. The present investigation deals with glycol mediated synthesis of highly crystalline ultrathin Bi2Se3 nanosheets. The as-synthesized Bi2Se3 nanosheets exhibit a rhombohedral crystal structure with a substantial surface-to-volume ratio that can possess several potential applications. Besides, the ultrathin Bi2Se3 nanosheets produced herein, found to be n-type with robust spatial confinement of charge carriers advantageous for thermoelectric applications, delivering a high-power factor of 1.55 mu W/cmK(2) at 150 degrees C. The method demonstrates the generic feature of the solution phase technique for the synthesis of highly crystalline nanosheets allowing mass production of identical ultra-thin nanosheets that can be easily integrated into devices for several promising applications, including spintronics, energy storage, and topological quantum computation.
Keywords: Rhombohedral structure; Sheet-like structure; Thermoelectric nanomaterials; transmission electron microscopy; XPS Spectra

Controlling and stabilization of Ru nanoparticles by tuning the nitrogen content of the support for enhanced H-2 production through aqueous-phase reforming of glycerol - Gogoi, Pranjal; Kanna, Narsimharao; Begum, Pakiza; Deka, Ramesh C.; Satyanarayana, C. V. V.; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy (ACS Catalysis, 2020)
The stable activity of catalysts is an important issue in catalysis, particularly aqueous-phase reforming (APR) of renewable oxygenates, of biomass origin, to get H-2. Sintering of metal nanoparticles on supports affects catalyst stability. To alleviate this problem, a series of highly stable Ru-supported catalysts with controlled metal nanoparticle sizes have been prepared via the easy incipient wetness impregnation method. These catalysts were used for APR of glycerol to produce H-2. Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbons (NMCs) were utlized as supports and found to have a strong influence on the catalytic performance of the catalysts. Incorporation of nitrogen in the carbon framework significantly enhanced the catalytic activity compared to Ru catalysts on nitrogen-free supports. Notably, the catalyst (5 wt % Ru-NMC-3) with optimal N content (10.9 wt %) demonstrated improved stability and H-2 selectivity, which are better than those of many state-of-the-art catalysts. Nitrogen in the carbon framework has a dual relationship with the activity of the catalyst: (i) it creates basic environment over the catalysts support and (ii) it acts as an anchoring site for metal nanoparticles. Anchoring of metal nanoparticles has helped to curb their sintering, thus leading to better stability of the catalysts under APR reaction conditions. Various characterization techniques were employed to understand the nature of active catalytic sites responsible for higher H-2 production while minimizing CO formation. In situ CO-FTIR studies showed that the higher catalytic activity of 5 wt % Ru-NMC-3 catalyst was attributed to the enhanced WGS activity over this catalyst. Density functional theory calculations were performed to understand the stabilization of metal nanoparticles by different types of N present on the support and provide insights into the prefered sites of glycerol adsorption on the NMC support. Since S wt % Ru-NMC-3 was the relatively best catalyst, it was selected for the preparation of bimetallic catalysts. Accordingly, addition of Pt to this system helped to increase the stability of the catalyst. This bimetallic catalyst may, therefore, find application for wide use in APR of biomass oxygenates.
Keywords: aqueous-phase reforming; Glycerol; H-2 production; Ru/NMC catalyst; synergistic effect

Cooperative acid-base sites of solid Ba-Zr mixed oxide catalyst for efficient isomerization of glucose to fructose in aqueous medium - Shaikh, Samrin S.; Patil, Chetana R.; Kondawar, Sharda E.; Rode, Chandrashekhar V. (ChemistrySelect, 2020)
Efficient and highly selective isomerization of glucose to fructose was achieved by using the inexpensive Ba-Zr mixed metal oxide catalyst. Catalyst was prepared by varying Ba-Zr ratios using co-precipitation method. Various phases formed, planes exposed, morphology, elemental composition and particle size, basic site density and strength, oxidation state of elements were well studied by using various characterization techniques. The XRD analysis clearly indicates the presence of Ba+2 and Zr+4 in the form of BaO, ZrO2 and BaZrO3 phases. The SEM and HR-TEM images indicate that, Ba-Zr (2 : 1) catalyst prepared showed uniform morphology with spherical and rod-shaped particles ranging from 300 to 600 nm. Under the optimized reaction conditions Ba-Zr (2 : 1) catalyst exhibited excellent results in terms of 57 % of glucose conversion with 89 % selective formation of glucose. The presence of both acidic as well as basic sites play vital roles in activating the substrate molecules to selectively yield fructose. Ba-Zr (2 : 1) catalyst showed excellent recyclability performance up to four recycles.
Keywords: Co-precipitation; fructose; glucose; isomerization; mixed metal oxide

Copper-catalyzed direct arylation of indoles and related (hetero)arenes: a ligandless and solvent-free approach - Pandey, Dilip K.; Shabade, Anand B.; Punji, Benudhar (Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 2020)
A ligandless and solvent-free copper-catalyzed method for the regioselective C-H bond arylation of indoles and related heteroarenes is reported. The use of CuCl efficiently catalyzes the direct coupling of diverse heteroarenes with aryl iodides via chelation-assistance. This reaction could tolerate sensitive and structurally diverse functionalities, including halides, ethers, thioethers, amines, indolyl, pyrrolyl and carbazolyl groups. The directing group, 2-pyridinyl can be smoothly removed to generate C-2 arylated free-NH indoles, and the arylated indoles can further be functionalized into Tryptamine derivatives. Preliminary mechanistic study revealed a radical pathway for the arylation reaction.
Keywords: Arylation; C-H activation; Chelation-assistance; Copper; Indole; Solvent-free

Correlation between multifunctional properties of lead free Iron doped BCT perovskite ceramics - Redhu, Preeti; Punia, Rajesh; Hooda, Ashima; Malik, B. P.; Sharma, Geeta; Sharma, Preeti (Ceramics International, 2020)
Present study investigates the effect of Fe doping on structural, microstructural, dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric and magnetic properties of Barium calcium titanate (BCT) ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction route. The polycrystalline tetragonal structure of prepared ceramics was confirmed from XRD study. Analysis done using Rietveld refinement reveals reduction in lattice parameters as well as unit cell volume on substitution of Fe3+ ions in BCT lattice. Occurrence of four distinct Raman bands viz. 297 cm(-1) -302 cm(-1), 473 cm(-1)-475 cm(-1), 516 cm(-1) -524 cm(-1) and 729 cm(-1) -733 cm(-1) in Raman spectroscopic studies confirms the tetragonal phase of prepared ceramic compositions which are in accordance with XRD study. The Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis revealed polyhedral shaped grains whose average grain size decreased with increase in Fe content (x) in BCT ceramics. A diffused frequency independent phase transition was observed in temperature dependent dielectric measurements. Dielectric properties improved significantly, with shifting of transition temperature, T c close to room temperature with Fe doping. These studiessuggest applications of these ceramics in the development of environment friendly dielectric materials meeting X7R MLCCs specifications. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of these ceramic compositions were found to decrease with increase in Fe concentration. Feeble room temperature ferromagnetism was observed for composition x = 0.020.
Keywords: BCT; dielectric response; Fe doping; ferroelectric properties; Lead free ceramics; Magnetic measurements

Critical organic modifier aliphatic tail length for the formation of poly(methyl methacrylate)-montmorillonite nanocomposites - Tiwari, Rajkiran R.; Natarajan, Upendra (Polymer Engineering and Science, 2020)
In this article, we report the influence of organic modifier structure (alkyl chain length C8-C20, single vs ditallow) and thereby, the effect of hydrophobicity on the structure, thermal and mechanical properties of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-clay hybrids. Melt processed PMMA-clay hybrids were characterized using wide-angle X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The organoclays having an alkyl chain length of more than 12 CH2 groups resulted in the formation of nanocomposites. The glass transition temperature (T-g) of PMMA increased in the presence of clay. The mean-field lattice model was used to predict the free energy for nanocomposite formation, which showed a reasonable match with the experimental results and provided a general guideline for the proper selection of polymer and organoclay (ie, organic modifier) to obtain nanocomposite. Tensile modulus showed maximum improvement of 58% for the nanocomposites compared to 9% improvement for the composites. Tensile modulus increased with increases in the alkyl chain length of the organic modifier and clay loading. The level of improvement for the tensile properties of nanocomposites prepared from primary and secondary ammonium-modified clay is the same as that obtained with the commercial organoclays.
Keywords: hybrid; mechanical properties; Montmorillonite; Nanocomposites; organoclay; poly(methyl methacrylate)

Crystal structure of a 1:1 co-crystal of the anti-cancer drug gefitinib with azelaic acid - George, Christy P.; Sangtani, Ekta; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Acta Crystallographica Section E: Crystallographic Communications, 2020)
In the title co-crystal, C22H24ClFN4O3·C9H16O4, gefitinib (GTB; systematic name: quinazolin-4-amine) co-crystallizes with azelaic acid (AA; systematic name: nona-nedioic acid). The co-crystal has the monoclinic P21/n centrosymmetric space group, containing one mol-ecule each of GTB and AA in the asymmetric unit. A structure overlay of the GTB mol-ecule in the co-crystal with that of its most stable polymorph revealed a significant difference in the conformation of the morpholine moiety. The significant deviation in the conformation of one of the acidic groups of azelaic acid from its usual linear chain structure could be due to the encapsulation of one acidic group in the pocket formed between the two pincers of GTB namely, the morpholine and phenyl moieties. Both GTB and AA mol-ecules form N-H⋯O, O-H⋯N, C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds with C-H⋯F close contacts along with off-stacked aromatic π-π inter-actions between the GTB mol-ecules.

Crystal-to-crystal synthesis of helically ordered polymers of trehalose by topochemical polymerization - Hema, Kuntrapakam; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Sureshan, Kana M. (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2020)
The synthesis of crystalline helical polymers of trehalose via topochemical azide-alkyne cycloaddition (TAAC) of a trehalose-based monomer is presented. An unsymmetrical trehalose derivative having azide and alkyne crystallizes in two different forms having almost similar packing. Upon heating, both the crystals undergo TAAC reaction to form crystalline polymers. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies revealed that the monomers in both the crystals polymerize in a crystal-to-crystal fashion; circular dichroism (CD) studies of the product crystals revealed that the formed polymer is helically ordered. This solvent-free, catalyst-free polymerization method that eliminates the tedious purification of the polymeric product exemplifies the advantage of topochemical polymerization reaction over traditional solution-phase polymerization.
Keywords: Click reaction; helical polymers; polysaccharide; topochemical reactions; trehalose

Cu-Ni bimetal integrated TiO2 thin film for enhanced solar hydrogen generation - Tudu, Bijoy; Nalajala, Naresh; Saikia, Pranjal; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Solar RRL, 2020)
A series of non-noble Cu-Ni bimetallic catalysts is prepared with different molar proportions of metals. Of these bimetallic catalysts, 1 wt% is subsequently integrated with titania P25. The catalysts are evaluated for solar hydrogen generation under 1 sun condition in both the powder and thin film forms. All the photocatalysts in the thin film exhibit an 8-24 times higher hydrogen yield (HY) compared with the corresponding particulate counterpart. The highest HY (41.7 mmol h(-1) g(-1)) is demonstrated for the photocatalyst Cu-Ni/TiO2 (CNT; 1:1 = Cu:Ni) in the thin film form, which is 24 times higher than that with its powder counterpart (1.75 mmol h(-1) g(-1)) and exceeds the performance of other Cu-Ni/TiO2 compositions. This enhanced activity in the thin film can be ascribed to improved absorption of visible light and an effective separation of photogenerated charge carriers at the interface of Cu-Ni/TiO2 leading to better charge carrier utilization.
Keywords: bimetals; energy conversion; Hydrogen; Photocatalysis; solar energy

Cyanosilylation by compounds with main-group elements: an odyssey - Pahar, Sanjukta; Kundu, Gargi; Sen, Sakya S. (ACS Omega, 2020)
The past few decades have seen remarkable headways in the structural and reaction chemistry of compounds with heavier main-group elements. In recent years, there is an ongoing effort to derive catalytic chemistry involving main-group compounds, driven by their lower costs and higher terrestrial abundances. Here, a survey on the state-of-the-art in the development of cyanosilylation methodology by compounds with heavier main-group elements has been given. Once dominated by transition metals, the field has matured to embrace the majority of the main-group elements including aluminum, silicon, and calcium. Of particular focus will be how the mechanism of cyanosilylation involving compounds with main-group elements differs from those of transition metals.

C (1)-Symmetric diphosphorus ligands in metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation to prepare chiral compounds - Sen, Anirban; Chikkali, Samir H. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2021)
Asymmetric hydrogenation has remained an important and challenging research area in industry as well as academia due to its high atom economy and ability to induce chirality. Among several types of ligands, chiral bidentate phosphine ligands have played a pivotal role in developing asymmetric hydrogenation. Although C-2-symmetric chiral bidentate phosphine ligands have dominated the field, it has been found that several C-1-symmetric ligands are equally effective and, in many cases, have outperformed their C-2-symmetric counterparts. This review evaluates the possibility of the use of C-1-symmetric diphosphorus ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation to produce chiral compounds. The recent strategies and advances in the application of C-1-symmetric diphosphorus ligands in the metal-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of a variety of C=C bonds have been summarized. The potential of diphosphorus ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation to produce pharmaceutical intermediates, bioactive molecules, drug molecules, agrochemicals, and fragrances is discussed. Although asymmetric hydrogenation appears to be a problem that has been resolved, a deep dive into the recent literature reveals that there are several challenges that are yet to be addressed. The current asymmetric hydrogenation methods mostly employ precious metals, which are depleting at a fast pace. Therefore, scientific interventions to perform asymmetric hydrogenation using base metals or earth-abundant metals that can compete with established precious metals hold significant potential.

Can we identify the salt-cocrystal continuum state using XPS? - Tothadi, Srinu; Shaikh, Tabrez Rafique; Gupta, Sharad; Dandela, Rambabu; Vinod, Chathakudath P.; Nangia, Ashwini K. (Crystal Growth & Design, 2021)
X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to understand the nature of acid-base crystalline solids, to know whether the product is a salt (proton transfer, O-center dot center dot center dot H-N+) or a cocrystal (neutral adduct, O-H center dot center dot center dot N). The present study was carried out to explore if intermediate states of proton transfer from COOH to nitrogen (the proton resides between hydrogen bonded to O and N, O center dot center dot center dot H center dot center dot center dot N, quasi state) can be differentiated from a salt (complete proton transfer, N+-H center dot center dot center dot center dot O-) and cocrystal (no proton transfer, O-H center dot center dot center dot N) using N 1s XPS spectroscopy. The intermediate states of proton transfer arise when the pK(a) difference between the acid and the conjugate base is between -1 and 4, -1 < Delta pK(a) < 4, a situation common with COOH and pyridine functional groups present in drug molecules and pharmaceutically acceptable coformers. Complexes of pyridine N bases with aromatic COOH molecules in nine salts/cocrystals were cocrystallized, and their N 1s core binding energies in XPS spectra were measured. The proton state was analyzed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction for confirmation. Three new complexes were crystallized and analyzed by XPS spectra (without knowledge of their X-ray structures), to assess the predictive ability of XPS spectra in differentiating salt-cocrystal intermediate states against the extremities. The XPS results were subsequently confirmed by single-crystal X-ray data. Complexes of 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid and isonicotinamide in 1:1 and 1:2 ratios exist as a salt and a salt-cocrystal continuum, respectively, as shown by the N 1s core binding energies. The proton states of the crystalline solids by XPS are in good agreement with the corresponding crystal structures. Other complexes, such as those of 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid with 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene, exhibit a salt-cocrystal continuum, maleic acids with 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene and acridine are salts, 2-hydroxybenzoic acid and acridine is a salt, and the complex of 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid and 3-hydroxypyridine is a salt and salt-cocrystal continuum, while fumaric acids with 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethylene and acridine are cocrystals. Furthermore, three new acidbase complexes of 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid with phenazine, 4-hydroxypyridine, and 4-cyanopyridine were studied initially by XPS and then confirmed by X-ray diffraction. In summary, since the N 1s binding energies cluster in a narrow range as cocrystals (398.7-398.9 eV) and salts (400.1-401.1 eV), it is clearly possible to differentiate between cocrystals and salts, but the saltcocrystal continuum values in XPS spectra are clustered in an intermediate range of cocrystals and salts but overlap with those of cocrystal or salt binding energies.

Carbazole substituted amidinato silylene: synthesis, bonding, and coordination behavior with coinage metals - Ghosh, Moushakhi; Tothadi, Srinu; Khan, Shabana (Organometallics, 2021)
In this work, the synthesis and characterization of a new carbazole substituted amidinatosilylene (1) and its coinage metal complexes 3-8 are being reported. Before the complexation reactions, we prepared [PhC(N+Bu)(2)Si(Cbz)-> Co(CO)Cp] complex (2) to estimate the sigma-donating strength of the newly synthesized silylene 1. Further, several commonly available coinage metal salts were utilized for the complexation reactions with 1, which afforded complexes 3-8. The solid-state structures of 1-8 have been validated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies, NMR spectroscopy, and mass spectroscopy. DFT studies were also performed to understand the bonding scenario of 1 and 3-7. Of note, 1 consists of a HOMO on its carbazolide moiety, and the HOMO-1 features the silylene character. We also compared the HOMO-LUMO gap of 1 with other amidinato silylenes having different N-substitutions.

Catalytic applications of hydrotalcite and related materials in multi -component reactions: concepts, challenges and future scope - Burange, Anand S.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Sustainable Chemistry and Pharmacy, 2021)
Hydrotalcites (HTs) are the potential substitute to conventional base catalysts. HTs are useful in efficient syntheses of various heterocycles, such as chromenes, pyrans, pyrazoles, triazoles, using multi-component reactions. This review focuses on the chemistry of HTs and particularly hydrotalcites and related materials in the synthesis of heterocycles. The effects of preparation method and, physico-chemical parameters, such as calcination, molar ratio of metals, role of intercalated ions, surface area, on the catalytic activities are discussed. Along with technical aspects, this review also unlocks various untouched areas in developing sustainable catalyst for syntheses of heterocycles, drugs, etc. for the future.
Keywords: green chemistry; green synthesis; heterocycles; heterogeneous catalysis; hydrotalcite; Metal Oxide

Caveolin induced membrane curvature and lipid clustering: two sides of the same coin? - Prakash, Shikha; Krishna, Anjali; Sengupta, Durba (Faraday Discussions, 2021)
Caveolin-1 (cav-1) is a multi-domain membrane protein that is a key player in cell signaling, endocytosis and mechanoprotection. It is the principle component of cholesterol-rich caveolar domains and has been reported to induce membrane curvature. The molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions of cav-1 with complex membranes, leading to modulation of membrane topology and the formation of cholesterol-rich domains, remain elusive. In this study, we aim to understand the effect of lipid composition by analyzing the interactions of cav-1 with complex membrane bilayers comprised of about sixty lipid types. We have performed a series of coarse-grain molecular dynamics simulations using the Martini force-field with a cav-1 protein construct (residue 82-136) that includes the membrane binding domains and a palmitoyl tail. We observe that cav-1 induces curvature in this complex membrane, though it is restricted to a nanometer length scale. Concurrently, we observe a clustering of cholesterol, sphingolipids and other lipid molecules leading to the formation of nanodomains. Direct microsecond timescale interactions are observed for specific lipids such as cholesterol, phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine lipid types. The results indicate that there is an interplay between membrane topology and lipid species. Our work is a step toward understanding how lipid composition and organization regulate the formation of caveolae, in the context of endocytosis and cell signaling.

Caveolin mediated curvature and clustering: from simple to complex membrane - Prakash, Shikha; Krishna, Anjali; Sengupta, Durba (Biophysical Journal, 2021)

Characterization of a novel nanocomposite film based on functionalized chitosan-Pt-Fe3O4 hybrid nanoparticles - Kumari, Sangeeta; Singh, Raj Pal; Chavan, Nayaku N.; Sahi, Shivendra V.; Sharma, Nilesh (Nanomaterials, 2021)
The development of organic-inorganic hybrids or nanocomposite films is increasingly becoming attractive in light of their emerging applications. This research focuses on the formation of a unique nanocomposite film with enhanced elasticity suitable for many biomedical applications. The physical property measurement system and transmission electron microscopy were used to analyze Pt-Fe3O4 hybrid nanoparticles. These nanohybrids exhibited magnetic effects. They were further exploited to prepare the nanocomposite films in conjunction with a chitosan-g-glycolic acid organic fraction. The nanocomposite films were then examined using standard techniques: thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. Tensile strength testing demonstrated a significantly greater elastic strength of these nanocomposite films than pure chitosan films. The water absorption behavior of the nanocomposites was evaluated by measuring swelling degree. These nanocomposites were observed to have substantially improved physical properties. Such novel nanocomposites can be extended to various biomedical applications, which include drug delivery and tissue engineering.
Keywords: Chitosan; nanocomposite films; Pt-Fe3O4 hybrid nanoparticles; tensile strength testing; Thermogravimetric analysis

Chemistry, anti-diabetic activity and structural analysis of substituted dihydropyrimidine analogues - Bairagi, Keshab M.; Younis, Nancy Safwat; Emeka, Promise Madu; Venugopala, Katharigatta N.; Alwassil, I, Osama; Khalil, Hany Ezzat; Sangtani, Ekta; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Mohanlall, Viresh; Nayak, Susanta K. (Journal of Molecular Structure, 2021)
In an effort to identify an anti-diabetic agent, a series of methyl/ethyl 4-(hydroxyphenyl)-6-methyl-2-oxo/thioxo-1,2,3,4 tetrahydropyrimidine-5-carboxylate analogues (4a-h) have been synthesized, purified, and characterized by using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and NMR (H-1 and C-13). The synthesized compounds were screened for anti-hyperglycemic activity using Streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rat model. The anti-hyperglycemic activity of dihydropyrimidine (DHPM) compound is mainly analyzed with the variation of substituents present on the phenyl ring and urea/thiourea group on pharmacophoric features. Further, the crystal structure and supramolecular characteristics of two compounds 4c and 4f were analyzed through a single-crystal X-ray method and the Hirshfeld Surface Analysis, which shows hydrogen bonding through N-H center dot center dot center dot O and N-H center dot center dot center dot S interactions with the formation of ring motif in the crystal structure. It is interesting to note that among the title compounds, the 4a, 4e, 4f, and 4g significantly displayed a better hypoglycemic effect in vivo rat model study. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Dihydropyrimidine (DHPM); Hypoglycemia; Streptozotocin (STZ); Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)

Chronic systemic exposure to IL6 leads to deregulation of glycolysis and fat accumulation in the zebrafish liver - Singh, Manoj K.; Jayarajan, Rijith; Varshney, Swati; Upadrasta, Sindhuri; Singh, Archana; Yadav, Rajni; Scaria, Vinod; Sengupta, Shantanu; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Shalimar; Sivasubbu, Sridhar; Gandotra, Sheetal; et al. (Biochimica ET Biophysica Acta-Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids, 2021)
Inflammation is a constant in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), although their relationship is unclear. In a transgenic zebrafish system with chronic systemic overexpression of human IL6 (IL6-OE) we show that inflammation can cause intra-hepatic accumulation of triglycerides. Transcriptomics and proteomics analysis of the IL6-OE liver revealed a deregulation of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, especially a striking down regulation of the glycolytic enzyme aldolase b. Metabolomics analysis by mass spectrometry showed accumulation of hexose monophosphates and their derivatives, which can act as precursors for triglyceride synthesis. Our results suggest that IL6-driven repression of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, specifically aldolase b, may be a novel mechanism for fatty liver. This mechanism may be relevant for NAFLD in lean individuals, an emerging class of NAFLD prevalent more in Asian Indian populations.
Keywords: Aldolase b; DHAP; Inflammation; Interleukin 6; Lean NAFLD; Non-alcoholic fatty liver

Cloning and expression of antibody fragment (Fab) I: effect of expression construct and induction strategies on light and heavy chain gene expression - Mehta, Deepa; Chirmade, Tejas; Tungekar, Aatir A.; Gani, Kayanat; Bhambure, Rahul (Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2021)
Dual promoter expression constructs offer time and cost-effective alternatives to produce multi-domain proteins like antibody fragments. This investigation is focused on understanding the effect of expression construct (dual promoter vs. co-transformation strategy), codon optimization, and induction strategies on yield and expression stoichiometry of LC and HC genes of antibody fragment at shake-flask and bioreactor scale. rHu biosimilar Ranibizumab was selected as a model protein for the study. Expression stoichiometry of HC and LC gene at mRNA level was studied using RTqPCR, whereas protein expression level was studied quantitatively using RP-HPLC and SDS-PAGE analysis. In the case of dual promoter expression construct, it was observed that LC gene cloned in the MCS1 of the duet vectors has > 2-fold expression than the HC gene, cloned in the MCS2. Transcript abundance profile of the HC and LC genes determined at different time intervals post-induction shows a difference in the gene expression at the transcriptional level. Comparative analysis of dual promoter and co-transformation strategy shows better stoichiometry in co-transformation (1:1.3), whereas higher protein yield in a dual expression system (>2.4 fold). The use of lactose and galactose as inducers show higher Fab yield of 2.30 +/- 0.03 g/L and 2.81 +/- 0.06 g/L with expression stoichiometry of 1:1.9 and 1:2 (HC: LC) respectively than IPTG-based induction with a protein yield of 1.40 +/- 0.02 g/L.
Keywords: Dual promoter vector; Expression stoichiometry; High cell density fermentation; rHu biosimilar Ranibizumab; Transcript abundance

Cobalt recovery from spent Li-ion batteries using lactic acid as dissolution agent - G. Santhosh; G.P. Nayaka (Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 2021)
The eﬀective recovery of cobalt from spent cathode materials is a critical issue and becomes a necessary assignment for the waste treatment of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in concern with waste to wealth. The dissolution process encompasses an organic acid leaching followed by recovery of pure Co oxalate. The use of lactic acid effectively improves the leaching of spent LiCoO2 materials with ascorbic acid. The leaching efficiencies of 99% for Li and 98% for Co were achieved under the optimal condition of 0.5 mol/L lactic acid and 0.02 mol/L ascorbic acid, solid/liquid ratio of 2 g/L, leaching time of 360 min and temperature of 90 °C. Based on the kinetic analysis, the enhancement leaching process is mainly on the concentration of dissolution reagent. Compared to other organic acids used previously, lactic acid showed better dissolution behavior.
Keywords: Cathode recycling; Kinetic analysis; Lactic acid; Spent Li-ion batteries

Co-decorated tellurium nanotubes for energy storage applications - Bhol, Prangya; Swain, Swarnalata; Jena, Satyaranjan; Bhatte, Kushal; Rout, Chandra Sekhar; Saxena, Manav; Jadhav, Arvind H.; Samal, Akshaya K. (ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2021)
This paper explicitly discusses the synthesis of Co-decorated Te nanotubes (NTs) using Te NTs as the sacrificial template and the evaluation of their electrochemical performance. First, one-dimensional (1D) Te NTs were synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic and microscopic tools such as UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses. The as-prepared hexagonal Te NTs (h-Te NTs) possess diameters of about 35 +/- 5 nm and lengths of about 500 +/- 50 nm and were used for the synthesis of Co-decorated Te NTs. The 1D nanostructure with excellent conductivity enables the material to show excellent electrochemical performance. The asymmetric assembly of the CoTe-2//AC electrode material displayed a high specific capacitance of 147 F g(-1) (specific capacity, 162 C g(-1) at a current density of 2 A g(-1) in 4 M KOH electrolyte. In addition to that, the assembly of CoTe-2//AC achieved an excellent energy density of 51.1 W h kg(-1) at a power density of 2294 W kg(-1) and confirmed the as-synthesized Co-decorated Te NTs to be an excellent electrode material.
Keywords: cobalt; nanotubes; pseudocapacitors; surfactant; Tellurium; template

Colchicine induces tetraploids in in vitro cultures of digitalis lanata Ehrh.: enhanced production of biomass and cardiac glycosides - Bhusare, B. P.; John, C. K.; Bhatt, V. P.; Nikam, T. D. (Industrial Crops and Products, 2021)
This study describes a promising method for tetraploidy induction in the in vitro grown diploid shoots of the cardiotonic herb Digitalis lanata by colchicine treatment to obtain a higher content of the cardiac glycosides' digoxin and digitoxin. The best frequency of tetraploids (33 %) induction was observed with 0.5 % colchicine treatment for 8 h. The content of digoxin and digitoxin in the tetraploids increased by 1.61-fold and 1.73-fold over the control diploids respectively. The higher cardiotonic glycoside production in the tetraploid plants of D. lanata have the potential to satisfy the increasing demand of superior plant material for pharmaceutical industries.
Keywords: Cardiac glycosides; Colchicine induced polyploidy; Digitalis lanata; Digitoxin; Digoxin

Cold active lipases: biocatalytic tools for greener technology - Mhetras, Nutan; Mapare, Vidhyashri; Gokhale, Digambar (Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 2021)
Lipases are enzymes that catalyze the ester bond hydrolysis in triglycerides with the release of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides, and glycerol. The microbial lipases account for \$400 million market size in 2017 and it is expected to reach \$590 million by 2023. Many biotechnological processes are expedited at high temperatures and hence much research is dealt with thermostable enzymes. Cold active lipases are now gaining importance in the detergent, synthesis of chiral intermediates and frail/fragile compounds, and food and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, they consume less energy since they are active at low temperatures. These cold active lipases have not been commercially exploited so far compared to mesophilic and thermophilc lipases. Cold active lipases are distributed in microbes found at low temperatures. Only a few microbes were studied for the production of these enzymes. These cold-adapted enzymes show increased flexibility of their structures in response to freezing effect of the cold habitats. This review presents an update on cold-active lipases from microbial sources along with some structural features justifying high enzyme activity at low temperature. In addition, recent achievements on their use in various industries will also be discussed.
Keywords: Cold active lipases; Frail compounds; Psychrophilic microbes; Synthesis of chiral molecules

Colloidal assembly by directional ice templating - Biswas, Bipul; Misra, Mayank; Bisht, Anil Singh; Kumar, Sanat K.; Kumaraswamy, Guruswamy (Soft Matter, 2021)
We investigate directional ice templating of dilute aqueous colloidal particle dispersions and examine the nature of the assemblies that result. We coat micron-size polystyrene colloids with cross-linkable polymer (polyethyleneimine, PEI), add cross-linker, and subject this dispersion to unidirectional freezing. We work at sufficiently low colloid concentrations, such that the particles do not percolate on freezing. When the aqueous dispersion freezes, ice crystals force polymer-coated particles and cross-linker into close proximity. This results in the formation of cross-linked clusters of particles at ice crystal boundaries. We vary the particle volume fraction from phi similar to 2.5 x 10(-3) to phi similar to 5.0 x 10(-2) and observe that there is a transition from isolated single particles to increasingly large sized clusters. Most of the clusters formed under these conditions are either linear, two-particle wide chains, or sheet-like aggregates. The probability (P-n) of clusters containing n particles (n > 2) obeys a power law P-n similar to n(-eta), where eta strongly depends on the particle concentration in the dispersion, varying from 2.10 (for phi similar to 5.0 x 10(-2)) to 3.03 (for phi similar to 2.5 x 10(-3)). This change in eta is qualitatively different from the case of isotropic freezing, where eta is particle concentration-independent and depends only on the ice nucleation density. To understand the differences between isotropic and directional ice templating, we performed lattice simulations of a highly simplified model, where ice crystals grow at a constant rate to force clustering. We ignore hydrodynamic interactions and ice growth instabilities. Despite ignoring these experimental details, the simulations capture the experimental results, nearly quantitatively. As the ice crystals grow and the space available to the colloids ``closes up'' so that the particles cluster to form aggregates, crystallization protocol-induced differences in the geometry of these ``closed up'' spaces determine the scaling behaviour of P-n.

Combating multi-drug resistant malaria parasite by inhibiting falcipain-2 and heme-polymerization: Artemisinin-peptidyl vinyl phosphonate hybrid molecules as new antimalarials - Aratikatla, Eswar K.; Kalamuddin, Md; Rana, Kalpeshkumar C.; Datta, Gaurav; Asad, Mohd; Sundararaman, Srividhya; Malhotra, Pawan; Mohmmed, Asif; Bhattacharya, Asish K. (European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2021)
<span style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;">Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) have been able to reduce the clinical and pathological malaria cases in endemic areas around the globe. However, recent reports have shown a progressive decline in malaria parasite clearance in South-east Asia after ACT treatment, thus envisaging a need for new artemisinin (ART) derivatives and combinations. To address the emergence of drug resistance to current antimalarials, here we report the synthesis of artemisinin-peptidyl vinyl phosphonate hybrid molecules that show superior efficacy than artemisinin alone against chloroquine-resistant as well as multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains with EC<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: 0; position: relative; bottom: -0.25em; color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;">50<span style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;"> in pico-molar ranges. Further, the compounds effectively inhibited the survival of ring-stage parasite for laboratory-adapted artemisinin-resistant parasite lines as compared to artemisinin. These hybrid molecules showed complete parasite clearance in vivo using P. berghei mouse malaria model in comparison to artemisinin alone. Studies on the mode of action of hybrid molecules suggested that these artemisinin-peptidyl vinyl phosphonate hybrid molecules possessed dual activities: inhibited falcipain-2 (FP-2) activity, a P. falciparum cysteine protease involved in hemoglobin degradation, and also blocked the hemozoin formation in the food-vacuole, a step earlier shown to be blocked by artemisinin. Since these hybrid molecules blocked multiple steps of a pathway and showed synergistic efficacies, we believe that these lead compounds can be developed as effective antimalarials to prevent the spread of resistance to current antimalarials.

Comparison of glycoprofiles of rituximab versions licensed for sale in India and an analytical approach for quality assessment - Kaur, Tejinder; Shukla, Bhupendra Nath; Yadav, Vinay Kumar; Kulkarni, Mahesh J.; Rao, Alka (Journal of Proteomics, 2021)
<span style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;">Glycosylation affects clinical efficacy and safety; therefore, is a critical quality attribute of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. Glycans are often labile and complex in patterns, giving rise to macro- and micro-heterogeneity. Recombinant production, diverse geographical locations, associated transportation and storage conditions further compound the problem. Two-way studies comparing glycoprofile of the originator and its given biosimilar are aplenty. However, the extent of analytical variation and similarity in glycoprofile across all approved versions of a drug is hardly explored. Using UHPLC and mass spectrometry, we compared the glycoprofiles of eight rituximab drug samples licensed for sale in India. While the types of glycans were found identical, the abundance of some glycans varied significantly within the tested population. The quality range of glycosylation parameters of the tested sample population differed significantly from the previously established values for US/EU licensed rituximab. As the mean abundance of the 90% of identified glycans falls within ±3SD, the extent of mutual variations amongst tested lots is less significant compared to the extreme deviation from previously established QR limits. Thus, we propose this approach as an orthogonal method to capture glycan variations in licensed versions of mAbs for quality surveillance and in cases where originator samples' are limiting. SIGNIFICANCE: As fluctuation in glycosylation may be of clinical significance, we identify that a one-to-one comparison with originator alone is insufficient in sensing the extent of variations in glycosylation parameters in licensed biosimilars of a given therapeutic mAb. Here we propose that future biosimilarity analysis may include an orthogonal approach of generating an additional combined QR range representing variations across the originator and its biosimilars. The glycosylation profiles of eight rituximab drug samples of different make obtained from the point of sale in India were found identical amongst the tested rituximab versions. However, the QR limits corresponding to important glycosylation parameters differed significantly across all tested samples from the previously established QR limits of US- and EU-licensed rituximab in statistical terms. Such an approach may be useful in defining the true range of glycan variations in licensed versions of therapeutic mAbs.

Comprehensive tutorial on the pulsed laser deposition technique and developments in the fabrication of low dimensional systems and nanostructures - Masood, Khalid Bin; Kumar, Pushpendra; Malik, Mushtaq Ahmad; Singh, Jai (Emergent Materials, 2021)
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a simple and extremely versatile technique to grow thin films and nanomaterials of a wide variety of materials. PLD allows the deposition of profoundly different materials, including high-temperature superconductors, oxides, nitrides, carbides, semiconductors, metals, and even polymers or fullerenes with high deposition rates. Growing thin films using PLD is now being used around the world for prototyping thin films of many inorganic materials and even in device fabrication protocols. This article covers the detailed development, versatility, and reliability of the ultraviolet (UV) excimer laser. It is envisioned that this review article is of interest for both the materials and chemical scientists engaged in more fundamental aspects of pulsed laser ablation and deposition. The present article highlights the historical developments of PLD technique, complete mechanism of thin film fabrication, optimization of the quality of thin films and the fabrication of thin films of the materials like ZnO, Graphene, MoS2, and WS2 which are being explored for various potential applications.

Computational insights into the role of external and local electric fields in macrocyclic chemical and biological systems - Mukherjee, Anagh; Ghule, Siddharth; Vanka, Kumar (ChemPhysChem, 2021)
The investigation of the role of the electric field in systems of widespread interest employing computational techniques is an emerging area of research. The outcome of applying an oriented external electric field (OEEF) on the geometric and electronic properties of the chemically unique pi-conjugated cyclic carbon ring compounds has been explored with density functional theory (DFT). Distinct changes in the structural and electronic features of such ring compounds are observed upon the application of OEEFs. Importantly, the calculations indicate that a mixed aliphatic-aromatic conjugated ring converts from a singlet to a triplet after the application of an OEEF, suggesting potential applications in optoelectronics for such molecules, without the need for photochemically induced change in the spin state. Furthermore, the influence of built-in local electric fields (LEFs) present in naturally occurring macrocyclic systems such as valinomycin has also been explored. Static and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) calculations indicate that LEFs are the primary driving factor in determining the energetically favoured position of counter anions such as chloride (Cl-) in the potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) coordinated valinomycin macrocycle structures: they exist inside the cage in the case of K+ sequestration by valinomycin and outside for Na+. This divergence has been proposed to be the determining factor for the selectivity of the valinomycin macrocycle for binding a K+ cation over Na+.
Keywords: counter anions; Density functional calculations; electric field; ion selectivity; macrocyclic systems

Concise/catalytic approach for the construction of the C14-C28 fragment of eribulin - Senapati, Sibadatta; Ramana, V, Chepuri (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2021)
A simple approach for the synthesis of the C14-C28 fragment of eribulin has been developed by employing a one-pot gold-catalyzed alkynol cyclization/Kishi reduction to construct the 1,5-cis-tetrahydropyran unit and a cross-metathesis/Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation-cycloetherification to install the 1,4-trans-tetrahydrofuran ring. Use of easily accessible building blocks, ease of operation and catalytic transformations as key reactions for the construction of THF/THP units highlight the current approach.

Conductive interface promoted bifunctional oxygen reduction/evolution activity in an ultra-low precious metal based hybrid catalyst - Sarkar, Shreya; Varghese, Merin; Vinod, C. P.; Peter, Sebastian C. (Chemical Communications, 2021)
Ultra low PtPd alloy deposited on Ni12P5 nanostructures (PtPd/Ni12P5) exhibited enhanced ORR activity (onset: 1.003 V and E-1/2:0.95 V) on par with commercial Pt/C and superior OER activity with 81% reduction of the precious metal compared to the commercial catalyst.

Conductive interface promoted bifunctional oxygen reduction/evolution activity in an ultra-low precious metal based hybrid catalyst (vol 57, pg 1951, 2021) - Sarkar, Shreya; Varghese, Merin; Vinod, C. P.; Peter, Sebastian C. (Chemical Communications, 2021)

Conformational plasticity and dynamic interactions of the N-terminal domain of the chemokine receptor CXCR1 - Kharche, Shalmali; Joshi, Manali; Chattopadhyay, Amitabha; Sengupta, Durba (Plos Computational Biology, 2021)
<span style="color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-family: BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, "Fira Sans", "Droid Sans", "Helvetica Neue", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400;">The dynamic interactions between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and their cognate protein partners are central to several cell signaling pathways. For example, the association of CXC chemokine receptor 1 (CXCR1) with its cognate chemokine, interleukin-8 (IL8 or CXCL8) initiates pathways leading to neutrophil-mediated immune responses. The N-terminal domain of chemokine receptors confers ligand selectivity, but unfortunately the conformational dynamics of this intrinsically disordered region remains unresolved. In this work, we have explored the interaction of CXCR1 with IL8 by microsecond time scale coarse-grain simulations, complemented by atomistic models and NMR chemical shift predictions. We show that the conformational plasticity of the apo-receptor N-terminal domain is restricted upon ligand binding, driving it to an open C-shaped conformation. Importantly, we corroborated the dynamic complex sampled in our simulations against chemical shift perturbations reported by previous NMR studies and show that the trends are similar. Our results indicate that chemical shift perturbation is often not a reporter of residue contacts in such dynamic associations. We believe our results represent a step forward in devising a strategy to understand intrinsically disordered regions in GPCRs and how they acquire functionally important conformational ensembles in dynamic protein-protein interfaces.

Connecting real glasses to mean-field models - Nandi, Ujjwal Kumar; Kob, Walter; Bhattacharyya, Sarika Maitra (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2021)
We propose a novel model for a glass-forming liquid, which allows us to switch in a continuous manner from a standard three-dimensional liquid to a fully connected mean-field model. This is achieved by introducing k additional particle-particle interactions, which thus augments the effective number of neighbors of each particle. Our computer simulations of this system show that the structure of the liquid does not change with the introduction of these pseudo-neighbors and by means of analytical calculations, and we determine the structural properties related to these additional neighbors. We show that the relaxation dynamics of the system slows down very quickly with the increase in k and that the onset and the mode-coupling temperatures increase. The systems with high values of k follow the mode-coupling theory power law behavior for a larger temperature range compared to the ones with lower values of k. The dynamic susceptibility indicates that the dynamic heterogeneity decreases with the increase in k, whereas the non-Gaussian parameter is independent of it. Thus, we conclude that with the increase in the number of pseudo-neighbors, the system becomes more mean-field-like. By comparing our results with previous studies on mean-field-like systems, we come to the conclusion that the details of how the mean-field limit is approached are important since they can lead to different dynamical behavior in this limit.

Conserved RNA binding activity of phosphatidyl inositol 5-phosphate 4-kinase (PIP4K2A) - Behari, Jatin; Borkar, Pranita; Vindu, Arya; Dandewad, Vishal; Upadrasta, Sindhuri; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Seshadri, Vasudevan (Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 2021)
Plasmodium falciparum is a causative agent for malaria and has a complex life cycle in human and mosquito hosts. During its life cycle, the malarial parasite Plasmodium goes through different asexual and sexual stages, in humans and mosquitoes. Expression of stage-specific proteins is important for successful completion of its life cycle and requires tight gene regulation. In the case of Plasmodium, due to relative paucity of the transcription factors, it is postulated that posttranscriptional regulation plays an important role in stage-specific gene expression. Translation repression of specific set of mRNA has been reported in gametocyte stages of the parasite. A conserved element present in the 3 ` UTR of some of these transcripts was identified. Phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinase (PIP4K2A) was identified as the protein that associates with these RNA. We now show that the RNA binding activity of PIP4K2A is independent of its kinase activity. We also observe that PIP4K2A is imported into the parasite from the host on Plasmodium berghei and Toxoplasma gondii. The RNA binding activity of PIP4K2A seems to be conserved across species from Drosophila and C. elegans to humans, suggesting that the RNA binding activity of PIP4K may be important, and there may be host transcripts that may be regulated by PIP4K2A. These results identify a novel RNA binding role for PIP4K2A that may not only play a role in Plasmodium propagation but may also function in regulating gene expression in multicellular organisms.
Keywords: malaria; posttranscriptional gene regulation; RNA-protein interaction; translation regulation

Construction of beta-cyclodextrin linked glycidyl methacrylate polymers for stereoselective separation of chiral drug - Wale, Apparav; Mulani, Khudbudin; Deshpande, Supriya; Rajan, C. R.; Ponrathnam, Surendra (Journal of Polymer Research, 2021)
In this present study, a series of cross-linked porous polymers based on Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) were synthesized by suspension polymerization using cyclohexanol and hexanol as pore generating solvents. beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) was covalently bonded to the polymers by using Hexamethylene Diisocyanate (HMDI) and Sebacoyl Chloride (SC) as spacer arms. The effects of matrix properties such as pore volume, type of crosslinker, and spacer on the loading of beta-cyclodextrin were investigated. The stereoselective binding of enantiomers of the anti-depressant drug citalopram was studied using beta-cyclodextrin loaded polymers under batch adsorption mode. The capacity factor and selectivity of isomers were investigated also. This study reveals that these beta-cyclodextrin bonded Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) polymers are potentially suitable for chromatographic separation of citalopram.
Keywords: beta-cyclodextrin; Citalopram; Glycidyl Methacrylate (GMA) beads; HPLC etc; Stereoslelctivity

Construction of IrO2@Mn3O4 core-shell heterostructured nanocomposites for high performance symmetric supercapacitor device - Beknalkar, S. A.; Teli, A. M.; Harale, N. S.; Shin, J. C.; Patil, P. S. (Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2021)
In the present work, we have designed and synthesized nanocomposite of IrO2@Mn3O4 with two-step simple and scalable chemical routes. In this route, nanofibers of IrO2 were synthesized by a single nozzle electrospinning technique onto which Mn3O4 was overlaid by a simple SILAR route. The ratio of Mn3O4 and IrO2 was varied by varying the SILAR cycles onto electrospun IrO2 thin film as 20, 40, 60, and 80 cycles. The structural, morphological, and energy storage performance of IrO2@Mn3O4 composite elec-trodes were investigated. A 2 V kinetic potential with a rectangular-shaped cyclic voltammogram was observed for the IrO2@Mn3O4 electrodes. Moreover, the specific capacitance of 1027 F/g at 1 mA/cm(2) was observed for the optimized electrode which is superior as compared with other electrodes. The opti-mized electrode showed better current and voltage than the individual compounds which might be due to the synergic effect of IrO2 and Mn3O4. Finally, a PVA-LiClO4 gel electrolyte-based solid-state IrO2@ Mn3O4//IrO2@Mn3O4 symmetric device was fabricated. The symmetric device possessed an energy density of 81 Wh/kg with a power delivery of 714 W/kg which was capable to light up a green LED. Hence, the 2D transition metal oxides laminated on 1D metal oxides with high conductivity can be promising electrodes for future research. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: And nanoflakes; Charge storage kinetics; Electrochemical properties; electrospinning; IrO2@Mn3O4 nanocomposite; nanofibers; SILAR

Construction of two-component chemically reactive supramolecular assemblies-acyl migration reactions in cocrystals of napthalene-2,3-diol and its diesters - Bahadur, Vir; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Tamboli, I. Majid; Krishnaswamy, Shobhana; Shashidhar, Mysore S. (ChemPlusChem, 2021)
Reactions in solids are of contemporary interest due to applications in pharmaceutical industries to environmental sustainability. Although several reactive crystals that support chemical reactions have been identified and characterized, the same cannot be said about reactive cocrystals. Earlier we correlated the facile acyl group transfer reactions in crystals with supramolecular parameters obtained from the crystal structures. The structure-reactivity correlation revealed the requirement of proper juxtaposition of electrophile (C=O) and the nucleophile (OH) with distance (similar to 3.2 angstrom) and angle (similar to 90 degrees) along the chain structure. The current article describes the preparation of cocrystals that are capable of supporting intermolecular acyl group transfer reactions in a group of structurally similar molecules. The cocrystals of naphthalene 2,3-diol and its corresponding diesters showed a facile solid state acyl transfer reaction, which has been well correlated with their crystal structures.
Keywords: Acylation; domino reactions; intermolecular interactions; reaction in cocrystal; solid-state reactions; X-ray diffraction

Continuous citrate-capped gold nanoparticle synthesis in a two-phase flow reactor - Damilos, Spyridon; Alissandratos, Ioannis; Panariello, Luca; Radhakrishnan, Anand N. P.; Cao, Enhong; Wu, Gaowei; Besenhard, Maximilian O.; Kulkarni, Amol A.; Makatsoris, Charalampos; Gavriilidis, Asterios (Journal of Flow Chemistry, 2021)
A continuous manufacturing platform was developed for the synthesis of aqueous colloidal 10-20 nm gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in a flow reactor using chloroauric acid, sodium citrate and citric acid at 95 degrees C and 2.3 bar(a) pressure. The use of a twophase flow system - using heptane as the continuous phase - prevented fouling on the reactor walls, while improving the residence time distribution. Continuous syntheses for up to 2 h demonstrated its potential application for continuous manufacturing, while live quality control was established using online UV-Vis photospectrometry that monitored the particle size and process yield. The synthesis was stable and reproducible over time for gold precursor concentration above 0.23 mM (after mixing), resulting in average particle size between 12 and 15 nm. A hydrophobic membrane separator provided successful separation of the aqueous and organic phases and collection of colloidal Au NPs in flow. Process yield increased at higher inlet flow rates (from 70% to almost 100 %), due to lower residence time of the colloidal solution in the separator resulting in less fouling in the PTFE membrane. This study addresses the challenges for the translation of the synthesis from batch to flow and provides tools for the development of a continuous manufacturing platform for gold nanoparticles.
Keywords: Continuous manufacturing; Nanomaterials; Online analysis; phase separation; segmented flow

Controlled di-lithiation enabled synthesis of phosphine-sulfonamide ligands and implications in ethylene oligomerization - Mote, Nilesh R.; Gaikwad, Shahaji R.; Khopade, V, Kishor; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Chikkali, Samir H. (Dalton Transactions, 2021)
Catalyst design for ethylene oligomerization has attracted significant interest. Herein, we report the synthesis of phosphine-sulfonamide-derived palladium complexes and examine their performance in ethylene oligomerization. Arresting a dilithiation intermediate of N-(2-bromophenyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (1) at -84 degrees C selectively produced N-(2-(bis(2-methoxyphenyl)phosphanyl)phenyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (L1A). However, the same reaction at -41 degrees C delivered a different ligand; 2-(bis(2-methoxyphenyl)phosphanyl)-4-methyl-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide (L2A). The generality of our strategy has been demonstrated by preparing N-(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)-4-methylbenzenesulfonamide (L1B) and 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)-4-methyl-N-phenylbenzenesulfonamide (L2B). Subsequently, L1A and L1B were treated with a palladium precursor to yield 5-membered complexes C1 and C2, respectively. In contrast, L2A upon treatment with palladium produced a 6-membered metal complex C3. Thus, a small library of 7 palladium complexes (C1-C7) were synthesized by varying the donor moiety (pyridine, DMSO, and acetonitrile). The identity of palladium complexes was unambiguously ascertained using a combination of spectroscopic and analytical methods, including single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The performance of the complexes C1-C7 was investigated in ethylene oligomerization and almost all of them were found to be active. The resultant ethylene oligomers were characterized using H-1 and C-13 NMR, MALDI-ToF-MS, and GPC. Detailed screening of reaction parameters revealed 100 degrees C and 40 bars ethylene to be optimal conditions. Complex C5 outperformed other complexes and produced ethylene oligomers with a molecular weight of 1000-1900 g mol(-1).

Controlling draw resonance during extrusion film casting of nanoclay filled linear low-density polyethylene: an experimental study and numerical linear stability analysis - Rokade, Dhammaraj; Chougale, Sanket; Patil, Prashant; Bhattacharjee, Tanushree; Gawande, Dnyaneshwar; Pol, Harshawardhan; Dhadwal, Renu (Journal of Plastic Film & Sheeting, 2021)
Commercially important extrusion film casting (EFC) processes for manufacturing plastic films or sheets are hampered by several instabilities that severely limits their productivity. In this research we focussed on one important instability: the draw resonance that occurs during the EFC process mainly under extensional flow conditions. Draw resonance is the sustained periodic oscillations in the film dimensions, notably film width and thickness, when the process operates beyond a critical draw ratio (CDR). In this research our goal was to reduce this draw resonance instability by incorporating well dispersed nanoclay fillers in a base polymeric resin (such as a linear low density polyethylene - LLDPE) to determine how these nanocomposite (NC) formulations can prevent or reduce the draw resonance defect. EFC experiments were conducted on the base resin and on the NC formulations under non-isothermal conditions to determine the onset of the draw resonance experimentally. Conventional linear stability analysis was performed to determine the onset of the draw resonance defect numerically. Numerical predictions for the onset of draw resonance were in qualitative agreement with our experimental data. Our results showed that incorporating appropriate nanoclay concentrations in a base polymeric resin indeed enhanced the EFC process stability for those polymer formulations and thus can have important economic implications for processors.
Keywords: Draw resonance; extensional strain hardening; Extrusion; Film; hydrodynamic interactions; Nanoclay; Nanocomposites; Polyethylene; Rheology; stability

Convenient and mild protocol for preparation of α –trimethylsilyloxyphosphonates using sulfamic acid and their oxidation to α – ketophosphonates in the presence of N-bromosuccinimide - Mitragotri, Satish; Kulkarni, Makarand; Desai, Uday; Wadagaonkar, Prakash (Arkivoc, 2021)
A convenient and mild protocol was developed for the trimethylsilylation of α-hydroxyphosphonates using hexamethyldisilazane as the silylating agent in the presence of sulfamic acid (SA) as a heterogeneous solid acid catalyst in dichloromethane as the reaction medium. The utility of SA as the catalyst for deprotection of α-trimethylsilyloxyphosphonates to parent α-hydroxyphosphonates by making a switch to a protic solvent such as methanol was also demonstrated. Furthermore, the oxidation of α–trimethylsilyloxyphosphonates to corresponding α–ketophosphonates was achieved in excellent yields employing N-bromosuccinimide in the presence of catalytic quantity of AIBN.

Convenient semihydrogenation of azoarenes to hydrazoarenes using H-2 - Sahoo, Manoj K.; Sivakumar, Ganesan; Jadhav, Sanjay; Shaikh, Samrin; Balaraman, Ekambaram (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2021)
The high atom-economical and eco-benign nature of hydrogenation reactions make them much more superior to conventional reduction and transfer hydrogenation. Herein, a convenient and highly selective hydrogenation reaction of azoarenes using molecular hydrogen to access diverse hydrazoarenes is reported. The present catalytic method is general and operationally simple, and it operates under exceedingly mild conditions (room temperature and 1 atm of hydrogen pressure). The reusability of catalysts used in this method is also successfully demonstrated.

Copolymers of bipyridinium and metal (Zn & Ni) porphyrin derivatives; theoretical insights and electrochemical activity towards CO2 - Kochrekar, Sachin; Kalekar, Ajit; Mehta, Shweta; Damlin, Pia; Salomaki, Mikko; Granroth, Sari; Meltola, Niko; Joshi, Kavita; Kvarnstrom, Carita (RSC Advances, 2021)
This study reports the electropolymerization of novel keto functionalized octaethyl metal porphyrins (Zn2+ and Ni2+) in the presence of 4,4 `-bipyridine (4,4 `-bpy) as a bridging nucleophile. The polymer films were characterized by electrochemical, spectroscopic (UV-Vis, XPS, FT-IR and Raman spectroscopy) and imaging (AFM and SEM) techniques. The absorption and electronic spectra confirm the presence of both porphyrin and 4,4 `-bipyridine units in the film. The surface morphology reveals homogeneous film deposition with average roughness values of approx. 8 nm. The theoretical studies performed offered insights into the interplay of different metal centres (Zn2+ and Ni2+) and the keto functionality of the porphyrin unit in the formation of copolymer films. The electrochemical interaction of polymer films with CO2 suggests a reversible trap and release of CO2 with low energy barriers for both the polymers.

Cotton fabric decorated with manganese oxide nanorods as a supercapacitive flexible electrode for wearable electronics - Samuel, Edmund; Joshi, Bhavana; Kim, Yongil; Park, Chanwoo; Aldalbahi, Ali; El-Newehy, Mohamed; Lee, Hae-Seok; Yoon, Sam S. (Applied Surface Science, 2021)
We present the fabrication (using a hydrothermal process) and the properties of wearable fabrics decorated with ultrathin manganese oxide (MnO2) nanorods for supercapacitor applications. The superior mechanical durability of the supercapacitor was confirmed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves, which showed little change during 1000 bending cycles. The pseudocapacitive properties of the ultrathin MnO2 nanorods were confirmed by recording the CV curves at various scan rates. The galvanostatic charge-discharge curves at various specific currents confirmed the pseudocapacitance of MnO2. The ultrathin MnO2 nanorods exhibited a superior capacitance of 508 F.g(-1) and an energy density of 35.3 Wh.kg(-1). The MnO2 electrode with optimal properties demonstrated stable long-term cycling performance with 90% retention after 10,000 galvanostatic cycles.
Keywords: Cotton fabric; Manganese oxide; Ultrafine nanostructures; Wearable supercapacitors

Crack-free conjugated PbS quantum dot-hole transport layers for solar cells - Sharma, Ashish; Dambhare, V. Neha; Bera, Jayanta; Sahu, Satyajit; Rath, Arup K. (ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2021)
Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) benefit from solution-phase processing and band-gap tuning for their application in solar cell development. Today's QD solar cells rely on solid-state ligand exchange (SLE) to replace bulky oleic acid (OA) ligands with small 1,2-ethanedithiol (EDT) ligands to develop a conducting hole transport layer (HTL). High volume contraction in EDT conjugated QD films, however, leads to crack and porosity in the HTL, which is a major cause of concern for the device reproducibility and large-area solar cell development. We show that partial removal of the OA ligands in the solution phase reduces the volume contraction in solid films, thereby allowing the growth of crack-free QD films in the SLE process. The cleaning of QDs by repeated precipitation and redispersion using a protic methanol (MeOH) solvent helps with partial removal of the OA ligands, but it is detrimental to the electronic properties of QDs. We develop a one-step solution-phase partial ligand-exchange process using ammonium salts, which enable partial replacement of the OA ligands and passivation of the QD surface. Introduction of the facile partial ligand-exchange process eliminates the need for tedious and wasteful multiple cleaning steps with MeOH, while improving the photophysical properties of QDs. The advancement in QD processing helps to build crack-free, smooth, and conjugated QD films for their deployment as HTLs in solar cell development. Partial ligand exchange with NH4SCN leads to a 1.5 times increase in p doping and mobility over multiple MeOH-cleaned PbS QD films. HTLs developed using NH4SCN QDs show an improved photovoltaic performance to attain a 10.5% power conversion efficiency. Improvement in the depletion width and hole collection efficiency leads to a superior photovoltaic performance, as confirmed from experimental studies and one-dimensional solar cell capacitance simulation.
Keywords: Efficiency; ligand; polydispersity; quantum dot; solar cells; thin film

Crystal structure analysis of highly efficient chiral resolution of (RS)-arginine-fumaric acid cocrystal under preferential enrichment conditions - Manoj, Kochunnoonny; Takahashi, Hiroki; Iwama, Sekai; Gonnade, G. Rajesh; Tsue, Hirohito; Tamura, Rui (Journal of Molecular Structure, 2021)
Two new hydrate cocrystals, (RS)-arginine-fumaric acid-H2O ( 2 ) and (S)-arginine-2 fumaric acid-H2O ( 3 ), were obtained by the slow evaporation of the saturated aqueous ethanol solution of a 1:1 mixture of S-enriched arginine (33% ee) and fumaric acid or (S)-arginine and fumaric acid, respectively. Cocrystals 2 and 3 possess an isostructural molecular organization containing homochiral 1D chains of arginine sim-ilar to that of the anhydrous cocrystal of (RS)-arginine-fumaric acid ( 1 ). The latter showed an efficient ``preferential enrichment (PE)'', a unique spontaneous enantiomeric resolution phenomenon by simple recrystallization from the highly supersaturated solution. The formation of unstable cocrystals 2 and 3 seems to have played a crucial role in the enrichment of arginine in the mother liquor under PE crystal-lization conditions. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Arginine; cocrystals; crystal structure; Enantiomeric resolution; preferential enrichment

CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 perovskite@COF nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic applications in water - Kour, Prachi; Mukherjee, Shatabdi Porel (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2021)
For the first time, we have synthesized all-inorganic CsPbBr3/Cs4PbBr6 perovskite@COF nanocomposites under atmospheric conditions and tuned the crystal structures of the perovskite as well. The nanocomposite is reasonably stable and maintains its crystalline properties even when dipped into water for 60 minutes. The perovskite@COF nanocomposite shows efficient visible-light-driven photocatalytic performance to degrade Methyl orange (10 mL; 20-100 ppm). The rate of photodegradation was about 0.245 min(-1) with high catalytic activity and recyclability for three to six cycles.

CuO as a reactive and reusable reagent for the hydrogenation of nitroarenes - Rajendran, K.; Pandurangan, N.; Vinod, C. P.; Khan, Tuhin S.; Gupta, Shelaka; Haider, M. Ali; Jagadeesan, D. (Applied Catalysis B-Environmental, 2021)
{Copper oxide (CuO) is used as a reusable solid reagent for hydrogenation of nitroarenes to aminoarenes. The use of CuO resulted in 100 % conversion of 2.9 mmol of nitrobenzene to aniline in 45 s at room temperature using hydrazine hydrate as the reducing agent. During the reaction, CuO is converted to inactive metallic Cu which can be regenerated to active CuO by thermal oxidation. DFT simulations indicated facile formation of oxygen vacancies (EO
Keywords: Copper vacancy; CuO; Hydrogenation; Nitroarene reduction; Oxygen defects; Reactive solids

Curious case of aqueous warfarin: structural isomers or distinct excited states? - Sakpal, Sushil S.; Ghosh, Deborin; Manae, Meghna A.; Hazra, Anirban; Bagchi, Sayan (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2021)
Warfarin is a potent anti-coagulant drug and is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. Additionally, it displays fluorescence enhancement upon binding to human serum albumin, making warfarin a prototype fluorescent probe in biology. Despite its biological significance, the current structural assignment of warfarin in aqueous solution is based on indirect evidence in organic solvents. Warfarin is known to exist in different isomeric forms-open-chain, hemiketal, and anionic forms-based on the solvent and pH. Moreover, warfarin displays a dual absorption feature in several solvents, which has been employed to study the ring-chain isomerism between its open-chain and hemiketal isomers. In this study, our pH-dependent experiments on warfarin and structurally constrained warfarin derivatives in aqueous solution demonstrate that the structural assignment of warfarin solely on the basis of its absorption spectrum is erroneous. Using a combination of steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic experiments, along with quantum chemical calculations, we assign the observed dual absorption to two distinct pi ->pi* transitions in the 4-hydroxycoumarin moiety of warfarin. Furthermore, we unambiguously identify the isomeric form of warfarin that binds to human serum albumin in aqueous buffer.

Cardol: Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) - derived starting material for the preparation of partially bio-based epoxy resins - Ketan Makwana; Amol B. Ichake; Vinayak Valodkar; G. Padmanaban; Manohar V. Badiger; Prakash P. Wadgaonkar (European Polymer Journal, 2022)
Cardol is one of the interesting constituents of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) - a by-product of cashew processing industry- and it amounts to 15–20% by weight in natural CNSL. Chemically, cardol is a 15-carbon chain-substituted resorcinol wherein the side chain predominately contains mixture of one, two and three double bonds. Cardol on reaction with epichlorohydrin in the presence of sodium hydroxide afforded diglycidyl ether of cardol (DGEC). DGEC is a viscous free-flowing liquid (bulk viscosity 70 cP at 25 °C) and thus offers advantages in terms of ease of processing. DGEC and various compositions of DGEC with commercially available diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) were cured with two amine hardeners, namely, isophorone diamine (IPDA) and diethylene triamine (DETA). The effects of different ratios of amine/epoxy (nah/ne) on cure characteristics were studied. The epoxy thermosets were characterized by DSC, TGA, DMA and tensile testing. DSC analysis showed glass transition temperature (Tg) values in the range 63–155 °C for IPDA-cured thermosets, while DETA-cured thermosets exhibited Tg values in the range 45–145 °C. Td5% values, determined by TG analysis of epoxy thermosets, were in the range 347–359 °C indicating their reasonably good thermal stability. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed storage modulus (E’) in the range 0.75–2.54 GPa and 0.51–2.24 GPa for IPDA-cured and DETA-cured thermosets, respectively. The E’ value of epoxy thermosets was found to decrease with increase in molar proportion of DGEC in the formulations with DGEBA while elongation at break was found to increase from 3.1% to 9.7% and 2.8% to 5.1% for IPDA- and DETA-cured systems, respectively. SEM images of cryogenically fractured surfaces of cured thermosets based on studied compositions of DGEBA and DGEC did not indicate any phase separation implying homogeneous mixing of both the epoxy resins.
Keywords: bio-based; Cardol; cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL); Epoxy resins; Storage modulus

Case report: a fatal case of babesiosis in a splenectomized male patient from Western India - Godbole, Ravi; Gaur, Avantika; Nayar, Priyanka; Kiruthiga, Kala; D'Costa, Pradeep; Manchanda, Rumma; Khilari, Ajinkya; Shanmugam, Dhanasekaran; Muglikar, Kalpana D.; Kundu, Krishnendu (American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2022)
Human babesiosis is a rare disease, caused by Babesia species and commonly transmitted by tick bite. Although human babesiosis is known to be asymptomatic in immunocompetent hosts, clinical cases of severe babesiosis have been reported from splenectomized or immunocompromised individuals. To our knowledge, only one case of human babesiosis in India has been previously reported. Here, we report a case of severe babesiosis with high parasitemia (similar to 70%) in a 30-year-old asplenic farmer. The patient presented with fever, yellowish discoloration of skin, oliguria, and anemia; he eventually developed multiorgan failure syndrome and died. Peripheral blood films were prepared and used to confirm the presence of piroplasms by microscopy. Total DNA isolated from blood was used for 18S ribosomal RNA gene fragment amplification by polymerase chain reaction, which was subjected to Sanger sequencing. Although 18S sequence indicated that the Babesia species infecting the patient was similar to that of other Babesia species originating from wild mammals, species identification could not be done. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the patientderived pathogen is distinct because it forms a separate clade in the cladogram.

Catalytic activity of CuFe2O4 spinel oxide for liquid-phase oxidation of cinnamyl alcohol - Dange, Rutvija M.; Niphadkar, Prashant S.; Bokade, Vijay V.; Nandanwar, Sachin U. (ChemistrySelect, 2022)
CuFe2O4 spinel oxide catalyst was synthesized by sol-gel and co-precipitation methods for liquid phase oxidation of Cinnamyl alcohol (CnOH) to Cinnamaldehydes (CnHO) using tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidising agent. Spinel oxide catalyst was characterized by different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), N-2 adsorption-desorption, BET surface area, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to understand the structural, physical properties and oxidation state of the catalyst. The result shows that catalyst prepared by sol-gel method was found higher surface area and smaller crystalline size than co-precipitation method. XPS data confirm the formation of Cu2+ in the spinel which helps to improve the catalytic activity of oxidation. This reaction follows radical mechanism, and exhibited 76.7 % of CnOH conversion and 68.4 % of CnHO, and 24.8 % benzaldehyde (benzald) selectivity using TBHP at 60 degrees C. Kinetic data reveal that 41.2 kJ/mol of activation energy for the reaction. The higher activity of spinel oxide catalyst could be due synergetic effect of spinel (88 %) and oxides (12 %) formed in the catalyst, which helps to provide the oxygen during reaction. The contribution of Cu2+ is higher in sol-gel than co-precipitation, which may provide the better reactivity of catalyst. This work helps to select the effective and cost-effective catalyst for the oxidation of CnOH.
Keywords: Catalysts; Cinnamaldehyde; Cinnamyl Alcohol; Cupper; iron; oxide; spinel

Catalytic conversion of sucrose to 1,2-propanediol over alumina-supported Ni-Mo bimetallic catalysts - Sreekantan, Sreejith; Kirali, Arun Arunima Balachandran; Marimuthu, Banu (Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2022)
Ni-Mo supported on gamma-Al2O3 catalysts were synthesized to test its catalytic activity towards sucrose to 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PDO) conversion. The catalyst system was characterized using various physicochemical methods, including XRD, BET, py-FTIR, XPS, FE-SEM, HR-TEM and ICP. The metal combination of 8%Ni-20%Mo/gamma-Al2O3 is found to be effective in producing a good yield of 1,2-propanediol (similar to 74%) under mild reaction conditions of 180 degrees C, 40 bar H-2 pressure and a run time of 4.5 h in a batch reaction. The activity of the active catalyst over various substrates such as cellulose, glucose, fructose and real-source biomass has also been investigated. XPS analysis of the active catalyst confirms the various oxidation states of the metals Ni and Mo in the active catalyst. The py-IR results show that the optimum Lewis to Bronsted acidic site ratio is responsible for the selective conversion of sucrose to 1,2-PDO. The presence of interparticle mesopores on gamma-Al2O3 helps in the high conversion of sucrose. Furthermore, the catalyst has been found reusable for four consecutive runs without any structural or morphological changes.

CdS cubane type clusters encapsulated by rolling of single layer reduced graphene oxide sheets for enhanced mechanical energy harvesting - Kumar, Praveen; Ram, Farsa; Shanmuganathan, Kadhiravan; Luwang, Meitram Niraj (Materials Science and Engineering B-Advanced Functional Solid-State Materials, 2022)
Composites with Single Layer Graphene Oxide (SLGO) sheets are extremely difficult to achieve, irrespective of the current advancements in graphene composites research. The difficulties in exfoliating the graphite oxide (GO) was associated with a strong interaction among the edge sides of the adjacent layers. This in-turn barricades the foreign intruders to interact with the basal plane, thereby restraining one to form composites with SLGO sheets. In this work, we had successfully exfoliated GO through a spacer [Cd(OAc)(2) + polyethylene glycol (PEG)] to result in nano-engineered CdS cubane-type clusters in rolled up SLGO to form graphene oxide complex compound (GOCC), resembling carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CdS cubane-type clusters were found to interacting with the carbon skeleton of rolled reduced SLGO sheet through a Manogate' structures, which was supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Our theoretical study reveals that the obtained complex compound (GOCC) is thermodynamically more favourable than its ancestor materials (CdS cubane and empty CNT). Flexible piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENGs) fabricated from GOCC and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) resulted in output voltage (V-oc) of 4.5 V and output current of 0.4 mu A at applied force of 13 N. The nanoengineering helps to achieve superior mechanical energy harvesting performance for GOCC compared to pristine CdS, which demonstrate the potential of nanogate structures to enhance the intrinsic properties of materials.
Keywords: Graphene oxide complex compound; Nanogate structure; New material; Novel procedure; Piezoelectric nanogenerator; SLGO

CdSe quantum dot-based nanocomposites for ultralow-power memristors - Bera, Jayanta; Betal, Atanu; Sharma, Ashish; Shankar, Uday; Rath, Arup Kumar; Sahu, Satyajit (ACS Applied Nano Materials, 2022)
The explosion in digital communication with the huge amount of data and the internet of things (IoT) led to the increasing demand for data storage technology with faster operation speed, high-density stacking, nonvolatility, and low power consumption for saving energy. Metal chalcogenide-based quantum dots (QDs) show excellent nonvolatile resistive memory behavior owing to their tunable electronic states and control in trap states by passivating the surface with different ligands. Here, we synthesized high-quality colloidal monodispersed CdSe QDs by the hot injection method. The CdSe QDs were blended with an organic polymer, poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVP), to fabricate an Al\textbackslashCdSe-PVP\textbackslashAl device. Our device shows excellent bipolar nonvolatile resistive random access memory (RRAM) switching behavior with a high current ON/OFF ratio (I-ON/OFF) of 6.1 x 10(4), and it consumes ultralow power. The charge trapping and detrapping in the potential well formed by the CdSe QD and PVP combination result in resistive switching. This CdSe-PVP-based resistive random access memory (RRAM) device with a high I-ON/OFF, ultrafast switching speed, high endurance, low operating voltage, and long retention period can be used as a high-performance and ultralow-power memristive device.
Keywords: memory switching; memristor; metal chalcogenides; nonvolatile; quantum dots

Ce promoted Cu/?-Al2O3 catalysts for the enhanced selectivity of 1,2-pro-panediol from catalytic hydrogenolysis of glucose - Kirali, Arun Arunima Balachandran; Sreekantan, Sreejith; Marimuthu, Banu (Catalysis Communications, 2022)
Ce promoted Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalysts were prepared with varying amounts of Cu (x = 0-10 wt%) and Ce (y = 0-15 wt%). The prepared catalysts were characterized and tested for the conversion of aqueous glucose (5 wt%) to 1,2propanediol in a batch reactor. 10%Ce-8%Cu/gamma-Al2O3 & nbsp;showed the complete conversion of glucose with 62.7% selectivity of 1,2-propanediol and total glycols (1,2-propanediol, ethylene glycol & 1,2-butanediol) of 81% at milder reaction conditions. Cu facilitated the hydrogenation activity and Ce loading optimize the acid/base sites of Cu/gamma-Al2O3 which obtain high selectivity of 1, 2-propanediol. Catalyst reusability is reported.
Keywords: 2-Propanediol; 1; Cu-Ce catalyst; ethylene glycol; Gamma alumina; Glucose hydrogenolysis

Characterization of axial dispersion in a vertical helical coil for gas-liquid-liquid flow at low Reynolds numbers - Khan, Muzammil; Joshi, Sunil; Ranade, Vivek (Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 2022)
Gas-liquid-liquid (GLL) slug flow reactors offer several advantages like higher interfacial area, excellent mass transfer, and lower backmixing. Mesoscale (diameter similar to a few mm) helical coiled reactors operating in a slug flow regime can be used as GLL reactors even for reactions with long residence times. The long residence time invariably leads to low Reynolds number flows, which makes the backmixing or axial dispersion an important parameter influencing reactor performance. In this work, we have characterized the residence time distribution (RTD) and axial dispersion for single, gas-liquid, liquid-liquid, and gas-liquid-liquid flows through a vertical helical coil. Slow flows with low Reynolds numbers (<100) were considered. RTD measurements were carried out with a step input and the outlet concentration was tracked by measuring light absorbance using a spectrophotometer. The applicability of the axial dispersion model was examined and verified for the studied systems. The axial dispersion was quantified in terms of dispersion coefficients. A significant reduction in the axial dispersion was observed by virtue of multiphase operation, in the order single > gas-liquid > liquid-liquid > gas-liquid-liquid flow. This characterization of backmixing for multiphase flows in curved geometries will be helpful in the optimization of slow reactions in flow and also for processes like nanoparticle synthesis, crystallization, etc.

Characterized constituents of insect herbivore oral secretions and their influence on the regulation of plant defenses - Kallure, Gopal S.; Kumari, Archana; Shinde, Balkrishna A.; Giri, Ashok P. (Phytochemistry, 2022)
For more than 350 million years, there have been ongoing dynamic interactions between plants and insects. In several cases, insects cause-specific feeding damage with ensuing herbivore-associated molecular patterns that invoke characteristic defense responses. During feeding on plant tissue, insects release oral secretions (OSs) containing a repertoire of molecules affecting plant defense (effectors). Some of these OS components might elicit a defense response to combat insect attacks (elicitors), while some might curb the plant defenses (suppressors). Few reports suggest that the synthesis and function of OS components might depend on the host plant and associated microorganisms. We review these intricate plant-insect interactions, during which there is a continuous exchange of molecules between plants and feeding insects along with the associated microorganisms. We further provide a list of commonly identified inducible plant produced defensive molecules released upon insect attack as well as in response to OS treatments of the plants. Thus, we describe how plants specialized and defense-related metabolism is modulated at innumerable phases by OS during plant-insect interactions. A molecular understanding of these complex interactions will provide a means to design eco-friendly crop protection strategies.
Keywords: Effector; Elicitor; Herbivore insects; Oral secretion; Plant defense; Suppressor

Choline-amino acid-derived bio-ionic liquids for solubility enhancement of zafirlukast - Gaikwad, Namrata; Kudal, Swapna; Avachat, Amelia M. (AAPS Pharmscitech, 2022)
This study investigated the application of bio-ionic liquids (ILs) prepared from choline as cation and amino acid as anion for solubility enhancement of poorly water-soluble drug, Zafirlukast (ZFL). Herein, the solubility of ZFL in water and mixtures of water and ILs was assessed using UV spectroscopy at two temperature points 25 degrees C and 37 degrees C with increasing concentrations of IL. ZFL solubility was found to improve linearly with increasing concentration of [Ch][Pro] in water, representing 35- to 37-fold improvement in ZFL solubility at maximum concentration of [Ch][Pro] (1% w/v) compared to when only pure water was present. Also, the effect of IL on ZFL solubility was analyzed using NMR, DSC, and TGA. These results clearly suggest that ZFL solubility was increased by forming hydrogen bonds with selected [Ch][Pro] IL. Toxicity study of ILs was tested against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Since IL solvent was found to increase the solubility of ZFL, this may serve as ``functional excipient solvent'' for solubility enhancement in its commercialized formulations.
Keywords: Amino acids; choline chloride; Ionic liquid; solubility; zafirlukast

cis-aziridine synthon based synthetic investigation for tamiflu employing horner-wadsworth-emmons reaction - Chavan, Subhash P.; Kawale, Sanket A.; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (European Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2022)
Synthetic investigations to achieve a novel intermediate of Tamiflu by using cis-aziridine as a chiral building block, which is readily synthesized from (D)-mannitol as a renewable starting material, has been presented. The present approach utilizes the intramolecular Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction as the key step for the synthesis of Tamiflu. On the other hand, diene containing allylic aziridine framework is found to be inefficient to furnish the six-membered core skeleton of Tamiflu through ring-closing metathesis reaction.
Keywords: Aziridine; cyclization; HWE reaction; Metathesis; Tamiflu

C-O hydrogenolysis of C3-C4 polyols selectively to terminal diols over Pt/W/SBA-15 catalysts - Bhowmik, Susmita; Enjamuri, Nagasuresh; Marimuthu, Banu; Darbha, Srinivas (Catalysts, 2022)
Pt/W/SBA-15 catalysts (with Pt-loading = 0.5-4 wt% and W-loading = 1 wt%) prepared by the sequential impregnation method were evaluated for selective C-O cleavage of erythritol and glycerol in an aqueous medium. The Pt and W particles dispersed on SBA-15 approached close proximity at higher Pt loadings and afforded synergistic enhancement in C-O hydrogenolysis activity/selectivity. 1,4-Butanediol yields of 30.9% (at 190 degrees C, 50 bar H-2 and 24 h) and 1,3-propanediol yields of 34.4% (at 190 degrees C, 50 bar H-2 and 12 h of reaction) were obtained over these catalysts. Pt nanoparticles (facilitating dissociative H-2 adsorption and spillover) and W (present as acidic oligomeric WOx species; activating and coordinating the polyol via 1 degrees-OH group) worked in tandem for the selective hydrogenolysis of polyols yielding terminal diols of industrial demand.
Keywords: diol; Erythritol; Glycerol; Hydrodeoxygenation; Pt; SBA-15; W

Cobalt-immobilized carbon-based nano-catalyst for Csingle bondN cross coupling reaction - Bankar, Shubham R.; Kirdant, Swapnali P.; Jadhav, Vrushali H. (Results in Chemistry, 2022)
<span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/cross-coupling-reaction" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about cross coupling reaction from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">cross coupling reaction is very important in synthesis of pharmaceuticals, <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/occurrence-in-nature" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about natural products from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">natural products, <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/agrochemical" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about agrochemicals from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">agrochemicals, fine chemicals and functional materials. Traditionally, <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/palladium" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about palladium from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">palladium or copper metals are used for C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N coupling reaction. As palladium is expensive, we developed cobalt immobilized carbon-based nano-catalyst Co@CC for C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N coupling. In this work, we synthesized non-noble metal-based Co@CC nano-catalyst by <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/carbonization" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about carbonization from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">carbonization of glucose, it’s functionalization followed by immobilization of cobalt on the surface of the catalyst. The catalyst was well characterized. The C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N cross coupling reaction of various aryl <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/halide" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about halides from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">halides & amines using Co@CC nano-catalyst was optimized for solvent, reaction temperature & catalyst <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/concentration-condition" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about concentration conditions from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">concentration conditions. The catalyst showed high catalytic activity for C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N coupling of various aryl halides & amines to form aryl amines in good to excellent yield up to 91 % in <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/sulfolane" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about sulfolane from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">sulfolane as a solvent at 150 °C. The catalyst showed recyclability up to 5 times. The method developed for C<img alt="single bond" src="https://sdfestaticassets-us-east-1.sciencedirectassets.com/shared-assets/55/entities/sbnd.gif" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border-style: none; width: auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">N coupling reaction was noble metal free, ligand free, recyclable, sustainable, economical & environmentally friendly.

Colloidal MoS2 quantum dots for high-performance low power resistive memory devices with excellent temperature stability - Bera, Jayanta; Betal, Atanu; Sharma, Ashish; Rath, Arup Kumar; Sahu, Satyajit (Applied Physics Letters, 2022)
Conventional memory technologies are facing enormous problems with downscaling, and are hence unable to fulfill the requirement of big data storage generated by a huge explosion of digital information. A resistive random access memory device (RRAM) is one of the most emerging technologies for next-generation computing data storage owing to its high-density stacking, ultrafast switching speed, high non-volatility, multilevel data storage, low power consumption, and simple device structure. In this work, colloidal MoS2 quantum dots (QDs) embedded in an insulating matrix of poly-(4vinylpyridine) (PVP) were used as an active layer to fabricate a RRAM device. The MoS2 QDs-PVP based RRAM device reveals an excellent nonvolatile resistive switching (RS) behavior with a maximum current on-off ratio (I-ON/I-OFF) of 10(5). High endurance, long retention time, and successive ``write-read-erase-read'' cycles indicate high-performance RRAM characteristics. The ultimate power consumption by this RRAM device is considerably low for energy saving. In addition, the MoS2 QDs-PVP based device shows RS behavior even at 130 degrees C. High I-ON/I-OFF, low operating power, high endurance, long retention time, and excellent stability with temperatures reveal that the MoS2 QDs-PVP based device can be a promising candidate for high-performance low power RRAM devices that can be operated at relatively higher temperatures. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Combinatorial therapy using RNAi and curcumin nano-architectures regresses tumors in breast and colon cancer models - Kumar, Aviral; Singam, Amarnath; Swaminathan, Guruprasadh; Killi, Naresh; Tangudu, Naveen Kumar; Jose, Jedy; Gundloori, Rathna V. N.; Kumar, Lekha Dinesh (Nanoscale, 2022)
Cancer is a debilitating disease and one of the leading causes of death in the world. In spite of the current clinical management being dependent on applying robust pathological variables and well-defined therapeutic strategies, there is an imminent need for novel and targeted therapies with least side effects. RNA interference (RNAi) has gained attention due to its precise potential for targeting multiple genes involved in cancer progression. Nanoparticles with their enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect have been found to overcome the limitations of RNAi-based therapies. With their high transportation capacity, nanocarriers can target RNAi molecules to tumor tissues and protect them from enzymatic degradation. Accumulating evidence has shown that tyrosine kinase Ephb4 is overexpressed in various cancers. Therefore, we report here the development and pre-clinical validation of curcumin-chitosan-loaded: eudragit-coated nanocomposites conjugated with Ephb4 shRNA as a feasible bio-drug to suppress breast and colon cancers. The proposed bio-drug is non-toxic and bio-compatible with a higher uptake efficiency and through our experimental results we have demonstrated the effective site-specific delivery of this biodrug and the successfull silencing of their respective target genes in vivo in autochthonous knockout models of breast and colon cancer. While mammary tumors showed a considerable decrease in size, oral administration of the biodrug conjugate to Apc knockout colon models prolonged the animal survival period by six months. Hence, this study has provided empirical proof that the combinatorial approach involving RNA interference and nanotechnology is a promising alliance for next-generation cancer therapeutics.

Comparative analysis and structural modeling of elaeis oleifera FAD2, a fatty acid desaturase involved in unsaturated fatty acid composition of american oil palm - Ben Ayed, Rayda; Chirmade, Tejas; Hanana, Mohsen; Khamassi, Khalil; Ercisli, Sezai; Choudhary, Ravish; Kadoo, Narendra; Karunakaran, Rohini (Biology-Basel, 2022)
Simple Summary Palm oil has become the world's most important vegetable oil in terms of production quantity, and its overall demand is exponentially growing with the global population. The fatty acid composition and particularly the oleic/linoleic acid ratio are major factors influencing palm oil quality. In this study, we focused on FAD2, a fatty acid desaturase enzyme involved in the desaturation and conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid in Elaeis oleifera, identified through in silico annotation analysis. Our phylogenetic and comparative studies revealed two SNP markers, SNP278 and SNP851, significantly correlated with the oleic/linoleic acid contents. Our study provides fundamental insights into the mechanism of fatty acids synthesis in oil palm and could support the application of molecular biology techniques to enhance the enzymatic activity and substrate affinity of EoFAD2. American oil palm (Elaeis oleifera) is an important source of dietary oil that could fulfill the increasing worldwide demand for cooking oil. Therefore, improving its production is crucial and could be realized through breeding and genetic engineering approaches aiming to obtain high-yielding varieties with improved oil content and quality. The fatty acid composition and particularly the oleic/linoleic acid ratio are major factors influencing oil quality. Our work focused on a fatty acid desaturase (FAD) enzyme involved in the desaturation and conversion of oleic acid to linoleic acid. Following the in silico identification and annotation of Elaeis oleifera FAD2, its molecular and structural features characterization was performed to better understand the mechanistic bases of its enzymatic activity. EoFAD2 is 1173 nucleotides long and encodes a protein of 390 amino acids that shares similarities with other FADs. Interestingly, the phylogenetic study showed three distinguished groups where EoFAD2 clustered among monocotyledonous taxa. EoFAD2 is a membrane-bound protein with five transmembrane domains presumably located in the endoplasmic reticulum. The homodimer organization model of EoFAD2 enzyme and substrates and respective substrate-binding residues were predicted and described. Moreover, the comparison between 24 FAD2 sequences from different species generated two interesting single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the oleic/linoleic acid contents.
Keywords: FAD2; Fatty acids; in silico annotation; linoleic acid ratio; oil palm; oleic; SNP; structural modeling

Comparative investigation on the catalytic performance of HT/SBA-15 and SBA-15/HT composites for the isomerization of glucose to fructose - Manikandan, Marimuthu; Arjunan, Ayyappan; Prabu, Marimuthu; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy; Sangeetha, Palanivelu (Materials Science and Engineering B-Advanced Functional Solid-State Materials, 2022)
Hydrotalcites (HT) have a broad spectrum of applications as prosperous heterogeneous catalysts for diverse chemical transformations. The catalytic activity of HT-based materials can be tailored by introducing siliceous material into the internal or external framework. The surface modification of the HT framework with silica mesostructures leads to the formation of versatile Lewis base, Bronsted base and redox catalytic active sites. This work presents the comparative evaluation of the catalytic performance of HT/SBA-15 and SBA-15/HT composites for the isomerization of glucose to fructose using 1-butanol as a solvent. The composites with different external morphology were prepared by a modified template-assisted hydrothermal method, using different HT to SBA-15 proportions. The textural and morphological characterization results conferred the efficiency of the employed post-synthetic intercalation strategy to achieve the successful formation of HT/SBA-15 and SBA-15/HT composites. With optimal HT loading and surface basicity, the HTS-3 composite demonstrated the highest catalytic performance, resulting in good glucose conversions (54 %) with improved selectivity (>83 %). The observed high reactivity could be mainly attributed to the extensive dispersion of HT particles on the SBA-15 component, which contributes to a significant increase in textural properties and surface basicity. Furthermore, special attention is devoted to addressing such reactivity phenomena as active site selectivity, catalyst multifunctionality and multisite reactivity commonly encountered in mesoporous catalysis.
Keywords: composites; glucose; hydrotalcite; isomerization; SBA-15

Comparative study of polycaprolactone electrospun fibers and casting films enriched with carbon and nitrogen sources and their potential use in water bioremediation - Alejandra Pompa-Monroy, Daniella; Leticia Iglesias, Ana; Gulam Dastager, Syed; Namdeo Thorat, Meghana; Olivas-Sarabia, Amelia; Valdez-Castro, Ricardo; Angelica Hurtado-Ayala, Lilia; Manuel Cornejo-Bravo, Jose; Lizeth Perez-Gonzalez, Graciela; Jesus Villarreal-Gomez, Luis (Membranes, 2022)
Augmenting bacterial growth is of great interest to the biotechnological industry. Hence, the effect of poly (caprolactone) fibrous scaffolds to promote the growth of different bacterial strains of biological and industrial interest was evaluated. Furthermore, different types of carbon (glucose, fructose, lactose and galactose) and nitrogen sources (yeast extract, glycine, peptone and urea) were added to the scaffold to determinate their influence in bacterial growth. Bacterial growth was observed by scanning electron microscopy; thermal characteristics were also evaluated; bacterial cell growth was measured by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry at 600-nm. Fibers produced have an average diameter between 313 to 766 nm, with 44% superficial porosity of the scaffolds, a glass transition around similar to 64 degrees C and a critical temperature of similar to 338 degrees C. The fibrous scaffold increased the cell growth of Escherichia coli by 23% at 72 h, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus increased by 36% and 95% respectively at 48 h, when compared to the normal growth of their respective bacterial cultures. However, no significant difference in bacterial growth between the scaffolds and the casted films could be observed. Cell growth depended on a combination of several factors: type of bacteria, carbon or nitrogen sources, casted films or 3D scaffolds. Microscopy showed traces of a biofilm formation around 3 h in culture of P. aeruginosa. Water bioremediation studies showed that P. aeruginosa on poly (caprolactone)/Glucose fibers was effective in removing 87% of chromium in 8 h.
Keywords: bacterial growth; carbon source; electrospinning; nitrogen source; poly (caprolactone)

Comparison of hydrodynamic characteristics of Tulsion and Siran immobilised beads in a fluidised bed bioreactor - Kashid, Shweta; Joshi, Kalpana; Nene, Sanjay (Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology, 2022)
<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">The fluidised bed reactors are successfully utilised in various bioprocesses to produce <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/high-value-products" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about high value products from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">high value products using <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/immobilized-cell" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about immobilised cells from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">immobilised cells and enzymes. The present work aims at evaluating hydrodynamic characteristics of a three phase fluidised bed <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/bioreactor" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about bioreactor from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">bioreactor using Tulsion® A-1X MP, Tulsion® ADS-400 and Tulsion® ADS-800, <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/polystyrene" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about polystyrene from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">polystyrene and polyacrylic based three types of free and <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/immobilized-cell" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about immobilised cells from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">immobilised cells solid carriers viz. and comparing their performance with Siran® SIKUG41 glass beads. The hydrodynamic parameters such as particle density (cells and beads), drag coefficient, minimum and maximum <a class="topic-link" href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/fluidization" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; background-color: transparent; word-break: break-word; text-decoration-thickness: 1px; text-decoration-color: rgb(46, 46, 46); color: rgb(46, 46, 46); text-underline-offset: 1px;" title="Learn more about fluidisation from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">fluidisation velocity, particle settling velocity were estimated and compared in water and biological media (E2 and MSM) having varying rheological properties. The relationships between drag coefficient (C<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; bottom: -0.25em; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif;">D<span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">)–Reynolds numbers (N<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; bottom: -0.25em; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif;">Re<span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">), superficial liquid velocity (U<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; bottom: -0.25em; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif;">f<span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;">)–void fraction(ε), expansion index(n)–N<span style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; line-height: 0; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline; bottom: -0.25em; color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif;">Re<span style="color: rgb(46, 46, 46); font-family: ElsevierGulliver, Georgia, "Times New Roman", STIXGeneral, "Cambria Math", Arial, Helvetica, "Lucida Sans Unicode", "Microsoft Sans Serif", "Segoe UI Symbol", "Arial Unicode MS", serif; font-size: 16px;"> were obtained.

Competing intra- vs intermolecular nitrene transfer in the [Au]-catalysed reaction of 2-alkynylphenylazides - Dhote, Pawan S.; Ramana, V. Chepuri (Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis, 2022)
The possibility of interrupting the gold-catalysed intramolecular cyclization of 2-alkynylphenylazide derivatives, employing known nitrene transfer reagents such as anthranil and its isomer 1,2-benzisoxazole, has been attempted in search of developing simple tools for product diversification. With 1,2-benzisoxazoles, the intermolecular nitrene transfer leading to quinazoline is competitive with intramolecular azidoalkyne cyclization resulting in spiro indol-3-ylidene derivatives. However, in case of the reaction in the presence of anthranil, both intra- and intermolecular nitrene transfer processes result in the same product indol-3-ylidene.
Keywords: 2-Benzisoxazole; Anthranil and 1; Gold catalysis; Nitrene Transfer; Quinazoline

Composition and surface morphology invariant high on-off ratio from an organic memristor - Betal, Atanu; Bera, Jayanta; Sharma, Ashish; Rath, Arup K.; Sahu, Satyajit (ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 2022)
Material composition plays a crucial role in the device performance; thus, nonvolatile memory devices from a small molecule named 5-mercapto-1-methyl tetrazole (MMT) in an insulating polymer matrix of poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (PVP) were fabricated. The composition of the active material in the device was varied to observe its influence on the device's electronic properties. The device with a more or less weight ratio of MMT has a much smoother surface morphology, whereas when the contributions of MMT and PVP were equal, the average surface roughness increased. However, the maximum on-off current ratio for all the devices is 10(5), suggesting that the MMT molecule does not show any change in its characteristic properties when surrounded by an insulating material. When the device was fabricated without the polymer matrix, the surface morphology of the device completely changed as it was filled with large holes. These holes provide short-circuited pathways for the current by forming the direct metal contact between the top and bottom electrodes. The carrier transport through these devices follows various conduction mechanisms. Some of the dominating conduction mechanisms are direct tunneling and trap-free and trap-assisted space-charge-limited conduction.
Keywords: Nonvolatile memory; Polymer; small molecule; space-charge; tunneling

Computational insights into hydroboration with acyclic alpha-Borylamido-germylene and stannylene catalysts: Cooperative dual catalysis the key to system efficiency - Banerjee, Subhrashis; Vanka, Kumar (Polyhedron, 2022)
The chemistry of low valent main group compounds has grown as an alternative to the chemistry of less abundant and less green transition metal complexes. It has been found that low valent compounds such as carbenes, silylenes, stannylenes and germylenes are efficient for activating small molecules and for catalysis. However, the reaction mechanism and the factors that affect the rate of reaction are not completely understood. In this computational investigation with density functional theory (DFT), we investigate and demonstrate the efficiency of a new mechanism for the hydroboration of aldehydes by germylenes and stannylenes, in the presence of the common hydroborating agent, pinacolborane, HBpin. This mechanism involves an HBpin molecule as an additional catalyst that cooperates with the germylene or stannylene catalyst to efficiently carry out the hydroboration. This mechanism is first demonstrated to work for experimentally reported systems, and then shown to be efficient for newly proposed germylene and stannylene systems. These new systems are alpha-Borylamido-germylene ((2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)NBCy(2))(2)Ge(II)) and alpha-Borylamido-stannylene((2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)NBCy(2))(2)Sn(II)). These new insights will help researchers look into low valent germylene and stannylene chemistry from a new perspective.
Keywords: Catalysis of hydroboration; computational chemistry; Germylenes and stannylenes; Main group chemistry; New mechanism

Concerted effect of Ni-in and S-out on ReS2 nanostructures towards high-efficiency oxygen evolution reaction - Das, Tapas K.; Ping, Tapan; Mohapatra, Manoj; Anwar, Shahid; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Jena, Bikash Kumar (Chemical Communications, 2022)
Herein, a one-step hydrothermal reaction is developed to synthesize a Ni-doped ReS2 nanostructure with sulphur defects. The material exhibited excellent OER activity with a current density of 10 mA cm(-2) at an overpotential of 270 mV, a low Tafel slope of 31 mV dec(-1), and good long-term durability of 10 h in 1 M KOH. It shows high faradaic efficiency of 96%, benefiting from the rapid charge transfer caused by the concerted effect of Ni-in and S-out on the ReS2 nanostructure.

Concise total synthesis of (+)-lanceolactone a: revision of absolute stereochemistry - Borade, Balasaheb R.; Kontham, Ravindar (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2022)
A chiral-pool protecting-group-free five-step total synthesis of tetranorsesquiterpenoide (+)-lanceolactone A and all of its four stereoisomers using (S)-(+)-, and (R)-(-)-linalool (coriandrol) as building blocks is disclosed. The key steps involved in this synthetic route are regioselective ozonolysis, Au(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerization-induced construction of furan from alleneone, and dye-sensitized photo-oxidation (through O-1(2) ; singlet oxygen) of hydroxyalkyl-tethered furan to access oxaspirolactone. After a thorough evaluation of electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and optical rotation data of all possible stereoisomers, the absolute configuration of natural lanceolactone A at the C4 and C7 positions has been assigned as (+)-(4S,7S), which is an enantiomer to the initially proposed structure (+)-(4R,7R). Further, these investigations led us to extend Feringa and Gawronski's CD correlation method to [5,5]- and [6,5]-oxaspirolactones.

Concurrent polyvalent interaction and electrocatalysis to improve lithium-sulfur battery performance - Kumar, Subramani; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam (Batteries & Supercaps, 2022)
Batteries with improved efficiency are desired. Li-S batteries are attractive due to their high specific capacity and energy density. However, sluggish sulfur redox reaction and polysulfide dissolution are significant challenges in Li-S batteries. In this work, we report graphene with doped layer to electrocatalyze the sluggish sulfur redox reaction. The doped layer comprises heteroatoms such as either N or N and S. The doped layer also comprises cations of Ni. We have chosen a ``doped layer on graphene'' over ``doped graphene'' to avoid defects in the basal plane of graphene. We found the doped layer comprising graphene (DLC-G) to electrocatalyze the polysulfide redox reaction. However, the interaction between the doped layer and polysulfide is still weak, hence the dissolution is not suppressed. To circumvent the polysulfide dissolution, graphene with cationic layer was prepared. We found that cations in the layer electrostatically attract the polysulfides due to the polyvalent interaction. Thus, the dissolution is suppressed. While using this material in the Li-S batteries, the specific capacity, energy density and power density were found to be 1345 mAh g(-1), 782 Wh kg(-1) and 4437 W kg(-1), respectively.
Keywords: electrocatalysis; graphene; lithium-sulfur battery; mechanical exfoliation; polyvalent interaction

Co-Ni layered double hydroxide for the electrocatalytic oxidation of organic molecules: an approach to lowering the overall cell voltage for the water splitting process - Shilpa, Nagaraju; Pandikassala, Ajmal; Krishnaraj, Perayil; Walko, Priyanka S.; Devi, R. Nandini; Kurungot, Sreekumar (ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2022)
Electrocatalytic oxidation of simple organic molecules oilers a promising strategy to combat the sluggish kinetics of the water oxidation reaction (WOR). The low potential requirement, inhibition of the crossover of gases, and formation of value-added products at the anode are benefits of the electrocatalytic oxidation of organic molecules. Herein, we developed cobalt-nickel-based layered double hydroxide (LDH) as a robust material for the electrocatalytic oxidation of alcohols and urea at the anode, replacing the WOR. A facile synthesis protocol to form LDHs with different ratios of Co and Ni is adapted. It demonstrates that the reactants could be efficiently oxidized to concomitant chemical products at the anode. The half-cell study shows an onset potential of 1.30 V for benzyl alcohol oxidation reaction (BAOR), 1.36 V for glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR), 1.33 V for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), and 1.32 V for urea oxidation reaction (UOR) compared with 1.53 V for WOR. Notably, the hybrid electrolyzer in a full-cell configuration significantly reduces the overall cell voltage at a 20 mA cm(-2) current density by similar to 15% while coupling with the BAOR, EOR, and GOR and similar to 12% with the UOR as the anodic half-cell reaction. Furthermore, the efficiency of hydrogen generation remains unhampered with the types of oxidation reactions (alcohols and urea) occurring at the anode. This work demonstrates the prospects of lowering the overall cell voltage in the case of a water electrolyzer by integrating the hydrogen evolution reaction with suitable organic molecule oxidation.
Keywords: electrocatalytic oxidation; energy conversion; imidazole mediated; Layered compounds; water splitting

Construction of tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoline scaffolds via polar [4+2]-Cycloaddition reaction with arynes as dienophiles - Pandya, Virat G.; Mhaske, Santosh B. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2022)
A transition-metal-free route has been developed for the direct synthesis of biologically significant tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoline scaffolds. The reaction features polar [4 + 2] Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction of arynes with a well-designed diene N-Boc protected vinyl tetrahydropyridine, followed by the isomerisation of the double bond leading to the formation of tetrahydrobenzo[f]quinoline scaffolds in good to moderate yields.
Keywords: Aryne; Diels-Alder; Diene; Tetrahydrobenzo[ f ]quinoline

Controlled exchange bias behavior of manganese nanoparticles - Tiwari, Garima; Vinod, C. Prabhakaran; Jagirdar, Balaji R. (Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2022)
Mn(0) colloids were synthesized by solvated metal atom dispersion approach utilizing hexadecylamine, toluene, and THF as coordinating ligands. Mn-toluene and Mn-THF nanoparticles were found to be highly pyrophoric in nature and demand careful handling whereas, Mn-HDA nanoparticles undergo slow oxidation. TEM micrographs revealed formation of nanoparticles between 3 and 6 nm. Magnetic studies of these three samples displayed shift in the field-cooled M-H hysteresis loop which has been attributed to exchange bias behavior. The exchange bias field, HE measured at 5 K varies with change in coordinating ligands around the Mn center which are 1217 Oe, 4408 Oe and, 6350 Oe for Mn-HDA, Mn-toluene and Mn-THF nanoparticles, respectively. The large exchange bias field has been attributed to the presence of uncompensated antiferromagnetic surface spins and the exchange interactions at the nanoparticle surface due to surface oxidation.
Keywords: Antiferromagnetism; exchange bias; Ferromagnetism; Manganese nanoparticles; Uncompensated spins

Controlled modulation of the structure and luminescence properties of zero-dimensional manganese halide hybrids through structure-directing metal-ion (Cd2+ and Zn2+) centers - Das, Deep Kumar; Bakthavatsalam, Rangarajan; Anilkumar, Vishnu; Mali, Bhupendra P.; Ahmed, Md Soif; Raavi, Sai Santosh Kumar; Pallepogu, Raghavaiah; Kundu, Janardan (Inorganic Chemistry, 2022)
Zero-dimensional (0D) metal halide hybrids with high exciton binding energy are excellent materials for lighting applications. Controlling/modulating the structure of the con-stituent metal halide units allows tunability of their photo-luminescence properties. 0D manganese halide hybrids are currently attracting research efforts in lighting applications due to their eco-friendly and strong emission. However, structural transformation-induced tunability of their photophysical propertieshas rarely been reported. Herein, we demonstrate a rationalsynthetic strategy to modulate the structure and luminescenceproperties of 0D Mn(II) halide hybrids utilizing the structure-directing d10metal ions (Cd2+/Zn2+). 0D metal halide hybrids ofCd2+/Zn2+, which act as hosts with tunable structures, accept Mn2+ions as substitutional dopants. This structural flexibility of thehost d10metal ions is realized by optimizing the metal-to-ligand ratio (Cd/AEPip). This reaction parameter allows structuraltransformation from an octahedral (AEPipCdMnBrOh) to a tetrahedral (AEPipCdMnBrTd) 0D Mn halide hybrid with tunableluminescence (orange -> green) with high photoluminescence quantum yield. Interestingly, when Zn2+is utilized, a tetrahedralAEPipZnMnBr structure forms exclusively with strong green emission. Optical and single-crystal X-ray diffraction structural analysisof the host and the doped system supports our experimental data and confirms the structure-directing role played by Cd2+/Zn2+centers. This work demonstrates a rational strategy to modulate the structure/luminescence properties of 0D Mn(II) halide hybrids, which can further be implemented for other 0D metal halide hybrids

Conventional and microwave-assisted organic synthesis of novel antimycobacterial agents bearing furan and pyridine hybrids - Desai, Nisheeth C.; Bhatt, Kandarp; Jadeja, Dharmpalsinh J.; Mehta, Harsh K.; Khedkar, Vijay M.; Sarkar, Dhiman (Drug Development Research, 2022)
Drug resistance in tuberculosis poses a serious threat to humanity because currently available antitubercular drugs are ineffective against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis). As a result, the approval of Bedaquiline and Delamanid for the treatment of drug-resistant tuberculosis was accelerated. Still, there is an urgent need to search for new antitubercular drugs with novel mechanisms of action (MoA). Due to this, we have designed a synthetic strategy by utilizing microwave-assisted organic synthesis. We have compared our method with the conventional procedure, and the data show that our procedure is more effective in the preparation of title compounds. A unique series of 1-(2-(furan-2-yl)-5-(pyridin-4-yl)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-3(2H)-yl)-3-(aryl)-pr op-2-en-1-ones (5a-o) was synthesized utilizing conventional and microwave-assisted techniques. Synthetic compounds were investigated for antitubercular activity against Mycobacterium TB H37Ra and Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis). Compound 5b was reported to be the most effective against M. tuberculosis H37Ra (97.69 percent inhibition at 30 mu g/ml) and M. bovis (97.09 percent inhibition at 30 mu g/ml). An in silico binding affinity study of mycobacterial enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase (InhA) reveals the binding mechanism and thermodynamic interactions that determine these molecule's binding affinity. Compound 5b had a high glide score of -8.991 and low glide energy of -49.893 kcal/mol.
Keywords: Antitubercular activity; microwave-assisted organic synthesis; Molecular docking

Coordination flexibility aided CO2-specific gating in an iron isonicotinate MOF - Singh, Himan Dev; Nandi, Shyamapada; Chakraborty, Debanjan; Singh, Kirandeep; Vinod, Chathakudath P.; Vaidhyanathan, Ramanathan (Chemistry-an Asian Journal, 2022)
Coordination flexibility assisted porosity has been introduced into an Iron-isonicotinate metal-organic framework (MOF), (Fe(4-PyC)(2) . (OH). The framework showed CO2-specific gate opening behavior, which gets tuned as a function of temperature and pressure. The MOF ` s physisorptive porosity towards CO2, CH4, and N-2 was investigated; it adsorbed only CO2 via a gate opening phenomenon. The isonicotinate, representing a borderline soft base, is bound to the hard Fe3+ centre through monodentate carboxylate and pyridyl nitrogen. This moderately weak binding enables isonicotinate to spin like a spindle under the CO2 pressure opening the gate for a sharp increase in CO2 uptake at 333 mmHg (At 298 K, the CO2 uptake increases from 0.70 to 1.57 mmol/g). We investigated the MOF ` s potential for CO2/N-2 and CO2/CH4 gas separation aided by this gating. IAST model reveals that the CO2/N-2 selectivity jumps from 325 to 3131 when the gate opens, while the CO2/CH4 selectivity increases three times. Interestingly, this Fe-isonicotinate MOF did not follow the trend set by our earlier reported Hard-Soft Gate Control (established for isostructural M2+-isonicotinate MOFs (M=Mg, Mn)). However, we account for this discrepancy using the different oxidation state of metals confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and magnetism.
Keywords: CO2 capture; flexible MOF; gating; Isonicotinic

Copper(II) import and reduction are dependent on His-Met clusters in the extracellular amino terminus of human copper transporter-1 - Kar, Sumanta; Sen, Samarpita; Maji, Saptarshi; Saraf, Deepashri; Ruturaj; Paul, Rupam; Dutt, Sohini; Mondal, Basudeb; Rodriguez-Boulan, Enrique; Schreiner, Ryan; Sengupta, Durba; Gupta, Arnab (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2022)
Copper(I) is an essential metal for all life forms. Though Cu(II) is the most abundant and stable state, its reduction to Cu(I) via an unclear mechanism is prerequisite for its bioutilization. In eukaryotes, the copper transporter-1(CTR1) is the primary high-affinity copper importer, although its mechanism and role in Cu(II) reduction remain uncharacterized. Here we show that extracellular amino-terminus of human CTR1 contains two methionine-histidine clusters and neighboring aspartates that distinctly bind Cu(I) and Cu(II) preceding its import. We determined that hCTR1 localizes at the basolateral membrane of polarized MDCK-II cells and that its endocytosis to Common-Recycling-Endosomes is regulated by reduction of Cu(II) to Cu(I) and subsequent Cu(I) coordination by the methionine cluster. We demonstrate the transient binding of both Cu(II) and Cu(I) during the reduction process is facilitated by aspartates that also act as another crucial determinant of hCTR1 endocytosis. Mutating the first Methionine cluster ((7)Met-Gly-Met(9)) and Asp(13)( )abrogated copper uptake and endocytosis upon copper treatment. This phenotype could be reverted by treating the cells with reduced and nonreoxidizable Cu(I). We show that histidine clusters, on other hand, bind Cu(II) and are crucial for hCTR1 functioning at limiting copper. Finally, we show that two N-terminal His-Met-Asp clusters exhibit functional complementarity, as the second cluster is sufficient to preserve copper-induced CTR1 endocytosis upon complete deletion of the first cluster. We propose a novel and detailed mechanism by which the two His-Met-Asp residues of hCTR1 amino-terminus not only bind copper, but also maintain its reduced state, crucial for intracellular uptake.

Covalent organic framework with electrodeposited copper nanoparticles - a desirable catalyst for the Ullmann coupling reaction - Chandran, Chandana; Singh, Himan Dev; Leo, Liya S.; Shekhar, Pragalbh; Rase, Deepak; Chakraborty, Debanjan; Vinod, Chathakudath P.; Vaidhyanathan, Ramanathan (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2022)
A covalent organic framework is a porous covalently-linked polymeric assembly built from molecular lego blocks, the monomers. A COF's high surface area, ordered pores, and intrinsic low density makes it a perfect heterogeneous catalyst component. Dispersing catalytic metal nanoparticles into the porous COF matrix in a `capping-agent-free' manner can aid the maximal utilization of the active sites. To generate single-site catalysts, metals have been anchored to dense supports, or metal ions have been coordinated to the porous organic framework. The latter has superior atom efficiency and a substrate diffusion advantage. Stably nestling neutral metallic clusters into open-framework supports with no specifically strong binding groups requires a different approach. If infused from extremely dilute electrolytes, metal clusters can be nanoconfined into electrically activated COFs. At low-loadings, it can resemble a single-site catalyst with high atom efficiency. Herein, we report the larger scale synthesis of IISERP-COF15 and electrochemical loading of copper nanoparticles into its pores at loadings as low as 3.34 wt%. We employed classical Ullmann reactions to adjudge its activity. Typical turnover numbers for the catalysts reported in the literature are approximately 50-100. A Cu@COF shows high activity with a very low catalyst loading of 0.25 mol% (TON around similar to 300-350 vs. 4 for neat CuCl2 center dot 2H(2)O (homogeneous catalyst) and turnover frequency (similar to 15-17 h(-1))). We recycled it for up to 3 cycles. Furthermore, we report a multi-fold Ullmann reaction producing an unreported hexaaldehyde to demonstrate the latitude of the catalyst. Our work points to the potential of a dilutely loaded metal@COF as a mimic of the single-site catalyst for synthesizing valuable C-O linked molecules. Our findings from computational modeling shed light on the role of the COF as an active nanoporous support for Ullmann C-O coupling.

COVID-19 associated mucormycosis: evolving technologies for early and rapid diagnosis - Samson, Rachel; Dharne, Mahesh (3 Biotech, 2022)
The post-coronavirus disease (COVID-19) mucormycosis is a deadly addition to the pandemic spectrum. Although it's a rare, aggressive, and opportunistic disease, the associated morbidity and mortality are significant. The complex interplay of factors aggravating CAM is uncontrolled diabetes, irrational and excessive use of antibiotics, steroids, and an impaired immune system. Recently, India has been witnessing a rapid surge in the cases of coronavirus disease-associated mucormycosis (CAM), since the second wave of COVID-19. The devastating and lethal implications of CAM had now become a matter of global attention. A delayed diagnosis is often associated with a poor prognosis. Therefore, the rapid and early diagnosis of infection would be life-saving. Prevention and effective management of mucormycosis depend upon its early and accurate diagnosis followed by a multimodal therapeutic approach. The current review summarizes an array of detection methods and highlights certain evolving technologies for early and rapid diagnosis of CAM. Furthermore, several potential management strategies have also been discussed, which would aid in tackling the neglected yet fatal crisis of mucormycosis associated with COVID-19.
Keywords: Biosensors; COVID-19; Diagnostics; Mucormycosis; Probiotics

Crystalline xylitol production from corncob biomass with oral toxicity analysis - Ahuja, Vishal; Dasgupta, Diptarka; Kshirsagar, Siddheshwar; Ghosh, Prasenjit; More, Snehal; Gupta, Piyush; Behera, Babita; Bhaskar, Thallada (Industrial Crops and Products, 2022)
Xylitol, a five-carbon sugar alcohol, has a steady global market and finds application as a natural sugar substitute in various food and confectionery products. Biocatalytic xylitol production, although touted as a greener alternative to conventional chemical catalysis, suffers from certain challenges, the primary being high cost of production. This study demonstrates a process for food-grade xylitol production from corncob biomass with energy reduction through two major process modifications. A non-conventional fermentation strategy was adopted whereby adjusting aeration without agitation, xylitol with high yield (0.86 +/- 0.015 g/g), and productivity (0.74 gL(-1)h(-1)) could be produced by a GRAS Pichia caribbica MTCC 5703 strain. Xylitol was recovered from the broth in the form of crystals using a combination of membrane-based filtration and crystallization. The crystals demonstrated similar to 98 % purity when quantified with H-1 NMR. Oral toxicity analysis of the crystals demonstrated no adverse effect in female Winstar rats (at a loading of 2000 mg/kg body weight of animals). Overall process statistics showed that 0.584 kg of food-grade xylitol crystals could be produced from 3.5 kg of corncob biomass. The two-process modifications during fermentation and xylitol recovery enabled an energy saving of similar to 20.842 kW/kg of crystals, providing tremendous advantages for biorefinery-based large-scale xylitol production from corncob biomass.
Keywords: Biomass; Fermentation; Oral toxicity analysis; Wastewater treatment; xylitol

Cyclic peptide engineered from phytocystatin inhibitory hairpin loop as an effective modulator of falcipains and potent antimalarial - Mishra, Manasi; Singh, Vigyasa; Tellis, Meenakshi B.; Joshi, Rakesh S.; Pandey, Kailash C.; Singh, Shailja (Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics, 2022)
Cystatins are classical competitive inhibitors of C1 family cysteine proteases (papain family). Phytocystatin superfamily shares high sequence homology and typical tertiary structure with conserved glutamine-valine-glycine (Q-X-V-X-G) loop blocking the active site of C1 proteases. Here, we develop a cysteine-bounded cyclic peptide (CYS-cIHL) and linear peptide (CYS-IHL), using the conserved inhibitory hairpin loop amino acid sequence. Using an in silico approach based on modeling, protein-peptide docking, molecular dynamics simulations and calculation of free energy of binding, we designed and validated inhibitory peptides against falcipain-2 (FP-2) and -3 (FP-3), cysteine proteases from the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Falcipains are critical hemoglobinases of P. falciparum that are validated targets for the development of antimalarial therapies. CYS-cIHL was able to bind with micromolar affinity to FP-2 and modulate its binding with its substrate, hemoglobin in in vitro and in vivo assays. CYS-cIHL could effectively block parasite growth and displayed antimalarial activity in culture assays with no cytotoxicity towards human cells. These results indicated that cyclization can substantially increase the peptide affinity to the target. Furthermore, this can be applied as an effective strategy for engineering peptide inhibitory potency against proteases.
Keywords: Cyclic peptide; falcipain inhibitors; falciparum; P; Phytocystatin; protein interaction mimics; protein&#8211

Cadmium (II) Organo Tetrakis-[1,2]-Oxathiin (CdOTOT): a 3D sandwiched frameworks with efficient hydrogen production - Kumar, Praveen; Bajpai, Himanshu; Luwang, Meitram Niraj (Journal of Catalysis, 2023)
For over a decade, the structure, reactivity, and mechanism of graphene based photocatalysts have been of great interest for hydrogen (H2) generation. Several studies have been done on the edge side groups (ESGs) of graphene oxide (GO), but the basal plane groups (BPGs)-epoxide and hydroxide have acquired far less attention. This is because the GO layers are strongly held with van der waals forces as well as H-bonding which prevents the foreign body from entering inside the layers. To overcome these problems, this study presents the successful synthesis and application of four coordinated sandwiched (FCS) Cadmium (II) Organo Tetrakis-[1,2]-Oxathiin (CdOTOT) in rGO-CdS composite (A 3D sandwiched frame-work). Additionally, experimental outcomes have been further supported using density functional theory (DFT), which suggest that CdOTOT is more stable than its precursors as well as thermodynamically favourable. The CdOTOT shows high H2 production activity -67.5 mmol/g or 13.5 mmol/g/h in presence of 1 % Pt cocatalyst and sacrificial reagents (Na2S/Na2SO3). It is around 33 times higher than pristine CdS, and stable up to around 15 hrs without adding any cocatalyst. This mesmerising outcome is over with reported various CdS-rGO based photocatalysts. The higher activity was further explained through the proposed mechanism and observed low electronic work function of CdOTOT. This innovative and extend-able (with other metals) approach provides a revolutionary impact on numerous cutting-edge research applications like photocatalysis, water splitting, solar cell, etc.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: 2]; 3D sandwiched frameworks; Basal Plane Groups (BPGs); Cadmium (II) Organo Tetrakis-[1; hydrogen production; Oxathiin (CdOTOT)

Can Li atoms anchored on boron- and nitrogen-doped graphene catalyze dinitrogen molecules to ammonia? a DFT study - Verma, Tushar Singh; Samal, Pragnya Paramita; Selvaraj, Kaliaperumal; Krishnamurty, Sailaja (ChemPhysChem, 2023)
The most successful electrochemical conversion of ammonia from dinitrogen molecule reported to date is through a Li mediated mechanism. In the framework of the above fact and that Li anchored graphene is an experimentally feasible system, the present work is a computational experiment to identify the potential of Li anchored graphene as a catalyst for N-2 to NH3 conversion as a function of (a) minimum number of Li atoms needed for anchoring on graphene sheets and (b) the role of chemical modification of graphene surfaces. The studies bring forth an understanding that Li anchored graphene sheets are potential catalysts for ammonia conversion with preferential adsorption of N-2 through end-on configuration on Li atoms anchored on doped and pristine graphene surfaces. This mode of adsorption being characteristic of Nitrogen Reduction Reaction (NRR) through enzymatic pathway, examination of the same followed by analysis of electronic properties demonstrates that tri-Li atoms (Tri Atom Catalysts, TACs) are more efficient as catalysts for NRR as compared to two Li atoms (Di Atom Catalysts, DACs). Either way, the rate determining step was found to be *NH2 ->*NH3 step (mixed pathway) with Delta G(max)=1.02 eV and *NH2-*NH3 ->*NH2 step (enzymatic pathway) with Delta G(max)=1.11 eV for 1B doped TAC and DAC on graphene sheet, respectively. Consequently, this work identifies the viability of Li anchored graphene based 2-D sheets as hetero-atom catalyst for NRR.
Keywords: computational chemistry; Graphene Sheet; heterogeneous catalysis; Li Nanoparticles; Nitrogen Reduction Reaction

Can metal cations electrocatalyze sulfur redox reaction and suppress polysulfide shuttle? - Kumar, Subramani; Swain, Gitanjali; Krishnamoorthy, Kothandam (Batteries & Supercaps, 2023)
In lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, sulfur undergoes various changes. It switches between cyclic structure and linear structure. The charge on the sulfur varies between a neutral state and a negative charge-bearing state. Due to these changes, the sulfur/polysulfide dissolves in the battery electrolyte. Furthermore, the kinetics of the sulfur redox reaction is sluggish. Therefore, a material that can suppress sulfur/polysulfide dissolution and electrocatalyze sulfur redox reaction is needed. We hypothesize that the polysulfide dissolution can be suppressed if the host exhibits polyvalent electrostatic attraction. Polysulfide is a negative charge-bearing molecule; hence the host must comprise multiple positive charges. Nickel cations with other heteroatoms have been explored as a host in Li-S batteries. The heteroatoms impart additional interactions. The easier way to circumvent the effect of heteroatoms is the addition of metal salts. However, metal salts can either exhibit monovalent or divalent attraction with polysulfides. Those interactions are weak and we must have polyvalent interaction. Towards this objective, we have designed and synthesized a material that comprises multiple divalent cations that is also devoid of heteroatoms. The Li-S batteries fabricated using the metal cation immobilized graphene showed a maximum specific capacity of 1022 mAh/g at 0.1 C rate. Among the metal cations, nickel cations showed better performance than cobalt cations. Thus, we demonstrate that metal cations immobilized on Graphene can efficiently electrocatalyze the sluggish sulfur redox reaction and suppress the polysulfide dissolution.
Keywords: electrocatalysis; graphene; lithium-sulfur batteries; metal cations; polysulfides

Carbamate-Protected (BOC and O-NB) 2-Aminopyrimidinedione-based janus G-C nucleobase motifs as building blocks for supramolecular assembly and smart polymers - Singh, Dharmendra; Lakshmi, Durga; Meena, Chhuttan L.; Krishna, Gamidi Rama; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J. (Journal of organic chemistry, 2023)
In this paper, we report ``carbamate protected'' 2-aminopyrimidinedione-based Janus G-C nucleobases (2-APD Janus G-C nucleobases) featuring polymerizable groups and self-complementary triple H-bonding motifs DDA and AAD as building blocks for developing smart polymers and self-healing materials. The carbamate-masked H-bonding motif, cleavable under acidic (BOC group) or photocleavable (O-nitrobenzyl group) conditions, would facilitate the synthesis of smart polymers by alleviating aggregation during polymerization which in turn would exclude self-assembly-assisted solubility issues. Ready accessibility in excellent yields coupled with the possibility for facile introduction of polymerizable groups would make these building blocks excellent candidates for diverse polymerization applications.

Carbohydrate recognition using metal-ligand assemblies - Ahamed, Rafiq; Venkatesh, Jayashree; Srithar, Rakshantha; Gaikwad, Sudhakar; Pramanik, Susnata (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2023)
Carbohydrate-binding proteins, known as lectins, play a wide range of vital roles in cellular and pathological processes. Mimicking lectins to achieve specific molecular recognition of carbohydrates in organic and aqueous media using artificial receptors is challenging due to the synthetic hurdles of receptors and structural similarities between sugars. Carbohydrate recognition using non-covalent interactions remains a vast topic. This review summarises the recognition of carbohydrates using metal-ligand assemblies, including metallosupramolecules, macrocycles, and cages. It also highlights the challenges and future directions in the field.

Carbon black and chitin nanofibers for green tyres: preparation and property evaluation - Mathew, Mariya; Dominic, C. D. Midhun; Neenu, K. V.; Begum, P. M. Sabura; Dileep, P.; Kumar, T. G. Ajith; Sabu, Akshay Alax; Nagane, Dhiraj; Parameswaranpillai, Jyotishkumar; Badawi, Michael (Carbohydrate Polymers, 2023)
This research highlights the synergistic use of carbon black (CB) and chitin nanofibers (CHNFs) for developing green tyres for the first time. The CHNFs (12-30 nm) were prepared from chitin powder with the help of steam explosion and mild oxalic acid hydrolysis. The CHNFs were uniformly dispersed in natural rubber (NR) latex, dried, and mixed with CB in a two-roll mill to form NR/CB/CHNF composites. The NR/CB/CHNF composite at 1 phr CHNF loading exhibited tensile and tear strengths that were about 47 and 160 % greater than the NR-Neat, respectively. The dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the loss tangent (tan delta) at 60 degrees C was 50 % lower for the NR/CB/CHNF 1.0 composite than for the NR/CB50 composite. The study succeeded in developing a new green tyre tread formulation that would be helpful for attaining sustainability and a circular economy.
Keywords: carbon black; Chitin nanofibers; Green Tyre; natural rubber latex

Carbon encapsulated NiCo2S4 nanoparticles with enhanced surface mediated charge storage for superior ultracapacitor electrodes - Chaturvedi, Vikash; Pawar, Meenakshi; Thripuranthaka, M.; Shivade, Rajkiran; Shelke, Manjusha V. V. (Chemistry-An Asian Journal, 2023)
Three different compositions of NiCo2S4 (NCS) materials were prepared using three solvents, named NCS HTDI (hydrothermal in DI water), NCS STEG (solvothermal in ethylene glycol), and a novel carbon-encapsulated NCS STFA (solvothermal in formamide). The structural and morphological properties of the prepared NCS HTDI, NCS STEG, and NCS HTDI materials were analyzed using various physical characterization techniques. As prepared, NCS materials were tested as an electrode for supercapacitor (SC) application using a 3-electrode system in a basic electrolyte (3 M KOH). NCS HTDI exhibits a specific capacitance of 2536 F g(-1), NCS STEG shows 1355 F g(-1), and NCS STFA shows 1178 F g(-1) at an input current density of 1 A g(-1). The SBN-PSC material is utilized as a counter electrode in the NCS STFA || SBN-PSC-based asymmetric SC device. The device exhibits exceptionally superior electrochemical performance with a specific capacitance of 172 F g(-1) at 10 A g(-1) input current density and 97% capacity retention after 5000 cycles in a voltage window of 1.6 V. The results confirm the superiority of NCS STFA||SBN-PSC deviceas an excellent high-energy and high-power SC.
Keywords: Asymmetric supercapacitor device; NiCo2S4; pseudocapacitor; Surface charge storage

Catalyst-assisted selective vinylation and methylallylation of a quaternary carbon center using tert-butyl acetate - Mohanta, Nirmala; Samal, Pragnya Paramita; Pandey, Akanksha M.; Mondal, Shankhajit; Krishnamurty, Sailaja; Gnanaprakasam, Boopathy (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2023)
The In-(OTf)(3)-catalyzed & alpha;-vinylationof varioushydroxy-functionalized quaternary carbon centers using in situ generatedisobutylene from tert-butyl acetate is presentedas a novel synthetic methodology. Moreover, tert-butylacetate is a nonflammable feed stock and is a readily available sourcefor the in situ production of vinyl substituents, as demonstratedby the vinylation reaction with quaternary hydroxy/methoxy compounds.Moreover, an excellent selectivity for methylallylation over vinylationwas obtained with Ni-(OTf)(2) as a catalyst. In the case ofperoxyoxindole, methylallyl-functionalized 1,4-benzoxazin-3-one derivativeswere formed through the sequential rearrangement of peroxyoxindolefollowed by the nucleophilic attack by isobutylene. The detailed mechanismfor this reaction and rationalization for the selectivity are providedusing kinetics and density functional theory studies.

Cellulase hyper-producing fungus penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1366 elaborates a wider array of proteins involved in transport and secretion, potentially enabling a diverse substrate range - Christopher, Meera; Sreeja-Raju, Athiraraj; Kooloth-Valappil, Prajeesh; Gokhale, Digambar Vitthal; Sukumaran, Rajeev K. (Bioenergy Research, 2023)
The efficient breakdown of lignocellulose requires the concerted activity of multiple enzymes. Previous studies on Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1366 (PJ-1366) have revealed a more versatile repertoire of cellulases as compared to the hypercellulolytic strain Trichoderma reesei RUT-C30. Since a robust transport and secretion network is necessary to achieve proficient enzyme production, the transporters and extracellular proteins of PJ-1366 identified from its genome data were compared with those of Penicillium rolfsii (the phylogenetically closest species) and T. reesei RUT-C30 (the industrial work horse for cellulase production). Transmembrane proteins formed 20.4%, 21.0% and 18.2%, respectively of the proteome of PJ-1366, P. rolfsii and T. reesei RUT-C30, and 292 of them were mapped as transporters in PJ-1366. Major facilitator superfamily transporters (264) and sugar transporters (167) are abundant in PJ-1366, which probably aid in the uptake of oligosaccharide inducers of cellulase. The number of extracellular proteins (1007) in PJ-1366 is the highest reported for a Penicillium species. Also, PJ-1366 encoded 1.5 x more proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism than the other fungi, and its secreted CAZymes belonged to much more diverse families (73), potentially enabling the fungus to act on heterogenous substrates. Structural differences in some untranslated protein response (UPR) effectors like Pdi and Clx detected in PJ-1366 may facilitate unique modes of cellulase regulation.
Keywords: Cellulase; Pathway; Penicillium; regulation; Secretion; Transport

Cerebrospinal fluid protein profiles in alzheimer's dementia patients: a bioinformatic approach - Misra, Anamika; Chakrabarti, Sankha S.; Gambhir, Indrajeet S.; Baghel, Meghraj S.; Patil, Yugendra R. (Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 2023)

C-H functionalization of pyridines - Maity, Susmita; Bera, Asish; Bhattacharjya, Ayantika; Maity, Pradip (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2023)
Pyridine and its reduced form (piperidine) are the most common nitrogen heterocycles in FDA-approved drugs. Additionally, their presence in alkaloids, ligands for transition metals, catalysts, and organic materials with various properties makes them among the most important structural cores. Despite its importance, direct and selective functionalization of pyridine remains scarce due to its electron-poor nature and nitrogen coordination power. Instead, functionalized pyridine rings were primarily constructed from suitably substituted acyclic precursors. The focus on sustainable chemistry with minimum waste generation encourages chemists to develop direct C-H functionalization. This review summarizes different approaches to tackle the reactivity and regio- and stereoselectivity aspects for direct pyridine C-H functionalization.

Challenges and emerging strategies for next generation liposomal based drug delivery: an account of the breast cancer conundrum - Moudgil, Aliesha; Salve, Rajesh; Gajbhiye, Virendra; Chaudhari, Bhushan P. (Chemistry and Physics of Lipids, 2023)
The global cancer burden is witnessing an upsurge with breast cancer surpassing other cancers worldwide. Furthermore, an escalation in the breast cancer caseload is also expected in the coming years. The conventional therapeutic regimens practiced routinely are associated with many drawbacks to which nanotechnological in-terventions offer a great advantage. But how eminent could liposomes and their advantages be in superseding these existing therapeutic modalities? A solution is reflected in this review that draws attention to a decade-long journey embarked upon by researchers in this wake. This text is a comprehensive discussion of liposomes, the front runners of the drug delivery systems, and their active and passive targeting approaches for breast cancer management. Active targeting has been studied over the decade by many receptors overexpressed on the breast cancer cells and passive targeting with many drug combinations. The results converge on the fact that the actively targeted formulations exhibit a superior efficacy over their non-targeted counterparts and the all lipo-somal formulations are efficacious over the free drugs. This undoubtedly underlines the dominion of liposomal formulations over conventional chemotherapy. These investigations have led to the development of different liposomal formulations with active and passive targeting capacities that could be explored in depth. Acknowl-edging and getting a deeper insight into the liposomal evolution through time also unveiled many imperfections and unchartered territories that can be explored to deliver dexterous liposomal formulations against breast cancer and more in the clinical trial pipeline.
Keywords: Breast cancer; Liposomal metamorphosis; Receptor-ligand dynamics; Targeted Drug Delivery

Challenges and opportunities for production of C5 sugar fatty acid esters (SFAEs) from renewable resources - Tracy, Preetanshika; Dasgupta, Diptarka; More, Snehal (Industrial Crops and Products, 2023)
Sugar fatty acid esters represent a billion-dollar market with huge global demand. Although glucose and sucrose-based surfactants have prevailed in the chemical industry for decades, C-5-based esters are relatively unknown and have recently started to gain attention owing to their multifunctional properties. These molecules can be derived from cheap and inexpensive biomass/renewable resources and present promising potential with diverse applications as additives in various nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and cosmeceutical formulations. However, large-scale production of C-5 sugar esters is limited, with one or two commercial plants operating worldwide. This review highlights the major challenges and prospects of biotechnological production of the C-5 sugar esters, considering the possible advancements over existing technology with various aspects of industrial bioprocessing and product recovery.
Keywords: Bioprocess; C-5-fatty acid esters; Lipase; solvent; xylitol

Charge trapped CdS quantum dot embedded polymer matrix for a high speed and low power memristor - Betal, Atanu; Bera, Jayanta; Sharma, Ashish; Rath, Arup K. K.; Sahu, Satyajit (Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2023)
The data storage requirement in the digital world is increasing day by day with the advancement of the internet of things. In this respect, nonvolatile resistive random-access memory is an option that provides high density and low power data storage capabilities. In this work, zero-dimensional colloidal CdS quantum dots and a polymer composite at an appropriate ratio were used to fabricate a memristive device. Comparison with a pristine CdS quantum dot-based device reveals that a surrounding matrix around the quantum dots is needed for observing memristive behavior. The quantum dots embedded in the polymer matrix device showed extremely stable electrical switching behavior that can be operated for more than 300 cycles and 60 000 seconds. Moreover, the device needs extremely low power to operate at a very high speed. The smooth surface morphology dictates a charge trapping mechanism for the switching phenomenon; however, an interplay between different charge transport mechanisms leads to the fast switching and high on-off ratio of the device.

Chemical bridge-mediated heterojunction electron transport layers enable efficient and stable perovskite solar cells - Patil, Pramila; Maibam, Ashakiran; Sangale, Sushil S.; Mann, Dilpreet Singh; Lee, Hyun-Jung; Krishnamurty, Sailaja; Kwon, Sung-Nam; Na, Seok-In (ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2023)
Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) emerged as potential photovoltaicenergy-generating devices developing in recent years because of theirexcellent photovoltaic properties and ease of processing. However,PSCs are still reporting efficiencies much lower than their theoreticallimits owing to various losses caused by the charge transport layerand the perovskite. In this regard, herein, an interface engineeringstrategy using functional molecules and chemical bridges was appliedto reduce the loss of the heterojunction electron transport layer.As a functional interface layer, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)was introduced between PCBM and the ZnO layer, and as a result, EDTAsimultaneously formed chemical bonds with PCBM and ZnO to serve asa chemical bridge connecting the two. DFT and chemical analyses revealedthat EDTA can act as a chemical bridge between PCBM and ZnO, passivatedefect sites, and improve charge transfer. Optoelectrical analysisproved that EDTA chemical bridge-mediated charge transfer (CBM-CT)provides more efficient interfacial charge transport by reducing trap-assistedrecombination losses at ETL interfaces, thereby improving device performance.The PSC with EDTA chemical bridge-mediated heterojunction ETL exhibiteda high PCE of 21.21%, almost no hysteresis, and excellent stabilityto both air and light.
Keywords: charge transfer; chemical bridge; electron transport layer; ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Perovskite solar cells; trap-assisted recombination

Chemically gradient hydrogen-bonded organic framework crystal film - Mohammed, Abdul Khayum; Raya, Jesus; Pandikassala, Ajmal; Addicoat, Matthew A.; Gaber, Safa; Aslam, Mohamed; Ali, Liaqat; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Shetty, Dinesh (Angewandte Chemie-International Edition, 2023)
Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) are ordered supramolecular solid structures, however, nothing much explored as centimetre-scale self-standing films. The fabrication of such crystals comprising self-supported films is challenging due to the limited flexibility and interaction of the crystals, and therefore studies on two-dimensional macrostructures of HOFs are limited to external supports. Herein, we introduce a novel chemical gradient strategy to fabricate a crystal-deposited HOF film on an in situ-formed covalent organic polymer film (Tam-Bdca-CGHOF). The fabricated film showed versatility in chemical bonding along its thickness from covalent to hydrogen-bonded network. The kinetic-controlled Tam-Bdca-CGHOF showed enhanced proton conductivity (8.3x10(-5) S cm(-1)) compared to its rapid kinetic analogue, Tam-Bdca-COP (2.1x10(-5) S cm(-1)), which signifies the advantage of bonding-engineering in the same system.
Keywords: Chemical Gradience; Crystal Films; Free-Standing Films; hydrogen-bonded organic framework; Interfacial Chemistry; proton conductivity

Chemically modified graphene sheets as potential sensors for organophosphate compounds(pesticide): A DFT study - Shivankar, Bhavana R.; Singh, Chandrodai Pratap; Krishnamurty, Sailaja (Applied Surface Science, 2023)
Owing to the extensive use of pesticides in agriculture and the threat posed to the environment and humankind, attention is drawn toward the need for its remediation from various sources, in particular from water. The adsorption characteristics of hydrophobic graphene and its BN doped counterparts are evaluated using DFT methodology, to assess their sensing potential towards notable pesticide molecules (Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) such as chlorpyriphos, parathion, methyl-parathion, and fenitrothion). To accomplish this, various elec-tronic properties such as band structure, DOS, Bader charge analysis, and CDD have been calculated. Interest-ingly, exothermic interactions (-0.1 eV to-2 eV) have been noted for all the OPs with NB doped single vacancy defect induced graphene surfaces. With an exception of FTN, all the other OPs showed significant changes in the electronic properties of surfaces as apparent from the change in band gap and nature of the band from indirect to direct. The appreciable adsorption energy, higher charge transfer, and notable variation in the band gap are the decisive factors behind the strong interaction exhibited by NB doped surfaces especially dg-(NB-2)2 (except FTN). These findings demonstrate the suitability of NB doped single vacancy defect induced graphene sheets for the detection of the studied OPs.
Keywords: Adsorption; BN doped graphene surfaces; Charge density difference; Density functional theory; Organophosphate pesticides

Chemodivergent coupling of azoarenes with benzyl alcohols via a borrowing hydrogen strategy using a well-defined nickel catalyst - Bansal, Sadhna; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Punji, Benudhar (Catalysis Science & Technology, 2023)
Chemodivergent (de)hydrogenative coupling of azoarenes with benzyl alcohols is achieved via the N=N bond activation using an inexpensive and well-defined (6-OH-bpy)NiCl2 catalyst. This protocol highlights the construction of C-N bonds via a borrowing hydrogen strategy that offers substituted imines and amines. A range of azo compounds couple with various substituted benzyl alcohols in a tandem hydrogenation/dehydrogenation process. The nickel catalyst along with the K2CO3 or (KOBu)-Bu-t base governed the selectivity in imine and amine formation. A preliminary mechanistic study establishes the crucial role of metal-ligand cooperation (MLC) comprising the distinct radical pathways.

Chloroperoxidase applications in chemical synthesis of industrial relevance - Bhandari, Yogesh; Sajwan, Hemlata; Pandita, Parul; Koteswara Rao, Vamkudoth (Biocatalysis and Biotransformation, 2023)
Biocatalysts can accelerate the catalysis of a chemical reaction that is difficult to synthesize with typical chemical methods. The global enzyme market size is predicted to expand at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2021 to 2028. Enzymatic reactions are highly chemo, regio, and stereoselective and produce various fine chemicals such as drugs, agrochemicals, and fragrance molecules. Peroxidases (PO) (EC 1.11.1.x) are a large class of enzymes that play an important role in various biological processes. Chloroperoxidase (CPO, EC 1.1.1.10) is a versatile fungal haem-thiolate protein that is useful in the asymmetric synthesis of chiral building blocks and has an important role in a number of biological processes. CPO's main biological role is chlorination, although it also catalyses haem PO, catalase (CAT), and reactions similar to cytochrome P450. However, CPO performs both oxidation and stereo-specific halogenation of chemical molecules. The haem and vanadium POs are produced by Caldariomyces fumago, and Curvularia inaequalis, respectively, and are capable of halogenating the flavanones, naringenin, and hesperetin, at C-6 and C-8 in the presence of either Cl- or Br-. In this review, we discussed the various applications of CPO including synthesis of epoxides, drugs, halogenation of thymol, nitriles, the Aza-Achmatowicz reaction, and biomedical applications such as cancer and biosensors. In light of these novel features, we have provided a detailed review of CPOs and their applications in various stereoselective chemical transformations of industrial relevance.
Keywords: active pharmaceutical ingredients; Biotransformation; Caldariomyces fumago; chemo; Chloroperoxidase; regio; stereoselectivity

Chromatography assisted in-vitro refolding and purification of recombinant peptibody: recombinant romiplostim a case study - Rana, Sunil; Ughade, Santosh; Kumthekar, Rupali; Bhambure, Rahul (International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2023)
In-vitro protein refolding is one of the key rate-limiting unit operations in manufacturing of fusion proteins such as peptibodies expressed using E. coli. Dilution-assisted refolding is the most commonly used industrial practice to achieve the soluble, native functional form of the recombinant protein from the inclusion bodies. This study is focused on developing a chromatography-assisted in-vitro refolding platform to produce the biologically active, native form of recombinant peptibody. Recombinant Romiplostim was selected as a model protein for the study. A plug flow tubular reactor was connected in series with capture step affinity chromatography to achieve simultaneous in-vitro refolding and capture step purification of recombinant Romiplostim. Effect of various critical process parameters like fold dilution, temperature, residence time, and Cysteine: DTT ratio was studied using a central composite based design of experiment strategy to achieve a maximum refolding yield of selected peptibody. Under optimum refolding conditions, the maximum refolding yield of 57.0 & PLUSMN; 1.5 % and a purity of over 79.73 & PLUSMN; 3.4 % were achieved at 25-fold dilution, 15 degrees C temperature, 6 h residence time with 6 mM and 10 mM of cysteine and DTT, respectively. The formation of native peptibody structure was examined using various orthogonal analytical tools to study the protein's primary, secondary, and tertiary structure. The amino acid sequence for the disulfide-linked peptide was mapped using collision-induced dissociation (CID) to confirm the formation of interchain disulfide bonds between Cys7-Cys7 and Cys10-Cys10 similarly for intra-chain disulfide bonds between Cys42-Cys102, and Cys148-Cys206. The developed protocol here is a valuable tool to identify high-yield scalable refolding conditions for multi-domain proteins involving inter-domain disulfide bonds.
Keywords: CE-SDS; Disulfide bonds; In-vitro refolding; Peptibody; Romiplostim

Cloning and expression of antibody fragment (Fab) II: Effect of expression hosts on light and heavy chain gene expression - Mehta, Deepa; Chirmade, Tejas; Nainwal, Neeraj; Bhambure, Rahul (Biochemical Engineering Journal, 2023)
Protein expression stoichiometry of individual subunits plays a critical role in the formation of multi-domain functional therapeutic proteins like antibody fragments. In this study, we have evaluated light to heavy chain ratio (LC: HC) of rHu Ranibizumab expressed using duet expression vector in six E. coli strains. The LC: HC ratio at the protein level was determined using RP-HPLC whereas transcript abundance of LC and HC at the mRNA level was determined using RTqPCR. Protein level study as well as the transcript abundance profiles of the LC and HC genes were observed to be differentially expressed across the E. coli strains. BL21 STAR (DE3) and Origami 2 strains resulted in a nearly equal expression ratio of LC and HC genes. Untargeted shotgun proteomics analysis was performed to identify the differentially expressed proteins. Total 1083 proteins were identified in the spectral IDA library, while 244 and 149 proteins were differentially expressed in Origami 2 and BL21 STAR (DE3) respectively. These proteins are associated with translation and nucleotide biosynthesis pathways. Ob-tained results provide insights into the impact of different E.coli host strains on LC: HC ratio, the probable reasons behind the unbalanced gene ratio, and provide useful transcriptomic and proteomics analysis protocols.
Keywords: E.coli host strains; Expression stoichiometry; Proteome analysis; rHu biosimilar Ranibizumab; Transcript abundance

CO2 electrolysis towards large scale operation: rational catalyst and electrolyte design for efficient flow-cell - Patra, Kshirodra Kumar; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Chemical Communications, 2023)
The electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) to renewable fuels/chemicals is a potential approach towards addressing the carbon neutral economy. To date, a comprehensive analysis of key performance indicators, such as an intrinsic property of catalyst, reaction environment and technological advancement in the flow cell, is limited. In this study, we discuss how the design of catalyst material, electrolyte and engineering gas diffusion electrode (GDE) could affect the CO2RR in a gas-fed flow cell. Significant emphasis is given to scale-up requirements, such as promising catalysts with a partial current density of >= 100 mA cm(-2) and high faradaic efficiency. Additional experimental hurdles and their potential solutions, as well as the best available protocols for data acquisition for catalyst activity evaluation, are listed. We believe this manuscript provides some insights into the making of catalysts and electrolytes in a rational manner along with the engineering of GDEs towards CO2RR.

Co3O4 for sustainable CO2 reduction and possible fine-tuning towards selective CO production - Ranjan, Ravi; Tekawadia, Jyoti; Jain, Ruchi; Mhamane, Nitin B.; Raja, Thirumalaiswamy; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S. (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023)
Two main challenges involved in heterogeneous catalytic CO2 reduction are: (a) decreasing the consumption of H2 to the minimum required level with possibly the maximum CO2 conversion, and (b) concurrently enhancing the selectivity of the desired CO, at the cost of methane. Towards meeting these two challenges, Co3O4 spinel has been identified as a potential catalyst and it exhibits predominant CO selectivity > 673 K at atmospheric pressure. CO2 conversion begins > 523 K, with 100% CO selectivity observed > 673 K with CO2:H2 = 3:2. Current work shows a sustainable catalytic CO2 conversion to 100% CO selectivity with Co3O4-Nanocube (NC). Critically, CO selectivity and yield is observed to increase at the cost of methane with smaller amount of H2. 1:1 and 3:2 CO2:H2 ratio exhibits 88-100% CO selectivity with 24-32.5% CO2 conversion between 623 and 823 K. Irrespective of the input CO2:H2, ratio of CO2:H2 uptake changes from around 1:3 at 523 K to 1:1-1.5 at 823 K with concurrent production of significant methane to predominant CO, respectively. Surface electronic state changes was explored by near ambient pressure photoelectron spectroscopy, and the results suggests that Co3O4 is the active phase that promotes CO2 reduction selectively to CO. Broadening observed with the vibrational feature of the CO2 molecules at high temperature underscores the heterogeneous character of the catalyst surface, under operating conditions, due to changing electron density. By optimizing the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), H2-lean CO2:H2 ratio, and the reaction temperature/pressure, 100% CO selectivity could be broadened to a range of operating conditions.
Keywords: Carbon neutral economy; heterogeneous catalysis; RWGS; SDG; Surface Science

Cobalt-manganese modified theophrastite phase of nickel hydroxide nanoflower arrays on nickel foam as a self-standing bifunctional electrode for overall water electrolysis - Kharabe, Geeta Pandurang; Illathvalappil, Rajith; Barik, Sidharth; Kanheerampockil, Fayis; Walko, Priyanka S.; Bhat, Suresh K.; Devi, R. Nandini; Kurungot, Sreekumar (Sustainable Energy & Fuels, 2023)
Designing and developing self-supported electrodes for water electrolysis is attractive as compared to conventional catalyst-coated electrodes. Herein, a (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF nanocomposite is prepared by anchoring (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)via simple one-pot hydrothermal synthesis on nickel foam. The presence of Mn induces the external electronic structure of Co(OH)(2), and this also improves the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). These favor better accessibility of active sites and increased intrinsic activity for the OER and HER. (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF has shown promising electrochemical activity toward the OER and HER in a 1 M KOH electrolyte, with an overpotential of 270 mV for the OER and 163 mV for the HER to deliver 10 mA cm(-2) current density. The overall water splitting was performed by employing (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF as both the cathode and anode by displaying a voltage of 1.62 V at 10 mA cm(-2), which is comparable to that extracted from a similar system based on the state-of-the-art Pt/C@NF cathode and RuO2@NF anode (1.60 V at 10 mA cm(-2)) standard electrode pair. Interestingly, at high current densities, the (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF//(Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF system displayed better overall water splitting performance (1.78 V at 100 mA cm(-2)) compared to its Pt/C@NF//RuO2@NF (1.89 V at 100 mA cm(-2)) counterpart while displaying a stable output during the evolution period that lasted for 24 h. The amounts of H-2 and O-2 produced are estimated to be 701.2 and 358.6 mmol, respectively, at a time interval of 1 h; these amounts correspond to an similar to 1 : 2 ratio of O-2 and H-2, respectively. This study confirms the capability for employing (Co0.3Mn0.1Ni0.6)(OH)(2)/NF as a bi-functional and self-standing electrode for the realistic demonstrations of overall water splitting applications.

Cocrystal approach to modulate the photoluminescent properties of a GFP chromophore analogue: role of halogen/hydrogen bonding in achieving a wide range of solid-state fluorescence emissions - Mali, Bhupendra P.; Dash, Soumya Ranjan; Annadhasan, Mari; Biswas, Anupam; Manoj, Kochunnoonny; Vanka, Kumar; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (Crystal Growth & Design, 2023)
Fine-tuning the photophysical properties of fluorescentorganicsolids is essential to attain multicolor displays and meet the demandfor futuristic light-emitting materials. Here, we report the tunableluminescence of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) chromophore analogue,3,4,5-TIA (A), based on the formation of two-component molecular cocrystalswith six different coformers. Coformers selected to synthesize thebinary cocrystals include 1,4-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (B), perfluoronaphthalene(C), 1,4-dibromotetrafluorobenzene (D), 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoroterephthalicacid (E), benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarbonitrile (F), and benzene-1,2,4,5-tetracarboxylicacid (G). Interestingly, the cocrystals A center dot C and A center dot Fshowed molecular crystal polymorphism with a slight variation in fluorescence,revealing an aggregation-induced emission (AIE). A crystal structureanalysis showed the interplay of hydrogen bonding, halogen bonding,and aromatic pi-stacking interactions in associating neutralsolid components in the cocrystal. All of the novel cocrystals displayeda wide range of photoluminescence ranging from blue to dark orange.The time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculationsindicate the changes in the energy level structures (HOMO to LUMO)in cocrystals that resulted in variations in fluorescence emission.The study aims to further understand the structure-propertyrelationship between molecular arrangement and photoluminescence. Cocrystals of a GFPc analogue with differentcoformers displayeda wide range of fluorescence emissions ranging from blue to dark orangewith varying quantum yields. With similar geometries of pi-stackinginteractions, hydrogen and halogen bonding have played a vital rolein fine-tuning the photoluminescence; halogen bonding leads to a blueshift, and hydrogen bonding results in a red shift.

Cocrystallization of multi-kinase inhibitor pazopanib with fenamic acids: improving dissolution and inhibiting cell migration - Rai, Sunil K.; Gunnam, Anilkumar; Roy, Debopriya; Rajput, Raveena; Kulkarni, Kiran; Nangia, Ashwini K. (CrystEngComm, 2023)
A multi-kinase inhibitor, pazopanib (PAZ) is cocrystallized with cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor fenamic acids to investigate the dissolution rate and inhibition of cell migration in VEGF-triggered HUVEC cells to test the efficacy of stoichiometric drug-drug combinations. Crystallization experiments at the sub-milligram level in an acetonitrile-methanol mixture yielded two drug-drug salt forms of PAZ with flufenamic acid (FFA) and niflumic acid (NFA) as PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN (an acetonitrile solvate named as form I) and PAZ+center dot NFA-. Structures of the crystal forms were characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) method. Crystal structures revealed that the presence of a 2-aminopyrimidine group in PAZ is a strong partner for the carboxyl group in all solid forms, forming an acidMIDLINE HORIZONTAL ELLIPSISpyrimidine heterosynthon with COX inhibitor fenamic acids. To perform dissolution experiments and cell line analysis, the scale-up of both salt forms were done in the acetonitrile-methanol mixture through crystallization, which showed a polymorphic transformation in the case of PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN (an acetonitrile solvate named form II). The thermodynamic stability of PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN (form II) and PAZ+center dot NFA- were analysed using slurry experiment under ambient conditions in pH 1.2 (0.1 N HCl) buffer medium and the residual solid phase was characterized by powder XRD, which showed that PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN (form II) was a metastable solid form while PAZ+center dot NFA- was a stable solid form. The dissolution experiments at gastric pH 1.2 showed that the rate of dissolution of PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN was 10 times higher than PAZ+center dot NFA-. The cell migration assay suggested that PAZ+center dot FFA-center dot ACN inhibited similar to 25% and PAZ+center dot NFA- inhibited similar to 20% migration of HUVEC cells compared to PAZ alone. These investigations suggested that the drug-drug salts PAZ+center dot FFA- and PAZ+center dot NFA- would be potential combo drug candidates for clinical trials. Multi-drug crystalline salts of pazopanib with fenamic acids exhibit enhanced dissolution and 20% higher inhibition in the migration of HUVEC cells compared to the reference drug.

Cofilin-membrane interactions: electrostatic effects in phosphoinositide lipid binding - Prakash, Shikha; Krishna, Anjali; Sengupta, Durba (ChemPhysChem, 2023)
The actin cytoskeleton interacts with the cell membrane primarily through the indirect interactions of actin-binding proteins such as cofilin-1. The molecular mechanisms underlying the specific interactions of cofilin-1 with membrane lipids are still unclear. Here, we performed coarse-grain molecular dynamics simulations of cofilin-1 with complex lipid bilayers to analyze the specificity of protein-lipid interactions. We observed the maximal interactions with phosphoinositide (PIP) lipids, especially PIP2 and PIP3 lipids. A good match was observed between the residues predicted to interact and previous experimental studies. The clustering of PIP lipids around the membrane bound protein leads to an overall lipid demixing and gives rise to persistent membrane curvature. Further, through a series of control simulations, we observe that both electrostatics and geometry are critical for specificity of lipid binding. Our current study is a step towards understanding the physico-chemical basis of cofilin-PIP lipid interactions.
Keywords: complex membrane; lipid clustering; Martini coarse-grain simulations; Molecular dynamics simulations; Protein-lipid interactions

COF-supported zirconium oxyhydroxide as a versatile heterogeneous catalyst for Knoevenagel condensation and nerve agent hydrolysis - Shekhar, Pragalbh; Devulapalli, Venkata Swaroopa Datta; Reji, Reshma; Singh, Himan Dev; Jose, Aleena; Singh, Piyush; Torris, Arun; Vinod, Chatakudath P.; Tokarz III, John A.; Mahle, John J.; Peterson, Gregory W.; Borguet, Eric; et al. (iScience, 2023)
A composite of catalytic Lewis acidic zirconium oxyhydroxides (8 wt %) and a covalent organic framework (COF) was synthesized. X-ray diffraction and infrared (IR) spectroscopy reveal that COF's structure is pre-served after loading with zirconium oxyhydroxides. Electron microscopy confirms a homogeneous distri-bution of nano-to sub-micron-sized zirconium clusters in the COF. 3D X-ray tomography captures the micron-sized channels connecting the well-dispersed zirconium clusters on the COF. The crystalline ZrOx(OH)(y)@COF's nanostructure was model-optimized via simulated annealing methods. Using 0.8 mol % of the catalyst yielded a turnover number of 100-120 and a turnover frequency of 160-360 h(-1) for Knoevenagel condensation in aqueous medium. Additionally, 2.2 mol % of catalyst catalyzes the hy-drolysis of dimethyl nitrophenyl phosphate, a simulant of nerve agent Soman, with a conversion rate of 37% in 180 min. The hydrolytic detoxification of the live agent Soman is also achieved. Our study unveils COF-stabilized ZrOx(OH)(y) as a new class of zirconium-based Lewis + Bronsted-acid catalysts.

Comparative evaluation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for reducing SARS-CoV-2 viral load from campus sewage water - Pramanik, Rinka; Bodawar, Narendra; Brahme, Aashay; Kamble, Sanjay; Dharne, Mahesh (Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2023)
Presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is a major concern as the wastewater meets rivers and other water bodies and is used by the population for various purposes. Hence it is very important to treat sewage water in an efficient manner in order to reduce the public health risk. In the present work, various advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have been evaluated for disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage water collected from STP inlet of academic institutional residential. The sewage water was subjected to ten AOPs, which include Ozone (O3), Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), Ultraviolet radiation (UV), and their hybrid combinations like HC/O3, HC/O3/ H2O2, HC/H2O2, O3/UV, UV/H2O2, UV/H2O2/O3, and O3/H2O2 to reduce SARS-CoV-2 viral load. Further, AOP treated sewage water was subjected to total nucleic acid isolation followed by RT-qPCR for viral load estimation. The sewage water treatment techniques were evaluated based on their viral concentration-reducing efficiency. It was found that ozone and ozone-coupled hybrid AOPs showed the most promising result with more than 98 % SARS-CoV-2 viral load reducing efficiency from sewage water. Interestingly, the best six AOPs used in this study significantly reduced both the SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV (faecal indicator) viral load and improved water quality in terms of increasing DO and decreasing TOC.
Keywords: AOPs and hybrid AOPs; Hydrodynamic cavitation; Ozonation; PMMoV; SARS-CoV-2; Sewage water treatment

Comparative studies of the influence of particle size on various pretreatments of rice husk by assessment of chemical and structural components and wastewater characteristics of liquid fraction - Shahabazuddin, Mohmmad; Banuvalli, Bhavana Karibasappa; Mulik, Nagesh; Pande, Ashwini; Bokade, Vijay; Mudliar, Sandeep Narayan (Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 2023)
The dilute acid (DA), steam explosion (SE), and a 2-step: steam explosion followed by alkali (SEA) were evaluated for pretreatment of rice husk. The maximum hemicellulose and lignin removal via degradation and dissolution was observed for SEA pretreatment, enabling higher cellulose enrichment (up to 44% w/w) and recovery (up to 78%). The hemicellulose solubilization was >90% for all the pretreatments, while maximum lignin removal (up to 62%) was observed for SEA pretreatment. The particle size in the range of 0.3-0.6 mm enabled higher pretreatment efficiencies in terms of cellulose enrichment. The liquid fraction obtained after DA pretreatment indicated higher COD values (20800-24440 mg/L) as compared to SEA (7800-11400 mg/L) due to lower cellulose recoveries in DAP (54-68%). SEM analysis of the biomass indicated disrupted regions with multiple pores. FTIR analysis revealed cleavage of lignin side chains, and XRD analysis confirmed the increase in cellulose crystallinity post-pretreatment.
Keywords: Lignocellulosic crop residues; Liquid-waste characterization; Particle size; Rice husk biomass; Steam explosion pretreatment

Comparative study of the correlation between the structure and the dynamics for systems interacting via attractive and repulsive potentials - Sharma, Mohit; Nandi, Manoj Kumar; Bhattacharyya, Sarika Maitra (Journal of Chemical Physics, 2023)
We present the study of the structure-dynamics correlation for systems interacting via attractive Lennard-Jones (LJ) and its repulsive counterpart, the Weeks-Chandler-Andersen (WCA) potentials. The structural order parameter (SOP) is related to the microscopic mean-field caging potential. At a particle level, the SOP shows a distribution. Although the two systems have similar pair structures, their average SOP differs. However, this difference alone is insufficient to explain the well known slowing down of the dynamics in the LJ system at low temperatures. The slowing down can be explained in terms of a stronger coupling between the SOP and the dynamics. To understand the origin of this system specific coupling, we study the difference in the microscopic structure between the hard and soft particles. We find that for the LJ system, the structural differences of the hard and soft particles are more significant and have a much stronger temperature dependence compared to the WCA system. Thus, the study suggests that attractive interaction creates more structurally different communities. This broader difference in the structural communities is probably responsible for stronger coupling between the structure and dynamics. Thus, the system specific structure-dynamics correlation, which also leads to a faster slowing down in the dynamics, appears to have a structural origin. A comparison of the predictive power of our SOP with the local energy and two body excess entropy in determining the dynamics shows that in the LJ system, the enthalpy plays a dominant role and in the WCA system, the entropy plays a dominant role, and our SOP can capture both these contributions.

Comparison of the solid-state and submerged fermentation derived secretomes of hyper-cellulolytic Penicillium janthinellum NCIM 1366 reveals the changes responsible for differences in hydrolytic performance - Sankar, Meena; Mathew, Reshma M.; Puthiyamadam, Anoop; Sreeja-Raju, Athiraraj; Christopher, Meera; Gokhale, Digambar Vitthal; Sukumaran, Rajeev K. (Bioresource Technology, 2023)
better hydrolytic performance along with a higher initial rate of reaction. Secretome analyses of the SSF and SmF enzymes using LC/MS-MS, indicated that while the type of proteins secreted were similar in both modes, the abundance of specific beta glucosidases, lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases and hemicellulolytic enzymes were very high in SSF resulting in efficient initiation, low accumulation of cellobiose and high initial reaction rates. Key enzymes that catalyse lignocellulose breakdown under SSF and SmF are therefore different and the fungus may be speculated to have regulation mechanisms that aid differential expression under different culti
Keywords: Cellulase; Solid -state fermentation

On the competition between six-membered and five-membered NHC towards alane centered ring expansion - Balayan, Kajal; Sharma, Himanshu; Vanka, Kumar; Ravindranathan, Sapna; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Sen, Sakya S. (Chemical Communications, 2023)
The combination of 6-SIDipp center dot AlH3 (1) and 5-IDipp resulted in the ring expansion of 6-NHC, while the five-membered NHC remained unchanged, which was subsequently explained by DFT studies. Besides, the substitution chemistry of 1 was also studied with TMSOTf and I-2, which gave rise to the substitution of a hydride by triflate or iodide ligands.

Composites of HKUST-1@nanocellulose for gas-separation and dye-sorption applications - Muhamed, Shamna; Sunny, Blesson; Kunjattu, Shebeeb H.; Alagarsamy, Thirumurugan (CHEMISTRY-A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, 2023)
In this study, composites of HKUST-1 MOF with nanocellulose, HKUST-1@NCs, have been prepared and explored for CO2/N-2 gas-separation and dye-sorption based applications. Our biopolymer-MOF composites are prepared via a copper ion pre-seeding method, in which, the HKUST-1 crystallites are grown in situ on the Cu-seeded and carboxylate anchored NC fibers for a better interfacial integration between the MOF and the polymer matrices. Static gas sorption studies show the capability of one of our HKUST-1@NC composites to reach similar to 300 % enhancement in the CO2/N-2 sorption selectivity compared to the corresponding MOF alone - blank reference sample prepared at similar conditions. The same composite, C100, in the bulk powder form, shows a remarkable IAST sorption selectivity of 298 (CO2/N-2) at 298 K and 1 bar for the CO2/N-2 (15/85, v/v) gas mixture. The relative position of the C100, in the bound plot visualizations of the CO2/N-2 separation trade-off factors indicate a significant potential. The HKUST-1@NC composites have also been processed along with a polymeric cellulose acetate (CA) matrix as HKUST-1@NC@CA films to study them as free-standing mixed-matrix membranes. The CO2/N-2 sorption selectivity, at 298 K and 1 bar is 600 for one such membrane, C-120@CA, as bulk sample studied by the static gas sorption. The composite, C120, exhibits a good uptake with an enhancement of 11 % for alizarin and 70 % for Congo red in comparison to the uptakes of the corresponding blank reference HKUST-1 sample, B120.
Keywords: CO2 separation; dye sorption; MOFs; nanocellulose composites; sustainable polymers

Comprehensive analysis of physiological and metabolomic responses to drought reveals specific modulation of acquired tolerance mechanisms in rice - Doddaraju, Pushpa; Dharmappa, Prathibha M.; Thiagarayaselvam, Aarthy; Vijayaraghavareddy, Preethi; Bheemanahalli, Raju; Basavaraddi, Priyanka A.; Malagondanahalli, Mohan Kumar V.; Kambalimath, Sumanth; Thulasiram, Hirekodathakallu V.; Sreeman, Sheshshayee M. (Physiologia Plantarum, 2023)
Mild stresses induce ``acquired tolerance traits'' (ATTs) that provide tolerance when stress becomes severe. Here, we identified the genetic variability in ATTs among a panel of rice germplasm accessions and demonstrated their relevance in protecting growth and productivity under water-limited conditions. Diverse approaches, including physiological screens, association mapping and metabolomics, were adopted and revealed 43 significant marker-trait associations. Nontargeted metabolomic profiling of contrasting genotypes revealed 26 ``tolerance-related-induced'' primary and secondary metabolites in the tolerant genotypes (AC-39000 and AC-39020) compared to the susceptible one (BPT-5204) under water-limited condition. Metabolites that help maintain cellular functions, especially Calvin cycle processes, significantly accumulated more in tolerant genotypes, which resulted in superior photosynthetic capacity and hence water use efficiency. Upregulation of the glutathione cycle intermediates explains the ROS homeostasis among the tolerant genotypes, maintaining spikelet fertility, and grain yield under stress. Bioinformatic dissection of a major effect quantitative trait locus on chromosome 8 revealed genes controlling metabolic pathways leading to the production of osmolites and antioxidants, such as GABA and raffinose. The study also led to the identification of specific trait donor genotypes that can be effectively used in translational crop improvement activities.

Comprehensive molecular and clinical investigation of approved Anti-HCV drugs repurposing against SARS-CoV-2 infection: a glaring gap between benchside and bedside medicine - Bansode, Sneha; Singh, Pawan Kumar; Tellis, Meenakshi; Chugh, Anita; Deshmukh, Narendra; Gupta, Mahesh; Verma, Savita; Giri, Ashok; Kulkarni, Mahesh; Joshi, Rakesh; Chaudhary, Dhruva (Vaccines, 2023)
The limited availability of effective treatment against SARS-CoV-2 infection is a major challenge in managing COVID-19. This scenario has augmented the need for repurposing anti-virals for COVID-19 mitigation. In this report, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 potential of anti-HCV drugs such as daclatasvir (DCV) or ledipasvir (LDP) in combination with sofosbuvir (SOF) was evaluated. The binding mode and higher affinity of these molecules with RNA-dependent-RNA-polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 were apparent by computational analysis. In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity depicted that SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP combination has IC50 of 1.8 and 2.0 mu M, respectively, comparable to remdesivir, an approved drug for COVID-19. Furthermore, the clinical trial was conducted in 183 mild COVID-19 patients for 14 days to check the efficacy and safety of SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP compared to standard of care (SOC) in a parallel-group, hybrid, individually randomized, controlled clinical study. The primary outcomes of the study suggested no significant difference in negativity after 3, 7 and 14 days in both treatments. None of the patients displayed any worsening in the disease severity, and no mortality was observed in the study. Although, the post hoc exploratory analysis indicated significant normalization of the pulse rate showed in SOF/DCV and SOF/LDP treatment vs. SOC. The current study highlights the limitations of bench side models in predicting the clinical efficacy of drugs that are planned for repurposing.
Keywords: antiviral; COVID-19; daclatasvir; ledipasvir; SARS-CoV-2; sofosbuvir

Comprehensive molecular docking and dynamic simulations for drug repurposing of clinical drugs against multiple cancer kinase targets - Shaikh, Nilofer; Linthoi, R. K.; Swamy, V, K.; Karthikeyan, Muthukumarasamy; Vyas, Renu (Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 2023)
Drug repurposing is a method to identify novel therapeutic agents from the existing drugs and clinical compounds. In the present comprehensive work, molecular docking, virtual screening and dynamics simulations were carried out for ten cancer types viz breast, colon, central nervous system, leukaemia, melanoma, ovarian, prostate, renal and lung (non-small and small cell) against validated eighteen kinase targets. The study aims to understand the action of chemotherapy drugs mechanism through binding interactions against selected targets via comparative docking simulations with the state-art molecular modelling suits such as MOE, Cresset-Flare, AutoDock Vina, GOLD and GLIDE. Chemotherapeutic drugs (n = 112) were shortlisted from standard drug databases with appropriate chemoinformatic filters. Based on docking studies it was revealed that leucovorin, nilotinib, ellence, thalomid and carfilzomib drugs possessed potential against other cancer targets. A library was built to enumerate novel molecules based on the scaffold and functional groups extracted from known drugs and clinical compounds. Twenty novel molecules were prioritised further based on drug-like attributes. These were cross docked against 1MQ4 Aurora-A Protein Kinase for prostate cancer and 4UYA Mitogen-activated protein kinase for renal cancer. All docking programs yielded similar results but interestingly AutoDock Vina yielded the lowest RMSD with the native ligand. To further validate the final docking results at atomistic level, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to ascertain the stability of the protein-ligand complex. The study enables repurposing of drugs and lead identification by employing a host of structure and ligand based virtual screening tools and techniques. Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Keywords: chemotherapeutic drugs; Drug repurposing; Molecular docking; molecular simulation (MD); structure-based drug designing (SBDD); virtual screening

Comprehensive review on catalytic O-alkylation of phenol and hydroquinone - Bhongale, Priyanka; Joshi, Sunil; Mali, Nilesh (Catalysis Reviews-Science and Engineering, 2023)
The alkylation process involves two competitive paths of O- and C-alkylation and achieving better selectivity for desired products is a very challenging problem. The development of new process for synthesis of O-methylated products of phenol and dihydric phenols is a subject of high industrial and academic interest. Alkyl phenyl ethers, especially anisole and 4-methoxyphenol, have captivated significant interest due to their increasing applications in pharmaceutical industries. The main emphasis of the present review is to explore the recent development in two catalytic O-alkylation processes. The first process is O-methylation of phenol into anisole and another is selective mono O-methylation of hydroquinone into 4-methoxyphenol. The present article covers O-alkylation methods with methanol and dimethyl carbonate as alkylating agent over various acidic and basic catalytic systems. The catalyst systems analyzed involves Bronsted and Lewis acidic and basic ionic liquids, conventional acids, metal oxides, solid acid and basic catalysts, hydrotalcites, various zeolites and heteropolyacids. The mechanistic behavior of alkylation reactions in presence of different catalytic system is reviewed critically which is important to design new and/or modified catalyst in order to maximize the yield of desired product. Additionally, an influence of reaction parameters, role of catalyst and their active sites on product distribution is described. The review paper gives useful insight for researchers in the field of catalysis and reaction engineering of alkylation reactions. Understandings of the reaction pathways will help in developing reliable kinetic models necessary for process scale-up to industrial scale reactor system.
Keywords: Dimethyl carbonate; Hydroquinone; Methanol; O-alkylation; phenol

Comprehensive study on solomonamides: total synthesis, stereochemical revision, and SAR studies toward identification of simplified lead - Jachak, Gorakhnath R.; Kashinath, K.; Vasudevan, N.; Athawale, Paresh R.; Choudhury, Rahul; Dange, Santoshkumar S.; Agarwal, Heena; Barthwal, Manoj Kumar; Reddy, D. Srinivasa (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2023)
Solomonamides, a pair of macrocyclic peptide natural products originating from marine sources, have garnered significant attention within the synthetic community owing to their marked anti-inflammatory efficacy and intricate molecular architectures. In this paper, we present a very detailed investigation into solomonamides, including the challenges associated with the total synthesis, the evolution of our synthetic strategies, structural reassignment, synthesis of all possible stereoisomeric macrocycles, biological assessment, structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies, etc. Within the ambit of this total synthesis, diverse strategies for macrocyclization were rigorously explored, encompassing the Friedel-Crafts acylation, cyclization involving the aniline NH2 moiety, macrolactamization utilizing Gly-NH2, and Heck macrocyclization methodologies. In addition, an array of intriguing chemical transformations were devised, including but not limited to photo-Fries rearrangement, Wacker oxidation, ligand-free Heck macrocyclization, oxidative cleavage of indole, synthesis of contiguous stereocenters via substrate/reagent-controlled protocols, and simultaneous making and breaking of olefinic moieties. The findings of this investigation revealed a structurally simplified lead compound. Remarkably, the lead compound, while possessing structural simplification in comparison to the intricate solomonamide counterparts, demonstrates equipotent in vivo anti-inflammatory efficacy.

Computational insights into the iron-catalyze d magnesium-me diate d hydroformylation of alkynes - Sharma, Himanshu; Tewari, Tanuja; Chikkali, Samir H.; Vanka, Kumar (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 2023)
Iron is one of the most abundant transition metals in the earth's crust. It has attracted a lot of attention due to its low toxicity, bio-compatibility, and high natural abundance. Iron-catalyzed hydroamination, hydroalkoxylation, hydrocarboxylation, hydrosilylation, hydroboration, hydrophosphination, hydromagnesiation, and carbonylation reactions have therefore been developed over the past decades. However, despite many experimental and theoretical studies, a complete mechanistic understanding of iron-catalyzed hydrofunctionalisation at the molecular level has not yet been achieved. In this work, through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we have shown the most feasible path for the hydroformylation of alkynes for an experimentally studied system. We have looked at the iron salt as a precatalyst without any external donor ligand, and the calculations revealed that hydrometalation followed by beta-hydride elimination was favorable over the direct migration of the beta-hydrogen to carbon. Furthermore, our calculations show that the solvent plays an important role in the hydromagnesiation reaction. Furthermore, we have employed an explicit solvent model, where the attachment of one molecule of solvent to the iron center was seen to stabilize the transition states significantly.(c) 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Computational study; Ethylene Assisted Catalysis; EtMgBr Assistance; Explicit Role of Solvent; Hydroformylation; Iron Catalyst

Concise approach for the synthesis of the tetracyclic framework of Lycibarbarines A and B - Shet, Manoj N.; Nechooli, Hemanth K.; Ramana, Chepuri V. (Tetrahedron Letters, 2023)
A simple approach for the construction of the tetracyclic spiroketal skeleton of Lycibarbarine A and B has been described. Employing a solvent free condition for epoxide opening with tetrahydroquinoline as a key reaction to couple both the fragments, an oxidation followed by TBAF-mediated silyl deprotection spiroketalization establishes the complete tetracyclic core present in these natural products. (c) 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Chiral pool approach; D -Glyceraldehyde; Tetracyclic spiroketal; Total synthesis

Construction of the quinobenzoxazine core via gold-catalyzed dual annulation of azide-tethered alkynones with anthranils - Halnor, Swapnil V. V.; Dhote, Pawan S. S.; Ramana, Chepuri V. V. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2023)
A new catalytic method for the construction of the quinobenzoxazine core has been developed employing the gold-catalyzed cyclization of o-azidoacetylenic ketones in the presence of anthranils. The overall process comprises of a gold-catalyzed 6-endo-dig cyclisation of o-azidoacetylenic ketone leading to a alpha-imino gold carbene and subsequent carbene transfer to anthranil leading to the 3-aryl-imino-quinoline-4-one intermediate, which undergoes 6 pi-electrocyclization and aromatization to form the central quinobenzoxazine core. This transformation provides a new approach to a diverse array of quinobenzoxazine structures, in addition to being scalable and having mild reaction conditions.

Continuous hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde: gas-liquid-liquid-solid helical coil reactor - Khan, Muzammil Y.; Joshi, Sunil S.; Ranade, Vivek V. (Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2023)
The advantages and challenges of using the gas-liquid-liquid-solid(GLLS) hydrogenation system are discussed in this work using the caseof selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde to cinnamyl alcohol (animportant ingredient in the perfume and flavoring industry). The fourphases in this system include gas (hydrogen)-liquid (organic, reactant+ solvent)-liquid (aqueous KOH)-solid (5% Pt/C catalyst). The additionof second liquid phase, i.e., aqueous KOH significantly increasesselectivity toward cinnamyl alcohol compared to the conventional three-phasehydrogenation. The four-phase GLLS reactions were carried out andoptimized in a continuous helical coil reactor. The role of key aspectssuch as gas solubility, kinetics, flow hydrodynamics, axial dispersion,and mass transfer on the performance of a continuous GLLS reactoris presented and discussed in this work. The presented results anddiscussion will be useful for addressing conflicting demands likelong residence time, low axial dispersion, and high mass transfer.The experimental studies and results of the developed mathematicalmodel indicate that the continuous GLLS helical coil reactor outperformsthe batch operation. The production rates (kg day(-1)) of cinnamyl alcohol achieved in continuous operation were at leastdouble in comparison to batch operation, with 32% less consumptionof precious catalyst (per kg of product). The presented results will open up new opportunities for enhancing selectivity and overall performanceof hydrogenations via introducing a second immiscible liquid phaseand designing continuous tubular reactors for the same.

Controlled reduction of isocyanates to formamides using monomeric magnesium - Kumar, Rohit; Sharma, Vishal; Banerjee, Subhrashis; Vanka, Kumar; Sen, Sakya S. (Chemical Communications, 2023)
This work describes a transition metal-free methodology involving an efficient and controlled reduction of isocyanates to only formamide derivatives using pinacolborane (HBpin) as the hydrogenating agent and a bis(phosphino)carbazole ligand stabilized magnesium methyl complex (1) as the catalyst. A large number of substrates undergo selective hydroboration and give exclusively N-boryl formamides.

Controlled synthesis of thermosensitive tunable porous film of (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) copolymer for sustain drug delivery - Amgoth, Chander; Patra, Sukanya; Wasnik, Kirti; Maity, Pradip; Paik, Pradip (Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2023)
There have been reports on different types of porous polymer films for various applications. The designing of such porous films with uniform properties is a challenging task. In this work, tunable porous thin films of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (pNIPAM) and polycaprolactone (PCL), that is, (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) has been fabricated and its sustained drug delivery applications have been reported. First, the (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) has been synthesized through the addition polymerization of pNIPAM and PCL. Then the synthesized (pNIPAM)-b(PCL) has been used to design porous thin film with varying temperatures without using any external template, below and above the lower critical solution temperatures (LCST) of pNIPAM. Pore size in (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) films has been tuned by varying the temperature from similar to 10 to 40 degrees C. Then the developed thermosensitive porous film has been taken and seeded with the K562 (chronic myeloid leukemia blood cancer) and HepG2 (hepatocarcinoma) cells and the skin cancer cells (B16-F10) killing efficiency of anticancer drug (e.g., doxorubicin hydrochloride, DOX) loaded (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) film has been studied. It is found that the DOX-loaded (pNIPAM)-b-(PCL) can efficiently kill the skin cancer cells. The porous polymer thin film reported in this work can be a versatile platform for the loading of drugs and it can be used for the various therapeutic applications.
Keywords: Biomaterials; Biomedical Applications; drug delivery systems; films; nanostructured polymers

Conversion of benzyl phenyl ether to monoaromatics in high-temperature aqueous ethanol solution under high-pressure carbon dioxide conditions - Taniguchi, Kenkichi; Kusumawati, Etty N.; Nanao, Hidetaka; Rode, Chandrashekhar V.; Sato, Osamu; Yamaguchi, Aritomo; Shirai, Masayuki (New Journal of Chemistry, 2023)
Solvolysis of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE), which is a model compound of lignin ether linkage, was studied in an aqueous ethanol solution, which can be obtained from bioethanol, under high-pressure carbon dioxide conditions. A batch study revealed that BPE solvolysis to monoaromatics (benzyl ethyl ether (BEE), benzyl alcohol (BA), and phenol (Ph)) proceeded in aqueous ethanol solution over 523 K and the addition of high-pressure carbon dioxide enhanced the initial solvolysis rate and suppressed the side reaction (hydrogenolysis to toluene (TL)). The ethanol molar fraction (ethanol-water volume ratio) is the key factor for the solvolysis reaction, and the highest monoaromatic yield of 72.9% (BEE 10.7%, BA 19.3%, Ph 37.9%, and TL 5.1%) was obtained in aqueous ethanol solution (2 cm(3) : 1 cm(3) = water:ethanol) at 598 K for 3 h under a pressure of 18 MPa of carbon dioxide. The solvolysis reaction proceeded continuously to produce monoaromatics with a flow system. A monoaromatic yield of 76.7% (BEE 8.6%, BA 19.7%, Ph 39.6%, and TL 8.9%) was obtained, and the formation rates were 2.7 x 10(-4) mmol min(-1) for BEE, 6.2 x 10(-4) mmol min(-1) for BA, and 12.4 x 10(-4) mmol min(-1) for Ph at 598 K under flowing water (26 mmol min(-1)), ethanol solution (4.1 mmol min(-1)), carbon dioxide (1.2 mmol min(-1)), and BPE (15.6 x 10(-4) mmol min(-1)) under a total pressure of 40 MPa.

Covalent organic framework cladding on peptide-amphiphile-based biomimetic catalysts - Kumar Mahato, Ashok; Pal, Sumit; Dey, Kaushik; Reja, Antara; Paul, Satyadip; Shelke, Ankita; Ajithkumar, Thalasseril G.; Das, Dibyendu; Banerjee, Rahul (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2023)
Peptide-based biomimetic catalysts are promising materialsforefficient catalytic activity in various biochemical transformations.However, their lack of operational stability and fragile nature innon-aqueous media limit their practical applications. In this study,we have developed a cladding technique to stabilize biomimetic catalystswithin porous covalent organic framework (COF) scaffolds. This methodologyallows for the homogeneous distribution of peptide nanotubes insidethe COF (TpAzo and TpDPP) backbone, creating strong noncovalent interactionsthat prevent leaching. We synthesized two different peptide-amphiphiles,C10FFVK and C10FFVR, with lysine (K) and arginine(R) at the C-termini, respectively, which formed nanotubular morphologies.The C10FFVK peptide-amphiphile nanotubes exhibit enzyme-likebehavior and efficiently catalyze C-C bond cleavage in a buffermedium (pH 7.5). We produced nanotubular structures of TpAzo-C10FFVK and TpDPP-C10FFVK through COF claddingby using interfacial crystallization (IC). The peptide nanotubes encasedin the COF catalyze C-C bond cleavage in a buffer medium aswell as in different organic solvents (such as acetonitrile, acetone,and dichloromethane). The TpAzo-C10FFVK catalyst,being heterogeneous, is easily recoverable, enabling the reactionto be performed for multiple cycles. Additionally, the synthesis ofTpAzo-C10FFVK thin films facilitates catalysis inflow. As control, we synthesized another peptide-amphiphile, C10FFVR, which also forms tubular assemblies. By depositingTpAzo COF crystallites on C10FFVR nanotubes through IC,we produced TpAzo-C10FFVR nanotubular structuresthat expectedly did not show catalysis, suggesting the critical roleof the lysines in the TpAzo-C10FFVK.

Covalent organic framework thin-film photodetectors from solution-processable porous nanospheres - Bag, Saikat; Sasmal, Himadri Sekhar; Chaudhary, Sonu Pratap; Dey, Kaushik; Blaette, Dominic; Guntermann, Roman; Zhang, Yingying; Poloz, Miroslav; Kuc, Agnieszka; Shelke, Ankita; Vijayaraghavan, Ratheesh K.; Ajithkumar, Thalasseril G.; et al. (Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2023)
The synthesis of homogeneous covalent organic framework (COF) thin films on a desired substrate with decent crystallinity, porosity, and uniform thickness has great potential for optoelectronic applications. We have used a solution-processable sphere transmutation process to synthesize 300 +/- 20 nm uniform COF thin films on a 2 x 2 cm2 TiO2-coated fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) surface. This process controls the nucleation of COF crystallites and molecular morphology that helps the nanospheres to arrange periodically to form homogeneous COF thin films. We have synthesized four COF thin films (TpDPP, TpEtBt, TpTab, and TpTta) with different functional backbones. In a close agreement between the experiment and density functional theory, the TpEtBr COF film showed the lowest optical band gap (2.26 eV) and highest excited-state lifetime (8.52 ns) among all four COF films. Hence, the TpEtBr COF film can participate in efficient charge generation and separation. We constructed optoelectronic devices having a glass/FTO/TiO2/COF-film/Au architecture, which serves as a model system to study the optoelectronic charge transport properties of COF thin films under dark and illuminated conditions. Visible light with a calibrated intensity of 100 mW cm-2 was used for the excitation of COF thin films. All of the COF thin films exhibit significant photocurrent after illumination with visible light in comparison to the dark. Hence, all of the COF films behave as good photoactive substrates with minimal pinhole defects. The fabricated out-of-plane photodetector device based on the TpEtBr COF thin film exhibits high photocurrent density (2.65 +/- 0.24 mA cm-2 at 0.5 V) and hole mobility (8.15 +/- 0.64 x10-3 cm2 V-1 S-1) compared to other as synthesized films, indicating the best photoactive characteristics.

Covalently interconnected layers in g-C3N4: toward high mechanical stability, catalytic efficiency and sustainability - Roy, Raj Sekhar; Mondal, Sanjit; Mishra, Samita; Banoo, Maqsuma; Sahoo, Lipipuspa; Kumar, Amit; Vinod, C. P.; De, Arijit K.; Gautam, Ujjal K. (Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 2023)
The grim prospects for the industrial utilization of g-C3N4 nanosheets arise from multi-step processing resulting in low material yields and poor visible light response due to quantum confinement. Herein, we introduce a strategy for linking the adjacent layers of g-C3N4 covalently to realize a high surface area without excess mass loss in a one-step process by introducing diethylene glycol as a precursor that produces-(CH2)2-O-(CH2)2-linkers in-situ. Their presence increases interlayer spacing and introduces surface curvatures, discouraging the stacking of a larger number of layers to produce nanosheets with-3 times higher surface area. Interestingly, unlike other layered materials, the linkers also provide extraordinary mechanical stability against exfoliating forces. In addition, the process instills sub-bandgap states and a considerable visible light response at 500 nm to slow down the picosecond exciton recombination dynamics, resulting in-5 times enhancement in H2 generation efficiency from photocatalytic water-splitting over the bulk sample.
Keywords: Layer-linkers; Sustainable synthesis; Transient absorption spectroscopy; water-splitting

Critical review on amorphous-crystalline heterostructured electrocatalysts for efficient water splitting - Singh, Manjinder; Cha, Dun Chan; Singh, Thangjam Ibomcha; Maibam, Ashakiran; Paudel, Dasu Ram; Nam, Dong Hwan; Kim, Tae Hyeong; Yoo, Sunghoon; Lee, Seunghyun (Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 2023)
Introducing complementary active materials in tandem as heterostructures of various shapes and sizes can significantly improve the physicochemical properties of the developed materials. Recently, the use of amorphous materials in conjunction with crystalline moieties as highly efficient electrocatalysts for water-splitting electrolyzers has surged rapidly. Excellent bifunctional activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) can be achieved from amorphous-crystalline-based materials owing to their remarkably conductive crystalline phase as well as their long-range disordered amorphous phase. In addition, the high specific surface area, disordered structure, and enhanced structural stability can accommodate various defects and strains that develop during in situ electrochemical reactions. Consequently, amorphous materials can be used as both surface-confined and volume-confined electrocatalysts. Although crystalline materials have better electronic properties as well as higher thermal and mechanical stability, they suffer from limited activity due to only surface-confined electrocatalysis. In this regard, the judicious integration of crystalline and amorphous active materials suitable for the OER and HER can tremendously enhance their bifunctional electrocatalytic activities owing to their synergistic effects. The variety in the choice of amorphous and crystalline counterparts presents ample opportunities for further exploration of the development of amorphous-crystalline heterostructured materials with unique properties. However, considering the recent massive developments in the understanding and protocols for fabricating such heterostructures, a critical review is vital for further advancement in this direction. Although some review papers have focused only on amorphous materials, including their synthesis methods, properties, and applications, no critical review that provides an overview emphasizing amorphous-crystalline heterostructures for electrocatalytic water-splitting applications has been published. In this regard, this review aims to present comprehensive details on the recent developments in the fabrication of different amorphous-crystalline heterostructures, the choice of the composition of each component, and the resulting physicochemical properties for the OER, HER, and overall water-splitting. It provides an in-depth understanding of amorphous-crystalline material synthesis protocols, their selection rationale, and their targeted physicochemical properties. This review also provides thought-provoking ideas and long-term perspectives for future research. This review presents comprehensive details on recent developments in the fabrication of different amorphous-crystalline heterostructures, their compositions, and the resulting physicochemical properties for OER, HER, and overall water splitting.

Cyclohexylamine -an efficient organocatalyst for the synthesis of 2-amino-4H-chromene derivatives by multicomponent reactions of salicylaldehydes, active methylene compounds and nitroalkanes - Mitragotri, Satish D.; Khyadage, Poonam H.; Chorghade, Diksha S.; Kulkarni, Makarand A.; Wadagaonkar, Prakash P. (Arkivoc, 2023)
Cyclohexylamine was found to be an efficient organocatalyst for the synthesis of structurally diverse 2-amino4H-chromenes by multicomponent reaction of (substituted) salicylaldehydes, active methylene compounds and nitroalkanes at ambient temperature and under solvent-free conditions. The synthesis of a variety of 2amino-4H-chromenes was achieved using the reaction of (substituted) salicylaldehydes with two different C-H acids. The present protocol, which employed commercially available cyclohexylamine as an organocatalyst, offered the advantages of operational simplicity and avoidance of conventional purification methods and the obtained products were essentially pure.
Keywords: 2-Amino-4H-chromene; active methylene compound; cyclohexylamine; organocatalyst

Calcination temperature impacting the structure and activity of CuAl catalyst in aqueous glycerol hydrogenolysis to 1,2-propanediol - Mane, Rasika; Potdar, Aparna; Jeon, Yukwon; Rode, Chandrashekhar (Topics in Catalysis, 2024)
This study investigated the impact of calcination temperature on the structural properties of CuAl catalyst which was found to be a robust nano-structured catalyst calcined directly without ramping at 400 °C and performed exceedingly well for aqueous phase hydrogenolysis of glycerol. Various samples of CuAl catalysts were prepared by co-precipitation at Cu: Al molar ratio 1:1 and were calcined at different temperatures (300–1000 °C). The obtained catalysts were reduced at 200 °C before their activity testing for glycerol hydrogenolysis reaction. To correlate the structure-activity, the catalysts were thoroughly characterized by XRD, XPS, BET, TEM, H2-TPR, NH3-TPD, and pyridine FTIR. It was observed that with an increase in calcination temperature from 300 to 700 °C, the glycerol conversion also increased from 47 to 55% with 93% selectivity to 1,2-PDO. The better performance of these catalysts was mainly related to the predominant presence of Brønsted acid sites, an appropriate ratio of the Cu0 to CuAl2O4 + CuO (0.33) and CuAl2O4 to CuO phases (0.35), the existence of Cu2O phase and the smaller Cu0 particle size. It was shown that altering the ramping rate for the calcination temperature of 400 °C impacted the catalytic activity. The CuAl-400 (DC) (direct calcined) catalyst exhibited a maximum glycerol conversion of 60%.

Catalytic cycloisomerization-oxidative cyclization reaction sequence of enyne diesters derived from 2-propargyloxyarylaldehydes - Prajapati, Karmdeo; Saini, Manoj Kumar; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Basak, Ashok K. (Organic Letters, 2024)
Enyne diesters derived from 2-propargyloxyarylaldehydes are converted into 2-oxopyranochromenes via In(OTf)3-catalyzed cycloisomerization and 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ)-mediated oxidative cyclization reaction sequence in one pot. The process possesses broad substrate scope and good functional group compatibility and generates various 4-(hetero)aryl-substituted 2-oxopyranochromenes in 32-79% yields (over two steps). 2-Oxopyranochromenes undergo selective decarboxylation under Krapcho conditions. When treated with aliphatic secondary amines in DMF, 2-oxopyranochromenes undergo decarboxylative amination at ambient temperature to generate 2-amino-substituted functionalized chromenes in good yields.

Catechol- and phenolic hydroxyl-functionalized partially bio-based (Co) poly(ether sulfone)s with multifarious applicability - Wale, Apparav K.; Jagtap, Ashish S.; Pandey, Priyanshi R.; Dastager, Syed G.; Shelke, Manjusha V.; Ambade, Ashootosh V.; Wadgaonkar, Prakash P. (European Polymer Journal, 2024)
A largely bio-based new bisphenol, namely, 4,4 `-((3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)methylene)-bis(2-methoxyphenol) (DMBM) was synthesized by the reaction of veratraldehyde with guaiacol. DMBM and varying compositions of DMBM and bisphenol A were polycondensed with bis(4-fluorophenyl) sulfone to afford reasonably high molecular weight film-forming (co)poly(ether sulfone)s possessing built-in methoxyl groups. T10 and Tg values of (co)poly(ether sulfone)s were in the range 382-478 degrees C and 171-187 degrees C, respectively indicating their good thermal stability and the values decreased with increase in mol % incorporation of DMBM. The methoxyl groups present in (co)poly (ether sulfone)s were quantitatively de-blocked resulting in the formation of corresponding polymers possessing pendant catechol moieties and free phenolic hydroxyl groups. By virtue of the presence of these functional moieties, (co)poly(ether sulfone)s are amenable for post-polymerization modifications, and exhibited properties such as antimicrobial (23 mm against Staphylococcus aureus and 18 mm against Escherichia coli)), antioxidant (72 % scavenger of free radicals), adhesive (2.24 MPa lap shear strength) and usefulness as redox-active agent in zinc-ion batteries. These data underscore the promise of DMBM as a versatile monomer of wider utility for the synthesis of functional (co)poly(ether sulfone)s capable of expanding their applicability beyond the conventional ones.
Keywords: (Co)poly(ether sulfone)s; adhesive; Antimicrobial; Antioxidant; bio-based; bisphenol; Zinc-ion batteries

Cathode|electrolyte interface engineering by a hydrogel polymer electrolyte for a 3D porous high-voltage cathode material in a quasi-solid-state zinc metal battery by in situ polymerization - Puthiyaveetil, Priyanka Pandinhare; Torris, Arun; Dilwale, Swati; Kanheerampockil, Fayis; Kurungot, Sreekumar (SMALL, 2024)
This work highlights the development of a superior cathode|electrolyte interface for the quasi solid-state rechargeable zinc metal battery (QSS-RZMB) by a novel hydrogel polymer electrolyte using an ultraviolet (UV) light-assisted in situ polymerization strategy. By integrating the cathode with a thin layer of the hydrogel polymer electrolyte, this technique produces an integrated interface that ensures quick Zn2+ ion conduction. The coexistence of nanowires for direct electron routes and the enhanced electrolyte ion infiltration and diffusion by the 3D porous flower structure with a wide open surface of the Zn-MnO electrode complements the interface formation during the in situ polymerization process. The QSS-RZMB configured with an integrated cathode (i-Zn-MnO) and the hydrogel polymer electrolyte (PHPZ-30) as the separator yields a comparable specific energy density of 214.14 Wh kg(-1) with that of its liquid counterpart (240.38 Wh kg(-1), 0.5 M Zn(CF3SO3)(2) aqueous electrolyte). Other noteworthy features of the presented QSS-RZMB system include its superior cycle life of over 1000 charge-discharge cycles and 85% capacity retention with 99% coulombic efficiency at the current density of 1.0 A g(-1), compared to only 60% capacity retention over 500 charge-discharge cycles displayed by the liquid-state system under the same operating conditions.
Keywords: cathode-electrolyte interface tuning; dendrite inhibition; epitaxial zinc deposition; hydrogel polymer electrolyte; In situ polymerization; Quasi solidstate rechargeable zinc metal battery

Cell based assay using virus-like particles to screen AM type mimics for SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation - Gaur, Neeraj Kailash; Urankar, Shreegauri; Sengupta, Durba; Chepuri, V. Ramana; Makde, Ravindra D.; Kulkarni, Kiran (BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS, 2024)
Keywords: MINIPROTEINS

C-H functionalization of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines: a metal-free approach for methylene insertion to access C(sp2)-C(sp3)-H-C(sp2) bond formation - Mahajan, Shivangani; Sawant, Sanghapal D. (ACS Omega, 2024)
Formaldehyde has been used as a solvent and a source of carbon to insert a methylene group for bridging two imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine molecules without using any metal catalysis. This strategy has been extended on other alkyl-, aryl-, and heteroaryl aldehydes as well. This C(sp2)-C(sp3)-H-C(sp2) bond forming reaction proceeds via C(sp2)H functionalization of imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine and was applied on a wide range of substrates offering moderate to good yields of methylene-bridged/inserted bis-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines. Most importantly, as an application, the bis-heteroarene product has been demonstrated as a ligand. The ligand-like behavior of bis-imidazo[1,5-a]pyridines has been demonstrated as an extension of current methodology. This reaction works well at the gram scale level.

Characterization of the conformational hotspots of the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase complex identifies a unique structural malleability of nsp8 - Gharui, Sowmomita; Sengupta, Durba; Das, Atanu (Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 2024)
Several antiviral therapeutic approaches have been targeted toward the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) complex that is involved in viral genome replication. In SARS-CoV-2, although the RdRp is a multiprotein complex, the focus has been on the ligand binding catalytic core (nonstructural protein nsp12), and not the multiprotein functional dynamics. In this study, we focus on the conformational ensembles of the RdRp complex and their modulation by the presence of RNA, performing comprehensive microsecond-scale atomistic simulations of the apo- and RNA-bound complex. We delineate the differential impact of RNA on the constituent proteins, such as conformational polymorphisms, dominant segment-specific fluctuations, and the switch in dynamical crosstalk within the complex. We distinguish dynamical signatures of nsp7, nsp8, and nsp12 in the apo-state that are reduced in the presence of the RNA and appear to ``prime'' the complex for activity. Importantly, we identify a unique structural malleability of the nsp8 protein with high conformational heterogeneity in the apo state, especially at three sites (Y71 for nsp8A, and D52 and A66 for nsp8B). Our work highlights the functional implications of the polymorphism of nsp8 structures and reveals possibilities for the development of allosteric inhibitors.

Chelation-assisted and steric-controlled selectivity in the Pd-catalyzed C-H/C-H oxidative coupling of indoles - Vijaykumar, Muniyappa; Pradhan, Chandini; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Punji, Benudhar (Chemical Communications, 2024)
We report the first regioselective C2-C7 oxidative coupling of indoles using a palladium catalyst upon the strategic installation of N-pyridinyl and C3-carbonyl, which delivers 2,7-biindoles with a broad scope (25 examples; up to 93% yield). Isolation of the catalytic intermediate reveals the initial activation of the C(7)-H bond, followed by the C(2)-H bond in indoles, and the reaction proceeds via a Pd(ii)/Pd(0) pathway. This manuscript describes the first regioselective C2-C7 oxidative coupling of indoles using a palladium catalyst through the strategic installation of N-pyridinyl and C3-carbonyl, which delivers diverse biorelevant 2-7-biindoles.

Chemodialysis of organic acids using ABPBI-based hollow fiber membranes - Gawas, Saroj; Alladi, Lavanya; Kharul, Ulhas K. (Journal of Membrane Science, 2024)
Organic acids are a class of essential commodity chemicals used in various industries. Their production methods are shifting from conventional chemicals to fermentation, driven by green process strategies, environmental regulations, cost feasibility, etc. Separating formed acid from the fermentation broth is a primary technological barrier. Conventional methods are complex and impose environmental issues. A promising approach, `Chemodialysis,' capable of transforming the techno-economical feasibility of acid recovery scenario by reducing the number of steps, needs further investigation. This work evaluates scalable hollow fiber membranes based on poly(2,5-benzimidazole) (ABPBI) for chemically assisted dialysis, viz., Chemodialysis. Sorption analyses of commercially significant organic acids (acetic, lactic, and glycolic acid) and nonacidic solutes (NaCl and glucose) were performed using conventional flat sheet samples to assess their role in governing permeation characteristics. The transport properties of acids in the presence of NaCl and glucose as co-solutes were analyzed using hollow fiber membranes. The high selectivity of acid over nonacidic solutes ranges from 400-22,400, coupled with high acid permeability, enhances the applicability of Chemodialysis for the separation of acids using hollow fiber membranes. The fluxes of acids (acetic, glycolic, and lactic) through dense, similar to 100 mu m thick, scalable hollow fiber membranes ranging from 10.9 to 13.12 g/m(2)h are highly appreciable.
Keywords: 5-benzimidazole); Acid separation; Chemodialysis; Hollow fiber membranes; Organic acids; Poly(2

Chemodivergent dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols by 3d metal catalysts - Bansal, Sadhna; Punji, Benudhar (ChemCatChem, 2024)
Chemodivergent synthesis by transition metal catalysts is a straightforward and sustainable approach to achieving valuable organic compounds. Especially, the chemodivergent dehydrogenative couplings of alcohols with organic motifs to develop various saturated and unsaturated compounds are highly environmentally benign due to the reduced waste generation. In this concept review, we presented the 3d transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni)-catalyzed chemodivergent synthesis of imines and amines, saturated and unsaturated carbonyl/alcohol compounds, saturated and unsaturated nitriles, N-heterocycles, and N-/C-alkylated indoles. The discussed reaction commanded two or three different products with high chemoselectivity by changing specific reaction parameters, but keeping the catalyst unchanged. Generally, the acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling (ADC) provides unsaturated moieties, whereas the borrowing-hydrogen (BH) process results in saturated compounds. Text for Table of Contents: An overview of the chemodivergent dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols by the Earth-abundant transition metal catalysts is discussed. image
Keywords: 3d metals; Alcohols; chemodivergent; dehydrogenative coupling; heterocycles

Chitosan nanoparticles for single and combinatorial delivery of 5-fluorouracil and ursolic acid for hepatocellular carcinoma - Jaiswal, Neha; Pawar, Anil T.; Chaudhari, Bhushan P. (Emergent Materials, 2024)
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a significant global health challenge with limited therapeutic options. Chemotherapy has major limitations, leading to a paradigm shift towards nanomedicines. In this study, we aimed to synthesize single and dual drug-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs) containing 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and ursolic acid (UA) for spatial and controlled delivery against HCC. We synthesized CSNPs by a modified bottom-up ionic gelation method and optimized various parameters to formulate particles with smaller sizes, uniform size distribution, and high surface charge for intra-arterial infusion for HCC. The characterization techniques confirmed a monodisperse population of smaller sized particles with average sizes, as determined from transmission electron microscopy (TEM), as 45.25 ± 11.58, 105.66 ± 10.96, 176 ± 16.46, and 220 ± 21.37 nm for CSNPs, 5-FU-CSNPs, UA-CSNPs and 5FU + UA-CSNPs respectively. These formulations exhibited excellent encapsulation of the drugs, with an initial pH-dependent rapid release of 5-FU followed by a subsequent slower and sustained release, while showing pH-dependent slow and controlled release of UA. The in vitro cell viability assay established the highest anticancer potential for 5FU + UA-CSNPs, followed by 5-FU-CSNPs and UA-CSNPs, and the lowest for plain drugs in the Hep3B cell line. An increased uptake of both the drugs in CSNPs substantiated the supremacy of these formulations over the plain drugs as drug delivery agents. These findings suggest that 5FU + UA-CSNPs, a novel formulation, works as a potent therapeutic agent against HCC, supporting our hypothesis of co-loading 5-FU and UA in CSNPs can effectively manage HCC, with particle attributes fit for administration via intra-arterial infusion.

Circulatory levels of lysophosphatidylcholine species in obese adolescents: Findings from cross-sectional and prospective lipidomics analyses - Sharma, Sapna; Subrahmanyam, Yalamanchili Venkata; Ranjani, Harish; Sidra, Sidra; Parmar, Dharmeshkumar; Vadivel, Sangeetha; Kannan, Shanthini; Grallert, Harald; Usharani, Dandamudi; Anjana, Ranjit Mohan; Balasubramanyam, Muthuswamy; Mohan, Viswanathan; et al. (NUTRITION METABOLISM AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, 2024)
Keywords: Adolescent obesity; Asian Indians; biomarker; Lipidomics; Lysophosphatidyl- choline

Co-incorporated N-doped micro-meso porous carbon as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction and Zn-air battery - Priya, Vaishna K.; Kharabe, Geeta Pandurang; Barik, Sidharth; Mohamed, A. Peer; Kurungot, Sreekumar; Hareesh, Unnikrishnan Nair Saraswathy (Energy and Fuels, 2024)
Metal-organic frameworks are considered ideal precursors for the preparation of transition-metal, heteroatom-doped carbon catalysts that are perceived to be efficient electrocatalysts for energy storage devices. Herein, we demonstrate the synthesis of ZIF-67-derived Co-incorporated N-doped porous carbon catalysts supported on high surface area microporous carbon prepared from a lotus seed shell. The combination of the two carbon catalysts in different weight ratios resulted in Co-incorporated N-doped carbon sheets with tuned surface area and porosity, enabling enhanced oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity in an alkaline medium. The optimized carbon catalyst ZL 600 (3:1) exhibited a half-wave potential of 0.79 V vs RHE and a limiting current density of -4.38 mA cm(-2) in 0.1 M KOH solution with higher stability and methanol tolerance. The optimized sample ZL 600 (3:1) demonstrated as a cathode in a zinc-air battery exhibited an open circuit voltage of 1.29 V with a flat discharge profile at a current rate of 10 mA cm(-2). The homemade system produced a specific capacity of 610 mAh g(-1) and a peak power density of 111 mW cm(-2), comparable to the cathode made with Pt/C. The high micro-mesoporosity, pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen contents, as well as enriched Co-active centers protected by carbon sheets favorably contributed to the efficient ORR mechanism.

Colocasia esculenta stems for the isolation of cellulose nanofibers: a chlorine-free method for the biomass conversion - Dominic, C. D. Midhun; Maheswary, S.; Neenu, V. K.; Sajadi, S. Mohammad; Rosa, Derval dos Santos; Begum, P. M. Sabura; Mathew, Mariya; Ajithkumar, T. G.; Parameswaranpillai, Jyotishkumar; George, Tresa Sunitha; Resmi, V. C.; Ilyas, R. A.; et al. (Biomass Conversion and Biorefinery, 2024)
The reuse of waste products is the green key to sustainability. The extraction of cellulose nanofibers from Colocasia esculenta stems is presented in the paper. The study proved that the waste biomass could be effectively re-engineered into highly valued cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). Cellulose nanofibers were extracted via a chemo-mechanical route. The pre-treatments included mild alkali hydrolysis (2% NaOH) and chlorine-free bleaching (peroxide bleaching in an alkaline medium). Cellulose I-beta structure was confirmed using C-13 solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The elemental analysis of CNFs detected the elements, carbon and oxygen. The CNFs had a crystallinity and transmittance of 71.72% and 60%, respectively. Microscopic studies verified the elimination of non-cellulosic components and the fibrous nature of CNFs. Moreover, the fiber diameter of CNFs was 20-40 nm. Thermal analysis revealed good thermal stability of 335.8 degrees C (T-50) for nanofibers. Long-term aids are numerous in eco-friendly technology. Developing an eco-design will support zero waste ideals, lowers carbon dioxide emissions, and encourages a circular economy. Owing to the merits of natural fibers, they can be adopted in various sectors including packaging, automobile, aerospace, electronics, biomedical, construction, and furniture.
Keywords: acid hydrolysis; cellulose nanofibers; Colocasia esculenta stems; High crystallinity

Comparative proteomics of sugarcane smut fungus- Sporisorium scitamineum unravels dynamic proteomic alterations during the dimorphic transition - Kumaravel, Nalayeni; Ebinezer, Leonard Barnabas; Ashwin, N. M. R.; Franchin, Cinzia; Battisti, Ilaria; Carletti, Paolo; Sundar, Amalraj Ramesh; Masi, Antonio; Malathi, Palaniyandi; Viswanathan, Rasappa; Arrigoni, Giorgio (Journal of Proteomics, 2024)
Life cycle of the dimorphic sugarcane smut fungi, Sporisorium scitamineum , involves recognition and mating of compatible saprophytic yeast -like haploid sporidia (MAT -1 and MAT -2) that upon fusion, develop into infective dikaryotic mycelia. Although the dimorphic transition is intrinsically linked with the pathogenicity and virulence of S. scitamineum , it has never been studied using a proteomic approach. In the present study, an iTRAQ-based comparative proteomic analysis of three distinct stages was carried out. The stages were: the dimorphic transition period - haploid sporidial stage (MAT -1 and MAT -2); the transition phase (24 h post co -culturing (hpc)) and the dikaryotic mycelial stage (48 hpc). Functional categorization of differentially abundant proteins showed that the most altered biological processes were energy production, primary metabolism, especially, carbohydrate, amino acid, fatty acid, followed by translation, post -translation and protein turnover. Several differentially abundant proteins (DAPs), especially in the dikaryotic mycelial stage were predicted as effectors. Taken together, key molecular mechanisms underpinning the dimorphic transition in S. scitamineum at the proteome level were highlighted. The catalogue of stage -specific and dimorphic transition -associated -proteins and potential effectors identified herein represents a list of potential candidates for defective mutant screening to elucidate their functional role in the dimorphic transition and pathogenicity in S. scitamineum . Biological significance: Being the first comparative proteomics analysis of S. scitamineum , this study comprehensively examined three pivotal life cycle stages of the pathogen: the non-pathogenic haploid phase, the transition phase, and the pathogenic dikaryotic mycelial stage. While previous studies have reported the sugarcane and S. scitamineum interactions, this study endeavored to specifically identify the proteins responsible for pathogenicity. By analyzing the proteomic alterations between the haploid and dikaryotic mycelial phases, the study revealed significant changes in metabolic pathway -associated proteins linked to energy production, notably oxidative phosphorylation, and the citrate cycle. Furthermore, this study successfully identified key metabolic pathways that undergo reprogramming during the transition from the non-pathogenic to the pathogenic stage. The study also deciphered the underlying mechanisms driving the morphological and physiological alterations crucial for the S. scitamineum virulence. By studying its life cycle stages, identifying the key metabolic pathways and stage -specific proteins, it provides unprecedented insights into the pathogenicity and potential avenues for intervention. As proteomics continues to advance, such studies pave the way for a deeper understanding of plantpathogen interactions and the development of innovative strategies to mitigate the impact of devastating pathogens like S. scitamineum.
Keywords: dimorphism; fungi; iTRAQ; Smut; Sugarcane; Virulence

Computational identification of most potent atom pair catalysts for electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction over hydrogen evolution reaction - Verma, Tushar Singh; Dar, Afshana Hassan; Dar, Manzoor Ahmad; Selvaraj, Kaliaperumal; Krishnamurty, Sailaja (Inter., 2024)
Robust electrocatalytic atom pair compositions (APCs) where Nitrogen Reduction Reaction (NRR) is more enhanced over competing Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER) is searched for using computational studies based on Density Functional Theory based methods. Atomic pairs are anchored on mechanically and thermally stable graphene surfaces. A wide range of transition metal based atom pair compositions from 3d, 4d, and 5d groups are systematically investigated for reduction of dinitrogen molecule with lower reduction barrier as compared to HER. APR compositions of Ni-Rh with an overall limiting potential of -0.22 V, Fe-W with an overall limiting potential of -0.26 V and Co-Pt with an overall limiting potential of -0.28 V are identified as the most potent atomic pairs for enhanced nitrogen reduction reaction over the HER. Finally, the performance of most potent composition, viz., Ni-Rh is validated to be consistent with respect to their thermodynamic stability and performance within the solvent effects.
Keywords: Atom pair catalysts; Density Functional Theory (DFT); Electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (eNRR); hydrogen evolution reaction (HER); IR stretching frequencies; N-N bond length

Computational modeling of sodium-ion-channel-based glucose sensing biophysics to study cardiac pacemaker action potential - Mahapatra, Chitaranjan; Shanmugam, Kirubanandan; Rusho, Maher Ali (Mathematical and Computational Applications, 2024)
Elevated blood glucose levels, known as hyperglycemia, play a significant role in sudden cardiac arrest, often resulting in sudden cardiac death, particularly among those with diabetes. Understanding the internal mechanisms has been a challenge for healthcare professionals, leading many research groups to investigate the relationship between blood glucose levels and cardiac electrical activity. Our hypothesis suggests that glucose-sensing biophysics mechanisms in cardiac tissue could clarify this connection. To explore this, we adapted a single-compartment computational model of the human pacemaker action potential. We incorporated glucose-sensing mechanisms with voltage-gated sodium ion channels using ordinary differential equations. Parameters for the model were based on existing experimental studies to mimic the impact of glucose levels on pacemaker action potential firing. Simulations using voltage clamp and current clamp techniques showed that elevated glucose levels decreased sodium ion channel currents, leading to a reduction in the pacemaker action potential frequency. In summary, our mathematical model provides a cellular-level understanding of how high glucose levels can lead to bradycardia and sudden cardiac death.

Concentration-dependent SILAR synthesized Di-bismuth copper oxide nano-materials electrode in asymmetric supercapacitor - Bobade, R. G.; Dabke, N. B.; Shaikh, Shoyebmohamad F.; Al-Enizi, Abdullah M.; Pandit, Bidhan; Lokhande, B. J.; Ambare, R. C. (Journal of Materials Science-Materials in Electronics, 2024)
In this study, we present a novel approach to prepare bismuth oxide deposited on copper substrate (Bi2CuO4) electrodes using a binder-free successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) technique, demonstrating their potential for energy storage applications. The resulting Bi2CuO4 electrode exhibits a tetragonal crystal structure with a polycrystalline nature, as confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) reveals a distinctive sphere-like structure with hydrophilic characteristics, as determined from contact angle measurements. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) further validates the composition of the sample. The electrochemical performance of Bi2CuO4 is remarkable, with a specific capacitance (SC) of 1795.9 F/g at 16 mA/cm(2). When used as an anode in an asymmetric solid-state device (ASSD) alongside activated carbon (AC) as the cathode, the Bi2CuO4 electrode attains a maximum energy density (SE) of 169.5 Wh/kg at 16 mA/cm(2) and a peak power density (SP) of 15.9 kW/kg at 24 mA/cm(2). In a 1 M KOH-polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer solution, the Bi2CuO4//AC pencil-type cell achieves a superior SC of 94.5 F/g at 5 mV/s, retaining approximately 92% of its initial performance even after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The resulting SE and SP are 43.1 Wh/kg and 5.2 kW/kg at 10 mA/cm(2), respectively. This research presents an efficient and straightforward synthesis method for producing high-performance pencil-type supercapacitors at a laboratory scale. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of a homemade pencil-type supercapacitor device (Bi2CuO4//AC) to power a light-emitting diode (LED), highlighting its practical utility in various energy storage applications.

Concise and collective total syntheses of 2,4-disubstituted furan-derived natural products from hydroxyoxetanyl ketones - Sahoo, Shubhranshu Shekhar; Kataria, Priyanka; Kontham, Ravindar (Organic and biomolecular chemistry, 2024)
The furan moiety, prevalent in bioactive natural products and essential drugs, presents intriguing structural features that have spurred our exploration into streamlined chemical synthesis routes for related natural products. In this study, we demonstrate the concise total synthesis of eight 2,4-disubstituted furan-derived natural products (including methylfuroic acid, rabdoketones A and B, paleofurans A and B, tournefolin C, and shikonofurans A and B). Our methodology revolves around the utilization of hydroxyoxetanyl ketones as pivotal intermediates. The approach encompasses transformations such as selective organo-catalyzed cross-ketol addition, synthesis of hydroxymethyl-tethered furans through Bi(OTf)3 catalyzed dehydrative cycloisomerization of alpha-hydroxyoxetanyl ketones, and a hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)-mediated oxidation of primary alcohols into the corresponding acids. This comprehensive synthetic strategy highlights the versatility of hydroxyoxetanyl ketones as invaluable building blocks in the synthesis of furan-containing natural products. A unified total synthesis of eight 2,4-disubstituted furan-derived natural products has been achieved through Bi(iii)-catalyzed cascade cycloisomerization of alpha-hydroxyoxetanyl ketones and hydrogen atom transfer-mediated oxidation of primary alcohols as pivotal transformations.

Conductive metal-organic frameworks for zinc-air battery application: design principles, recent trends and prospects - Devi, Bandhana; Kurungot, Sreekumar (Journal of Materials Chemistry A, 2024)
Electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems have an indispensable place in the modern world to fulfill the increasing energy demands. Among the different storage devices, rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) have become one of the most promising energy technologies owing to the abundance and inexpensiveness of Zn, simple operation, environmental friendliness, and reasonable energy density. However, the sluggishness of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurring in ZABs is a serious obstacle in their progress and commercialization. This creates a need for the development of efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for ORR and OER. Conductive metal-organic frameworks (cMOFs) imbibing the general properties of MOFs, like high surface area, tunable porosity, redox-active centers, and additional intrinsic conductivity, can be a very lucrative option for developing bifunctional ORR and OER electrocatalysts for ZAB applications. In this review, we discuss the conductivity and design strategies of conductive MOFs, the basic configuration of ZABs, and the use of cMOFs for ZAB applications. The future directions for the improvement of cMOFs for ZABs have been provided, which hopefully will incite interest among researchers for further exploring cMOFs for ZABs. Electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems have an indispensable place in the modern world to fulfill the increasing energy demands.
Keywords: Biofunctional Oxygen Electrocatalyst; Electrical conductivity; Energy storage; Fuel-Cells; li-ion batteries

Conformational enigma of TDP-43 misfolding in neurodegenerative disorders - Pillai, Meenakshi; Jha, Santosh Kumar (ACS OMEGA, 2024)
Keywords: DNA-BINDING PROTEIN; FRONTOTEMPORAL LOBAR DEGENERATION

Continuous flow ozonolysis of cardanol for greener synthesis of bio-based monomers - Kulkarni, Sphurti P.; Kulkarni, Amol A. (Journal of Flow Chemistry, 2024)
Synthesis of bio-based monomers via continuous flow ozonolysis of cardanol using a simple tubular reactor is demonstrated. The direct ozonolysis of cardanol produces unique monomer 8-(3-hydroxyphenyl) octanal (HPOA) and heptanal along with several other oxidation products. Maximum 47% yield of HPOA with 54.3% conversion of cardanol was obtained at 0 degrees C in 9 s. The complete conversion of cardanol was obtained at the ozone to cardanol molar flow ratios greater than 2 at all temperatures varied in the range of -10 degrees C to 20 degrees C. Owing to large gas-liquid ratios, the mass transfer limitation for transfer of ozone from gas to liquid was negligible; however, the extent of axial dispersion in the liquid phase was significant at lower liquid flow rates. The non-ideal behavior was incorporated in the axial dispersion model to predict the conversion of cardanol. Examination of kinetic rates by both ideal plug-flow model and plug-flow with axial dispersion model revealed that the reaction is fast and is least influenced by the axial-dispersion in the reactor at prevailing operating conditions. The findings of the current study show that continuous flow technique enables a simple and safer synthesis of high-value bio-based monomers via ozonolysis of cardanol compared to traditional batch methods.
Keywords: Axial-dispersion model; Cardanol; continuous flow; Helical coil; Ozonolysis

Continuous flow synthesis of hierarchical low silica X zeolite - Adarsh, V. K.; Shrotri, Aadesh R.; Birje, Amit R.; Nandanwar, Sachin U. (Materials Today Communications, 2024)
Zeolites, renowned for their versatile applications in catalysis, adsorption, and ion exchange, have long been synthesized using conventional batch processes. However, the inherent limitations of these methods, such as resource-intensive conditions and inconsistent product quality, underscore the need for a sustainable and efficient approach. In this study, a continuous flow synthesis process was established for the synthesis of industrially important low silica X (LSX) zeolite using a tubular reactor. The synthesis gel was subjected to aging for 5 days at room temperature to facilitate nucleation and crystal growth combined with the fast-heating rate in a tubular reactor at 363 K & 1.1 atm., which in turn produces LSX after 40 min. The synthesized product was confirmed by the XRD, FE-SEM, EDS, XRF, TEM, and N2 adsorption-desorption; the data was compared with the LSX sample synthesized by batch process. The result implies that LSX prepared by continuous flow has a pure phase of LSX with the hierarchical structure, which provides better adsorption capacity of CO2 at 298 K up to 20 bar. Due to continuous flow synthesis, the crystallization time was reduced and faster kinetics which may be helpful for scale-up the process for LSX synthesis.
Keywords: Adsorption; Carbon dioxide; continuous flow; Low silica X; Tubular reactor; zeolites

Continuous flow synthesis of mesoporous silica particles with tunable size and structure - Jundale, Rajashri B.; Prasad, Bhagavatula L. V.; Devi, R. Nandini; Kulkarni, Amol A. (Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 2024)
We have developed a continuous process to prepare mesoporous silica particles of different sizes and narrow size distribution in a tubular reactor. The method is based on the use of well-known Stober synthesis in the presence of cationic surfactant in methanol-water solvent system and trimethylbenzene as pore swelling agent to form porous silica particles. We observed that reaction parameters had enormous effects on particle size, distribution, and numerous morphological aspects. We demonstrated that these properties may be modified by adjusting the reaction temperature, base concentration, and surfactant concentration. MSPs of spherical morphology with variable size from 400 to 1000 nm produced with the surface area >600 m(2)/g and pore diameter of 2-4 nm. Large scale production is demonstrated by increasing reactor volume using 1/4 in. PTFE tubing from 20 to 163 mL, with this production of MSPs increased from 0.35 to 3 g/h. The method has been extended for high yield production at the kilogram scale using this approach, which will pave the way toward the industrialization of mesoporous silica based materials.

Copper-catalyzed regioselective C-H alkylation of phenol derivatives with unactivated alkyl chlorides: manifesting a Cu(I)/Cu(III) pathway - Verma, Suryadev K.; Punji, Benudhar (Journal of Catalysis, 2024)
The use of unactivated alkyl chlorides in regioselective C -H alkylation is a highly challenging process with diverse applications of alkylation strategy in drug discovery and agrochemistry. In this work, we report an efficient and cost-effective copper -catalyzed protocol for the coupling of unactivated alkyl chlorides with the C -H bond of phenol derivatives via 2-pyridinyl chelation assistance. The reaction shows a high level of regioselectivity, leading to an exclusive ortho alkylation and providing a broad scope with the endurance of numerous functionalities such as silyl, ether, thioether, pyrrolyl, indolyl, carbazolyl groups, including alkyl bearing fatty alcohol, nonylphenol, and vitamin E. Detailed mechanistic investigations suggest that the alkylation occurs through a two -electron oxidative addition of alkyl chloride to an active Cu(I) species. Deuterium labeling and kinetics experiments indicate a facile and reversible C -H bond activation process. Overall, the alkylation follows a Cu(I)/Cu(III) pathway involving chelation-assisted smooth C -H metalation and rate -limiting C-Cl oxidative addition of alkyl chloride.

Copper/Iron cocatalyzed depolymerization of postconsumer polycarbonate: a one-pot strategy to synthesize aryl ethers - Moyilla, Nageswararao; Padhi, Ganeshdev; Kalsi, Deepti; Barsu, Nagaraju (ACS SUSTAINABLE CHEMISTRY & ENGINEERING, 2024)
Keywords: aryl ethers; copper/iron cocatalysis; depolymerization; polycarbonates; Value-added products

Copper-mediated [3+2] oxidative cyclization of oxime acetate and its utility in the formal synthesis of fentiazac - Jadhao, Nitin L.; Musale, Harish B.; Gajbhiye, Jayant M.; Humne, Vivek T. (Organic and biomolecular chemistry, 2024)
A new protocol for the direct synthesis of 2-aminothiazole has been developed from oxime acetate and readily available sodium thiocyanate using a copper catalyst. The present transformation has good functional group tolerance. Various thiazoles were smoothly synthesized in good to excellent yields. The applicability of the present method has been extended to the formal synthesis of the non-steroidal and anti-inflammatory drug, fentiazac via the Sandmeyer reaction and Suzuki coupling. The direct synthesis of 2-aminothiazole has been developed from oxime acetate using a copper catalyst. The applicability of the present method is used in the formal synthesis of fentiazac.
Keywords: Biological evaluation; C-H functionalization; Vinylazides

Creep resistance in doubly crosslinked dynamic covalent networks - Mondal, Swagata; Wong, Alexander J.; Wagh, Mahendra A.; Alperstein, Lily; Sanjayan, Gangadhar J.; Sumerlin, Brent S. (POLYMER CHEMISTRY, 2024)
Vitrimers are a unique class of thermosets that demonstrate reprocessability and recyclability due to dynamic bond exchange at crosslinking sites. However, the same dynamic bond exchange predisposes vitrimers to macroscopic deformation and creep under constant stress, which limits many practical applications. Herein, we demonstrated that the incorporation of Janus-faced guanine-cytosine diamine (GCBDam) functionality within vinylogous urethane vitrimers leads to significant creep resistance due to network reinforcement via hydrogen bonding. The supramolecular associations of the GCBDam groups retarded stress relaxation at temperatures as high as 160 degrees C. Further, rheological data suggested that the cooperative nature of the bifunctional Janus-faced hydrogen bonding moieties allowed the GCBDam to act as ``stickers'' within the dynamic covalent networks. These results indicate that incorporating the bifunctional supramolecular moiety improved dimensional stability while conserving the hallmark vitrimer property of reprocessability. This work demonstrates that incorporating Janus-faced supramolecular moieties in vinylogous urethane vitrimers improved dimensional stability while conserving the hallmark vitrimer property of reprocessability.

Crystal engineering for intramolecular π-π stacking: effect of substitution of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on the molecular geometry in conformationally flexible Sulfoesters and sulfonamides - Shaikh, Samir R.; Gawade, Rupesh L.; Dabke, Niteen B.; Dash, Soumya R.; Vanka, Kumar; Gonnade, Rajesh G. (CrystEngComm, 2024)
A series of 21 sulfoester and sulfonamide derivatives comprising two aromatic rings was synthesized to investigate the effect of the presence of either electron-donating (ED) or electron-withdrawing (EW) groups on the intramolecular pi-stacking assembly. The positioning of ED or EW moieties was carried out directly on one of the aromatic rings linked to the sulfonyl or sulfonamide moieties. In contrast, the other aromatic ring (phenyl or pyridine) was connected by a -CH2-CH2- spacer with the sulfonyl or sulfonamide moiety. The purpose of having an ethyl spacer between the two aromatic rings was to achieve conformational flexibility, facilitating the intramolecular pi-stacking assembly between the two aromatic rings. The use of sulfoester/sulfonamide groups allowed more conformational flexibility to attain desired orientations in solids with the interplay of the hydrogen-bonding interactions. Between the two functional groups, sulfonamides offered a more hydrogen-rich environment due to the amine moiety and may exhibit higher H-bonding propensity than the sulfoester moiety. The central idea here was to study the interplay between the hydrogen-bonding and pi & ctdot;pi interactions. The substituent groups chosen were categorized as strong electron-withdrawing (-CF3 and -CN), weak electron-withdrawing (-Cl and -Br), neutral (-H), and good electron-donating (-CH3 and -OCH3) groups. Crystal structure analysis revealed the syn conformation for all the derivatives, enabling intramolecular pi & ctdot;pi interactions between the two aromatic rings, whereas in the sulfonamide derivatives, the molecule takes either midway or anti conformations, except for one pyridine sulfonamide derivative, which showed the syn orientation but lacked intramolecular pi-stacking interactions. The absence of any conventional H-bond forming functional groups in the sulfoester derivatives may have resulted in the syn geometry facilitated by intramolecular pi-stacking interactions. Conversely, H-bond-forming functional groups in the sulfonamide derivatives could have prevented the syn conformation. The conformational analysis carried out employing density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed the higher stability of the syn conformation over the midway and anti orientations. The placing of electron-withdrawing and electron-donating groups at the para position of the benzene revealed sulfoesters preferably adopts a syn geometry facilitating the intramolecular pi-stacking, but sulphonamides takes midway or anti-geometry.

Cu-catalyzed multicomponent reaction of arylhydrazines with β-ketoesters and TBN: one-pot access to N 2-aryl 1,2,3-triazole-1-oxides - Mujahid, Mohammad; Vara, Vijay; Arshad, Usman; Gamidi, Rama Krishna; Muthukrishnan, M. (Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2024)
We report a copper-catalyzed one-pot, multicomponent strategy for the convenient synthesis of N 2-aryl 1,2,3-triazole-1-oxides using arylhydrazines, beta-ketoesters, and tert-butyl nitrite. This mild and simple reaction proceeds in an atom-economic manner with broad substrate scope, affording a variety of N 2-aryl 1,2,3-triazole-1-oxide derivatives. Other salient features of the reaction are good functional group tolerance, scalability, and product diversification.

CuNPs@Al2O3-cellulose composite for the ligand-free Suzuki cross-coupling reactions in batch and continuous flow process - Patil, Seema; Rajmane, Archana; Jadhav, Sanjay; Rode, Chandrashekhar; Kumbhar, Arjun (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry, 2024)
In the present work, we synthesized recyclable CuNPs@Al2O3-CELL composite from an inexpensive and commercially available synthetic reagent by a simple method. The catalyst was characterized by various techniques such as TGA (Thermogravimetric analysis), SEM (Scanning electron microscope), TEM (Transmission electron microscopy), XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), EDS (Energy dispersive spectroscopy), and AAS (Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy). The composite was applied for the Suzuki coupling reactions in the batch and flow process. The aryl halides were easily coupled with arylboronic acids in 95 % ethanol at 78 C. We systematically investigated the role of reaction temperature, solvent, and catalyst loading, on the transient and steady-state behavior of the flow reactor through an automated flow chemistry platform. The CuNPs@Al2O3CELL catalytic particles demonstrate minimal deactivation and leaching over a continuous Suzuki coupling reaction at a 20 min nominal residence time at 100 C. Moreover, the catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration and reused at least five times with a moderate decrease in product yield. The excellent activity and stability of the catalyst have been attributed to the strong chelation of the Cu species with hydroxyl functional groups of the Al2O3-CELL composite. The catalytic system was highly efficient in Suzuki coupling of various aryl bromides with different aryl boronic acids, yielding good to excellent product yields (80-96 %) with a TON of 15.914-19.066 and TOF of 2.649-9.533 h(-1).
Keywords: Continuous flow process; CuNPs@Al2O3-CELL; ligand-free; recyclable; Suzuki coupling

Caffeine vs. theophylline cocrystals: insights into structure-mechanical behavior and piezoelectricity - Bhowmik, Aritra; Bamane, Sanjivani; Saxena, Ashish Kumar; Mishra, Manish Kumar (Crystal Growth & Design, 2025)
Cocrystallization offers a versatile approach to modulate the physicochemical including mechanical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In this study, we employ crystal engineering principles to design cocrystals of two structurally similar methylxanthine compounds-caffeine (CAF) and theophylline (THP)-with 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA) and 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid (DNBA) as coformers. The resulting cocrystals and cocrystal polymorphs displayed diverse architectures-2D layers, corrugated sheets, and 3D interlocked structures-showing distinct deformation characteristics. Particular attention was given to the mechanical shearing of the layered structure cocrystals THP-DNBA and CAF-DNBA-I, which are critical for pharmaceutical manufacturing processes such as tablet compaction. The sheared fragmented crystal of THP-DNBA also shows plastic bending deformation. On the other hand, the CAF-DNSA, CAF-DNBA-II, and THP-DNSA cocrystals are brittle due to the absence of a flat layer structure. Our findings reveal that structural features such as flat molecular geometry, pi-stacking, and weak interlayer interactions play crucial roles in promoting plastic deformation via shearing and plastic bending. Nanoindentation studies have been performed on the major faces of all the cocrystals to quantify their mechanical properties. Notably, the CAF-DNBA-I cocrystal also exhibited piezoelectric properties. This work provides valuable insights into the structure-mechanical property relationship in pharmaceutical cocrystals and underscores the potential of cocrystallization in addressing formulation-related challenges.

Carbohydrate-based polyester and amino acid polyester photocrosslinker and their resin formulation for 3D printing applications - Kamble, Ganesh N.; Joshi, Dheeraj Chandra; Gavhane, Utreshwar A.; Asha, S. K. (Chemistry-An Asian Journal, 2025)
Fully bio-based polyester was designed and synthesized using the carbohydrate-based diol 2,4:3,5-di-O-methylene-D-mannitol (Manx) and dimethyl ester of 2,3:4,5-di-O-methylene-galactaric acid (Galx). Photocurable resin formulations were prepared by incorporating up to 15 wt% of the carbohydrate polyester into hydroxyl ethyl methacrylate (HEMA) along with polyacrylamide crosslinker derived from L-glutamic acid. Complex 3D structures with good shape fidelity could be 3D printed using these novel polyester resin formulations. The incorporation of the carbohydrate polyester improved the glass transition temperature of the 3D-printed objects. Enzymatic erosion studies conducted using esterase enzyme revealed a higher degradation rate for the 3D-printed films containing the carbohydrate polyester. The hydrolytic degradation analysis conducted in both acidic and basic environments revealed that the 3D-printed polymer network exhibits stability and resilience in acidic conditions, while it undergoes complete degradation in basic conditions. This finding underscores the possibility of tailoring degradation processes under regulated circumstances.
Keywords: 3D printing; Amino acid; Carbohydrate polyester; Enzymatic degradation; Resin formulation

Carbon capture from flue gases using an integrated membrane skid - Yang, Yutong; Han, Yang; Prasad, Babul; Pang, Ruizhi; Zou, Changlong; Ho, W. S. Winston (Journal of Membrane Science, 2025)
A prototype spiral-wound (SW) membrane module with a commercial-size diameter of 8 `' and a membrane area of 35 m(2) was fabricated using a new thin-film-composite facilitated transport membrane (FTM) scaled up to 21 `' in width by a continuous roll-to-roll coating process. This SW module was tested with an actual coal flue gas at the Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) at the University of Kentucky, which exhibited an average CO2 permeance of 4269 GPU with a CO2/N-2 selectivity of 165 and remained stable for 100 h. The permeance and selectivity results are consistent with those determined from lab and scale-up flat-sheet samples. An integrated membrane skid was then constructed, where 2 SW membrane modules were arranged to form an enriching cascade. The 8 `'-diameter prototype SW module previously tested at CAER was installed as the primary CO2 capture stage, while a smaller SW module (5 `' diameter and 12 m(2) membrane area) was used to further enrich the CO2 to >95% purity. By using a simulated coal flue gas (13% CO2), the skid was operated at steady-state for 800 h with 91.0% of the CO2 removed from the flue gas, delivering 1.33 tonne/day CO2 product at 95.5% dry purity. The bench skid was then installed at the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC), Wilsonville, AL and tested with an actual natural gas (NG) flue gas (8.6% CO2). 90-99% CO2 capture degrees were demonstrated during the parametric testing, and the skid was operated at steady state for 500 h cumulatively with 91.0% CO2 capture and >95% CO2 purity. A simulated natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) flue gas (4.3% CO2) slipstream was further provided by diluting the NG flue gas with air, and 90-99% CO2 capture degrees were also achieved with dry CO2 purities all above 95%. All these capture degrees and CO2 purities were in good agreement with their model predictions.
Keywords: Actual flue gas; carbon capture; Field trial; Integrated membrane skid; Membrane module

A carbon nanotube wrapped Na3V2(PO4)2F3 cathode with a dual cation electrolyte: enhancing high-voltage stability and cyclability in zinc-ion batteries - Pandey, Priyanshi; Shivade, Rajkiran; Deshmukh, Ashvini; Shelke, Manjusha (Nanoscale, 2025)
Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) offer several compelling advantages as a safer and sustainable energy storage system. Polyanion-based cathodes, characterized by their comparatively higher voltage and structural stability, are promising for ZIBs. However, challenges hinder their practical applications, such as inferior rate capability and limited cycling stability. In this study, we constructed a carbon nanotube wrapped Na3V2(PO4)2F3 (NVPF-CNT) cathode integrated with a highly concentrated dual cation electrolyte (DCE) to enhance the electrochemical performance of ZIBs by enabling a synergistic Na+ and Zn2+ co-insertion mechanism. The DCE effectively regulates the solvation structure, stabilizes the solid electrolyte interface (SEI), minimizes free water molecules, thereby widening the electrochemical window and reducing the side reactions, and inhibits cathode dissolution. Consequently, the CNT-wrapped NVPF cathode exhibits an initial reversible capacity of 131.3 mAh g-1 at 0.05 A g-1, and retains 84% of its capacity over 500 cycles at 1 A g-1, with a nominal voltage of similar to 1.5 V. This approach offers valuable insights into the potential of CNT-wrapped NVPF cathodes in combination with a DCE while providing a comprehensive framework for advancing high-performance ZIBs.

Catalyst and transition-metal free 1,6-conjugate addition of azobisisobutyronitrile: access to isobutyronitrile containing diarylmethanes - Mamale, Ajay G.; Ghodake, Balaji M.; Gonnade, Rajesh G.; Bhattacharya, Asish K. (Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, 2025)
A catalyst and transition-metal free 1,6-conjugate addition of azobisisobutyronitrile to para-quinone methides for the synthesis of isobutyronitrile containing diarylmethanes has been achieved. This protocol enables the synthesis of isobutyronitrile containing diarylmethanes in good yields and with a broad substrate scope. This is the first example wherein azobisisobutyronitrile has been used as a cyanide source for 1,6-conjugate addition under catalyst and metal-free conditions.

Catalytic hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde over nanocrystalline nickel-doped lanthanum aluminate: synergistic effect of nickel and oxygen vacancies - Bhavisha, Meloth; Balamurugan, Sarkarainadar; Venkatesha, Naragalu J.; Gopinath, Chinnakonda S.; Sakthivel, Ayyamperumal (ChemCatChem, 2025)
Nickel-doped lanthanum aluminium perovskite, LaAl1-xNixO3-delta with x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4,0.5, 0.6, and 0.75 (LANx), were obtained through a combustion method followed by a calcination process. The obtained LANx materials crystallized in the cubic structure by the Pm-3m (221) space group. The nanocrystalline nature of the LANx materials was confirmed by the average crystalline size determined using Debye-Scherrer formula. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies showed that nickel was present in the +2 and +3 oxidation states. The introduction of nickel resulted in distinct peaks in TPR in the temperature range of 200-600 degrees C, with an enhanced reducibility of the materials. The LANx materials were thoroughly assessed for their effectiveness in the hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde. The maximum catalytic activity (cinnamaldehyde conversion of 98% with a hydrocinnamylalcohol selectivity 96.5%) was observed with the presence of the LAN7 catalyst at 150 degrees C for 6 h at a H2 pressure of 10 bar. The catalytic activity is maintained even after four cycles, which broadens the application scope as the material is sustainable, scalable, cost-effective, and a potential alternative to reported noble metal catalysts. The synergistic effect of nickel and oxygen vacancies in the catalyst improves the reducibility and provides a promising catalytic activity in the cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation.
Keywords: Cinnamaldehyde; Hydrocinnamylalcohol; Hydrogenation; Nickel; Perovskite oxide

Catechin-capped silver-doped titanium dioxide nanoparticle enhanced photocatalytic toxic dye degradation - Ghosh, Sougata; Imboon, Tanawat; Layek, Rashbihari; Salunke, Gayatri; Parihar, Vijay Singh; Khumphon, Jeerawan; Webster, Thomas J.; Sutar, Santosh; Kityakarn, Sutasinne; Issro, Chaisak; Khamboonrueang, Dusadee; Thongmee, Sirikanjana (Frontiers in Chemistry, 2025)
Doping-associated surface modification is a powerful strategy to enhance the photocatalytic potential of n-type semiconductor nanomaterials. Silver (Ag) is one of the most effective dopants that can result in the retardation of the electron hole recombination-generating Schottky barrier at the TiO2 interface with a simultaneous extension of absorption to the visible region. This work presents a study on the effect of catechin, a bioactive principle polyphenol compound found in various plants, on the synthesis, Ag-doping and stabilization of TiO2 nanoparticles (TiO2NPs). The nanoparticles were irregular in shape with sizes ranging from 19 to 30 nm. Ag-TiO2NPs were fabricated using TiO2 as a precursor and 1%, 3%, and 5% AgNO3 as a doping agent. The average particle size of 1%Ag-TiO2NPs, 3%Ag-TiO2NPs, and 5%Ag-TiO2NPs was 27.3 +/- 7.5 nm, 29.8 +/- 9.6 nm, and 25.0 +/- 9.0 nm, respectively. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) showed lattice fringes with an interplanar spacing of 0.23 nm corresponding to the Ag (111) plane in addition to the presence of the anatase phase of TiO2. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra exhibited a broad peak around 400-800 cm-1 that was attributed to Ti-O-Ti stretching vibrations which was slightly shifted in Ag-TiO2NPs due to changes in the local bonding environment around Ti atoms caused by interactions with Ag. Catechin loading in the TiO2NPs and Ag-TiO2NPs was between 1.55 and 3.3 wt. %. TiO2NPs, 1%Ag-TiO2NPs, 3%Ag-TiO2NPs, and 5%Ag-TiO2NPs exhibited superior photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue dye up to 78%, 87%, 91%, and 92%, respectively, and RhB dye up to 92%, 94%, 97% and 99%, respectively, with a pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics. Furthermore, its recyclability was also demonstrated for three cycles. The simplicity of fabrication and superior photocatalytic performance of TiO2 demonstrated here make this green route advantageous for environmental applications to treat dye contaminated effluent as well as for numerous other applications.
Keywords: catechin; green synthesis; methylene blue dye; Photocatalysis; Rhodamine B; silver doping; titanium dioxide nanoparticles

C=C insertion over N=C=O of allyl isocyanate into the Ge-Si bond of a germylene - Ajithkumar, V. S.; Khilari, Nripen; Ghanwat, Pratiksha B.; Koley, Debasis; Sen, Sakya S. (European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2025)
Two isocyanates are reacted with the germylene, PhC(NtBu)(2)Ge-Si(SiMe3)(3) (1). Phenyl isocyanate undergoes catalytic cyclotrimerization with 1 leading to 1,3,5-triphenyl isocyanurate (2), while allyl isocyanate undergoes both cyclotrimerization and the C=C bond insertion between the Ge-Si bond. The constitution of 3 is determined by single-crystal X-ray studies. The contrasting reactivity pattern is explained by comprehensive density functional theory studies.
Keywords: Cyclotrimerization; Density functional theory; Germylene; Insertion; isocyanates