An in situ reaction of two optoelectronically active organic ligands (anionic thenoyltrifluoroacetylacetone, tta⁻, and neutral triphenylphosphine oxide, tppo) with erbium(III) ion in the presence of a base yielded a new erbium complex, [Er(tta)₃(tppo)]. The solid and solution structure of the complex was established by X-ray crystallography, NMR, ESI-MS, FTIR, TGA and Raman spectroscopy. They indicate that the Er(III) ion is coordinated to seven oxygen atoms of three tta ligands and one tppo ligand in a monocapped octahedral geometry. The Judd–Ofelt parameters of the complex were determined by a least squares fitting and dealt with its chemical structure. On UV excitation through ligand mediation, the complex shows the characteristic near-infrared emission of the corresponding Er(III) ion at 1534 nm. Furthermore, a near infra-red organic light emitting diode (NIR-OLED) was fabricated with structure: ITO/[N,N′-bis(naphthalen-2-yl)-N,N′-bis(phenyl)benzidine]/[Er(tta)₃(tppo)]/[2,2′,2′′-(1,3,5-benzinetriyl)-tris(1-phenyl-1-H-benzimidazole)]/LiF/Al. This device, with maximum applied voltage of 23 V, shows a total quenching of visible emission and electroluminescence in the C-band region (1534 nm) which is suitable for third communication window applications in fiber optics. Finally, an organic diode was fabricated to determine charge carrier mobility of the complex using a steady-state method.

The interaction of dibenz[a,h]anthracene and its ultimate carcinogenic 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide with lung surfactant phospholipid bilayers was successfully performed using molecular dynamics. The DPPC/DPPG/cholesterol bilayer (64 : 64 : 2) was used as the lung surfactant phospholipid bilayer model and compared with the DPPC bilayer as a reference. Dibenz[a,h]anthracene and its 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide were inserted in water and lipid phases in order to investigate their interactions with the lung surfactant phospholipid bilayers. The radial distribution function between two P atoms in polar heads shows that the 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide affects the order between the P atoms in the DPPC/DPPG/cholesterol model more than dibenz[a,h]anthracene, which is a consequence of its preference for the polar heads and dibenz[a,h]anthracene prefers to be located in the hydrocarbon chain of the phospholipid bilayers. Dibenz[a,h]anthracene and its 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide may form aggregates in water and lipid phases, and in the water–lipid interface. The implications for the possible effect of dibenz[a,h]anthracene and its 3,4-diol-1,2-epoxide in the lung surfactant phospholipid bilayers are discussed.

The development of X-ray-absorbing scintillating nanoparticles is of high interest for solving the short penetration depth problem of visible and infrared light in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Thus, these nanoparticles are considered a promising treatment for several types of cancer. Herein, gadolinium oxide nanoparticles doped with europium ions (Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺) were obtained by using polyvinyl alcohol as a capping agent. Hybrid silica nanoparticles decorated with europium-doped gadolinium oxide (SiO₂-Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺) were also prepared through the impregnation method. The synthesized nanoparticles were structurally characterized and tested to analyze their biocompatibility. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy confirmed the high crystallinity and purity of the Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺ particles and the homogeneous distribution of nanostructured rare earth oxides throughout the fumed silica matrix for SiO₂-Gd₂O₃:Eu³⁺. Both nanoparticles displayed stable negative ζ-potentials. The photoluminescence properties of the materials were obtained using a Xe lamp as an excitation source, and they exhibited characteristic Eu³⁺ bands, including at 610 nm, which is the most intense transition band of this ion. Cytotoxicity studies on mouse glioblastoma GL261 cells indicated that these materials appear to be nontoxic from 10 to 500 μg·mL⁻¹ and show a small reduction in viability in non-tumor cell lines. All these findings demonstrate their possible use as alternative materials in PDT.