Employing Gamma-Ray-Modified Carbon Quantum Dots to Combat a Wide Range of Bacteria.

Nowadays, it is a great challenge to develop new medicines for treating various infectious diseases. The treatment of these diseases is of utmost interest to further prevent the development of multi-drug resistance in different pathogens. Carbon quantum dots, as a new member of the carbon nanomaterials family, can potentially be used as a highly promising visible-light-triggered antibacterial agent. In this work, the results of antibacterial and cytotoxic activities of gamma-ray-irradiated carbon quantum dots are presented. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were synthesized from citric acid by a pyrolysis procedure and irradiated by gamma rays at different doses (25, 50, 100 and 200 kGy). Structure, chemical composition and optical properties were investigated by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrometry and photoluminescence. Structural analysis showed that CQDs have a spherical-like shape and dose-dependent average diameters and heights. Antibacterial tests showed that all irradiated dots had antibacterial activity but CQDs irradiated with dose of 100 kGy had antibacterial activity against all seven pathogen-reference bacterial strains. Gamma-ray-modified CQDs did not show any cytotoxicity toward human fetal-originated MRC-5 cells. Moreover, fluorescence microscopy showed excellent cellular uptake of CQDs irradiated with doses of 25 and 200 kGy into MRC-5 cells.

Indigo Carmine in a Food Dye: Spectroscopic Characterization and Determining Its Micro-Concentration through the Clock Reaction.

Indigo carmine is a commonly used industrial blue dye. To determine its concentration in a commercially available food dye composed of a mixture of indigo carmine and D-glucose, this paper characterizes it through (ATR, KBr) FTIR micro-Raman as well as UV/Vis and clock: Briggs-Rauscher (BR) oscillatory reaction methods. The indigo carmine was detected in the bulk food dye only by applying micro-Raman spectroscopy, indicating a low percentage of the indigo carmine present. This research provides an improvement in the deviations from the experimental Raman spectrum as calculated by the B97D/cc-pVTZ level of theory one, resulting in a better geometrical optimization of the indigo carmine molecule compared to data within the literature. The analytical curves used to determine indigo carmine concentrations (and quantities) in an aqueous solution of food dye were applied by means of UV/Vis and BR methods. BR yielded significantly better analytical parameters: 100 times lower LOD and LOQ compared to commonly used UV/Vis. The remarkable sensitivity of the BR reaction towards indigo carmine suggests that not only does indigo carmine react in an oscillatory reaction but also its decomposition products, meaning that the multiple oxidation reactions have an important role in the BR's indigo carmine mechanism. The novelty of this research is the investigation of indigo carmine using a clock BR reaction, opening new possibilities to determine indigo carmine in other complex samples (pharmaceutical, food, etc.).

Nanocrystalline CeO2-δ as effective adsorbent of azo dyes.

Ultrafine CeO2-δ nanopowder, prepared by a simple and cost-effective self-propagating room temperature synthesis method (SPRT), showed high adsorption capability for removal of different azo dyes. Batch type of adsorption experiments with fixed initial pH value were conducted for the removal of Reactive Orange 16 (RO16), Methyl Orange (MO), and Mordant Blue 9 (MB9). The equilibrium adsorption data were evaluated using Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models. The Langmuir model slightly better describes isotherm data for RO16 and MO, whereas the Freundlich model was found to best fit the isotherm data for MB9 over the whole concentration range. The maximum adsorption capacities, determined from isotherm data for MO, MB9, and RO16 were 113, 101, and 91 mg g(-1) respectively. The adsorption process follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model indicating the coexistence of chemisorption and physisorption. The mechanism of azo dye adsorption is also discussed.

Inhibition of rat synaptic membrane Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase and ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolases by 12-tungstosilicic and 12-tungstophosphoric acid.

The in vitro influence of Keggin structure polyoxotungstates, 12-tungstosilicic acid, H(4)SiW(12)O(40) (WSiA) and 12-tungstophosphoric acid, H(3)PW(12)O(40) (WPA), and monomer Na(2)WO(4) × 2H(2)O on rat synaptic plasma membrane (SPM) Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and E-NTPDase activity was studied, whereas the commercial porcine cerebral cortex Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase served as a reference. Dose-dependent Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase inhibition was obtained for all investigated compounds. Calculated IC(50) (10 min) values, in mol/l, for SPM/commercial Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase, were: 3.4 × 10(-6)/4.3 × 10(-6), 2.9 × 10(-6)/3.1 × 10(-6) and 1.3 × 10(-3)/1.5 × 10(-3) for WSiA, WPA and Na(2)WO(4) × 2H(2)O, respectively. In the case of E-NTPDase, increasing concentrations of WSiA and WPA induced its activity reduction, while Na(2)WO(4) × 2H(2)O did not noticeably affect the enzyme activity at all investigated concentrations (up to 1 × 10(-3)mol/l). IC(50) (10 min) values, obtained from the inhibition curves, were (in mol/l): 4.1 × 10(-6) for WSiA and 1.6 × 10(-6) for WPA. Monolacunary Keggin anion was found as the main active molecular species present under physiological conditions (in the enzyme assays, pH 7.4), for the both polyoxotungstates solutions (1 mmol/l), using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. Additionally, commercial porcine cerebral cortex Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase was exposed to the mixture of Na(2)WO(4) × 2H(2)O and WSiA at different concentrations. Additive inhibition effect was achieved for lower concentrations of Na(2)WO(4) × 2H(2)O/WSiA (≤ 1 × 10(-3)/4 × 10(-6) mol/l), while antagonistic effect was obtained for all higher concentrations of the inhibitors.