Degradation-fragmentation of marine plastic waste and their environmental implications: A critical review

This review critically evaluates the plastic accumulation challenges and their environmental (primarily) and human (secondarily) impacts. It also emphasizes on their degradation and fragmentation phenomena under marine conditions. In addition, it takes into account the leachability of the various chemical substances (additives) embedded in plastic products to improve their polymeric properties and extend their life. Regardless of their effectiveness in enhancing the polymeric function of plastic products, these additives can potentially contaminate air, soil, food, and water. Several findings have shown that, regardless of their types and sizes, plastics can be degraded and/or fragmented under marine conditions. Therefore, the estimation of fragmentation and degradation rates via a reliable developed model is required to better understand the marine environmental status. The main parameter, which is responsible for initiating the fragmentation of plastics, is sunlight/UV radiation. Yet, UV- radiation alone is not enough to fragment some plastic polymer types under marine conditions, additional factors are needed such as mechanical abrasion. It should be also mentioned that most current studies on plastic degradation and fragmentation centered on the primary stages of degradation. Thus, further studies are needed to better understand these phenomena and to identify their fate and environmental effects.     

A review on non-noble metal based electrocatalysis for the oxygen evolution reaction

In order to find a clean, efficient and sustainable new energy source that can replace fossil fuels, hydrogen energy is considered to be the most ideal choice. Electrocatalytic oxygen evolution plays a vital role in the development of hydrogen energy, promotes the research of new electrocatalysts, and is dedicated to find materials with high electrocatalytic efficiency. This article discusses in detail the major developments in OER electrocatalysts, including recently reported metal and non-metal based materials. Metal-based catalysts, although having the advantages of high catalytic activity, have disadvantages such as poor stability and low selectivity, which hinder the further application of such materials. Non-metallic based materials avoid such disadvantages and exhibit very substantial performance in overall water decomposition. This review provides useful knowledge of a well-designed OER electrocatalyst and a possible strategy for OER/HER dual-function catalytic performance for future development.     

Nickel- and cobalt-based heterogeneous catalytic systems for selective primary amination of alcohol with ammonia

It is one of the critical fields of green chemistry to catalyze the selective conversion of biomass-derived alcohol and ammonia to primary amines with extensive application. Recently, catalytic systems consisting of non-noble metal nickel- and cobalt-based catalysts have been developed for catalytic alcohol amination. This paper reviewed these two types of catalytic systems, which are classified as skeleton Co and Ni catalytic systems, supported and modified Co and Ni catalytic systems, emphasized on catalysts and catalysis, and clearly explained where zero-valent cobalt or nickel is active species for catalytic reaction. In supported catalysts, the catalytic active sites constituted by the catalytic active species and its micro-environment can regulate the efficiency of catalytic the reaction. While in modified catalysts, modifiers such as metal Fe, Re and Bi may modulate the catalytic active sites and change the catalytic selectivity. There are differences in structure and size between catalysts prepared by different methods, resulting in distinct interface and electronic properties for alcohol amination, which determines the structure–activity relationships of the catalytic system.     

Agro-industrial waste enzymes: Perspectives in circular economy

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year, equivalent to approximately one-third of world production. Agri-food wastes are the source of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and other essential minerals that have been exploited for value-added products by the development of biorefineries and sustainable business as important elements of circular economies. The innovation and materialization of these types of processes, including the use of disruptive technologies on microbial bioconversion and enzyme technology, such as nanotechnology, metabolic engineering, and multi-omics platforms, increase the perspectives on the waste valorization process. Lignocellulolytic enzymes, pectinases, and proteases are mainly used as catalyzers on agri-food waste treatment, and their production in house might be the trend in near future for agro-industrial countries. Another way to transform the agri-food wastes is via aerobic or anaerobic microbial process from fungal or bacterial cultures; these processes are the key to produce waste enzymes.     

Optimization of inoculum to substrate ratio for enhanced methane yield from leather fleshings in a batch study

One of the most significant issues of the last few decades has been tracing for renewable energy sources. Animal fleshing (ANFL) is the most common proteinaceous solid waste accured during the production of leather and it must be disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. This paper is attempts to assess the biogas production from solid waste originating from the chrome based tannery. Anaerobic digestion of these wastes will be a viable option for waste stabilization and energy production in the form of biogas to be utilized in the industry. The bio-methane potential of the wastes were examined by mixing these wastes with various sources of inoculum and different inoculum to substrate (I/S) ratio considered. The batch experiments were carried out in 2.5 l glass reactors with a various source of inoculumviz., Cow Dung (CD), Elephant Dung (ED) and Bio-Digested Slurry (BDS) with varied inoculum to substrate (LFs) ratios for a retention time of 50 days with replications. The results obtained from the experiments showed that BDS:LF (25:75) had the highest gas production of 14505 ml (651.85 ml CH₄g^?1 VS) followed by CD:LF (50:50) produced 12072.5 ml (789.36 ml CH₄g^?1 VS) and ED:LF (75:25) produced 11252.5 ml (1492.08 ml CH₄g^?1 VS)with a methane content of 63.77, 61.92 and 62.72%, respectively.     

Developments on carbon dioxide reduction: Their promise,achievements, and challenges

CO₂ reduction processes continue to be developed for electrosynthesis, energy storage applications, and environmental remediation. A number of promising materials have shown high activity and selectivity to target reduction products. However, the progress has been mainly at a small laboratory scale, and the technical challenges of large scale CO₂ reduction have not been considered adequately. This review covers recent advancements in catalyst materials and cell designs. The leading materials for CO₂ reduction to a number of useful products are presented with their corresponding cell and reactor designs. The latest efforts to progress to industrially relevant scales are discussed, along with the challenges that must be met for carbon dioxide reduction to be a viable route for mass scale production.     

Unraveling the mystery of efficacy in Chinese medicine formula: New approaches and technologies for research on pharmacodynamic substances

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is the key to unlock treasures of Chinese civilization. TCM and its compound play a beneficial role in medical activities to cure diseases, especially in major public health events such as novel coronavirus epidemics across the globe. The chemical composition in Chinese medicine formula is complex and diverse, but their effective substances resemble “mystery boxes”. Revealing their active ingredients and their mechanisms of action has become focal point and difficulty of research for herbalists. Although the existing research methods are numerous and constantly updated iteratively, there is remain a lack of prospective reviews. Hence, this paper provides a comprehensive account of existing new approaches and technologies based on previous studies with an in vitro to in vivo perspective. In addition, the bottlenecks of studies on Chinese medicine formula effective substances are also revealed. Especially, we look ahead to new perspectives, technologies and applications for its future development. This work reviews based on new perspectives to open horizons for the future research. Consequently, herbal compounding pharmaceutical substances study should carry on the essence of TCM while pursuing innovations in the field.     

Engineering nanostructures of CuO-based photocatalysts for water treatment: Current progress and future challenges

Nowadays, increasing extortions regarding environmental problems and energy scarcity have stuck the development and endurance of human society. The issue of inorganic and organic pollutants that exist in water from agricultural, domestic, and industrial activities has directed the development of advanced technologies to address the challenges of water scarcity efficiently. To solve this major issue, various scientists and researchers are looking for novel and effective technologies that can efficiently remove pollutants from wastewater. Nanoscale metal oxide materials have been proposed due to their distinctive size, physical and chemical properties along with promising applications. Cupric Oxide (CuO) is one of the most commonly used benchmark photocatalysts in photodegradation owing to the fact that they are cost-effective, non-toxic, and more efficient in absorption across a significant fraction of solar spectrum. In this review, we have summarized synthetic strategies of CuO fabrication, modification methods with applications for water treatment purposes. Moreover, an elaborative discussion on feasible strategies includes; binary and ternary heterojunction formation, Z-scheme based photocatalytic system, incorporation of rare earth/transition metal ions as dopants, and carbonaceous materials serving as a support system. The mechanistic insight inferring photo-induced charge separation and transfer, the functional reactive radical species involved in a photocatalytic reaction, have been successfully featured and examined. Finally, a conclusive remark regarding current studies and unresolved challenges related to CuO are put forth for future perspectives.     

Biosynthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using Sargassum horneri extract as catalyst for industrial dye degradation

This study focuses on the green synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles using the marine algae extract, Sargassum horneri, as well as the degradation of organic dyes using biosynthesized nanoparticles as catalysts. The phytochemicals of the brown algae Sargassum horneri acted as reducing and capping agents for nanoparticle synthesis. Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterize the biosynthesized nanoparticles. The green-synthesized SH-AgNPs and SH-AuNPs exhibited high catalytic activity for degradation of organic dyes, such as methylene blue, rhodamine B, and methyl orange. The reduction reactions of dyes are based on pseudo-first-order kinetics.     

Pharmacophore model-aided virtual screening combined with comparative molecular docking and molecular dynamics for identification of marine natural products as SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease inhibitors

Targeting SARS-CoV-2 papain-like protease using inhibitors is a suitable approach for inhibition of virus replication and dysregulation of host anti-viral immunity. Engaging all five binding sites far from the catalytic site of PLpro is essential for developing a potent inhibitor. We developed and validated a structure-based pharmacophore model with 9 features of a potent PLpro inhibitor. The pharmacophore model-aided virtual screening of the comprehensive marine natural product database predicted 66 initial hits. This hit library was downsized by filtration through a molecular weight filter of ≤ 500 g/mol. The 50 resultant hits were screened by comparative molecular docking using AutoDock and AutoDock Vina. Comparative molecular docking enables benchmarking docking and relieves the disparities in the search and scoring functions of docking engines. Both docking engines retrieved 3 same compounds at different positions in the top 1 % rank, hence consensus scoring was applied, through which CMNPD28766, aspergillipeptide F emerged as the best PLpro inhibitor. Aspergillipeptide F topped the 50-hit library with a pharmacophore-fit score of 75.916. Favorable binding interactions were predicted between aspergillipeptide F and PLpro similar to the native ligand XR8-24. Aspergillipeptide F was able to engage all the 5 binding sites including the newly discovered BL2 groove, site V. Molecular dynamics for quantification of Cα-atom movements of PLpro after ligand binding indicated that it exhibits highly correlated domain movements contributing to the low free energy of binding and a stable conformation. Thus, aspergillipeptide F is a promising candidate for pharmaceutical and clinical development as a potent SARS-CoV-2 PLpro inhibitor.     

Electrochemical disinfection – State of the art and tendencies

Electrochemical disinfection has gained increasing interest in many sectors of social and industrial life. The reason is the growing need to disinfect the air, water, and special surfaces of different nature such as drinking water, wastewater, pool water, and other water qualities or surfaces. New research studies are reported and discussed. A stronger orientation on engineering aspects is intended. Following tendencies can be identified - research on complex liquid systems, implementation of risks consideration seen from by-product formation, and better cooperation between researchers and industry oriented to improve cell design and disinfection technology. Partially, reaction kinetics is studied and discussed at higher levels of likelihood. Furthermore, it can be found that more and more research papers deal with hybrid technologies to create novelty, to use synergistic effects and to meet the demands of real system treatment under practical conditions. A major focus can be identified for wastewater treatment/disinfection emphasizing electrocoagulation and electro-photocatalysis.     

Novel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry-based approaches for the determination of glyphosate and related compounds: A review

Although glyphosate (Gly) is one of the most widely used agrochemicals, it is also of the most difficult to measure. Gly, its metabolites, and related compounds cannot be sought within the scope of multi-residue methods. Specific so-called single-residue methods are used instead. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is currently the most widely used technique for determining Gly and its metabolites. This review addresses the different LC-MS-based methods proposed for the determination of Gly and related species in food and environment matrices. Sample preparation (food and environment), as well as their determination based in novel liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry approaches including different specific stationary phases are presented and the specific analytical challenges, strengths and drawbacks are critically discussed.     

Insights into recent advances of chitosan-based adsorbents for sustainable removal of heavy metals and anions

With globally increased human population and industrialization, the natural sources of water are reduced and then contaminated. Therefore, development of advanced technologies for the efficient water treatment is becoming of the scope of each of the nation. One of the cost-effective and well-known technologies for wastewater treatment is adsorption of contaminants by natural biopolymer like chitosan (CS) due to its unique features such as availability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, eco-friendly and low-cost production. However, Cs suffers considerable limitations such as low adsorption capacity, low surface area and limited reusability. Thence, this review intended to provide an overview for recent advances of chitosan-based adsorbents that established better adsorption activities towards various hazard heavy metals, including: As(III), As(V), Cu(II), Cr(VI), Pb(II) and Cd(II) ions. In addition, the capabilities of chitosan-based adsorbents for the adsorptive removal of anions including phosphates and nitrates were discussed. Besides, the suggested adsorption mechanisms of these contaminants onto chitosan-based adsorbents and the research conclusions for the optimum conditions of the adsorption processes were explained in light of the currently reported studies. Furthermore, to emphasize the foremost research gaps and future potential trends that could inspire further researchers to find out the best solutions for water treatment problems.     

Recent progress in TiO2-based photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction: A review

TiO₂ has gained tremendous attention as a cutting-edge material for application in photocatalysis. The performance of TiO₂ as a photocatalyst depends on various parameters including morphology, surface area, and crystallinity. Although TiO₂ has shown good catalytic activity in various catalysis systems, the performance of TiO₂ as a photocatalyst is generally limited due to its low conductivity and a wide optical bandgap. Numerous different studies have been devoted to overcome these problems, showing significant improvement in photocatalytic performance. In this study, we summarize the recent progress in the utilization of TiO₂ for the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Strategies for modulating the properties toward the high photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ for HER including structural engineering, compositional engineering, and doping are highlighted and discussed. The advantages and limitations of each modification approach are reviewed. Finally, the remaining obstacles and perspective for the development of TiO₂ as photocatalysts toward high efficient HER in the near future are also provided.     

Tuning of graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) for photocatalysis: A critical review

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) is a remarkable semiconductor catalyst that has attracted widespread attention as a visible light photo-responsive, metal-free, low-cost photocatalytic material. Pristine g-C₃N₄ suffers fast recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs, low surface area, and insufficient visible light absorption, resulting in low photocatalytic efficiency. This review presents the recent progress, perspectives, and persistent challenges in the development of g-C₃N₄-based photocatalytic materials. Several approaches employed to improve the visible light absorption of the materials including metal and non-metal doping, co-doping, and heterojunction engineering have been extensively discussed. These approaches, in general, were found to decrease the material’s bandgap, increase the surface area, reduce charge carrier recombination, and promote visible light absorption, thereby enhancing the overall photocatalytic performance. The material has been widely used for different applications such as photocatalytic hydrogen production, water splitting, CO₂ conversion, and water purification. The work has also identified various limitations and weaknesses associated with the material that hinders its maximum utilization under visible illumination and presented state-of-the-art solutions that have been reported recently. The summary presented in this review would add an invaluable contribution to photocatalysis research and facilitate the development of efficient visible light-responsive semiconducting materials.     

Recent studies on advance spectroscopic techniques for the identification of microorganisms: A review

The continuous development of resistance to antibiotic drugs by microorganisms causes high mortality and morbidity. Pathogens with distinct features and biochemical abilities make them destructive to human health. Therefore, early identification of the pathogen is of substantial importance for quick ailments and healthcare outcomes. Several phenotype methods are used for the identification and resistance determination but most of the conventional procedures are time-consuming, costly, and give qualitative results. Recently, great focus has been made on the utilization of advanced techniques for microbial identification. This review is focused on the research studies performed in the last five years for the identification of microorganisms particularly, bacteria using advanced spectroscopic techniques including mass spectrometry (MS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy (RS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Among all the techniques, MS techniques, particularly MALDI-TOF/MS have been widely utilized for microbial identification. A total of 44 bacteria i.e., 6 Staphylococcus spp., 3 Enterococcus spp., 6 Bacillus spp., 4 Streptococcus spp., 6 Salmonella spp., and one from each genus including Escherichia, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Clostridioides, Candida, Brucella, Burkholderia, Francisella, Yersinia, Moraxella, Vibrio, Shigella, Serratia, Citrobacter, and Haemophilus (spp.) were discussed in the review for their identification using the above-mentioned techniques. Among all the identified microorganisms, 21% of studies have been conducted for the identification of E. coli, 14% for S. aureus followed by 37% for other microorganisms.     

Plant cell culture technologies: A promising alternatives to produce high-value secondary metabolites

Plants have been used for its medicinal values since ancient time. The medicinal properties of plants are based on their phytochemical constituent particularly secondary metabolites which are produced in low amounts by plants. Secondary metabolites have been used as medicines, flavors, colors, and fragrances. In recent time, these natural compounds are gaining enormous attention in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and nutraceutical industries and are regarded economically valuable products. The production of plant secondary metabolites in plant is largely dependent on the plant species, environmental factors and geographical regions. In addition, the main challenges in their mass production is reported to be the quality and quantity issues during their synthesis. Therefore, enthusiasm has grown for increasing the production of secondary metabolites by employing in vitro plant cell culture technology and bioengineering methods. Such technological advancement, has led to production of a huge number of medicinal herbs and high-value secondary metabolites that are mostly used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and nutraceuticals industries. The current mini-review article focuses on applications of plant cell culture system for the production secondary metabolites and recent techniques used to improve metabolite contents. Furthermore, our review emphasizes safety issues of plant cell culture derived products.     

Recent progress in MXene and graphene based nanocomposites for microwave absorption and electromagnetic interference shielding

There is widespread use of telecommunication and microwave technology in modern society, and raised the electromagnetic interference (EMI) issue to alarming situation due to apprehensive demand and growth of 5G technology undesirably disturbing the human health. The two dimensional (2D) materials including graphene and MXenes are already been used for variety of electronic devices due to their exceptional electrical, mechanical, optical, chemical, and thermal properties. MXene is composed of metal carbides, in which mainly metals are the building blocks for dielectrics, semiconductors, or semimetals. However, the strong interfaces with electromagnetic waves (EM) are variable from terahertz (THz) to gigahertz (GHz) frequency levels and are widely used in EMI and Microwave absorption (MA) for mobile networks and communication technologies. The use of different organic materials with metal, organic, inorganic fillers, polymers nanocomposite and MXene as a novel material has been studied to address the recent advancement and challenges in the microwave absorption mechanism of 2D materials and their nanocomposites. In this concern, various techniques and materials has been reported for the improvement of shielding effectiveness (SE), and theoretical aspects of EMI shielding performance, as well stability of 2D materials particularly MXene, graphene and its nanocomposites. Consequently, various materials including polymers, conducting polymers, and metal–organic frameworks (MOF) have also been discussed by introducing various strategies for improved MA and control of EMI shieling. Here in this comprehensive review, we summarized the recent developments on material synthesis and fabrication of MXene based nanocomposites for EMI shielding and MA. This research work is a comprehensive review majorly focuses on the fundamentals of EMI/MA.  The recent developments and challenges of the MXene and graphene based various structures with different polymeric composites are described in a broader perspective.     

Biological activities from andiroba (Carapa guianensis Aublet.) and its biotechnological applications: A systematic review

Carapa guianensis is a tree from Meliaceae family traditionally known as andiroba that has a wide range of biological properties, including therapeutic effects, antioxidant activities, insecticidal and repellent effects that can be used in biotechnological approaches to medicine, agriculture, and cosmetic products. Therefore, we aim to explore the biological activities exhibited by this species and their respective biotechnological applications of interest. For this, a systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA guidelines dated from 1993 to 2022 through the Scopus, Web of Science and Agricultural Research Database (Base de Dados da Pesquisa Agropecuária - BDPA), screened for biological activity/bioactive compounds. A total of 129 studies were included in the PRISMA flow analysis. Biological properties and major bioactive compounds, as well as biotechnological approaches could be identified. The biological activity from C. guianensis could be observed in different vegetative parts through diverse methods of extractions. These activities are mainly due to the unsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds, such as the limonoids and a small fraction of phenolic compounds. Gedunin-type limonoids, like gedunin and its derivatives, represent the class of compounds that show the highest bioactivities in different applications.