Didem Aksu

The genus Vincetoxicum Wolf (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae), naturally distributed across Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe, comprises approximately 140 species. Species within this genus have been used in traditional medicine to treat wounds, fractures, inflammation, and envenomations from snake, insect, and scorpions. Vincetoxicum is one of the most species-rich genera of the subfamily in Anatolia. Vincetoxicum fuscatum subsp. fuscatum is known as “dağ biberi, gâvur üzerliği, and gâvur biberi” in Turkey. This research focused on analyzing ethanol extract from seeds of V. fuscatum subsp. fuscatum, to assess its phenolic and flavonoid contents, antioxidant activity, and cytotoxic profile. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents, along with antioxidant activity, were studied using the Folin-Ciocalteu, AlCl3, and DPPH assays, respectively. Cytotoxicity was tested on HaCaT cell line using the MTT assay. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant activity were 7.42 ± 0.04 mg GAE/g seed; 3.08 ± 0.01 mg QE/g seed; and 27.3 ± 0.01% inhibition, equivalent to 0.26 ± 0.06 mM AAE/g seed, respectively. All tested concentrations of the extract (0.25-1 mg/mL) did not exhibit any cytotoxic effect on the HaCaT cell line. This is the first study to investigate the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents, as well as the antioxidant and cytotoxic activities of V. fuscatum subsp. fuscatum seeds.

Cartilage allotransplantation has been employed for years as an effective remedy for cartilage-related disorders. The storage conditions and duration play a critical role in preserving the quality of fresh human nasal allografts. In this study, human nasal cartilages were stored in a designated medium for 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 weeks at 4 °C, and their cell viability, biomechanical properties, structural integrity, and sterility were evaluated. Cell viability remained over 70% for a duration of 12 weeks with only a gradual decline over time. Throughout the duration of the experiment, no microbiological contamination was identified in the storage media. The Young's modulus remained above 15 MPa up to 6 weeks, indicating maintained mechanical integrity during early storage. Histological analysis demonstrated preservation of chondrocyte morphology and extracellular matrix structure up to 8 weeks, with gradual structural changes observed thereafter. These results indicate that the storage medium successfully maintains nasal cartilage viability, sterility, and functional characteristics for prolonged durations, marking the longest reported storage period at 4 °C. The results emphasize the possible use of nasal cartilage as a clinically viable substitute for articular cartilage in transplantation applications.

Background/Objectives: Adenine derivatives are promising anticancer scaffolds, but their cellular mechanisms remain unclear. This study aimed to synthesize adenine–hydrazone hybrids and evaluate their cytotoxic effects in human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells. Methods: A series of adenine–hydrazone compounds (3a–r) was synthesized and tested for cytotoxicity in A549 and MRC-5 cells. Selected compounds were further analyzed for LDH release, oxidative stress markers, ROS production, mitochondrial membrane potential, cell-cycle distribution, apoptosis, and in silico docking against VEGFR2, ALK5, and EGFR. Results: Compounds with electron-withdrawing or donor–acceptor substituents showed the highest cytotoxicity, while halogenated and methoxy analogs were moderately active. Among the synthesized derivatives, 4F-substituted derivatives (3c) showed more activity than 2F- and 3F-substituted ones (3a and 3b). 4F- and 3Br-substituted derivatives (3f) showed more activity than only 4F-substituted ones (3c). 4-Nitro-substituted derivative (3i) showed more activity than 4F- (3c), 4Cl- (3d) and 4OMe- (3h) derivatives. Trimethoxy-substituted derivative (3l) showed more activity than di- and mono-substituted methoxy derivatives (3g, 3h, 3j and 3k). Among the salicyl aldehydederivatives (3m–r), 4-N(et)₂-substituted derivative (3r) showed more activity than non-substituted (3m), 5Br-(3n), 5Cl-(3o), 5Me (3p) and 3OCH₃ (3q) derivatives. Treatment induced oxidative stress, mitochondrial depolarization, Sub-G1 cell-cycle accumulation, and apoptosis. Docking studies indicated strong binding to VEGFR2 and ALK5, suggesting dual inhibition as a potential mechanism. Conclusions: Adenine–hydrazone derivatives exert substituent-dependent anticancer effects by inducing redox imbalance-associated mitochondrial dysfunction and regulated cell death. These results highlight their potential as lead structures for lung cancer therapy.

Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. (Apocynaceae) is commonly known as white swallow-wort. Numerous medicinal uses of the species in different countries have been documented in the literature. This research focused on analyzing ethanol-based extracts from various anatomical parts of V. hirundinaria, including flowers, leaves, seeds, and seed pods, to assess their phenolic and flavonoid compound levels, antioxidant activities, and cytotoxic profile. Quantitative assessment of total phenolics and flavonoids was carried out using the Folin–Ciocalteu procedure and the AlCl₃ colorimetric assay, in that order. For antioxidant activity the DPPH radical scavenging assay was used. Total phenolics and flavonoids were detected within the ranges of 8.26–5.34 mg GAE/g and 5.36–2.40 mg QE/g, respectively. The flower extract showed the greatest antioxidant performance, with 75.2% activity and an ascorbic acid equivalent of 13.7 mM per gram of sample. Furthermore, cytotoxicity was tested on HaCaT cell lines using the MTT assay. In all experiments involving plant extracts and at all tested concentrations (0.25-1 mg/mL) no toxic effects were observed on HaCaT cells. These findings indicate the plant's potential for cosmetic, dermatological, and pharmaceutical use. This is the first comparative study performed on ethanol extracts of different parts of V. hirundinaria.

Water deficiency and salinity are critical abiotic stresses that reduce plant productivity, whereas seed priming with gibberellic acid (GA₃) enhances germination and growth by modulating key physiological and biochemical mechanisms under these stress conditions. This study aims to evaluate the physiological and biochemical effects of GA₃ seed pretreatment on two mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R.Wilczek) varieties, MB1 (Argentina) and MB2 (Uzbekistan), under simulated water deficit and salt stress conditions, both individually and in combination. The seeds of each variety were divided into two groups: the first group served as a control and was pretreated with 100 mL of pure water (0 mg/L GA₃), while the second group received a 200 mL solution of GA₃ (200 mg/L) for 24 h. We then exposed the seeds to simulated water deficit stress conditions using 10% (w/v) polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and salinity conditions with 50 mM NaCl. Various physiological and biochemical parameters were analyzed, including root and shoot length, fresh and dry weight, DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical) scavenging activity (%), total phenolic content (TPC), and total flavonoid content (TFC). The findings of this study indicated that exogenously applied GA₃ improved the physiological parameters and enhanced the ability of non-enzymatic antioxidants to cope with water deficiency- and salinity-driven oxidative damage in the MB2 variety. However, GA₃ treatment did not improve TPC and TFC in the stressed groups of the MB1 variety. The study highlights the importance of considering genotype-specific responses to seed priming treatments in mung beans, emphasizing the need to tailor optimal plant growth regulator precursor agents to specific genotypes. Additionally, the study highlights the role of osmotic adjustment mechanisms and antioxidant defense pathways in enhancing plant cell tolerance to water deficit and salt stress. Further research is needed to fully understand how gibberellic acid pretreatment works at the physiological and biochemical levels.

Thiol-functionalized conjugated polymers offer a versatile platform for designing fluorescent nanomaterials with biomedical relevance. In this study, a thiol modified conjugated polymer composed of benzoxadiazole (BO) and carbazole (POxC-SH) was synthesized, then converted into fluorescent nanoparticles (POxC-SH NPs) via a reprecipitation method. The nanoparticles exhibited strong photoluminescence, colloidal stability, and monodispersity in media. Surface thiol groups enabled conjugation with peptide and protein components isolated from the pleural fluid of lung adenocarcinoma patients using SMCC cross-linking. The resulting bioconjugated nanoprobe was characterized by spectroscopic methods, FTIR, XPS, and Mass spectrometry. Cellular studies in A549 and BEAS-2B cell lines demonstrated efficient internalization and low toxicity of both native and conjugated nanoparticles. This work presents a proof of concept for using thiol-modified conjugated polymer nanoparticles as intrinsically fluorescent, patient-adaptable imaging agents, bridging conjugated polymer chemistry with targeted biomedical applications.

PMMA bone cement is mainly utilized to stabilize prosthetic implants; however, it is impacted by a variety of obstacles, including a lack of biocompatibility, limited thermal stability, a greater tendency to infection, and restricted mechanical strength. This study incorporates three different boron derivatives, boric acid, borax pentahydrate, and borax decahydrate into the polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) bone cement formulation, leveraging their antibacterial properties to address the identified challenges. All three bone cement formulations were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and mechanical analysis. In addition, three formulations of bone cement were evaluated for cellular viability, antibacterial properties, and biocompatibility via a hemolysis assay. Borax decahydrate significantly influenced the biomechanical properties (214.32 MPa) of bone cement samples by decreasing the development of surface porosity in the materials. Borax pentahydrate demonstrated a greater beneficial effect than borax decahydrate in the majority of analyses; nevertheless, the most optimal results were achieved with boric acid. In the 3% boric acid bone cement samples, the cellular viability was significantly enhanced until 14 days as a consequence of the formation of porous structures. Moreover, these bone cement samples exhibited promising antibacterial characteristics and biocompatibility compared to commercial bone cement, both unmodified and antibiotic‐incorporated, demonstrating potential features for further research and development.