Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch

About: Islamic Azad University North Tehran Branch is a education organization based out in Tehran, Iran. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Adsorption & Catalysis. The organization has 868 authors who have published 968 publications receiving 9987 citations.

Efficient Synthesis of Biodiesel From Waste Cooking Oil Catalysed by Al2O3 Impregnated with NaOH

Abstract: Due to the high price of virgin vegetable oils and the drawbacks of the homogeneous catalytic transesterification, in this work an economically profitable alternative process was proposed for biodiesel synthesis in which transesterification of the low-cost waste cooking oil (WCO) with methanol in a heterogeneous system was done. Alumina impregnated with sodium hydroxide was utilized as a solid base catalyst along with a high yield and less waste streams. The optimum combination for transesterification reaction was determined as methanol-to-oil molar ratio 7:1, catalyst amount 1.5%, reaction time 4 hr and reaction temperature 70oC. At this optimum condition, the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) yield was over 92%. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was the assessing technique for detection of biodiesel and glycerol in this work and biodiesel’s physical properties including flash point, fire point, density, kinematic viscosity, cloud point, pour point and acid value have also been measured which satisfied the requirement of the international standards.

Identification of temporal and spatial patterns of river water quality parameters using NLPCA and multivariate statistical techniques

Abstract: River water quality is assessed by collecting samples from rivers. During this process, a significant amount of data is generated, which often results in challenges in interpreting the dataset. In this study, 14 water quality parameters of the Gadarchay River basin in Iran, collected monthly, were analyzed to identify pollution sources and patterns. Nonlinear principal component analysis was compared with frequently used multivariate statistical techniques. Results suggested that spatial and temporal nonlinear principal component analysis outperformed the other multivariate techniques by explaining 80.34% and 80.78% of the total variances, respectively. Cluster analysis categorized 20 sampling stations into three groups: less polluted, moderately polluted and highly polluted. Discriminant analysis was carried out both spatially and temporally for each of the three groups. The performance of the spatial discriminant analysis for less polluted, moderately polluted, highly polluted and overall was observed to be 95.83%, 70.14%, 64.58% and 76.85%, respectively. Temporal discriminant analysis was also done for each season to find the most significant variables. The performance of temporal discriminant analysis for summer, winter, autumn and spring was 85%, 85%, 40% and 61.67%, respectively. For source identification, principal component analysis was implemented on raw data. The results of spatial and temporal discriminant analysis were used to better interpret the results of principal component analysis for the less polluted, moderately polluted and highly polluted groups; five principal components covered 76% of the variance, four principal components covered 75% of the variance, and four principal components covered 77% of the variance, respectively.

The Synthesis and Characterization of New Asymmetrical Dihydropyridine Derivatives Containing a 2,4-Dichloro-5-Thiazolyl Substituent

Abstract: Dihydropyridines (DHP) having a heterocyclic aryl substituent at position-4 are calcium channel antagonists. In this report a new group of DHP derivatives with different esters at the C 3 and C 5 position (asymmetrical diesters) containing 2,4-dichloro-5-thiazolyl at position-4 were synthesized by a condensation reaction of alkyl, cycloalkyl, and aryl acetoacetate in the presence of ammonium acetate in a new shorter pathway. The structure of all compounds was confirmed by IR, 1 H NMR, and mass spectrometry. The calcium channel antagonist activity of compounds 6a–6f demonstrated that the compound 6a was the most active compound.

Antiproliferation effects of nanophytosome-loaded phenolic compounds from fruit of Juniperus polycarpos against breast cancer in mice model: synthesis, characterization and therapeutic effects

Abstract: Abstract Background This research was performed to synthesize nanophytosome-loaded high phenolic fraction (HPF) from Juniperus polycarpos fruit extract and investigate its antiproliferation effects against breast cancer in mice model. Results The nanophytosome-loaded HPF from Juniperus polycarpos fruit extract was synthesized. The mice trial was conducted to determine the possible toxic effects of the synthesized nanophytosomes. The anticancer, pro-apoptotic, and antioxidative activities of the nanophytosomes were determined. The nanophytosome-loaded HPF had a spherical structure with a size of 176 nm and a polydispersity index coefficient of 0.24. The in vivo study manifested that nanophytosome-loaded HPF significantly improved weight gain and food intake compared to the negative control group ( p < 0.05). The nanophytosome-loaded HPF significantly enhanced the expression of bax (3.4-fold) and caspase-3 (2.7-fold) genes, but reduced bcl2 (3.6-fold) gene expression in tumor cells. The average tumor size was significantly decreased in mice treated with nanophytosome-loaded HPF ( p < 0.05). The expression of GPX (2.3-fold) and SOD (2.7-fold) antioxidants in the liver of mice supplemented with nanophytosome-loaded HPF was significantly developed compared to the negative control ( p < 0.05). The nanophytosome-loaded HPF did not show toxicity on normal cells. Conclusion Our results indicated that nanophytosome-loaded HPF might be a potential anticancer agent for the breast cancer treatment.

Cyclobacterium halophilum sp. nov., a marine bacterium isolated from a coastal-marine wetland.

Abstract: A novel Gram-stain-negative, slightly halophilic bacterium, designated strain GASx41T, was isolated from soil of the coastal–marine wetland Gomishan in Iran. Cells of strain GASx41T were curved, ring-like or horseshoe-shaped rods and non-motile. Strain GASx41T was strictly aerobic, and catalase- and oxidase-positive. The strain was able to grow at NaCl concentrations of 1–10 % (w/v), with optimum growth occurring at 2.5–3 % (w/v) NaCl. The optimum temperature and pH for growth were 25–30 °C and pH 7.5–8.0. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strain GASx41T was shown to belong to the genus Cyclobacterium within the phylum Bacteroidetes and showed closest phylogenetic similarity to ‘Cyclobacterium jeungdonense’ HMD3055 (98.0 %). The DNA G+C content of strain GASx41T was 48.1 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids of strain GASx41T were iso-C15 : 0, summed feature 4 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c), anteiso-C15 : 0 2-OH, anteiso-C15 : 0 and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, and its polar lipid pattern consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and 12 unknown lipids. The only quinone present was menaquinone 7 (MK-7). All these features confirmed the placement of isolate GASx41T within the genus Cyclobacterium . On the basis of evidence from this study, a novel species of the genus Cyclobacterium , Cyclobacterium halophilum sp. nov., is proposed, with strain GASx41T ( = IBRC-M 10761T = CECT 8341T) as the type strain.