A series of cobalt-inserted copper zinc ferrites, Cu_0.6Co_xZn_0.4−xFe₂O₄ (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4) having cubic spinel structure were prepared by the coprecipitation method. Various characterization techniques, including XRD, FTIR, UV-vis and I–V were used to investigate structural optical and electrical properties, respectively. The lattice constant was observed to be decreased as smaller ionic radii Co²⁺ (0.74 Å) replaced the higher ionic radii Zn²⁺ (0.82 Å). The presence of tetrahedral and octahedral bands was confirmed by FTIR spectra. Optical bandgap energy was determined in the range of 4.44–2.05 eV for x = 0.0 to 0.4 nanoferrites, respectively. DC electrical resistivity was measured and showed an increasing trend (5.42 × 10⁸ to 6.48 × 10⁸ Ω·cm) with the addition of cobalt contents as cobalt is more conductive than zinc. The range of DC electrical resistivity (10⁸ ohm-cm) makes these nanomaterials potential candidates for telecommunication devices.

Four ONNO donor Schiff bases 2-((E)-(2-((E)-2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)ethylimino) methyl)phenol (H₂L₁), 2-((E)-(2-((E)-2-hydroxybenzylideneamino)propylimino)methyl) phenol (H₂L₂), 2-((E)-1-(2-((E)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl) ethylideneamino)ethylimino)ethyl) phenol (H₂L₃) and 2-((E)-1-(2-((E)-1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethylideneamino)propylimino) ethyl)phenol (H₂L₄) were synthesized by the reactions of ethylene/propylene diamines with 2-hydroxy benzaldehyde/2-hydroxy acetophenone. The new compounds were characterized by FT-IR and NMR (¹H and ¹³C) spectroscopic techniques accompanied by elemental, GC/MS and single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. These compounds were screened for various biological studies i.e. brine shrimp cytotoxic, antitumor and antibacterial activities The compound H₂L₃ showed highest cytotoxic and antitumor activities with lowest LD₅₀ (14.27) and IC₅₀ values (18.90). All the compounds were highly active in protecting DNA against hydroxyl free radicals. Antibacterial studies had shown that these were inactive against Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus) while active against Gram negative bacteria (Enterobacter aerogenes, Bordetella bronchiseptica and Salmonella typhi) showing variable antibacterial activity.