No abstract

Diatoms are a prolific class of single-celled photosynthetic microalgae, pervasive in aquatic habitats. More than 10 000 species of diatoms are widespread in the world and primarily sustain the food chain in marine ecosystems. An individual diatom has evolved with species-specific distinct microporous to nanoporous rigid siliceous cell walls or frustules. Exceptionally intricate pore patterns of frustules originate from the hierarchical arrangements of silica sheets. Astonishing intrinsic features of diatom frustules, such as chemical inertness, large surface area, mechanical strength, ordered 3D micropatterning to nanopatterning of pores, distinctive optical properties, biocompatibility, etc., have been tailored to utilize them in numerous applications including biomedicine, separation technology, sensing, photonics, energy conversion, and storage. The advantage of biosilica over synthetic nanoporous silica materials for their application in nanotechnology lies in its cost-effective production through in vivo biomineralization that circumvents the usage of hazardous chemicals. Various chemical and biological approaches have been implemented for surface modification, structure mimics, integration, and conversion of diatom silica shells without altering their structural attributes to manufacture nanostructured smart materials with a diverse heterogeneity. Diatom silica shells thus have gained prodigious attention as powerful tools in nanotechnology. We follow an insightful approach in this Review to deal with all different types of applications of diatom silica shells in diverse areas and associated strategies to improve their aptness to fabricate new materials or devices.

Laccase is regarded as an efficacious eco-friendly enzyme in various industries.

The number of food delivery apps users has increased nowadays due to the recent global pandemic situation of the coronavirus outbreak. Food delivery apps bring many benefits to the students and catering business. This paper aims to study the impact of food delivery apps on customer perceived value among university students. A quantitative approach was used in this study. Cross-sectional design used as the design of the study and the data will be gathered at one point in a time. Questionnaires used to collect the data from all respondents. The respondents were university students with the number of samples as many as 101 people. The results found how food delivery applications had an impact on customer perceived value among university students in Malaysia during the pandemic and it can be said that respondents gave a lot of positive feedback on food delivery service, where they believed in the products and service provided.