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Topic Review
Nanoliposomes and Tocosomes as Nanocarriers in Food Industry
Nanoscale lipid bilayers, or nanoliposomes, are generally spherical vesicles formed by the dispersion of phospholipid molecules in a water-based medium by energy input. Nanoliposomes and tocosomes are able to provide protection and release of sensitive food-grade bioactive materials in a sustained manner. They are being utilized for the encapsulation of different types of bioactive materials (such as drugs, vaccines, antimicrobials, antioxidants, minerals and preservatives), for the enrichment and fortification of different food and nutraceutical formulations and manufacturing of functional products.
  • 832
  • 11 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Chemical Safety
Chemicals as elements, compounds, mixtures, solutions and emulsions are very widely used and transported in the modern industrial society. Of necessity, they are also used in schools, universities and other training facilities to educate pupils in their safe use and handling and also are commonly used in domestic situations for cleaning, gardening and DIY. However, there are chemicals that should not mix or get in contact with others, as they can produce byproducts that may be toxic, carcinogenic, explosive etc, or can be dangerous themselves. To avoid disasters and mishaps, maintaining safety is considered paramount, especially by chemists. Chemical safety includes all those policies, procedures and practices designed to minimise the risk of exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals. This includes the risks of exposure to persons handling the chemicals, to the surrounding environment, and to the communities and ecosystems within that environment. The hazardous nature of many chemicals may be increased when mixed with other chemicals, heated or handled inappropriately. In a chemically safe environment, users are able to take appropriate actions in case of accidents although many incidents of exposure to chemical hazards occur outside of a controlled environments such as manufacturing plants or laboratories. It is estimated that 1.6 million human deaths occur each year from contact with hazardous chemicals. and that in 2016, 45 million disability-adjusted life-years were lost, a significant increase from 2012.
  • 831
  • 21 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Kaolinitic Raw Materials for Ceramics
Eight kaolinitic materials from the Lokoundje River at Kribi were sampled and investigated for their physical, chemical, mineralogical and thermal characteristics in order to evaluate their potential suitability as raw materials in ceramics. The Lokoundje kaolinitic materials are clayey to silty clayey and are predominantly composed of kaolinite and quartz. The alkali (Na2O + K2O) content ranges between 1 and 2.5 wt.%; these low values do not favor vitrification of the ceramics but may be improved through flux amendment. The presence of goethite in some samples limits their utilization in white ceramics. The minerals content, color, metallic sound, cohesion, linear shrinkage, flexural strength, bulk density, water absorption and microstructure were determined. The XRD data reveal that kaolinite and goethite were transformed, respectively, into mullite and hematite. The colors of the fired products are characteristic of their mineral assemblage. The metallic sound is indicative of low vitrification which is confirmed by the presence of cracks due to low flux contents. The cohesion is good to very good, due to the abundance of kaolinite. The physicomechanical properties increase with temperature as well as densification. The geochemical data show that the Lokoundje alluvial clays are suitable for the manufacture of white stoneware tiles. 
  • 831
  • 09 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Aptamer-Sensors for Quantification of AFB1
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is one of the most frequently-found mycotoxins in contaminated food. As the content of mycotoxins is particularly low in food, the development of probes to detect AFB1 in foods with high sensitivity and selectivity is an urgent social need for the evaluation of food quality. Numerous techniques have been developed to monitor AFB1. Nevertheless, most of them require cumbersome, labor-consuming, and sophisticated instruments, which have limited their application. An aptamer is a single, short nucleic acid sequence that is capable of recognizing different targets. Owing to their unique properties, aptamers have been considered as alternatives to antibodies. Aptasensors are considered to be an emerging strategy for the quantification of aflatoxin B1 with high selectivity and sensitivity. 
  • 831
  • 19 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Electrospun Scaffolds for Vascular Regeneration
Vascular regeneration remains a challenging issue in tissue engineering. Poor vascularization often limits the size of regenerated tissue and leads to cell death. Improving vascularization could largely increase the regeneration efficacy and the survival of regenerated tissue. Nanofibrous scaffolds are widely used in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to well-known advantages, which can mimic the mechanical and structural properties of the natural extracellular matrix (ECM). This review presents the recent strategies to improve nanofibrous scaffolds for vascular tissue engineering. Different nanofibrous scaffolds design, including nanofiber structuring and surface functionalization, to improve scaffolds properties are explained. The review also focuses on recent advances in electrospun fibrous scaffolds for vascular regeneration such as changing architecture and controlling the release of bioactive components. In vivo tests of these nanofibrous scaffolds have been considered as the further step to validate the angiogenic potential of the scaffolds.
  • 831
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Self-sterilizing Properties of Copper
It is confirmed that copper is a self-sanitising metal, acting on human pathogens in a way that does not let them survive exposure to copper or copper alloy surfaces for any reasonable length of time. Regarding the efficacy of copper surfaces, testing in an independent microbiology laboratory has led to 300 various copper surfaces being registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in 2008. The registration includes the following statement: “When cleaned regularly, the antimicrobial copper alloy surface kills greater than 99.9% of bacteria within two hours and continues to kill more than 99% of bacteria even after repeated contamination”. This claim acknowledges that copper and its alloys brass and bronze can kill potentially deadly bacteria, and sometime later, it was further understood that copper nanoparticles (Cu-NPs) and laser textured copper also show enhanced antimicrobial activity.
  • 830
  • 06 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Chitosan and Fibroin
For the creation of tissue-engineered structures based on natural biopolymers with the necessary chemical, physical, adhesive, morphological, and regenerative properties, biocompatible materials based on polysaccharides and proteins are used.  This entry is devoted to a problem of the technology of polymeric materials for biomedical purposes: the creation of biopolymer tissue engineering matrix and the development of a methodology for studying morphology and functional properties of their surface to establish the prospects for using the material for contact with living objects.
  • 830
  • 12 Apr 2021
Topic Review
HMM and SBA Porous Materials
Mesoporous silicas have enjoyed great interest among scientists practically from the moment of their discovery thanks to their unique attractive properties. Many types of mesoporous silicas have been described in literature, the most thoroughly MCM-41 and SBA-15 ones. The methods of syntheses, characterization and use of mesoporous silicas from SBA (Santa Barbara Amorphous) and HMM (Hybrid Mesoporous Materials) groups are presented. The first group is represented by (i) SBA-1 of three-dimensional cubic structure and (ii) SBA-2 of three-dimensional combined hexagonal and cubic structures. The HMM group is represented by (i) HMM-1 of two-dimensional hexagonal structure and (ii) HMM-2 of three-dimensional structure. The paper provides comprehensive information on the above-mentioned silica materials available so far, also including the data for the silicas modified with metal ions or/and organic functional groups and examples of the materials applications.
  • 830
  • 18 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Stability of Cu-Based Catalysts for Methanol Reforming
The stability of copper-based catalysts is an important property that affects the catalytic efficiency, which determines the service life of the catalytic base in the methanol steam reforming (MSR) reaction, and plays an important role in the sustainable production of hydrogen.
  • 828
  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Carbon Nanotubes in Nanocomposite Mixed-Matrix Membranes
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are a popular material for gas separation because their walls are naturally smooth, allowing for faster gas transit than other inorganic fillers. It also has excellent mechanical strength, allowing membranes to work under high pressure. Although CNTs have superior qualities to other inorganic fillers, incorporating them into a polymer matrix is difficult due to CNTs' strong van der Waals forces, which cause agglomeration. CNT dispersion must be addressed if the full potential of CNTs is to be realized.
  • 828
  • 17 Jun 2022
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