Publications by authors named "J Masak"

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are excellent antimicrobial agents and promising candidates for preventing or treating bacterial infections caused by antibiotic resistant strains. However, their increasing use in commercial products raises concerns about their environmental impact. In addition, traditional physicochemical approaches often involve harmful agents and excessive energy consumption, resulting in AgNPs with short-term colloidal stability and silver ion leaching.

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Article Synopsis
  • Marine fouling challenges the performance and lifespan of marine engineering equipment, making effective antifouling coatings essential for economic, environmental, and safety considerations in offshore operations.
  • This study developed an innovative, environmentally friendly antifouling coating using lignin, which is renewable, biodegradable, and reduces the need for petroleum-based materials, improving water contact angle and hydrophobicity by 14.5%.
  • The lignin-based coating demonstrated a 200% increase in mechanical strength and an 85% reduction in friction coefficient, enhancing durability and preventing organism adhesion, thereby promoting greener antifouling solutions in marine engineering.
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The escalating antibiotic resistance observed in bacteria poses a significant threat to society, with the global prevalence of resistant strains of on the rise. Addressing this challenge necessitates exploring strategies that would complement existing antimicrobial agents, by substances mitigating bacterial virulence without eliciting selective pressure for resistance emergence. In this respect, free-form chitosan has demonstrated promising efficacy, prompting our investigation into reinforcing its effects through nanoparticle formulations.

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Metal nanoparticle synthesis via environmentally friendly methods is gaining interest for their potential advantages over conventional physico-chemical approaches. Herein, we propose a robust green synthesis route for lignin-modified silver nanoparticles, utilizing the recovery of lignin as a renewable raw material and exploring its application in valuable areas. Through a systematic approach combining UV-Vis spectroscopy with AAS and DLS, we identified repeatable and scalable reaction conditions in an aqueous solution at pH 11 for homogeneous silver nanoparticles with high uniformity.

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This research paper presents a novel approach to the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using viticultural waste, allowing to obtain NP dispersions with distinct properties and morphologies (monodisperse and polydisperse AgNPs, referred to as mAgNPs and pAgNPs) and to compare their biological activities. Our synthesis method utilized the ethanolic extract of Vitis vinifera pruning residues, resulting in the production of mAgNPs and pAgNPs with average sizes of 12 ± 5 nm and 19 ± 14 nm, respectively. Both these AgNPs preparations demonstrated an exceptional stability in terms of size distribution, which was maintained for one year.

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