Providing multicolor plasmonic patterns with graphene quantum dots functionalized d-penicillamine for visual recognition of V(V), Cu (II), and Fe(III): Colorimetric fingerprints of GQDs-DPA for discriminating ions in human urine samples

Wastewater reuse in agriculture: Prospects and challenges

Sustainable water recycling and wastewater reuse are urgent nowadays considering water scarcity and increased water consumption through human activities. In 2015, United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (UN SDG6) highlighted the necessity of recycling wastewater to guarantee water availability for individuals. Currently, wastewater irrigation (WWI) of crops and agricultural land appears essential. The present work overviews the quality of treated wastewater in terms of soil microbial activities, and discusses challenges and benefits of WWI in line with wastewater reuse in agriculture and aquaculture irrigation. Combined conventional-advanced wastewater treatment processes are specifically deliberated, considering the harmful impacts on human health arising from WWI originating from reuse of contaminated water (salts, organic pollutants, toxic metals, and microbial pathogens i.e., viruses and bacteria). The comprehensive literature survey revealed that, in addition to the increased levels of pathogen and microbial threats to human wellbeing, poorly-treated wastewater results in plant and soil contamination with toxic organic/inorganic chemicals, and microbial pathogens. The impact of long-term emerging pollutants like plastic nanoparticles should also be established in further studies, with the development of standardized analytical techniques for such hazardous chemicals. Likewise, the reliable, long-term and extensive judgment on heavy metals threat to human beings's health should be explored in future investigations.

Sustainable multifunctional zinc oxide quantum dots-aided double-layers security paper sheets

Fluorescence is well-known nowadays as one of the most efficient anti-counterfeiting techniques. Zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnOQds) are exceptionally fluorescence when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light, which makes them a candidate for anti-counterfeiting printing. The resulting anti-counterfeiting papers are sustainable and resistance against organic dyes. In this work, ZnOQds were prepared via a green method and characterized under UV-visible spectroscopy, along with microscopic observations by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and crystallography by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Formation of ZnOQds nanocrystals with an average partials size of 7.3 nm was approved. Additionally, double-layers sheets were prepared at two loading concentrations of ZnOQds, namely 0.5 and 1 (wt./v) and underwent characterization using a topographical surface study via field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Hybrid sheets were mechanically more stable compared to single-layer paper and likewise polymer film. Moreover, aging simulation approved a high stability for hybrid sheets. Particularly, the photoluminescence emission affirmed anti-aging character of hybrid paper for more than 25 years. The hybrid sheets also showed a broad range of antimicrobial activity.

Bioengineering of CuO porous (nano)particles: role of surface amination in biological, antibacterial, and photocatalytic activity

Nanotechnology is one of the most impressive sciences in the twenty-first century. Not surprisingly, nanoparticles/nanomaterials have been widely deployed given their multifunctional attributes and ease of preparation via environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and simple methods. Although there are assorted optimized preparative methods for synthesizing the nanoparticles, the main challenge is to find a comprehensive method that has multifaceted properties. The goal of this study has been to synthesize aminated (nano)particles via the Rosmarinus officinalis leaf extract-mediated copper oxide; this modification leads to the preparation of (nano)particles with promising biological and photocatalytic applications. The synthesized NPs have been fully characterized, and biological activity was evaluated in antibacterial assessment against Bacillus cereus as a model Gram-positive and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a model Gram-negative bacterium. The bio-synthesized copper oxide (nano)particles were screened by MTT assay by applying the HEK-293 cell line. The aminated (nano)particles have shown lower cytotoxicity (~ 21%), higher (~ 50%) antibacterial activity, and a considerable increase in zeta potential value (~ + 13.4 mV). The prepared (nano)particles also revealed considerable photocatalytic activity compared to other studies wherein the dye degradation process attained 97.4% promising efficiency in only 80 min and just 7% degradation after 80 min under dark conditions. The biosynthesized copper oxide (CuO) (nano)particle's biomedical investigation underscores an eco-friendly synthesis of (nano)particles, their noticeable stability in the green reaction media, and impressive biological activity.

MIL-125-based nanocarrier decorated with Palladium complex for targeted drug delivery

The aim of this work was to provide a novel approach to designing and synthesizing a nanocomposite with significant biocompatibility, biodegradability, and stability in biological microenvironments. Hence, the porous ultra-low-density materials, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), have been considered and the MIL-125(Ti) has been chosen due to its distinctive characteristics such as great biocompatibility and good biodegradability immobilized on the surface of the reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Based on the results, the presence of transition metal complexes next to the drug not only can reinforce the stability of the drug on the structure by preparing π–π interaction between ligands and the drug but also can enhance the efficiency of the drug by preventing the spontaneous release. The effect of utilizing transition metal complex beside drug (Doxorubicin (DOX)) on the drug loading, drug release, and antibacterial activity of prepared nanocomposites on the P. aeruginosa and S. aureus as a model bacterium has been investigated and the results revealed that this theory leads to increasing about 200% in antibacterial activity. In addition, uptake, the release of the drug, and relative cell viabilities (in vitro and in vivo) of prepared nanomaterials and biomaterials have been discussed. Based on collected data, the median size of prepared nanocomposites was 156.2 nm, and their biological stability in PBS and DMEM + 10% FBS was screened and revealed that after 2.880 min, the nanocomposite’s size reached 242.3 and 516 nm respectively. The MTT results demonstrated that immobilizing PdL beside DOX leads to an increase of more than 15% in the cell viability. It is noticeable that the AST:ALT result of prepared nanocomposite was under 1.5.