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Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is one of the most promising elastomers due its remarkable proprieties such as good thermal stability, biocompatibility, corrosion resistance, flexibility, low cost, ease of use, chemically inertia, hyperplastic characteristics, and gas permeability. Thus, it can be used in areas such as microfluidic systems, biomedical devices, electronic components, membranes for filtering and pervaporation, sensors, and coatings. Although pure PDMS has low mechanical properties, such as low modulus of elasticity and strength, it can be improved by mixing the PDMS with other polymers and by adding particles or reinforcements. Fiber-reinforced PDMS has proved to be a good alternative to manufacturing flexible displays, batteries, wearable devices, tactile sensors, and energy harvesting systems. PDMS and particulates are often used in the separation of liquids from wastewater by means of porosity followed by hydrophobicity. Waxes such as beeswax and paraffin have proved to be materials capable of improving properties such as the hydrophobic, corrosion-resistant, thermal, and optical properties of PDMS. Finally, when blended with polymers such as poly (vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate), PDMS becomes a highly efficient alternative for membrane separation applications. However, to the best of our knowledge there are few works dedicated to the review and comparison of different PDMS composites. Hence, this review will be focused on PDMS composites, their respective applications, and properties. Generally, the combination of elastomer with fibers, particles, waxes, polymers, and others it will be discussed, with the aim of producing a review that demonstrates the wide applications of this material and how tailored characteristics can be reached for custom applications.

Honey, propolis, bee pollen, bee bread, royal jelly, beeswax and bee venom are natural products which have been used in medicine since ancient times. Nowadays, studies indicate that natural bee products can be used for skin treatment and care. Biological properties of these products are related to flavonoids they contain like: chrysin, apigenin, kaempferol, quercetin, galangin, pinocembrin or naringenin. Several pharmacological activities of phenolic acids and flavonoids, and also 10-hydroxy-trans-2-decenoic acid, which is present in royal jelly, have been reported. Royal jelly has multitude of pharmacological activities: antibiotic, antiinflammatory, antiallergenic, tonic and antiaging. Honey, propolis and pollen are used to heal burn wounds, and they possess numerous functional properties such as: antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, disinfectant, antifungal and antiviral. Beeswax is used for production of cosmetics and ointments in pharmacy. Due to a large number of biological activities, bee products could be considered as important ingredients in medicines and cosmetics applied to skin.

Propolis has gained wide popularity over the last decades in several parts of the world. In parallel, the literature about propolis composition and biological properties increased markedly. A great number of papers have demonstrated that propolis from different parts of the world is composed mainly of phenolic substances, frequently flavonoids, derived from plant resins. Propolis has a relevant role in increasing the social immunity of bee hives. Experimental evidence indicates that propolis and its components have activity against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Mechanisms of action on bacteria, fungi, and viruses are known for several propolis components. Experiments have shown that propolis may act synergistically with antibiotics, antifungals, and antivirus drugs, permitting the administration of lower doses of drugs and higher antimicrobial effects. The current trend of growing resistance of microbial pathogens to the available drugs has encouraged the introduction of propolis in therapy against infectious diseases. Because propolis composition is widely variable, standardized propolis extracts have been produced. Successful clinical trials have included propolis extracts as medicine in dentistry and as an adjuvant in the treatment of patients against COVID-19. Present world health conditions encourage initiatives toward the spread of the niche of propolis, not only as traditional and alternative medicine but also as a relevant protagonist in anti-infectious therapy. Production of propolis and other apiary products is environmentally friendly and may contribute to alleviating the current crisis of the decline of bee populations. Propolis production has had social-economic relevance in Brazil, providing benefits to underprivileged people.

In this article, a novel dispersion system is presented for consolidation and hydrophobization of degraded canvases. The dispersions are formulated by combining cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and hydrophobically modified ethylhydroxyethylcellulose (EHM) with beeswax nanoemulsions. The beeswax nanoemulsion is prepared using the Ouzo effect, a low‐energy, surfactant‐free, and spontaneous emulsification method. EHM serves as an anchor for CNC and beeswax nanoparticles on the canvas, forming a continuous film and preventing aggregation during the treatment process. Tensile tests and contact angle measurements demonstrate that the dispersions effectively strengthen the canvas and enhance its water resistance, addressing the moisture‐induced mechanical limitations observed with previous nanocellulose and polyelectrolyte consolidants. Additionally, the hydrophobicity of the beeswax‐CNC/EHM system can be adjusted by varying the beeswax content. Overall, the use of entirely green components and the straightforward preparation process makes this dispersion system highly adaptable for consolidation in cultural heritage conservation, particularly in scenarios where a hydrophobic surface is required. A beeswax‐CNC/EHM composite system is developed for the consolidation and hydrophobization of canvases. The beeswax nanoemulsion is prepared using a spontaneous emulsification method based on the Ouzo effect. The interactions between CNC, EHM and beeswax resulted in a stable and uniform layer upon drying, synergistically providing both reinforcement and hydrophobization for the degraded canvases.

The conventional approach for preparation of core-sheath fibers is coaxial electrospinning. Single-spinneret electrospinning of emulsions is a much less common method to obtain core-sheath fibers. Core-sheath structure may be generated by electrospinning of homogeneous blend solutions; however, reports on such cases are still scarce. Herein, the preparation of nanofibrous composites from poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), poly(L-lactide) (PLA) and beeswax (BW) by single-spinneret electrospinning of their homogeneous blend solutions in chloroform is reported. The produced fibers had core/double-sheath structure with a PEO core, PLA inner sheath and BW outer sheath. This original fiber structure was evidenced by transmission electron microscopy, selective extraction of BW or PEO, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The PLA/BW double sheath led to hydrophobicity of the PEO/PLA/BW mats. The tensile tests revealed that PEO/PLA/BW mats had substantially improved mechanical behavior as compared to PEO, PLA and PEO/BW mats. PEO/PLA/BW mats can be used as drug carriers as evidenced by the one-pot incorporation of the model drug 5-nitro-8-hydroxyquinoline (NQ) into the fibrous materials. Microbiological tests showed that PEO/PLA/BW/NQ had antimicrobial activity. Therefore, the new materials are promising for wound healing applications.

It is possible to store heat energy and extract it from materials in the form of internal energy changes such as sensible heat, latent heat, and thermo-chemistry, or in any combination of these three. In systems of insensible heat storage, energy is stored by raising the temperature of the medium to which it is being stored. During the process of heat absorption and release, this system makes use of the heat capacity of materials as well as variations in the temperature of those materials. The quantity of energy that is deposited within the system is dependent on the specific heat of the medium, as well as variations in temperature and the amount of medium that is used. The principle behind the operation of latent heat storage is that the storage medium absorbs or releases heat depending on whether or not it is undergoing a phase transition from solid to liquid, liquid to gas, or vice versa. Beeswax is a naturally occurring phase change material (PCM) that has its greatest phase transition enthalpy in the temperature range of 60–68 °C. It has the potential to be used in a wide number of applications that include the storage of thermal energy. Researchers are interested in the durability and temperature resistance of beeswax. This study aims to deliver a comprehensive review that provides a rundown of experimental, numerical, and experimental and numerical studies on beeswax and Nanoparticles-beeswax as PCM for thermal energy storage (TES). The review will also provide a summary of recent developments in research. This article also discusses a few other concerns pertaining to setting up, researching parameters, and discovering results. Studies on beeswax are presently being conducted, and based on the results of the most recent one, suggestions have been made for other research projects to be carried out.

In this work, different materials for three-dimensional (3D)-printing were studied, which based on polycaprolactone with two natural additives, gum rosin, and beeswax. During the 3D-printing process, the bed and extrusion temperatures of each formulation were established. After, the obtained materials were characterized by mechanical, thermal, and structural properties. The results showed that the formulation with containing polycaprolactone with a mixture of gum rosin and beeswax as additive behaved better during the 3D-printing process. Moreover, the miscibility and compatibility between the additives and the matrix were concluded through the thermal assessment. The mechanical characterization established that the addition of the mixture of gum rosin and beeswax provides greater tensile strength than those additives separately, facilitating 3D-printing. In contrast, the addition of beeswax increased the ductility of the material, which makes the 3D-printing processing difficult. Despite the fact that both natural additives had a plasticizing effect, the formulations containing gum rosin showed greater elongation at break. Finally, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy assessment deduced that polycaprolactone interacts with the functional groups of the additives.

Plastic waste pollution and its difficult degradation process have aroused widespread concern. Research has demonstrated that the larvae of Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm), Galleria mellonella (greater wax moth), and Zophobas atratus (superworm) possess a biodegradation ability for polystyrene (PS) within the gut microbiota of these organisms. In this study, the difference in PS degradation and the changes of the gut microbiota were compared before and after feeding PS. The results showed that superworm had the strongest PS consumption capacity and the highest survival rate during the 30 d experiment period. They all could degrade PS to different degrees. Superworm showed the highest ability to degrade PS into low-molecular-weight substances, while yellow mealworm depolymerized PS strongly by destroying the benzene ring. The changes of the intestinal microbiome caused by feeding PS showed that after ingesting PS, there was a decrease in community diversity in superworm and yellow mealworm, but an increase in greater wax moth. Meanwhile, Enterococcus and Enterobacteriaceae, found in all three species’ larvae upon 20 d of PS feeding, might play an important role in PS degradation. The results will provide more accurate PS degradation comparative data of the three species’ larvae and theoretical guidance for further research on the efficient PS biodegradations.