Multifunctional CuO nanoparticles with enhanced photocatalytic dye degradation and antibacterial activity

Rhizome extract of Bergenia ciliata was used as a bio-functional reducing material for the green synthesis of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). CuO NPs were characterized using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). XRD analysis revealed the monoclinic phase of synthesized CuO NPs with an average particle size of 20 nm. Spherical shaped nanoscale CuO particles were observed by EDX and SEM confirming the Cu and O presence in the synthesized NPs. CuO NPs showed antibacterial effects against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi. The antioxidant effect was measured and IC50 values for 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and Ferric reducing antioxidant power assays were found to be 91.2, 72.4 and 109 μg mL− 1 respectively. Under sunlight, the CuO NPs reported extraordinary photocatalytic activity against Methylene Blue and Methyl Red degradation with efficiencies of 92–85%. CuO NPs have excellent potential application for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and in the development of antibacterial materials. This study offers new insights in the field of inexpensive and green synthesis-based antimicrobial effective CuO photocatalysts from B. ciliata to remove harmful dyes from industrial-based waters with high degradation efficiency, which is environmentally friendly.

Large-scale ab initio simulation of light–matter interaction at the atomic scale in Fugaku

In the field of optical science, it is becoming increasingly important to observe and manipulate matter at the atomic scale using ultrashort pulsed light. For the first time, we have performed the ab initio simulation solving the Maxwell equation for light electromagnetic fields, the time-dependent Kohn-Sham equation for electrons, and the Newton equation for ions in extended systems. In the simulation, the most time-consuming parts were stencil and nonlocal pseudopotential operations on the electron orbitals as well as fast Fourier transforms for the electron density. Code optimization was thoroughly performed on the Fujitsu A64FX processor to achieve the highest performance. A simulation of amorphous SiO2 thin film composed of more than 10,000 atoms was performed using 27,648 nodes of the Fugaku supercomputer. The simulation achieved excellent time-to-solution with the performance close to the maximum possible value in view of the memory bandwidth bound, as well as excellent weak scalability.

Ambidextrous light transforms for celestial amplitudes

Low multiplicity celestial amplitudes of gluons and gravitons tend to be distributional in the celestial coordinates z,$$ \overline{z} $$ z ¯ . We provide a new systematic remedy to this situation by studying celestial amplitudes in a basis of light transformed boost eigenstates. Motivated by a novel equivalence between light transforms and Witten’s half-Fourier transforms to twistor space, we light transform every positive helicity state in the coordinate z and every negative helicity state in $$ \overline{z} $$ z ¯ . With examples, we show that this “ambidextrous” prescription beautifully recasts two- and three-point celestial amplitudes in terms of standard conformally covariant structures. These are used to extract examples of celestial OPE for light transformed operators. We also study such amplitudes at higher multiplicity by constructing the Grassmannian representation of tree-level gluon celestial amplitudes as well as their light transforms. The formulae for n-point Nk−2MHV amplitudes take the form of Euler-type integrals over regions in Gr(k, n) cut out by positive energy constraints.

The Evaluation of Electric Power by Separate Analysis of Fourier Transform Components

This paper presents a substantiation of an approach for the evaluation of components of apparent power and intended to simplify the computational procedures which usually should be implemented in order to process the preliminary sampled waveform of instantaneous power. The results of carried out studies have shown that both active and reactive power can be calculated by the analysis of calculated components of sine and cosine Fourier transforms. This paper also presents the discussion of restrictions, which should be imposed on the duration of the analyzed signal and on frequencies of the auxiliary trigonometric functions, which are applied in order to calculate components of Fourier transform which are used for the evaluation of active and reactive power. The compliance with these restrictions allows us to eliminate the undesirable bias of active and reactive power estimation caused by the refusal from the decomposition of the analyzed waveform of the instantaneous power by applying the complete system of orthogonal trigonometric functions, as the evaluation of components of the apparent power is attained based on separate analysis of sine and cosine Fourier transforms calculated for the analyzed signal. The results of carried out simulations illustrate the frequency dependencies of sine Fourier transform calculated for the case of compliance with the restrictions, which allow to attain the highest accuracy of estimation and for the case when the duration of analyzed signal does not fit these restrictions.

Hydrothermal Assisted Biogenic Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles And Their Anticandidal Activity On Virulent Candida Isolates From COVID-19 Patients

Till now the exact mechanism and effect of biogenic silver nanoparticles on fungus is an indefinable question. To focus on this issue, we prepared hydrothermal assisted thyme coated silver nanoparticles (T/AgNPs) and their toxic effect on Candida isolates is described. The role of thyme (Thymus Vulgaris) in the reduction of silver ions and stabilization of T/AgNPs are estimated by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy, structure and size of present silver nanoparticles were detected via atomic force microscopy as well as high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The biological activity of T/AgNPs was observed against Candida isolates from COVID-19 Patients. Testing of virulence of Candida species using Multiplex PCR. T/AgNPs proved highly effective against Candida albicans, Candida kruzei, Candida glabrata and MIC values ranging from 156.25 to 1,250 µg/mL and MFC values ranging from 312.5 to 5,000 µg/mL. The structural and morphological modifications due to T/AgNPs on Candida albicans were detected by TEM. It was highly observed that when Candida albicans cells were subjected to 50 and 100 µg/mL T/AgNPs, a remarkable change in the cell wall and cell membrane was observed.

Evaluation of in vitro Dissolution Profile and Physicochemical Characterization of Polymer Based Formulations of Sparingly Soluble Rosuvastatin

Rosuvastatin (RVT) is a BCS class II antilipidemic crystalline drug, which exhibits low bioavailability due to its very poor aqueous solubility; therefore, it is challenging to develop a proper formulation of RVT. To enhance solubility and bioavailability of this API, an attempt has been made by implementing solid dispersion technique. Solid dispersion (SD) technique is a solubility enhancing technique where one or more active entities are dispersed in an inert medium (matrix or carrier) at solid state. In this study, different ratios of Kollicoat® IR (KIR) and Kollidon® 90F (KF90) polymers were used with API to prepare various formulations by physical mixing (PM) and SD approaches; here solvent evaporation technique was used whereas methanol was used as solvent which was completely evaporated from the homogenously dispersed system by placing in a water-bath at 60-65°C and then in oven for 30 minutes at 50 °C. Among the formulations, RVT-KF90 SD formulations showed the most promising result in in-vitro study in terms of drug release profile (78.04 – 99.21%) in comparison to pure RVT (63.1%) and physical mixing of RVT with those polymers. USP dissolution apparatus type II was used at 37°C ± 0.5°C with 50 rpm to conduct the in-vitro experiment. The experiment also unraveled that the dissolution of RVT improved with increasing the amounts of polymers. Subsequently, stability of the developed formulations was conducted by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results obtained from FTIR ensured no involvement of any significant drug-excipient interaction. Moreover, the DSC study signified thermal stability at high temperature. Besides, the SEM micrograph illustrated homogenous distribution of RVT in the polymer and transformation of crystal-like RVT into amorphous formulations. Dhaka Univ. J. Pharm. Sci. 20(2): 199-211, 2021 (December)

Multi-Incidence Holographic Profilometry for Large Gradient Surfaces with Sub-Micron Focusing Accuracy

Surface reconstruction for micro-samples with large discontinuities using digital holography is a challenge. To overcome this problem, multi-incidence digital holographic profilometry (MIDHP) has been proposed. MIDHP relies on the numerical generation of the longitudinal scanning function (LSF) for reconstructing the topography of the sample with large depth and high axial resolution. Nevertheless, the method is unable to reconstruct surfaces with large gradients due to the need of: (i) high precision focusing that manual adjustment cannot fulfill and (ii) preserving the functionality of the LSF that requires capturing and processing many digital holograms. In this work, we propose a novel MIDHP method to solve these limitations. First, an autofocusing algorithm based on the comparison of shapes obtained by the LSF and the thin tilted element approximation is proposed. It is proven that this autofocusing algorithm is capable to deliver in-focus plane localization with submicron resolution. Second, we propose that wavefield summation for the generation of the LSF is carried out in Fourier space. It is shown that this scheme enables a significant reduction of arithmetic operations and can minimize the number of Fourier transforms needed. Hence, a fast generation of the LSF is possible without compromising its accuracy. The functionality of MIDHP for measuring surfaces with large gradients is supported by numerical and experimental results.

Effect of Polymers nature and Stirring Speeds on Physicochemical Properties and the Controlled Release of Allopurinol-loaded Microspheres

Allopurinol is an antigout drug therapy, commonly used in the treatment of chronic gout or hyperuricaemia associated with treatment of diuretic conditions. In the present study, new formulations based on Allopurinol, have been prepared with the microencapsulation by solvent evaporation process. Microspheres were prepared using pure Allopurinol and polymeric matrices (ethylcellulose EC, poly (ε-caprolactone) PCL, β-cyclodextrin CD and hydroxypropylmethylcellulose HPMC) at different compositions and stirring speeds to investigate the effect of these parameters on loading efficiency and drug release kinetics. The formulations produced were characterized by various methods : Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffractometry, optical microscopy, surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and drug loading, as well as in vitro release studies in the simulated stomach tract. Depending on the stirring speed and the composition of the microparticles, the active ingredient loading is in a range from 10.46 ± 1.45 to 46.40 ± 0.5%. The microspheres are spherical and the mean Sauter diameter (d32) of the microparticles obtained is smaller and is in the range of 47.71 to 151.01 µm. Different release profiles were obtained and show that the release rate is strongly influenced by the characteristics of the microparticles ; namely, the stirring rates and the composition of the microparticles. The release mechanism was identified by modelling using Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models. Resumen. Alopurinol es una droga terapéutica para tratar la gota, y se utiliza en el tratamiento de gota crónica o hiperuricemia asociada con el tratamiento de condiciones diuréticas. En este estudio, nuevas formulaciones basadas en Alopurinol se prepararon mediante microencapsulación por el proceso de evaporación de disolvente. Microesferas se prepararon usando Alopurinol puro y diferentes matrices poliméricas (etil-celulosa EC, poli(-caprolactona) PCL, β-cyclodextrina CD e hidroxipropil-metil-celulose HPMC) en diferentes composiciones y velocidades de agitación, para investigar el efecto de estos parámetros en la eficiencia de carga y en la cinética de liberación del fármaco. Las formulaciones obtenidas fueron caracterizadas por diferentes técnicas : Espectroscopía infrarroja de transformadas de Fourier (FTIR), difractometría de rayos X de polvos, microscopía óptica, morfología de superficies mediante microscopía electrónica de barrido electrónico, y la eficiencia de carga del fármaco, así como estudios de liberación in vitro en tracto estomacal simulado. Dependiendo de la velocidad de agitación y la composición de las micropartículas, la carga del ingrediente activo se encuentra en el rango de 10.46 ± 1.45 a 46.40 ± 0.5%. Las microesferas son esféricas y el diámetro medio de Sauter (d32) de las micropartículas obtenidas es menor, y se encuentra en el rango de 47.71 a 151.01 µm. Se obtuvieron diferentes perfiles de liberación y se observa que la velocidad de liberación está influenciada principalmente por las características propias de la producción de las micropartículas ; en particualr, las velocidades de agitación y las composición de las micropartículas. El mecanismo de liberación se ajusta mejor a los modelos matemáticos de Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas.

Effect of Silica Nanoparticles Silanized by Functional/Functional or Functional/Non-Functional Silanes on the Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of Dental Nanocomposite Resins

Dental nanocomposite resins have been proposed as potential restorative materials that are inevitably challenged with dynamic oral conditions. This investigation focused on the contribution of miscellaneous silane blends, used as coupling agents, to the ultimate performance of dental nanocomposite dimethacrylate resins. Herein, silica nanoparticles were initially silanized with functional/functional or functional/non-fuctional silane mixtures (50/50 wt/wt). Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) verified the modification of nanosilica. The organomodified nanoparticles were then inserted into Bis-GMA/TEGDMA based resins by hand spatulation process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) findings revealed a broad distribution of fillers in the polymer network when reactive silanes and their corresponding blends were used. Furthermore, optical profilometry results showed that the presence of functional/non-functional mixtures can produce relatively smooth composite surfaces. Polymerization shrinkage was found to be limited upon the decrease of the degree of conversion regarding all the tested silane mixtures. The functional/functional silane blend assured the highest flexural properties and the lowest solubility after the storage of the nanocomposite in water for 1 week at 37 °C. The above experimental data could contribute to the proper designing of dental nanocomposite resins which may fit the modern clinical applications.