Nosocomial infections, termed hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), are acquired from a healthcare or hospital setting. HAI is mainly caused by bacteria, such as Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Enterococci spp., Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and many more. Due to growing antibacterial resistance, nanotechnology has paved the way for more potent and sensitive methods of detecting and treating bacterial infections. Nanoparticles have been used with molecular beacons for identifying bactericidal activities, targeting drug delivery, and anti-fouling coatings, etc. This review addresses the looming threat of nosocomial infections, with a focus on the Indian scenario, and major initiatives taken by medical bodies and hospitals in spreading awareness and training. Further, this review focuses on the potential role nanotechnology can play in combating the spread of these infections.

There is an urgent requirement of replacing the environmentally hazardous petroleum‐based plastics with sustainable and efficient starch‐based bioplastics. Development and detailed characterization of the biodegradable bioplastics from plant‐based polysaccharides such as starch is essential to reduce plastic pollution in the environment. In this research, bioplastics were developed from an equivalent blend of starch from two different sources namely rice and potato (1:1, w/w), crosslinked with different concentrations of citric acid (CA). The effect of CA cross‐linking of starch‐based bioplastics was investigated on its physicochemical and functional properties. The X‐ray diffraction (XRD) spectra revealed that the synthesized bioplastics were amorphous in nature with broad diffraction peaks. Further, the peak at 1716 cm−1 in Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated the formation of ester bonds in CA cross‐linked bioplastics. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the surface roughness of the bioplastics decreased with increasing concentration of CA. Mechanical and thermal properties of bioplastics were characterized using universal testing machine, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively.

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A new asymptotically correct contact model has been developed for conical tip based atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanoindentation. This new model provides both elastic and nonspecific adhesion properties of cells and soft gels by taking sample thickness at the point of indentation and its depth of indentation into consideration. The bottom substrate effect (BSE) is the most common source of error in the study of "AFM force maps" of the cellular sample. The present model incorporates an asymptotically correct correction term as a function of depth of indentation to eliminate the substrate effect in the analysis. Later, the model is extended to analyze the unloading portion of the indentation curve to extract the stiffness and adhesive properties simultaneously. A comparative study of the estimated material properties using other established contact models shows that the provided corrections effectively curb the errors coming from infinite thickness assumption. Nonspecific adhesive nature of a cell is represented in terms of adhesion parameter (γa) based on the "work of adhesion," this is an alternative to the peak value of tip-sample attractive (negative) force commonly used as representative adhesion measurement. The simple analytical expression of the model can help in estimating more realistic and accurate biomechanical properties of cells from atomic force microscopy based indentation technique.

Hole drilling in Ti6Al4V titanium alloy is challenging due to its poor machinability resulting from high-temperature strength and low thermal conductivity. Therefore, an evaluation of the helical milling process is carried out by comparing the thrust force, surface roughness, machining temperature, burr size, and hole diametrical accuracy with the conventional drilling process. The results indicate the advantage of the helical milling in terms of the lower magnitude of thrust force. The holes generated using helical milling displayed a superior surface finish at lower axial feed conditions, while higher axial feed conditions result in chatter due to the tool deformation. Also, the absence of a heat-affected zone (HAZ) under dry helical milling conditions indicates the work surface formation without thermal damage. Besides, a significant reduction in the size of the burrs is noted during helical milling due to lower machining temperature. Analysis of the hole diameter reinforces the capability of the helical milling process for processing H7 quality holes. Consequently, helical milling can be considered a sustainable alternative to mechanical drilling, considering its ability to machine quality holes under dry machining conditions.