Functionalized boron doped graphene (BGP) as smart nanocarrier for delivery of hydroxyurea (HU) drug

The concerning toxicity associated with hydroxyurea (HU), an anticancer drug used in cancer treatment, has spurred significant attention within the research community over the years. To address this adverse effect, there is a critical need for a smart and targeted drug delivery system (Nano carrier) that can effectively deliver the drug to the tumor site while minimizing side effects for the patient. In this study, we employed density functional theory computations at (DFT)/ωB97XD/6–311++G (d, p) level of theory to evaluate the adsorption properties of functionalized boron-doped graphene (BGP) surfaces, namely COOH@BGP, NH2@BGP, and OH@BGP, for the delivery of the HU anticancer drug. The electronic properties analysis revealed that COOH@BGP/HXU (M2) exhibited the most favorable reactivity with an energy gap value of 5.3756 eV, making it the most reactive surface compared to other complexes investigated. Moreover, a comprehensive natural bond orbital analysis was conducted to investigate hyper-conjugative effects, hybridization, charge transfer, and H-bonding interactions within the systems studied. The results confirmed the following trend: HXU-COOH@BGP (M2) > HXU-OH@BGP (K2) > HXU-NH2@BGP (Q2). Additionally, topological analysis (QTAIM) and Non-covalent interaction (NCI) analysis were performed to ascertain the interaction forces at play. The results strongly support the significant electrostatic force of interaction in the M2 complex, suggesting the presence of hydrogen bond interactions that facilitate the doped surface's ability to bind with HXU and enhance the smooth delivery of the investigated drug. Furthermore, the adsorption studies revealed negative adsorption energy values, indicating favorable adsorption. Among all the analyzed complexes, M2 nanocarrier demonstrated the most suitable characteristics for the delivery of the HXU anticancer drug. These findings hold promise for the development of an efficient and targeted drug delivery system that could potentially mitigate the toxicity associated with HU and enhance cancer treatment outcomes.'

Single-atoms (N, P, S) encapsulation of Ni-doped graphene/PEDOT hybrid materials as sensors for H2S gas applications: intuition from computational study

Abstract This comprehensive study was dedicated to augmenting the sensing capabilities of Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S through the strategic functionalization with nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur heteroatoms. Governed by density functional theory (DFT) computations at the gd3bj-B3LYP/def2svp level of theory, the investigation meticulously assessed the performance efficacy of electronically tailored nanocomposites in detecting H2S gas—a corrosive byproduct generated by sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB), bearing latent threats to infrastructure integrity especially in the oil and gas industry. Impressively, the analysed systems, comprising Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, N_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, P_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, and S_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, unveiled both structural and electronic properties of noteworthy distinction, thereby substantiating their heightened reactivity. Results of adsorption studies revealed distinct adsorption energies (− 13.0887, − 10.1771, − 16.8166, and − 14.0955 eV) associated respectively with N_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, P_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, S_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S, and Ni@GP_PEDOT systems. These disparities vividly underscored the diverse strengths of the adsorbed H2S on the surfaces, significantly accentuating the robustness of S_Ni@GP_PEDOT@H2S as a premier adsorbent, fuelled by the notably strong sulfur-surface interactions. Fascinatingly, the sensor descriptor findings unveiled multifaceted facets pivotal for H2S detection. Ultimately, molecular dynamic simulations corroborated the cumulative findings, collectively underscoring the pivotal significance of this study in propelling the domain of H2S gas detection and sensor device innovation

Phosphorus encapsulated gallium nitride and aluminum nitride nanotubes as nonenzymatic sensors for fructose, glucose, and xylose sugars as biomarkers for diabetes-mellitus: Outlook from computational study

Excessive sugar consumption has been correlated with various adverse health outcomes, encompassing both short-term and long-term implications for human well-being. Traditional approaches for sugar detection, such as chromatography, spectroscopy, and enzymatic assays, necessitate significant time, specialized equipment, and expertise. In this study, we explore the potential of phosphorus-doped Gallium nitride (P@GaNNT) and aluminum nitride (P@AlNNT) nanotubes as novel means to detect three distinct sugars: fructose (F), glucose (G), and xylose (X). To investigate their capabilities, we employ density functional theory (DFT) computations at the B3LYP-D3(BJ)/def2-SVP methodology. The molecular orbital analysis of the complexes provided evidence of reduced energy gap (Eg) values compared to the surfaces in their pristine states. The X_P@AINNT interaction was the most stable complex, with an energy gap (Eg) value of 4.408eV while G_P@AINNT was the most reactive complex, with an Eg value of 0.545eV. When these complexes were evaluated in a solvent (water), their stability was found to be higher than their reactivity, as evidenced by the increased Eg values for each complex. Results from topological studies (QTAIM and NCI) showed the presence of covalent, electrostatic, and weak van der Waals interactions among atoms in these systems. The adsorption energies for F_P@AlNNT and F P@GaNNT indicated that fructose was chemisorbed onto P@AlNNT and P@GaNNT, with values of -1.442eV and -1.469eV, respectively. On the other hand, glucose and xylose were found to be physiosorbed on P@GaNNT and P@AlNNT, based on the positive results from their adsorption. This study demonstrated the potential of P@AlNNT and P@GaNNT as valuable tools for sugar detection

Adsorption and gas-sensing investigation of oil dissolved gases onto nitrogen and sulfur doped graphene quantum dots

Burning hydrocarbons as fuel, which produces carbon dioxide and water, is a major contributor to anthropogenic global warming. Hydrocarbons are introduced into the environment through their extensive use as fuels and chemicals as well as through leaks or accidental spills during exploration, production, refining, or transport of fossil fuels. Herein, theoretical calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) was applied to investigate the adsorption behavior of C2H4, CH4 and H2 on graphene quantum dot surfaces doped with Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) (GQD_N, GQD_S). Theoretical calculations in this study were obtained with the dispersion correction in consideration so as to predict intermolecular interactions alongside B3LYP-D3(BJ)/6-311+G (d, p). The sites that were doped with N and S atom were found to be more stable and suitable for gas adsorption. The adsorption energy was computed to establish the surface abilities of the adsorptions under investigation. Gas adsorptions on surfaces showed similar high negative values. We may deduce from the computed adsorption energies that GQD_N and GQD_S have strong adsorptions and considered adsorptions are thermodynamically favored. The ellipticity parameter calculated using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM), as well as the stabilization energies obtained from natural bond orbitals (NBO), confirmed the stability of surfaces upon gas adsorptions. QTAIM also confirmed remarkable intermolecular interactions. This result also agrees with that for non-covalent interactions, which predicted weak intermolecular interactions between surface and gas molecules. GQD_N and GQD_S are good adsorbents that can adsorb C2H4, CH4, and H2 gases, respectively

Nano-enhanced Drug Delivery of Dacarbazine using Heteroatoms (B, N, P, S) doped Ag-Functionalized Silicene Nanomaterials: Insight from Density Functional Theory

Cancer remains a major global health concern, necessitating the development of novel and more effective treatment strategies. This research focused on exploring the potential of silicene as a nano-drug delivery platform. Silicene, a two-dimensional honeycomb structure, has garnered attention as an alternative to graphene, germanenes, and stanenes due to its comparative advantages in interfacing with micro or nano electronic devices. In this study, we investigated the co-doping of Ag-doped silicene with B, N, P, and S to evaluate their potential as adsorbents for delivering dacarbazine (DCB). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the ωB97XD/def2SVP level of theory were utilized to analyze their sensitivity, conductivity, stability, and reactivity. The geometry optimization results revealed that the introduction of B, N, P, and S as co-dopants significantly reduced the Ag52—Si30 bond in the Ag-functionalized silicene nano surface from 2.589 Å to a range of 2.241–2.074 Å. Likewise, a similar post-co-doping magnitude reduction effect was observed in the energy gaps, with the interactions ranging from 3.1186—3.7325 eV. Regarding adsorption characteristics, the Ead values indicated physisorption in the B, N, and P-co-doped interactions and chemisorption in the S-co-doped system, with values of 28.399, 147.445, 235.100, and -141.345 kcal/mol, respectively. After incorporating the basis set superposition error (BSSE) correction to the calculated adsorption energies, the adjusted values were obtained as follows: dcb_B@AgSi, dcb_P@AgSi, and dcb_N@AgSi exhibited 28.400, 135.103, and 147.446 kcal/mol, respectively. Meanwhile, dcb_S@AgSi displayed an adsorption energy of -142.344 kcal/mol. Furthermore, analyzing the results using QTAIM and NCI revealed the presence of non-covalent interactions, as well as partial and covalent interactions. This study sheds light on the promising therapeutic potential of B, N, P, and S co-doped Ag-functionalized silicene nano systems as efficient nano-drug delivery agents for dacarbazine (DCB). The insights gained from this research could pave the way for the development of advanced drug delivery systems with enhanced sensitivity and stability

Antilymphoma activities of benzo bisthiazole derivative by molecular docking, impact of solvation, quantum chemical study, and spectroscopic (FT-IR, UV, NMR) investigation

Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system—an essential element of the body's immune defense—has captured increased interest from modern researchers. This study, investigate the possible antilymphoma characteristics of benzo bisthiazole using both experimental and theoretical investigations at DFT/B3LYP-GD3BJ/6–311++G(d, p) level of theory. This study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the electronic and spectroscopic behavior of benzo[1,2_d:4,5] bisthiazole (BBT), given the diverse range of applications for thiazole derivatives. We investigate the impact of solvation on BBT's molecular structure, spectral characteristics, quantum chemical properties, vibrational modes, electronic features, and its interaction through molecular docking. Our findings reveal intriguing insights into BBT's reactivity, highlighting its enhanced reactivity in benzene with an energy gap of 4.6406 eV, while demonstrating greater stability in water with an energy gap of 4.6490 eV. Notably, the analysis of high-energy transitions reveals prevalent n-π* transitions, while some transitions, though absent in UV spectra due to their low oscillator strength, are also identified. The dominant transitions, constituting around 74.85 to 75.57% contribution, are characterized across various solvents, emphasizing their significance. Impressively, molecular docking underscores BBT's potential bioactivity against lymphoma, with a docking score of -6.3 kcal/mol. Moreover, the interaction analysis with 6TOF-BBT reveals favorable hydrogen bonding with essential amino acids, histidine (HIS: 116), and glycine (GLY:55), along the polypeptide chain A of the receptor. These hydrogen bonds are notably well-structured at bond distances of 2.75 Å and 2.99 Å, respectively, further elucidating BBT's unique interaction mechanisms

Quantum capacitances of transition metal-oxides (CoO, CuO, NiO, and ZnO) doped graphene oxide nanosheet: Insight from DFT computation

Density functional theory (DFT) computation has been utilized to explore the effects of the transition metal oxides: CoO, CuO, NiO, and ZnO doping on the electronic properties, structural, and quantum capacitances of graphene oxide nanosheet. From the magnetic moment analysis CoO@GO was observed to have higher magnetic moment of 11.688 μB compared to the studied the transition metal oxide doped systems. Investigation into the electronic properties revealed that NiO@GO attained higher energy gap with value of 0.144 eV. It was observed that the GO O/C affects the bandgaps of the modelled systems. Perturbation theory analysis of fock matrix showed that CoO@GO and CuO@GO possessed higher second order stabilization energy with values 238.56 kcal/mol and 208.94 kcal/mol respectively. From the quantum capacitance studies, it was observed that the value of CQ for graphene oxide (GO) increased slightly from 72.276 µF/cm2 to ZnO@GO (121.550 µF/cm2) > NiO@GO (93.870 µF/cm2) > CoO@GO (90.52 µF/cm2) > CuO@GO (89.375 µF/cm2). The results obtained herein can provide an effective and simple new idea for the design of graphene-based supercapacitors that possess high energy density

Assessing the performance of Al₁₂N₁₂ and Al₁₂P₁₂ nanostructured materials for alkali metal ion (Li, Na, K) batteries

This study focused on the potential of aluminum nitride (Al12N12) and aluminum phosphide (Al12P12) nanomaterials as anode electrodes of lithium-ion (Li-ion), sodium-ion (Na-ion), and potassium-ion (K-ion) batteries as investigated via density functional theory (DFT) calculations at PBE0-D3, M062X-D3, and DSDPBEP86 as the reference method. The results show that the Li-ion battery has a higher cell voltage with a binding energy of −1.210 eV and higher reduction potential of −6.791 kcal/mol compared to the sodium and potassium ion batteries with binding energies of −0.749 and −0.935 eV and reduction potentials of −6.414 and −6.513 kcal/mol, respectively, using Al12N12 material. However, in Al12P12, increases in the binding energy and reduction potential were observed in the K-ion battery with values −1.485 eV and −7.535 kcal/mol higher than the Li and Na ion batteries with binding energy and reduction potential −1.483, −1.311 eV and −7.071, −7.184 eV, respectively. Finally, Al12N12 and Al12P12 were both proposed as novel anode electrodes in Li-ion and K-ion batteries with the highest performances.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Superconductivity, quantum capacitance, and electronic structure investigation of transition metals (X = Y, Zr, Nb, Mo) encapsulated silicon nanoclusters (Si59X): Intuition from quantum and molecular mechanics

Silicon nanoclusters (SiNCs) have unique structural and electronic properties that make them promising candidates for energy storage devices such as batteries, supercapacitors, and solar cells. This study theoretically investigated the superconducting and capacitance properties of transition metal (TM) doped silicon nanoclusters using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The electronic and ionic conductivity, as well as the non-linear optic property, of TM-doped silicon nanoclusters herein, were analyzed to determine their potential as capacitor electrodes. The effects of temperature on electronic and ionic conductivity were also studied. The results suggest that TM doping enhances the superconducting and capacitance properties of silicon nanoclusters. The electronic conductivity was found to increase with increasing temperature, while the ionic conductivity showed a nonlinear relationship with temperature. Furthermore, it was observed that the doping of studied certain TM elements, such as Nb and Mo, leads to the formation of metallic states within the HOMO-LUMO energy range, indicating their potential for superconducting behaviour. The HOMO-LUMO analysis also reveals the electronic band structure and the bandgap of TM-doped silicon nanoclusters, showing that the dopants can tune the bandgap, resulting in improved superconductivity capacitance. The NBO analysis reveals the nature of bonding between the dopant atoms and the silicon atoms, indicating that charge transfer between the dopants and the silicon atoms plays a crucial role in enhancing the electronic properties Additionally, the stability of TM-doped silicon nanoclusters was analyzed, and it's found that the doping with TM elements resulted in stable structures. The result strongly suggested that doping with Y, Zr, Nb, and Mo enhances the capacitance at different voltages and conductivity at elevated temperatures especially as the electronic configuration of the d-orbital of the dopant evolves. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the potential of TM-doped silicon nanoclusters as efficient materials for superconducting and capacitive applications.Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation24 month embargo; first published 04 November 2023This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]