GREEN SYNTHESIS OF SILVER NANOPARTICLES USING MICROALGAL EXTRACT AND ITS APPLICATION IN METAL ION REMOVAL FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Heavy metal pollution is of great concern and cannot be ignored as heavy metals are highly mobile in soil and are recalcitrant. Nanotechnology provides a novel sustainable approach for synthesizing materials of desired properties, composition, and structure, it is however expected to adsorb heavy metals and play a significant role in water treatment. Green chemistry is the cost-effective, non-toxic, and environment friendly approach that involves the use of biological components as reducing and stabilizing agents for the synthesis of nanoparticles. In the present study, heavy metals such as cadmium (Cd II) and lead (Pb II) were successfully removed from its aqueous solution by an adsorption process using the silver nanoparticles of size ~15nm biosynthesized using freshwater algal extract. The adsorption peak at 411 nm confirms the formation of silver nanoparticles. The maximum value of metal ion adsorption capacity (23.98 mg/g) was observed for Pb (II). The higher value of R2 showed that the experimental data were fitted best with Langmuir isotherm. The rate kinetics study showed that Pb (II) adsorption on Ag nanoparticles followed pseudo-second order kinetics (R2>0.9) indicating that Pb (II) was attached to the nanoparticles surface through electrostatic force of attraction, also referred to as chemisorption whereas Cd (II) adsorption on Ag nanoparticles followed pseudo-first order kinetics (R2>0.8) indicating physical adsorption between adsorbate and adsorbent

Algae: A potential source for nanoparticle synthesis

Nanotechnology deals with the particles of diameter size less than 100 nm. Nanoparticles are different from their bulk counterparts due to their distinctive shapes and sizes. They provide larger surface area, essential to carry out different chemical reactions. Other than the physical and chemical methods of nanoparticle synthesis, biological method is getting more popularity, as the process is less toxic, cost effective and eco-friendly. Various biological sources such as algae, plants, bacteria, fungi etc. have been explored for their potential to synthesize nanoparticles. In the literature, algae was found to be more reliable source for the green synthesis of metal nanoparticles as they are readily available in nature and are easy to grow in normal conditions. Metal nanoparticles like gold, silver and iron synthesized from algal source have widespread application in treating environmental pollutants like heavy metal removal, degradation of organic dyes, antimicrobial agents etc

Early Onset Pre-Eclampsia with Nephrotic Range Proteinuria as the Initial Manifestation of Lupus Nephritis: Report of three cases

Early onset pre-eclampsia (pre-eclampsia at less than 34 gestational weeks) is a severe form of preeclampsia; in addition, some women may also develop nephrotic range proteinuria. De novo diagnosis of lupus nephritis (LN) in pregnancy is challenging as it may present with features similar to commonly occurring preeclampsia. We report three cases of early onset pre-eclampsia with nephrotic range proteinuria and subsequent diagnosis of LN at the Women and Children hospital attached to Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India, between 2014 and 2017. These cases highlights the need for further evaluation of the association between nephrotic-range proteinuria and early onset pre-eclampsia. The index of suspicion for underlying LN of these type of cases should be high. Earlier detection of LN will prompt better management that can avert or delay short- and long-term morbidity.  Keywords: Lupus Nephritis; Pre-Eclampsia; Nephrotic Syndrome; Proteinuria; Case Reports; India

Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in rheumatic diseases

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The protein tyrosine phosphatase, nonreceptor type 22-1858C->T (rs2476601) polymorphism is not a genetic risk factor for systemic lupus erythematosus in Indian Tamils

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a systemic autoimmune disease, occurs due to disruption of immune homeostasis against self-antigens. The etiology of SLE is complex and multiple genetic factors contribute to disease susceptibility and clinical phenotypes. Protein tyrosine phosphatase, nonreceptor type 22 (PTPN22) is a lymphoid-specific phosphatase that negatively regulates T-cell receptor signaling and is responsible for the maintenance of T-cell homeostasis. Genetic aberrations affecting the function of PTPN22 result in the proliferation of autoreactive T-cells and development of autoimmune diseases. Methods: We carried out a case–control genetic study to analyze the association of PTPN22 R620W polymorphism (rs2476601) with disease susceptibility and clinical and autoantibody profile in Indian Tamils with SLE. Three hundred SLE patients satisfying the 1997 revised American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for SLE were enrolled in the study. Disease activity was measured using the SLE Disease Activity Index. We recruited 460 age-, sex-, and ethnicity-matched individuals without a family history of autoimmune diseases as control population. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood sample by salting-out method. The PTPN22-1858C->T (rs2476601) polymorphism was screened by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Results: The frequency of the ancestral allele “C” was similar in both cases and controls (99.3% and 99.8%, respectively) and the mutant allele “T” was less frequent in South Indian Tamil population; it did not influence clinical or serological phenotypes. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the PTPN22 (rs2476601) polymorphism is less frequent and did not confer a risk for lupus or its associated clinical or serological phenotypes in South Indian Tamils

Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa: A rare isolated cutaneous vasculitis

Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa (CPAN) is a rare form of cutaneous vasculitis that involves small and medium sized arteries of the dermis and subcutaneous tissue without systemic involvement. It presents with tender subcutaneous nodules, digital gangrene, livedo reticularis and subcutaneous ulcerations. The diagnosis is by skin biopsy and characteristic pathologic feature is a leukocytoclastic vasculitis in the small to medium-sized arterioles of the dermis. We report a rare case of benign cutaneous PAN in a 14-year-old girl who presented with history of fever, subcutaneous nodules with cutaneous ulcer and digital gangrene. The skin biopsy showed leukocytoclastic vasculitis with fibrinoid necrosis in the dermal vessels. She received treatment with steroids and lesions resolved completely over a period of month

Passive Serum Therapy to Immunomodulation by IVIG: A Fascinating Journey of Antibodies

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