Synthesis of 2-Mercaptonicotinic Acid-Capped CdSe Quantum Dots and its Application to Spectrofluorometric Determination of Cr(VI) in Water Samples

The CdSe quantum dots (QDs) capped with 2-mercaptonicotinic acid (H₂MN) were prepared through a controllable process at 80 °C. The prepared QDs were characterized by XRD, TEM, IR, UV–Vis and fluorescence (FL) techniques. It was found that the QDs were nearly mono-disperse with the diameters in the range of 8–10 nm. These QDs are capable to exhibit strong FL even in concentrated acidic media. They exhibit an enhanced fluorescence in the presence of Cr(VI), which was used for the determination of Cr(VI) in water samples. The linear range was found to be 1?×?10^?7–6.0?×?10^?6 M with the RSD and DL of 0.92 % and 5?×?10^?8 M, respectively. Except that Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺ which can be eliminated through a simple precipitation process, the other co-existent ions present in natural water were not interfered. The recoveries obtained for the added amounts of Cr(VI) were in the range of 96.9–103.2 %, which denote on application of the method, satisfactorily.     

Steady State and Time Resolved Spectroscopic Study of CdSe and CdSe/ZnS QDs:FRET Approach

This article highlights some physical studies on the relaxation dynamics and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) to proximal dye molecule and the way these phenomena change with core to core-shell QD is discussed. Efforts to understand the optical and carrier relaxation dynamics of CdSe and CdSe/ZnS QDs are made by using absorption, steady-state fluorescence and time-resolved fluorescence (TCSPC) techniques. Steady-state as well as time-resolved fluorescence measurements were employed to evaluate the QD PL quenching induced by the proximal Rhodamine 101 dye molecule and to examine the influence of deep trap states on energy transfer efficiency. The FRET parameters such as spectral overlap, Förster distance, intermolecular distance for each donor-acceptor pair are determined and variation of these parameters from core to core-shell QD is discussed.     

A Turn-on and Reversible Fluorescence Sensor for Zinc Ion Based on 4,5-Diazafluorene Schiff Base

A new 4,5-diazafluorene-based fluorescent chemosensor has been synthesized by Schiff base condensation of 9,9-bis(3,5-dimethyl-4-aminophenyl)-4,5-diazafluorene with salicylaldehyde. The interaction of Schiff base with different metal ions has been studied over photofluorescent spectra. The results showed that Schiff base exhibited 194-fold enhancements in fluorescence at 465 nm after Zn²⁺ ions. Such fluorescent responses could be detected by naked eye under UV-lamp. The complex solution (L-Zn²⁺) exhibited reversibility with EDTA.     

Inequalities for Purity Parameters of Multiqudit and Single-Qudit States

We analyze the recently found inequality for eigenvalues of the density matrix and purity parameters describing either a bipartite-system state or a single-qudit state. We rewrite the Minkowski-type trace inequality for the density matrices of the qudit states in terms of the purity parameters and discuss the properties of the inequality obtained, paying special attention to the X-states of two qubits and a single qudit. Also we study the relation of the purity inequalities obtained with the entanglement.     

6.1 MW, 10 kHz Side-Pumped Burst-Mode Nd:YAG Laser

We present a compact high-peak-power, high-repetition-rate burst-mode laser from a master-oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) at 1064 nm for laser-based measurement applications. The oscillator is an 808 nm pulsed laser diode side-pumped acousto-optical (A-O) Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at repetition rates ranging from 10–100 kHz, producing a pulse train with a pulse number of 2–25. The maximum output energy of the oscillator is 15.6 mJ at 10 kHz, whereas it is 1.7 mJ at 100 kHz. After twostage amplifiers, a single-pulse energy of 85.2 mJ with a pulse-width of 14.5 ns is achieved at 10 kHz, which produces a peak power of 6.1 MW. At 100 kHz, the total burst energy reaches 220 mJ with a single-pulse energy of 8.8 mJ in the pulse burst laser system.     

On Nonlocality of Quantum Objects

We present an option of the experiment with a correlated pair of particles in the entangled state, which provides the effect of a change in the polarization for entangled photons, and demonstrate the reality of all different superposition states and the corresponding vector of the quantum system state; also we analyze possible consequences of this fact. We propose a quantum realism paradigm within the relational paradigm instead of the local realism concept disproved by the experiments on verifying the Bell inequalities. We analyze the results of experimental research of the Leggett inequality violation with respect to the verification of the adequacy of different kinds of nonlocal hidden variable theories and suggest a new way of their evaluation based on the study of the photon cross-correlation suppression after a beam splitter and preparation of quantum squeezed states. We show that the interpretation based on the nonlocal hidden variable theory is inconsistent.     

High-throughput screening against $$\sim $$6.1 million structurally diverse,lead-like compounds to discover novel ROCK inhibitors for cerebral injury recovery

Rho-associated protein kinase (ROCK) has been recognized as an attractive therapeutic target to promote neurogenesis, neuroregeneration, and neurorecovery after cerebral injury. Here, a high-throughput screening protocol was described to discover novel ROCK inhibitors from a large chemical library containing \(\sim \)6.1 million structurally diverse, lead-like compounds. The protocol employed empirical rules such as ADMET evaluation and chemical similarity analysis to exclude those of drug-unlike candidates, and then molecular docking and binding affinity predictions were performed to suggest few promising candidates with high scores. Consequently, five compounds were successfully identified to have satisfactory activity profile with \(\hbox {IC}_{50}\) values at nanomolar level. In order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of inhibitor binding to target, the complex structures of ROCK kinase domain with the five identified compounds were modeled and examined in detail. A number of polar chemical forces such as hydrogen bonds and cation-\(\pi \) interactions as well as nonpolar contacts such as \(\pi \)–\(\pi \) stacking and hydrophobic forces were revealed at the complex interface, conferring high affinity and strong specificity to inhibitor binding. In addition, several key residues around the kinase active site, including Val90, Lys105, Asn203, and Phe368, were found to play an important role in binding.     

Cerium oxide-catalyzed multicomponent condensation approach to spirooxindoles in water

An efficient and facile green synthesis of spirooxindole derivatives bearing pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole moiety has been achieved via a \(\mathrm{CeO}_{2}\)-NPs catalyzed four-component reaction in water. The protocol offers an environmentally benign and effective approach to highly functionalized and biologically interesting spiro[indoline-3,4\(^\prime \)-pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole] derivatives. The synthesized compounds exhibit potent antioxidant and antibacterial activities.     

Influence of two different template removal methods on the micromorphology,crystal structure,and photocatalytic activity of hollow CdS nanospheres

Hollow cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanospheres of about 260 nm average diameters and about 30 nm shell thickness can be easily synthesized via a sonochemical process, in which polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles were employed as templates. In order to remove the PS templates, both etching and calcination were applied in this paper. The influence of the two different template removal methods on the surface micromorphology, crystal structure, and photocatalytic activity of hollow CdS nanospheres was carefully performed a comparative study. Results of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, FT-IR, thermogravimetric analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, diffused reflectance spectra, and decolorization experiments showed that the different template removal methods exhibited a significant influence on the surface micromorphology, crystal structure, and photocatalytic activity of hollow CdS nanospheres. The CdS hollow nanospheres as-prepared by etching had pure cubic sphalerite structure, higher –OH content, less defects and exhibited good photocatalytic activity for rhodamine-B, Methylene Blue and methyl orange under UV–vis light irradiation. However, CdS hollow nanospheres obtained by calcination with a hexagonal crystal structure, less –OH content, more defects have shown worse photocatalytic activity. This indicated that surface micromorphology and crystalline phase were mainly factors influencing photocatalytic activity of hollow CdS nanospheres.