Analysis of Chemical Composition, Antioxidant Activity, and Toxicity of Essential Oil from Virola sebifera Aubl (Myristicaceae).

Volatile oils or essential oils (EOs) were extracted from three V. sebifera samples (labeled as A, B, and C) in September 2018 and February 2019; the extraction process involved hydrodistillation of the leaves. The chemical compositions of the EOs were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The volatile components were identified by comparing their retention indices and mass spectra with standard substances documented in the literature (ADAMS). The antioxidant activity of the EOs was evaluated using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), while their toxicity was assessed using Artemia salina Leach. Molecular docking was utilized to examine the interaction between the major constituents of V. sebifera EO and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a molecular target linked to toxicity in A. salina models. The EO obtained from specimen A, collected in September 2018, was characterized by being primarily composed of (E,E)-α-farnesene (47.57%), (E)-caryophyllene (12.26%), and α-pinene (6.93%). Conversely, the EO from specimen A, collected in February 2019, was predominantly composed of (E,E)-α-farnesene (42.82%), (E)-caryophyllene (16.02%), and bicyclogermacrene (8.85%), the EO from specimen B, collected in September 2018, primarily contained (E,E)-α-farnesene (47.65%), (E)-caryophyllene (19.67%), and α-pinene (11.95%), and the EO from the leaves collected in February 2019 was characterized by (E,E)-α-farnesene (23.57%), (E)-caryophyllene (19.34%), and germacrene D (7.33%). The EO from the leaves collected in September 2018 contained (E,E)-α-farnesene (26.65%), (E)-caryophyllene (15.7%), and germacrene D (7.72%), while the EO from the leaves collected in February 2019 was primarily characterized by (E,E)-α-farnesene (37.43%), (E)-caryophyllene (21.4%), and α-pinene (16.91%). Among these EOs, sample B collected in February 2019 demonstrated the highest potential for inhibiting free radicals, with an inhibition rate of 34.74%. Conversely, the EOs from specimen A exhibited the highest toxic potentials, with an lethal concentration 50 (LC50) value of 57.62 ± 1.53 µg/mL, while specimen B had an LC50 value of 74.72 ± 2.86 µg/mL. Molecular docking results suggested that hydrophobic interactions significantly contributed to the binding of the major compounds in the EO from sample B to the binding pocket of AChE.

Improving the sensitivity for hydrogen peroxide determination with active V2O5 nanocubes incorporated on mesoporous TiO2.

The capacity to generate a constant signal response from an enzyme on an electrode surface has been a fascinating topic of research from the past three decades. To nourish the enzymatic activity during electrochemical reactions, the immobilization of dual enzymes on the electrode surface could prevent the enzymatic loss without denaturation and thus long-term stability can be achieved. For effective immobilization of dual enzymes, mesoporous materials are the ideal choice because of its numerous advantages such as 1. The presence of porous structure facilitates high loading of enzymes 2. The formation of protective environment can withstand the enzymatic activity even at acidic or basic pH values and even at elevated temperatures. Herein, we develop bienzymatic immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) on mesoporous V2O5-TiO2 based binary nanocomposite for effective sensing of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in presence of redox mediator hydroquinone (HQ). The utilization of redox mediator in second-generation biosensing of H2O2 can eliminate the interference species and reduces the operating potential with higher current density for electrochemical reduction reaction. Using this mediator transfer process approach at HRP/ChOx/V2O5-TiO2 modified GC, the H2O2 can be determined at operating potential (-0.2 V) with good linear range (0.05-3.5 mM) higher sensitivity (1040 µAµM-1 cm-2) and lower detection limit of about 20 µM can be attained, which is due to higher mediation of electrons were transferred to the enzyme cofactors. These interesting characteristics could be due to mesoporous structure of V2O5-TiO2 can induce large immobilization and facilitate higher interaction with enzymes for wide range of biosensing applications.

Existence of Ti3+ and dislocation on nanoporous CdO-TiO2 heterostructure applicable for degrading chlorophenol pollutant.

This study addresses the significance of wastewater recuperation by a simple and facile treatment process known as photocatalyst technology using visible light. Titanium di-oxide (TiO2) is the most promising photocatalyst ever since longing decades, has good activity under UV light, owing to its small band gap. Hence, TiO2 has been modified with metal oxides for the positive response against visible light. Since this is an efficient process, the novelty has been made on nanometal oxide CdO (cadmium oxide) combined with TiO2 to acquire the best efficiency of degrading organic chlorophenol contaminant. Initially, the composites were synthesized by sol-gel and thermal decomposition methods and investigated for their various outstanding properties. The characterized outcomes have exhibited heterostructures with reduced crystallite size from the X-ray diffraction studies. Then, the determination of nanoporous feature was recognized through HR-TEM analysis which was also detected with some dislocations. The EDX spectrum was identified the perfect elemental composition. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption equilibrium was attained that offers many pores measured with high surface area. The XPS result convinced that Ti3+ was accessible along with TIO2/CdO composite. Further the absorption towards higher wavelength was obtained from UV-vis spectra. Finally, for the photocatalytic application of chlorophenol, the composite shows higher percentage of degrading efficiencies than the pristine TiO2. The photocatalytic mechanism was discussed in detail.

Tailoring the heterojunction of TiO2 with multivalence CeO2 nanocrystals - for detection of toxic 2-aminophenol.

Enhancing the current signal response for semiconductors is the key factor for designing and fabrication of efficient electrode in electrochemical sensors. By the aid of doping with binary metal oxides, the conductivity of the resultant titanium oxide (TiO2) based nanocomposite will deliver fast electron transfer rate at the heterojunction interface. Herein, by taking advantage of mesoporous structure in TiO2, cubic shaped multivalent cerium oxide (CeO2) was incorporated into the porous cavity by simple ground assisted solvothermal process, which resulted in enormous enhancement in the current response towards detection of 2-aminophenol. The advantage of CeO2 on TiO2 not only involves the loading of binary metal oxide on its mesoporous sites, but also facilitates the formation of CeO2 nanocrystals which induce larger surface area and high electroactive sites with rapid diffusion of target species through pores. As a result, CeO2-TiO2 on modified GC electrode exhibits drastic enhancement in the current response for oxidation of 2-aminophenol with large decrease in the onset potential than TiO2/GC electrode. Furthermore, the CeO2-TiO2 modified electrode shows significant behavior for sensing of 2-aminophenol with wide linear range of 0.01-500 µM. The sensitivity and detection limit were calculated to be 0.603 µA µM cm-2 and 3.5 nM respectively. This work establishes the facile strategy for decoration of binary metal oxide-based nanocomposites as effective electrode and also possible to create new opportunities in the designing and fabrication of variety of efficient electrode in various electrochemical applications.