Neutral Red

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are biochemical-catalyzed systems in which electricity is produced by oxidizing biodegradable organic matters in presence of either bacteria or enzyme. This system can serve as a device for generating clean energy and, also wastewater treatment unit. In this paper, production of bioelectricity in MFC in batch and continuous systems were investigated. A dual chambered air–cathode MFC was fabricated for this purpose. Graphite plates were used as electrodes and glucose as a substrate with initial concentration of 30 g l−1 was used. Cubic MFC reactor was fabricated and inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae PTCC 5269 as active biocatalyst. Neutral red with concentration of 200 μmol l−1 was selected as electron shuttle in anaerobic anode chamber. In order to enhance the performance of MFC, potassium permanganate at 400 μmol l−1 concentration as oxidizer was used. The performance of MFC was analyzed by the measurement of polarization curve and cyclic volatmmetric data as well. Closed circuit voltage was obtained using a 1 kΩ resistance. The voltage at steady-state condition was 440 mV and it was stable for the entire operation time. In a continuous system, the effect of hydraulic retention time (HRT) on performance of MFC was examined. The optimum HRT was found to be around 7 h. Maximum produced power and current density at optimum HRT were 1210 mA m−2 and 283 mW m−2, respectively.► Power generation was investigated in a single MFC at batch and continuous modes. ► Continuous MFCs offer some advantages over batch systems for practical applications. ► Polarity and cyclic voltammetry, were adopted to analyze experimental data. ► OCV was stable for the duration of 72 h of operation time in batch system. ► At optimum HRT (6.7 h), maximum output were 1210 mA m−2 and 283 mW m−2, respectively.

The cytotoxic effects of a new epoxy resin-based root canal sealer (AH-plus), together with those of two other commonly used endodontic sealers (AH26 and zinc oxide-eugenol), have been studied in vitro on a culture of human gingival fibroblasts. Cytotoxicity was assessed by direct incubation of sealers' extracts with the cultured fibroblasts at different time intervals. Morphological and cytotoxic effects of the sealers were evaluated microscopically and spectrophotometrically using the neutral red cytotoxicity assay. Our results demonstrated that the cytotoxic effects induced by zinc oxide-eugenol were detectable as early as 1 hr after mixing and remained at a high level until completion of the experiment (5 wk). AH26, however, induced early cytotoxic effects that lasted for 1 wk, followed by a substantial reduction in cytotoxicity. Cytotoxicity of the AH-plus was confined to the early period of experiment and was no longer detectable after 4 hr of mixing. Comparison between th...

A single injection of 100 micrograms reserpine into the crop of the medicinal leech, Hirudo medicinalis, reduced CNS serotonin and dopamine levels to less than 1% of control values within 3 d. High-pressure liquid chromotography- (HPLC) determined CNS serotonin and dopamine levels remained maximally depressed for approximately 1 month following reserpine injection. Subsequently, amine levels recovered slowly, but remained depressed 6 months after reserpine injection. Following reserpine treatment, glyoxylic acid-induced fluorescence or neutral red staining closely mirrored the HPLC-determined time course of amine depletion and recovery. Acute exposure of isolated ganglia to 10 microM reserpine for periods up to 6 hr produced a 20-30% reduction of serotonin and dopamine content. The threshold concentration of reserpine necessary to produce amine depletion was approximately 1 microM. We found that reserpine treatment eliminated biting behavior within 4 d following injection. Biting be...

The interaction of neutral red (NR) with double-stranded calf thymus DNA was investigated by electrochemical methods using a DNA-modified glassy carbon (GC-DNA) electrode. The results were compared with those obtained at a bare glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The findings showed that although the kinetic of the electron transfer process remains reversible similar to that of using GC electrode, the formal potential of NR (E0′) was more positive when using GC-DNA electrode. GC-DNA electrode enables the enrichment of the concentration of NR for the chosen times on the electrode surface. The ratio of the binding constants for the oxidized and reduced forms of the bound species was obtained through comparing the formal potentials of NR obtained using the modified and bare surfaces. A binding isotherm for NR at GC-DNA electrode was obtained from coulometric titrations indicated a Langmuiran behavior for the NR adsorption on DNA layer, and gave an affinity constant equal to 2.76 × 104 l mol−1.

Oil refinery effluents contain many chemicals at variable concentrations. Therefore, it is difficult to predict potential effects on the environment. The Atibaia River (SP, Brazil), which serves as a source of water supply for many municipalities, receives the effluents of one of the biggest oil refinery of this country. The aim of this study was to identify the (eco)toxicity of fresh water sediments under the influence of this oil refinery through neutral red (cytotoxicity) and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) assays (AhR-mediated toxicity) in RTL-W1 cells (derived from fish liver). Once the refinery captures the waters of Jaguarí River for the development of its activities and discharges its effluents after treatment into the Atibaia River, which then flows into Piracicaba River, sediments from both river systems were also investigated. The samples showed a high cytotoxic potential, even when compared to well-known pollution sites. However, the cytotoxicity of samples collected...

This paper describes a critical comparative evaluation of 5 miniaturised colorimetric assays applicable to cytotoxicity testing of anti-tumour drugs (and other toxins)in vitro. Each assay shows a different linear range for optical density versus cell number, a different sensitivity to change in cell number and a different minimum detectable cell number; the values of these parameters vary with experimental conditions and with cell line used. All the methods gave good correlation with viable cell number (determined by colony forming efficiency) in toxicity assays after 3 or 4 days of treatment, but they underestimated cell death after 2 days. Toxicity levels for individual chemicals (in a standard 6-day assay) are similar for the different assays, irrespective of the mechanism of action of the chemical being tested. Two of the more recently developed assays (APNaOH and SRB) were found to be very sensitive under the conditions examined.

A comparative assessment of three approaches for the use of human cells in vitro to investigate combustion toxicity was conducted. These included one indirect and two direct (passive and dynamic) exposure methods. The indirect method used an impinger system in which culture medium was used to trap the toxicants, whilst the direct exposure involved the use of a Horizontal Harvard Navicyte Chamber at the air/liquid interface. The cytotoxic effects of thermal decomposition products were assessed using the MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) assay (Promega) on a selection of human cells including: HepG2, A549 and skin fibroblasts. A small scale laboratory fire test using a vertical tube furnace was designed for the generation of combustion products. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was selected as a model polymer to study the cytotoxic effects of combustion products. NOAEC (no observable adverse effect concentration), IC10 (10% inhibitory concentration), IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) and TLC (total lethal concentration) values were determined from dose response curves. Assessment using the NRU (neutral red uptake) and ATP (adenosine triphosphate) assays on human lung derived cells (A549) was also undertaken. Comparison between in vitro cytotoxicity results against published toxicity data for PMMA combustion and predicted LC50 (50% lethal concentration) values calculated from identified compounds using GCMS (gas chromatography mass spectrometry) was determined. The results suggested that the indirect exposure method did not appear to simulate closely exposure via inhalation, whilst exposure at the air/liquid interface by using the dynamic method proved to be a more representative method of human inhalation. This exposure method may be a potential system for in vitro cytotoxicity testing in combustion toxicity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Chlorate and chlorite concentrations were determined in water samples taken from 33 swimming pools. In the pools under investigation, disinfection of the water is carried out either by gaseous chlorine (n = 14) or hypochlorite solution in conjunction with flocculation and sand filtration. A number of the pools also use ozone treatment to augment the disinfection process. Chlorite was not

Phototoxicity is of increasing concern in dermatology, since modern lifestyle is often associated with exposure to sunlight. The most commonly reported process is via oxidative reactions. Therefore characterizing the "photo-pro-oxidant" potential of a compound early in its industrial development is of utmost interest, especially for compounds likely to undergo sunlight exposure in skin. Today there is a need for filtering compounds to be tested in the 3T3 neutral red uptake in vitro test for phototoxicity since testing requires resources. A computational model aiming at predicting the mechanisms that imply the generation of reactive oxygen species was developed using a diverse set of 56 chemicals having 3T3 NRU data. An historical mechanistic (Q)SAR model developed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was used to derive the new mechanistic model: descriptors were selected upfront to describe the modeled phenomenon. The historical parabolic relationships between phototoxici...