Organic-inorganic hybrid fluorescent sensor thin films of rhodamine B embedded Ag-SBA 15 for selective recognition of Hg (Ⅱ) ions in water

Nowadays, the rapid and effective detection of low doses of heavy metal pollutants in contaminated water is a timely challenge in environmental pollution research. In this study, a rapid and highly sensitive assay for the detection of Hg~(2+)based on quenching of metal-enhanced fluorescence of rhodamine B(RB)has been fabricated. RB and silver nanoparticle were incorporated into the mesoporous siliceous framework spin cast on a quartz glass through post-synthetic incorporation method. The morphology and crystallinity of mesoporous structure and Ag nanoparticle were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analyses. Photoluminescence assays on the hybrid thin film of RB-Ag-SBA15 showed a high enhancement when compared to the intensity of silver free SBA15-RB in the wavelength of 575 nm. The fluorescence of RB-Ag-SBA15 thin film decreased gradually with the increase in the concentration of Hg~(2+)and the detection limits were 10.54 nmol/L. Furthermore, the fluorescence intensity increased linearly with the concentration of Hg~(2+)in the range from 1.0 ? 10à8mol/L to10 ? 10à8mol/L, with a response time of a few seconds. In addition, this system offers a high selectivity over interfering cations such as Cd~(2+) and Pb~(2+). Overall, we have developed an optical assay having a wellordered mesoporous SBA15 containing Ag-RBfor selective detection of Hg~(2+)in aqueous solution. The scheme combines the advantages of specific binding interactions between Hg~(2+)and RB molecule and optical emission properties of RB. The method is suitable for a single-shot and irreversible analytical assay in a quartz glass/microtiter plate.     

Density functional evaluation and a feasibility study of intramolecular thione–thiol tautomerization

Performance of various density functionals for use in geometry and energetics calculation of thiocarbonyl systems is evaluated. The three biologically significant systems such as 2‐methyl‐3‐thiosemicarbazide, 1‐acetyl‐2‐thiohydantoin and bornane‐2‐thione are selected for the geometry analysis. Energy of tautomerization of thioacetone and enthalpy of formation of 2‐thiohydantoin are considered for analyzing the performance in energetics. Minnesota functionals such as M05‐2X, M06‐2X and range separated hybrid functional wB97 give best results in both geometry and energetics calculations. Studies on basis set effect showed reliable performance by 6‐31 + G* and 6‐31++G** over higher basis sets. Feasibility of tautomerization in the aforementioned thiones has been investigated using the best performing density functionals. The proposed thione–thiol tautomerization step during PPC‐DC catalyzed decarboxylation reaction has also been investigated and the computed high energy barrier shows less feasibility of the reaction.     

Aminobenzohydrazide based colorimetric and ‘turn-on’ fluorescence chemosensor for selective recognition of fluoride

Chemosensors based on aminobenzohydrazide Schiff bases bearing pyrene/anthracene as fluorophores have been designed and synthesized for F⁻ ion recognition. The addition of fluoride ions to the receptors causes a dramatically observable colour change from pale yellow to brown/red. ¹H NMR studies confirm that the F⁻ ion facilitates its recognition by forming hydrogen bond with hydrogens of amide and amine groups. Moreover these sensors have also been successfully applied to detection of fluoride ion in commercial tooth paste solution.     

Hypolipidemic potential of flowers of Nerium oleander in high fat diet-fed Sprague Dawley rats

Nerium oleander Linn. (NO), an evergreen shrub, is used in folklore medicine as a cardiotonic and exhibits a wide spectrum of bioactivities. Herein, the hypolipidemic potential of the ethanolic extract of flowers of Nerium oleander (ENO) in a minimal dose was assessed. A high fat diet (HFD) resulted in a significant increase in cardiac lipids and lipoproteins and an increase in body weight gain. Simultaneous treatment with ENO significantly lowered the increase in body weight gain, lipid and lipoprotein levels, with a concomitant increase in HDL in the plasma and heart when compared to HFD-fed rats. Likewise, the activities of lipolytic enzymes were also upheld by the ENO treatment in the heart compared to HFD-fed rats. The above findings highlight the possible mechanism of N. oleander as a hypolipidemic agent in its use in folklore medicine as a cardiotonic.     

Synthesis of cubic Li<Subscript>7</Subscript>La<Subscript>3</Subscript>Zr<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> by modified sol–gel process

Polycrystalline cubic Li₇La₃Zr₂O₁₂ (LLZ) with garnet-related type structure has been synthesized at 700 °C by modified sol–gel processes using citric acid as organic complexing agent and butan-1-ol or propan-2-ol as surface active agent. Thermal analysis (thermogravimetric/differential thermal analysis) indicated that the gel must be annealed at around 700 °C to completely remove the organic solvent. X-ray powder diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopic investigations revealed that Al may not be essential to form cubic-phase LLZ; however, the addition of Al₂O₃ led to enhanced sintering of LLZ.     

Effective functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotube with amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer carrying silver nanoparticles for better dispersability and antimicrobial activity

Two multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids have been prepared: (a) multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (APPI), viz. MWCNTs-APPI, and (b) silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-deposited multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with an amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (MWCNTs-APPI-AgNPs). The degree of covalent functionalization of APPI in MWCNTs and deposition of AgNPs in MWCNTs-APPI were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The amount of APPI functionalized on MWCNTs determined by thermal gravimetric analysis was about 67% which enables an effective dispersability in aqueous and organic solvents without sonication and these solutions were stable for 6 months without undergoing aggregation of MWCNTs. The electronic properties of the hybrid materials were not altered drastically as verified by the Raman studies. The antimicrobial activities of MWCNTs-APPI and MWCNTs-APPI-AgNPs against three different bacteria, viz. Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escheriachia coli illustrated excellent activity.     

TiO2 derived by titanate route from electrospun nanostructures for high-performance dye-sensitized solar cells

We report the use of highly porous, dense, and anisotropic TiO(2) derived from electrospun TiO(2)-SiO(2) nanostructures through titanate route in dye-sensitized solar cells. The titanate-derived TiO(2) of high surface areas exhibited superior photovoltaic parameters (efficiency > 7%) in comparison to the respective electrospun TiO(2) nanomaterials and commercially available P-25.     

Al3+ induced planarization, conformational arrest and metallochromic shift in a pyrimidine dione dye: insight from integrated hybrid quantum-classical calculations

In order to explore the possibilities of simulating metallochromism by modern molecular modeling, we apply a sequential hybrid quantum-classical approach to a prototype metallochromic system-the Al(3+) ion and pyrimidinedione (PY) dye complex. The complex shows several structural features with relevance for the metallochromism: the PY dye exhibits conformers with dynamical transitions between twisted structures, which are inhibited by the addition of the metal ion leading to planarization and a conformational arrest: the Al(3+) ion behaves like a structure-modifier for both intra and intermolecular degrees of freedom and with respect to the intermolecular solvation shell structure. The sequential approach that we have employed uses DFT/MM molecular dynamics for structure modeling and TDDFT/PCM for property modeling. The computed metallochromic shift between PY and the Al(PY)(3+) complex in DMSO solvent is obtained in excellent agreement with experiment. The results infer optimism for future use of such modeling techniques to design metallochromic indicators.     

Anti-cancer activity of novel dibenzo[b,f]azepine tethered isoxazoline derivatives

Background  

Nef is an HIV-1 accessory protein essential for viral replication and AIDS progression. Nef interacts with a multitude of host cell signaling partners, including members of the Src kinase family. Nef preferentially activates Hck, a Src-family kinase (SFK) strongly expressed in macrophages and other HIV target cells, by binding to its regulatory SH3 domain. Recently, we identified a series of kinase inhibitors that preferentially inhibit Hck in the presence of Nef. These compounds also block Nef-dependent HIV replication, validating the Nef-SFK signaling pathway as an antiretroviral drug target. Our findings also suggested that by binding to the Hck SH3 domain, Nef indirectly affects the conformation of the kinase active site to favor inhibitor association.