Development of Antibacterial,Degradable and pH-Responsive Chitosan/Guar Gum/Polyvinyl Alcohol Blended Hydrogels for Wound Dressing

The present research is based on the fabrication preparation of CS/PVA/GG blended hydrogel with nontoxic tetra orthosilicate (TEOS) for sustained paracetamol release. Different TEOS percentages were used because of their nontoxic behavior to study newly designed hydrogels’ crosslinking and physicochemical properties. These hydrogels were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and wetting to determine the functional, surface morphology, hydrophilic, or hydrophobic properties. The swelling analysis in different media, degradation in PBS, and drug release kinetics were conducted to observe their response against corresponding media. The FTIR analysis confirmed the components added and crosslinking between them, and surface morphology confirmed different surface and wetting behavior due to different crosslinking. In various solvents, including water, buffer, and electrolyte solutions, the swelling behaviour of hydrogel was investigated and observed that TEOS amount caused less hydrogel swelling. In acidic pH, hydrogels swell the most, while they swell the least at pH 7 or higher. These hydrogels are pH-sensitive and appropriate for controlled drug release. These hydrogels demonstrated that, as the ionic concentration was increased, swelling decreased due to decreased osmotic pressure in various electrolyte solutions. The antimicrobial analysis revealed that these hydrogels are highly antibacterial against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) and Gram negative (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli) bacterial strains. The drug release mechanism was 98% in phosphate buffer saline (PBS) media at pH 7.4 in 140 min. To analyze drug release behaviour, the drug release kinetics was assessed against different mathematical models (such as zero and first order, Higuchi, Baker–Lonsdale, Hixson, and Peppas). It was found that hydrogel (CPG2) follows the Peppas model with the highest value of regression (R² = 0.98509). Hence, from the results, these hydrogels could be a potential biomaterial for wound dressing in biomedical applications.     

Influence of gamma radiation on the absorption spectra and optical energy gap of Li‐ doped ZnO thin films

We have studied the effect of subsequent gamma (γ) irradiation on the absorption spectra and the optical energy gap of ZnO thin films doped with Li (ZnO:Li). The optical transmission (T) and optical reflection (R) in the wavelength range 190∼800 nm of films deposited at 300 °C on sapphire, MgO or quartz substrates were measured. The dependence of the absorption coefficient α on photon energy hν was determined as a function of γ‐doses. The films show direct allowed interband transition that influenced by the gamma doses. Both the optical energy gap E^opt_g and the absorption coefficient (α) were found to be γ‐dose dependent. The results can be discussed on the basis of γ‐irradiation‐induced defects in the film and on the film structure. The absorption coefficient exhibits exponential dependence on photon energy obeying Urbach's rule in the absorption edge. (© 2004 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Study of Antibacterial and Anticancer Properties of bioAgNPs Synthesized Using Streptomyces sp. PBD-311B and the Application of bioAgNP-CNC/Alg as an Antibacterial Hydrogel Film against P. aeruginosa USM-AR2 and MRSA

Here, we report the extracellular biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and determination of their antibacterial and anticancer properties. We also explore the efficacy of bioAgNPs incorporated in cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and alginate (Alg) for the formation of an antibacterial hydrogel film. Streptomyces sp. PBD-311B was used for the biosynthesis of AgNPs. The synthesized bioAgNPs were characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM, XRD, and FTIR analysis. Then, the bioAgNPs’ antibacterial and anticancer properties were determined using TEMA and cytotoxicity analysis. To form the antibacterial hydrogel film, bioAgNPs were mixed with a CNC and Alg solution and further characterized using FTIR analysis and a disc diffusion test. The average size of the synthesized bioAgNPs is around 69 ± 2 nm with a spherical shape. XRD analysis confirmed the formation of silver nanocrystals. FTIR analysis showed the presence of protein capping at the bioAgNP surface and could be attributed to the extracellular protein binding to bioAgNPs. The MIC value of bioAgNPs against P. aeruginosa USM-AR2 and MRSA was 6.25 mg/mL and 3.13 mg/mL, respectively. In addition, the bioAgNPs displayed cytotoxicity effects against cancer cells (DBTRG-0.5MG and MCF-7) and showed minimal effects against normal cells (SVG-p12 and MCF-10A), conferring selective toxicity. Interestingly, the bioAgNPs still exhibited inhibition activity when incorporated into CNC/Alg, which implies that the hydrogel film has antibacterial properties. It was also found that bioAgNP-CNC/Alg displayed a minimal or slow release of bioAgNPs owing to the intermolecular interaction and the hydrogel’s properties. Overall, bioAgNP-CNC/Alg is a promising antibacterial hydrogel film that showed inhibition against the pathogenic bacteria P. aeruginosa and MRSA and its application can be further evaluated for the inhibition of cancer cells. It showed benefits for surgical resection of a tumor to avoid post-operative wound infection and tumor recurrence at the surgical site.     

MHD Stagnation Point on Nanofluid Flow and Heat Transfer of Carbon Nanotube over a Shrinking Surface with Heat Sink Effect

This study is to investigate the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stagnation point flow and heat transfer characteristic nanofluid of carbon nanotube (CNTs) over the shrinking surface with heat sink effects. Similarity equations deduced from momentum and energy equation of partial differential equations are solved numerically. This study looks at the different parameters of the flow and heat transfer using first phase model which is Tiwari-Das. The parameter discussed were volume fraction nanoparticle, magnetic parameter, heat sink/source parameters, and a different type of nanofluid and based fluids. Present results revealed that the rate of nanofluid (SWCNT/kerosene) in terms of flow and heat transfer is better than (MWCNT/kerosene) and (CNT/water) and regular fluid (water). Graphically, the variation results of dual solution exist for shrinking parameter in range λc<λ≤−1 for different values of volume fraction nanoparticle, magnetic, heat sink parameters, and a different type of nanofluid. However, a unique solution exists at −1<λ<1, and no solutions exist at λ<λc which is a critical value. In addition, the local Nusselt number decreases with increasing volume fraction nanoparticle when there exists a heat sink effect. The values of the skin friction coefficient and local Nusselt number increase for both solutions with the increase in magnetic parameter. In this study, the investigation on the flow and heat transfer of MHD stagnation point nanofluid through a shrinking surface with heat sink effect shows how important the application to industrial applications.     

Scale-up and Sustainability Evaluation of Biopolymer Production from Citrus Waste Offering Carbon Capture and Utilisation Pathway

Poly(limonene carbonate) (PLC) has been highlighted as an attractive substitute to petroleum derived plastics, due to its utilisation of CO₂ and bio-based limonene as feedstocks, offering an effective carbon capture and utilisation pathway. Our study investigates the techno-economic viability and environmental sustainability of a novel process to produce PLC from citrus waste derived limonene, coupled with an anaerobic digestion process to enable energy cogeneration and waste recovery maximisation. Computational process design was integrated with a life cycle assessment to identify the sustainability improvement opportunities. PLC production was found to be economically viable, assuming sufficient citrus waste is supplied to the process, and environmentally preferable to polystyrene (PS) in various impact categories including climate change. However, it exhibited greater environmental burdens than PS across other impact categories, although the environmental performance could be improved with a waste recovery system, at the cost of a process design shift towards energy generation. Finally, our study quantified the potential contribution of PLC to mitigating the escape of atmospheric CO₂ concentration from the planetary boundary. We emphasise the importance of a holistic approach to process design and highlight the potential impacts of biopolymers, which is instrumental in solving environmental problems facing the plastic industry and building a sustainable circular economy.     

Synthesized AI LMI-based Criterion for Mechanical Systems

This paper proposes a novel artificial intelligence sythethized controller in the mechanical system which has high speed computation because of the LMI type criterion. The proposed membership functions are adopted and stabilization criterion of the closed-loop T-S fuzzy systems are obtained through a new parametrized LMI (linear matrix) inequality which is rearranged by machine learning membership functions.     

Synthesis and characterization of silver-polypyrrole film composite

In this work, we report the chemical polymerization of pyrrole to obtain thin film of polypyrrole (PPy) hydrochloride deposited onto the electrode of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM). The film in the base form was exposed to a solution of AgNO₃. Electroless reduction for silver ions by the PPy film took place and silver particles were adsorbed onto the film surface. The silver particles content at the PPy films were analyzed by QCM and the results showed that the concentrations of silver uptakes increase as the original AgNO₃ solution increases. The morphology of the surface of the PPy film and the silver-PPy film composite were studied by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). They showed that the obtained silver particles have spherical, cubic and tetrahedral structures. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to characterize the structure of the powder composite. This work reveals the capability of PPy film coating on QCM in sensing and removing silver from several environmental samples.     

Rapid and sensitive gas chromatography–ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines in secondhand smoke

Tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) are some of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco and cigarette smoke. Accurate quantification of these chemicals is needed to help assess public health risks. We developed and validated a specific and sensitive method to measure four TSNAs adsorbed to model surfaces and secondhand smoke (SHS) particles using gas chromatography–ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry. In an 18-m³ room-sized chamber, a smoking machine generated realistic concentrations of SHS that were actively sampled on Teflon-coated fiber glass (TCFG) filters, and passively sampled on cellulose substrates. A simple solid–liquid extraction protocol using methanol as solvent was successfully applied to both substrates with recoveries ranging from 85 to 115%. For each TSNA, tandem MS parameters were optimized and the major fragmentation pathways were elucidated. The method showed excellent performance, with a linear dynamic range from 2 to 1000 ng mL⁻¹, low detection limits (S/N > 3) of 30–300 pg mL⁻¹ and precision with experimental errors below 10% for all compounds. Moreover, no interfering peaks were observed, indicating a high selectivity of MS/MS without the need for a sample clean-up step. This method provides a suitable analytical tool to detect and quantify traces of TSNA in indoor environments polluted with SHS.     

Robust stability analysis of static neural network with S-type distributed delays

In this paper, we investigate local robust stability of static neural network (SNN) with S-type distributed delays. We derive some new sufficient conditions for local robust stability of equilibrium points and estimate attracting domains of equilibrium points except isolated equilibrium points. Our results not only show local robust stability of equilibrium points but also allow much broader application for static neural network with or without delays. It is shown that our results are new and improve corresponding results existing in the previous literature.     

Stability of singularly perturbed switched systems with time delay and impulsive effects

This paper studies the stability properties of singularly perturbed switched systems with time delay and impulsive effects. Such systems are assumed to consist of both unstable and stable subsystems. By using the multiple Lyapunov functions technique and the dwell time approach, some stability criteria are established. Our results show that impulses do contribute in order to obtain stability properties even when the system consists of only unstable subsystems. Numerical examples are presented to verify our theoretical results.