Joëlle Millet

Potentiation of the bactericidal activity of Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex Poir. (Hypericaceae) leaf extract against oral bacteria using poly (D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles: in vitro study.

Harungana madagascariensis Lam. ex Poir. (Hypericaceae) is known to have biological properties with mainly antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral effects. The objective of this study was to investigate the in vitro bactericidal activity of the ethyl acetate H. madagascariensis leaf extract (HLE) on the main oral bacterial strains largely implicated in dental caries and gingivitis infections, and the possibility of potentialization of HLE antibacterial effects using the poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (PLG-NP). The microdilution technique and the interfacial polymer deposition following the solvent diffusion method were used to investigate the in vitro bactericidal activity of ethyl acetate HLE and to prepare nanoparticles, respectively. HLE showed significant bactericidal effects against the bacterial strains tested, with minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC) to 5×102 mg/l or less, except for Lactobacillus casei with 7.5×102 mg/l. With the HLE incorporated into PLG nanoparticles (HLE-PLG-NP), we observed diminution of the bactericidal concentration compared to HLE, the upper MBC being of 1.875×102 mg/l. Incorporation of the HLE into a colloidal carrier optimized its antibacterial performance.

Chemical Composition and in vitro Cytotoxic Activity of Essential Oils from Two Tropical Lamiaceae: Aeollanthus pubescens Benth. and Ocimum gratissimum L

Abstract Essential oils of Aeollanthus pubescens Benth. and Ocimum gratissimum L. (Lamiaceae) from Togo were investigated for their percentage composition and in vitro cytotoxicity. The GC and GC-MS analyses indicated that the major constituents of both essential oils were thymol, p-cymene and γ-terpinene. Testing of these volatile oils and their major constituents from commercial origin in vitro for possible cytotoxicity on the human epidermic cell line HaCat showed that the toxicity of the essential oil of A. pubescens (IC50: 1800µg.ml−1) was higher than that of the essential oil of O. gratissimum (IC50: 2400 µg.ml−1). Pure commercial thymol standard showed a cytotoxicity (IC50: 1800 µg.ml−1) identical to that of the A. pubescens essential oil. Conversely, p-cymene and γ-terpinene standards were found almost non-toxic (IC50 >3000 µg.ml−1). These findings support the assumption that the cytotoxic activities of the tested essential oils were basically due to their high level content in thymol.

Chiral discrimination of dansyl-amino-acid enantiomers on teicoplanin phase: sucrose-perchlorate anion dependence

Abstract The chiral recognition mechanism for a series of d , l -dansyl-amino-acids (test solutes) on a teicoplanin stationary phase was investigated in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC). The effect of both a surface tension modifier (sucrose) and a chaotropic agent (perchlorate anion) on the enantiomeric separation was studied by varying their concentration, c , in the mobile phase. The thermodynamic data supported the fact that the sucrose molecule acted only on the hydrophobic part of the interaction teicoplanin/dansyl-amino-acid and not on the specific chiral part. It was demonstrated that the enhancement of the separation factor observed as the perchlorate salt concentration increased in the mobile phase was enthalpically controlled owing to stereoselective bonding interactions. Such behavior was used to optimize the chromatographic conditions for separation of dansyl-amino-acids on teicoplanin.

Supercoiled circular DNA and protein retention in non-equilibrium chromatography: Temperature and velocity dependence: testimony of a transition

Non-equilibrium chromatography (NEC) is a chromatographic mode for the rapid separation of polymers. The retention behavior of various proteins (human, chicken, bovine serum albumin) and supercoiled circular double-stranded DNA (plasmids) was investigated using a phosphate buffer as a mobile phase at different velocities and column temperatures with a C1 column with very low-packing particle diameter as a stationary phase. It was shown that the two factors (temperature and velocity) constituted important parameters in the retention mechanism of plasmids and proteins in NEC. The protein was retained more than the plasmid. At all the temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25 degrees C) the plasmid retention increased over the entire flow-rate range (0.02-1.8 ml/min). For the protein, the retention curve presented a decrease in the relative retention time until a critical value of the mobile phase flow-rate, followed by an increase. The transition between the two well known NEC methods, slalom chromatography and hydrodynamic chromatography was clearly visualized for proteins at the lowest temperature, but did not appear for plasmids due to their strong compact structure.

Triazine-human serum albumin association: thermodynamic approach and sodium effect.

Human serum albumin (HSA) serves as a carrier protein to transport triazine herbicides to molecular targets. In this paper, a theoretical treatment was developed to describe the HSA-triazine herbicides association. A determination of the association constant, K, as well as the degree of complexation n(c) (the percent of complex guest) was carried out. Enthalpy-entropy compensation was also analyzed in relation to this mathematical model to confirm the herbicide complexation behavior with HSA. The role of the sodium cation (Na(+)) on this association was investigated. It was expected that the sodium ion would act on the herbicide-HSA association process by modifying the surface tension of the bulk solvent and increase the K and n(c) values. The results showed that for patients who suffer from Na(+) desequilibrium, the triazine-HSA binding would change and as well the toxicological effect of these herbicides.

A novel approach to study the inclusion mechanism of imidazole derivatives in micellar chromatography

A chromatographic approach was proposed to describe the existence of surfactant micelles in a surfactant/hydroorganic phosphate buffer mobile phase. Using this mixture as a mobile phase, a novel mathematical theory is presented to describe the inclusion mechanism of imidazole derivatives in surfactant micelles. Using this model, enthalpy, entropy and the Gibbs free energy were determined for two chromatographic chemical processes: (i) the transfer of the imidazole derivative from the mobile phase to the stationary phase; and (ii) the imidazole derivative inclusion in surfactant micelles. These thermodynamic data indicate that the main parameter determining chromatographic retention is distribution of the imidazole derivatives to micelles of surfactant while the interaction with the stationary phase play a minor role.

Chiral discrimination of phenoxypropionic acid herbicide enantiomers on teicoplanin phase: methanol dependence and eluent pH consideration

The chiral recognition mechanism for a series of d,l phenoxypropionic acid herbicides (PPAs) on a teicoplanin stationary phase was investigated in reversed phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) over a wide range of mobile phase pH and column temperature. The effect of methanol on the enantiomeric separation was studied by varying its fraction (v/v) in the mobile phase. The thermodynamic data indicated that the chiral recognition was controlled by the interaction between the anionic form of the solute and the teicoplanin phase while those with the neutral form played a minor role. In addition, it was demonstrated that the enhancement of the separation factor observed as the methanol fraction increased in the mobile phase was enthalpically controlled owing to stereoselective binding interactions. Such behavior was used to optimize the chromatographic conditions for separation of PPAs herbicides on teicoplanin.

Antibacterial Activities of Coleus Aromaticus Benth (Lamiaceae) Essential Oil against Oral Pathogens

Abstract Leaf essential oil of Coleus aromaticus (Lamiaceae) from Cambodia was steam-distilled and investigated for its percentage composition and antibacterial activity against ffteen oral microflora pathogen strains. The volatile oil sample investigated in this work contained mainly thymol (57.4%), carvacrol (13.5%), γ-terpinene (5.6%), and p-cymene (5.2%). The in vitro antibacterial experiments revealed that on tested bacteria the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) ranged 40–80 µL/Land the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) 80–150 µL/L. These findings support the idea that the C. aromaticus essential oil sample tested here could be suitable for use as a natural active ingredient in natural and low-cost drugs against oral microflora.

Viscosity‐Temperature Dependence on DNA Stretching: Slalom Chromatography Study

Abstract Slalom chromatography (SC) is a chromatographic procedure for the separation of polymers, which is based on a non equilibrium principle. A novel equation was recently developed to model the retention variation of linear double stranded DNA molecules with the mobile phase velocity under SC. This paper analyzes the effect of mobile phase viscosity and temperature on the constants of this equation and confirms that these two factors play a great role on the DNA fragment stretching.

Sucrose dependence of solute inclusion in surfactant micelles: hydrophobic effect and geometrical considerations

Abstract In high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a poly(octadecylsiloxane) as a stationary phase, a series of imidazole derivatives (IDs) as solutes, and a surfactant as a mobile phase modifier, a study on the surface tension of sugar on the inclusion of IDs in surfactant micelles was carried out by varying the salting out agent concentration. A mathematical treatment was developed to calculate the degree of inclusion, n c (the percentage of included guest solute) and the number of sucrose molecules excluded from the solute–micelle interface during the inclusion process. The thermodynamic parameters for solute inclusion processing the surfactant micelles were determined from Vant’Hoff plots. It was shown that the decrease in solute inclusion accompanying the sucrose concentration increase was principally governed by a decrease in the micelle radius due to the increased surface tension effects. This behavior caused a decrease in the hydrophobic interaction for ligand inclusion in the surfactant micelle explaining the observed thermodynamic trends.