No abstract

In this paper, concentrations of some heavy metals in surficial sediments of the International Anzali Wetland were measured, this wetland is located in northern part of Iran. Sediment pollution levels were examined and analyzed using reliable pollution indices including Pollution Load Index (PLI), Geoaccumulation Index (Igeo) and Enrichment Factor (CF), and finally it was revealed that heavy metal pollution ranged from low to moderated loads in the wetland. According to Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs) and Ecological Risk Index (ERI), it was concluded that As and Ni may have significant toxic impacts on aquatic organisms and also according to Effect Range Median (ERM), the toxicity probability of sediments in the Anzali wetland was estimated at 21%.

Human serum albumin (HSA) is the most abundant protein in plasma with a high ligand-binding capacity. This capacity impacts the pharmacokinetic properties of therapeutic drugs. In the present study, the binding properties of flutamide to HSA at different temperatures, pHs and percentages of HSA were investigated. Thermodynamic parameters were also determined to describe the nature of binding interaction. A modified ultrafiltration method was used for accurate determination of flutamide-HSA parameters. Ultra filtrate samples containing free flutamide were extracted and analyzed by developed HPLC-UV method. Analysis of binding data was performed in terms of Scatchard, Klotz and Hill plots. Kinetic parameters (n, K) were found to be affected by temperature, pH and HSA concentration. However, flutamide-HSA-binding level did not show significant differences under different experimental conditions. The negative value of Gibbs free energy (ΔG) indicated that the binding was spontaneous. Moreover, the negative value for enthalpy and entropy changes suggested that hydrogen bonding and van der Waals forces played major role in the binding of flutamide to HSA. The results suggested a positive cooperation behavior of flutamide-HSA-binding that was affected by pH, temperature and percentage of HSA.