Phthalocyanine complexes of Cu, Co, Ni, Fe, Zn, Pd, Pt and Ru have been synthesized from reaction between phthalonitrile and proper metal salts upon exposure to microwave irradiation under solvent-free conditions and considerably reduced reaction times.

Bacterial and viral contamination of touch surfaces allows for transmission of pathogens leading to increased risk of infection. Previous work has demonstrated the antimicrobial properties of copper for contact-killing of microbes for use in hospitals. Less research exists on copper as an antiviral surface and on the effects of nanomaterial copper surfaces in the contact-killing of viruses. Nan...

The increasing industrial application of metal oxide Engineered Nano-Particles (ENPs) is likely to increase their environmental release to soils. While the potential of metal oxide ENPs as environmental toxicants has been shown, lack of suitable control treatments have compromised the power of many previous assessments. We evaluated the ecotoxicity of ENP (nano) forms of Zn and Cu oxides in two...

One of the difficulties in standard growth of metallic nano-clusters on oxide substrates as model catalysts is the strong coupling between clusters size and density. Employing multiple cycles, amorphous solid water-buffer layer assisted growth (ASW-BLAG) procedure, we demonstrate how the size to density coupling can be eliminated under certain conditions. In this study, gold clusters were depos...

Detailed electronic structures of Zn(II) and Cu(II) clusters from metallothioneins (MT) have been obtained using density functional theory (DFT), in order to investigate how oxidative stress-caused Cu(II) intermediates affect Zn-binding to MT and cooperatively lead to Cu(I)MT. The inferred accuracy is ∼0.02-0.03 Å for metal-thiolate bond lengths for the models that are the most realistic MT mod...

Bimetallic PdPt dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) having sizes of about 2 nm were synthesized by a homogeneous route that involved (1) formation of a Pd core, (2) deposition of a Cu shell onto the Pd core in the presence of H2 gas, and (3) galvanic exchange of Pt for the Cu shell. Under these conditions, a Pd@Pt core@shell DEN is anticipated, but detailed characterization by in-situ e...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, chronic disease characterized by dyskinesia, rigidity, instability, and tremors. The disease is defined by the presence of Lewy bodies, which primarily consist of aggregated α-synuclein protein, and is accompanied by the loss of monoaminergic neurons. Current therapeutic strategies only give symptomatic relief of motor impairment and do not address the...

Au-Pd bimetallic model catalysts were synthesized as alloy clusters on SiO2 ultrathin films under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. The surface composition and morphology were characterized with low energy ion scattering spectroscopy (LEIS), infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS), and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). Relative to the bulk, the surface of the clusters is enri...