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Nanomaterials
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Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering
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Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Synthesis, Interfaces and Nanostructures".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 January 2022) | Viewed by 10563

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Gloria Víllora

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Interests: nanoparticles; biopolymers; metals; ionic liquids; supercritical fluids; green chemical engineering
Dr. Mercedes G. Montalbán

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical Engineering Department, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
Interests: nanotechnology; nanoparticle; biopolymer; silk fibroin; ionic liquid; supercritical
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent years have witnessed a worldwide increase in concern for our footprint in the natural environment. The reduction of generated waste during chemical processes and the reasonable use of natural resources are both important issues to consider. Nanotechnology, which is among the most significant scientific and industrial research breakthroughs of the 21st century, can greatly contribute to these purposes because there are several application areas of nanomaterials with great promise for green chemical engineering. Particular attention should be paid on the use of biopolymers as substitutes to conventional polymers in the nanotechnology field. At the same time, the choice of a green solvent such as ionic liquids and supercritical fluids is also important due to the great amounts of solvents involved in the preparation of nanomaterials.

Recently, significant advances have been achieved in the synthesis of biodegradable nanoparticles or nanocomposites in the field of nanomedicine as drug nanocarriers, which can lead to a sustained and targeted release. Another example of the research activity concerning biopolymers in nanotechnology is their use during the synthesis of metal nanoparticles as reducing and stabilizing agents avoiding the use of toxic chemical agents.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims at collecting a compilation of original research papers that cover these aspects but also many others which strongly demonstrate the continuous efforts in developing nanomaterials following the principles of green chemical engineering.


Prof. Dr. Gloria Víllora
Dr. Mercedes G. Montalbán
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanoparticles
  • nanocomposites
  • biopolymers
  • metals
  • green solvents
  • ionic liquids
  • supercritical fluids
  • drug nanocarriers
  • drug delivery
  • targeted therapy
  • antimicrobial nanomaterials
  • green chemical engineering

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2204 KiB  
Article
Antibacterial Effect of Chitosan–Gold Nanoparticles and Computational Modeling of the Interaction between Chitosan and a Lipid Bilayer Model
by M. G. Fuster, M. G. Montalbán, G. Carissimi, B. Lima, G. E. Feresin, M. Cano, J. J. Giner-Casares, J. J. López-Cascales, R. D. Enriz and G. Víllora
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(12), 2340; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano10122340 - 25 Nov 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3037
Abstract
Pathogenic bacteria have the ability to develop antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Their action consists mainly in the production of bacterial enzymes that inactivate antibiotics or the appearance of modifications that prevent the arrival of the drug at the target point or the alteration of [...] Read more.
Pathogenic bacteria have the ability to develop antibiotic resistance mechanisms. Their action consists mainly in the production of bacterial enzymes that inactivate antibiotics or the appearance of modifications that prevent the arrival of the drug at the target point or the alteration of the target point itself, becoming a growing problem for health systems. Chitosan–gold nanoparticles (Cs-AuNPs) have been shown as effective bactericidal materials avoiding damage to human cells. In this work, Cs-AuNPs were synthesized using chitosan as the reducing agent, and a systematic analysis of the influence of the synthesis parameters on the size and zeta potential of the Cs-AuNPs and their UV-vis spectra was carried out. We used a simulation model to characterize the interaction of chitosan with bacterial membranes, using a symmetric charged bilayer and two different chitosan models with different degrees of the chitosan amine protonation as a function of pH, with the aim to elucidate the antibacterial mechanism involving the cell wall disruption. The Cs-AuNP antibacterial activity was evaluated to check the simulation model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering)
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8 pages, 3931 KiB  
Article
Effect of ZnO and SnO2 Nanolayers at Grain Boundaries on Thermoelectric Properties of Polycrystalline Skutterudites
by Sang-il Kim, Jiwoo An, Woo-Jae Lee, Se Hun Kwon, Woo Hyun Nam, Nguyen Van Du, Jong-Min Oh, Sang-Mo Koo, Jung Young Cho and Weon Ho Shin
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(11), 2270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano10112270 - 16 Nov 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2233
Abstract
Nanostructuring is considered one of the key approaches to achieve highly efficient thermoelectric alloys by reducing thermal conductivity. In this study, we investigated the effect of oxide (ZnO and SnO2) nanolayers at the grain boundaries of polycrystalline In0.2Yb0.1 [...] Read more.
Nanostructuring is considered one of the key approaches to achieve highly efficient thermoelectric alloys by reducing thermal conductivity. In this study, we investigated the effect of oxide (ZnO and SnO2) nanolayers at the grain boundaries of polycrystalline In0.2Yb0.1Co4Sb12 skutterudites on their electrical and thermal transport properties. Skutterudite powders with oxide nanolayers were prepared by atomic layer deposition method, and the number of deposition cycles was varied to control the coating thickness. The coated powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. With increasing number of deposition cycle, the electrical conductivity gradually decreased, while the Seebeck coefficient changed insignificantly; this indicates that the carrier mobility decreased due to the oxide nanolayers. In contrast, the lattice thermal conductivity increased with an increase in the number of deposition cycles, demonstrating the reduction in phonon scattering by grain boundaries owing to the oxide nanolayers. Thus, we could easily control the thermoelectric properties of skutterudite materials through adjusting the oxide nanolayer by atomic layer deposition method. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering)
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17 pages, 3621 KiB  
Article
Supermagnetic Sugarcane Bagasse Hydrochar for Enhanced Osteoconduction in Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells
by Min Kim, Seung-Cheol Jee, Jung-Suk Sung and Avinash A. Kadam
Nanomaterials 2020, 10(9), 1793; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano10091793 - 09 Sep 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3312
Abstract
Hydrothermally carbonized sugarcane bagasse (SCB) has exceptional surface properties. Looking at the huge amount of SCB produced, its biocompatible nature, cheap-cost for carbonization, and its easy functionalization can give impeccable nano-biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. Herein, sugarcane bagasse was converted into hydrochar (SCB-H) [...] Read more.
Hydrothermally carbonized sugarcane bagasse (SCB) has exceptional surface properties. Looking at the huge amount of SCB produced, its biocompatible nature, cheap-cost for carbonization, and its easy functionalization can give impeccable nano-biomaterials for tissue engineering applications. Herein, sugarcane bagasse was converted into hydrochar (SCB-H) by hydrothermal carbonation. The SCB-H produced was further modified with iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (denoted as SCB-H@Fe3O4). Facile synthesized nano-bio-composites were characterized by SEM, HR-TEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, TGA, and VSM analysis. Bare Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs), SCB-H, and SCB-H@Fe3O4 were tested for cytocompatibility and osteoconduction enhancement of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADMSCs). The results confirmed the cytocompatible and nontoxic nature of SCB-H@Fe3O4. SCB-H did not show enhancement in osteoconduction, whilst on the other hand, Fe3O4 NPs exhibited a 0.5-fold increase in the osteoconduction of hADMSCs. However, SCB-H@Fe3O4 demonstrated an excellent enhancement in osteoconduction of a 3-fold increase over the control, and a 2.5-fold increase over the bare Fe3O4 NPs. Correspondingly, the expression patterns assessment of osteoconduction marker genes (ALP, OCN, and RUNX2) confirmed the osteoconductive enhancement by SCB-H@Fe3O4. In the proposed mechanism, the surface of SCB-H@Fe3O4 might provide a unique topology, and anchoring to receptors of hADMSCs leads to accelerated osteogenesis. In conclusion, agriculture waste-derived sustainable materials like “SCB-H@Fe3O44” can be potentially applied in highly valued medicinal applications of stem cell differentiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering)
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Review

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32 pages, 7056 KiB  
Review
Electrochemical Synthesis of Unique Nanomaterials in Ionic Liquids
by Olga Lebedeva, Dmitry Kultin and Leonid Kustov
Nanomaterials 2021, 11(12), 3270; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/nano11123270 - 01 Dec 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3439
Abstract
The review considers the features of the processes of the electrochemical synthesis of nanostructures in ionic liquids (ILs), including the production of carbon nanomaterials, silicon and germanium nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, nanomaterials and surface nanostructures based on oxides. In addition, the analysis of works [...] Read more.
The review considers the features of the processes of the electrochemical synthesis of nanostructures in ionic liquids (ILs), including the production of carbon nanomaterials, silicon and germanium nanoparticles, metallic nanoparticles, nanomaterials and surface nanostructures based on oxides. In addition, the analysis of works on the synthesis of nanoscale polymer films of conductive polymers prepared using ionic liquids by electrochemical methods is given. The purpose of the review is to dwell upon an aspect of the applicability of ILs that is usually not fully reflected in modern literature, the synthesis of nanostructures (including unique ones that cannot be obtained in other electrolytes). The current underestimation of ILs as an electrochemical medium for the synthesis of nanomaterials may limit our understanding and the scope of their potential application. Another purpose of our review is to expand their possible application and to show the relative simplicity of the experimental part of the work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nanotechnology for Green Chemical Engineering)
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