Topic Review
Metal Nanoclusters
Metal nanoclusters (NCs), comprising only a few to roughly hundreds of metal atoms, have a metal core-protective agent shell structure. Owing to the size of metal NCs approaching the Fermi wavelength of electrons, the spatial confinement of free electrons in metal NCs generates discrete electronic transitions, thereby exhibiting intriguing molecular-like properties. Therefore, metal NCs are deemed to bridge the gap between molecules and nanoparticles.
  • 1.8K
  • 01 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Reversible Hydrogen Storage
In the field of energy storage, recently investigated nanocomposites show promise in terms of high hydrogen uptake and release with enhancement in the reaction kinetics. Among several, carbonaceous nanovariants like carbon nanotubes (CNTs), fullerenes, and graphitic nanofibers reveal reversible hydrogen sorption characteristics at 77 K, due to their van der Waals interaction. The spillover mechanism combining Pd nanoparticles on the host metal-organic framework (MOF) show at room temperature uptake of hydrogen. Metal or complex hydrides either in the nanocomposite form and its subset, nanocatalyst dispersed alloy phases illustrate the concept of nanoengineering and nanoconfinement of particles with tailor-made properties for reversible hydrogen storage. Another class of materials comprising polymeric nanostructures such as conducting polyaniline and their functionalized nanocomposites are versatile hydrogen storage materials because of their unique size, high specific surface-area, pore-volume, and bulk properties. The salient features of nanocomposite materials for reversible hydrogen storage are reviewed and discussed.
  • 1.8K
  • 22 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Furfuryl Alcohol
Furfuryl alcohol (FuOH, C4H3OCH2OH, 2-furylmethanol, 2-furancarbinol) has applications in the fabrication of foundry resins, the ingredient production of P-series fuels, in liquid alkanes and in food production. It is also a very important intermediate in fine chemical synthesis and the polymer industry, and it is used as a chemical intermediate for the synthesis of lysine, vitamin C and levulinic acid and employed as a lubricant and as a dispersing agent.
  • 1.8K
  • 10 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Fabric Phase Sorptive Extraction
Fabric phase sorptive extraction (FPSE) is an evolutionary sample preparation technique which was introduced in 2014, delivering all green analytical chemistry (GAC) requirements by implementing a natural or synthetic permeable and flexible fabric substrate to host a chemically coated sol–gel organic–inorganic hybrid sorbent in the form of an ultra-thin coating. This construction results in a versatile, fast, and sensitive micro-extraction device. The user-friendly FPSE membrane allows direct extraction of analytes with no sample modification, thus eliminating/minimizing the sample pre-treatment steps, which are not only time consuming, but are also considered the primary source of major analyte loss. Sol–gel sorbent-coated FPSE membranes possess high chemical, solvent, and thermal stability due to the strong covalent bonding between the fabric substrate and the sol–gel sorbent coating. Subsequent to the extraction on FPSE membrane, a wide range of organic solvents can be used in a small volume to exhaustively back-extract the analytes after FPSE process, leading to a high preconcentration factor. In most cases, no solvent evaporation and sample reconstitution are necessary. 
  • 1.7K
  • 08 Feb 2021
Topic Review
Analysis of Phytic Acid
Phytate is a six-fold dihydrogenphosphate ester of myo‑inositol or cis-1,2,3,5-trans-4,6-cyclohexanehexol which is the most abundant of nine possible isomers of inositol (Ins). Myo-orientation is also found in the case of phytic acid, which is due to the fact that the maximal number (i.e., five out of six) of phosphate groups are present in thermodynamically stabilized equatorial position. However, the molecule can be inverted from equatorial (1a5e) to the axial (5a1e) orientation between pH 9.0 and pH 9.5.
  • 1.7K
  • 18 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Swabs
Swabs are used to collect body fluid samples for testing in the forensic and clinical settings. However, swabs made of different materials and are differently shaped may impact the DNA that can be recovered from the body fluids absorbed by the swabs. Recovering a higher quantity of DNA can be important for DNA typing and obtaining a full profile, especially in low template samples. In this study, swabs made of cotton, paper and foam materials from various commercial suppliers were evaluated to determine which swab released the highest quantity of DNA from a fifty-microliter sample of blood applied to the swab. DNA extraction was performed using the phenol chloroform-isoamyl alcohol method and human DNA was quantified using a quantitative real-time PCR assay using the Plexor HY human quantification kit. Overall, Puritan cotton-tipped swabs performed best in this study.
  • 1.7K
  • 08 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Citrus Uses in the Food Industry
Citrus fruits occupy an important position in the context of the fruit trade, considering that both fresh fruits and processed products are produced on a large scale. Citrus fruits are recognized as an essential component of the human diet, thanks to their high content of beneficial nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, terpenes, flavonoids, coumarins and dietary fibers. Among these, a wide range of positive biological activities are attributed to terpenes and flavonoids derivatives.
  • 1.7K
  • 03 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Proteomics for Studying Antibiotic Action
To design more efficient treatments against bacterial infections, detailed knowledge about the bacterial response to the commonly used antibiotics is required. Proteomics is a well-suited and powerful tool to study molecular response to antimicrobial compounds. Bacterial response profiling from system-level investigations could increase our understanding of bacterial adaptation, the mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance and tolerance development.
  • 1.7K
  • 03 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Carbon Quantum Dots and Graphene Quantum Dots
Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are small carbon NPs with a size less than 10 nm having excellent conductivity, chemical stability, environmental friendliness, high photostability, broadband optical absorption, low toxicity, photobleaching resistance, high surface area, and ease of modification. Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are two-dimensional nanocrystals composed of small graphene particles with lateral diameters less than 100 nm. 
  • 1.6K
  • 12 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Mixture Designs of Experiments
The experimental designs for mixtures are a subclass of experimental designs useful for studying the effects of ingredients/components in formulations. 
  • 1.6K
  • 04 Jun 2021
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