Influence of metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms upon soil-borne microscopic fungus Aspergillus terreus K-8 was studied. It was established that the metal nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms affect the enzymatic activity of the studied culture. Silver nanoparticles lead to a decrease in cellulase activity and completely suppress the amylase activity of the fungus, while copper nanoparticles completely inhibit the activity of both the cellulase complex and amylase. The obtained results imply that the large-scale use of silver and copper nanoparticles may disrupt biological processes in the soil and cause change in the physiological and biochemical state of soil-borne microorganisms as well.

Background: Large amounts of oily wastewater and its derivatives are discharged annually from several industries to the environment. Objective: The present study aims to investigate the ability to remove oil content and turbidity from real oily wastewater discharged from the wet oil's unit (West Qurna 1-Crude Oil Location/ Basra-Iraq) by using an innovated electrocoagulation reactor containing concentric aluminum tubes in a monopolar mode. Methods: The influences of the operational variables (current density (1.77-7.07 mA/cm2) and electrolysis time (10-40 min)) were studied using response surface methodology (RSM) and Minitab-17 statistical program. The agitation speed was taken as 200 rpm. Energy and electrodes consumption had been studi

The adsorption behavior of Bismarck brown (BB) dye from aqueous solutions onto graphene oxide GO and graphene oxide-g-poly (n-butyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) GO-g-pBCM as adsorbents was investigated. The prepared GO and GO-g-pBCM were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR, which confirmed the compositions of the prepared adsorbents. Adsorption of BB dye onto GO and GO-g-pBCM was explored in a series of batch experiments under various conditions. The data were examined utilizing Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The Langmuir isotherm was seen as increasingly reasonable from the experimental information of dye on formulating adsorbents. Kinetic investigations showed that the experimental data were fitted ve

Nanoceria have shown numerous unique characteristics, such as biocompatibility and are excellent agents for biological applications. The aim of this study is to investigate cerium oxide nanoparticles for 2, 2- diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl-hydrate (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and their ability to offer protection against ionizing radiation. In vitro antioxidant activity study of nanoceria particles has shown good free radical scavenging activity for DPPH radical assayed within a concentration range of 0.01 to 0.05 g/l, at higher concentrations of nanoparticles showed reverse trend in absorbance and inhibition indicating this finite rang of concentration is suitable for scavenging free radicals, also nanoparticles were found to ha

Unused and expired pharmaceutical drugs are a novel type of organic corrosion inhibitor. They are less expensive, more effective, and less harmful than conventional organic corrosion inhibitors. This study investigated the effects of concentration, adsorption mechanism and thermodynamic parameters of enalapril malate (ENAP) as a corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel in a saline solution (3.5 % NaCl). The polarization method was used to determine the corrosion rate and inhibition efficiency. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and atomic force spectroscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the surface morphology and topography of carbon steel after immersion in both uninhibited and inhibited media for 24 h. Fourier transform inf

In this study, an improved process was proposed for the synthesis of structure-controlled Cu2O nanoparticles, using a simplified wet chemical method at room temperature. A chemical solution route was established to synthesize Cu2O crystals with various sizes and morphologies. The structure, morphology, and optical properties of Cu2O nanoparticles were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, SEM (scanning electron microscope), and UV-Vis spectroscopy. By adjusting the aqueous mixture solutions of NaOH and NH2OH•HCl, the synthesis of Cu2O crystals with different morphology and size could be realized. Strangely, it was found that the change in the ratio of de-ionized water and NaOH aqueous solution led to the synthesis of Cu2O crystals of differen