Adsorption and bacterial performance of Nd2O3 modified Ag nanoparticles with enhanced degradation of methylene blue.

Our study focused on the optical behavior, methylene blue (MB) dye degradation potential, antibacterial performance, and silver and trioxide mineral interaction with different bacterial species. We found that the addition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to neodymium oxide (Nd2O3) resulted in a significant response, with an enlargement of the inhibition zone for bacterial species such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Specifically, the inhibition zone for S. aureus increased from 9.3 ± 0.5 mm for pure Nd2O3 to 16.7 ± 0.4 mm for the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite, while for E. coli, it increased from 8.8 ± 0.4 mm for Nd2O3 to 15.9 ± 0.3 mm for Ag/Nd2O3. Furthermore, the optical behavior of the composites showed a clear band-gap narrowing with the addition of Ag NPs, resulting in enhanced electronic localization. The direct and indirect transitions reduced from 6.7 to 6.1 eV and from 5.2 to 2.9 eV, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite has potential applications in sensor industries and water treatment, thanks to its enhanced optical behavior, antibacterial performance, and efficient MB degradation capabilities. In terms of MB degradation, the Ag/Nd2O3 mixed system exhibited more efficient degradation compared to pure Nd2O3. After 150 min, the MB concentration in the mixed system decreased to almost half of its starting point, while pure Nd2O3 only reached 33%.

Optical, Thermal, and Electrical Characterization of Polyvinyl Pyrrolidone/Carboxymethyl Cellulose Blend Scattered by Tungsten-Trioxide Nanoparticles.

The polymeric material polyvinyl pyrrolidine/carboxymethyl cellulose (PVP/CMC) was mixed with different quantities of tungsten-trioxide nanoparticles (WO3 NPs). The samples were created using the casting method and Pulsed Laser Ablation (PLA). The manufactured samples were analyzed by utilizing various methods. The halo peak of the PVP/CMC was located at 19.65°, confirming its semi-crystalline nature, as shown in the XRD analysis. FT-IR spectra of pure PVP/CMC composite and PVP/CMC composite incorporated with various contents of WO3 obtained a shift in band locations and change in intensity. Optical band gap was calculated via UV-Vis spectra, which decreased when increasing the laser-ablation time. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) curves showed that samples' thermal stability had improved. The frequency-dependent composite films were used to determine AC conductivity of the generated films. When increasing the content of tungsten-trioxide nanoparticles, both (ε') and (ε'') increased. The incorporation of tungsten trioxide enhanced the ionic conductivity of PVP/CMC/WO3 nano-composite to a maximum of 10-8 S/c. It is expected that these studies will have a significant impact on several utilizations, such as energy storage, polymer organic semiconductors, and polymer solar cells.

Investigation of the interaction mechanism of 3-allyl-2-hydantoin anti-cancer on the pristine and functionalized BC2N nanotubes as an effective drug delivery nanocarriers.

One of the exciting aspects of different nanomaterials in biomedical applications is the delivery of a wide range of anti-cancer drugs to mitigate their negative side effects via precise targeting of the tumor cells. In the present study, the DFT B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory was used to evaluate the capabilities of raw BC2N nanotubes (BC2NNTs) and functionalized BC2NNTs nanostructures as a carrier for an anti-cancer drug (i.e., 3-allyl-2-hydantoin (3-ASH)). It was specified that the existing interaction between 3-ASH and BC2N nanotubes is weak (-10.97 kcal mol-1). Therefore, the functionalized BC2NNTs were investigated for 3-ASH interaction. According to our computations, compared with raw BC2NNTs, the role of hydrogen bonds between 3-ASH molecules' active sites and carboxyl-functionalized BC2NNTs in the complexes' fixation, adsorption, and thermodynamic energy is of great importance. A considerable transfer of charge between 3-ASH molecule to the functionalized BC2NNTs was detected via MEP, NBO, and fractional charge transfer analysis. Also, it was found that these nanostructures have high stability on the water medium while their solvation energies have negative values. This negative value is beneficial for the applications of 3-ASH drug delivery. The present work proposes a new method to load 3-ASH drugs with a high density on BC2NNTs' surfaces.

Conditions adjustment of polycaprolactone nanofibers scaffolds encapsulated with core shells of Au@Se via laser ablation for wound healing applications.

Au@Se core-shell nanoparticles were obtained via laser ablation technique to be incorporated into polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous scaffolds for wound healing applications at different contributions of Se nanoparticles (SeNPs). The synthesized layers were inspected via X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR). Additionally, microstructural and surface morphology were followed with different SeNPs contributions before and after fibroblast culturing. Moreover, Selenium dopant is affected Maximum roughness valley depth while it starts from 0.31 µm at Au@0.0Se@PCL reaching 0.457 µm at Au@12Se@PCL; however, after culturing starts from 0.3833 µm reaching 0.41 µm. Besides, the antibacterial activity was screened, showing the absence of inhibition zones in free selenium composition; however, it grows up reaching 8.3 ±â€¯0.8, and 8.0 ±â€¯0.8 for E. coli and S. aureus, respectively at the maximum contribution of selenium. SeNPs contributed composites show higher cell viability than Selenium free composite that it reaches its max in Au@8.0Se@PCL, recording 95.3 ±â€¯2.3%. Composites show an excellent Wound dressing capability that its performance is directly proportional to selenium content. This significant enrichment of antibacterial activity and cell viability could recommend these composites for additional research in medical applications.

Taking Hydroxyapatite-Coated Titanium Implants Two Steps Forward: Surface Modification Using Graphene Mesolayers and a Hydroxyapatite-Reinforced Polymeric Scaffold.

Coating with hydroxyapatite (HAP) presents a mainstream strategy for rendering bioinert titanium implants bioactive. However, the low porosity of pure HAP coatings does not allow for the infiltration of the surface of the metallic implant with the host cells. Polymeric scaffolds do enable this osseointegration effect, but their bonding onto titanium presents a challenge because of the disparity in hydrophilicity. Here, we demonstrate the inability of a composite scaffold composed of carbonated HAP (CHAP) nanoparticles interspersed within electrospun ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers to bind onto titanium. To solve this challenge, an intermediate layer of graphene nanosheets was deposited in a pulsed laser deposition process, which facilitated the bonding of the scaffold. The duration of the deposition of graphene (0, 5, 10, 15, and 20 min) and the thickness of its mesolayer affected numerous physical and chemical properties of the material, including the surface atomic proportion of carbon bonds, the orientation and interlinking of the polymeric nanofibers, and the surface roughness, which increased in direct proportion with the thickness of the graphene mesolayer. Because the polymeric scaffold did not adhere onto the surface of pure titanium, no cells were detected growing on it in vitro. In contrast, human fibroblasts adhered, spread, and proliferated well on all the substrates sputtered with both graphene and the composite scaffold. The orientations of cytoskeletal filopodia and lamellipodia were largely determined by the topographic orientation of the nanofibers and the geometry of the surface pores, attesting to the important effects that the presence of a scaffold has on the cellular behavior. The protection of titanium from corrosion in the simulated body fluid (SBF) was enhanced by coating with graphene and the composite scaffold, with the most superior resistance to the attack of the corrosive ions being exhibited by the substrate subjected to the shortest duration of the graphene deposition because of the highest atomic ratio of C-C to C-O bonds detected in it. Overall, some properties of titanium, such as roughness and wettability, were improved monotonously with an increase in the thickness of the graphene mesolayer, while others, such as cell viability and resistance to corrosion, required optimization, given that they were diminished at higher graphene mesolayer thicknesses. Nevertheless, every physical and chemical property of titanium analyzed was significantly improved by coating with graphene and the composite scaffold. This type of multilayer design evidently holds a great promise in the design of biomaterials for implants in orthopedics and tissue engineering.

Blend biopolymeric nanofibrous scaffolds of cellulose acetate/ε-polycaprolactone containing metallic nanoparticles prepared by laser ablation for wound disinfection applications.

Laser ablation technique was utilized to synthesize versatile metallic nanoparticles including ZnO, Ag and CuO which were incorporated into the blend matrix of cellulose Acetate (CA) and ε-polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous scaffold. The compositional, microstructural and morphological behaviors for the obtained nanofibers were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transformed Infrared, Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Field Emission-Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The cell viability and antibacterial activity were investigated against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E-coli). TEM micrographs refer that while CuONPs were involved in the middle of CA/PCL fibrous scaffold with diameters around 160 nm. The morphological investigations indicated the scaffolds were configured in a non-oriented form with diameters 0.45-0.9 µm in the case of ZnONPs involved in blend matrix fibers. The ratio of viable cells displays that compositions are biocompatible, while the antibacterial activity of both AgNPs and CuONPs showed an inhibition zone around 11.2.3 ± 2.2 mm and 9.4 ± 1.2 mm respectively. Bio-blend polymers matrices carrying nanoparticles could be tailored for a plethora of biomedical applications upon their compositions.

Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of antimicrobial activity of novel Chitosan/Tigecycline composite.

With the increase of antibiotic resistance currently available at an alarming rate, new improved films of Chitosan (CS) have been achieved with different levels of Tigecycline (TIGE) using traditional casting technology. The structural, optical, and morphological characterizations of the prepared (CS/TIGE) composites were investigated using XRD, FT-IR, UV-visible, and FE-SEM. Also, the antibacterial characterization was investigated. XRD pattern shows a semi-crystalline peak at 2θ = 21° begins to appear at Cs/TIGE2 concentration and its intensity increase with increasing TIGE concentration which indicate the interaction between TIGE and Cs. FT-IR reveals conservation of the distinctive bands with change in both intensity and position that attributed to increase the ratios of TIGE in Chitosan. UV-vis spectra confirmed the interaction of the CS and the drug TIGE. FE-SEM photos confirm the increasing of TIGE particles on the surface of CS/TIGE films by increasing the ratios of TIGE. The antimicrobial effect of Chitosan and five different ratios of Chitosan with TIGE have been identified against four different bacterial species, two gram-negative (Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis) and two gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa). The obtained results indicated that the composite Cs/TIGE can be used in many antimicrobial applications because of its greatly antimicrobial activity.

Synthesis and characterization of PVK/AgNPs nanocomposites prepared by laser ablation.

Nanocomposites of Poly (n-vinylcarbazole) PVK/Ag nanoparticles were prepared by laser ablation of a silver plate in aqueous solution of chlorobenzene. The influences of laser parameters such as; time of irradiation, source power and wavelength (photon energy) on structural, morphological and optical properties have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and Photoluminescence (PL). A correlation between the investigated properties has been discussed. XRD, TEM and PL indicated that the complexation between AgNPs and PVK in the composite system is possible. Only the reflection peak at 2θ=38° of AgNPs appeared in the composite nanoparticles while the other reflection peaks were destroyed. The nanoparticles shape and size distribution were evaluated from TEM images. TEM analysis revealed a lower average particle size at long laser irradiation time 40min and short laser wavelength 532nm together with high laser power 570mW. From UV-Visible spectra the values of absorption coefficient, absorption edge and energy tail were calculated. The reduction of band tail value with increasing the laser ablation parameters confirms the decrease of the disorder in such composite system. The PL and UV-Vis. spectra confirm that nanocomposite samples showed quantum confinement effect.