Techno-economic assessment of doxycycline recovery using rice straw biochar: A circular economic execution.

The non-scientific disposal of antibiotics has resulted in massive contamination of the bioactive molecules in the aquatic ecosystem. The presence of antibiotics in the effluents limits the biodegradation of micropollutants by affecting the micro-ecological balance. Hence this study aims to remove doxycycline antibiotics from wastewater using biochar. Elemental analysis of the biochar revealed C, Si and N as most abundant content while BET analysis confirmed the mesoporous nature of the adsorbent. The XRD and Raman spectra confirmed amorphic sp2 carbon dominant structure in the biochar. The adsorption mechanism was predicted, correlating the charge distribution and FTIR analysis. The effects of different process parameters were studied using CCD, ANOVA, and RSM. Moreover, the different kinetic models revealed that the pseudo-second-order kinetics model was the best fit and film layer diffusion was the dominant contributor. The isotherm study indicated the high adsorption capacity of the biochar and its non-ionic nature. Thermodynamics study established the spontaneity and exothermic nature. The results suggested no significant change in antibiotic removal efficiency across different system (pond water (97.13%), river water (98.11%), seawater (96.84%), tap water (99.13%), and distilled water (99.74%)). For the desorption of the antibiotic from the biochar surface, 90% ethanol was the most efficient (98.9%), and upon recrystallization by solvent evaporation, 98.7% of the antibiotic of the initial load was recovered. Hence, the implementation of this described process would enable resource recovery along with water treatment, which is not possible with existing approaches. The cost analysis of the whole process revealed that biochar preparation was the bulk expense and the process would be self-sustainable even if the price of the recovered antibiotic would be set at less than half ($41/kg) of the current market price ($94/kg) of the API. Thus, the process endorses a successful circular economy approach toward societal and economic sustainability.

Potential Use of Nucleic Acids as a Preceramic Polymer to Synthesize Nanodiamond-Embedded Phosphate Glass for Hard Tissue Engineering.

In recent years, nucleic acid has emerged as a versatile molecule that has been strategically used in material synthesis and biomedical applications. Keeping in mind the presence of the phosphate group, a glass former in the nucleic acids, we synthesized a transparent glass-like material by the thermal treatment of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) at 900 °C at atmospheric pressure. Characterization of this material by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and confocal fluorescence microscopy suggested the presence of in situ-formed nanodiamonds within the phosphate glass matrix. The molecular structure of glass investigated by X-ray photoelectron and infrared spectroscopy indicated a nearly equal proportion of metaphosphates and smaller phosphate units (pyro- and ortho-phosphate) that form the phosphate glass matrix. Thereafter, in vitro biological experiments showed that the nucleic acid-derived glass was non-toxic and cytocompatible, enhanced extracellular matrix secretion, and increased intracellular alkaline phosphatase activity, with potential application in hard tissue engineering. Our work offers insights into nanodiamond synthesis at atmospheric pressure and proves that nucleic acids could be used as a precursor to making an innovative glass-ceramic biomaterial.

Fabrication, characterization and performance analysis of a two-step arsenic bio-filter column using Delftia spp. BAs29 and fired red mud pellets.

Arsenic (As) is considered to be a grave inorganic pollutant, contaminating major aquifers worldwide. In this study, a two-step approach has been designed to combat this toxic metalloid by combining a highly efficient As (III) oxidizing bacteria; Delftia sp. BAs29 and fired red mud pellets to remove the total As from groundwater including both As (III) and As (V) ions. The maximum capacity of As (III) oxidation by Delftia sp. BAs29 was seen to be 95.65% for 500 ml of As contaminated groundwater using an optimized As (III) concentration of 300 ppb and 6.5 g of bacterial cell mass for 7 days. The second step indicated the maximum As (V) adsorption capacity by the stacked red mud pellets to be 97.91% for 500 ml of As contaminated groundwater using the optimized pore size of 106-125 µm for 7 days. The efficiency of As removal increased to 98.76% at a flow rate of 50 ml/h on combining of both the steps. In addition, the morphological properties, chemical composition, and the crystal structure of the As (V) adsorbed red mud pellets were characterized. The techno-economic feasibility of this entire unit was studied using SuperPro 10 software to estimate its optimal demand and potential. Hence, it is believed that scaling up of this two-step bio-filter column can serve as a potent filtration unit to eliminate As, both at the household and industrial level in the near future.

Internet-of-Things-Enabled Dual-Channel Iontophoretic Drug Delivery System for Elderly Patient Medication Management.

Wireless controllers have found its application in the supervision of the patients in the hospitals. It is not only a valid issue for the developing countries but also for the developed countries. For this reason, scientists are working on the advancement of medical devices that are capable of decreasing the workload of health caregivers. In this study, the development of an iontophoretic drug delivery device that could be controlled using a mobile is described. For the purpose, hardware and a software module were developed. The hardware module consisted of a two-channel voltage-controlled constant current sources that were used for driving the iontophoretic device. A mobile app was developed to control the two-channel iontophoretic device and to monitor the loose lead of the active and the passive patches. In the case of detection of the loose lead, the specific iontophoretic channel was stopped. Further, the audio-visual indicator was developed for the detection of the detachment of the patches (loose lead). The device was tested in vitro by performing the drug release study using drug-loaded emulsion gels that were formulated.

Effect of Adhesive Application on Sealant Success: A Clinical Study of Fifth and Seventh Generation Adhesive Systems.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to compare the effect of fifth and seventh generation bonding agent on sealant success. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-four school children aged six to nine years received sealants in four permanent molars in a split mouth design, such that each patient received sealant in the first permanent molar with fifth generation bonding agent in one arch and seventh generation bonding agent in the other arch; contra-lateral molars were sealed with sealant alone. The evaluation was carried out at baseline, three months, six months and 12 months, according to the criteria by Feigal et al, in 2000. Chi- square test was used to analyze data at P<0.05 level of significance. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were found for sealant retention between fifth generation and sealant group, and fifth generation and seventh generation groups; whereas, no significant difference was found for sealant retention between seventh generation and sealant group at three, six and 12 months. CONCLUSION: As separate etch and rinse steps are not required for seventh generation bonding agents, and almost similar results were obtained for both sealant and seventh generation groups, it can be concluded that application of sealant along with a seventh generation bonding agent may enhance sealant success and can be used for caries prevention in preventive programs.