Modification of Poly(2, 6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene Oxide): Phosphorylation Studies

Side chain bromination of poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) was carried out by using N-bromosuccinimide followed by phosphorylation of the bromo derivative with triethyl phosphite. Optimum conditions for minimum gel formation have been established. The products have been characterized by 'H-NMR and IR studies. Thermal behavior was investigated by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry in an air nitrogen atmosphere. Phosphorylated PPO starts to lose weight at 200°C, but the char yield increases with an increase in the phosphorus content of the polymer.     

Development of Hydroprocessing Route to Transportation Fuels from Non-Edible Plant-Oils

Catalysts with tunable porosity, crystallinity and acidity can selectively produce aviation fuels and road transportation fuels via hydroprocessing of non-edible oils. Here we discuss several catalyst supports—mesoporous alumina, silica–alumina and hierarchical mesoporous zeolites, developed and used as support for hydroprocessing catalysts (Ni–Mo, Co–Mo, Ni–W), for the selective production of transportation fuels. These developed catalysts were used for the hydroconversion of waste cooking-oil, jatropha-oil, algal-oil and their mixtures with petroleum refinery oils. The physicochemical properties of the catalyst were tuned for optimal performance on the basis of evaluation results on high pressure fixed bed microreactors and pilot scale reactors. These studies targeted the production of transportation fuels (gasoline, kerosene and diesel) by hydroprocessing (hydrotreating or hydrocracking) renewable feed stocks or co-processing with fossil based oils. Modelling and process optimization studies for prediction of kinetic rate parameters and to know the reaction pathways for the conversion of these feed stocks to various range of hydrocarbon fuels, were also carried out. These studies provided the vital information that the reaction pathways were temperature dependent.     

An efficient and facile synthesis of Zn(II) complexes with 2-substituted benzothiazoles and glycine- and alanine-based ligands having antifungal and antibacterial activities

We carried out an efficient and facile synthesis of Zn(II) complexes with heterocyclic ligands based on 2-substituted benzothiazole moieties, 2-(2′-hydroxynaphthyl)benzothiazole, 2-(2′-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole, and 2-(2′-merceptophenyl)benzothiazole, and amino acids, glycine and alanine, are reported and also examined for antifungal and antibacterial activities. Ligands and complexes were characterized by FTIR, ¹H NMR, and elemental analysis.     

Synthesis of novel benzopyrano[3,2-c]coumarins via tandem base promoted nucleophilic substitution and intramolecular electrophilic aromatic cyclization

Efficient and facile synthesis of 7H-benzopyrano[3,2-c]coumarins has been achieved by mild base promoted reaction of 4-chloro-3-formylcoumarin with diversely functionalized resorcinols. All the products were obtained as pure precipitates from the reaction mixture and the structure of the product was confirmed by X-ray analysis.     

Effect of Cold Atmospheric Plasma Jet and Gamma Radiation Treatments on Gingivobuccal Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Breast Adenocarcinoma Cells

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the conventional treatment modalities of cancer though successful are limited by presence of residual tumor cells, toxic side-effects and treatment resistance, thus raising the need for investigating other novel approaches. Here, we have used a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet and assessed the in vitro efficacy in gingivobuccal squamous cell carcinoma (GB-SCC) – ITOC-03, breast adenocarcinoma—MCF7 and HEK293 cells. Cells lines were subjected to varying doses of ionizing radiation (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 Gy) and CAP jet treatment (0, 60, 180, 240, 300 s). CAP jet treatment showed time dependent increase in H₂O₂ and NO₂^? concentration. Cell viability assay showed potent effect of CAP jet on all three cell lines in comparison to radiation treatment, while helium gas treatment showed minimal inhibitory effect. Irradiated, CAP jet and helium gas treated cells showed loss of nucleic acid features, 788 cm^?1 and 1340 cm^?1 in Raman spectra, indicating DNA damage. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed distinct classification of CAP-treated and control cells, while Principal Component – Linear Discriminant Analysis (PC-LDA) based classification of Raman spectra showed ITOC-03 and HEK293 cells to be sensitive to CAP jet and radiation treatment in comparison to MCF7 cells. Collectively, cell viability assay and Raman spectroscopy have shown potent effect of CAP jet in GB-SCC and breast adenocarcinoma cells.

     

Enhanced ethanol sensing properties of WO3 modified TiO2 nanorods

Pristine and WO₃ decorated TiO₂ nanorods (NRs) were synthesised to investigate n-n-type heterojunction gas sensing properties. TiO₂ NRs were fabricated via hydrothermal method on fluorine-doped tin oxide coated glass (FTO) substrates. Then, tungsten was sputtered on the TiO₂ NRs and thermally oxidised to obtain WO₃ nanoparticles. The heterostructure was characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Fabricated sensor devices were exposed to VOCs such as toluene, xylene, acetone and ethanol, and humidity at different operation temperatures. Experimental results demonstrated that the heterostructure has better sensor response toward ethanol at 200 °C. Enhanced sensing properties are attributed to the heterojunction formation by decorating TiO₂ NRs with WO₃.     

Metal‐Free Triplet Phosphors with High Emission Efficiency and High Tunability

Design of highly efficient phosphorescent emitters based on metal‐ and heavy atom‐free boron compounds has been demonstrated by taking advantage of the singlet fission process. The combination of a suitable molecular scaffold and appropriate electronic nature of the substituents has been utilized to tailor the phosphorescence emission properties in solution, neat solid, and in doped PMMA thin films.     

Flowerlike hybrid horseradish peroxidase nanobiocatalyst for the polymerization of guaiacol

In this study, the catalytic activity and stability of flowerlike hybrid horseradish peroxidase (HRP) nanobiocatalyst (HRP-Cu ²⁺ ) obtained from Cu ²⁺ ions and HRP enzyme in the polymerization reaction of guaiacol were analyzed. We demonstrated that HRP-Cu ²⁺ and hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) initiator showed significantly increased catalytic activity and stability on the polymerization of guaiacol compared to that of free HRP enzyme. Poly(guaiacol) was observed with quite high yields (88%) and molecular weights (38,000 g/mol) under pH 7.4 phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) conditions at 60 °C with 5 weight% of HRP-Cu ²⁺ loading. HRP-Cu ²⁺ also shows very high thermal stability and works even at 70 °C reaction temperature; free HRP enzyme denatures at that temperature. Furthermore, HRP-Cu ²⁺ provided considerable repeated use and showed some degree of catalytic activity, even after the fourth recycle, in the polymerization of guaiacol.