Synthesis, Characterization and Biomedical Application of Silver Nanoparticles

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been employed in various fields of biotechnology due to their proven properties as an antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal agent. AgNPs are generally synthesized through chemical, physical and biological approaches involving a myriad of methods. As each approach confers unique advantages and challenges, a trends analysis of literature for the AgNPs synthesis using different types of synthesis were also reviewed through a bibliometric approach. A sum of 10,278 publications were analyzed on the annual numbers of publication relating to AgNPs and biological, chemical or physical synthesis from 2010 to 2020 using Microsoft Excel applied to the Scopus publication database. Furthermore, another bibliometric clustering and mapping software were used to study the occurrences of author keywords on the biomedical applications of biosynthesized AgNPs and a total collection of 224 documents were found, sourced from articles, reviews, book chapters, conference papers and reviews. AgNPs provides an excellent, dependable, and effective solution for seven major concerns: as antibacterial, antiviral, anticancer, bone healing, bone cement, dental applications and wound healing. In recent years, AgNPs have been employed in biomedical sector due to their antibacterial, antiviral and anticancer properties. This review discussed on the types of synthesis, how AgNPs are characterized and their applications in biomedical field.

Coco Peat as Agricultural Waste Sorbent for Sustainable Diesel-Filter System

Oil spill incidents are hazardous and have prolonged damage to the marine environment. Management and spill clean-up procedures are practical and rapid, with several shortcomings. Coco peat (CP) and coco fibre (CF) are refined from coconut waste, and their abundance makes them desirable for diesel spillage treatment. Using a filter-based system, the selectivity of coco peat sorbent was tested using CP, CF and peat-fibre mix (CPM). CP exhibited maximal diesel sorption capacity with minimal seawater uptake, thus being selected for further optimisation analysis. The heat treatment considerably improved the sorption capacity and efficiency of diesel absorbed by CP, as supported by FTIR and VPSEM-EDX analysis. Conventional one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) examined the performance of diesel sorption by CP under varying parameters, namely temperature, time of heating, packing density and diesel concentration. The significant factors were statistically evaluated using response surface methodology (RSM) via Plackett-Burman design (PB) and central composite design (CCD). Three significant (p < 0.05) factors (time, packing density and diesel concentration) were identified by PB and further analysed for interactions among the parameters. CCD predicted efficiency of diesel absorbed at 59.92% (71.90 mL) (initial diesel concentration of 30% v/v) and the experimental model validated the design with 59.17% (71.00 mL) diesel sorbed at the optimised conditions of 14.1 min of heating (200 °C) with packing density of 0.08 g/cm3 and 30% (v/v) of diesel concentration. The performance of CP in RSM (59.17%) was better than that in OFAT (58.33%). The discoveries imply that natural sorbent materials such as CP in oil spill clean-up operations can be advantageous and environmentally feasible. This study also demonstrated the diesel-filter system as a pilot study for the prospective up-scale application of oil spills.

A Review and Bibliometric Analysis on Applications of Microbial Degradation of Hydrocarbon Contaminants in Arctic Marine Environment at Metagenomic and Enzymatic Levels

The globe is presently reliant on natural resources, fossil fuels, and crude oil to support the world’s energy requirements. Human exploration for oil resources is always associated with irreversible effects. Primary sources of hydrocarbon pollution are instigated through oil exploration, extraction, and transportation in the Arctic region. To address the state of pollution, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms and processes of the bioremediation of hydrocarbons. The application of various microbial communities originated from the Arctic can provide a better interpretation on the mechanisms of specific microbes in the biodegradation process. The composition of oil and consequences of hydrocarbon pollutants to the various marine environments are also discussed in this paper. An overview of emerging trends on literature or research publications published in the last decade was compiled via bibliometric analysis in relation to the topic of interest, which is the microbial community present in the Arctic and Antarctic marine environments. This review also presents the hydrocarbon-degrading microbial community present in the Arctic, biodegradation metabolic pathways (enzymatic level), and capacity of microbial degradation from the perspective of metagenomics. The limitations are stated and recommendations are proposed for future research prospects on biodegradation of oil contaminants by microbial community at the low temperature regions of the Arctic.