Ovidiu Oprea

Bio: Ovidiu Oprea is an academic researcher from Politehnica University of Bucharest. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The author has an hindex of 21, co-authored 124 publications receiving 1305 citations. Previous affiliations of Ovidiu Oprea include University of Bucharest.

Biodegradable Antimicrobial Food Packaging: Trends and Perspectives

Abstract: This review presents a perspective on the research trends and solutions from recent years in the domain of antimicrobial packaging materials. The antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant activities can be induced by the main polymer used for packaging or by addition of various components from natural agents (bacteriocins, essential oils, natural extracts, etc.) to synthetic agents, both organic and inorganic (Ag, ZnO, TiO2 nanoparticles, synthetic antibiotics etc.). The general trend for the packaging evolution is from the inert and polluting plastic waste to the antimicrobial active, biodegradable or edible, biopolymer film packaging. Like in many domains this transition is an evolution rather than a revolution, and changes are coming in small steps. Changing the public perception and industry focus on the antimicrobial packaging solutions will enhance the shelf life and provide healthier food, thus diminishing the waste of agricultural resources, but will also reduce the plastic pollution generated by humankind as most new polymers used for packaging are from renewable sources and are biodegradable. Polysaccharides (like chitosan, cellulose and derivatives, starch etc.), lipids and proteins (from vegetal or animal origin), and some other specific biopolymers (like polylactic acid or polyvinyl alcohol) have been used as single component or in blends to obtain antimicrobial packaging materials. Where the package’s antimicrobial and antioxidant activities need a larger spectrum or a boost, certain active substances are embedded, encapsulated, coated, grafted into or onto the polymeric film. This review tries to cover the latest updates on the antimicrobial packaging, edible or not, using as support traditional and new polymers, with emphasis on natural compounds.

Pb2 + removal from aqueous synthetic solutions by calcium alginate and chitosan coated calcium alginate

Abstract: This research study deals with lead(II)/Pb 2 + removal from aqueous solutions by calcium alginate (CA) and chitosan coated calcium alginate (CCCA) as adsorbents, in batch experiments. A simple synthesis method was used to prepare both adsorbent materials. CA and CCCA were characterized using infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG). The main parameters determining the quantity of lead(II) ions adsorbed are: the initial pH solution, the lead(II)ions initial concentration and the temperature. The experiments revealed that the adsorption capacity, thus, the removal efficiency are higher for CCCA compared to CA. The adsorption of lead(II) ions onto both CA and CCCA materials is an endothermic spontaneous process, as resulted from the thermodynamic experiments. Consequently, a moderate increase of temperature improves the adsorption capacity. The thermodynamic equilibrium sorption experimental data are well fitted by Freundlich adsorption isotherm for both tested adsorbents, better than Langmuir's. Accordingly, lead(II) ions adsorption onto CA and CCCA develops obeying a multilayer mechanism. The kinetic experimental data were fitted by both pseudo-first, and pseudo-second order models. The former approaches better the experimental results for both adsorbents. The mechanism involved in lead removal is a combination between ion-exchange and coordination/chelation based on experimental results.

Biomedical Applications of Silver Nanoparticles: An Up-to-Date Overview

Abstract: During the past few years, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) became one of the most investigated and explored nanotechnology-derived nanostructures, given the fact that nanosilver-based materials proved to have interesting, challenging, and promising characteristics suitable for various biomedical applications. Among modern biomedical potential of AgNPs, tremendous interest is oriented toward the therapeutically enhanced personalized healthcare practice. AgNPs proved to have genuine features and impressive potential for the development of novel antimicrobial agents, drug-delivery formulations, detection and diagnosis platforms, biomaterial and medical device coatings, tissue restoration and regeneration materials, complex healthcare condition strategies, and performance-enhanced therapeutic alternatives. Given the impressive biomedical-related potential applications of AgNPs, impressive efforts were undertaken on understanding the intricate mechanisms of their biological interactions and possible toxic effects. Within this review, we focused on the latest data regarding the biomedical use of AgNP-based nanostructures, including aspects related to their potential toxicity, unique physiochemical properties, and biofunctional behaviors, discussing herein the intrinsic anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal activities of silver-based nanostructures.