scholarly journals Theranostic Microneedle Devices: Innovative Biosensing and Transdermal Drugs Administration

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Principia Dardano ◽  
Mario Battisti ◽  
Selene De Martino ◽  
Ilaria Rea ◽  
Bruno Miranda ◽  
...  

Biosensing systems based on microneedles can overcome the stratum corneum of the skin, i. e. the outer natural barrier of the human body, without any pain and detect the target analytes directly in the interstitial fluid. Moreover, microneedle-based devices (MNDs) can combine diagnostic sensing and therapeutic administration of drugs in one single tool. From this point of view, more than a painless door to the human body, a MND represents the a perfect example of theranostic instrument, since a single device could quantify the real value of a relevant biomolecule, such as glucose, and accurately deliver a drug, the insulin, if needed. MNDs could be integrated on printed circuit boards, flexible electronics and microfluidic channels, thus allowing a continuous monitoring of the physiological parameters with very low invasiveness, together with sustained and localized administration of drugs. MNDs can be designed for very specific applications, from the detection of skin cancer to the monitoring of metabolic pathways. Moreover, several fabrication approaches have been introduced, from laboratories to large-scale production. Finally MNDs can be properly functionalized to enhance analytical performances.

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (35) ◽  
pp. 791-799
Author(s):  
Rafael ISMAGILOV ◽  
Ilgiz ASYLBAEV ◽  
Nuriya URAZBAKHTINA ◽  
Denis ANDRIYANOV ◽  
Firdavis AVSAKHOV

Throughout the world, potatoes, as a food crop, are very important. One of the main reasons for the poor quality of planting material, yield and potatoes themselves are viral infections. The use of virus-free seed material is one of the high-potential ways to increase the yield and efficiency of potato production. Aeroponics is a promising direction in obtaining a virus-protected crop. This study aimed to assess the potential and improve the technology for growing healthy mini-tubers of potatoes using the aeroponic method, which is a safe and economical method. Compared to the usual method of growing crops, aeroponics assumes lower water and energy costs per unit of production, as well as excludes soil diseases of the plant and does not allow damage to the tuber caused by pests. For growing different varieties of crops in different regions, artificial conditions such as additional lighting in greenhouses can be easily provided. In this study, economic calculations have shown that, from a practical point of view, Aeroponics technology may be appropriate for large-scale production of seed potatoes.


Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joana Figueira ◽  
Cristina Gaspar ◽  
José Tiago Carvalho ◽  
Joana Loureiro ◽  
Elvira Fortunato ◽  
...  

Low-cost and large-scale production techniques for flexible electronics have evolved greatly in recent years, having great impact in applications such as wearable technology and the internet of things. In this work, we demonstrate fully screen-printed UV photodetectors, successfully fabricated at a low temperature on a cork substrate, using as the active layer a mixture of zinc oxide nanoparticles and ethylcellulose. The photoresponse under irradiation with a UV lamp with peak emission at 302 nm exhibited a quasi-quadratic behavior directly proportional to the applied voltage, with a photocurrent of about 5.5 and 20 μA when applying 1.5 V and 5 V, respectively. The dark current stayed below 150 nA, while the rise and falling times were, respectively, below 5 and 2 s for both applied voltages. The performance was stable over continuous operation and showed a degradation of only 9% after 100 bending cycles in a 45 mm radius test cylinder. These are promising results regarding the use of this type of sensor in wearable applications such as cork hats, bracelets, or bags.


1993 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-131
Author(s):  
Naureen Talha

The literature on female labour in Third World countries has become quite extensive. India, being comparatively more advanced industrially, and in view of its size and population, presents a pictures of multiplicity of problems which face the female labour market. However, the author has also included Mexico in this analytical study. It is interesting to see the characteristics of developing industrialisation in two different societies: the Indian society, which is conservative, and the Mexican society, which is progressive. In the first chapter of the book, the author explains that he is not concerned with the process of industrialisation and female labour employed at different levels of work, but that he is interested in forms of production and women's employment in large-scale production, petty commodity production, marginal small production, and self-employment in the informal sector. It is only by analysis of these forms that the picture of females having a lower status is understood in its social and political setting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niaz Ahmad ◽  
Muhammad Aamer Mehmood ◽  
Sana Malik

: In recent years, microalgae have emerged as an alternative platform for large-scale production of recombinant proteins for different commercial applications. As a production platform, it has several advantages, including rapid growth, easily scale up and ability to grow with or without the external carbon source. Genetic transformation of several species has been established. Of these, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has become significantly attractive for its potential to express foreign proteins inexpensively. All its three genomes – nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplastic – have been sequenced. As a result, a wealth of information about its genetic machinery, protein expression mechanism (transcription, translation and post-translational modifications) is available. Over the years, various molecular tools have been developed for the manipulation of all these genomes. Various studies show that the transformation of the chloroplast genome has several advantages over nuclear transformation from the biopharming point of view. According to a recent survey, over 100 recombinant proteins have been expressed in algal chloroplasts. However, the expression levels achieved in the algal chloroplast genome are generally lower compared to the chloroplasts of higher plants. Work is therefore needed to make the algal chloroplast transformation commercially competitive. In this review, we discuss some examples from the algal research, which could play their role in making algal chloroplast commercially successful.


2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ponnusamy Kannan ◽  
Samuel I.D. Presley ◽  
Pallikondaperumal Shanmugasundaram ◽  
Nagapillai Prakash ◽  
Deivanayagam Easwaramoorthy

Aim and Objective: Itopride is a prokinetic agent used for treating conditions like non-ulcer dyspepsia. Itopride is administered as its hydrochloride salt. Trimethobenzamide is used for treating nausea and vomiting and administered as its hydrochloride salt. The aim is to develop a novel and environmental friendly method for large-scale production of itopride and trimethobenzamide. Materials and Methods: Itopride and trimethobenzamide can be prepared from a common intermediate 4- (dimethylaminoethoxy) benzyl amine. The intermediate is prepared from one pot synthesis using Phyrdroxybenzaldehye and zinc dust and further reaction of the intermediate with substituted methoxy benzoic acid along with boric acid and PEG gives itopride and trimethobenzamide. Results: The intermediate 4-(dimethylaminoethoxy) benzylamine is prepared by treating p-hydroxybenzaldehyde and 2-dimethylaminoethyl chloride. The aldehyde formed is treated with hydroxylamine hydrochloride. The intermediate is confirmed by NMR and the purity is analysed by HPLC. Conclusion: Both itopride and trimethobenzamide were successfully synthesized by this method. The developed method is environmental friendly, economical for large-scale production with good yield and purity.


Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 241
Author(s):  
Shaden A. M. Khalifa ◽  
Eslam S. Shedid ◽  
Essa M. Saied ◽  
Amir Reza Jassbi ◽  
Fatemeh H. Jamebozorgi ◽  
...  

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotic organisms which represent a significant source of novel, bioactive, secondary metabolites, and they are also considered an abundant source of bioactive compounds/drugs, such as dolastatin, cryptophycin 1, curacin toyocamycin, phytoalexin, cyanovirin-N and phycocyanin. Some of these compounds have displayed promising results in successful Phase I, II, III and IV clinical trials. Additionally, the cyanobacterial compounds applied to medical research have demonstrated an exciting future with great potential to be developed into new medicines. Most of these compounds have exhibited strong pharmacological activities, including neurotoxicity, cytotoxicity and antiviral activity against HCMV, HSV-1, HHV-6 and HIV-1, so these metabolites could be promising candidates for COVID-19 treatment. Therefore, the effective large-scale production of natural marine products through synthesis is important for resolving the existing issues associated with chemical isolation, including small yields, and may be necessary to better investigate their biological activities. Herein, we highlight the total synthesized and stereochemical determinations of the cyanobacterial bioactive compounds. Furthermore, this review primarily focuses on the biotechnological applications of cyanobacteria, including applications as cosmetics, food supplements, and the nanobiotechnological applications of cyanobacterial bioactive compounds in potential medicinal applications for various human diseases are discussed.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 1940
Author(s):  
Muhammad Usman Naseer ◽  
Ants Kallaste ◽  
Bilal Asad ◽  
Toomas Vaimann ◽  
Anton Rassõlkin

This paper presents current research trends and prospects of utilizing additive manufacturing (AM) techniques to manufacture electrical machines. Modern-day machine applications require extraordinary performance parameters such as high power-density, integrated functionalities, improved thermal, mechanical & electromagnetic properties. AM offers a higher degree of design flexibility to achieve these performance parameters, which is impossible to realize through conventional manufacturing techniques. AM has a lot to offer in every aspect of machine fabrication, such that from size/weight reduction to the realization of complex geometric designs. However, some practical limitations of existing AM techniques restrict their utilization in large scale production industry. The introduction of three-dimensional asymmetry in machine design is an aspect that can be exploited most with the prevalent level of research in AM. In order to take one step further towards the enablement of large-scale production of AM-built electrical machines, this paper also discusses some machine types which can best utilize existing developments in the field of AM.


Author(s):  
Yuting Luo ◽  
Zhiyuan Zhang ◽  
Fengning Yang ◽  
Jiong Li ◽  
Zhibo Liu ◽  
...  

Large-scale production of green hydrogen by electrochemical water splitting is considered as a promising technology to address critical energy challenges caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels. Although nonprecious...


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rozina Rashid ◽  
Muhammad Sohail

AbstractThe capacity of different Bacillus species to produce large amounts of extracellular enzymes and ability to ferment various substrates at a wide range of pH and temperature has placed them among the most promising hosts for the industrial production of many improved and novel products. The global interest in prebiotics, for example, xylooligosaccharides (XOs) is ever increasing, rousing the quest for various forms with expanded productivity. This article provides an overview of xylanase producing bacilli, with more emphasis on their capacity to be used in the production of the XOs, followed by the purification strategies, characteristics and application of XOs from bacilli. The large-scale production of XOs is carried out from a number of xylan-rich lignocellulosic materials by chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis followed by purification through chromatography, vacuum evaporation, solvent extraction or membrane separation methods. Utilization of XOs in the production of functional products as food ingredients brings well-being to individuals by improving defense system and eliminating pathogens. In addition to the effects related to health, a variety of other biological impacts have also been discussed.


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