Publications

In this study, a sol-gel film based on lead sulfide (PbS) quantum dots incorporated into a host network was synthesized as a special nanostructured composite material with potential applications in temperature sensor systems. This work dealt with the optical, structural, and morphological properties of a representative PbS quantum dot (QD)-containing thin film belonging to the Al2O3-SiO2-P2O5 system. The film was prepared using the sol-gel method combined with the spin coating technique, starting from a precursor solution containing a suspension of PbS QDs in toluene with a narrow size distribution and coated on a glass substrate in a multilayer process, followed by annealing of each deposited layer. The size (approximately 10 nm) of the lead sulfide nanocrystallites was validated by XRD and by the quantum confinement effect based on the band gap value and by TEM results. The photoluminescence peak of 1505 nm was very close to that of the precursor PbS QD solution, which demonstrated that the synthesis route of the film preserved the optical emission characteristic of the PbS QDs. The photoluminescence of the lead sulfide QD-containing film in the near infrared domain demonstrates that this material is a promising candidate for future sensing applications in temperature monitoring.

A novel high-entropy perovskite powder with the composition Bi0.2K0.2Ba0.2Sr0.2Ca0.2TiO3 was successfully synthesized using a modified Pechini method. The precursor powder underwent characterization through Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and thermal analysis. The resultant Bi0.2K0.2Ba0.2Sr0.2Ca0.2TiO3 powder, obtained post-calcination at 900 C-degrees, was further examined using a variety of techniques including X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Ceramic samples were fabricated by conventional sintering at various temperatures (900, 950, and 1000 C-degrees). The structure, microstructure, and dielectric properties of these ceramics were subsequently analyzed and discussed. The ceramics exhibited a two-phase composition comprising cubic and tetragonal perovskites. The grain size was observed to increase from 35 to 50 nm, contingent on the sintering temperature. All ceramic samples demonstrated relaxor behavior with a dielectric maximum that became more flattened and shifted towards lower temperatures as the grain size decreased.

This study aimed to exploit two invasive plant species to develop a novel, multifunctional, bioactive wound dressing based on a microporous cellulosic sponge (CS) from Gleditsia triacanthos pods and functionalizing them with Phytolacca americana fruit extract. The CS was functionalized, lyophilized, and characterized by Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, contact angle, water absorption, and retention capacity. In addition, two parameters were evaluated in temporal dynamics: controlled release of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activities. The hemolytic index, blood clotting kinetics, lactate dehydrogenase release, and wound scratch assays proved their hemo- and bio-compatibility, as well as their ability to promote cell proliferation and migration promoting-activity and to inhibit microbial growth. Furthermore, the obtained spongious material exhibited an anti-inflammatory effect by modulating the macrophages' secretion profile of IL-6 and IL-10. In conclusion, the microporous cellulosic sponge obtained from G. triacanthos could be used as a vehicle to ensure the controlled release of bioactive principles with pro-wound healing activities extracted from invasive plants. [GRAPHICS] .

The aim of this work is to highlight the influence of UV light on the hydrolysis reaction of nifedipine (NIF) in the presence of alkaline solutions. In this context, the photodegradation of NIF in the absence of alkaline solutions caused (a) a change in the ratio between the absorbances of three bands in the UV-VIS spectra localized at 224-240 nm, 272-276 nm and 310-340 nm, assigned to the electronic transitions of -COOCH3 groups, -NO2 groups and a heterocycle with six atoms; (b) a red-shift of the photoluminescence (PL) band from 458 nm to 477 nm, simultaneous with an increase in its intensity; (c) a decrease in the ratio of the Raman line intensities, which peaked at 1224 cm-1 and 1649 cm-1, associated with the vibrational modes of -C-C-O in the ester group and C=C stretching; and (d) a decrease in the ratio between the absorbances of the IR bands, which peaked at 1493 cm-1 and 1223 cm-1, associated with the vibrational modes of the -NO2 group and C-N stretching. These changes were explained considering the NIF photodegradation reaction, which leads to the generation of the compound 4-(2-nitrosophenyl)-2.6-dimethyl-3.5-dimethoxy carbonyl pyridine. The interaction of NIF with NaOH in the absence of UV light was demonstrated to induce changes in the vibrational mode of the -C-C-O bond in the ester group. The photodegradation of NIF after its reaction with NaOH induces significant changes highlighted in its (a) UV-VIS spectra, by the shift of the absorption band at 238 nm; (b) PL spectra, by the supraunitary value of the ratio between the emission band intensities at 394-396 nm and 450 nm; (c) Raman spectra, by the change in the ratio between the intensities of the lines that peaked at 1224 cm-1 and 1649 cm-1 from 0.61 to 0.49; and (d) FTIR spectra, by the lowered absorbance of the IR band at 1493 cm-1 assigned to the vibrational mode of the -NO2 group as a result of the generation of the nitroso compound. These changes were explained considering the hydrolysis reaction products of NIF, as the nitroso compound is converted to a lactam-type compound. The photodegradation reaction rate constants of NIF and NIF after interaction with NaOH were also reported. The decrease in thermal stability of NIF samples after interaction with NaOH, as well as of NIF after exposure to UV light compared to NIF prior to exposure to UV light, was demonstrated by thermogravimetry, and the key fragments were confirmed by mass spectrometry.

A magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite in chitosan matrix (MgHApC) sample was developed as a potential platform for numerous applications in the pharmaceutical, medical, and food industries. Magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite suspensions in the chitosan matrix were obtained by the coprecipitation technique. The surface shape and morphological features were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The hydrodynamic diameter of the suspended particles was determined by Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. The stability of MgHApC suspensions was evaluated by ultrasonic measurements. The hydrodynamic diameter of the MgHApC particles in suspension was 29.5 nm. The diameter of MgHApC particles calculated from SEM was 12.5 +/- 2 nm. Following the SEM observations, it was seen that the MgHApC particles have a spherical shape. The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) studies conducted on MgHApC proved the presence of chitosan and hydroxyapatite in the studied specimens. In vitro antimicrobial assays were performed on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and Candida albicans ATCC 10231 microbial strains. The antimicrobial experiments showed that MgHApC exhibited very good antimicrobial properties against all the tested microorganisms. More than that, the results of the in vitro studies revealed that the antimicrobial properties of the samples depend on the incubation time. The evaluation of the sample's cytotoxicity was performed using the human colon cancer (HCT-8) cell line. Our results suggested the great potential of MgHApC to be used in future applications in the field of biomedical applications (e.g., dentistry, orthopedics, etc.).

A critical brief review of the evolution of the ideas describing the matter, with emphasis on concepts relevant to the journal's goals: surfaces, interfaces, and interphases is presented. The complex relationship between interphase and interface, including the role of the submicron confinement on the physical and chemical properties of matter are analyzed from both theoretical and experimental standpoints. The most important consequences triggered by the recognition of interphases are briefly discussed. Most matter (at a macroscopic scale) is dominated by bulk behavior. The rapid advances in materials and especially the accelerated progress in the synthesis and characterization of submicron materials and associated technologies, labeled as the "nano revolution", revived the research on interfaces and interphases at atomic and molecular scales. It is suggested that interphase ignites a new kind of material, whose "bulk physical features" have been distorted by the submicron confinement. Such an "interphase surface" (for example a drop of gold with a diameter smaller than a few nanometers, or a few layers of graphene), may exist free standing and be stable. These materials, which no more exhibit the bulk properties will be tentatively referred to as "Sutter" ("Sutter" defines an abbreviation that involves both surface and matter concepts). Sutter is characterized by the fact that its physical and chemical properties are controlled by the interphase. It is concluded that Sutter is essentially a submicron phase of the matter, that exhibits size-dependent features. Sutter materials may be embedded in various materials (such as polymers, metals, and alloys) as nanocomposites, thus projecting specific features at the macroscopic scale. Most free standing interphases may be considered as Sutter materials or phases. The interface does not qualify as a Sutter material.

Photocatalysis is one of the approaches for solving environmental issues derived from extremely harmful pollution caused by industrial dyes, medicine, and heavy metals. Titanium dioxide is among the most promising photocatalytic semiconductors; thus, in this work, TiO2 powders were prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis using titanium tetrachloride TiCl4 as a Ti source. The effect of the hydrochloric acid (HCl) concentration on TiO2 formation was analyzed, in which a thorough morpho-structural analysis was performed employing different analysis methods like XRD, Raman spectroscopy, SEM/TEM, and N-2 physisorption. EPR spectroscopy was employed to characterize the paramagnetic defect centers and the photogeneration of reactive oxygen species. Photocatalytic properties were tested by photocatalytic degradation of the rhodamine B (RhB) dye under UV light irradiation and using a solar simulator. The pH value directly influenced the formation of the TiO2 phases; for less acidic conditions, the anatase phase of TiO2 crystallized, with a crystallite size of approximate to 9 nm. Promising results were observed for TiO2, which contained 76% rutile, showing a 96% degradation of RhB under the solar simulator and 91% under UV light after 90 min irradiation, and the best result showed that the sample with 67% of the anatase phase after 60 min irradiation under the solar simulator had a 99% degradation efficiency.

Bulk MgB2 discs were prepared by an in situ route from mixtures of magnesium and boron powders. The boron powders were produced by two methods. The first one consisted of a self-propagating high tem-perature magnesiothermic synthesis (SHS) process followed by acid and fluorine cleaning and a heat treatment in inert atmosphere. This approach produced boron with purities between 86 % and 97 %, where the main impurity was Mg. Depending on the final heat treatment, these boron powders were amorphous or crystalline. In the second route, high purity nano powders (99 %) of boron were obtained by a diborane pyrolysis process. Bulks of MgB2 were characterized by structural, microstructural, and magnetic mea-surements. Critical current density, pinning force aspects and levitation force (including guiding force) details were assessed. Amorphous lower purity boron (86-97 %) obtained by the first processing route was found to promote the largest levitation forces of the MgB2 bulks and, among these samples, the best le-vitation results were recorded when using boron with a purity of 95-97 %. Use of a lower purity boron that decreases the cost of MgB2 promotes large scale production at industrial level of bulk MgB2 super-conducting magnets for levitation applications and enhances the applicability potential of MgB2 super-conductor. The relationship between levitation force and specific features of the samples such as pinning force details are discussed.& COPY; 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Core/shell nanocomposites based on magnetic magnetite (Fe3O4) and redox-active cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanoparticles (NPs) are promising in the field of biomedical interests because they can combine the ability of magnetic NPs to heat up in an alternating magnetic field (AMF) with the pronounced antioxidant activity of CeO2 NPs. Thus, this report is devoted to Fe3O4/CeO2 nanocomposites (NCPs) synthesized by precipitation of the computed amount of "CeO2-shell" on the surface of prefabricated Fe3O4 NPs. The X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy data validated the formation of Fe3O4/CeO2 "core/shell"-like NCPs, in which ultrafine CeO2 NPs with an average size of approximately 3-3.5 nm neatly surround Fe3O4 NPs. The presence of a CeO2 "shell" significantly increased the stability of Fe3O4/CeO2 NCPs in aqueous suspensions: Fe3O4/CeO2 NCPs with "shell thicknesses" of 5 and 7 nm formed highly stable magnetic fluids with zeta-potential values of >+30 mV. The magnetization values of Fe3O4/CeO2 NCPs decreased with a growing CeO2 "shell" around the magnetic NPs; however, the resulting composites retained the ability to heat efficiently in an AMF. The presence of a CeO2 "shell" generates a possibility to precisely regulate tuning of the maximum heating temperature of magnetic NCPs in the 42-50 degrees C range and stabilize it after a certain time of exposure to an AMF by changing the thickness of the "CeO2-shell". A great improvement was observed in both antioxidant and antiamyloidogenic activities. It was found that inhibition of insulin amyloid formation, expressed in IC50 concentration, using NCPs with a "shell thickness" of 7 nm was approximately 10 times lower compared to that of pure CeO2. For these NCPs, more than 2 times higher superoxide dismutase-like activity was observed. The coupling of both Fe3O4 and CeO2 results in higher bioactivity than either of them individually, probably due to a synergistic catalytic mechanism.

Romula (today Resca, Dobrosloveni Village, Romania) was the largest urban and economic center of Dacia Inferior (Malvensis), a Roman province located in the north of the Lower Danube region. In this context, the city market included workshops for the production of ceramic, metal, stone, bone, and glass objects. In 2013, 2015, and 2018, during excavations of the former Roman city, two rectangular glass furnaces were discovered. One has only one chamber, the other has two chambers. A melted glass layer was found on the walls of furnace no. 1, as well as in one room of furnace no. 2. Broken fragments of glass were also found in both. The furnaces are located in the central area of the Roman city. The evidence suggests that the furnaces belong to secondary glass workshops. The glass may have arrived in raw form, where it was remelted and processed. The discovery of these furnaces contributes to the growing body of evidence for Roman glass production around the empire.1