Zeolitic materials incorporating mono- and bimetallic systems of nickel and cobalt were obtained from natural zeolite modified with Ni2+ and Co2+ chloride solutions through traditional ion exchange (IE) and impregnation (Imp) processes. Special attention was given to analyzing the cationic and anionic composition of the resulting materials. The catalytic potential was evaluated in the selective hydrogenation of citral, focused on the formation of unsaturated alcohols. The IE process replaced mainly Ca2+ and Na+ with Ni2+ and Co2+ cations in the zeolite phases (clinoptilolite and mordenite mix), while Imp resulted in higher metal content (2.0-2.7%) but retained significant amounts of chloride (1.9-3.8%), as confirmed by XRD and temperature-programmed reduction. The materials prepared by IE had negligible chloride content (0.02-0.07%), and their specific surface areas (138-146 m2/g) were greater than those of the materials obtained by Imp (54-67 m2/g). The bimetallic systems exhibited enhanced reducibility of the Co2+ and Ni2+ isolated cations, attributed to synergistic interactions that weakened the cation-framework binding. Catalytic activity tests showed that nickel species were primarily responsible for citronellal formation. Among all materials, the bimetallic CoNiIE catalyst, prepared by IE, was the only one to produce unsaturated alcohols, suggesting that synergistic Ni-Co interactions played a role in their formation.

We discuss effects of elastic adsorbate-substrate interactions in processes of nanostructuring of thin films during low-pressure condensation in the framework of theoretical approaches and numerical simulations. It will be shown that an increase in the elastic interaction strength induces first-order transitions and pattern formation. We simulate deposition on one- and multicomponent substrates with different strengths of adsorbate-substrate interactions. We will show that an increase in the strength of adsorbate-substrate interactions stimulates the formation of stable surface structures during deposition, which leads to an increase in its coverage and the formation of a smaller number of adsorbate islands of larger size. At elevated adsorption rates, an increase in adsorbate-substrate interactions results in the transformation of the surface morphology and the formation of percolating adsorbate structures. Deposition onto multicomponent substrates leads to the formation of a stationary surface morphology with an elevated number of adsorbate islands of smaller size, compared to one-component substrates. This study provides a deep insight into the peculiarities of nanostructured thin films' growth in low-pressure systems with different adsorbate-substrate bonding.

Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is a widely used anionic surfactant in laboratory, household, and industrial applications, which ultimately enters the environment through various pathways. This has led to significant concerns regarding developing rapid onsite qualitative and quantitative methods for estimating SDS in aqueous solutions. Although a range of high-throughput techniques is currently utilized for SDS quantification, these methods are often expensive, labor-intensive, and require specialized technical expertise. This study developed a novel colorimetric method for the selective and sensitive detection of SDS, utilizing polyethylene glycol-polycaprolactone nanoparticles (PEG-PCL NPs) synthesized via a ring-opening polymerization approach. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited a distinct colorimetric response to SDS when combined with the Bradford reagent, which acted as a linker molecule. Interference studies demonstrated the high selectivity of the method, even in the presence of various heavy metals and other surfactants. The method showed excellent linearity over a concentration range of 0-200 μg/mL, with a correlation coefficient (R 2) of 0.98. The limits of detection and quantification for the proposed method were determined to be 26.14 μg/mL and 79.23 μg/mL, respectively. These findings indicate that the newly developed method offers high selectivity and sensitivity for SDS detection, making it a promising analytical tool for rapid and onsite estimation.

In this study, zinc telluride (ZnTe) films were grown on quartz substrates at room temperature, 300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, and 600 °C using RF sputtering. The thickness of the films has been found to decrease from 940 nm at room temperature to 200 nm at 600 °C with increasing substrate temperature. The structural investigation using grazing incidence angle X-ray diffraction revealed that films deposited at room temperature are amorphous; those deposited at other substrate temperatures are polycrystalline with a cubic zincblende structure and a preferred orientation along the [111] direction. An increase in crystallite size (from 37.60 ± 0.42 Å to 68.88 ± 1.04 Å) is observed with increased substrate temperature. This leads to a reduction in microstrain and dislocation density. The optical studies using UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy reveal that the transmittance of films increases with substrate temperature. Further, the shift in transmittance threshold towards lower wavelengths with substrate temperature indicates that the optical bandgap of the films can be tuned from 1.47 ± 0.02 eV to 3.11 ± 0.14 eV. The surface morphology of the films studied using atomic force microscopy reveals that there is uniform grain growth on the surface. Various morphological parameters such as roughness, particle size, particle density, skewness, and kurtosis were determined. Current-voltage characteristics indicate that the conductivity of the films increased with substrate temperature. The observed variations in structural, morphological, and optical parameters have been discussed and correlated. The wide bandgap (3.11 eV), high crystallinity, high transmittance, and high conductivity of the ZnTe film produced at 600 °C make it a suitable candidate for use as a buffer layer in solar cell applications.

Autophagy is a highly regulated catabolic process by which unnecessary, dysfunctional, or damaged proteins and other cellular components are degraded and recycled to promote cellular differentiation, survival, and development. In response to endogenous or exogenous stresses, cancer cells use autophagy pathways for survival through activation of complex DNA damage repair (DDR) mechanisms. In the present study, we demonstrated the genotoxicity induced in A549 lung cancer cells by exposure to the GO-Chl nanoconjugate and elucidated the role of autophagy modulation in harnessing the DNA-damage response. GO-Chl causes loss of plasma membrane integrity, cell cycle arrest, and significant genotoxicity in A549 cells. Further, elevated expression of key autophagy proteins beclin-1, ATG-7, LC-3-I/II, and SQSTM1/p62 reveal that inhibition of autophagy plays a crucial role in regulating DDR capabilities of cancer cells. The results indicate that the interplay between DDR and autophagy pathways may open new paradigms for developing effective combinatorial nanoscale drug systems against multidrug-resistance cancers.

We use optical tweezers and atomic force microscopy to investigate the potential of rare earth elements to be used as anticancer agents in the development of new chemotherapeutic drugs by characterizing the binding of three rare earths (ytterbium, neodymium, and erbium) to double-stranded DNA, which is one of the main targets for these drugs inside cells. The three elements presented a significant interaction with the biopolymer in buffers of physiological relevance, typically binding with very high equilibrium association constants (106 to 107 M-1) at the DNA grooves. Furthermore, neodymium and erbium can also induce a very strong compaction/condensation of the double helix at high concentrations, promoting DNA collapse at the single molecule level in a similar way to what occurs with classical DNA condensing agents such as polycations and depletants.

The fundamental goal of our investigation is to employ a sustainable synthesis method for zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs), utilizing lactic acid bacteria isolated from curd as the key biological agent. Bacteria function as agents for both reduction and capping processes, which aids the synthesis of ZnO NPs. Various characterization techniques including XRD, FTIR, UV-vis, TEM, SEM-EDX, and zeta potential measurements were employed to analyze the morphology, dimensions, and elemental composition of the generated nanoparticles. The experimental outcomes confirmed the presence of hexagonal wurtzite-structured ZnO NPs with an average size of 10 nm. The colloidal system demonstrated excellent stability with a zeta potential of -60 mV. Furthermore, the synthesized nanoparticles displayed significant antibacterial activity against selected human pathogens, with the biggest inhibition zone observed against Staphylococcus aureus (22 ± 0.57 mm) and the smallest inhibition zone observed against Salmonella enterica serovar typhi (3 ± 1 mm). MTT assay revealed the promising antiproliferative potential of ZnO NPs, with an average IC50 value of 98.53 µg/mL. Additionally, the NPs were photocatalytically and electrochemically analyzed, indicating their potential use in cancer research as well as in coating and drug delivery applications.

ʟ-Carnosine is a dipeptide with notable antioxidant, antiglycation, metal chelating, and neuroprotective properties. Despite its many biological roles, applying ʟ-carnosine as a capping agent in nanoparticle synthesis has remained underexplored. This study explores the potential of ʟ-carnosine in synthesizing tunable plasmonic silver nanoparticles (ʟ-car-AgNPs). The formation of ʟ-car-AgNPs was confirmed via UV-vis optical absorption spectroscopy, showing single and double plasmonic peaks, depending on the synthesis conditions. Physicochemical characterization using TEM, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy, as well as EDX and XRD revealed controlled aggregation, successful capping, and crystalline growth of the ʟ-car-AgNPs. The ʟ-car-AgNPs exhibited promising sensing capabilities with limits of detection of 141.79 ppb (1.2 μM) for Cd2+, 131.33 ppb (0.63 μM) for Pb2+, 215.35 ppb (2.8 μM) for As3+, and 245.49 ppb (4.7 μM) for Cr3+. Additionally, these nanoparticles demonstrated catalytic activity regarding the degradation of p-nitrophenol (P-NP), achieving complete degradation of 0.25 and 1 mM solutions within 5 and 10 min, respectively. This study reveals the potential of ʟ-car-AgNPs for both heavy metal ion detection and catalytic degradation of P-NP, indicating their suitability for environmental monitoring and remediation applications. Further optimization and research are needed to expand their environmental applications and to understand their interaction mechanisms with various contaminants.

A key step in building regulatory acceptance of alternative or non-animal test methods has long been the use of interlaboratory comparisons or round-robins (RRs), in which a common test material and standard operating procedure is provided to all participants, who measure the specific endpoint and return their data for statistical comparison to demonstrate the reproducibility of the method. While there is currently no standard approach for the comparison of modelling approaches, consensus modelling is emerging as a "modelling equivalent" of a RR. We demonstrate here a novel approach to evaluate the performance of different models for the same endpoint (nanomaterials' zeta potential) trained using a common dataset, through generation of a consensus model, leading to increased confidence in the model predictions and underlying models. Using a publicly available dataset, four research groups (NovaMechanics Ltd. (NovaM)-Cyprus, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA)-Greece, QSAR Lab Ltd.-Poland, and DTC Lab-India) built five distinct machine learning (ML) models for the in silico prediction of the zeta potential of metal and metal oxide-nanomaterials (NMs) in aqueous media. The individual models were integrated into a consensus modelling scheme, enhancing their predictive accuracy and reducing their biases. The consensus models outperform the individual models, resulting in more reliable predictions. We propose this approach as a valuable method for increasing the validity of nanoinformatics models and driving regulatory acceptance of in silico new approach methodologies for the use within an "Integrated Approach to Testing and Assessment" (IATA) for risk assessment of NMs.

High mechanical strength, excellent thermal and electrical conductivity, and tunable properties make two-dimensional (2D) materials attractive for various applications. However, the metallic nature of these materials restricts their applications in specific domains. Strain engineering is a versatile technique to tailor the distribution of energy levels, including bandgap opening between the energy bands. ψ-Graphene is a newly predicted 2D nanosheet of carbon atoms arranged in 5,6,7-membered rings. The half and fully hydrogenated (hydrogen-functionalized) forms of ψ-graphene are called ψ-graphone and ψ-graphane. Like ψ-graphene, ψ-graphone has a zero bandgap, but ψ-graphane is a wide-bandgap semiconductor. In this study, we have applied in-plane and out-of-plane biaxial strain on pristine and hydrogenated ψ-graphene. We have obtained a bandgap opening (200 meV) in ψ-graphene at 14% in-plane strain, while ψ-graphone loses its zero-bandgap nature at very low values of applied strain (both +1% and -1%). In contrast, fully hydrogenated ψ-graphene remains unchanged under the influence of mechanical strain, preserving its initial characteristic of having a direct bandgap. This behavior offers opportunities for these materials in various vital applications in photodetectors, solar cells, LEDs, pressure and strain sensors, energy storage, and quantum computing. The mechanical strain tolerance of pristine and fully hydrogenated ψ-graphene is observed to be -17% to +17%, while for ψ-graphone, it lies within the strain span of -16% to +16%.