This research was aimed to the purification and characterization of cytosine deaminase as a medically important enzyme from locally isolated Escherichia coli; then studying its cytotoxic anticancer effects against colon cancer cell line. Cytosine deaminase was subjected to three purification steps including precipitation with 90% ammonium sulfate saturation, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose column, and gel filtration chromatography throughout Sephadex G-200 column. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was increased up to 9 U/mg with 12.85 folds of purification and 30.85% enzyme recovery. Characterization study of purified enzyme revealed that the molecular weight of cytosine deaminase produced by E. coli was about 48 KDa, the highest enzyme activity at pH 8.5, and is most stable at pH 7.5 - 9, the enzyme also showed a full activity at a range of temperatures between 45-60 0C. Enzyme activity was strongly inhibited in the presence of mercuric chloride and copper sulphate, when added individually at a constant concentration. However, calcium chloride, manganese chloride and ferric chloride caused a little increase in enzyme activity while sodium azide had no effect on enzyme activity. Upon cytotoxic effect study through micro-cultured tetrazolium assay (MTT) against Caco-2 cell line. Purified cytosine deaminase was found to inhibit the growth of Caco-2 cancer cell line with an IC50 of 242.5 ?g/ml in a comparison to an IC50 of 1864 ?g/ml for crude enzyme. Besides, the enzyme didn’t show significant effect on WRL normal cell line.
The increasing requirement and use of dental implant treatments has rendered dental implantology indispensable in dentistry. The aim of this study is to determine the optimum concentration of calcium silicate to be incorporated into a polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) matrix used as an implant material to enhance the bioactivity and mechanical properties of the composite compared with unmodified PEKK. In this study, different weight percentage (wt%) of micro-calcium silicate (m-CS) is incorporated into PEKK with ethanol as a binder. Subsequently, the mixture is dried in a forced convection oven at 120°C and poured into customized molds to fabricate a bioactive composite via compression molding (310°C, 15 MPa, and 20 min holding time
... Show MoreIn this study, polymeric ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were prepared by phase inversion method to obtain both antibacterial and organic antifouling properties. The membranes were cast from a solution of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and formative silver (Ag) nanoparticles were successfully immobilized on a polymer. This was done using a solvent N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) which is a solvent for the PVDF polymer meanwhile it is a reducing agent for silver ion. The effect of silver nanoparticles additives on the performance of polymeric ultrafiltration membrane was verified. Chemical composition and morphology of the surfaces of the membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
... Show MoreFelodipine is a calcium-channel blocker with low aqueous solubility and bioavailability. Lipid dosage forms are attractive delivery systems for such hydrophobic drug molecules. Nanoemulsion (NE) is one of the popular methods that has been used to solve the dispersibility problems of many drugs. Felodipine was formulated as a NE utilizing oleic acid as an oil phase, tween 80 and tween 60 as surfactants and ethanol as a co-surfactant. Eight formulas were prepared, and different tests were performed to ensure the stability of the NEs, such as particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, dilution test, drug content, viscosity and in-vitro drug release. Result
... Show MoreFoot and ankle movements are essential in various activities like walking, running, and balance, where the mechanics of these movements are affected by the muscles around the ankle joint [1,2]. In this study, the correlations between isometric ankle torque and muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (TA) and gastrocnemius (GAS) in the course of dorsiflexion and plantarflexion was investigated. Eight healthy participants were enrolled for the study, where the ankle torque and surface Electromyography (sEMG) of the main flexors were measured and analyzed. The results showed that ankle torque is higher in plantarflexion than dorsiflexion. In addition, the TA has greater muscle activity during dorsiflexion, while the GAS presents higher ac
... Show MoreIn this work, we focused on studying 1,4-naphthoquinones and their derivatives, and knowing the methods of preparing them using different auxiliary agents and forming derivatives containing heterocyclic rings, active groups and saturated rings containing heterogeneous elements . In addition, due to their strong antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activity, 1,4-naphthoquinone compounds biological importance and are considered a source of various pharmaceutical compounds.
Significant risks to human health are posed by the 2019 coronavirus illness (COVID-19). SARS coronavirus type 2 receptor, also known as the major enzyme in the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2), connects COVID-19 and RAS. This study was conducted with the intention of determining whether or not RAS gene polymorphisms and ACE-2 (G8790A) play a part in the process of predicting susceptibility to infection with COVID-19. In this study 127 participants, 67 of whom were deemed by a physician to be in a severe state of illness, and 60 of whom were categorized as "healthy controls" .The genetic study included an extraction of genomic DNA from blood samples of each covid 19 patients and healthy control
... Show MoreHere, we synthesized three new blended ligand complexes of chromium (III), iron (III), and lanthanum (III) ions with a Schiff base made from the condensation of [o-aminophenol and 2-hydroxyacetophenone in the presence of concentrated sulphoric acid (HL1)] as a primary ligand and o-nitroaniline (L2) as a secondary. The Schiff base and its dual ligand chelate were characterized using several spectroscopic studies, IR, 1HNMR, electronic and mass spectra, in addition to elemental analyses, molar conductivity measurements, and magnetic moments. The spectroscopic and analytical outcomes confirmed the formation of the chelates in a 1:1:1(L1: M: L2) ratio. Similarly, an octahedral structure became counseled for all chelates.
The development of new cephalosporins with improved activity against resistant microbes, such as, MRSA (methicillin resistant Staph. aureus), P. aeruginosa, is of high potential. Chemical synthesis of two new series of thiadiazole linked to cysteine (series 1) and cephalosporins containing thiadiazole linked to cysteine through disulfide bond (series 2) were achieved. The chemical structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed using spectral (FT-IR, 1H-NMR) and elemental microanalysis. The incorporation of privileged chemical moieties, such as, thiadiazole, Schiff base, cysteine and sulfonamide, has been found to have great contribution to the antimicrobial activities. Compounds of series 1 (1
... Show MoreZerumbone is a well-known compound having anti-cancer, anti-ulcer, anti-inflammatory and anti-hyperglycemic effects. During its use for the disease treatment, the membrane of erythrocyte can be affected by consumption of this bioactive compound. The current study was the first report of investigation of the hemolytic activities on human erythrocytes and cytotoxic profile of zerumbone. The toxicity of zerumbone on human erythrocytes was determined by in vitro hemolytic assay. Brine shrimp lethality assay was used to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of zerumbone at concentrations 10, 100 and 1000 μg/mL. The human erythrocyte test showed no significant toxicity at low concentrations, whereas hemolytic effect was amplified up to 17.5
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