Novel food preservation strategy using sprayed PVA/chitosan-based coatings activated by macroemulsions of chamomile essential oil adsorbed on activated carbon.

Active films based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS) were developed by encapsulating chamomile essential oil using an emulsification process, followed by adsorption onto activated carbon (AC) to stabilize the oil droplets. Microscopic analysis showed that the average size of the micelles was between 0.1 μm and 1.

Seed quality as a proxy of climate-ready orphan legumes: the need for a multidisciplinary and multi-actor vision.

In developing countries, orphan legumes stand at the forefront in the struggle against climate change. Their high nutrient value is crucial in malnutrition and chronic diseases prevention. However, as the 'orphan' definition suggests, their seed systems are still underestimated and seed production is scanty.

Determination of photoluminescence quantum yields in dilute solution using non-monochromatic excitation light.

The photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields (QYs) of fluorophores in dilute solutions can be determined fluorimetrically according to the comparative method employing standards of known PLQY. This method has recently been demonstrated to become more robust when the absorption of the excitation light and the PL emission are measured simultaneously using a transmitted light detector integrated in the fluorimeter. Herein, aided by fiber-coupled spectroscopic equipment and computerized data processing, we elaborate on this method by measuring the full corrected intensity spectrum of the excitation light transmitted through the sample.

L.: A New Promising Source of Bioactive Compounds with Antioxidant and Anticancer Potentials.

L. (), called Esparto grass, is a cultivated species used for industrial purposes, including textile production. This species has never been studied for its medical potential before, nor has it been used in traditional medicines.

Entrapment of organic fluorophores in calcium phosphate nanoparticles with slow release.

Two organic fluorophores, fluorescein (F) and rhodamine B (Rd), were entrapped in calcium phosphate nanoparticles. The as-obtained nanoparticles can be used for biological release applications. For this aim, calcium phosphate nanoparticles were synthesized using the precipitation method.

Phytochemistry, Antioxidant Activity, Antiproliferative Effect, and Acute Toxicity Testing of Two Moroccan Species.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: () and () have been largely used in Moroccan folk medicine. The objective of the study was to investigate the phytochemical composition, the antioxidant activity, the antiproliferative effect, and the acute toxicity of the methanolic extract of and roots.

Materials And Methods: Phytochemical composition of the methanolic extract of and roots were studied using qualitative and quantitative methods, the antioxidant activity was evaluated using DPPH assay, the antiproliferative effects against human cancer cell lines (T-24, HT-29, and Hep G-2) was assessed using WST1 assay, and the acute toxicity was carried out orally by gavage of single dose 2000 mg/kg to mice for 14 days.

Antioxidant and Antiproliferative Activities of Bioactive Compounds Contained in Used in the Mediterranean Diet.

Background: is a medicinal plant called rosemary, largely used in the Mediterranean diet for many decades ago.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the polyphenolic content, the antioxidant activity, and the antiproliferative effect against human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP) of carnosol and carnosic acid as bioactive compounds contained in growing in Morocco.

Materials And Methods: Polyphenolic content of ethanolic extract was studied using colorimetric assay.

Immobilisation of bacteria onto magnetic nanoparticles for the decolorisation and degradation of azo dyes.

Azo dyes are widely used in industries and their release in the environment contributes to the pollution of effluents. The authors aim to develop a new eco-friendly water treatment method for the degradation of azo dyes based on in situ magnetic separation and immobilisation of bacterial cells. The immobilisation was achieved using superparamagnetic FeO nanoparticles and offers the possibility of reusing bacteria by magnetic separation for several degradation cycles.

Production of cellulose nanocrystals from vine shoots and their use for the development of nanocomposite materials.

In the present work, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) were produced from vine shoots waste using chemical treatments followed by acid hydrolysis process. FTIR analysis confirmed that the non-cellulosic components were progressively removed during the chemical treatments, and the final obtained materials are composed of pure cellulose. AFM and TEM observations showed that the extracted CNC possess a needle-like shape with an average length of 456 nm and an average diameter of 14 nm, giving rise to an average aspect ratio of about 32.

Tomentosin Induces Telomere Shortening and Caspase-Dependant Apoptosis in Cervical Cancer Cells.

Tomentosin, a natural sesquiterpene lactone purified from of Inula viscosa L., was investigated for its anti-proliferative, telomere shortening, and apoptotic effects on human cervical cancer HeLa and SiHa cell lines. Tomentosin was found to inhibit the growth of SiHa and HeLa cell lines in dose and time-dependent manner (IC values of 7.

Inula Viscosa Extracts Induces Telomere Shortening and Apoptosis in Cancer Cells and Overcome Drug Resistance.

Telomerase is activated in human papillomavirus (HPV) positive cervical cancer and targeting telomeres offers a novel anticancer therapeutic strategy. In this study, the telomere targeting properties, the cytotoxic as well as the pro-apoptotic effects of hexane (IV-HE) and dichloromethane (IV-DF) fractions from Inula viscosa L. extracts were investigated on human cervical HeLa and SiHa cancer cells.

A Simple Chiral Cu(II) Complex as an Effective Phase-Transfer Catalyst for the Enantioselective Alkylation of Dissymmetric Glycinate Ketimines.

Catalytic asymmetric benzylation of a dissymmetric tert-butylglycinate ketimine, incorporating 1-naphthyl and phenyl groups as the Schiff base substituents, under phase-transfer conditions was investigated. It was interesting to note that the sense of asymmetric induction of the alkylation of Z-imine stereoisomer is opposite to that of the corresponding E stereoisomer with a similar degree of enantioselectivity. More interestingly, the chiral Cu(II) complex of the Schiff base derived from (R)-2-phenylglycinol and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde was found to catalyze the same reaction under solid-liquid conditions with comparable enantioselectivity (up to 60% ee) with respect to known cinchona alkaloid catalysts.

Characterization of bottom ash from two hospital waste incinerators in Rabat, Morocco.

The uncontrolled disposal of bottom ash generated by the incineration units of hazardous and infected wastes in developed countries are the main cause of significant damage, such as contamination of the soil, as well as surface and underground waters, which may put both the environment and public health at risk. In Morocco, little information is available on the chemical properties of the resulting ashes. In this study, 16 hospital waste ash samples were collected from the incinerators of the two main hospitals in Rabat: Ibn Sina and Cheikh Zayd.

Ethyl 2-amino-4-phenyl-4H-1-benzo-thieno[3,2-b]pyran-3-carboxyl-ate.

The title heterocyclic compound, C(20)H(17)NO(3)S, was synthesized by condensation of ethyl cyano-acetate with (Z)-2-benzyl-idenebenzo[b]thio-phen-3(2H)-one in the presence of a basic catalyst in ethanol. The phenyl and ester groups make dihedral angles of 77.67 (6) and 8.

(2RS,4'RS)-3'-(3-Chloro-4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-4'-phenyl-4'H-spiro-[indene-2,5'-isoxazol]-1(3H)-one ethanol monosolvate.

The title compound, C(23)H(17)ClN(2)O(3)·C(2)H(6)O, is the stoichiometric 1:1 ethanol solvate of a racemic reaction product, which forms a conglomerate. The refined Flack parameter of 0.36 (3) indicates racemic twinning.

3'-(4-Meth-oxy-phen-yl)-4'-phenyl-3H,4'H-spiro-[1-benzothio-phene-2,5'-isoxazol]-3-one.

In the title compound, C(23)H(17)NO(3)S, the thio-phene and isoxazole rings each have an envelope conformation with the spiro C atom linking them forming the flap of the envelope in each case. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the benzothio-phene ring and isoxazole rings is 81.35 (7)°.

Reaction rates as a function of scale within ionic liquids: microscale in droplet microreactors versus macroscale reactions in the case of the Grieco three-component condensation reaction.

Task-specific ionic liquids (TSILs) and more specifically binary task-specific ionic liquids (BTSILs), a unique subclass, have been shown to be excellent supports for solution-phase chemistry. The negligible volatility of ionic liquids enables their use as stable droplet microreactors in atmospheric environments without oil protection or confinement. These droplets can be moved, merged and mixed by electrowetting on a chip.

A NADPH substitute for selective photo-initiation of reductive bioprocesses via two-photon induced electron transfer.

A NADPH substitute where the nicotinamide moiety is replaced by a chromophoric unit having much larger two-photon absorption cross-section and able to transfer electrons to flavins only upon excitation is described as an effective two-photon nanotrigger for selective photo-activation of electron transfer in bioreductive processes.

Synchronous photoinitiation of endothelial NO synthase activity by a nanotrigger targeted at its NADPH site.

We designed a new nanotrigger to synchronize and monitor an enzymatic activity interacting specifically with the conserved NADPH binding site. The nanotrigger (NT) combines a docking moiety targeting the NADPH site and a chromophore moiety responsive to light excitation for efficient electron transfer to the protein. Specific binding of the nanotrigger to the reductase domain of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOSred) was demonstrated by competition between NADPH and the nanotrigger on the reduction of eNOSred flavin.

Ionic liquid droplet as e-microreactor.

A powerful approach combining a droplet-based, open digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip using task-specific ionic liquids as soluble supports to perform solution-phase synthesis is reported as a new tool for chemical applications. The negligible volatility of ionic liquids enables their use as stable droplet reactors on a chip surface under air. The concept was validated with different ionic liquids and with a multicomponent reaction.

Linear and two-photon absorption properties of interacting polar chromophores: standard and unconventional effects.

Investigations into the effects of electrostatic interactions on linear and two-photon absorption (TPA) properties are probed using a reference polar chromophore and different related compounds. Compounds in which a passive charge is present near the active chromophore, as well as dimers of the reference molecule, were studied. The combined experimental and theoretical investigation demonstrates that strong modulation of the properties can be attained.

Understanding structure-stability relationships of Candida antartica lipase B in ionic liquids.

Two different water-immiscible ionic liquids (ILs), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidizolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide and butyltrimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, were used for butyl butyrate synthesis from vinyl butyrate catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) at 2% (v/v) water content and 50 degrees C. Both the synthetic activity and stability of the enzyme in these ILs were enhanced as compared to those in hexane. Circular dichroism and intrinsic fluorescence spectroscopic techniques have been used over a period of 4 days to determine structural changes in the enzyme associated with differences in its stability for each assayed medium.

Strong modulation of two-photon excited fluorescence of quadripolar dyes by (de)protonation.

Two quadripolar dyes have been designed and synthesized that present large cross sections for two-photon excitation and whose fluorescence responds strongly to (de)protonation. These dyes are considered as prototypes of molecular pH probes for multiphoton fluorescence microscopy.

Fluorescence and CD spectroscopic analysis of the alpha-chymotrypsin stabilization by the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide.

The stability of alpha-chymotrypsin in the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methyl-imidizolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]amide ([emim][NTf2]), was studied at 30 and 50 degrees C and compared with the stability in other liquid media, such as water, 3 M sorbitol, and 1-propanol. The kinetic analysis of the enzyme stability pointed to the clear denaturative effect of 1-propanol, while both 3M sorbitol and [emim][NTf2] displayed a strong stabilizing power. For the first time, it is shown that enzyme stabilization by ionic liquids seems to be related to the associated structural changes of the protein that can be observed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD).