A large variety of engineered nanostructures possessing enzyme-like activities have been proposed recently, which unique physical-chemical characteristics enable remarkable technological advances. In this review, we survey recent advances on nanozymes...

Therapeutic intervention to skin wounds requires covering the affected area with wound dressings. Interdisciplinary efforts have focused on the development of smart bandages that can perform multiple functions. In this direction, here, we designed a low cost (U$0.012 per cm 2 ) multifunctional therapeutic wound dressing fabricated by loading curcumin (CC) into poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) nanofibers using solution blow spinning (SBS). The freestanding PCL/CC bandages were characterized by distinct physicochemical approaches and were successful in performing varied functions, including controlled release of CC, colorimetric indication of the wound conditions, barrier against microorganisms, being biocompatible, and providing a photosensitive platform for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT). The chemical nature of PCL and CC and the interactions between these components allowed CC to be released for 192 h (ca. 8 days), which could be correlated with the Korsmeyer−Peppas model, with a burst release suitable to treat the inflammatory phase. Due to the CC keto−enol tautomerism, an optical indication of the healing status could be obtained using PCL/CC, which occurred immediately, ranging between red/orange and yellow shades. The effect against pathogenic microorganisms evaluated by agar disc-diffusion, affected skin wound simulation (ex vivo), and microbial penetration tests demonstrated the ability to block and inhibit microbial permeation in different environments. The biocompatibilities of PCL and PCL/CC were verified by in vitro cytotoxicity study, which demonstrated that cell viabilities average above 94 and 96% for human dermal fibroblasts. In addition, the proposed bandage responded to aPDT applied to an in vivo assay, showing that, when irritated, PCL/CC was able to reduce the bacteria present on the real wound of mice. In summary, our findings demonstrate that using PCL and CC to produce nonwovens by the SBS technique offers potential for the rapid fabrication of biocompatible and multifunctional wound dressings, paving the way for large-scale production and utilization of such dressings in the treatment of skin wounds.

For the quantification and ranking of sustainablility reliable indicators are needed in the economic, social and environmental areas. For this, decision-making methods have been used to identify and rank the most important indicators. However, it is important to know which method to use, since this choice can modify the result. Therefore, two methods of multi-criteria decision making were evaluated: Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and TOPSIS with Hierarchical Analytical Process (AHP). It was observed a difference between the methods tested, where the TOPSIS-AHP method presented better performance as a function of the weights assigned by the specialists. The research results demonstrated which countries have a more balanced sustainable development in environmental, social and economic levels together. In this case, the three most sustainable countries are Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. Additionally this research shows which countries are more sustainable taking into account each indicator separately. It is expected that the results provide a basis in decision-making and it contribute to the best choices in all aspects of sustainability.

The increasing concern about water contamination has led to the search for easy, low-cost, and efficient approaches for wastewater treatment. In this regard, the precise preparation and proper utilization of emerging nanomaterials can be key in achieving technologies with superior performance for pollutant adsorption and filtration systems. Herein, poly(lactic acid) (PLA) membranes fabricated by solution blow spinning (SBS) technique were coated with Zein (sample PLA-Zein) and then sprayed-modified with molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ), yielding the nanocomposite PLA-Zein/MoS 2 . A post-modification method using spraying was preferred because it is a simple, low-cost, and rapid strategy to modify the surface of the SBS fibers. Specifically, distinct morphologies of MoS 2 were obtained using bulk (no treatment), top-down (TD; milling and ultrasonic processing), and bottom-up (BU; hydrothermal synthesis) routes. A detailed morphological and physical−chemical characterization of MoS 2 nanoflakes and composite membranes was carried out, confirming successful modification of the PLA fiber surface. The different morphologies of MoS 2 (obtained by bulk, TD, and BU routes) led to different kinetics, isotherm, and adsorption capacity toward methylene blue (MB; used as a model). The removal efficiencies of composite membranes were 19.7% for PLA, 34.5% for PLA-Zein, 39.8% for PLA-Zein/TD, and 98.2% for PLA-Zein/BU. The obtained results indicated that BU MoS 2 nanoflakes used to modify the submicrometric fibers reached an MB adsorption capacity of 111.2 mg g −1 . The MoS 2 high adsorption capacity combined with the fiber membranes' interconnected pores and facile modification strategy make the PLA-Zein/MoS 2 fiber composites particularly suitable for high-performance adsorbent membranes to be employed in filtration systems for water pollutant remediation.