Synthesis of Modified RGD-Based Peptides and Their in vitro Activity

Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptides represent the most outstanding recognition motif involved in cell adhesion that binds to the α_vβ₃ integrin, which has been targeted for cancer therapy. Various RGD-containing peptides and peptidomimetics have been designed and synthesized to selectively inhibit this integrin. In this study, the synthesis of RGD-based peptides through the incorporation of the short bioactive peptide Phe-Ala-Lys-Leu-Phe (FAKLF) at the C and N termini of RGD has been achieved by using a solid-phase peptide synthesis approach. The peptides were purified by means of preparative RP-HPLC and their structures were confirmed through HRMS (ESI). The MTT assay revealed that the RGD and FAKLF peptides inhibited the proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a dose-dependent manner, with IC₅₀ values of 3000 and 500 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Interestingly, a drastic improvement was observed in the antiproliferative activity of the combined structures of the FAKLFRGD and RGDFAKLF peptides, leading to IC₅₀ values of 200 and 136.7 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. Meanwhile, based on apoptosis results, the potential of peptides to induce apoptosis, in accordance with their antiproliferative activity, indicated that the RGD and FAKLF peptides, and the peptides synthesized based on their combinations induced cell apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner followed by inhibition of the proliferation of endothelial cells. Moreover, the incorporation of d -leucine increased the induction of apoptosis by these peptides.     

Catalytic reforming of <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis>-heptane on platinum-tungsten supported on gamma-alumina

The mono-metallic and bi-metallic catalysts have been prepared by impregnating with solutions containing a compound of H₂PtCl₆, WO₃ and 1 ml HCl (0.1 mol). It should be noted that the catalysts’ activity and selectivity have been determined under these conditions: 450–500°C, and 15–25 atm by H₂. For converting n-heptane, the molar ratio H₂/C₇H₁₆ is 5, and LHSV is 1.5 ml/h. It has been proved that, under these experimental conditions, the conversion of n-heptane into branched aliphatic isomers is catalyzed by a bifunctional mechanism. The results indicate that in the presence of W, the catalysts have much higher selectivity and stability for isomerization reaction. At a given conversion, the bi-metallic catalysts produce much lower concentrations of cracked products. According to the tests, W modifies the support acidity resulting to the higher selectivity for isomerization and the lower one for cracking, and it also modifies the Pt properties.     

Hybrid Ku‐band low‐noise amplifier for mobile DBS active phased‐array antennas

In this article we present a two‐stage Ku‐band low‐noise amplifier (LNA) using discrete pHEMT transistors on non‐PTFE substrates for low‐cost direct broadcast satellite (DBS) phased‐array systems (patent pending). The vertical input configuration of the LNA lends itself to direct integration with input port of antenna modules of the phased array, which minimizes preamplification losses. DC decoupling between LNA stages is realized using interdigital microstrip capacitors such that the implementation reduces the number of discrete microwave components and thereby not only reduces the component and assembly costs but also decreases the standard deviation of such crucial parameters of phased‐array systems as the end‐to‐end phase shift of the amplifier and the amplifier gain. Using the proposed printed decoupling capacitors, a cost reduction better than 30% of the original costs has been achieved. Additionally, we present a hybrid design procedure for the complete LNA, including its input and output connectors as well as packaging effects. This method is not based on parameter extraction, but encompasses electromagnetic (EM) field simulator results which are further combined using a high‐level circuit simulator. According to the presented measurement results, the implemented Ku‐band LNA has a noise figure better than 0.9 dB and a gain higher than 20 dB with a gain flatness of 0.3 dB over a 5% bandwidth. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2006.     

Evaluation of TiO2 Nanoparticles Concentration and Applied Current Density Role in Determination of Microstructural,Mechanical, and Corrosion Properties of Ni–Co Alloy Coatings

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - The goal of the present investigation is to evaluate the influences of plating parameters such as TiO2 nanoparticles concentration in the...     

An Electrochemical Nanosensor for Simultaneous Voltammetric Determination of Ascorbic Acid and Sudan I in Food Samples

In this work, we describe application of a high-sensitive electrochemical sensor for determination of ascorbic acid (AA) in the presence of high concentration of Sudan I in food samples. In the first step, we study synthesis and characterization of NiO/NPs with X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. In the second step, application of NiO/NPs describe in the preparation of carbon-paste electrode modified with (9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dicarboximido)-4-ethylbenzene-1,2-diol (DEDED) as a high-sensitive and selective voltammetric sensor for determination of AA and Sudan I. The electrocatalytic oxidation of AA at the modified electrode was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and square wave voltammetry (SWV). For the mixture containing AA and Sudan I, the peaks potential was well separated from each other. Their square wave voltammetrics peaks current increased linearly with their concentration at the ranges of 0.01–600 and 0.5–1,000 μM, with the detection limits of 0.006 and 0.2 μM, respectively. Finally, the proposed method was also examined as a selective, simple, and precise electrochemical sensor for the determination of AA and Sudan I in real samples such as fruit juices, fresh vegetable juice, chilli sauce and tomato sauce.     

Improving Performance Criteria in the Water Resource Systems Based on Fuzzy Approach

Water Resources Management - Reliability, resilience, and vulnerability (RRV) have been widely used as the performance criteria of a water supply system in the studies conducted over the last three...     

Simple and Rapid Amperometric Monitoring of Hydrogen Peroxide at Hemoglobin-Modified Pencil Lead Electrode as a Novel Biosensor: Application to the Analysis of Honey Sample

Food Analytical Methods - This paper describes the use of a pencil lead electrode (PLE) covered by hemoglobin (Hb) through a simple and rapid electroless method for the electroreduction of hydrogen...     

Application of Taguchi method in optimization of desalination by vacuum membrane distillation

This research focuses on desalination via vacuum membrane distillation (VMD). In order to enhance the performance of VMD in desalination and to get more flux, effects of operating parameters on the yield of distillate water were studied. Four parameters at three levels were selected: temperature (35, 45, and 55 °C), vacuum pressure (30, 80, and 130 mbar), flow rate (15, 30, and 60 mL/s) and concentration (50, 100, and 150 g/L). Taguchi method was used to plan a minimum number of experiments. The optimal levels thus determined for the four factors were: temperature 55 °C, vacuum pressure 30 mbar, flow rate 30 mL/s and concentration 50 g/L. The results show that increasing temperature and decreasing vacuum pressure improve permeate flux. However, the permeate flux increases with increasing flow rate initially and then reaches to a maximum value at 30 mL/s and then decreases with increasing the flow rate.