Facile and eco-friendly method of starch nanocrystals esterified with oleic acid using natural clay as a catalyst: Synthesis, Box-Behnken optimization, characterization and analysis of thermal and antioxidant properties.

This study investigates the synthesis of corn starch nanocrystals (SNCs) via sulfuric acid hydrolysis. Esterification of oleic acid (OA) with SNCs was carried out using Maghnite-H as a catalyst, a non-polluting, eco-friendly proton-exchanged montmorillonite-based green catalyst suitable for various chemical processes. Optimization of synthesis parameters, including reaction temperature, duration, and catalyst quantity, was conducted using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design incorporating three factors and three levels.

One-Dimensional Photonic Crystals Comprising Two Different Types of Metamaterials for the Simple Detection of Fat Concentrations in Milk Samples.

In this study, we demonstrate the reflectance spectrum of one-dimensional photonic crystals comprising two different types of metamaterials. In this regard, the designed structure can act as a simple and efficient detector for fat concentrations in milk samples. Here, the hyperbolic and gyroidal metamaterials represent the two types of metamaterials that are stacked together to construct the candidate structure; meanwhile, the designed 1D PCs can be simply configured as [()].

Synthesis of metal nanoparticles on graphene oxide and antibacterial properties.

Pathogen-induced infections and the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, such as () and (), pose significant global health challenges, emphasizing the need for new antimicrobial strategies. In this study, we synthesized graphene oxide (GO)-based composites functionalized with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) as potential alternatives to traditional antibiotics. The objective is to assess the antibacterial properties of these composites and explore their efficacy against and , two common bacterial pathogens.