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The current investigation deals with the simple and ecological synthesis of CaO, MgO, CaTiO 3, and MgTiO 3 for the photocatalytic dilapidation of rhodamine B dye. CaO was procured from chicken eggshell waste by calcination process, while MgO was produced by solution combustion method using urea as a fuel source. Furthermore, CaTiO 3 and MgTiO 3 were synthesized through an easy and simple solid-state method by mixing thoroughly the synthesized CaO or MgO with TiO 2 before calcination at 900 °C. XRD and EDX investigations confirmed the phase formation of the materials. Moreover, FTIR spectra revealed the existence of Ca–Ti–O, Mg–Ti–O, and Ti–O which resembles the chemical composition of the proposed materials. SEM micrographs revealed that the surface of CaTiO 3 is rougher with relatively dispersed particles compared to MgTiO 3 , reflecting a higher surface area of CaTiO 3 . Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy investigations indicated that the synthesized materials can act as photocatalysts under UV illumination. Accordingly, CaO and CaTiO 3 effectively degraded rhodamine B dye within 120 min with a photodegradation activity of 63% and 72%, respectively. In contrast, the photocatalytic degradation activity of MgO and MgTiO 3 was much lower, since only 21.39 and 29.44% of the dye were degraded, respectively after 120 min of irradiation. Furtheremore, the photocatalytic activity of the mixture from both Ca and Mg titanates was 64.63%. These findings might be valuable for designing potential and affordable photocatalysts for wastewater purification.

Significant interest has been inspired by the exceptional biological performance of akermanite bioceramic in tissue engineering. This exertion investigates effect of fuel on the biomineralisation using three different fuels viz., glycine, L-alanine, and urea. The materials were prepared through sol-gel combustion method by using Glycine, L Alanine and Urea as a fuel and encoded as AK-G, AK-AL, and AK-U. The mechanism associated in the synthesis of these bioceramic was examined by thermal analysis. The pure phase achieved at 900 °C was confirmed by powder XRD, the functional groups were identified by FTIR analysis. When glycine was employed as the fuel, the average crystallite size formed was 32–36 nm; however, for alanine and urea, shows increase in value of 34–40 and 37–43 nm, respectively. Surface morphology and elemental composition were confirmed by SEM/EDX. AFM analysis indicates that Glycine imparts higher surface roughness than other ceramic materials, which promotes nucleation of hydroxyapatite during biomineralization. Among the three samples, AK-Glycine exhibits considerable improvements in bioactivity with a Ca/P ratio of 1.60 which is closer to natural hydroxyapatite (1.67) and makes it an appropriate candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.

The current work reports the biocompatibility and mechanical stability of enstatite and forsterite bioceramics prepared by sol–gel combustion method. XRD results conferred that enstatite and forsterite phase formation take place at 1000 °C and 900 °C respectively. TEM micrographs indicated the particle size of enstatite in the micron range while forsterite is in the range of 100–200 nm. The FT-IR spectra of forsterite after biomineralization revealed the presence of phosphate and carbonate groups shows apatite deposition ability of forsterite. The slow degradation and better apatite deposition of forsterite resulted in ten folds greater compressive strength than enstatite. Both the bioceramics have shown a remarkable impact on inhibiting the growth of clinical pathogens at a very low concentration. The good hBMSCs attachment and significant proliferation revealed the cytocompatibility of enstatite and forsterite. These observations suggested that magnesium silicate bioceramics can be explored for load-bearing applications, maxillofacial reconstruction and septic arthritis. Graphical abstract

It has been demonstrated that nanocrystalline forsterite powder synthesised using urea as a fuel in sol-gel combustion method had produced a pure forsterite (FU) and possessed superior bioactive characteristics such as bone apatite formation and antibacterial properties. In the present study, 3D-scaffold was fabricated using nanocrystalline forsterite powder in polymer sponge method. The FU scaffold was used in investigating the physicochemical, biomechanics, cell attachment, in vitro biocompatibility and osteogenic differentiation properties. For physicochemical characterisation, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectrometer (XPS) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) were used. FTIR, EDX, XRD peaks and Raman spectroscopy demonstrated correlating to FU. The XPS confirmed the surface chemistry associating to FU. The BET revealed FU scaffold surface area of 12.67 m2/g and total pore size of 0.03 cm3/g. Compressive strength of the FU scaffold was found to be 27.18 ± 13.4 MPa. The human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs) characterisation prior to perform seeding on FU scaffold verified the stromal cell phenotypic and lineage commitments. SEM, confocal images and presto blue viability assay suggested good cell attachment and proliferation of hBMSCs on FU scaffold and comparable to a commercial bone substitutes (cBS). Osteogenic proteins and gene expression from day 7 onward indicated FU scaffold had a significant osteogenic potential (p<0.05), when compared with day 1 as well as between FU and cBS. These findings suggest that FU scaffold has a greater potential for use in orthopaedic and/or orthodontic applications.

Gellan-chitosan (GC) incorporated with CS: 0% (GC-0 CS), 10% (GC-10 CS), 20% (GC-20 CS) or 40% (GC-40 CS) w/w was prepared using freeze-drying method to investigate its physicochemical, biocompatible, and osteoinductive properties in human bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs). The composition of different groups was reflected in physicochemical analyses performed using BET, FTIR, and XRD. The SEM micrographs revealed excellent hBMSCs attachment in GC-40 CS. The Alamar Blue assay indicated an increased proliferation and viability of seeded hBMSCs in all groups on day 21 as compared with day 0. The hBMSCs seeded in GC-40 CS indicated osteogenic differentiation based on an amplified alkaline-phosphatase release on day 7 and 14 as compared with day 0. These cells supported bone mineralization on GC-40 CS based on Alizarin-Red assay on day 21 as compared with day 7 and increased their osteogenic gene expression (RUNX2, ALP, BGLAP, BMP, and Osteonectin) on day 21. The GC-40 CS–seeded hBMSCs initiated their osteogenic differentiation on day 7 as compared with counterparts based on an increased expression of type-1 collagen and BMP2 in immunocytochemistry analysis. In conclusion, the incorporation of 40% (w/w) calcium silicate in gellan-chitosan showed osteoinduction potential in hBMSCs, making it a potential biomaterial to treat critical bone defects.

Biocompatibility and bacterial infections are the primary concerns associated with the current bone graft substitutes. The application of wollastonite-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering becomes a novel subject of interest. In the present study, a single phasic wollastonite scaffold was synthesised using citric acid-based sol–gel combustion route. Its physicochemical characteristics, antibacterial properties as well as its biocompatibility and osteogenic induction effect on human bone marrow derived stromal cells ( hBMSCs ) are yet to be explored. The TGA/DTA, XRD and SEM/EDX confirmed the characteristics of wollastonite. The antibacterial test indicated wollastonite inhibition of 47.81% and 45.54% for gram-positive, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis and 47.04% and 46.07% for gram-negative, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial strains, respectively. The SEM micrographs demonstrated an excellent attachment of hBMSCs on wollastonite and comparable to commercial hydroxyapatite (cHA) scaffold. The alamar blue cell proliferation assay confirmed 1.7- and 1.8-fold significant increase in hBMSCs seeded on wollastonite and cHA scaffold, respectively, on day 14 as compared with day 1. The immunohistochemistry analysis on Type-I collagen (Col1) and Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) expression on day 14 confirmed the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs seeded on wollastonite and comparable with cHA scaffold. In conclusion, wollastonite scaffold has a greater potential to substitute bone grafts in orthopaedic applications.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas. Its diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and control, particularly in resource-limited settings where the disease burden is high. Various diagnostic methods are available. However, these methods are associated with low accuracy, efficiency or accessibility. This review summarizes the published literature on the diagnostics of schistosomiasis based on the techniques of microscopy, serology, molecular, antigen-based and aptamer-based assays. The limitations of each technique were summarized to encourage future research. Furthermore, we highlight the need for point-of-care diagnostics that are sensitive, specific, and easy to use in resource-limited settings may address the challenges associated with commonly used diagnostic techniques. The review concludes that further research and development are needed to improve the diagnosis of schistosomiasis and enable effective treatment and control of this debilitating disease.

Purpose: Floating drug delivery system reduces the quantity of drug intake and the risk of overloading the organs with excess drug. Methods: In the present study, we prepared the blends of sodium alginate with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a matrix, sodium hydrogen carbonate as a pore forming agent, methyl cellulose as a binder and barium chloride containing 10% acetic acid as a hardening agent. Different ratios of pore forming agent to the polymer blend was used to prepare the floating beads with different porosity and morphology. Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride was used as a model drug for the release kinetics studies. Results: The beads were characterized by optical and FESEM microscopy to study the morphology and pore dimensions. The results obtained shows decrease in beads size with increase in the concentration of the pore forming agent. The swelling properties of the beads were found to be in the range of 80% to 125%. The release kinetics of the ciprofloxacin from the beads was measured by UV-Visible spectroscopy at λmax of 278nm and the results shows for highly porous beads. Conclusion: By varying the amount of alginate and pore forming agent the release kinetics is found to get altered. As a result, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride release is found to be sustained from the blended beads.

Over the last decade, bioactive silicates have gained significant interest as bone graft substitutes due to their excellent ability to repair, replace, and regenerate damaged tissue in injured bone. In this work, a sol–gel combustion route was used to synthesize nanostructured barium-doped diopside (Ca 1-X Ba X MgSi 2 O 6 ) using stoichiometric amounts of calcium nitrate, magnesium nitrate, and barium nitrate as oxidizers, and tartaric acid as a fuel. The resultant powder was examined by powder XRD to confirm the phase purity. Pure phase of diopside was achieved at 850 °C without any secondary phase. For functional group analysis, FT-IR was employed, and microscopic imaging (SEM/EDAX) was used to study morphological changes. Due to barium doping in the diopside matrix, the crystallite size was reduced, and the mechanical and degradation properties of the prepared pellets was enhanced after immersion in SBF medium over a period of time. The results show compressive strength of the doped diopside was found to be 169 MPa, closer to cortical bone strength and similar to previous findings. It can be concluded that barium can be considered as a dopant to improve bioactivity of Ca-Mg silicate for hard tissue application.

The primary research interests in this area of materials science are focused on discovering a potential biomaterial. The need for biomaterial in biomedical applications has been massive in hard tissue engineering due to the significant spike in human bone diseases and bone injuries. In the last 30 years, scientists have achieved great progress in the development of materials in orthopaedic application as a result of the innovation of ceramic materials The aim of the work is to synthesis diopside (CaMgSi 2 O 6 ) and wollastonite (CaSiO 3 ) through sol–gel combustion method by using tartaric acid as a fuel and prepare a diopside/wollastonite composite out of it. The synthesized precursors were thermally treated to eliminate the secondary phase and pure phase of diopside and wollastonite were achieved at 850 ºC and 800 ºC respectively. The product was characterized by powder X-ray diffractometer (PXRD) for phase identification and functional group analysis was carried out using Fourier—Transform Infrared spectroscopy. The electron microscopy imaging and elemental analysis (SEM/EDAX) was used to study the surface morphology of the material. Later the diopside-wollastonite composite was prepared in three different ratios and sintered at 600 ºC for 3 h. In in vitro bioactivity test reveals the initiation of apatite deposition the surface of the ceramic composite scaffold after 3 days of immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) medium. The obtained results show tremendous improvisation of apatite deposition and the mechanical stability (113Mpa) which is three times greater than the pure diopside.