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Polymers
Special Issues
Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical Fields
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Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical Fields

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2022) | Viewed by 5688

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud R. Sofy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Botany and Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Al-Azhar University, 11884 Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt
Interests: plant physiology; symbiotic relationships in plants; enzymology; bioinformatics; tissue culture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Heba Ibrahim Mohamed

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biological and Geological Sciences Department, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, Roxy, Heliopolis, Cairo P.C.11757, Egypt
Interests: Plant physiology; symbiotic relationships in plants; nanomaterials; bioinformatics; plant disease resistance.
Dr. Mona Fathi Abd Elmowla Dawood

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Botany & Microbiology Department, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Assiut 71516, Egypt
Interests: Plant physiology; symbiotic relationships in plants; nanomaterials; bioinformatics; plant disease resistance.

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, polymer composites have been used as a tool for applications such as agriculture, industrial, and medical uses. These composites have helped the agricultural field to resist salinity, heavy metals, drought, combat viruses, and other plant pathogens. Polymer composites have become an integral part of a wide range of industries, i.e., automobiles and aircraft parts. Additionally, polymer composites were used to increase the efficiency of herbicides and pesticides and therefore allow the use of lower doses, reducing pollution and cleaning up existing pollutants. Polymer composites are essential in many health and medical applications, including MRI scanners, X-ray couches, mammography plates, antimicrobial agents, etc.

This Special Issue aims to compile original and cutting-edge research discussing the use of Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical fields.

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud R. Sofy
Prof. Dr. Heba Ibrahim Mohamed
Dr. Mona Fathi Abd Elmowla Dawood
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. Polymers 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 2700 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

  • polymer composites
  • nanocomposites
  • agricultural
  • industry
  • environment
  • medicine
  • antimicrobial agent

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 3676 KiB  
Article
A Feasible Compatibilization Processing Technique for Improving the Mechanical and Thermal Performance of Rubbery Biopolymer/Graphene Nanocomposites
by Dalila Shahdan, Noor Afizah Rosli, Ruey Shan Chen and Sahrim Ahmad
Polymers 2022, 14(22), 5009; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14225009 - 18 Nov 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1152
Abstract
Over the last few decades, processing and compatibility have become challenging and interesting investigation areas of polymer matrix nanocomposites. This study investigated the addition of maleic anhydride (MAH) at different ratios with graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) in poly(lactic acid)/modified natural rubber/polyaniline/GnP (PLA/m-NR/PANI/GnP) nanocomposites via [...] Read more.
Over the last few decades, processing and compatibility have become challenging and interesting investigation areas of polymer matrix nanocomposites. This study investigated the addition of maleic anhydride (MAH) at different ratios with graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) in poly(lactic acid)/modified natural rubber/polyaniline/GnP (PLA/m-NR/PANI/GnP) nanocomposites via two processing methods: a two-step technique and a one-pot technique. The former technique involved first preparing a master batch of PLA grafted with MAH, followed by a second step involving the melt blending of the nanocomposite (T1) using MAH-g-PLA. On the other hand, the one-pot technique involved the direct mixing of MAH during the melt-blending process (T2). The mechanical, morphological and thermal properties of the prepared nanocomposites were investigated. The findings showed that adding MAH significantly improved the tensile strength and elongation at break by about 25% for PLA/m-NR/PANi/GnP nanocomposites, with an optimal ratio of 1:1 of MAH-g-PLA to GnP loading using the T1 technique. FTIR analysis confirmed the chemical interaction between MAH and PLA for T1 nanocomposites, which exhibited improved phase morphology with smoother surfaces. MAH-compatibilized nanocomposites had enhanced thermal stabilities when compared to the sample without a compatibilizer. The findings show that the compatibilized PLA nanocomposite is potentially suitable for bio-inspired materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical Fields)
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15 pages, 1975 KiB  
Article
Chitosan-Enriched Salicylic Acid Nanoparticles Enhanced Anthocyanin Content in Grape (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Red Sultana) Berries
by Naser Khalili, Mehdi Oraei, Gholamreza Gohari, Sima Panahirad, Hassan Nourafcan and Christophe Hano
Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3349; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14163349 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 1852
Abstract
Given the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on enhancing the phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and especially anthocyanins at higher doses in grapes as well as some toxic effects of SA at higher doses, the use of nano-carriers and nano-forms could assist SA in enhancing [...] Read more.
Given the effects of salicylic acid (SA) on enhancing the phenolic compounds, flavonoids, and especially anthocyanins at higher doses in grapes as well as some toxic effects of SA at higher doses, the use of nano-carriers and nano-forms could assist SA in enhancing the accumulation of these compounds while reducing its toxic activity. Chitosan (CTS) has gained attention as a safe transporter and control releaser for a variety of chemicals, particularly in the agriculture industry. In this regard, the nano-form combination of SA and CTS (CTS-SA NPs) could boost the effectiveness of SA, particularly at lower dosages. Therefore, in the present study, SA (10, 20 mM), CTS (0.1%), and CTS-SA NPs (10, 20 mM) were applied on grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries cv. Red Sultana at the pre-véraison stage to evaluate their actions on phenolic compounds, particularly anthocyanins. The CTS-SA NPs treatments provided the highest results in terms of the total phenolic compounds, flavonoids (10 mM), anthocyanins (in particular oenin, the main anthocyanin of red grapes) (10 and 20 mM), and PAL enzyme activity (20 mM). In conclusion, the CTS-SA NPs could be applied as a potential effective elicitor for phenolics, particularly anthocyanin enhancement of grape berries at pre- véraison stage with synergistic effects between SA and CTS in nano-forms predominantly at lower doses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical Fields)
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21 pages, 3701 KiB  
Article
Humic Acid-Coated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Confer Resistance to Acremonium Wilt Disease and Improve Physiological and Morphological Attributes of Grain Sorghum
by Sherif Mohamed El-Ganainy, Amal M. El-Bakery, Heba M. Hafez, Ahmed Mahmoud Ismail, Ali Zein El-Abdeen, Abed Abd Elgalel Ata, Omar A. Y. Abd Elraheem, Yousef M. Y. El Kady, Ahlam F. Hamouda, Hossam S. El-Beltagi, Wael F. Shehata, Tarek A. Shalaby, Ahmed Osman Abbas, Mustafa Ibrahim Almaghsla, Muhammad N. Sattar and Zafar Iqbal
Polymers 2022, 14(15), 3099; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14153099 - 30 Jul 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1800
Abstract
Acremonium wilt disease affects grain quality and reduces sorghum yield around the globe. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of humic acid (HA)-coated Fe3O4 (Fe3O4/HA) nanoparticles (NPs) in controlling acremonium wilt disease and improving [...] Read more.
Acremonium wilt disease affects grain quality and reduces sorghum yield around the globe. The present study aimed to assess the efficacy of humic acid (HA)-coated Fe3O4 (Fe3O4/HA) nanoparticles (NPs) in controlling acremonium wilt disease and improving sorghum growth and yields. During the season 2019, twenty-one sorghum genotypes were screened to assess their response to Acremonium striticum via artificial infection under field conditions and each genotype was assigned to one of six groups, ranging from highly susceptible to highly resistant. Subsequently, over the two successive seasons 2020 and 2021, three different concentrations of 10, 40 and 80 mg L−1 of Fe3O4/HA NPs were tested against A. striticum. The concentrations of 40 and 80 mg L−1 were found to be highly effective in controlling acremonium wilt disease on different sorghum genotypes: LG1 (highly susceptible), Giza-3 (susceptible), and Local 119 (resistant) genotypes. After harvest, the physiological (growth and yield) and biochemical (peroxidase, catalase, and gibberellic acid) attributes of sorghum plants were determined, and the results demonstrated that concentrations of 40 and 80 mg L−1 increased peroxidase and catalase activities in healthy (uninoculated) sorghum genotypes compared to inoculated sorghum genotypes. Additionally, the toxicity of Fe3O4/HA NPs on male albino rats was investigated via hematological (CBC), chemical (ALT and AST) and histopathological analyses. The concentration 80 mg L−1 of Fe3O4/HA NPs caused a marked increase in ALT and creatinine level after 51 days of feeding. Severe pathological alterations were also observed in liver and kidney tissues of rats administered with grain sorghums treated with 80 mg L−1. In comparison with the untreated control plants, a concentration of 40 mg L−1 significantly increased the growth, yield and gibberellic acid levels (p ≤ 0.05) and was found to be safe in male albino rats. Conclusively, a concentration of 40 mg L−1 of Fe3O4/HA NPs showed promising results in curtailing A. striticum infections in sorghum, indicating its great potential to substitute harmful fertilizers and fungicides as a smart agriculture strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Composites/Nanocomposites in the Agricultural, Industrial, Environmental, and Medical Fields)
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