Green Synthesis of ZnO Nanoparticles Using Plant Extract as a Template

Plant-based nanoparticles (NPs) have found great interest among various scientist in the present era and used in various sector including medicine, agriculture, and food industry. The various chemical constituents of plants aid in the bioreduction of metal ions to a nanoscale. Among the various NPs synthesized, zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs hold a premier position. ZnO NPs have use in textile, cosmetic, diagnostics, optoelectronics, photocatalysis, diodes, and many other areas. NPs synthesized through green synthesis have a potentially greater role in treating clinical pathogens. Present investigations show a simple eco-friendly method for the synthesis of ZnO NPs from the husk of sunflower seeds. Sunflower is an economically important crop, for the formation of edible oil. The husk is considered to be a waste, product in oil industry, however, the biomolecules present in sunflower husk can be used to produce ZnO NPs. Present investigations reveal formation of ZnO NPs and investigations of their structure through scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Their optical properties have been studied by ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometer (UV–Vis) and fluorophotometer. ZnO NPs have also been investigated for their potential phytoremedial properties.     

High frequency titrations involving chelation with ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid : Chelation studies

High frequency titrimetry is shown to be a versatile tool for studying complexation reactions. The formation, qualitative aspect of relative stabilities, and the chemical composition of various chelates of ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid have been investigated by means of various high frequency techniques. The results obtained are in good agreement with results obtained by application of various other approaches.     

A comparison of isoconversional and model-fitting approaches to kinetic parameter estimation and application predictions

A variety of isoconversional and model fitting approaches, all of which use multiple heating schedules, are used to analyze selected data from the ICTAC kinetics and lifetime projects as well as additional simulated data sets created for this work. The objective is to compare the accuracy and suitability of various approaches for various types of chemical reactions. The various simulated data sets show that model fitting and isoconversional methods have comparable reliability for extrapolation outside the range of calibration. First, there is as much variability in prediction for various isoconversional methods as there is between isoconversional methods as a group and different plausible explicit models. Of the three isoconversional models investigated, the Friedman method is usually the most accurate. This is particularly true for energetic materials that have a drop in apparent activation energy in the latter stages of reaction, which leads to a delayed onset of rapid autocatalysis at lower temperatures. It is difficult to determine a priori whether isoconversional or model fitting approaches will give more accurate predictions. The greatest reliability is attained by using both the isoconversional and model fitting approaches on a combination of isothermal and constant heating rate data.     

Complicity of degradable polymers in health-care applications

Polymeric biomaterials have revolutionized biomedical technology and related fields as biomaterials for health-care applications. Recent trend in polymeric medical technology has adapted a tendency to substitute degradable polymers instead of non-degradable synthetic polymers for the advancement of various health-care modalities. They have got considerable attention for their potential in various interdisciplinary arenas, which implies tissue engineering scaffolds, sustainable drug release, delivery agents, regenerative medicine, and development of life-saving devices, implants, dental products as well as in food technology. Various types of degradable polymers are been developed to date having stringent features applicable for various aspects in modern science. Thus, being the most renovative field of biomedicine and biomedical technology degradable polymers has gained substantial acceptance and appreciation recent times. This review critically underlines various degradative polymers and their subtypes, potential applications, types of degradation, and their possible effects in the biological system. Assessment of possible toxicological risks behind is an important criterion to be focused before validating any biomaterial safe for biomedical applications. Therefore various toxicological assessment strategies and their impact in biomedicine and technology were also included. In addition, the risk versus benefit assessment is also critically summarized.     

Regeneration of atp by immobilized microbial cells and its utilization for the synthesis of ATP and CDP-Choline

A number of fermentative methods for the production of various important nucleotides from their precursors have been developed in Japan, and some of these nucleotides have been industrially produced for more than a decade. For the production of these nucleotides, required ATP is usually supplied to the fermentation media either exogenously or by the naturally occurring ATP regenerating system involved in microbial cells. In this paper, the authors describe an attempt to immobilize ATP-regenerating microbial cells and then utilize such immobilized cells for the continuous production of various nucleotides.     

On the acid decomposition of human blood and plasma for the determination of selenium

A systematic investigation has been made of various methods for decomposition of blood and plasma for determination of selenium, and various sources of error have been identified. The method recommended is graded destruction by heating with nitric acid and perchloric acid, to a final temperature of 210 degrees .     

Prediction of peptides retention behavior in reversed-phase liquid chromatography based on their hydrophobicity

Hydrophobicity is an important physicochemical property of peptides and proteins. It is responsible for their conformational changes, stability, as well as various chemical intramolecular and intermolecular interactions. Enormous efforts have been invested to study the extent of hydrophobicity and how it could influence various biological processes, in addition to its crucial role in the separation and purification endeavor as well. Here, we have reviewed various studies that were carried out to determine the hydrophobicity starting from (i) simple amino acids solubility behavior, (ii) experimental approach that was undertaken in the reversed-phase liquid chromatography mode, and ending with (iii) some examples of more advanced computational and machine learning models.     

Short-cut structural design of reverse osmosis desalination plants

A design method for reverse osmosis desalination plants has been developed. It incorporates rigorous mathematical models for the prediction of the performance of various process units (reverse osmosis modules, pumps, energy recovery turbines) employed in the flowsheet and taken into account the network structure using an appropriate superstructure, which represents various reverse osmosis networks. Cost equations relating the capital and operating cost to the design variables, as well as the structural variables of the designed network have been introduced in the objective function. The total cost of the plant is minimized in order to determine the optimal operating and structural variables. The model is accurate enough to describe the process and yet simple enough to be used for design purposes. During the simulation and optimization studies, several structures for multistage reverse osmosis systems have been found. Results concerning the economics of the process are presented. Optimal results have also been used for the derivation of design curves concerning the effect of quality and quantity of produced water to the total annualized cost of the plant for various types of membrane modules.     

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) for electrochemical sensing

The past, present, and future of the application of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in electroanalytical chemistry is reviewed. SAMs for electroanalytical applications have been introduced in the early 1990s and since then have been exploited for the detection of different species ranging from metal ions to biomolecules and microorganisms. This review describes the different types of monolayers, surfaces on which they have been assembled, the various analytes, which were determined, and the various electrochemical techniques employed. The prospective and perspectives of this topic are discussed.     

Investigation of various synthetic protocols for self-assembled nanomaterials and their role in catalysis: progress and perspectives

Self-assembly is one of the most used strategies in the controlled synthesis and design of well-organized nanomaterials for various applications in diverse realms namely catalysis, sensors, microelectronics, energy storage, and energy conversion. It is quite common to see reports on the synthesis and design of several self-assembled nanomaterials for the application in the catalysis of various chemical, photochemical, and electrochemical reactions and processes. Nevertheless, a combined overview on the synthetic strategies for self-assembled nanomaterials has not been reported in any form in literature. Owing to the current interest shown and the future significance on the self-assembled nanomaterials, it is highly essential to have such an elaborated review on the progress and perspectives of synthesis of self-assembled nanomaterials and their subsequent application to catalysis of various chemical, photochemical, and electrochemical reactions and processes. In this review, we have highlighted various synthetic methodologies used so far for fabricating the self-assembled nanomaterials that includes Langmuir–Blodgett method, layer-by-layer assembly, amphiphilic (artificial and bio) self-assembly, and template-free approach. Nanomaterials derived from the above mentioned methods in various catalysis reactions are also highlighted in detail with an emphasis on confronts and prospects in the field of materials self-assembling and its concomitant application to catalysis.     

The Microbiome and Its Implications in Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer is responsible for ~18 million deaths globally each year, representing a major cause of death. Several types of therapy strategies such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy and more recently immunotherapy, have been implemented in treating various types of cancer. Microbes have recently been found to be both directly and indirectly involved in cancer progression and regulation, and studies have provided novel and clear insights into the microbiome-mediated emergence of cancers. Scientists around the globe are striving hard to identify and characterize these microbes and the underlying mechanisms by which they promote or suppress various kinds of cancer. Microbes may influence immunotherapy by blocking various cell cycle checkpoints and the production of certain metabolites. Hence, there is an urgent need to better understand the role of these microbes in the promotion and suppression of cancer. The identification of microbes may help in the development of future diagnostic tools to cure cancers possibly associated with the microbiome. This review mainly focuses on various microbes and their association with different types of cancer, responses to immunotherapeutic modulation, physiological responses, and prebiotic and postbiotic effects.     

Macrophage-targeted nanomedicine for chronic diseases immunotherapy

Macrophage is the key innate immune effector in first-line defense against the pathogens, and can be polarized into different phenotypes to regulate a variety of immunological functions. However, the plasticity of macrophage is extraordinarily recruited, activated, and polarized under pathological conditions,playing paramount roles in occurrence, development, and prognosis of various chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis(RA), atherosclerosis(AS), and cancer. To this end, macrophage has ...     

Medicinal properties of alpha-santalol,a naturally occurring constituent of sandalwood oil: review

Alpha-santalol is a naturally occurring sesquiterpene that is derived from sandalwood oil. Its wide range of health benefits have been attributed to the modulation of various signalling pathways involved in the development of a particular disease. For example, the antitumour and cancer preventive properties of alpha-santalol have been shown to involve cell death induction through apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in various cancer models. A marked decrease in inflammatory markers have also been shown with alpha-santalol administration in skin tissue models. The current review is aimed at bringing the most recent advances of alpha-santalol against various disease-specific models and highlighting its associated mechanistic details.     

Biosensors and biochips: advances in biological and medical diagnostics

In the past two decades, the biological and medical fields have seen great advances in the development of biosensors and biochips capable of characterizing and quantifying biomolecules. This review is meant to provide an overview of the various types of biosensors and biochips that have been developed for biological and medical applications, along with significant advances over the last several years in these technologies. It also attempts to describe various classification schemes that can be used for categorizing the different biosensors and provide relevant examples of these classification schemes from recent literature.     

Detection and determination of antimalarial drugs and their metabolites in body fluids

This review of methods for determining antimalarial drugs in biological fluids has focused on the various analytical techniques for the assay of chloroquine, quinine, amodiaquine, mefloquine, proguanil, pyrimethamine, sulphadoxine, primaquine and some of their metabolites. The methods for determining antimalarials and their metabolites in biological samples have changed rapidly during the last eight to ten years with the increased use of chromatographic techniques. Chloroquine is still the most used antimalarial drug, and various methods of different complexity exist for the determination of chloroquine and its metabolites in biological fluids. The pharmacokinetics of chloroquine and other antimalarials have been updated using these new methods. The various analytical techniques have been discussed, from simple colorimetric methods of intermediate selectivity and sensitivity to highly sophisticated, selective and sensitive chromatographic methods applied in a modern analytical laboratory. Knowledge concerning the method for a particular study is determined by the type of application and the facilities, equipment and personnel available. Often is it useful to apply various methods when conducting a clinical study in malaria-endemic areas. Field-adapted methods for the analysis of urine samples can be applied at the study site for screening, and corresponding blood samples can be preserved for subsequent analysis in the laboratory. Selecting samples for laboratory analysis is based on clinical, parasitological and field-assay data. The wide array of methods available for chloroquine permit carefully tailored approaches to acquire the necessary analytical information in clinical field studies concerning the use of this drug. The development of additional field-adapted and field-interfaced methods for other commonly used antimalarials will provide similar flexibility in field studies of these drugs.     

Photoinduced Electron Transfer of Porphyrin Isomers: Impact of Molecular Structures on Electron‐Transfer Dynamics

Porphyrins have been investigated for a long time in various fields of chemistry owing to their excellent redox and optical properties. Structural isomers of porphyrins have been synthesized, namely, porphycene, hemiporphycene, and corrphycene. Although the number of studies on these structural isomers is limited, they exhibit interesting properties suitable for various applications such as photovoltaic devices, photocatalysts, and photodynamic therapy. In the present review, we summarized their photoinduced electron‐transfer processes, which are key steps of various photofunctions. Their electrochemical and photophysical properties are summarized as basic properties for the electron transfer. Furthermore, differences among these isomers in the electron‐transfer processes are clarified, and its origin has been discussed on the basis of their molecular structures.     

Screen-printed voltammetric sensor for TNT

Screen-printed carbon electrodes have been developed as disposable voltammetric sensors for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT). Thick-film electrodes based on various conventional and modified inks have been compared for this task. The operation is based on placing the selected thick-film carbon sensor in the non-deaerated/quiescent sample and using a fast (<1 s) and sensitive square-wave voltammetric scan. Different experimental variables have been optimized to yield a detection limit of 200 ppb TNT and a wide linear range. The high selectivity, demonstrated in assays of various untreated environmental samples, is attributed to the facts that the reducible nitro group is rare in nature and that most electroactive organic compounds require higher potentials. The new single-use sensor strips should facilitate the on-site environmental screening of TNT.     

Dye and its removal from aqueous solution by adsorption: A review

In this review article the authors presented up to-date development on the application of adsorption in the removal of dyes from aqueous solution. This review article provides extensive literature information about dyes, its classification and toxicity, various treatment methods, and dye adsorption characteristics by various adsorbents. One of the objectives of this review article is to organise the scattered available information on various aspects on a wide range of potentially effective adsorbents in the removal of dyes. Therefore, an extensive list of various adsorbents such as natural materials, waste materials from industry, agricultural by-products, and biomass based activated carbon in the removal of various dyes has been compiled here. Dye bearing waste treatment by adsorption using low cost alternative adsorbent is a demanding area as it has double benefits i.e. water treatment and waste management. Further, activated carbon from biomass has the advantage of offering an effected low cost replacement for non-renewable coal based granular activated carbon provided that they have similar or better adsorption on efficiency. The effectiveness of various adsorbents under different physico-chemical process parameters and their comparative adsorption capacity towards dye adsorption has also been presented. This review paper also includes the affective adsorption factors of dye such as solution pH, initial dye concentration, adsorbent dosage, and temperature. The applicability of various adsorption kinetic models and isotherm models for dye removal by wide range of adsorbents is also reported here. Conclusions have been drawn from the literature reviewed and few suggestions for future research are proposed.     

FUNCTIONAL POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES SYNTHESIZED BY MICROORGANISMS*

Many bacteria have been found to synthesize a family of polyesters termed polyhydroxyalkanoate, abbreviated asPHA. Some interesting physical properties of PHAs such as piezoelectricity, non-linear optical activity, biocompatibility andbiodegradability offer promising applications in areas such as degradable packaging, tissue engineering and drag delivery.Over 90 PHAs with various structure variations have been reported and the number is still increasing. The mechanicalproperty of PHAs changes from brittle to flexible to elastic, depending on the side-chainlength of PHA. Many attempts havebeen made to produce PHAs as biodegradable plastics using various microorganisms obtained from screening naturalenvironments, genetic engineering and mutation. Due to the high production cost, PHAs still can not compete with the non-degradable plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene. Various processes have been developed using low cost rawmaterials for fermentation and an inorganic extraction process tbr PHA purification. However, a super PHA production strainmay play the most critical role for any large-scale PHA production. Our recent study showed that PHA synthesis is acommon phenomenon among bacteria inhabiting various locations, especially oil-contaminated soils. This is very importantfor finding a suitable bacterial strain for PHA production. In fact, PHA production strains capable of rapid growth and rapidPHA synthesis on cheap molasses substrate have been found on molasses contaminated soils. A combination of novelproperties and lower cost will allow easier commercialization of PHA for many applications.     

Biosensors and biochips: advances in biological and medical diagnostics

In the past two decades, the biological and medical fields have seen great advances in the development of biosensors and biochips capable of characterizing and quantifying biomolecules. This review is meant to provide an overview of the various types of biosensors and biochips that have been developed for biological and medical applications, along with significant advances over the last several years in these technologies. It also attempts to describe various classification schemes that can be used for categorizing the different biosensors and provide relevant examples of these classification schemes from recent literature.