Effect of whey protein isolate addition on set-type camel milk yogurt: Rheological properties and biological activities of the bioaccessible fraction

The manufacture of camel milk (CM) yogurt has been associated with several challenges, such as the weak structure and watery texture, thereby decreasing its acceptability. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of whey protein isolate (WPI) addition on the health-promoting benefits, texture profile, and rheological properties of CM yogurt after 1 and 15 d of storage. Yogurt was prepared from CM supplemented with 0, 3, and 5% of WPI and compared with bovine milk yogurt. The results show that the water holding capacity was affected by WPI addition representing 31.3%, 56.8%, 64.7%, and 45.1% for yogurt from CM containing 0, 3 or 5% WPI, and bovine milk yogurt, respectively, after 15 d. The addition of WPI increased yogurt hardness, adhesiveness, and decreased the resilience. CM yogurt without WPI showed lower apparent viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus values compared with other samples. The supplementation of CM with WPI improved the rheological properties of the obtained yogurt. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of yogurt before and after in vitro digestion varied among yogurt treatments, which significantly increased after digestion except the superoxide anion scavenging and lipid oxidation inhibition. After in vitro digestion at d 1, the superoxide anion scavenging of the 4 yogurt treatments respectively decreased from 83.7%, 83.0%, 79.1%, and 87.4% to 36.7%, 38.3%, 44.6%, and 41.3%. The inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition, cholesterol removal, and degree of hydrolysis exhibited different values before and after in vitro digestion.

Investigating the Properties and Characterization of a Hybrid 3D Printed Antimicrobial Composite Material Using FFF Process: Innovative and Swift

Novel strategies and materials have gained the attention of researchers due to the current pandemic, the global market high competition, and the resistance of pathogens against conventional materials. There is a dire need to develop cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and biodegradable materials to fight against bacteria using novel approaches and composites. Fused filament fabrication (FFF), also known as fused deposition modeling (FDM), is the most effective and novel fabrication method to develop these composites due to its various advantages. Compared to metallic particles alone, composites of different metallic particles have shown excellent antimicrobial properties against common Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This study investigates the antimicrobial properties of two sets of hybrid composite materials, i.e., Cu-PLA-SS and Cu-PLA-Al, are made using copper-enriched polylactide composite, one-time printed side by-side with stainless steel/PLA composite, and second-time with aluminum/PLA composite respectively. These materials have 90 wt.% of copper, 85 wt.% of SS 17-4, 65 wt.% of Al with a density of 4.7 g/cc, 3.0 g/cc, and 1.54 g/cc, respectively, and were fabricated side by side using the fused filament fabrication (FFF) printing technique. The prepared materials were tested against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Salmonella Poona (S. Poona), and Enterococci during different time intervals (5 min, 10 min, 20 min, 1 h, 8 h, and 24 h). The results revealed that both samples showed excellent antimicrobial efficiency, and 99% reduction was observed after 10 min. Hence, three-dimensional (3D) printed polymeric composites enriched with metallic particles can be utilized for biomedical, food packaging, and tissue engineering applications. These composite materials can also provide sustainable solutions in public places and hospitals where the chances of touching surfaces are higher.

The potential of adopting natural fibers reinforcements for fused deposition modeling: Characterization and implications

Natural fibers or their derivatives have gained significant attention as green fillers or reinforcement materials due to their abundant availability, environment-friendly nature and biodegradability for sustainable development. Despite the availability of modern alternatives such as concrete, glass-fiber/resin composites, steel, and plastics, there is still considerable demand for naturally occurring based materials for different applications due to their low cost, durability, strength, heat, sound, and fire-resistance characteristics. 3D printing has provided a novel approach to the development and advancement of natural fiber-based composite materials, as well as an important platform for the advancement of biomass materials toward intelligentization and industrialization. The features of 3D printing, particularly fast prototyping and small start-up, allow the easy fabrication of materials for a wide range of applications. This review highlights the current progress and potential commercial applications of 3D printed composites reinforced with natural fibers or biomass. This study discussed that 3D printing technology can be effectively utilized for different applications, including producing electroactive papers, fuel cell membranes, adhesives, wastewater treatment, biosensors, and its potential applications in the automobile, building, and construction industries. The research in the literature showed that even if the field of 3D printing has advanced significantly, problems still need to be solved, such as material incompatibility and material cost. Further studies could be conducted to improve and adapt the methods to work with various materials. More effort should be put into developing affordable printer technologies and materials that work with these printers to broaden the applications for 3D printed objects.

Comparative Experimental Investigation of Biodegradable Antimicrobial Polymer-Based Composite Produced by 3D Printing Technology Enriched with Metallic Particles

Due to the prevailing existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, novel and practical strategies to combat pathogens are on the rise worldwide. It is estimated that, globally, around 10% of hospital patients will acquire at least one healthcare-associated infection. One of the novel strategies that has been developed is incorporating metallic particles into polymeric materials that neutralize infectious agents. Considering the broad-spectrum antimicrobial potency of some materials, the incorporation of metallic particles into the intended hybrid composite material could inherently add significant value to the final product. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate an antimicrobial polymeric PLA-based composite material enhanced with different microparticles (copper, aluminum, stainless steel, and bronze) for the antimicrobial properties of the hybrid composite. The prepared composite material samples produced with fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printing technology were tested for different time intervals to establish their antimicrobial activities. The results presented here depict that the sample prepared with 90% copper and 10% PLA showed the best antibacterial activity (99.5%) after just 20 min against different types of bacteria as compared to the other samples. The metallic-enriched PLA-based antibacterial sheets were remarkably effective against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli; therefore, they can be a good candidate for future biomedical, food packaging, tissue engineering, prosthetic material, textile industry, and other science and technology applications. Thus, antimicrobial sheets made from PLA mixed with metallic particles offer sustainable solutions for a wide range of applications where touching surfaces is a big concern.