Green Bambusa Arundinacea leaves extract as a sustainable corrosion inhibitor in steel reinforced concrete

The experimental studies carried out on water permeability resistance and microstructure of reinforced concrete treated with Bambusa arundinacea as green corrosion inhibitor, are reported in this article. The effectiveness of Bambusa arundinacea as green corrosion inhibitor was compared with that of calcium nitrite and ethanolamine inhibitors. Concrete mix was designed for a compressive strength of 30 MPa with a 0.45 water-to-cement ratio (W/C) which was chloride contaminated. Inhibitors addition was 2% by weight of cement. The specimens were subjected to various tests, namely; compressive strength test, durability (permeability using initial surface absorption test (ISAT) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM)) for 360 days exposure. Water absorption values of steel reinforced concrete in the presence of Bambusa arundinacea inhibitor were generally less than 0.25, 0.17, 0.1 and 0.07 mL/m2s after 10 min, 30 min, 1 h and 2 h, i.e., as required by ISAT standard for low permeability concrete. This might possibly be due to the presence of residual alkalinity of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in the concrete. KOH is adequate for passivation and reduction of permeability, which serves as a chemical water barrier or hydrophobic agent that stabilizes calcium silicate hydrates

Virtual screening and pharmacokinetics analysis of inhibitors against tuberculosis: Structure and ligand-based approach

Life-threatening diseases like tuberculosis have raised concerns in the medical and scientific communities. The damage-causing disease makes the scientific community employ the in-silico approach for design of new inhibitors that can inhibit or retard the havoc caused by this deadly disease. The insilico approach was used in this study to create a mathematical model with promising molecular properties, and receptors from the library were used to screen compounds and estimate the kinetic ability of the screened inhibitors that can cure this disease. 2D molecular properties evolved in the built model with high predictive ability. Three inhibitors x, y, and z emerged with better and higher molecular properties, the lowest binding energy (and higher binding affinity), and a better pharmacokinetic assessment compared to the template used in designing the effective compounds, with binding affinities of -15.56 kcal/mol, -18.51 kcal/mol, and -18.58 kcal/mol, respectively. Virtual screening of these compounds showed that they have good binding energy and excellent docking positions with the inhibiting potential of the receptor. Also, pharmacokinetic predictions and ADMET, depict orally active ability of the inhibitors, possess good human intestinal absorption, and violate none of the RO5 as potential drug candidates to cure this disease. Hence, further laboratory tests are recommended for these to determine their toxicities and biological assays

Improved corrosion resistance of mild steel against acid activation: Impact of novel Elaeis guineensis and silver nanoparticles

© 2018 Influence of novel green Elaeis guineensis (EG) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the improved corrosion resistance of mild steel against acute acid attack is reported. Such EG/AgNPs were synthesized from palm oil leaf extracts and used as inhibitor with varying contents to inspect the feasibility of modifying the acid (1 M HCl(aq)) mediated anti-corrosion behaviour of mild steel. The structural and morphological properties of the extracted EG/AgNPs inhibitor (in powder form) were determined using TEM, XRD, and EDX analyses. Furthermore, the acid solution exposed mild steel specimens were characterized via FESEM, EDX, AFM, XRD, weight loss, polarization and electrochemical impedance measurements. Mild steel surface was found to adsorb the EG/AgNPs and formed a protective film advantageous for inhibiting the acid attack. Steel specimen incorporated with 10% (v/v) of EG/AgNPs inhibitor revealed maximum inhibition efficiency of 94.1%