Ribosome inhibiting proteins, RIPs, are a widespread family of toxic enzymes. Ricin is a plant toxin used as a poison and biological warfare agent; shiga toxin is a homologue expressed by pathogenic strains of E. coli. There is interest in creating effective antidote inhibitors to this class of enzymes. RIPs act by binding and hydrolyzing a specific adenine base from rRNA. Previous virtual screens revealed that pterins could bind in the specificity pocket of ricin and inhibit the enzyme. In this paper we explore a range of compounds that could serve as better platforms for inhibitor design. This establishes the importance of key hydrogen bond donors and acceptors for active-site complementarity. 8-Methyl-9-oxoguanine is a soluble compound that has the best inhibitory properties of any platform tested. The X-ray structure of this complex revealed that the inhibitor binds in an unexpected way that provides insight for future design. Several inhibitors of ricin were also shown to be inhibitors of shiga toxin, suggesting this program has the potential to develop effective antidotes to an important form of food poisoning.

In the present communication, we report a comparative study of Cr (VI) removal using biologically synthesized nano zero valent iron (BS-nZVI) and chemically synthesized nZVI (CS-nZVI), both immobilized in calcium alginate beads. The parameters like initial Cr (VI) concentration, nZVI concentration, and the contact time for Cr (VI) removal were optimized based on Box-Behnken design (BBD) by response surface modeling at a constant pH 7. Under the optimized conditions (concentration of nZVI = 1000 mg L(-1), contact time = ∼ 80 min, and initial concentration of Cr (VI) = 10 mg L(-1)), the Cr (VI) removal by the immobilized BS-nZVI and CS-nZVI alginate beads was 80.04 and 81.08 %, respectively. The adsorption of Cr (VI) onto the surface of alginate beads was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. The applicability of the process using both the sorbents was successfully test medium Cr (VI) spiked environmental water samples. In order to assess the ecotoxic effects of nZVI, the decline in cell viability, generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), cell membrane damage, and biouptake was studied at 1000 mg L(-1) concentration, with five indigenous bacterial isolates from chromium-contaminated lake sediments and their consortium.

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Cr­(VI) removal was investigated in a fixed-bed column using nanozerovalent iron-immobilized calcium alginate beads (nZVI–C–A beads) and a biofilm formed on nZVI–C–A beads. The removal studies were performed at various initial Cr­(VI) concentrations, different flow rates, and bed heights. Under optimal conditions, nZVI–C–A beads showed 91.35 ± 1.57% Cr­(VI) removal and 320.66 ± 3.87 mg/g removal capacity. For biofilm-coated nZVI–C–A beads, the removal percentage and removal capacity were found to be 97.84 ± 0.56% and 473.9 ± 4.84 mg/g, respectively. Breakthrough data were successfully described by the Thomas and Yoon–Nelson model for removal of Cr­(VI) using nZVI–C–A and a biofilm on nZVI–C–A beads. Cr­(VI) sorption on nZVI–C–A beads and biofilm-coated nZVI–C–A beads were confirmed by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive analysis of X-rays, and Fourier transform infrared.

In this paper, we consider a class of non-autonomous nonlinear evolution equations in separable reflexive Banach spaces. First, we consider a linear problem and establish the approximate controllability results by finding a feedback control with the help of an optimal control problem. We then establish the approximate controllability results for a semilinear differential equation in Banach spaces using the theory of linear evolution systems, properties of resolvent operator and Schauder's fixed point theorem. Finally, we provide an example of a non-autonomous, nonlinear diffusion equation in Banach spaces to validate the results we obtained.