Cu-ZnO Embedded in a Polydopamine Shell for the Generation of Antibacterial Surgical Face Masks.

A new easy protocol to functionalize the middle layer of commercial surgical face masks (FMs) with Zn and Cu oxides is proposed in order to obtain antibacterial personal protective equipment. Zinc and copper oxides were synthesized embedded in a polydopamine (PDA) shell as potential antibacterial agents; they were analyzed by XRD and TEM, revealing, in all the cases, the formation of metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs). PDA is a natural polymer appreciated for its simple and rapid synthesis, biocompatibility, and high functionalization; it is used in this work as an organic matrix that, in addition to stabilizing NPs, also acts as a diluent in the functionalization step, decreasing the metal loading on the polypropylene (PP) surface.

Temperature-Corrected Calibration of GS3 and TEROS-12 Soil Water Content Sensors.

The continuous monitoring of soil water content is commonly carried out using low-frequency capacitance sensors that require a site-specific calibration to relate sensor readings to apparent dielectric bulk permittivity () and soil water content (). In fine-textured soils, the conversion of to is still challenging due to temperature effects on the bound water fraction associated with clay mineral surfaces, which is disregarded in factory calibrations. Here, a multi-point calibration approach accounts for temperature effects on two soils with medium to high clay content.

Chemically Functionalized Cellulose Nanocrystals as Reactive Filler in Bio-Based Polyurethane Foams.

Cellulose Nanocrystals, CNC, opportunely functionalized are proposed as reactive fillers in bio-based flexible polyurethane foams to improve, mainly, their mechanical properties. To overcome the cellulose hydrophilicity, CNC was functionalized on its surface by linking covalently a suitable bio-based polyol to obtain a grafted-CNC. The polyols grafted with CNC will react with the isocyanate in the preparation of the polyurethane foams.

Greener Nanocomposite Polyurethane Foam Based on Sustainable Polyol and Natural Fillers: Investigation of Chemico-Physical and Mechanical Properties.

Nowadays, the chemical industry is looking for sustainable chemicals to synthesize nanocomposite bio-based polyurethane foams, PUs, with the aim to replace the conventional petrochemical precursors. Some possibilities to increase the environmental sustainability in the synthesis of nanocomposite PUs include the use of chemicals and additives derived from renewable sources (such as vegetable oils or biomass wastes), which comprise increasingly wider base raw materials. Generally, sustainable PUs exhibit chemico-physical, mechanical and functional properties, which are not comparable with those of PUs produced from petrochemical precursors.

Stereoselective Double Reduction of 3-Methyl-2-cyclohexenone, by Use of Palladium and Platinum Nanoparticles, in Tandem with Alcohol Dehydrogenase.

The combination of metal nanoparticles (Pd or Pt NPs) with NAD-dependent thermostable alcohol dehydrogenase (TADH) resulted in the one-flask catalytic double reduction of 3-methyl-2-cyclohexenone to 3-(1S,3S)-methylcyclohexanol. In this article, some assumptions about the interactions between a chemocatalyst and a biocatalyst have been proposed. It was demonstrated that the size of the NPs was the critical parameter for the mutual inhibition: the bigger the NPs, the more harmful for the enzyme they were, even if the NPs themselves were only moderately inactivated.