Taous Khan

Bio: Taous Khan is an academic researcher from COMSATS Institute of Information Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Medicine & Bacterial cellulose. The author has an hindex of 27, co-authored 98 publications receiving 3225 citations. Previous affiliations of Taous Khan include Kyungpook National University.

Applications of bacterial cellulose in food, cosmetics and drug delivery

Abstract: Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a versatile biopolymer with better material properties, such as purity, high degree of porosity, relative high permeability to liquid and gases, high water-uptake capacity, tensile strength and ultrafine network. This review explores the applications of BC and its hydrogels in the fields of food, cosmetics and drug delivery. Applications of BC in foods are ranging from traditional dessert, low cholesterol diet, vegetarian meat, and as food additive and dietary aid to novel applications, such as immobilization of enzymes and cells. Applications in cosmetics include facial mask, facial scrub, personal cleansing formulations and contact lenses. BC for controlled drug delivery, transdermal drug delivery, dental drug delivery, protein delivery, tissue engineering drug delivery, macromolecular prodrug delivery and molecularly imprinted polymer based enantioselective drug delivery are also discussed in this review. The applications of BC in food and cosmetics provide the basis for BC-based functional foods, nutraceuticals, cosmeceuticals and medicated cosmetics. On the basis of current studies, the BC-based drug delivery could be further fine-tuned to get more sophisticated control on stimuli-responsive drug release. Along with the currently available literature, further experiments are required to obtain a blueprint of drug in vivo performance, bioavailability and in vitro–in vivo correlation.

Methods in Enzymology.

Abstract: I read this book the same weekend that the Packers took on the Rams, and the experience of the latter event, obviously, colored my judgment. Although I abhor anything that smacks of being a handbook (like, \"How to Earn a Merit Badge in Neurosurgery\") because too many volumes in biomedical science already evince a boyscout-like approach, I must confess that parts of this volume are fast, scholarly, and significant, with certain reservations. I like parts of this well-illustrated book because Dr. Sj6strand, without so stating, develops certain subjects on technique in relation to the acquisition of judgment and sophistication. And this is important! So, given that the author (like all of us) is somewhat deficient in some areas, and biased in others, the book is still valuable if the uninitiated reader swallows it in a general fashion, realizing full well that what will be required from the reader is a modulation to fit his vision, propreception, adaptation and response, and the kind of problem he is undertaking. A major deficiency of this book is revealed by comparison of its use of physics and of chemistry to provide understanding and background for the application of high resolution electron microscopy to problems in biology. Since the volume is keyed to high resolution electron microscopy, which is a sophisticated form of structural analysis, but really morphology in a modern guise, the physical and mechanical background of The instrument and its ancillary tools are simply and well presented. The potential use of chemical or cytochemical information as it relates to biological fine structure , however, is quite deficient. I wonder when even sophisticated morphol-ogists will consider fixation a reaction and not a technique; only then will the fundamentals become self-evident and predictable and this sine qua flon will become less mystical. Staining reactions (the most inadequate chapter) ought to be something more than a technique to selectively enhance contrast of morphological elements; it ought to give the structural addresses of some of the chemical residents of cell components. Is it pertinent that auto-radiography gets singled out for more complete coverage than other significant aspects of cytochemistry by a high resolution microscopist, when it has a built-in minimal error of 1,000 A in standard practice? I don't mean to blind-side (in strict football terminology) Dr. Sj6strand's efforts for what is \"routinely used in our laboratory\"; what is done is usually well done. It's just that …

Nanocellulose, a Versatile Green Platform: From Biosources to Materials and Their Applications

Abstract: With increasing environmental and ecological concerns due to the use of petroleum-based chemicals and products, the synthesis of fine chemicals and functional materials from natural resources is of great public value. Nanocellulose may prove to be one of the most promising green materials of modern times due to its intrinsic properties, renewability, and abundance. In this review, we present nanocellulose-based materials from sourcing, synthesis, and surface modification of nanocellulose, to materials formation and applications. Nanocellulose can be sourced from biomass, plants, or bacteria, relying on fairly simple, scalable, and efficient isolation techniques. Mechanical, chemical, and enzymatic treatments, or a combination of these, can be used to extract nanocellulose from natural sources. The properties of nanocellulose are dependent on the source, the isolation technique, and potential subsequent surface transformations. Nanocellulose surface modification techniques are typically used to introduce e...