Due to their unique physicochemical characteristics, palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) have shown tremendous promise in biological applications. The biosynthesis of Pd-NPs employing Saudi propolis has been designed to be environmental, fast, controlled, and cost-effective. The formation and stability of biosynthesized Pd-NPs by Saudi propolis extract were proved by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Zeta potential analysis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) findings show that the average particle size of Pd-NPs is between 3.14 and 4.62 nm, which is in quantum scale. The Saudi propolis enhanced the antimicrobial activity against B. subtilis, S. aureus, E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and C. albicans. Pd-NPs show effective anticancer activity against ductal carcinoma (MCF-7) with IC50 of 104.79 µg/mL.

A new class of biologically active mineral complexes was synthesized by reacting the following metal salts: MnCl₂·4H₂O, CoCl₂·6H₂O, CuCl₂·2H₂O, CrCl₃·6H₂O, and PdCl₂ respectively with 2-amino-4,6-dimethyl pyrimidine (ADMPY) and Schiff’s base resulting from the condensation reaction between benzaldehyde with p-phenylenediamine and 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde as ligands have been synthesized and characterized on the basis of their CHN, thermal analysis, XRD, SEM and magnetic measurements along with their FT-IR and UV-vis spectra. The scanning electron microscope SEM measurements and the calculations on the powder XRD data indicate the nano-sized nature of the prepared complexes (average size 32–88 nm). The spectral data confirmed the coordinated ligand (HL) via a nitrogen atom of an azomethine group (-C=N-) and phenolic -OH group and NH₂-ADMPY ligand with the metal ions. An octahedral geometry for all complexes has been proposed based on magnetic and electronic spectral data except Pd(II) complex, which has a tetrahedral geometry. Molecular modeling was performed for Cu(II) complex using the density functional method DFT/B3LYP to study the structures and the frontier molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO). The antioxidant of the complexes was studied using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical-scavenging assays. The metal complexes were tested in vitro for anticancer activities against two cancer lines A-549 and MRC-5 cells. Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes showed the highest cytotoxicity effect, comparable to that of other cis-platinum-based drugs. The complexes showed significant activity against fungi and bacteria.

Glass samples were synthesized according to 10Li₂O + 20CuO + xBi₂O₃ + (70 − x)B₂O₃, where x = 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 mol% by the melt-quenching method. The ability of the prepared glass to protect against gamma rays and neutrons was examined experimentally and theoretically. The mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) was calculated experimentally at energies of 0.662, 1.173, and 1.333 MeV using ¹³⁷Cs and ⁶⁰Co sources. The obtained results were compared with the theoretical ones using a Phy-x/PSD software program version 0.1.0.0. It was found that the experimental and theoretical results are very agreed upon. Moreover, other nuclear radiation shielding parameters were evaluated. The results showed that the addition of bismuth oxide leads to an improvement in the ability of the composite glass to attenuate gamma rays by increasing the values of MAC and Z_eff, while it led to a decrease in the HVL and MFP, as well as the EBF and EABF. The results also showed that the addition of copper oxide led to an improvement in the ability of the present glass to slow down fast neutrons. Sample BiS40 showed the best result for gamma ray attenuation and sample BiS10 gave the best result for fast neutron removal cross section. The results were compared with some materials used for gamma ray shielding and fast neutron removal cross section, and it was concluded that samples Bi40 and BiS10 outperformed all commercial materials.

Nano-sized manganese oxide and cadmium oxide were formed quantitatively via chemical routes, using calcination from an aqueous solution containing metal chloride as a precursor, to create polyvinyl alcohol and para-aminobenzoic acid complexes with the following formulae: [Mn (PVA)(P-ABA) (H₂O)₃] H₂O and [Cd (PVA)(P-ABA) (H₂O)₃]. The synthesized complexes and metal oxide nanoparticles were characterized using elemental analysis, thermal analyses (TGA and DTA), FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD analysis, UV-vis spectra, and SEM and TEM electron microscopes. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters (∆H*, ∆G* and ∆S*) for the Mn(II) and Cd(II) coordination compounds were calculated. The antimicrobial properties of the samples were assessed using five bacterial strains and three fungal strains. Three strains of (G+) bacteria, two strains of (G−) bacteria, one stain of yeast-like fungi, and two molds were used in this study.

Natural polysaccharides are essential to a wide range of fields, including medicine, food, and cosmetics, for their various physiochemical and biological properties. However, they still have adverse effects limiting their further applications. Consequently, possible structural modifications should be carried out on the polysaccharides for their valorization. Recently, polysaccharides complexed with metal ions have been reported to enhance their bioactivities. In this paper, we synthesized a new crosslinked biopolymer based on sodium alginate (AG) and carrageenan (CAR) polysaccharides. The biopolymer was then exploited to form complexes with different metal salts including MnCl₂·4H₂O, FeCl₃·6H₂O, NiCl₂·6H₂O, and CuCl₂·2H₂O. The four polymeric complexes were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), elemental analysis, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), magnetic susceptibility, molar conductivity methods, and thermogravimetric analysis. The X-ray crystal structure of the Mn(II) complex is tetrahedral and belongs to the monoclinic crystal system with the space group P121/n1. The Fe(III) complex is octahedral and crystal data fit with the cubic crystal system with the space group Pm-3m. The Ni(II) complex is tetrahedral and crystal data correspond to the cubic crystal arrangement with the space group Pm-3m. The data estimated for the Cu(II) polymeric complex revealed that it is tetrahedral and belongs to the cubic system with the space group Fm-3m. The antibacterial study showed significant activity of all the complexes against both Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus luteus) and Gram-negative (Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium) pathogenic strains. Similarly, the various complexes revealed an antifungal activity against Candida albicans. The Cu(II) polymeric complex recorded a higher antimicrobial activity with an inhibitory zone reaching 4.5 cm against Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and the best antifungal effect of 4 cm. Furthermore, higher antioxidant values of the four complexes were obtained with DPPH scavenging activity varying from 73 to 94%. The two more biologically effective complexes were then selected for the viability cell assessments and in vitro anticancer assays. The polymeric complexes revealed excellent cytocompatibility with normal human breast epithelial cells (MCF10A) and a high anticancer potential with human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) which increase significantly in a dose-dependent manner.