Biocompatible and Antibacterial SnO2 Nanowire Films Synthesized by E-Beam Evaporation Method.

In this work, the biocompatibility and antibacterial activities of novel SnO2 nanowire coatings prepared by electron-beam (E-Beam) evaporation process at low temperatures were studied. The nanowire coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. The results of in vitro cytotoxicity and cell proliferation assays suggested that the SnO2 nanowire coatings were nontoxic and promoted the proliferation of C2C12 and L929 cells (> 90% viability). Cellular activities, cell adhesion, and lactate dehydrogenase activities were consistent with the superior biocompatibility of the nanowire materials. Notably, the nanowire coating showed potent antibacterial activity against six different bacterial strains. The antibacterial activity of the SnO2 material was attributed to the photocatalytic nature of SnO2. The antibacterial activity and biocompatibility of the newly developed SnO2 nanowire coatings may enable their use as coating materials for biomedical implants.

Anti-cancerous efficacy and pharmacokinetics of 6-mercaptopurine loaded chitosan nanoparticles.

6-Mercaptopurine is a cytotoxic and immunosuppressant drug. The use of this drug is limited due to its poor bioavailability and short plasma half-life. In order to nullify these drawbacks, 6-mercaptopurine-chitosan nanoparticles (6-MP-CNPs) were prepared and evaluated to study the influence of preparation conditions on the physicochemical properties by using DLS, SEM, XRD and FTIR. The in vitro drug release profile at pH 4.8 and 7.4 revealed sustained release patterns for a period of 2 days. The nanoformulations showed enhanced in vitro anti-cancer activities (MTT assay, apoptosis assay, cell cycle arrest and ROS indices) on HT-1080 and MCF-7 cells. In vivo pharmacokinetics profiles of 6-MP-CNPs showed improved bioavailability. Thus, the results of the present study revealed that, the prepared 6-MP-CNPs have a significant role in increasing anti-cancer efficacy, bioavailability and in vivo pharmacokinetics profiles.

Polyvinylpyrrolidone oral films of enrofloxacin: film characterization and drug release.

Enrofloxacin is a fluoroquinolone derivative used for treating urinary tract, respiratory and skin infections in animals. However, low solubility and low bioavailability prevented it from using on humans. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) is an inert, non toxic polymer with excellent hydrophilic properties, besides it can enhance bioavailability by forming drug polymer conjugates. With the aim of increasing solubility and bioavailability, enrofloxacin thin films were prepared using PVP as a polymer matrix. The obtained oral thin films exhibited excellent uniformity and mechanical properties. Swelling properties of the oral thin films revealed that the water uptake was enhanced by 21%. The surface pH has been found to be 6.8±0.1 indicating that these films will not cause any irritation to oral mucosa. FTIR data of the oral thin films indicated physical interaction between drug and polymer. SEM analysis revealed uniform distribution of drug in polymer matrix. In vitro drug release profiles showed enhanced release profiles (which are also pH dependant) for thin films compared to pure drug. Antibacterial activity was found to be dose dependent and maximum susceptibility was found on Klebsiella pneumonia making this preparation more suitable for respiratory infections.

Self catalytic growth of indium oxide (In2O3) nanowires by resistive thermal evaporation.

Self catalytic growth of Indium Oxide (In2O3) nanowires (NWs) have been grown by resistive thermal evaporation of Indium (In) in the presence of oxygen without use of any additional metal catalyst. Nanowires growth took place at low substrate temperature of 370-420 degrees C at an applied current of 180-200 A to the evaporation boat. Morphology, microstructures, and compositional studies of the grown nanowires were performed by employing field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) respectively. Nanowires were uniformly grown over the entire Si substrate and each of the nanowire is capped with a catalyst particle at their end. X-ray diffraction study reveals the crystalline nature of the grown nanowires. Transmission electron microscopy study on the nanowires further confirmed the single crystalline nature of the nanowires. Energy dispersive X-ray analysis on the nanowires and capped nanoparticle confirmed that Indium act as catalyst for In2O3 nanowires growth. A self catalytic Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) growth mechanism was responsible for the growth of In2O3 nanowires. Effect of oxygen partial pressure variation and variation of applied currents to the evaporation boat on the nanowires growth was systematically studied. These studies concluded that at oxygen partial pressure in the range of 4 x 10(-4), 6 x 10(-4) mbar at applied currents to the evaporation boat of 180-200 A were the best conditions for good nanowires growth. Finally, we observed another mode of VLS growth along with the standard VLS growth mode for In2O3 nanowires similar to the growth mechanism reported for GaAs nanowires.

Spectroscopic and electrical properties of SiO2 films prepared by simple and cost effective sol-gel process.

Amorphous SiO2 thin films were prepared on glass and silicon substrates by cost effective sol-gel method. Tetra ethyl ortho silicate (TEOS) was used as the precursor material, ethanol as solvent and concentrated HCl as a catalyst. The films were characterized at different annealing temperatures. The optical transmittance was slightly increased with increase of annealing temperature. The refractive index was found to be 1.484 at 550 nm. The formation of SiO2 film was analyzed from FT-IR spectra. The MOS capacitors were designed using silicon (100) substrates. The current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-voltage (C-V) and dissipation-voltage (D-V) measurements were taken for all the annealed films deposited on Si (100). The variation of current density, resistivity and dielectric constant of SiO2 films with different annealing temperatures was investigated and discussed for its usage in applications like MOS capacitor. The results revealed the decrease of dielectric constant and increase of resistivity of SiO2 films with increasing annealing temperature.