Irvin Noel Booysen

Selective fluorometric quenching of the emission of avocado-derived carbon dots by Nevirapine or 4-nitrophenol.

1. Antibiotics are pivotal in eradicating bacterial infections in humans, birds and animals [1,2]. Some antibiotics, especially those with fused ring aromatics containing halogen atoms, are thermod...

Insulin-mimetic organovanadium compounds: cis-[VO₂(Hpybz)(pybz)] (1) (Hpybz = 2-pyridyl-1H-benzimidazole) and cis-[VO₂(obz)py] (2) (Hobz = 2-hydroxyphenyl-1H-benzimidazole and py = pyridine) were encapsulated in biodegradable electrospun nanofibres (ENFs) comprising polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS). Morphological features and elemental compositions of the unconjugated and metal complex-ENFs adducts were investigated via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs, which were accompanied by electron-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectra. Solid-state infrared and powder X-ray diffraction spectral analysis showed that the metal complexes are largely confined within the nano-confined polymeric strands. Intracellular uptake studies revealed sustained vanadium uptake in Caco-2 cells, indicating improved intestinal support. Cell viability studies revealed no significant toxicity across the tested concentrations in HepG2 and C2C12 cells, whilst in vitro glucose utilization assays showed a noteworthy enhancement in cellular glucose uptake, consistent with insulin-mimetic activity. ENFs loaded with complex 1 showed superior glucose-lowering potential.

Dual nanomolar spectroscopic detection and quantification of Cr( vi ) ions by S, N carbon dots from Avocado seeds.

The search for metal‐based anticancer agents with improved efficacy and reduced side effects is ongoing. The activities of these anticancer drugs depend on their aqueous stability, substitutional reactivity at target sites (cytotoxicity) and nontarget sites (toxicity), as well as their transportation and cell bioavailability. In this study, six square‐planar Pt(II) and Pd(II) complexes (Pt/PdL1Cl‐3), all bearing the bis(azaaryl)amine (azaaryl = quinoline or phenanthridine) chelating ligands, were synthesised and characterised by various spectroscopic methods. Their biochemical interactions with bovine serum albumin (BSA)/deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and rates of ligand exchange with biological nucleophiles (guanine and thiourea) were probed spectrophotometrically. DFT‐optimised molecular structures in Gaussian 9 were computed. Molecular docking simulations of the optimised structures at the receptors of CT‐DNA, BSA and relevant enzymes that upregulate cancer progression were conducted. The metal complexes showed moderate to strong interactions ( K _b ca.10 ⁴ ) with calf thymus DNA (CT‐DNA) and BSA. On BSA, the metal complexes were predominantly bound in Subdomain IIIA. Ethidium bromide’s (EtBr) competitive binding titrations and docking simulations suggested that these complexes are bimodal DNA binders, functioning both as groove binders and partial intercalators. The rates of chloride substitutions decreased in the order: PdL1Cl > PdL2Cl > PdL3Cl and PtL1Cl > PtL2Cl > PtL3Cl . Molecular docking of PtL1Cl predicted stronger binding affinity towards proteins associated with the inhibition of proteases for cervical (PDB: 5VBN), breast (4DRH) and prostate cancers (PDB: XPO1). The in vitro cytotoxic effects of uncoordinated ligands ( L1-L3 ) and their respective Pt/PdL1Cl-3 metal complexes were tested at a single dose of 10 μM in the human breast (MCF‐7, T47D and MDA‐MB‐231), cervical (HeLa and CaSki) and pancreatic (PANC‐1 and CFPAC‐1) cancer cell lines, as well in a noncancerous human dermal fibroblasts (FG‐0) cell line. The Pt/PdL1Cl complexes showed promise as lead inhibitory compounds against breast (T47D, MDA‐MB‐231) and pancreatic (PANC‐1) cancer cells. The efficacy of PtL1Cl against the T47D cell line was superior to that of the anticancer drug cisplatin.

Correction for ‘Synthesis, characterization, DNA interaction, and anticancer studies of novel facial tricarbonylrhenium( i ) complexes with uracil-derived ligands’ by Shabaaz Abdullah et al. , RSC Adv. , 2025, 15 , 34635–34642, https://doi.org/10.1039/D5RA05387K.

A series of facial tricarbonylrhenium( i ) complexes with uracil-derived bidentate chelators was characterized by various physicochemical techniques. The most cytotoxic metal complex exhibits dual DNA intercalation and groove binding capabilities.