Biochar/Delonix regia seed gum/chitosan composite as efficient adsorbent for the elimination of phenol from aqueous medium.

In this study, biochar (BC) from Delonix regia pods peel and gum from Delonix regia seed (SG) were prepared, and also biochar/chitosan composite (BCS) and biochar/Delonix regia seed gum/chitosan composite (BCGS) were fabricated for the efficient adsorption of phenol. Various characterization tools such as SEM, TEM, ATR-FTIR, TGA, zeta potential, and textural investigation were studied to examine the features of the synthetized adsorbents, confirming their positive construction. It was fully studied how necessary factors, comprising pH, dose of adsorbent, contact shaking time, initial phenol concentration, and temperature influenced adsorption behavior. An obvious rise of the adsorption capacity from 60.16 to 165.20 mg/g was achieved by the modification of biochar with Delonix regia seed gum and chitosan under ideal circumstances of 2 h contact duration, pH 7, 15 °C, and a dose of 2.0 g/L. The phenol adsorption was well applied by Langmuir, Temkin, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Sips isotherms, in addition to nonlinear pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the physisorption, endothermic, and spontaneous process was illustrated by thermodynamic investigation. Additionally, the fabricated adsorbents could be effectively used and regenerated without main losses of only 7.5, 4.6, and 4.0 % for BC, BCS, and BCGS, respectively in the removal percentage after seven cycles of application.

Evaluation of a novel composite of expanded polystyrene with rGO and SEBS-g-MA.

This study displays the effect of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanofiller and polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-polystyrene-grafted maleic anhydride (SEBS-g-MA) on the optical, thermal, and mechanical features of expanded polystyrene (EPS). First, the thin films of pristine EPS and composites were prepared using solution cast method. The prepared films were subjected to fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), SEM, UV-visible spectrophotometer, thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry, and universal testing machine for structural, morphological, optical, thermal, and mechanical characterizations. Optical study revealed a significant increase in refractive index and absorption of composites than EPS. Indirect band-gap energy of EPS (~4.08 eV) was reduced to ~1.61 eV for rGO composite and ~ 2.23 eV for composite composed of rGO and SEBS-g-MA. Thermal analyses presented improvement in characterization temperatures such as T10, T50, Tp, Tm, and Tg of composites, which ultimately lead to the thermal stability of prepared composites than pristine EPS. Stress-strain curves displayed higher yield strength (46.62 MPa), Young's modulus (96.29 MPa), and strain at break (0.54%) for EPS+rGO composite than pure EPS having stress at break (1.01 MPa), Young's modulus (12.44 MPa), and strain at break (0.08%). Moreover, ductility with relatively higher strain at break (0.61%) and lower Young's modulus (79.32 MPa) and yield strength (32.98 MPa) was noticed in EPS+rGO+SEBS-g-MA composite than EPS+rGO composite film. Morphological analysis revealed a change in globular morphology of EPS and inhomogeneous dispersion of rGO in EPS to homogeneously dispersed rGO in EPS matrix without globules owing to the addition of SEBS-g-MA. The increase in compatibility of EPS and rGO due to SEBS-g-MA was also observed in FTIR spectra. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Here, the solution casting approach was used to create the composite film of EPS and rGO with globules of various sizes. After adding SEBS-g-MA, the shape altered to globular free films exhibiting homogenous dispersion of rGO in EPS matrix. An optical investigation showed that composite materials had a significantly higher refractive index and absorption than EPS. The optical, thermal, and mechanical investigations suggest that the produced composites may be a great substitute for virgin EPS, allowing for a wider range of applications.

Synthesis, Glucosidase Inhibition, and In Silico Modeling Analysis of Highly Fluorinated 2-Imino-1,3-thiazolines in Search of Potent Antidiabetic Agents.

In the present work, 2-imino-1,3-thiazolines featuring highly fluorinated fragments were synthesized through a straightforward cyclization of diversely substituted thioureas with 2-bromo-1-(4-fluorophenyl)ethan-1-one. The target compounds were obtained in good yields, and structures were established by FTIR and 1H- and 13C NMR spectroscopic methods. The in vitro biological assay revealed that all the compounds significantly obstruct the α-glucosidase. Compound 6d (3-fluoro-N-(3-(2-fluorophenyl)-4-(4-fluorophenyl)thiazol-2(3H)-ylidene)benzamide) showed the highest antidiabetic potential with an IC50 value of 1.47 ± 0.05 µM. In addition, computational analysis revealed the binding energy of -11.1 kcal/mol for 6d which was lower than the positive standard, acarbose (-7.9 kcal/mol). Several intermolecular interactions between the active site residues and 6d highlight the significance of 2-imino-1,3-thiazoline core in attaining the potent efficacy and making these compounds a valuable pharmacophore in drug discovery.

Adsorption and bacterial performance of Nd2O3 modified Ag nanoparticles with enhanced degradation of methylene blue.

Our study focused on the optical behavior, methylene blue (MB) dye degradation potential, antibacterial performance, and silver and trioxide mineral interaction with different bacterial species. We found that the addition of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to neodymium oxide (Nd2O3) resulted in a significant response, with an enlargement of the inhibition zone for bacterial species such as Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Specifically, the inhibition zone for S. aureus increased from 9.3 ± 0.5 mm for pure Nd2O3 to 16.7 ± 0.4 mm for the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite, while for E. coli, it increased from 8.8 ± 0.4 mm for Nd2O3 to 15.9 ± 0.3 mm for Ag/Nd2O3. Furthermore, the optical behavior of the composites showed a clear band-gap narrowing with the addition of Ag NPs, resulting in enhanced electronic localization. The direct and indirect transitions reduced from 6.7 to 6.1 eV and from 5.2 to 2.9 eV, respectively. Overall, these results suggest that the Ag/Nd2O3 nano-composite has potential applications in sensor industries and water treatment, thanks to its enhanced optical behavior, antibacterial performance, and efficient MB degradation capabilities. In terms of MB degradation, the Ag/Nd2O3 mixed system exhibited more efficient degradation compared to pure Nd2O3. After 150 min, the MB concentration in the mixed system decreased to almost half of its starting point, while pure Nd2O3 only reached 33%.

Fabrication and characterization of Araucaria gum/calcium alginate composite beads for batch and column adsorption of lead ions.

In this work, we developed five solid adsorbents such as calcium alginate beads (CG), Araucaria gum (AR) extracted from Araucaria heterophylla tree by chemical precipitation procedures, and Araucaria gum/calcium alginate composite beads (CR21, CR12, and CR11) prepared with different calcium alginate: Araucaria gum ratios (2:1, 1:2, and 1:1, respectively). The synthesized solid adsorbents were characterized utilizing TGA, XRD, nitrogen adsorption/desorption analysis, ATR-FTIR, pHPZC, swelling ratio, SEM, and TEM. Through the batch and column adsorption strategies, we evaluated the effect of adsorbent dose, pH, initial Pb (II) concentration, shaking time, bed height, and flow rate. The data of batch technique indicated that CR11 demonstrated a maximum batch adsorption capacity of 149.95 mg/g at 25 °C. Lead ions adsorption was well fitted by pseudo-second order and Elovich according to kinetic studies, in addition to Langmuir and Temkin models based on adsorption isotherm studies onto all the samples. Thermodynamic investigation showed that Pb (II) adsorption process is an endothermic, physical, and spontaneous process. The highest column adsorption capacity (161.1 mg/g) was achieved by CR11 at a bed height of 3 cm, flow rate of 10 mL/min, and initial Pb+2 concentration of 225 mg/L with 68 min as breakthrough time and 180 min as exhaustion time. Yoon-Nelson and Thomas models applied well the breakthrough curves of Pb (II) column adsorption. The maximum column adsorption capacity was decreased by 11.4 % after four column adsorption/desorption processes. Our results revealed that CR11 had an excellent adsorption capacity, fast kinetics, and good selectivity, emphasizing its potential for its applications in water treatment.

Identification of potential inhibitors targeting yellow fever virus helicase through ligand and structure-based computational studies.

Yellow fever is a flavivirus having plus-sensed RNA which encodes a single polyprotein. Host proteases cut this polyprotein into seven nonstructural proteins including a vital NS3 protein. The present study aims to identify the most effective inhibitor against the helicase (NS3) using different advanced ligand and structure-based computational studies. A set of 300 ligands was selected against helicase by chemical structural similarity model, which are similar to S-adenosyl-l-cysteine using infiniSee. This tool screens billions of compounds through a similarity search from in-built chemical spaces (CHEMriya, Galaxi, KnowledgeSpace and REALSpace). The pharmacophore was designed from ligands in the library that showed same features. According to the sequence of ligands, six compounds (29, 87, 99, 116, 148, and 208) were taken for pharmacophore designing against helicase protein. Subsequently, compounds from the library which showed the best pharmacophore shared-features were docked using FlexX functionality of SeeSAR and their optibrium properties were analyzed. Afterward, their ADME was improved by replacing the unfavorable fragments, which resulted in the generation of new compounds. The selected best compounds (301, 302, 303 and 304) were docked using SeeSAR and their pharmacokinetics and toxicological properties were evaluated using SwissADME. The optimal inhibitor for yellow fever helicase was 2-amino-N-(4-(dimethylamino)thiazol-2-yl)-4-methyloxazole-5-carboxamide (302), which exhibits promising potential for drug development.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma.

Investigation of novel bis-thiadiazole bearing schiff base derivatives as effective inhibitors of thymidine phosphorylase: Synthesis, in vitro bioactivity and molecular docking study.

Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) is an angiogenic enzyme. It is crucial for the development, invasion and metastasis of tumors as well as angiogenesis. In our current research, we examine how structurally changing bis-thiadiazole bearing bis-schiff bases affects their ability to inhibit TP. Through the oxidative cyclization of pyridine-based bis-thiosemicarbazone with iodine, a series of fourteen analogs of bis-thiadiazole-based bis-imines with pyridine moiety were developed. Newly synthesized scaffolds were assessed in vitro for their thymidine phosphorylase inhibitory potential and showed moderate to good inhibition profile. Eleven scaffolds such as 4a-4d,4f-4 h and 4j-4 m were discovered to be more effective than standard drug at inhibiting the thymidine phosphorylase enzyme with IC50 values of 1.16 ± 1.20, 1.77 ± 1.10, 2.48 ± 1.30, 12.54 ± 1.60, 14.63 ± 1.70, 15.53 ± 1.80, 17.47 ± 1.70, 18.98 ± 1.70, 19.53 ± 1.50, 22.73 ± 2.40 and 24.87 ± 2.80 respectively, while remaining three analogs such as 4n, 4i and 4ewere found to be more potent, but they were less potent than the standard drug. All analogs underwent SAR studies based on the pattern of substitutions around the aryl part of the bis-thiadiazole skeleton. The most active analogs in the synthesized series were then molecular docking study performed to investigate their interactions of active part of enzyme. The results showed that remarkable interactions were exhibited by these analogs with the targeted enzymes active sites. Furthermore, to confirm the structure of synthesized analogs by employing spectroscopic tools such as HREI-MS and NMR.

Engineering the optical properties of nickel sulphide thin films by zinc integration for photovoltaic applications.

Thin films of binary nickel sulphide (NiS) and zinc-doped ternary nickel sulphides (Ni1-xZnxS, where x = 0-1) were effectively produced by the chemical bath deposition method, and their potential use in photovoltaics were investigated. Dopant inclusion did not change the crystal structure of NiS, according to the structural analysis of the synthesized samples. They are appropriate for solar cell applications since the morphological study verified the crack-free deposition. Optical research revealed that the deposited thin films had refractive index (n) ranges between 1.25 and 3.0, extinction coefficient (k) ranges between 0.01 and 0.13, and bandgap values between 2.25 and 2.54 eV. Overall findings indicated that doping is a useful method for modifying the composition, and therefore, the structural and morphological characteristics of NiS thin films, to enhance their optoelectronic behavior.

Pyrimidine-morpholine hybrids as potent druggable therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease: Synthesis, biochemical and in silico analyses.

The identification of effective and druggable cholinesterase inhibitors to treat progressive neurodegenerative Alzheimer's disorder remains a continuous drug discovery hunt. In this perspective, the present study investigates the design and discovery of pyrimidine-morpholine hybrids (5a-l) as potent cholinesterase inhibitors. Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction was employed to introduce the structural diversity on the pyrimidine heterocyclic core. A range of commercially available boronic acids was successfully coupled showing a high functional group tolerance. In vitro cholinesterase inhibitory potential using Ellman's method revealed significantly strong potency. Compound 5h bearing a meta-tolyl substituent at 2-position of pyrimidine ring emerged as a lead candidate against AChE with an inhibitory potency of 0.43 ± 0.42 µM, ∼38-fold stronger value than neostigmine (IC50 = 16.3 ± 1.12 µM). Compound 5h also showed the lead inhibition against BuChE with an IC50 value of 2.5 ± 0.04 µM. The kinetics analysis of 5h revealed the non-competitive mode of inhibition against AChE whereas computational modelling results of potent leads depicted diverse contacts with the binding site amino acid residues. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed the stability of biomolecular system, while, ADME analysis demonstrated druglikeness behaviour of potent compounds. Overall, the investigated pyrimidine-morpholine scaffold presented a remarkable potential to be developed as efficacious anti-Alzheimer's drugs.

Recent developments in natural biopolymer based drug delivery systems.

Targeted delivery of drug molecules to diseased sites is a great challenge in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences. Fabrication of drug delivery systems (DDS) to target and/or diagnose sick cells is an effective means to achieve good therapeutic results along with a minimal toxicological impact on healthy cells. Biopolymers are becoming an important class of materials owing to their biodegradability, good compatibility, non-toxicity, non-immunogenicity, and long blood circulation time and high drug loading ratio for both macros as well as micro-sized drug molecules. This review summarizes the recent trends in biopolymer-based DDS, forecasting their broad future clinical applications. Cellulose chitosan, starch, silk fibroins, collagen, albumin, gelatin, alginate, agar, proteins and peptides have shown potential applications in DDS. A range of synthetic techniques have been reported to design the DDS and are discussed in the current study which is being successfully employed in ocular, dental, transdermal and intranasal delivery systems. Different formulations of DDS are also overviewed in this review article along with synthesis techniques employed for designing the DDS. The possibility of these biopolymer applications points to a new route for creating unique DDS with enhanced therapeutic qualities for scaling up creative formulations up to the clinical level.

Transition metal doped CeO2 for photocatalytic removal of 2-chlorophenol in the exposure of indoor white light and antifungal activity.

Besides natural sunlight and expensive artificial lights, economical indoor white light can play a significant role in activating a catalyst for photocatalytic removal of organic toxins from contaminated water. In the current effort, CeO2 has been modified with Ni, Cu, and Fe through doping methodology to study the removal of 2-chlorophenol (2-CP) in the illumination of 70 W indoor LED white light. The absence of additional diffractions due to the dopants and few changes such as reduction in peaks' height, minor peak shift at 2θ (28.525°) and peaks' broadening in XRD patterns of modified CeO2 verifies the successful doping of CeO2. The solid-state absorption spectra revealed higher absorbance of Cu-doped CeO2 whereas a lower absorption response was observed for Ni-doped CeO2. An interesting observation regarding the lowering of indirect bandgap energy of Fe-doped CeO2 (∼2.7 eV) and an increase in Ni-doped CeO2 (∼3.0 eV) in comparison to pristine CeO2 (∼2.9 eV) was noticed. The process of e -- h + recombination in the synthesized photocatalysts was also investigated through photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photocatalytic studies revealed the greater photocatalytic activity of Fe-doped CeO2 with a higher rate (∼3.9 × 10-3 min-1) among all other materials. Moreover, kinetic studies also revealed the validation of the Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetic model (R2 = 0.9839) while removing 2-CP in the exposure of indoor light with a Fe-doped CeO2 photocatalyst. The XPS analysis revealed the existence of Fe3+, Cu2+ and Ni2+ core levels in doped CeO2. Using the agar well-diffusion method, the antifungal activity was assessed against the fungus M. fructicola and F. oxysporum. Compared to CeO2, Ni-doped CeO2, and Cu-doped CeO2 nanoparticles, the Fe-doped CeO2 nanoparticles have outstanding antifungal properties.

Synthesis, in vitro biological assessment, and molecular docking study of benzimidazole-based thiadiazole derivatives as dual inhibitors of α-amylase and α-glucosidase.

The clinical significance of benzimidazole-containing drugs has increased in the current study, making them more effective scaffolds. These moieties have attracted strong research interest due to their diverse biological features. To examine their various biological significances, several research synthetic methodologies have recently been established for the synthesis of benzimidazole analogs. The present study aimed to efficiently and quickly synthesize a new series of benzimidazole analogs. Numerous spectroscopic techniques, including 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and HREI-MS, were used to confirm the synthesized compounds. To explore the inhibitory activity of the analogs against α-amylase and α-glucosidase, all derivatives (1-17) were assessed for their biological potential. Compared to the reference drug acarbose (IC50 = 8.24 ± 0.08 µM), almost all the derivatives showed promising activity. Among the tested series, analog 2 (IC50 = 1.10 ± 0.10 & 2.10 ± 0.10 µM, respectively) displayed better inhibitory activity. Following a thorough examination of the various substitution effects on the inhibitory capacity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, the structure-activity relationship (SAR) was determined. We looked at the potential mechanism of how active substances interact with the catalytic cavity of the targeted enzymes in response to the experimental results of the anti-glucosidase and anti-amylase. Molecular docking provided us with information on the interactions that the active substances had with the various amino acid residues of the targeted enzymes for this purpose.

Synchronized electrochemical detection of hydroquinone and catechol in real water samples using a Co@SnO2-polyaniline composite.

The conductive composite Co@SnO2-PANI was successfully synthesized using hydrothermal/oxidative synthesis. Using differential pulse voltammetry, a glassy carbon electrode modified with a CoSnO2-PANI (polyaniline)-based electrochemical biosensor has been created for the quick detection of two phenolics, hydroquinone (Hq) and catechol (Cat). Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements revealed two well-resolved, strong peaks for GCE@Co-SnO2-PANI, which corresponded to the oxidation of Hq and Cat at 275.87 mV and +373.76 mV, respectively. The oxidation peaks of Hq and Cat mixtures were defined and separated at a pH of 8.5. High conductivity and remarkable selectivity reproducibility was tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometry, and cyclic voltammetry techniques in standard solution and real water samples. The proposed biosensor displayed a low detection limit of 4.94 nM (Hq) and 1.5786 nM (Cat), as well as a large linear range stretching from 2 × 10-2 M to 2 × 10-1 M. The real-sample testing showed a good recovery for the immediate detection of Hq (96.4% recovery) and Cat (98.8% recovery) using the investigated sensing apparatus. The synthesized biosensor was characterized by XRD, FTIR, energy dispersive spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Experimental Demonstration of Compact Polymer Mass Transfer Device Manufactured by Additive Manufacturing with Hydrogel Integration to Bio-Mimic the Liver Functions.

In this paper, we designed and demonstrated a stimuli-responsive hydrogel that mimics the mass diffusion function of the liver. We have controlled the release mechanism using temperature and pH variations. Additive manufacturing technology was used to fabricate the device with nylon (PA-12), using selective laser sintering (SLS). The device has two compartment sections: the lower section handles the thermal management, and feeds temperature-regulated water into the mass transfer section of the upper compartment. The upper chamber has a two-layered serpentine concentric tube; the inner tube carries the temperature-regulated water to the hydrogel using the given pores. Here, the hydrogel is present in order to facilitate the release of the loaded methylene blue (MB) into the fluid. By adjusting the fluid's pH, flow rate, and temperature, the deswelling properties of the hydrogel were examined. The weight of the hydrogel was maximum at 10 mL/min and decreased by 25.29% to 10.12 g for the flow rate of 50 mL/min. The cumulative MB release at 30 °C increased to 47% for the lower flow rate of 10 mL/min, and the cumulative release at 40 °C climbed to 55%, which is 44.7% more than at 30 °C. The MB release rates considerably increased when the pH dropped from 12 to 8, showing that the lower pH had a major impact on the release of MB from the hydrogel. Only 19% of the MB was released at pH 12 after 50 min, and after that, the release rate remained nearly constant. At higher fluid temperatures, the hydrogels lost approximately 80% of their water in just 20 min, compared to a loss of 50% of their water at room temperature. The outcomes of this study may contribute to further developments in artificial organ design.

Enhancing plant growth promoting rhizobacterial activities through consortium exposure: A review.

Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) has gained immense importance in the last decade due to its in-depth study and the role of the rhizosphere as an ecological unit in the biosphere. A putative PGPR is considered PGPR only when it may have a positive impact on the plant after inoculation. From the various pieces of literature, it has been found that these bacteria improve the growth of plants and their products through their plant growth-promoting activities. A microbial consortium has a positive effect on plant growth-promoting (PGP) activities evident by the literature. In the natural ecosystem, rhizobacteria interact synergistically and antagonistically with each other in the form of a consortium, but in a natural consortium, there are various oscillating environmental conditions that affect the potential mechanism of the consortium. For the sustainable development of our ecological environment, it is our utmost necessity to maintain the stability of the rhizobacterial consortium in fluctuating environmental conditions. In the last decade, various studies have been conducted to design synthetic rhizobacterial consortium that helps to integrate cross-feeding over microbial strains and reveal their social interactions. In this review, the authors have emphasized covering all the studies on designing synthetic rhizobacterial consortiums, their strategies, mechanism, and their application in the field of environmental ecology and biotechnology.

An inclusive outlook on the fate and persistence of pesticides in the environment and integrated eco-technologies for their degradation.

Intensive and inefficient exploitation of pesticides through modernized agricultural practices has caused severe pesticide contamination problems to the environment and become a crucial problem over a few decades. Due to their highly toxic and persistent properties, they affect and get accumulated in non-target organisms, including microbes, algae, invertebrates, plants as well as humans, and cause severe issues. Considering pesticide problems as a significant issue, researchers have investigated several approaches to rectify the pesticide contamination problems. Several analyses have provided an extensive discussion on pesticide degradation but using specific technology for specific pesticides. However, in the middle of this time, cleaner techniques are essential for reducing pesticide contamination problems safely and environmentally friendly. As per the research findings, no single research finding provides concrete discussion on cleaner tactics for the remediation of contaminated sites. Therefore, in this review paper, we have critically discussed cleaner options for dealing with pesticide contamination problems as well as their advantages and disadvantages have also been reviewed. As evident from the literature, microbial remediation, phytoremediation, composting, and photocatalytic degradation methods are efficient and sustainable and can be used for treatment at a large scale in engineered systems and in situ. However, more study on the bio-integrated system is required which may be more effective than existing technologies.

Integration of Mn-ZnFe2O4 with S-g-C3N4 for Boosting Spatial Charge Generation and Separation as an Efficient Photocatalyst.

The disposal of dyes and organic matter into water bodies has become a significant source of pollution, posing health risks to humans worldwide. With rising water demands and dwindling supplies, these harmful compounds must be isolated from wastewater and kept out of the aquatic environment. In the research presented here, hydrothermal synthesis of manganese-doped zinc ferrites' (Mn-ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) and their nanocomposites (NCs) with sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride (Mn-ZnFe2O4/S-g-C3N4) are described. The samples' morphological, structural, and bonding features were investigated using SEM, XRD, and FTIR techniques. A two-phase photocatalytic degradation study of (0.5, 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 wt.%) Mn-doped ZnFe2O4 NPs and Mn-ZnFe2O4/(10, 30, 50, 60, and 70 wt.%) S-g-C3N4 NCs against MB was carried out to find the photocatalyst with maximum efficiency. The 9% Mn-ZnFe2O4 NPs and Mn-ZnFe2O4/50% S-g-C3N4 NCs exhibited the best photocatalyst efficiency in phase one and phased two, respectively. The enhanced photocatalytic activity of the Mn-ZnFe2O4/50% S-g-C3N4 NCs could be attributed to synergistic interactions at the Mn-ZnFe2O4/50% S-g-C3N4 NCs interface that resulted in a more effective transfer and separation of photo-induced charges. Therefore, it is efficient, affordable, and ecologically secure to modify ZnFe2O4 by doping with Mn and homogenizing with S-g-C3N4. As a result, our current research suggests that the synthetic ternary hybrid Mn-ZnFe2O4/50% S-g-C3N4 NCs may be an effective photocatalytic system for degrading organic pollutants from wastewater.

Removal of hexavalent chromium ions using micellar modified adsorbent: isothermal and kinetic investigations.

Hexavalent chromium is a very poisonous oxyanion and has had a negative impact on human health. This study assessed the viability of removing chromium(vi) using micellar modified adsorbents. In this study, chromium(vi) was removed from locally accessible wheat bran using separate applications of anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cationic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactants. The initial chromium content (5-12 ppm), pH (2-12), adsorbent dose (1-6 g/100 mL), agitation time (15-240 min), agitation speed (50-300 rpm), and temperature (15-50 °C) were all varied in the adsorption investigation. Pseudo first-order and second-order kinetic models were utilized to analyze the kinetic investigation. To determine thermodynamic parameters, the van't Hoff relationship was used. The maximum result for chromium(vi) uptake was obtained as 87.7%, 83.5% and 98.9% for WB, SDS-mWB, and CTAB-mWB, respectively, at an agitation time of 240 min (i.e., 4 h), temperature (i.e., 25-30 °C), agitation speed (150 rpm). However, both WB and CTAB-mWB derives metal ion removal at lower pH levels (2-4), whereas SDS-mWB requires a pH between 4 and 6 for maximum percentage removal of Cr(vi). The equilibrium data of WB and SDS-mWB were modeled by the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, while the data of CTAB-mWB fitted well in the Freundlich isotherm model. The kinetic analysis of WB, SDS-mWB, and CTAB-mWB revealed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model provides a thorough explanation for each of these adsorbents. It was found that CTAB-mWB can preferably be used for the removal of chromium(vi) due to its high affinity with adsorbate molecules and adsorption capacity.

Construction of a binary S-scheme S-g-C3N4/Co-ZF heterojunction with enhanced spatial charge separation for sunlight-driven photocatalytic performance.

A step-scheme (S-scheme) photocatalyst made of sulfurized graphitic carbon nitride/cobalt doped zinc ferrite (S-g-C3N4/Co-ZF) was constructed using a hydrothermal process because the building of S-scheme systems might increase the lifespan of highly reactive charge carriers. Utilizing cutting-edge methods, the hybrid photocatalyst was evaluated by employing TEM, XPS, XRD, BET, FTIR, transient photo-response, UV-vis, EIS and ESR signals. In order to create a variety of binary nanocomposites (NCs), nanoparticles (NPs) of 6% cobalt doped zinc ferrite (Co-ZF) were mixed with S-g-C3N4 at various concentrations, ranging from 10 to 80 wt%. For photocatalytic dye removal, a particular binary NC constructed between S-g-C3N4 and Co-ZF produces a huge amount of catalytic active sites. The findings showed that loading of S-g-C3N4 on 6% Co-ZF NPs serves as a good heterointerface for e-/h+ separation and transportation through the S-scheme S-g-C3N4/Co-ZF heterojunction. By boosting the hybrid system's BET surface area for the photocatalytic process, the addition of 6% Co-ZF improves the system's ability to absorb more sunlight and boosts its photocatalytic activity. The highest photo-removal effectiveness (98%), which is around 2.45 times higher than that of its competitors, was achieved by the hybrid photocatalyst system with an ideal loading of 48% Co-ZF. Furthermore, the trapping studies showed that the primary species involved in the MB aqueous photo-degradation were ˙OH- and h+.

Marine Alga Ulva fasciata-Derived Molecules for the Potential Treatment of SARS-CoV-2: An In Silico Approach.

SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of the COVID-19 pandemic. This in silico study aimed to elucidate therapeutic efficacies against SARS-CoV-2 of phyco-compounds from the seaweed, Ulva fasciata. Twelve phyco-compounds were isolated and toxicity was analyzed by VEGA QSAR. Five compounds were found to be nonmutagenic, noncarcinogenic and nontoxic. Moreover, antiviral activity was evaluated by PASS. Binding affinities of five of these therapeutic compounds were predicted to possess probable biological activity. Fifteen SARS-CoV-2 target proteins were analyzed by the AutoDock Vina program for molecular docking binding energy analysis and the 6Y84 protein was determined to possess optimal binding affinities. The Desmond program from Schrödinger's suite was used to study high performance molecular dynamic simulation properties for 3,7,11,15-Tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol-6Y84 for better drug evaluation. The ligand with 6Y84 had stronger binding affinities (-5.9 kcal/mol) over two standard drugs, Chloroquine (-5.6 kcal/mol) and Interferon α-2b (-3.8 kcal/mol). Swiss ADME calculated physicochemical/lipophilicity/water solubility/pharmacokinetic properties for 3,7,11,15-Tetramethyl-2-hexadecen-1-ol, showing that this therapeutic agent may be effective against SARS-CoV-2.