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Since the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule)of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). First, cell cytotoxicity of Renessans on the Vero cells was determined using MTT assay. Afterwards, the antiviral activity of Renessans was determined using viral inhibition assays and TCID50. For this, nontoxic concentrations of the Renessans were used. The results showed that Renessans is nontoxic to the cells up to 50 µg/mL. At 1.5 µg/mL concentration, SARS-CoV-2 production was significantly reduced to 101.43 TCID50 and 101.58 TCID50 for the syrup and capsule, respectively, as compare to virus infected control cells 106.08 TCID50 and we found the dose dependent inhibition of virus replication in the presence of Renessans. Renessans inhibited SARS-CoV-2 with an EC50 value of 0.425 µg/mL and 0.505 µg/mL for syrup and capsule, respectively. Furthermore, there was no virus detected at concentration of 50 µg/mL of Renessans. This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

In this study, polyamide-6/chitosan blend dense membranes were prepared using solution casting technique. The membranes were then characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, TGA, SEM analysis and tensile testing. FTIR analysis confirmed hydrogen bonding between chitosan and polyamide. TGA analysis proved that all the membranes maintained thermal stability up to 370 °C. SEM analysis exhibited compact and dense structure of the membranes. The tensile properties of the membranes improved with the addition of hydrophilic chitosan. The membranes were then characterized for desalination properties using 2000 ppm NaCl solution by state-of-the-art dead-end membrane desalination equipment at 20 bar operating pressure. The effect of membrane thickness was then studied, and the best thickness of the membrane was determined for optimum water flux and salt rejection. The effect of chitosan concentration was also studied, and the best concentration was determined for optimum desalination properties. It has been found that the membrane having 200 micron thickness and 3 wt.% chitosan demonstrated optimum desalination properties that is 75% salt rejection and water flux of 1.52 kg/h.m2. It has been found that maximum salt rejection was achieved with 2 wt.% chitosan blend membrane and maximum permeate flux was achieved with 4 wt.% chitosan blend membrane.

Current study reports the adsorption of acephate (organo-phosphorus pesticide) onto modified adsorbent and its electrochemical regeneration under various electrochemical conditions including curren...

Antibacterial products have paid much more attraction all over global world. In this study, a novel and economical rout has been studied for antibacterial product, ultrafine nylon-6 (NY-6 NFS) nanofibers impregnated into garlic sour was synthesized by electrospinning method. The morphology of impregnated nanofiber mats was characterized by electron microscopy (SEM). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to analyze the chemical interaction of Nylon-6 nanofiber mats and garlic sour. The antibacterial activities of impregnated garlic sour samples G-1, G-2 and G-3 were evaluated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria by using disc diffusion method. It was found that the garlic sour has played a vital role for antibacterial activity. The nanofiber mats impregnated into garlic sour showed excellent antibacterial activity. It was observed that the antimicrobial effect for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was more than 99 %. The excellent hydrophobic property which revealed water contact angle was examined with dropping method and TGA were examined excellent thermal degradation rate of NY-6 NFS and impregnated garlic sour samples. NY-6 NFS showed good mechanical strength according to ASTM D-638 standard. The obtained results indicate that the NY-6 NFS impregnated in garlic sour is a promising antibacterial product that can be utilized as antibacterial wound dressing.

The use of organic solvents for the preparation of nanofibers are challenged due to their volatile and hazardous behavior. Recently deep eutectic solvents (DES) are widely recognized as non-volatile and non-hazardous solvents which never been utilized directly for nanofabrication via electrospinning. Here, we present the preparation of Zein nanofibers using deep eutectic solvents (DES-Zein). The DES-Zein nanofibers were produced at an optimized polymer concentration of 45% (w/w) with pH 7.3 and electroconductivity 233 mS cm−1. DES-Zein nanofibers showed aligned to tweed like cedar leaf morphology tuned by varying the spreading angle from 0° to 90°. In contrast to hydrophobic conventional Zein nanofibers, DES-Zein nanofibers showed super hydrophilic character and about 200 nm finer average diameter. The proposed method of preparing Zein nanofibers using DES opens a new door to continuous electrospinning with tunable morphology, having potential to be used for environmental and biomedical applications.

Side effects of the drugs’ oral administration led us to examine the possibility of using diclofenac sodium (DLF) in a polymeric drug delivery system based on electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, which can be produced cost-effectively and with good applicability for transdermal treatments. The inclusion of DLF in PAN nanofibers increased the nanofiber diameter from ~200 nm to ~500 nm. This increase can be attributed to the increase in the spinning solution viscosity. FTIR spectra confirm the entrapment of the DLF into the PAN nanofibers. X-ray diffraction pattern showed that the inclusion of the DLF in the PAN nanofibers had caused the misalignment in the polymeric chains of the PAN, thus resulting in a decrease of the peak intensity at 2θ = 17o. The DLF loaded PAN nanofibers were efficient against the gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and gram-negative Escherichia coli (E.coli), with maximum inhibition zone of 16 ± 0.46 mm for E.coli and 15.5 ± 0.28 mm for S. aureus. Good cell viability ~95% for L929 cells in more extended incubation periods was reported. A gradual release of DLF from the PAN nanofiber was observed and can be attributed to the stability of Pan in PBS medium. Cell adhesion micrographs show that cell-cell interaction is stronger than the cell-material interaction. This type of weak cell interaction with the wound dressing is particularly advantageous, as this will not disturb the wound surface during the nursing of the wound.

Water, one of the most priceless sources of life, is becoming dangerously threatened and contaminated due to population growth, industrial development, and climatic variations. The drainage of industrial, farming, and municipal sewage into drinking water sources pollutes the water. The textile processing industry is one of the major consumers of water. Herein, the idea of water-free dyeing of electrospun poly (1, 4-cyclohexane dimethylene isosorbide terephthalate) PICT nanofibers is proposed. For this, two different deep eutectic solvents (DE solvents) were introduced as an alternative to water for the dyeing of PICT nanofibers in order to develop a water-free dyeing medium. For this, C.I. disperse red 167 was used as a model dye to improve the aesthetic properties of PICT nanofibers. PICT nanofibers were dyed by conventional batch dyeing and ultrasonic dyeing methods to investigate the effect of the dyeing technique on color buildup characteristics. Dyeing conditions such as dyeing time, temperature and, dye-concentration were optimized. Morphological and chemical characterization observations revealed a smooth morphology of dyed and undyed PICT nanofibers. The ultrasonically dyed nanofibers showed higher color strength and increased tensile strength compared to conventionally dyed nanofibers. Further, the consumption of electrical and thermal energy was also calculated for both processes. The results confirmed that the ultrasonic dyeing method can save 58% on electrical energy and 25% on thermal energy as compared to conventional dyeing.

Since the emergence of CoVID-19 pandemic in China in late 2019, scientists are striving hard to explore non-toxic, viable anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds or medicines. We determined In Vitro anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of oral formulations (syrup and capsule) of an Iodine-complex (Renessans). A monolayer of vero cells were exposed to SARS-CoV-2 in the presence and absence of different concentrations (equivalent to 50, 05 and 0.5 μg/ml of I2) of Renessans. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity of each of the formulation was assessed in the form of cell survival, SARS-CoV-2-specific cytopathic effect (CPE) and genome quantization. With varying concentrations of syrup and capsule, a varying rate of inhibition of CPE, cells survival and virus replication was observed. Compared to 0.5 μg/ml concentration of Renessans syrup, 5 and 50 μg/ml showed comparable results where there was a 100% cell survival, no CPEs and a negligible viral replication (ΔCT= 0.11 and 0.13, respectively). This study indicates that Renessans, containing iodine, may have potential activity against SARS-CoV-2 which needs to be further investigated in human clinical trials.

In this work, cellulose acetate (CA) based thin film nanocomposite reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were fabricated using dissolution casting method by optimizing the CA/polyethylene glycol (CA/PEG-400) ratios for improved RO performance. The selectivity of optimized membrane was further enhanced by incorporating TiO2 (0–25 wt.%) nanoparticles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to characterize control and modified membranes for the analysis of functional groups, thermal properties, morphology and structural investigation respectively. CP-2 of CA/PEG-400 (80/20) was selected for further modification with TiO2 nanoparticles. The maximum salt rejection (95.4%) was observed for the membrane having 15% TiO2 nanoparticles. Further escalation of TiO2 concentration resulted in the agglomeration of nanoparticles which subsequently decreased the permeation flux. The test results demonstrated that the modified membranes had higher salt rejection and chlorine resistance, lower degradation profile, successful inhibition of Escherichia coli growth and facilitating permeation flux compared to the control membrane.

Desalination method is regarded as a sustainable method to address the severe water scarcity issue from seawater or wastewater. For that purpose, several methods have been used amongst them, radaition can be employed for the modification and the advancement of material properties. Electron beam irradiation has tremendous applicability to modify structure of carbon nanofibers, in order to form suitable defects in the graphitic structure and production of reactive sites. In this work, a series of novel cellulose acetate (CA) membranes were prepared via blending with different concentration of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and irradiated grafted vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNF) with the aim to remove MgSO4 from sea water. The morphology and topography of the VGCNF membranes were observed using SEM and AFM, respectively, which indicated the improved membrane structure, dispersity and surface roughness in the polymer matrix. The experimental data demonstrated that VGCNF grafted membranes have improved permeation flux (48 L/m2 h) and salt rejection (98% MgSO4) compared to the control membrane. More importantly, the thermal stability by TGA revealed that VGCNF4 showed enhanced stability compared to the control membrane. As a result, this study could provide great potential for the removal of salts from sea water.

Novel thin film poly(vinyl alcohol)/chitosan (PVA/CS) based reverse osmosis membranes infused with silane crosslinked tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) were prepared by dissolution casting methodology. The performance characteristics and the scope of the reverse osmosis membranes were explicated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA), differential scanning calorimetery (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and reverse osmosis (RO) permeation tests which determined the functional groups and network of covalent crosslinks, thermal properties, morphology, hydrophilicity, structural investigation and RO properties, respectively. It was found that the membrane surface became smoother, more hydrophilic, with improved thermal stability, increased salt rejection and good permeation flux after the appropriate infusion of TEOS. The crosslinked membranes showed more hydrophilicity compared to the uncrosslinked PVCS membrane. The SEM micrographs of membranes revealed dense structure with no mottled surfaces. PVCS-4 showed an optimal flux of 1.84 L/m 2 h and 80% salt rejection that confirmed the selective interaction of TEOS molecules with PVA/CS polymer backbone compared to the pristine (PVCS) membrane. The antibacterial properties of the membranes showed the inhibition of the growth of Escherichia coli successfully.

The removal of toxic heavy metals with nano fibers from the surface and ground water has gained enormous interest in the recent years to improve the quality of water. From these toxic metals, cadmium (Cd) is the most worrisome as it persists in the environment and cannot be broken down into less toxic substances. It has been discharged as a waste from various industrial operations, that is, metal plating, alloying and mining. Cd pollution is particularly concerning in the developing world in that the cadmium waste is not collected separately from general waste, and often ends up in landfills. In our study, Zein nano fibers were prepared via electro spinning technique and then used as an adsorbent material for the Cd ions removal. The electrospun nanofibers were characterized by atomic adsorption spectroscopy, ATR-FTIR and SEM measurements. Different parameters were used in the adsorption processes such as pH, contact time, mass of sheet and cadmium concentration to achieve maximum removal efficiency of cadmium. Hence, the higher cadmium removal efficiency was achieved by 96 % in the sample of 11 mg mass of nanofibers sheet, at Ph-8 and contact time was 30 minutes.

Herein, we prepared three-dimensional artificial blood vessels (ABV) from electrospun pristine Poly (Ethylene-glycol-co-1,4-Cyclohexane di-methylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PEICT), Poly (1, 4 cyclohexane di-methylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PICT) and their blend (BLEND) nanofibers for the first time with three different cross-sectional diameters (0.9, 1.5 and 2.0) mm. Biocompatibility was evaluated by culturing Human Breast Epithelial Cells (MCF-10A) on all samples. Interestingly, collective properties of PICT and PEICT were distinctively imparted onto the surface of BLEND ABVs without reliance upon any special surface treatment. BLEND showed an enhanced wettability and a smooth and compacted morphology making them suitable to hold more (MCF-10A) cells compared to pristine PICT and PEICT. Additionally, BLEND achieved a maximum biodegradation rate as well as the special feature of tensile strength tunability, which reveals its potential and suitability for vascular regeneration and cell culture applications.

Here in, we report a versatile, novel, and easy approach to fabricate highly durable and electrically conductive aramid nanofibers (ANFs). The ANFs were firstly fabricated via electrospinning and afterward, the conductive ANFs were prepared using electroless deposition (ELD) technique. The copper (Cu) metal was used to prepare conductive ANFs due to its significant advantages i.e. conductance. During the ELD process, parameters including time and temperature were studied to optimize proper deposition and performance. The optimized ANFs samples were characterized by FE-SEM, EDX, XRD, XPS, FTIR, TGA, water contact angle, and electrical conductance. Copper (Cu) deposition on ANFs achieved high electrical conductivity. The as ANFs shows good candidate for copper (Cu) deposition and provide good stability in terms of electrical conductance. The as-prepared Cu-ANFs could be used in various applications such as wearable electronics, flexible displays, and energy storage.

Cellulose is one of the most hydrophilic polymers with sufficient water holding capacity but it is unstable in aqueous conditions and it swells. Cellulose itself is not suitable for electrospun nanofibers&rsquo, formation due to high swelling, viscosity, and lower conductivity. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is also super hydrophilic polymer, however it has the same trend for nanofibers formation as that of cellulose. Due to the above-stated reasons, applications of CMC are quite limited in nanotechnology. In recent research, loading of CMC was optimized for electrospun tri-component polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) nanofibers aim at widening its area of applications. PVA is a water-soluble polymer with a wide range of applications in water filtration, biomedical, and environmental engineering, and with the advantage of easy process ability. However, it was observed that only PVA was not sufficient to produce PVA/CMC nanofibers via electrospinning. To increase spinnability of PVA/CMC nanofibers, PVP was selected as the best available option because of its higher conductivity and water solubility. Weight ratios of CMC and PVP were optimized to produce uniform nanofibers with continuous production as well. It was observed that at a weight ratio of PVP 12 and CMC 3 was at the highest possible loading to produce smooth nanofibers.

Water holding capacity becomes essential for hygiene applications including baby diapers. Microfibers of hydrophilic polymers have been useful source for such applications. While, super hydrophilic and stable nanofibers incorporation with functional antibacterial agent are essential to get higher absorption of water along with antimicrobial activity against harmful bacteria. In current work, hydrophobic polymeric nanofibers are transformed to super hydrophilic nanofibers by addition of copper (II) oxide (CuO hereafter) nanoparticles. CuO nanoparticles provided two distinctive properties to existing nanofibers. Firstly, nanofibers surface area was significantly increased, and secondly copper (II) oxide itself is hydrophilic material which imparted hydrophilicity to base polymer. Polyacrylonitrile, crosslinked Polyvinyl Alcohol, and PICT were selected as super hydrophobic polymeric nanofibers. Copper II oxide nanoparticles (same concentration) were added in all polymer solution and electrospun. Surface, morphological, and hydrophilic properties were characterized and it was concluded that copper II oxide is suitable for transforming hydrophobic nanofibers to super hydrophilic nanofibers. Water holding capacity (WHC) was also improved for all prepared nanofiber mats. WHC for PVA/CuO, PAN/CuO, and PICT/CuO were recorded an average of 23 g/g, 21 g/g, and 18 g/g respectively. Combining all useful results from possible characterization of nanofiber mats, it is expected that CuO nanoparticles loaded nanofibers will have potential application as antibacterial, sustainable, and stable replacement of hygiene products.

The study aimed to exploit the energy potential of naturally occurring fuels like Thar Lignite (TL), Sugarcane Bagasse (SB), Cotton Stalks (CS) and synthetic copolymer shoe manufacturing waste Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA). Proximate, ultimate, chemical analysis along with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) were carried out to analyze the compositional and structural differences between the studied fuel samples. Thermochemical decomposition of fuel samples was also evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under dry air conditions. Derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) obtained from TG curves were used to determine the ignition, peak, burnout temperatures along with combustion performance indices. The order of both average and peak rate of conversion (% s−1) was found to be; EVA > SB > CS > TL. Kinetic analysis of the samples was performed using Coats Redfern model. The apparent activation energy ‘Ea’ (kJ mole−1) was in the order of SB = 45.7 > EVA = 36.2 > CS = 36.1 > TL = 23.1. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and ash fusion temperature (AFT) profile analysis of the ash samples was also performed to investigate the possible deposit formation propensity of post combustion residue products, alkali and slagging indices. SB showed the highest propensity towards slagging deposit formations with the order SB > CS > TL > EVA.

Removal of heavy metal ions is vital in water purification system. In this report we designed a unique method to crosslink polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofiber to enhance its adsorption capacity against metal ions like Copper (Cu2+) and Lead (Pb2+). PVA nanofibers were crosslinked by conventional method using glutaraldehyde vapors and also by solution method (self-designed). Morphological properties were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) which confirmed uniform morphology of nanofiber membranes. Thermal degradation analysis was done using thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). Mechanical properties were also improved significantly in case of solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers. X-Ray diffraction results showed that crystallinity was also increased when nanofibers were crosslinked using solution method. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed to check bonding of hydroxyl group in the result of crosslinking and it was confirmed that more hydroxyl groups were bound in case of solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers. Adsorption capacity for copper and lead ions was measured using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectrometer and it was concluded from adsorption data that solution crosslinked PVA nanofibers were far efficient as compared to that of uncrosslinked and vapor crosslinked nanofibers. Equilibrium time was decreased significantly which gives credibility of process with efficient removal of metal ions in shorter time.