Characterization of L-ascorbic acid single crystals grown from solution with different solvents

Strengths and limitations of the worm development and activity test (wDAT) as a chemical screening tool for developmental hazards

The worm Development and Activity Test (wDAT) measures C. elegans developmental milestone acquisition timing and stage-specific spontaneous locomotor activity (SLA). Previously, the wDAT identified developmental delays and SLA level changes in C. elegans with mammalian developmental toxicants arsenic, lead, and mercury. 5-fluorouracil (5FU), cyclophosphamide (CP), hydroxyurea (HU), and ribavirin (RV) are teratogens that also induce growth retardation in developing mammals. In at least some studies on each of these chemicals, fetal weight reductions were seen at mammalian exposures below those that had teratogenic effects, suggesting that screening for developmental delay in a small alternative whole-animal model could act as a general toxicity endpoint to identify chemicals for further testing for more specific adverse developmental outcomes. Consistent with mammalian developmental effects, 5FU, HU, and RV were associated with developmental delays with the wDAT. Exposures associated with developmental delay induced hypoactivity with 5FU and HU, but slight hyperactivity with RV. CP is a prodrug that requires bioactivation by cytochrome P450s for both therapeutic and toxic effects. CP tests as a false negative in several in vitro assays, and it was also a false negative with the wDAT. These results suggest that the wDAT has the potential to identify some developmental toxicants, and that a positive wDAT result with an unknown may warrant further testing in mammals. Further assessment with larger panels of positive and negative controls will help qualify the applicability and utility of this C. elegans wDAT assay within toxicity test batteries or weight of evidence approaches for developmental toxicity assessment.

Carbohydrate and collagen-based doubly-grafted interpenetrating terpolymer hydrogel via N-H activated in situ allocation of monomer for superadsorption of Pb(II), Hg(II), dyes, vitamin-C, and p-nitrophenol

Herein, guar gum (GG)-g-(acrylic acid (AA)-co-3-acrylamido propanoic acid (AMPA)-co-acrylamide (AM))-g-cow buffing dust (CBD)/(GGTPCBD), a smart carbohydrate and protein-based doubly-grafted interpenetrating terpolymer hydrogel showing excellent physicochemical properties and recyclability was synthesized by in situ strategic allocation of AMPA during solution polymerization of AA and AM through systematic optimization of the amounts of components and reaction temperature for superadsorption of Hg(II), Pb(II), methyl violet (MV), methylene blue (MB), p-nitrophenol (PNP), and vitamin-C (vit.C). The in situ strategic protrusion of AMPA, grafting of both GG and CBD into AA-co-AMPA-co-AM, and ligand-selective superadsorption was inferred by advanced microstructural analyses of unadsorbed- and/or adsorbed-GGTPCBD using FTIR, ¹H/¹³C NMR, O1s-/N1s-/C1s-/Pb4f_7/2,5/2-/Hg4f_7/2,5/2-XPS, UV-vis, TGA, DSC, XRD, DLS, SEM, EDX, % gel content, % -COOH, and pH_PZC. The prevalence of covalent, ionic, and variegated interactions was rationalized by FTIR, fitting of kinetics data to the pseudosecond order model, and activation energies of adsorption. The BET and Langmuir isotherms fitted the best to MB and Hg(II)/Pb(II)/MV, respectively. Thermodynamically spontaneous chemisorption processes showed the maximum adsorption capacities (ACs) of 976.64, 859.23, 116.80, and 58.52 mg g^-1 for Pb(II), Hg(II), MV, and MB, respectively, at 303 K, adsorbent dose = 0.01 g, and initial concentration of metal ions/dyes = 800/30 ppm.

Process optimization and kinetic evaluation for biosynthesis of D-isoascorbyl stearate

The synthesis of D-isoascorbyl stearate from D-isoascorbic acid and stearic acid with immobilized lipase (Novozym(®)435) as catalyst was studied. Response surface methodology and Box-Behnken design with six variables and three levels were employed to evaluate the effects of processing conditions on the conversion of D-isoascorbic acid. The results confirmed that the response surface method and statistical analysis were proved to be useful in developing optimal conditions for D-isoascorbyl stearate synthesis. The optimum conditions were predicted as follows: reaction temperature 48 °C, reaction time 17.7 h, immobilized lipase amount 50.0 % (w/w, of D-isoascorbic acid), substrate molar ratio 9:1 (stearic acid to D-isoascorbic acid), D-isoascorbic acid concentration 0.14 mol/L (based on solvent), 4A molecular sieve addition 200 g/L (based on solvent), and the optimal conversion was 90.6 %. Through the kinetics model fitting of the esterification, it was considered that the esterification conformed to a Ping-Pong bi-bi kinetic model with D-isoascorbic acid inhibition, and the obtained kinetic constants showed that the inhibition of D-isoascorbic acid and the enzyme affinity to substrate were abate with the increase of the reaction temperature.