Synthesis and Characterization of -Carrageenan/PVA Nanocomposite Hydrogels in Combination with MgZnO Nanoparticles to Evaluate the Catechin Release

In the current study, nanocomposites were prepared by combining k-carrageenan, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and doped nanoparticles (Magnesium oxide) MgO, (Magnesium Zinc oxide) MgZnO 1%, MgZnO 3%, and MgZnO 5%. The nanoparticles were synthesized by a sol–gel method and mixed with a mixture of k-carrageenan/PVA (Ca/PVA) in various ratios. The structure of the composites was analyzed using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The Ca/PVA mixture was then mixed with nanoparticles and loaded with active ingredient, catechin. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and texture analysis were performed to analyze the nanocomposites. Entrapment efficiency (EE%) and drug release studies confirmed that k-carrageenan/PVA/MgZnO 5% had the highest EE% at 81.58% and a drug release of 75.21% ± 0.94. The EE% of k-carrageenan/PVA/MgO was 55.21% and its drug release was 45%. This indicates that ZnO plays an effective role in the structure and performance of Ca/PVA composites. The SEM images of MgO composites show smoother surfaces compared to MgZnO composites. This may be one of the reasons for the increased EE% and drug release of MgZnO composites. The addition of ZnO to the composite structure can lead to the appearance of pores on the surface of the composite, increasing entrapment and drug release

Effect of salicylic acid on antioxidant properties of In vitro proliferated shoots of Melissa officinalisL.

Melissa officinalis is a medicinal plant belong to  lamiacea family.  This plant has been cultivated in many parts of the world due to its therapeutic effects. This study was conducted to improve antioxidant activities of proliferated shoots from tissue culture. The seeds of plant   were cultured in MS hormone free medium in order to obtain   seedlings. Then the  shoots were transfer to MS medium supplemented with 2 mg/ L  BAP.After 45 days salicylic acid (SA) was added to the medium at concentrations of 0, 50, 100 and 200 µM. The antioxidant activity and phenolics, flavonoids and rosmarinic acid content in proliferated shoots were evaluated 4,7,10 and 14 days after treatment. As a result the highest free radical scavenging and reducing power activity, as well as the highest value of total phenolic   and rosmarinic acid were observed in shoots   after 14 days of treatment with 100 µM salicylic acid. The elevated level of superoxide anion scavenging activity      and total flavonoids        were obtained from the shoots treated with 50 µM salicylic acid for 14 days. Over all treatment with100 µM salicylic acid for 14 days was better in order to antioxidant activity and compounds with recognized antioxidant activity

Green synthesis of Mg0.99 Zn0.01O nanoparticles for the fabrication of κ-Carrageenan/NaCMC hydrogel in order to deliver catechin

Currently, the role of the nanoparticles in the structure of the composites and their benefits for the health of the body is valuable. In this study, the effects of the doping on the structural and morphological properties of the hydrogels using a Mg co-doped ZnO hydrogel, which has been fabricated by the sol-gel process, have been investigated. Then, a hydrogel containing nanoparticle and a hydrogel without any nanoparticles was produced as a control. The hydrogels were loaded with catechin and the related characterization was evolved based on the new structure of the matrices. The Mg0.99Zn0.01O nanoparticles were synthesized using a green synthesis method. To investigate the properties of the nanoparticles, zeta potential and XRD were studied. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), FTIR, TGA, swelling Ratio, and compression tests were investigated for the hydrogels. Based on the results, FESEM showed a more compressed structure for hydrogels including nanoparticles rather than the hydrogels without a nanoparticle. The TGA showed a higher decomposition temperature in the hydrogels including nanoparticles. The swelling ratio of hydrogels containing a nanoparticle was higher than the control hydrogel. κ-Carrageenan/ Mg0.99Zn0.01O/NaCMC/Catechin had the highest swelling ratio (44.15%) rather than the κ-Carrageenan/NaCMC (33.22%). Mg0.99Zn0.01O nanoparticles presented a stronger structure of hydrogels in the compression test. It is concluded that the role of the synthesized nanoparticle is critical in the structure of the hydrogel

Micropropagation of Eucalyptus maculata from Mature Stock by tissue culture

Due to Eucalyptuspotential as a fast growing species, its utilization for afforestation and industrial and medical purposes is very important. E. maculata Hook. is an important species among the other eucalypts in respect to some chemical components production and medical utilization. Sexual and asexual propagation of this species is difficult, for this reason the trial was conducted to investigate its propagation by tissue culture, using micro mature stocks. The produced explants from the mature stocks, were placed on MS medium (Murashige and Skooge) treated by ½ nitrate and various growth regulators such as Kin (Kinetin), BAP (Benzylamino purine), IBA (Indole-3-acetic acid), 2ip (2-Isopentyladenine), TDZ (Tidiazorun) and NAA (Naphtalen Acetic Acid) at different levels of concentration. After two months, growth indexes, including shoot number, shoot height, root number, root length, bud number and greenness rate were measured and recorded. Results showed that the best shooting treatment was IBA (0.01 mgl-1), BAP (0.3 mgl-1) and 2ip (0.5 mgl-1), in which average shoot number, shoot height and greenness rate were 4.63, 2.73 cm and 3.75, respectively, whereas the best rooting treatment was NAA (0.5 mgl-1) plus IBA (0.5 mgl-1), in which root length was 0.2 cm. Finally, the micropropagated plantlets were transferred to greenhouse to pass their adaptation process

Effect of zinc content on structural, functional, morphological, and thermal properties of kappa-carrageenan/NaCMC nanocomposites

This study was aimed to produce a novel nanocomposite with appropriate properties to apply in biomedical researches. MgO was used as a control sample in the experiments. A series of Mg1-xZnxO nanoparticles with x = 0.01 and 0.03, were prepared by the sol-gel method and added to k-carrageenan/NaCMC to produce MgO, Mg0.99Zn0.01O, and Mg0.97Zn0.03O/k-carrageenan/NaCMC hydrogels. The structural properties were systematically investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Swelling ratio %, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Compression test. The FESEM analysis showed that the doping of ‘Zn’ in MgO had a strong effect on morphology and crystallinity of MgO nanoparticles. The MgO nanocomposite had the lowest swelling ratio. The swelling started to increase at 3.37±0.95% and was found to finish at 3.81±0.26%, including a peak at 22.1±6.76% in the graph. The highest swelling ratio was attributed to Mg0.99Zn0.01O with the final ratio of 44.15±1.98%. The TGA analysis revealed that total weight loss of MgOnanocomposite wasgreater than Mg0.99Zn0.01O, and Mg0.97Zn0.03O. The compression test of the nanocomposites showed that the hardness of MgO nanocomposite was the highest and it was 89.75±9.19 (g), the springiness of Mg0.99Zn0.01O and Mg0.97Zn0.03O was the same and it was 10 (mm), the adhesion of Mg0.97Zn0.03O showed-0.848±0.29 that was highest, however the consistency of Mg0.99Zn0.01O showed 392.90±3.48 (g. sec)