Spray-coated and solution-cast ethylcellulose pseudolatex membranes

Sustainable SMART fertilizers in agriculture systems: A review on fundamentals to in-field applications

Agriculture will face the issue of ensuring food security for a growing global population without compromising environmental security as demand for the world's food systems increases in the next decades. To provide enough food and reduce the harmful effects of chemical fertilization and improper disposal or reusing of agricultural wastes on the environment, will be required to apply current technologies in agroecosystems. Combining biotechnology and nanotechnology has the potential to transform agricultural practices and offer answers to both immediate and long-term issues. This review study seeks to identify, categorize, and characterize the so-called smart fertilizers as the future frontier of sustainable agriculture. The conventional fertilizer and smart fertilizers in general are covered in the first section of this review. Another key barrier preventing the widespread use of smart fertilizers in agriculture is the high cost of materials. Nevertheless, smart fertilizers are widely represented on the world market and are actively used in farms that have already switched to sustainable technologies. The advantages and disadvantages of various raw materials used to create smart fertilizers, with a focus on inorganic and organic materials, synthetic and natural polymers, along with their physical and chemical preparation processes, are contrasted in the following sections. The rate and the mechanism of release are covered. The purpose of this study is to provide a deep understanding of the advancements in smart fertilizers during the last ten years. Trends are also recognized and studied to provide insight for upcoming agricultural research projects.

Recent advancements, trends, fundamental challenges and opportunities in spray deposited cellulose nanofibril films for packaging applications

Plastic packaging is causing a serious environmental concern owing to its difficulty in degrading and micro-particulates' emissions. Developing biodegradable films has gained research attention to overcome ecological and health issues associated with plastic based packaging. One alternative substitute for petroleum-based plastic is nanocellulose based films, having distinguishing characteristics such as biodegradability, renewability, and non-toxicity. Nanocellulose is classified into three major types, i.e., cellulose nanofibril, cellulose nanocrystals, and bacterial nanocellulose. However, the scope of this review is limited to cellulose nanofibril (CNF) because this is the only one of major types that could be turned into film at a competitive cost with petroleum derived polymers. This paper provides a concise insight on the current trends and production methods of CNF. Additionally, the methods for transforming CNF into films are also discussed in this review. However, the focus of this review is the CNF films produced via spray deposition, their properties and applications, and fundamental challenges associated with their commercialization. Spray deposition or spray coating is an ideal candidate as a large-scale production technique of CNF films due to its remarkable features such as rapidity, flexibility, and continuity. Spray deposited CNF films exhibit excellent mechanical properties and oxygen barrier performance, while, possessing limited moisture barrier performance. The possible pathways to improve the moisture barrier performance and optical properties of these films are also discussed in this review. The existing publications on spray deposited CNF films are also highlighted from the literature. Finally, the current status of industrial production of these films and opportunities for academics and industries are also presented, indicating that fibre production capacity needs to be enhanced.

Controlled Release Fertilizers: A Review on Coating Materials and Mechanism of Release

Rising world population is expected to increase the demand for nitrogen fertilizers to improve crop yield and ensure food security. With existing challenges on low nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of urea and its environmental concerns, controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) have become a potential solution by formulating them to synchronize nutrient release according to the requirement of plants. However, the most significant challenge that persists is the "tailing" effect, which reduces the economic benefits in terms of maximum fertilizer utilization. High materials cost is also a significant obstacle restraining the widespread application of CRF in agriculture. The first part of this review covers issues related to the application of conventional fertilizer and CRFs in general. In the subsequent sections, different raw materials utilized to form CRFs, focusing on inorganic and organic materials and synthetic and natural polymers alongside their physical and chemical preparation methods, are compared. Important factors affecting rate of release, mechanism of release and mathematical modelling approaches to predict nutrient release are also discussed. This review aims to provide a better overview of the developments regarding CRFs in the past ten years, and trends are identified and analyzed to provide an insight for future works in the field of agriculture.

Permeability of N, P, K-fertilizer nutrient and water vapor through PLA, PLA/PS, and PLA/HA membranes

To collect permeability data and establish its database of fertilizer nutrients and water vapor through different polymer membranes for the development of polymer-coated fertilizer, the permeabilities of N-, P-, and K-nutrient from saturated aqueous of urea, NaH2PO4 and KCl solution and the permeability of water vapor through the membranes of poly lactic acid (PLA), its blends with polystyrene (PS), and its composites with humic acid (HA) particles were determined experimentally at the temperatures of 288, 298, and 308 K, respectively. The effects of the addition of PS and HA particles, temperature, and coating thickness on the permeability of fertilizer nutrient and water vapor were investigated. It was found that the addition of PS and HA increased the permeability for both the fertilizer nutrients and water vapor. The increase in temperature raised the permeability of N-, P-, and K-nutrient while decrease the permeability of water vapor in the range studied.

Nano-heat-sink thin film composite of PC/three-dimensional networked nano-fumed silica with exquisite hydrophobicity

Efficient utilization of fumed silica with thermoset resins had been investigated for high temperature applications, which led to extensive exploration of newer materials.

Preparation and function of composite asymmetric chitosan/CM-chitosan membrane

A novel composite asymmetric chitosan/CM-chitosan membrane (C-P-C) was prepared, the top-layer was chitosan (CS), the intermediate was PVA, and the substrate was carboxymethyl chitosan (CM-CS). C-P-C membrane had capability in mechanical strength, light transparence, vapor permeability, and wound skin joining. The CS and CM-CS in C-P-C membrane were selected by series independent experiments, respectively. CS (MW 90,000 Da) had the highest antibacterial activity for E.coli. CM-CS had biocompatibility, no cytotoxicity, and had the activity of promoting growth of human skin fibroblast and inhibiting the growth of keloid fibroblast. The normal skin fibroblast can growth on the CM-CS surface of C-P-C, and have no conglomeration in higher cell density, and the keloid fibroblast could not growth on CM-CS surface of C-P-C. The animal experiment demonstrated that wound, covered with the C-P-C membrane, was hemostatic, healing quickly and had histocompatibility. The results indicated that the C-P-C membrane could be used as dressing of skin repair, and had the potential in promoting wound healing and inhibiting the keloid formation.

Alginate-magnesium aluminum silicate films: Effect of plasticizers on film properties, drug permeation and drug release from coated tablets

The effect of hydrophilic plasticizers, namely glycerin and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400), on physicochemical properties of sodium alginate-magnesium aluminum silicate (SA-MAS) microcomposite films was characterized and application of the films for controlling drug release from tablets was evaluated as well. The plasticizers could possibly interact with SA or MAS by formation of hydrogen bonding, as revealed using FTIR spectroscopy. PXRD studies presented that glycerin or PEG400 could intercalate into the silicate layers of MAS and higher crystallinity of the films with PEG400 was obtained. This led to a different thermal behavior of the films. Glycerin gave more flexibility of the films than PEG400. Incorporation of plasticizers into the films did not affect water uptake in acid medium, but increasing an erosion of the films because of the leaching of the plasticizers. Water vapor permeability of the films decreased with increasing amount of plasticizers in the range of 10-30% (w/w). Diffusion coefficient (D) of acetaminophen (ACT) across the films in acid medium increased with addition of the plasticizers because the leaching of plasticizers could reduce tortuosity of aqueous pore channels of the films. The tablets coated with plasticized films had a quite smooth surface without defect as shown by SEM. The ACT release profiles from the coated tablets showed a zero-order release kinetic with drug diffusion mechanism across in situ insoluble composite films in acid medium, and coating film swelling and erosion mechanism in pH 6.8 phosphate buffer. Moreover, neither the release rate nor the release pattern of the ACT coated tablets was obviously changed. The findings show that glycerin or PEG400 could improve physicochemical properties of the SA-MAS films and the plasticized films could control the drug release from tablets in gastro-intestinal condition.

Coating of pellets with micronized ethylcellulose particles by a dry powder coating technique

Pellets were coated with ethylcellulose powder to achieve extended release. The film forming ability of ethylcellulose powder and the effect of formulation factors (plasticizer type and concentration) and curing conditions (curing temperature and time) were investigated. The coating formulation was divided into two components consisting of a powder mixture (polymer plus talc) and a mixture of liquid materials (plasticizer plus binder solution), which were sprayed separately into the coating chamber of a fluidized bed coater (Glatt GPCG-1, Wurster insert). The coated pellets were oven-cured under different conditions (60-80 degrees C, 2-24 h) without and with humidity (100% relative humidity). Propranolol hydrochloride was used as a model drug, and drug release was studied in 0.1 N HCl at 37 degrees C (USP XXV paddle method). Despite the high glass transition temperature of ethylcellulose (133.4 degrees C), micronized ethylcellulose powder can be used for dry powder coating by adjusting the coating temperature, amount and type of plasticizer applied, and curing conditions. 40% plasticizer and a curing step (80 degrees C, 24 h) were required to achieve complete coalescence of the polymer particles and extended drug release of coated pellets. Although ethylcellulose-coated pellets had an uneven surface, extended drug release could be obtained with coating level of 15%. Because of its high glass transition temperature, ethylcellulose-coated pellets showed unchanged drug release profiles upon storage at room temperature for 3 years.

Blends of enteric and GIT-insoluble polymers used for film coating: physicochemical characterization and drug release patterns

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE: (i). to use blends of gastrointestinal tract (GIT)-insoluble and enteric polymers (ethyl cellulose and Eudragit L) as coating materials for multiparticulate controlled release dosage forms; (ii). to investigate the effects of the polymer blend ratio and coating level on the resulting drug release patterns; and (iii). to explain the observed phenomena based on the physicochemical properties of the systems. Propranolol HCl-loaded pellets were coated in a fluidized bed coater with organic polymer solutions; thin, drug-containing and drug-free, polymeric films were prepared using a casting knife. In vitro drug release, water uptake and dry weight loss studies were performed in 0.1 M HCl and phosphate buffer pH 7.4, respectively. The apparent drug diffusion coefficients within the polymeric systems were determined using different experimental and theoretical techniques (side-by-side diffusion cells, in vitro drug release from thin films; exact and approximate solutions of Fick's second law of diffusion). A broad range of drug release patterns from coated pellets could be achieved by varying the GIT-insoluble:enteric polymer blend ratio. With increasing relative amounts of Eudragit L, the release rates in both media significantly increased. The increase at low pH could be attributed to an increase in water uptake, as observed with thin films. Interestingly, only partial Eudragit L leaching occurred in phosphate buffer pH 7.4 even at high enteric polymer contents, indicating that the GIT-insoluble polymer effectively hindered the dissolution of the entrapped Eudragit L. At high pH, both polymer leaching and polymer swelling contributed to the control of drug release. The determined apparent drug diffusion coefficients take the two effects adequately into account.

A glucose/hydrogen peroxide biofuel cell that uses oxidase and peroxidase as catalysts by composite bulk-modified bioelectrodes based on a solid binding matrix

An improved composite bulk-modified bioelectrode setup based on a solid binding matrix (SBM) has been used to develop a glucose/hydrogen peroxide biofuel cell. Fuel is combined through a catalytically promoted reaction with oxygen into and oxidized species and electricity. The present work explores the feasibility of a sugar-feed biofuel cell based on SBM technology. The biofuel cell that utilizes mediators as electron transporters from the glucose oxidation pathway of the enzyme directly to electrodes is considered in this work. The anode was a glucose oxidase (GOx, EC 1.1.3.4)/ferrocene-modified SBM/graphite composite electrode. The cathode was a horseradish peroxidase (HRP, EC 1.11.1.7)/ferrocene-modified SBM/graphite composite electrode. The composite transducer material was layered on a wide polymeric surface to obtain the biomodified electrodic elements, anodes and cathodes and were assembled into a biofuel cell using glucose and H(2)O(2) as the fuel substrate and the oxidizer. The electrochemical properties and the characteristics of single composite bioelectrodes are described. The open-circuit voltage of the cell was 0.22 V, and the power output of the cell was 0.15 microW/cm(2) at 0.021 V. The biofuel cell proved to be stable for an extended period of continuous work (30 days). The reproducibility of the biotransducers fabrication was also investigated. In addition, an application of presented biofuel cell, e.g. the use of hydrolyzed corn syrup as renewable biofuels, was discussed.