Shivaji University

About: Shivaji University is a education organization based out in Kolhāpur, Maharashtra, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Thin film & Scanning electron microscope. The organization has 3078 authors who have published 5295 publications receiving 115397 citations.

Optically transparent superhydrophobic TEOS-derived silica films by surface silylation method

Abstract: Optically transparent silica films were prepared at room temperature (~27°C) by keeping the molar ratio of TEOS:MeOH:H2O (0.001 M NH4F) constant at 1:19.29:6.20, respectively. A surface chemical modification of the films was done with alkylchlorosilanes at different concentrations from 0 to 1 vol. % and aging times varied from half to 2 h. The DMCS and TMCS surface modified silica films showed the static water contact angle of 146° and 162°, respectively. When the DMCS and TMCS modified films were cured at temperatures higher than 240 and 275°C, respectively, the films became superhydrophilic. Further, the humidity study was carried out at a relative humidity of 90% at 30°C temperature over 60 days. We characterized the water repellent silica films by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, % of optical transmission, humidity tests and contact angle measurements.

Molecular Dynamics Simulation and Molecular Docking Studies of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme with Inhibitor Lisinopril and Amyloid Beta Peptide

Abstract: Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) cleaves amyloid beta peptide. So far this cleavage mechanism has not been studied in detail at atomic level. Keeping this view in mind, we performed molecular dynamics simulation of crystal structure complex of testis truncated version of ACE (tACE) and its inhibitor lisinopril along with Zn2+ to understand the dynamic behavior of active site residues of tACE. Root mean square deviation results revealed the stability of tACE throughout simulation. The residues Ala 354, Glu 376, Asp 377, Glu 384, His 513, Tyr 520 and Tyr 523 of tACE stabilized lisinopril by hydrogen bonding interactions. Using this information in subsequent part of study, molecular docking of tACE crystal structure with Aβ-peptide has been made to investigate the interactions of Aβ-peptide with enzyme tACE. The residues Asp 7 and Ser 8 of Aβ-peptide were found in close contact with Glu 384 of tACE along with Zn2+. This study has demonstrated that the residue Glu 384 of tACE might play key role in the degradation of Aβ-peptide by cleaving peptide bond between Asp 7 and Ser 8 residues. Molecular basis generated by this attempt could provide valuable information towards designing of new therapies to control Aβ concentration in Alzheimer’s patient.

Alcohol mediated growth of α-MnO2 thin films from KMnO4 precursor for high performance supercapacitors

Abstract: Energy storage devices, with low cost, high energy density, high power density, and long cycle life, have prime importance in order to solve the problem of interrupted power supply of renewable generation systems In the present work, MnO2 thin films have been deposited by a simple, scalable, additive-free, binder-less, low cost, low temperature and eco-friendly chemical bath deposition method The impact of three different alcohols (methanol, ethanol, 2-propenol) as reducing agents on the morphological, structural and electrochemical properties of MnO2 thin film is investigated The MnO2 thin film prepared with the methanol as the reducing agent exhibits high specific surface area with excellent electrochemical features such as high specific capacitance of 633 F g−1 and high energy density of 659 W h kg−1 at current density of 1 mA cm−2 along with a good cycling stability of 95% after 2000 CV cycles Such leading electrochemical properties suggest that MnO2 thin film prepared with methanol as the reducing agent using chemical bath deposition is a significant method to prepare reliable electrode material for future energy storage devices