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Quinolone antibiotics have been commonly used to treat cases of multiple antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, quinolone antibiotics have so much been resisted by infectious bacterial agents. This study aimed to evaluate the susceptibility of some clinical isolates of E. coli to some commonly used quinolone antibiotics and the determination of the plasmid-encoded quinolone resistance genes. Our results showed the plasmid quinolone-resistance genes in the following prevalence: qnr genes: qnr S (71.4 %); qnr B (15.4 %); qnr S and B (12.1 %); aac (6) lb-cr (4 %); Efflux genes: oqxA (7.7 %); oqxB (25.3 %); qepA (12.1 %); oqxA and oqxB (5.5 %). We conclude that there is a high frequency of Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolates from clinical samples in South-Eastern Nigeria. These could be responsible for the high incidence of quinolone resistance reported in Enugu. There is a need for whole-genome sequencing to map out all resistance genes.

The electrodeposition technique was used to synthesize copper-doped ZrO2 thin film. Different characterization technique such as vibrating sample magnetometry, UV–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, and X-ray diffractometry were used to study the magnetic, optical, surface morphology, and structural properties of the thin films. The Uniform nanocrystalline grains without cracks, and of various sizes were obtained. The optical studies showed a decrease in energy band gap from 4.1 eV to 3.9 eV. The magnetic studies revealed that the doped samples have unique ferromagnetic ordering, this could be due to the increase in grain size. The 2% and 4% doped samples are saturated around 4.51 × 10−4 emu/g and 4.70 × 10−4 emu/g at coercive field of 274.54 and 274.96 respectively.

In this study, the structural and magnetic properties of a series of functionalized Co100−xNix (x = 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 85) nanoparticles (NPs) were analyzed with the objective of attaining a high specific absorption rate (SAR). The magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) obtained by ball milling at 1425 rpm lie in the range of 03–29 nm and are studied as potential candidates for magnetic fluid hyperthermia. Magnetic measurements show that all samples possess soft ferromagnetic properties with the reduction in the Curie temperature (TC) by Ni substitution in Co100−xNix alloys and by ball milling. The specific absorption rate (SAR) and specific loss power (SLP) obtained from magnetothermal measurements for powder and fluid samples lie in the range 4.4–83 W/g and 19–382 W/g, respectively, showing strong dependence on structural and magnetic properties. The SAR/SLP values as a function of the applied field at 425 kHz display a square dependence on the applied magnetic field below 165 Oe, which is expected for single domain ferromagnetic nanoparticles, but deviate from this at higher values of the applied field. We also obtained the effective anisotropy constant Keff for ball-milled nanoparticles at 1425 rpm for 200, 300, and 500 min. within the framework of linear response theory, showing strong dependence on average crystallite size. Additionally, the toxicity of the prepared nanoparticles in the form of percentage hemolysis was controlled with oleic acid.

In this study, we synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using environmentally benign capping agents Telfairia occidentalis (TO) which reduced silver ions to AgNPs without any external reducing agent. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (XRD), UV–Visible spectroscopy and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The SEM analysis gave a spherical morphology with particle size ranged between 15.84 and 19.2 nm with some hollow sphere microstructure of AgO-NPs which makes it suitable for biomedical applications. The XRD spectrum showed Fcc crystalline structure of AgO-NPs of intense peaks and average particle size of 8 nm and 10 nm for sample a and b respectively. The UV–Visible confirm the formation of AgO-NPs with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance peak of 327 nm. The antibacterial activities of AgO-NPs were found to be effective against human pathogens K. Pneumonia and could be successfully used as malarial therapeutic tools.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) through a fresh leave of Vernonia amygdalina (FLVA) inherent in flavonoids, tannins and phenols phytochemical as a capping and reducing agent is demonstrated in this work. The antibacterial activities of the formulated AgNPs were studied. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (XRD), UV–Visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The UV–visible confirm the formation of AgNPs with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance peak between 430 and 465 nm. The TEM analysis gave a spherical morphology with particle size ranged between 2 and 10 nm. The XRD gave a face-centered cubic phase with the crystalline structure of AgNPs. To our knowledge, the antibacterial activities of AgNPs have been studied in details but the green synthesis of AgNPs via FLVA against Coliform and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial strains has not been reported in the literature. It is noteworthy that the formulated AgNPs show effective susceptibility to the AgNPs against the bacterial strains compared with Gentamicin. Hence, the obtained AgNPs via facile and innocuous synthesis, demonstrated good therapeutic agent against human pathogens strains due to its non-toxicity and facile method of synthesis.

We successfully studied the synthesis of biocompatible and eco-friendly single route method for the subjugation of ferric chloride solution using a natural extract from Moringa Oleifera (MO) as an implied capping agent. We compared the significant effect of the sundry (SD) and room temperature (RT) on the biochemical properties of the MO as a capping agent. The physicochemical properties of the effects in the mechanism of preparation of FeO-NPs were studied using XRD, FTIR, SEM and VSM. The characterization results showed that the mechanism of formation has momentous influences on the formation of the phase spinel as well as on its physical properties for biomedical applications. The SEM gave an average particle diameter of 16–18 nm for the RT sample while the SD sample gave a size of 18–20 nm. The XRD showed a crystallinity with BCC lattice shape for the RT sample while the SD exhibit quasi-crystalline. The magnetic properties investigated by VSM gave no hysteresis loop indicating the superparamagnetic behaviors with 72.07 emu/g values of saturation magnetization with negligible remanence and coercivity values for the RT sample. The structural and superparamagnetic properties of synthesized MO-FeO-NPs coupled with their favorable particle size obtained in the investigation of the particles from RT-MO induced gave it a good method compared to SD-MO for discrete biomedical applications such as drug delivery.

Radiation defect kinetics modeling is used to describe ion tracks in lithium fluoride crystals. According to the track geometry, suggested model takes into account diffusion currents of point defects and their drift in the temperature and elastic fields, caused by thermal spike. Due to the different dilatation signs of vacancies and interstitials, the induced stress field produces the opposite forces, squeezing out the interstitials, whereas the vacancies are rather confined. Resulting anion depletion in the track center can explain formation of the track core, which was observed with SAXS, chemical etching, AFM and other techniques, for heavy projectiles when the linear energy transfer exceeds a threshold of ~10 keV/nm. The anion interstitials can form aggregates, which were observed with VUV absorption spectroscopy and NMR studies, aside the track center.

The amorphous structural study of silicon carbide nanowires (SiC-NWs) has drawn strenuous attention in recent years due to their worthwhile properties for wide applications, chiefly in optoelectronics. The facile transformation of crystalline SiC-NWs to amorphous defective SiC-NWs is a challenging task for their broad-scale applications. Herein, we report a fantastic strategy (by applying a 5UDH Pelletron accelerator, located at the National Centre for Physics, Islamabad, Pakistan) for Cu ion implantation (fixed at 10 MeV) on the crystalline SiC-NWs to incorporate them into an amorphous structure. For the defects study, various dose rates of Cu+ ion ranging from 5 × 1015 ions/cm2 to 5 × 1016 ions/cm2 were bombarded on SiC-NWs, and a complete transmutation to the amorphous structure of SiC-NWs under a shelling dose of 8 × 1016 ions/cm2 was observed. This work will provide a better avenue for the structural deformation blueprints of the next-generation nanomaterials. Amorphous structural transformation is explained by collision cascade effects phenomena.

This work reports in-situ ion beam induced luminescence (IBIL) of CaF2 crystals using 2-MeV proton excitation. The in-situ IBIL experiments were carried out at pelletron Tandem accelerator at the National Center for Physics, Islamabad, Pakistan. The spectrophotometry UV–Visible analysis revealed that proton beam induced Ca colloids. Their concentration increases with fluence, and the mean size reaches about 10 nm. The IBIL results showed a wide luminescence band extended from 230 to 450 nm and a new band at about 210 nm, attributed to the self-trapped exciton (STE) decay. It was found that the luminescence intensity increases linearly with dose. From the absorption measurements, indicating the colloid formation in CaF2 by proton irradiation, we believe that the latter colloids are responsible for the luminescence improvement during proton beam irradiation.

The present work reports the in-situ ion beam induced luminescence measurements using 2 MeV proton excitation of LiF single crystal with the aim of obtaining a further insight on F-type centers kinetics and its correlation with the self-trapped exciton (STE). It is found that the STE luminescence intensity decreases from the beginning of irradiation. While the dose-dependent evolution of F3+ and F2 centers reveals three kinetic stages: (i) linear increase from the beginning of irradiation up to 10.1 MGy, followed by (ii) monotonic decrease to 18.1 MGy, and (iii) steady state from 18.1 to 26.2 MGy where the luminescence intensity remains constant. The STE luminescence completely extinguished at high dose; 18.1 MGy in our case. Whereas, the F3+ and F2 luminescence persist and remain constant above 18.1 MGy. The latter behavior revealed in the present study can be useful for LiF application in radiation dosimetry and an imaging detector.

Spinel ferrite based nanoparticle material has been at the forefront of contemporary nanotechnology for use in various industrial and biomedical applications. The preparation and characterization o...

There has been an increasing number of studies in magnetic nanoparticles with auspicious applications in medicine. Among the oxides of magnetic nanoparticles, iron oxide has emerged as an indispensable tool in nanotechnology, particularly bio-nanotechnology. This is attributed to its exceptional properties such as size, shape, magnetism, and biocompatibility. In this review, iron oxide nanoparticles were exploited in different model organisms ranging from prokaryotes to eukaryotes, elucidating their cellular functions relative to their antibacterial activity, drug delivery, and toxicity.

It is a misunderstanding that higher energy ion irradiation on nanomaterials has only detrimental effects on their properties. Recent research reveals that higher energy irradiation on nanostructure materials is favorable with advantageous effects. Light, medium, heavy ions, and high energy photons serve as a veritable tool to synthesized nanowires for these effects. In this article, experimental research on the impact of ion species and high energy photons irradiation on structured ZnO nanowires (ZnO-NWs) and at different ion energies (keV to MeV), ion fluences, and substrate temperatures are discussed. The study has revealed that ZnO-NWs structures were damaged at high irradiation fluence under room temperature. Moreover, the porous structures of ZnO-NWs are created by light ions irradiation at a higher temperature. It is noteworthy that the effect of these irradiation beams induced-cutting of ZnO-NWs and fabrication of nano-holes in ZnO-NWs valuable for nano-devices in space technology under harsh environment.

This work demonstrated an in-depth investigation of the effect of surface doping by three different polymers on the synthesis of zinc ferrite nanostructures by a thermal method. The zinc ferrites were doped with 20% concentration by mass of Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and Polyethylene glycol (PEG) to enhance its properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) confirmed the incorporation of the polymers in the lattice with an obvious increase in the crystallite size, functional groups, spherical morphology, and superparamagnetic behavior respectively. It is noteworthy that the cubic crystalline structure, favorable particle size and magnetic properties of the doped samples gave the NPs a controllable and improved properties for sundry applications in the medical fields such as Hyperthermia and drug delivery with PEG dopant showing a towering leverage on the properties of the ZF with 11% polydispersity Index (PDI).

Zinc ferrite (ZnF) nanoparticles have been the latest topic with a keen interest in the medical field and industries by virtue of their unique superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. Many synthesis methods and different doping materials have been used to enhance the particle size for these applications. This work reports a comparison of ZnF as-prepard and PEG-mediated ZnF nanoparticles. A powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy confirms the formation of single-phase cubic spinel structure with PEG-ZnF showing the broadest peaks. The average particle size increases from 23.8 nm to 29.5 nm for ZnF and PEG-ZnF nanoparticles respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirmed the formation of pure phase ferrites and the presence of metal oxide bands. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows the formation of spherical shape with a reduced size from 22.5 ± 19.6 nm to 19.5 ± 2.9 nm after the mediation of PEG and sintering. The phase purity of PEG-ZnF was confirmed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The magnetic properties confirmed by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), showed that the two samples exhibit superparamagnetic behavior with small saturation magnetization for PEG-ZnF than ZnF. The moderate crystallite size, uniform morphology with 15% polydispersity index and low saturation magnetization makes PEG-ZnF a nanoparticle that is good for sundry applications.

Biogenic synthesis of iron oxide nanorods (FeO-NRs) from FeCl3 capped with Moringa oleifera (MO) has been developed in this work. The facile, cost effective, and eco-friendly FeO-NRs formulated were characterized using various techniques. The change in the visible color which leads to the formulation of FeO-NRs was confirmed by the UV–visible spectroscopy analysis. The crystallinity of FeO-NRs was observed in the X-ray diffraction spectroscopy pattern indexed to the spinel cubic lattice in the tetrahedral hematite structure. A rod-like morphology of FeO-NRs with the average particle size of 15.01 ± 6.03 nm was determined by the scanning and transmission electron microscopies. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis shows the various functional groups in the formulatedFeO-NRs. Vibrating sample magnetometer shows that the formulated FeO-NRs are superparamagnetic with good saturation magnetization. The formulated FeO-NRs inhibit the growth of six human pathogens with a higher activity at lower concentrations. It is noteworthy that the bacterial strains show strong and effective susceptibility to the formulated FeO-NRs at lower concentrations compared to the conventional antibacterial drugs. Hence, the formulated FeO-NRs proved to be a good, efficient, and promising antibacterial agent due to its cost-effectiveness, non-toxicity, and facile synthesis procedures in therapeutic biomedical fields.

In contributing to the improvement of Ferrite Magnetic nanoparticles, the effects of Poly (Vinyl Pyrrolidone) (PVP) and annealing on the structural and magnetic properties of Zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZFNPs) synthesis were investigated in this work. The effects were evaluated using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Vi-brating sample magnetometer (VSM). The XRD analysis confirms a good formation of the inverse spinel crystal structure with an average particle size of 1.3 nm to 15.2 nm and from 1.6 nm to 21.1 nm for the ZFNPs as-prepared and PVP mediated ZFNPs for the un-annealed and annealed samples, respectively. The SEM image reveals an increase in the particle size for both the as-prepared and PVP mediated samples after annealing at 500°C. The FTIR also reveals the inverse spinel structure for the as-prepared and annealed samples, which witnesses a vibrational red shift towards a higher wave number for the annealed samples. The VSM analysis indicates the superparamagnetic behavior of PVP mediated and annealed sample with zero remanence magnetization (Mr) and Coercivity (Hc). The saturation magnetization (Ms) increases from 1.31 emu/g, for the as-prepared samples, to 4.31 emu/g after the annealing and from 1.18 emu/g, for the PVP mediated, to 6.38 emu/g after annealing. These effects have been attributed to the cationic re-arrangement on the lattice site after the annealing. This presents a superior material for various applications in nanotechnology.

A biogenic protocol has been adopted for the formulation of zinc ferrite nanoparticles (ZFNPs) using an aqueous extract of Allium cepa (AC) as a reducing agent for the optimization of its properties. The various characterization results from XRD, SEM, DRS, Raman, and VSM clearly showed that the formulated ZFNP was a single phase with crystallite size in the range of 11–15 nm. A spherical morphology was observed for all the samples with particle size in the range of 34–52 nm. All the samples showed a superparamagnetic behavior with reduced saturation magnetization. The ZFNPs prepared were used for self-heating analysis in hyperthermia applications at 180 Oe applied field and 425 Hz. It produced enough heating within the therapeutic temperature to attain the Curie temperature. The ZFNP formulated is auspicious for hyperthermia applications with less side effect owing to their biocompatibility, moderate Curie temperature, and SAR value within the therapeutic range. The formulated nanoparticles have further broadened the horizon of hyperthermia therapeutic applications with an innocuous protocol within 300 s.

Capping agents are of utmost importance as stabilizers that inhibit the over-growth of nanoparticles and prevent their aggregation/coagulation in colloidal synthesis. The capping ligands stabilize the interface where nanoparticles interact with their medium of preparation. Specific structural features of nanoparticles are attributed to capping on their surface. These stabilizing agents play a key role in altering the biological activities and environmental perspective. Stearic effects of capping agents adsorbed on the surface of nanoparticles are responsible for such changing physico-chemical and biological characteristics. Firstly, this novel review article introduces few frequently used capping agents in the fabrication of nanoparticles. Next, recent advancements in biomedicine and environmental remediation approaches of capped nanoparticles have been elaborated. Lastly, future directions of the huge impact of capping agents on the biological environment have been summarized.

Bio-inspired synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeONPs) has been carried out by eco-friendly, low cost, and facile method using an aqueous extract of Psidium guajava (PG) leaf as a potential reducing agent. The obtained FeONPs were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–visible spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy techniques. The surface plasmon resonance peak of FeONPs was found to be 310 nm. The FTIR spectra analysis indicates the presence of various functional groups in PG extract that are responsible for the biosynthesis of FeONPs. The XRD confirmed that FeONPs were indexed into the cubic spinel lattice structure. The SEM and TEM analysis confirmed the spherical morphology of FeONPs with particle size ranging from 1 to 6 nm. The superparamagnetic nature of the formulated FeONPs was determined using VSM. The FeONPs formulated inhibit the growth of six human pathogenic strains with strong activity chiefly against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at low concentration when compared to other standard antibacterial drugs. It is noteworthy that the formulated FeONPs are efficient as an antibacterial agent.

A series of ZnFe2O4/graphene nanoplatelets ((ZF)1-x(GNPs)x) nanocomposites have been synthesized and characterized. By optimizing the weight ratio of graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs), the synthesized nanocomposites have been identified as an excellent material for electrochemical capacitors with outstanding electrochemical capacitance (314 Fg−1at 0.5 Ag−1), high rate performance, and long-standing cyclic stability (77.6% retention). The enhanced electrochemical performance might be adduced to the improved electrode/electrolyte charge transfer interface and conducting nature of GNPs. Besides, (ZF)1-x(GNPs)x nanocomposites exhibit outstanding visible light driven photocatalytic efficiency for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye in water i.e., 97.46% of the MB is degraded in 70 min, which can be primarily ascribed to the enhanced photo Fenton reaction, effective electron-hole (e−/h+) separation and strong interfacial coupling between ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (ZF NPs) and GNPs. Our results offer new insights into multifunctional nanocomposites for the electrochemical energy storage and treatment of polluted wastewater., M. I acknowledges the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) IRSIP (Grant No: 1-8/HEC/HRD/2017/8412 PIN: IRSIP 39 PSc 15). J. I acknowledges the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) NRPU (Grant No: 20-4861/R&D/HEC/14). S. O. A acknowledges the NCP-TWAS Postdoc Fellowship award (NCP-CAAD/TWAS_Fellow8408). The similarity index was checked via Turnitin (ID: 1226929554), and is well below the allowed limit by HEC, Pakistan.

In-situ biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles for antibacterial activities doped with aqueous extract of dry Gongronema Latifolium (DGL) is presented in this work. The absorbance was determined using a UV-Visible analysis with a peak of 428 nm. The obtained particles confirmed by the TEM image analysis were spherical in shape with an average particle size between 5 and 20 nm. A single crystalline phase of FCC was confirmed by the powder. The functional groups showed the phytochemical inherent in the sample. The colloidal solution of DGL-AgNPs with MIC of 10 µg/ml showed a noteworthy functional susceptibility against the bacterial strains, particularly, K. pneumonia with susceptibility greater than gentamicin. Based on these observations, the formulated DGL-AgNPs show strong bactericidal against the pathogens with facile, benign, eco-friendly, biocompatibility and innocuous synthesis procedures. This can serve as an efficient bactericidal agent.

Human pathogenic diseases are on the rage in the list of enfeebling diseases globally. The endless quest to salvage these drug-resistant pathogens ravaging our system through various therapies still posts serious challenge. This study engaged a biogenic synthesis that is benign, facile, biocompatible, cost-effective and eco-friendly to synthesized silver nanocapsule (AgNCs) via Moringa oleifera aqueous extract under incubation control. The flavonoid-kaempferol, phenolic-chlorogenic acid and tannin components of MO acted as the potential stabilizing and reducing agent in the formation of AgNCs. The formulated AgNCs was further functionalized with PVA, PVP and PEG for biocompatibility and dispersion enhancement. Various characterization techniques were used to determine the properties of AgNCs formulated. The absorbance due to the color change was observed by the UV-Visible spectroscopy with surface plasmons resonance peak between 425 and 455 nm. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) shows the various functional group responsible for the biogenic synthesis of AgNCs. The X-ray spectroscopy analysis shows a single phase cubic structure of AgNCs formed. The Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image shows a rod-like nanocapsule of uniform grains. The antibacterial potency of AgNCs was proven against gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Coliform). The AgNCs inhibited the growth of the three human pathogens with Coliform showing the highest activity to the AgNCs with a minimum inhibitory dose of 15 μg/mL. It is noteworthy that the bacterial strains show functional susceptibility to the AgNCs at lower concentrations compared to the conventional antibacterial drugs. Consequently, AgNCs serve as an enhanced substitute for the conventional antibacterial drugs in therapeutic biomedical field sequel to its pharmacodynamics against the bacterial strains.

Human pathogenic diseases are on the rampage in the list of debilitating diseases globally. The endless quest to salvage this menace through various therapies via innocuous agents is essential to overcome these drug-resistant pathogens. This study engaged a benign, facile, biocompatible, cost-effective and eco-friendly approach to synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles (FeO-NPs) via a composite of Psidium guavaja-Moringa oleifera (PMC) leaf extract to address six most debilitating bacterial strain in vitro as an antibacterial agent. Physicochemical analysis of PMC formed nanoparticles (PMC_NPs) was effectuated through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–Visible Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM). The PMC_NPs inhibited the growth of six human pathogens with higher activity at lower concentrations. It is noteworthy from our observations that, the bacterial strains show functional susceptibility to the PMC_NPs at lower concentrations compared to the orthodox antibacterial drugs. Photocatalytic degradation was observed with a decrease in the absorbance of Methylene blue dyes with the help of PMC_NPs apropos irradiation time under visible light irradiation. Consequently, PMC_NPs serve as an enhanced substitute for the orthodox antibacterial drugs in therapeutic biomedical field sequel to its pharmacodynamics against the bacterial strains at lower concentrations and also serves as a good component for water purification.

In this research work, low atomic number (Z) carbon ions (C+) were used to treat titanium oxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) and tune their optical properties. 8 MeV C+ were irradiated on TiO2-NPs at different fluences in the ranges of 2.5 × 10 15 t o 1 × 10 16 i o n s / c m 2 to separately study their defects production and the effect on the bandgap. The C+ ion treated samples were investigated using multiple techniques such as XRD, TEM, RAMAN and PL, which confirmed increment of defects were direct proportional to the C+ fluences. The increment of defects has resulted in the bandgap reduction from 3.3 eV to 2.9 eV. Theoretical calculations using VASP by implementing density functional theory has produced comparable result. The stability of the structure after induced vacancies has been simulated and confirmed. The incorporation defects by bombardment with low Z ion could be an effective way to tune the bandgap of nanomaterials and improve its optical properties can be used in a wide variety of applications.

In this study, we report optimized dosimetric characteristics of magnesium doped lithium tetraborate Li2B4O7: Mg adopting the thermoluminescence technique. The phosphor material was synthesized using a melting zone method in the stoichiometric ratio shown by Li2CO3.H2O + H3BO3 → 2Li2B4O7. The sample obtained was doped with Mg to obtain Li2B4O7: Mg at dopant concentrations of 0.05 wt %, 0.3 wt %, and 0.5 wt %. The crystallinity and the phase purity of the obtained crystal samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy, the morphology was obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the absorbance by UV–visible spectroscopy. At 0.05 wt% and 0.3 wt% dopant concentrations, the XRD analysis of the samples obtained was pseudo crystalline, but at a higher concentration of 0.5 wt% dopant a crystal with two defined peaks was obtained. The SEM result showed grains with agglomeration for 0.05 wt% and 0.3 wt%, but with a higher concentration of 0.5 wt%, we obtained grains of different sizes with slight agglomeration. The UV–Visible absorption curves gave a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at about 930–932 nm. The obtained crystal samples were irradiated using a Co-60 gamma-ray source. The thermoluminescence glow curves of Li2B4O7: Mg consist of a simple and single peak. Li2B4O7: Mg was found to have tissue equivalence (Zeff ≈ 7.32) and linear dose-response up to 2.4 Gy of gamma rays. The order of kinetics determined using the ID method was found to be 2. All these, coupled with an easy method of preparation, good sensitivity, simple glow curve and linear response over a significant range of doses are some of the good characteristics of the prepared phosphor which make it a better option for radiation dosimetry and monitoring.

PEGylation of nickel-zinc oxide nanorods (PEG-Ni-ZnONRs) composites was synthesized by a modified co-precipitation method and calcined at different temperatures to optimize their properties suitable for biomedical applications. The upshot of calcination on the properties of PEG-Ni-ZnONRs formulated, were analyzed using different characterization techniques via UV–Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) coupled with SEM analysis. The XRD analysis showed the hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure of PEG-Ni-ZnONRs; while the SEM analysis revealed the formation of enhanced nanorod after calcination of PEG-Ni-ZnONRs up to 700 °C. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of the enhanced properties of the formulated PEG-Ni-ZnONRs, were examined using Ager Well Diffusion Method (AWDM) against four bacterial and five fungal pathogenic strains with enhanced antibacterial and antifungal activities. It is noteworthy that after calcination, the morphology, structural and bandgap properties of PEG-Ni-ZnONRs were influenced and enhanced for biomedical applications.

This study reports synthesis, physiochemical characteristics, dielectric properties, and photocatalytic activity of ultrafine undoped and Fe doped ZrO2 NPs via facile co-precipitation method. The detailed structural analysis (XRD) has confirmed the tetragonal phase stabilization due to Fe doping. SEM analysis depicts narrow spherical like morphology for prepared samples with particle size of around 24 nm. The band gap of the formed nanoparticles significantly narrows (3.7 eV–2.1 eV) towards the visible range, which was assigned to hybridization of orbital of host, dopant and defects impurities that triggered solar light degradation activity. Room temperature ferromagnetism (RTFM) has been observed remarkably, owing to oxygen vacancies and lattice distortion in ZrO2 during the growth of tetragonal phase. Interestingly incorporation of Fe dopant in ZrO2 matrix has significantly enhanced the dielectric constant up to 9.4 × 103 with a very low loss, which is attributed to phase purity and size of nanoparticles. Moreover, Fe–ZrO2 NPs have demonstrated 94.2% visible light trigged photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in 120 min, which is assigned to the control on electron-hole recombination rate. The removal of MB has been racked up using 10% Fe–ZrO2 NPs. The uniform nanoparticles obtained with RTFM, high dielectric constant and almost complete removal of MB at rapid rate are potential for spintronics, high-frequency devices, and water purifications technologies.

Irradiation induced damage study of Cu-NWs by 5 MeV H+ and C+ ions on the structural and morphological properties were examined in detail. The XRD spectra and HRTEM analyses of the formulated Cu-NWs give good crystallinity with the best orientation peak at (111) directions. The effect of H+ and C+ ion irradiation induce a decrease of the (111) peak intensity due to the structural defect formation, as observed by HRTEM. It also leads to the formation of Cu2O phase and an increase in the Cu-NWs diameter, signifying NWs swelling. We observed an increase in the Cu2O phase intensity at a high fluence of 5 MeV H+ irradiation. This phase decreased when the sample was irradiated with 5 MeV C+ ion. Since there was no shifting of the observed diffraction peak at (111) towards a lower angle, we can conclude that the NWs swelling is not due to the lattice parameter dilation but probably to the Cu2O phase formation. Therefore we can conclude that H+ and C+ ion irradiation on Cu-NWs leads to the Cu/CuO composites formation, which may find applications chiefly in nano-devices.

This work reports the synthesis of PEGxMn0.5Zn0.5Fe2-xO4 NPs via sol–gel protocols using PEG to modify and evaluate their microstructural and magnetic properties for their potential use as thermoablation applications. The properties of the obtained samples were analyzed by XRD as a cubic spinel structure. The TEM analysis confirmed the spherical morphology of the sample with an average particles size of 15.7 ± 1.7 nm. The VSM shows the ferromagnetic nature of the samples. The self-healing ability of the sample was investigated, taking into account the physicochemical properties with the aim to determine the underlying utilization of the sample as thermoablation in hyperthermia application. The heating ability was reduced from 74 to 42 and the SAR reduced from 8.6 to 3.5 W/g to attain the Curie temperature within the therapeutic range. Based on the obtained results, the formulated PEGxMn0.5Zn0.5Fe2-xO4 NPs can be potentially used as thermoablation in hyperthermia applications.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) using Moringa Oleifera (MO) bloated in flavonoids, tannins, and phenols phytochemical as a capping and reducing agent which reduced the silver ions to Ag-NPs without any external reducing agent for an antibacterial agent is enclave in this work. The effects of the reducing agent in the different concentrations of silver nitrate incubated for 72 h on the structural, morphological and optical properties followed by the antibacterial activity of Ag-NPs were studied. The synthesized Ag-NPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transition electron microscope (TEM), X-ray dispersive spectroscopy (XRD), Uv–visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis. The TEM analysis gave a spherical morphology with particle size ranged between 4 and 12 nm. The XRD gave a face-centered cubic phase with the crystalline structure of Ag-NPs. The FTIR shows the functional groups responsible for the reducing agent. The UV–visible confirm the formation of Ag-NPs with surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorbance peak 450 nm. To our knowledge, the biocidal activities of AgNPs have been studied in details but the biosynthesized formulation of Ag-NPs via MO against Coliform bacterial strain compared with Gentamicin (a strong antibacterial drug) has not been reported in the literature. It is noteworthy that the biocidal activities of Ag-NPs show effective and functional susceptibility to the Ag-NPs against the bacterial strains at lower concentrations compared with Gentamicin. Hence, the obtained Ag-NPs via facile and innocuous synthesis could serve as an auspicious and efficient antibacterial agent against human pathogenic strains due to its non-toxicity, biocompatible, eco-friendly, cost-effectiveness, and facile protocols in therapeutic biomedical fields.