The demand for natural-based polymers in the industry has been steadily increasing due to their excellent properties and environmental benefits over conventional petroleum-derived plastics. This study addresses a critical gap by valorizing agricultural waste, oil palm frond (OPF) to develop high-performance bio-nanocomposite. The bio-nanocomposites were fabricated using commercial carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as the polymer matrix, reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) isolated from OPF, and modified with citric acid (CA) to influence intermolecular interactions and surface properties. The OPF CNC served as fillers and were incorporated at varying loadings of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9

The development of eco-friendly wood adhesives have gained more interest among adhesives industries due to the concerns about using carcinogenic formaldehyde and petroleum-based phenol in commercially available adhesives. Therefore, many studies have been done by using lignin to partially replace phenol and completely substitute formaldehyde with non-toxic glyoxal in a wood adhesive formulation. This study focused on using different percentages of lignin substitution (10 %, 30 % and 50 wt%) of alkaline and organosolv coconut husk lignin into soda lignin-phenol-glyoxal (SLPG), Kraft lignin-phenol-glyoxal (KLPG) and organosolv lignin-phenolglyoxal (OLPG) adhesives. The adhesives were further characterized using various analyses and it showed that 50 % lignin substitution was the optimum rate percentage with 50 % SLPG adhesive giving the highest solid content, shorter gel time and more viscosity compared to control (PF and PG), KLPG and OLPG adhesives. Mechanical properties revealed that 50 % SLPG adhesive showed an improvement performance of tensile strength (TS: 68.98 +/- 0.19 MPa), internal bonding (IB: 17.01 +/- 1.07 Nmm-2), and cross-linking density panels (775.51 +/- 8.15 kg m-3) due to the higher amount of molecular weight (Mw) as well as higher phenolic-OH that improved the cross-linking reaction between phenol-glyoxal with G-type unit in lignin structure.

In this work, orange (Citrus sinensis) peel has been explored as sustainable resource for the production of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Herein, two strategies, i.e. (route 1) traditional acidified sodium chlorite and (route 2) ecofriendly total chlorine free (TCF) methods were compared for their efficiency in removing noncellulosic constituents. Afterwards, ultrastructure, composition, crystallinity and thermal properties of the resulting MCCs were investigated. As compared to MCC-1, MCC-2 presented smooth surface with no non-fibrous components. From XRD diffractograms, highest CrI value obtained for MCC-2 (85 %) as compared to MCC-1 (69 %) which pointed towards superior purification efficiency of TCF approach corroborated with the outcome of FTIR and SEM analysis. TGA-DTG analysis showed that T-max value shifted to similar to 330 degrees C for MCCs, compared to native OP (313 degrees C). The observed WHC of MCCs was higher than their precursors due to more exposed surface area available for hydrophilic interactions that improved its water retention ability.

The chapter explores the effect of resin concentration and pre-drying time on the physical and mechanical properties of compreg-laminated bamboo strips lumber (LBSL) from G. scortechinii species. The compreg LBSL panels were manufactured using two concentrations of low-molecular-weight phenol formaldehyde (LMwPF) resin, that is, 100 and 70% at three different pre-drying times (12, 18, and 24 h). Based on the findings, the panel with 70% of LMwPF required a longer time and higher temperature to cure than the panel with 100% LMwPF. The weight percent gain (WPG) and moisture content of the panels increased in line with increasing resin concentration but decreased with increasing pre-drying time. The opposite trend is indicated by density. As for the mechanical properties, the strength of the panel increases along with the increase in resin concentration and pre-drying time. However, for high-concentration resins, prolonging the pre-drying time reduces the strength of the sample. The highest flexural strength and tensile strength were observed in the 100/18 sample with values of 260 and 27 MPa, respectively. The results for formaldehyde emissions show panels with lower resin concentrations: 70% LMwPF and prolonged pre-drying time reduce formaldehyde emission levels.

The current work is focused on the development of poly(hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) with poly(butylene-co-adipate-terephthalate) (PBAT) blends as raw materials for additive manufacturing. PHB/PBAT blends were extruded into filament by using a twin screw extruder. The PHB/PBAT filament blend was printed into testing specimens by utilizing fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. The physical, mechanical, and morphological properties of 80PHB20PBAT and 60PHB40PBAT blend formulations were evaluated in this study. These results were compared with 100PHB and 100PBAT compression molded composite since single PHB and PBAT cannot be printed. The processability was improved by blending PBAT with PHB, compared to a single use of PHB. The obtained result revealed not only an increase in mechanical properties but also improved PHB printability and reduced the effect of PHB filament post-processing. As the PBAT content increases, so does the flexibility and ductility, with a noticeable increase in elongation at break and energy absorption in impact conditions. Using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), the cracked surfaces were investigated to determine the variations in the existence of small oval voids that were caused by two different phases of the polymer system.

The effects of steam explosion (SE) pretreatment on the structural properties of lignin isolated from coconut husk (CH) biomass via soda pulping were investigated in this work. The isolated SE lignin was classified as dilute acid impregnation SE lignin (ASEL), water impregnation SE lignin (WSEL), and 2-naphthol impregnation SE lignin (NSEL). The various types of functional groups isolated from SE lignin were characterized and compared using a variety of complementary analyses: FTIR spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, GPC chromatography, HPAEC-PAD chromatography and thermal analyses. It was revealed that ASEL has the highest solid recovery with 55.89 % yield as well as the highest sugars content compared to WSEL (45.66 % yield) and NSEL (49.37 % yield). Besides, all isolated SE lignin contain a significant quantity of non-condensed G-type and S-type units but less amount of H-type units as supported by previous research. The SE lignin produced lignin with higher molecular weight (M-w (ASEL): 72725 g mol(-1) > M-w WSEL: 13112 g mol(-1 )> M-w NSEL: 6891 g mol(-1)) seems to influence the success of the synthesis reaction of phenolic resins. Because of the large variances in the physicochemical properties of SE lignin polymers, their structural properties were increased toward numerous alternative techniques in lignin-based applications.

Background: Different compositions of DSF/NaOH/IA-PAE/R. spp. composite particleboard phantoms were constructed. Methods: Photon attenuation characteristics were ascertained using gamma rays from 137Cs and 60Co. Absorbed doses at the location of an ionization chamber and Gafchromic EBT3 radiochromic films were calculated for high-energy photons (6 and 10 MV) and electrons (6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV). Results: The calculated TPR20,10 values indicate that the percentage discrepancy for 6 and 10 MV was in the range of 0.29–0.72% and 0.26–0.65%. It was also found that the relative difference in the dmax to water and solid water phantoms was between 1.08–1.28% and 5.42–6.70%. The discrepancies in the determination of PDD curves with 6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV, and those of water and solid water phantoms, ranged from 2.40–4.84%. Comparable results were found using the EBT3 films with variations of 2.0–7.0% for 6 and 10 MV photons. Likewise, the discrepancies for 6, 9, 12, and 15 MeV electrons were within an acceptable range of 2.0–4.5%. Conclusions: On the basis of these findings, the DSF/NaOH/IA-PAE/R. spp. particleboard phantoms with 15 wt% IA-PAE addition level can be effectively used as alternative tissue-equivalent phantom material for radiation therapy applications.

Biodegradable adhesives prepared using three different forms of soy protein-based products (defatted soy flour/soy protein concentrate/soy protein isolate), sodium hydroxide, and itaconic acid polyamidoamine-epichlorohydrin (IA-PAE) with 0 wt%-20 wt% substitution rates were utilized to enhance the production of mangrove wood composites. 1H nuclear magnetic reso-nance, differential scanning calorimetry, and ultra-high-resolution field emission scanning elec-tron microscopy were employed to characterize the composite samples. Other measurements involved the determination of viscosity, pH, physical, mechanical, dimensional stability, CT numbers, and relative electron density parameters. The ideal curing conditions for the composite bio-adhesives were found to be 15 wt% IA-PAE, 602.50 +/- 172.21-391.11 +/- 105.82 mPa s, pH 11.0, 180 degrees C, and 18 min, respectively. The improved physiochemical characteristics of DSF, SPC, and SPI confirmed that NaOH/IA-PAE was integrated into the adhesive system and ameliorated the overall performance of the resulting composites. The results showed that all composite samples, except for those bonded with 0 wt% and 5 wt% IA-PAE, matched up with the quality specification stated in the JIS A-5908 and ASTM D1037. Samples D1, D2, and D3 exhibited op-timum characteristics, demonstrating their uses in the development of low-toxicity and sustain-able reference tissue substitute phantom in radiological areas.

Purpose: This study aims to determine the percentage depth dose (PDD) of a phantom material made from soy-lignin bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboard coated with a gloss finish by using Monte Carlo Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission (GATE) simulation. Materials and Methods: The particleboard was fabricated using a hot pressing technique at target density of 1.0 g·cm−3 and the elemental fraction was recorded for the simulation. The PDD was simulated in the GATE simulation using the linear accelerator Elekta Synergy model for the water phantom and Rhizophora phantom, and the results were compared with the experimental PDD performed by several studies. Beam flatness and beam symmetry were also measured in this study. Results: The simulated PDD for Rhizophora and water was in agreement with the experimental PDD of water with overall discrepancies of 0% to 8.7% at depth ranging from 1.0 to 15.0 cm. In the GATE simulation, all the points passed the clinical 3%/3 mm criterion in comparison with water, with the final percentage of 2.34% for Rhizophora phantom and 2.49% for the water phantom simulated in GATE. Both the symmetries are all within the range of an acceptable value of 2.0% according to the recommendation, with the beam symmetry of the water phantom and Rhizophora phantom at 0.58% and 0.28%, respectively. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide the necessary foundation to confidently use the phantom for radiotherapy purposes, especially in treatment planning.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is beneficial due to its fast prototyping, non-complexity process, flexibility, which allows for a wide range of innovations. The AM presented in this review concentrated solely on the fused deposition modeling method. The application of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) biopolymer in conjunction with AM technology in accordance with the interest of researchers in practicing sustainable development. Most studies discovered that the features of PHA, such as its brittleness, slow crystallization, and small processing window, may be overcome by blending it with other polymers. In particular, the physical and chemical properties of PHA have a strong influence on its printability in three-dimensional printing. Furthermore, this article discussed the use of nanocellulose as a reinforcing material in PHA blends due to its high-surface area, lightweight, and excellent biocompatibility. The limitations in creating and applying PHA were also highlighted, as it was expensive and difficult to process at high temperatures. Overall, this article provided an overview of AM, including the potential of oil palm trunk as a source of PHA and nanocellulose for bio-composite products.

Abstract The current study was undertaken to investigate the radiological and dosimetric parameters of natural product-based composite (SPI/NaOH/IA-PAE/Rhizophora spp.) phantoms. The radiological properties of the phantoms were measured at different gamma energies from Compton scatter of photons through angles of 0, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees. Ionization chamber (IC) and Gafchromic EBT3 film dosimeters were employed to evaluate the dosimetric characteristics for photons (6–10 MV) and electrons (6–15 MeV). Radiological property results of the composite phantoms were consistent with good quality compared to those of solid water phantoms and theoretical values of water. Photon beam quality index of the SPI15 phantom with p-values of 0.071 and 0.073 exhibited insignificant changes. In addition, good agreement was found between PDD curves measured with IC and Gafchromic EBT3 film for both photons and electrons. The computed therapeutic and half-value depth ranges matched within the limits and are similar to those of water and solid water phantoms. Therefore, the radiological and dosimetric parameters of the studied composite phantom permit its use in the selection of convenient tissue- and water-equivalent phantom material for medical applications.

Oil palm waste is a potential source of renewable energy and also of bioactive compounds. In the present study, we analysed oil palm trunk sap (OPTS) squeezed from different parts of the trunk stored for different times and measured the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity using the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin trapping method using 5-(2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propoxycyclophosphoryl)-5-methyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (CYPMPO) as the spin trapping reagent. The highest alkoxyl radical (RO center dot), hydroxyl radical (center dot OH) and singlet oxygen (1O2) scavenging capacities were found in OPTS squeezed from the middle and top parts of the oil palm trunk. OPTS from the bottom part exhibited a lower ROS scavenging capacity than the other parts. The highest scavenging capacity for RO center dot was found in OPTS from the middle part of the trunk (10.38 mM Trolox eq./mL), similar to that of green tea (12.42 mM Trolox eq./mL). The scavenging capacities for center dot OH of OPTS from the middle, top, and bottom parts of the trunk were 4779, 3729 and 1920 mM mannitol eq./mL, respectively, compared with 6594 mM mannitol eq./mL for blackberry. The highest 1O2 scavenging capacity of 228 mM GSH eq./mL was exhibited by OPTS from the top part of the trunk, which was higher than that of the green tea, blackberry, black tea, aloe and cucumber used as standards. The ROS scavenging capacity of OPTS measured by ESR was correlated with the corresponding values from the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay. The antioxidant activity of OPTS decreased with storage time after the OPT was felled. The strong ROS scavenging capacity of OPTS makes it a potential source of bioactive compounds for use in pharmacological, cosmetic, chemical and functional food applications.

Cassava is a type of crop popular in Asian countries. It can be easily cultivated and grows to a mature plant in 9 months. Considering its availability, this work studied activated carbon based on cassava stem. Ofloxacin was chosen as the adsorbate, simulating the wastewater from the pharmaceutical industry. Cassava stem was ground into particles and heated to the activated state, 787 °C. The cassava-stem-activated carbon was further treated with the surface modifier, namely sodium hydroxide and zinc chloride, to study the improvement in ofloxacin adsorption. Prepared adsorbents were characterised using the SEM, FT-IR, XRD, DSC and TGA methods before being evaluated through batch adsorption, thermodynamic, and kinetic studies. The surface area analysis indicates that treatment of the activated carbon with NaOH and ZnCl2 increases the surface area due to the removal of organic content by the chemicals. Better ofloxacin adsorption of all activated carbon samples can be obtained with solutions at pH 8. An endothermic reaction was predicted, shown by higher ofloxacin adsorption at a higher temperature, supported by a positive value of ΔH° in the thermodynamic studies. The negative values of ΔG° revealed that adsorptions were spontaneous. The higher R2 values indicate that the adsorption process follows the pseudo-second-order equation of kinetic study. The maximum adsorption capacities are 42.37, 62.11, 62.89 and 58.82 mg/g for raw cassava stem (RC), cassava-stem-activated carbon (AC), NaOH-modified cassava-stem-activated carbon (NAC), and ZnCl2 modified cassava-stem-activated carbon (ZAC). The adsorption capacity is good compared to previous works by other researchers, making it a possible alternative material for the pharmaceutical industry's wastewater treatment.

Chemotherapeutic agents used to treat cancer cells does not kill cancer cells only but healthy cells as well. Silver nanoparticles (SNP) broad toxicity towards the cancer cells have attracted people to find the alternative anticancer agent. Therefore, in this work we biosynthesize SNP from E. coli and coated with gallic acid. Characterized process carried out through UV-visible spectrophotometer, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermic gravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) Energy dispersive X- rays (EDX) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed particles are well dispersed, well stable, and particle size ranges from 11.44 to 34.97 nm. The gallic acid coated silver nanoparticles (gSNP) showed excellent toxicity at 20 mu g/ml IC50 towards SAOS-2 osteosarcoma cancer while less toxicity towards normal 3T3 cells. Further analysis confirms the cell cycle inhibition takes place at S and G2/M phase while acridine orange and ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining confirms the apoptosis, showed membrane blebbing, chromatin condensation and morphological changes in the treated cell through flow cytometry showed the release of higher percentages of apoptotic bodies. The gSNPs induces the production of ROS in the treated cancer cell through 2 ',7 '-Dichlorofluorescin diacetate method. The gSNP also showed the upregulation of p53 and caspase 9 proteins through flow cytometry. This study showed that gSNP could become a promising candidate in medicine and pharmaceutical applications for targeted drug delivery against cancer therapy.

The alarming rise in diabetes owing to drug resistance necessitates the implementation of prompt countermeasures in the treatment module of diabetes. Due to their unique physicochemical features, silver nanoparticles may have potential applications in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were synthesized from the culture filtrate of Salmonella enterica (ATCC-14028). UV-Vis spectrophotometry, FTIR, SEM, and energy dispersive X-rays were used in the characterization of the nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that AgNPs are spherical and highly scattered and vary in size from 7.18 nm to 13.24 nm. AgNP stability and protein loss were confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) at different temperatures. The AgNPs had excellent antibacterial activity and a strong synergistic effect against methicillin-resistant bacteria Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) ATCC-4330 and Streptococcus epidermis (MRSE) ATCC-51625. The DPPH experiment revealed that the AgNPs had high antioxidant activity. The antidiabetic assay revealed that these AgNPs had an IC50 for alpha-amylase of 428.60 μg/ml and an IC50 for alpha-glucosidase of 562.02 μg/ml. Flow cytometry analysis of Hep-2 cells treated with AgNPs (40 μg/ml) revealed higher expression of 2-NBDG glucose absorption (uptake) compared to control metformin. These AgNPs have promising antidiabetic properties and could be used in pharmaceuticals and biomedical industries.

Effects of alkaline (kraft and soda) and organosolv pulping were evaluated relative to the structural properties of lignin isolated from coconut husk (CH) biomass. The various types of functional groups within the isolated lignin samples were characterized and compared using a variety of complementary analyses including Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All isolated CH lignin samples contained a significant quantity of non-condensed guaiacyl-type (G) and syringyl-type (S) units but a lesser amount of p-hydroxyphenyl (H) units, as demonstrated and supported by previous research. The alkaline CH lignin produced lignin with higher molecular weight (Mw SL: 959 g mol-1 > Mw KL: 769 g mol-1) than the organosolv lignin (Mw OL: 606 g mol-1) sample, resulting in smaller fragments and a higher degree of solubility in water or other solvents. Because of significant differences in the physicochemical characteristics of the various lignin polymers, their properties and structure were improved with respect to alternative approaches in lignin-based applications.

Rhizophora spp. particleboards were prepared at approximately (20.0 × 20.0 × 1.0) cm3 and at 1.0 g·cm-3 target density. The mass attenuation coefficient of the soy-lignin bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboard was measured by Compton scattering using Ludlum configuration utilizing the Cesium-137 (137Cs). Monte Carlo (MC) GATE code was employed to simulate the scattering by using the same set-up. Compton scattering results from both experimental and simulation methods were compared with XCOM value of water. Half value layer (HVL) and mean free path (MFP) were calculated and analyzed. For Compton scattering method in comparison to XCOM value of water, both non-coated and coated samples showed a statistically non-significant value with p-value more than 0.05. The overall results suggested that the mass attenuation coefficient, HVL and MFP of soy-lignin bonded Rhizophora spp. particleboard based on Compton scattering study is within close agreement with XCOM value for water, exhibiting its potential as phantom materials.

Over the last 50 years, the use of wood adhesives in the manufacturing of wood-based panel goods has increased the efficiency of wood resources. Wood adhesives are becoming more popular as the need for wood-based panels grows. By 2028, the global market for wood adhesives is expected to reach 21.8 billion dollars. Even though urea-formaldehyde (UF), phenol-formaldehyde (PF), melamine-formaldehyde (MF), phenol-resorcinol-formaldehyde (PRF), and resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) resins are excellent in terms of bonding performance, workability, quality, and economy, they consist of harmful or toxic chemical agents derived from fossil resources, which make their application severely limited. This review aims to go through the most significant ‘green’ wood adhesives for manufacturing high-performance wood-based panels, such as lignin, tannin, protein, natural rubber, emulsion polymer isocyanate (EPI), 1C PUR polyurethane (for glue-laminated wood and cross-laminated timber), PMDI (for particleboards, medium-density and low-density fiberboards), carboxylic acid, and vegetable oil. The physical and mechanical characteristics of bio-based wood adhesives, as well as the development of sustainable, greener, and high-performance bio-based wood adhesives, are discussed in this work. Original research papers and review articles are among the most important sources since they provide complete information on the most recent developments in sustainable, eco-friendly, and high-performance bio-based wood adhesives.

In this study, linear and mass attenuation coefficients of fabricated particleboards intended for use as phantom material were estimated using 137Cs and 60Co radiation sources. Particleboards made of Rhizophora spp. wood trunk bonded with soy flour and lignin were fabricated at a target density of 1.0 g cm−3, with and without gloss finish coating. Elemental composition of the particleboards was obtained by means of energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. Experimental setups were simulated via the GATE Monte Carlo (MC) package, with particle histories of 1 × 106–1 × 107. Linear and mass attenuation coefficients obtained from measurements and GATE simulations were compared and discussed. The percentage differences between the measured and simulated linear and mass attenuation coefficients of the samples were reasonably small (2.05–4.88% for 137Cs and 3.24–5.38% for 60Co). It is shown that all the particleboards have the potential to be used as phantom materials as the attenuation coefficients measured were in good agreement with those of water (calculated with XCOM) and with those simulated with the GATE toolkit. The use of gloss finish coating also did not show any significant effect on the attenuation coefficient of the phantom material. Verification of experimental results via GATE simulations has been shown crucial in providing reliable data for energy transmission studies. Based on the results achieved in this study, it is concluded that the studied material—Rhizophora spp. wood trunk bonded with soy flour and lignin including gloss finish coating—can be used in radiation dosimetry studies.