“Theranostic” Role of Bile Salt-capped Silver Nanoparticles- Gall Stone/Pigment Stone Disruption and Anticancer Activity

Ranju Prasad Mandal^1*, Gunjan Mandal², Sudeshna Sarkar¹, Arindam Bhattacharyya² and Swati De¹

¹Department of Chemistry, University of Kalyani, India
²Immunology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, India

Silver Nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been synthesized in situ in micelles formed by the bile salt sodium deoxycholate (NaDC). The AgNPs exhibit “green” fluorescence. It has been shown in the present study that they can disrupt the components of gall stones/pigment stones. This unique ability of the AgNPs has been observed upon detailed study of the interaction between the endobiotic pigment bilirubin (BR) and bile salt (NaDC). In addition, these AgNPs show significant cytotoxicity towards the breast cancer cells (MCF-7). Thus the AgNPs synthesized in this work show important physiological activity and can serve as prospective “Theranostic Materials” in future. Their green fluorescence bears relevance to future diagnostic applications while their anticancer activity and disruptive action upon BR aggregates in bile salt micelles is extremely important for therapeutic purpose. This is the first report of the use of metal nanoparticles in disruption of components of gall stones/pigment stones and thus the present work has very important physiological significance.

Controlling Growth of Molecular Aggregates with Distinct Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties

Yongjun Li^* and Yusen Luo

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. R. China

Two novel donor–acceptor molecules, 2, 7-diphenylbenzo[1, 2-b:4, 3-b′]difuran-4, 5-dicarbonitrile and 2, 7-bis(4-methoxyphenyl) benzo[1, 2-b:4, 3-b′]difuran-4, 5-dicarbonitrile containing cyano group as the electron acceptor, were synthesized. Their single-crystal structures, molecular packing, and self-assembly behaviors were also investigated. By simple solvent evaporation techniques, these compounds self-assemble into various low-dimensional microstructures that demonstrate distinctive nonlinear optical properties depending on the orientations of their transition dipoles. This study highlights the importance of the transition dipole moment in the construction of low-dimensional molecular materials with highly efficient nonlinear optical properties.

Biography:
Yongjun Li was born in 1975 in Sichuan, China. He received his Master degree in Chemistry from Sichuan University in 2001, and he earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 2006 at ICCAS. He is currently a Professor at the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has published more than 100 peer reviewed scientific articles and invited reviews in the journals, such as Nat. Commun. Acc. Chem. Res., Chem. Soc. Rev., J. Am. Chem. Soc., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.et al.. His research interests lie in the fields of design and synthesis of functional organic molecules.

Ultrathin Graphdiyne Nanosheets Grown In Situ on Copper Nanowires and their Performance as Lithium-Ion Battery Anodes

Zicheng Zuo^* and Yuliang Li

Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (BNLMS), CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, CAS Key Laboratory of Organic Solids, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P. R. China

High-quality and ultrathin graphdiyne nanosheets (averaged thickness of 1.9 nm) and nanotubes are first prepared in large-scale using free-standing Cu nanowires as catalyst, forming good 3D continuous network. The crystal boundaries of Cu nanowire are first observed to be highly reactive for catalyzing the growth of graphdiyne nanosheets, giving us some inspirations for preparing more high-quality graphdiyne. Such ultrathin graphdiyne nanosheets show attractive overall performances, and deliver a high capacity of 1380 mAh/g and outstanding rate-performance, thereby exhibiting great potential for high-energy density and high-power density lithium ion batteries.

[1]Shang, H.; Zuo, Z.; Li, L.; Wang, F.; Liu, H.; Li, Y.; Li, Y. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2018, 57, 774-778;
[2] Shang, H.; Zuo, Z.; Zheng, H.; Li, K.; Tu, Z.; Yi, Y.; Liu, H.; Li, Y.; Li, Y. Nano Energy 2018, 44, 144-154;
[3] Jia, Z.; Zuo, Z.; Yi, Y.; Liu, H.; Li, D.; Li, Y.; Li, Y. Nano Energy 2017, 33, 343-349.

Biography:
Zicheng Zuo received his PhD degree in 2011 in ICCAS. He is an assistant professor in prof. Yuliang Liʼs group in the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (ICCAS). His research interest is focused on the synthesis of high-quality 2D graphdiyne and its applications in improving the interfacial stability in high-energy-density lithium secondary batteries.

Synthesis and Mechanical Characterization of PU and TiO₂ Composites

Danilo Biazon Janes^1*, Ana Paula de Moura¹, Enio Henrique Pires da Silva¹, Yuri Vinicius Bruschi de Santana¹, Marcia Regina de Moura Aouada² and Romeu Rony Cavalcante da Costa¹

¹Federal University of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Brazil
²Sao Paulo State University, Department of Physics and Chemistry, Brazil

Polyurethanes (PUs) are one of the most versatile and used polymeric materials. They represent a class of polymers that has found widespread use in the medical field, automotive and industrial^[1]. The present work aims at synthesis and characterization of polyurethane with inorganic nanocharges of titanium oxide (TiO₂), with the purpose of improving its mechanical properties. The material formation was made adding 50% calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in mass the mixture of polyol and diisocyanate at 1:1 ratio. It was mixed until its complete homogenization. We placed them in molds which were placed in pressure vessel at 5ATMs for 48 hrs. The materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and tensile tests were performed. X-ray diffraction patterns and FTIR showed that the materials presented bands corresponding to the anatase TiO₂ phase (JCPDS: 21-1272) indicating that the TiO₂, was inserted into the materials. The tensile tests results presented the real values for the tensile strength, Young modulus, and maximum strain. The doped material tensile strength (39.52 MPa) was slightly smaller than the value for pure polyurethane (42.67 MPa). Furthermore, the latter strain exhibited a drastic decrement, from 28.2% (pure PU) to 4.57% (doped PU). TiO₂ addition highly improved the polymer stiffness, given that PU and doped PU Young modulus were, respectively, 1.42 GPa and 2.39 GPa.

Reference:
[1] K. M. Zia, A. Ahmad, S. Anjum, M. Zuber, M. N. Anjum “Synthesis and characterization of siloxane-based polyurethane elastomers using hexamethylene diisocyanate” Journal of Elastomers & Plastics 2015, Vol. 47(7) 625–635

The Study of Perovskite Solar Cell with Solvent Substitution

Liang-Yih Chen^* and Che-Hang Chang

Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taiwan

In this study, we developed a method to prepare a high-quality CH₃NH₃PbI₃ layer based on solvent (isopropanol) substitution. The difference between the IPA-substitution method with the two-stepsequential coating method lies in the deposition of PbI₂ film via solvent IPA-substitution by us instead of a conventional anneal-treatment developed by others. First, we discussed the effects of IPA-substitution on the PbI₂ film morphology, crystallization, growth and device characteristics by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Secondly, a PbI₂-IPA nanostructure was endowed with affluent channels that are convenient for inserting CH₃NH₃I and enhancing the complete conversion. As a result, the device achieved a high power conversion efficiency of 17.84% and exhibited high reproducibility.

Heat Transfer Performance of paraffin/Nano-SiO₂ Nanocomposite for Thermo-Protective Applications

Zhenduo Zhang^*, Jian Huang, Yanwei Hu and Yurong He

School of Energy Science and Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, China

In recent years, passive thermal protection has been desperately needed in those situations where extremely high temperature can result in serious security problems. Unlike traditional ways such as air cooling, thermal management systems using latent heat phase change materials have special advantages such as high thermal storage efficiency in relatively less temperature ranges, which will be helpful to optimize the operating temperature and improve the working conditions for complicated thermal systems such as thermal intelligent buildings and electronic devices. Introducing oxide nanoparticles into phase change materials is one of the effective ways to regulate thermal properties and guarantee the stabilization at the same time. Therefore, different oxide nanoparticles have been added to phase change materials to control their thermal conductivity. In brief, the main point for phase change nanocomposite is to ensure its controllable thermal properties and stability.

In this work, SiO₂ nanoparticles with 30 nm average size were added to paraffin wax to prepare the paraffin/Nano-SiO₂ nanocomposites. Significant thermal properties such as latent heat and specific heat capacity were measured using the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) method. Meanwhile, a two-phase Lattice Boltzmann (LB) method was applied to simulate the melting process of the nanocomposites with different mass fractions of SiO₂ nanoparticles. It was found that compared to pure paraffin wax, adding SiO₂ nanoparticles could make a reduction on the latent heat and specific heat capacity of phase change materials. Besides, the proceeding speed of solid-liquid phase change process can be affected and controlled by means of addition of SiO₂ nanoparticles.

Acknowledgement: This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51676060), the Natural Science Founds of Heilongjiang Province for Distinguished Young Scholars (Grant No. JC2016009).

Biography:
Mr. Zhenduo Zhang obtained his B.S. Degree at Harbin Institute of Technology in China in 2017, and is a postgraduate student of Harbin Institute of Technology at present. His current research is concentrated on thermal energy storage and functional phase change materials.

Elimination of Hexavalent Chromium by Adsorption on Natural and Modified Kaolin by a Probe Molecule

Naouel Hezil^1*, Mamoun Fellah², Fouzia Hammadi³ and Kamel Guerfi⁴

¹Chemistry Department, ABBES Laghrour - Khenchela University, Algeria
²Mechanical Engineering Department, ABBES Laghrour- Khenchela University, Algeria
³Tribology, Materials Surface and Interfaces Group, Laboratory of Foundry, Annaba University, Algeria
⁴Laboratory of Water Treatment and Valorization of Industrial Waste, Department of Chemistry, Algeria

Chromium is an element found in many liquid effluents. In its hexavalent form, it has a very high toxicity. Among the methods of treatment of releases containing chromium (VI), the most common is that which consists of a reduction followed by a precipitation of chromium (III) obtained in the form of hydroxide. This technique in the surface treatment medium nevertheless has some disadvantages: (1) production of sludge, (2) high consumption of often toxic reagents. Current research is directed towards the development of low cost processing processes using materials such as natural clays, zeolites and activated carbons.

Several works showing the role of screen (antipollution) played by the clays were made. Indeed, Wagner, studied the migration of heavy metals in the basements below the different discharge sites. It has shown that heavy metals have been fully retained at a depth of a few centimeters (36 cm) below the clay-waste limit for sites with 40 to 50% clay.

For our part, we were interested in the study of fixing hexavalent chromium from an aqueous solution by natural and/or modified kaolin. The study was carried out under conditions close to industrial water treatment.

The study of the adsorption of hexavalent chromium showed that the maximum amounts of Cr (VI) adsorbed on natural and/or modified kaolin are respectively; 4.01 mg/g and 2.94 mg/g. Indeed the treatment of kaolin by purification, then by intercalation of a cationic surfactant, has obviously increased the surface area of kaolin from 48.7 m2/g to 63.7 m2/g, which represents an increase of 18%.

Biography:
Hezil Naouel; Doctorate degree in chemistry (Option: Physical chemistry of materials and interfaces), Magisterʼs degree in Physical Chemistry, DEA in Physical Chemistry, State Engineer Diploma in TChemistry (Analytical chemistry). Bachelor of Science (Exact Science). Teacher at the university abbes alaghrour, khenchela Algeria since 2012, Teacher at the University of Batna from 2009 to 2012.
2011-2012: Member of the Scientific Committee, Department of Biology, University of Batna. Since 2014: Member of the Scientific Committee, SM Department, Khenchela University. Since 2015: Member of the research laboratory, University of Khenchela. Since 2016: Head of Department Science of Subject University of Khenchela.

The Semiconductor Compound Cu₂Zn_1-xCd_xSnS₄ for Solar Cells

M. A. Jafarov^*, E. F. Nasirov and S. A. Jahangirova

Baku State University, Azerbaijan

The semiconductor compound Cu₂Zn_1-xCd_xSnS₄ (CZCTS) is considered as one of the ideal photovoltaic absorber layer materials for low-cost thin film solar cells, since CZCTS has a large absorption coefficient and all the constituent elements are naturally abundant. A Cu₂Zn_1-xCd_xSnS₄ (CZCTS) thin films system (where x = 0 and 0.2) are deposited using chemical bath deposition method on the alluminium and İTO glass substrates. The films deposited onto İTO-glass slides were first cleaned with detergent water and then dipped in acetone. Solution were prepared by mixing 0.2 M aqueous solutions of CuCl₂, ZnCl₂, CdCl₂, SnCl4, and thiourea [CS(NH₂)₂] at ratio of 2x:1-x: x: 1: 4 (Cu, Zn, Cd, Sn, S) using a magnetic stirrer. The films had a uniform thickness of (800) nm. the structural properties were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD; Shimadzu) with CuKα radiation (λ = 1.5406 Å). Film morphology was analyzed by atomic force microscope (AFM)- type (CSPM). The optical absorption and transmission spectra were obtained using a UV-vis spectrophotometer within the wavelength range of 300 nm to 1100 nm. The XRD patterns show the major diffraction peaks at 2θ= (28.59) and (28.4) for CZTS at x = 0 and for CZCTS at x = 0.2. The increase in cadmium (Cd) as shown by the shift in the main diffraction peak to a lower value of 2θ is attributed to the increase in lattice spacing of the longer Zn atom (1.71 A°) substation for smaller Cd atoms (1.53 A°). Furthermore, an increase in the main peak intensity is observed in the presence of cadmium. A comparison with ASTM card JSPDS 26-0575 reveals that the CZTS (x = 0) thin film exhibits a crystal structure tetragonal type of kestrits phase with a preferred orientation (112) and other planes, i.e., (220) and (312). For 2θ= (28.59, 47.5, 56.1 The CZCTS film at x=0.2 has a tetragonal phase.

The absorbance layers of CZCTS were measured from 300 nm to 1100 nm. Shows the plot of α (cm^-1) versus the wave length λ, which suggests that the two Film exhibits high absorption coefficient ( > 10⁴ cm^-1). Thus a very thin layer of film (1-2 µm) can absorb over 90% of photons over the spectrum, with higher photon energy in the bandgap. The optical properties of the CZTS layer can be improved with a substitution of Zn atoms by Cd atoms to give lower energy gap gap, because since ZnS has a direct optical band near 3.6 eV that gives a higher energy gap of CZTS. The absorption edge shifts to the NIR region with increased x. The obtained optical gap for CZTS is (1.7)eV which agrees with the CZTS bandgap and 1.66 eV for CZCTS at x = 0.2. Eg decreases with increased cadmium content.

The CZCTS films coated on Al substrates were applied to the preparation of CZCTS solar cells. The CZCTS solar cells with a structure of Al/ZnO/CdS/CZCTS/İn lime glass were fabricated. The performance of the solar cells was evaluated under standard AM 1.5 (100 mW/cm²) illumination. The solar cell with the CZCTS absorber layer annealed at 300 °C, exhibited a relatively high efficiency of 9.2% (Voc - 0, 520 V, Jsc – 22, 4 mA/cm², FF – 0, 65). It confirms the effect of preventing the decomposition of CZCTS phase by the addition of Sn during the annealing process.

In conclusion, a simple and relatively safe approach for the fabrication of CZCTS nanoparticles has been developed. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that this low-temperature colloid approach has been applied to the fabrication of CZCTS nanoparticles. We found that the use of different chalcogenide sources resulted in different products of synthesis. The annealing temperature and special ambient effect on the properties of CZCTS films were investigated.

Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Pursuit of Protection against Doxorubicin-Induced Liver Insult in Rats

Heba G. Ibrahim^*, Noha Attia, Fatma El Zahraa A. Hashem and Moushira A. R. El Heneidy

Department of Medical Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alexandria, Egypt

Doxorubicin (DOX) is considered as a backbone in several chemotherapeutic regimens. Nevertheless, the reported systemic toxicity usually hampers its broad application. Interestingly, Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeONPs) depicted promising regenerative antioxidant and hepatoprotective potentials against multiple oxidative stress-induced pathologies. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine either CeONPs would display hepatoprotective properties once concomitantly administered with DOX or not. Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups (n=10) in a two weeks study: Control (received saline, IP injection thrice a week), CeO (0.5mg/kg, IP injection once a week), DOX (2.5mg/kg, IP injections thrice a week) and DOX+CeO (received both treatments). Hepatic toxicity was assessed by histological and ultrastructural studies. In addition, serum transaminases (ALT, AST) and malondialdehyde (MDA), as an oxidative stress marker, were evaluated. CeONPs were not only proved to be safe at the proposed dose but also their concomitant administration with DOX managed to mitigate DOX-induced hepatic insult on both histological and biochemical aspects. Such hepatoprotective behavior was referred to the noticed antioxidant action CeONPs as highlighted by the significant difference in MDA levels.

Biography:
Heba G. Ibrahim has completed his B.Sc from University of Alexandria in 2013. Her area of research is characterization and applications of nanoparticles. She has submitted her M.Sc. thesis entitled histological study of the potential prophylactic role of cerium oxide nanoparticles against doxorubicin-induced hepatotoxicity in rats.

Role of Chitosan-Coated Silver Nanoparticles on the Liver and Spleen Tissues of Mice: Histological and Ultrastructural Studies

Azza A. Attia^1* and Hend A. Noor²

¹Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt
²Biophysics Department, Medical Research Institute, Alexandria University, Egypt

The female population is particularly deserves special attention because toxicity may affect fetal development. In the present work, chitosan is used as a coating and stabilizing agent in synthesizing chitosan-coated silver nanoparticles. Two groups of pregnant mice were injected intraperitoneally with 100 mg/kg of the prepared citrate and/or chitosan-coated AgNPs, every other day after mating until the 19^th day of pregnancy. Control pregnant mice received the vehicle (0.5 ml of 0.9% saline solution, and treated by the same manner). Characterization of the citrate-coated and chitosan-coated AgNPs by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and particle size analysis showed that the granules are spherical in shape and of 26.2 and 36.7 nm in size, while the UV-visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectrum showed a strong, single and narrow band peak at 422 and 437 nm respectively. In citrate-coated AgNPs, the histopathological examination revealed hydropic degenerative changes, cytoplasmic vacuolization, and inflammatory cells infiltration in the hepatic tissue. Ultrastructural results revealed the appearance of abnormal accumulation of glycogen, and presence of the nanogranules inside the mitochondria and nucleus of hepatocytes, implicating their direct involvement in the mitochondrial toxicity and DNA damage. Examination of spleen sections revealed marked loss in lymphocyte population and the observable decrease in the reticular cells and macrophages. These histopathological changes were not evident after treatment by chitosan-coated AgNPs. In conclusion, chitosan as biopolymer loaded on AgNPs, could provide a good example in lowering cytotoxicity in the liver and spleen as compared to citrate-coated AgNPs, probably due to the chemical reduction method used during preparation of AgNPs.

Keywords: Chitosan, silver nanoparticles, characterization, hepatocytes, spleen.

Structural and Electrical Properties of CdTe Thin Films with the Application of CdCl₂ Treatment

S. L. Patel^*, A. Purohit, S. Chander and M. S. Dhaka

Department of Physics, Mohanlal Sukhadia University, India

This work presents a study on structural and electrical properties of electron-beam evaporated CdTe thin films with the application of post-CdCl₂ treatment. The films having thickness 550 nm were grown on glass and ITO substrates followed by CdCl₂ treatment and annealing at different temperature and then subjected to X-ray diffractometer and source-meter to investigate the structural and electrical properties, respectively. The films are found to be polycrystalline in nature having cubic phase at low annealing temperature (≤ 320 °C) and mixture of cubic and hexagonal phases at higher temperature (470 °C). The improvement in crystallinity is also observed with CdCl₂ heat-treatment and maximum grain-growth achieved for films annealed at 320 °C. The electrical analysis reveals that the current have linear behavior with voltage and electrical resistivity is increased with post-CdCl₂ treatment. The investigated results indicate that the post-CdCl₂ treated films annealed at 320 °C may be well-suitable for thin film solar cells as an absorber layer.