The current research work presented the synthesis of carboxymethyl cellulose–gelatin (CMC/GEL) blend and CMC/GEL/ZnO-Nps hydrogel films which were characterized by FT-IR and XRD, and applied to antibacterial and antioxidant activities for food preservation as well as for biomedical applications. ZnO-Nps were incorporated into the carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and gelatin (GEL) film-forming solution by solution casting followed by sonication. Homogenous mixing of ZnO-Nps with CMC/GEL blend improved thermal stability, mechanical properties, and moisture content of the neat CMC/GEL films. Further, a significant improvement was observed in the antibacterial activity and antioxidant properties of CMC/GEL/ZnO films against two food pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Overall, CMC/GEL/ZnO films are eco-friendly and can be applied in sustainable food packaging materials.

Lithium-ion battery recycling includes discharging and processing exhausted batteries to recover valuable metals for reuse in new battery production. The improper disposal of e-waste draws attention to the possibility of reprocessing used lithium-ion batteries to make progress in recovering valuable metals. In this study, using biodegradable mixed organic acids, valuable metals were extracted from used batteries by a hydrometallurgical process under optimal conditions such as a stirring speed of 200 rpm, mixed acid concentration of ascorbic acid/citric acid (AA/CA) of 50:50 mM, temperature of 50 °C, time of 50 min, and slurry density of 20 g/L. Kinetic studies verified that the apparent activation energies, 43.6, 70.5, 49.8, 60.6, 45, and 6 kJ/mol, and surface chemical reactions controlled the leaching process for Li, Mn, Co, Ni, and Cu from cathode powder obtained from used LIBs. XRD and FT-IR confirmed the crystalline nature of the cathode powder. UV–visible spectra showed a Co(II) complex with λ_max at 380 nm by reduction of the Co(III) complex. Lithium was recovered by LiF and as MnO₂ using ammonium persulfate. Our efforts aimed to recover it through an economical and environmentally friendly approach.

We aimed to investigate the interventions of remdesivir in both diabetic and nondiabetic individuals who were suffering from a severe infection of novel coronavirus disease (COVID‐19). In this study, we aimed to explore the relationship between therapeutic effectiveness of remdesivir and complications of diabetes mellitus by observing the recovery period among diabetic and nondiabetic patients associated with COVID‐19 infection. A total of 850 COVID‐19 patients were recruited for this study, out of which 48% were diabetic and 52% were nondiabetics. The results of this study indicated that nondiabetic individuals administered with remdesivir recovered from COVID‐19 within 10 days showing a 95% confidence interval (p < 0.01), while the diabetic individuals recovered in 15 days. Nondiabetic patients administered with remdesivir exhibited higher chances of clinical improvement at 15th day than those who were associated with diabetes. Remdesivir administration improved the levels of various biochemical parameters, such as C‐reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, d‐Dimer, and ferritin both in diabetic and nondiabetic patients. However, a significant improvement (p < 0.01) was seen in the level of biochemical parameters among nondiabetic patients as compared to that of diabetic patients administered with remdesivir treatment. In the end, it was concluded that remdesivir could be considered as a possible therapeutic agent in the treatment of COVID‐19 both in diabetic and nondiabetic situations. However, diabetic patients showed a delayed recovery as compared with that of nondiabetic patients, in which the recovery rate was high.

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) have emerged as a promising approach for the removal of organic dyes from effluents. Different AOPs were employed for the degradation of Reactive Yellow 160A (RY-160A) dye, i.e., SnO₂/UV/H₂O₂ and TiO₂/UV/H₂O₂. In the case of UV treatment, maximum degradation of 28% was observed, while UV/H₂O₂ furnished 77.78% degradation, and UV/H₂O₂/TiO₂ degraded the RY-160A dye up to 90.40% (RY-160A 30 mg/L, 0.8 mL of H₂O₂). The dye degradation was 82.66% in the case of UV/H₂O₂/SnO₂ at pH 3. FTIR and LC-MS analyses were performed in order to monitor the degradation by-products. The cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of RY-160A dye were evaluated by hemolytic and Ames (TA98 and TA100 strains) assays. It was observed that the RY-160A dye solution was toxic before treatment, and toxicity was reduced significantly after treatment. Results indicated that UV/H₂O₂/TiO₂ is more efficient at degrading RY-160A versus other AOPs, which have potential application for the remediation of dyes in textile effluents.

In this study, PMMA/ABS/CoCl₂ ternary composite films were fabricated by the solution casting technique. The different weight ratios of cobalt chloride (≤10 wt) were incorporated into the PMMA/ABS blend (80:20). The chemical structure and thermal properties of the synthesized composites were assessed by FT-IR, TGA, and XRD. The biological properties of ternary composites, such as in vitro antibacterial activity and antioxidant capacity, were investigated. The enhanced thermal stability and promising antibacterial, selective antibiofilm, and potential antioxidant properties of PMMA/ABS/cobalt chloride composites demonstrated that they can be used for high-quality plastics and in many pharmaceutical applications.