Bushra Munir

Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition assay for ecotoxicity assessment: A review

Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition bioassay (VFBIA) has been widely applied for the monitoring of toxicity on account of multiple advantages encompassing shorter test duration, sensitive, cost-effective and ease of operation. Moreover, this bioassay found to be equally applicable to all types of matrices (organic & inorganic compounds, metals, wastewater, river water, sewage sludge, landfill leachate, herbicides, treated wastewater etc.) for toxicity monitoring. This review highlights the apparent significance of Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition assay for ecotoxicological screening and evaluation of diverse chemical substances toxicity profile. The biochemical and genetic basis of the bioluminescence assay and its regulatory mechanism have been concisely discussed. The basic test protocol with ongoing improvements, widespread applications, typical advantages and probable limitations of the assay have been overviewed. The sensitivity of VFBIA and toxicity bioassays has also been compared.

Chemical Composition and in-Vitro Evaluation of the Antimicrobial and Antioxidant Activities of Essential Oils Extracted from Seven Eucalyptus Species

Eucalyptus is well reputed for its use as medicinal plant around the globe. The present study was planned to evaluate chemical composition, antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of the essential oils (EOs) extracted from seven Eucalyptus species frequently found in South East Asia (Pakistan). EOs from Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus melanophloia, Eucalyptus crebra, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus microtheca were extracted from leaves through hydrodistillation. The chemical composition of the EOs was determined through GC-MS-FID analysis. The study revealed presence of 31 compounds in E. citriodora and E. melanophloia, 27 compounds in E. crebra, 24 compounds in E. tereticornis, 10 compounds in E. globulus, 13 compounds in E. camaldulensis and 12 compounds in E. microtheca. 1,8-Cineole (56.5%), α-pinene (31.4%), citrinyl acetate (13.3%), eugenol (11.8%) and terpenene-4-ol (10.2%) were the highest principal components in these EOs. E. citriodora exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against the five microbial species tested (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus solani). Gram positive bacteria were found more sensitive than Gram negative bacteria to all EOs. The diphenyl-1-picrylhydazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity and percentage inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation were highest in E. citriodora (82.1% and 83.8%, respectively) followed by E. camaldulensis (81.9% and 83.3%, respectively). The great variation in chemical composition of EOs from Eucalyptus, highlight its potential for medicinal and nutraceutical applications.

Zn-doped SiO 2 nanoparticles preparation and characterization under the effect of various solvents: Antibacterial, antifungal and photocatlytic performance evaluation

The biological profiling (antibacterial and antifungal) and photocatalytic activity (PCA) was evaluated of newly synthesized Zinc-doped SiO2 nanoparticles (Zn-d-SiO2 NPs) under the effect of different solvents (n-hexane, acetonitrile, isoamyl alchol). Antibacterial potential against Bacillus subtilis and Escherichia coli, and antifungal activities against Candida parapsilosis and Aspergilus niger were investigated by the Disc diffusion method. The advanced techniques including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Thermo-gravimeteric Analysis (TGA), Atomic forced microscopy (AFM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) were used for the characterization of Zn-d-SiO2 NPs. FT-IR characterization confirmed the presence of metal bond SiO2, while XRD showed the hexagonal structure with 7.93 nm average particle size of Zn-d-SiO2 NPs. SEM and TEM analysis revealed the variation in morphology of NPs prepared in different solvents. The Zn-d-SiO2 NPs prepared in the presence of acetonitrile showed highest antibacterial activities (6% and 4.5%) followed by isoamyl alchol (3% and 2.4%) and n-hexane (2%and 1%) against B. subtilis and E. coli, respectively. The antifungal activities were recorded in following order; n-hexane (0.34% and 0.43%) < isoamyl alchol (0.27% and 0.19%) < acetonitrle (0.21% and 0.17%) against C. parapsilosis and A. niger, respectively. The PCA of Zn-d-SiO2 NPs was evaluated by degrading Crystal Violet (CV) dye under solar light irradiation and up to 85.5% dye degradation was achived for 120 min irradiation. Results revealed that the solvents have a significant effect on physicochemical properties and Zinc-doped SiO2 NPs showed promising PCA and antimicrobial activities.

Urinary Excretion and Renal Clearance of Allopurinol in Female Gout Patients

Drugs removed from the body either without changing from its original form or in the form of its metabolite. Allopurinol drug decreases uric acid level in blood and it is used for the treatment of gout and tumor lysis syndrome. Allopurinol and its active metabolite oxipurinol stop the function of xanthine oxidase which forms uric acid from xanthine and hypoxanthine. In this study a quantitative assay using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV-detection was used as a method for quantification of allopurinol and oxipurinol in human serum and urine samples of gout patients after allopurinol administration. The urinary excretion and renal clearance was determined in male gout patients. Blood and urine samples of the human male patients of gout (n=10) after the oral administration of 300mg drug were taken at different time intervals. Results of this study show that there is slow metabolism of allopurinol inside body due to its extensive bonding with blood proteins. Statistical analysis was performed by expressing all the data as mean and ± standard error of mean. The effect of pH and diuresis on renal clearance of allopurinol was studied by regression analysis.

Coal desulfurization using gamma and ultraviolet radiation

ABSTRACT Combustion of coal produces oxides of sulfur that is harmful for the environment. Present research work was aimed to appraise the desulfurization of coal using high-energy radiations. Gamma radiations (γ-rays) and ultraviolet radiations (UV) were employed for the desulfurization of coal under different media conditions. Coal slurries in these media were treated for different time intervals of UV radiation and γ-rays doses (50, 100, 150 kGy). The maximum sulfur removal was achieved up to 54 and 36% by γ-radiation and UV radiation, respectively, which is due to the more ionizing power of γ-rays treatment. To effectively and efficiently remove sulfur from coal, the use of high-energy radiations is suggested for the desulfurization of coal.

Expression of pectinase gene from alkaliophilic Bacillus pumilus SS2014 in E. coli for its potential use in industrial processing of poultry feed

V and analogous organophosphorous (OP) compounds display their toxicity by rapidly inhibiting acetylcholinesterases (AChE) in the central nervous system. Upon binding of the OP compound to the catalytic serine, AChE and similar naturally occurring enzymes are frequently reported to undergo ‘aging’. In this process the enzymatic activity is inhibited by irreversible binding of OP compounds to the histidine in the catalytic site. The membrane protein phospholipase A2 (Group VIII) is an exception and is widely resistant against aging, allowing the use of oximes as strong nucleophile in a competitive substitution reaction to restore the catalytic activity. Rosetta has been previously used to create new enzymes based on phosphotriesterases (PTE) obtained from soil bacteria. Further optimization of the catalytic efficiency is however needed. The well conserved α, β-hydrolase-type fold of the phospholipase A2 (group VIII) has been chosen as starting point of this alternate de novo design approach for the reason of the slow aging rates. Key part of this 60 residue minimal core is a flat beta sheet that is composed of 3 parallel strands with a length of 5 residues each. This sheet is surrounded by at least three alpha helices. The small size of this design asks for the introduction of disulfide bonds for stabilization. Herein we present our experimental setup to secrete these de novo designed disulfide-rich proteins using fusion constructs with different leader sequences of the Sec-, SRPand TAT-secretion pathways.T presentation will provide an overview of Renascions Association Links (ReAL), an innovative approach to drug development during clinical stages. This technology is a unique translational platform that combines drug MOAs, pathway genetics, population genetics and clinical outcomes in order to link genotypic information to phenotypic outcomes in clinical trials. Through ReAL, clinical data are redistributed into genetically based subgroups and clinical outcomes (efficacy and or safety) in sub-populations are examined more closely in order to yield higher clinical efficiency. The integration of genomic technologies into clinical development is complex for example, it consists of biomarker discovery, retrospective validations, prospective validations, etc. Renascions offers the Renascions Association Links (ReAL) approach, a unique method based on its proprietary collections of data samples to generate sub-population distributions based on the genetics of drug MOA and allows pharmaceuticals to redistribute its clinical outcomes and reexamine its efficacy and side effects in each sub-group with ReAL distributions. ReAL has worked with a half dozen clinical programs and has proven that its applications are not limited by drug type or disease. With clear MOAs, ReAL has successfully improved clinical outcome by increasing efficacy and safety profiles in clinical trials. In this presentation, Renascions will share our experience and challenges and the future potential of using ReAL technologies.

Production and Characterization of Streptokinase Enzyme by Using Streptococcus mutans Strain in Liquid State Fermentation through Corn Steep Liquor (CSL) Substrate

Background: Enzymes play a very important and central role in the chemical reactions, occurring in biological systems. The study of enzymes has an immense practical importance. They have high catalytic power, many times greater than the synthetic catalysts. Vascular blockage can cause serious consequences leading to death by a thrombus (blood clot) developed in the circulatory system. Streptokinase is an extracellular protein Trans-located by many strains of beta-hemolytic Streptococci. By converting the plasminogen, to fibrin lytic enzyme, plasmin, it favor’s the blood clot lysis. Results: The main objective of this research was the production of streptokinase in liquid state fermentation using CSL substances as substrate from Streptococcus species which was grown on blood agar media. Streptococcus mutans was selected for streptokinase production using corn steep liquor as substrate. Corn steep liquor (CSL) was applied in different concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 0.8% in liquid state fermentation culture medium and fibrin clot lysis method was used for enzyme assay. Conclusion: Among different concentrations of CSL 0.3% was selected as optimum concentration, 44% blood lysis was observed by CSL in liquid state fermentation culture medium for streptokinase production.