Band 8, Heft 10

Petrochemical plastics are frequently utilized in our daily lives for various purposes such as packaging and transportation, but their burden on the environment is considered one of the most man-made pollution crises. These pollutants are slowly fragmented in the environment into microplastics and nanoplastics by consolidated actions of abiotic and biotic factors. Microplastics and nanoplastics can easily be dispersed in the atmosphere and be harmful to all kinds of life. As a result, the remediation of micro- and nanoplastics has recently received a tremendous research impetus in the realm of an ecologically benign approach, notably microbial-based remediation. Thus, the current article looks at the formation, properties, analysis, and biological effects of micro- and nanoplastics. The content is then streamlined towards a comprehensive discussion on microbial-mediated degradation of microplastics and nanoplastics, with an emphasis on front-line bacteria and enzymes, as well as remediation mechanisms. Further, technologies for the removal of microplastics and nanoplastics from the environment are presented for possible remedial considerations. An attempt is also made to highlight the practical snags of microbial plastic degradation while aiming to alleviate the environmental burden of plastic waste.

The perpetual exposure of several manmade materials and their activities such as urbanization, industrialization, transportation, mining, construction, petroleum refining, manufacturing, preservatives, disinfectants etc., release various pollutants like organic, inorganic, and heavy metals which pollute the air, water, and soil. This poses various environmental issues which are relevant to the ecosystem and human wellbeing that intensify the implementation of new expedient treatment technologies. Likewise, phenolic and heavy metal pollutants find their way into the environment. These phenolic and heavy metals are toxic to the liver, heart and carcinogenic. Therefore, the removal of these kinds of pollutants from the environment is a highly challenging issue. As conventional treatment technologies have consequent drawbacks, new interests have been developed to remediate and remove pollutants from the ecosystem using metal nanoparticles (MPNs). To date, many researchers all over the world have been investigating novel approaches to enhance various remediation application technologies. One such approach that the researchers are constantly showing interest in is the use of nanomaterials with potential applications towards the environment. In this regard, MPNs like Copper (Cu), Nickel (Ni), Palladium (Pd), Gold (Au), Silver (Ag), Platinum (Pt), Titanium (Ti), and other nano metals are serving as a suitable agent to eliminate emerging contaminants in various fields, particularly in the removal of phenolic and heavy metal pollutants. This chapter discusses the mechanism and application of various MPNs in eliminating various phenolic and heavy metal pollutants from the environment.

For centuries, farmers have needed fertilizers rich in nitrogen to increase crop yields. This need led to one of the most unusual wars in history: a war over fossilized bird droppings. Twentieth century chemists solved the problem of mass-producing nitrogen fertilizer, but their solution required enormous amounts of energy. Twenty-first century chemists now face the challenge of producing nitrogen fertilizer without the need for energy provided by fossil fuels.

Cancer, one of the key health problems globally, is a group of related diseases that share a number of characteristics primarily the uncontrolled growth and invasive to surrounding tissues. Chemotherapy is one of the ways for the treatment of cancer which uses one or more anticancer agents as per chemotherapy regimen. Limitations of most anticancer drugs due to a variety of reasons such as serious side effects, drug resistance, lack of sensitivity and efficacy etc. generate the necessity towards the designing of novel anticancer lead molecules. In this regard, the synthesis of biologically active heterocyclic molecules is an appealing research area. Among heterocyclic compounds, nitrogen containing heterocyclic molecules has fascinated tremendous consideration due to broad range of pharmaceutical activity. Imidazoles, extensively present in natural products as well as synthetic molecules, have two nitrogen atoms, and are five membered heterocyclic rings. Because of their countless physiological and pharmacological characteristics, medicinal chemists are enthused to design and synthesize new imidazole derivatives with improved pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic properties. The aim of this present chapter is to discuss the synthesis, chemistry, pharmacological activity, and scope of imidazole-based molecules in anticancer drug development. Finally, we have discussed the current challenges and future perspectives of imidazole-based derivatives in anticancer drug development.

Cancer weakens the immune system which fails to fight against the rapidly growing cells. Among the various types of cancers, prostate cancer (PCa) is causing greater number of deaths in men after lung cancer, demanding advancement to prevent, detect and treat PCa. Several small molecule heterocycles and few peptides are being used as oncological drugs targeting PCa. Heterocycles are playing crucial role in the development of novel cancer chemotherapeutics as well as immunotherapeutics. Indole skeleton, being a privileged structure has been extensively used for the discovery of novel anticancer agents and the application of indole derivatives against breast cancer is well documented. The present article highlights the usefulness of indole linked heterocyclic compounds as well as the fused indole derivatives against prostate cancer.

2-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthaquinone, commonly known as lawsone, represents an extremely important biologically active naturally occurring compound. It can easily be isolated from Lawsonia inermis (henna) tree leaf extract. Last decade has seen tremendous applications of lawsone as a starting component for the preparation of various organic scaffolds. Many of these synthesized scaffolds showed a wide range of biological activities including potential activities towards several cancer cell lines. This review deals with diverse synthetic methods of lawsone derived scaffolds and their screening against different anti-cancer cell lines along with promising results.

People asserting that SMRs are the primary or only answer to energy generation either don’t know what they are talking about, are actively dissembling or are intentionally delaying climate action.

As Canada progresses toward its pledge of net-zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, it is worthwhile to thoughtfully examine the current energy landscape and how one might hope to achieve decarbonization within this timeframe. This examination is of particular importance in a fossil fuel producing region such as Alberta. Through an analysis of renewable energy strategies as well as the potential difficulties in this transition, an appropriate strategy may be devised. A combinatorial approach of wind, solar, and geothermal energy sources in the residential, commercial, and industrial spheres may serve as a transition measure, and eventually supplant fossil fuels as the dominant source of energy produced in Alberta with appropriate incentivization. Decarbonization is a pressing need given the imminent climate crisis the world is encountering, and these technologies are capable of serving as a step toward lower carbon emissions and ultimately curbing human-accelerated climate change.

Development of reliable and eco-friendly novel schemes for the synthesis of organic compounds is an important step in the field of organic and medicinal chemistry. Green chemistry-based strategies involving use of catalysts, green solvents, atom economic reactions etc. play a key role because of their exceptional ability to minimize the toxicity or hazards of the side products and processes. With the use of these green techniques, a number of researchers were able to synthesis a wide range of heterocyclic compounds. This chapter highlights the potential and diverse biological activities of saturated sulphur containing heterocyclic compounds including thiirane, thiane, thiolane and many more. The aim of this chapter is to provide fresh perspective on the various techniques employed for the formation of C–S bond by summarizing all green synthesis from 2016 to 2021.

Cancer is one of the major causes of death across the world. Cancer is a broad word that encompasses a wide range of illnesses that can affect any part of the body. Cancer research has increased understanding of molecular biology and cellular biology, resulting in new cancer therapies. Despite of adverse effects, surgery, radiation, and anticancer medicines are the modern cancer treatments. Keeping in mind the excellent anticancer activity exhibited by various heterocyclics, various medicines with heterocyclic moiety have been developed to identify particular target regions. The chapter aims to discuss new discoveries in the field of anticancer pharmaceuticals comprising the thiazole, pyrazole, oxazole, and triazole rings over the last five years. The proposed anticancer drugs have a lot of future significance due to their high potency.

Abstract In the processes of molecular docking and simulation studies; the computational techniques have a vast and significant role in drug discovery process. The rigid view in the binding of both target and ligand is the basis of modeling strategy process. More evolution to such processes with the time has lead in revealing the path of understanding the dynamic nature of binding processes. In this chapter we have focused on molecular docking along with dynamic studies in reference to biological processes.

Green chemistry has been most compelling area of research. Green chemistry is vital to long-term sustainability, not only because of its fundamental notion of reducing the use and manufacture of hazardous materials, but also because of its broad applicability as one of the most efficient and problem-solving pathways for the synthesis of new materials. Various chemists have studied a plethora of strategies to lessen the release of hazardous chemical waste, waste material recyclization and reuse. New techniques have been created based on a green chemistry strategy that includes the utilization of catalysts, nanosized materials and composites, such as metal and non-metal nanoparticles, their oxides and salts, and different heterocyclic rings. Quinazolines and quinazolinones are biologically significant heterocyclic rings with a wide range of characteristics. In a summary, this chapter focuses on recent novel synthesis methods for quinazoline and quinazolinone derivatives, which are vital to humanity.

This chapter introduces the reader to the fundamentals and reasoning for exploring fusion energy. Fusion, the reaction of two hydrogen atoms colliding, is the process that powers the Sun and stars. Fusion works by turning small amounts of matter into vast amounts of energy. If realized on Earth, nuclear fusion could solve global energy demands for generations to come.

Introduction of green chemistry will require a large sum of finance to conduct basic research and develop applications at various research institutes in the public and private sector. To meet the financial needs, the author suggests a change in the currency system commonly applied in most countries to a mix of debt currency and equity currency, in which the latter means currency directly issued by the government, thereby avoiding arguments on the upper limit of government bond issuance. In most advanced economies potentially with large excess supply capacities, bad inflation never takes place as long as workers can work in peace under good securities, and as long as additional budget can be used in proper manners. This new currency issuance system for sufficient public funding will not only support research and realization of green chemistry, but also solve social problems by assisting the underprivileged, etc.

The backbone of synthetic organic chemistry is the formation of carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds. Scientists are actively working to develop new methods of bond-forming reactions because it is one of the most useful tools for the development of structurally diverse molecular entities. On the other hand, scientists are constantly discovering chemical processes to make them more sustainable in order to avoid the ever-increasing chemical emission associated with hazards to the environment. Thus, the development of greener catalytic reactions demonstrated a massive uptick in the ability to carry out carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bond-forming reactions under environmentally friendly and simple reaction conditions. Various approaches are demonstrated, namely, solvent-free, microwave irradiation, ionic liquids, ball milling, ultrasound, one-pot, and aqueous-mediated methods under green chemistry protocol. Agro-waste is the postharvest part or agricultural residues derived from various agricultural activities, which has diverse scope and applications. The use of this agro-waste is an eco-friendly and cost-effective process of waste management. Appropriate and optimal utilization of these waste by-products is one of the major challenges in the present days. The recent trend around the globe is to transform waste into wealth concepts to achieve various applications. Agro-waste-derived ashes and extracted medium are successfully studied recently as a heterogeneous- or homogenous-based catalyst in various organic transformations. Agro-waste-derived catalysts are easily available, cost-effective, simple to prepare, nontoxic, easy to handle, biodegradable, and more environmentally benign. This article focuses more on a few instances of agro-waste-based homogeneous and heterogeneous organic synthesis, especially those used in the construction of bioactive molecule synthesis via C–C and C–X bond formation reactions are discussed. The compiled literature in this article is based on keywords used in the search engine on “agro-waste-based catalyst for organic transformations”, and review articles published on this topic, future scope, and summary are discussed.

Both cinnolines and phthalazines are heterocyclic compounds which have a wide range of biological activities and pharmacological profiles. This work represents the recent advances in the green synthesis of cinnolines and phthalazines as 1,2 and 2,3-diazanaphalenes were cited. The docking studies and mode of action for key scaffolds were also reported.

The world today is struggling to achieve sustainable means for synthetic processes. Standing at this juncture, we need to develop and implement greener and reusable approaches towards organic synthesis. Transition metals especially palladium is a wonder element which has the ability to catalyze a range of useful organic syntheses. However, the expensive nature of palladium has urged synthetic chemists to search for protocols where a single palladium source may be used repeatedly in successive reactions, thus making the overall process cost effective. Palladium when anchored to solid supports leads to catalytic systems which can be easily separated from the organic phase post reaction and can be reused in successive cycles. Not only does this make the process economically viable but also ensures that no metal contaminates the purity of the final organic product. In this review we will highlight the recent developments in C–C bond formation (which is by far the most fundamental mode of bond making in organic synthesis) via the use of solid supported palladium catalytic systems. We will use this opportunity to illustrate the synthetic processes from a greener sustainable point of view which we feel is of utmost relevance in the current scientific scenario.

Conserving the environment is one of the most imperative goals in recent days among the chemists throughout the world. Swiftly increasing the environmental awareness also increases the demand to build new approaches for synthesizing the same active molecules with zero-waste and pollution. In this background, visible-light-mediated synthesis and functionalization of diverse organic compounds has been established as a tremendously successful topic and has achieved a remarkable stage of superiority and efficiency in the last 20 years. Alternatively, organosilicon derivatives are gradually aspiring leaves among chemists because of their significant application on synthetic, medicinal, and material chemistry. In this scenario, the addition of Si–H group to carbon−carbon multiple bonds (alkenes, hetero-arenes, alkynes, allenes, carboxylic acids, enynes, and dienes) provides an extremely step- and atom-efficient method to obtain silicon-containing compounds. Several attempts for the development of mild, robust, and efficient green protocol were taken in the last two decades. In spite of substantial advancement/research on C–Si bond formation using transition metal catalysis, a green and metal-free approach is highly essential considering its application in the field of medicine and with respect to environmental aspects as well. In this article, we will summarize the reports considering suitable visible-light-mediated metal-free silylation of C–C multiple bonds that includes alkenes, hetero-arenes, alkynes, allenes, enynes, and dienes.

Quinoxalines and their derivatives belong to an important class of bicyclic aromatic heterocyclic system, also known as benzopyrazines, containing a benzene ring and a pyrazine ring. They have attracted considerable attention over the years due to their potential biological and pharmaceutical properties. A wide range of synthetic strategies is reported in this significant area of research. The present review showcases recent research advances in the synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives following environmentally benign approaches.

This chapter describes the importance and activity of a huge number of commercially available naturally occurring, natural product derived or synthetic heterocyclic anti-cancer drugs.

Sustainability is a concept that is employed to distinguish methods and procedures that can ensure the long-term productivity of the environment as it includes environmental, social, and economic dimensions. New generations can live on this planet with less hazardous substances and minimum requirement of energy for chemical transformations as green chemistry is related to creativity and the development of innovative research. Among the 12 principles of this clean chemistry, the sixth principle is devoted to the “design of energy efficiency” which discloses that less or the minimum amount of energy is required to conduct a specific reaction with optimum productivity. The most successful way to save energy is to construct strategies/methodologies that are capable enough to carry out the chemical transformations at ambient temperature and standard pressure. Hence, the present review wishes to cover the synthesis of bioactive natural products and their derivatives at room temperature. Bioactive secondary metabolites play a crucial role in the drug discovery together with drug development process; chiefly anticancer along with antibiotic molecules is noticeably enriched with molecules of natural origin. Natural sources, structures, and biological activities of natural products are highlighted in this review and it is also aimed to offer an overview of the design and synthesis of bioactive natural products and their analogs at room temperature for the first time efficiently.

The present review summarizes all the multi-component reaction strategies reported during last two decades for the synthesis of diverse bioactive heterocyclic scaffolds involving 6-aminouracil or its N -methyl derivatives.

Benzothiazole scaffolds exhibit exciting medicinal properties including anticancer. In recent time most complicated job for every researcher is to discover a novel drug that can treat cancer with minimal side effects. Some heterocyclic anticancer drugs including daunorubicin, 5-flourouracil, doxorubicin, methotrexate, etc . are markedly available. In addition, few natural products such as vincristine alongwith vinblastine are used as anticancer drugs. More than 90% of the novel drugs bearing heterocyclic moieties have always been main portions in the development of anticancer drugs. Heterocyclic compounds containing benzothiazole moiety show a superior pharmaceutical effect than non-nitrogen compounds. These N-/S-containing benzothiazole compounds, the heart of drug discovery, present a significant and valuable group of molecules that play a chief and vital role in our living cells. This chapter recites the weightage of benzothiazole nuclei in the progress of anticancer drugs.

Triazine is a six-membered aromatic nitrogen heterocyclic moiety that was extensively investigated because of its biological properties and, in particular anticancer potentials. Kinases play a crucial role in cancer cell proliferation and metabolism. Triazine derivatives show anticancer activity by inhibiting the lipid kinases like phosphoinositide 3-kinases, mammalian target of rapamycin, receptor tyrosine kinases, like focal adhesion kinase, cyclin-dependent kinases, Rho-associated protein kinases, p21-activated kinases, carbonic anhydrases, enolase inhibitors, microtubules inhibitors, and histone deacetylases. The present chapter highlights the synthesis of triazine-based derivatives, their characterization, evaluation of anticancer properties, and their journey towards possible medicine for cancer.

Natural clay extracted from the Central Region of Ghana was used for this study. Energy dispersive X-ray and powder X-ray diffraction analysis showed the composition of the clay to be 67.5% kaolinite and 32.5% muscovite. The samples were successfully modified by H 2 SO 4 and NaOH activation. They were also characterized by scanning electron microscopic and Fourier transformed-infrared spectrophotometric techniques. Batch adsorption studies revealed that the samples are effective adsorbents for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous media. Factors studied include contact time, pH, effect of ionic strength and the mass of adsorbent. Generally, the alkali activated samples had the highest adsorptive capacity followed by the acid activated clay. The kinetics of the adsorption process fitted the pseudo-second order model and the adsorption isotherm conformed to the Langmuir as well as the Freundlich models. All the experiments were carried out at room temperature (303 K).

The receptor binding motif (RBM) within the S-protein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been touted as one of the main targets for vaccine/therapeutic development due to its interaction with the human angiotensin II converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) to facilitate virus entry into the host cell. The mechanism of action is based on the disruption of binding between the RBM and the hACE2 to prevent virus uptake for replication. In this work, we applied in silico approaches to design specific competitive binders for SARS-CoV-2 S-protein receptor binding motif (RBM) by using hACE2 peptidase domain (PD) mutants. Online single point mutation servers were utilised to estimate the effect of PD mutation on the binding affinity with RBM. The PD mutants were then modelled and the binding free energy was calculated. Three PD variants were designed with an increased affinity and interaction with SARS-CoV-2-RBM. It is hope that these designs could serve as the initial work for vaccine/drug development and could eventually interfere the preliminary recognition between SARS-CoV-2 and the host cell.

Metallic clusters have shown potential uses in science and technology especially in the domain of photovoltaics, biomedical and catalysis. The noble metal based clusters like Cu, Ag, and Au exhibits notable structural, electronic and optical properties. In this work, we have examined physico-chemical behaviours of tri-metallic clusters Cu n AgAu ( n  = 1–4) by using density functional theory (DFT) technique. Conceptual DFT based descriptors of these clusters are calculated and analysed. HOMO–LUMO gap at n  = 2, 3 and 4 are found as 1.667, 1.610 and 1.785 eV, respectively. It states that these clusters can be used in optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. HOMO–LUMO energy gap, hardness and electronegativity of Cu n AgAu clusters exhibit an odd–even fluctuation behaviour with the cluster size, n . Molecular hardness of Cu n AgAu cluster shows linear relationship with energy gap whereas molecular softness exhibits an inverse relationship.

Education and information dissemination are fundamental to safety and security risk management and mitigation. A web-based examination system called OPCW eQChemSS was developed to assess individuals on their knowledge in chemical safety and security. This can be used as an evaluation tool for chemical safety and security courses, workshops, and seminars. A database of questions was included in this web-based software, which was divided into three categories. Category A is general chemistry level safety, Category B is chemical safety related to organic and inorganic compounds, and Category C is on chemical safety and security and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The system was designed to automatically check the examination and instantly provide the result of the test in terms of percentage correct answers. A feedback mechanism from the examinees was also included to assess the effectiveness of this e-learning educational material. The importance of e-learning materials in this time of COVID-19 pandemic cannot be more emphasized. The need for readily accessible e-sources that will aid in virtual learning for various topics will be significant even in the coming new normal of hybrid or flexible learning where both online and face-to-face learning may be implemented.

The primary purpose of the present study is to summarize and explain the results of a questionnaire about diabetes mellitus type 2 (DMT2) endangered individuals. The 275 participants (age between 21 and 76 years) answered 18 questions related to the possible danger of DMT2 disorder. Multivariate statistical methods – cluster analysis, factor and principal components analysis applied for the survey analysis. The final goal was to detect similarity patterns between the variables of interest (questions), to reveal hidden factors regulating the data structure and susceptibility to DMT2 among the participants or between them, to elucidate the health status of the different groups and the similarities within the groups. It was found that five hidden factors regulate the data structure, which are conditionally named “declined general health status”; “metabolic syndrome factor”; “smoking, alcohol abuse and stress factor”; “heredity and sex impact”; “healthy food” impact. The participants could be divided into four similarity patterns, each with probably different susceptibility to DMT2. Thus, the results of the questionnaire could be of use for prophylactic purposes.

Phytochemical investigations on the dechlorophyllated extract of Anthocleista schweinfurthii Gilg (Loganiaceae) leaves have enabled the isolation of two xanthones derivatives: 1,8-dihydroxy-2,6-dimethoxyxanthone ( 1 ) and 1-hydroxy-3,7,8-trimethoxyxanthone ( 2 ) known, respectively, as swertiaperenin ( 1 ) and decussatin ( 2 ), but isolated here for the first time from this plant. The structures of these compounds were investigated by rigorous analysis of their one- and two-dimensional NMR spectral data. Compounds ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) were evaluated for their antioxidant activities using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl method (DPPH°); the reducing power of iron III (FRAP) and antibacterial activity by the solid diffusion method on three bacteria strains ( Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus ). The results obtained show that the two compounds have good antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Obviously, swertiaperenin and decussatin are among the active secondary’s metabolites responsible for the biological activity of A. schweinfurthii Gild recognized by the Cameroonian populations.

This study’s purpose is to improve the α-amylase enzyme’s stability from Aspergillus fumigatus applying dimethyladipimidate (DMA). It was conducted in different stages, including production, isolation, purification, modification, and the characterization of native and modified enzymes by the DMA addition. The enzyme activity was specified using the Fuwa and Mandels methods, while the protein level was conducted by the Lowry method. The results indicated that the native enzyme contains a specific activity of 7010.42 U/mg, with an increase of 7.8 times than the crude extract, which contains 904.38 U/mg. Meanwhile, the native enzyme contains an optimum pH of 5 at 55 °C, with residual activity of 17.17% after 60 min of incubation at 55 °C and a half-life of 25.86 min. After the DMA addition with 0.5, 1, and 1.5% concentration, the enzymes had 5.5 optimum pH and 65 °C temperature. Meanwhile, after 60 min of incubation at 65 °C, the modified enzymes had 54.17, 46.18, and 34.44% of residual activity, and 85.55 58.25 and 37.46 min of half-lives, respectively. This showed that the addition of DMA to the native α-amylase from A. fumigatus increased the stability of the modified enzymes by 1.5–3.3 times than the native enzyme.

Alkaline soil conditions are serious challenges to optimal crop production on irrigated farmlands in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Unique characteristics of biochar had been utilized in the amelioration of many problematic soils but its use in sodic soil management is not popular in Nigeria. Ameliorative effects of biochar types prepared from poultry manure co-pyrolyzed with or without urea fertilizer were evaluated on soil organic carbon and selected soil chemical characteristics of a simulated sodic soil. The results from the six weeks incubation trial revealed the ability of the biochar types to reduce soil pH from the initial 10.38 to 7.91–10.29 in high sodic (HS) and from initial 9.70 to a range of 7.51–8.39 in low sodic (LS) soil situations compared to 9.88 (HS) and 6.82 (LS) in sole urea treated soil. This accounted for up to 51 and 57% reduction in exchangeable sodium content and percentage (ESP), respectively and 28% increases in exchangeable Ca in the sodic soils. Poultry manure biochar co-pyrolyzed with urea was most effective in reducing exchangeable sodium and ESP in the soils while poultry manure biochar not co-pyrolyzed with urea was highest in reducing soil pH. Poultry manure biochar not spiked with urea was most superior in increasing soil organic carbon in low sodic situation.

Artocarpus kemando Miq. is an Indonesian endemic plant rich in flavonoid compounds and bioactivity. Artonin E (compound 1), a flavonoid compound, was isolated from the branch and root bark of the indicated plant, obtained from Karang Anyar, Klaten, Penengahan, South Lampung. Compound (1) was then modified using diazomethane, which produced compound (2) . Both compounds were then identified by TLC using standard compound, after which their UV–Vis, FT-IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectra were compared with literature data. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity assay of the compound (1) was determined using leukemia P-388 cancer cells, which showed a strong anticancer activity with IC 50 of 1.56 μg/mL. The antibacterial activity of this compound against Bacillus subtilis showed strong activity for 0.3 mg/disc concentration; compound (2) with 0.5 mg/disc concentration, while against Escherichia coli , compound (1) showed moderate activity, while compound (2) did not show any activity.

Concrete is among the foremost used construction materials around the world, however, there is limited information to determine how aging concrete is affected by chemicals. Concrete is used in the construction of domestic and industrial infrastructure including walls, beams, roof slabs, pipes and drainage systems. With increasing industrialization, chemicals are continuously released contributing to concrete degradation. Sulfuric acid is one of the most detrimental chemicals to concrete, yet it is commonly used in most industries. The effects of carbon dioxide, alum, and soda ash on 40–50 year old concrete structures were determined. Results showed the presence of Fe 3+ ions with a mean concentration of 3.24 ± 0.02 mg/L in the residuum on the alum tank. This was due to the slightly acidic alum solution reacting with calcium hydroxide and iron in the concrete matrix over years thus depriving concrete of its binding power. The high amount of soda ash, a strong base, corrodes the concrete walls and surfaces hence creating cracks on the concrete matrix. Carbonation effects brought about by carbon dioxide were also observed at the time of the study.