Anti-Biofouling Polymers with Special Surface Wettability for Biomedical Applications

The use of anti-biofouling polymers has widespread potential for counteracting marine, medical, and industrial biofouling. The anti-biofouling action is usually related to the degree of surface wettability. This review is focusing on anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability, and it will provide a new perspective to promote the development of anti-biofouling polymers for biomedical applications. Firstly, current anti-biofouling strategies are discussed followed by a comprehensive review of anti-biofouling polymers with specific types of surface wettability, including superhydrophilicity, hydrophilicity, and hydrophobicity. We then summarize the applications of anti-biofouling polymers with specific surface wettability in typical biomedical fields both in vivo and in vitro, such as cardiology, ophthalmology, and nephrology. Finally, the challenges and directions of the development of anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability are discussed. It is helpful for future researchers to choose suitable anti-biofouling polymers with special surface wettability for specific biomedical applications.

A Short Review on Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications of Zeolites

The review emphasizes on synthesis, characterization, and application of zeolite. Zeolite is a hydrated aluminosilicate having a tetrahedral structural framework; it contains channels and cages which are occupied by exchangeable active metal ions and water molecules. Zeolite was synthesized through different synthesis methods, particularly, hydrothermal and green synthesis methods. The review also has tried to address the structure of zeolite such as morphology, functional group, and particle size using different characterization methods as reported via different authors. The characterization results verify that zeolite shows many unique properties such as uniform pore size, acidic properties, thermal stability, mobile extra cation, hydrophilicity, and hydrophobicity. These lead to a number of applications in catalysis, water purification, adsorption, and agriculture.

UV-Vis Spectrophotometric Analysis of DNA Retrieval for DNA Storage Applications

Informational Deoxyribonucleic Acid (iDNA) has gained the attention of many researchers and pioneer companies for the development of novel storage systems for the long-term and high-density storing of information. This research focuses on the physical storage of iDNA strands to address some of the current challenges by evaluating the accuracy of the process of iDNA retrieval from the surface after the dehydration process. For this aim, a UV-Vis spectrophotometric technique was used to measure the concentration of the DNA samples. Although spectroscopy has been widely employed for the evaluation of DNA concentration and contamination in a solution, it has not been used to investigate dry-state DNA, which is one of the preferred storage formats for the long-term retention of information. These results demonstrate that the UV-Vis spectrophotometric technique can be used to accurately measure dry-state DNA before the retrieval and its residues after the DNA retrieval process. This paper further examines the storage/retrieval process by investigating the relationship between the storage time and the amount of retrieved DNA or the DNA residue left on various surfaces. Based on the experimental results demonstrated and discussed in this paper, UV-Vis spectrophotometry can be used for monitoring dry-state DNA with a high accuracy larger than 98%. Moreover, these results reveal that the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of the surface do not significantly affect DNA retrieval over a one-month time period.

Chemo-catalytic Esterification and Transesterification over Organic Polymer-Based Catalysts for Biodiesel Synthesis

The major sources of fuels in today's world predominantly come from traditional fossil resources such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are limited and nonrenewable. Meanwhile, their consumption releases large undesirable greenhouse gas and noxious gases. Therefore, the development of renewable and sustainable feedstocks to replace traditional fossil resources has attracted great interest. Biodiesel, mainly produced through esterification and transesterification reaction from renewable oil resources using acids and bases as catalysts, is deemed as a green and renewable biofuel that shows enormous potential to replace fossil diesel. Compared to homogeneous catalytic systems, the development of efficient and stable heterogeneous catalysts is vital to synthesizing biodiesel in an efficient and green manner. Among the developed solid catalysts, organic polymer- based catalytic materials are an extremely important topic, wherein distinct advantages of higher concentration of active sites and better stability of active groups are associated with each other. In this review, effective catalytic valorization of sustainable feedstocks into biodiesel via transesterification and esterification reactions mediated by functionalized organic polymer-based catalysts is discussed. Special emphasis has been given to the synthetic routes to the versatile organic polymers-based catalytic materials, and some other interesting catalytic roles derived from physicochemical property, like adjustable hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity along with swelling property in transesterification and esterification, are also illustrated.