Chromatographic resolution of drug analogues: 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins).

A high performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination both qualitative and quantitative of cholesterol lowering statin drugs in pharmaceutical formulations has been developed. The most important advantage of developed method is that all seven statin drugs can be determined on a single chromatographic system without modification in detection wavelength. An organic modifier addition (25% v/v methanol) in the presence of buffer (20mM ammonium acetate; pH 4.

Chromatographic resolution of angiotensin II receptor antagonists (sartans).

First time a simple, sensitive and unified quantification method has been developed to analyze the complete class of angiotensin II receptor antagonists which are used in the treatment of hypertension either alone or in combination with some other drugs. The most important advantage of developed method was that the eight separate drugs can be determined on a single chromatographic system without modifications in detection wavelength and mobile phase. The drugs were separated on a Purospher Star 4.

Loofa (Luffa cylindrica) sponge: review of development of the biomatrix as a tool for biotechnological applications.

The review discusses the development of loofa sponge (Luffa cylindrica) as a biotechnological tool and the diversity of applications in which it has been successfully used since it was first reported as a matrix for the immobilization of microbiological cells in 1993. The fibro-vascular reticulated structure, made up of an open network of random lattices of small cross-sections coupled with very high porosity (79-93%), having very low density (0.02-0.

Application potential of grapefruit peel as dye sorbent: kinetics, equilibrium and mechanism of crystal violet adsorption.

This study reports the sorption of crystal violet (CV) dye by grapefruit peel (GFP), which has application potential in the remediation of dye-contaminated wastewaters using a solid waste generated by the citrus fruit juice industry. Batch adsorption of CV was conducted to evaluate the effect of initial pH, contact time, temperature, initial dye concentration, GFP adsorbent dose, and removal of the adsorbate CV dye from aqueous solution to understand the mechanism of sorption involved. Sorption equilibrium reached rapidly with 96% CV removal in 60 min.

Hybrid biosorbent: An innovative matrix to enhance the biosorption of Cd(II) from aqueous solution.

To enhance the metal removing capacity of a fungus biosorbent, a new idea of producing a hybrid biosorbent (HB) matrix by combining two different biosorbents using a simple and low-cost immobilization technique was tested for the sorption of Cd(II). The two biosorbents, used as the building block for the production of HB matrix, were the fungal biomass of Phanerochaete chrysosporium (B1) and fibrous network of papaya wood (B2). Maximum independent biosorption capacity of B1 and B2 was noted, respectively, to be 71.

Production of fungal biomass immobilized loofa sponge (FBILS)-discs for the removal of heavy metal ions and chlorinated compounds from aqueous solution.

A white rot basidiomycete, Phanerochaete chrysosporium, was immobilized on loofa sponge (FBILS) discs. It removed ca. 37 and 71 mg Cd (II) g(-1) from 50 and 200 mg l(-1) aqueous solutions and up to 89% of 4-chloroanisole from a 10 mg l(-1) aqueous solution.

Novel method for cell immobilization and its application for production of organic acid.

Aims: The aim was to develop a novel and simple technique for the entrapment of fungal hyphae.

Methods And Results: A novel immobilization technique was developed by using a structural fibrous network (SFN) of papaya wood as an immobilizing matrix. The technique is simple and a stable entrapment was achieved simply by inoculating the Aspergillus terreus hyphae within culture medium containing SFN pieces for 3 days, without any prior chemical treatment.

Tannin contents and protein digestibility of black grams (Vigna mungo) after soaking and cooking.

The objective of this research was to ascertain the effects of soaking black grams (Cultivar AARI-5732) in different salt solutions at different temperatures and different time periods, and different methods of cooking on the tannin content and protein digestibility. Tannin content of black grams was reduced to various extents by soaking at 30 degrees and 100 degrees C for different time periods. However, soaking at 100 degrees C increased the rate of extraction and reduced the extraction time of tannins.

Vegetable sponge as a matrix to immobilize micro-organisms: a trial study for hyphal fungi, yeast and bacteria.

The vegetable sponge of Luffa cylindrica was studied as a matrix for the immobilization of hyphal fungi, yeast and bacteria. All were observed to be entrapped within the sponge. When the various immobilized systems were subcultured in their respective fresh nutrient media, the hyphal fungi showed an increase in biomass with no cellular release and secondary colony formation.

Stability of fatty acids and leaf protein concentrate of Persian clover (Trifolium resupinatum).

Freeze-dried leaf protein concentrate (LPC) contained 18% lipids in which linolenic acid (61.5%) was the major component. Linolenic acid in LPC was almost stable when stored at ambient temperature (30 to 35 degrees C) and exposed to air for 24 weeks.