Topic Review
Metal Nanoparticles for Environmental Remediation
Environmental pollution deriving from anthropogenic activities is nowadays a serious problem that afflicts our planet and that cannot be neglected. Nanotechnologies and new performing nanomaterials, thanks to their unique features, such as high surface area (surface/volume ratio), catalytic capacity, reactivity and easy functionalization to chemically modulate their properties, represent potential for the development of sustainable, advanced and innovative products/techniques for environmental (bio)remediation. Metal nanoparticles (MNPs; related to metals or noble metals such as M = Pt, Pd, Ni, Ru, Al, Ag, Au, Cu) are nanomaterials with physical and chemical properties that differ from bulk materials due to their small size and high surface-to-volume ratio. 
  • 692
  • 15 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Anodic Films of Mg Alloys
This entry presents an overview of the recent developments in the synthesis of layered double hydroxide (LDH) on the anodized films of Mg alloys prepared by either conventional anodizing or plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) and the applications of the formed composite ceramics as smart chloride traps in corrosive environments.
  • 691
  • 02 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Sorbent-Based Microextraction of Natural Toxins from Food Samples
Natural toxins are chemical substances that are not toxic to the organisms that produce them, but which can be a potential risk to human health when ingested through food. Thus, it is of high interest to develop advanced analytical methodologies to control the occurrence of these compounds in food products. Current trends in sample preparation involve moving towards “greener” approaches by scaling down analytical operations, miniaturizing the instruments and integrating new advanced materials as sorbents. The combination of these new materials with sorbent-based microextraction technologies enables the development of high-throughput sample preparation methods, which improve conventional extraction and clean-up procedures.
  • 691
  • 05 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Functionalized Lanthanide Oxide Nanoparticles
Functionalized lanthanide oxide (Ln2O3) nanoparticles has been used for tumor targeting, medical imaging, and therapy. Among the medical imaging techniques, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important noninvasive imaging tool for tumor diagnosis due to its high spatial resolution and excellent imaging contrast, especially when contrast agents are used. However, commercially available low-molecular-weight MRI contrast agents exhibit several shortcomings, such as nonspecificity for the tissue of interest and rapid excretion in vivo. Recently, nanoparticle-based MRI contrast agents have become a hot research topic in biomedical imaging due to their high performance, easy surface functionalization, and low toxicity. Among them, functionalized Ln2O3 nanoparticles are applicable as MRI contrast agents for tumor-targeting and nontumor-targeting imaging and image-guided tumor therapy. Primarily, Gd2O3 nanoparticles have been intensively investigated as tumor-targeting T1 MRI contrast agents. T2 MRI is also possible due to the appreciable paramagnetic moments of Ln2O3 nanoparticles (Ln = Dy, Ho, and Tb) at room temperature arising from the nonzero orbital motion of 4f electrons. In addition, Ln2O3 nanoparticles are eligible as X-ray computed tomography contrast agents because of their high X-ray attenuation power. 
  • 691
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
The Antioxidant Effect of Metal and Metal-Oxide Nanoparticles
Inorganic nanoparticles, such as CeO3, TiO2 and Fe3O4 could be served as a platform for their excellent performance in antioxidant effect. They may offer the feasibility to be further developed for their smaller and controllable sizes, flexibility to be modified, relative low toxicity as well as ease of preparation.
  • 691
  • 25 May 2022
Topic Review
Polyvinyl Chloride in the Environment
Plastics have recently become an indispensable part of everyone’s daily life due to their versatility, durability, light weight, and low production costs. The increasing production and use of plastics poses great environmental problems due to their incomplete utilization, a very long period of biodegradation, and a negative impact on living organisms. Decomposing plastics lead to the formation of microplastics, which accumulate in the environment and living organisms, becoming part of the food chain. The contamination of soils and water with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) seriously threatens ecosystems around the world. Their durability and low weight make microplastic particles easily transported through water or air, ending up in the soil.
  • 691
  • 12 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Nanostructured Mg-Based Hydrogen Storage Systems
As the most abundant element in the world, hydrogen is a promising energy carrier and has received continuously growing attention in the last couple of decades. At the very moment, hydrogen fuel is imagined as the part of a sustainable and eco-friendly energy system, the “hydrogen grand challenge”. Among the large number of storage solutions, solid-state hydrogen storage is considered to be the safest and most efficient route for on-board applications via fuel cell devices. Notwithstanding the various advantages, storing hydrogen in a lightweight and compact form still presents a barrier towards the wide-spread commercialization of hydrogen technology. In this review paper we summarize the latest findings on solid-state storage solutions of different non-equilibrium systems which have been synthesized by mechanical routes based on severe plastic deformation. Among these deformation techniques, high-pressure torsion is proved to be a proficient method due to the extremely high applied shear strain that develops in bulk nanocrystalline and amorphous materials.
  • 690
  • 17 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Nanotechnology in Viral Respiratory Infections
Viral-associated respiratory infectious diseases are one of the most prominent subsets of respiratory failures, known as viral respiratory infections (VRI). VRIs are proceeded by an infection caused by viruses infecting the respiratory system. Due to their specific physical and biological properties, nanoparticles hold promising opportunities for both anti-viral treatments and vaccines against viral infections.
  • 690
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Mussel-Inspired Catechol Functionalisationto Enhance Biomaterial Adhesion
Biomaterials have long been explored in regenerative medicine strategies for repair or replacement of damaged organs and tissues. However, poor adhesion under wet conditions (like those found in tissues) has thus far limited their wider application. Indeed, despite its favourable physicochemical properties, facile gelation and biocompatibility, gellan gum (GG)-based hydrogels lack the tissue adhesiveness required for effective clinical use. Aiming at assessing whether substitution of GG by dopamine (DA) could be a suitable approach to overcome this problem, database searches were conducted on PubMed® and Embase® up to 02 March 2021, for studies using biomaterials covalently modified with a catechol-containing substituent conferring improved adhesion properties. In this regard, a total of 47 reports (out of 700 manuscripts, ~ 6.7%) were found to comply with the search/selection criteria, the majority of which (34/47, ~ 72%) describing modification of natural polymers, such as chitosan (11/47, ~ 23%) and hyaluronic acid (6/47, ~ 13%); conjugation of dopamine (as catechol “donor”) via carbodiimide coupling chemistry was also predominant. Overall, there is ample literature evidence that bio-inspired substitution of polymers of natural and synthetic origin by DA or other catechol moieties greatly improves adhesion to biological tissues.
  • 690
  • 13 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Xanthones, A Promising Anti-Inflammatory Scaffold
Inflammation is the body’s self-protective response to multiple stimulus, from external harmful substances to internal danger signals released after trauma or cell dysfunction. Many diseases are considered to be related to inflammation, such as cancer, metabolic disorders, aging, and neurodegenerative diseases.  Xanthones, a unique scaffold with a 9H-Xanthen-9-one core structure, widely exist in natural sources. Till now, over 250 xanthones were isolated and identified in plants from the families Gentianaceae and Hypericaceae. Many xanthones have been disclosed with anti-inflammatory properties on different models, either in vitro or in vivo.
  • 690
  • 17 Nov 2021
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