Biogenesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Its Multifunctional Anti-Corrosion and Anticancer Studies

In the present research, silver nanoparticles were synthesized using ground nutshell and characterized using UV-visible, FTIR and PXRD. The SEM and HR-TEM aided in confirming the nano size, surface morphology and phase purity of the AgNPs. The quantum chemical, electrochemical, and structural studies were carried out to understand electrochemical properties. In addition, biological study such as anti-cancerous activity was carried out, and IC-50 values 80.25 µg/mL for A549 lung cancer cell lines. The effective electrochemical anti-corrosion activities were also studied. The majority constituents of ground nutshell are flavonoids, in a small quantity of alkaloids and phenolic acids, which provide more stability to synthesize silver nanoparticles and avoid agglomeration. These functional moieties enhance the unique properties in the field, as in drug delivery systems, magnetic applications, and metallic, semi-conducting core-shell nanoparticles.

Cytotoxic and antibacterial properties of resveratrol oligomers from the stem bark of Dryobalanops rappa

Background: Dryobalanops rappa is a Plant species belong to the family of Dipterocarpaceae. Nevertheless, the active compounds present in D. rappa have never been investigated. Objective: The aim of this research is to isolate and characterize compounds from Dryobalanops rappa and to study its bioactivity against human MCF-7 breast cancer and A549 lung cancer cell lines and several bacterial strains. Methods: The isolation step was carried out using a combination of chromatographic techniques. The structure of the isolated compounds was elucidated mainly using NMR spectroscopy. The cytotoxic activity of isolated compounds was determined with MTT assay, and the antimicrobial was screened using a modified resazurin microtiter-plate assay. Results: Isolation and purification of methanolic extract of D. rappa stem bark yielded 14 known oligomeric resveratrol types of compounds (1-14). Results showed that isolated ampelopsin E (5) and vaticanol C (14) displayed moderate activity against human MCF-7 breast cancer and A549 lung cancer cell lines with IC50 values 14.3 and 10.7 μg/mL, respectively. Interestingly, acetate derivative of isolated laevifonol (2) and ampelopsin F (3) possess potent activities towards MCF-7 cancer cell line with IC50 values 2.8 and 3.3 μg/mL, respectively, in comparison to the parental compounds that demonstrated weak activities (IC50 > 50 μg/mL). For the antibacterial assay, compounds 10 and 12 showed moderate activities towards Gram-positive bacterial strains (MIC ≤ 50 μM). Conclusion: 14 known oligomeric resveratrol types of compounds have been isolated. The good activity of 14 against A549 cell line, 5 against MCF-7 cell line, and 10 and 12 against Gram-positive bacterial strains were the most promising results from this study. While the strong cytotoxicity of acetate derivative (2 and 3) against MCF-7 cell line has opened up the potential of resveratrol oligomers to be used as a template for designing new anticancer drugs.

Strain-specific behavior of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in A549 lung cancer cell line

Background A growing body of evidence has shown the association between tuberculosis (TB) infection and lung cancer. However, the possible effect of strain‐specific behavior of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) population, the etiological agent of TB infection in this association has been neglected. In this context, this study was conducted to investigate this association with consideration of the genetic background of strains in the M.tb population. Results We employed the elastic net penalized logistic regression model, as a statistical-learning algorithm for gene selection, to evaluate this association in 129 genes involved in TLRs and NF-κB signaling pathways in response to two different M.tb sub-lineage strains (L3-CAS1and L 4.5). Of the 129 genes, 21 were found to be associated with the two studied M.tb sub-lineages. In addition, MAPK8IP3 gene was identified as a novel gene, which has not been reported in previous lung cancer studies and may have the potential to be recognized as a novel biomarker in lung cancer investigation. Conclusions This preliminary study provides new insights into the mechanistic association between TB infection and lung cancer. Further mechanistic investigations of this association with a large number of M.tb strains, encompassing the other main M.tb lineages and using the whole transcriptome of the host cell are inevitable.

Targeted Isolation of Photoactive Pigments from Mushrooms Yielded a Highly Potent New Photosensitizer: 7,7’-Biphyscion

<p><a>Pigments of mushrooms are a fertile ground of inspiration: they spread across various chemical backbones, absorption ranges, and bioactivities. While looking from a photochemical perspective, we discovered a new bioactivity, i.e., photoactivity. We revealed that singlet oxygen production is a common theme in one group of webcaps (i.e., dermocyboid Cortinarii, formerly called Dermocybe). This photoactivity was explored by bioactivity-based molecular networking and photo-activity guided isolation. As a result, three photosensitizers based on anthraquinone structures were isolated. All three were photochemically characterized and (photo)cytotoxically tested. For one of the three, i.e. (-)-7,7’-biphyscion (<b>1</b>), a promising photoyield of </a>f_D= 20 % (l_exc = 455 nm) and an excellent photocytotoxicity of approx. 64 nM against A549 lung cancer cell lines (l_exc = 468 nm, 9.3 J/cm²) was found, while no effect was observed in the dark. Several molecular biological methods proved the harmlessness of <b>1</b> in the dark while showing that apoptosis is dose-dependent induced by <b>1</b> under irradiation. Therewith, <b>1</b> is a promising candidate for photodynamic therapy, while the photoactivity theme in the subgenus hints towards a yet unthought bioactivity in fungi: photoactivated defense.</p>

Targeted Isolation of Photoactive Pigments from Mushrooms Yielded a Highly Potent New Photosensitizer: 7,7’-Biphyscion

<p><a>Pigments of mushrooms are a fertile ground of inspiration: they spread across various chemical backbones, absorption ranges, and bioactivities. While looking from a photochemical perspective, we discovered a new bioactivity, i.e., photoactivity. We revealed that singlet oxygen production is a common theme in one group of webcaps (i.e., dermocyboid Cortinarii, formerly called Dermocybe). This photoactivity was explored by bioactivity-based molecular networking and photo-activity guided isolation. As a result, three photosensitizers based on anthraquinone structures were isolated. All three were photochemically characterized and (photo)cytotoxically tested. For one of the three, i.e. (-)-7,7’-biphyscion (<b>1</b>), a promising photoyield of </a>f_D= 20 % (l_exc = 455 nm) and an excellent photocytotoxicity of approx. 64 nM against A549 lung cancer cell lines (l_exc = 468 nm, 9.3 J/cm²) was found, while no effect was observed in the dark. Several molecular biological methods proved the harmlessness of <b>1</b> in the dark while showing that apoptosis is dose-dependent induced by <b>1</b> under irradiation. Therewith, <b>1</b> is a promising candidate for photodynamic therapy, while the photoactivity theme in the subgenus hints towards a yet unthought bioactivity in fungi: photoactivated defense.</p>