Response surface optimization of a single-step castor oil-based biodiesel production process using a stator-rotor hydrodynamic cavitation reactor.

In order to combat environmental pollution and the depletion of non-renewable fuels, feasible, eco-friendly, and sustainable biodiesel production from non-edible oil crops must be augmented. This study is the first to intensify biodiesel production from castor oil using a self-manufactured cylindrical stator-rotor hydrodynamic cavitation reactor. In order to model and optimize the biodiesel yield, a response surface methodology based on a 1/2 fraction-three-level face center composite design of three levels and five experimental factors was used.

A Novel Epigenetic Strategy to Concurrently Block Immune Checkpoints PD-1/PD-L1 and CD155/TIGIT in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Tumor microenvironment is an intricate web of stromal and immune cells creating an immune suppressive cordon around the tumor. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), Tumor microenvironment is a formidable barrier towards novel immune therapeutic approaches recently evading the oncology field. In this study, the main aim was to identify the intricate immune evasion tactics mediated by HCC cells and to study the epigenetic modulation of the immune checkpoints; Programmed death-1 (PD-1)/ Programmed death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1) and T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT)/Cluster of Differentiation 155 (CD155) at the tumor-immune synapse.

Synthesis, characterization, molecular modeling studies, and biological evaluation of metal piroxicam complexes (M = Ni(II), Pt(IV), Pd(II), Ag(I)) as antibacterial and anticancer agents.

Four piroxicam metal complexes; NiL , PtL , PdL , and AgL were synthesized and characterized by different techniques with enhanced antibacterial and anticancer activity. Regarding in vitro antimicrobial activity, complex NiL displayed potent antibacterial effect against Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa that was 1.9-folds higher than piroxicam (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] = 31.

Piperazine-2-carboxylic acid derivatives as MTDLs anti-Alzheimer agents: Anticholinesterase activity, mechanistic aspect, and molecular modeling studies.

Development of Multitarget-Directed Ligands (MTDLs) is a promising approach to combat the complex etiologies of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein we report the design, synthesis, and characterization of a new series of 1,4-bisbenzylpiperazine-2-carboxylic acid derivatives 3-5(a-g), 7a-f, 8a-s, and their piperazine-2-yl-1,3,4-oxadiazole analogs 6a-g. In vitro inhibitory effect against Electrophorus electricus acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) from Equine serum was evaluated using modified Ellman's method, considering donepezil and tacrine as reference drugs.

Phytochemical-derived tumor-associated macrophage remodeling strategy using Phoenix dactylifera L. boosted photodynamic therapy in melanoma via H19/iNOS/PD-L1 axis.

Background: The tumor microenvironment (TME) represents a barrier to PDT efficacy among melanoma patients. The aim of this study is to employ a novel muti-tactic TME-remodeling strategy via repolarization of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), the main TME immune cells in melanoma, from the pro-tumor M2 into the antitumor M1 phenotype using Phoenix dactylifera L. (date palm) in combination with PDT.

Multitarget, multiagent PLGA nanoparticles for simultaneous tumor eradication and TME remodeling in a melanoma mouse model.

Despite the fact that chemoimmunotherapy has emerged as a key component in the era of cancer immunotherapy, it is challenged by the complex tumor microenvironment (TME) that is jam-packed with cellular and non-cellular immunosuppressive components. The aim of this study was to design a nanoparticulate system capable of sufficiently accumulating in the tumor and spleen to mediate local and systemic immune responses, respectively. The study also aimed to remodel the immunosuppressive TME.

Drugless nanoparticles tune-up an array of intertwined pathways contributing to immune checkpoint signaling and metabolic reprogramming in triple-negative breast cancer.

Metabolic reprogramming 'Warburg effect' and immune checkpoint signaling are immunosuppressive hallmarks of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) contributing to the limited clinical applicability of immunotherapy. Biomaterials arise as novel tools for immunomodulation of the tumor microenvironment that can be used alongside conventional immunotherapeutics. Chitosan and lecithin are examples of versatile biomaterials with interesting immunomodulatory properties.

Improved anti-biofouling resistances using novel nanocelluloses/cellulose acetate extracted from rice straw based membranes for water desalination.

Cellulose and Nanocellulose acetate (NCA) have attractive novel properties like excellent mechanical properties, rich hydroxyl groups for modification, and natural properties with environmental friendliness. Cellulose was extracted from rice straw wastes as an extra value, then it had been further transformed into NCA using the acidic hydrolysis technique. The structural, crystalline, morphological, were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton nuclear magnetic resonance (HNMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning microscopy, respectively.