78 research outputs found
Dr. Mohd Mokrish menang anugerah saintis muda program MAB UNESCO
No full textSERDANG, 22 Julai - Pensyarah kanan, Biokimia Veterinar, Fakulti Perubatan Veterinar, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Dr. Mohd Mokrish Md Ajat memenangi Anugerah Saintis Muda Program Manusia dan Biosphere (MAB) UNESCO 2016
Synthesis of Novel Glutamate-Zinc-Aluminium-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanobiocomposites
No full textNanobiotechnology at present is very much important, especially for catalysis, composite applications and for the development of delivery vector for beneficial agents. A compound of zinc-aluminium layered double hydroxides (LDH) to be used as a host for a guest amino acid, glutamate was synthesized using direct assembly or co-precipitation method. Different parameters were used and optimized to form amino acid-intercalated pure phase materials. Two Bio-Inorganic Nanohybrid (BINH) were chosen for further characterization and showed that one of them had a dimer molecule intercalated into the interlayer region. Both BINHs exhibits the glutamate to be in vertical or perpendicular orientation to the inorganic layers. Cytotoxicty test indicated that the cells were insusceptible to the LDH synthesized at ratio (Zn/Al) = 1. Results from this study will be used in the development of a new delivery system for therapeutic agents comprising amino acids or peptides
Synthesis of Glutamate-Zinc-Aluminium-Layered Double Hydroxide Nanobiocomposites and Cell Viability Study
No full textA layered compound of zinc-aluminium layered double hydroxide (LDH) to be used as a host for a guest amino acid, glutamate was synthesized. Different parameters were used and optimized to form amino acid-intercalated pure phase materials. The resulting Bio-Inorganic Nanohybrid (BINH) was chosen for further characterization. BINH exhibits the glutamate to be in vertical or perpendicular orientation to the inorganic layer. Cytotoxicty test indicates that the IC50 value was observed at 3.125 μg/ml. Results from this study will be used in the development of a new delivery system for therapeutic agents comprising amino acids or peptides
Stevia: limiting cholesterol synthesis in Hep-G2 cells
No full textAs of today, no literature has been reported on the efficacy of stevia on lipid regulations
conducted in vitro. Thus, the current study was focusing on the potential of Stevia rebaudiana bertoni as an
anti-hypercholesterolemia substitute in limiting the de novo cholesterol synthesis in Hep-G2 cell line. The
cytotoxicity and lipid internalization effects of stevia on Hep-G2 cells were assessed quantitatively and
qualitatively in this study. As evaluated by MTT assay, commercialized stevia (0.5-20.0 mg/ml) and
stevioside (1.0-10 µM) inhibited Hep-G2 cells viability in a dose-dependent manner for 24 hours. IC50 was
detected at 8.68 mg/ml (commercialized stevia) and 10.91 µM (stevioside). From the assay, suitable
concentrations were chosen to study the effect of stevia on cholesterol internalization in Hep-G2 cells
supplemented with exogenous lipids. Cholesterol quantification assay revealed that high concentration
commercialized stevia and stevioside promoted significant cholesterol internalized in Hep-G2 cells as
compared to simvastatin. Finally, immunofluorescent microscopy assessment was done to qualitatively
observe the formation of lipid droplets and low-density lipoprotein receptor in relation to total cholesterol
extracted. The microphotographs of immunofluorescent microscopy were in parallel to results obtained
from the cholesterol quantification assay which further revealed the effect of stevia as a potential antihypercholesterolemia agent
Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a potential natural product against influenza virus infection
No full textEdible bird’s nest (EBN) is an emergent industry in Malaysia. In 2016, EBN worth RM 1.2 billion with the total production of 228-tonne metrics. EBN is salivary secretion of swiftlets (Aerodramus spp.) that contained various nutritive values. Back in Tang Dynasty, it had been recognized as a natural product with broad medicinal effects. Recently, various scientific studies have been done to elucidate the medicinal properties of this precious food. For the past 10 years, antiviral effects of EBN had been explained via in-vitro and in-vivo well-designed researches, in which generally EBN is exerting a good alternative food for prophylactic and therapeutic agent against Influenza A virus infection in the laboratory setting. The limited study had been done to identify the bioactive ingredient of EBN that have antiviral properties. Nevertheless, based on the previous nutritional studies, some contents of EBN have been hypothesised to serve as an antiviral agent, and comprehensive study is required to explicate those claimed. The aim of this paper is to review on the recent discovery pertaining to the potential antiviral effect of EBN in the cell culture and animal model studies
Ultrastructural changes and antitumor effects of doxorubicin/ thymoquinone-loaded CaCO3 nanoparticles on breast cancer cell line
No full textBackground: Combination chemotherapy of anticancer drugs is extensively being researched since it could reduce multidrug resistance and side effects as a result of lower dosage of each drug. In this study, we evaluated the effects of doxorubicin-loaded (Dox-ACNP), thymoquinone-loaded (TQ-ACNP) and a combined doxorubicin/thymoquinone-loaded cockle shell-derived aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticles (Dox/TQ-ACNP) on breast cancer cell line and compared with their free drugs counterpart. Methods: Cell viability using MTT assay, apoptosis with Annexin V-PI kit, morphological changes using contrast light microscope, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, cell cycle analysis, invasion assay, and scratch assay were carried out. The cell viability was evaluated in breast cancer cell line (MDA MB231), normal breast cells (MDF10A) and normal fibroblast (3T3). Results: MDA MB231 IC50 dosages of drug-loaded nanoparticle were not toxic to the normal cells. The combination therapy showed enhanced apoptosis, reduction in cellular migration and invasion when compared to the single drug-loaded nanoparticle and the free drugs. Scanning electron microscope showed presence of cell shrinkage, cell membrane blebbing, while transmission electron microscope showed nuclear fragmentation, disruption of cell membrane, apoptotic bodies, and disruption of mitochondrial cistern. Conclusion: The results from this study showed that the combined drug-loaded cockle shell-derived aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticles (Dox/TQ-ACNP) showed higher efficacy in breast cancer cells at lower dose of doxorubicin and thymoquinone
Combine drug delivery of Thymoquinone-doxorubicin by cockles shell derived pH-sensitive Aragonite CaCO3 nanoparticles
No full textBackground: Cockleshell-derived aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticles were prepared by the top-down approach for combine delivery of two types of drugs. Objective: The aim of this study was to synthesize and characterize thymoquinone-doxorubicin loaded cockle shell-derived aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticle. Aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticles encapsulating thymoquinone and doxorubicin alone were also prepared. Methods: The blank and drug-loaded nanoparticles were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Zeta potential, Fourier transformed infrared and X-ray diffraction. Drug delivery properties, in vitro drug release study at pH 7.4, 6 and 4.8, and effect of blank nanoparticles on MCF10A, 3T3, MDA MB231 cells were also analyzed. Results: The blank and drug-loaded nanoparticles were pleomorphic and their sizes varying from 53.65 ± 10.29 nm to 60.49 ± 11.36 nm with an overall negative charge. The entrapment efficiency of thymoquinone and doxorubicin were 41.6 and 95.8, respectively. The FTIR showed little alteration after loading thymoquinone and doxorubicin while XRD patterns revealed no changes in the crystallizations of nanoparticles after drug loading. The drug release kinetics of doxorubicin and thymoquinone from the nanoparticles showed a continuous and gradual release after an initial burst release was observed. At pH 4.8, about 100% of drug release was noticed, 70% at pH 6 while only 50% at pH 7.4. The cell viability was 80% at a concentration of 1000 ug/ml of blank nanoparticle. Conclusion: The cockle shell-derived pH sensitive aragonite calcium carbonate nanoparticle provides an effective and simple means of multiple drug delivery and function as a platform for pH controlled release of loaded therapeutic agents
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HUMAN-PET RELATIONSHIPS IN MALAYSIA AND INDONESIA: A PUBLIC SENTIMENT ANALYSIS
No full textHuman stress levels escalated amid the COVID-19 epidemic as a result of restrictions on social interactions and movement. Furthermore, due to the lack of awareness about the disease's characteristics, numerous cases of violations of animal welfare occurred. The study is focused on the macro-level analysis regarding the impact of COVID-19 on human-pet interactions in Malaysia and Indonesia. A total of 1,829 tweets related to human-pet interactions during COVID-19 were retrieved from Twitter between March 17th and September 17th, 2020. Natural Language Toolkit (NLTK) was utilized to analyze the tweets with human moderation. The analysis revealed a large number of neutral and positive sentiments in the initial stage of the study. Later, positive public sentiment (50%, n = 27/54) rose in Malaysia significantly as the Twitter users were demanding justice for the abused animals. Meanwhile, the sentiments in Indonesia were predominantly both neutral (42%, n = 52/123) and positive (34%, n = 42/123), with the sentiment shifting after an incidence of animal cruelty went viral. Following a study in the United Kingdom reporting positive COVID-19 cases in cats, an upward trend in negative public reaction was observed in Malaysia (35%, n = 7/20) and Indonesia (48.8%, n = 40/82). In conclusion, the public sentiment regarding the impact of COVID-19 on human-pet interactions affects individuals due to the associated health risks
Development and molecular characterization of doxorubicin-resistant canine mammary gland tumour cells
No full textCanine mammary gland tumour (CMT) commonly affects the female dog. The objective of this study was to develop a doxorubicin-resistant CMT cell line and determine its in vitro and in vivo characteristics, including mRNA and microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles. Doxorubicin-resistant CMT-Star cells were developed from CMT-Stylo cells. The cells were characterized, including tumorigenicity in NOD/SCID mouse models. MiRNA and mRNA expression of the two cell lines were profiled and clustered. ATP binding cassette subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) and subfamily G member 2 (ABCG2) expressions were significantly increased in the CMT-Star cell line. CMT-Star cells also had altered expression of 785 genes and 14 miRNAs. Downregulating plasminogen (PLG) and plasminogen activator urokinase (PLAU) while upregulating transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 (TGFBR3), epidermal growth factor receptor 1 (EGFR1) and ABCB1 rendered CMT-Star cells less proliferative, less invasive and more resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs. The upregulated miRNAs in CMT-Star cells include miRNA-191, -29a, -107, -99b, -874, -93 and -210, while the downregulated miRNAs include miRNAs-106a, -92a, -92b, -155 and -15b. TGFβR, EGF receptor 1 and Wnt signalling are enriched in doxorubicin-resistant CMT-Star cells and could be potential therapeutic targets in dogs with doxorubicin-resistant CMT
Structural complexity and physical mechanism of self-assembled lipid as nanocarriers: A review
No full textLipids such as glyceryl monooleate, phosphatidylcholine, and monoglyceride (CITREM) possess an amphipathic property that allows them to self-assemble into a complex internal structure when interacting with an aqueous solution. Since amphiphilic molecules possess hydrophilic heads and lipophilic tails, hydrophobic effects cause the spontaneous activity of the molecular rearrangement. The self-organization of the molecules often results in the phases of lipid polymorphism, for example microemulsion, inverse bicontinuous cubic (Q2), discontinuous hexagonal (H2), and micellar cubic (I2) Fd3m. Interestingly, these lamellar and non-lamellar phases have been applied in the development of nanocarriers for drug delivery due to their ability to provide a sustained drug release system, better drug bioavailability, and improved overall treatment. However, the attention that they are receiving from their application is not comparable to our understanding of the mechanisms involved in their synthesis. Elucidation of the spontaneous process helps in predicting and tuning the internal structure of an amphiphilic molecule to suit its application. Therefore, this review discusses the formation of lipid polymorphism from the thermodynamic point of view, critical packing parameter, and modified stalk theory
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