Different type of fibers which is EFB and KC were liquefied in phenol with the presence of sulphuric acid as a catalyst. The liquefied residue was characterized by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) to determine the functional groups presents in both residues, X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine the degree of crystallinity in the residue, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to analyze the thermal properties of the residue and scanning electron microscope (SEM) to investigate the structure and morphology of the residue. Phenol-to-EFB/KC ratio shows great effect on the amount of residue in the liquefaction process. Peak appearance can be observed in the FTIR analysis at 810 and 750 cm-1 which is attributed to the para and meta benzene, respectively or to be specific its associated to the p-alkyl phenol and m-alkyl phenol. In the XRD analysis, CrI of lignocellulosic materials increased after liquefaction process. Liquefaction process caused chemical penetration across the grain of the fiber, thus the fiber bundles started to separate into individual fibers shown in the SEM micrograph and the weights lost curve for both liquefied EFB and KC experienced three region decompositions.
In this dataset, we distinguish 15 accessions of Garcinia mangostana from Peninsular Malaysia using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy coupled with chemometric analysis. We found that the position and intensity of characteristic peaks at 3600-3100 cm(-) (1) in IR spectra allowed discrimination of G. mangostana from different locations. Further principal component analysis (PCA) of all the accessions suggests the two main clusters were formed: samples from Johor, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan (South) were clustered together in one group while samples from Perak, Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kelantan, and Terengganu (North and East Coast) were in another clustered group.
In the contemporary medical model world, the proniosomal system has been serving as a new drug delivery system that is considered to significantly enhance the bioavailability of drugs with low water solubility. The application of this system can improve the bioavailability of aceclofenac that is used for the relief of pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis. The present study is intended to develop an optimized proniosomal aceclofenac formula by the use of different carriers. Aceclofenac proniosomes have been prepared by slurry method, and different carriers such as maltodextrin, mannitol, and glucose were tried. Prepared proniosomes characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the compatibility of the drug chosen with the ingredient added, powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) confirmed the amorphous phase of the prepared proniosomes, and finally, the surfactant layer was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Aceclofenac physical state transformations were confirmed with all formulas but maltodextrin proniosomes exhibited solubility more than other formulations. HPLC method has been used to analyze the niosomes derived from proniosomes in terms of their entrapment capability and drug content. The obtained results revealed that aceclofenac proniosomes can be successfully prepared by using different carriers.
A β-cyclodextrin (β-Cyd) inclusion complex containing azomethine as a guest was prepared by kneading method with aliquot addition of ethanol. The product was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer, 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and Thermogravimetric Analyzer (TGA), which proves the formation of the inclusion complex where the benzyl part of azomethine has been encapsulated by the hydrophobic cavity of β-Cyd. The interaction of β-Cyd and azomethine was also analyzed by means of spectrometry by UV-Vis spectrophotometer to determine the formation constant. The formation constant was calculated by using a modified Benesi-Hildebrand equation at 25 °C. The apparent formation constant obtained was 1.29 × 104 L/mol. Besides that, the stoichiometry ratio was also determined to be 1:1 for the inclusion complex of β-Cyd with azomethine.
Abuse of solvent-based adhesives jeopardizes world population, especially the young generation. Adhesive-related exhibits encountered in forensic cases might need to be determined if they could have come from a particular source or to establish link between cases or persons. This study was aimed to discriminate solvent-based adhesives, especially to aid forensic investigation of glue sniffing activities. In this study, thirteen brands with three samples each, totaling at 39 adhesive samples, were analyzed using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy followed by chemometric methods. Experimental output showed that adhesive samples utilized in this study were less likely to change in their ATR-FTIR profiles over time, at least up to 2 months. No interference from plastic materials was noticed based on ATR-FTIR profile comparison. Physical examination could differentiate the samples into two groups, namely contact adhesives and cement adhesives. A principal component analysis-score linear discriminative analysis (PC-score LDA) model resulted in 100% and 98.6% correct classification in discriminating the two groups of adhesive samples, forming seven discriminative clusters. Test set with adhesive samples applied glass slide and plastic substrates also demonstrated a 100% correct classification into their respective groups. As a conclusion, the method allowed for discrimination of adhesive samples based on the spectral features, displaying relationship among samples. It is hoped that this comparative information is beneficial to trace the possible source of solvent-based adhesives, whenever they are recovered from a crime scene, for forensic investigation.
Background. Fish species may be identified based on their unique otolith shape or contour. Several pattern recognition methods have been proposed to classify fish species through morphological features of the otolith contours. However, there has been no fully-automated species identification model with the accuracy higher than 80%. The purpose of the current study is to develop a fully-automated model, based on the otolith contours, to identify the fish species with the high classification accuracy. Methods. Images of the right sagittal otoliths of 14 fish species from three families namely Sciaenidae, Ariidae, and Engraulidae were used to develop the proposed identification model. Short-time Fourier transform (STFT) was used, for the first time in the area of otolith shape analysis, to extract important features of the otolith contours. Discriminant Analysis (DA), as a classification technique, was used to train and test the model based on the extracted features. Results. Performance of the model was demonstrated using species from three families separately, as well as all species combined. Overall classification accuracy of the model was greater than 90% for all cases. In addition, effects of STFT variables on the performance of the identification model were explored in this study. Conclusions. Short-time Fourier transform could determine important features of the otolith outlines. The fully-automated model proposed in this study (STFT-DA) could predict species of an unknown specimen with acceptable identification accuracy. The model codes can be accessed at http://mybiodiversityontologies.um.edu.my/Otolith/ and https://peerj.com/preprints/1517/. The current model has flexibility to be used for more species and families in future studies.
Herein, we report the effect of synthesis temperature on the morphologies, optical and electronic properties of magnesium oxide (MgO) nanostructures. The MgO nanostructures were synthesized at different temperatures, i.e., 100 °C, 300 °C, and 600 °C by simple chemical reaction process and their morphology, particle size, optical, and electrical properties were examined by different techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and UV-Vis. spectroscopy. The morphological investigations revealed that various morphologies of MgO nanostructures, i.e., nanoparticles, nanosheet networks, and nanoneedles were synthesized at 100 °C, 300 °C, and 600 °C. The XRD results confirmed that with increasing the synthesis temperature, the crystallinity of the synthesized nanostructures increases. Further, the dielectric properties and AC conductivity at various frequencies for MgO nanostructures were studied which revealed that the dielectric losses decrease with increase in frequency and temperature. In addition, the observed band gap decreases from 4.89 eV to 4.438 eV (100 °C to 600 °C) representing its increase in the conductivity.
Nanostructure materials are of interest in last few decades due to their unique size-dependent physio-chemical properties. In this paper, zinc oxide (ZnO) and barium doped ZnO nanodisks (NDs) were synthesized using sonochemical method and characterized by various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV-vis absorption and dielectric measurements. The XRD and FTIR studies confirm the crystalline nature of ZnO NDs, and the average crystallite size was found to be ~25 nm for pure ZnO and ~22 nm for Ba doped ZnO NDs. SEM study confirmed the spherical shaped ZnO NDs with average sizes in the range of 20-30 nm. The maximum absorbance was obtained in the 200-500 nm regions with a prominent peak absorbance were observed by UV-vis spectra. The corresponding band gap for ZnO NDs and Ba doped ZnO NDs were calculated using Tauc's plot and was found to be 3.12 and 3.04, respectively. The conductivity and dielectric measurements as a function of frequency have been studied.
Wavelet-based image coding algorithms (lossy and lossless) use a fixed perfect reconstruction filter-bank built into the algorithm for coding and decoding of images. However, no systematic study has been performed to evaluate the coding performance of wavelet filters on medical images. We evaluated the best types of filters suitable for medical images in providing low bit rate and low computational complexity. In this study a variety of wavelet filters are used to compress and decompress computed tomography (CT) brain and abdomen images. We applied two-dimensional wavelet decomposition, quantization and reconstruction using several families of filter banks to a set of CT images. Discreet Wavelet Transform (DWT), which provides efficient framework of multi-resolution frequency was used. Compression was accomplished by applying threshold values to the wavelet coefficients. The statistical indices such as mean square error (MSE), maximum absolute error (MAE) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) were used to quantify the effect of wavelet compression of selected images. The code was written using the wavelet and image processing toolbox of the MATLAB (version 6.1). This results show that no specific wavelet filter performs uniformly better than others except for the case of Daubechies and bi-orthogonal filters which are the best among all. MAE values achieved by these filters were 5 x 10(-14) to 12 x 10(-14) for both CT brain and abdomen images at different decomposition levels. This indicated that using these filters a very small error (approximately 7 x 10(-14)) can be achieved between original and the filtered image. The PSNR values obtained were higher for the brain than the abdomen images. For both the lossy and lossless compression, the 'most appropriate' wavelet filter should be chosen adaptively depending on the statistical properties of the image being coded to achieve higher compression ratio.
Two functional food oils, namely extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and virgin coconut oil (VCO) have been analyzed simultaneously using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The performance of multivariate calibration of principle component regression (PCR) and partial least square regression (PLSR) was evaluated in order to give the best prediction model for such determination. FTIR spectra were treated with several treatments including mean centering (MC), derivatization, and standard normal variate (SNV) at the combined frequency regions of 3050 – 3000, 1660 – 1650, and 1200 – 900 cm-1. Based on its capability to give the highest values of coefficient of correlation (R) for the relationship between actual value of EVOO/VCO and FTIR predicted value together with the lowest values of root mean square error of calibration (RMSEC), PLSR with mean centered-first derivative spectra was chosen for simultaneous determination of EVOO and VCO. It can be concluded that FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate calibration of PLSR was successfully applied to simultaneously quantify EVOO and VCO with acceptable parameters.
Currently, the authentication of virgin coconut oil (VCO) has become very important due to the possible adulteration of VCO with cheaper plant oils such as corn (CO) and sunflower (SFO) oils. Methods involving Fourier transform mid infrared (FT-MIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics techniques (partial least square (PLS) and discriminant analysis (DA)) were developed for quantification and classification of CO and SFO in VCO. MIR spectra of oil samples were recorded at frequency regions of 4000-650cm-1 on horizontal attenuated total reflectance (HATR) attachment of FTIR. DA can successfully classify VCO and that adulterated with CO and SFO using 10 principal components. Furthermore, PLS model correlates the actual and FTIR estimated values of oil adulterants (CO and SFO) with coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.999.
In recent years, there are growing trends in using palm oil as raw materials in radiation curable resins production. In this study, the acrylated palm oil resins i.e. the EPOLA (epoxidized palm oil acrylate) and the POBUA (palm oil based urethane acrylate) were synthesized using two different systems, i.e. the 25 liter pilot scale reactor synthesis system and the 2 liter (L) laboratory scale reactor synthesis system through chemical processes known as acrylation and isocyanation. In this
paper, the property of the acrylated resins which were produced by these two systems were evaluated and compared between each other. Their properties were characterized using the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometer for functional group identification; the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) for molecular weight (Mw) determination, the Brookfield viscometer for viscosity measurements, the acid values (AV) and the oxirane oxygen contents (OOC) analysis. As a result, the production process for both the 2 L and 25 L reactor system were found to be time consuming and the main advantages for the 25 L reactor was its higher productivity as compared with the 2 L reactor system with the same synthesis process parameters i.e. the temperatures and the experimental methods. Besides that, the 25 L reactor synthesis
process was found to be safe, easy to control and served unpolluted process to the environments. The final products, the acrylated palm oil resins were formulated into ultraviolet (UV) curable compounds before subjecting them under UVirradiation. As a result, the UV-curable palm oil resins showed potential uses as pressure sensitive adhesives, printing inks including overprint varnishes (OPV) and coatings.
To evaluate the possibilities for biofuel and bioenergy production Acacia Holosericea, which is an invasive plant available in Brunei Darussalam, was investigated. Proximate analysis of Acacia Holosericea shows that the moisture content, volatile matters, fixed carbon, and ash contents were 9.56%, 65.12%, 21.21%, and 3.91%, respectively. Ultimate analysis shows carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen as 44.03%, 5.67%, and 0.25%, respectively. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results have shown that maximum weight loss occurred for this biomass at 357 °C for pyrolysis and 287 °C for combustion conditions. Low moisture content (<10%), high hydrogen content, and higher heating value (about 18.13 MJ/kg) makes this species a potential biomass. The production of bio-char, bio-oil, and biogas from Acacia Holosericea was found 34.45%, 32.56%, 33.09% for 500 °C with a heating rate 5 °C/min and 25.81%, 37.61%, 36.58% with a heating rate 10 °C/min, respectively, in this research. From Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy it was shown that a strong C-H, C-O, and C=C bond exists in the bio-char of the sample.
This study investigated the engine performance and emission characteristics of biodiesel blends with combined Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GNPs) and 10% v/v dimethyl carbonate (DMC) as fuel additives as well as analysed the tribological characteristics of those blends. 10% by volume DMC was mixed with 30% palm oil biodiesel blends with diesel. Three different concentrations (40, 80 and 120 ppm) of GNPs were added to these blends via the ultrasonication process to prepare the nanofuels. Sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) surfactant was added to improve the stability of these blends. GNPs were characterised using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), while the viscosity of nanofuels was investigated by rheometer. UV-spectrometry was used to determine the stability of these nanoplatelets. A ratio of 1:4 GNP: SDS was found to produce maximum stability in biodiesel. Performance and emissions characteristics of these nanofuels have been investigated in a four-stroke compression ignition engine. The maximum reduction in BSFC of 5.05% and the maximum BTE of 22.80% was for B30GNP40DMC10 compared to all other tested blends. A reduction in HC (25%) and CO (4.41%) were observed for B30DMC10, while a reduction in NOx of 3.65% was observed for B30GNP40DMC10. The diesel-biodiesel fuel blends with the addition of GNP exhibited a promising reduction in the average coefficient of friction 15.05%, 8.68% and 3.61% for 120, 80 and 40 ppm concentrations compared to B30. Thus, combined GNP and DMC showed excellent potential for utilisation in diesel engine operation.
The synthesized titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO2-NTs) were emerged as wound healing enhancer as well as exhibited significant wound healing activity on Sprague Dawley rats. In our present study, the blends of GG and TiO2-NTs bio-nanocomposite film was characterised by fourier transform infrared (FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis, atomic force microscopy (AFM). The morphology of TiO2-NTs was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The mechanical properties study shows that the GG + TiO2-NTs (20 w/w %) bio-nanocomposite film possessed the highest tensile strength and young modulus which are (4.56 ± 0.15) MPa and (68 ± 1.63) MPa, respectively. GG + TiO2-NTs (20 w/w %) also displays the highest antibacterial activity with (16 ± 0.06) mm, (16 ± 0.06) mm, (14 ± 0.06) mm, and (12 ± 0.25) mm inhibition zone were recorded against Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The prepared bio-nanocomposite films have good biocompatibility against 3T3 mouse fibroblast cells and caused accelerated healing of open excision type wounds on Sprague Dawley rat model. The synergistic effects of bio-nanocomposite film like good swelling and WVTR properties, excellent hydrophilic nature, biocompatibility, wound appearance and wound closure rate through in vivo test makes it a suitable candidate for wound healing applications.
This study investigates effects from different drying methods (vacuum oven dried vs. freeze dried) on the rheological, functional and structural properties of chicken skin gelatin compared to bovine gelatin. Vacuum oven dried chicken skin samples showed a higher gelatin yield (12.86%) than freeze-dried samples (9.25%). The latter showed a higher melting temperature (32.64oC) and superior foaming capacity (176%) as well as foaming stability (166.67%). Vacuum oven dried samples demonstrated greater fat binding capacity (5.5 ml/g) and emulsion stability (55.79%). There were no significant differences (p >0.05) in emulsion and water holding capacity for three gelatins. Bovine gelatin did hold the lowest of all functional properties studied. A Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum analysis of chicken skin gelatin under both drying methods presented structures similar to those of bovine gelatin. Collectively, this findings indicated no significant differences (p >0.05) in rheological, functional and structural properties for chicken skin gelatins prepared by either drying method. Hence, to save costs and maintain gelatin quality, vacuum oven drying offers potential as an alternative means of production.
Enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins is an important bioprocess method to prepare bioactive peptides with many functionality and health benefits. The aims of the present work were to prepare and determine the physicochemical characteristics of gelatine hydrolysate from skin of shortfin scad (SSGH) via hydrolysis using alcalase. Analyses on chemical composition, molecular weight by SDS PAGE, protein concentration, amino acid composition, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopic features, and solubility of SSGH were thus performed. The yield of SSGH obtained was 51.01% (d.b.). The chemical compositions of SSGH for moisture, protein, fat, and ash were 13.82%, 90.05%, 1.95%, and 12.48%, respectively. SSGH showed low molecular weight (
The present study aims to develop a biodegradable polymer blend that is environmentally friendly and has comparable tensile and thermal properties with synthetic plastics. In this work, microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) extracted from bamboo-chips-reinforced poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) blend composites were fabricated by melt-mixing at 180 °C and then hot pressing at 180 °C. PBS and MCC (0.5, 1, 1.5 wt%) were added to improve the brittle nature of PLA. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermogravimetry (DTG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)), and universal testing machine were used to analyze morphology, crystallinity, physiochemical, thermal, and tensile properties, respectively. The thermal stability of the PLA-PBS blends enhanced on addition of MCC up to 1wt % due to their uniform dispersion in the polymer matrix. Tensile properties declined on addition of PBS and increased with MCC above (0.5 wt%) however except elongation at break increased on addition of PBS then decreased insignificantly on addition of MCC. Thus, PBS and MCC addition in PLA matrix decreases the brittleness, making it a potential contender that could be considered to replace plastics that are used for food packaging.
Bamboo fibers are utilized for the production of various structures, building materials, etc. and is of great significance all over the world especially in southeast Asia. In this study, the extraction of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was performed using bamboo fibers through acid hydrolysis and subsequently different characterizations were carried out using various advanced techniques. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy analysis has indicated the removal of lignin from MCC extracted from bamboo pulp. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed rough surface and minor agglomeration of the MCC. Pure MCC, albeit with small quantities of impurities and residues, was obtained, as revealed by Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicates the increase in crystallinity from 62.5% to 82.6%. Furthermore, the isolated MCC has slightly higher crystallinity compared to commercial available MCC (74%). The results of thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrate better thermal stability of isolated MCC compared to its starting material (Bamboo fibers). Thus, the isolated MCC might be used as a reinforcing element for the production of green composites and it can also be utilized as a starting material for the production of crystalline nanocellulose in future.
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) from mengkuang leaves (Pandanus tectorius) were investigated as potential reinforcement
in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) matrix. The surface of CNC was modified with silane coupling agent to improve fillermatrix
adhesion. Solution casting method was used to prepare PVC nanocomposites with various amounts of modified
(SCNC) and unmodified (CNC) nanocrystals. Both SCNC and CNC were examined by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) which showed that surface chemical modification has occurred. An increase
in tensile strength was observed with the addition of SCNC compared to the CNC. However, the elongation at break of the
nanocomposites was found to decrease with the increase of both fillers loading. An increasing trend was observed in the
tensile modulus with the addition of CNC to the PVC matrix, but decreasing with the addition of SCNC. The morphology
of a fractured surface of nanocomposites showed silane modification reduced the number of voids in the structure of
PVC. The observation indicated the adhesion between the fiber and the matrix had improved upon surface modification
of the nanocrystals with silane.