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Topic Review
Chemical Treatment for Textile Waste
Trends in the textile industry show a continuous increase in the production and sale of textile materials, which in turn generates a huge amount of discarded clothing every year. This has a negative impact on the environment, on one side, by consuming resources—some of them non-renewables (to produce synthetic polymers)—and on the other side, by polluting the environment through the emission of GHGs (greenhouse gases), the generation of microplastics, and the release of toxic chemicals in the environment (dyes, chemical reagents, etc.). When natural polymers (e.g., cellulose, protein fibers) are used for the manufacturing of clothes, the negative impact is transferred to soil pollution (e.g., by using pesticides, fertilizers). In addition, for the manufacture of clothes from natural fibers, large amounts of water are consumed for irrigation. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), the consumption of clothing is expected to increase by 63%, from 62 million tonnes in 2019 to 102 million tonnes in 2030.
  • 2.4K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Contaminated Polymer Materials Shredding
Recently, a dynamic increase in the number of polymer elements ending their life cycle has been observed. There are three main ways of dealing with polymer waste: reuse in an unchanged form, recycling (both material and energy), and disposal (mainly in the form of landfilling or incineration). The legislation of European countries promotes in particular two forms of waste management: reuse and recycling. Recycling processes are used to recover materials and energy especially from contaminated waste, which are structurally changed by other materials, friction, temperature, machine, process, etc. The recycling of polymers, especially of multi-plastic struc-tural elements, requires the use of special technological installations and a series of preparatory operations, including crushing and separating.
  • 2.4K
  • 10 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Bacterial Biopolymer
Biopolymers are polymers being synthesized by living organisms with the help of enzymes that connects the building blocks like sugars, hydroxyl fatty acids, and amino acids to produce molecules with high molecular weight.
  • 2.4K
  • 30 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Chitin and Chitosan
Chitin and its derivative chitosan are highly abundant polymers in nature, appearing in both the shells and exoskeletons of various marine and non-marine species. Since they possess favorable properties, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, non-toxicity, and non-immunogenicity, they have gained recent attention due to their enormous potential biomedical applications. The polycationic surface of chitosan enables it to form hydrogenic and ionic bonds with drug molecules, which is one of its most useful properties. Because chitosan is biocompatible, it can therefore be used in drug delivery systems. The development of chitosan-based nanoparticles has also contributed to the significance of chitin as a drug delivery system that can deliver drugs topically. Furthermore, chitin can be used in cancer treatment as a vehicle for delivering cancer drugs to a specific site and has an antiproliferative effect by reducing the viability of cells. Finally, chitosan can be used as a wound dressing in order to promote the faster regeneration of skin epithelial cells and collagen production by fibroblasts.
  • 2.4K
  • 01 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Principles of Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization
Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a robust polymerization method that was developed by Dr. Jin-Shan Wang in Professor Matyjaszewski’s laboratory in 1995. It was inspired by atom transfer radical addition, which was successfully used in the synthesis of low-molecular-weight compounds.
  • 2.4K
  • 14 Apr 2024
Topic Review
Magnetorheological Elastomers
Magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) are magneto-sensitive smart materials, widely used in various applications, i.e., construction, automotive, electrics, electronics, medical, minimally invasive surgery, and robotics. Such a wide field of applications is due to their superior properties, including morphological, dynamic mechanical, magnetorheological, thermal, friction and wear, and complex torsional properties.
  • 2.4K
  • 28 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Composite Material Recycling Technology
The recycling of fiber reinforced composite materials will therefore play an important role in the future, in particular for the wind energy, but also for aerospace, automotive, construction and marine sectors to reduce environmental impacts and to meet the demand.
  • 2.3K
  • 18 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Aromatic Polyimide Films for Electronic Applications
Aromatic polyimides have excellent thermal stability, mechanical strength and toughness, high electric insulating properties, low dielectric constants and dissipation factors, and high radiation and wear resistance, among other properties, and can be processed into a variety of materials, including films, fibers, carbon fiber composites, engineering plastics, foams, porous membranes, coatings, etc. Aromatic polyimide materials have found widespread use in a variety of high-tech domains, including electric insulating, microelectronics and optoelectronics, aerospace and aviation industries, and so on, due to their superior combination characteristics and variable processability. In recent years, there have been many publications on aromatic polyimide materials, including several books available to readers. In this review, the representative progress in aromatic polyimide films for electronic applications, especially in our laboratory, will be described.
  • 2.3K
  • 05 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Biomedical Applications of Quaternized Chitosan
The natural polymer chitosan is the second most abundant biopolymer on earth after chitin and has been extensively explored for preparation of versatile drug delivery systems. The presence of two distinct reactive functional groups (an amino group at C2, and a primary and secondary hydroxyl group at C3 and C6) of chitosan are involved in the transformation of expedient derivatives such as acylated, alkylated, carboxylated, quaternized and esterified chitosan. Amongst these, quaternized chitosan is preferred in pharmaceutical industries owing to its prominent features including superior water solubility, augmented antimicrobial actions, modified wound healing, pH-sensitive targeting, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. It has been explored in a large realm of pharmaceuticals, cosmeceuticals, and the biomedical arena. Immense classy drug delivery systems containing quaternized chitosan have been intended for tissue engineering, wound healing, gene, and vaccine delivery. 
  • 2.3K
  • 11 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Biodegradation of Plastics  by Fungal and Bacterial Communities
Biodegradation is the deformation of a substance into new compounds through biochemical reactions or the actions of microorganisms such as bacteria or fungi. It is necessary for water-soluble or water-immiscible polymers because they eventually enter streams which can neither be recycled nor incinerated. It is important to consider the microbial degradation of natural and synthetic polymers in order to understand what is necessary for biodegradation and the mechanisms involved. Low/high-density polyethylene is a vital cause of environmental pollution. It occurs by choking the sewer line through mishandling, thus posing an everlasting ecological threat. Environmental pollution due to the unscrupulous consumption of synthetic polymers derived from petroleum has an adverse impact on the environment since the majority of plastics do not degrade, and the further incineration of synthetic plastics generates CO2 and dioxin. This requires understanding the interactions between materials and microorganisms and the biochemical changes involved. Widespread studies on the biodegradation of plastics have been carried out in order to overcome the environmental problems associated with synthetic plastic waste. Awareness of the waste problem and its impact on the environment has awakened new interest in the area of degradable polymers through microbes viz., bacteria, fungi, and actinomycetes. The microbial degradation of plastics is caused by certain enzymatic activities that lead to a chain cleavage of polymers into oligomers and monomers.
  • 2.3K
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Classification and Application of Natural Polymers
Natural polysaccharides are some of the most extensively used biopolymers in food, pharmaceutical, and medical applications, because they are renewable and have a high level of biocompatibility and biodegradability. The fundamental understanding required to properly exploit polysaccharides potential in the biocomposite, nanoconjugate, and pharmaceutical industries depends on detailed research of these molecules. Polysaccharides are preferred over other polymers because of their biocompatibility, bioactivity, homogeneity, and bioadhesive properties. Natural polysaccharides have also been discovered to have excellent rheological and biomucoadhesive properties, which may be used to design and create a variety of useful and cost-effective drug delivery systems. Polysaccharide-based composites derived from natural sources have been widely exploited due to their multifunctional properties, particularly in drug delivery systems and biomedical applications. These materials have achieved global attention and are in great demand because to their biochemical properties, which mimic both human and animal cells. 
  • 2.3K
  • 07 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Carbon Nanofibers
Carbon nanofibers are nano-sized fibers that have a high degree of crystalline orientation. In recent years, ecological issues have led to the search for new green materials from biomass as precursors for producing carbon materials. Such green materials are more attractive than traditional petroleum-based materials, which are environmentally harmful and non-biodegradable.
  • 2.3K
  • 02 May 2021
Topic Review
Plant-Derived Mucilage for Nanocarrier Fabrication
Easily sourced mucus from various plant parts is an odorless, colorless and tasteless substance with emerging commercial potential in agriculture, food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals due to its non-toxic and biodegradable properties. It has been found that plant-derived mucilage can be used as a natural thickener or emulsifier and an alternative to synthetic polymers and additives. Because it is an invisible barrier that separates the surface from the surrounding atmosphere, it is used as edible coatings to extend the shelf life of fresh vegetables and fruits as well as many food products. In addition to its functional properties, mucilage can also be used for the production of nanocarriers. We focus on mucus extraction methods and its use as a natural preservative for fresh produce. We detailed the key properties related to the extraction and preservation of food, the mechanism of the effect of mucus on the sensory properties of products, coating methods when using mucus and its recipe for preserving fruit and vegetables. Understanding the ecological, economic and scientific factors of production and the efficiency of mucus as a multi-directional agent will open up its practical application in many industries. 
  • 2.3K
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Molecularly Imprinted Polymers
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic recognition materials obtained by the polymerisation of functional and cross-linking monomers in the presence of a template. MIPs are attractive not only for their recognition properties that are close to those of natural receptors and their availability for a wide range of targets but also for their superior chemical and physical stability compared to biological receptors. 
  • 2.3K
  • 10 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Stimuli-Responsive Zinc (II) Coordination Polymers
The unique role of the zinc (II) cation prompted us to cut a cross-section of the large and complex topic of the stimuli-responsive coordination polymers (CPs). Due to its flexible coordination environment and geometries, easiness of coordination–decoordination equilibria, “optically innocent” ability to “clip” the ligands in emissive architectures, non-toxicity and sustainability, the zinc (II) cation is a good candidate for building supramolecular smart tools. 
  • 2.3K
  • 08 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Conductive Polymers and Their Properties for Flexible Devices
Flexible sensing devices have attracted significant attention for various applications, such as medical devices, environmental monitoring, and healthcare. Numerous materials have been used to fabricate flexible sensing devices and improve their sensing performance in terms of their electrical and mechanical properties. Among the studied materials, conductive polymers are promising candidates for next-generation flexible, stretchable, and wearable electronic devices because of their outstanding characteristics, such as flexibility, light weight, and non-toxicity.
  • 2.3K
  • 23 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Polyhydroxyalkanoates
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of microbial polyesters which comprise of a large family of thermoplastic polymers. They are produced by a variety of prokaryotic microorganisms under unbalanced nutrition conditions as carbon and energy storage materials.
  • 2.2K
  • 23 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Biopolymer-Based Food Packaging Materials
Biopolymer-based packaging materials have become of greater interest to the world due to their biodegradability, renewability, and biocompatibility. Numerous biopolymers—such as starch, chitosan, carrageenan, polylactic acid, etc.—have been investigated for their potential application in food packaging. Reinforcement agents such as nanofillers and active agents improve the properties of the biopolymers, making them suitable for active and intelligent packaging.
  • 2.2K
  • 28 Jun 2023
Topic Review
3D Printing at Micro-Level
Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) and two-photon polymerization (TPP) have proven their abilities to produce 3D complex microstructures at an extraordinary level of sophistication. Indeed, LIFT and TPP have supported the vision of providing a whole functional laboratory at a scale that can fit in the palm of a hand. This is only possible due to the developments in manufacturing at micro- and nano-scales. In a short time, LIFT and TPP have gained popularity, from being a microfabrication innovation utilized by laser experts to become a valuable instrument in the hands of researchers and technologists performing in various research and development areas, such as electronics, medicine, and micro-fluidics. In comparison with conventional micro-manufacturing methods, LIFT and TPP can produce exceptional 3D components. To gain benefits from LIFT and TPP, in-detail comprehension of the process and the manufactured parts’ mechanical–chemical characteristics is required. 
  • 2.2K
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Conjugated Block Copolymers
Conjugated block copolymers (cBCPs) refer to block copolymers that contain one or more conjugated polymer segments. It can be a combination of several conjugated polymer segments with different properties, or it can be a combination of conjugated polymer segments and non-conjugated polymer segments. cBCPs not only maintain the advantages of high conductivity and mobility of conjugated polymers, but also demonstrate features of morphological versatility and tunability of block copolymers. cBCPs have a great potential application in organic solar cells, organic field effect transistors, organic light-emitting diodes and other fields.
  • 2.2K
  • 12 Jan 2021
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