Purpose: Modified top-down procedure was successfully employed in the synthesis of aragonite nanoparticles (NPs) from cheaply available natural seawater cockle shells. This was with the aim of developing a pH-sensitive nano-carrier for effective delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) on MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Methods: The shells were cleaned with banana pelts, ground using a mortar and pestle, and stirred vigorously on a rotary pulverizing blending machine in dodecyl dimethyl betane solution. This simple procedure avoids the use of stringent temperatures and unsafe chemicals associated with NP production. The synthesized NPs were loaded with DOX to form DOX-NPs. The free and DOX-loaded NPs were characterized for physicochemical properties using field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, zeta potential analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The release profile, cytotoxicity, and cell uptake were evaluated. Results: NPs had an average diameter of 35.50 nm, 19.3% loading content, 97% encapsulation efficiency, and a surface potential and intensity of 19.1±3.9 mV and 100%, respectively. A slow and sustained pH-specific controlled discharge profile of DOX from DOX-NPs was observed, clearly showing apoptosis/necrosis induced by DOX-NPs through endocytosis. The DOX-NPs had IC₅₀ values 1.829, 0.902, and 1.0377 μg/mL at 24, 48, and 72 hrs, while those of DOX alone were 0.475, 0.2483, and 0.0723 μg/mL, respectively. However, even at higher concentration, no apparent toxicity was observed with the NPs, revealing their compatibility with MCF-7 cells with a viability of 92%. Conclusions: The modified method of NPs synthesis suggests the tremendous potential of the NPs as pH-sensitive nano-carriers in cancer management because of their pH targeting ability toward cancerous cells.

The incidence of prostate cancer malignancy along with other cancer types is increasing worldwide, resulting in high mortality rate due to lack of effective medications. Moringa oleifera has been used for the treatment of communicable and non-communicable ailments across tropical countries, yet, little has been documented regarding its effect on prostate cancer. We evaluated the acute toxicity and apoptosis inducing effect of glucomoringin-isothiocyanate rich soluble extracts (GMG-ITC-RSE) from M. oleifera in vivo and in vitro, respectively. Glucomoringin was isolated, identified, and characterized using fundamental analytical chemistry tools where Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, murine fibroblast (3T3), and human prostate adenocarcinoma cells (PC-3) were used for acute toxicity and bioassays experiments. GMG-ITC-RSE did not instigate adverse toxic reactions to the animals even at high doses (2000 mg/kg body weight) and affected none of the vital organs in the rats. The extract exhibited high levels of safety in 3T3 cells, where more than 90% of the cells appeared viable when treated with the extract in a time-dependent manner even at high dose (250 µg/mL). GMG-ITC-RSE significantly triggered morphological aberrations distinctive to apoptosis observed under microscope. These findings obviously revealed the putative safety of GMG-ITC-RSE in vivo and in vitro, in addition to its anti-proliferative effect on PC-3 cells.

One of the most prevalent death causes among women worldwide is breast cancer. This study aimed to characterise and differentiate the proteomics profiles of breast cancer cell lines treated with Doxorubicin (DOX) and Doxorubicin-CaCO₃-nanoparticles (DOX-Ar-CC-NPs). This study determines the therapeutic potential of doxorubicin-loaded aragonite CaCO₃ nanoparticles using a Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry analysis. In total, 334 proteins were expressed in DOX-Ar-CC-NPs treated cells, while DOX treatment expressed only 54 proteins. Out of the 334 proteins expressed in DOX-CC-NPs treated cells, only 36 proteins showed changes in abundance, while in DOX treated cells, only 7 out of 54 proteins were differentially expressed. Most of the 30 identified proteins that are differentially expressed in DOX-CC-NPs treated cells are key enzymes that have an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates as well as energy, including: pyruvate kinase, ATP synthase, enolase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier, and trypsin. Other identified proteins are structural proteins which included; Keratin, α- and β-tubulin, actin, and actinin. Additionally, one of the heat shock proteins was identified, which is Hsp90; other proteins include Annexins and Human epididymis protein 4. While the proteins identified in DOX-treated cells were tubulin alpha-1B chain and a beta chain, actin cytoplasmic 1, annexin A2, IF rod domain-containing protein, and 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein. Bioinformatics analysis revealed the predicted canonical pathways linking the signalling of the actin cytoskeleton, ILK, VEGF, BAG2, integrin and paxillin, as well as glycolysis. This research indicates that proteomic analysis is an effective technique for proteins expression associated with chemotherapy drugs on cancer tumours; this method provides the opportunity to identify treatment targets for MCF-7 cancer cells, and a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system allowed the detection of a larger number of proteins than 2-DE gel analysis, as well as proteins with maximum pIs and high molecular weight.

Because of the increasing number of power plants, automobiles, and factories, the increase in these automobiles and power plants produces more emissions of CO, HC, and NOx. The world is searching for an alternative fuel that will not harm the environment and will be less costly. Biodiesel is one of the leading solutions to the global energy crisis, nonetheless, production from food-grade oils is not economically feasible due to high prices. Almost 80-85% of biodiesel is feedstocks. Presently, the use of non-edible waste oils is unable to support large-scale biodiesel production. Therefore, the search for other non-edible oil-bearing feedstocks should be continued. The present investigation attempts to use non-edible tamarind seed oil as an inexpensive, sustainable, and potent feedstock for biodiesel synthesis. Tamarind seed oil was converted to biodiesel by acid (HCl), base (KOH), and enzyme-catalysed transesterification. Tamarind seed biodiesel was found to have a low iodine value (27-33) and a high cetane number (66-68). The catalyst was characterised through acid, base, and enzyme catalysis, and the biodiesel was analysed using GC-MS and FTIR. The highest biodiesel yield of 96.57 ± 0.81 % was achieved in 3.35 ± 0.15 h under optimal conditions of a 9:1 molar ratio of methanol to oil (MRMO) and a 15 wt% catalyst concentration at a temperature of 65°C. The reusability of the catalyst was successfully examined up to the third cycle, with 82.76 ± 0.80 % biodiesel. The feasibility of the resultant methyl esters was verified through chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses. The developed catalyst can be considered an active catalyst, benefiting from its cost-effectiveness and environmentally friendly nature.

This study investigates the use of Citrus sinensis (Orange) peel extracts as antibacterial agents against Salmonella typhi and Staphylococcus aureus. The bacteria were isolated from typhoid fever infected patients and diagnosed using various laboratory procedures. The extracts showed antibacterial activity due to the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponin, glycosides, flavonoids, terpenoids, and phenols. Flavonoids have anti-inflammatory, anti-hepatotoxic, and antimicrobial properties, while saponins and tannins play a role in wound healing and antimicrobial activities. The ethanol extract showed the highest antibacterial effect against the test isolate, with the highest zone of inhibition of 20 mm at 100mg/ml against S. aureus and 19 mm for S. typhi. The aqueous extract had the highest zone of in inhibition of 17 mm at the same concentration for S. typhi and negative bacteria. The study highlights the importance of understanding the potential of Citrus sinensis peel extracts as antibacterial agents. Keywords: Staphylococcus aureus, Citrus Sinensis, S. Typhi, antibacterial activities, flavonoids, Terpenoids, and phenols