Biosynthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are widely used in Pharmacy and Medicine. In particular, AgNPs synthesized and mediated by plant extracts have shown topossess several biological activities. In the present study, AgNPs were synthesized using Picea abies L. stem bark extract as reducing agent. Factors, such as metal ion solution, pH, and time, which play a role in the AgNPs synthesis, were assessed. The synthesized AgNPs were characterized by Ultraviolet-Visible Spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Further, the study has been extended to evaluate the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of AgNPs. The broad peak obtained at 411–475 nm (UV-Vis spectroscopy), and the color change pattern, confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs. TEM results showed spherical or rarely polygonal AgNPs with an average size of 44 nm at pH = 9. The AgNPs showed antioxidant activity and antibacterial effect against human pathogenic Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The results show that spruce bark extract is suitable for obtaining AgNPs, with antibacterial and antioxidant activity.

Green synthesis is one of the rapid and best ways for silver nanoparticles (AgNP) synthesis. In the present study, synthesis and bioactivity of AgNPs has been demonstrated using water beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) bark extract. The physical and chemical factors such as time, metal ion solution, and pH, which play a vital role in the AgNPs synthesis, were assessed. The AgNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the obtained AgNPs was evaluated. AgNPs were characterized by color change pattern, and the broad peak obtained at 420–475 nm with UV-Vis confirmed the synthesis of AgNPs. FT-IR results confirmed that phenols and proteins of beech bark extract are mainly responsible for capping and stabilization of synthesized AgNPs. TEM micrographs showed spherical or rarely polygonal and triangular particles with an average size of 32 nm at pH = 9, and 62 nm at pH = 4. Furthermore, synthesized AgNPs were found to exhibit antioxidant activity and have antibacterial effect against Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results indicate that bark extract of F. sylvatica L. is suitable for synthesizing stable AgNPs, which act as an excellent antimicrobial agent.

Experiments that involved the testing of different steel samples over a wide range of loads were conducted in order to investigate the influence of micro-loads on accuracy of Vickers microindentation hardness testing. We found that for the same material the Vickers microhardness decreases with the decreasing of test load. The measuring error of Vickers microhardness on a steel block sample with known hardness was -25% when we used 10 gf load force. This is due to the fact that diagonal length values are in the range of micrometers and the precision of reading using optical microscopy is ± 0.5μm in length for most operators In order to improve accuracy of the reading of indents diagonals length we used two additional methods: scanning electron microscopy and graphical image processing. By this approach the measuring error of HV0.01 was reduced to an error of 3.78%.On samples coated with nanostructured (TiAlSi)N hard thin films developed by DC unbalanced magnetron sputtering, with thickness of 2..3μm, we found values around 2500 HV0.01 using this improved Vickers microhardness testing methodology

Quercus species are utilized for their durable wood, providing sustenance for wildlife, conserving biodiversity, and contributing ecological, medicinal, and esthetic benefits to ecosystems and landscapes. In this study, we aimed to use the bark of three Quercus species (Q. dalechampi, Q. fraineto, and Q. petraea) for the synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles (AgNPs and AuNPs). The aqueous extracts from the bark of Quercus sp. acted both as reducing and stabilizing agent, facilitating the rapid synthesis of AuNPs (AuQD, AuQF, and AuQP) and AgNPs (AgQD, AgQF, and AgQP). The obtained nanoparticles were characterized using UV-vis spectroscopy, TEM, DLS, and FTIR. Characterizations revealed that the nanoparticles exhibited a variety of shapes, such as polygonal, triangular, and spherical forms, with sizes ranging between 14 and 24 nm for AuNPs and 45–70 nm for AgNPs. The total phenolic content was assessed through spectroscopic methods, while several individual phenolic compounds were identified and quantified using UPLC-PDA. Furthermore, we assessed the antioxidant, antibacterial, and antifungal capacities of AuNPs, AgNPs, and raw extracts. The highest antioxidant activity was observed for raw extracts, followed by AgNPs and AuNPs, while the most potent antibacterial and antifungal activity was observed in AgQP. Moreover, cytotoxicity was examined in a human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT). The results indicated no cytotoxic effects for AuNPs, while AgNPs and the raw extracts exhibited cytotoxic effects after 48 h of incubation. This research underscores the multifaceted utility of Quercus bark extracts in the green synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and their subsequent bioactivity assessment, suggesting promising perspectives for their application in various fields while urging cautious consideration of their cytotoxic implications.

Nanoporous/nanotubular complex oxide layers were developed on high-fraction β phase quaternary Ti-Nb-Zr-Ta and Ti-Nb-Zr-Fe promising biomedical alloys with a low elasticity modulus. Surface modification was achieved by electrochemical anodization aimed at the synthesis of the morphology of the nanostructures, which exhibited inner diameters of 15–100 nm. SEM, EDS, XRD, and current evolution analyses were performed for the characterization of the oxide layers. By optimizing the process parameters of electrochemical anodization, complex oxide layers with pore/tube openings of 18–92 nm on Ti-10Nb-10Zr-5Ta, 19–89 nm on Ti-20Nb-20Zr-4Ta, and 17–72 nm on Ti-29.3Nb-13.6Zr-1.9Fe alloys were synthesized using 1 M H₃PO₄ + 0.5 wt% HF aqueous electrolytes and 0.5 wt% NH₄F + 2 wt% H₂0 + ethylene glycol organic electrolytes.

Nanocrystalline multilayer thin film coatings, composed of nanometer-scale thick CrN, TiAlN and MoS2 tri-layer systems, were prepared by reactive co-sputtering processes. The self-lubricated multilayer coating structures were deposited by one-fold oscillating movement of substrates in front of the sputter sources. Three independently operated direct current (dc) excited unbalanced magnetrons (UM) with rectangular cathodes of TiAl alloy (50/50%), pure chromium and MoS2 were used as sputter sources. The reactive sputtering process was performed in a mixture of Ar-N2 atmosphere. Hardened high-speed-steel (HSS) and thin oxide covered Si (100) wafers were used as substrates for tribological- and microstructure investigations, respectively. According to results of the chemical composition evaluated by Auger-electron spectroscopy (AES) and microstructure investigation by cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM), the CrN, TiAlN and the MoS2 phases form practically continuous layers with large gradient transition of composition. The as-deposited CrN/ (Al,Ti)N/MoS2 coatings have shown good friction behaviour, tested at room temperature in dry sliding condition with a ball-on-disk tribometer.