{"title":"Selenium Nanorods from Lawsonia inermis Flowers: Enhancing Anti-Diabetic Effects and Cognitive Function Via mTOR/Akt and BDNF/pTrKB/CREB Pathways in High Glucose-Induced Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells","authors":"Shahanaj Ismail, Ramalingam Srinivasan, Ramamoorthy Kavitha, Natarajan Devarajan","doi":"10.1007/s10876-025-02846-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10876-025-02846-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cognitive impairment and brain cell death are linked to the harmful effects of high hyperglycemia. This work examines the antioxidant and cognitive-boosting properties of selenium nanorods derived from <i>Lawsonia inermis</i> (Henna) flower extract in protecting SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells from oxidative damage generated by high glucose (HG). The selenium nanorods (HF-SeNRs) were produced by employing the henna flower extract (HFE) as both a stabilizer and reductant. The pharmacokinetic behavior of the phytocompounds present in the HFE explored using computational approaches. The physico-chemicals properties of nanorods were then examined utilizing a range of spectral and microscopic methods, including FTIR, XRD, EDX, HR-TEM, DSC and FFT. HF-SeNRs, measuring 17–20 nm in size and having a rod-shaped structure, demonstrated notable antioxidant properties and effectively inhibited the acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity. Pre-treatment of SH-SY5Y cells exposed to high glucose with HF-SeNRs (at concentrations ranging from 6.25 to 25 µg/mL) resulted in a dose-dependent preservation of cell viability. This pre-treatment also postponed the onset of oxidative damage-induced mitochondrion-related impairment, DNA breakage, and programmed cell death. In addition, HF-SeNRs decreased the expression of cell death promotor proteins (p53, Bax, caspase 3) and increased the expression of the cell death inhibiting protein Bcl-2 in high glucose circumstances. They regulated the AKT/mTOR and BDNF/TrkB/CREB signaling pathways, which are linked to cellular development, proliferation, and cognitive function. HF-SeNRs showed potential in mitigating oxidative damage and cell death induced by high glucose exposure in SH-SY5Y cells. This was achieved by increasing antioxidant activity and modulating signaling proteins related to cell death and cognitive function.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":618,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cluster Science","volume":"36 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145141974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Muskan Soni, Chinnasamy Ragavendran, Mohamed Imath, Salim Manoharadas, Ismini Nakouti
{"title":"Ellagic Acid-Wrapped Gold Nanoparticles: Evaluation of Antimicrobial, Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory, and Cytotoxicity Effects of KB Cells","authors":"Muskan Soni, Chinnasamy Ragavendran, Mohamed Imath, Salim Manoharadas, Ismini Nakouti","doi":"10.1007/s10876-025-02852-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10876-025-02852-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The green synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant-based molecules is gaining attention for its potential in biomedical applications. The aim of present study the eco-friendly synthesis of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) using ellagic acid, a natural antioxidant, which acted as both reducing and capping agent. The successful synthesized ellagic acid-coated AuNPs (EA-AuNPs) was indicated by a colour change to dark brown and confirmed through UV-visible spectroscopy with a peak at 587.5 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed long rod-shaped nanoparticles ranging from 50 to 70 nm in size, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) confirmed the presence of Au, C, Cl, and N elements. Zeta potential analysis showed a stable surface charge of -17.7 mV. EA-AuNPs exhibited strong antibacterial activity, including a 37.26 ± 0.9 mm inhibition zone against <i>Klebsiella pneumoniae</i> at 100 µg/mL and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values below 1 µg/mL against <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>. The nanoparticles also demonstrated potent antioxidant activity, achieving 91% and 89% radical scavenging in DPPH and ABTS assays, respectively. Anti-inflammatory testing showed 78% membrane stabilization at 200 µg/mL. Moreover, cytotoxicity studies revealed that EA-AuNPs had an IC₅₀ of 59.58 µg/mL against oral epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cells. In-silico analysis also demonstrated a promising binding affinity of -7.3 kcal/mol with <i>Candida albicans</i>, suggesting notable antifungal properties. The present study highlights the multi-functional therapeutic potential of EA-AuNPs in oral health care, offering a biocompatible approach to combat microbial infections, oxidative stress, inflammation, and oral cancer. The integration of both in-vitro and in-silico results supports their future application in dental and oral medicine.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":618,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cluster Science","volume":"36 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145142031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yamina Cheballah, Mohammed Ziane, Karima Cheballah
{"title":"Structural, Electronic and Magnetic Properties of S\u0000 0/±8\u0000 \u0000 and S8X0/± Clusters, X = (Sc-Ni)","authors":"Yamina Cheballah, Mohammed Ziane, Karima Cheballah","doi":"10.1007/s10876-025-02842-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10876-025-02842-x","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The geometric, electronic and magnetic properties of neutral and charged S<span>(_{8}^{0/pm })</span> and S<span>(_{8})</span>X<span>(^{0/pm })</span>, X = (Sc-Ni), clusters have been investigated in the framework of the density functional theory, within the generalized gradient approximation for the exchange and correlation. Results indicate that the most stable structure of S<span>(_{8})</span> cluster is the D<span>(_{4d})</span> crown shaped geometry. The calculated values of the bond length, S-S-S angle, vibrational frequency and adiabatic ionization potential of S<span>(_{8})</span> cluster are found to be in good agreement with the available experimental data. Doping with a single X impurity is enough to change the structure of the sulfur cluster to a large extent. The X atom is always adsorbed in the center of the sulfur host. For all doped clusters, only three-dimensional low-energy isomers are found. The impact of transition-metal doping of sulfur clusters on the atomic structure, stability, and reactivity is determined through the analysis of the binding energy per atom and global reactivity indicators like the electronegativity and chemical hardness. All doped clusters show larger binding energies with respect to the pure one, indicating that doping could stabilize the S<span>(_8)</span> cluster, and enhances the thermodynamic stability of the host. According to the HOMO-LUMO gaps, the doped cluster S<span>(_8)</span>Fe could have interesting optical properties. Doping change the magnetic state and the magnetic moment distribution in the S<span>(_{8})</span> host. A completely quenched dopant magnetic moment is found in S<span>(_{8})</span>Sc<span>(^{-})</span>, S<span>(_{8})</span>Ti, S<span>(_{8})</span>V<span>(^{pm })</span>, and S<span>(_{8})</span>Co<span>(^{pm })</span>, while high spin magnetic moments are located on S<span>(_{8})</span>Cr<span>(^{0/-})</span>, S<span>(_{8})</span>Mn<span>(^{0/pm })</span>, and S<span>(_{8})</span>Fe<span>(^{0/-})</span> clusters. In order to explain the changes of the magnetic moments within doped clusters, partial densities of states are discussed in detail.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":618,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Cluster Science","volume":"36 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145160571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}