Effect of silver based products on simulated body fluid

Silver Zeolite A, Silver clinoptilolite, and Silver bentonite are called Silver Based Products (SBPs) .They have been used for treating some types of infectious diseases as antibacterial agents. Gastric fluid is vital fluids in body.. The first aims of this study is to study the effect of SBPs on the pH changes of gastric fluids in different concentrations, however, studying the effects of simulated gastric fluid (SGF) as model of gastric fluid on the structures of SBPs was the second aim. Zeolites and clay were applied as the carrier materials which silver ion (Ag+) could attach to them and produce SBPs as antibacterial agents. SBPs are analyzed by EDX and FTIR spectroscopy. The effects of SBPs on (SGF) are studied in different concentrations. The chemical framework variations of SBPs are analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy after contact with SGF in different concentrations and the results shown, the most important structural peaks which are same as those parents. SBPs had some insignificant structural variations after contacted with SGF. With increasing concentration of SBPs to SGF, more changes are occurred on their structures. At last the pepsin activity in SGF is studied

Review of modified zeolites by surfactant and silver as antibacterial agents

The emergence of the bacterial resistance towards current used antibiotics and antibacterial agents trigger scientists and researchers to develop new or improved antibacterial agents. Zeolite can be used as a reservoir material of the antibacterial agents of cationic surfactant or silver ions, providing their gradual released and resulting in a sustained antibacterial action on the infected sites topically or applying as a coating material for medical devices. These materials can be a promising candidate in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. This paper reviewed the development of the surfactant modified zeolites and silver loaded zeolites as the antibacterial agents in terms of their advantages and setbacks as the antibacterial agents

Overview of hybrid silica aerogel as biomaterial

Application of hydroxyapatite as a biomaterial in tissue engineering is challenging by its issue on stability. Hence, the capability of silica aerogel in improving the stability and biocompatibility of hydroxyapatite was proposed. Silica aerogel attracts much interest in various applications ranging from construction to medicine because of its excellent properties. This review summarizes the potential of hybrid silica aerogel in biomedical applications in regards to its different compositions. The review covers recent and previous studies on the hybrid silica aerogel, either organic or inorganic which are biocompatible to human cells. The future perspective focusing on the potential of hydroxyapatite incorporated silica aerogel as a biomaterial is also discussed here

Simultaneous action of surfactant modified sugarcane bagasse: adsorbent and antibacterial agent

Simultaneous action of surfactant modified sugarcane bagasse (SBH) for dye adsorption and antibacterial activity were investigated. SBH was subjected for adsorption of cationic dye, methylene blue (MB) and anionic dye, methyl orange (MO). Antibacterial activity of SBH was tested against gram negative bacterium (Escherichia coli ATCC11229) and gram positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 and Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538). SBH was prepared by reacting sugarcane bagasse (SB) with different concentrations of cationic surfactant, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide HDTMA-Br) (0.1, 1.0 and 4.0 mM). The adsorbed amount of HDTMA-Br onto SBH was determined after modification process. SB and SBH were structurally characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. Results from simultaneous action study demonstrated that SB showed adsorption affinity towards MB and MO while the antibacterial activity of SB increased after the surfactant modification reaction. SB modified with 4.0 mM of HDTMA-Br (SBH4.0) exhibited the highest adsorption capacity and antibacterial activity. SBH demonstrated excellent antibacterial activity against gram negative in comparison to gram positive bacteria. In conclusion, the modification of SB with high concentration of HDTMA-Br enhanced the simultaneous action of cationic and anionic dye adsorption and the antibacterial activity against gram negative bacteria

Characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)- polycaprolactone hybridized scaffold for potential skin tissue regeneration

The fabrication of a hybridized scaffold constituting hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers for tissue engineering has received an increasing attention recently. Due to the high compatibility with water, a hydrophilic polymer, though is able to enhance cell affinity and proliferation, has a very high biodegradable rate and low stability in aqueous medium that eventually puncture its biomedical applications. Thereby, the addition of a hydrophobic polymer in the hydrophilic polymer scaffold is recommended to increase the hydrophobic property of the scaffold in order to reduce the limitation. Nonetheless, the fabrication of the hybridized scaffold is extremely challenging because the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic polymer tends to dissolve in different types of solvents, i.e. water and organic solvent, respectively, that subsequently restricts their blending process. In this work, a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) scaffold, a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold, and their hybridized scaffold were produced through casting method for potential skin tissue regeneration. We found that the glacial acetic acid was an appropriate solvent used to prepare hydrophobic PCL solution with low molecular weight (16 kDa) for PCL-PVA blend, with mass ratio 1:1, without using any surfactant. The solvent was also used for the preparation of PCL scaffold with high molecular weight (80 kDa). The fabricated polymer scaffolds were then evaluated using FTIR-ATR, contact angle measurement, and tensile strength analysis. FESEM images of the PVA-PCL hybridized scaffold showed that the PCL was well dispersed in the PVA scaffold. FTIR-ATR spectra showed that the hybridized scaffold exhibited the crucial functional group of PVA and PCL at 3310.97, 1720.10, 1557.80, 1241.69, 1172.90, 1044.95, and 719.44 cm-1. The contact angle of the PVA, PCL, and PVA-PCL hybridized scaffold were 61.3o, 82.7o, and 75.9o, respectively, with tensile strength 16.5747, 2.4038, and 7.417 MPa, respectively

Adsorptive removal of methylene blue and acid orange 7 by hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide modified rice husk

The feasibility of rice husk (RRH) and surfactant modified rice husk (SMRH) to adsorb cationic dye, methylene blue (MB) and acid orange 7 (AO7) from aqueous solution was studied. SMRH was prepared by reacting RRH with different initial concentrations (1.0, 2.5 and 4.0 mM) of cationic surfactant quaternary ammonium compound, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMABr). RRH and SMRH were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to determine surface functional group and effect of surfactant modification on the structure of RRH. Adsorption studies were performed in a series of batch experiment and effect of initial dye and HDTMABr concentrations on the adsorption capacity of RRH and SMRH were evaluated. The results showed that the removal of MB was higher for RRH compared to SMRH meanwhile AO7 removal was higher for SMRH compared to RRH. Modification of rice husk by cationic surfactant was proven to decrease the adsorption site for MB. On the other hand, the presence of surfactant on SMRH increased the adsorption site and allows more adsorption to occur for AO7. The equilibrium data were better described by Langmuir isotherm with maximum adsorption capacity for MB was 100.0 mg/g and 200.0 mg/g for AO7. In conclusion, the modification of rice husk by HDTMABr decreased the adsorption towards cationic dye but increased the adsorption towards anionic dye

Antimicrobial activity of copper kaolinite and surfactant modified copper kaolinite against gram positive and gram negative bacteria

The aim of this research was to determine the antimicrobial activity of kaolinite modified with antimicrobial compounds against Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. Copper kaolinite (Cu-kaolinite) was prepared by loading raw kaolinite with copper nitrate trihydrate (CuNO3) while surfactant modified Cu-kaolinite (SM-Cu-kaolinite) was prepared by adding cationic surfactants hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium (HDTMA) on Cu-Kaolinite. Samples was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analyzer. The antimicrobial activity of the samples was tested against Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442), and Gram positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538 and Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212) through disc diffusion technique (DDT) and minimum inhibition concentration (MIC). The results showed that the antimicrobial activity of Cu-kaolinite increased after modified with HDTMA due to the synergistic effects of Cu ions and HDTMA molecules on the kaolinite. The antimicrobial activity for surfactant modified Cu-kaolinite was greater for Gram positive bacteria compared to Gram negative bacteria. In conclusion, the attachment of HDTMA on Cu-kaolinite contributed to the enhanced antimicrobial activity against wide spectrum of bacteria (Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria)

The Effects of Zeolite X and Y on Cancer Cell Lines

Zeolites are hydrated silicates of aluminium that have been very useful in many industry because of its microporous property, absorbance ability and ion exchange capacity. It is currently viewed as a potential adjuvant in cancer therapy due to its ability to inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells. Research on natural zeolite clinoptilolite application as anticancer agent has been proven by others. However, the effect of other types of zeolite on cancer cells is still uncertain. This study is performed to determine the effects of zeolite X and Y on cancer cell lines proliferation in vitro. Cancer cell lines HeLa, AsPC-1 and 911 cells were cultured in designated medium treated with zeolite X and zeolite Y at the concentration of 5 mg/ml and 50 mg/ml. Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) concentrations were modified to 5%, 10%, 15% and 20%. After 72 hours incubation, the efficacy of zeolite to treat cancer cell lines were measured by means of cell viability test via MTT assay. Overall results showed that cancer cell lines cultivated in the medium treated with 50 mg/ml of zeolite X and 5% FBS exhibited the highest inhibition of cell proliferation and decrease in cell viability. This finding provides preliminary information in the study of determining the potential use of zeolite as anticancer agent for alternative or complementary therapy

Solution parameter effect on polysulfone fibers via electrospinning: fabrication, characterization and water flux property

This research investigates the solution parameters, i.e., polymer concentration and addition of manganese (IV) oxide (MnO2) nanoparticles, for the fabrication of polysulfone (PSF) fibers via electrospinning. Initially, PSF was dissolved in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent and electrospun fibers with different morphologies were obtained using the range of PSF concentration of 10% (w/v) to 25% (w/v). Subsequently, PSF with the concentration of 20% (w/v) (denoted as PSF(20%)) was chosen to blend with 0.2% (w/v) of MnO2 as it gave the most stable electrospinnability and uniform fiber diameter. The fabricated electrospun PSF(20%) and PSF(20%)-MnO2 fibrous membranes were characterized to determine the morphology, wettability property, zeta potential, and tensile strength. The presence of MnO2 improved tensile strength as it reduced the fiber diameter that eventually made a more compact fiber mat membrane. The results of contact angle confirmed that the fabricated fiber exhibited more hydrophobic property in the presence of MnO2 nanoparticles. Thus, it reduced the pure water flux of PSF fiber membrane. The more hydrophobic nature of the proposed nanofiber might be useful in enhancing the application of PSF fiber in oil-water separation process

Improving the growth of Centella asiatica using surfactant modified natural zeolite loaded with NPK nutrients

There is great interest in using sustainable fertilizer to enhance medicinal plant quality such as Centella asiatica, which is known for its various medicinal properties. Here, we examined the performance of NPK-Organo-Zeolite (NPKOZ) as a controlled release fertilizer for the growth of C. asiatica. Natural zeolite that has been modified with surfactant hexadecyltrimethyl ammonium (HDTMA) and addition with ammonium (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) was characterized with X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In a leaching study, it was found the NPKOZ showed fewer losses of nutrients. For the plant growth study, a comparison was made with eight different treatments including chemical fertilizers monoammonium phosphate and monopotassium phosphate for 70 days. Morphological (number of flowers, branches and leaves, specific leaf area and plant biomass) and biochemical growth parameters (N, P, K and chlorophyll contents) of the plant were analysed. Second cultivation was also conducted to compare potted, hydroponic and verticulture systems with or without NPKOZ. The NPKOZs treatments resulted in the highest number of leaves, branches and flowers among all treatments. In addition, the chlorophyll contents were also the highest with NPKOZs application. The NPK contents in the C. asiatica plants were comparable with that of chemical fertilizers tested. This study showed that NPKOZ fertilizer with verticulture system is a suitable sustainable controlled release fertilizer for the improvement of the growth of C. asiatica