Monodisperse Co,Zn-Ferrite nanocrystals: Controlled synthesis,characterization and magnetic properties

Co_xZn_yFe_3−x−yO₄ ferrite (x=1 to 0; y=0 to1) nanocrystals have been synthesized by reverse microemulsion method. The nanocrystals are then comprehensively characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Field emission transmission electron microscopy (FETEM), and magnetic properties were measured by using Vibrating sample magnetometer. X-ray analysis showed that all the crystals were cubic spinel. The lattice constant increased with the increase in Zn substitution. FETEM reveals that particle size varies in the range from 3 to 6 nm. As the concentration of Zn increases the magnetic behavior varies from ferromagnetic at y=0 and 0.2 to superparamagnetic to paramagnetic at y=1. The Curie temperature decreases with increasing concentration of Zn.     

Overview of nano-drugs characteristics for clinical application: the journey from the entry to the exit point

The ever-increasing number of diseases worldwide requires comprehensive, efficient, and cost-effective modes of treatments. Among various strategies, nanomaterials fulfill most of these criteria. The unique physicochemical properties of nanoparticles have made them a premier choice as a drug or a drug delivery system for the purpose of treatment, and as bio-detectors for disease prognosis. However, the main challenge is the proper consideration of the physical properties of these nanomaterials, while developing them as potential tools for therapeutics and/or diagnostics. In this review, we focus mainly on the characteristics of nanoparticles to develop an effective and sensitive system for clinical purposes. This review will present an overview of the important properties of nanoparticles, through their journey from its route of administration until disposal from the human body after accomplishing targeted functionality. We have chosen cancer as our model disease to explain the potentiality of nano-systems for therapeutics and diagnostics in relation to several organs (intestine, lung, brain, etc.). Furthermore, we have discussed their biodegradability and accumulation probability which can cause unfavorable side effects in healthy human subjects.     

Growth and characterization of Cd1−xZnxTe thin films prepared from elemental multilayer deposition

Cd_1−xZn_xTe is a key material for fabrication of high-energy radiation detectors and optical devices. Conventionally it is fabricated using single crystal growth techniques. The method adopted here is the deposition of elemental multilayer followed by thermal annealing in vacuum. The multilayer structure was annealed at different temperatures using one to five repetitions of Cd-Zn-Te sequence. X-ray diffraction pattern for the multilayer with five repetitions revealed that annealing at 475 °C yielded single-phase material compared to other annealing conditions. EDX spectroscopy was carried out to study the corresponding compositions. Photoluminescence properties and change of resistance of the multilayer under illumination were also studied. The resistivity of the best sample was found to be a few hundreds of Ω cm.     

Magnetoelectric response and dielectric property of multiferroic Co0.65Zn0.35Fe2O4–PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 nanocomposites

The effect of nanometric grain size modulation on the behavior of different kinds of chemically synthesized multiferroic ferrite–ferroelectric nanocomposites with cobalt zinc ferrite (Co_0.65Zn_0.35Fe₂O₄) as a ferrimagnetic component and lead zirconate titanate (PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃) as a ferroelectric component have been investigated in detail. Formation of two distinct pure phases of as-prepared nanocomposites was confirmed from recorded X-ray diffraction patterns at room temperature. The backscattered mode of a field emission scanning electron microscope micrograph has been used to study the microstructure, average grain size, and distribution of the two individual phases in the composites. Magnetization vs. magnetic field measurements clearly show the room temperature good hysteretic ferrimagnetic behavior of the composites having coercivity of 83–124 Oe and spontaneous magnetization of 20–24 emu/g. The dielectric constant is found to increase with increasing grain size of the nanocomposites from 124 to 687 at a frequency of 1 kHz. Investigation of temperature-dependent dielectric constant behavior reveals that the paraelectric–ferroelectric transition temperature decreases from 364 to 351 °C with decreasing particle size. A complex impedance spectroscopy study was carried out in the frequency range of 50 Hz–1 MHz and in the temperature range of 27–400 °C. The contribution of both grains and grain boundaries in the electrical properties of the composites has been confirmed from the complex impedance spectroscopy data. The activation energies estimated from the complex impedance spectroscopy and the ac conductivity spectrum are found to be nearly the same for the nanocomposites. The polarization vs. electric field measurement exhibits a typical ferroelectric hysteresis loop at room temperature and provides conclusive evidence of the presence of spontaneous polarization in the composites, confirming the presence of excellent ferroelectricity in the nanocomposites. At room temperature the multiferroic behavior of the composites is also confirmed from detailed magnetoelectric (ME) response studies. The optimal ME response is observed to be 0.6 % for higher temperature sintered composites.     

Construction and studies of a new class of reciprocal trees: interknitting of the Pascal's triangle

A method of construction of a new class of trees with reciprocal pairs of eigenvalues (λ, 1/λ) has been developed. They are derived from star graphs and can be symbolized as K _{1, n ?1} + n(p) + mK ₂ (1 ≤ m ≤ n ? 1 except for n = 1). The trees are minimally Kekulenoid and hence contain reciprocal pairs of eigenvalues in their eigenspectra. The characteristic polynomial coefficients of these trees with given values of n and m are shown to be obtainable by appropriate use of the Pascal's triangle. A general formula for this purpose has been developed. An analytical formula for the Wiener indices of such trees in terms of m and n has been derived and some consequences of this formula are presented. The relevance of these trees to real molecular structures is discussed. The trees have been shown to be useful in observing the subspectrallity of two series of IPR fullerenes of formulae C_{50+10 n} and C_{60+12 n} (n is a positive integer).     

Fluorescence spectroscopy of a naturally occurring carbazole alkaloid: murrayanine

The fluorescence properties of a naturally occurring carbazole alkaloid, murrayanine, have been studied in various polar solvents and micellar systems. It was found that fluorescence peak position and intensity are extremely sensitive to the nature of the solvent medium. Murrayanine fluorescence has been further utilized to determine the critical micellization concentration of Pluronic F68, an amphiphilic copolymer with potential applications in drug-delivery. Time-resolved fluorescence and fluorescence anisotropy decay of murrayanine measured in several n-alcohols display a monotonic retardation with increasing chain-lengths of the alcohols.     

Coupled channel description of O+Nd scattering around the Coulomb barrier using a complex microscopic potential

Angular distributions of elastic scattering and inelastic scattering from 2⁺₁ state are measured for ¹⁶O+^142,144,146Nd systems at several energies in the vicinity of the Coulomb barrier. The angular distributions are systematically analyzed in coupled channel framework. Renormalized double folded real optical and coupling potentials with DDM3Y interaction have been used in the calculation. Relevant nuclear densities needed to generate the potentials are derived from shell model wavefunctions. A truncated shell model calculation has been performed and the calculated energy levels are compared with the experimental ones. To simulate the absorption, a ‘hybrid’ approach is adopted. The contribution to the imaginary potential of couplings to the inelastic channels, other than the 2⁺₁ target excitation channel, is calculated in the Feshbach formalism. This calculated imaginary potential along with a short ranged volume Woods–Saxon potential to simulate the absorption in fusion channel reproduces the angular distributions for ¹⁶O+¹⁴⁶Nd quite well. But for ¹⁶O+^142,144Nd systems additional surface absorption is found to be necessary to fit the angular distribution data. The variations of this additional absorption term with incident energy and the mass of the target are explored.     

Gold nanoparticle induced conformational changes in heme protein

Change of α-helical structure of heme protein (Hb) to a β-sheet and random coil conformation because of the interaction of glycine capped gold nanoparticles (20–60 nm) as observed from attenuation total reflectance, absorption, Fourier transform infra red, and Circular Dichroism spectroscopy has been reported in this article. Upon interaction, protein takes a cylindrical shape of length 12 μm and diameter 0.35 μm as revealed from scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The Selected-Area Electron beam Diffraction pattern shows change of crystalline structure in GNP to amorphous nature with the interaction of Hb.     

Frequency-dependent linear and non-linear response properties of single carrier quantum dots: Role of effective mass and anharmonicity in the confinement potential

We explore the pattern of frequency-dependent linear and non-linear optical (NLO) response of one electron quantum dots harmonically confined in two dimensions. For some fixed values of transverse magnetic field strength (ω_c), and harmonic confinement potential (ω₀), the influence of effective mass (m^*) of the system and the symmetry breaking anharmonic interaction on the frequency-dependent linear (α), and the first (β), and second (γ) NLO responses of the dot is computed through linear variational route. The investigation reveals interesting roles played by the anharmonic interaction and effective mass in modulating the response properties.