Silver nanoparticles biosynthesised using Centella asiatica leaf extract: apoptosis induction in MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line

The aim of this study was to green synthesised silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Centella asiatica leaf extract and investigate the cytotoxic and apoptosis‐inducing effects of these nanoparticles in MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line. The characteristics and morphology of the green synthesised AgNPs were evaluated using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, UV–visible spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy. The MTT assay was used to investigate the anti‐proliferative activity of biosynthesised nanoparticles in MCF‐7 cells. Apoptosis test was performed using flow cytometry and expression of caspase 3 and 9 genes. The spherical AgNPs with an average size of 19.17 nm were synthesised. The results showed that biosynthesised AgNPs exhibited cytotoxicity, anti‐cancer, apoptosis induction, and increased expression of genes encoding for caspases 3 and 9 in MCF‐7 cancer cells in a concentration‐ and time‐dependent manner. It seems that green synthesised AgNPs have potential uses for pharmaceutical industries.Inspec keywords: ultraviolet spectra, transmission electron microscopy, cellular biophysics, infrared spectra, visible spectra, nanofabrication, cancer, toxicology, nanomedicine, nanoparticles, biomedical materials, scanning electron microscopy, silver, Fourier transform spectra, X‐ray diffraction, genetics, enzymes, botany, biochemistryOther keywords: spherical AgNPs, biosynthesised AgNPs, anti‐cancer, apoptosis induction, green synthesised AgNPs, MCF‐7 breast cancer cell line, green synthesised silver nanoparticles, Ag, caspase gene expression, flow cytometry, anti‐proliferative activity, MTT assay, pharmaceutical industries, cytotoxicity, UV–visible spectroscopy, nanoparticle morphology, scanning electron microscopy, Centella asiatica leaf extract, biosynthesised nanoparticles, Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy     

Preparation of Nano-Emulsion-Based Hydrogels Conjugated Curcumin as Model Functional Lipid Bioactive Compound

The preparation of nanoemulsion-based alginate hydrogels, containing curcumin was the aim of current study. The nanoemulsions of coconut oil were prepared using solvent-displacement technique and then the obtained nanoemulsions were converted to hydrogels using the ion-gelling process. The effects of formulation parameters, namely, sodium alginate concentration (1–2 g L⁻¹), the weight ratio of calcium chloride to sodium alginate (2–4), and curcumin to sodium alginate (1–3), were also evaluated on swelling percentage, gel fraction, curcumin load, curcumin release, and antibacterial inhibitory zone of hydrogels. All studied characteristics were successfully correlated to the selected independent variables by second-order polynomial equations as models, with relatively high coefficients of determinations (R² > 86). According to multiple numerical optimization analysis, the most desired hydrogels can be obtained using 1.9 g L⁻¹ sodium alginate, curcumin/sodium alginate of 2.5 g g⁻¹, and calcium chloride/sodium alginate of 2.2 g g⁻¹, with the maximum swelling ratio (216%), gel fraction (29.9%), curcumin load (59.12%), antibacterial activity (clear-zone diameter of 5.27 cm), and the least curcumin release after 12 hours (87.75%). It was also resulted that the curcumin release from prepared optimum hydrogel obeys the first order kinetics. No significant differences between the measured and predicted data confirmed the suitability of suggested models.     

Nano-curcumin/graphene platelets loaded on sodium alginate/polyvinyl alcohol fibers as potential wound dressing

Innovative composites of biopolymers and nanomaterials have been exploited to fabricate wound dressings which show functional abilities to improve different stages of wound healing by a variety of mechanisms. In this study, a polymeric nanocomposite dressing is fabricated by electrospinning of a blend of sodium alginate (SA), poly vinyl alcohol (PVA) and graphene nanoplatelets (Gnp). The crosslinking of the nanofibers is done by thermal treatment followed by ionic bonding of the fibers. The crosslinked fibers are loaded by curcumin, a natural potent anti-inflammatory compound, encapsulated in monomethoxy poly ethylene glycol-oleate micelles/polymersomes (NCur). Results indicate that by incorporation of Gnp and NCur into the SA/PVA scaffold the tensile strength is not changed (~7 MPa) but the elongation to break and toughness of the scaffolds significantly increase from 11.25±2.6 and 50.56 to 35.5±5.1% and 125.9 Jm^-3, respectively. The scaffolds support the controlled release of curcumin for 24 h in vitro. Biocompatibility of the scaffolds has been confirmed by cell viability assay on mouse fibroblast cells. Overall, the findings demonstrate the potential applications of the spun fibers for wound dressing purposes.     

Antitumor Effects of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid on Human Malignant Glioblastoma Cells

5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a naturally occurring non-proteinogenic amino acid, which contributes to the diagnosis and therapeutic approaches of various cancers, including glioblastoma (GBM). In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether 5-ALA exerted cytotoxic effects on GBM cells. We assessed cell viability, apoptosis rate, mRNA expressions of various apoptosis-related genes, generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and migration ability of the human U-87 malignant GBM cell line (U87MG) treated with 5-ALA at different doses. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration of 5-ALA on U87MG cells was 500 μg/mL after 7 days; 5-ALA was not toxic for human optic cells and NIH-3T3 cells at this concentration. The application of 5-ALA led to a significant increase in apoptotic cells, enhancement of Bax and p53 expressions, reduction in Bcl-2 expression, and an increase in ROS generation. Furthermore, the application of 5-ALA increased the accumulation of U87MG cells in the SUB-G1 population, decreased the expression of cyclin D1, and reduced the migration ability of U87MG cells. Our data indicate the potential cytotoxic effects of 5-ALA on U87MG cells. Further studies are required to determine the spectrum of the antitumor activity of 5-ALA on GBM.     

Synthesis and application of amine functionalized silica mesoporous magnetite nanoparticles for removal of chromium(VI) from aqueous solutions

In this research, novel nanoparticles of Kit-6 mesoporous silica magnetite were synthesized with 9.6 nm pore diameter and 241.68 m² g^?1 surface area. The synthesized mesoporous magnetite nanoparticles (MMNPs) were functionalized with amine groups. Scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption–desorption method confirmed the morphology and structure of the synthesized nanoparticles. The amine functionalized MMNPs were used for sorption of toxic chromate ions from aqueous samples. The effect of various experimental parameters (four factors at three levels) on the sorption efficiency of Cr(VI) was studied and optimized via Taguchi L₉ (3⁴) orthogonal array experimental design. At optimum conditions, the sorption of the Cr(VI) was best described by a pseudo second-order kinetic model with R² = 0.9999 and q_eq = 129.8 mg g^?1, suggesting chemisorption mechanism. Adsorption data were fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm and the synthesized sorbent showed complete ion removal with 185.2 mg g^?1sorption capacity.     

Design optimization of clutch housing mold by fluid flow and solidification simulation

Aluminum die casting is so complex where flow momentum is critical matter in the mould filling process due the high velocity of the liquid metal. Actually, in complex parts the exact calculation of mould filling performance with using experimental knowledge is almost impossible. Aluminum die castings play a definitive role in the manufacturing of lightweight automobile bodies. Hence it is more essential today that these castings be produced with the high quality methods. In this condition the simulation is becoming more important in the designing procedure. This saves time and reduces the cost of the casting system design, which is an advantage of using simulation programs. Also, economical utilization of materials can be obtained when the quantity of test castings is decreased. This paper describes the advantages of the clutch housing die casting mold simulations to achieve better casting system design in High pressure die castings (HPDC). Filling analysis is used to determine the size and location of the gate as well as proper runner system design for ensuring a complete and balanced filling of the clutch housing part.

     

An Effective Framework for Fast Expert Mining in Collaboration Networks: A Group-Oriented and Cost-Based Method

The growth of social networks in modern information systems has enabled the collaboration of experts at a scale that was unseen before.Given a task and a graph of experts where each expert possesses some skills,we tend to find an effective team of experts who are able to accomplish the task.This team should consider how team members collaborate in an effective manner to perform the task as well as how efficient the team assignment is,considering each expert has the minimum required level of skill.Here,we generalize the problem in multiple perspectives.First,a method is provided to determine the skill level of each expert based on his/her skill and collaboration among neighbors.Second,the graph is aggregated to the set of skilled expert groups that are strongly correlated based on their skills as well as the best connection among them.By considering the groups,search space is significantly reduced and moreover it causes to prevent from the growth of redundant communication costs and team cardinality while assigning the team members.Third,the existing RarestFirst algorithm is extended to more generalized version,and finally the cost definition is customized to improve the efficiency of selected team.Experiments on DBLP co-authorship graph show that in terms of efficiency and effectiveness,our proposed framework is achieved well in practice.     

Evolving artificial neural network structure using grammar encoding and colonial competitive algorithm

Generalization performance of support vector machines (SVM) with Gaussian kernel is influenced by its model parameters, both the error penalty parameter and the Gaussian kernel parameter. After researching the characteristics and properties of the parameter simultaneous variation of support vector machines with Gaussian kernel by the parameter analysis table, a new area distribution model is proposed, which consists of optimal straight line, reference point of area boundary, optimal area, transition area, underfitting area, and overfitting area. In order to improve classification performance of support vector machines, a genetic algorithm based on change area search is proposed. Comparison experiments show that the test accuracy of the genetic algorithm based on change area search is better than that of the two-linear search method.     

Measuring congestion in sustainable supply chain based on data envelopment analysis

Neural Computing and Applications - Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) involves the integrating of environmental, social and economic concerns into supply chain management activities with...