Design novel Ce(MoO<inf>4</inf>)<inf>2</inf>@TiO<inf>2</inf> n–n heterostructures: enhancement photodegradation of toxic dyes

In the research, ultrasonically synthesized Ce(MoO ) nanostructure was coupled with TiO nanoparticles to synthesize molybdate-based n–n heterostructure photocatalyst (Ce(MoO ) @TiO ). Coupling with TiO nanoparticles was performed to reduce electron–hole pairs recombination as well as to increase the UV–Vis light absorption thanks to the interface between Ce(MoO ) and TiO . Methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB) as the anionic and cationic dyes were applied to investigate the photocatalytic properties of molybdate-based n–n heterostructure under UV–Vis light irradiation. Also, the impact of various TiO concentrations on the photocatalytic yield was assessed. The photocatalytic yield of Ce(MoO ) @TiO exhibited a 30% enhancement compared to Ce(MoO ) . In the following, the effects of different parameters such as pH of the solution, catalyst dosage, concentrations of dyes, and various inorganic ions (SO , NO , CO , and Cl ) on the degradation reaction were investigated. DRS results demonstrated that the bandgap of Ce(MoO ) @TiO (3.3 eV) nanostructure showed a red shift in comparison with Ce(MoO ) (2.69 eV). Under the optimum degradation conditions, approximately 95 and 93% of methyl orange (MO) and rhodamine B (RhB) were degraded after 50 min under UV–Vis irradiation. 4 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 2 4 2 2 4 2 4 4 2 2 4 2 2− 3− 3−

Synthesis of YTi@Ag nanocomposite and investigation of its structural and antifungal properties

The aim of the current study is to describe the synthesis, characterization, and measurement of optical and antifungal properties of Yb TiO @Ag nanocomposites (YTi@Ag) against three standard Candida species including Candida albicans (ATCC 1023), Candida krusei (ATCC 6258), and Candida tropicalis (ATCC 750). YTi@Ag nanocomposites were synthesized through the sol-gel assistant ultrasonic method in an aqueous solution. The antifungal abilities were performed base on macrodilution method as recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI, document M27-A3). SEM, XRD, EDX, and FT-IR were applied to characterize structural and morphological characteristics of nanocomposites. In addition, several antifungal tests were performed to investigate the impact of YTi@Ag nanocomposites on the Candida species. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC ) measurements of the YTi@Ag NPs against C. albicans (ATCC 1023), C. krusei (ATCC 6258), and C. tropicalis (ATCC 750) after 24 and 48 h were 4 and 32 µg/ml, respectively. MIC results show that as-synthesized YTi@Ag nanocomposites are efficient as an alternative antibacterial/antifungal agent. The band gap of bare Yb TiO and YTi@Ag nanocomposites is 3 and 2.85 eV, respectively. Ag-doped Yb TiO has advantage over naked Yb TiO which enhances separation of electron–hole pairs which improves antifungal activity. 2 5 2 5 2 5 2 5 50 5

Stable and Highly Efficient Antibody-Nanoparticles Conjugation.

Functional ligands and polymers have frequently been used to yield target-specific bio-nanoconjugates. Herein, we provide a systematic insight into the effect of the chain length of poly(oligo (ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate) (POEGMEA) containing polyethylene glycol on the colloidal stability and antibody-conjugation efficiency of nanoparticles. We employed Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer (RAFT) to design diblock copolymers composed of 7 monoacryloxyethyl phosphate (MAEP) units and 6, 13, 35, or 55 OEGMEA units. We find that when the POEGMEA chain is short, the polymer cannot effectively stabilize the nanoparticles, and when the POEGMEA chain is long, the nanoparticles cannot be efficiently conjugated to antibody. In other words, the majority of the carboxylic groups in larger POEGMEA chains are inaccessible to further chemical modification. We demonstrate that the polymer containing 13 OEGMEA units can effectively bind up to 64% of the antibody molecules, while the binding efficiency drops to 50% and 0% for the polymer containing 35 and 55 OEGMEA units. Moreover, flow cytometry assay statistically shows that about 9% of the coupled antibody retained its activity to recognize B220 biomarkers on the B cells. This work suggests a library of stabile, specific, and bioactive lanthanide-doped nanoconjugates for flow cytometry and mass cytometry application

Synthesis, characterization, and optical properties of visible light-driven Bi2S3 nanorod photocatalysts

We report a simple and large-scale one-pot method for the synthesis of Bi2S3 nanorods by using the complexation of Bi(NO3)3??5H2O and Na2S??9H2O precursors. The as-synthesized photocatalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis measurements. The photocatalytic performance of the Bi2S3 nanorods was evaluated for the photodegradation of phenol red under visible light irradiation. The orthorhombic Bi2S3 photocatalyst exhibited a 99% photocatalytic efficiency at 100 min under visible light irradiation, which is ascribed to the high specific surface area and crystallinity. The active sites on the Bi2S3 photocatalyst diminished the unwanted recombination of charge carriers within the photocatalyst