Biopolymers: A comprehensive review

2022 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 013-018
Author(s):  
Mohini Chandrashekhar Upadhye ◽  
Mohini Chetan Kuchekar ◽  
Rohini Revansiddhappa Pujari ◽  
Nutan Uttam Sable

Biopolymers are compounds prepared by using various living organisms, including plants. These are composed of repeated units of the same or similar structure (monomers) linked together. Rubber, starch, cellulose, proteins and DNA, RNA, chitin, and peptides are some of the examples of natural biopolymers. Biopolymers are a diverse and remarkably versatile class of materials that are either produced by biological systems or synthesize from biological sources. Biopolymers are used in pharmaceutical industry and also in food industry.Naturally derived polymers are also used for conditioning benefits in hair and skin care. Biopolymers have various applications in medicine, food, packaging, and petroleum industries. This review article is focused on various aspects of biopolymers with a special emphasis on role of biopolymers in green nanotechnology and agriculture.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dharmendra Kumar ◽  
Mogana Rajagopal ◽  
Gabriel Akyirem Akowuah ◽  
Yong-Xin Lee ◽  
Chua Wei Chong ◽  
...  

: Podophyllotoxin is a nonalkaloidtoxin aryltetralin lactone lignan, occurring naturally and extracted from the rhizomes and roots of Podophyllum species. Podophyllotoxin and its derivatives have shown to possess a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, mainly antineoplastic and antiviral properties. Podophyllotoxin is served as a potential anticancer agent and also the precursor for the chemical synthesis of some clinically important anticancer agents.The chemical modification and pharmacological investigation of podophyllotoxin derivatives have become a concern nowadays. Research interest has been stimulated in the innovation of podophyllotoxin derivatives as the semi-synthetic anticancer agent, especially etoposide and teniposide. Podophyllotoxin and its derivatives are available in several formulations and also found to be effective in combination therapy. This review article aims to provide an overview of the role of podophyllotoxin, its mechanism of action, pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetics, available formulations, and its effects in combination therapy. This article also reviewed the biosynthesis, structure and modifications of podophyllotoxin and its derivatives as an anticancer agent.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 466
Author(s):  
Rozita Madadi ◽  
Hamid Maljaee ◽  
Luísa S. Serafim ◽  
Sónia P. M. Ventura

Biopolymers are very favorable materials produced by living organisms, with interesting properties such as biodegradability, renewability, and biocompatibility. Biopolymers have been recently considered to compete with fossil-based polymeric materials, which rase several environmental concerns. Biobased plastics are receiving growing interest for many applications including electronics, medical devices, food packaging, and energy. Biopolymers can be produced from biological sources such as plants, animals, agricultural wastes, and microbes. Studies suggest that microalgae and cyanobacteria are two of the promising sources of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), cellulose, carbohydrates (particularly starch), and proteins, as the major components of microalgae (and of certain cyanobacteria) for producing bioplastics. This review aims to summarize the potential of microalgal PHAs, polysaccharides, and proteins for bioplastic production. The findings of this review give insight into current knowledge and future direction in microalgal-based bioplastic production considering a circular economy approach. The current review is divided into three main topics, namely (i) the analysis of the main types and properties of bioplastic monomers, blends, and composites; (ii) the cultivation process to optimize the microalgae growth and accumulation of important biobased compounds to produce bioplastics; and (iii) a critical analysis of the future perspectives on the field.


Author(s):  
Serena Fiorito ◽  
Francesco Epifano ◽  
Lorenzo Marchetti ◽  
Lucia Palumbo ◽  
Ilkay Erdogan Orhan ◽  
...  

: O-Prenylcoumarins (3,3-dimethylallyl, geranyl-, farnesyl- and related biosynthetic derivatives) represent a class of rarely occurring natural compounds. The most part of these secondary metabolites have been obtained from plant species belonging to the Rutaceae, Apiaceae, andFabaceae families, and from fungi, and bacteria. In the last two decades prenyloxycoumarinshave been found to possess a great potential in terms of pharmacological activities. The aim of this comprehensive review is to make a survey of the in so far reported literature citations about these valuable phytochemicals and structurally related compounds about their modulatory properties of lipid and sugar metabolism. Literature data have been acquired from the main Internet database. Several oxyprenylated secondary metabolites have been surveyed. Among these prenyloxycoumarins represented the main group exerting displayed valuable effects as modulators of lipid and sugar metabolism. The title phytochemicals have been found in common edible and fruits vegetables already known to have beneficial effects to this concern, thus enforcing the nutraceutical role of these food plants. All compounds outlined in the present review article have a great potential for the next future for the prevention and management of acute and chronic metabolic disorders


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (24) ◽  
pp. 2626-2636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Palaniappan Sivasankar ◽  
Subramaniam Poongodi ◽  
Palaniappan Seedevi ◽  
Dharman Kalaimurugan ◽  
Murugesan Sivakumar ◽  
...  

Nanoparticles have gained significant importance in the past two decades, due to their multifaceted applications in the field of nanomedicine. As our ecosystems and habitats are changing due to global warming, many new diseases are emerging continuously. Treating these costs a lot of money and mostly ends up in failure. In addition, frequent use of antibiotics to control the emerging diseases has led the pathogens to develop resistance to antibiotics. Hence, the nanoparticles are targeted to treat such diseases instead of the costly antibiotics. In particular, the biosynthesized nanoparticles have received considerable attention due to their simple, eco-friendly and promising activity. To highlight, microbial mediated nanoparticles have been found to possess higher activity and thus have a promising role in antimicrobial therapy to fight against the emerging drug-resistant pathogens. In this context, this review article is aimed at highlight the role of nanoparticles in the field of nanomedicine and importance of actinobacteria in the nanoparticle synthesis and their need in antimicrobial therapy. This is a comprehensive review, focusing on the potential of actinobacteria-mediated nanoparticles in the field of nanomedicine.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 4
Author(s):  
Lukáš Huml ◽  
Jan Tauchen ◽  
Silvie Rimpelová ◽  
Barbora Holubová ◽  
Oldřich Lapčík ◽  
...  

Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs), a group of compounds frequently misused by athletes and, unfortunately, also by the general population, have lately attracted global attention; thus, significant demands for more precise, facile, and rapid AAS detection have arisen. The standard methods ordinarily used for AAS determination include liquid and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. However, good knowledge of steroid metabolism, pretreatment of samples (such as derivatization), and well-trained operators of the instruments are required, making this procedure expensive, complicated, and not routinely applicable. In the drive to meet current AAS detection demands, the scientific focus has shifted to developing novel, tailor-made approaches leading to time- and cost-effective, routine, and field-portable methods for AAS determination in various matrices, such as biological fluids, food supplements, meat, water, or other environmental components. Therefore, herein, we present a comprehensive review article covering recent advances in AAS determination, with a strong emphasis on the increasingly important role of chemically designed artificial sensors, biosensors, and antibody- and fluorescence-based methods.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neel Malhotra ◽  
Marlene Dytoc

Background: Vitiligo is a commonly encountered pigmentary disorder. Numerous studies and investigations from all over the world have attempted to determine the mechanisms behind this disease; however, the pathogenesis of vitiligo remains elusive. Objective: In this comprehensive review article, we present the findings behind the five overarching theories of what causes this disfiguring and psychologically debilitating disease. Method: We begin our discussion with the role of genetic predisposition and move onward to the neural theory first proposed in the 1950s. Next we discuss the autoimmune hypothesis, followed by the reactive oxygen species model, and conclude by describing the findings of the more recent melanocytorrhagy hypothesis. Conclusion: Although the exact pathogenesis of vitiligo is uncertain, each of these theories likely plays a role. Understanding each theory would pave the way for therapeutic advances for this disease.


Author(s):  
Giovanni Damiani ◽  
Rosalynn Conic ◽  
Gloria Orlando ◽  
Anna Zampetti ◽  
Elena Marinello ◽  
...  

1961 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-98
Author(s):  
Karol J. Krotki

Discussions about the role of small enterprise in economic development tend to remain inconclusive partly because of the difficulty of assessing the relative importance of economic and non-economic objectives and partly because of the dearth of factual information on which to base an economic calculus. It is probably true, moreover, that, because of a lack of general agreement as to the economic case for or against small enterprise, non-economic considerations, including some merely romantic attitudes toward smallness and bigness, tend to exert an undue influence on public policies. There may, of course, be no clear-cut economic case. And noneconomic considerations should and will inevitably weigh significantly in policy decisions. If, however, some of the economic questions could be settled by more and better knowledge, these decisions could more accurately reflect the opportunity costs of pursuing non-economic objectives.


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