Saravanan Krishnan

In the present study, nickel ferrite (NiFe₂O₄)-based smart magnetic nanoparticles were fabricated and coated with methionine. Physiochemical characterization of the obtained Met-NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles revealed the presence of methionine coating over the nanoparticle surface. Drug release study indicated that Tet-Met-NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles possess pH-responsive controlled drug release behavior for tetracycline (Tet). The drug loading content for Tet was found to be 0.27 mg/L of nanoparticles. In vitro cytotoxicity test showed that the Met-NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles is biocompatible. Moreover, this magnetic nanostructured material shown strong anticancer property as these nanomaterials significantly reduced the viability of A375 cells when compared to free Tet solution. In addition, Tet-Met-NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles also showed strong antibacterial activity against different bacterial pathogens.

This review article discusses the role of nanomaterials and their future perspectives in the point-of-care diagnostics of COVID-19.

Solvents are an inevitable part of industries. They are widely used in manufacturing and processing industries. Despite the numerous controlling measures taken, solvents contaminate our environment to a vast extent. Green and sustainable solvents have been a matter of growing interest within the research community over the past few years due to the increasing environmental concerns. Solvents are categorized as “green” based on their nonvolatility, nonflammability, availability, biodegradability and so on. The use of ionic liquids, super critical carbon dioxide and aqueous solvents for the fabrication of polymer composites is discussed in this review. The progress of utilizing solvent-free approaches for polymer composite preparation and efforts to produce new biobased solvents are also summarized.

Candida parapsilosis ATCC 7330 supported gold nanoparticles (CpGNP), prepared by a simple and green method can selectively reduce nitroarenes and substituted nitroarenes with different functional groups like halides (–F, –Cl, –Br), olefins, esters and nitriles using sodium borohydride. The product aryl amines which are useful for the preparation of pharmaceuticals, polymers and agrochemicals were obtained in good yields (up to >95%) using CpGNP catalyst under mild conditions. The catalyst showed high recyclability (≥10 cycles) and is a robust free flowing powder, stored and used after eight months without any loss in catalytic activity.