The present study aimed to assess and compare the ability to remediate synthetic textile and industrial wastewaters by Fenton treatment, a biological system and sequential treatments using Aspergillus niger (A. niger). All studied treatments were found to be effective in decolorization of the effluents under study. Fenton treatment followed by A. niger showed excellent potential for the maximum decolorization of the synthetic and industrial effluents under study. The effectiveness of sequential treatment was evaluated by water quality parameters such as total organic carbon (TOC), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) before and after each treatment. The results indicated that A. niger is an effective candidate for detoxification of textile wastewaters.

Green or sustainable cosmetics are products that contain natural ingredients obtained from renewable raw materials. Fruit peels represent a sustainable source of bioactive compounds. Polyphenols, e.g., flavonoids, have the ability to scavenge free radicals; thus they exhibit antioxidant activity. Recently, natural antioxidants have been in the limelight as being safe, effective, and versatile. In this study, antioxidant effects and the sun protection ability of apple (Malus domestica), banana (Musa sapientum), and orange (Citrus reticulata) peel extracts were evaluated in skincare formulations. The extraction of phenolic compounds was performed in three different solvents, i.e., ethanol, methanol, and acetone. Total phenolic contents, antioxidant activity, and sun protection factor were determined for the fruit peel extracts. The acetone extract of apple and ethanol extract of banana peels contained polyphenols, i.e., 24.3 ± 1.5 and 26.7 ± 0.6 mg GAE per gram of the extracts, respectively. These extracts showed DPPH radical scavenging activity and were incorporated into oil-in-water (O/W) cosmetic emulsions. All the formulated samples were found to be stable when subjected to centrifuging and thermal stress. Antioxidant activities of cream samples were above 80%, and the sun protection factor was above 15. The results have confirmed the applications of fruit peel waste in the formulation of photostable, antioxidant, and sun screen formulations. These creams would help to maintain skin health, protect it from UV radiation, and reduce the aging effect. Thus, fruit peel waste could present an ecofriendly and sustainable source of natural antioxidants for the personal care industry.

The aim of this project was to improve the Aspergillus terreus strain and pretreatment of sugarcane bagasse as carrier substrate for bulk production of lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, in solid state fermentation. Sugarcane bagasse was treated with alkali (1–3% NaOH) for the conversion of complex polysaccharides into simple sugars for better utilization of carrier substrate by microorganism for maximum lovastatin production. Ethidium bromide (time of exposure 30–180 min) was used to induce mutation in Aspergillus terreus and the best mutant was selected on the basis of inhibition zone appeared on petri plates. Fermented lovastatin was quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography. The fermented lovastatin, produced by parent and mutant Aspergillus terreus strain, was checked on body weight, blood glucose and serum cholesterol, ALT, AST, HDL-C, LDL-C, TG and TC levels of rats for their cholesterol lowering capacity. Our results indicate that selected strain along with 2% NaOH treated sugar cane bagasse was best suitable for bulk production of lovastatin by fermentation and fermented lovastatin effectively lower the cholesterol level of rats.

This study focuses on the experimental and molecular-level investigation of epoxy acrylate formation. Epoxy acrylate vinyl ester resin was prepared by a reaction of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A-based epoxy resin and acrylic acid, using benzimidazole as a catalyst. It was confirmed that benzimidazole can effectively catalyze this reaction. FTIR analysis of the product revealed a simple addition esterification reaction between the epoxide group and carboxylic group of acrylic acid excluding the side reactions (e.g., etherification). DFT computational studies were performed to theoretically explore the insights of reaction mechanisms. The calculations revealed that the benzimidazole-catalyzed reaction dominates the uncatalyzed reaction. A comparison of calculated activation energies showed that concerted mechanisms are less significant in such reactions owing to their high activation barriers.