Biotechnological applications of polymeric nanofiber platforms loaded with diverse bioactive materials

This review article highlights the critical research and formative works relating to nanofiber composites loaded with bioactive materials for diverse applications, and discusses the recent research on the use of electrospun nanofiber incorporating bioactive compounds such as essential oils, herbal bioactive components, plant extracts, and metallic nanoparticles. Inevitably, with the common advantages of bioactive components and polymer nanofibers, electrospun nanofibers containing bioactive components have attracted intense interests for their applications in biomedicine and cancer treatment. Many studies have only concentrated on the production and performance of electrospun nanofiber loaded with bioactive components; in this regard, the features of different types of electrospun nanofiber incorporating a wide variety of bioactive compounds and their developing trends are summarized and assessed in the present article, as is the feasible use of nanofiber technology to produce products on an industrial scale in different applications

Isolation and screening of some medically important fungi from indoor environment: Studying the effect of some environmental and chemical factors on their growth and spore adhesion

Isolation of some pathogenic fungi from indoor environment that may cause diseases to athletes was the goal of this work. The effect of different cloth materials and some environmental factors on the growth and adhesion of the isolated fungi as Aspergillus sydowii, Cochliobolus hawaiiensis, Cochliobolus lunatus, Epicoccum nigrum, Nigrospora oryzae, Penicillium aurantiogriseum, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, Aspergillus niger, Cochliobolus australiensis, Stemphylium botryosum, Alternaria. alternata, Fusarium chlamydosporum, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus versicolor was investigated. By studying the effect of different cloth materials, at temperatures (18, 25 and 35°C) and at pH values (4, 5.6, 8), it was concluded that cloth material, 74% cotton - 25% polyester- 1% elasthan (C.P.E) was the lowest in susceptibility to fungal attack. The fungal pathogens growth was favored at 35°C and pH 8 after two days of incubation while, after five days the growth was favored at 25 and 35°C at pH 5.6 and pH 8. Alter. alternata and A. flavus were selected for studying their spore adhesion on different cloth material samples. Also, their sensitivity for detergents and drugs on different cloth material samples was carried out.Key words: Pathogenic fungi, athletes, fungal adhesion, antimicrobial activity

Biotechnological Applications of Polymeric Nanofiber Platforms Loaded with Diverse Bioactive Materials

This review article highlights the critical research and formative works relating to nanofiber composites loaded with bioactive materials for diverse applications, and discusses the recent research on the use of electrospun nanofiber incorporating bioactive compounds such as essential oils, herbal bioactive components, plant extracts, and metallic nanoparticles. Inevitably, with the common advantages of bioactive components and polymer nanofibers, electrospun nanofibers containing bioactive components have attracted intense interests for their applications in biomedicine and cancer treatment. Many studies have only concentrated on the production and performance of electrospun nanofiber loaded with bioactive components; in this regard, the features of different types of electrospun nanofiber incorporating a wide variety of bioactive compounds and their developing trends are summarized and assessed in the present article, as is the feasible use of nanofiber technology to produce products on an industrial scale in different applications

Sound Levels And Shadow Zones Behind Barriers In Florida

A description is given of new results based on measurements of 19 noise barriers in the state of Florida and the innovative techniques used during data analysis. This work is a continuation of an ongoing study of noise barrier effectiveness in Florida. A new empirical method was developed to estimate the length of shadow zones behind highway noise barriers. This new method can lead to more effective design of future highway noise barriers. The method required an estimate of location and strength of a simulated background source to determine a more realistic edge of the shadow zone. This work also produced custom software that estimates and graphs the formation of shadow zones behind barriers, given readily available site information

Enhancing mechanical and biodegradation properties of polyvinyl alcohol/silk fibroin nanofibers composite patches for cardiac tissue engineering

A biodegradable polyvinyl alcohol/silk fibroin (PVA/SF) nanofibrous heart patch with unique tensile properties was fabricated by an electrospinning technique based on a water-solvent system. The fabricated heart patches were exposed to 2% Glutaraldehyde vapor to provide a cross-linkage and tune the degradation behavior. Numerous characterizations of the modified PVA/SF patches such as surface morphology, chemical bonding, mechanical behavior, biodegradation, and biological assessment of the crosslinked PVA/SF patches were performed. It was found that pronounced and interconnected PVA/SF composite fibrous patches had an average nanofiber diameter of 228 ± 49 nm. In addition, incorporation of SF into PVA nanofibers enhanced the mechanical properties (i.e. tensile strength and tensile modulus) and tuning the degradation rate of the PVA/SF patch. Human cardiac fibroblast cells (HCFC) were cultured on the cross-linked composite patches and the results showed good cell proliferation and attachment on the patches bio-interface

Cross-linked chitosan/gelatin beads loaded with Chlorella vulgaris microalgae/zinc oxide nanoparticles for absorbing carcinogenic bisphenol-A pollutant from water

Water polluted by phenolic compounds is a global threat to health and the environment; accordingly, we prepared a green novel sorbent biological system from a chitosan (CS), gelatin (GT), an