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Shiv Nadar University

(SoNS) School of Natural Sciences

Detection of trace amounts of explosive materials is significantly important for security concerns and pollution control. Four multicomponent metal-organic frameworks (MOFs-12, 13, 23 and 123) have been synthesized by employing ligands embedded with fluorescent tags. The multicomponent assembly of the ligands was utilized to acquire a diverse electronic behavior of the MOFs and the fluorescent tags were strategically chosen to enhance the electron density in the MOFs. The phase purity of the MOFs was established by PXRD, NMR spectroscopy and finally by single-crystal XRD. Single-crystal structures of the MOFs-12 and 13 showed the formation of three-dimensional porous networks with the aromatic tags projecting inwardly into the pores. These electron-rich MOFs were utilized for detection of explosive nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) through fluorescence quenching with high selectivity and sensitivity. The rate of fluorescence quenching for all the MOFs follows the order of electron deficiency of the NACs. We also showed the detection of picric acid (PA) by luminescent MOFs is not always reliable and can be misleading. This attracts our attention to explore these MOFs for sensing picryl chloride (PC), which is as explosive as picric acid and used widely to prepare more stable explosives like 2,4,6-trinitroaniline from PA. Moreover, the recyclability and sensitivity studies indicated that these MOFs can be reused several times with parts per billion (ppb) levels of sensitivity towards PC and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT).

Chemistry

World University root node

Chemistry - A European Journal

Multicomponent Assembly of Fluorescent-Tag Functionalized Ligands in Metal-Organic Frameworks for Sensing Explosives

Three new electron-rich metal-organic frameworks (MOF-1-MOF-3) have been synthesized by employing ligands bearing aromatic tags. The key role of the chosen aromatic tags is to enhance the $\pi$-electron density of the luminescent MOFs. Single-crystal X-ray structures have revealed that these MOFs form three-dimensional porous networks with the aromatic tags projecting inwardly into the pores. These highly luminescent electron-rich MOFs have been successfully utilized for the detection of explosive nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) on the basis of fluorescence quenching. Although all of the prepared MOFs can serve as sensors for NACs, MOF-1 and MOF-2 exhibit superior sensitivity towards 4-nitrotoluene (4-NT) and 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) compared to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and 1,3,5-trinitrobenzene (TNB). MOF-3, on the other hand, shows an order of sensitivity in accordance with the electron deficiencies of the substrates. To understand such anomalous behavior, we have thoroughly analyzed both the steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence quenching associated with these interactions. Determination of static Stern-Volmer constants (KS) as well as collisional constants (K C) has revealed that MOF-1 and MOF-2 have higher KS values with 4-NT than with TNT, whereas for MOF-3 the reverse order is observed. This apparently anomalous phenomenon was well corroborated by theoretical calculations. Moreover, recyclability and sensitivity studies have revealed that these MOFs can be reused several times and that their sensitivities towards TNT solution are at the parts per billion (ppb) level. Copyright {\textcopyright} 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Modification of extended open frameworks with fluorescent tags for sensing explosives: Competition between size selectivity and electron deficiency

Fifteen mango genotypes were characterized for their flowering behaviour under Delhi conditions during 2011-12. Dushehari, Langra and Primor de Amoreira showed very early panicle initiation, i.e., before 10th February. However, Erwin and Husnara had very late panicle initiation, i.e., after 3rd March. Totapari Red Small, Pusa Arunima and Janardan Pasand had flowering during 10-20th February. Whereas, Zill, Tommy Atkins, Sensation, Neelum, Mallika, Amrapali and Bhadauran initiated panicles during 21st February to 3rd March. The maximum duration of flowering was noticed in Primor de Amoreira (41.5 days). However, the minimum duration of flowering was noticed in Husnara (13.0 days) followed by Erwin (14.5 days). Flowering duration was more than 20 days but less than 30 days in Amrapali, Sensation, Bhadauran, Mallika, Totapari Red Small and Janardan Pasand. Total number of flowers ranged between 133.30 in Bhadauran to 506.10 in Tommy Atkins. In general, per cent hermaphrodite flowers was less in early emerged panicles compared to late emerged panicles in all mango genotypes. A scheme of hybridization was suggested on the basis of flowering duration employing these mango genotypes. The effective period of mango hybridization using diverse parental mango genotypes was found to be from 3rd week of February to mid March under Delhi conditions. © 2015, Horticulture Society of India. All rights reserved.

Life Sciences

Indian Journal of Horticulture

Flowering attributes of parental mango genotypes

Successful hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is defined as the absence of viremia 6 months after therapy cessation. We previously reported that trace amounts of HCV RNA, below the sensitivity of the standard clinical assay, can reappear sporadically in treatment responders. Here, we assessed the infectivity of this RNA and infused 3 chimpanzees sequentially at 9-week intervals with plasma or PBMCs from patients who tested positive for trace amounts of HCV RNA more than 6 months after completing pegylated IFN-α/ribavirin therapy. A fourth chimpanzee received HCV RNA-negative plasma and PBMCs from healthy blood donors. The 3 experimental chimpanzees, but not the control chimpanzee, generated HCV-specific T cell responses against nonstructural and structural HCV sequences 6-10 weeks after the first infusion of patient plasma and during subsequent infusions. In 1 chimpanzee, T cell responses declined, and this animal developed high-level viremia at week 27. Deep sequencing of HCV demonstrated transmission of a minor HCV variant from the first infusion donor that persisted in the chimpanzee for more than 6 months despite undetectable systemic viremia. Collectively, these results demonstrate that trace amounts of HCV RNA, which appear sporadically in successfully treated patients, can be infectious; furthermore, transmission can be masked in the recipient by an extended eclipse phase prior to establishing high-level viremia.

Fulltext

Journal of Clinical Investigation

Trace amounts of sporadically reappearing HCV RNA can cause infection

Frontiers in Plant Science

Molecular genetics and genomics of abiotic stress responses

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential components of complex gene regulatory networks that orchestrate plant development. Although several genomic resources have been developed for the legume crop chickpea, miRNAs have not been discovered until now. For genome-wide discovery of miRNAs in chickpea (Cicer arietinum), we sequenced the small RNA content from seven major tissues/organs employing Illumina technology. About 154 million reads were generated, which represented more than 20 million distinct small RNA sequences. We identified a total of 440 conserved miRNAs in chickpea based on sequence similarity with known miRNAs in other plants. In addition, 178 novel miRNAs were identified using a miRDeep pipeline with plant-specific scoring. Some of the conserved and novel miRNAs with significant sequence similarity were grouped into families. The chickpea miRNAs targeted a wide range of mRNAs involved in diverse cellular processes, including transcriptional regulation (transcription factors), protein modification and turnover, signal transduction, and metabolism. Our analysis revealed several miRNAs with differential spatial expression. Many of the chickpea miRNAs were expressed in a tissue-specific manner. The conserved and differential expression of members of the same miRNA family in different tissues was also observed. Some of the same family members were predicted to target different chickpea mRNAs, which suggested the specificity and complexity of miRNA-mediated developmental regulation. This study, for the first time, reveals a comprehensive set of conserved and novel miRNAs along with their expression patterns and putative targets in chickpea, and provides a framework for understanding regulation of developmental processes in legumes. © 2014 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Journal of Experimental Botany

Genome-wide discovery and differential regulation of conserved and novel microRNAs in chickpea via deep sequencing

The striatum is considered to be the central processing unit of the basal ganglia in locomotor activity and cognitive function of the brain. IGF-1 could act as a control switch for the long-term proliferation and survival of EGF + bFGF-responsive cultured embryonic striatal stem cell (ESSC), while LIF imposes a negative impact on cell proliferation. The IGF-1-treated ESSCs also showed elevated hTERT expression with demonstration of self-renewal and trilineage commitment (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and neurons). In order to decipher the underlying regulatory microRNA (miRNA)s in IGF-1/LIF-treated ESSC-derived neurogenesis, we performed in-depth miRNA profiling at 12 days in vitro and analyzed the candidates using the Partek Genome Suite software. The annotated miRNA fingerprints delineated the differential expressions of miR-143, miR-433, and miR-503 specific to IGF-1 treatment. Similarly, the LIF-treated ESSCs demonstrated specific expression of miR-326, miR-181, and miR-22, as they were nonsignificant in IGF-treated ESSCs. To elucidate the possible downstream pathways, we performed in silico mapping of the said miRNAs into ingenuity pathway analysis. Our findings revealed the important mRNA targets of the miRNAs and suggested specific interactomes. The above studies introduced a new genre of miRNAs for ESSC-based neuroregenerative therapeutic applications. © 2014 Soumya Pati et al.

BioMed Research International

MicroRNA Profiling Reveals Unique miRNA Signatures in IGF-1 Treated Embryonic Striatal Stem Cell Fate Decisions in Striatal Neurogenesis in Vitro

The inclusion of right-chiral sneutrino superfields is a rather straight forward addition to a supersymmetric scenario. A neutral scalar with a substantial right sneutrino component is often a favoured dark matter candidate in such cases. In this context, we focus on the tentative signal in the form of a monochromatic photon, which may arise from dark matter annihilation and has drawn some attention in recent times. We study the prospect of such a right sneutrino dark matter candidate in the contexts of both MSSM and NMSSM extended with right sneutrino superfields, with special reference to the Fermi-LAT data. {\textcopyright} 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd and Sissa Medialab srl .

Physics

Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics

Right sneutrino dark matter and a monochromatic photon line

In continuation of our interest in pyrazole based multifunctional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), we report herein the construction of a series of Co(II) MOFs using a bis-pyrazole ligand and various benzene polycarboxylic acids. Employment of different acids has resulted in different architectures ranging from a two-dimensional grid network, porous nanochannels with interesting double helical features such as supramolecular chicken wire, to three-dimensional diamondoid networks. One of the distinguishing features of the network is their larger dimensions which can be directly linked to a relatively larger size of the ligand molecule. Conformational flexibility of the ligand also plays a decisive role in determining both the dimensionality and topology of the final structure. Furthermore, chirality associated with helical networks and magnetic properties of two MOFs have also been investigated. {\textcopyright} 2014 American Chemical Society.

Crystal Growth and Design

Construction of bis-pyrazole based Co(II) metal-organic frameworks and exploration of their chirality and magnetic properties

We demonstrate here that supramolecular interactions enhance the sensitivity towards detection of electron-deficient nitro-aromatic compounds (NACs) over discrete analogues. NACs are the most commonly used explosive ingredients and are common constituents of many unexploded landmines used during World War II. In this study, we have synthesised a series of pyrene-based polycarboxylic acids along with their corresponding discrete esters. Due to the electron richness and the fluorescent behaviour of the pyrene moiety, all the compounds act as sensors for electron-deficient NACs through a fluorescence quenching mechanism. A Stern-Volmer quenching constant determination revealed that the carboxylic acids are more sensitive than the corresponding esters towards NACs in solution. The high sensitivity of the acids was attributed to supramolecular polymer formation through hydrogen bonding in the case of the acids and the enhancement mechanism is based on an exciton energy migration upon excitation along the hydrogen-bond backbone. The presence of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the acids in solution was established by solvent-dependent fluorescence studies and dynamic light scattering (DLS) experiments. In addition, the importance of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in solid-state sensing was further explored by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) experiments at the liquid-solid interface, in which structures of self-assembled monolayer of the acids and the corresponding esters were compared. The sensitivity tests revealed that these supramolecular sensors can even detect picric acid and trinitrotoluene in solution at levels as low as parts per trillion (ppt), which is much below the recommended permissible level of these constituents in drinking water.