The Addition of Co into CuO-ZnO Oxides Triggers High Antibacterial Activity and Low Cytotoxicity.

In the present work, a simple two-step method is proposed for mixed oxide synthesis aimed at the achievement of antibacterial nanomaterials. In particular, Cu, Zn and Co have been selected to achieve single-, double- and triple-cation oxides. The synthesized samples are characterized by XRD, IR, SEM and EDX, indicating the formation of either crystalline or amorphous hydrocarbonate precursors. The oxides present one or two crystalline phases, depending on their composition; the triple-cation oxides form a solid solution of tenorite. Also, the morphology of the samples varies with the composition, yielding nanoparticles, filaments and hydrangea-like microaggregates. The antibacterial assays are conducted against E. coli and indicate an enhanced efficacy, especially displayed by the oxide containing 3% Co and 9% Zn incorporated into the CuO lattice. The oxides with the highest antibacterial properties are tested for their cytotoxicity, indicating a low toxicity impact, in line with literature data.

CuO Nanoparticles and Microaggregates: An Experimental and Computational Study of Structure and Electronic Properties.

The link between morphology and properties is well-established in the nanoparticle literature. In this report, we show that different approaches in the synthesis of copper oxide can lead to nanoparticles (NPs) of different size and morphology. The structure and properties of the synthesized NPs are investigated with powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS). Through detailed SEM analyses, we were able to correlate the synthetic pathways with the particles' shape and aggregation, pointing out that bare hydrothermal pathways yield mainly spheroidal dandelion-like aggregates, whereas, if surfactants are added, the growth of the nanostructures along a preferential direction is promoted. The effect of the morphology on the electronic properties was evaluated through DRS, which allowed us to obtain the electron bandgap in every system synthesized, and to find that the rearrangement of threaded particles into more compact structures leads to a reduction in the energy difference. The latter result was compared with Density Functional Theory (DFT) computational models of small centrosymmetric CuO clusters, cut from the tenorite crystal structure. The computed UV-Vis absorption spectra obtained from the clusters are in good agreement with experimental findings.

Co-doped MnFe2O4 nanoparticles: magnetic anisotropy and interparticle interactions.

The effect of cobalt doping on the magnetic properties of Mn1- x Co x Fe2O4 nanoparticles was investigated. All samples consist of ensembles of nanoparticles with a spherical shape and average diameter of about 10 nm, showing small structural changes due to the substitution. Besides having the same morpho-structural properties, the effect of the chemical composition, i.e., the amount of Co doping, produces marked differences on the magnetic properties, especially on the magnetic anisotropy, with evident large changes in the coercive field. Moreover, Co substitution has a profound effect on the interparticle interactions, too. A dipolar-based interaction regime is detected for all samples; in addition, the intensity of the interactions shows a possible relation with the single particle anisotropy. Finally, the sample with the strongest interaction regime shows a superspin glass state confirmed by memory effect dynamics.