The Use of Nanoparticles in Otoprotection

The inner ear can be insulted by various noxious stimuli, including drugs (cisplatin and aminoglycosides) and over-acoustic stimulation. These stimuli damage the hair cells giving rise to progressive hearing loss. Systemic drugs have attempted protection from ototoxicity. Most of these drugs poorly reach the inner ear with consequent ineffective action on hearing. The reason for these failures resides in the poor inner ear blood supply, the presence of the blood-labyrinthine barrier, and the low permeability of the round window membrane (RWM). This article presents a review of the use of nanoparticles (NPs) in otoprotection. NPs were recently used in many fields of medicine because of their ability to deliver drugs to the target organs or cells. The studies included in the review regarded the biocompatibility of the used NPs by in vitro and in vivo experiments. In most studies, NPs proved safe without a significant decrease in cell viability or signs of ototoxicity. Many nano-techniques were used to improve the drugs' kinetics and efficiency. These techniques included encapsulation, polymerization, surface functionalization, and enhanced drug release. In such a way, it improved drug transmission through the RWM with increased and prolonged intra-cochlear drug concentrations. In all studies, the fabricated drug-NPs effectively preserved the hair cells and the functioning hearing from exposure to different ototoxic stimuli, simulating the actual clinical circumstances. Most of these studies regarded cisplatin ototoxicity due to the wide use of this drug in clinical oncology. Dexamethasone (DEX) and antioxidants represent the most used drugs in most studies. These drugs effectively prevented apoptosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production caused by ototoxic stimuli. These various successful experiments confirmed the biocompatibility of different NPs and made it successfully to human clinical trials

Stereodifferentiation in the intramolecular singlet excited state quenching of hydroxybiphenyl-tryptophan dyads

The photochemical processes occurring in diastereomeric dyads (S, S)-1 and (S, R)-1, prepared by conjugation of (S)-2-(2-hydroxy-1,1'-biphenyl-4-yl) propanoic acid ((S)-BPOH) with (S)- and (R)-Trp, have been investigated. In acetonitrile, the fluorescence spectra of (S, S)-1 and (S, R)-1 were coincident in shape and position with that of (S)-BPOH, although they revealed a markedly stereoselective quenching. Since singlet energy transfer from BPOH to Trp is forbidden (5 kcal mol(-1) uphill), the quenching was attributed to thermodynamically favoured (according to Rehm-Weller) electron transfer or exciplex formation. Upon addition of 20% water, the fluorescence quantum yield of (S)-BPOH decreased, while only minor changes were observed for the dyads. This can be explained by an enhancement of the excited state acidity of (S)-BPOH, associated with bridging of the carboxy and hydroxy groups by water, in agreement with the presence of water molecules in the X-ray structure of (S)-BPOH. When the carboxy group was not available for coordination with water, as in the methyl ester (S)-BPOHMe or in the dyads, this effect was prevented; accordingly, the fluorescence quantum yields did not depend on the presence or absence of water. The fluorescence lifetimes in dry acetonitrile were 1.67, 0.95 and 0.46 ns for (S)-BPOH, (S, S)-1 and (S, R)-1, respectively, indicating that the observed quenching is indeed dynamic. In line with the steady-state and time-resolved observations, molecular modelling pointed to a more favourable geometric arrangement of the two interacting chromophores in (S, R)-1. Interestingly, this dyad exhibited a folded conformation in the solid state.Financial support from the Spanish Government (CTQ2010-14882, BES-2008-003314, JCI-2011-09926, PR2011-0581), from the Generalitat Valenciana (Prometeo 2008/090) and from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (PAID 05-11, 2766) is gratefully acknowledged.Bonancía Roca, P.; Vayá Pérez, I.; Markovitsi, D.; Gustavsson, T.; Jiménez Molero, MC.; Miranda Alonso, MÁ. (2013). Stereodifferentiation in the intramolecular singlet excited state quenching of hydroxybiphenyl-tryptophan dyads. Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry. 11(12):1958-1963. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3ob27278hS195819631112Jiménez, M. C., Pischel, U., & Miranda, M. A. (2007). Photoinduced processes in naproxen-based chiral dyads. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology C: Photochemistry Reviews, 8(3), 128-142. doi:10.1016/j.jphotochemrev.2007.10.001Abad, S., Pischel, U., & Miranda, M. A. (2005). Wavelength-Dependent Stereodifferentiation in the Fluorescence Quenching of Asymmetric Naphthalene-Based Dyads by Amines. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 109(12), 2711-2717. doi:10.1021/jp047996aAbad, S., Vayá, I., Jiménez, M. C., Pischel, U., & Miranda, M. A. (2006). Diastereodifferentiation of Novel Naphthalene Dyads by Fluorescence Quenching and Excimer Formation. ChemPhysChem, 7(10), 2175-2183. doi:10.1002/cphc.200600337Bonancía, P., Vayá, I., Climent, M. J., Gustavsson, T., Markovitsi, D., Jiménez, M. C., & Miranda, M. A. (2012). Excited-State Interactions in Diastereomeric Flurbiprofen–Thymine Dyads. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 116(35), 8807-8814. doi:10.1021/jp3063838Paris, C., Encinas, S., Belmadoui, N., Climent, M. J., & Miranda, M. A. (2008). Photogeneration of 2-Deoxyribonolactone in Benzophenone−Purine Dyads. Formation of Ketyl−C1′ Biradicals. Organic Letters, 10(20), 4409-4412. doi:10.1021/ol801514vBelmadoui, N., Encinas, S., Climent, M. J., Gil, S., & Miranda, M. A. (2006). Intramolecular Interactions in the Triplet Excited States of Benzophenone–Thymine Dyads. Chemistry - A European Journal, 12(2), 553-561. doi:10.1002/chem.200500345Lhiaubet-Vallet, V., Boscá, F., & Miranda, M. A. (2007). Stereodifferentiating Drug−Biomolecule Interactions in the Triplet Excited State:  Studies on Supramolecular Carprofen/Protein Systems and on Carprofen−Tryptophan Model Dyads. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 111(2), 423-431. doi:10.1021/jp066968kVayá, I., Pérez-Ruiz, R., Lhiaubet-Vallet, V., Jiménez, M. C., & Miranda, M. A. (2010). Drug–protein interactions assessed by fluorescence measurements in the real complexes and in model dyads. Chemical Physics Letters, 486(4-6), 147-153. doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2009.12.091Seedher, N., & Bhatia, S. (2005). Mechanism of interaction of the non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs meloxicam and nimesulide with serum albumin. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 39(1-2), 257-262. doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2005.02.031SEEDHER, N., & BHATIA, S. (2006). Reversible binding of celecoxib and valdecoxib with human serum albumin using fluorescence spectroscopic technique. Pharmacological Research, 54(2), 77-84. doi:10.1016/j.phrs.2006.02.008Nanda, R. K., Sarkar, N., & Banerjee, R. (2007). Probing the interaction of ellagic acid with human serum albumin: A fluorescence spectroscopic study. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 192(2-3), 152-158. doi:10.1016/j.jphotochem.2007.05.018Zhou, B., Li, R., Zhang, Y., & Liu, Y. (2008). Kinetic analysis of the interaction between amphotericin B and human serum albumin using surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence spectroscopy. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, 7(4), 453. doi:10.1039/b717897bVahedian-Movahed, H., Saberi, M. R., & Chamani, J. (2011). Comparison of Binding Interactions of Lomefloxacin to Serum Albumin and Serum Transferrin by Resonance Light Scattering and Fluorescence Quenching Methods. Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics, 28(4), 483-502. doi:10.1080/07391102.2011.10508590Katrahalli, U., Kalalbandi, V. K. A., & Jaldappagari, S. (2012). The effect of anti-tubercular drug, ethionamide on the secondary structure of serum albumins: A biophysical study. Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, 59, 102-108. doi:10.1016/j.jpba.2011.09.013El-Kemary, M., Gil, M., & Douhal, A. (2007). Relaxation Dynamics of Piroxicam Structures within Human Serum Albumin Protein. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 50(12), 2896-2902. doi:10.1021/jm061421fTormo, L., Organero, J. A., Cohen, B., Martin, C., Santos, L., & Douhal, A. (2008). Dynamical and Structural Changes of an Anesthetic Analogue in Chemical and Biological Nanocavities. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 112(43), 13641-13647. doi:10.1021/jp803083yTardioli, S., Lammers, I., Hooijschuur, J.-H., Ariese, F., van der Zwan, G., & Gooijer, C. (2012). Complementary Fluorescence and Phosphorescence Study of the Interaction of Brompheniramine with Human Serum Albumin. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 116(24), 7033-7039. doi:10.1021/jp300055cVayá, I., Jiménez, M. C., & Miranda, M. A. (2007). Excited-State Interactions in Flurbiprofen−Tryptophan Dyads. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 111(31), 9363-9371. doi:10.1021/jp071301zCallis, P. R., & Burgess, B. K. (1997). Tryptophan Fluorescence Shifts in Proteins from Hybrid Simulations:  An Electrostatic Approach. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 101(46), 9429-9432. doi:10.1021/jp972436fLakowicz, J. R. (2000). On Spectral Relaxation in Proteins†¶‖. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 72(4), 421. doi:10.1562/0031-8655(2000)0722.0.co;2Schuler, B., & Eaton, W. A. (2008). Protein folding studied by single-molecule FRET. Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 18(1), 16-26. doi:10.1016/j.sbi.2007.12.003Shen, X., & Knutson, J. R. (2001). Subpicosecond Fluorescence Spectra of Tryptophan in Water. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 105(26), 6260-6265. doi:10.1021/jp010384vBeechem, J. M., & Brand, L. (1985). Time-Resolved Fluorescence of Proteins. Annual Review of Biochemistry, 54(1), 43-71. doi:10.1146/annurev.bi.54.070185.000355Callis, P. R. (1997). [7] 1La and 1Lb transitions of tryptophan: Applications of theory and experimental observations to fluorescence of proteins. Flourescence Spectroscopy, 113-150. doi:10.1016/s0076-6879(97)78009-1Basarić, N., & Wan, P. (2006). Competing Excited State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Pathways from Phenol to Anthracene Moieties. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 71(7), 2677-2686. doi:10.1021/jo0524728Lukeman, M., & Wan, P. (2003). Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer ino-Hydroxybiaryls:  A New Route to Dihydroaromatic Compounds. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 125(5), 1164-1165. doi:10.1021/ja029376yKeck, J., Kramer, H. E. A., Port, H., Hirsch, T., Fischer, P., & Rytz, G. (1996). Investigations on Polymeric and Monomeric Intramolecularly Hydrogen-Bridged UV Absorbers of the Benzotriazole and Triazine Class. The Journal of Physical Chemistry, 100(34), 14468-14475. doi:10.1021/jp961081hVollmer, F., & Rettig, W. (1996). Fluorescence loss mechanism due to large-amplitude motions in derivatives of 2,2′-bipyridyl exhibiting excited-state intramolecular proton transfer and perspectives of luminescence solar concentrators. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, 95(2), 143-155. doi:10.1016/1010-6030(95)04252-0Lukeman, M., & Wan, P. (2002). A New Type of Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer:  Proton Transfer from Phenol OH to a Carbon Atom of an Aromatic Ring Observed for 2-Phenylphenol1. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 124(32), 9458-9464. doi:10.1021/ja0267831Jiménez, M. C., Miranda, M. A., Tormos, R., & Vayá, I. (2004). Characterisation of the lowest singlet and triplet excited states of S-flurbiprofen. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 3(11-12), 1038-1041. doi:10.1039/b408530bWeller, A. (1982). Photoinduced Electron Transfer in Solution: Exciplex and Radical Ion Pair Formation Free Enthalpies and their Solvent Dependence. Zeitschrift für Physikalische Chemie, 133(1), 93-98. doi:10.1524/zpch.1982.133.1.093Winget, P., Cramer, C. J., & Truhlar, D. G. (2004). Computation of equilibrium oxidation and reduction potentials for reversible and dissociative electron-transfer reactions in solution. Theoretical Chemistry Accounts, 112(4). doi:10.1007/s00214-004-0577-0ÇAKIR, S., & BÇER, E. (2010). SYNTHESIS, SPECTRAL CHARACTERIZATION AND ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF VANADIUM(V) COMPLEX WITH TRYPTOPHAN. Journal of the Chilean Chemical Society, 55(2). doi:10.4067/s0717-9707201000020002

An electrochemically active green synthesized polycrystalline NiO/MgO catalyst: Use in photo-catalytic applications

For many years, research scientists have aided communities in their tremendous efforts towards environmental remediation. Due to their high physical and chemical stability, metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) have been used as metal catalysts to remedy this issue. This article reviews green approaches for the synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles, in aqueous bio-reductive polyphenols from punica granatum peel extract and the degradation of organic pollutants. The bimetallic nanocomposite of face-centred cubic NiO/MgO pseudocapacitors were successfully prepared via the polyphenols of punica granatum peel extracts. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) successfully provide evidence of polycrystalline face-centre cubic nanocomposite (high crystallinity index (Icry) > 1) while revealing their interplanar distance. The spherical and irregular particle distribution of the binary NiO/MgO nanocomposite (at different calcination temperatures) was assessed by high resolution-TEM. FTIR, GC–MS and EDS provided evidence of the proposed mechanism during coordination between polyphenols and metal precursors. The popular “egg box model” is referred to in the case of polyphenols-metal interaction. The unique feature of two consecutive chelation site per repeat that provides a favourable entropic contribution to the inter-chain association is produced by this model governed by electrostatic interactions. Based on the obtained results, new structural models of Ni2+/Mg2+-polyphenols (punicalagin) complexes were proposed. UV–vis and Cyclic voltammetry confirmed the growth and band gap energies of the nanocomposite. NiO/MgO nanocomposite was found to be excellent photocatalysts for the degradation of methylene orange and methylene blue under the illumination of artificial light irradiation. The experiments demonstrated that MB in aqueous solution was more efficiently photo-degraded (87%) than MO (73%) using NiO/MgO nanocomposite as photocatalysts within 10 min of exposure. Conclusively, the nanocomposite was found to be more efficient compared to other reported oxides.ISI & Scopu

Photoactive assemblies of organic compounds and biomolecules: drug-protein supramolecular systems

[EN] The properties of singlet and triplet excited states are strongly medium-dependent. Hence, these species constitute valuable tools as reporters to probe compartmentalised microenvironments, including drug@protein supramolecular systems. In the present review, the attention is focused on the photophysical properties of the probe drugs (rather than those of the protein chromophores) using transport proteins (serum albumins and 1-acid glycoproteins) as hosts. Specifically, fluorescence measurements allow investigating the structural and dynamic properties of biomolecules or their complexes. Thus, the emission quantum yields and the decay kinetics of the drug singlet excited states provide key information to determine important parameters such as the stoichiometry of the complex, the binding constant, the relative degrees of occupancy of the different compartments, etc. Application of the FRET concept allows determining donor-acceptor interchromophoric distances. In addition, anisotropy measurements can be related to the orientation of the drug within the binding sites, where the degrees of freedom for conformational relaxation are restricted. Transient absorption spectroscopy is also a potentially powerful tool to investigate the binding of drugs to proteins, where formation of encapsulated triplet excited states is favoured over other possible processes leading to ionic species (i. e. radical ions), and their photophysical properties are markedly sensitive to the microenvironment experienced within the protein binding sites. Even under aerobic conditions, the triplet lifetimes of protein-complexed drugs are remarkably long, which provides a broad dynamic range for identification of distinct triplet populations or for chiral discrimination. Specific applications of the laser flash photolysis technique include the determination of drug distribution among the bulk solution and the protein binding sites, competition of two types of proteins to bind a 3 drug, occurrence of drug-drug interactions within protein binding sites, enzymatic-like activity of the protein or determination of enantiomeric compositions. The use of proteins as supramolecular hosts modifies the photoreactivity of encapsulated substrates by providing protection against oxygen or other external reagents, by imposing conformational restrictions in the binding pockets, or by influencing the stereochemical outcome. In this review, a selected group of examples is presented including decarboxylation, dehalogenation, nucleophilic addition, dimerisation, oxidation, Norrish type II reaction, photo-Fries rearrangement and 6 electrocyclisationFinancial support from the Spanish Government (CTQ2010-14882, JCI-2011-09926, RyC-2007-00476), from the EU (PCIG12-GA-2012-334257), from the Universitat Politènica de València (SP20120757) and from the Consellería de Educació, Cultura i Esport (PROMETEOII/2013/005, GV/2013/051) is gratefully acknowledged.Vayá Pérez, I.; Lhiaubet-Vallet, VL.; Jiménez Molero, MC.; Miranda Alonso, MÁ. (2014). Photoactive assemblies of organic compounds and biomolecules: drug-protein supramolecular systems. Chemical Society Reviews. 43:4102-4122. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3CS60413FS410241224

Two-Dimensional Free Energy Surfaces for Electron Transfer Reactions in Solution

Change in intermolecular distance between electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) can induce intermolecular electron transfer (ET) even in nonpolar solvent, where solvent orientational polarization is absent. This was shown by making simple calculations of the energies of the initial and final states of ET. In the case of polar solvent, the free energies are functions of both D-A distance and solvent orientational polarization. On the basis of 2-dimensional free energy surfaces, the relation of Marcus ET and exciplex formation is discussed. The transient effect in fluorescence quenching was measured for several D-A pairs in a nonpolar solvent. The results were analyzed by assuming a distance dependence of the ET rate that is consistent with the above model

Preparation and characterization of new photoluminescent nano-powder based on Eu3+:La2Ti2O7 and dispersed into silica matrix for latent fingerprint detection

Pure lanthanum titanate doped with europium metal ions (La2Ti2O7:Eu3+) and dispersed in silica matrix phosphor powder was prepared by sol–gel process followed by thermal treatment. The prepared nanophosphors were characterized by powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDX), and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy (PL). The effects of silica, thermal treatment, Eu3+ ion, and surfactant (CTAB) concentrations on the crystal, morphology, and photoluminescence properties were investigated. The present work found that dispersion of La2Ti2O7:Eu3+ into silica matrix significantly altered the morphology of La2Ti2O7:Eu3+ from high crystalline micro-plate like shape into amorphous aggregated Nano-spherical shape. The high separated spherical shape with intense red PL emission and long lifetime was obtained from 10 mol% Eu3+:La2Ti2O7:Eu3+, dispersed into silica matrix, and prepared in the presence of CTAB. The high PL Nano-phosphor has been successfully used in developing latent fingerprint from various forensic relevant materials. New Eu3+:La2Ti2O7/SiO2 nanophosphor powder were prepared and optimized for latent fingerprint detection application from most relevant nonporous forensic surfaces. [Display omitted] •Phosphor powder based on europium doped lanthanum titanate.•Effect of different preparation conditions were studied.•The powder characterized with intense red emission and long lifetime.•Application of nano-powder for the fingerprint from various forensic surfaces

Simple dihydropyridine-based colorimetric chemosensors for heavy metal ion detection, biological evaluation, molecular docking, and ADMET profiling

Abstract In this study, two novel chemosensors containing dihydropyridine fragment namely; (2E, 2Eʹ)-1,1ʹ-(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-diyl)bis(3-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)prop-2-en-1-one) (1), (2E,2E',4E,4E')-1,1ʹ -(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-diyl)bis(5-(4-(dimethylamino)phenyl)penta-2,4-dien-1-one) (2) have been synthesized and characterized. The solvatochromic behavior was explored in different solvents of various polarities. The visual detection, as well as UV–Vis and fluorescence measurements were carried out to explore the colorimetric and optical sensing properties of the investigated chemosensors towards various metal ions such as Al3+, Cr3+, Mn2+, Fe3+, Co2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Mg2+, Hg2+ and Zn2+. The chemosensors 1 and 2 have strong detecting abilities, with excellent sensitivity and selectivity for Cu2+ and Fe3+, respectively, over the other metal ions. The chemosensors were totally reversible upon addition of EDTA to the formed complexes and displayed a turn on–off-on fluorescence response based on an effect of chelation-quenching fluorescence. The antioxidant activities of the investigated chemosensors were assessed. They were examined in-silico for their capacity to block the Akt signaling pathway, which is involved in cancer proliferation with interpreting their pharmacokinetics aspects. Furthermore, in-vitro antitumor evaluation against a panel of cancer cell lines for the investigated chemosensors has been examined. Conclusively, chemosensor 1 was more effective at scavenging free radicals and as an anticancer agent and could be exploited as a therapeutic candidate for cancer therapy than chemosensor 2 due to its potential inhibition of Akt protein

Calendula officinalis-mediated biosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and their Electrochemical and Optical Characterization

The metal nanoparticles synthesis is highly explored field of nanotechnology. The biological methods seem to be more effective. A simple and elegant method is adopted to prepare Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in a single step using Calendula officinalis extract (COE) as reducing and stabilizing agent. The plant extract is mixed with AgNO3 to get biosynthesized AgNPs. The biosynthesized AgNPs were both optically and electrochemically characterized by UV-Vis, Infrared spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Zeta potential and Cyclic Voltammetry. The results showed Calendula officinalis extract is a useful bioreductant for the synthesis of AgNPs. This study infers that the size of biosynthesized AgNPs ranges from 30 to 50 nm. The surface plasmon resonance peak in the UV-Vis absorption spectra shows maximum absorption at 435 nm. Fluorescence spectra of silver nanoparticles, which show an emission peak at 468 nm have also been studied. Zeta potential analysis ensured the biosynthesized AgNPs are highly stable. Using this environmentally friendly method of biological AgNPs production supplies rates of biosynthesis facile in comparison with other chemical and engineered routes. The employment of traditional medicine in biosynthesis protocols can potentially open new doors in various human health and well-being implications such as cosmetics, foods and medicine