Quality assessment of commercial formulations of tin based herbal drug by physico-chemical fingerprints

The Tin based herbal drug Vanga Parpam is extensively used for treating urino genital infections, Odema, Polydepsia and Dyspepsia effectively. There are no reports of physico chemical fingerprints for the tin based drug available. Proper characterization techniques are required for checking the quality of the commercial samples, in terms of the physical and chemical constitution to meet the expected criteria to support its use worldwide. Two popular commercial brands such drug were characterized and compared in terms of morphology, composition, crystal lattice, and oxidation state of the active metal. Physico-chemical fingerprints were generated for the samples using analytical techniques like Powder X ray crystallography, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X ray Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy and Fourier Transformed Infra Red spectroscopy. It was found that the percentage of tin varied drastically in both brands along with a difference in the percentage composition of other elements and surface morphology which would have significant impact on the therapeutic efficacy and pharmacological activity of the drug samples. The current study appropriately substantiated the need for the use of modern analytical techniques in the establishment of quality and safety assurance of such potent drug

Influence of non-metal dopants (O, S, N) and dimension of carbon nano materials on the fluorescence and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

The usage of sanitizers and disinfectants results in the dumping of toxic organic residues in water. There is a global need for effective agents which can adsorb and degrade hazardous chemicals effectively and convert into much safer constituents. In this study, the influence of non-metal dopants (O, S, N) and dimensionality on the catalytic ability of carbon nanomaterials (CNs) such as 0-D (Nitrogen-doped Carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) synthesized from the seed kernel of Caesalpinia bonducella) and 2-D (Graphene oxide (GO), Sulphur doped graphene oxide (S-GO), Nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-GO) synthesized from glucose) have been compared and correlated. The microstructure, surface morphology, elemental composition, fluorescence emission and catalytic ability of the 0-D and 2-D materials are determined and compared. The defect density and the sub defect band gap states influenced by different electronegative non-metal dopants and the dimensions are discussed. The Micro strain increases with increases in dimension. The percentage of Nitrogen as dopant in N-GO is relatively less compared with N-CQDs which led to less fluorescence intensity observed in N-GO. On comparison of the results, it is evident that greater electro negativity of the dopants and reduction in dimension will increase the photo catalytic activity. Also, in comparison with 2-D structures, the large surface area and greater quantum confinement of 0-D structure enhance the degradation of organic pollutants. This observation is well correlated with PL emission intensities of the compared CNs. The results provide a better correlation between dimensionality and functionality of CNs and their impact on catalytic (adsorption and photo) applications in experimentally possible ways

Microwave conversion of Plantago Psyllium husk into carbon quantum dots for sensing of heavy metals and removal of organic

863-871The presence of heavy metal ions and organic dyes in the industrial effluents has toxic effects on human and animal health. There is an urgent growing need for the economic and effective treatment of waste water. The carbon dots (CDs) being a fluorescent zero-dimensional material have active surface area capable of binding with toxic heavy metal ions and organic moieties in water. In this study, the CDs have been successfully synthesized from hemicellulose rich Psyllium husk by means of simple green microwave method. The successful formation of CDs and the chemical state of the CDs have been successfully evaluated. The active surface area of CDs arising due to the surface defects contributed by oxygen functionality on the surface has been assessed from FT-Raman and XPS reports. The fluorescence property of the CDs as extrapolated for the sensing of heavy metal ions confirmed the successful sensing of Cr(VI), Fe(II) and Fe(III) ions with a detection (concentration) limit of 0.06 mM, 0.1 M and 0.2 mM, respectively. The photo catalytic performance of the prepared CDs for the discolouration of organic dyes, especially, the cationic dyes is encouraging indicating the successful preparation of negatively charged CDs from the biowaste. Ultimately, the study provides a simple, economical and efficient microwave method for the conversion of biowaste to a smart zero-dimensional carbon material for heavy metal sensing and dye discoloration

Influence of non-metal dopants (O, S, N) and dimension of carbon nano materials on the fluorescence and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants

485-494The usage of sanitizers and disinfectants results in the dumping of toxic organic residues in water. There is a global need for effective agents which can adsorb and degrade hazardous chemicals effectively and convert into much safer constituents. In this study, the influence of non-metal dopants (O, S, N) and dimensionality on the catalytic ability of carbon nanomaterials (CNs) such as 0-D (Nitrogen-doped Carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) synthesized from the seed kernel of Caesalpinia bonducella) and 2-D (Graphene oxide (GO), Sulphur doped graphene oxide (S-GO), Nitrogen-doped graphene oxide (N-GO) synthesized from glucose) have been compared and correlated. The microstructure, surface morphology, elemental composition, fluorescence emission and catalytic ability of the 0-D and 2-D materials are determined and compared. The defect density and the sub defect band gap states influenced by different electronegative non-metal dopants and the dimensions are discussed. The Micro strain increases with increases in dimension. The percentage of Nitrogen as dopant in N-GO is relatively less compared with N-CQDs which led to less fluorescence intensity observed in N-GO. On comparison of the results, it is evident that greater electro negativity of the dopants and reduction in dimension will increase the photo catalytic activity. Also, in comparison with 2-D structures, the large surface area and greater quantum confinement of 0-D structure enhance the degradation of organic pollutants. This observation is well correlated with PL emission intensities of the compared CNs. The results provide a better correlation between dimensionality and functionality of CNs and their impact on catalytic (adsorption and photo) applications in experimentally possible ways