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Vitamin D deficiency is now a global health problem; despite several drug delivery systems for carrying vitamin D due to low bioavailability and loss bioactivity. Developing a new drug delivery system to deliver vitamin D3 is a strong incentive in the current study. Hence, an implantable drug delivery system (IDDS) was developed from the electrospun cellulose acetate (CA) and e-polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibrous membrane, in which the core of implants consists of vitamin D3-loaded CA nanofiber (CAVD) and enclosed in a thin layer of the PCL membrane (CAVD/PCL). CA nanofibrous mat loaded with vitamin D3 at the concentrations of 6, 12, and 20% (w/w) of vitamin D3 were produced using electrospinning. The smooth and bead-free fibers with diameters ranged from 324 to 428 nm were obtained. The fiber diameters increased with an increase in vitamin D3 content. The controlled drug release profile was observed over 30-days, which fit with the zero-order model (R2 > 0.96) in the first stage. The mechanical properties of IDDS were improved. Young's modulus and tensile strength of CAVD/PCL (dry) were161 ± 14 and 13.07 ± 2.5 MPa, respectively. CA and PCL nanofibers are non-cytotoxic based on the results of the in-vitro cytotoxicity studies. This study can further broaden in-vivo study and provide a reference for developing a new IDDS to carry vitamin D3 in the future.

Porous nanofiber electrospun of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)/pectin was successfully developed using electrospinning method containing benzalkonium chloride (BAC) as a drug model for the controlled drug delivery system assessment. The electrospun was tested for its mechanical, morphological, and wettability properties. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrograph demonstrated that the smooth surfaces of nanofibers morphology had achieved up to 2 wt% pectin inclusion with optimum fiber diameter, 143 ± 1.4 nm. The optimized scaffold PVDF/Pectin showed that the reduction of mechanical integrity and the optimum value of tensile strength, modulus strength, and elongation at break were 5.98 ± 0.17 MPa, 16.82 ± 0.10 MPa, and 79.3 ± 1.3% MPa. Water contact angle analysis and degree of swelling suggested that the inclusion of pectin had enhanced the wettability properties of hydrophobic PVDF electrospun with the highest swelling capacity achieved of 78.9 ± 1.7%. The in vitro drug release tests using BAC, which was released from the hybrid electrospun nanofibers, achieved prolonged release profile due to the elimination of the uncontrollable initial burst release. Kinetic release study from Higuchi Model and Korsmeyer-Peppas further validates that the drug release mechanism is only influenced by the diffusion factor. The present study indicates the potential of PVDF/pectin electrospun nanofibers to be exploited as a tool for a sustainable drug delivery system.

This review begins with a discussion of the general properties of gelatin and its sources, particularly in the food and health industries, and then briefly address the status quo of gelatin in today's market. Apart from the basic chemical compounds and gelatin types, this paper also discussed the commercialisation of gelatin. This study also highlights the production of conventional gelatin and its current method of processing, i.e. enzymatic hydrolysis. In addition, the variety of raw materials of collagen is outlined and briefly broached the plant hydrocolloids which have been labeled as 'veggie-gelatin'. With regard to the potential and market stability of gelatin, its recent studies are summarised in this paper. Accordingly, this paper focuses on assessing the general utilities of the various sources of collagen as gelatin derivatives. At that basis, the aim of this review is to provide an insight into gelatin in current applications, market value and progress in gelatin extraction.

Deposition of bioactive and degradable coatings on titanium implants before implantation is objectively to create a biologically-inspired surface that can enhance cell anchorage at the initial stage of implantation and facilitate osseointegration at the later stage of implantation. Therefore, this review paper is aim to discuss the surface functionality of titanium and its alloys regarding its physical structure, chemical composition and biological reaction through its deposited coatings of the altered surface. This review begins by explaining the working fundamentals of biomaterials and present methods used to adjust the titanium surface for biomedical applications, followed by the concept of biocompatibility of the coated surfaces of the titanium-based implant and the mechanism for adapting the affected surface to its bioimplanted environments. The paper also discusses the possible challenges of biocompatibility of the bioactive coating on titanium for implants. Intriguingly, the usability of 3D-printing technology as an implant surface modification technique is addressed in this recent study. In addition to the existing review papers on the surface modification of titanium-based implants, this current review contributes to the outline concept of biocompatible coated titanium. Herein, the outlined principle focused on the osseointegration mechanisms within coated titanium to its implanted environment, most of which are based on recent findings and are further adopted by today's influential literature on titanium surface modification and its alloys.

A new potential biomimetic polymeric 3D scaffold is fabricated using collagen entrapment and 3D printed polylactic acid scaffold. The modified scaffold was characterized by compressive modulus, degree of swelling, water contact angle (WCA), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The findings show that sample PLA/col40 with 40 s entrapment duration is the optimum composition that meets the requirement for artificial bone tissue replacement. In vitro biomineralization using simulated body fluid (SBF) demonstrates that the PLA/collagen 3D scaffold is able to promote the growth of hydroxyapatite (HA) after 7 days which will subsequently improve the osteoconductive and osteoinductive properties of the 3D scaffold. The overall results suggest the potential of the 3D PLA/collagen scaffold as a prospective material for bone tissue engineering applications.

Transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDS) have drawn more interest from pharmaceutical scientists because they could provide steady blood levels and prevent the first-pass metabolism over a longer period. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been widely used in this application due to its biocompatibility, non-toxicity, nanofiber and hydrogel-forming ability. Despite those benefits, their morphology would easily be destroyed by continuous water absorption and contribute to burst drug release due to its hydrophilicity. The aim of this study was to prepare the diclofenac sodium (DS)-medicated dual layer PVA patch using a combination of electrospinning and cryogelation (freeze–thaw) methods to improve the physicochemical properties and drug compatibility and investigate the release of the DS-medicated dual layer PVA patch. Morphological observations using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) verified the polymer−polymer interaction between both layers, whereas Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has demonstrated the compatibility of DS in PVA matrix up to 2% w/v of PVA volume. The DS loads were found amorphously distributed efficaciously in PVA matrix as no visible spectra of DS–PVA interaction were detected. The DS-medicated dual layer PVA patch with a thicker nanofiber layer (3-milliliter running volume), three freeze–thaw cycles and 2% DS loading labeled as 2%DLB3C show the lowest swelling capacity (18.47%). The in vitro assessment using Franz diffusion cells showed that the 2%DLB3C indicates a better sustained release of DS, with 53.26% of the DS being released after 12 h. The 2%DLB3C owned a flux (Jss) of 0.256 mg/cm2/h and a permeability coefficient (Kp) value of 0.020 cm/h. Thus, the results demonstrate that DS-medicated dual layer PVA patches prepared via a combination of electrospinning and cryogelation are capable of releasing drugs for up to 24 h and can serve as a drug reservoir in the skin, thereby extending the pharmacologic effects of DS.

This work reports the fabrication and characterizations of porous scaffold made up of polylactic acid (PLA) with the inclusion of pectin (1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 wt%) for potential tissue engineering material. The composite scaffold was prepared using a facile method of freeze extraction. Based on the physical evaluations, the scaffold was suggested to be optimum at 5 wt% of pectin loading. Water contact angle of the scaffold was significantly reduced to 46.5o with the inclusion of 5 wt% of pectin. Morphological and topographic of the PLA scaffold revealed that the pectin induced more porous structure and its surface became rougher which was suitable for cell attachment and proliferation. In vitro studies of the PLA/pectin composite scaffold using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromidelt (MTT) assay revealed good biocompatibility whereas Live-Dead kit assay resulted in 91% cell viability after 7 days of incubation.

Most of the fish pellet in market is quite low in requisites of water stability and can swell easily when it is immersed in water. Therefore, the soluble minerals and vitamins will be easily drained out from the pellet. Hence, a study was conducted to reduce the degree of mineral leaching and swelling while the floating time was maximized. The study was conducted to study the effect of varying the concentration of protein, vitamins, fats and carbohydrate on the swelling, leaching, floating properties and morphology of the developed soft-dry fish pellets for Red Tilapia from household waste. The result shows the relationship between fish feed formulation and properties of fish feed pellet produced. Fish feed of formulation of 50% exhibit the desired swelling, leaching and surface morphology with swelling rate of 10.20%, absorbance of 0.023 for leaching test and with few pores on the surface of the fish feed.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has gained attention among researchers in materials science and bio-medicine due to its fascinating properties. However, BC’s fibre collapse phenomenon (i.e., its inability to reabsorb water after dehydration) is one of the drawbacks that limit its potential. To overcome this, a catalyst-free thermal crosslinking reaction was employed to modify BC using citric acid (CA) without compromising its biocompatibility. FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDX, TGA, and tensile analysis were carried out to evaluate the properties of the modified BC (MBC). The results confirm the fibre crosslinking phenomenon and the improvement of some properties that could be advantageous for various applications. The modified nanofibre displayed an improved crystallinity and thermal stability with increased water absorption/swelling and tensile modulus. The MBC reported here can be used for wound dressings and tissue scaffolding.

Purpose Over the years, electrical stimulation in drug delivery system holds particular interest in producing spatially and temporally controlled release mechanism. These systems helped in localized doses drugs to be administrated and response efficiently at target site to achieve excellent healing effect in control microenvironment. Extensive research is needed in order to develop versatile electroactive biomaterials in the field of therapeutics applications. This paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This work reports the development of polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun coated with pectin/polyaniline (PANi) composite, which has been characterized and whose drug delivery application is ascertained. The composite has been characterized on its mechanical conductivity and wettability properties to evaluate best formulation. The analysis on morphological properties using scanning electron microscope (SEM) confirmed the formation of the dual-layer electro-responsive composite. Findings Among different formulations studied, the pectin/PANi composition (12 percent/3 percent) was found to be an optimized composition with ultimate tensile strength of 55.48±0.65 MPa and modulus strength of 63.30±0.43 MPa with 2.41×10–3 Scm−1 electrical percolation. The hydrophobic PCL electrospun reduced as coating material was introduced on top with optimum of 85.3 percent degree of swelling and water contact angle at 39.17±0.67°. SEM micrograph revealed strong interaction between dual-layer structures with interconnected porous of uniform fibers. Originality/value Overall, these data present a multiangle initial characterization of this novel dual-layer electro-responsive composite for applications in drug delivery. However, additional analysis should be performed in order to provide a clear verification as drug delivery scaffold.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) has gained research attention in materials science and biomedicine due to its fascinating properties. BCs' fiber collapse phenomenon (inability to reabsorb water after dehydration) is one of the drawbacks that limit its potentials. To overcome this, a catalyst-free thermal crosslinking reaction was employed to modify the BC using citric acid (CA) without compromising the biocompatibility. Properties evaluation of the modified BC (MBC) by FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDX, TGA, and Tensile analysis confirmed the fiber crosslinking and improvement of some properties that could be advantageous for various applications. The modified nanofiber seems to maintain its inherent crystallinity and thermal stability with an increased water absorption/swelling and tensile modulus. The resulting MBC reported here can be relevant for wound dressings and tissue scaffolding.

Vitamin D deficiency is now a global health problem; despite several drug delivery systems for carrying vitamin D due to low bioavailability and loss bioactivity. Developing a new drug delivery system to deliver vitamin D

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), a piezoelectric material, is commonly used in tissue engineering due to its potential for mimicking the electrical microenvironment of biological conditions for tissue development. In this present research, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was introduced into electrospun PVDF fabrication through an electrospinning process, aiming to enhance the nanofibrous membrane's biocompatibility properties by improving the hydrophilicity properties to act as an artificial tissue scaffold. The electrospun PVDF/PVA membranes are found to be optimum at a PVDF-to-PVA ratio of 90:10 due to its excellent mechanical, morphological, and hydrophilicity conductivity properties. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy verified strong hydrogen bonding interaction formed between the fluorine group of PVDF with oxygen-containing in the hydroxyl group of PVA. In-vitro cell culture showed that the enhanced hydrophilic property of electrospun PVDF/PVA could significantly enhance the cell growth. These positive results indicated that the scaffold could be implemented as artificial tissue material for tissue engineering applications. ABSTRAK: Polivinilidena fluorida (PVDF) adalah bahan piezoelektrik yang biasa digunakan dalam kejuruteraan tisu kerana potensinya menyerupai keadaan persekitaran mikro-elektrik biologi bagi perkembangan tisu. Dalam penyelidikan ini, polivinil alkohol (PVA) diperkenalkan ke dalam fabrikasi pintalan-elektro PVDF melalui proses pemintalan-elektro, yang bertujuan bagi mengembangkan sifat biokompatibiliti membran nanogentian dengan meningkatkan sifat hidrofilik bagi menjadi perancah tisu tiruan. Membran pintalan-elektro PVDF / PVA didapati optimum pada nisbah PVDF-ke-PVA, 90:10 kerana sifat kekonduksian, mekanikal, morfologi dan hidrofiliknya yang sangat baik. Spektroskopi transformasi inframerah Fourier (FTIR) mengesahkan interaksi ikatan hidrogen yang kuat terbentuk antara kumpulan fluoro PVDF dengan oksigen yang terkandung dalam kumpulan hidroksil PVA. Kultur sel secara in-vitro menunjukkan bahawa sifat hidrofilik pintalan-elektro PVDF / PVA dapat meningkatkan pertumbuhan sel secara signifikan. Hasil positif ini menunjukkan bahawa perancah ini dapat digunakan sebagai bahan tisu buatan bagi aplikasi kejuruteraan tisu.

Wound dressing have experienced continuous improvement and changes since ancient time. Electrospinning of polymeric nanofibers have captured the interest of researchers due to its simplicity and cost effective technique that able to produce wound dressing membrane that meet the requirement as ideal wound dressing and drug delivery carrier. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and poly (lactic acid) (PLA) were chosen polymer to produce wound dressing membrane through electrospinning and coating method. PVA was electrospun and then coated with PLA. Preliminary study had been conducted between 1, 4 and 8% concentration for the selection of optimum PLA coating concentration. PLA has been proposed for the use of coating materials at 4%, the coated nanofiber membrane started to exhibit high Ultimate Tensile Strength at 1022.5 ± 9.28 MPa, highest degree of swelling (1850 ± 3.7 %) and optimum water contact angle (60.9 ± 11.46˚). The aim of this study was to investigate the morphological properties of PVA/PLA wound dressing membrane. Based on the results from Atomic Force Microscope, PVA nanofiber coated with 4% PLA exhibit the highest value of Rq which is 0.47 ± 0.19 μm compared to neat PVA nanofibers membrane. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) image revealed that PVA nanofiber coated with 4% PLA shows porous fiber-like morphology and well incorporated with each other without any gap formed between them. This report clearly suggestive of the fact that synthetic biodegradable polymers such as PLA can be exploited for the synergistic combination with PVA nanofiber for wound dressing application.

This review focuses on the potential of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) as tissue scaffolding materials. PVDF is defined in terms of the synthesis mechanisms and the method of the β phase formation process. General properties are fundamentally discussed in terms of their wettability and electroactive characteristics, which play an essential role in modifying other potential materials for tissue-based applications. The latest technologies for the replacement of artificial tissue scaffolds are evaluated, and the applications of PVDF-based scaffolds are discussed.

This work reports the surface modification of 3D printed PLA scaffold with chitosan and its hydroxyapatite (HA) forming capability. PLA scaffold was fabricated using a desktop 3D printer followed by the inclusion of chitosan on the surface via surface entrapment. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) images showed existence of chitosan entrapment with depth of 24 μm. Immersion of the modified PLA scaffold in simulated body fluid resulted in formation of apatite layers on the surface. Plus the entrapment method does not induce any cytotoxic response towards human fibroblast cell. This method provides a facile approach of obtaining 3D printed scaffold with good bioactivity thus has potential in biomimetic and tissue engineering.

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the world. Due to disadvantages of using the medical device to recover the function of the heart, researchers are getting interested to discover new intervention for cardiovascular diseases. Bioprinting is one facet of tissue engineering which has been emerging in recent years to build a three dimensional constructs containing biological cells and show a promising potential to overcome the challenges of current intervention of cardiovascular diseases. In this chapter, authors attempt to review and discuss on bioprinting of tissue engineered human heart. Explanation will be based on introduction of bioprinting, the materials it used, the potential of cell sources and previous work done.

Dry bacterial cellulose nanofiber (BC) sheet coated with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was developed and characterized towards acute wound healing applications. This new approach of PLA coating on BC revealed enhanced physical and antibacterial properties. Commercial BC sheets originated from the manufacturing of nata de coco jelly were dried and coated with the PLA at various concentrations of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 % w/v for the purpose of improving the mechanical properties and followed by loading of antiseptic such as benzalkonium chloride (BAC). PLA has been proposed for the use of coating materials at a concentration of 8 %, the biocomposite sheet started exhibiting a low moisture uptake, prolonged swelling in simulated wound fluid solution and high tear (9.17 Nm2/kg) and burst indices (32.5 kPa·m2/g). The 8 % PLA coating revealed porous fiber-like morphology as observed under scanning electron microscope. Therapeutic loading capacity of the BC/8 PLA was substantially higher than the pristine BC. Furthermore strong antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureaus and Escherichia coli were observed for the BC/8PLA biocomposite film. These reports were clearly suggestive of the fact that synthetic biodegradable polymers, such as PLA, may be exploited for the synergistic combination with BC for antimicrobial and acute wound management. This new and modified fiber source material could reduce the dependency on plant based cellulose for more demanding biomedical applications such as wound healing materials, vascular graft, cartilage replacement, drug delivery and tissue engineering.

The application of biomaterials in biomedicine currently suffers some drawbacks, such as inflammation and immunological responses due to mismatching and/or limited compatibility. Biomaterials that are cross-linked with citric acid (CA), also called citrate-based biomaterials (CBBs), have exhibited advanced in-vitro and in-vivo material properties that make them suitable for various biomedical applications. Tunable mechanical properties, biocompatibility, and biofunctionality are among other factors that make CBBs interesting in this field. To emphasize the safety and greenness nature of CA, in this review, we have highlighted the history, potential considerations of exploration, and a summarized stage-wise criterion for developing CBBs. We also discuss several points of view about the application of CA and CBBs in many different aspects of biomedicine, such as in tissue engineering, cancer therapy, and wound dressings.

The stigma of Crocus sativus, known as saffron, is one of the most expensive spices in the world. The bioactive components in saffron, picrocrocin, crocin, and safranal, have demonstrated a wide ra...

This work reports the reinforcement of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel with halloysite nanotubes (HNT) as potential biomedical materials. The nanocomposite hydrogel was prepared using the facile and harmless process of freeze–thawing. Mechanical properties of the hydrogels were optimum at 2 wt% of HNT loading. Morphological and topographic analysis of the PVA/HNT hydrogel revealed excellent filler dispersion and smoothing of surface due to good compatibility between the components. Immersion of the PVA/HNT hydrogel in simulated body fluid for 7 days resulted in the formation of fully covered apatite layers on the surface. This is a good indication of bioactivity for artificial cartilage material.

This work reports the reinforcement of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel with chitosan as potential superabsorbent (SAP) fertilizer. The PVA/Chitosan hydrogel was prepared using superficial freeze thawing method. Mechanical properties and swelling ratio of the SAP hydrogels were optimum at 6 wt% of chitosan loading. Morphological analysis of the PVA/Chitosan hydrogel revealed excellent crystal like structure distribution and smooth of the surface due to good compatibility between the materials. The water retention of soil containing PVA/Chitosan hydrogel was also examined. It was found that the SAP hydrogel increased the water retention soil and sand at capacity 48.21 and 48.24 % respectively after 15 days. The influence of the SAP hydrogel on seed germination was observed using Okra seeds. The seeding has higher germination energy when the PVA/Chitosan hydrogel incorporated with the soil compared with soil without aid of SAP hydrogel. This is a good indication of the prepared SAP hydrogel for controlled release fertilizer.

Cellulose acetate (CA) is a remarkable biomaterial most extensively used in biomedical applications due to their properties. This review highlighted the synthesis and chemical structure of CA polymer as well as focused on the mechanical, chemical, thermal, biocompatible, and biodegradable properties of electrospun CA nanofibers. These properties are essential in the evaluation of the CA nanofibers and provide information as a reference for the further utilization and improvement of CA nanofibers. Moreover, we have summarized the use of electrospun CA nanofibers in the drug delivery system as a carrier for drugs and classify them according to the drug class, including anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant, antimicrobial agents, vitamins and amino acids. Our review has been concluded that CA nanofibers cannot wholly be biodegraded within the human body due to the absence of cellulase enzyme but degraded by microorganisms. Hence, the biodegradation of CA nanofibers in vivo has addressed as a critical challenge.

Three dimensional (3D) bioprinting is the process of building a 3D construct containing biological cells. There are varies set of printing parameter involved in 3D bioprinting system that will affect the structure and the mechanical properties of the bioprinted construct. This study was done to investigated the effect of extrusion pressure and infill density on the polycaprolactone (PCL) 3D printed construct’s morphology, printing accuracy and compressive strength. Based on morphological evaluations using scanning electron microscope, the printed scaffold was suggested to be at the best condition at pressure 60psi using 80% infill setting. Besides, the mechanical testing revealed the printed scaffold was successfully fabricated without losing its mechanical integrity. This is a good indication for PCL as structural host material to obtain functionalized 3D scaffold using bioprinting method.

Transdermal drugs delivery offers many advantages over conventional routes of drug delivery that led to this burgeoning interest in this route in recent years. The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of diclofenac sodium (DS) loaded dual layer PVA patch on physicochemical and mechanical properties. The influence of DS-loaded dual layer PVA patch was employed and characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to observe the polymeric interaction between PVA cryogel and electrospun nanofiber, the FTIR were used to study the interaction of DS in dual layer PVA patch and tensile strength were tested to study the mechanical properties of the DS-loaded dual layer PVA patch. The results show the polymer interaction between PVA cryogel and electrospun nanofiber were observed. The DS spectra were found separately from PVA matrix. As for mechanical strength the curves of DS-loaded were decreased as the percentage of DS loading increases. These results shows that the dual layer PVA patch can be used as the carrier for transdermal DS delivery.

This work reports the modification of freeze/thaw poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel using citric acid as the bioactive molecule for hydroxyapatite formation in simulated body fluid. Inclusion of 1.3 mM citric acid into the poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel showed that the mechanical strength, crystalline phase, functional groups and swelling ability were still intact. Adding citric acid at higher concentrations (1.8 and 2.3 mM), however, resulted in physically poor hydrogels. Presence of 1.3 mM of citric acid showed the growth of porous hydroxyapatite crystals on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface just after one day of immersion in simulated body fluid. Meanwhile, a fully covered apatite layer on the poly(vinyl alcohol) surface plus the evidence of apatite forming within the hydrogel were observed after soaking for seven days. Gel strength of the soaked poly(vinyl alcohol)/citric acid-1.3 mM hydrogel revealed that the load resistance was enhanced compared to that of the neat poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel. This facile method of inducing rapid growth of hydroxyapatite on the hydrogel surface as well as within the hydrogel network can be useful for guided bone regenerative materials.

This paper reports the properties of newly developed electrically conductive natural fiber made up of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) and conducting polyaniline (PANI). The results revealed that the in situ coating of PANI (1 wt.%) showed minimal reduction on the PALF tensile strength. Percolation concentration of the PANI was observed at 5 wt.% and its corresponding electron micrograph showed good polymer deposition with the characteristic globular PANI formation plus no fiber damages. This fiber material has potentials for many applications such as composites, electroactive fillers and conductive sheets.

Environmental awareness and depletion of the wood resources are among vital factors that motivate various researchers to explore the potential of agro-based crops as an alternative source of fiber material in paper industries such as writing, printing, wrapping, and packaging. Fibers from agro-based crops are available in abundance, low cost, and most importantly its biodegradability features, which sometimes referred as “ecofriendly” materials. This paper reports the biopulping of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) by Ceriporiopsis subvermispora towards the properties of its fiber and paper forms. The individual fibers were characterized having good tensile properties at 0.3% of fungus treatment and favourable structural properties as characterized by Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy. It was also shown that the PALF paper achieved desirable tear index value and uniform morphological observations compared to the conventional chemical pulping method. This new approach of pulping PALF finds applications in paper and packaging products which requires biofriendly characteristic and cost effective.

This research work reports new electrically conductive paper made of pineapple leaf fiber and polyaniline (PALF/PANI). The conductive paper shows remarkable preservation of mechanical properties while achieving its conductive state. Also it was found that, the amount of PANI needed to achieve the conductivity transformation is as low as 5 wt.%.

Graphene and graphene oxide have been the forefront of research in the field of carbon nanostructures. In this chapter, the authors attempt to review and discuss works on electrospinning of graphene oxide-based nanofibre materials, mainly focusing on their combination with polymeric materials. Explanation and insights towards their method of preparation, properties and applications will be discussed. The conclusion section will give some closing remarks regarding the future direction of graphene-based nanofibres.

Novel conducting kenaf core/polyaniline (KC-PANI) biofibers were successfully prepared via in situ oxidative polymerization. The newly developed conducting KC achieved enhancement in DC conductivity up to seven fold compared to the raw KC. Enhanced interaction was obtained between the acetylated KC-PANI surfaces compared to untreated KC-PANI, without significant loss in the cellulose crystallinity. The morphological analysis revealed uniform layers of PANI deposited on the surface of acetylated KC. Epoxy resin (EP) containing KC-PANI (EP/KC-PANI composites) showed that the electrical percolation of KC-PANI occurred at 20 wt.%. The tensile strength of the EP/KC-PANI composites was slightly reduced compared to that of EP/KC composites at the same loading fraction. However, the flexural test revealed that the presence of KC-PANI increased the flexural strength of the EP composites by up to 15 wt.% loading. Electron micrograph of the EP/KC-PANI composite indicated favourable adhesion between components.

Biomimetic hydroxyapatite (HA) growth on mercerized kenaf fiber (KF) was achieved by immersion in a simulated body fluid (SBF) solution with the addition of a chelating agent. An electron micrograph revealed uniform HA layers on the KF within 14 days of immersion with significant vibrational peaks of HA components. The tensile tests showed no significant drops in the unit break of the modified fibers. This new bone-like apatite coating on KF can be useful in the field of bone tissue engineering. The key motivation for this new approach was that it utilizes the abundantly available kenaf plant resource as the biobased template.

This paper reports the properties of newly developed electrically conductive natural fiber paper sheet made up of kenaf fiber (KF) incorporated with polyaniline coated kenaf fiber (KF-PANI). This study proposed on dispersion of conductive filler in different amount (wt %) into kenaf pulp for developing different electrical conductivity. The conductive sheet (KF/KF-PANI) revealed a percolation concentration at 25 wt% of KF-PANI. Its scanning electron micrograph showed good paper formation with no significant damages.

Environmental awareness and depletion of the wood resources are among vital factors that motivate various researchers to explore the potential of agrobased crops as an alternative source of fiber material in paper industries such as writing, printing, wrapping, and packaging. Fibers from agro-based crops are available in abundance, low cost, and most importantly its biodegradability features, which sometimes referred as “ecofriendly” materials. This paper attempt to study the effect of mercerization treatment on the structural and morphological properties of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF) pulp. It was shown that the PALF pulp achieved favourable structural and morphological properties as characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The mercerized fibers (15% NaOH) achieved the best tensile properties compared to that of pristine fibers.This modification have the potential to be utilized as pulp for paper based products.