Optical coherence tomography is a well-known technique for the optical imaging biological tissues. However, the depth scanning range of high-resolution optical coherence tomography is restricted by its depth of focus. In this study, a Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) Microlens Array (MLA) is employed to overcome the depth-of-focus limitation of optical coherence tomography. The ZnSe material with a low Abbe number and high chromatic dispersion extends the depth of focus with transverse resolution. The ZnSe MLA focused the incident light (from visible to near-infrared (NIR) region) on multiple focal planes with the uniform distribution of light over a biological tissue. The MLA is designed using Zemax OpticStudio software and fabricated via a single-point diamond-turning based on Slow Tool Servo (STS) configuration. STS machining has the unique advantage of offering larger degrees of freedom with no additional baggage, thereby reducing the setup time. The experimental results show the effectiveness of the STS machining process in fabricating ZnSe MLA with desired accuracies. The characterization of fabricated MLA using Coherence Correlation Interferometry (CCI) depicts uniform lenslets with no structural and positional distortion, with a total error of 32 nm within the tolerance limit.

This study aimed to create and describe mucoadhesive nimodipine solid lipid nanoparticles as buccal tablets by altering the amounts of three polymers: Carbopol 934, Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose and Hydroxyethyl cellulose. The Nimodipine-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) were formulated by high shear homogenization and ultrasonication process using palmitic and stearic acid as the lipid matrix and Tween-80 as the surfactant. The swelling properties of all formulations were investigated, and it was discovered that all formulations have a good swelling index at 6 hours. The surface pH of each batch varied between 5.6 and 6.1. The mucoadhesive strengths (15.3-29.5 g) varied with polymer concentrations, particularly Carbopol 934. All batches had considerably different dissolution profiles, ranging from a maximum release of 89.08% (at 8h in batch NT3) to a minimum release of 80.32% (at 8h in batch NT2). SLN formulations had the best results in both Entrapment efficiency and In-vitro drug release, showing that SLN may be a promising delivery strategy for improving Nimodipine release.

In the present research, a chemical co-precipitation approach has been used to approach the synthesis, characterization, and photocatalytic applicability of Ni-doped α-Fe₂O₃ (hematite) nanoparticles. Biosynthesized iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were successfully synthesized using a non-toxic leaf extract of the Azadirachta indica (AI) plant (neem) as a reducing and stabilizing agent. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, FT-IR spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) have all been used to examine the synthesized materials. All of the produced NPs contain only the nanocrystalline hematite phase, according to XRD measurements. The morphology studies of the Ni-doping hematite nanoparticles, as demonstrated by TEM and SEM. The phase purity and phonon modes of the prepared nanoparticles are confirmed by Raman spectroscopy. The UV-Vis absorption tests show also that value of the band gap increases together with the reduction in particle size, going from 2.26 eV for chemical α-Fe₂O₃ to 2.5 eV for green Ni-doped α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles. Additionally, it was clear from the magnetic characteristics that all of the samples behaved ferromagnetically at ambient temperatures. On the other side, malachite green (MG) dye was used as a surrogate industrial wastewater dye in order to study the photocatalytic efficiency of Ni-doped α-Fe₂O₃ particles. The pure/green Ni-doped α-Fe₂O₃ NPs showed that after 70 minutes of exposure, 92% of the MG had become discolored.

This study explores the synthesis, properties, and applications of chitosan-encapsulated silver sulphide (Ag2S) quantum dots (QDs) for biological applications. The investigation focuses on the fluctuations in the physico-chemical characteristics of chitosan Ag2S QDs, which can be carefully studied due to their environmental activity. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements reveal that chitosan-coated Ag2S QDs exhibit higher-intensity peaks. The XRD analysis reports a range of crystallite sizes, with a minimum size of 8 nm and a maximum size of 12 nm. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy confirms the presence of chitosan through the detection of functional group peaks. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) studies indicate that the size of the artificial quantum dots is 6 nm. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) verifies the composition of chitosan-encapsulated Ag2S QDs. Moreover, the chitosan Ag2S quantum dots demonstrate exceptional photocatalytic activity, as evidenced by the degradation of 92% of methylene blue dye within one hour. This research provides valuable insights into the synthesis, properties, and potential applications of chitosan-encapsulated Ag2S quantum dots in diverse fields.

The contemporary era's top environmental problems include the lack of energy, recycling of waste resources, and water pollution. Due to the speedy growth of modern industrialization, the utilization of non-renewable sources has increased rapidly, which has caused many serious environmental and energy issues. In photocatalysis, as a proficient candidate, g-C₃N₄ (metal-free polymeric photocatalyst) has gained much attention due to its auspicious properties and excellent photocatalytic performance. But, regrettably, the quick recombination of photoinduced charge carriers, feeble redox ability, and inadequate visible light absorption are some major drawbacks of g-C₃N₄ that hamper its photocatalytic ability. Henceforth, these significant limitations can be solved by incorporating modification strategies. Among all modification techniques, the amalgamation of g-C₃N₄ with two or more photocatalytic semiconducting materials via heterojunction formation is more advantageous. In this review, we have discussed various modification strategies, including conventional, Z-scheme and S-scheme heterojunctions. S-scheme heterojunction is consideredan efficient and profitable charge transferal pathway due to the excellent departure and transferal of photoexcited charge carriers with outstanding redox ability. Consequently, the current review is focused on various photocatalytic applications of S-scheme-based g-C₃N₄ photocatalysts in pollutant degradation, H₂ production, and CO₂ reduction.

The research of energy-storage systems has been encouraged in the last ten years by the rapid development of portable electronic gadgets. Hybrid-ion capacitors are a novel kind of capacitor-battery hybrid energy storage device that has earned a lot of interest because of their high power density while maintaining energy density and a long lifecycle. Mostly, lithium-based energy storage technology is now being studied for use in electric grid storage. But the price increment and intermittent availability of lithium reserves make lithium-based commercialization unstable. Therefore, sodium-based technologies have been proposed as potential substitutes for lithium-based technologies. Sodium-ion capacitors (SICs) are acknowledged as potential innovative energy storage technologies which have lower standard electrode potentials and lower costs than lithium-ion capacitors. However, the large radius of the sodium ion also contributes to unfavorable reaction kinetics, low energy density, and brief lifespan of SICs. Recently, transition metal oxide (TMO)-based candidates have been considered potential due to the large theoretical capacity, environmental friendliness, and low cost for SICs. This brief study summarizes current advancements in research of TMOs and sodium-based TMOs as electrode candidates for SIC applications. Also, we have covered in detail the state of the exploration and upcoming prospects of TMOs for SICs.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are receiving increasing attention from individual scientists and research companies as promising materials for biomedical applications. MNPs can be synthesized by many different methods. Before proceeding to the synthesis process, the cost of using it and the practicality of the synthesis conditions are well investigated. Especially in their use in the biomedical field, features such as not containing toxic substances, high biocompatibility, and low particle size are desired. However, the use of magnetic nanoparticles in biomedical applications is limited due to various difficulties such as particle agglomeration and oxidation of magnetic cores of MNPs. To overcome these challenges, MNPs can be coated with various natural and synthetic polymers to alter their morphological structure, magnetic character, biocompatibility, and especially surface functional groups. Therefore, this review focuses on the synthesis of MNPs by different methods and the effects of these synthesis methods on magnetic properties and size, their modifications with natural and synthetic polymers, and the use of these polymer-coated MNPs in biomedical fields such as targeted drug release, enzyme immobilization, biosensors, tissue engineering, magnetic imaging, and hyperthermia. The review article also provides examples of advanced biomedical applications of polymer-coated MNPs and perspectives for future research to promote polymer-coated MNPs. To this end, we aim to highlight knowledge gaps that can guide future research to improve the performance of MNPs for different applications.

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