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The rapid expansion of global trade and human activities has resulted in a massive increase in wastewater pollution into the atmosphere. Suspended solids, organic and inorganic particles, dissolved solids, heavy metals, dyes, and other impurities contained in wastewater from various sources are toxic to the atmosphere and pose serious health risks to humans and animals. Coagulation–flocculation technology is commonly used in wastewater treatment to remove cell debris, colloids, and contaminants in a comfortable and effective manner. Flocculants, both organic and inorganic, have long been used in wastewater treatment. However, because of their low performance, non-biodegradability, and associated health risks, their use has been limited. The use of eco-friendly bioflocculants in wastewater treatment has become essential due to the health implications of chemical flocculants. Because of their availability, biodegradability, and protection, plant-derived coagulants/flocculants and plant-based grafted bioflocculants have recently made significant progress in wastewater treatment. This study will undoubtedly provide a clearer understanding of the current state, challenges, and solutions for bioflocculation in wastewater remediation using green materials for the sake of a cleaner climate.

Nanotechnology has proven its competence in almost all possible fields we are aware of. However, today nanotechnology has evolved in true sense by contributing to a very large extent to the food industry. With the growing number of mouths to feed, production of food is not adequate. It has to be preserved in order to reach to the masses on a global scale. Nanotechnology made the idea a reality by increasing the shelf life of different kinds of food materials. It is not an entirely full-proof measure; however it has brought down the extent of wastage of food due to microbial infestation. Not only fresh food but also healthier food is being designed with the help of nano-delivery systems which act as a carrier for the food supplements. There are regulations to follow however as several of them pose serious threats to the wellbeing of the population. In coming days, newer modes of safeguarding food are going to be developed with the help of nanotechnology. In this paper, an overview has been given of the different methods of food processing, packaging, and preservation techniques and the role nanotechnology plays in the food processing, packaging, and preservation industry.

In the present study, formulation and characterization of microbial biopolyesteric nanocarrier (MBPNc) was reported for in vitro controlled release of the drugs, viz., amoxicillin and levofloxacin. The synthesis of microbial biopolyester, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) nanoparticle was done by a triple emulsion method and loaded with amoxicillin and levofloxacin to improve its curative bioavailability. The synthesized MBPNc was found to be spherical in shape with a size range of 50–100 nm which was confirmed through Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analysis. The surface topology and physicochemical characteristics were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy. The cell viability % of MBPNc, amoxicillin-loaded MBPNc, and levofloxacin-loaded MBPNc on HEK293 cells at a concentration of 400 µg/ml were found to be 93.43 ± 0.66%, 92.29 ± 0.61%, and 91.53 ± 0.46%, respectively, which confirmed that MBPNc is biocompatible and can be used for biomedical applications without any cytotoxic effect. A significant decrease in the bacterial survival ratio (%) and increase in the zone of inhibition were observed on increasing the concentration of drug-loaded MBPNc against E. coli (ATCC®8739™) and S. aureus (ATCC®23,235™). The in vitro drug delivery study showed controlled release of amoxicillin (99.85 ± 0.15%) and levofloxacin (99.73 ± 0.24%) up to 22 h.

Seed-producing jute plants are commonly harvested solely for their seeds, leaving the fibre-rich stems unutilized and often burned, which contributes to environmental pollution and resource loss. This study explores the valorization of these stems by extracting fibres suitable for textile applications while maintaining seed yield. A novel Circular Scissor machine was designed and fabricated to separate seed-bearing branches from fibre-rich stems with an operational efficiency of 65–100% and minimal seed damage. The separated stems were processed using two retting methods: biological (water) retting and a mixed biological–chemical retting process employing 5% urea. A side-by-side comparison showed that the urea-assisted process reduced the total retting time (from 33 to 29 days) and produced finer fibres (2.90 tex vs. 3.27 tex for water-retted samples), with improved surface cleanliness and better strand separation, as confirmed by SEM and FTIR analyses. Both methods yielded fibres that met Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) grading standards for coarse textile applications such as rugs, mats, and upholstery. This combined approach preserving seeds while recovering fibre reduces open-field burning, enhances farmers’ income streams, and demonstrates the potential of jute seed crop stems as a sustainable textile fibre resource.

Presently, the food industry continues to be major contributor of plastic waste across the globe. The food industry is in great demand of sustainable food packaging material due to increase environmental and health consciousness. Biobased polymers which are degradable promise to be a key solution. Use of nanotechnological advancements in biopolymers provide a wide range of additional benefit and makes them a suitable packaging material. The benefits include barrier to oxygen permeability, moisture permeability, crystalline structure, other barrier properties, morphology, thermal stability, optical properties, mechanical properties, improving shelf life of the packaged food and antimicrobial characteristics. Polymeric materials (matrix) have been infused with nanofillers such as silicates, carbon, cellulose and starch nanoparticles. This review aims to focus on new and effectual polymeric materials for food packaging that are technologically advanced with nanotechnology as a solution to the challenges faced by food industry with regard to the product safety and materials performance.

Plastic in any form is a nuisance to the well-being of the environment. The ‘pestilence’ caused by it is mainly due to its non-degradable nature. With the industrial boom and the population explosion, the usage of plastic products has increased. A steady increase has been observed in the use of plastic products, and this has accelerated the pollution. Several attempts have been made to curb the problem at large by resorting to both chemical and biological methods. Chemical methods have only resulted in furthering the pollution by releasing toxic gases into the atmosphere; whereas; biological methods have been found to be eco-friendly however they are not cost effective. This paves the way for the current study where fungal isolates have been used to degrade polyethylene sheets (HDPE, LDPE). Two potential fungal strains, namely, Penicillium oxalicum NS4 (KU559906) and Penicillium chrysogenum NS10 (KU559907) had been isolated and identified to have plastic degrading abilities. Further, the growth medium for the strains was optimized with the help of RSM. The plastic sheets were subjected to treatment with microbial culture for 90 days. The extent of degradation was analyzed by, FE-SEM, AFM and FTIR. Morphological changes in the plastic sheet were determined.

Aloe vera is an important commodity plant which has been traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases. This study investigated the use of extracted bioflocculant from Aloe vera for the treatment of textile wastewater. The bioflocculant was extracted, purified and characterized using GC-MS, FTIR, SEM, AFM, EDX and XRD analysis. It was mainly composed of carbohydrate (19.5%) and protein (6.0%). Box-Behnken design (BBD), using 3 level-3 variables, was employed to enhance the decolorization process by optimizing the effect of various factors. A significant enhancement from 62.50 ± 0.1 to 82.01 ± 0.8% in decolorization of wastewater was observed under optimized conditions viz. bioflocculant dosage (60 mg/L), pH (5.0) and contact time (180 min). A quadratic polynomial model was adequate beside the actual statistics at an R2 value of 0.99 for the response decolorization % and was in good agreement with the predicted value (82.01 ± 0.1%) obtained by the RSM model. The results of the present investigation demonstrated that Aloe vera mucilage can serve as a promising bioflocculant with high removal efficiency for solids, colour and dye from wastewater. To the best of our information, this is the first report on the use of Aloe vera mucilage as a natural bioflocculant for the treatment of dye-bearing wastewater.

[...]looking for eukaryotic cell systems like yeast which can able to produce PHA seems to be a beneficial alternative to the production of PHA. Though some concerned effects have already been reported using genetically modified yeast strains but no exploration work has been done for enhancing the PHA production in a cost effective way. [...]the purpose of the present study was to optimize different growth parameters for the enhancement of PHA production using cheap carbon sources and its characterization by FTIR and GC-MS analysis. (KY1) and saccharomyces cerevisiae,2 were also reported but the maximum PHA production were found to be 7.06% and 2.68% only which was lower than the results of the present studied yeast Isolate 1 (40%), Isolate 2 (33%), Isolate 3 (29%) and Isolate 4 (25%). [...]based on the results of the present work, it can be concluded that the yeast isolate 1, Isolate 2, Isolate 3 and Isolate 4 have the capability to produce PHA. According to the mass spectral library from NIST database, the compounds obtained at retention time 3.063 and 19.925 min were identified as Methyl-ester 2-hydroxybutyrate (HB) and Methyl ester-2-hydroxyoctadecanoate (HOD) respectively.

Poor lifestyle choices have led to people suffering from stress, high blood pressure, and a surge in cholesterol levels. Due to this, people are opting for the use of various functional foods that have more than one health benefit to combat such disorders. As a result, chia seeds ( Salvia hispanica ) have become immensely popular and are slowly being included in modern diet regimens to combat various health problems. Chia seed is known to be an abundant source of antioxidants. It is also considered to be a potential source of caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid myricetin, kaempferol, and quercetin. These are believed to have anti-carcinogenic, cardiac, anti-aging, and hepatic protective effect characteristics. At the moment, chia seeds are mostly being consumed to maintain a healthy serum lipid balance in the body. This is achieved due to the omega-3 and phenolic acid present in chia. However, there can be endless therapeutic possibilities when it comes to using chia as an alternative to traditional medicines to treat diseases like diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, and many digestive system disorders. Through this paper, we will review the therapeutic potential of chia seeds and their pharmaceutical design. Graphical abstract

Perylene (PRL), a five- ring nuclear polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) has attracted attention because of its toxic properties. This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of yeast consortium YC02 to remediate PRL in presence of ZnO nanoparticles and produced biosurfactant in the growth medium. Response surface methodology (RSM), 3- level five variables Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to optimize the factors viz. pH 7.0, temperature 30ºC, shaking speed 130 rpm, inoculum dosage 3% and zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) concentration 2 g L-1 after a period of 6 days of incubation for the enhanced degradation of PRL (74 ± 0.01%) using yeast consortium. It was well in close agreement with the predicated value obtained by RSM model yield (74 ± 0.8%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed F-value of 58.13, R2 of 0.9790, probability of