Indian Institute of Technology Indore

About: Indian Institute of Technology Indore is a education organization based out in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Fading & Support vector machine. The organization has 1606 authors who have published 4803 publications receiving 66500 citations.

A highly selective, sensitive and reversible fluorescence chemosensor for Zn2+ and its cell viability

Abstract: A new imine conjugate Schiff base ligand (H2L) was prepared and evaluated for its sensing properties. H2L detects Zn2+ selectively among the wide range of metal ions. The sensing behavior of H2L was identified by UV-vis, fluorescence and 1H NMR titration. H2L shows fluorescence switch ON with the Zn2+ ion among 18 other metal/heavy metal ions with a detection limit of 1.47 μM. The binding of Zn2+ was confirmed by single crystal X-ray studies, which reveal the formation of binuclear complex (1). The packing diagram of H2L reveals the presence of rare linear C–H⋯C interactions (bond distance 2.79 A and bond angle 180°) which form 1D-polymeric chains. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of H2L and 1 has been assessed against MCF-7 and A375 cell lines and both are found to have marginal toxicity.

Computational Investigation of Structural Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Methyltransferase-Stimulatory Factor Heterodimer Nsp16/nsp10 Bound to the Cofactor SAM

Abstract: Recently, a highly contagious novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by SARS-CoV-2, has emerged, posing a global threat to public health. Identifying a potential target and developing vaccines or antiviral drugs is an urgent demand in the absence of approved therapeutic agents. The 5'-capping mechanism of eukaryotic mRNA and some viruses such as coronaviruses (CoVs) are essential for maintaining the RNA stability and protein translation in the virus. SARS-CoV-2 encodes S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) dependent methyltransferase (MTase) enzyme characterized by nsp16 (2'-O-MTase) for generating the capped structure. The present study highlights the binding mechanism of nsp16 and nsp10 to identify the role of nsp10 in MTase activity. Furthermore, we investigated the conformational dynamics and energetics behind the binding of SAM to nsp16 and nsp16/nsp10 heterodimer by employing molecular dynamics simulations in conjunction with the Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM/PBSA) method. We observed from our simulations that the presence of nsp10 increases the favorable van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between SAM and nsp16. Thus, nsp10 acts as a stimulator for the strong binding of SAM to nsp16. The hydrophobic interactions were predominately identified for the nsp16-nsp10 interactions. Also, the stable hydrogen bonds between Ala83 (nsp16) and Tyr96 (nsp10), and between Gln87 (nsp16) and Leu45 (nsp10) play a vital role in the dimerization of nsp16 and nsp10. Besides, Computational Alanine Scanning (CAS) mutagenesis was performed, which revealed hotspot mutants, namely I40A, V104A, and R86A for the dimer association. Hence, the dimer interface of nsp16/nsp10 could also be a potential target in retarding the 2'-O-MTase activity in SARS-CoV-2. Overall, our study provides a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic and thermodynamic process of binding nsp16 and nsp10 that will contribute to the novel design of peptide inhibitors based on nsp16.

A La-doped ZnO ultra-flexible flutter-piezoelectric nanogenerator for energy harvesting and sensing applications: a novel renewable source of energy.

Abstract: Zinc oxide nanorods synthesized via a wet chemical approach were used to fabricate an ultra-flexible flutter-piezoelectric nanogenerator (UF-PENG). The UF-PENG has demonstrated good capabilities to act as not only an energy generator but also a wind velocity/direction sensor. Using the same procedure, the ZnO nanorods have been doped with lanthanum, and the doped device was found to exhibit three times the output of intrinsic PENG. Furthermore, through the process of annealing, the output of the PENG was enhanced. Peak power density calculations, capacitance charging, and stability analysis (1500 cycles) were performed. We have implemented this approach to make an ultralightweight/sensitive and wind modulated device which can flutter in low wind speed and can operate under a light breeze (2.8–3.8 m s−1). The device was able to harvest a voltage of over 1.6 V at 3.8 m s−1. The observed results indicate that the developed device could work as a self-powered wind velocity sensor. It can also function as a wind direction sensor (0–90°). Finite element simulation was performed to investigate the underlying mechanism. Additionally, the stability analysis of the sensor for more than 4500 cycles was conducted, and the obtained results showed the high stability of the device.