Rajendran Selvakumar

Electroconductive bioink (ECB) offers a promising strategy to overcome the drawbacks of growth factors incorporated into conventional bioinks, thereby improving the biofunctionality of engineered 3D scaffolds for meniscal regeneration. In this study, an ECB was prepared using a tricomposite bioink consisting of gelatin, carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), alginate, and CMC‐reduced gold nanospheres (GNS). Electroactive 3D scaffolds were developed using an indirect 3D printing technique and evaluated for their morphological, electrical, mechanical, and biological properties. Morphological characterization showed that the 3D electroactive scaffolds had an interconnected porous network with a pore size of 261 ± 95.55 μm, which is beneficial for meniscal regeneration. GNS reinforcement in the tripolymer chain significantly improved the electrical conductivity of the electroactive 3D scaffolds by 260%. Furthermore, the affinity between the GNS and tripolymer chains increased the mechanical stability and structural integrity of the electroactive 3D scaffolds, thereby increasing compressive strength and reducing in vitro degradation. The electroactive components in the electroactive 3D scaffolds increased cell proliferation (103%) and spreading in L929 cell viability assays. The findings highlight the structural integrity, superior electrical conductivity, and cytocompatibility of the proposed electroactive 3D scaffolds, underscoring their potential for patient‐specific meniscal tissue engineering applications.

Fluoride contamination in surface and groundwater was a major environmental issue in various parts of the world. Fluorosis is caused by consumption of contaminated water; hence, it is essential to treat fluoride from contaminated water sources. This study involves the development of nano-alumina functionalized carbon composite adsorbent (NAAC) nanocomposite under controlled atmosphere for adsorption of fluoride from water. NAAC was synthesized using carbonization process at controlled nitrogen atmosphere. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), (High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy) HR-TEM coupled with (Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy) EDS and (Selected Area Electron Diffraction) SAED were used for characterization of the NAAC. Adsorption capacity of NAAC of fluoride was evaluated by batch and column mode using the fluoride spiked solution. The experiments performed to identify initial concentration of adsorbate and desorption studies. Adsorption data fitted to relevant Isotherm & Kinetic models. (Q0) of NAAC was found as 58.82 mg/g. Effects of flow rate, bed volume and different F- concentrations for the column experiments were find. (Bed-Depth-Service-Time) BDST model achieved by using data collected from experiments. As a result, the batch sorption was found to be more effective than the column sorption for removal. Therefore, study done the production of low-cost adsorbent fluoride removal from groundwater made by using NAAC is possible.

This investigation aims to evaluate the biocompatibility and assess the cytotoxicity of synthesized ZnO/Ag heterojunction nanorods with commercially available root canal sealers in India. Among the commercially available root canal sealers, zinc oxide (ZnO) eugenol-based sealers are widely utilized as per Grossmann’s requirements. However, these ZnO eugenol-based sealers often experience solubility issues and tissue reactions in contact with periapical tissues. To overcome the inexplicable reactivity of ZnO eugenol-based sealers, nano ZnO and nano ZnO/Ag heterojunction materials have been developed via a wet-chemical approach and studied to assess their biocompatibility and cytotoxicity. The findings of our study revealed that nano ZnO/Ag heterojunction material possesses a higher degree of biocompatibility and low cytotoxicity as compared to conventional ZnO eugenol-based sealers, attributed to its high surface-to-volume ratio, the enhanced penetration of nanosized sealers into dentinal tubules, and the synergistic spillover sensitization effect of nano ZnO combined with Ag nanoclusters. From this comparative evaluation of root canal sealers, the usage of nano ZnO/Ag heterojunction materials was found to be significantly advantageous over commercial zinc oxide eugenol-based sealers and may find profound usage with a long shelf-life.

Diversity in microbial species, ecology, metabolisms, and survival techniques provides scientists with clues to bioprospect them for various applications. Microbial bio-prospecting especially for bio-derived materials, molecules, enzymes etc have been studied as an alternative to various synthetic methodologies that have both economic and environmental impacts. Applying bioengineering concepts, microorganisms have been investigated as living factories for production of various biomolecules, biopolymers, enzymes etc on continuous basis that have potential applications in many fields (Huang et al., 2022). For example, microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates, bacterial cellulose, biogenic nanomaterials, bacterial collagens, enzymes, protein materials etc., have superior biocompatibility, biodegradability and ease of production (intracellular/extracellular) when compared to related synthetic molecules and materials (Gosh et al., 2021). Considering the advances in research in microbial bioprospecting and biomaterials, review and research articles were invited from researchers through this research topic on "Microbial prospecting and biomaterials". Very interesting articles were received from various authors among which 6 articles were accepted for publication in "Frontiers in Microbiology" after thorough reviewing. A short note on the articles published is as follows. voltage prick electric field, to induce mutations in R. sphaeroides V-0 (V-0). They isolated and overexpressed nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent dehydrogenase (NAD) gene for enhancing productivity. The mechanism VK-2-3 CoQ10 enhancement was determined using gene knock down study. In summary, the research works reported here reinforces the capacity of using microbial prospecting approaches for developing new products and enhancing the yield of current byproducts. We strongly hope that the studies reported in this research topic will kindle new areas aligned to microbial prospecting for novel product development and process optimization that have not been explored yet. We thank all the authors who actively participated in this research topic by submitting their valuable research works. We are also grateful to all the reviewers, journal associates and co-editors who have spent their quality time in reviewing the manuscripts for this research topic.

Lead-free Cs ₃ Bi ₂ I ₉ material is chosen to eliminate its single-phase synthesis difficulty and implementing Cs ₃ Bi ₂ I ₉ @SiO ₂ towards bioimaging applications. Cytotoxicity of Cs ₃ Bi ₂ I ₉ @SiO ₂ was demonstrated using MTT assay in L929 fibroblast cells.