Effect of phenols on the potentiometric response of a nitrate-ion-selective electrode

Abstract The effect of phenols containing different electron-withdrawing substituents on the potentiometric responses of several liquid PVC membranes containing the complex trioctylmethylammonium-nitrate, TOMA + NO − 3 , is analyzed. The results make it possible to separate these phenols into two groups; those phenols containing electron-releasing groups, which produce almost Nernstian slopes, and those containing electron-withdrawing substituents, which generate sub-Nernstian slopes. The highly negative standard free energy of transfer of the aryl phenolic group from water to a cationic polar head suggests that these phenols are mainly located in the membrane phase associated with TOMA + via a cation-π interaction. It seems that the strength of this interaction, and hence of the nitrate dissociation, is affected by the presence of phenols in an extension which correlates well with the kind of phenol present in these membranes and, consequently, with the type of their potentiometric responses

Lipofilia y actividad antibacteriana de flavonoles: Actividad antibacteriana de los exudados resinosos de Haplopappus litoralis, H. chrysantemifolius y H. scrobiculatus

La actividad antibacteriana de los exudados resinosos de Haplopappus litoralis, H. chrysantemifolius y H. scrobiculatus de la Zona Central de Chile fueron evaluadas frente a bacterias Gram-negativas y Gram-positivas, y resultaron activos frente a estas últimas. Los resultados mostraron  que la actividad antibacteriana de los exudados resinosos es independiente de los flavonoles aisladas de cada extracto que no mostraron actividad antibacteriana. La lipofilia estimada de los flavonoles aislados de los exudados resinosos de Haplopappus se compararó con la lipofilia de conocidos flavonoles antibacterianos. Este análisis mostró que la  lipofilia es una variable importante para predecir  la actividad antibacteriana de los flavonoles

Host-parasite dialogue: fecundity compensation mechanisms of Fissurella crassa

Parasites can alter the reproductive performance of their hosts, and to avoid or mitigate the resulting fitness loss, hosts may increase their current reproductive output to compensate for the future loss due to the parasitic infection. Fecundity compensation can be exploited by parasites for their own transmission (exploitation of host compensatory responses by parasites). However, this phenomenon has rarely been reported in second intermediate hosts of trematodes and its mechanisms and consequences largely unexplored. Along the east coast of the South Pacific, the second intermediate host, the mollusk Fissurella crassa, has been observed to display higher muscular foot, greater shell length and weight, and a higher gonadosomatic index when parasitized by metacercariaes of Proctoeces humboldti compared to non-parasitized hosts. In this study, we examined the histology, biochemistry (glucose, lipids, and proteins), and levels of sex hormones (estradiol and progesterone) in both parasitized and non-parasitized female individuals of F. crassa. Our findings revealed that the gonad of parasitized limpets had a higher density of oocytes, but these had a smaller individual area. Additionally, the gonadal tissue of parasitized limpets exhibited lower glucose content but higher lipid content. Notably, the levels of progesterone increased with parasite intensity. These results suggest that F. crassa possesses the ability to compensate for the negative effects of parasites by increasing the number of oocytes through biochemical and hormonal mechanisms. Our study contributes to the limited research on the impact of metacercariae on the reproduction of second intermediate hosts. Furthermore, we discuss how these changes in parasitized limpets could benefit parasite transmission

PAISAJES DE ESPAÑA [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, 201

Adsorption of poly(4-vinylpyridine) N-alkyl quaternized at the chloroform/water interface

The Du Noüy method has been employed to study the interfacial properties of poly(4-vinylpyridine) N-n-alkyl quaternized with hexyl, octyl and decyl bromide, at the chloroform/water interface. The interfacial tension is highly dependent on the hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance between the pyridinium group and the length of the polyelectrolyte side aliphatic chain. The excess interfacial concentration, Γ, is determined according to the Gibbs-Szyszkowski equation. The areas covered by monomer unit at the interface, σ, are smaller than those reported for low molecular weight amphipathic molecules. The linear dependence of ΔGoads with the number of carbon atoms on the side-chain allows the determination of a contribution of just 0.13 kJ for each methylene lateral group and -36 kJ for the vinylpyridinium bromide contributions to ΔGoads. The dependence of the interfacial tension on temperature suggests that the entropy is the main factor determining the adsorption process. © 2003 Society of Ch

Enhanced Antibacterial Activity of Ent-Labdane Derivatives of Salvic Acid (7α-Hydroxy-8(17)-ent-Labden-15-Oic Acid): Effect of Lipophilicity and the Hydrogen Bonding Role in Bacterial Membrane Interaction

In the present study, the antibacterial activity of several ent-labdane derivatives of salvic acid (7α-hydroxy-8(17)-ent-labden-15-oic acid) was evaluated in vitro against the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus. For all of the compounds, the antibacterial activity was expressed as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in liquid media and minimum inhibitory amount (MIA) in solid media. Structure activity relationships (SAR) were employed to correlate the effect of the calculated lipophilicity parameters (logPow) on the inhibitory activity. Employing a phospholipidic bilayer (POPG) as a bacterial membrane model, ent-labdane-membrane interactions were simulated utilizing docking studies. The results indicate that (i) the presence of a carboxylic acid in the C-15 position, which acted as a hydrogen-bond donor (HBD), was essential for the antibacterial activity of the ent-labdanes; (ii) an increase in the length of the acylated chain at the C-7 position improved the antibacterial activity until an optimum length of five carbon atoms was reached; (iii) an increase in the length of the acylated chain by more than five carbon atoms resulted in a dramatic decrease in activity, which completely disappeared in acyl chains of more than nine carbon atoms; and (iv) the structural factors described above, including one HBD at C-15 and a hexanoyloxi moiety at C-7, had a good fit to a specific lipophilic range and antibacterial activity. The lipophilicity parameter has a predictive characteristic feature on the antibacterial activity of this class of compounds, to be considered in the design of new biologically active molecules

Lysozyme binding to poly(4-vinyl-N-alkylpyridinium bromide)

The adsorption behavior of polycations at ionic strengths (I) ranging from 0.001 to 0.1 onto silicon wafers was studied by means of ellipsometry, contact angle measurements and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Polycations chosen were bromide salts of poly(4-vinylpyridine) N-alkyl quaternized with linear aliphatic chains of 2 and 5 carbon atoms, QPVP-C2 and QPVP-C5, respectively. Under I = 0.001 the reduction of screening effects led to low adsorbed amounts of QPVP-C2 or QPVP-C5 (1.0 ± 0.1 mg / m2), arising from the adsorption of extended chains. Upon increasing I to 0.1, screening effects led to conformational changes of polyelectrolyte chains in solution and to higher adsorbed amount values (1.9 ± 0.2 mg / m2). Advancing contact angle θa measurements performed with water drops onto QPVP-C2 and QPVP-C5 adsorbed layers varied from (45 ± 2) ° to (50 ± 5) °, evidencing the exposure of both hydrophobic alkyl groups and charged moieties. The adsorption of lysozyme (LYZ) molecules to QPVP-C5

Antibacterial Properties of 3 H-Spiro[1-benzofuran-2,1’-cyclohexane] Derivatives from Heliotropium filifolium

A re-examination of cuticular components of Heliotropium filifolium allowed the isolation of four new compounds: 3’-hydroxy-2’,2’,6’-trimethyl-3H-spiro[1-benzo-furan-2,1’-cyclohexane]-5-carboxylic acid(2), methyl 3’-acetyloxy-2’,2’,6’-trimethyl-3H-spiro[1-benzofuran-2,1’-cyclohexane]-5-carboxylate (3), methyl 3’-isopentanoyloxy-2’,2’,6’-trimethyl-3H-spiro[1-benzofuran-2,1’-cyclohexane]-5-carboxylate (4) and methyl 3’-benzoyloxy-2’,2’,6’-trimethyl-3H-spiro[1-benzofuran-2,1’-cyclohexane]-5-carboxylate (5).Compounds 2-5 were identified by their spectroscopic analogies with filifolinol (1), and their structures confirmed by chemical correlation with 1. The antimicrobial properties of the compounds were tested against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Some of them proved to be active against Gram positive, but inactive against Gram negative bacteria. In searching for structure-activity relationships from the obtained MIC values, lipophilicity was shown to be an important variable

Structure-Activity and Lipophilicity Relationships of Selected Antibacterial Natural Flavones and Flavanones of Chilean Flora

In this study, we tested eight naturally-occurring flavonoids—three flavanones and five flavones—for their possible antibacterial properties against four Gram-positive and four Gram-negative bacteria. Flavonoids are known for their antimicrobial properties, and due their structural diversity; these plant-derived compounds are a good model to study potential novel antibacterial mechanisms. The lipophilicity and the interaction of antibacterial compounds with the cell membrane define the success or failure to access its target. Therefore, through the determination of partition coefficients in a non-polar/aqueous phase, lipophilicity estimation and the quantification of the antibacterial activity of different flavonoids, flavanones, and flavones, a relationship between these parameters was assessed. Active flavonoids presented diffusion coefficients between 9.4 × 10−10 and 12.3 × 10−10 m2/s and lipophilicity range between 2.0 to 3.3. Active flavonoids against Gram-negative bacteria showed a narrower range of lipophilicity values, compared to active flavonoids against Gram-positive bacteria, which showed a wide range of lipophilicity and cell lysis. Galangin was the most active flavonoid, whose structural features are the presence of two hydroxyl groups located strategically on ring A and the absence of polar groups on ring B. Methylation of one hydroxyl group decreases the activity in 3-O-methylgalangin, and methylation of both hydroxyl groups caused inactivation, as shown for 3,7-O-dimethylgalangin. In conclusion, the amphipathic features of flavonoids play a crucial role in the antibacterial activity. In these compounds, hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties must be present and could be predicted by lipophilicity analysis