Gaseous acetylation of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) was carried out to modify its chemical and physical properties and at the same time to preserve the morphology of cellulose microfibrils. Spectroscopic analysis of the samples was indicative of the success of the reaction as indicated by FT-IR and H-nmr studies. The chemically modified microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were blended with hig...

Tuberculosis remains the leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide and unsuccessful therapy is mainly due to non-compliance with very prolonged treatments, often associated with severe side-effects. Overcoming this problem demands the introduction of drug carriers releasing the antimicrobial agents in a targeted and sustained manner, allowing reduction in frequency and dosing numbers. Nano-...

Alkyl ethoxysulphates (AES) are anionic surfactants widely used in numerous commercial and industrial applications. In spite of the high AES volume consumption a few data concerning the occurrence, fate and effects of AES in marine environments are reported in literature. The objective of this study is to evaluate the biodegradability and toxicity of AES in pristine sea water. Ultimate biodegra...

Elevated ultraviolet (UV) radiation has been demonstrated to stimulate litter decomposition. Despite years of research, it is still not fully understood whether the acceleration in litter degradation is primarily attributed to abiotic photodegradation or the combined effects of abiotic photodegradation and microbial decomposition. In this study, we used meta-analysis to synthesize photodegradat...

In this paper I examine some of the factors influencing technology development and attempt to explain whether CLIA '88 enhances the opportunities or exacerbates the problems for U.S.-based technology development. The viewpoint I express is concentrated on the clinical chemistry segment of the diagnostics arena.