Mohammad Mobin

Photosynthetic rate, growth, and yield of mustard plants sprayed with 28-homobrassinolide.

Thirty-day-old plants of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) were sprayed with 10−10, 10−8, or 10−6 M aqueous solution of 28-homobrassinolide (HBR). The HBR-treated plants were healthier than those treated with water and yielded more. Maximum increase over control was found in 60-d-old, 10−8 M-HBR-treated plants in fresh and dry mass per plant, carbonic anhydrase (CA, E.C. 4.2.1.1) activity, and net photosynthetic rate (PN), at harvest in number of pods per plant and seed yield per plant (the respective values were 25, 30, 34, 69, 24, and 29 %). A further increase in the concentration of HBR (10−6 M) did not make any additional impact on the growth and yield. Increased CA activity and PN were correlated with growth and seed yield.

Carbonic Anhydrase, Photosynthesis, and Seed Yield in Mustard Plants Treated with Phytohormones

The leaves of 30-d-old plants of Brassica juncea Czern & Coss cv. Varuna were sprayed with 10−6 M aqueous solutions of indole-3-yl-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellic acid (GA3), kinetin (KIN), and abscisic acid (ABA) or 10−8 M of 28-homobrassinolide (HBR). All the phytohormones, except ABA, improved the vegetative growth and seed yield at harvest, compared with those sprayed with deionised water (control). HBR was most prominent in its effect, generating 32, 30, 36, 70, 25, and 29 % higher values for dry mass, chlorophyll content, carbonic anhydrase (E.C. 4.2.1.1) activity, and net photosynthetic rate in 60-d-old plants, pods per plant, and seed yield at harvest, over the control, respectively. The order of response to various hormones was HBR > GA3 > IAA > KIN > control > ABA.

Effects of sucrose, inoculum density, auxins, and aeration volume on ceil growth ofGymnema sylvestre

To improve the cell protocol forCymnema sylvestre, we investigated the influence of initial sucrose concentration, inoculum density, and optimal concentrations of auxins (IBA and NAA) in flask cultures, as well as the role of aeration volume in bioreactor cultures. Cell growth was enhanced 9-fold when the medium was supplemented with 3% sucrose versus a sucrose-free environment. Increasing the inoculum density to 60 g (wet weight) L-1, but no further, greatly improved the growth of these cultures. All concentrations of IBA proved inhibitory while supplementation with 5 nig L-1 NAA was associated with significantly higher dry-cell weights. In our bioreactor cultures, a step-wise increase in aeration volume from 0.05 to 0.40 wm was optimal for cell growth. Although biomass (i.e., fresh weight) accumulated in the bioreactor up until Day 20, the dry-cell weights increased 10-fold, but only through Day 15. The internal dynamics of our culture media indicated that sucrose was preferentially utilized and that its concentration steeply decreased at the log phase. In contrast, both glucose and fructose supplies were exhausted only at the beginning of the declining phase. Our findings suggest that a 15-d culture period is optimal for G.sylvestre cell growth in a bioreactor.

Growth of wheat seedlings raised from the grains treated with 28-homobrassinolide

An experiment was conducted under controlled conditions, in which grains of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Raj-3077) were soaked in 0, 1, 3 and 5 µM aqueous solutions of 28-homobrassinolide (HBR) for 4, 8 and 12 hours. The seedlings raised from the grains pre-treated with HBR possessed significantly higher leaf number, fresh and dry weight·plant−1, nitrate reductase (NR,E.C. 1.6.6.1) and carbonic anhydrase (CA, E.C. 4.2.1.1) activities on 25 and 35 days, after sowing. The soaking of the grains in 3 µM concentration for 8 or 12 hours produced the most vigorous seedlings.

Effect of gibberellic acid and nitrogen on carbonic anhydrase activity and mustard biomass

In mustard(Brassica juncea L.) addition of 20 mM nitrogen (in the form of NaNO3) inhibited after 50 d the activities of carbonic anhydrase and nitrate reductase and net photosynthetic rate. However, when nitrogen was applied in association with the foliar spray of gibberellic acid, the inhibition was reversed and the above parameters and also leaf area index and dry mass were enhanced.

Inhibitory effect of xanthan gum and synergistic surfactant additives for mild steel corrosion in 1 M HCl

Natural polymer xanthan gum (XG) was investigated as eco friendly corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 1M HCl at 30 °C, 40 °C, 50 °C and 60 °C, respectively. The inhibition studies were performed using gravimetric analysis, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), quantum chemical calculations, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and UV-visible spectrophotometry. XG significantly reduces the corrosion rates of mild steel. The inhibition efficiency (IE) of the XG increased with increase in concentration, but decreased with temperature; the maximum IE of 74.24% was obtained at concentration of 1000 ppm at 30 °C. The inhibiting action of XG is synergistically enhanced on addition of very small amount of surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) and Triton X-100 (TX). The effect of SDS is more pronounced than other surfactants. Potentiodynamic polarization studies confirm XG as a mixed type inhibitor. Results of weight loss measurements are in good agreement of the results of electrochemical measurements. The UV-visible spectroscopic results indicate the formation of complex between XG and Fe(2+) ions during corrosion reaction. Mechanism of inhibition was also investigated by calculating the thermodynamic and activation parameters like ΔG(0), Ea, ΔH and ΔS. The adsorption of inhibitor on mild steel surface obeys Langmuir adsorption isotherm. SEM micrographs show a clearly different morphology in presence of XG and XG-surfactant additives and confirmed the existence of an adsorbed protective film on the mild steel surface.

L-Phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride as a green corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in hydrochloric acid solution and the effect of surfactant additive

The inhibitive effect of L-phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride (PMEH) on the corrosion of mild steel (MS) in 1 M HCl solution was investigated at different concentrations and temperatures (30–60 °C) by using weight loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarization measurement, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), UV-visible spectrophotometry, and quantum chemical calculations. The obtained results revealed that PMEH is a good inhibitor for the corrosion of MS in HCl solution. The inhibition efficiency (IE) increased with the inhibitor concentration up to 400 ppm as well as with a rise in temperature, which is suggestive of a chemical adsorption mechanism. The adsorption of inhibitor onto the MS surface was found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Thermodynamics of adsorption such as enthalpy of adsorption (ΔH), entropy of adsorption (ΔS), equilibrium of adsorption (Kads), Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), activation and synergism parameters (S1) were calculated and discussed. Corrosion attack morphologies as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) qualitatively verify the results obtained by gravimetric as well as electro-chemical methods. The results obtained from all the techniques are in good agreement.

SYNERGISTIC INFLUENCE OF POLYVINYL ALCOHOL AND SURFACTANTS ON THE CORROSION INHIBITION OF MILD STEEL IN 0.1 M H2SO4

The corrosion inhibition behavior of mild steel in 0.1 M H2SO4 in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was investigated using weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization measurements in the temperature range of 30°–60°C. The inhibition efficiency (IE) increased with increasing PVA concentration, showing a maximum IE of 81.41% at 30°C at 100 mg/L and decreased with increasing temperature. The inhibiting action of PVA is synergistically enhanced on addition of very small amounts of surfactants sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC). The adsorption of PVA alone or in combination with surfactants on the metal surface is found to obey the Langmuir adsorption isotherm from the fit of the experimental data of all concentrations and temperatures studied. The synergism parameter evaluated is found to be greater than unity, indicating that the enhanced IE of PVA caused by addition of surfactants is due only to synergism. The phenomenon of physical adsorption is proposed from the trend of the IE with temperature as well as the values of Ea, ΔHads, and ΔGads obtained. Thermodynamic parameters reveal that the adsorption process is spontaneous. The results obtained by weight loss measurements are consistent with the results of the potentiodynamic polarization measurements. The surface morphology of the corroded steel samples in the presence and absence of inhibitors was also evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Co-precipitation synthesis and characterization of Co doped SnO2 NPs, HSA interaction via various spectroscopic techniques and their antimicrobial and photocatalytic activities

Sn1-xCoxO2 (x=0.00, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05) nanoparticles (NPs) of average size ∼30-40nm were synthesized by co-precipitation method. The interaction of Co doped SnO2 NPs with human serum albumin (HSA) and their photocatalytic and antimicrobial properties were studied. The structural analysis and morphology of Co doped SnO2 NPs were analysed via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Besides the structural and morphological analysis, the interaction of Co doped SnO2 NPs with HSA were studied by UV-vis, Circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence spectroscopy. Fluorescence quenching results suggest that Co doped SnO2 NPs interact with an HSA molecule through static mechanism. CD indicates that α-helicity of HSA increases due to the interaction of Co doped SnO2 NPs. The photocatalytic activities of the NPs with increased doping concentration were evaluated through a degradation process in the presence of methylene-blue (MB) dye under UV light irradiation, which exhibited that the surface area of NPs with increased doping concentration plays a major role in improving the photocatalytic activity. The antimicrobial effect of undoped and Co-doped SnO2 NPs was determined using agar-well diffusion method and analyzed against gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus Cereus MC 2434). In our results, we have found that as the doping concentration increases into NPs, zone of inhibition increases, which could be ascribed to the production of ROS and large surface area of the NPs.

Polysaccharide from Plantago as a green corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in 1M HCl solution.

Polysaccharide from Plantago ovata was investigated for its inhibition characteristics for carbon steel corrosion in 1M HCl. The mucilage of the Plantago is comprised of a highly branched polysaccharide, arabinosyl (galaturonic acid) rhamnosylxylan (AX), which is mainly responsible for the corrosion inhibition of the carbon steel. The techniques that were used to assess the inhibition and adsorption properties of the AX in the acid solution are gravimetric method, potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-vis spectroscopy and FTIR. Thermodynamic and activation parameters revealed that the spontaneous adsorption of AX on carbon steel was mixed type and predominantly chemical in nature. Quantum chemical analysis supports the proposed mechanism of inhibition. AX from Plantago could serve as a green corrosion inhibitor for the carbon steel in hydrochloric medium with good inhibition efficiency but low risk of environmental pollution.