Journal of Cluster Science最新文献

Measuring of histidine levels can be used as an indication of the onset of diseases such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), anaemia, and cancer, etc. Due to its abnormal level in human diseases, histidine (His) monitoring has received a lot of interest. Here a feasible, sulphur and nitrogen-doped carbon dots-based (BSA-S,N-CDs) fluorescent switch-off-on nano sensor has been developed for the detection of histidine in an aqueous solution. The BSA-S,N-CDs was synthesized via microwave-assisted method from citric acid, urea, and bovine serum albumin (BSA). The blue fluorescence of BSA-S,N-CDs ( λ_em: 444 nm) was quenched in the presence of Cu²⁺ ion by static quenching and the quenched probe (BSA-S,N-CDs@Cu²⁺ ) was used for the detection of histidine in the linear range from 0.29 to 2.33 mM. The limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) of the probe was obtained as 34.55 µM and 115.18 µM respectively. The sensor exhibits good selectivity and less interference toward various biomolecules and ions. The BSA-S,N-CDs@Cu²⁺ probe was used to detect histidine in spiked human serum and urine samples. Additionally, a paper strip-based sensor was developed to validate its practical applicability.

We have developed new derivatives of Ruthenium metal complex-based dyes for use as sensitizers in DSSCs. Theoretical investigations have been conducted on ten Ruthenium metal complex clusters to analyse their geometries, electronic structures, density of states, optical properties, photovoltaic properties, and electrochemical properties. These investigations were carried out using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) methods. The objective was to design novel ligands that enhance the performance of dyes in dye-sensitized solar cells. We evaluated the impact of various chalcogen atoms in the ligand donor moieties, using different aromatic annulenes as building blocks. Additionally, we examined the influence of different functional groups connected to the bipyridyl unit in the ligand acceptor moiety. The designed dyes exhibit red-shifted spectra and improved electron transition abilities compared to other dyes, resulting in more effective intramolecular charge transfer upon photo-excitation. This suggests that these dyes would deliver the best photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, the designed dyes demonstrate a significantly enhanced light-harvesting efficiency, a higher open-circuit voltage (({text{V}}_{text{o}text{c}})), a greater short-circuit current, and favourable electrochemical properties. These characteristics are crucial for achieving faster electron injection efficiency and higher performance in photovoltaic devices.

Low-operating temperature gas sensors play a pivotal role in environmental and health safety. Here, we investigate the performance of hexagonal ZnO nanostructures for detecting hazardous ethanol gas. Pure and 3% Mn doped ZnO thin films were synthesized by a spray pyrolysis method. The study focused on investigating structural, morphological, chemical composition, optical and gas sensing properties of these films. By adding 3% Mn doping, the structural, morphological and optical properties of ZnO film notably changed. The 3% Mn-doped ZnO thin film exhibits a high response of 360 compared to undoped ZnO (154) towards 50 ppm of ethanol at room temperature. This may be due to the increased surface reactivity and defects sites. The response/recovery time of the Mn-doped ZnO to ethanol is found to be 18/40s. Gas sensing studies suggest that the 3% Mn-doped ZnO thin film has good reproducibility, stability and selectivity. The sensing mechanism of ethanol by Mn-doped ZnO thin films is studied and discussed. These findings suggest that Mn-doped ZnO thin films are promising candidates for low temperature ethanol sensing application.

As a natural bioactive compound, curcumin (Cur) has traditionally used for various therapeutic purposes, but due to low solubility, poor skin permeability, and the possibility of superficial staining, its topical applications is restricted. Thus, this study aimed to develop a topical formulation, increasing the solubility of Cur and promoting potential applications. In this context, Cur nanoemulsions were prepared through continuous emulsification and optimized with different ratios of components to achieve desirable properties and superior encapsulation. Accordingly, nanoemulsions prepared by the oleic acid (10%w/w) as oil phase, PEG 400 (6%w/w) as co-surfactant and mixture of Tween 80® and Span 80® (8%w/w) as surfactant showed the most favorable properties with a droplet size of 12.26 nm and polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.254. Afterward, the optimized formulation was converted to nanoemulgel using 1%w/w of Carbopol 940. The Cur formulation presented good physiochemical properties in terms of uniformity, thermodynamic stability, spreadability, and droplet size. The results showed that the release profile follows the Higuchi kinetic model. Moreover, this formulation presented excellent antioxidant capacity (FRAP value of 533.49 ± 2.84 µM Fe (II)/g) and potential photoprotective efficacy (SPF value of 13.86). It was also found to have high anti-inflammatory properties and antibacterial activity (250 µg/ml ≤ MIC < 500 µg/ml) against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. According to the results, the current formulation of Cur is a promising candidate to improve the solubility and promote its efficacy for various topical applications.

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An interseting Cu(II)-based organic framework containing a Cu₂O₅ cluster, [Cu (TBA)(CH₃OH)]_n (1) has been hydrothermally synthesized with tetrabromoterephthalate (H₂TBA) ligand, and characterized through infrared spectroscopy (IR), elemental and thermal analysis (EA), power X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) analyses. The X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis shows that the Cu^II center is hexa-coordinated and situated on perfect octahedral geometry formed by four carboxyl oxygen atoms of four symmetry-related TBA²⁻ anions and two O-donors of two reverse µ₂-CH₃OH bridges. Each TBA²⁻ ligand plays as a µ₄ tetra-monodentate linker and connect four Cu²⁺ cations together to form the three dimensional structure of 1. Surprisingly, there are no significant hydrogen bonds and π-stack interactions in 1, but the Br···Br halogen bonds interactions. Detailed topology analysis found that the 3D cluster-based metal-organic framework of 1 can be simplified to 4 topological types: a 4-c 1-nodal net dia with point symbol {6⁶}, a 6,6-c 2-nodal net htp with point symbol {4¹³·6²}{4⁸·6⁶·8}, a 4,6-c 2-nodal net bpq with point symbol {3²·6²·7²}{3⁴·4²·6⁴·7⁵}, and a 6,8-c 2-nodal net 6,8T902 with point symbol {3⁴·4⁴·5⁴·6³}{3⁸·4¹⁴·5⁴·6²}, respectively. Moreover, 1 exhibits intense solid-state luminescence emissions centered at 478 nm at room temperature, which mainly originates from the intraligand π→ π* transitions of TBA²⁻. The CCDC number of 1 is 2,355,788.

In this work, the effect of heat treatment in the synthesis of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) on its physicochemical properties was studied. Furthermore, the effect of liquid and viscous electrolytes based on lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) on the performance of electrochromic devices (ECDs) was evaluated using heat-treated V₂O₅ as electrochromic film. V₂O₅ was synthesized using the chemical bath technique. The V₂O₅ without and with heat treatment at 400 °C was characterized using FT-IR, UV-Vis, XRD, XPS, FESEM, AFM, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques. Better physicochemical behavior was shown by the thermally treated V₂O₅, which is why it was used in the ECDs. Single ECDs were characterized using optical transmittance spectra, kinetic curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. A broadening of the absorption band towards the red and better electrochemical properties were observed when a thermal treatment was applied to the amorphous V₂O₅. A charge storage capacity of 1061.42 mC/cm² was obtained for the crystalline V₂O₅ film (with heat treatment) compared to the charge storage capacity of 303.38 mC/cm² obtained for the amorphous V₂O₅ film. A better distribution and decrease in grain size was observed for V₂O₅ with heat treatment. The CV curves showed higher stability of crystalline V₂O₅ compared to amorphous V₂O₅, even after several cycles and at different scan rates. A higher flow of ions between the working electrode and the counter electrode was achieved with the use of liquid electrolyte in the ECD, allowing a more efficient ECD with greater change in transmittance in the near-infrared region, compared to the use of viscous electrolyte. This research work contributes to the improvement of the physicochemical properties of V₂O₅.

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In this work, a magnesium-based biomolecule metal organic framework (MgGA Bio-MOF) has been synthesized using magnesium chloride hexahydrate (MgCl₂.6H₂O) as a metal cation and an edible linker gallic acid (GA, C₆H₂(OH)₃CO₂H) as a organic building unit in water under certain experimental conditions. Initially, MgGA Bio-MOF synthesis has been confirmed through  spectroscopic and microscopic analysis techniques. Afterwards, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay has been performed to know the antioxidant activity of MOF. From the DPPH assay, it has been found that MgGA Bio-MOF possesses 70.4% scavenging activity. To proceed further, the drug release studies have been performed through IBU@MgGA Bio-MOF conjugate using UV- vis spectroscopy In investigation of drug release studies, we have observed 79% IBU released up to 150 min from IBU@MgGA Bio-MOF conjugate at neutral pH. After that, a constant absorbance has been observed, indicating the complete release of IBU. Overall, we found the selected BioMOF has excellent biological utility as an antioxidant agent as well as an anti-inflammatory drug carrier in line of its real-world applications

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The reactivity of dppf-bridged triruthenium [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(µ-dppf)] with three thiourea derivatives namely N,N´-diisopropylthiourea, N,N´-dimethylthiourea and tetramethylthiourea has been examined. The reaction of [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(µ-dppf)] with N,N´-diisopropylthiourea or N,N´-dimethylthiourea affords [Ru₃(CO)₆{κ¹-SC(NHR)₂}(µ-dppf)(µ₃-S)₂] (1, R = CHMe₂; 2, R = Me) that contains an intact thiourea ligand coordinated to a single ruthenium atom using the sulfur atom. The previously reported [Ru₃(CO)₇(µ-dppf)(µ₃-S)₂] (3) is also isolated as the minor product from the reaction with N, N´-dimethylthiourea. Both 1 and 2 furnishes 3 upon thermolysis in boiling toluene as confirmed by control experiments. In contrast, similar reaction between [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(µ-dppf)] and tetramethylthiourea furnishes [Ru₃(CO)₅(µ-CO){µ-η¹,κ¹-COPh}(µ-PhPFcPPh₂)(µ₃-S)] (4) and [HRu₃(CO)₇(µ-OH)(µ-dppf)(µ₃-S)] (5) together with small amount of 3. All the new clusters are fluxional in solution which has been probed by VT NMR experiments and their molecular structures have been established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

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The reactions of dppf-bridged triruthenium cluster [Ru₃(CO)₁₀(µ-dppf)] with some thiourea derivatives have been investigated which leads to the isolation and characterization of four new triruthenium clusters

Phyllostachys heterocycla is well-known for its high diversity of bioactive metabolites, which are the reason for its various potential medical uses for which anticancer activity has been proven. Herein, Phyllostachys heterocycla extract was prepared in two different metallic nanoparticle formulas such as iron oxide nanoparticle-boron, and iron oxide nanoparticle-humic acid (Fe₂O₃ NP-B and Fe₂O₃ NP-HA) with average particle sizes of 12.25 nm and 15.80 nm, respectively. Phyllostachys heterocycla extract and the two nano-formulas were investigated to obtain their cytotoxic activity. The crude extract exhibited potent cytotoxic activity against the ovarian (OVCAR-3) cancer cell line, with IC₅₀ values of 16.3 µg/mL. In comparison, the two nano-loaded forms displayed a much more promising cytotoxic activity with IC₅₀ values of 0.9 µg/mL for Fe₂O₃ NP-HA, and 6.4 µg/mL for Fe₂O₃ NP-B. Additionally, NP-HA and NP-B showed potent cytotoxic activities against prostate (PC-3) and pancreatic (Panc1) cancer cell lines with IC₅₀ values of 2.31, 6.3 µg/mL for Fe₂O₃ NP-HA, and 14.9, 16.8 µg/mL for Fe₂O₃ NP-B. For apoptosis investigation, Fe₂O₃ NP-HA induced total ovarian apoptotic cell death by a 87.34-fold change, and necrosis by 1.29-fold change. Regarding cell cycle analysis, Fe₂O₃ NP-HA-PHE arrested the cell proliferation of OVCAR-3 cells in S-phase, with an increased cell population at S-phase of 42.6%. Additionally, it confirmed the apoptosis mechanism by inhibiting the antiapoptotic gene and activating the proapoptotic gene markers. Moreover, upon continuation of our phytochemical investigation of the plant, additional chemical components of the crude extract of Phyllostachys heterocycla were isolated using various chromatographic techniques. As a result, six compounds were isolated. By using different spectroscopic data, the chemical structures of the pure isolated compounds were assigned as stigmasterol (1), glyceryl monobehenate (2), vanillic acid (3), ferulic acid (4), catechin (5), and thymidine (6). These isolated compounds were previously reported for their potent cytotoxic activities against panel of cancer cell lines including pancreatic cancer and prostate cancer cell lines (Ferulic acid), beside the anti-tumor potential against ovarian cell lines (Stigmasterol). In addition to the cytotoxic activity against human larynx carcinoma HepG-2 cell lines (Catechin), human breast cancer MCF7 (Thymidine), and human colon cancer cell line HT-29 (Vanillic acid). Which may explain the significant cytotoxic and anticancer properities of the crude extract of Phyllostachys heterocycla.

Hospital-acquired infections are a marked burden on the healthcare system and the leading cause of death in hospitals. Medical devices and implants contribute significantly to the infection because it has direct contact with the patient body cavity. To solve this issue surface of the devices needs to be modified for efficient functioning. To achieve different surface properties advanced surface modification strategies like plasma-assisted surface modification, plasmonic lithography, nanopatterning by laser beam or electron beam, and chemical etching oxidation can be used. Nanostructure inhibits bacterial growth without causing toxicity or the least toxicity to the surrounding tissue in the human body. The current review summarizes the numerous surface modification strategies adopted for developing novel nanostructured surfaces with more emphasis on titanium-based nanostructure in medical devices along with a brief review of the bactericidal mechanism. This review also sheds some light on the biomedical importance of polymeric and Inorganic nanocomposite materials with their biocompatibility and toxicity profile.

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