Solvothermal Synthesis and Characterization of PbSe Nanostructures with the Aid of Schiff-base Ligand

In this work, Pb(II)N,N-bis(salicylidene)-ethylenediamine; [Pb(salen)]; was applied as lead precursor to synthesis PbSe nanostructures. Besides [Pb(salen)], SeCl₄ and reducing agents like N₂H₄·H₂O have been employed for the production of PbSe nanostructures via a solvothermal route at 180 °C for 3 h in propylene glycol. The effect of preparation factors such as temperature, reaction time, and surfactant on the morphology of PbSe nanostructures was investigated. The experimental results indicated that PbSe synthesized at 150 and 210 °C was composed of agglomerated particles. On the other hand, the use of KBH₄ as reducing agent led to produce PbSe with higher particle size and agglomeration. The as-prepared PbSe nanostructures were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS, and FT-IR.     

Antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of nanochelating based silver nanoparticles against several nosocomial pathogens

The emergence of multi‐drug resistant (MDR) bacteria and dynamic pattern of infectious diseases demand to develop alternative and more effective therapeutic strategies. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are among the most widely commercialized engineered nanomaterials, because of their unique properties and increasing use for various applications in nanomedicine. This study for the first time aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activities of newly synthesized nanochelating based AgNPs against several Gram‐positive and ‐negative nosocomial pathogens. Nanochelating technology was used to design and synthesize the AgNPs. The cytotoxicity was tested in human cell line using the MTT assay. AgNPs minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined by standard broth microdilution. Antibiofilm activity was assayed by a microtiter‐plate screening method. The two synthesized AgNPs including AgNPs (A) with the size of about 20‐25 nm, and AgNPs (B) with 30‐35 nm were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. AgNPs exhibited higher antibacterial activity against Gram‐positive strains. AgNPs were found to significantly inhibit the biofilm formation of tested strains in concentration 0.01 to 10 mg/mL. AgNPs (A) showed significant effective antibiofilm activity compared to AgNPs (B). In summary, our results showed the promising antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of our new nanochelating based synthesized AgNPs against several nosocomial pathogens.     

Preparation of an experimental glass-ionomer cements and evaluation of their properties

The preparation of glass-ionomer cements based on the composition of SiO₂–Al₂O₃–CaO–SrO–F and evaluation of their properties is described. Cements were prepared via the sol–gel method and characterized by XRD, BET, SEM, and EDAX analysis. The effect of various concentrations of Sr on in vitro bioactivity of the glass speciments was investigated. In vitro bioactivity of the samples was evaluated by soaking them in simulated body fluid followed by structural characterization using SEM and atomic absorption analysis. A glass specimen with 0.5 mol of Sr exhibited appropriate bioactivity.     

Determination of the effective atomic and mass numbers for mixture and compound materials in high energy photon interactions

In consideration the radiological properties of materials and studying the scattering processes in atomic and nuclear physics, the effective atomic and mass numbers is widely employed. These numbers have been calculated for any mixed or composite materials in interaction with high energy photons (Linac in radiation therapy). A pair equation in terms of these numbers is obtained. The first equation has been derived from the conservation of mass energy law and the second by minimizing the binding energy from the semiempirical mass formula (Myers and Swiatecki formula) that gives a relation between atomic and mass numbers for stable nuclei approximately. By these equations one can obtain the effective atomic and mass numbers for any compound or mixed materials uniquely. These numbers are calculated for some materials and compared with the other studies.     

Density functional studies of influences of Ni triad metals and solvents on oxidative addition of MeI to [M(CH3)2(NH3)2] complexes and C-C reductive elimination from [M(CH3)3(NH3)2I] complexes

Three metal square planar complexes of the type [M(CH₃)₂(NH₃)₂] (M = Ni, Pd, Pt), with a systematic variation in the metals, are chosen to investigating their S_N2-type oxidative addition reactions with methyl iodide by using the B3LYP levels of theory. The oxidative addition was found to take place via a transition state with a nearly linear arrangement of the I-CH₃-M moiety. Solvation effects in these oxidative addition reactions were also investigated. Considering the nature of the metal centre and solvation effects, the following conclusions emerge: (i) addition of MeI is exothermic for all three metals, and Pt is predicted to react with a much lower barrier than either Pd or Ni. The results describe that the MeI addition would be expected to be more favourable with the complex bearing the third-row metal (platinum) as compared to the other triad metals, nickel or palladium, in which case a more strongly bound MeI adduct is formed with a lower activation barriers and the reaction being more exothermic; (ii) the reaction is very difficult to occur in low polar solvents, such as benzene, due to the high barrier which is induced by dissociation of iodide anion from methyl group, but the reaction easily occurs in polar solvents, such as acetonitrile; this is attributed to the ability of polar solvents to solvate and therefore stabilize the related polar intermediate ion pair. Ethane reductive elimination from the M(VI) complexes fac-[M(CH₃)₃(NH₃)₂I] were also studied, indicating that the Ni(IV) and Pd(IV) complexes are very prone to undergo the reductive elimination while the Pt(IV) analogous is less reactive towards the reductive elimination. The results indicate that in contrast to the Me-Me reductive elimination, the S_N2 oxidative addition reaction of MeI to M(II) is much less sensitive to the nature of the metal centre, suggesting that the nucleophilicity of M(II) in [M(CH₃)₂(NH₃)₂] does not change significantly as one moves from M = Ni to Pt.     

A facile synthesis of novel 1,4-benzoxazepin-2-one derivatives

An efficient and simple synthesis of 1,4-benzoxazepin-2-one derivatives has been achieved via the reaction of isoquinoline, activated acetylenes, and 1-(6-hydroxy-2-isopropenyl-1-benzofuran-yl)-1-ethanone in water without using any catalyst. This one-pot reaction occurs in high yields under mild conditions.