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In this study, nickel manganite (NiMn 2 O 4 ) nanoparticles were prepared using a hydrothermal method and examined its potential as a photocatalyst for the Acid Green 25 (AG-25) dye degradation. The nanoparticles were subjected to structural analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and morphological analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The study examined the kinetics and thermodynamics of degradation processes that are catalyzed by photocatalysis. To ascertain their effect on dye degradation, several parameters, such as catalyst dose, H 2 O 2 concentration, and temperature, were investigated. With a temperature of 315 K in a pseudo-first-order kinetic reaction, a 0.3 M H 2 O 2 concentration, 0.05 mg/mL catalyst dose, and a promising removal efficiency of 96 % was achieved by the NiMn 2 O 4 NPs in 40 min. Thermodynamic analysis revealed the spontaneous and entropy-driven nature of catalytic degradation, progressing favorably at elevated temperatures. Additionally, the NiMn 2 O 4 NPs were applied as a fuel additive to analyze its influence on combustion and the physical characteristics of the modified fuel. The modified fuel demonstrated exceptional catalytic efficiency, emphasizing the potential of the NiMn 2 O 4 NPs as an effective additive., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 The Authors.)

The purpose of this study was to synthesize ecofriendly nano-composite in which agricultural waste (seeds of Tamarindus indica) was used to synthesize tamarind seed polysaccharides (TSP) and its composite with copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) for the purpose of green and clean environment as well as reduction of green-house gases. Confirmation of extracted TSP, synthesized nanocomposite was carried out using FTIR, SEM, PXRD and EDX techniques. In FTIR analysis TSP gives a strong broad peak at 3331 cm -1 due to -OH group and in case of composite its intensity is reduced which might be due to the interactions between -OH and Cu +2 ions. SEM analysis gives that TSP have irregular and rough surface while Cu-NPs exhibited spherical morphology and composite showed clustering of spherical shape to rough surface. EDX analysis quantitatively represented copper having atomic ratio 0.57 % which confirms the synthesis of composite. Furthermore, synthesized composite demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity against gram-positive ( S.aureus ) and gram-negative bacteria ( E.coli ) even greater than standard medicine (ciprofloxacin). From this study it was revealed that agriculture waste can be utilized to make environment green as well as synthesized composite from agricultural waste seed also displayed excellent antimicrobial activities which directs that they can be utilized in medical field. This study aims to assess the antimicrobial properties of the nanocomposite, aiming to contribute to the development of effective antimicrobial agents. Through these objectives, the research seeks to bridge the gap between green technology and antimicrobial efficacy, offering a promising avenue for both environmental conservation and healthcare advancements., Competing Interests: 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., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Photocatalysis is a clean and efficient process pursued under light irradiation with a suitable photocatalyst to degrade a contaminant. We report citrate functionalization of silver nanoparticles (SNPs) for effective immobilization on cellulosic fabric. The porous cellulosic matrix could be explored as microfiltration membranes for the photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes in the aqueous media. Where valid, the citrate functionalized SNPs and the treated cellulose fabrics were considered for optical, structural, surface chemical, thermal, textile, flowability, photocatalytic, and antibacterial attributes. The SNPs expressed the bandgap energy of 2.56 and 2.43 eV and Urbach energy of 3.38 and 5.21 eV before and after functionalization with the citrate moieties, respectively. The liquid chromatographic and FTIR analyses indicated that the crystal violet (CV) organic dye has been successfully photodegraded to environmentally safer and nontoxic species on passing the contaminated water through the SNPs-treated cellulosic filter. The spectroscopic data also supported the said outcomes. The results demonstrated that the citrate-SNPs-treated cellulose could be efficiently employed as antibacterial photocatalytic membranes for degrading organic dyes in the aqueous media for multiple cycles., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Improving the light-harvesting efficiency and boosting open circuit voltage are crucial challenges for enhancing the efficiency of organic solar cells. This work introduces seven new molecules (SA1-SA7) to upgrade the optoelectronic and photovoltaic properties of Q-C-F molecule-based solar cells. All recently designed molecules have the same alkyl-substituted Quinoxaline core and CPDT donor but vary in the end-capped acceptor subunits. All the investigated molecules have revealed superior properties than the model (R) by having absorbance ranging from 681 nm to 782 nm in the gaseous medium while 726 nm-861 nm in chloroform solvent, with the lowest band gap ranging from 1.91 to 2.19 eV SA1 molecule demonstrated the highest λ max (861 nm) in chloroform solvent and the lowest band gap (1.91 eV). SA2 molecule has manifested highest dipole moment (4.5089 D), lower exciton binding energy in gaseous (0.33 eV) and chloroform solvent (0.47 eV), and lower charge mobility of hole (0.0077693) and electron (0.0042470). At the same time, SA7 showed the highest open circuit voltage (1.56 eV) and fill factor (0.9166) due to solid electron-pulling acceptor moieties. From these supportive outcomes, it is inferred that our computationally investigated molecules may be promising candidates to be used in advanced versions of OSCs in the upcoming period., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Azolium salts are the organic salts used as stable precursors for generating N-Heterocyclic Carbenes and their metal complexes. Azolium salts have also been reported to have significant biological potential. Hence, in the current study, four tetra-dentate azolium salts were derived from bis-azolium salts by a new synthetic strategy., Methods: The tetra azolium salts have been synthesized by reacting the imidazole or methyl imidazole with dibromo xylene (meta, para)/ 1-bromo methyl imidazole or dibromo ethane resulting in the mono or bis azolium salts namely I-IV. V-VII have been obtained by reacting I with II-IV, resulting in the tetra azolium salts. Each product was analyzed by various analytical techniques, i.e., microanalysis, FT-IR, and NMR (1H & 13C). Salts V-VII were evaluated for their antiproliferative effect against human colon cancer cells (HCT-116) using MTT assay., Results: Four chemical shifts for acidic protons between 8.5-9.5 δ ppm in 1H NMR and resonance of respective carbons around 136-146 δ ppm in 13C NMR indicated the successful synthesis of tetra azolium salts. Salt V showed the highest IC50 value, 24.8 μM among all synthesized compounds., Conclusion: Tetra-azolium salts may play a better cytotoxicity effect compared to mono-, bi-& tri-azolium salts., (Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.)

N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based compounds are remarkably known for astonishing biological potentials. Coordination of metal center with these compounds can substantially improve the biological potential for better efficacy. In this context, three binuclear azolium salts (L1-L3) and subsequent selenium adducts L1Se-L3Se were synthesized and assured through analytical techniques. Synthesized compounds were also simulated through computational approach and results were compared with experimental observations that also relatable with biological potentials. Synthesized compounds were screened against bacterial strains and interestingly, the studied compounds showed good antimicrobial potential with MIC values of 7.01, 10.7 and 10.5 µM for S. Aureus (gram positive bacteria) while 12.5, 11.75 and 14.5 µM against E. Coli (gram negative bacteria). The studied compounds showed good antioxidant activity to scavenge DPPH free radicals among which azolium salts were found better in antioxidant potential (IC 50 5.75-6.55 µg/mL) than their respective selenium compounds (IC 50 9.50-12.75 µg/mL). The hemolytic assay against red blood cells showed that ligands are least toxic comparative to their Se-adducts and can be further trialed for In Vivo studies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict on interest in publishing the scientific findings in the submitted manuscript., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The present study was designed to synthesize an oval-shaped bimetallic bismuth aluminate (Bi 2 Al 4 O 9 ) nanoparticles through a solvothermal approach. The resulting structure and morphology of synthesized materials were characterized through X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The catalytic performance of Bi 2 Al 4 O 9 was investigated using acid green 25 (AG-25) as the model dye. The effect of various parameters like catalyst dose, H 2 O 2 concentration, and temperature on dye degradation was studied. The Bi 2 Al 4 O 9 nanocomposite exhibited the maximum removal of 95% within 50 min at 0.3 M H 2 O 2 concentration, 0.05 mg/mL catalyst dose, and 315 K temperature. The photocatalytic removal of AG-25 followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. The thermodynamics study exposed that thermal catalytic degradation is a spontaneous, endothermic, as well as entropy-driven reaction that moves in the forward direction at the higher temperatures. The Bi 2 Al 4 O 9 composite was further applied as fuel additives in order to study combustion and physical characteristics of the modified fuel. The efficacy of modified fuel was studied by investigating the fuel parameters at different Bi 2 Al 4 O 9 dosages. Results revealed that synthesized NPs are excellent photocatalysts and could possibly be used for the removal of toxic pollutants., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Background The prognosis for oral cancer patients is still very poor worldwide. Early detection and treatment therapy remain the key issue to be addressed for improved patient survival. The characteristic Raman spectral features associated with the biochemical changes in the blood serum samples can be used for the diagnosis of diseases, particularly for oral cancer. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is a promising technique for non-invasive and early detection of oral cancer by analyzing molecular changes in body fluids. Objectives To detect oral cavity anatomical subsites (buccal mucosa, cheek, hard palate, lips, mandible, maxilla, tongue and tonsillar region) cancers by using blood serum samples, SERS with principal component analysis is used. Material and Method SERS is employed with silver nanoparticles for the analysis and detection of oral cancer serum samples by comparing with healthy serum samples. SERS spectra are recorded by Raman instrument and preprocessed using the statistical tool. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) are used to discriminate between oral cancer serum samples and control serum samples. Results Some major SERS peaks are observed at 1136 cm -1 (Phospholipids) and 1006 cm -1 (Phenylalanine) remain higher in intensities for oral cancer spectra as compared to healthy spectra. The peak at 1241 cm -1 (amide III) is observed only in oral cancer serum samples while absent in healthy serum samples. Higher protein and DNA contents were detected in SERS mean spectra of oral cancer. Moreover, PCA is used to identify the biochemical differences in the form of SERS features which is used to differentiate between oral cancer and healthy blood serum samples, while PLS-DA is used to build differentiation model of oral cancer serum samples and healthy control serum samples. PLS-DA provides successful differentiation with 94% specificity and 95.5% sensitivity. Conclusions SERS can be used for the diagnosis of oral cancer and to identify metabolic changes that occur during disease development., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interests The authors have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Solar photocatalysis has emerged as a pollution-free and inexhaustible technique that has been extensively researched in the domains of environmental remediation and energy production. Herein, we have integrated ZnO and CdS nanoparticles through Cu as a solid-state electron mediator to design a ZnO-Cu-CdS Z-scheme heterosystem via a sol-gel route and further tested this as a photocatalyst for dye degradation, H 2 evolution, and CO 2 reduction. Within 60 min of visible light exposure, about 97% of methylene blue (MB) is degraded with a degradation rate constant of 0.042 min -1 for the ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 catalyst. The MB degradation with this catalyst is 84, 21, 4.8, and 2 times as high as those of ZnO, CdS, ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 , and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. The ZnO-Cu-CdS catalyst manifests an H 2 evolution efficiency of 5579 μmol h -1 g -1 , which is 169, 41, 3.9, and 3.5 times as high as those of ZnO, CdS, ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 , and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. Using H 2 as a reducing agent, the CO production rate over the ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 catalyst reaches 770 μmol h -1 g -1 , which is 3 and 1.8 times higher than those of ZnO 0.5 CdS 0.5 and Cu 0.1 ZnO 0.9 catalysts. Besides, the optimal CH 4 production rate over ZnO 0.45 Cu 0.1 CdS 0.45 reaches 890 μmol h -1 g -1 . The improved photocatalytic response of the ZnO-Cu-CdS catalyst is assigned to the delayed recombination of photoexcited charge carriers through a Z-scheme charge transport mode, maintaining the photocarriers with strong redox potentials and the dual role of Cu to serve as a conductive bridge to accelerate the charge transfer rate and enhance the light absorption due to its SPR phenomenon. This research offers a promising strategy for developing binary/ternary Z-scheme heterojunction photocatalytic systems for different photocatalytic applications.

One of the big environmental problems in today's world is dye-contaminated toxic waste. Peroxidase is known as highly efficient for the degradation of various pollutants, including dyes. Environmental contamination caused by the discharge of dyes into water bodies is an onerous challenge that poses both human and ecological hazards. In the current studies, biocatalysts used for enzyme decolorization (1847 Colafx Blue P3R and 621 Colafx Blue) are regarded as an eco-friendly method utilizing commonly available low-cost material lemon peels (Citrus limon peroxidase). Peroxidase was extracted in a phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 and partially purified by 20-80% ammonium sulfate precipitation technique from Citrus limon peels. The soluble enzyme was characterized in terms of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters. The values of Km and Vmax (23.16 and 204.08 μmol/ml/min) were determined, respectively. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 5.0 and a temperature of 55 °C. Citrus limon efficiently degraded 1847 Colafx Blue P3R and 621 Colafx Blue R dyes with maximum degradation of 83 and 99%, respectively, with an initial dye concentration of 200 ppm at pH 4 and 35 °C temperature within 5-10 min of incubation time. The effect of the redox mediator on the degradation process was examined. Results showed that the peroxidase HOBT system efficiently enhanced the degradation of dyes from water. Hence, Citrus limon peroxidase is an efficient biocatalyst for the treatment of effluents., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Dye-contaminated wastewater discharge from textile and dye manufacturing industries is reported as a world worse water polluter due to the toxic and mutagenic behavior of dyes. Peroxidase, one of the key enzymes of oxidoreductases, is widely distributed in nature and has been currently exploited in industries for various applications. Widespread applications of peroxidases are associated with their nonspecific nature towards a wide spectrum of substrates such as phenols, aromatic amines, pesticides, antibiotics, and synthetic dyes. The present study explored the potential of ammonium sulfate precipitated partially purified Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis leaves peroxidase for degradation of reactive textile dyes Remazol Turquoise Blue 133 G and Drim Red CL4BN. Various physico-chemical parameters such as pH (2-9), temperature (20-70 ℃), enzyme activity (3-24 U/mL), concentrations of H 2 O 2 (0.4-1.4 Mm) and dye (10-100 mg/L) were optimized for enzymatic decolorization of both dyes' solution. Studies revealed that maximum degradation (95%) of Remazol Turquoise Blue 133 G with peroxidase was achieved with 25 mg/L of initial dye concentration, in the presence of 0.8 mM hydrogen peroxide with 45 min of incubation time, at pH 3, 4, and 5, and 70 °C. Maximal decolorization (97%) of Drim Red CL4BN was obtained at pH 2.0, in 10 min of incubation time at 45 ℃ using o-dianisidine hydrochloride as a redox mediator. In conclusion, the findings illustrate the prospect of Brassica oleracea peroxidase to remediate dye pollutants and dye-based industrial effluents in a green technology theme., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In present study, we describe the biodegradation of direct blue (DB) 297 and reactive blue (RB) 221 by immobilizing horseradish peroxidase (HRP) isolated from fresh leaves of Moringa Oliefera on iron oxide nanoparticles. Iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation method and showed a maximum immobilization efficiency of 87%. The surface topography of iron oxide nanoparticles was envisaged by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), results showed that magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were in the form of aggregates having size of 1 μm. Furthermore, immobilization was confirmed via functional group identification performed by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Immobilization phenomena displaced the optimum temperature from 35 °C to 50 °C moreover, pH optima were altered from 5.0 to 7.0. V max and K m for free and immobilized HRP, were 303 U/mg and 1.66 mM and 312 U/mg and 1.94 mM, respectively. Enzymatic thermodynamic measurements (ΔH*, ΔS*, Ea, ΔG*) were also evaluated for immobilized HRP and its free counterpart. Optimum degradation of reactive blue (RB) and direct blue (DB) 297 with free and immobilized HRP was observed at pH 5 and at temperature 40 °C respectively. The removal efficiency of DB 297 and RB 221 with free HRP was 75% and 86% while with immobilized HRP was 81% and 92% respectively. Furthermore, biodegradation of reactive blue (RB) 221 and direct blue (DB) 297 with immobilized and free biocatalyst was also investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) by identification of groups involved in dye degradation. FTIR results confirmed the 100% degradation of dyes. Immobilized HRP retained significant catalytic activity after five consecutive cycles of dye degradation. In conclusion, Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles are promising and environmentally friendly media for enzyme immobilization. Moreover, immobilized HRP showed more thermal stability, pH stability and higher dye degradation efficiency as compared to free HRP. Furthermore, the immobilized HRP, economically more convenient and easily removable from reaction media. Owing to its thermal stability, ease of separation from reaction media and reusability, the magnetically separatable immobilized HRP can be exploited successfully for treatment of dye contaminated textile effluents., 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 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Cellulose/clay/sodium alginate composites were prepared and employed for the removal of methylene blue (MB) dye. Cellulose was extracted from a paper mill waste and used for composite preparation with sodium alginate (Na-Alg) and clay. MB dye removal was analyzed at different operating conditions (pH, initial concentration, temperature, composite dose). The dye was adsorbed up to 90% for an equilibrium time of 60 min at optimum level of adsorbent dose (0.05 g), temperature (30 °C) and pH (i.e., 7 and 11 for cellulose-Na-Alg and cellulose-Na-Alg-clay, respectively). Kinetics and isotherms of MB adsorption were quantified and modeled. Results showed that MB dye adsorption data followed the pseudo-first order kinetics and a statistical physics model was used to analyze the adsorption mechanism. Thermodynamic calculation revealed that the MB dye adsorption on these composites was an exothermic, spontaneous and feasible process. The composites were regenerated with HCl thus contributing to their reutilization in subsequent adsorption cycles. The DFT (density functional theory) calculations were executed to explain the interactions responsible for the adsorption of MB dye on the composites. Results revealed that the Na-Alg-cellulose composites were effective for the MB dye removal. Therefore, these composites can be considered as low-cost alternative adsorbents for the pollution remediation caused by dyes in industrial effluents., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microbial lipases hold a prominent position in biocatalysis by their capability to mediate reactions in aqueous and nonaqueous media. Herein, a lipase from Penicillium fellutanum was biochemically characterized and investigated its potential to degrade poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL). The lipase exhibited stability over a broad pH spectrum and performed best at pH 8.5 and 45 °C. The activation energy was determined to be 66.37 kJ/mol by Arrhenius plot, whereas K m and V max for pNPP hydrolysis were 0.75 mM and 83.33 μmol/mL/Min, respectively. A rise in temperature reduced the Gibbs free energy, whereas the enthalpy of thermal unfolding (∆H*) remains the same up to 54 °C following a modest decline at 61 °C. The entropy (∆S*) of the enzyme demonstrated an increasing trend up to 54 °C and dropped at 61 °C. Lipase retained stability by incubation with various industrially relevant organic solvents (benzene, hexanol, ether, and acetone). However, exposure to urea and guanidine hydrochloride influenced its catalytic activity to different extents. Under optimal operating conditions, lipase catalyzed the excellent degradation of PCL film degradation leading to 66% weight loss, increased surface erosion, and crystallinity. Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy studies monitored the weight loss after enzymatic hydrolysis. The findings indicate that P. fellutanum lipase would be a prospective biocatalytic system for polyesters depolymerization and environmental remediation., (© 2021 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.)

Novel eco-friendly and economically favourable chemically modified biosorbents and biosomposites from sugarcane bagasse (SB) has been investigated for the first time for efficient removal of Acid red 1 dye from wastewater. As fabricated biosorbents and biocomposites were characterized analytically. Batch adsorption experiments has been performed to optimize operating parameters and the determined optimum conditions are; pH: 2, dose: 0.05 g, contact time: between 60 and 75 min, initial dye concentration: 400 mg L -1 , and temperature: 30 °C, at which maximum Acid red 1 dye removal capacities were found (within range of 143.4-205.1 mg g -1 ) by as-designed SB-derived chemically modified biosorbents and biocomposites. This high adsorption capacity was accompanied due to its large specific surface area (30.19 m 2  g -1 ) and excessive functional active binding sites. In terms of the nature of adsorption process, kinetic and isothermal studies demonstrated that experimental data shows greater fitness with pseudo 2nd order and Langmuir model. Thermodynamics analysis revealed that the adsorption process is spontaneous, feasible, and exothermic in nature. Adsorption selective studies signifies that lower concentration of co-existing metallic ions were not interfered during the removal of Acid red 1 dye, which confirms that under optimized adsorption conditions the biosorbents and biocomposites exhibited greater affinity for dye molecules. The excessive quantity (82%) of loaded dye molecules within the adsorbents were extracted within the NaOH eluting media which predicts that as designed biocomposites could have capability of reusability. Hence, it is anticipated that this type of novel SB-derived biocomposites could be considered as greener potential candidate material for commercial scale dye removal applications from industrial wastewater., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Anticancer-drug delivery is now becoming a challenging approach for researchers as it allows controlled drug delivery near cancerous cells with minimized generic collection and the avoidance of secondary side effects. Hence in this work, the applications of nanostructures as anticancer drug-delivery carriers were widely investigated to target cancerous tissues. Based on DFT calculations, we investigated the transition metal-doped boron nitride nanostructure as a drug-delivery agent for the gemcitabine drug utilizing the B3LYP/6-31G (d, p) level of theory. In this research, the adsorption energy and electronic parameters of gemcitabine on the interaction with the metal-doped BN nanostructures were studied. It has been observed that metal doping significantly enhances the drug-delivery properties of BN nanostructures. Among the investigated nanostructures, Ni-BN has been found to be the most prominent nanostructure to transport gemcitabine with an elevated value of adsorption energy in both the gas phase (-45.79) and water media (-32.46). The interaction between gemcitabine and BN nanostructures was confirmed through frontier molecular orbitals and stabilization energy analysis. The fractional charge transfer, MEP, NCI, and NBO analyses exposed the charge transfer from drug molecule to the BN nanostructures. Transition density maps and UV-VIS spectra were also plotted to investigate the excited-state properties of the designed complexes. Thus, the present study provides an in-depth interaction mechanism of the gemcitabine drug with BN, which reveals that metal-doped BN nanostructures can be a favorable drug-delivery vehicle for the gemcitabine anticancer drug., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Environmental protection from emerging pollutants has become a significant challenge for mankind as an increasing number of contaminants, including synthetic dyes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), represent a serious risk to ecological and environmental balance. Most synthetic dyes have complex aromatic structures and are resistant to degrade by classical approaches, such as physical and chemical processes, including adsorption, chemical coagulation, flocculation, ion exchange, membrane separation, froth flotation, and reverse osmosis. Enzymes-assisted catalytic transformation of pollutants has become a potential alternative to classical methods because of their ability to react with complex compounds, a quick degradation rate, and producing less harmful by-products. Plant peroxidases, and microbial laccase and lignin-degrading peroxidases (manganese and lignin peroxidase) have gained significant attention for treating aromatic waste due to their capability of oxidizing and detoxifying a wide range of recalcitrant xenobiotics, including PAHs and synthetic dyes. Peroxidases being efficient biocatalysts detoxify an array of toxic compounds by simple free-radical mechanism resulting in the formation of oxidized and depolymerized products of significantly reduced toxicity. Moreover, it is an ecofriendly and economically favorable approach towards the biodegradation of recalcitrant and toxic industrial waste. Among microbial and plant peroxidases, bacterial enzymes have broad substrate specificity and can transform a wide range of recalcitrant substrates. Ligninolytic enzymes oxidize the aromatic ring into quinones and acids by producing free hydroxyl radicals instead of dihydrodiols and mineralize aromatic hydrocarbon in combination with cytochrome P450, monooxygenases, and epoxide hydrolases. In the review, an attempt has been made to provide detailed knowledge about the availability of inexpensive peroxidases sources, their mechanism of action, and degradation potential. The present review summarizes the exploitation of peroxidases from plants, bacteria, and fungus (manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, and laccases) for detoxification and degradation of textile dyes as well as PAHs. Conclusively, peroxidases have great potential to react with almost all classes of synthetic dyes and most PAHs due to broad substrate specificity and transformed them into less harmful metabolites., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Various conventional approaches have been reported for the synthesis of nanomaterials without optimizing the role of synthesis parameters. The unoptimized studies not only raise the process cost but also complicate the physicochemical characteristics of the nanostructures. The liquid-plasma reduction with optimized synthesis parameters is an environmentally friendly and low-cost technique for the synthesis of a range of nanomaterials. This work is focused on the statistically optimized production of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) by using a liquid-plasma reduction process sustained with an argon plasma jet. A simplex centroid design (SCD) was made in Minitab statistical package to optimize the combined effect of stabilizers on the structural growth and UV absorbance of AgNPs. Different combinations of glucose, fructose, sucrose and lactose stabilizers were tested at five different levels (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2) in SCD. The effect of individual and mixed stabilizers on AgNPs growth parameters was assumed significant when p-value in SCD is less than 0.05. A surface plasmon resonance band was fixed at 302 nm after SCD optimization of UV results. A bond stretching at 1633 cm -1 in FTIR spectra was assigned to C=O, which slightly shifts towards a larger wavelength in the presence of saccharides in the solution. The presence of FCC structured AgNPs with an average size of 15 nm was confirmed from XRD and EDX spectra under optimized conditions. The antibacterial activity of these nanoparticles was checked against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli strains by adopting the shake flask method. The antibacterial study revealed the slightly better performance of AgNPs against Staph. aureus strain than Escherichia coli .

In this study, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and Raman spectroscopy (RS), are employed for the classification of different stages of breast cancer using clinically diagnosed serum samples from breast cancer patients and healthy individuals. These serum samples are compared for their spectral features acquired by SERS and RS to establish spectral features that can be considered as spectral markers of breast cancer diagnosis and classification. SERS features related to DNA, proteins and lipids were observed which are solely observed in the serum samples of patients at different stages of breast cancer as compared to healthy samples. In order to explore the capability of SERS and RS and their comparison as an analytical tool for the efficient understanding of the progression of breast cancer, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is done for the SERS and RS spectra of control, stage 2, stage 3 and stage 4. Furthermore, the Partial Least Squares-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) was performed to compare the diagnostic performance of SERS and Raman spectroscopy for the classification of disease positive samples and healthy ones. The sensitivity and specificity and area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve values for SERS data were 90%, 98.4%, and 94% respectively which were higher as compared to Raman spectral data for which these values were found to be 88.2%, 97.7%, and 83.4% respectively., 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 © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

8∑PAHs in 2- and 4-month-old desi chicken organs collected from Faisalabad district, Punjab, Pakistan, were examined via high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Exposure doses (A V DD) of PAHs with consequential lifetime excess cancer risks (L t ECR) were also estimated in people ingesting laboratory barbecued (L b ) and commercially barbecued (C b ) desi meat organs. The results exposed the presence of 8ΣPAH in 2- and 4-month-old L b and C b chicken organs: drumsticks (D s ), breast (B S ), and wings (W s ) (0.45, 3.10, 0.97 ng g -1 ; 2.52, 4.31, 1.22 ng g -1 ; and 10.09, 15.04, and 9.06 ng g -1 respectively). BαP was found only in C b organs with the highest concentrations (5.08 ng g -1 ) in B s . It was above the EU's tolerable limit, while it was not detected in all L b organs. The lowest level of 8ΣPAH was found in 2-month-old desi W s . A comparative percentage increase in 8ΣPAH levels between all L b and C b organs was found in the range of 1500-2416.67%. L t ECR for males and adults were ranging from 1.35 × E -13 to 4.49 × E -5 at different consumption rates with A V DD ranging from 1.08 E -6 to 6.01 E -5 . In contrast to 2- and 4- month-old chicken meat, 2-month-old desi meat is better having less PAH load. Comparing different organs, W s of former one displayed abridged PAH levels. In conclusion, L b desi meat is less carcinogenic relative to C b . More PAH levels are due to secondary smoke in C b samples collected from the metropolitan. Ingestion of L b 2-month-old desi chicken organs could be safe to dine as compared with 4-month-old desi and C b organs. Graphical abstract.

Two meta-xylyl linked tetrakis-benzimidazolium salts (L1-L2) as multidentate ligands and two respective silver complexes (C1 and C2) were synthesized. A multistep reaction was done at room temperature, starting with simple benzimidazole and alkyl halides, going through precursors and salt formation by reflux and finally in situ deprotonation of tetrabenzimidazolium salts with Ag2O to yield respective tetra-nuclear Ag(I)-N-heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) complexes. Propyl and butyl groups were bonded at the terminal positions of tetra-azolium open chain salts. Characterization of compounds was done by analytical and spectroscopic techniques. On the basis of spectroscopic data, a chemical structure with open chains having four Ag(I) ions sandwiched between NHC layers was established. Potential of synthesized complexes (C1 & C2) for wound contraction was evaluated and compared with standard wound contraction gel. Percentage wound contraction of both complexes was found very close to that of standard drug used in parallel.

Synthesis and anticancer studies of three symmetrically and non-symmetrically substituted silver(I)-N-Heterocyclic carbene complexes of type [(NHC) 2 -Ag]PF 6 (7-9) and their respective (ligands) benzimidazolium salts (4-6) are described herein. Compound 5 and Ag-NHC-complex 7 were characterized by the single crystal X-ray diffraction technique. Structural studies for 7 showed that the silver(I) center has linear C-Ag-C coordination geometry (180.00(10) o ). Other azolium and Ag-NHC analogues were confirmed by H 1 and C 13 -NMR spectroscopy. The synthesized analogues were biologically characterized for in vitro anticancer activity against three cancer cell lines including human colorectal cancer (HCT 116), breast cancer (MCF-7), and erythromyeloblastoid leukemia (K-562) cell lines and in terms of in vivo acute oral toxicity (IAOT) in view of agility and body weight of female rats. In vitro anticancer activity showed the values of IC 50 in range 0.31-17.9 μM in case of K-562 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines and 15.1-35.2 μM in case of MCF-7 while taking commercially known anticancer agents 5-fluorouracil, tamoxifen, and betulinic acid which have IC 50 values 5.2, 5.5, and 17.0 μM, respectively. In vivo study revealed vigor and agility of all test animals which explores the biocompatibility and non-toxicity of the test analogues.

The biocomposites of polypyrrole (PPY), polyaniline (PANI) and sodium alginate (NaAlg) with cellulosic biomass barley husk (BH) were prepared and employed for the removal of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) form aqueous media. The sorption of 2,4-DCP was studied using native and biocomposites (PPY/BH, PANI/BH and NaAlg/BH) as function of various process variables. The maximum sorption (q e , 7.55-24.57 mg/g) of 2,4-DCP was achieved in the range of 7-10 pH, 0.05 g composite dose, 25 mg/L initial concentration of 2,4-DCP and 120 min contact time at 30 °C. The FTIR analysis revealed the involvement of amino, hydroxyl and carboxylic groups for the binding of 2,4-DCP on the surface of biocomposites. The Freundlich and pseudo second order kinetics models best explained the 2,4-DCP adsorption on to the biocomposites. The ∆G, ∆H and ∆S parameters were also computed, which revealed the favorable and exothermic adsorption nature of 2,4-DCP. Presence of salts affected the 2,4-DCP adsorption negatively. HCl found to be efficient desorbing agent for 2,4-DCP from composites and up to 65.12% was eluted using 0.5 N solution. In view of promising efficiency, the biocomposites have potential to remove 2,4-DCP form industrial effluents., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, Raman spectroscopy has been employed for the characterization of two structurally different monodentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands (ligand-1 and ligand-2) and their respective complexes (complex-1 and complex-2). The Raman spectral features are found helpful for the confirmation of formation of complexes. The significant Raman spectral features are identified for benzimidazole ring with higher intensities in carbene complexes having more polarizability as compared to their ligands, providing the evidence for the formation of coordinate covalent bond. The successful complexation is further supported by using multivariate data analysis technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which is found very helpful to highlight the variability of Raman spectral data of both ligands and their respective metal complexes from each other. Moreover, the coordination of carbene with Ag(I) is confirmed from the dominant spectral markers of higher intensities at 359 cm -1 in complex-1 and 338 cm -1 in complex-2. The effective and reliable characterization and confirmation of metal complexes indicates the potential of Raman spectroscopy for its use for the characterization of the organometallic complexes and other chemical products., 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 © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rapid industrialization is polluting the water resources and is becoming a serious environmental issue. In present study, the adsorption-desorption behavior of Direct Orange-26 (DO-26), Direct Red-31 (DR-31), Direct Blue-67 (DB-67) and Ever direct Orange-3GL (EDO-3) dyes on to native, modified rice husk (MRH), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and alginate (ALG) immobilized biomasses were investigated under different experimental conditions. For adsorbent modification, physical and chemical treatments were performed. The results showed that HCl pre-treatment considerably increased the sorption capacity of dyes versus native biomass. The sorption data were optimized using pseudo 1st order, intra-particle diffusion, pseudo 2nd order and Elovich models. The results revealed that the two-step rate equation was followed for the desorption kinetics of dyes. The involvement of -OH (hydroxyl), -COOH (carboxylic) and -NH 2 (amino) groups in the adsorption of dyes onto biomasses was shown by FTIR analysis. Studies exhibited that among adsorbents employed, the MRH has the excellent potential for the dyes degradation from textile effluents., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Exo-polygalacturonase (Exo-PG), an extracellular pectinolytic enzyme with great potential in the food industry, was produced from Penicillium janczewskii under solid-state fermentation using wheat bran as a lignocellulosic substrate. Optimization of various fermentation process variables revealed that a moisture level of 70%, d-mannitol (carbon source), yeast extract (nitrogen source) and ZnSO 4 /NiCl 2 as metal salt inducers generated the maximum yield of Exo-PG. After ammonium sulfate precipitation (70% saturation level), the enzyme was characterized in terms of various kinetic (i.e., temperature, pH, inhibitors, Michaelis-Menten constants) and thermodynamic parameters (i.e., Ea, ΔH*, ΔS* and ΔG*). The temperature and pH optima were 45 °C and 6.0, respectively, and the Exo-PG presented stability at a wider range of temperature and pH values. Metal ions Mn +2 markedly improved the enzyme activity, while exposure to urea and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid drastically inhibited the biocatalytic performance. The kinetic parameters i.e., k m and V max were computed to be 10 mM and 41.67 U/mL, respectively. A profound increase in clarity, yield, and reduction in viscosity was achieved for different fruit juices (apple, mango, and peach) after treatment with Exo-PG. Total antioxidant and total phenolic contents were also ameliorated. In conclusion, the catalytic activity, thermal steadiness, and fruit juices clarification performance of Exo-PG manifests a great prospect for bio-industrial exploitation., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The representative authors have no conflict of interest to disclose in any capacity, either competing or financial., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Polymeric biocomposites (Polyaniline/sugarcane bagasse (Pan/SB), polypyrrole (PPy/SB), polyaniline/chitosan (PAn/Ch), polyaniline/starch (PAn/St) and polypyrrole/starch (PPy/St)) were prepared and applied for Acid Black-234 (AB-234) dye removal as a function of pH, reaction time, adsorbent dose, initial dye concentration and temperature. The optimum pH for the efficient adsorption for SB, PPy/SB, PAn/SB, PPy/Ch, PAn/Ch, PPy/St and PAn/St were 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 3 and 3, respectively using adsorbent dose of 0.05 g for the reaction time of 60 min. The pseudo-first-order-kinetic model better explained the biosorption processes of SB, PAn/SB, PAn/Ch, PPy/St and PAn/St, while pseudo-second-order kinetic model better fitted to the kinetic data of PPy/SB and PPy/Ch. It was observed that the biosorption process of dye showed the satisfactory fitness for Langmuir isotherm for the biosorbents with maximum adsorption capacities 52.6, 100, 90.91, 90.0, 71.4, 66.6 and 62.5 for SB, PPy/SB, PAn/SB, PPy/Ch, PAn/Ch, PPy/St and PAn/St, respectively. The thermodynamic study revealed the exothermic nature of adsorption of dye on to biocomposites. Results revealed that polymeric biocomposites are efficient adsorbent and could possibly be used for the adsorption of dyes from textile wastewater., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In view of promising adsorption efficiency of biocomposites, the removal of imidacloprid was studied using biocomposites of polypyrole (PPY), polyaniline (PAN) and sodium alginate (Na-Alginate) with peanut husk (PH). The affecting variables such as pH, insecticide concentration, composite dose, contact time, temperature were optimized for efficient removal of imidacloprid. The biocomposites showed promising efficiency for the removal of imidacloprid. Among all composites polypyrole composite exhibited maximum efficiency at pH 3, 0.05 g adsorbent dose, 90 min contact time, 25 mg/L initial concentration at 35 °C. Langmuir, Freundlich, Harkins-Jura and Temkin isotherms models were applied on the experimental data. The best fitted were Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with R 2 value > 0.904 and >0.97, respectively. Insecticide adsorption followed the pseudo first order kinetics model. Thermodynamics (free energy, enthalpy and entropy) study revealed that the insecticide adsorption process on to biocomposites was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. This study revealed that the polypyrole, polyaniline and sodium alginate composites with peanut husk have promising adsorption potential and this class of adsorbent could be used for the remediation of wastewater contains imidacloprid insecticide., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study Raman spectroscopy is employed for the characterization of two different ligands called as S1 and S2 and their respective co-ordinate complexes called C1 and C2. Specific Raman spectral signatures are observed for each of these Silver(I)-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes Ag(I)-(NHCs), which can be associated with the imidazolium ring, part of both of the ligands, indicating the formation of new coordinate covalent bond. For the detailed analysis, Raman spectral data of these ligands and complexes is analyzed by multivariate data analysis technique, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) which is found very helpful to differentiate two ligands and complexes from each other. The significant Raman peaks with higher intensities in the complexes as compared to the respective ligands are associated with imidazole ring which can be attributed to the enhanced polarizability of this ring on complex formation. Moreover, the spectral features associated with (AgC) bond are observed with higher intensity at 360 in (C1) and 383 in (C2). This study indicates the potential of Raman spectroscopy for the characterization and confirmation of formation of organometallic complexes and other chemical products., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Raman spectroscopy was employed for the characterization of blood plasma samples from patients at different stages of breast cancer. Blood plasma samples taken from clinically diagnosed breast cancer patients were compared with healthy controls using multivariate data analysis techniques (principal components analysis - PCA) to establish Raman spectral features which can be considered spectral markers of breast cancer development. All the stages of the disease can be differentiated from normal samples. It is also found that stage 2 and 3 are biochemically similar, but can be differentiated from each other by PCA. The Raman spectral data of the stage 4 is found to be biochemically distinct, but very variable between patients. Raman spectral features associated with DNA and proteins were identified, which are exclusive to patient plasma samples. Moreover, there are several other spectral features which are strikingly different in the blood plasma samples of different stages of breast cancer. In order to further explore the potential of Raman spectroscopy as the basis of a minimally invasive screening technique for breast cancer diagnosis and staging, PCA-Factorial Discriminant Analysis (FDA) was employed to classify the Raman spectral datasets of the blood plasma samples of the breast cancer patients, according to different stages of the disease, yielding promisingly high values of sensitivity and specificity for all stages., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Three benzimidazolium salts (III-V) and respective selenium adducts (VI-VIII) were designed, synthesized and characterized by various analytical techniques (FT-IR and NMR 1 H, 13 C). Selected salts and respective selenium N-Heterocyclic carbenes (selenium-NHC) adducts were tested in vitro against Cervical Cancer Cell line (Hela), Breast Adenocarcinoma cell line (MCF-7), Retinal Ganglion Cell line (RGC-5) and Mouse Melanoma Cell line (B16F10) using MTT assay and the results were compared with standard drug 5-Fluorouracil. Se-NHC compounds and azolium salts showed significant anticancer potential. Molecular docking studies of compounds (VI, VII and VIII) showed strong binding energies and ligand affinity toward following angiogenic factors: VEGF-A (vascular endothelial growth factor A), EGF (human epidermal growth factor), HIF (Hypoxia-inducible factor) and COX-1 (Cyclooxygenase-1) suggesting that the anticancer activity of adducts (VI, VII and VIII) may be due to their strong anti-angiogenic effect. In addition, compounds III-VIII were screened for their antibacterial and antifungal potential. Adduct VI was found to be potent anti-fungal agent against A. Niger with zone of inhibition (ZI) value 27.01 ± 0.251 mm which is better than standard drug Clotrimazole tested in parallel., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, Pleurotus ostreatus IBL-02, a white rot basidiomycete was exploited for lipase production in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Different agro-industrial wastes such as canola-oilseed cake, cotton-oilseed cake, linseed-oil cake, sesame-oilseed cake, rice bran and wheat bran were screened for fermentative production of the lipolytic enzyme. The enzyme profile of P. ostreatus showed the highest activity of lipase on canola oil seed cake as a substrate under SSF conditions. Various physiological factors such as incubation time, humidity level, culture pH, incubation temperature and supplementation of carbon and nitrogen sources were optimized to induce the lipase synthesis capability of P. ostreatus at an optimal level. Optimum lipase activity (3256 U/gram dry substrate) was measured in the solid fermentation medium using moisture level, 50.0%; pH, 4.0; temperature, 30°C and olive oil, 2.0% after 72 h of incubation period with glucose and urea as carbon and nitrogen supplements, respectively. Glucose supplementation significantly stimulated the lipase production, while nitrogen addition did not exert any significant effect on lipase yield. Overall, under optimized bioprocess conditions, the enzyme activity was improved up to 1.6 folds with respect to the original enzyme activities. The current findings indicate that culture conditions have great influence on the lipase production potential of P. ostreatus for commercial purpose.

Pectinases, member of the hydrolases family of enzymes, are one of the important enzymes of the biotechnological sector with 25% share in the global food and beverage enzyme market. They hold a leading position among the commercially produced industrial enzymes. These enzymes are sustainable and environmentally-friendly tool of nature with wide application perspective in many industrial processes, such as, retting and degumming of plant fibers, fermentation of tea and coffee, oil extraction, clarification of fruit juices and wine, valorization of industrial wastes, debasement of cellulosic biomass for biofuel production, wastewater remediation, desizing, scouring and bleaching of fabric, animal feed production, and protoplast fusion technology etc. However, like many other industrial enzymes, pectinases also face the constraint of low yield and productivity in its economized production. Therefore, pectinases have been the target of studies aiming to achieve the expression levels on a commercial scale. Among the natural sources of pectinases, microbial pectinases are employed frequently owing to its ease of production and unique physicochemical properties. This review mainly focuses on the production of pectinase enzymes along with different types of recent strategies used for their production optimization to get overexpression/production. The promise of genetic engineering approaches applied so far to get the higher production of these enzymes using simpler molecular devices and simple fermentation media is also covered in this review., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The aim of the present study was to enhance the pharmaceutical potential and oral bioavailability of piperine, which is the bioactive constituent of Piper nigrum , using the nanosuspension approach. Nanoprecipitation, which is a simple and reproducible process, was used for nanosuspension formulation. To prepare a pharmaceutical-grade nanosuspension with the required particle size, important formulation parameters (amount of plant extract, concentration of stabilizer, and antisolvent-to-solvent ratio) were optimized using the central composite design of response surface methodology. The optimized nanosuspension was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and in vitro dissolution testing as well as by measuring the zeta potential. In vivo pharmacokinetic studies were conducted to determine the bioavailability of the prepared nanosuspension. Results of the optimization study indicated that 0.13% plant extract, 0.25% stabilizer, and an antisolvent-to-solvent ratio of 10.0 were the best parameters to obtain a homogeneous nanosuspension with the required particle size. The optimized nanosuspension demonstrated a mean particle size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of 172.5 nm, 0.241, and - 16.6 mV, respectively. The results of the characterization studies illustrated that the nanosuspension was in the nanometer size range and had good surface morphology. The optimized nanosuspension showed a better dissolution rate and a 3.65-fold higher oral bioavailability for the P. nigrum nanosuspension than its coarse suspension. The present outcomes clearly demonstrated that to obtain an effective therapeutic potential, nanoformulation of medicinal plants is a better alternative than conventional dosage forms., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest, (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

This work is the first report describing the solution grown 3D manganese oxide nanofibrous (MnO 2 NFs) mesh and its potential for the simultaneous detection of biomolecules such as ascorbic acid and uric acid. The mesh is synthesized by a facile, one-pot, and cost-effective hydrothermal approach without using any template or structure directing compound. The morphology consists of randomly placed nanofibres possessing a diameter in the range of 10-25 nm, and length of several micron; constituting a highly porous and flexible material. The electrochemical potential was examined by recording cyclic voltammetry signals towards ascorbic acid and uric acid. The special mesh morphology offers a large surface area to promote enhanced electrochemical activity, and also provided a macroporous network that supported efficient mass transport. Additionally, the strong electronic cloud and roughness of MnO 2 NFs mesh facilitated the fast oxidation of species at very low potential. The lower detection limit was found to be 1.33 µM (S/N = 3) and 1.03 µM (S/N = 3) for ascorbic acid and uric acid, respectively. The MnO 2 NFs mesh modified electrodes can robustly differentiate both of them by giving well separate signals (Δ = 500 mV) indicating capability of the material towards selective detection. The sensor has been successfully applied to human blood and urine samples and the recoveries were found statistically significant. These results demonstrate the practical feasibility of 3D mesh to develop sensors for the accurate diagnosis of clinically important molecules., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Infection with the dengue virus is currently clinically detected according to different biomarkers in human blood plasma, commonly measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assays, including non-structural proteins (Ns1), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG). However, there is little or no mutual correlation between the biomarkers, as demonstrated in this study by a comparison of their levels in samples from 17 patients. As an alternative, the label free, rapid screening technique, Raman spectroscopy has been used for the characterisation/diagnosis of healthy and dengue infected human blood plasma samples. In dengue positive samples, changes in specific Raman spectral bands associated with lipidic and amino acid/protein content are observed and assigned based on literature and these features can be considered as markers associated with dengue development. Based on the spectroscopic analysis of the current, albeit limited, cohort of samples, Principal Components Analysis (PCA) coupled Factorial Discriminant Analysis, yielded values of 97.95% sensitivity and 95.40% specificity for identification of dengue infection. Furthermore, in a comparison of the normal samples to the patient samples which scored low for only one of the biomarker tests, but high or medium for either or both of the other two, PCA-FDA demonstrated a sensitivity of 97.38% and specificity of 86.18%, thus providing an unambiguous screening technology., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: About 2-5% of the world's population is suffering from liver toxicity including Pakistan with the second highest rate of hepatitis prevalence. Liver is a vital body organ which not only performs metabolic activities but also aids in detoxification, storage and digestion of food. Now a day's malnutrition, alcohol consumption and drug addiction are major causes of liver diseases throughout the world. In fact, there is no possible outcome to compensate liver malfunction for long term, and transplantation of liver is the only option left after the irretrievable injury of hepatic function. Subsequently, natural based therapeutic approaches are in the process of scrupulous testing as strong hepatoprotective mediator. In this regard plants are well thought hepatoprotective agents having multiple active components. In this review, based on species' pharmacology and safety we have compiled some plants which show strong hepatoprotective activity, main phytoconstituents with biological activities and few commercially used herbal formulations., Materials and Methods: Ethnopharmacological information was gathered by an extensive literature survey like WHO monographs on selected herbal medicinal plants (Vol 1-Vol 4); Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy, Mills S and Bone K, Churchill Livingstone, London, UK; Herbal Drugs and Phytopharmaceuticals, Wichtl M Medpharm Press, Stuttgart 3rd edn; Pharmacology and Applications of Chinese Materia Medica Vols 1 and 2, Chang H-M and But P P-H World Scientific, Singapore; British Herbal Compendium Vol. 2, Bradley P British Herbal Medicine Association, Bournemouth, UK; ESCOP Monographs 2nd edn. Thieme, Stuttgart, Germany; as well as by using electronic databases such as Pubchem, Chemspider, http://www.herbal-ahp.org; http://www.ahpa.org; http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2003/9241546271.pdf; http://www.escop.com, Pubmed, HubMed and Scopus., Results: Data for more about 29 plants have been accomplished for their bioactive constituent(s), biological activities and medicinal uses. Some of the plants have been identified as strong hepato-modulator. Such knowledge about traditional medicinal plants can be globally applied for safe and evidence based use in pharmacological applications., Conclusion: With the rise in liver risks a meek struggle has been made to draw attention toward herbal therapy. Hepatoprotective constituents of said plants are expressed with chemical structures. However, for certain plants active constituents are not still isolated/purified but overall plant extract was found effective in providing protection against hepatic injury. As a future perspective, there is need to purify plant active constituents for ethnomedical rationale., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Herbs and plants are mostly used as antimicrobials and antioxidants owing to the harmfulness and linked side-effects of synthetic chemical constituents. Plants and spices produce various metabolites with antibacterial and antioxidant potential. These metabolites are principally revealed as encouraging healing components or mediators which control ailments in human beings. The present study was aimed to characterize the extracts from selected medicinal plants through in-vitro activities. Winged prickly ash, green tea and thyme were selected and extracted through ethanol and methanol solutions. The extracts were assessed for antibacterial and antioxidant activities. The antibacterial potential of extracts showed the significant extent of the activity against Bacillus subtilis and E. coli. The maximum activity was noted in 80% methanolic fraction of Thymus vulgaris (15.20±0.64 mm) against Bacillus subtilis. Antioxidant potential exhibited the highest phenolic and flavonoid content in Camellia sinensis . The total phenolic content was significantly higher (1456.26±12.05 mg gallic acid) in 80% ethanolic fraction of Camellia sinensis. The flavonoid content in different plant extracts ranged from 8.17±2.02 to 376.29±7.11 mg/g. The radical scavenging DPPH assay also showed the significant antioxidant capacity of selected plants with the methanolic (50%) extract of Camellia sinensis found to be the most potent (78.95±7.12%). It was concluded that the alcoholic extracts of selected medicinal plants revealed the effective antibacterial and antioxidant activity, showing protective prospective against oxidative injury.

Use of free microbial enzymes for bioremediation and other industrial applications has several disadvantages like low stability and non-reusability in repeated batch operations. Immobilized enzymes are stable, recoverable and reusable in industrial processes. In this scenario G. lucidum IBL-05 LiP was entrapped in Ca-alginate beads using optimum concentrations of Na-alginate (4%), calcium chloride (0.2M) and glutraldehyde (0.02%). Optimum pH (pH 5) and temperature (55°C) for entrapped LiP were improved as compared to free LiP. Catalytic behavior of LiP also significantly enhanced, as K m value (0.25mM) decreased and V max value (868.6μmol/min) increased after ca-alginate entrapment of LiP. Decolorization efficiencies of Sandal reactive dyes after treating with immobilized LiP were in the range of 80-93%. A significant reduction was observed in water quality parameters including, BOD (66.44-98.22%), COD (81.34-98.82%) and TOC (80.21-97.77%) values. The cytotoxicity values for heamolytic and brine shrimp lethality of dye solutions treated with Ca-alginate immobilized LiP reduced up to 2.10-5.06% and 5.43-9.23%, respectively. On the basis of reduced toxicity and cytotoxicity values, it was concluded that Ca-alginate beads entrapped LiP may be an effective biocatalyst for bioremediation of dye based textile industry effluents., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Batch and column adsorption modes were compared for the adsorption of U(VI) ions using rice husk waste biomass (RHWB). Response surface methodology was employed for the optimization of process variables, i.e., (pH (A), adsorbent dose (B), initial ion concentration (C)) in batch mode. The B, C and C 2 affected the U(VI) adsorption significantly in batch mode. The developed quadratic model was found to be validated on the basis of regression coefficient as well as analysis of variance. The predicted and actual values were found to be correlated well, with negligible residual value, and B, C and C 2 were significant terms. The column study was performed considering bed height, flow rate and initial metal ion concentration, and adsorption efficiency was evaluated through breakthrough curves and bed depth service time and Thomas models. Adsorption was found to be dependent on bed height and initial U(VI) ion concentration, and flow rate decreased the adsorption capacity. Thomas models fitted well to the U(VI) adsorption onto RHWB. Results revealed that RHWB has potential to remove U(VI) ions and batch adsorption was found to be efficient versus column mode.

An extracellular exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG) produced by Penicillium notatum was purified (3.07-folds) by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange, and gel filtration chromatography. Two distinct isoforms of the enzyme, namely exo-PGI and exo-PGII, were identified during column purification with molecular weights of 85 and 20 kDa, respectively, on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme displayed its optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 50 °C and was found to be stable in the slightly acidic pH (ranging from 4.5 to 6.0). Michaelis-Menten parameters, i.e., K m (app) and V max for pectin hydrolysis, were calculated to be 16.6 mg/mL and 20 μmol/mL/min, respectively. The enzyme followed biphasic deactivation kinetics. Phase I of the exo-PGI showed half-lives of 6.83 and 2.39 min at 55 and 80 °C, respectively, whereas phase II of the enzyme exhibited a half-life of 63.57 and 22.72 min at 55 and 80 °C, respectively. The activation energy for denaturation was 51.66 and 44.06 kJ/mol for phase I and phase II of the exo-PGI, respectively. The enzyme activity was considerably enhanced by Mn 2+ , whereas exposure to a hydrophobic environment (urea and sodium azide solution) drastically suppressed the enzyme activity. Results suggest that exo-PGI might be considered as a potential candidate for various applications, particularly in the food and textile industries.

Present study was designed to explore the possibility of Vigna radiata biomass for recovery of uranium ions. Various fundamental process parameters i.e., pH, contact time, temperature and initial uranium ions concentration were optimized and maximum uranium removal (230mg/g) was achieved at pH 4, biosorbent dose 0.05g, contact time 60min contact time and temperature 40°C using 400mg/L uranium ions concentration. The biomass was also pre-treated by different physical and chemical pretreatments to check out their effect on the adsorption capacity. Different kinetic and equilibrium models were applied to the experimental data to understand the uranium adsorption mechanism. Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetic model explained well the adsorption of uranium ions onto Vigna radiata biomass. The biomass physical and chemical pretreatments significantly affected the uranium adsorption and CH 3 COOH 0.15M solution found out to be efficient for de-sorption. FT-IR analysis of native and loaded biomass confirmed the involvement of carbonyl and hydroxyl groups in the uranium adsorption process. The results outcome revealed that Vigna radiata biomass can be used for uranium adsorption in view of low cost and high adsorption efficiency., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Native, HCl pretreated clay and MnFe2O4/clay composite were investigated as an adsorbent for crystal violet (CV) removal. The adsorption behavior of dye was studied in batch experiments as a function of contact time, adsorbent dose, pH, dye initial concentration and temperature. The medium pH 8, contact time 30 min, MnFe2O4/clay composite dose 0.05 mg/L, temperature 35 °C and 100 mg/L dye initial concentration furnished maximum CV adsorption. Adsorption data fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model and maximum CV dye adsorption capacity of composite was 49.74 mg/g. The thermodynamic parameters revealed that the adsorption process of CV was exothermic and spontaneous in nature. CV adsorption followed the pseudo second order kinetic model. MnFe2O4/clay composite exhibited good CV adsorption capacity and can be used as an alternative adsorbent for the removal of basic dyes from effluents.

Lipases are one of the most proficient biocatalysts having enormous biotechnological prospective. Immobilization offers a potential solution to improve the stability and recycling characteristics of lipases. An extracellular lipase from Penicillium notatum (PNL) was immobilized in silicon polymers (SiP) through entrapment, and subsequently coated this matrix on the network of fibers in the sponges. The silicone polymers-immobilized lipase (SiP-lipase) displayed highest apparent activity and entrapment efficiency of 1.19Ug -1 polymers and 92.3%, respectively. It also exhibited greater catalytic activity in broad-working pHs and higher temperature than equivalent free-state of enzyme. Immobilization caused an improvement in thermo-stability of the lipase with an increase in energy of activation. The recycling potential of SiP-lipase was investigated. After reusing the sponge pieces for ten reaction cycles, the SiP preserved its structure without leakage of enzyme, and retained around 90% of its original activity. The SiP surface analysis was envisaged by scanning electron microscopy that further confirmed the recycling efficiency of SiP-lipase. Overall, SiP-lipase displayed a number of useful properties that make it a promising candidate for future applications in different chemical processes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

An extracellular exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG) from Penicillium notatum was immobilized in sodium-alginate matrix through two different protocols, viz. covalent bonding and adsorption to enhance its catalytic activity, thermal stability and life-time properties for industrial applications. Covalent immobilization was more efficient in terms of high relative activity (45.89%) and immobilization yield (71.6%) as compared to adsorption. Immobilized exo-PG derivatives displayed maximum activities at pH 5.5 and 55°C as compared to free enzyme which showed its optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 50°C. The affinity of enzyme towards its substrate (K m(app) ) was reduced after immobilization and V max of covalently immobilized exo-PG decreased to 66.7% while the V max value of adsorbed enzyme increased up to 150% as compared to free counterpart. Both immobilization techniques greatly enhanced the thermal stability profile of the enzyme. At 60°C, immobilized exo-PGs retained more than 90% of their residual activities after 60min of heating, while free enzyme did not show any activity at the same temperature. Thermodynamic properties (i.e., Ea, ΔH*, ΔS*and ΔG*) of the free and immobilized enzymes were also investigated. Sodium-alginate covalently immobilized and adsorbed enzymes showed excellent recycling efficiencies and retained 50.0% and 41.0% of original activities, respectively after seven consecutive batch reactions. Moreover, the immobilized enzymes treatment achieved promising results in turbidity and viscosity reduction as well as clarity amelioration in various fruit juices. Altogether catalytic, thermo-stability and fruit juices clarification characteristics of the immobilized ex-PGs suggest a high potential for biotechnological exploitability., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Citrus limon peroxidase mediated decolourization of Direct Yellow 4 (DY4) was investigated. The process variables (pH, temperature, incubation time, enzyme dose, H 2 O 2 amount, dye concentration, co-metal ions and surfactants) were optimized for maximum degradation of dye. Maximum dye decolourization of 89.47% was achieved at pH 5.0, temperature 50 °C, enzyme dose 24 U/mL, H 2 O 2 concentration 0.25 mM and DY4 concentration 18.75 mg/L and incubation time 10 min. The co-metal ions and surfactants did not affect the dye decolourization significantly. Response surface analysis revealed that predicted values were in agreement with experimentally determined responses. The degradation products were identified by UPLC/MS analysis and degradation pathway was proposed. Besides, phytotoxicity assay revealed a considerable detoxification in response of biodegradation of DY4 dye. C. limon showed promising efficiency for DY4 degradation and could possibly be used for the remediation of textile effluents., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Environmental applications of composites have attracted the interests of researchers due to their excellent adsorption efficiency for pollutants. Native, HCl pre-treated clay and MnFe 2 O 4 /clay composite were investigated as an adsorbent for removal of methyl green from aqueous solution. The adsorption behaviors of dye onto native, HCl pre-treated and composite clays were studied as a function of contact time, adsorbent dose, pH, initial dye concentration and temperature. Maximum dye adsorption of 44 mg/g was achieved at pH of 8, contact time 40 min, adsorbent dose 0.20 g/L and initial dye concentration of 125 mg/L using clay composite. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model best explained the methyl green dye adsorption onto clay adsorbents. Thermodynamic parameters revealed the endothermic and spontaneous adsorption nature of dye. From results, it is concluded that clay has potential for adsorbing methyl green and can be used for the removal of dyes from industrial effluents.

Composites of polyaniline, starch, polypyrrole, chitosan aniline and chitosan pyrrole using peanut waste were prepared and employed for the adsorption of Crystal Violet (CV) dye from aqueous media. The process variables i.e., composite doses, pH, contact time, CV initial concentration and temperature were optimized. Thermodynamic, equilibrium modelling and kinetics models were fitted to the CV adsorption data in order to understand the mechanism and nature of CV adsorption onto native and composite adsorbents. Maximum CV adsorption of 100.6mg/g was achieved (onto chitosan aniline composite) using 150mg/L dye initial concentration, 50°C temperature, 60min contact time, 0.05g adsorbent dose and>7pH. Effect of composites pre-treatments with salts, surfactants and co-metals ions were also studied. The CV adsorption efficiencies of adsorbents were found in following order; chitosan aniline composite>starch composite>chitosan pyrrole composite>polyaniline composite>polypyrrole composite>native peanut biomass. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm fitted well to the CV equilibrium adsorption data and intraparticle diffusion was the rate limiting step. Composites showed endothermic and energetically stable nature for CV adsorption. Composites also showed good desorption properties, which revealed the recycling ability of prepared composites., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A series of aqueous dispersions of polyurethane (PU) and low molecular weight chitosan (CS (LMW) ) has been prepared in two steps synthetic process. In first step PU prepolymer, with NCO termini were prepared by reacting isophrone diisocyanate (IPDI), poly (caprolactone) diol (CAPA, Mn 1000), and 2,2-dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA), followed by neutralization of PU prepolymer with triethylamine (TEA). In second step PU prepolymer chain was extended by low molecular weight chitosan followed by dispersion formation by adding calculated volume of water. Molecular characterization of CS (LMW) -PU finishes was done by FTIR and application on poly-cotton blended fabric samples was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Antimicrobial and UV protective performance of treated fabrics was performed by AATCC 100 and AATCC TM183 methods respectively. Furthermore, it shows that the addition of chitosan remarkably increases antimicrobial and UV protective properties of PUs., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A series of polyurethane dispersions were synthesized through two step polymerization technique. A PU prepolymer with NCO termini was prepared using isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), poly caprolactone diols (CAPA of mol. wt. 1000) and DMPA (3:1:1), and PU prepolymer chain was extended with different mole ratios of low molecular weight chitosan and finally aqueous emulsion was prepared by adding suitable volume of water. The proposed structure of chitosan based PU dispersions was confirmed through FTIR spectroscopy. The prepared aqueous CS (LMW) -CPUIs emulsions were applied onto the different quality plain weave poly-cotton dyed and printed fabric pieces using pad-dry-cure procedures. The physical properties such as air permeability, stiffness and crease recovery angle (CRA), pilling resistance, tear and tensile strength of the treated and untreated fabric samples were also evaluated. The results revealed that the incorporation of chitosan has pronounced effect on the properties of treated fabrics. This research could be extended in future for performance evaluation of pure cotton and woolen fabrics., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)