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Abstract The environmental-friendly hydrothermal method has been carried out to synthesize Bi2WO6 and g-C3N4/PVP doped Bi2WO6 nanorods (NRs) by incorporating different concentrations of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) as well as a specified quantity of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Bi2WO6 doped with g-C3N4 provides structural and chemical stability, reduces charge carriers, degrades dyes, and, owing to lower bandgap energy, is effective for antibacterial, catalytic activity, and molecular docking analysis. The purpose of this research is the treatment of polluted water and to investigate the bactericidal behavior of a ternary system. The catalytic degradation was performed to remove the harmful rhodamine B (RhB) dye using NaBH4 in conjunction with prepared NRs. The specimen compound demonstrated antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (E. coli) at both high and low concentrations. Higher doped specimens of g-C3N4/PVP-doped Bi2WO6 exhibited a significant improvement in efficient bactericidal potential against E. coli (4.55 mm inhibition zone). In silico experiments were carried out on enoyl-[acylcarrier-protein] reductase (FabI) and β-lactamase enzyme for E. coli to assess the potential of Bi2WO6, PVP doped Bi2WO6, and g-C3N4/PVP-doped Bi2WO6 NRs as their inhibitors and to justify their possible mechanism of action.

Abstract Various concentrations of samarium‐grafted‐carbon nitride (Sm‐g‐C3N4) doped‐bismuth oxobromide (BiOBr) quantum dots (QDs) are prepared by the co‐precipitation method. Elemental evaluation, morphological, optical, and functional group assessment are studied employing characterization techniques. Based on the XRD pattern analysis, it is determined that BiOBr exhibits a tetragonal crystal structure. The electronic spectroscopy revealed an absorption peak for BiOBr at 315 nm and the bandgap energy (Eg) decreasing from 3.9 to 3.8 eV with the insertion of Sm‐g‐C3N4. The presence of vibrational modes related to BiOBr at 550 cm−1 is confirmed through FTIR spectra. TEM revealed that pure BiOBr possessed non‐uniform QDS, and agglomeration increased with the addition of Sm‐g‐C3N4. The catalytic performance of Sm‐g‐C3N4 into BiOBr (6 mL) in a neutral medium toward rhodamine B exhibited excellent results (99.66%). The bactericidal activity is evaluated against multi‐drug resistance (MDR) Escherichia coli once the surface area is increased by dopant and the measured inhibition zone is assessed to be 3.65 mm. Molecular docking results supported the in vitro bactericidal potential of Sm‐g‐C3N4 and Sm‐g‐C3N4 doped‐BiOBr as DNA gyraseE. coli inhibitors. This study shows that the novel Sm‐g‐C3N4 doped‐BiOBr is a better catalyst that increases specific semiconductor's catalytic activity (CA).

Abstract The development of efficient catalysts with a large number of active sites, tunable bandgap, and large surface area has been very challenging. In addition, a significant bottleneck in the application of catalysts for water treatment is their dissolution under extreme conditions, such as highly acidic or highly alkaline conditions that lead to poor application of the reported materials in real‐world applications. In this study, the lanthanum (La)‐doped molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets are reported for efficient breakdown of toxic pollutants from wastewater under a wide pH range from strongly alkaline to strongly acidic solutions. The La‐MoS2 nanosheets (NSs) are prepared by a facile hydrothermal approach using a two‐step methodology. A redshift is observed upon La doping, indicating that the bandgap is lowered after La doping in MoS2. The changes in bandgap and electronic structure are further investigated using the density functional theory (DFT), which reveal that doping of La introduces new states within the bandgap region, allowing for further induced energy transitions. The La‐MoS2, having a doping concentration of 2%, exhibits the highest catalytic activity against methylene blue (MB) in neutral, acidic, and alkaline solutions, as well as substantial inhibitory activity for bacterial strains such as Escherichia coli (E. coli). In summary, the modified catalyst provides a pathway to design highly efficient catalysts for all pH range water treatment as well as good activity against microbes.

The emergence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) in aquatic pathogens and the presence of cationic dyes are the leading causes of water contamination on a global scale. In this context, nanotechnology holds immense promise for utilizing various nanomaterials with catalytic and antibacterial properties. This study aimed to evaluate the catalytic and bactericidal potential of undoped and Sr-doped Cr2O3 nanostructures (NSs) synthesized through the co-precipitation method. In addition, the morphological, optical, and structural properties of the resultant NSs were also examined. The optical bandgap energy of Cr2O3 has been substantially reduced by Sr doping, as confirmed through extracted values from absorption spectra recorded by UV-Vis studies. The field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs illustrate that the composition of Cr2O3 primarily consisted of agglomerated, irregularly shaped NSs with a morphology resembling nanoflakes. Moreover, the presence of Sr in the lattice of Cr2O3 increased the roughness of the resulting NSs. The catalytic activity of synthesized NSs was analyzed by their reduction ability of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye in the dark under different pH conditions. Their antibacterial activity was evaluated against MDR Escherichia coli (E. coli). Sr doping increased antibacterial efficiency against MDR E. coli, as indicated by inhibition zone measurements of 10.15 and 11.75 mm at low and high doses, respectively. Furthermore, a molecular docking analysis was conducted to determine the binding interaction pattern between NSs and active sites in the target cell protein. The findings corroborated antimicrobial test results indicating that Sr-Cr2O3 is the most effective inhibitor of FabH and DHFR enzymes.

Ertapenem is a member of carbapenem antibiotics used for the treatment of moderate-to-severe intra-abdominal, urinary tract, acute pelvic, and post-surgical gynecologic infections. The antibacterial activity of ertapenem is mediated through binding to penicillin-binding proteins which results in inhibiting the cross-linking of the peptidoglycan layer of the bacterial cell wall. Therefore, ertapenem can be labeled with technetium-99m (99mTc), a gamma emitter radionuclide, for the diagnosis of deep-seated bacterial infections, such as urinary tract, intra-abdominal, osteomyelitis, and post-surgical gynecologic infections. The labeling procedure was carried out by varying the reaction conditions, such as the amount of the ligand and reducing agent, pH, reaction time and temperature, and radioactivity. At optimized reaction conditions more than 93% 99mTc–ertapenem radioconjugate was obtained. 99mTc–ertapenem was found 90% intact in saline medium up to 6 h, while 88% intact in human blood serum up to 3 h. Biodistribution study showed target-to-non-target ratios of 2.91 ± 0.19, 2.39 ± 0.31, and 1.23 ± 0.22 in S. aureus, E. coli, and turpentine oil-infected rat models, respectively. The SPECT scintigraphy showed high uptake of 99mTc–ertapenem in bacterial-infected abscesses, and low counts were recorded in normal and turpentine oil-inflamed tissues. In conclusion, 99mTc–ertapenem can be a potent infection-imaging agent, which can diagnosis deep-seated bacterial infections at early stage but need further pre-clinical evaluation in variety of infection models.

Abstract Various concentrations of Mg-doped ZnO nanorods (NRs) were prepared using co-precipitation technique. The objective of this study was to improve the photocatalytic properties of ZnO. The effect of Mg doping on the structure, phase constitution, functional groups presence, optical properties, elemental composition, surface morphology and microstructure of ZnO was evaluated with XRD, FTIR, UV–Vis spectrophotometer, EDS, and HR-TEM, respectively. Optical absorption spectra obtained from the prepared samples showed evidence of blueshift upon doping. XRD results revealed hexagonal wurtzite phase of nanocomposite with a gradual decrease in crystallite size with Mg addition. PL spectroscopy showed trapping efficiency and migration of charge carriers with electron–hole recombination behavior, while HR-TEM estimated interlayer d-spacing. The presence of chemical bonding, vibration modes and functional groups at the interface of ZnO was revealed by FTIR and Raman spectra. In this study, photocatalytic, sonocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic performance of prepared NRs was systematically investigated by degrading a mixture of methylene blue and ciprofloxacin (MBCF). Experimental results suggested that improved degradation performance was shown by Mg-doped ZnO NRs. We believe that the product synthesized in this study will prove to be a beneficial and promising photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. Conclusively, Mg-doped ZnO exhibited substantial (p

Objective: To look for the low levels of haemoglobin and ferritin among the patients of chronic kidney disease (CKD) Stage-5 not undergoing dialysis and factors related to the presence of low levels of haemoglobin and ferritin. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Nephrology, Pak Emirates Military Hospital, Rawalpindi Pakistan, from Feb 2019 to Jan 2021. Methodology: A total of 800 cases were included in the study, diagnosed as chronic kidney disease Stage-5 in the nephrology outpatient department (OPD) by a consultant nephrologist who did not require hemodialysis. Haemoglobin and ferritin levels were recorded in all patients at the time of assessment in the outpatient department. In addition, the relationship of various factors was assessed with low haemoglobin and ferritin among the study participants. Results: Out of 800 non-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients in the study, 421(52.7%) patients were males and 379(46.3%) were females. Of the participants, 471(58.9%) had either low ferritin or hemoglobin levels, while 329(41.1%) did not show low haemoglobin and/or ferritin levels. Long duration of illness and female gender was significantly associated with low haemoglobin/ferritin levels among the non-dialysis patients of chronic kidney disease Stage-5 (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: Low levels of hemoglobin and ferritin were found in most patients suffering from chronic kidney disease Stage-5 and not undergoing hemodialysis. Therefore, special attention should be paid to female patients and patients with a longer duration of chronic kidney disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]