The effect of the addition of Nb₂O₅ (up to 5 mol%) on the structure and luminescent properties of ZnO-B₂O₃ glass doped with 0.5 mol% (1.32 × 10²²) Eu₂O₃ was investigated by applying infrared (IR), Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Through differential thermal analysis and density measurements, various physical properties such as molar volume, oxygen packing density and glass transition temperature were determined. IR and Raman spectra revealed that niobium ions enter into the base zinc borate glass structure as NbO₄ tetrahedra and NbO₆ octahedra. A strong red emission from the ⁵D₀ level of Eu³⁺ ions was registered under near UV (392 nm) excitation using the ⁷F₀ → ⁵L₆ transition of Eu³⁺. The integrated fluorescence intensity ratio R (⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂/⁵D₀ → ⁷F₁) was calculated to estimate the degree of asymmetry around the active ion, suggesting a location of Eu³⁺ in non-centrosymmetric sites. The higher Eu³⁺ luminescence emission observed in zinc borate glasses containing 1–5 mol% Nb₂O₅ compared to the Nb₂O₅-free zinc borate glass evidences that Nb₂O₅ is an appropriate component for modifying the host glass structure and improving the emission intensity.

A new polyamidoamine metallodendrimer modified with eight 1,8-naphthalimide units was synthesized. The Cu(II) complex has been investigated by EPR spectroscopy and it has shown that 17 copper ions have involved in the dendrimer complex. To confirm the presence of metallodendrimers on the cotton surface, scanning electron microscopy characterization has been used. In vitro antimicrobial activity of the metallodendrimer against different pathogens was investigated and compared to the dendrimer ligand free of copper ions. Both dendrimers were deposited on a cotton fabric and antibacterial activity of the treated cotton samples was investigated against model Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It has been shown that the studied dendrimers reduce bacterial growth and prevent the formation of biofilms. The metallodendrimer showed stronger antimicrobial and biofilm inhibiting abilities than those of the free of Cu(II) ions ligand.

Novel poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/chitosan (Ch)-based fibrous materials containing an ionizable model drug, 8-hydroxyquinoline-5-sulfonic acid (SQ), were successfully fabricated by electrospinning. Complexes between the components of the crosslinked PVA/Ch/SQ mats and Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions were formed. The coordination of these ions in the mats was examined by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR). The microbiological screening against S. aureus and C. albicans revealed that both the incorporation of SQ in the mats and the complexation with Cu²⁺ and Fe³⁺ imparted to these materials antibacterial and antifungal activities. Moreover, the SQ-containing mats and their complexes displayed good cytotoxicity against human cervical HeLa tumor cells. The most prominent was the cytotoxicity of the Cu²⁺ complex of the mats. The combined antibacterial, antifungal and in vitro antitumor activities render these novel materials promising candidates for wound dressing applications and for application in the local treatment of cervical tumors.

A second-generation poly(propylene imine) dendrimer modified with acridine and its Cu(II) complex have been synthesized for the first time. It has been found that two copper ions form complexes with the nitrogen atoms of the dendrimeric core by coordinate bonds. The new compounds have been characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and fluorescence spectroscopy. The spectral characteristics of the modified dendrimer have been measured in different organic solvents, and a negative fluorescence solvatochromism has been observed. The antimicrobial activity of the dendrimers has been tested against model pathogenic microorganisms in agar and by broth dilution method. The cotton fabric treated with both dendrimers has been evaluated towards pathogenic microorganisms. The obtained modified cotton fabrics have been shown to hamper bacterial growth and to prevent biofilm formation. Dendrimer cytotoxicity has been investigated in vitro in the model HEp-2 cell line.

The Schiff base derivative (Ch-8Q) of chitosan (Ch) and 8-hydroxyquinoline-2-carboxaldehyde (8QCHO) was prepared and fibrous mats were obtained by the electrospinning of Ch-8Q/polylactide (PLA) blend solutions in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA). Complexes of the mats were prepared by immersing them in a solution of CuCl₂ or FeCl₃. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analysis was performed to examine the complexation of Cu²⁺(Fe³⁺) in the Ch-8Q/PLA mats complexes. The morphology of the novel materials and their surface chemical composition were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The performed microbiological screening demonstrated that in contrast to the neat PLA mats, the Ch-8Q-containing mats and their complexes were able to kill all S. aureus bacteria within 3 h of contact. These fibrous materials had efficiency in suppressing the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria S. aureus. In addition, Ch-8Q/PLA mats and their complexes exerted good anticancer efficacy in vitro against human cervical HeLa cells and human breast MCF-7 cells. The Ch-8Q-containing fibrous materials had no cytotoxicity against non-cancer BALB/c 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells. These properties render the prepared materials promising as wound dressings as well as for application in local cancer treatment.

A study on the synergistic extraction of Eu(III) ions with a series of chelating ligands and determination of the process parameters is presented by employing ionic liquids and typical organic diluents. The investigations of the liquid–liquid extraction, commonly applied in the separation science of 4f and 5f-ions acidic chelating compounds, 4-benzoyl-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one (HP), 4-benzoyl-3-phenyl-5-isoxazolone (HPBI), and 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone (HTTA) alone and in combination with two synergistic agents, meso-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (S2: HM-PAO) and its bis-imine precursor (S1: pre-HM-PAO), are presented. The interaction between the two extractants (acidic/neutral) in deuterochloroform was studied using ¹H, ¹³C, and ¹H-¹H NOESY experiments. Several conclusions are given highlighting the role of the ionic diluent in complexation processes and selectivity with an employment of the two synergistic agents for various metal s-, p-, d-, and f-cations in the Periodic table, with almost 25 metal ions. The objective was to optimize a system for 4f-ions solvent extraction based on the new oxime molecules with β-diketone/isoxazolone/pyrazolone partnership. As detailed above, slight enhancements of extraction efficiencies were obtained either by using basic synergistic agents such as HM-PAO and/or using pre-HM-PAO. A competitive solvent extraction test of nearly 18 f-ions by various ligands (HTTA, S1, S2, and HPBI) and the two mixtures HTTA−S1 and HTTA−S2 diluted in ILs or organic diluents was also conducted in order to evaluate the switchable diluent impact. Additionally, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used to study the established chemical species with Cu²⁺ cations in the obtained organic extracts involving the two synergistic molecules.