In the practice of medicine, antibiotics are extremely important and are employed in the treatment of infections. A lot of antibiotics are consumed by humans and excreted via urine and feces into sewage systems and treatment plants. These are considered to be non-biodegradable, and over the years they accumulate in the aquatic environment. The presence of antibiotics in water resources causes the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing a serious threat to the health of human beings. Water bodies must be adequately treated before being discharged to prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance. In the present article, the sources of antibiotics and strategies used for their effective removal, such as ultrafiltration, microfiltration, nanofiltration, membranous biological reactor treatment, Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP), Reverse Osmosis (RO) and Nano sorbents, are discussed. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not able to eliminate antibiotics deposition/resistance genes effectively and efficiently. In this regard, the adsorption method is the most effective way of removing antibiotics from wastewater from various sources.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are storage granules found in bacteria that are essentially hydroxy fatty acid polyesters. PHA molecules appear in variety of structures, and amongst all types of PHAs, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is used in versatile fields as it is a biodegradable, biocompatible, and ecologically safe thermoplastic. The unique physicochemical characteristics of these PHAs have made them applicable in nanotechnology, tissue engineering, and other biomedical applications. In this review, the optimization, extraction, and characterization of PHAs are described. Their production and application in nanotechnology are also portrayed in this review, and the precise and various production methods of PHA-based nanoparticles, such as emulsion solvent diffusion, nanoprecipitation, and dialysis are discussed. The characterization techniques such as UV-Vis, FTIR, SEM, Zeta Potential, and XRD are also elaborated.
1 January 2019 in Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology
More than 80% of the energy from fossil fuels is utilized in homes and industries. Increased use of fossil fuels not only depletes them but also contributes to global warming. By 2050, the usage of fossil fuels will be approximately lower than 80% than it is today. There is no yearly variation in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere due to soil and land plants. Therefore, an alternative source of energy is required to overcome these problems. Biohydrogen is considered to be a renewable source of energy, which is useful for electricity generation rather than relying on harmful fossil fuels. Hydrogen can be produced from a variety of sources and technologies and has numerous applications including electricity generation, being a clean energy carrier, and as an alternative fuel. In this review, a detailed elaboration about different kinds of sources involved in biohydrogen production, various biohydrogen production routes, and their applications in electricity generation is provided.
29 November 2023 in Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology
Plant gums are bio-organic substances that are derived from the barks of trees. They are biodegradable and non-adverse complex polysaccharides that have been gaining usage in recent years due to a number of advantages they contribute to various applications. In this study, gum was collected from Moringa oleifera and Azadirachta indica trees, then dried and powdered. Characterizations of gum polysaccharides were performed using TLC, GC-MS, NMR, etc., and sugar molecules such as glucose and xylose were found to be present. Effects of the gums on Abelmoschus esculentus growth were observed through root growth, shoot growth, and biomass content. The exposure of the seeds to the plant gums led to bio stimulation in the growth of the plants. Poor quality soil was exposed to the gum polysaccharide, where the polysaccharide was found to improve soil quality, which was observed through soil analysis and SEM analysis of soil porosity and structure. Furthermore, the plant gums were also found to have bio-pesticidal activity against mealybugs, which showed certain interstitial damage evident through histopathological analysis.