Topic Review
Plastic Waste into Supports for Nanostructured Heterogeneous Catalysts
Plastics are ubiquitous in our society and are used in many industries, such as packaging, electronics, the automotive industry, and medical and health sectors, and plastic waste is among the types of waste of higher environmental concern. The increase in the amount of plastic waste produced daily has increased environmental problems, such as pollution by micro-plastics, contamination of the food chain, biodiversity degradation and economic losses. The selective and efficient conversion of plastic waste for applications in environmental remediation, such as by obtaining composites, is a strategy of the scientific community for the recovery of plastic waste. The development of polymeric supports for efficient, sustainable, and low-cost heterogeneous catalysts for the treatment of organic/inorganic contaminants is highly desirable yet still a great challenge; this will be the main focus of this work. Common commercial polymers, like polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene therephthalate, polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride, are addressed herein, as are their main physicochemical properties, such as molecular mass, degree of crystallinity and others. Additionally, we discuss the environmental and health risks of plastic debris and the main recycling technologies as well as their issues and environmental impact. The use of nanomaterials raises concerns about toxicity and reinforces the need to apply supports; this means that the recycling of plastics in this way may tackle two issues. Finally, we dissert about the advances in turning plastic waste into support for nanocatalysts for environmental remediation, mainly metal and metal oxide nanoparticles.
  • 764
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Aromatherapy in Textiles
Studies on aromatherapy and textiles published between 2011–2021 were examined to explore “textile” materials as a possible carrier for essential oils. Mechanisms for the delivery of aromatic compounds on textiles are reviewed.
  • 1.0K
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Decellularized Colorectal Cancer Matrices as Bioactive Scaffolds
More than a physical structure providing support to tissues, the extracellular matrix (ECM) is a complex and dynamic network of macromolecules that modulates the behavior of both cancer cells and associated stromal cells of the tumor microenvironment (TME). Over the last few years, several efforts have been made to develop new models that accurately mimic the interconnections within the TME and specifically the biomechanical and biomolecular complexity of the tumor ECM. Particularly in colorectal cancer, the ECM is highly remodeled and disorganized and constitutes a key component that affects cancer hallmarks, such as cell differentiation, proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. Therefore, several scaffolds produced from natural and/or synthetic polymers and ceramics have been used in 3D biomimetic strategies for colorectal cancer research. Nevertheless, decellularized ECM from colorectal tumors is a unique model that offers the maintenance of native ECM architecture and molecular composition.
  • 912
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Organic and Polymeric Micro/Nanocarriers
Micro/nanocarriers are organic and polymeric materials that are structurally oriented to act like capsules in aqueous and organic media in order to protect, transport, and release cargo, among other applications. Liposomes are organic micro/nanocarriers based on phospholipids that form vesicles. In contrast, polymeric micro/nanocarriers are based on amphiphilic and backbone polymers that form micelles, polymersomes, and polymeric spheres. Micro/nanocarriers are usually produced via precipitation and emulsion techniques, using a hydrophobic/hydrophilic solvent mixture, an emulsifier or surfactant, and crosslinker agents acting as template-like reaction initiators to orientate the amphiphilic backbone polymers, forming their structure. Cargo is loaded either during the assembly process, by solubilizing the cargo in the hydrophobic or hydrophilic solvent, or after the carrier’s formation, by dispersing the carriers into a high-cargo-concentration solution, followed by further cargo diffusion through the carrier.
  • 455
  • 18 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Rice Husk
The development of engineered silica particles by using low-cost renewable or waste resources is a key example of sustainability. Rice husks have emerged as a renewable resource for the production of engineered silica particles as well as bioenergy.
  • 3.7K
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
The Design of Ni-Based Single Crystal Superalloys
The most important performance characteristics of heat-resistant alloys (HRAs) are creep and fatigue resistance, which are very complex functions of chemical composition and microstructure. The microstructure of metal HRAs, among which the first place is occupied by Ni-based alloys, usually consists of two main phases: a solid solution based on the main element containing alloying elements (matrix), and a strengthening phase, which is usually used as intermetallides, carbides and silicides.
  • 1.0K
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Perezhivanie and Its Application
Perezhivanie is a concept that was originally defined by Vygotsky, but it did not become a part of educational theory until recently. Today the concept has been revived, and it is now used as a way to include emotional aspects into education and educational research. The concept also provides a rationale for describing and forming personalised learning.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Nanomaterials for IoT Sensing Platforms and Point-of-Care Applications
Herein, state-of-the-art research advances in South Korea regarding the development of chemical sensing materials and fully integrated Internet of Things (IoT) sensing platforms were comprehensively reviewed for verifying the applicability of such sensing systems in point-of-care testing (POCT). Various organic/inorganic nanomaterials were synthesized and characterized to understand their fundamental chemical sensing mechanisms upon exposure to target analytes. Moreover, the applicability of nanomaterials integrated with IoT-based signal transducers for the real-time and on-site analysis of chemical species was verified. 
  • 550
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Redox Active Organic-Carbon Composites for Supercapacitors
The redox active organic compounds and composites should meet the criteria of capacitive nature and have high chemical and electrochemical stability. Pseudocapacitive behavior that shows ideal characteristics as reflected in linear galvanostatic charge-discharge and rectangular voltammograms need to be targeted. Battery-like bulk faradaic behavior, which is not ideal for high-power (rate) capacitive applications but is often reported for supercapacitors, should be differentiated.
  • 509
  • 17 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Seaweeds Compounds
Seaweeds’ compounds present important qualities for cosmetic application, such as low cytotoxicity and low allergens content. Several seaweeds’ molecules already demonstrated a high potential as a cosmetic active ingredient (such as, mycosporine-like amino acids, fucoidan, pigments, phenolic compounds) or as a key element for the products consistency (agar, alginate, carrageenan). Moreover, it focuses on the ecological and sustainable scope of seaweed exploitation to guarantee a safe source of ingredients for the cosmetic industry and consumers.
  • 773
  • 17 Jan 2022
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