A high-speed high-sensitivity acoustic cell for in-line continuous monitoring of MOCVD precursor gases

We describe a continuous wave resonant acoustic sensor that has been optimized as a very sensitive in-line monitor for measuring the composition of precursor gases used in MOCVD processes. The precursor/carrier gas mixtures flow through a compact stainless steel acoustic chamber that is isolated from the acoustic transducers by a set of metallic diaphragms. The sensor has been successfully operated at supply line pressures from atmosphere down to 50 Torr with gas flow rates of up to 1600 sccm. The accuracy of the speed of sound measurement for hydrogen gas is better than 0.005%, even in a high noise and low pressure environment. Hydrogen, as well as nitrogen or argon carrier gases, are accommodated within the instrument's 1–5 kHz working frequency range. The instrument's sensitivity and stability are demonstrated with the laboratory data. Measurements of the dynamic response characteristics of the metalorganic bubbler lines at low pressure are also be presented. Application of the cell is general, encompassing any of the metalorganic and hydride materials typically used in MOCVD processes.     

Partial Hydrolysis of Cyanide Coordination Polymers Induced by a Pillar Ligand with Optimized Electrochemical Kinetics for Rechargeable Alkaline Batteries

Coordination polymers are promising cathode materials for rechargeable alkaline batteries. Therefore, the precise modulation of these cathodes by chemical structure and in-depth structure transform study is necessary. Here, two model coordination polymer battery cathodes were designed to demonstrate the dynamic structure–performance relationship. We studied the electrochemical performance of two kinds of nickel-based coordination polymer, comprising a planar 2D cyanide-bridged network and a 3D cyanide-bridged network pillared by pyrazine molecules. The 2D coordination polymer showed serious voltage degradation with poor rate capability, whereas the 3D coordination polymer exhibited stable voltage output coupled with high rate at various current densities. The investigation revealed the underlining relationship of plateau voltage degradation and hydrolysis process of electrodes. It was revealed that the pyrazine pillar molecules in the 3D coordination polymer could suppress the hydrolysis and lead to the in situ formation of partially hydrolyzed structure with excellent electrochemical kinetics; this exhibited obvious smaller peak separation (27 mV compared with 149 mV) and hence an almost twofold increase in capacity retention (31.9 to 50.0 %) and energy density retention (18.2 to 35.9 %) at 10 A g⁻¹.     

Organometallic assembling of chitosan‐Iron oxide nanoparticles with their antifungal evaluation against Rhizopus oryzae

The ever‐increasing resistance of plant microbes towards fungicides and bactericides has been causing serious threat to plant production in recent years. For the development of an effective antifungal agent, we introduce a novel hydrothermal protocol for synthesis of chitosan iron oxide nanoparticles (CH‐Fe₂O₃ NPs) using acetate buffer of low pH 5.0 for intermolecular interaction of Fe₂O₃ NPs and CH. The composite structure and elemental elucidation were carried out by using X‐ray power diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X‐ray (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Ultraviolet Visible Absorption Spectroscopy (UV–vis spectroscopy). Additionally, antifungal activity was evaluated both In vitro and In vivo against Rhizopus oryzae which is causing fruit rot disease of strawberry. We compared different concentrations (0.25%, 0.50%, 075% and 1%) of CH‐Fe₂O₃ NPs and 50% synthetic fungicide (Matalyxal Mancozab) to figure out suitable concentration for application in the field. XRD analysis showed a high crystalline nature of the NPs with average size of 52 nanometer (nm). SEM images revealed spherical shape with size range of 50–70 nm, whereas, TEM also revealed spherical shape, size ranging from 0 nm to 80 nm. EDX and FTIR results revealed presence of CH on surface of Fe₂O₃ NPs. The band gap measurement showed peak 317–318 nm for bare Fe₂O₃ NPs and CH‐Fe₂O₃ NPs respectively. Antifungal activity in both In vitro and In vivo significantly increased with increase in concentration. The overall results revealed high synergetic antifungal potential of organometallic CH‐Fe₂O₃ NPs against Rhizopus oryzae and suggest the use of CH‐Fe₂O₃ NPs against other Phyto‐pathological diseases due to biodegradable nature.     

The influence of Sr and Fe on the conductance of magnetoresistant compounds

Single-phase giant magnetoresistance (GMR) compounds were prepared by doping the parent compound, NdMnO₃, with Sr at Nd sites. The resistivity of the doped samples showed two prominent regions (Δρ/ΔT < 0, insulating and Δρ/ΔT > 0, metallic). The doped samples exhibited an enhancement in double exchange (DE) interactions causing an increase in T _c (transition temperature). Magnetic field decreased the resistance of all the samples because of the suppression of spin fluctuations and an increase in disorder in the system. The polaron and variable range hopping (VRH) models were good for studying the transport mechanism of electrons and understand their behavior at T > T _c.     

A comprehensive analysis of electronic transitions in naphthalene and perylene diimide derivatives through computational methods

Perylene diimide (PDI) and naphthalene diimides (NDIs) are compounds widely used in supramolecular structures due to their versatile and functional properties. They have high absorptions and photoluminescence capabilities, which make them ideal for electronic transition studies. Reflux method, a widely employed synthetic technique, was utilized to synthesize NDI and PDI derivatives. In this method, the respective amino acids and NTDA (naphthalene-1,4,5,8-tetracarboxylic dianhydride) were combined in acetic acid and the resulting mixture was subjected to reflux. This study centered on a diverse set of NDI and PDI ligands, comprising L-ala-NDI, B-ala-NDI, Gly-NDI, Imi-NDI, Pyr-NDI, L-ala-PDI, B-ala-PDI, Gly-PDI, Imi-PDI, and Pyr-PDI ligands. Crystal structures were obtained for three NDI ligands, while the characterization of all ligands involved several analytical techniques such as NMR, IR, UV, DFT, TD-DFT calculations, and single-crystal x-ray crystallography specifically for the NDI ligands. The investigation focused on studying the electron acceptor/donor behavior of the NDI and PDI ligands, identifying their potential for charge transfer applications. Furthermore, the NLO (nonlinear optical) response of all 10 NDI and PDI ligands was assessed through an analysis involving HOMO-LUMO, TDM, EDDM, NCI, Iso-surface, MEP, natural population, and DOS analysis. This evaluation encompassed the examination of linear polarizability, as well as first and second hyperpolarizability in the context of NLO. The findings of the study revealed that Gly-PDI, Imi-PDI, L-ala-PDI, and B-ala-PDI ligands displayed a higher NLO response compared with the other ligands. These results highlight the potential of these ligands for nonlinear optical applications. The comprehensive characterization and assessment of the NDI and PDI ligands contribute to a deeper understanding of their electron properties, positioning them as promising candidates for charge transfer and nonlinear optical materials.     

Luciferase-transfected colon adenocarcinoma cell line (DLD-1) for use in Orthotopic Xenotransplantation studies

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Renilla Luciferase reporter gene (rLuc) GL4.82 and GL4.13 promoter are key player in transfection, but precise knowledge of its targets in colon cancer remains limited. The aim of this study was to characterize the best transfection technique to produce a stable transfected colon DLD1 (colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line), therefore imaging based approaches were employed. RESULTS: DLD1 cells were transfected with a Plasmid (SV40-RLuc) carrying Renilla luciferase under the control of the SV-40 promoter, by using two different transfection techniques. Cells expressing the required DNA were isolated after antibiotic (Puramycin) selection. Clones of DLD-1/SV40-RLuc were produced using two different techniques (96 well plates and Petri dish) and their florescence intensity was recorded using IVIS machine (Calliper Life Sciences, Hopkinton, USA). Both techniques were characterized with the help of serial dilution technique. Results from this study substantiated that electroporation is the best. As expected, clones varied in their specific luciferase activity along with the dilutions. With the increase in cell concentration increase in intensity of florescence was recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results we are confident that this transfected cell line DLD-1/SV40-RLuc (colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line) is the best for further Orthotopic Xenotransplantation Studies and in-vivo experiments as well. Investigation shows that DLD1/SV-rLuc cells have gained little bit resistance against both drugs therefore further study is suggested to know the reasons.     

Molecular Characterization of Bacterial Isolates from Soil Samples and Evaluation of their Antibacterial Potential against MDRS

Some soil microbes, with their diverse inhabitance, biologically active metabolites, and endospore formation, gave them characteristic predominance and recognition among other microbial communities. The present study collected ten soil samples from green land, agricultural and marshy soil sites of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. After culturing on described media, the bacterial isolates were identified through phenotypic, biochemical and phylogenetic analysis. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed three bacterial isolates, A6S7, A1S6, and A1S10, showing 99% nucleotides sequence similarity with Brevibacillus formosus, Bacillus Subtilis and Paenibacillus dendritiformis. The crude extract was prepared from bacterial isolates to assess the anti-bacterial potential against various targeted multidrug-resistant strains (MDRS), including Acinetobacter baumannii (ATCC 19606), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (BAA-1683), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC 13883), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (BAA-2108), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 292013), Escherichia coli (ATCC25922) and Salmonella typhi (ATCC 14028). Our analysis revealed that all bacterial extracts possess activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria at a concentration of 5 mg/mL, efficiently restricting the growth of E. coli compared with positive control ciprofloxacin. The study concluded that the identified species have the potential to produce antimicrobial compounds which can be used to control different microbial infections, especially MDRS. Moreover, the analysis of the bacterial extracts through GC-MS indicated the presence of different antimicrobial compounds such as propanoic acid, oxalic acid, phenol and hexadecanoic acid.     

Synthesis,In Vitro Anti-Microbial Analysis and Molecular Docking Study of Aliphatic Hydrazide-Based Benzene Sulphonamide Derivatives as Potent Inhibitors of α-Glucosidase and Urease

A unique series of sulphonamide derivatives was attempted to be synthesized in this study using a new and effective method. All of the synthesized compounds were verified using several spectroscopic methods, including FTIR, ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and HREI-MS, and their binding interactions were studied using molecular docking. The enzymes urease and α-glucosidase were evaluated against each derivative (1–15). When compared to their respective standard drug such as acarbose and thiourea, almost all compounds were shown to have excellent activity. Among the screened series, analogs 5 (IC₅₀ = 3.20 ± 0.40 and 2.10 ± 0.10 µM) and 6 (IC₅₀ = 2.50 ± 0.40 and 5.30 ± 0.20 µM), emerged as potent molecules when compared to the standard drugs acarbose (IC₅₀ = 8.24 ± 0.08 µM) and urease (IC₅₀ = 7.80 ± 0.30). Moreover, an anti-microbial study also demonstrated that analogs 5 and 6 were found with minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in the presence of standard drugs streptomycin and terinafine.