In the current study, a variety of sulfonated polyethersulfone (SPES)-based ion-exchange membranes were prepared and utilized as efficient and selective solid adsorbents for the detection of Co(II) ions in aquatic solutions. SPES membranes were treated with a variety of cations at a 2:1 ratio overnight. The produced materials were assessed via XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and TGA analyses. The structure of these materials was confirmed by FT-IR and XRD, which also confirmed the inclusion of Na+, NH4+, and amberlite on the SPES surface successfully. TGA analysis showed that the thermal stabilities of these materials were enhanced, and the order of stability was NH4-SPES > SPES > Na-SPES > A-SPES. Furthermore, the efficiency of these modified membranes for the determination and adsorption of a variety of metal ions was also examined by the ICP-OES analytical technique. A-SPES expressed a powerful efficiency of adsorption, and it showed an efficient as well as quantitative adsorption at pH = 6. Moreover, A-SPES displayed the highest adsorption capacity of 90.13 mg/g for Co(II) through the Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

Thiazol-based molecules have practically infinite biological implementation. Today, there are many medical applications for compounds containing the thiazole moiety owing to their presence in most clinically applied anticancer drugs, such as dasatinib, dabrafenib, ixabepilone, patellamide A and epothilone. In this study, the polycondensation, of a new group of thiazole-containing polyamides with the formulas PA 1–4 was carried out by the interaction of 2-aminothiazole diphenyl sulfide and variable diacid chlorides in dimethyl formamide in the presence of potassium carbonate anhydrous as a catalyst. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was initially used to figure out the PA 1–4 structures, which were further characterized using solubility, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The solubility results revealed that the presence of heteroaromatic thiazole ring units and sulfur content in the polyamides main chain, made the solubility easier as it increases the chain packing distance. From the values of average molecular weight, it was clear that all synthesized polyamides have almost the same chain length which ranged from 37,561.80 to 39,827.66. Moreover, the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) confirm that PA 1–4 were thermally stable even at high temperatures especially the polyamides which were synthesized from aromatic diacid chlorides. Furthermore, the newly synthesized polyamides were investigated for their antimicrobial properties against different species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and also against different fungi. The results revealed that compound PA 2 showed the highest antibacterial activity. Also, their inhibitory activity against breast carcinoma cells (MCF-7 cell line) and colon carcinoma cells (HCT cell line) was evaluated. It was clear that there was an enhancement in the anticancer activity for the synthesized polyamides owing to the presence of the thiazole moiety as well as sulfur linkage. According to the results of the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50), the synthesized polymers were found to be more active against the MCF-7 cell line than the HCT cell line.

This research sought to synthesize a new set of heteroaromatic thiazole-based polyurea derivatives with sulfur links in the polymers’ main chains, which were denoted by the acronyms PU1–5. Using pyridine as a solvent, a diphenylsulfide-based aminothiazole monomer (M2) was polymerized via solution polycondensation with varied aromatic, aliphatic, and cyclic diisocyanates. Typical characterization methods were used to confirm the structures of the premonomer, monomer, and fully generated polymers. The XRD results revealed that aromatic-based polymers had higher crystallinity than aliphatic and cyclic derivatives. SEM was used to visualize the surfaces of PU1, PU4, and PU5, revealing spongy and porous shapes, shapes resembling wooden planks and sticks, and shapes resembling coral reefs with floral shapes at various magnifications. The polymers demonstrated thermal stability. The numerical results for PDTmax are listed in the following order, ranked from lowest to highest: PU1 < PU2 < PU3 < PU5 < PU4. The FDT values for the aliphatic-based derivatives (PU4 and PU5) were lower than those for the aromatic-based ones (616, 655, and 665 °C). PU3 showed the greatest inhibitory impact against the bacteria and fungi under investigation. In addition, PU4 and PU5 demonstrated antifungal activities that, in contrast with the other products, were on the lower end of the spectrum. Furthermore, the intended polymers were also tested for the presence of the proteins 1KNZ, 1JIJ, and 1IYL, which are frequently utilized as model organisms for E. coli (Gram-negative bacteria), S. aureus (Gram-positive bacteria), and C. albicans (fungal pathogens). This study’s findings are consistent with the outcomes of the subjective screening.