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Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a major cause of persistent and long-term environmental pollution. In this paper, two bacterial isolates Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BSM-1) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BSM-2) were isolated from municipal solid soil and used for polymer degradation studies. The microbial degradation LDPE was analyzed by dry weight reduction of LDPE film, change in pH of culture media, CO2 estimation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fourier transform infrared FTIR spectroscopy of the film surface. SEM analysis revealed that both the strains were exhibiting adherence and growth with LDPE which used as a sole carbon source while FTIR images showed various surface chemical changes after 60 days of incubation. Bacterial isolates showed the depolymerization of biodegraded products in the extracellular media indicating the biodegradation process. BSM-2 exhibited better degradation than BSM-1 which proves the potentiality of these strains to degrade LDPE films in a short span of time.

Objective: Gelatin is widely used biopolymer in various industries due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability properties. In the present study, gelatin was extracted from fish wastes, as an alternative source.Methods: This biopolymer was extracted from the scales of freshwater fish, Labeo rohita. After extraction, the proximate analysis and physicochemical analysis of the fish scale gelatin were carried out. This functional polymer was also characterized using different analytical methods, such as UV-vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for the evaluation of crystalline and surface morphology, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for structural determination. Results:The scales of L. rohita yield 24% (dry weight basis) of gelatin, indicating this fish species as potential source of gelatin. The proximate analysis determined was low moisture content (4.2%), ash (1.4%) and high protein (90%) content. The result of the study confirms the effectiveness of extraction method used. Conclusion:The fish scales of L. rohita are found to be a sustainable and renewable source of gelatin with desirable functionalities and it is the best alternative for mammalian gelatin in food and other industries.

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Synthesizing conductive nanocomposites (NCs) for realizing an ultrasensitive biosensor is a prevalent technological thrust. Herein, a simple and unusual design of a sensing platform is documented using electrochemically reduced graphene oxide/titanium disulfide nanocomposite (erGO/TiS 2 NC) for detection of ascorbic acid (AA): a significant neurobiological molecule. The NC is designed via sonolysis of a solution comprising ex situsynthesized GO and TiS 2 and subsequently electrochemically reduced for fabricating the sensing interface. Advanced analytical studies are carried out to support the construction of the erGO/TiS 2 //glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Under the optimal measuring conditions, the sensor offers two linear responses within (i) 0.1 → 1 μM, a limit of detection (LoD) of 30.2 nM (S/N = 3) and a sensitivity of 0.34 μA•μM −1 •cm −2 , and (ii) 1 → 400 μM, a LoD of 91.4 nM and a sensitivity of 0.11 μA•μM −1 •cm −2 for AA. Moreover, the sensor demonstrates high selectivity toward AA over other bioanalytes except for tiny anodic responses of cysteine (7.5%) and dopamine (8.9%). Finally, the practicability of the proposed sensor has been tested for AA in pharmaceutical and human urine samples and validated by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS). Overall, the sensor demonstrates satisfactory reliability for recovery of AA and can be considered for the diagnosis of clinical samples.