Publications by authors named "Sara Rojas"

Emerging sensing materials are central to improving the functionality and integration of electronic devices. In this study, we report the synthesis of a custom perylene-based organic ligand, ,'-di-(phenyl-3,5-dicarboxylic acid)-perylene-3,4:9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide (PY), which exhibits a strong response to relative humidity (RH). Its sensing performance was systematically compared with that of a commercially available perylene derivative, ,'-bis-(4-methoxy-benzyl)-perylene-3,4:9,10-bis-(dicarboximide) (PBI).

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Fertilizer application is a necessary action in modern agriculture to meet the global food demand. Modern agriculture must enhance crop production while minimizing the amounts of used fertilizers to ensure environmental safety without compromising their effectiveness. One promising approach to achieve this ambitious goal is using controlled-release fertilizers, which provide an effective amount of active ingredients prolonged over time while reducing the losses caused by leaching into the soil.

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be prepared from bioactive molecules, which are released during the degradation of the material in the body. Particularly, MOFs have recently emerged as bisphosphonate (BP) drug delivery systems. In this work, two novel MOFs based on the smallest bisphosphonate medronic acid (MA) and calcium with formulas [Ca-(CHOP)·HO] (GR-MOF-23) and [Ca-(CHOP)·CHOH] (GR-MOF-24) in aqueous and/or methanolic solutions at room temperature were synthesized and fully characterized.

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Here, the synthesis by a soft solvothermal route of two novel isoreticular compounds based on the in situ generated (by a nucleophilic aromatic substitution) 2-hydroxi-5-(trifluoromethyl)-pyrimidine (HL) ligand and Zn-(II) and Cd-(II) as metallic centers (with the general formula [ML] and labeled as GR-MOF-30 for M = Zn and GR-MOF-31 for M = Cd) is reported, together with their detailed structural and photoluminescent characterization. These metal-organic frameworks are the first examples of coordination compounds based on Zn-(II) and Cd-(II) constructed with this novel ligand. Structures show remarkable intermolecular interactions, including C-F···π and π···π stacking, which not only stabilize the structure but also improve the luminescent properties of the materials.

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Inorganic agrochemicals have been used by the food industry for thousands of years to maximize production and quality, with copper(II) sulfate being one of the main used pesticides. Given the increasing global population (expected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050) and the challenges facing agricultural production, there is a pressing need to address the impact of intensified agrochemical use (e.

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Introduction: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently exists alongside psychiatric comorbidities. The coexistence of somatic diseases and ADHD constitutes a growing field of research.

Method: This study aimed to examine the prevalence of common somatic diseases in adolescents with ADHD and compare them with those in adolescents without any psychiatric diagnoses.

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Excessive and uncontrolled application of agrochemicals has resulted in contamination of terrestrial and aquatic environments. In the past decade, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been studied as agrochemical release systems to enhance efficiency while reducing the leaching of toxic molecules to the environment. In this work, we take a further step and use organic agrochemicals as linkers in the preparation of MOFs, which we have called AgroMOFs.

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In the evolution of pervasive electronics, it is imperative to significantly reduce the energy consumption of power systems and embrace sustainable materials and fabrication processes with minimal carbon footprint. Within this context, thermoelectric generators (TEGs) have garnered substantial attention in recent years because of the readily available thermal gradients in the environment, making them a promising energy-harvesting technology. Current commercial room-temperature thermoelectrics are based on scarce, expensive, and/or toxic V-VI chalcogenide materials, which limit their widespread use.

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Two novel Ce(III) metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with formulas [Ce(5Meip)(H-5Meip)]GR-MOF-17 and [CeCl(5Meip)(DMF)]GR-MOF-18 (5Meip = 5-methylisophthalate, DMF = ,-dimethylformamide) have been synthesized, forming 3-dimensional frameworks. Magnetic measurements show that both compounds present field-induced slow magnetic relaxation under a small applied dc field. For GR-MOF-17, the temperature dependence of relaxation times is best described by a Raman mechanism, whereas for GR-MOF-18, relaxation occurs through a combination of Raman and local-mode pathways.

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A three-dimensional heterobimetallic porous structure with the formula {[YTbL(OH)(HO) (DMF)] ·1.5HO·DMF} (L = 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzoate) () has been synthesized and characterized by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), electrophoretic mobility, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The structure presents two metal environments: a bioaugmented isosceles wedge (mm2) MO and a tricapped trigonal prism (-6m2) MNO.

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Although agrochemical practices can enhance agricultural productivity, their intensive application has resulted in the deterioration of ecosystems. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more efficient and less toxic methods against pests and infections while improving crop productivity. Moving toward sustainable development, in this work, we originally described the preparation of a composite (ZIF-8@HA) consisting of the coating of zeolitic-like metal-organic framework (MOF) ZIF-8 (based on Zn, an essential micronutrient in plants with antibacterial, antifungal, and antifouling properties) with hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles (i.

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Flexible electronics, also referred to as printable electronics, represent an interesting technology for implementing electronic circuits via depositing electronic devices onto flexible substrates, boosting their possible applications. Among all flexible electronics, interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) are currently being used for different sensor applications since they offer significant benefits beyond their functionality as capacitors, like the generation of high output voltage, fewer fabrication steps, convenience of application of sensitive coatings, material imaging capability and a potential of spectroscopy measurements via electrical excitation frequency variation. This review examines the role of IDEs in printed and flexible electronics since they are progressively being incorporated into a myriad of applications, envisaging that the growth pattern will continue in the next generations of flexible circuits to come.

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The recent description of well-defined molecular subtypes of breast cancer has led to the clinical development of a number of successful molecular targets. Particularly, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive type of breast cancer with historically poor outcomes, mainly due to the lack of effective targeted therapies. Recent progresses in materials science have demonstrated the impressive properties of metal-organic framework nanoparticles (NPs) as antitumoral drug delivery systems.

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A new family of six complexes based on 5-nitropicolinic acid (5-npic) and transition metals has been obtained: [M(5-npic)] (M = Mn (1) and Cd (2)), [Cu(5-npic)] (3), and [M(5-npic)(HO)] (M = Co (4), Ni (5), and Zn (6)), which display 1D, 2D, and mononuclear structures, respectively, thanks to different coordination modes of 5-npic. After their physicochemical characterization by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), elemental analyses (EA), and spectroscopic techniques, quantum chemical calculations using Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) were performed to further study the luminescence properties of compounds 2 and 6. The potential anticancer activity of all complexes was tested against three tumor cell lines, B16-F10, HT29, and HepG2, which are models widely used for studying melanoma, colon cancer, and liver cancer, respectively.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Two new lanthanide complexes using the 5-nitropicolinate ligand were created and fully analyzed, showing they have a similar structure to a previously reported Dy-complex.
  • - These complexes exhibit ligand-centered photoluminescence and demonstrated significant anticancer activity against PC-3 prostatic cancer cells, with a reduction of cell viability by 50-60% at a dosage of 500 μg·mL.
  • - Both the complexes and their precursors showed good biocompatibility in HL-60 human immune cells, and the anticancer effects were notably influenced by the presence of the free 5-npic ligand, which also had some cytotoxicity.
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In this work a family of multidimensional (2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)ethyl) amino acid coordination compounds have been synthesized and thoroughly characterized. For this purpose, glycine, valine, phenylalanine and tyrosine have been selected as starting amino acids and Mn, Zn and Cd as metallic nodes. From one side, for Mn based dimer magnetic resonance imaging studies have been conducted, prompted by the number and disposition of the coordinated water molecules and taking into consideration the promising future of manganese-based coordination compounds as bio-compatible substitutes to conventional Gd based contrast agents.

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Plastic pollution is one of the main worldwide environmental concerns. Our lifestyle involves persistent plastic consumption, aggravating the low efficiency of wastewater treatment plants in its removal. Nano/microplastics are accumulated in living beings, pushing to identify new water remediation strategies to avoid their harmful effects.

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess a variety of interesting features related to their composition and structure that make them excellent candidates to be used in agriculture. However, few studies have reported their use as delivery agents of agrochemicals. In this work, the natural polyphenol chlorogenic acid (CGA) was entrapped simple impregnation in the titanium aminoterephthalate MOF, MIL-125-NH.

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Pharmaceutical active compounds (PhACs) are some of the most recalcitrant water pollutants causing undesired environmental and human effects. In absence of adapted decontamination technologies, there is an urgent need to develop efficient and sustainable alternatives for water remediation. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have recently emerged as promising candidates for adsorbing contaminants as well as providing photoactive sites, as they possess exceptional porosity and chemical versatility.

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting 44 million people worldwide. Although many issues (pathogenesis, genetics, clinical features, and pathological aspects) are still unknown, this disease is characterized by noticeable hallmarks such as the formation of β-amyloid plaques, hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins, the overproduction of reactive oxygen species, and the reduction of acetylcholine levels. There is still no cure for AD and the current treatments are aimed at regulating the cholinesterase levels, attenuating symptoms temporarily rather than preventing the AD progression.

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As a starting point, a new 3D porous framework with the {[CoL]·0.5DMF·HO} chemical formula (where L = 3-amino-4-hydroxybenzoate) is described. Its performance as a single molecule magnet was explored.

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The development of convenient, non-complicated, and cost-efficient processing techniques for packing low-density MOF powders for industry implementation is essential nowadays. To increase MOFs' availability in industrial settings, we propose the synthesis of a novel 3D Tb-MOF () and a simple and non-expensive method for its immobilization in the form of pellets and membranes in polymethacrylate (PMMA) and polysulphone (PSF). The photoluminescent properties of the processed materials were investigated.

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A new family of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) named with the chemical formula {[M (BCA) ](HO) (DMF) } (,,,: 1,1,2,0; 1,1.5,0,1; 1,2,2,1; and 1,1,0,2 for to , respectively) based on s-block [M: Sr (), Ba ()] and d-block [M: Y () and Cd ()] metals together with the biquinoline ligand 2,2'-bicinchoninic acid (HBCA) has been synthetized by a solvothermal route and fully characterized by elemental and thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, photoluminescence, particle size distribution through optical microscopy, electrophoretic mobility, and finally, X-ray single-crystal and powder diffraction. The structural characterization reveals that these 2D and 3D MOFs possess a rich variety of coordination modes that maintained the Janus-head topology on the ligand in most of the cases.

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Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used as reservoirs of metal ions with relevant antibacterial effects. Here, two novel Zn-based MOFs with the formulas [Zn(μ-O)(μ-FA)L] (GR-MOF-8) and [Zn(μ-O)L(HO)] (GR-MOF-9) (HL: 5-((4-carboxyphenyl)ethynyl) in isophthalic acid and FA (formate anion) were solvothermally synthetized and fully characterized. The antibacterial activity of GR-MOF-8 and 9 was investigated against (SA) and () by the agar diffusion method.

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The work presented herein reports on the synthesis, structural and physico-chemical characterization, luminescence properties and luminescent sensing activity of a family of isostructural coordination polymers (CPs) with the general formula [Ln(μ-5Meip)(DMF)] (where Ln(III) = Sm (), Eu (), Gd (), Tb () and Yb () and 5Meip = 5-methylisophthalate, DMF = N,N-dimethylmethanamide). Crystal structures consist of 3D frameworks tailored by the linkage between infinite lanthanide(III)-carboxylate rods by means of the tetradentate 5Meip ligands. Photoluminescence measurements in solid state at variable temperatures reveal the best-in-class properties based on the capacity of the 5Meip ligand to provide efficient energy transfers to the lanthanide(III) ions, which brings intense emissions in both the visible and near-infrared (NIR) regions.

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