● All 1,4-naphthoquinone hybrids exhibited significant antimicrobial activity.● Presence of a hydroxyl group on aromatic B-ring of juglone was crucial for activity.● Juglone can cause DNA damage by producing ROS and downregulation of RecA.● Juglone has the potential to become a disinfectant. The diverse and large-scale application of disinfectants posed potential health risks and caused ecological damage during the 2019-nCoV pandemic, thereby increasing the demands for the development of disinfectants based on natural products, with low health risks and low aquatic toxicity. In the present study, a few natural naphthoquinones and their derivatives bearing the 1,4-naphthoquinone skeleton were synthesized, and their antibacterial activity against selected bacterial strains was evaluated. In vitro antibacterial activities of the compounds were investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Under the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≤ 0.125 μmol/L for juglone (1a), 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (1f), and 7-methyl-5-acetoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (3c), a strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus was observed. All 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives exhibited a strong antibacterial activity, with MIC values ranging between 15.625 and 500 μmol/L and EC50 values ranging between 10.56 and 248.42 μmol/L. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibited strong antibacterial activities against S. aureus. Among these compounds, juglone (1a) showed the strongest antibacterial activity. The results from mechanistic investigations indicated that juglone, a natural naphthoquinone, caused cell death by inducing reactive oxygen species production in bacterial cells, leading to DNA damage. In addition, juglone could reduce the self-repair ability of bacterial DNA by inhibiting RecA expression. In addition to having a potent antibacterial activity, juglone exhibited low cytotoxicity in cell-based investigations. In conclusion, juglone is a strong antibacterial agent with low toxicity, indicating that its application as a bactericidal agent may be associated with low health risks and aquatic toxicity. 相似文献
● N2H4 addition enhanced and recovered anammox performance under Cr(VI) stress. ● N2H4 accelerated electron transfer of Cr(VI) reduction for detoxification. ● N2H4 enhanced anammox metabolism for activity recovery from Cr(VI) inhibition. ● Extracellular Cr(VI) reduction to less toxic Cr(III) was the dominant mechanism. The hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) would frequently impose inhibition to anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) process, hindering the efficiency of nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment. Hydrazine (N2H4), which is an intermediate product of anammox, participates in intracellular metabolism and extracellular Cr(VI) reduction. However, the roles of N2H4-induced intracellular metabolism and extracellular reduction in nitrogen removal under Cr(VI) stress remain unclear. The addition of 3.67 mg/L of N2H4 increased the anammox activity by 17%. As an intermediate, N2H4 enhanced anammox metabolism by increasing the heme c content and electron transfer system activity. As a reductant, N2H4 accelerated the reduction of c-Cyts-mediated extracellular Cr(VI) to the less toxic Cr(III). Extracellular Cr(III) accounts for 74% of the total Cr in a Cr(VI)-stressed anammox consortia. These findings highlight that N2H4-induced extracellular Cr(VI) reduction is the dominant mechanism for the survival of anammox consortia. We also found that N2H4 increased the production of extracellular polymeric substances to sequester excessive Cr(VI) and produced Cr(III). Taken together, the study findings suggest a potential strategy for enhancing nitrogen removal from ammonium-rich wastewater contaminated with Cr(VI). 相似文献
