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Biodegradable plastics are among the most promising materials to replace conventional petroleum-based plastics that have caused many adverse impacts on the environment, such as pollution (land, water, etc.) and global warming. Among a range of biodegradable plastics, poly lactic acid (PLA) is not only widely available but also safe to be decomposed after its usage without polluting the environment. PLA is also in parity with other conventional plastics such as PP, PET in terms of various properties suitable for industrial usage such as mechanical, physical, biocompatibility and processability. Thus, PLA has become the most used biopolymers in many industries such as agriculture, automotive and packaging by having these characteristics. Its higher demand has contributed to a stable increment in the global PLA market. In fact, over the years, the market for PLA has grown up and will keep on expanding in the future. Overall, the PLA-based bioplastic would be an excellent substitute for the existing conventional plastics in various applications, hence will serve to protect the environment not only from pollution but also work as a sustainable and economical product. This paper will review all the recent related works and literature on PLA as the biodegradable material regarding its properties, usability, productivity and substitute.

Biopolymers are mainly the polymers which are created or obtained from living creatures such as plants and bacteria rather than petroleum, which has traditionally been the source of polymers. Biopolymers are chain-like molecules composed of repeated chemical blocks derived from renewable resources that may decay in the environment. The usage of biomaterials is becoming more popular as a means of reducing the use of non-renewable resources and reducing environmental pollution produced by synthetic materials. Biopolymers' biodegradability and non-toxic nature help to maintain our environment clean and safe. This study discusses how to improve the mechanical and physical characteristics of biopolymers, particularly in the realm of bioengineering. The paper begins with a fundamental introduction and progresses to a detailed examination of synthesis and a unique investigation of several recent focused biopolymers with mechanical, physical, and biological characterization. Biopolymers' unique non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and eco-friendly features are boosting their applications, especially in bioengineering fields, including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, biomedical, ecological, industrial, aqua treatment, and food packaging, among others, at the end of this paper. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the relevance of biopolymers in smart and novel bioengineering applications. Graphical abstract The Graphical abstract represents the biological sources and applications of biopolymers. Plants, bacteria, animals, agriculture wastes, and fossils are all biological sources for biopolymers, which are chemically manufactured from biological monomer units, including sugars, amino acids, natural fats and oils, and nucleotides. Biopolymer modification (chemical or physical) is recognized as a crucial technique for modifying physical and chemical characteristics, resulting in novel materials with improved capabilities and allowing them to be explored to their full potential in many fields of application such as tissue engineering, drug delivery, agriculture, biomedical, food industries, and industrial applications.

Flavonoids are present naturally in many fruits and vegetables including onions, apples, tea, cabbage, cauliflower, berries and nuts which provide us with quercetin, a powerful natural antioxidant and cytotoxic compound. Due to antioxidant property, many nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals products contain quercetin as a major ingredient nowadays. Current review enlightened sources and quercetin’s role as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancerous and anti-inflammatory agent in medical field during last 5 to 6 years. Literature search was systematically done using scientific for the published articles of quercetin. A total of 345 articles were reviewed, and it was observed that more than 40% of articles were about quercetin’s use as an antioxidant agent, more than 25% of studies were about its use as an anticancer agent, and articles on antimicrobial activity were more than 15%. 10% of the articles showed anti-inflamamatory effects of quercetin. Literature search also revealed that quercetin alone and its complexes with chitosan, metal ions and polymers possessed good antidiabetic properties. Thus, the review focuses on new therapeutic interventions and drug delivery system of quercetin in medical field for the benefit of mankind.

Dye contamination of wastewater has become one of the most critical environmental problems these days. The most critical sources of dyes in wastewater are from industries such as textile factories, food, paper and printing products and vehicles productions. There are various techniques for the removal of dyes from wastewater such as adsorption, oxidation process, photocatalyst, biological decolorization and membrane separation technology. In this paper, the recent advances in the removal of dyes from wastewater by membrane technology as one of the most promising and effective water treatment methods have been reviewed. This review paper covers published articles mostly from 2000 to 2020. It is evident from literature survey articles that nanofiltration (NF) is the most studied type of membrane for the elimination of dyes from wastewater.

Surface roughness is an important factor that affects dynamic wetting behavior, which can improve the surface hydrophobicity, so it is of great significance to obtain a better understanding of roughness effect from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In this paper, we studied the influence of macro-size surface roughness on contact angle hysteresis and spreading work and analyzed the relationship between contact angle hysteresis and spreading work. Results showed that as the surface roughness increased, both the advancing contact angle and the receding contact angle continued to increase until their maximum values were reached, and then started to decrease within the range of surface roughness studied, while the contact angle hysteresis presented the opposite trend. In addition, with the increase of surface roughness the spreading work initially increased to a certain maximum value, then continuously decreased to the minimum value, and then began to increase within the range of the surface roughness studied. These trends could be attributed to the surface wetting state (Wenzel state, Cassie state, and transition state) changing with the change of surface roughness. These findings can provide guidance for the preparation of wetted surfaces with specific functions, especially when it is required to change the wettability without changing the surface chemical properties.

Recent developments in micro and nanoencapsulation are promising tools to encounter the different limitations of essential oil formulations, enhance their functionalities, and protect them from the external environmental conditions. This review addresses the current studies and progresses related to the development of encapsulated essential oils using different systems and carrier material types. It also focuses on the formation methods used with the subsequent physicochemical characterization of the developed particles. Moreover, this review considers the factors affecting the release of essential oils with the different physicochemical release models. The choice of the appropriate formation method as well as the carrier material types and system forms were shown to highly depend on the intended purpose of the encapsulated essential oil formulation. Micro and nanoencapsulation are used to control essential oils’ release properties, enhance the various characteristics of essential oils, and allow to expand applications in different fields. This review provides the optimal conditions for micro and nanoencapsulation of essential oil formulations based on the intended end uses.

Antimicrobial textiles are functionally active textiles, which may kill the microorganisms or inhibit their growth. The present article explores the applications of different synthetic and natural antimicrobial compounds used to prepare antimicrobial textiles. Different types of antimicrobial textiles including: antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral have also been discussed. Different strategies and methods used for the detection of a textile’s antimicrobial properties against bacterial and fungal pathogens as well as viral particles have also been highlighted. These antimicrobial textiles are used in a variety of applications ranging from households to commercial including air filters, food packaging, health care, hygiene, medical, sportswear, storage, ventilation and water purification systems. Public awareness on antimicrobial textiles and growth in commercial opportunities has been observed during past few years. Not only antimicrobial properties, but its durability along with the color, prints and designing are also important for fashionable clothing; thus, many commercial brands are now focusing on such type of materials. Overall, this article summarizes the scientific aspect dealing with different fabrics including natural or synthetic antimicrobial agents along with their current functional perspective and future opportunities. Graphic abstract

Polymer matrix composites have always piqued the curiosity of the scientific, technological communities and are being recognized as the best option for a wide range of engineering applications owing to their superior mechanical qualities, namely stiffness and high specific strength. In addition, these materials offer useful design flexibility and comparatively better fatigue and corrosion resistance than many other materials. These are thus recognized as advanced composite materials due to their superior mechanical properties and comparative ease of fabrication. As a result, manufacturers have turned towards these advanced composites for a wide range of applications in a variety of industries. A manufacturer or designer must choose appropriate constituents of a composite for a particular application while considering all the composite’s properties. This stands as one of the main objectives of this review, i.e. to explore various matrices and reinforcement combinations used for different applications taking their properties into accord. This extensive analysis includes a detailed review of certain selective fabrication techniques. In addition to that, polymer matrix composites’ numerous applications in today’s environment are also discussed, as well as the challenges that they pose in diverse contexts. Through this review, researchers will achieve a better understanding of the significance of these materials and their adaptability in various applications.

. The main object of the present paper is to examine and compare the improvement of flow and heat transfer characteristics between a rotating nanofluid and a newly discovered hybrid nanofluid in the presence of velocity slip and thermal slip. The influence of thermal radiation is also included in the present study. The system after applying the similarity transformations is solved numerically by using the bvp-4c scheme. Additionally, numerical calculations for the coefficient of skin friction and local Nusselt number are introduced and perused for germane parameters. The comparison between water, nanofluid and hybrid nanofluid on velocity and temperature is also visualized. It is observed that the velocity and temperature distributions are decreasing functions of the slip parameter. Temperature is boosted by thermal radiation and rotation. It is found that the heat transfer rate of the hybrid nanofluid is higher as compared to the traditional nanofluid. Graphical abstract

Reducing energy consumption and minimizing environmental impacts have been significant factors in expanding the applicability of plant fiber-reinforced composites across a variety of industries. Plant fibers have major advantages over synthetic fibers, including biodegradability, light weight, low cost, non-abrasiveness, and acceptable mechanical properties. However, the inherent plant fiber properties, such as varying fiber quality, low mechanical properties, moisture content, poor impact strengths, a lack of integration with hydrophobic polymer matrices, and a natural tendency to agglomerate, have posed challenges to the development and application of plant fiber composites. Emphasis is being placed on overcoming this limitation to improve the performance of plant fiber composites and their applications. This study reviews plant fiber-reinforced composites, focusing on strategies and breakthroughs for improving plant fiber composite performance, such as fiber modification, fabrication, properties, biopolymers, and their composites with industrial applications like automotive, construction, ballistic, textiles, and others. Furthermore, Pearson rank correlation coefficients were used in this review to assess the relationship between the chemical composition of plant fibers with their physical and mechanical properties. If researchers study the behavior of plant fibers using correlation coefficients, it will be easier to combine plant fibers with a polymer matrix to develop a new sustainable material. Through this review study, researchers will learn more about the strategic value of these materials and how well they work in different real-world situations. Graphical abstract