Subcritical water extraction (SWE) has become a popular green extraction technique for the isolation of different classes of compounds from natural matrices. Low price, safety and green character of water, good yields of target compounds and reduced energy consumption, make this technique favorable for potential industrial applications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate antioxidant, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activity of four medicinal plants traditionally used in folk medicine of Serbia. Black mulberry (Morus nigra L.), wall germander (Teucrium chamaedrys L.), wild geranium (Geranium macrorrhizum L.) and comfrey (Symphytum officinale L.) were extracted by subcritical water at different temperatures. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was defined by conventional spectrophotometric methods, such as the total phenolic content (TPC), DPPH-radical scavenging activity (DPPH-RSA), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) assessed by a DNA-based sensor. Additionally, the main phenolic compounds contributing to the antioxidant activity of the produced extracts were also identified and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). Antimicrobial properties of extracts were evaluated against eight microbial strains. Furthermore, the cytotoxic activity was observed for two human cancer cell lines and a cell line derived from murine fibroblast.
Ionic liquids bring a promise of a wide range of "green" applications that could replace conventional volatile solvents. However, before these applications become large-scale, their toxicity needs to be investigated in order to predict the impact on human health and environment. In this study we assessed the cytotoxicity of imidazolium ionic liquids (in the concentrations between 0.1 mmol L -1 and 10 mmol L -1 ) in the ovarian fi sh cell line CCO and the human tumour cell line HeLa using the MTT cell viability assay. Our results showed that the most cytotoxic ionic liquid was 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifl uoro methylsulphonyl)imide, [BMIM][Tf 2 N], followed by 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafl uoroborate [BMIM] [BF 4 ], 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate [BMIM] [PF 6 ], and 1,3-dimethylimidazolium hexafl uorophosphate [MMIM] [PF 6 ]. Generally, the effects were concentrationdependent. They also depended on the type of anion and the n-alkyl chain length. The comparison between the fi sh CCO and human HeLa cell lines suggests that CCO cells provide a good biological system for initial toxicity testing of ionic liquids that could replace in vivo bioassays.
Over the past three decades a growing awareness of environmental protection prompted the development of so-called green and sustainable technologies. Therefore, academic and wider community intensively explores new chemicals and safer, more energy efficient processes based on a rational compromise between economic, social, and environmental requirements. Due to low volatility and stability, ionic liquids emerged as a potential replacement for traditional volatile and harmful organic solvents. Various studies have been carried out to validate the green character of ionic liquids, whereby data published suggest that these compounds, due to their relatively high toxicity and poor biodegradability, could have an extremely negative impact on the environment. This paper presents the current knowledge on the toxicity of ionic liquids, with a special emphasis on the mechanisms by which this group of compounds causes changes in the morphology and physiology of organisms at different organisational levels of the ecosystem.
Delivery of nucleic acid-based molecules in human cells is a highly studied approach for the treatment of several disorders including monogenic diseases and cancers. Non-viral vectors for DNA and RNA transfer, although in general less efficient than virus-based systems, are particularly well adapted mostly due to the absence of biosafety concerns. Non-viral methods could be classified in two main groups: physical and vector-assisted delivery systems. Both groups comprise several different methods, none of them universally applicable. The choice of the optimal method depends on the predefined objectives and the features of targeted micro-environment. Areas covered: In this review, the authors discuss non-viral techniques and present recent therapeutic achievements in ex vivo and in vivo nucleic acid delivery by most commonly used techniques while emphasizing the role of 'biological particles', namely peptide transduction domains, virus like particles, gesicles and exosomes. Expert opinion: The number of available non-viral transfection techniques used for human therapy increased rapidly, followed by still moderate success in efficacy. The prospects are to be found in design of multifunctional hybrid systems that reflect the viral efficiency. In this respect, biological particles are very promising.
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