https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/290 2026-05-16T01:09:52Z https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/7019 Title: Carbon dot–MOF composites for cancer biomarker detection: an emerging research frontier Authors: Adedibu C. Tella; Anthony O. Oyediran; Adetola C. Oladipo; Deborah Josiah; Oluwasegun A. Osatuyi; Tolulope M. Eluyera; Victor U. Ugwuanyi; Hadley S. Clayton; Margaret D. Olawale; Mehlana, Gift; Oluwatobi S. Oluwafemi Abstract: Cancer is a deadly disease that has become a major global concern. Early detection of cancer biomarkers is crucial to significantly reduce the impact and enable the prompt diagnosis and effective treatment of cancer. The integration of carbon dots (CDs) with metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as a promising approach for developing highly selective and sensitive sensors for cancer biomarker detection. CD@MOF composites exhibit remarkable properties due to the synergy between the exceptional optical characteristics of CDs and the unique surface features of MOFs. With the improved properties, such as high surface area, tunable porosity, excellent photoluminescence, and biocompatibility, that these composites possess, they serve as ideal candidates for cancer biomarker sensing. This review dissects the chemistry of CDs and MOFs, and explores recent advancements in CD@MOF-based strategies in the detection of several cancer biomarkers, highlighting their potential as ultrasensitive probes for clinical applications. It also delineates the challenges in the development and future directions in the application of CD@MOF composites as sensors for cancer biomarkers. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Adedibu C. Tella Anthony O. Oyediran Adetola C. Oladipo Deborah Josiah Oluwasegun A. Osatuyi Tolulope M. Eluyera Victor U. Ugwuanyi Hadley S. Clayton Margaret D. Olawale Mehlana, Gift Oluwatobi S. Oluwafemi https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/7018 Title: Synthesis and characterization of lanthanide MOFs based on 2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylate linkers Authors: Gumbo, Maureen; Mehlana, Gift Abstract: Two new metal-organic frameworks based on 2,2′-bipyridine-5,5′-dicarboxylate and lanthanide (Ln) metal ions were prepared under solvothermal conditions, using HCl as a modulator. JMS-8 and JMS-9 MOFs ([Ln(bpdc)3(dmf)(H2O)3·5dmf·1.5H2O]n) crystallised in a triclinic system with space group P1. The MOFs have rod SBUs that grow along the b-axis. The linkers connect the SBUs along the a-axis and c-axis giving a 3D network structure. The packing diagrams show large pores as viewed on the a-axis and smaller pores which can be viewed on the c-axis. The MOFs exhibit good thermal and chemical stability. Gas sorption studies revealed low surface areas and poor CO2 adsorption capacity. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Gumbo, Maureen Mehlana, Gift https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/7017 Title: Recyclable Brønsted-Lewis acidic ionic liquids enable high-yield biomass valorization to platform chemicals in aqueous biphasic systems Authors: Anyomih, Winifred D.; Darkwa, James; Moshapo, Paseka T.; Mehlana, Gift; Banothile C.E. Makhubela Abstract: Multiple product formation in biorefineries maximizes biomass valorization, resource efficiency, process integration, and flexibility in adapting to fuels, chemicals, and materials demand. We report a Brønsted acidic (BAIL) and Brønsted-Lewis acidic ionic liquids (BLAILs) that promote tandem biphasic extraction-conversion-separation of levulinic acid (LA), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and furfural (FFR) from (hemi)cellulose in corn cobs and giant cane biomass. Reacting 1-benzyl-1H-imidazole and 1,4-butane sultone, afforded 1-benzyl-3-(4-sulfonatobutyl)imidazolium (zwitterion 1). This was followed by protonation of zwitterion 1, leading to 1-benzyl-3-(4-sulfobutyl)-1H-imidazole-3-ium (BAIL 2), which was treated, separately, with FeCl3, ZnCl2, SnCl2, and NiCl2 to give BLAILs (3a-d) with larger anions (FeCl4−, ZnCl3−, SnCl3−, and NiCl3−). These IL catalysts mediated raw biomass conversion via extraction-hydrolysis-dehydration and separation of FFR, LA and HMF. Under optimized conditions, BAIL (2) achieved 91 % FFR yield, while the BLAIL, incorporating FeCl4−, yielded 95 % FFR. The sequence of the BLAILs’ catalytic activity, which corresponded to their Lewis acidities, was FeCl4− > SnCl3− > ZnCl3− > NiCl3. Post-reaction solid residues characterized using SEM, PXRD, and FT-IR, revealed significant structural changes in biomass, including increased crystallinity, attributed to type I microcrystalline cellulose. This work establishes an efficient, high-yielding, and selective method for converting and separating FFR, HMF, LA, and pure microcrystalline cellulose from biomass using recyclable, earth-abundant metal-based ILs. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Anyomih, Winifred D. Darkwa, James Moshapo, Paseka T. Mehlana, Gift Banothile C.E. Makhubela https://cris.library.msu.ac.zw//handle/11408/6877 Title: The New Topp-Leone Exponentiated Half Logistic-Gompertz-G Family of Distributions with Applications Authors: Charumbira, Wellington; Broderick Oluyede; Fastel Chipepa Abstract: This research introduces a new family of distributions (FoD) titled the Topp-Leone Exponentiated-Half-Logistic-Gompertz-G (TL-EHL-Gom-G) distribution. The study explores a variety of statistical properties of the developed family, such as the quantile function, series expansion, order statistics, entropy, stochastic orders and moments. Through Monte Carlo simulations, various estimation techniques were compared, including the least squares (LS), Anderson Darling (AD), maximum likelihood (ML) and Cram\'er-von-Mises (CVM) methods via root mean square error (RMSE) and average bias (Abias). The results indicated that the ML estimation method performed better than other methods, hence, the selection for estimating the model parameters. To showcase the usefulness, robustness and applicability of the model, we applied it to three real-life data, including dataset with censored observations. The TL-EHL-Gom-W distribution, a special case of the TL-EHL-Gom-G FoD showed superiority over nested and non-nested models. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z Charumbira, Wellington Broderick Oluyede Fastel Chipepa