Facile route for preparation of cuprous oxide/copper/cupric oxide nanoparticles by using simultaneous electrochemical and reduction reaction

Cuprous oxide/copper/cupric oxide nanoparticles were synthesized through a hybrid process involving anodic dissolution and a controlled redox reaction between NaOH and glucose in the solution. The study demonstrates the structural manipulation of the material by varying the reaction components within the solution. Morphology, structural analyses using SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), EDX (Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope), FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction), and XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) unveiled the tunability of the material's structure based on the reaction components. Nitrogen adsorption analysis employing the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) equation confirmed the material's porosity, while Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) measurements provided insights into the materials' hydrodynamic size and zeta potential. The results demonstrated that by increasing the glucose/NaOH ratio during the reaction, the different structures and morphologies of the distinct products were obtained from the clustering of small nanoparticles to cubic shape and flower-like structure. Antibacterial activity tests conducted on various bacterial strains showed a correlation between the morphology and structure of the material and its antibacterial properties. The highest substantial antibacterial efficacy against all tested bacterial strains at a dosage of 100 μg/L was obtained for the samples with clustering morphology, whereas the remaining materials showed no discernible antibacterial effect against one of the studied bacteria. The results also demonstrated that the sample with a clustering structure exhibited superior antibacterial properties when dispersed in water containing dimethylsulfoxide.

Facile One-Step Pyrolysis of ZnO/Biochar Nanocomposite for Highly Efficient Removal of Methylene Blue Dye from Aqueous Solution

In this work, we developed a facile one-step pyrolysis method for preparing porous ZnO/biochar nanocomposites (ZBCs) with a large surface area to enhance the removal efficiency of dye from aqueous solution. Peanut shells were pyrolyzed under oxygen-limited conditions with a molten salt ZnCl2, which played the roles of the activating agent and precursor for the formation of nanoparticles. The effects of the mass ratio between the molten salt ZnCl2 and peanut shells as well as pyrolysis temperature on the formation of ZBCs were investigated. Characterization results revealed that the as-synthesized ZBCs exhibited a highly porous structure with a specific surface area of 832.12 m2/g, suggesting a good adsorbent for efficient removal of methylene blue (MB). The maximum adsorption capacity of ZBCs on MB was 826.44 mg/g, which surpassed recently reported adsorbents. The formation mechanism of ZnO nanoparticles on the biochar surface was due to ZnCl2 vaporization and reaction with water molecules extracted from the lignocellulosic structures. This study provides a basis for developing a simple and large-scale synthesis method for wastewater with a high adsorption capacity.

Screening of medicinal herbs for cytotoxic activity to leukemia cells

PURPOSE

This study aimed to find a new source of anti-leukemia agents from Vietnamese medicinal plants.

METHODS

The human leukemia cell lines TCCY, KU-812, TCC-S, KOPB-26, and HL60 were used. The crude ethanol extracts of 17 medicinal plants were collected and evaluated for their cytotoxicity against these leukemia cell lines by the trypan blue dye exclusion test. Morphological changes of cells were observed under phase-contrast inverted microscope. Bioactive compounds were evaluated using the method described by Ciulei. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method was carried out for evaluating the antioxidant effect.

RESULTS

Among the tested samples, Artemisia vulgaris (A.vulgaris) crude ethanol extract effectively inhibited the viability of leukemia cell in both dose and time-dependent manner. The IC50 value was different for cell lines and ranged from 18.07±1.64 µg/ml to 45.87±3.49 µg/ml. Moreover, the phytoconstituents analysis results showed coumarin, flavonoid, anthocyanin, cardiac glycoside, tannins, reduced sugar compounds were present in the A.vulgaris extract. The total polyphenol and flavonoid contents of the dry extract were calculated as 3.81 mg GAE/g dry weight and 11.64 mg RUE/g dry weight of A.vulgaris. A.vulgaris exhibited antioxidant activity with IC50 is 145.10 ± 6.34 µg/ml.

CONCLUSION

Among the 17 Vietnamese plants used to treat a variety of cancer-related diseases, A.vulgaris has been able to suppress the growth of leukemia cells.