The mesoporous silica structure (MSN) was synthesized using the sol–gel method followed by aluminum grafting and protonation and was then denoted as HAlMSN (Si/Al = 18.9). N₂ physisorption confirmed the mesoporous structure with a pore diameter of 3.38 nm. ²⁷Al NMR showed the presence of framework and extra-framework aluminum structures, which led to the formation of strong Lewis and Brønsted acidic sites. HAlMSN catalyzed the synthesis of (E)-chalcones through the Claisen–Schmidt reaction. Chalcone derivatives have been applied as biologically active compounds with anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and diuretic pharmacological activities. The products were obtained via reactions on the protonic acid sites of HAlMSN. The significant advantages of this reaction are high yield, easy work up, short reaction time and also compatibility with various organic solvents. The products were obtained in an excellent conversion of 97% at 298 K. The results show that the electron donating substituents exhibit higher conversion in comparison to electron withdrawing substituents. The stability of the catalyst was investigated by reusing it five times for (E)-chalcone production and there was only a slight decrease in its catalytic activity. The highest product of (E)-chalcone was observed with a 1 : 2 molar ratio of benzaldehyde/acetophenone. A comparative study in chalcone synthesis using the heterogeneous catalysts demonstrated that HAlMSN has a significantly high activity at low temperature.

Introduction: A novel biocomposite chitosan/graphite based on zinc-grafted mesoporous silica nanoparticles (CGZM-bio) was synthesized and the antibacterial activities of this compound along with that of Zn-MSN nanoparticles were investigated. Methods: The CGZM-bio biocomposite was synthesized using sol–gel and post-synthesis method under UV radiation. The characterizations of the samples were carried out using FTIR, XRD, SEM, and nitrogen adsorption and desorption. The antibacterial activity was carried out against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) after 18 h at 310 K. Results: The suspension samples of the Zn-MSN and CGZM-bio (2– 100 μg.mL^{− 1}) presented antibacterial activities against S. aureus and E. coli. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values against E. coli for the Zn-MSN and CGZM-bio samples were 10 and 5 μg.mL^{− 1}, respectively, while the MIC against S. aureus for both nanomaterials was 10 μg.mL^{− 1}. Discussion: The antibacterial activities of these materials are due to the generation of radical oxygen species such as ^•OH, H₂O₂, and O₂ ^2- during the UV radiation via the generation of the electron–hole pairs which in turn damage the bacteria cells. These nanomaterials may be used in biomedical devices as antibacterial agents.

A mesoporous silica structure (MSN) was synthesized using the sol–gel method, followed by iron incorporation and protonation which afforded Fe-MSN and H/Fe-MSN with Si/Fe ratios of 20. Nitrogen physisorption confirmed their mesoporous structures with pore diameters of 3.9 nm. Iron incorporation decreased the degree of catalyst crystallinity. Fe-MSN and H/Fe-MSN catalyzed the oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanone using hydrogen peroxide at 298 K in 1 h. The significant advantages of these catalysts were high conversion, short reaction time, easy work-up, and compatibility with various organic and aqueous solvents. The cyclohexanone product was obtained with excellent conversions of 86 and 97% at 298 K using Fe-MSN and H/Fe-MSN, respectively. H/Fe-MSN catalyst gave a higher conversion than Fe-MSN. A comparative study of cyclohexane oxidation in the presence of H₂O₂ over H/Fe-MSN heterogeneous catalyst showed that H/Fe-MSN had excellent activity at low temperature.

The advancements in nanoscience have brought attention to the potential of utilizing nanoparticles as carriers for oral insulin administration. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of synthesized polymeric mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) as carriers for oral insulin and their interactions with insulin and IR through in-silico docking. Diabetic rats were treated with various MSN samples, including pure MSN, Amin-grafted MSN/PEG/Insulin (AMPI), Al-grafted MSN/PEG/Insulin (AlMPI), Zinc-grafted MSN/PEG/Insulin (ZNPI), and Co-grafted MSN/PEG/Insulin (CMPI). The nanocomposites were synthesized using a hybrid organic-inorganic method involving MSNs, graphene oxide, and insulin. Characterization of the nanocomposites was conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In vivo tests included the examination of blood glucose levels and histopathological parameters of the liver and pancreas in type 1 diabetic rats. The MSN family demonstrated a significant reduction in blood glucose levels compared to the diabetic control group (p < 0.001). The synthesized nanocomposites exhibited safety, non-toxicity, fast operation, self-repairing pancreas, cost-effectiveness, and high efficiency in the oral insulin delivery system. In the in-silico study, Zn-grafted MSN, Co-grafted MSN, and Al-grafted MSN were selected. Docking results revealed strong interactions between MSN compounds and insulin and IR, characterized by the formation of hydrogen bonds and high binding energy. Notably, Co-grafted MSN showed the highest docking scores of −308.171 kcal/mol and −337.608 kcal/mol to insulin and IR, respectively. These findings demonstrate the potential of polymeric MSN as effective carriers for oral insulin, offering promising prospects for diabetes treatment.