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Gastric cancer is considered a class 1 carcinogen that is closely linked to infection with Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), which affects over 1 million people each year. However, the major challenge to fight against H. pylori and its associated gastric cancer due to drug resistance. This research gap had led our research team to investigate a potential drug candidate targeting the Helicobacter pylori‐carcinogenic TNF‐alpha‐inducing protein. In this study, a total of 45 daidzein derivatives were investigated and the best 10 molecules were comprehensively investigated using in silico approaches for drug development, namely pass prediction, quantum calculations, molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulations, Lipinski rule evaluation, and prediction of pharmacokinetics. The molecular docking study was performed to evaluate the binding affinity between the target protein and the ligands. In addition, the stability of ligand–protein complexes was investigated by molecular dynamics simulations. Various parameters were analysed, including root‐mean‐square deviation (RMSD), root‐mean‐square fluctuation (RMSF), radius of gyration (Rg), hydrogen bond analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and dynamic cross‐correlation matrix (DCCM). The results has confirmed that the ligand–protein complex CID: 129661094 (07) and 129664277 (08) formed stable interactions with the target protein. It was also found that CID: 129661094 (07) has greater hydrogen bond occupancy and stability, while the ligand–protein complex CID 129664277 (08) has greater conformational flexibility. Principal component analysis revealed that the ligand–protein complex CID: 129661094 (07) is more compact and stable. Hydrogen bond analysis revealed favourable interactions with the reported amino acid residues. Overall, this study suggests that daidzein derivatives in particular show promise as potential inhibitors of H. pylori. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A family of Fe3O4/MnO hybrid nanocrystals differing in heterojunction structure and number of MnO domains were synthesized through the seed-mediated growth process of MnO at the surface of Fe3O4 nanocrystal. In this process, the resulting heterostructures, including core/shell, dumbbell-like, and flowerlike structures, were found to be largely influenced by the size of initially injected Fe3O4 seeds. The further transformation of Fe3O4/MnO heterodimer through a nanoscale etching process within silica nanosphere generated the nanoreactor framework composed of a superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanocrystal, a functionalized cavity with a catalytically active Mn3O4 layer, and a porous silica shell. The newly developed nanoreactor successfully catalyzed the cyanosilylation reaction of aromatic aldehydes in a size selective manner and could be recovered magnetically and reused without loss of catalytic activity even after ten successive cycles. A family of Fe3O4/MnO hybrid nanocrystals differing in heterojunction structure was synthesized through the seed-mediated growth process on the Fe3O4 nanocrystal with various sizes. The heterodimer nanocrystal was employed for the fabrication of a nanoreactor, which selectively catalyzed the cyanosilylation reaction and could be magnetically recovered and reused in multiple iterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the growth and characterization of Zn0.05Sr0.95S codoped with europium and samarium ions. The material was grown on α-MnS (rocksalt) buffer layer on (0 0 1)MgO substrate, using solid-source molecular-beam epitaxy technique. Characterization by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy, Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry and X-ray diffraction results provide clear evidence that a good stoichiometric film with crystalline single-phase rocksalt α-Zn0.05Sr0.95S can be obtained at high substrate temperature without sulfur deficiency. Intense infrared-stimulated luminescence (ISL) with a peak at 612 nm is observed in α-Zn0.05Sr0.95S:Eu, Sm which is stimulated with infrared light after irradiation with visible light. The ISL result shows that the α-Zn0.05Sr0.95S:Eu and Sm can be developed for erasable and rewritable optical memory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]