Colloidal dispersions of polyindole

Polyindole dispersions consisting of 20–30-nm-sized nanoparticles are prepared by chemical oxidation with ferric chloride using sodium dodecyl sulphate, poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl acetate) as steric stabilizers. Pure acetonitrile and acetonitrile–water mixtures are used as solvents. The particle size depended on the concentrations of monomer and the steric stabilizer. The dispersions are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis and cyclic voltammetry techniques.     

Studies on the production feasibility of 64Cu by (n, p) reactions on Zn targets in Dhruva research reactor

⁶⁴Cu is an useful radionuclide for both PET imaging and targeted therapy, as it decays by three different modes, namely, electron capture (41%), ??^? (40%) and positron emission (19%). ⁶⁴Cu is generally produced by ⁶⁴Ni (p, n) reaction in a cyclotron for medical use. High specific activity ??no carrier added?? grade ⁶⁴Cu by ⁶⁴Zn (n, p) route is an alternative for research studies and was hence explored. 10?mg zinc foil target (48.63% in ⁶⁴Zn) was irradiated in the medium flux reactor Dhruva at a thermal neutron flux of ~5.6?×?10¹³ n?cm^?2?s^?1 for 3?days. The irradiated Zn foil was dissolved in 5?mL 10?M HCl and ⁶⁴Cu was separated by anion exchange chromatography (Dowex 1?×?8; 100?C200 mesh) at 3?M HCl conditions. ⁶⁴Cu radioactivity content and its radionuclide purity were ascertained by ??-ray spectrometry using HPGe detector coupled to a 4?K multichannel analyser system. Radiochemical separation yielded a radionuclidic purity of 99.9% ⁶⁴Cu.     

Gas‐Sensing Properties of Needle‐Shaped Ni‐Doped SnO2 Nanocrystals Prepared by a Simple Sol–Gel Chemical Precipitation Method

The preparation of needle‐shaped SnO₂ nanocrystals doped with different concentration of nickel by a simple sol–gel chemical precipitation method is demonstrated. By varying the Ni‐dopant concentration from 0 to 5 wt %, the phase purity and morphology of the SnO₂ nanocrystals are significantly changed. Powder XRD results reveal that the SnO₂ doped with a nickel concentration of up to 1 wt % shows a single crystalline tetragonal rutile phase, whereas a slight change in the crystallite structure is observed for samples with nickel above 1 wt %. High resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) results reveal the change in morphology of the materials from spherical, for SnO₂, to very fine needle‐like nanocrystals, for Ni‐doped SnO₂, annealed at different temperatures. The gas sensing properties of the SnO₂ nanocrystals are significantly enhanced after the nickel doping.     

Point contact tunnelling studies on ceramic YBCO with scanning tunnelling microscope tips

A detailed study of point contact tunnelling into ceramic YBCO with electrochemically etched tips of Pt, Nb and W is reported. The superconducting gap parameter (Δ) has been extracted fromI —V and dI/dV —V curves using various procedures. Our results indicate a gap value of about 20 meV. We observe that the zero bias conductance is strongly dependent on the junction resistance. The normal state conductance varies linearly with bias voltage and the conductance curves are asymmetric with respect to polarity of the bias voltage. With contacts of very high junction resistance, we observe G(0)/G(100 mV) has a value as low as 1/6. This may be the lowest value reported so far.     

Role of Cyanex-272 as an extractant for uranium in the determination of rare earths by ICP-AES

A chemical separation procedure has been developed for the extraction of uranium from some of the crucially important rare earths using a novel extractant viz. Cyanex-272 (2,4,4-trimethyl pentyl phosphinic acid). The near total extraction of uranium and quantitative separation of rare earth elements has been validated using inductively coupled argon plasma - atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The recovery of some of the representative elements has been confirmed by radioactive tracer studies. The back extraction of uranium from the organic phase was carried out using a solution of 0.5M Na₂CO₃ which resulted in a near total recovery of uranium into the organic phase. These studies have enabled determination of sub ppm amounts of the analyte elements with a precision of 5% RSD utilizing prior chemical separation of rare earths from 1 g uranium samples in just three extractions with Cyanex-272.     

Application of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence for the determination of metallic impurities in ThO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

Energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometric methods have been developed for the determination of some common metallic impurities in ThO₂ matrix. A series of ThO₂ standards containing the analyte impurities in the range 10–100 (or 100–500) μg/g was prepared synthetically. The spectrometer conditions were optimized to obtain calibration plots for the various analytes. The accuracy and precision of the developed methodology for regular assay of ThO₂ was evaluated by analyzing three synthetic samples. Further three secondary ThO₂ standards were analyzed by EDRXF to check the developed methods. The determined concentrations of Ca, Cr, Fe, Ni and Cu were in good agreement with the certified values of the secondary standards.     

Studies on preparation of 64Cu using (n,γ) route of reactor production using medium flux research reactor in India

⁶⁴Cu (t_1/2 12.7 h) is a versatile radionuclide owing to its unique decay scheme and exhibits three types of decay electron capture (41%), β⁻ (40%), β⁺ (19%) that is useful in nuclear medicine applications. Different batches of natural copper oxide (CuO) and 99.9% enriched ⁶³CuO targets were irradiated in research reactors at a neutron flux of 6.6 × 10¹² n cm⁻² s⁻¹ for duration of 3 days. Irradiated samples dissolved in hydrochloric acid solution were measured in HPGe-MCA system, the activity of ⁶⁴Cu, co-produced radionuclide impurities and radionuclide purity was determined. Average specific activity of 254 GBq ⁶⁴Cu per g Cu and ~348 GBq ⁶⁴Cu per g Cu was recorded at the end of irradiation from natural and enriched CuO targets, respectively.     

ROS Dependent Antifungal and Anticancer Modulations of Piper colubrinum Osmotin

Osmotin, a plant defense protein, has functional similarity to adiponectin, an insulin sensitizingsensitising hormone secreted by adipocytes. We speculated that Piper colubrinum Osmotin (PcOSM) could have functional roles in obesity-related cancers, especially breast cancer. Immunofluorescence assays, flow cytometry, cell cycle analysis and a senescence assay were employed to delineate the activity in MDAMB231 breast cancer cell line. PcOSM pre-treated P. nigrum leaves showed significant reduction in disease symptoms correlated with high ROS production. In silico analysis predicted that PcOSM has higher binding efficiency with adiponectin receptor compared to adiponectin. PcOSM was effectively taken up by MDAMB231 cancer cells which resulted in marked increase in intracellular ROS levels leading to senescence and cell cycle arrest in G2/M stage. This study provides evidence on the ROS mediated direct inhibitory activity of the plant derived osmotin protein on the phytopathogen Phytophthora capsici, and the additional functional roles of this plant defense protein on cancer cells through inducing ROS associated senescence. The strong leads produced from this study could be pursued further to obtain more insights into the therapeutic potential of osmotin in human cancers.