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Topic Review
Polymeric Nanomaterials for Efficient Delivery of Antimicrobial Agents
Polymeric nanomaterials have been widely studied as carriers for constructing antimicrobial agent delivery systems and have shown advantages including high biocompatibility, sustained release, targeting and improved bioavailability. 
  • 512
  • 20 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Electrospun Polymer Materials with Fungicidal Activity
There has been special interest in innovative technologies such as polymer melt or solution electrospinning, electrospraying, centrifugal electrospinning, coaxial electrospinning, and others. Applying these electrokinetic methods, micro- or nanofibrous materials with high specific surface area, high porosity, and various designs for diverse applications could be created. 
  • 508
  • 22 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Evaluation of PIL Graft Conjugates
In vitro cytotoxicity of polymer-carriers, which in the side chains contain the cholinum ionic liquid units with chloride (Cl) or pharmaceutical anions dedicated for antituberculosis therapy, i.e., p-aminosalicylate (PAS) and clavulanate (CLV), was investigated. The carriers and drug conjugates were examined against human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549) as an experimental model cancer cell line possibly coexisting in tuberculosis. The cytotoxicity was evaluated by MTT test and confluency index, as well as by the cytometric analyses, including Annexin-V FITC apoptosis assay. The polymer systems showed supporting activity towards the normal cells and no tumor progress, especially at the highest concentration (100 μg/mL). The analysis of cell death did not show meaningful changes in the case of the BEAS-2B, whereas in the A549 cell line, the cytostatic activity was observed, especially for the drug-free carriers, causing death in up to 80% of cells. This can be regulated by the polymer structure, including the content of cationic units, side-chain length and density, as well as the type and content of pharmaceutical anions. The results of MTT tests, confluency, as well as cytometric analyses, distinguished the polymer systems with Cl/PAS/CLV containing 26% of grafting degree and 43% of ionic units or 46% of grafting degree and 18% of ionic units as the optimal systems.
  • 508
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Electrospinning of Nanofibrous Membrane
Among the different fabrication approaches of nanofibrous membrane, electrospinning is considered as the most favorable and effective due to its advantages of controllable process, high production efficiency, and low cost.
  • 505
  • 01 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Synthetic Polymeric Corrosion Inhibitor
An anti-corrosion inhibitor is one of the most useful methods to prevent metal corrosion toward different media. In comparison with small molecular inhibitors, a polymeric inhibitor can integrate more adsorption groups and generate a synergetic effect, which has been widely used in industry and become a hot topic in academic research.
  • 503
  • 24 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Disentangled Polymers and Composites
Macromolecule entanglements are common in polymers. The chains of macromolecules with carbon skeletons are flexible. The isolated chain easily takes the shape of a coil. When a macromolecule is surrounded by other macromolecules, its coils interpenetrate, and entanglements arise between these macromolecules. The condition of their occurrence is that their molecular weight exceeds a certain limit. The entanglements may be topological (these are common) or cohesive. Entanglement with another macromolecule limits the movement of the macromolecule's chain, so it is an obstacle to this movement.
  • 503
  • 29 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Chemical Recycling for Plastic Waste
Plastics play an integral role in shaping our modern society and are ubiquitous in our daily lives. Their superior material characteristics, performance, and low production cost make them desirable for vast consumer and industrial applications. Chemical or feedstock recycling refers to any reprocessing technology directly affecting the formulation of polymeric waste or the polymer itself.  The recycling plastic waste through chemical means are explored.
  • 493
  • 23 May 2023
Topic Review
Chemical Composition of Giant Miscanthus from Different Climatic Regions
Lignocellulosic biomass is of great interest as an alternative energy resource because it has a number of advantages. Miscanthus x gigantis is a lignocellulosic feedstock of particular interest because it combines high biomass productivity with low environmental impact, including control of CO 2 emissions. The chemical composition of lignocellulose determines the possibilities of its use for efficient industrial processing. Here we have collected specimens from a collection of Miscanthus x giganteus, which were grown in different climatic regions between 2019 and 2021. The chemical composition was quantified using traditional wet methods. The results were compared with each other and with known data. It has been shown that already from the first year of vegetation, miscanthus has the following chemical composition: cellulose content 43.2–55.5%, acid-insoluble lignin content 17.1–25.1%, pentosan 17.9–22.9%, ash content 0, 90–2.95%, and 0.3–1.2% extractives. Habitat and environment have been found to influence the chemical composition of miscanthus. It was found that the stem part of miscanthus is richer in fiber than the leaf part (48.4–54.9% versus 47.2–48.9%, respectively), regardless of the age of the plantation and habitat. The data obtained expand the geography of research into the chemical composition of miscanthus and confirm the high value of miscanthus for industrial processing into cellulose products around the world.
  • 491
  • 26 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Antibacterial Activity of Chitosan and Its Derivatives
This research illuminates the various methods of chitosan extraction, its antibacterial properties, and its multifarious applications in diverse sectors. The choice of method is dictated by multiple variables, including the desired properties of chitosan, resource availability, cost, and environmental footprint.
  • 486
  • 21 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Covalent Triazine-Based Frameworks for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation
The conversion of solar energy and water to hydrogen via semiconductor photocatalysts is one of the efficient strategies to mitigate the energy and environmental crisis. Conjugated polymeric photocatalysts have advantages over their inorganic counterparts. Their molecular structures, band structures, and electronic properties are easily tunable through molecular engineering to extend their spectral response ranges, improve their quantum efficiencies, and enhance their hydrogen evolution rates. In particular, covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) present a strong potential for solar-driven hydrogen generation due to their large continuous π-conjugated structure, high thermal and chemical stability, and efficient charge transfer and separation capability. 
  • 483
  • 14 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Fluoropolymer Membranes for Membrane Distillation and Membrane Crystallization
Fluoropolymer membranes are applied in membrane operations such as membrane distillation and membrane crystallization where hydrophobic porous membranes act as a physical barrier separating two phases. Due to their hydrophobic nature, only gaseous molecules are allowed to pass through the membrane and are collected on the permeate side, while the aqueous solution cannot penetrate. However, these two processes suffer problems such as membrane wetting, fouling or scaling. Membrane wetting is a common and undesired phenomenon, which is caused by the loss of hydrophobicity of the porous membrane employed. This greatly affects the mass transfer efficiency and separation efficiency. Simultaneously, membrane fouling occurs, along with membrane wetting and scaling, which greatly reduces the lifespan of the membranes. Therefore, strategies to improve the hydrophobicity of membranes have been widely investigated by researchers. In this direction, hydrophobic fluoropolymer membrane materials are employed more and more for membrane distillation and membrane crystallization thanks to their high chemical and thermal resistance. 
  • 479
  • 03 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Bio-Based Polyurethane Elastomers
Elastomers, a category of polymers characterized by high elasticity and viscoelasticity, possess the ability to revert to their initial form after undergoing stretching or deformation and are known for their outstanding resistance to abrasion, tearing, and impact.
  • 478
  • 16 Jan 2024
Topic Review
The Pathways to Create Containers for Bacteriophage Delivery
Antimicrobial resistance is a global public health threat. One of the possible ways to solve this problem is phage therapy, but the instability of bacteriophages hinders the development of this approach. A bacteriophage delivery system that stabilizes the phage is one of the possible solutions to this problem. 
  • 477
  • 23 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Polysaccharide-Based Hydrogels Drug Delivery in Cancer Therapy
Hydrogels are three-dimensional crosslinked structures with physicochemical properties similar to the extracellular matrix (ECM). By changing the hydrogel’s material type, crosslinking, molecular weight, chemical surface, and functionalization, it is possible to mimic the mechanical properties of native tissues. Hydrogels are currently used in the biomedical and pharmaceutical fields for drug delivery systems, wound dressings, tissue engineering, and contact lenses. Polysaccharide-based hydrogels can be used as drug delivery systems for the efficient release of various types of cancer therapeutics, enhancing the therapeutic efficacy and minimizing potential side effects.
  • 476
  • 01 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Applications of Polymeric Materials with Antibacterial Properties
The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in people's environment is a matter of growing concern. The issue of multidrug-resistant bacteria urged the need to elaborate the novel antipathogen agents. The polymers and copolymers modified with bioactive compounds have emerged as a group of highly effective antimicrobial agents that find usage in many fields. The natural polymers have a great advantage over the synthetic ones due to their non-toxicity, biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and high stability. On the other hand, they are less effective in biomedical applications in comparison to synthetic polymers. The modifications that provide the natural polymers with desirable industrial activity include chemical treatment processes such as hydroxylation, carboxylation and epoxidation, or in vitro enzyme treatment.
  • 468
  • 04 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Furane-Based Photoinitiators of Polymerization
Photopolymerization is an active research field enabling to polymerize in greener conditions than that performed with traditional thermal polymerization. A great deal of effort is devoted to developing visible light photoinitiating systems. Indeed, the traditional UV (Ultra Violet) photoinitiating systems are currently the focus of numerous safety concerns so alternatives to UV light are being actively researched. However, visible light photons are less energetic than UV photons so the reactivity of the photoinitiating systems should be improved to address this issue. In this field, furane constitutes an interesting candidate for the design of photocatalysts of polymerization due to its low cost and its easy chemical modification.
  • 464
  • 09 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Development and Production of Nano-Based Polymeric Membranes
There has been increasing interest in the study and development of nanoparticle-embedded polymeric materials and their applications to special membranes. Nanoparticle-embedded polymeric materials have been observed to have a desirable compatibility with commonly used membrane matrices, a wide range of functionalities, and tunable physicochemical properties. The development of nanoparticle-embedded polymeric materials has shown great potential to overcome the longstanding challenges faced by the membrane separation industry. One major challenge that has been a bottleneck to the progress and use of membranes is the balance between the selectivity and the permeability of the membranes. 
  • 460
  • 16 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Organ-on-Chip
Organ-on-chip (OOC) devices are in vitro miniaturized multicellular systems with defined architectures that represent the new frontier in biomedical research to produce micro-organoids and tissues for drug testing and regenerative medicine. Although OOC devices can potentially improve the prediction capability of preclinical studies in comparison to in vitro tests and animal models, the successful transition from conventional 2D cell culture to human OOC implies the development of microfluidically supported 3D architectures to mimic the native extracellular matrix (ECM), to induce cell-ECM and multicellular interactions, as well as to modulate many cell functions including polarity, morphology, and motility. In this regard, cell-laden microgels (CLMs) represent a promising tool for 3D cell culturing and on-chip generation of micro-organs. 
  • 459
  • 08 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Applying Pickering Emulsions to Food
The proper mix of nanocellulose to a dispersion of polar and nonpolar liquids creates emulsions stabilized by finely divided solids (instead of tensoactive chemicals) named Pickering emulsions. These mixtures can be engineered to develop new food products with innovative functions, potentially more eco-friendly characteristics, and reduced risks to consumers. Although cellulose-based Pickering emulsion preparation is an exciting approach to creating new food products, there are many legal, technical, environmental, and economic gaps to be filled through research.
  • 459
  • 12 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Crosslinking Density in Imprinting Polymerization
The crosslinking density of a material determines its physical properties, such as the porosity of the material. In imprinting polymerizations, the porosity determines access to internal binding sites and thus the capacity of the imprinted material. This entry is about effect of the commonly used crosslinking density in imprinting polymerization for a variety of applications.
  • 458
  • 30 Sep 2021
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