Search

Sushma Kalmodia,1,2 Jaidev Harjwani,3 Raguraman Rajeswari,1 Wenrong Yang,2 Colin J Barrow,2 Sundara Ramaprabhu,3 Subramanian Krishnakumar,1,* Sailaja V Elchuri1,* 1Department of Nanobiotechnology, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India; 2Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia; 3Alternative Energy and Nanotechnology Lab, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: In this paper, we report a simple, rapid, and robust method to synthesize surface-enhanced Raman-scattered gold nanoparticles (GNPs) based on green chemistry. Vitis vinifera L. extract was used to synthesize noncytotoxic Raman-active GNPs. These GNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light-scattering, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. The characteristic surface plasmon-resonance band at ~528 nm is indicative of spherical particles, and this was confirmed by TEM. The N–H and C–O stretches in FTIR spectroscopy indicated the presence of protein molecules. The predominant XRD plane at (111) and (200) indicated the crystalline nature and purity of GNPs. GNPs were stable in the buffers used for biological studies, and exhibited no cytotoxicity in noncancerous MIO-M1 (Müller glial) and MDA-MB-453 (breast cancer) cell lines. The GNPs exhibited Raman spectral peaks at 570, 788, and 1,102 cm-1. These new GNPs have potential applications in cancer diagnosis, therapy, and ultrasensitive biomarker detection. Keywords: GNPs, SERS, SPR, Vitis vinifera L., stability

Manoj M Narayanan,1,2 Chandrasekhar B Nair,2 Shilpa K Sanjeeva,2 PV Subba Rao,2 Phani K Pullela,1,2 Colin J Barrow11Centre for Chemistry and Biotechnology, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia; 2Bigtec Pvt Ltd, Rajajinagar, Bangalore, IndiaAbstract: Viral neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir and zanamivir prevent early virus multiplication by blocking sialic acid cleavage on host cells. These drugs are effective for the treatment of a variety of influenza subtypes, including swine flu (H1N1). The binding site for these drugs is well established and they were designed based on computational docking studies. We show here that some common natural products have moderate inhibitory activity for H1N1 neuraminidase under docking studies. Significantly, docking studies using AutoDock for biligand and triligand forms of these compounds (camphor, menthol, and methyl salicylate linked via methylene bridges) indicate that they may bind in combination with high affinity to the H1N1 neuraminidase active site. These results also indicate that chemically linked biligands and triligands of these natural products could provide a new class of drug leads for the prevention and treatment of influenza. This study also highlights the need for a multiligand docking algorithm to understand better the mode of action of natural products, wherein multiple active ingredients are present.Keywords: neuraminidase, influenza, H1N1, multiligand, binding energy, molecular docking, virus

Our proprietary preparation obtained by extraction of Chlorella pyrenoidosa cells, ONC-107 (Respondin), was recently found to selectively boost antibody response to the influenza vaccine in a human clinical trial. Respondin is a potent stimulator of mouse B cell proliferation and an activator of macrophages. Bioactivity-guided resolution concluded that Respondin is composed of a mixture of immunostimulatory principles of different chemical nature. A combination of size exclusion, anion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography revealed that the bulk of the immunostimulatory activity resides in polysaccharide/protein complexes with molecular masses larger than 100 kDa that are composed primarily of galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity among adults has increased 60% since 1991, and 25% of children are overweight or obese. Direct and indirect costs of obesity represent almost 17% of total health care costs. People who are morbidly obese are far more likely to develop diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and some forms of cancer, as well as depression and anxiety disorders than people who are not obese. Medical treatment of obesity only has long-term success rates of approximately 5%. Studies have validated that bariatric surgery, on the other hand, has greater success rates for weight loss maintenance. Of current surgical options, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass offers the best results:complications ratio and is seen as the 'gold standard' in bariatric surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]