Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad&nbsp;(IIT Palakkad or IIT PKD) is a public autonomous&nbsp;engineering&nbsp;and&nbsp;research&nbsp;institute located in&nbsp;Palakkad,&nbsp;Kerala. It was&nbsp;one of the five new&nbsp;IITs&nbsp;proposed in the&nbsp;2014 Union budget of India. The campus was inaugurated on 3 August 2015. The institute has 94 faculty, 978 students, and 63 non-teaching staffs.

IT Palakkad currently offers four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) and two years MS programmes in 8 different engineering disciplines including&nbsp;Computer Science, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil among others.

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IIT Palakkad

In this study, we report a novel sensing platform based on used liquid crystal display (LCD) as a working electrode in electrochemical sensing applications. This paves the way for the sustainable recycling of e-waste and a cost-effective approach for the development of electrodes. Here, the discarded LCD was modified with Ti3C2Tx MXene and was used as a sensing platform for the detection of dopamine (DA). Cyclic voltammetry studies revealed that the Ti3C2Tx-modified LCD shows a better enhancement in the sensor response compared with the bare LCD. The developed sensor was able to detect DA from 10 nM to 100 μM with a limit of detection of about 4.5 nM. Additionally, the sensor also shows very high selectivity, stability and repeatability towards the detection of DA. The practical applicability of the sensor is also evaluated by detecting DA form human serum samples. We have tested with different LCD panels from different manufacturers and found that all the used LCDs are able to detect DA with minor changes in the current response. To the best of our knowledge, the possibility of using scrap LCD screens for electrochemical sensing applications has not been reported to date. Using discarded e-waste materials as electrodes for electrochemical sensing applications will be both a sustainable and cost-effective approach. Additionally, the current innovation provides an economical solution for managing or reducing the increasing amount of e-waste generated in the environment. Hence, reusing the disposed LCDs as electrodes in electrochemical sensing applications will open up new avenues toward cost-effective and sustainable methods for upcycling hazardous e-waste. © 2023 American Chemical Society.

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Biological Sciences and Engineering

ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering

Conversion of Electronic Waste to an Electrochemical Sensor for Dopamine: Using MXene-Modified Liquid Crystal Display Panels

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) and its composites for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) have gained immense attention owing to their facile synthesis technique and favorable catalytic performance. Herein we present a composite prepared using a g-C3N4 and H3PW12O40 polyoxometalate (POM) electrocatalyst synthesized by a novel approach for HER application. The electrocatalyst is synthesized by the complexation of a tailored POM, i.e. Ru-substituted polyoxometalate (PW11Ru), with melamine followed by calcination under an inert atmosphere. The proposed monomer complexation strategy utilizing well-defined modulated PW11Ru as a metal precursor provided a unique approach for the preparation of a highly dispersed matrix to form a RuW/g-C3N4 composite. The HER activity of the obtained RuW/g-C3N4 composite is evaluated and compared with individual components of composites by performing several control experiments. RuW/g-C3N4 exhibited improved electrochemical activity towards the HER with an overpotential of approximately 266 mV at 10 mA cm−2 with a Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1. This new approach using tailored-transition-metal substituted POMs and melamine as the monomer precursors will be expected to contribute to the development of well-defined cluster-embedded 2D-carbon materials with enhanced electrochemical activities. © 2024 RSC.

Materials Advances

A tailored polyoxometalate-derived RuW/g-C3N4-based electrocatalyst for enhanced hydrogen evolution reaction

The discovery of vaccines has enabled the successful prevention of many deadly infectious diseases, decreased the overall mortality rate, and improved life expectancy worldwide [...].

Fulltext

Vaccines

THEME: "Vaccines and Vaccine Adjuvants/Immunomodulators for Infectious Diseases"

A novel dansyl-triazole-based fluorescent macrocycle with high Stokes shift and positive solvatochromism was developed. This is an excellent fluorescence sensor for selective detection of nitro-containing antibiotics and other nitro-heteroaromatics. Detection was possible in real samples/paper strips in submicromolar concentration. The interaction of the macrocycle with multiple proteins exhibited its bioactivity. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

Chemical Communications

Dansyl-triazole-based fluorescent macrocycle for selective detection of nitro-antibiotic drugs and protein interaction

This review is dedicated to the different varieties of macrocycles synthesis bearing indole units in their architecture by metal-catalyzed strategies. The progress of the new macrocyclization approaches is persisted be a keen area of research. Macrocycles contain a wide variety of molecules, and among those, heteroaryl motifs are valuable constituents that provide an attractive feature to macrocyclic systems. Indole represents one of the privileged pharmacophores against a variety of targets with various biological applications. Among the nitrogen-based heterocycles, indole plays a prominent role in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, pharmaceuticals, natural products synthesis, agrochemicals, dye and fragrances, and drug design. These scaffolds are widely distributed in several bioactive natural products and synthetic macrocycles constructed against a specific biochemical target and the most common constituents of naturally occurring molecules. Due to its immense importance, the progress of novel approaches for the synthesis of indole-based scaffolds has increased steadily. The majority of the macrocycles synthesis proceeds through the macrolactamization and macrolactonization, as well as the C-C bond macrocyclization process described by metal-catalyzed ring-closing metathesis (RCM) and coupling reactions. Among macrocyclizations, metal-catalyzed approaches are considered one of the most powerful tools for synthetic chemists in the design of a variety of macrocycles. This review aims to give a comprehensive insight into the synthesis of varieties of macrocycles bearing indole scaffold catalyzed by various transition metals that emerged in the literature over the last two decades. We hope that this review will persuade synthetic chemists to search for novel strategies for the C-C bond macrocyclization by metal-catalyzed protocols.

ORGANICS

Indole-Based Macrocyclization by Metal-Catalyzed Approaches

Despite possessing a wide spectrum of biological activities, molecular targets of EGCG remain elusive and as a result, its precise mode of action is still unknown. Herein, we have developed a novel cell-permeable and Click-able bioorthogonal probe for EGCG, YnEGCG for in situ detection and identification of its interacting proteins. The strategic structural modification on YnEGCG allowed it to retain innate biological activities of EGCG (IC50 59.52 ± 1.14 μM and 9.07 ± 0.01 μM for cell viability and radical scavenging activity, respectively). Chemoproteomics profiling identified 160 direct EGCG targets, with H:L ratio ≥ 1.10 from the list of 207 proteins, including multiple new proteins that were previously unknown. The targets were broadly distributed in various subcellular compartments suggesting a polypharmacological mode of action of EGCG. GO analysis revealed that the primary targets belonged to the enzymes that regulate key metabolic processes including glycolysis and energy homeostasis, also the cytoplasm (36 %) and mitochondria (15.6 %) contain the majority of EGCG targets. Further, we validated that EGCG interactome was closely associated with apoptosis indicating its role in inducing toxicity in cancer cells. For the first time, this in situ chemoproteomics approach could identify a direct and specific EGCG interactome under physiological conditions in an unbiased manner. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.

International Journal of Biological Macromolecules

In situ global proteomics profiling of EGCG targets using a cell-permeable and Click-able bioorthogonal probe

Breast cancer (BC) emerged as one of the life-threatening diseases among females. Despite notable improvements made in cancer detection and treatment worldwide, according to GLOBACAN 2020, BC is the fifth leading cancer, with an estimated 1 in 6 cancer deaths, in a majority of countries. However, the exact cause that leads to BC progression still needs to be determined. Here, we reviewed the role of two novel biomarkers responsible for 50–70% of BC progression. The first one is epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) which belongs to the ErbB tyrosine kinases family, signalling pathways associated with it play a significant role in regulating cell proliferation and division. Another one is fatty acid synthase (FASN), a key enzyme responsible for the de novo lipid synthesis required for cancer cell development. This review presents a rationale for the EGFR-mediated pathways, their interaction with FASN, communion of these two biomarkers with BC and improvements to overcome drug resistance caused by them. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2023, The International CCN Society.

Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling

Role of EGFR and FASN in breast cancer progression

Catalytic oxidation using non-noble metal-based catalysts is a promising approach to mitigate pollution due to VOCs in the air. In this work, mesoporous Cu/TiO2 catalysts containing different concentrations of Cu2+ (0.2, 1, 3, and 4 wt% Cu w.r.t. Ti) were synthesized using the sol-gel technique. The catalysts were characterized using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, N2 physisorption, cyclic voltammetry, H2-TPR and electron microscopy to understand the structure and composition. The thermal catalytic gas phase oxidation of ethylene was studied by heating a mixture of ethylene (1.5 vol%) and air (5.9 vol%) in the presence of the Cu/TiO2 samples in the temperature range of 298 to 773 K. Cu/TiO2 showed a higher catalytic activity compared to TiO2 for the thermal oxidation of ethylene, indicating a strong promotion by doped copper ions. A volcanic behaviour in the catalytic activity was observed with different concentrations of Cu doping, with 1% Cu/TiO2 showing a 99.5% ethylene conversion at 673 K and 100% selectivity to CO2. The activity of 1% Cu/TiO2 remained consistent without deactivation for 24 h. At low dopant concentrations of Cu (0.2 and 1% Cu/TiO2), the reduction of Cu2+ to Cu+ was observed. An interplay of oxygen vacancies (OV), Cu+, Cu2+ and Ti4+ may be involved in controlling the activity. DRIFT studies indicated the formation of surface bidendate carbonate as a possible intermediate. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Catalysis Science and Technology

Oxidation of ethylene by Cu/TiO2: reducibility of Cu2+ in TiO2 as a possible descriptor of catalytic efficiency

Utilising the oxygen-vacancy-mediated reactivity of CaO/CuO and hydrazine monohydrate in isopropyl alcohol at 353 K, a variety of amino-derivatives of N-heterocycles, including pyridine, indole, quinoline, isoquinoline and benzothiazole, have been selectively synthesised by reducing their nitro analogues. It is demonstrated that CaO/CuO composite is a reusable, solvent-resilient solid reducing agent that can reduce a variety of nitro-N-heterocyclic substrates. The critical role of the structure of CaO/CuO on the nitro-reduction activity has been studied using spectroscopy and microscopy. DFT simulations indicate the facile formation of oxygen vacancies (EO,vac=−43.4 kJ/mol) on the interface of CaO/CuO surface under reducing environment. The presence of CaO facilitated a stronger interaction of the nitro-substrate on the oxygen vacant CuO (111) surface, resulting into a significantly lower activation energy (Ea=21.9 kJ/mol) for N−O dissociation. The reaction could be scaled up from 1 to 12 mmol of substrate. CaO/CuO is a reusable and a cost-effective alternative to the conventional catalyst (Pd/C, Pt/C). © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

ChemCatChem

Oxygen Vacancy Mediated Reactivity of CaO/CuO Composite for the Synthesis of Amino-N-heterocycles

High gain broadband reflectarray antenna (RA) using novel frequency selective surface (FSS) has been shown here for millimeter (mm) wave band wireless communication. A 25×25 array of the FSS is arranged periodically to realize the reflecting surface. The geometry of the FSS consists of edge-connected dipoles (ECDs) at the unit cell's bounday and a cross-loop resonator (CLR) at the center. The Filter characteristic is evaluated for normal and oblique angles through numerical simulation. FSS exhibits bandstop resonance at 28 GHz with s_2l < -10dB stopband bandwidth (BW) between 25.28 to 29.62 GHz (4.34 GHz or 15.8 %). A conventional Ka-band pyramidal horn antenna is placed in a prime focus position to illuminate the reflecting surface. Radiation from the horn makes a plane wave after being reflected from the FSS and enhances the directivity of the primary feed. The designed antenna displays a broadside pencil beam radiation pattern with a gain of 21.8 dBi at 28 GHz. In two ortho-normal planes (: E and H-plane)., 3 dB beamwidth of the antenna is < 7.4°. © 2023 IEEE.