Biodegradable blends and nanocomposites were produced from polylactic acid (PLA), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and cellulose nanocrystals (NC) by a single step reactive blending process using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as a cross-linking agent. With the aim of gaining more insight into the impact of processing methods upon the morphological, thermal and mechanical properties of these nanocomposites, three different processing techniques were employed: compression molding, extrusion, and 3D printing. The addition of DCP improved interfacial adhesion and the dispersion of NC in nanocomposites as observed by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The carbonyl index calculated from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed increased crystallinity after DCP addition in PLA/PHB and PLA/PHB/NC, also confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry analyses. NC and DCP showed nucleating activity and favored the crystallization of PLA, increasing its crystallinity from 16% in PLA/PHB to 38% in DCP crosslinked blend and to 43% in crosslinked PLA/PHB/NC nanocomposite. The addition of DCP also influenced the melting-recrystallization processes due to the generation of lower molecular weight products with increased mobility. The thermo-mechanical characterization of uncross-linked and cross-linked PLA/PHB blends and nanocomposites showed the influence of the processing technique. Higher storage modulus values were obtained for filaments obtained by extrusion and 3D printed meshes compared to compression molded films. Similarly, the thermogravimetric analysis showed an increase of the onset degradation temperature, even with more than 10 °C for PLA/PHB blends and nanocomposites after extrusion and 3D-printing, compared with compression molding. This study shows that PLA/PHB products with enhanced interfacial adhesion, improved thermal stability, and mechanical properties can be obtained by the right choice of the processing method and conditions using NC and DCP for balancing the properties.

The quantification of peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻, PON) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is intrinsically difficult as both species show similar oxidative features located within a narrow potential. The sub-second lifetime of ONOO⁻ at neutral pH further complicates the analysis. In this paper, we examine the electrocatalytic activity of cobalt phthalocyanine tetracarboxylic acid (CoPc–COOH) loaded reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films towards peroxynitrite and hydrogen peroxide detection. The rGO/CoPc–COOH matrix is synthesized by the reaction of graphene oxide (GO) and CoPc–COOH at 90 °C for 5 h under ultrasonication. The integration of CoPc–COOH and the reduction of GO to rGO was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, FTIR, Raman, UV-vis spectroscopy and electrochemistry. The rGO/CoPc–COOH film showed high electrocatalytic activity and specificity for ONOO⁻ at anodic potential with a sensitivity of ≈11.5 ± 1 nA nM⁻¹ and a peroxynitrite detection limit of ≈1.7 nM. The rGO/CoPc–COOH films further exhibited electrocatalytic reduction of H₂O₂ with a sensitivity of 14.5 μA mM⁻¹ and a detection limit of ≈60 μM for H₂O₂.

The recent development of several methods for extracting curcumin from the root of the plant Curcuma longa has led to intensified research on the properties of curcumin and its fields of application. Following the studies and the accreditation of curcumin as a natural compound with antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties, new fields of application have been developed in two main directions—food and medical, respectively. This review paper aims to synthesize the fields of application of curcumin as an additive for the prevention of spoilage, safety, and quality of food. Simultaneously, it aims to present curcumin as an additive in products for the prevention of bacterial infections and health care. In both cases, the types of curcumin formulations in the form of (nano)emulsions, (nano)particles, or (nano)composites are presented, depending on the field and conditions of exploitation or their properties to be used. The diversity of composite materials that can be designed, depending on the purpose of use, leaves open the field of research on the conditioning of curcumin. Various biomaterials active from the antibacterial and antibiofilm point of view can be intuited in which curcumin acts as an additive that potentiates the activities of other compounds or has a synergistic activity with them.