Faheem Ahmed

In recent times, the global landscape of disease detection and monitoring has been profoundly influenced by the convergence of nanotechnology and biosensing techniques. Biosensors have enormous potential to monitor human health, with flexible or wearable variants, through monitoring of biomarkers in clinical and biological behaviors and applications related to health and disease, with increasing biorecognition, sensitivity, selectivity, and accuracy. The emergence of nanomaterial-based biosensors has ushered in a new era of rapid and sensitive diagnostic tools, offering unparalleled capabilities in the realm of disease identification. Even after the declaration of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for efficient and accessible diagnostic methodologies has grown exponentially. In response, the integration of nanomaterial biosensors into breathalyzer devices has gained considerable attention as a promising avenue for low-cost, non-invasive, and early detection of COVID-19. This review delves into the forefront of scientific advancements, exploring the potential of emerging nanomaterial biosensors within breathalyzers to revolutionize the landscape of COVID-19 detection, providing a comprehensive overview of their principles, applications, and implications.

In this work, the deposition of titanium nitride (TiN) thin film using direct current (DC) sputtering technique and its application as diffusion barriers against copper interconnect was presented. The deposited film was analyzed by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. XRD patterns showed the face-centered cubic (FCC) structure for the TiN/SiO2/Si film, having (111) and (200) peaks and TiN (111), Cu(111), and Cu(200) peaks for Cu/TiN/SiO2/Si film. FESEM images revealed that the grains were homogeneously dispersed on the surface of the TiN film, having a finite size. XPS study showed that Ti2p doublet with peaks centered at 455.1 eV and 461.0 eV for TiN film was observed. Furthermore, the stoichiometry of the deposited TiN film was found to be 0.98. The sheet resistance of the TiN film was analyzed by using a four-point probe method, and the resistivity was calculated to be 11 μΩ cm. For the utilization, TiN film were tested for diffusion barrier performance against Cu interconnect. The results exhibited that TiN film has excellent performance in diffusion barrier for copper metallization up to a temperature of 700 °C. However, at a higher annealing temperature of 800 °C, the formation of Cu3Si and TiSi2 compounds were evident. Thus, stoichiometric TiN film with high thermal stability and low resistivity produced in this study could be applied for the fabrication of microelectronic devices.

In this work, a simple sensitive validated liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC-MS/MS) analytical method was developed for the determination of Spirodiclofen residues in different aquatic toxic media. The toxic media were those that provide nutrients and help with the growth of different aquatic organisms for their survival and multiplication. The different media were the M4 medium for Daphnia magna and The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD TG 201) medium for alga. Fe2O3-Ag2O/TiO2 nanocomposites were prepared by using a precipitation method, which was used as a photo-catalyst for the removal of Spirodiclofen pesticide from aquatic media. The experiment was performed under direct sunlight at a single fortification level (1.0 µg/mL) in M4 and OECD TG 201 media. The optimum catalyst concentration for the complete degradation was found to be 10 mg/L under sunlight. Spirodiclofen residues in water were determined by LC-MS/MS, and the rate constant DT50 (half-life) values were calculated from the obtained data. The results showed that with Fe2O3-Ag2O/TiO2 nanocatalyst, the DT50 (half-life) value was found to be approximately 8 h. These results revealed that iron-oxide- and silver-oxide-incorporated TiO2 nanocomposites were excellent photocatalysts when compared with TiO2, Fe2O3-TiO2, and Ag2O-TiO2 for the decontamination of pesticide residues in aquatic media samples.