DENDRIMERS IN DRUG DELIVERY, DIAGNOSIS AND THERAPY: BASICS AND POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS

This review gives concise information about the dendrimers, properties, synthesis and application in drug delivery, diagnosis and therapy. Due to their unique architecture these have improved physical and chemical properties. They show high solubility, miscibility and reactivity due to their terminal groups. Dendrimers have well defined size, shape, molecular weight and monodispersity. These properties make the dendrimers a suitable carrier in drug delivery application. Dendrimers are unimolecular miceller in nature and due to this enhances the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Their compatibility with DNA, heparin and polyanions make them more versatile. Dendrimers, also referred as modern day polymers, they offer much more good properties than the conventional polymers. Due to their multivalent and mono disperse character dendrimers have stimulated wide interest in the field of chemistry biology, especially in applications like drug delivery, gene therapy and chemotherapy. Self assembly produces a faster means of generating nanoscopic functional and structural systems. But their actual utility in drug delivery can be assessed only after deep understanding of factors affecting their properties and their behavior in vivo. Key words: Dendrimers, PAMAM, monodispersity, Divergent-Convergent synthesis, carrier for drug deliveryÂ

POTENTIAL APPLICATION OF DENDRIMERS IN DRUG DELIVERY: A CONCISE REVIEW AND UPDATE

This review gives concise information about the application of dendrimers in the field of drug delivery. Due to their unique architecture these have improved physical and chemical properties. Due to their terminal groups these show high solubility, miscibility and reactivity. Dendrimers have well defined size, shape, molecular weight and monodispersity. These properties make the dendrimers a suitable carrier in drug delivery application. Dendrimers are unimolecular miceller in nature and due to this enhances the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. Their compatibility with DNA, heparin and polyanions make them more versatile. Dendrimers, also referred as modern day polymers, they offer much more good properties than the conventional polymers. Due to their multivalent and mono disperse character dendrimers have stimulated wide interest in the field of chemistry biology, especially in applications like drug delivery, gene therapy and chemotherapy. Self assembly produces a faster means of generating nanoscopic functional and structural systems. But their actual utility in drug delivery can be assessed only after deep understanding of factors affecting their properties and their behavior in vivo. Key words: Dendrimers, Drug targeting, nanoscale carriers

ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Analysis of Leaf Extracts of Pineapple

Traditional medicines are originated from plants that do not form the constituent of routein diet. Beside this most of the medicinal plants have not received much attention / screening. Ananas comosus is one such plant traditionally used for treatment of various ailments. The pineapple (A. comosus) is the edible member of family Bromeliaceae; Phytochemical screening of the A. Comosus leaves extract shows presence of Alkaloids, Flavonoids, Tannins, Phytosterols, Glycosides and Phenols. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of crude extract of pineapple leaves (PAL) for antioxidant activity. The value of inhibition of 3 extracts of A. comosus on 2, 2 Diphenyl-1 picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays at a concentration of 99µg/mL was obtained. Result shows highest inhibition which is obtained by hydro alcoholic solution (56.40) and lowest by ethanolic extract (42.86) respectively. Ascorbic acid as positive control shows 96.5% antioxidant activity. Keywords: Bromeliaceae, Flavonoids, Memory enhancement, Antioxidant, DPPH

Higher incidence of co-expression of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts in an Eastern Indian population

Abstract Background Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a haematopoietic stem cell disorder, caused by a balanced reciprocal translocation (t(9;22) (q34;q11)) that leads to the formation of BCR (Breakpoint Cluster Region)-ABL (Abelson) fusion transcripts known as Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome. The prevalence of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts in Indian CML population is poorly understood, and few studies have been reported from India. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequencies as well as prognostic effects of the three fusion transcripts, i.e. b2a2, b3a2 and e1a2 in an Indian population. Methods RNA was isolated from total 123 samples, 27 bone marrow (BM) samples and 96 peripheral blood (PB) samples, of CML patient followed by cDNA synthesis. Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was performed using TaqMan® assay (ABI, CA, USA) to monitor BCR-ABL transcript. Results Ph' chromosome was observed in 103 patients whereas it was not detected in 20 cases. qRT-PCR revealed that the b3a2 fusion transcripts were the most common transcript in CML patients (63.41%) while b2a2 fusion transcript was present in 16.26% cases. Co-expression of b3a2 + b2a2 fusion transcript was observed in 0.81% cases whereas co-expression of b3a2 + e1a2 fusion transcript was found in 1.63% cases. There was no correlation observed between b3a2 fusion transcript and platelet count. The fusion transcript b2a2 was observed in relatively younger patients compared to b3a2 fusion transcript. Although this correlation was not statistically significant. Conclusion The co-expression of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts was higher (63.41% aggregate of b3a2) in the present population in contrast with other populations reported. This finding was consistent with the frequency data reported from Sudan

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Not AvailableA long-term field study was commenced in 1995-96 to assess the impact of continuous application of inorganic fertilizers and organic manure on sustainability, productivity and chemical indicators of soil quality in an irrigated soybean-wheat cropping system (SWCS). Six treatments comprised inorganic fertilizers (NPK) and manure (M) either alone or in combination. Soybean yield indicated declining trend −22.50, −56.0 and −25.0 kg ha−1 year−1 under unfertilized control, sole nitrogen and NPK treatments, respectively while addition of organic manure resulted in a positive yield trend. Plot receiving NPK had positive yield trend of 118 kg ha−1 year−1 in wheat crop. The highest positive yield trend was obtained with manure (M) and NPK treatment, values being 17.60 and 191 kg ha−1 year−1 in soybean and wheat, respectively. Significantly (p < 0.05) the highest grain yield was also observed under the MNPK treatment, soybean and wheat reporting 2.56 and 4.31 Mg ha−1 , respectively which was ∼ 30 and 25% higher than NPK treatment, respectively. Significantly higher yield sustainability was observed in the plots receiving manure either alone (0.77 and 0.51) or in combination with N fertilizer (0.79 and 0.79) or with NPK, MNPK (0.89 and 0.92) compared to the treatment, which did not receive the manure in both soybean and wheat crops. Due to continuous cropping and fertilization over the years, available N increased from initial values in all the plots except CK (−3.89 and −3.59%) under 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depths. Negative trends for available P were observed in all treatments except MNPK over the years of continuous cropping. A significantly decreasing trend for the available K was observed under CK, N, NPK and M treatments, whereas a significant accumulation was estimated under MN and MNPK treated plots in both soil depths. Significantly higher accumulation of available N, P and K were observed under MNPK treatment compared to the rest of the treatments. The treatment MNPK had the highest soil DTPAextractable Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu after 21-years of cropping and fertilization. The sustainable yield index (SYI) values indicated that soybean yield was more sustainable compared to the wheat. The SYI and grain yield of soybean had significantly higher correlation with available N, P, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu. Soil available N had significantly higher values of coefficient of regression (r2 ) for wheat (0.98; p = 0.001 and 0.97; p = 0.001) compared to soybean (0.74; p = 0.029 and 0.74; p = 0.027) under 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depths, respectively. The SYI was strongly positively correlated with chemical indicators of soil quality. Hence, SYI could potentially be used for assessment of agricultural productivity and soil sustainability elsewhere.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableA thorough knowledge of the effects of land use systems (LUS) on the soil carbon pool and soil total nitrogen (STN) are critical to planning effective strategies for adaptation and mitigation in future scenarios of global climate and land use systems. This study conducted with the objectives of investigating soil carbon, nitrogen storage and carbon management index (CMI) in different LUS under middle Indian Himalayan ecosystem, four LUS: barren land (BL), cultivated land (CL), grass land (GL) and forest land (FL) were selected in Indian midHimalaya. A total of 111 composite soil samples [4 treatment (land use systems) 3 - soil depths (0 – 15, 15 – 30 and 30–45 cm) and 8, 11, 8 and 10 replication for BL, CL, GL and FL systems, respectively] were collected for laboratory analyses. Forest land use system has the highest Walkley-Black Carbon (WBC), total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), carbon and nitrogen (C and N)-storage and CMI values while barren land use system having least amount of WBC, TC, TN, CN-storage and CMI. Land use system had minimum effect on non-labile carbon (NLC), lability of carbon (LC), lability index (LI) and carbon pool index (CPI) of the ecosystem. Moreover, TC and TN were increase in the grass and forest land as compared to barren and cultivated land. The TC concentration was highly correlated with TN (R2 = 0.88, p < 0.01) and soil N-sequestration (R2 = 0.93, p < 0.01) concentrations. However, carbon storage and NSP relationship (p < 0.01) was NSP = 0.0916× + 0.7088 (R2 = 0.93). Overall results indicated that LUS and C-storage were associated with N-storage and CMI. These results suggest restoration of degraded barren and cultivated land to grass and forest land and decrease in intensity of land use could increase carbon and nitrogen storage in the study area as well as other similar mountainous regions of Indian mid-Himalayas.Not Availabl

Multi-gene testing in neurological disorders showed an improved diagnostic yield: data from over 1000 Indian patients

Background Neurological disorders are clinically heterogeneous group of disorders and are major causes of disability and death. Several of these disorders are caused due to genetic aberration. A precise and confirmatory diagnosis in the patients in a timely manner is essential for appropriate therapeutic and management strategies. Due to the complexity of the clinical presentations across various neurological disorders, arriving at an accurate diagnosis remains a challenge. Methods We sequenced 1012 unrelated patients from India with suspected neurological disorders, using TruSight One panel. Genetic variations were identified using the Strand NGS software and interpreted using the StrandOmics platform. Results We were able to detect mutations in 197 genes in 405 (40%) cases and 178 mutations were novel. The highest diagnostic rate was observed among patients with muscular dystrophy (64%) followed by leukodystrophy and ataxia (43%, each). In our cohort, 26% of the patients who received definitive diagnosis were primarily referred with complex neurological phenotypes with no suggestive diagnosis. In terms of mutations types, 62.8% were truncating and in addition, 13.4% were structural variants, which are also likely to cause loss of function. Conclusion In our study, we observed an improved performance of multi-gene panel testing, with an overall diagnostic yield of 40%. Furthermore, we show that NGS (next-generation sequencing)-based testing is comprehensive and can detect all types of variants including structural variants. It can be considered as a single-platform genetic test for neurological disorders that can provide a swift and definitive diagnosis in a cost-effective manner