Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

About: Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati is a education organization based out in Guwahati, Assam, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Catalysis. The organization has 6933 authors who have published 17102 publications receiving 257351 citations.

Transgenic cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) seeds expressing a bean α-amylase inhibitor 1 confer resistance to storage pests, bruchid beetles

Abstract: Cowpea is one of the important grain legumes. Storage pests, Callosobruchus maculatus and C. chinensis cause severe damage to the cowpea seeds during storage. We employ a highly efficient Agrobacterium-mediated cowpea transformation method for introduction of the bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) α-amylase inhibitor-1 (αAI-1) gene into a commercially important Indian cowpea cultivar, Pusa Komal and generated fertile transgenic plants. The use of constitutive expression of additional vir genes in resident pSB1 vector in Agrobacterium strain LBA4404, thiol compounds during cocultivation and a geneticin based selection system resulted in twofold increase in stable transformation frequency. Expression of αAI-1 gene under bean phytohemagglutinin promoter results in accumulation of αAI-1 in transgenic seeds. The transgenic protein was active as an inhibitor of porcine α-amylase in vitro. Transgenic cowpeas expressing αAI-1 strongly inhibited the development of C. maculatus and C. chinensis in insect bioassays.

Synergistic Anticancer Activity of Fluorescent Copper Nanoclusters and Cisplatin Delivered through a Hydrogel Nanocarrier

Abstract: Highly fluorescent red copper nanoclusters (Cu NCs) were synthesized in aqueous medium in the presence of dihydrolipoic acid and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). The Cu NCs, in solid form, were stable, retained their optical properties for a month, and could be redispersed for use when required. The NCs in aqueous medium exhibited pH-tunable reversible optical properties. The PVP stabilized NCs, when converted into hydrogel by cross-linking with poly(vinyl alcohol), delivered anticancer drug to cervical cancer (HeLa) cells, thereby inducing apoptotic cell death. The red emission properties of the Cu NCs in the hydrogel were used for optical imaging as well as for flow cytometric probe of cellular uptake. Cell viability assay, Caspase3 assay, and cell cycle analyses demonstrated that the Cu NCs present in the hydrogel composite exhibited synergy of action, along with the drug, cisplatin, against HeLa cells.

Interactions and Inhibition Effect of Urea-Derived Mannich Bases on a Mild Steel Surface in HCl

Abstract: Cost-effective new Mannich bases 1-(pyridin-4-yl(pyrrolidin-1-yl)methyl)urea (UPyP), 1-(morpholino(pyridin-4-yl)methyl)urea (UMP), and 1-(piperidin-1-yl(pyridin-4-yl)methyl)urea (UPP) were synthesized, characterized, and examined as corrosion inhibitors for the corrosion of a mild steel surface in 1.0 M hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution using weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. The X-ray structures of UMP and UPP are reported. The inhibition efficiency increases with increasing inhibitor concentration and decreases with increasing solution temperature. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements showed that all inhibitors are mixed type. The values of thermodynamic and activation parameters were calculated and discussed. Adsorption of inhibitors on the mild steel surface in the presence of HCl follows Langmuir’s adsorption isotherm. The relationship between molecular structure and their inhibition efficiencies has been studied using densit...