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Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 February 2023) | Viewed by 11138

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Dr. Ahmed M. Abu-Dief

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1. Chemistry Department, College of Science, Taibah University, Madinah 344, Saudi Arabia
2. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, 82524 Sohag, Egypt
Interests: material science; catalysis; drug delivery; bio-inorganic chemistry; nanomaterials; water purification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Materials reduced to the nanoscale can show different properties compared to what they exhibit on a macroscale, enabling unique applications. Recent progress in the synthesis of nanomaterials has made it possible to fabricate nanometer-sized materials with controlled structures and functionalities. In particular, versatile porous materials with nanometer feature sizes have emerged as promising candidates for applications in the fields of catalysis, energy conversion and storage

In catalysis, chemical reactions in solid, gases or liquids are accelerated by introducing a solid phase that ideally contains large enough amounts of the right kind of site for chemical reactants to adsorb, react, and desorb. Because the optimization of the catalyst requires increasing the number of sites to expand the surface area, the catalytic particle size must be decreased. One goal of catalysis research is to understand how decreasing the size of catalytic particles alters the intrinsic catalytic performance beyond simply expanding surface area. Nanocatalysts are also used in several chemical processes which are beneficial for human beings, such as carbon nanotubes as a hydrogen storage material, photocatalysts in water purification, carbon-supported electro-catalysts for fuel cell applications and metal oxide nanoparticles for organic synthesis and alcohol oxidation.

On the other hand, bioactive nanomaterials are an important class of nanomaterials, which can induce biological responses upon interacting with proteins, cells, or tissues. Most bioactive nanomaterials can regulate cellular behaviors and functions and elicit specific responses in living tissues. In contrast, responsive nanomaterials can respond to various bio-relevant stimuli (e.g., tissue-specific pH, redox potentials, and enzyme types and concentrations) as well as external stimuli (e.g., light exposure and heat). Upon the stimuli, responsive nanomaterials change their own structures in response to these stimuli, resulting in the change of the physicochemical properties of the materials (e.g., the surface charge, exposure of the cell-penetrating peptide or cell-targeting ligand, and control of drug release). Nowadays, responsive nanomaterials have been widely used to construct smart drug delivery systems.

This Special Issue is aimed at covering recent research and new trends in the development and application of nanomaterials in different fields of heterogeneous catalysis, including energy production, water purification, and environmental remediation. Additionally, it is aimed at the development and application of nanomaterials in different fields of biomedical application, including drug delivery, nanoelectronic biosensors, antimicrobial and anticancer agents, wound healing, toxicity and the environmental impact of nanomaterials.

The editors welcome contributions in the form of research papers, communications and reviews focusing on the design and development and characterization of new nano materials for sustainable catalytic processes and biomedical applications.

Dr. Ahmed M. Abu-Dief
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

heterogeneous catalysis
nanomaterials
water purification
drug delivery
oxidation of alcohols
environmental remediation
wound healing
energy production
photocatalysis
gas sensors

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5830 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design, Synthesis, Spectroscopic Inspection, DFT and Molecular Docking Study of Metal Chelates Incorporating Azo Dye Ligand for Biological Evaluation

by Mohamed Ali Ibrahim Al-Gaber, Hany M. Abd El-Lateef, Mai M. Khalaf, Saad Shaaban, Mohamed Shawky, Gehad G. Mohamed, Aly Abdou, Mohamed Gouda and Ahmed M. Abu-Dief

Materials 2023, 16(3), 897; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16030897 - 17 Jan 2023

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 1797

Abstract

A new heterocyclic azo dye ligand (L) was synthesized by the combination of 4-amino antipyrine with 4-aminophenol. The new Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) complexes were synthesized in excellent yields. The metal chelate structures were elucidated using elemental analyses, FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, mass, magnetic moment, diffused reflectance spectral and thermal analysis (TG-DTG), and molar conductivity measurement. According to the FT-IR study, the azo dye ligand exhibited neutral tri-dentate behavior, binding to the metal ions with the azo N, carbonyl O, and protonated phenolic OH. The ¹H-NMR spectral study of the Zn(II) complex supported the coordination of the zo dye ligand without proton displacement of the phenolic OH. Diffused reflectance and magnetic moment studies revealed the octahedral geometry of the complexes, as well as their good electrolytic nature, excepting the Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes, which were nonelectrolytes, as deduced from the molar conductivity study. The theoretical calculations of optimized HOMO–LUMO energies, geometrical parameters, electronic spectra, natural atomic charges, 3D-plots of MEP, and vibrational wavenumbers were computed and elucidated using LANL2DZ and 6-311G (d, p) basis sets of density functional theory (DFT) with the approach of B3LYP DFT and TD-DFT methods. The ligand and complexes have been assayed for their antimicrobial activity and compared with the standard drugs. Most of the complexes have manifested excellent antimicrobial activity against various microbial strains. A molecular docking investigation was also performed, to acquire more information about the binding mode and energy of the ligand and its metal complexes to the Escherichia coli receptor using molecular docking. Altogether, the newly created ligand and complexes showed positive antibacterial effects and are worth future study. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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22 pages, 4488 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of New Azomethine Metal Chelates Derived from Isatin: DFT and Pharmaceutical Studies

by Abdulrhman A. Al-Shamry, Mai M. Khalaf, Hany M. Abd El-Lateef, Tarek A. Yousef, Gehad G. Mohamed, Kariman M. Kamal El-Deen, Mohamed Gouda and Ahmed M. Abu-Dief

Materials 2023, 16(1), 83; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma16010083 - 22 Dec 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 1408

Abstract

Through the condensation of isatin (indoline-2, 3-dione) and aniline in a 1:1 ratio, a Schiff base ligand was synthesized and characterized via (¹H-NMR, mass, IR, UV-Vis) spectra. Elemental analyses, spectroscopy (¹H-NMR, mass, UV-Vis), magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity, mass spectra, scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermal analysis have all been used to characterize a series of Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) metal complexes derived from the titled ligand. The metal-to-ligand ratio is 1:1, according to the analytical data. The Schiff base ligand displayed bidentate behavior with NO coordination sites when it bonded to metal ions, as seen by the IR spectra. The magnetic moment measurement and UV-Vis spectral investigation showed the octahedral geometry of the Cr(III), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) complexes, whereas they suggested the tetrahedral geometry of the Mn(II), Cu(II), and Cd(II) complexes. The thermal analysis study confirmed the presence of both hydrated and coordinated water molecules in all the compounds, except for the Mn(II) complex, and showed that the complexes decomposed in three or five decomposition steps leaving the corresponding metal oxide as a residue. The ligand and its metal complexes’ antibacterial efficacy were evaluated. The findings showed that the metal complexes had stronger antibacterial properties than the ligand alone. The ligand and its metal complexes’ anticancer properties were also investigated. A DFT investigation is also reported to gather information regarding the electronic features of the ligand and its metal complexes. Finally, drug-likeness and ADME characteristics were also calculated as parameters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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12 pages, 5196 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrochemical Impedance Investigation of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Based on Electrospun TiO₂ Nanofibers Photoanodes

by Hany M. Abd El-Lateef, Mai M. Khalaf, Van-Duong Dao and Ibrahim M. A. Mohamed

Materials 2022, 15(17), 6175; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15176175 - 05 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1599

Abstract

This work investigates an electrochemical impedance analysis based on synthesized TiO₂ nanofibers (NFs) photoanodes, which were fabricated via electrospinning and calcination. The investigated photoanode substrate NFs were studied in terms of physicochemical tools to investigate their morphological character, crystallinity, and chemical contents via scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. As a result, the studied photoanode substrate NFs were applied to fabricate dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), and the electrochemical impedance analysis (EIS) was studied in terms of equivalent circuit fitting and impacts of N-doping, the latter of which was approved via XPS analysis. N-doping has a considerable role in the enhancement of charge transfers, which could be due to the strong interactions between active-site N atoms and the used photosensitizer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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13 pages, 3120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enhanced Nitrate Ions Remediation Using Fe⁰ Nanoparticles from Underground Water: Synthesis, Characterizations, and Performance under Optimizing Conditions

by Hany M. Abdel-Lateef, Mai M. Khalaf, Alaa El-Dien Al-Fengary and Mahmoud Elrouby

Materials 2022, 15(14), 5040; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15145040 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1760

Abstract

The presence of nitrates in water in large amounts is one of the most dangerous health issues. The greatest risk posed by nitrates is hemoglobin oxidation, which results in Methemoglobin in the human body, resulting in Methemoglobinemia. There are many ways to eliminate nitrates from underground water. One of the most effective and selective methods is using zero-valent iron (ZVI) nanoparticles. ZVI nanoparticles can be easily synthesized by reducing ferric or ferrous ions using sodium borohydride. The prepared ZVI nanoparticles were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, and zeta potential. We aim to eliminate or reduce the nitrates in water to be at the acceptable range, according to the world health organization (WHO), of 10.0 mg/L. Nitrate concentration in water after and before treatment is measured using the UV scanning method at 220 nm wavelength for the synthetic contaminated water and electrochemical method for the naturally contaminated water. The conditions were optimized for obtaining an efficient removing process. The removal efficiency reaches about 91% at the optimized conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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19 pages, 6089 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design, Structural Inspection and Bio-Medicinal Applications of Some Novel Imine Metal Complexes Based on Acetylferrocene

by Mai M. Khalaf, Hany M. Abd El-Lateef, Mohamed Gouda, Fatma N. Sayed, Gehad G. Mohamed and Ahmed M. Abu-Dief

Materials 2022, 15(14), 4842; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15144842 - 12 Jul 2022

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 1970

Abstract

Some novel imine metal chelates with Cr³⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cd²⁺ cations were produced from 2-acetylferrocene and 3-aminophenol. The new acetylferrocene azomethine ligand ((Z)-cyclopenta-1,3-dien-1-yl(2-(1-((3-hydroxyphenyl)imino)ethyl)cyclopenta-2,4-dien-1-yl)iron) and its metal ion chelates were constructed and elucidated using FT-IR, UV/Vis, ¹HNMR, DTA/TGA, CHNClM studies, mass spectrometry and SEM analysis. According to the TGA/DTG investigation, the ferrocene moiety spontaneously disintegrates to liberate FeO. The morphology of the free acetylferrocene azomethine via SEM analysis was net-shaped with a size of 64.73 nm, which differed in Cd(II) complex to be a spongy shape with a size of 42.43 nm. The quantum chemical features of the azomethine ligand (HL) were computed, and its electronic and molecular structure was refined theoretically. The investigated acetylferrocene imine ligand behaves as bidinetate ligand towards the cations under study to form octahedral geometries in case of all complexes except in case of Zn²⁺ is tetrahedral. Various microorganisms were used to investigate the anti-pathogenic effects of the free acetylferrocene azomethine ligand and its metal chelates. Moreover, the prepared ligand and its metal complexes were tested for anticancer activity utilizing four different concentrations against the human breast cancer cell line (MCF7) and the normal melanocyte cell line (HBF4). Furthermore, the binding of 3-aminophenol, 2-acetylferrocene, HL, Mn²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺ metal chelates to the receptor of breast cancer mutant oxidoreductase was discovered using molecular docking (PDB ID: 3HB5). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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18 pages, 3689 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis, Spectroscopic, Structural and Molecular Docking Studies of Some New Nano-Sized Ferrocene-Based Imine Chelates as Antimicrobial and Anticancer Agents

by Mai M. Khalaf, Hany M. Abd El-Lateef, Abdulrahman Alhadhrami, Fatma N. Sayed, Gehad G. Mohamed, Mohamed Gouda, Saad Shaaban and Ahmed M. Abu-Dief

Materials 2022, 15(10), 3678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15103678 - 20 May 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 1991

Abstract

The newly synthesized organometallic acetyl ferrocene imine ligand (HL) was obtained by the direct combination of 2-acetyl ferrocene with 2-aminothiophenol. The electronic and molecular structure of acetyl ferrocene imine ligand (HL) was refined theoretically and the chemical quantum factors were computed. Complexes of the acetyl ferrocene imine ligand with metal(II)/(III) ions (Cr(III), Mn(II), Fe(III), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Cd(II)) were fabricated. They were inspected by thermal (DTG/TG), spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR, ¹H NMR, mass, UV–Vis), molar conductivity, and CHNClM to explicate their structures. Studies using scanning electron microscope (SEM) were conducted on the free acetyl ferrocene imine ligand and its Cd(II) chelate to confirm their nano-structure. To collect an idea about the effect of metal ions on anti-pathogenic properties upon chelation, the newly synthesized acetyl ferrocene imine ligand and some of its metal chelates were tested against a variety of microorganisms, including Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Candida albicans. The ligand and its metal chelate were tested for cytotoxic activity in human cancer (MCF-7 cell viability) and human melanocyte cell line HBF4. It was discovered that the Cd(II) chelate had the lowest IC₅₀ of the three and thus had the prior activity. Molecular docking was utilized to investigate the interaction of acetyl ferrocene imine ligand (HL) with the receptors of the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor VEGFR (PDB ID: 1Y6a), human Topo IIA-bound G-segment DNA crystal structure (PDB ID: 2RGR), and Escherichia coli crystal structure (PDB ID: 3T88). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Nano-Materials for Catalytic and Biomedical Applications)

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