In this article, the mercury-impregnated γ-alumina nanoparticles were prepared using impregnation of γ-alumina nanoparticles with mercury acetate into the solution of water/ isopropanol, followed by hydrolysis, washing, filtration, and drying at the room temperature. The structure of these nanoparticles were studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. The XRD pattern was used to confirm the binding between mercury impregnated nanoparticles and thymine organic base in the DNA of target cell. The biological effects and toxicity of γ-alumina and mercury impregnated γ-alumina nanoparticles on the cancer cells (Hella) and bone marrow stem cells were examined using the MTT test. Based on the results, the toxicity of the mercury impregnated γ-alumina nanoparticles on Hella cancer cells was found to be higher than that of stem cells. In other words, the mercury impregnated γ-alumina nanoparticles had a significant effect on removing the Hella cancer cells. It was also found that in the lower concentrations, pure γ-alumina nanoparticles had lower toxicity than mercury impregnated alumina.

IntroductionToxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite that invades a wide variety of host cells including macrophages and survives within it. The parts of Toxoplasma that participate in the mechanism of its evasion from immune system and macrophage defenses are not completely defined. In this study, we evaluated the effect of protein and DNA Toxoplasma fractions on proliferation and nitric oxide production by peritoneal macrophages.Material and MethodsThe viability of macrophages was evaluated using3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide (MTT) reduction assay and the production of nitrite using Griess method.ResultsMTT reduction and hence the growth and viability of macrophages in a dose of 200 ng/ml was significantly lower than those of the negative control (P=0.022); in other lower doses of protein it was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Different doses of Toxoplasma protein fraction did not affect NO production (P>0.05). MTT assay and NO production in different doses of DNA fraction was not different (P>0.05).ConclusionAccording to the results of the present study, protein fraction of Toxoplasma has a suppressive effect on macrophage viability, but this effect is dose dependent. Protein fraction of Toxoplasma does not affect the amount of NO production by macrophage. The isolated DNA fraction of Toxoplasma did not influence the viability and NO production of macrophages. So, the ability of evasion of Toxoplasma gondii from macrophage defense is due to a component of its protein.

Introduction: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer after lung cancer in women. Given that herbal preparations have long been used to treat cancer, this study aimed to investigate the cytotoxic effect of hydroalcholic extract of Kelussia odaratissma Mozaff and Thymus daenesis Celak on MCF-7 cancer cell line.Materials and methods: MCF-7 cancer cells and normal fibroblasts were cultured in DMEM medium containing Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) and antibiotic. The cells were exposed to different doses of hydroalcholic extract of Kelussia odaratissma Mozaff and Thymus daenesis Celak (0.156, 0.312, 0.625, 1.25, 2.5 mg/ml) and were incubated for 24, 48 and 72 hours. After the incubation period, modified colorimetric MTT method was used to determine the cellular toxicity of the extract.Results: The results of the MTT test showed that hydroalcholic extract of Kelussia odaratissma Mozaff and Thymus daenesis Celak had dose-dependent and time-dependent anti-cancer effect on MCF-7 cancer cells. The highest percentage of cell death was observed with the highest concentration of the extract and after 72 h of incubation (p<0.05). The extract did not show significant cytotoxicity on normal fibroblasts.Conclusion: Hydroalcholic extract of Kelussia odaratissma Mozaff and Thymus daenesis Celak has cytotoxic effects on MCF-7 cancer cells; however, this extract does not have any cytotoxic effects on normal fibroblasts. It appears that this extract can be used for cancer treatment with further research.

Objective: Cutaneous leishmaniasis is an endemic disease in certain areas of Iran. The use of pentavalent antimony compounds as first line treatment has been reported, however they are associated with limitations and adverse events. Hence, an attempt to find a new, effective compound has been under consideration. This study examines the effect of Achillea biebersteinii afan as, a native plant in Iran, against Leishmania major promastigote and amastigote growth under in vitro conditions.Methods: This experimental study was performed at Tarbiat Modares University in 1392.We extracted the essential oil of theAchillea biebersteinii afan plant by steam distillation and analyzed it by gas chromatography mass spectrograph. Then, we evaluated the effect of different concentrations (10%, 15%, 25% and 50%) of the oil on the growth of the promastigotes stage ofLeishmania and infected macrophages that contained amastigotes under in vitro conditions. Effectiveness of the oil on promastigotes and amastigotes was assessed by direct count and the MTT assay. In all tests, each of the wells that contained culture media and parasites without drug were considered the control group. Data analyses were conducted with ANOVA.Result: The MTT results indicated significant differences among the number of parasites in the control and case groups treated with 10%, 15%, 25%, and 50% of the oil within 24, 48 and 72 hours after culture. The concentration of 50% of the oil killed 66% of the macrophages that contained amastigotes after 72 hours.Conclusion: Achillea biebersteinii afan oil was effective in killing Leishmania major promastigotes and infected macrophages that contained amastigotes. We have proposed to study the extract in vivo for treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis lesions.

Background: Leishmaniasis, has created enormous global health problem. Side effects, drug resistance and the lack of effective vaccines and to make the new compounds effective due to plant.Objective: The traditional medical plants such as black alfalfa can be a valuable source of new pharmaceutical agents against leishmaniasis.Methods: Alcoholic extracts were prepared by maceration method. L. major promastigotes (Leishmania major) in Schneider and then were cultured in RPMI- 1640. Then, using MTT (Methyl Thiazole Tetrazolium), the IC50 (Inhibitory Concentrations 50%) for extract and Glucantime was determined. MTT assay did for each sample, 3 times.Results: IC50 for alcoholic extract of alfalfa black against L. major promastigotes in vitro after 24, 48 and 72 hours, respectively 165, 98 and 45 micrograms per ml and for Glucantime also equal to 27, 12 and 8 mg l respectively. IC50 between Extract and Glucantime after 24, 48 and 72 hours there was a significant difference (P <0.05). Morphological changes after challenge with meglumine and alcoholic extracts including cell shrinkage, round, dense cytoplasm and the cell was smaller. Presence of alkaloids and flavonoids in alcoholic extracts have been proved.Conclusion: As regards, plant extract had anti- leishmanial effects in vitro, further works are required to appraise the exact effect on Leishmania agent in animal models.

Aim and Background: Nowadays, applying nanocarriers has increased dramatically in drug delivery systems. Niosome is one of the nanocarriers with non-ionic surfactant which increases the stability of drug in the body. Since using cisplatin in treatment of cancer has some side effects, cisplatin was nanoniosomed. Material and methods: To prepare niosome, span 60 and cholesterol were used. Mean diameter of particles was determined by Zeta sizer. Encapsulation efficiency and drug release were measured by spectrophotometry method. Cytotoxicity effect of the formulation on C6 cell line was studied by MTT assay.Results: Mean diameter of particles was verified in scale of nano. Encapsulation efficiency and released in 48 hours were be 43.6% and 97%, respectively. The cytotoxicity effect of nanoniosomal cisplatin was 38.6 mg/ml.Conclusion: The present study showed that to reduce side effects of cisplatin and increase its toxicity, we can use nanoniosomal formulation.

Objectives: In this in vitro study a series of new norfloxacin derivatives with an oxime or a substituted oxime attached to the piperazine ring at C-7 position were evaluated for their cytotoxicity on Human Cancer Cell Lines Materials and Methods: The growth inhibitory activity of these compounds was determined for human cancer cell lines including bladder carcinoma (EJ138), renal adenocarcinoma (ACHN), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF-7), hepatocyte carcinoma (HEPG2), lung carcinoma (A549) and rat-Adrenal fibroblast-pheochromocytoma (PC-12) using colorimetric MTT assay. Results: The results showed that the norfloxacin derivatives tested in this study showed significant inhibitory activity for cancer cell lines. Some of the compounds such as C1, C9, C10  and C11 exhibited the most inhibitory activity against MCF-7 and PC-l2 with IC50 value of 9 µM (p<0.05). Among the cell lines tested, PC-l2 was very sensitive to these compounds. The known cytotoxic drug, Etoposide, demonstrated the most significant activities against all the cell lines tested with IC50 value less than 1.7 µM (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results indicated that the synthesized norfloxacin derivatives tested in this study, although they act mostly as antibacterial agents, they can also affect the function of the type 2 DNA topoisomerase in eukaryotic cells. Further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which these derivatives act.      

Introduction: Pyrimethamine and sulfadiazine are selective medications for toxoplasmosis, but some side effects hinder their consumption. Increasing the use of nanoparticles in biological studies and showing the benefi cial effects of manganese nanoparticles on fungi and bacteria, as well as the lack of suffi cient knowledge on its anti-Toxoplasma im-pacts, was the motivation for the design of this study. Manganese can provoke cell apoptosis by increasing the activation of the FRXO 3 a-Bim/ PUMA mRNA and caspase-3 pathway. The objective of this study was to investigate the effi cacy of manganese oxide nanoparticles (Mn 2 O 3 NPs) against Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) in vitro. Methods: To assess the anti-Toxoplasma activity of Mn2O3 NPs, the light microscopic observation was applied to evaluate the number of residual parasites in each well. Then, the MTT method was used to specify the toxic effect of Mn 2 O 3 NPs on T. gondii toxicity. Finally, the potential apoptosis of T. gondii by Mn2O3 NPs was investigated by fl ow cytometry assay Results: The IC50 value of Mn 2 O 3 NPs against T. gondii tachyzoite was 105 μ g/ml. There was also no signifi cant toxic effect of Mn 2 O 3 NPs on macrophages due to the high percentage of surviving macrophages at the desired concentration for treatment. The fi ndings of the fl ow cytometry revealed that about 40% of tachyzoites were caused to apoptosis with Mn 2 O 3 NPs. Conclusion: Mn 2 O 3 NPs have a benefi cial effect on T. gondii tachyzoite in vitro and could be regarded as a candidate for the treatment of this infection.

Background and objectives: Juniperus excelsa is a flowering plant that has been applied as traditional medicine for treatment of various disorders such as dysmenorrhea, bronchitis and colds, jaundice and tuberculosis. The aims of the present study were analyzing J. excelsa essential oil and investigation of its cytotoxic activity on three breast cancer cell lines. Methods: Juniperus excelsa leaves were collected from Dena mountains, located in the south-west of Iran. The composition of the essential oil was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Cytotoxic activity was evaluated using MTT assay. Results: Forty-one components, related to 99. 83% of the total oil, were identified. Monoterpene hydrocarbons represented the major components of the volatile oil while α-pinene (73. 27%) was the major component. The essential oil showed significant cytotoxic activity against breast cancer cell lines MCF-7 (IC50=0. 084 μ g/mL), MDA-MB-231 (IC50=0. 090 μ g/mL) and T-47D (IC50=0. 124 μ g/mL). Conclusion: The analysis of J. excelsa oil revealed α-pinene and cedrol as the main compounds of the volatile oil that could justifiy its remarkable cytotoxic effect against the tested cell lines.

Quinazolinone and benzimidazole are both fused heterocyclic compounds which have shown valuable biological properties including cytotoxic, antibacterial, and antifungal activities. In this study, a series of novel quinazolinone derivatives substituted with benzimidazole were synthesized in two parts. In the first part 2-phenyl-1H-benzimidazol-6-amine (4) was synthesized from the reaction of 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine and benzoic acid. In the second part, new 3-(2-phenyl-1H benzoimidazol-5-yl)-3H-quinazolin-4-one derivatives (8a-8f) were also prepared. Finally compound 4 was reacted with the different benzoxazinone derivatives (8a-8f) to give the target compounds. The structures of the synthesized compounds were confirmed by IR and 1HNMR. Cytotoxic activities of the final compounds were assessed at 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 μ M against MCF-7 and HeLa cell lines using the MTT colorimetric assay. Almost all compounds exhibited good cytotoxic activity against both cell lines. Compound 9d demonstrated the highest cytotoxic activity against MCF7 and Hela cell lines with IC50 70 μ M and 50 μ M, respectively.