Graphene oxide–silver (Ag–GO) nanocomposite has emerged as a vital antibacterial agent very recently. In this work, we report a facile one step route of Ag–GO nanocomposite formation excluding the aid of surfactants and reductants and was successfully applied to negative Escherichia Coli (E coli) to investigate antibacterial activity by varying doze concentration. The successful formation of Ag–GO nanocomposite via facile one step route was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman Spectroscopy. The absorption spectra (peak ~ 300 nm) for GO and the (peak ~ 420 nm) for silver nanoparticles were observed. XRD study confirmed the formation of Ag–GO nanocomposite while atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed crumbled GO sheets decorated with Ag nanoparticles. It was observed that the functional groups of GO facilitated the binding of Ag nanoparticles to GO network and enhanced the antibacterial activity of the nanocomposite.

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Background Extensive milling processes have deprived wheat flour from essential nutrients. The objective of the current study was to assess the nutritive quality of commercial wheat flour (soft flour (SF)) through analyses of proximate composition and functional properties as well as quantification of benzoyl peroxide (BPO; added as bleaching agent in the SF) by comparing the results with whole wheat flour (WF; never received any additives). Methods The samples included commercial SF purchased from the local supplier of different flour mills (who use BPO as additive) and a control sample without additives was prepared by grinding the seeds harvested from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.; Inqulab 91) crop grown in the experimental field of University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, under optimized field conditions without any fertilizers and insecticides. Functional properties (including bulk density, water absorption capacity, oil absorption capacity, emulsifying activity, foaming capacity, least gelatinization concentration and gelatinization temperature) and proximate composition (including moisture content, ash contents, crude protein, gluten and starch contents) were determined and compared for all the samples. Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) and Benzoic Acid (BA) quantification was performed through High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Finally dietary intake was estimated for BPO and BA. Results Results showed that SF had lesser fiber, protein and ash contents, whereas, higher damaged starch, fat, gluten and bulk density. A parallel experiment under selected conditions (temperature, time and solute concentration) showed dissociation of BPO into BA soon after the exposure. Observed BA range (13.77 mg/g after 16 h) in SF and exposure level assessment (44.3 ± 1.36 mg/kg/BW) showed higher intake of BA on the consumption of SF. The results revealed the superiority of WF over SF in nutritive qualities as well as free of toxicants such as BA.

Natural intercalation of the graphite oxide, obtained as a product of Hummer's method, via ultra-sonication of water dispersed graphite oxide has been carried out to obtain graphene oxide (GO) and thermally reduced graphene oxide (RGO).Here we report the effect of metallic nitrate on the oxidation properties of graphite and then formation of metallic oxide (MO) composites with GO and RGO for the first time. We observed a change in the efficiency of the oxidation process as we replaced the conventionally used sodium nitrate with that of nickel nitrate Ni(NO 3 ) 2 , cadmium nitrate Cd(NO 3 ) 2 , and zinc nitrate Zn(NO 3 ) 2 . The structural properties were investigated by x-ray diffraction and observed the successful formation of composite of MO-GO and MO-RGO (M = Zn, Cd, Ni). We sought to study the effect on the oxidation process through optical characterization via UV-Vis spectroscopy and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Moreover, Thermo Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) was carried out to confirm > 90% weight loss in each process thus proving the reliability of the oxidation cycles. We have found that the nature of the oxidation process of graphite powder and its optical and electrochemical characteristics can be tuned by replacing the sodium nitrate (NaNO 3 ) by other metallic nitrates as Cd(NO 3 ) 2 , Ni(NO 3 ) 2 , and Zn(NO 3 ) 2 . On the basis of obtained results, the synthesized GO and RGO may be expected as a promising material in antibacterial activity and in electrodes fabrication for energy devices such as solar cell, fuel cell, and super capacitors.

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