Designing a colorimetric nanosensor based on dithizone and cholesteric liquid crystals loaded in electrospun cellulose acetate nanofibers: Monitoring the quality of pistachio as a case study

Abstract

We describe colorimetric electrospun nanosensors designed to work at temperatures of 35-36 C. The mode of operations is based on a combination of the ability of dithizone to exhibit appropriate color and cholesteric liquid crystals presenting a wide range of melting points at various mixing ratios. To this end, different levels of dithizone (IUPAC name 1-anilino-3-phenyliminothiourea), different ratios of cholesteric liquid crystals to cellulose acetate and cholesteryl oleyl carbonate to cholesteryl nanoate were defined as independent variables and the total color difference was considered as the response in the response surface methodology approach. The results showed that the range of color palette changes of the designed samples was diverse and could be applied to different products. As a case study, the applicability of the sensor was evaluated on the 4-month shelf life of pistachio nuts at 35 C whilst the spoilage criteria were reconciled with the color changes in the designed sensor.

Antimicrobial Activities of Polyethylene Terephthalate-Waste-Derived Nanofibrous Membranes Decorated with Green Synthesized Ag Nanoparticles

“…Up to now, several electrospun nanofibers have been fabricated from a wide variety of polymeric materials, including a polymer/inorganic nanocomposite based on both natural and synthetic polymers [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Nanosensors [ 16 , 17 ], controlled drug delivery systems [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], wound healing [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], tissue engineering [ 26 , 27 , 28 ], energy devices [ 29 ], filtration [ 30 , 31 ], distillation [ 32 , 33 ], and the determination of environmental pollutants and photocatalysts [ 34 , 35 ] are some of the applications of electrospun nanofibers and nanofibrous membranes. Today, electrospun nanofibers incorporated with antibacterial agents are widely used for antimicrobial applications due to their enhanced antimicrobial performance compared to traditional antimicrobial materials [ 36 ].…”