Study of optical phase conjugation in amorphous Zn(x)-S(y)-Se(100-x-y) chalcogenide thin films using degenerate four-wave mixing.

Degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) experiment is performed to obtain light wavefront inversion (phase conjugation) in semiconducting chalcogenide thin films. Third order nonlinearity of amorphous Zn(x)-S(y)-Se(100-x-y) chalcogenide thin films using DFWM technique is studied at second harmonic of Nd:YAG laser. Influence of total input irradiance on phase conjugate signal is deliberated using log-log plot that has a slope of three and hence implies third order nonlinearity. The dependence of phase conjugate signal on forward beam and backward beam is also studied. The period of the grating formed by interference of forward and probe beam is determined. As the temporal overlapping and sample thickness conditions are satisfied, the third order nonlinear susceptibility, figure of merit and nonlinear refractive index of amorphous films are estimated. The nonlinear behavior is analyzed in terms of decrease in band gap with increasing Zinc and decreasing Sulfur content.

Sensitive measurement of optical nonlinearity in amorphous chalcogenide materials in nanosecond regime.

The present work focuses on the nonlinear optical behavior of chalcogenide As(2)S(3) film as well as on bulk material. The thin film of As(2)S(3) grown by thermal evaporation and bulk glass developed by melt-quenched technique has been characterized using nanosecond pulses of Nd:YAG (532 nm) and Nd:YVO(4) (1,064 nm) laser. Using Z-scan technique, the laser induced nonlinear optical parameters viz. nonlinear refractive index (n(2)), nonlinear absorption coefficient (ß) and third order nonlinear susceptibility (χ(3)) have been estimated. At 1,064 nm excitation, the materials exhibit stronger nonlinearity as compared to that of 532 nm laser. In case of As(2)S(3) thin film, observed nonlinearity attributes to two-photon absorption. The optical limiting response of chalcogenide film as well as bulk sample has also been reported. The study predicts that the As(2)S(3) thin film is a better optical limiting material than bulk glass due to relatively higher nonlinearity and lower limiting threshold.

Synthesis of isonicotinic acid N'-arylidene-N-[2-oxo-2-(4-aryl-piperazin-1-yl)-ethyl]-hydrazides as antituberculosis agents.

A new series of antituberculosis agents 6-9 was designed, synthesized and evaluated for antituberculosis activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv and clinical isolates in an agar dilution method. Compound 9h showed comparable in vitro activity (MIC) to isoniazid against M. tuberculosis H37Rv and clinical isolates (sensitive strains) and superior activity against resistant strains of M. tuberculosis.

Synthesis of novel substituted tetrazoles having antifungal activity.

In an effort to find potent antifungal agents, a variety of triazole derivatives with a 5-substituted tetrazole structure 6, 7, 12 and 14 were prepared and evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida spp., Cryptococcus neoformans, and Aspergillus spp. in vitro. The location of the methyl group at the C-3 of compounds 12 and 14 has been demonstrated to be a key structural element of antifungal potency.

Optically active antifungal azoles: synthesis and antifungal activity of (2R,3S)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3-(5-[2-[4-aryl-piperazin-1-yl]-ethyl]-tetrazol-2-yl/1-yl)-1-[1,2,4]-triazol-1-yl-butan-2-ol.

A series of (2R,3S)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3-(5-[2-[4-aryl-piperazin-1-yl]-ethyl]-tetrazol-2-yl)-1-[1,2,4]-triazol-1-yl-butan-2-ol (11a-n) and (2R,3S)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-3-(5-[2-[4-aryl-piperazin-1-yl]-ethyl]-tetrazole-1-yl)-1-[1,2,4]-triazol-1-yl-butan-2-ol (12a-n) has been synthesized. The antifungal activity of compounds was evaluated by in vitro agar diffusion and broth dilution assay. Compounds 11d and its positional isomer 12d having 3-trifluoromethyl substitution on the phenyl ring of piperazine demonstrated significant antifungal activity against variety of fungal cultures (Candida spp. C. neoformans and Aspergillus spp.). The compound 12d showed MIC value of 0.12 microg/mL for C. albicans, C. albicans V-01-191A-261 (resistant strain); 0.25 microg/mL for C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis ATCC 22019 and C. krusei and MIC value of 0.5 microg/mL for C. glabrata, C. krusei ATCC 6258, which is comparable to itraconazole and better than fluconazole. Further, compound 11d showed significant activity (MIC; 0.25-0.5 microg/mL) against Candida spp. and strong anticryptococcal activity (MIC; 0.25 microg/mL) against C. neoformans.