Concentrations Of Glycol Research Articles

Characterization of endophytic bacteria isolated from root nodules of lentil in intercropping with durum wheat

Legumes improve soil fertility by interacting symbiotically with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia allocated in root nodules. Some bacterial endophytes can coexist with rhizobia in nodules and might help legumes by enhancing stress tolerance, producing hormones stimulating plant growth, and increasing plant nutrient intake. Twenty-six bacterial endophytes from Lens culinaris root nodules cultivated in intercropping with Triticum durum were identified and characterized molecularly and biochemically. Potential plant growth-promoting strains have been selected according to the indole acetic acid and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) deaminase production, and for their inorganic phosphate solubilization ability. The presence of genes associated to ACC deaminase and nitrogenase was evaluated. Six selected strains were grown with varying NaCl and polyethylene glycol concentrations to test their salt and osmotic stress tolerance. Priestia megaterium 11NL3 and Priestia aryabhattai 19NL1, resulted to be tolerant to salinity and osmotic stress, were tested on four genotypes of T. durum seeds in different stress conditions. The effect of strain inoculation on seed germination, vigor, and root-to-shoot ratio varied depending on the type of stress and on the durum wheat genotypes. For future research, it will be necessary to test the selected bacterial strains at different plant phenological stages and to clarify the mechanisms involved in the different outcomes of plant-microbe interactions.

Machine-learning based thermal conductivity prediction of propylene glycol solutions: Real time heat propagation approach

The objective of this paper is to evaluate the capability of an ANN to classify the thermal conductivity of water-glycol mixture in various concentrations. Massive training/validation/test temperature data were created by using a COMSOL model for geometry including a micropipette thermal sensor in an infinite media (i.e., water-glycol mixture) where a 500 ?s laser pulse is irradiated at the tip. The randomly generated temporal profile of the temperature dataset was then fed into a trained ANN to classify the thermal conductivity of the mixtures, whose value would be used to distinguish the glycol concentration at a sensitivity of 0.2% concentration with an accuracy of 96.5%. Training of the ANN yielded an overall classification accuracy of 99.99% after 108 epochs.

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Cayenne Pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) Gel on White Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Cayenne pepper (Capsicum frutescens L.) is a plant that has many benefits, one of which is as an anti-inflammatory. The anti-inflammatory effect of cayenne pepper was tested on white rats in the form of a gel. Two gel formulas were used with different concentrations of propylene glycol as additive, 25% and 30%, respectively. White rats were grouped into 4 groups, negative control group (gel base), positive control group (Voltaren® Emulgel), gel formula 1 group (enhancer 25%), and gel formula 2 (enhancer 30%). Albumen was induced on the backs of white rats then samples were given. Skinfold thickness measurements were taken every 1 hour for 6 hours. The data obtained in the form of skin thickness values ​​(mm). The % Inflammation Inhibition (% PI) was calculated for each sample. Formula 1 and Formula 2 gave %PI of 32.58 ± 1.80 and 40.75 ± 5.71, respectively. Both formulas had an anti-inflammatory effect against edema on the back of rats although not better than Voltaren® Emulgel. Based on One Way ANOVA test, Formula 2 has a better anti-inflammatory effect than Formula 1. LSD test results show that %PI Formula 2 is similar to %PI Voltaren® Emulgel with a significance value of 0.117 (>0.05).

Polymeric hydrogel forming microneedle-mediated transdermal delivery of sildenafil citrate from direct-compressed tablet reservoir for potential improvement of pulmonary hypertension therapy

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a cardiovascular disease affecting patient’s life. Sildenafil citrate (SC), the first-line treatment, is present in oral and injectable forms with some drawbacks, primarily poor patient’s comfort and low oral bioavailability. To counter these limitations, stratum corneum-penetrating hydrogel-forming microneedles (HFM) was created, making it easier to distribute SC transdermally. HFM was fabricated using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and two variations of polyvinyl pyrrolidone’s (PVP) concentration as polymers and citric acid (CA) as crosslinking agent. The crosslinking time was also variated. The assessment of swelling, insertion characteristics, and mechanical resistance revealed that it possessed swelling capacities up to 470 % and strong insertion capabilities. This HFM was integrated with a tablet reservoir prepared using several concentrations of sodium starch glycolate (SSG) as super disintegrant. The tablet reservoir's hardness, dissolution rate, XRD, and FTIR profiles were evaluated and the results showed that 4 % of SSG was the option for enhancing SC’s solubility. According to ex vivo study, this system released 24.12 ± 0.92 % of SC. For the first time, SC was successfully incorporated into a system of HFM and tablet reservoir and was non-toxic, showing promise in terms of improving PAH therapy's efficacy following comprehensive in vivo studies in the future.

Characterization of aerosols generated by high-power electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS): Influence of atomizer, temperature and PG:VG ratios.

The aerosol characteristics of electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are important parameters in predicting health outcomes since parameters such as aerosol particle size correlate strongly to aerosol delivery and deposition efficiency. However, many studies to date do not account for aerosol aging, which may affect the measurement of ultra-fine particles that typically coagulate or agglomerate during puff development. To reduce aerosol aging, we herein present a unique instrumentation method that combines a) positive pressure ENDS activation and sample collection, b) minimization of both sample tubing length and dilution factors, and c) a high-resolution, electrical low-pressure impactor. This novel approach was applied to systematically investigate the effects of coil design, coil temperature, and propylene glycol to vegetable glycerol ratios on aerosol characteristics including aerosol mass generation, aerosol count generation, and the mass and count size distributions for a high-powered ENDS. Aerosol count measurements revealed high concentrations of ultra-fine particles compared to fine and coarse particles at 200°C, while aerosol mass measurements showed an increase in the overall aerosol mass of fine and coarse particles with increases in temperature and decreases in propylene glycol content. These results provide a better understanding on how various ENDS design parameters affect aerosol characteristics and highlight the need for further research to identify the design parameters that most impact ultra-fine particle generation.

Optimizing the extraction of cobalt ions under response surface methodology and without organic solutions

AbstractIn this study, response surface methodology was used to evaluate the extraction of cobalt ions using an aqueous two‐phase system (ATPS). This method is environmentally benign and low‐risk because water has replaced the poisonous and dangerous organic solvents in this extraction procedure. For the first time, a central composite design was employed to examine the effect of various factors on the extraction of cobalt ions. The findings of the experimental design revealed that the concentration and volume of cobalt ions had a considerable impact on the extraction percentage in the ATPS system. In contrast, the concentration of ammonium sulphate and pH had only a minor effect. The value of the correlation coefficient (R2 = 0.9565) clearly shows the agreement between the mathematical model and the experimental results. The maximum extraction percentage was attained in optimum conditions (50% polyethylene glycol concentration, 3.75 M salt concentration, 0.5 ml cobalt volume, and pH 4).

Tolerance of Five Upland Rice Cultivars at Various Levels of Drought Stress

The aim of this study was to determine the drought tolerance limit of five upland rice (Paddy Gogo) cultivars in the germination phase. This research was carried out at the Seed Science and Technology Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tadulako, Palu, Indonesia, from September to October 2020. This study was arranged using a completely randomized design (CRD) with a factorial design of 2 factors. The first factor was the cultivar consisting of five cultivars, i.e., Pau Tau Leru, Jahara, Uva Buya, Buncaili, and Kalendeng. The second factor was the Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) concentration which consisted of five levels, i.e., Without PEG, 10%, 20%, 30% and 40% PEG. There were 25 treatment combinations. Each treatment was repeated three times (75 experimental units). The results showed that Uva Buya and Jahara cultivars had a high tolerance for PEG which was characterized by the maximum growth potential, germination power above 85%, and germination time in less than 4 days with the treatment of 40% PEG concentration. Meanwhile, Pau Tau Leru, Buncaili, and Kalendeng cultivars were able to grow and germinate well up to 10% PEG concentration. Both Uva Buya and Jahara cultivars also had a longer and heavier plumule and radicle, and larger roots.

Molecular layer deposition of alucone in high aspect ratio trenches: The effect of TMA outgassing on step-coverage

Infiltration of trimethylaluminum (TMA) in molecular layer deposition-enabled alucone thin films on planar substrates is a common observation reported in the literature. An insufficient TMA purge time in such cases is often found to lead to a CVD component in the overall film growth due to the reactions between the outgassing TMA and the co-reactant. In this work, the effect of the CVD component on the step coverage of alucone films when grown in high-aspect ratio trenches is studied. The thickness was initially found to increase with increasing distance from the trench aperture before starting to decrease up to the film’s maximum penetration depth. With the support of modeling, the reason behind the observed thickness profile was investigated and attributed to the combination of an increasing outgassing rate of TMA and a decreasing ethylene glycol (EG) concentration along the trench depth. Furthermore, the maximum thickness and the position where it is obtained in the trench are found to depend on TMA and EG doses, TMA purge time, the trench height, and the trench depth. Finally, the possibility of adopting the additional CVD component in film growth for void-less gap fill of 3D trenches is discussed, as well as the suppression of the same CVD component, without compromising the growth rate, by using dimethylaluminum isopropoxide as a substitute for TMA is evaluated.

Pressure drops during the flow of solutions of cocamidopropyl betaine and cocamide DEA mixtures with the addition of ethylene glycol

Abstract The paper presents the results of experimental studies on pressure drops during the flow of cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB) and DEA cocamide solutions with the addition of ethylene glycol. The degree of drag reduction during the flow of the CAPB/DEA aqueous solution and with the 10% addition of ethylene glycol was similar. A significant reduction in pressure drops was also observed at the 20% concentration of ethylene glycol. However, the increase in the concentration of ethylene glycol resulted in the reduction of flow resistance at higher temperatures. The resistance of the micellar microstructure of CAPB/DEA solutions to mechanical degradation depends strongly on the pH level. Significant changes in flow properties were observed when the initial pH was alkaline. The solution with initial pH close to neutral was stable over time, though reduced resistance to degradation with time was also observed.

Multistimuli-responsive circularly polarized luminescent material of achiral Eu-containing polyoxometalates and cellulose nanocrystals

The stimuli-responsive circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) material was made using photonic cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and achiral luminescent Eu-containing polyoxometalates Na₉EuW₁₀O₃₆·32H₂O (EuW₁₀). The CPL of EuW₁₀ with high dissymmetric factor <i>g</i>_lum ~ −0.37 was achieved based on the selective reflection property of CNC photonic films. With the increase of polyethylene glycol (PEG) content, the photonic bandgaps (PBG) of CNC/PEG/EuW₁₂ composite films were redshifted, successfully achieving the chirality of EuW₁₀ in various emission bands (⁵D₀→⁷F_<i>n</i>, <i>n</i> = 1, 2, 3, 4). The CPL materials also showed excellent humidity responsiveness. The <i>g</i>_lum of the emission band was closely correlated to the PBG of composite films.

Heat Effectiveness Analysis of Knock Down Smoke LCS (Liquid Collection System) Design with a Mixture of Ethylene Glycol and Water as Cooling Media

One of the methods commonly used to treat biomass waste, including rice husks, is pyrolysis and gasification, both of which produce smoke that can disturb the surrounding environment. This study aims to optimize the conversion process of smoke released in the pyrolysis process of rice husks into two products at once, namely liquid smoke and producer gas. This study designed a Liquid Collection System (LCS) with a shell and tube type knock-down condenser mechanism where the hot smoke is cooled so that the components of the condensed smoke (become liquid smoke) are separated from the non-condensable components (become producer gas). The composition of the LCS coolant, a mixture of Ethylene Glycol and Water, is simulated with the help of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software to optimize the heat transfer effectiveness value obtained. The simulation results show that the heat transfer efficiency of the volume variation of Ethylene Glycol in the mixture with the volume ratio of Ethylene Glycol and Water is 0:100, 10:90, 20:80, and 30:70 is 9.43%, 13.21%, 15.32%, and 15.43%, respectively. The highest efficiency value was obtained at the highest Ethylene Glycol content, which was a ratio of 30:70.

Influence of Adding Carbonaceous Fuels to Ionic Liquids on Propellant Properties.

To make ionic liquids (ILs) accessible and economical, ethylene glycol was mixed in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium-dicyanamide ([EMIm]DCA) to obtain droplets that could experimentally collide white fuming nitric acid. To investigate the ignition delay (ID) time theoretically in terms of hydrodynamics, alcohol fuels and kerosene were used as combustibles, while the intermiscibility between them and nitric acid (HNO3) was calculated using the ternary phase-field method alongside finite element analysis. The specific impulses of blend fuels were calculated by a thermodynamic method and compared to ILs. When the droplet was ethylene glycol/[EMIm]DCA with a 2.1 mm diameter and a 1.69 m/s colliding velocity, the ID time was the shortest. Kerosene was not an applicable additive for [EMIm]DCA owing to its lower intermiscibility with ILs and HNO3 than alcohol fuels; alcohol fuels, however, were appropriate. The concentration of ethylene glycol in the oxidizer pool increased faster than the concentration of propylene glycol, triggering more rapid hypergolic ignition in the first 50 ms. The protocols regarding the hypergolic ignition conditions were verified, i.e., the size of the droplet had to be minute when the colliding velocity was as fast as possible; this was carefully calculated using ethylene glycol. According to thermodynamic calculations, the addition of alcohol fuels can improve the specific impulse of fuels, with ethylene glycol performing the best. The feasibility of adding alcohol fuels to ILs was confirmed via experiments and thermodynamic computations, with the simulation results providing some guidance on selecting the experimental or engineering conditions or both.

Development of high reusability trifunctional polyethersulfones microspheres for the removal of methyl orange

This study focused on the synthesis of trifunctional microspheres with adsorption, degradation, and magnetic responsive properties. Firstly, polyethersulfones (PES) encapsulated poly(diallyldimethyl ammonia) chloride (PDDA) functionalized iron oxide (Fe3O4) microspheres were produced via phase inversion method. The PDDA/Fe3O4-PES microspheres were further coated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface to provide the degradation ability to the formed c-PDDA/Fe3O4-PES microspheres. Characterization results such as FTIR analysis confirmed the coating of PDDA on Fe3O4 NPs, while the TGA analysis proved the excellent thermal stability of microspheres after the incorporation of PDDA/Fe3O4 NPs. BET specific surface area of microspheres was measured at 13.90 m2/g. Besides, the pH drift method confirmed the presence of positive charge on microspheres surface, which is important for the removal of anionic pollutants. Moreover, porous structure of microspheres was also observed under SEM. Formulation study was also carried out to investigate the suitable concentration for the synthesis of microspheres, including the concentration of PES polymer (1–20 wt%), the loading of PDDA/Fe3O4 NPs (1–5 wt%), and the concentration of polyethylene glycol (PEG) (1–20 wt%). The microspheres synthesized from different formulations were subjected to the batch removal of methyl orange (MO). Results showed that a 72.53 % removal of MO can be obtained under the following microspheres synthesis formulations: 10wt% of PES polymer, 2 wt% of PDDA/Fe3O4 NPs, and 5 wt% of PEG polymer. Lastly, the c-PDDA/Fe3O4-PES microspheres also demonstrated an excellent reusability as compared to pure PES microspheres. The c-PDDA/Fe3O4-PES microspheres could be reused up to 5 cycles without the need of regeneration while still maintaining high MO removal efficiency.

Design, Formulation and Evaluation of Fexofenadine HCl Immediate Release Tablets by Solid Dispersion Method using Solvent Evaporation Technique

Currently, this study focuses on developing immediate-release Fexofenadine hydrochloride tablets. The Fexofenadine HCl tablets have super disintegrants that help to accelerate dissolution and bioavailability. Sodium lauryl sulphate, microcrystalline cellulose as filler, crospovidone, and sodium starch glycolate were used to make the tablets using a direct compression method (2-8 percent). Pre and post compressional parameters were used in the preparation of the tablets. The In-vitro disintegration study shows that as concentration of sodium starch glycolate is increased, there is an increase in the amount of time it takes for the solution to disintegrate, but at the same time, there is a decrease in the amount of time it takes for the solution to disintegrate when the crospovidone level is increased. When combined with the crospovidone tablet formulation, the test found that the resulting tablets broke down in approximately 3 to 6 minutes, with enough force to release the fragments but not to harm the friability of the product. It was found that Fexofenadine hydrochloride tablet, a fast-acting form of treatment for allergic rhinitis, could be formulated in an immediate-release form.

Vitrification of the ovarian tissue in sturgeons

The aim of this study was to test whether vitrification of sterlet Acipenser ruthenus and Russian sturgeon Acipenser gueldenstaedtii ovarian tissue through needle-immersed vitrification (NIV) is an efficient strategy for the preservation of oogonia (OOG) in order to supplement the current conservation efforts for these endangered fish species. Histological analyses of the gonads displayed that the ovaries of both species were immature and contained predominantly OOG and primary oocytes. The germline origin of these cells was verified by localization of the vasa protein through immunocytochemistry. NIV protocol was optimized by testing different equilibration (ES) and vitrification solutions (VS) containing various concentrations of dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO), propylene glycol (PG) or methanol (MeOH). In sterlet, the highest average viability (55.7 ± 11.5%) was obtained by using a combination of 1.5 M PG and 1.5 M Me2SO in the ES, and 1.5 M MeOH and 5.5 M Me2SO in the VS. In Russian sturgeon, the highest average viability (49.4 ± 17.1%) was obtained by using a combination of 1.5 M MeOH and 1.5 M Me2SO in the ES, and 3 M PG and 3 M Me2SO in the VS. To test whether vitrified/warmed OOG are functional, we have conducted an intra-specific transplantation assay to verify whether transplanted sterlet OOG will colonize the gonads of recipient fish. Fluorescently labelled cells were detected within recipient gonads at 2 and 3 months post-fertilization (mpf). Colonization rates of vitrified/warmed OOG (70% at 2 mpf and 61% at 3 mpf) were similar to those of fresh OOG (80% at 2 mpf and 70% at 3 mpf). This study has demonstrated that vitrification of ovarian tissue is an effective method for the preservation of OOG, and that the vitrified/warmed cells are functional and are able to colonize recipient gonads after transplantation similarly to the fresh cells. Since the vitrification procedure displayed in this study is simple and does not require complex and expensive laboratory equipment, it can be readily applied in field conditions, and therefore it can be invaluable for the conservation efforts of the critically endangered sturgeon species. However, care needs to be taken that despite the research conducted so far, donor-derived progeny was not yet obtained in sturgeons.

Optimizing Concentration of Polyethelene Glycol for Exosome Isolation from Plasma for Downstream Application.

Exosomes are ubiquitous extracellular nanovesicles secreted from almost all living cells that are thought to be involved in several important cellular processes, including cell-cell communication and signaling. Exosomes serve as a liquid biopsy tool for clinical and translational research. Although many techniques have been used to isolate exosomes, including ultracentrigation, size-exclusion chromatography, and immunocapturing-based techniques, these techniques are not convenient, they require expensive instrumentation, and they are unhandy for clinical samples. Precipitation techniques from available commercial kits that contain polyethelene glycol (PEG) are now widely used, but these kits are expensive, especially if a large number of biological samples are to be processed. the purpose of this study is to compare and optimize the efficacy of different concentrations of PEG with two commercial kits ExoQuick (SBI) and Total Exosome Isolation (TEI) from Invitrogen in human plasma. we determined exosome quantity, size distribution, marker expression, and downstream application. among the precipitation methods, we found the size of particles and concentrations with 10-20% PEG are similar to ExoQuick and better than TEI. Interestingly, we detected cfDNA with ExoQuick and 10-20% PEG but not TEI and 5% PEG. Moreover, 10% PEG detection of miR-122 and miR-16 expression was superior to ExoQuick and TEI. Furthermore, in proteomics results it also found the identified proteins better than commercial kits but there was a high level of contamination of other proteins in serum. together, these findings show that an optimal concentration of 10% PEG serves as a guide for use with clinical samples in exosome isolation for downstream applications.

Determination of fluorescence quantum yields and decay times of NADH and FAD in water–alcohol mixtures: The analysis of radiative and nonradiative relaxation pathways

Combined studies on fluorescence quantum yield of coenzymes NADH and FAD in water–methanol, water–ethanol and water–propylene glycol mixtures and on time-resolved fluorescence of these molecules under excitation at 450 and 355 nm by means of time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) method have been carried out. A novel model that allowed to separate the contributions from several excited state relaxation mechanisms to fluorescence dynamics in the pico- and nanosecond time domains and to fluorescence quantum yield was developed and used for analysis of experimental data. The results indicated the existence of at least two different nonradiative relaxation mechanisms in NADH and FAD: a relatively slow nanosecond and a much faster picosecond ones. The analysis suggested that the increase of NADH fluorescence quantum yield with all alcohols concentration occurred mainly due to relatively slow nanosecond non-radiative and radiative relaxation mechanisms related with the change of conformation distributions, while the picosecond fluorescence quenching was found to have practically the same and conformation-insensitive value in water–monohydric alcohol mixtures. Similar conclusion was made for NADH in water–propylene glycol solutions where however a moderate decrease of the picosecond quenching rate was determined at high propylene glycol concentrations that was attributed to a slowdown of picosecond quenching under high viscosity conditions. In the case of FAD the analysis suggested that the dramatic rise of fluorescence quantum yield with alcohol concentration was mostly due to the conformation-sensitive picosecond quenching. This conclusion supports the known mechanism of the picosecond fluorescence quenching in FAD through electron transfer reaction in the π-stacked conformation between isoalloxazine and adenine moieties. Radiative decay times in NADH and FAD were estimated from experimental data and found to be about 10 ns and 20–30 ns, respectively.

CRITERIA FOR TOBACCO IDENTIFICATION FOR HOOKAH AND NON-TOBACCO MIXTURE FOR HEATING

Hookah tobacco is positioned as a “nicotine alternative” to traditional smoking, but the aerosol produced contains the same toxic components as cigarette smoke. Consumer properties and safety indicators of tobacco aerosol for hookah depend on the component composition of the tobacco mixture and the coal used. The main factor that has a physiological effect on the user of hookah tobacco or non-tobacco mixture for heating is the content of nicotine that passes into the aerosol. There is no single approach to the regulation of a segmental product, in addition, there are no standardized methods for generating and collecting aerosol. The smoking pattern on a laboratory smoking machine does not fully reflect the behavioral profile of a person, however, the quantitative composition of the aerosol obtained from machine testing can be used as input to determine the risk of the product. During the research, laboratory and analytical equipment was used: CERULEAN SM 405 linear smoking machine; "Expert-001-1(0.1)" ionomer, SF-16 spectrophotometer, Crystal 2000M / HP 5890 Series 11 chromatograph with FID. Experimental data have been obtained to evaluate consumer and physic-chemical parameters, including organoleptic evaluation, the content of nicotine, glycerin and propylene glycol in samples of tobacco for hookah / non-tobacco mixture for heating. The method of machine generation and collection of the solid-liquid phase of an aerosol has been standardized, which makes it possible to obtain reliable data on the quantitative content of nicotine in the produced aerosol. The content of nicotine in the samples is 0.1–1.9%, the transition of nicotine into the produced aerosol is insignificant. The microscopy method for determining the structure of the base (carrier) in combination with the determination of consumer properties (organoleptic evaluation, total content of glycerol and propylene glycol, pH and nicotine content) are tools for identifying tobacco or non-tobacco hookah products.

IDENTIFICATION OF DROUGHT-TOLERANT KABULI CHICKPEA (CICER ARIETINUM L.) GENOTYPES AT THE EARLY SEEDLING STAGE

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is negatively affected by drought stress at all the growth stages, including germination and seedling emergence. The recent study aimed to investigate the drought-tolerant Kabuli chickpea genotypes at the seedling stage under osmotic stress conditions. An in vitro screening technique evaluated the 120 different genotypes of Kabuli chickpea for drought tolerance by using different concentrations of polyethylene glycol (8000) solution, viz., T0: Control, T1: -0.19 MPa, and T2: -0.47 MPa, arranged in a completely randomized design. Data were recorded on germination percentage, root length, shoot length, seedling length, root/shoot ratio, dry matter, seedling vigor index, and proline content. The results of a pooled analysis of variance revealed significant variability among genotypes, different polyethylene glycol treatments, as well as, between genotypes and treatments. The increase of polyethylene glycol levels negatively affected most of the parameters under study, except for proline content, which increased with an increase in polyethylene glycol concentration. The study results indicated that the advanced lines, 15KCC-106, 13KCC-114, 6KCC-103, GP-37, FS-10, and 12KCC-106, performed better under different osmotic stress conditions and gained selection as drought-tolerant advanced lines at early seedling stage. These advanced lines suitably combine with their desirable traits to cope with the drought condition and can serve as a baseline for the improvement of Kabuli chickpea breeding material for drought tolerance.

Crowding-induced morphological changes in synthetic lipid vesicles determined using smFRET.

Lipid vesicles are valuable mesoscale molecular confinement vessels for studying membrane mechanics and lipid-protein interactions, and they have found utility among bio-inspired technologies, including drug delivery vehicles. While vesicle morphology can be modified by changing the lipid composition and introducing fusion or pore-forming proteins and detergents, the influence of extramembrane crowding on vesicle morphology has remained under-explored owing to a lack of experimental tools capable of capturing morphological changes on the nanoscale. Here, we use biocompatible polymers to simulate molecular crowding in vitro, and through combinations of FRET spectroscopy, lifetime analysis, dynamic light scattering, and single-vesicle imaging, we characterize how crowding regulates vesicle morphology. We show that both freely diffusing and surface-tethered vesicles fluorescently tagged with the DiI and DiD FRET pair undergo compaction in response to modest concentrations of sorbitol, polyethylene glycol, and Ficoll. A striking observation is that sorbitol results in irreversible compaction, whereas the influence of high molecular weight PEG-based crowders was found to be reversible. Regulation of molecular crowding allows for precise control of the vesicle architecture in vitro, with vast implications for drug delivery and vesicle trafficking systems. Furthermore, our observations of vesicle compaction may also serve to act as a mechanosensitive readout of extramembrane crowding.