University of Madras

About: University of Madras is a education organization based out in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Ring (chemistry) & Lipid peroxidation. The organization has 8496 authors who have published 11369 publications receiving 211152 citations. The organization is also known as: Madras University & University of Chennai.

Effect of alpha-tocopherol on lipid peroxidation in isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction in rats.

Abstract: The effect of alpha-tocopherol pretreatment on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in isoproterenol induced myocardial infarction was studied in rats. Isoproterenol administered rats showed a significant increase in lipid peroxides in serum, heart and aorta. A significant increase in serum iron level with a significant decrease in iron binding capacity was also observed. The levels of antioxidants such as ceruloplasmin, glutathione and the activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione-S-transferase decreased significantly in isoproterenol administered rats when compared to control. The activity of Na+K+ATPase decreased significantly and the activity of Ca2+ATPase increased significantly in heart and aorta of isoproterenol administered rats. alpha-tocopherol pretreated rats maintained the levels of antioxidants, membrane bound enzymes and activities of antioxidant enzymes near normal, on isoproterenol administration, thus establishing its effect as an antioxidant.

Production of Taxol from Phyllosticta spinarum, an Endophytic Fungus of Cupressus sp

Abstract: Taxol production during the cultivation on a modified liquid and potato dextrose broth medium was indicated for the first time to occur in Phyllosticta spinarum, an endophytic fungus isolated from the needles of Cupressus sp. The presence of taxol in the fungal culture filtrate was confirmed by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods of analysis. The amount of taxol produced by this fungus was quantified by high performance liquid chromatography. The maximum amount of taxol production was obtained in this fungus when grown on M1D medium (235 μg/L) followed by PDB medium (125 μg/L). The results indicate that P. spinarum is an excellent candidate for taxol production. The production rate was 4.7 × 103-fold higher than that found in the culture broth of an earlier reported fungus, Taxomyces andreanae. The fungal taxol extracted also showed a strong cytotoxic activity in the in vitro culture of human cancer cells tested in an apoptotic assay.

Synthesis and Electrochemical Studies of rGO/ZnO Nanocomposite for Supercapacitor Application

Abstract: Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and zinc oxide (ZnO) have been widely studied for various applications due to their interesting physicochemical properties. In this work, we have synthesized ZnO and rGO/ZnO nanocomposite as an electrode material for supercapacitor application. A simple and cost effective method called ultrasonic-asisted solution process was used to synthesis rGO/ZnO nanocomposite. The prepared ZnO and rGO/ZnO nanocomposite were characterized by XRD, FESEM, TEM and confocal Raman. The XRD pattern substantiated the crystal structure of ZnO and formation of nanocomposite. The FESEM and TEM images demonstrate the embillshment of ZnO nanoparticles on the rGO sheets. The Raman analysis validated the hybridisation of nanocomposite. Further, the electrochemical studies of rGO/ZnO nanocomposite exhibited that the composite has the higher specific capacitance (312 F g−1) compared to pure ZnO (200 F g−1) with better cycling stability up to 1000 cycles. These findings revealed that the prepared rGO/ZnO nanocompositeisa better electrode material for suparcapacitor application.