Nawshad Muhammad

Dissolution and Delignification of Bamboo Biomass Using Amino Acid-Based Ionic Liquid

In the present work, the dissolution of bamboo biomass was tested using a number of ionic liquids synthesized in laboratory. It was observed that one of the synthesized amino acid-based ionic liquids, namely 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium glycinate, was capable of dissolving the biomass completely. The dissolved biomass was then regenerated using a reconstitute solvent (acetone/water) and was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. The results were compared to preconditioned bamboo biomass. The regenerated biomass was found to have a more homogenous macrostructure, which indicates that the crystalline form and structure of its cellulose has changed from type Ι to type ΙΙ during the dissolution and regeneration process.

Ionic liquid—a future solvent for the enhanced uses of wood biomass

Biomass refers to biological materials that can be used as fuel or for the production of chemicals. Globally, ever growing demand of energy and concerns for the environment have prompted researchers to develop convenient and efficient ways for converting wood biomass into valuable chemicals, bio-fuels and useful biomaterials. In this context, ionic liquid has the potential to play a major role. Ionic liquids, considered as green solvents, have been found capable of dissolving wood biomass, and the dissolution process can be enhanced in a number of ways, like heating, microwave treatment, addition of acids etc. The anionic part of ionic liquid plays an important role in this process coupled with hydrogen bond basicity (β) property of ionic liquid, which has a significant effect on wood biomass dissolution. This paper reviews the applications of ionic liquids for the dissolution, fractionation and regeneration of wood biomass. It is also related to the processing of cellulose and wood biomass, preparation of cellulose and wood biomass derivatives and composites.ZusammenfassungAls Biomasse werden biologische Stoffe bezeichnet, die für die Energieerzeugung oder die Herstellung von Chemikalien verwendet werden. Der weltweit stetig zunehmende Energiebedarf und steigendes Umweltbewusstsein haben bewirkt, dass Wissenschaftler praktische und effiziente Verfahren zur Umwandlung von Biomasse in wertvolle Chemikalien, Biotreibstoffe und brauchbare Biomaterialien entwickeln. In diesem Zusammenhang könnten ionische Flüssigkeiten eine große Rolle spielen. Ionische Flüssigkeiten gelten als umweltfreundliche Lösungsmittel und sind in der Lage, Holzbiomasse aufzulösen. Dieser Auflösungsprozess kann auf verschiedene Art und Weise, wie zum Beispiel durch Erhitzung, Mikrowellenbehandlung, Zugabe von Säuren etc., verbessert werden. Der anionische Anteil der ionischen Flüssigkeit spielt dabei in Verbindung mit der Wasserstoffbrückenbasizität (β) der ionischen Flüssigkeit, die einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Auflösung der Holzbiomasse hat, eine große Rolle. Diese Studie gibt einen Überblick über die Verwendung der ionischen Flüssigkeit zur Auflösung, Fraktionierung und Gewinnung von Holzbiomasse. Daneben wird auch auf die Verarbeitung von Zellulose und Holzbiomasse sowie die Herstellung von Zellulose und anderen Holzbiomasseprodukten sowie Verbundwerkstoffen eingegangen.

Synthesis, characterization and the effect of temperature on different physicochemical properties of protic ionic liquids

In this work, eleven protic ionic liquids (PILs) containing different cations and anions were prepared and their physicochemical properties were measured. The structures of all the PILs were confirmed using NMR, and elemental analysis (CHNS) was carried out. The physicochemical properties such as density, surface tension, viscosity and thermal degradation behaviour were measured, and the effect of the cations/anions was investigated. The density and viscosity were measured within the temperature range of 293.15–373.15 K at atmospheric pressure. The thermal expansion coefficient values were calculated from the density data. Surface tension was measured in the temperature range of 293.15 to 353.15 K and the values were used to estimate the surface entropy and enthalpy of the ionic liquids at 303.15 K. The boiling and critical temperature are also estimated according to the Eotvos and Rebelo methods. The refractive indices were measured within the temperature range of 293.15 to 323.15 K. The thermal gravimetric analysis was performed in the temperature range of 373.15–773.15 K.

Potential biosorbent derived from Calligonum polygonoides for removal of methylene blue dye from aqueous solution.

The ash of C. polygonoides (locally called balanza) was collected from Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and was utilized as biosorbent for methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. The ash was used as biosorbent without any physical or chemical treatment. The biosorbent was characterized by using various techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The particle size and surface area were measured using particle size analyzer and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation (BET), respectively. The SEM and BET results expressed that the adsorbent has porous nature. Effects of various conditions such as initial concentration of methylene blue (MB), initial pH, contact time, dosage of biosorbent, and stirring rate were also investigated for the adsorption process. The rate of the adsorption of MB on biomass sample was fast, and equilibrium has been achieved within 1 hour. The kinetics of MB adsorption on biosorbent was studied by pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models and the pseudo-second-order has better mathematical fit with correlation coefficient value (R 2) of 0.999. The study revealed that C. polygonoides ash proved to be an effective, alternative, inexpensive, and environmentally benign biosorbent for MB removal from aqueous solution.

Biomedical applications of green synthesized Nobel metal nanoparticles

Synthesis of Nobel metal nanoparticles, play a key role in the field of medicine. Plants contain a substantial number of organic constituents, like phenolic compounds and various types of glycosides that help in synthesis of metal nanoparticles. Synthesis of metal nanoparticles by green method is one of the best and environment friendly methods. The major significance of the green synthesis is lack of toxic by-products produced during metal nanoparticle synthesis. The nanoparticles, synthesized by green method show various significant biological activities. Most of the research articles report the synthesized nanoparticles to be active against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Some of these bacteria include Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The synthesized nanoparticles also show significant antifungal activity against Trichophyton simii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Trichophyton rubrum as well as different types of cancer cells such as breast cancer cell line. They also exhibit significant antioxidant activity. The activities of these Nobel metal nano-particles mainly depend on the size and shape. The particles of small size with large surface area show good activity in the field of medicine. The synthesized nanoparticles are also active against leishmanial diseases. This research article explores in detail the green synthesis of the nanoparticles and their uses thereof.

Biological behavior of bioactive glasses and their composites

Bioactive glasses (BGs) as third generation biomaterials have the ability to form an interfacial bonding more rapidly than other bioceramics between implant and host tissues in defect treatment. Therefore, BGs have shown great applications in the field of bone tissue engineering, dental materials, skin and other tissue regeneration. This review is based on inorganic and organic BG composites being used in bone tissue engineering and summarizes current developments in improving the biological behavior of BGs and their composites. A main focus was given to highlight the role of BGs and their composites in osteogenic differentiation and angiogenesis, followed by their cytotoxicity, protein adsorption ability and antibacterial properties. BGs were found to enhance the cell proliferation and cell attachment without any toxic effects with a significant increase in metabolic activity and possess osteogenic properties. Organic and inorganic dopants have been used to improve their cytocompatibility, osteoconductivity and promote stem cell differentiation towards the osteogenic lineage. BGs have also been used as graft materials because of their significant role in angiogenesis, as they stimulate relevant cells (i.e. fibroblasts, osteoblasts and endothelial cells) to release angiogenic growth factors. They show good protein adsorption because they act as templates for the adsorption of proteins which in turn depends upon surface properties. Antibacterial effects were also observed in BGs as a result of the high aqueous pH value in body fluids due to the presence of alkaline ions. There has been significant research work performed on silica-based bioactive glasses but not much literature can be found on phosphate- and borate-based bioactive glasses, which have good solubility and degradation, respectively.

The effect of reaction atmosphere and growth duration on the size and morphology of boron nitride nanotubes

The effect of different reaction atmospheres is analyzed on the size and morphology of boron nitride nanotubes within a single and continuous growth duration of 180 min at 1200 °C. Field emission scanning electron microscopy micrographs show smaller and larger diameter boron nitride nanotubes in the range of 70–700 nm, with straight and curve parts. Some of the larger diameter boron nitride nanotubes have pipe-like morphologies at their top with the diameter in the range of 270–380 nm. High resolution transmission electron microscopy shows the tubular structure of the synthesized nanotubes with a non-uniform diameter. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows B1s and N1s peaks at 190.3 eV and 398 eV for hexagonal boron nitride nature of the synthesized nanotubes. The Raman spectrum reports a higher intensity peak at 1370 (cm−1) that corresponds to E2g mode of vibration in hexagonal boron nitride.

A new approach of probe sonication assisted ionic liquid conversion of glucose, cellulose and biomass into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) has been identified as a promising biomass-derived platform chemical. In this study, one pot production of HMF was studied in ionic liquid (IL) under probe sonication technique. Compared with the conventional heating technique, the use of probe ultrasonic irradiation reduced the reaction time from hours to minutes. Glucose, cellulose and local bamboo, treated with ultrasonic, produced HMF in the yields of 43%, 31% and 13% respectively, within less than 10min. The influence of various parameters such as acoustic power, reaction time, catalysts and glucose loading were studied. About 40% HMF yield at glucose conversion above 90% could be obtained with 2% of catalyst in 3min. Negligible amount of soluble by-product was detected, and humin formation could be controlled by adjusting the different process parameters. Upon extraction of HMF, the mixture of ionic liquid and catalyst could be reused and exhibited no significant reduction of HMF yield over five successive runs. The purity of regenerated [C4C1im]Cl and HMF was confirmed by NMR spectroscopy, indicating neither changes in the chemical structure nor presence of any major contaminants during the conversion under ultrasonic treatment. 13C NMR suggests that [C4C1im]Cl/CrCl3 catalyses mutarotation of α-glucopyranose to β-glucopyranose leading to isomerization and finally conversion to HMF. The experimental results demonstrate that the use of probe sonication technique for conversion to HMF provides a positive process benefit.

Efficient conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to levulinic acid using acidic ionic liquids

In the present research work, dicationic ionic liquids, containing 1,4-bis(3-methylimidazolium-1-yl) butane ([C4(Mim)2]) cation with counter anions [(2HSO4)(H2SO4)0], [(2HSO4)(H2SO4)2] and [(2HSO4)(H2SO4)4] were synthesised. ILs structures were confirmed using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Thermal stability, Hammett acidity, density and viscosity of ILs were determined. Various types of lignocellulosic biomass such as rubber wood, palm oil frond, bamboo and rice husk were converted into levulinic acid (LA). Among the synthesized ionic liquids, [C4(Mim)2][(2HSO4)(H2SO4)4] showed higher % yield of LA up to 47.52 from bamboo biomass at 110°C for 60min, which is the better yield at low temperature and short time compared to previous reports. Surface morphology, surface functional groups and thermal stability of bamboo before and after conversion into LA were studied using SEM, FTIR and TGA analysis, respectively. This one-pot production of LA from agro-waste will open new opportunity for the conversion of sustainable biomass resources into valuable chemicals.

Amine bridges grafted mesoporous silica, as a prolonged/controlled drug release system for the enhanced therapeutic effect of short life drugs

Hybrid mesoporous silica SBA-15, with surface incorporated cross-linked long hydrophobic organic bridges was synthesized using stepwise synthesis. The synthesized materials were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, nitrogen adsorption, X-rays diffraction, thermogravimetry and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The functionalized material showed highly ordered mesoporous network with a surface area of 629.0m2g-1. The incorporation of long hydrophobic amine chains on silica surface resulted in high drug loading capacity (21% Mass/Mass) and prolonged release of ibuprofen up till 75.5h. The preliminary investigations suggests that the synthesized materials could be proposed as controlled release devices to prolong the therapeutic effect of short life drugs such as ibuprofen to increase its efficacy and to reduce frequent dosage.