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The use of nanotechnology in the food industry raises uncertainty in many respects. For years, achievements of nanotechnology have been applied mainly in biomedicine and computer science, but recently it has also been used in the food industry. Due to the extremely small (nano) scale, the properties and behavior of nanomaterials may differ from their macroscopic counterparts. They can be used as biosensors to detect reagents or microorganisms, monitor bacterial growth conditions, increase food durability e.g. when placed in food packaging, reducing the amount of certain ingredients without changing the consistency of the product (research on fat substitutes is underway), improve the taste of food, make some nutrients get better absorbed by the body, etc . There are companies on the market that are already introducing nanoparticles into the economy to improve their functionality, e.g. baby feeding bottles. This review focuses on the use of nanoparticles in the food industry, both organic (chitosan, cellulose, proteins) and inorganic (silver, iron, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, etc .). The use of nanomaterials in food production requires compliance with all legal requirements regarding the safety and quantity of nano-processed food products described in this review. In the future, new methods of testing nanoparticles should be developed that would ensure the effectiveness of compounds subjected to, for example, nano-encapsulation, i.e. whether the encapsulation process had a positive impact on the specific properties of these compounds. Nanotechnology has revolutionized our approach towards food engineering (from production to processing), food storage and the creation of new materials and products, and the search for new product applications.

The aim of the study is an ecotoxicological assessment of magnetite iron oxide-based nanoparticles (NPs), which have risen in popularity in the last decade, on selected terrestrial and aquatic organisms from various levels of the food chain. In the presented study various organisms, from both the terrestrial and aquatic environment, were used as targets for the assessment of NPs ecotoxicity. Plants (radish, oat), marine bacteria (A. fischeri) and crustacean (H. incongruens) were used to represent producers, decomposers, and consumers, respectively. It was found that examined NPs were harmful (to a different degree) to biota from three different trophic levels. Physicochemical characterization (size/morphology, crystallinity, composition, and magnetic properties) of the tested nanoparticles was performed by: transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and Mossbauer spectroscopy, respectively. Phytotoxicity was evaluated according to the OECD 208 Guideline, while acute and chronic toxicity of NPs was conducted using bioassays employing bacteria and crustacea, respectively. The phytotoxicity of all investigated iron oxide-based NPs was dependent on concentration and type of NPs formulation and was measured via biomass, seed germination, root length, shoot height, and content of plant pigments. Increasing the concentration of NPs increased phytotoxicity and mortality of aquatic organisms. Ecotoxicity of iron oxide/silver was dependent on the size and content of silver. Iron oxide NPs coated with nanosilver in a percentage ratio of 69/31 were found to be the most toxic on tested terrestrial and aquatic biota., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This paper refers to research based on tests completed on the adsorption of heavy metal ions (Pb 2+ , Cu 2+ , Cd 2+ ) from selected natural liquid samples such as apple, tomato, and potato juices using surface-functionalized Mn ferrite nanoparticles (Mn 0.2 Fe 2.8 O 4 ). To determine the most efficient adsorption conditions of these heavy metals, the nanoparticles' surfaces were modified with five different ligands (phthalic anhydride, succinic anhydride, acetic anhydride, 3-phosphonopropionic acid, and 16-phosphonohexadecanoic acid). To evaluate the success of the adsorption process, the resultant liquid samples were examined for the amount of residuals using the flame atomic absorption spectroscopy method. The Mn ferrite particles selected for these tests were first characterized physicochemically by the following methods: transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Core-shell and multilayered nanoparticles based on magnetite core with different metallic spacing and over-layers are prepared in one pot synthesis and characterized. The spacer layers were made from Au, Cu or Ag precursors. The nanoparticles were fabricated by a modified chemical seed based method. The obtained nanoparticles were examined by X-ray diffraction, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry and Infrared spectroscopy. Magnetic properties of the nanoparticles were tested by Mössbauer spectroscopy and Magnetometry. Magnetization and Mössbauer measurements show that the presence of the metallic layers influences the magnetic state of the particles. XRD and EDX confirm layered structures of nanoparticles. Proposed synthesis allows for fabrication of layered particles with controlled morphology and register properties changes which are related to the nature of each subsequent layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of the ferrite nanoparticles prepared by the chemical decomposition of iron chlorides with a various ratio ξ = Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ are herein presented. The microstructure and the magnetic properties have been studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). The TEM studies show that the nanoparticles have almost a spherical shape with the diameter of (12 ± 2) nm for all samples. The measured XRD pattern was mainly composed of lines which were indexed with a cubic spinel structure. The analysis of the Mössbauer data shows that the microstructure of the nanoparticles consists of the core formed by nonstoichiometric magnetite and maghemite shell. A small amount of hematite, probably on the surface of the nanoparticles with ξ = 1.75, 2.0, was detected. At temperatures T ≤ 150 K the spin canting of surface maghemite with ξ = 2.25 was observed while for the samples with ξ = 1.75, 2.0 such effect was suppressed by the presence of hematite on the surface of the nanoparticles. Infield Mössbauer spectra with ξ = 1.75, 2.0 show that magnetic moments of the magnetite/maghemite core are parallel while magnetic moments of the surface hematite are perpendicular to the direction of the external magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Stability tests of core–shell nanoparticles were performed. [•] Various durability in studied solutions was observed. [•] The influence on magnetic properties from wetting solution was observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The magneto-optical properties of 14-nm CoAg core-shell nanoparticles ( x=0.7, 0.8, and 0.35) deposited on different substrates are investigated at room temperature in the photon-energy range from 0.8 to 4.8 eV. Particles with low Ag content show spectra very similar to pure Co nanoparticles while particles with high Ag content have totally different features, where the Ag plasma edge dominates the spectra. The spectral features of the polar Kerr rotation depend on particle composition. The ageing process and development of an oxide layer influence the particles' core-shell structures and magnetization curves. Co-rich particles exhibit lower resistance to the oxidation process as compared to Ag-rich ones. The quality of the nanoparticles was checked by transmission electron microscopy in respect of time scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mössbauer measurements were carried out in order to study the influence of the transition metal substitution TM/Fe (where TM = Co, Ni, Mn, and (TM) x Fe3−x O4) ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 on the morphology and magnetic properties of ferrite nanoparticles. Chemically prepared magnetite nanoparticles with 13 nm were used as a reference material. The Mössbauer spectrum of the initial magnetite sample show a well-resolved magnetically split patterns connected with tetrahedral (A) positions and octahedral (B) positions. For low concentrations of TM, the relative intensities of the sextet that comes from the iron B position decrease. This means that the Co, Ni, Mn atoms are located preferentially in the B-site of the magnetite. However, the qualitative analysis of the spectra also suggests that Mn and Ni partially occupy the A-site. The increase of the concentration of the substitution transition metal causes broadening of the magnetic part of the spectra and appearance of a doublet in the central part of spectra for all samples. TEM studies show that the incorporation of the Me atoms into the structure causes a decrease of the average particle size. This is also confirmed by XRD. This also means that the blocking temperature decreases and for about Ni/Fe = 0.8 and TM/Fe = 0.9 (for Mn and Co) reaches room temperature. In the case of the nominal 0.9 substitution by Ni, a pure superparamagnetic state is observed, while for Co and Mn some of the particles are still below the blocking temperature, in agreement with the TEM studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ferrite magnetic nanoparticles with core-shell structures were obtained in two step preparation process. The Mössbauer spectra obtained for particles of pure maghemite or magnetite and two layered core-shell one the magnetite on maghemite and maghemite on magnetite are very different from each other. The presented results show that interparticle and intraparticle interaction plays important role in overall magnetic properties as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]