Poly(vinyl alcohol) /Alginate nanofibrous mats containing Malva Sylvestris extract: Synthesis, characterization, in vitro and in vivo assessments for burn wound applications.

An important part of wound healing is providing effective wound care, coupled with preventing wound infection, which slows or disrupts healing. There are currently many herbal plants that have historical supernatural properties that show remarkable wound healing abilities. These herbal extracts have shown promising results when applied to electrospun nanofibrous mats platforms for wound healing. Accordingly, Malva Sylvestris extract (MS) was electrospun into polyvinyl alcohol/alginate nanofibrous mats (PVA/ALG). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) demonstrated that the fiber diameter ranged from approximately 100-200 nm in nanofibrous mats, with a uniform appearance without beads. MS extract was detected in nanofibrous mats by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). A major benefit of incorporating MS extract into PVA/ALG nanofibrous mats is that their alterations have resulted in enhanced mechanical characteristics. The nanofibrous mats containing MS extracts showed significantly increased antibacterial efficacy against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Based on the findings from in vivo experiments, the PVA/ALG/MS1 (M2) dressing demonstrated a wound closure rate of 93-94 % within 21 days of treatment in rats, indicating its significant potential for use as a wound dressing agent in the treatment of burn injuries. The combination of PVA, ALG, and MS1 in this nanofibrous mats exhibited beneficial properties, including biocompatibility, suitable mechanical strength, and the ability to promote cellular proliferation and angiogenesis, further validating its effectiveness as a wound healing dressing.

Electricity generation through degradation of organic matters in medicinal herbs wastewater using bio-electro-Fenton system.

In the present study, the potential application of the bio-electro-Fenton (BEF) process for the treatment of medicinal herbs wastewater in a mediator-less microbial fuel cell (MFC) system is investigated. This process is operated in a dual-chamber MFC with anaerobic seed sludge as biocatalyst in an anode chamber under conditions of neutral pH, an aerobic cathode chamber equipped with a Fe@Fe2O3/graphite composite cathode and a Nafion membrane as a separator. The performance of the MFC is determined in three different mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) loadings, Nafions (112, 115) and a salt bridge in an air-cathode BEF process, in terms of power generation, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency, columbic and energy efficiencies. Under optimal conditions, the batch experiment results show that the cathode chamber of the BEF reactor, equipped with Nafion 112 and inoculated with seed sludge at 3000 mg L(-1) MLSS concentration, produces the maximum power density of 49.76 mW m(-2), 0.56 mg L(-1) and 29 mol L(-1) of H2O2 and Fe(2+), respectively. Under these conditions, the MFC achieves COD removal 78.05% in the anaerobic anode chamber and 84.02% as a result of aerobic processes from the air-cathode BEF chamber, whilst the maximum voltage εcb and εE values are 600 mV, 4.09% and 1.37%, respectively.

High performance curcumin subcritical water extraction from turmeric (Curcuma longa L.).

Curcumin is a hydrophobic polyphenolic compound derived from turmeric rhizome, which consists about 2-5% of the total rhizome content and is a more valuable component of turmeric. For reducing the drawbacks of conventional extraction (using organic solvents) of curcumin, the water as a clean solvent was used for extracting curcumin. Subcritical water extraction (SWE) experimental setup was fabricated in a laboratory scale and the influences of some parameters (e.g. extraction temperature, particle size, retention time and pressure) on the yield of extraction were investigated. Optimum extraction conditions such as SWE pressure of 10bar, extractive temperature of 140°C, particle size of 0.71mm and retention time of 14min were defined. The maximum amount of curcumin extracted at the optimum condition was 3.8wt%. The yield of curcumin extraction was more than 76wt% with regards to the maximum possible curcumin content of turmeric, as known to be 5%. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images from the outer surface of turmeric, before and after extraction, clearly demonstrated the effect of each parameter; changes in porosity and hardness of turmeric that is directly related to the amount of extracted curcumin in process optimization of the extraction parameters.