Electrospun plant-derived natural biomaterials for Tissue engineering

Plant-derived natural products are being used in medicine, and they are easily available for the production and use in tissue engineering based biological applications. Utilization of plant materials to treat human diseases is a common practice followed over many decades. In fact plant and its derivatives have been actively included in health management over thousands of years. The advent of phytochemical and phytopharmacological sciences has opened an arena to elucidate the structural and biological composition of several medicinal plant products. Their pharmacological effects depend on the supply of highly active water soluble compounds; however, due to their large molecular size most compounds are unable to cross the lipid membranes of the cells and therefore result in poor absorption resulting in loss of bioavailability and efficacy. Electrospinning makes it possible to combine the advantages of utilizing these plant materials in the form of nanofibrous scaffolds for delivering the active constituent at a sufficient concentration during the entire treatment period to the host site. The aim of this review is to highlight the potential applications of electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds based systems and herbal medicines in tissue engineering

Trans-differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells generates functional hepatospheres on poly(l-lactic acid)-co-poly(ε-caprolactone)/collagen nanofibrous scaffolds

Journal of Materials Chemistry B1323972-398

Bioconversion of glycerol waste to ethanol by Escherichia coli and optimisation of process parameters

Biofuel is one of the best ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Ever since commercial biodiesel production began, waste glycerol, the biodiesel byproduct, has gained researchers’ interest, especially its recycling. Here, we explored using glycerol residue (carbon source) as a substrate in the fermentation process for ethanol production by Escherichia coli K12 in anaerobic conditions. The factors affecting the ethanol production was optimised by response surface methodology (RSM). Significant variables that impact the ethanol concentration were pH, temperature and the substrate, with a statistically significant effect (P <0.05) on ethanol formation. The significant factor was analyzed by the Box-Behnken design. The optimum conditions for bioethanol formation using glycerol as substrate was obtained at pH 7 and temperature 37°C. The ethanol productivity was 0.77 g/L/h. The ethanol concentration of 9.2 g/L achieved from glycerol residue was close to the theoretical value with the fermentation achieved at optimised terms

Bioconversion of glycerol waste to ethanol by Escherichia coli and optimisation of process parameters

Biofuel is one of the best ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Ever since commercial biodiesel production began, waste glycerol, the biodiesel byproduct, has gained researchers’ interest, especially its recycling. Here, we explored using glycerol residue (carbon source) as a substrate in the fermentation process for ethanol production by Escherichia coli K12 in anaerobic conditions. The factors affecting the ethanol production was optimised by response surface methodology (RSM). Significant variables that impact the ethanol concentration were pH, temperature and the substrate, with a statistically significant effect (P <0.05) on ethanol formation. The significant factor was analyzed by the Box-Behnken design. The optimum conditions for bioethanol formation using glycerol as substrate was obtained at pH 7 and temperature 37°C. The ethanol productivity was 0.77 g/L/h. The ethanol concentration of 9.2 g/L achieved from glycerol residue was close to the theoretical value with the fermentation achieved at optimised terms

Polycaprolactone/cellulose acetate loaded psidium guajava essential oil electrospun nanofibrous mat dressing for healing wounds

Natural products and essential oils of medicinal plants are extensively employed in wound healing, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Essential oils obtained from Psidium guajava were utilised as an antibacterial agent against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterococcus faecalis, and to control drug-resistant strains. In this study, electrospinning for applications in antimicrobial activity and drug delivery systems was used to develop biocomposite nanofibers of Polycaprolactone (PCL)/Cellulose Acetate (CA) and Psidium guajava essential oil (PGEO). Images from the FESEM revealed that the mean fire diameters were 120 nm for the PCL/CA and 223 nm for PCL/CA/PGEO biocomposite nanofibers. The diameters of the nanofibers were increased following the addition of PGEO into PCL/CA nanofibers. Furthermore, FTIR studies revealed the -OH peak in pure electrospun PCL/CA and PCL/CA/PGEO, lacking pure PGEO nanofibrous mats. These findings reflect that Psidium guajava essential oil/PCL/CA electrospun nanofibers are promising candidates for presenting bioactive compounds in wound management or other approaches for wound healing and bacterial infections

Facile manufacture of oxide-free Cu particles coated with oleic acid by electrical discharge machining

Particle synthesis has seen significant advances in current trends. However, the synthesis of metal particles without oxidation is a challenge for researchers. The current study presents a straightforward, convenient, and convincing approach for manufacturing copper (Cu) particles free of surface oxide. The die-sink Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM) of copper alloys with oleic acid resulted in the formation of Cu particles with diameters between 10 to 20 µm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used for particle examination after cleaning and sonication with distilled water. Cu particles with oleic acid coating retained a Cu phase without oxidation after synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to determine the size and morphology of generated particles. Fourier transforms infrared (FT-IR) analysis revealed the oleic acid-coated Cu surface bonded with an oxygen atom. Also, the agglomeration and change of size involving Cu particles with increasing voltages in the pulse supply in EDM were reported

Evolution of electrospinning in liver tissue engineering

The major goal of liver tissue engineering is to reproduce the phenotype and functions of liver cells, especially primary hepatocytes ex vivo. Several strategies have been explored in the recent past for culturing the liver cells in the most apt environment using biological scaffolds supporting hepatocyte growth and differentiation. Nanofibrous scaffolds have been widely used in the field of tissue engineering for their increased surface-to-volume ratio and increased porosity, and their close resemblance with the native tissue extracellular matrix (ECM) environment. Electrospinning is one of the most preferred techniques to produce nanofiber scaffolds. In the current review, we have discussed the various technical aspects of electrospinning that have been employed for scaffold development for different types of liver cells. We have highlighted the use of synthetic and natural electrospun polymers along with liver ECM in the fabrication of these scaffolds. We have also described novel strategies that include modifications, such as galactosylation, matrix protein incorporation, etc., in the electrospun scaffolds that have evolved to support the long-term growth and viability of the primary hepatocytes

Bioconversion of Glycerol into Biofuels—Opportunities and Challenges

Rising pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels are serious environmental concerns that led to a tremendous focus of scientific research. The use of renewable resources as feedstock to produce fuels could help preserve the environment and offer economic and social sustainability. This preceded the development of alternative fuels such as biodiesel, and bioethanol. Over the last decade, the substantial expansion of biodiesel production indicates stoichiometrically increased crude glycerol co-production. Due to the surplus availability of the crude glycerol (as it does not find any potential application for complete utilisation), its market value has fallen and is even seen as a waste stream instead of a lucrative co-product. While high-purity glycerol is used in cosmetics, food, paints, and pharmaceutical industries for medicines, crude glycerol is an attractive organic carbon substrate to produce value-added products through microbial fermentation or physicochemical processing. The review discussed the recent developments in glycerol to produce fuels such as bioethanol, hydrogen, and methanol. Besides, it highlights the opportunities and challenges in utilising crude/waste glycerol generated from the biodiesel industry

Glycoprotein isolated from eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali) is capable of boosting testosterone levels in leydig cells

Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali) is renowned for its aphrodisiac potential, and its active constituent has been presumed to be a protein and more likely a glycosylated protein. In this study, the ability of the glycoprotein to increase testosterone hormone levels was investigated. The dried root powder of the plant was extracted using water under reflux. The protein fraction was separated using size-exclusion chromatography and subjected to SDS-PAGE analysis. Thereafter the protein fraction was isolated from its glycoprotein using a lectin column. Finally, TM-3 Leydig cells were treated with the isolated glycoprotein fraction (50 µg/mL). The extraction yielded 14.3% w/w protein and the SDS PAGE analysis showed a single band at approximately 20 kDa. Treatment of TM-3 Leydig cells with the glycoprotein fraction for 72 hours demonstrated an increase in testosterone levels by almost 100% (0.36 ± 0.03 nmol/L) in comparison to the untreated cells (0.18 ± 0.05 nmol/L). The findings suggested that the glycoprotein in E. longifolia root can be easily isolated because its sugar moiety can bind to a lectin affinity column. Moreover, this glycoprotein was shown to have testosterone-boosting activity. These findings identified the glycoprotein as the bioactive constituent associated with its aphrodisiac properties

Synthesis and Characterization of Polycaprolactone/Cellulose Acetate by Electrospinning for Wound Dressing Applications

Cellulose as a renewable material has received enormous interest in recent time with an effort to minimize the environmental load from mining earthborn functional materials as well as reducing carbon footprint. This work demonstrates that high quality cellulose could be produced from empty fruit bunch of oil palm plantation and could be developed into nanofibers. A small amount of poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) was added to the EFB driven cellulose acetate (CA) to develop them as nanofibers by electrospinning technique; this composition was further enhanced by adding curcumin, which is a natural anti-inflammatory, and compared their morphology, structure, mechanical and surface properties