Sharif Digital Repository

We previously reported that MR01, an indigenous strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, was able to produce a rhamnolipid-type biosurfactant. Here, we attempted to define the structural properties of this natural product. The analysis of the extracted biosurfactant by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) revealed the presence of two compounds corresponding to those of authentic mono- and di-rhamnolipid. The identity of two structurally distinguished rhamnolipids was confirmed by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) of extracted biosurfactant revealed up to seventeen different rhamnolipid congeners. Further quantification showed... 

Various aspects of land use regression (LUR) models for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were systematically reviewed. Sixteen studies were identified published between 2002 and 2017. Of these, six were conducted in Canada, five in the USA, two in Spain, and one each in Germany, Italy, and Iran. They were developed for 14 different individual VOCs or groupings: benzene; toluene; ethylbenzene; m-xylene; p-xylene; (m/p)-xylene; o-xylene; total BTEX; 1,3-butadiene; formaldehyde; n-hexane; total hydro carbons; styrene; and acrolein. The models were based on measurements ranging from 22 sites in El Paso (USA) to 179 sites in Tehran (Iran). Only four studies in Rome (Italy), Sabadell (Spain),... 

Since physiological and pathological processes occur at nano-environments, nanotechnology has considered as an efficient tool for designing of next generation specific biomolecules with enhanced pharmacodynamic and pharmacodynamic properties. In the current investigation, by control of the size and hydrodynamic volume at the nanoscale, for the first time, physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties of an anti-VEGFA nanobody was remarkably improved by attachment of a Proline-Alanine-Serine (PAS) rich sequence. The results elucidated unexpected impressive effects of PAS sequence on physicochemical properties especially on size, hydrodynamics radius, and even solubility of nanobody. CD... 

A method based on direct immersion solid-phase microextraction (DI-SPME) coupled with high performance liquid chromatography combined with post-column photochemically induced fluorimetry derivatization and fluorescence detection (HPLC-PIF-FD) was developed to extract three pyrethroid insecticides, i.e. cyfluthrin, cypermethrin, and flumethrin from water samples. A sol-gel based coating fiber using 3-(trimethoxysilyl propyl) amine as precursor was prepared and used for the extraction of the pyrethroids from groundwater samples. A post-column photochemical reactor was designed and constructed for the derivatization of these environmentally important pollutants to increase their fluorescence... 

A bacterial strain was isolated and cultured from the oil excavation areas in tropical zone in southern Iran. It was affiliated with Pseudomonas. The biochemical characteristics and partial sequenced 16S rRNA gene of isolate, MR01, was identical to those of cultured representatives of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This bacterium was able to produce a type of biosurfactant with excessive foam-forming properties. Compositional analysis revealed that the extracted biosurfactant was composed of high percentages lipid (∼65%, w/w) and carbohydrate (∼30%, w/w) in addition to a minor fraction of protein (∼4%, w/w). The best production of 2.1 g/l was obtained when the cells were grown on... 

A headspace solid-phase dynamic extraction (HS-SPDE) technique was developed by the use of polypyrrole (PPy) sorbent, electropolymerized inside the surface of a needle, as a possible alternative to solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Thermal desorption was subsequently, employed to transfer the extracted analytes into the injection port of a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The PPy sorbent including polypyrrole-dodecyl sulfate (PPy-DS) was deposited on the interior surface of a stainless steel needle from the corresponding aqueous electrolyte by applying a constant deposition potential. The homogeneity and the porous surface structure of the coating were examined using the... 

Multi-walled carbon nanotube decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs-MWCNT) is used as an effective strategy for modification of the surface of pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE). This modification procedure improved colloidal dispersion of the decorated MWCNTs in water, affording uniform and stable thin films for altering the surface properties of the working electrode. Robust electrode for sensing applications is obtained in a simple solvent evaporation process. The electrochemical behavior of sumatriptan (Sum) at the bare PGE and AgNPs-MWCNT modified PGE is investigated. The results indicate that the AgNPs-MWCNT modified PGE significantly enhanced the oxidation peak current of Sum. A... 

Introduction: To date, numerous iron-based nanostructures have been designed for cancer therapy applications. Although some of them were promising for clinical applications, few efforts have been made to maximize the therapeutic index of these carriers. Herein, PEGylated silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (PS-IONs) were introduced as multipurpose stimuli-responsive co-delivery nanocarriers for a combination of dual-drug chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Methods: Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via the sonochemical method and coated by a thin layer of silica. The nanostructures were then further modified with a layer of di-carboxylate polyethylene glycol... 

Introduction: To date, numerous iron-based nanostructures have been designed for cancer therapy applications. Although some of them were promising for clinical applications, few efforts have been made to maximize the therapeutic index of these carriers. Herein, PEGylated silica-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (PS-IONs) were introduced as multipurpose stimuli-responsive co-delivery nanocarriers for a combination of dual-drug chemotherapy and photothermal therapy. Methods: Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via the sonochemical method and coated by a thin layer of silica. The nanostructures were then further modified with a layer of di-carboxylate polyethylene glycol... 

Limited regeneration capacity of cartilage can be addressed by tissue engineering approaches including localized delivery of bioactive agents using biomaterials. Although chitosan hydrogels have been considered as appropriate candidates for these purposes, however, their poor mechanical properties limit their real applications. Here, we develop in situ forming chitosan hydrogels with enhanced shear modulus by chemical modification of chitosan using N-(β-maleimidopropyloxy) succinimide ester (BMPS). Moreover, we utilize β-Glycerophosphate (β-GP) in the hydrogels for achieving thermosensitivity. We investigate the effects of BMPS, β-GP and chitosan concentration on rheological and swelling... 

Implementation of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) in the separation science has attracted many researchers attention. In this study, the role of metal, ligand, the reaction condition and modification on the extraction efficiency of some MOFs was investigated. Among the prevalent reported MOFs, some members of the MIL and MOF–5 families were chosen, and eleven MOF–based sorbents were prepared by changing the metal and ligand type, reaction condition, and/or functionality through post synthetic modification (PSM). MIL–101 and MIL–101–NH2 based structures were initially synthesized based on the chromium and iron salts. Also, three zinc–based structures including MOF–5, [NH2(CH3)2]2... 

We prepared copper-carbon nanocomposite films by co-deposition of RF-Sputtering and RF-PECVD methods at room temperature. These films contain different copper concentration and different size of copper nanoparticles. The copper content of these films was obtained from Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS) analyze. We studied electrical resistivity of samples versus copper content. A metal-nonmetal transition was observed by decreasing of copper content in these films. The electrical conductivity of dielectric and metallic samples was explained by tunneling and percolation models respectively. In the percolation threshold conduction results from two mechanisms: percolation and tunneling. In the... 

Herein, MIL-101(Fe), CoFe2O4, novel binary (MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4, MIL-101(Fe)/GO and CoFe2O4/GO), and ternary (MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4/(3%)GO and MIL-101(Fe)/CoFe2O4/(7%)GO) magnetic composites based upon the MIL-101(Fe) were synthesized. The XRD, FESEM, TEM, EDX, BET-BJH, FTIR, VSM, DRS, PL, EIS and other electrochemical analyses were applied to characterize samples. The MIL/CoFe2O4/(3%)GO demonstrated the best performance compared to other samples for visible light photocatalytic and photo-Fenton-like degradation of Direct Red 23 (DtR-23), Reactive Red 198 (ReR-198) dyes as well as Tetracycline Hydrochloride (TC-H) antibiotic. Degradation of dyes using the ternary composite after 70 min of... 

Generation of reactive oxygen species, delayed blood clotting, prolonged inflammation, bacterial infection, and slow cell proliferation are the main challenges of effective wound repair. Herein, a multifunctional extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogel is fabricated through abundant hydrogen bonding among the functional groups of gelatin and tannic acid (TA) as a green chemistry approach. The hydrogel shows adjustable physicochemical properties by altering the concentration of TA and it represents high safety features both in vitro and in vivo on fibroblasts, red blood cells, and mice organs. In addition to the merit of facile encapsulation of cell proliferation-inducing hydrophilic drugs,... 

Generation of reactive oxygen species, delayed blood clotting, prolonged inflammation, bacterial infection, and slow cell proliferation are the main challenges of effective wound repair. Herein, a multifunctional extracellular matrix-mimicking hydrogel is fabricated through abundant hydrogen bonding among the functional groups of gelatin and tannic acid (TA) as a green chemistry approach. The hydrogel shows adjustable physicochemical properties by altering the concentration of TA and it represents high safety features both in vitro and in vivo on fibroblasts, red blood cells, and mice organs. In addition to the merit of facile encapsulation of cell proliferation-inducing hydrophilic drugs,... 

Overexpression of proteins/antigens and other gene-related sequences in the bodies could lead to significant mutations and refractory diseases. Detection and identification of assorted trace concentrations of such proteins/antigens and/or gene-related sequences remain challenging, affecting different pathogens and making viruses stronger. Correspondingly, coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) mutations/alterations and spread could lead to overexpression of ssDNA and the related antigens in the population and brisk activity in gene-editing technologies in the treatment/detection may lead to the presence of pCRISPR in the blood. Therefore, the detection and evaluation of their trace concentrations are of... 

The treatment of water contaminated by bacteria is becoming a necessity. The nanomaterials possessing both intrinsic antibacterial properties and photocatalytic activity are excellent candidates for water disinfection. The powdered form of nanomaterials can be aggregated while embedding the nanomaterials into the NFs can overcome the limitation and enhance the photocatalytic activity and transition from UV-light to visiblelight. Here, graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized, grafted to chitosan, and decorated with silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to produce Ag-decorated reduced GO-graft-Chitosan (AGC) NPs. The blends of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and AGC NPs were prepared in various concentrations of... 

Herbal medicine wastes (HMWs) are byproducts of medicine factories, which are mainly landfilled for their environmental problems. Only bearing in mind the contamination and concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental emissions, the worth of herbal medicine wastes management and conversion to green products can be understood. In this work, subcritical water treatment was carried out batch-wise in a stainless tube reactor in the pressure range of 0.792–30.0 MPa, varying the temperature (127–327 °C) and time (1–60 min) of extraction. This resulted in new and green material sources, including organic acids, amino acids, and sugars. Amazingly, at very low extraction times (below 5... 

As the use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) in biomedical applications increases (e.g. for targeting drug delivery and imaging), patients are likely to be exposed to products containing SPION. Despite their high biomedical importance, toxicity data for SPION are limited to date. The aim of this study is to investigate the cytotoxicity of SPION and its ability to change cell medium components. Bare and poly(ethylene glycol)-co-fumarate (PEGF)-coated SPION with narrow size distributions were synthesized. The particles were prepared by co-precipitation using ferric and ferrous salts with a molar Fe3+/Fe2+ ratio of 2. Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) and primary...