Silver nanoparticles-embedded poly(1-naphthylamine) nanospheres for low-cost non-enzymatic electrochemical H2O2 sensor

Facile synthesis of metal nanoparticle-loaded polymer nanocomposite with highly efficient an optically enhanced biocidal and anticancer agents

In this work, we prepared silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-loaded poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline;PDMA) nanocomposite via a simple chemical oxidative method to develop new effective biocidal and anticancer agents systems. In situ UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy has been used to monitor the formation of PDMA/Ag is strongly dependent on the concentration of PDMA in the present system. The FTIR and XRD studies exhibit that the rate of polymer formation and oxidation state of PDMA/Ag nanocomposite, which confirmed the AgNPs is strongly binding with the PDMA matrix. SEM and EDAX analysis revealed the presence of uniform size and the highest percentage of AgNPs (42.1%) in the PDMA/Ag nanocomposite. TEM and size distribution analysis revealed the presence of spherical AgNPs with an average diameter of 25 nm in the PDMA/Ag nanocomposite. In addition, the PDMA polymer with embedded AgNPs exhibited excellent antibacterial performance against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Interestingly, the prepared PDMA/Ag nanocomposite exhibited enhanced bactericidal performance compared with the PDMA polymer, presumably because of the antibacterial properties of the AgNPs substrate. The anticancer effects of combined treatment with PDMA polymer and AgNPs were evaluated using a series of cellular and biochemical assays. The findings from this study revealed that the PDMA/Ag nanocomposite treatment significantly inhibited cell viability and proliferation of the human cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). The PDMA/Ag nanocomposite exhibits better antibacterial and anticancer activities compare to pristine PDMA.

Electrochemical Sensors Based on Conducting Polymers for the Aqueous Detection of Biologically Relevant Molecules

Electrochemical sensors appear as low-cost, rapid, easy to use, and in situ devices for determination of diverse analytes in a liquid solution. In that context, conducting polymers are much-explored sensor building materials because of their semiconductivity, structural versatility, multiple synthetic pathways, and stability in environmental conditions. In this state-of-the-art review, synthetic processes, morphological characterization, and nanostructure formation are analyzed for relevant literature about electrochemical sensors based on conducting polymers for the determination of molecules that (i) have a fundamental role in the human body function regulation, and (ii) are considered as water emergent pollutants. Special focus is put on the different types of micro- and nanostructures generated for the polymer itself or the combination with different materials in a composite, and how the rough morphology of the conducting polymers based electrochemical sensors affect their limit of detection. Polypyrroles, polyanilines, and polythiophenes appear as the most recurrent conducting polymers for the construction of electrochemical sensors. These conducting polymers are usually built starting from bifunctional precursor monomers resulting in linear and branched polymer structures; however, opportunities for sensitivity enhancement in electrochemical sensors have been recently reported by using conjugated microporous polymers synthesized from multifunctional monomers.