Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of rhodanine-based 5-aryloxy pyrazoles against selected methicillin resistant and quinolone-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and QRSA).

With an intention to synergize the anti-bacterial activity of 5-aryloxy pyrazole and rhodanine derivatives, eight series of hybrid compounds have been synthesized and evaluated for their antibacterial activity. The majority of the synthesized compounds showed good inhibitory activity against selected methicillin resistant and quinolone-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA, QRSA) with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values in the range of 1-32 µg/mL. The cytotoxicity test suggests that these compounds exhibited in vitro antibacterial activity at non-cytotoxic concentrations. These studies therefore suggest that rhodanine-based 5-aryloxy pyrazoles are interesting scaffolds for the development of novel Gram-positive antibacterial agents.

Improve photo-electron conversion efficiency of ZnO/CdS coaxial nanorods by p-type CdTe coating.

Coaxial nanorods with a single-crystalline core and nanocrystal sensitizer shell are a promising nanostructure to enhance the performance of semiconductor sensitized solar cells. Herein, we report the fabrication of coaxial nanorods by depositing n-type CdS and p-type CdTe nanocrystals sequentially on ZnO nanorods. We find that p-type CdTe nanocrystals can work jointly with n-type CdS nanocrystals to enhance the photocurrent and voltage, achieving a conversion efficiency more than three times that of pure ZnO/CdS nanorods. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy characterization suggests that the stepwise band structure of ZnO/CdS/CdTe is conducive to improving charge separation and extending the electron diffusion length, finally contributing to a high conversion efficiency.