Prussian blue analogues of Ni-Co-MoS2 nanozymes with high peroxidase like activity for sensitive detection of glyphosate and copper

The rational development of efficient nanozymes for the colorimetric detection of targets is still challenging. Herein, Prussian blue analogues of Ni-Co-MoS2 nano boxes were fabricated for colorimetric detection of glyphosate and copper ions owing to its peroxidase like activity. At the sensing system, the Ni-Co-MoS2 nano boxes display high peroxidase activity, which could catalytically oxidize the colourless TMB to blue colour oxTMB. In presence of glyphosate in this sensing system the blue colour is diminished, ascribed to the inhibit the catalytic activity of Ni-Co-MoS2 nano boxes. Concurrently, the addition of copper ion, which result in blue colour was reappear due to the generation of glyphosate-copper complex formation. The Ni-Co-MoS2 nano boxes based colorimetric sensing platform was developed to sensitive detection of glyphosate and copper ions with low detection limit of 3 nM for glyphosate and 3.8 nM for copper. This method also displays satisfactory outcomes from real samples analysis and its good accuracy. Therefore, this work provides a great potential for rapid detection of the targets from the environments.

Hydration effect of selected atmospheric gases with finite water clusters: A quantum chemical investigation towards atmospheric implications

Water vapor in atmosphere is ubiquitous, and it varies according to geographical locations. Various toxic and non-toxic gases co-exist with water vapor/moisture in the atmosphere. This computational study addresses the fact that how those gases interact with water vapor. We have done quantum chemical density functional theory calculations to probe the interaction of certain gases with a finite number of water molecules in gas phase with various functionals/basis sets. An ensemble of 14 gas molecules comprising various diatomic, triatomic, and polyatomic gases have been chosen for the investigations. The intermolecular interactions are understood from the interaction energy, electrostatic potential, frontier molecular orbitals, energy gap, and natural bond orbital analyses. Furthermore, quantum molecular descriptors such as electronegativity, chemical potential, chemical hardness and electrophilicity index are calculated to have deep insight on chemical nature of the gas molecules. Additionally, we have done implicit solvent modelling using PCM, and the corresponding solvation energies have been calculated. Interestingly, all the calculations and analyses have projected the similar results that Cl₂, SO_2, and NH₃ have very high interaction with the water clusters. To mimic various altitudes (0 km, 5 km and 10 km) in the atmosphere, thermochemistry calculations have been carried out at different temperature and pressure values. The Gibbs free energies of formation suggest that the hydration of Cl₂ is higher followed by O₂, SO₂ and NH₃ at all altitudes. Remarkably, it is found that the formation of hydrated clusters of Cl₂ and O₂ with 4H₂O are thermodynamically favourable. On the other hand, SO₂ and NH₃ requires 5H₂O and 3H₂O to form thermodynamically favourable clusters. In summary, it is anticipated that this kind of extensive computational studies facilitate to understand the structural, electronic, chemical and thermochemical properties of hydrated atmospheric gases that leads to the formation of prenucleation clusters followed by atmospheric aerosols.

Recent Progress in Graphene Derivatives/Metal Oxides Binary Nanocomposites Based Chemi-resistive Sensors for Disease Diagnosis by Breath Analysis

Background::

The scientific and clinical interest of breath analysis for non-invasive disease diagnosis has been focused by the scientific community over the past decade. This was due to the exhalation of prominent volatile organic compounds (VOCs) corresponding to the metabolic activities in the body and their concentration variation. To identify these biomarkers, various analytical techniques have been used in the past and the threshold concentration was established between a healthy and diseased state. Subsequently, various nanomaterials-based gas sensors were explored for their demand in quantifying these biomarkers for real-time, low cost and portable breathalyzers along with the essential sensor performances.

Methods::

We focus on the classification of graphene derivatives and their composites’ gas sensing efficiency for the application in the development of breathalyzers. The review begins with the feasibility of the application of nanomaterial gas sensors for healthcare applications. Then, we systematically report the gas sensing performance of various graphene derivatives/semiconductor metal oxides (SMO) binary nanocomposites and their optimizing strategies in selective detection of biomarkers specific to diseases. Finally, we provide insights on the challenges, opportunity and future research directions for the development of breathalyzers using other graphene derivatives/SMO binary nanocomposites.

Results::

On the basis of these analyses, graphene and its derivatives/metal oxides based binary nanocomposites have been a choice for gas sensing material owing to their high electrical conductivity and extraordinary thickness-dependent physicochemical properties. Moreover, the presence of oxygen vacancies in SMO does not only alter the conductivity but also accelerates the carrier transport rate and influence the adsorption behavior of target analyte on the sensing materials. Hence researchers are exploring the search of ultrathin graphene and metal oxide counterpart for high sensing performances.

Conclusion::

Their impressive properties compared to their bulk counterpart have been uncovered towards sensitive and selective detection of biomarkers for its use in portable breathalyzers.

Facile and green production of aqueous graphene dispersions for biomedical applications

We proposed a facile, low cost, and green approach to produce stable aqueous graphene dispersions from graphite by sonication in aqueous bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution for biomedical applications. The production of high-quality graphene was confirmed using microscopy images, Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and XPS. In addition, ab initio calculations revealed molecular interactions between graphene and BSA. The processability of aqueous graphene dispersions was demonstrated by fabricating conductive and mechanically robust hydrogel-graphene materials.

Single walled carbon nanotube-metal oxide nanocomposites for reversible and reproducible storage of hydrogen

Composite material consisting of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and metal oxide nanoparticles has been prepared and their hydrogen storage performance is evaluated. Metal oxides such as tin oxide (SnO2), tungsten trioxide (WO3), and titanium dioxide (TiO2) are chosen as the composite constituents. The composites have been prepared by means of ultrasonication. Then, the composite samples are deposited on alumina substrates and at 100 °C in a Sieverts-like hydrogenation setup. Characterization techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), CHN elemental analysis, and thermogravimetric (TG) measurements are used to analyze the samples at various stages of experiments. Hydrogen storage capacity of the composites namely, SWCNT-SnO2, SWCNT-WO3, and SWCNT-TiO2 are found to be 1.1, 0.9, and 1.3 wt %, respectively. Hydrogenated composite samples are stable at room temperature and desorption of hydrogen is found to be 100% reversible. Desorption temperature ranges and binding energy ranges of hydrogen have been measured from the desorption studies. The hydrogenation, dehydrogenation temperature, and binding energy of hydrogen fall in the recommended range of a suitable hydrogen storage medium applicable for fuel cell applications. Reproducibility and deterioration level of the composite samples have also been examined.