Sasikumar Swamiappan

Vellore Institute of Technology · Chemistry

Over the last decade, bioactive silicates have gained significant interest as bone graft substitutes due to their excellent ability to repair, replace, and regenerate damaged tissue in injured bone. In this work, a sol–gel combustion route was used to synthesize nanostructured barium-doped diopside (Ca1-XBaXMgSi2O6) using stoichiometric amounts of...

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that is endemic in tropical and subtropical areas. Its diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and control, particularly in resource-limited settings where the disease burden is high. Various diagnostic methods are available. However, these methods are associated with low accuracy, efficiency or accessibi...

Inorganic nanoparticles (INPs) and nanomaterials (NMs) have a range of applications in various industries, including agriculture. Their small size, high surface-to-volume ratio, and unique physical and chemical properties make them suitable for use in different agricultural sectors. These materials have been recognized for their potential as nanofe...

Silicate bioceramics has an integrative advantage over metallic and polymeric biomaterials that have been widely employed for the reclamation of recreating the injured bone tissues. This advantage allows silicate bioceramics to replace damaged bone tissues in a natural way. The current study attempts the development of rankinite from eggshell and r...

Merwinite synthesized using different fuels were characterised using TGA-DTA, FTIR, SEM/EDX, and TEM/EDX. In vitro biomineralisation assay using simulated body fluid (SBF) as the mineralisation medium showed that both glycine and citric acid sets exhibited good HAp nucleation ability, with glycine sets showing higher degree of HAp nucleation. Mecha...

The primary research interests in this area of materials science are focused on discovering a potential biomaterial. The need for biomaterial in biomedical applications has been massive in hard tissue engineering due to the significant spike in human bone diseases and bone injuries. In the last 30 years, scientists have achieved great progress in t...

The poor biomechanical properties of hydroxyapatite are the major demerits that limit its application in bone tissue engineering to repair critical bone defects. The current study aims to prepare sodium‐substituted Hap samples by using a time‐saving combustion route. Both 5 %Na‐Hap and 10 %Na‐Hap scaffolds together with Hap was analysed by XRD, FTI...

One of the challenges in agriculture practices is guaranteeing an adequate and bioavailable phosphorus supply for plants on phosphorus-deficient soils. A promising alternative lies in the utilization of phosphate nano-fertilizers (NFs) through spray applications. Therefore, this short-term study aimed to investigate the yet undetermined widespread...

Bioactive silicates have gained popularity as bone graft substitutes in recent years due to their exceptional ability to bind to host tissues. The current study investigates the effect of changing the metal ion-to-fuel ratio on the properties and biological activity of monticellite prepared via the sol–gel connived combustion technique. Single-phas...

Citation: Ernst, D.; Kolenčík, M.; Šebesta, M.;Ďurišová, L'.;Ďúranová, H.; Kšiňan, S.; Illa, R.; Safarik, I.; Cerný, I.; Kratošová, G.; et al. Agronomic Investigation of Spray Dispersion of Metal-Based Nanoparticles on Sunflowers in Real-World Environments. Plants 2023, 12, 1789. https://doi. Abstract: In environmental and agronomic settings, even...

Background Detection of circulating anodic antigen (CAA) is known for its high sensitivity in diagnosing schistosomiasis infection, even in low-prevalence settings. The Up-Converting Phosphor-Lateral Flow (UCP-LF) assay developed in 2008 presented greater sensitivity than other assay methods in use for CAA detection. Aim Our study aims to comprehe...

The current investigation deals with the simple and ecological synthesis of CaO, MgO, CaTiO3, and MgTiO3 for the photocatalytic dilapidation of rhodamine B dye. CaO was procured from chicken eggshell waste by calcination process, while MgO was produced by solution combustion method using urea as a fuel source. Furthermore, CaTiO3 and MgTiO3 were sy...

In the realm of tissue engineering, it is extremely difficult to construct physiologically functional surgical implants that are also significantly resistant to bacterial infections. The current study investigates the influence of on the biomedical applications of tertiary silicate bioceramics (akermanite and merwinite). The sol–gel combustion proc...

Significant interest has been inspired by the exceptional biological performance of akermanite bioceramic in tissue engineering. This exertion investigates effect of fuel on the biomineralisation using three different fuels viz., glycine, L-alanine, and urea. The materials were prepared through sol-gel combustion method by using Glycine, L Alanine...

Heavy metals (HM) toxicity is becoming a major threat to living organisms in recent years due to the increase in population and anthropogenic activities. Lead (Pb) shares about 10% of total pollution produced by heavy metals. The uptake of lead by the primary producers (plants) is found to affect their metabolic functions, growth, and photosyntheti...

Here we present a simple, effective, energy efficient method for the production of single phasic strontium orthosilicate (Sr2SiO4) powders at (1000 ⁰C) low phase formation temperature using sol-gel combustion method. Detailed phase evaluation is investigated. The influence of different fuels on the synthesis of strontium orthosilicate also discusse...

The heterogeneous catalyst plays an important role in the production of biodiesel at industrial level. In present work, the utilization of wollastonite as a heterogeneous catalyst is attempted to explore its non-biomedical application. Wollastonite was synthesized by using the auto combustion method and L-alanine was used as a fuel for combustion....

The current study focuses on the photocatalytic degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) dye using Larnite, Forsterite, and Strontium orthosilicate ceramics under UV light irradiation. Using glycine as a fuel, an energy-efficient solution combustion method was used to obtain the respective silicate materials. Powder XRD, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and BET were emplo...

Calcium/magnesium/strontium silicate ceramics have received considerable attention in biomedical applications as an alternative to calcium phosphates. In this study, a new strontium zinc silicate ceramic powder Sr-Hardystonite (Sr2ZnSi2O7) was prepared by citric acid-succinic acid assisted glowing combustion method. The dried precursor gel obtained...

Lead is a prevalent heavy metal that pollutes the environment and accumulates in the human body via absorption, bioavailability, bioconcentration, and biomagnification disrupts the neurological, skeletal, reproductive, hematopoietic, renal, and cardiovascular systems. Lead's distinctive physical and chemical characteristics make it ideal for a vari...

Bioactive silicates have transpired as valuable biomaterials for hard tissue engineering applications owing to their bioactivity, biocompatibility and osteogenic activity. The compositions of ceramics are found to be the main reason for stimulating bone growth. To achieve the desired product for 100% clinical success, it is necessary to understand...

Release kinetics of a drug from the ceramic drug delivery carrier depends on various parameters such as nature of the ceramic, binder, porosity of the ceramics, particle size of the ceramic and, solubility as well as nature of the drug. In the present study effect of formulation on the release kinetics of the drug from hydroxyapatite, the carrier w...

The conversion of waste product into a valuable material can significantly reduce the environmental pollution. In present study, eggshell waste was utilized to synthesize larnite (Ca2SiO4) at 850 °C via sol‐gel assisted combustion method. TG/DSC, FT‐IR, XRD and SEM/EDX were utilized to characterize the larnite sample. The biomineralization study cl...

The current work reports the biocompatibility and mechanical stability of enstatite and forsterite bioceramics prepared by sol–gel combustion method. XRD results conferred that enstatite and forsterite phase formation take place at 1000 °C and 900 °C respectively. TEM micrographs indicated the particle size of enstatite in the micron range while fo...

Merwinite undrapes proficient characters like profound mechanical strength, cytocompatibility, cell proliferation and osteointegration. Merwinite was prepared through solution combustion technique by using glycine, urea and citric acid as fuels. Pure phases of merwinite were achieved at 900 °C in which citric acid resulted in 23–28 nm crystals wher...

Biocompatibility and bacterial infections are the primary concerns associated with the current bone graft substitutes. The application of wollastonite-based scaffolds for bone tissue engineering becomes a novel subject of interest. In the present study, a single phasic wollastonite scaffold was synthesised using citric acid-based sol–gel combustion...

Monticellite is a calcium-magnesium based material with better bioactivity, high mechanical strength, cytocompatibility and osteointegration. Sol-gel assisted combustion technique was adopted to prepare pure monticellite phase by using three different fuels (citric acid, glycine and urea). The influence of different fuels on material properties of...

Nanocrystalline forsterite (Mg2SiO4) was synthesized with the support of sol-gel aided combustion method using citric acid as a fuel. Magnesium nitrate, tetraethyl orthosilicate were taken as the source of magnesium and silica respectively. The as-synthesized forsterite material was characterized by powder XRD for phase evolution and the functional...

The current investigation aims to replace the synthetic starting materials with biowaste to synthesize and explore three different silicate bioceramics. Pure silica from rice husk was extracted by decomposition of rice husk in muffle furnace followed by alkali treatment and acid precipitation. Raw eggshell and extracted silica were utilized for the...

Hydroxyapatite is a versatile compound resembling natural bone mineral. HAP insinuates feasibility with substitution ensuing in its application in various fields. The properties of calcium and strontium are cognate and pose as a bone-seeking trace-element that accumulates in new trabecular bone. Strontium substituted hydroxyapatite, Ca9.5Sr0.5(OH)2...

Gellan-chitosan (GC) incorporated with CS: 0% (GC-0 CS), 10% (GC-10 CS), 20% (GC-20 CS) or 40% (GC-40 CS) w/w was prepared using freeze-drying method to investigate its physicochemical, biocompatible, and osteoinductive properties in human bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells (hBMSCs). The composition of different groups was reflected in physicoch...

The multidisciplinary attribute of biomaterials requires scientists to contrive and concoct the material, engineers to design and fabricate the prosthesis, and physicians to swot the response of natural tissues on artificial biomaterials implanted in the body. In this present experiment, energy efficient sol-gel combustion method has been adopted f...

Bioceramics based on the CaO-MgO-SiO2 system, are frequently applied to stimulate bone regeneration due to their bioactivity, controlled bioresorbability rate, biocompatibility, and improved mechanical properties. In this contribution, bioceramic materials; diopside (CaMgSi2O6), akermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7), and merwinite (Ca3MgSi2O8) were synthesized t...

Photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye by using Larnite (2CaO.SiO2), Forsterite (2MgO.SiO2), and Diopside (CaO.MgO.2SiO2) under sunlight was investigated in this study. The silicate materials under catalytic examination were synthesized by the sol-gel assisted combustion route and further characterized by UV-visible Diffuse Reflectan...

This article presents the preparation and antibacterial activity of larnite bioceramics, an active calcium silicate ceramic material having the molecular formula Ca2SiO4. A stepwise sol–gel combustion approach was used to prepare the single phasic larnite. The synthesis of larnite was carried out with calcium nitrate tetrahydrate as a source of cal...

Photocatalytic degradation of Methylene Blue (MB) dye by using Larnite (2CaO.SiO2), Forsterite (2MgO.SiO2), and Diopside (CaO.MgO.2SiO2) under sunlight was investigated in this study. The silicate materials under catalytic examination were synthesized by the sol‐gel assisted combustion route and further characterized by UV‐visible Diffuse Reflectan...

The objective of designing a biocompatible and mechanically stable scaffold for hard tissue regeneration was achieved by fabricating diopside/forsterite composites. Superior mechanical strength, slow degradation, excellent antibacterial activity and good cell viability were attained with the increase in forsterite ratio in the composites whereas ap...

The current investigation aims to replace the synthetic starting materials with biowaste to synthesize and explore three different silicate bioceramics. Pure silica from rice husk was extracted by decomposition of rice husk in muffle furnace followed by alkali treatment and acid precipitation. Raw eggshell and extracted silica were utilized for the...

This work is aimed to develop a biocompatible, bactericidal and mechanically stable biomaterial to overcome the challenges associated with calcium phosphate bioceramics. The influence of chemical composition on synthesis temperature, bioactivity, antibacterial activity and mechanical stability of least explored calcium silicate bioceramics was stud...

The objective of the current study was to design a bioactive and mechanically stable ceramic/polymer cement for repairing bone defects. Solvent casting method was utilized to prepare porous diopside/PMMA scaffolds. The characteristic functional groups associated with diopside and PMMA in the composites were confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. Scanning...

Bone is a self‐engineered structural component of the human body with multifaceted mechanical strength which provides indomitable support to the effective functioning of the human body. It is indispensable to find a suitable biomaterial for substituting the bone as the bone substitute material requirement is very high due to the rate of bone fractu...

Bioceramics used in hard tissue engineering applications should primarily meet the criteria of mechanical strength and apatite mineralisation of natural bone. In such a scenario, designing of bioceramic composites is inevitable as calcium silicates possess good apatite deposition ability and magnesium silicates show excellent mechanical stability....

Sol-gel combustion method was employed for the synthesis of monticellite (CaMgSiO4) ceramic powders using various fuels. Citric acid, succinic acid, tartaric acid, sucrose, urea, glycine, and L-alanine were used as fuels. Influence of calcination temperature on the phase evolution was investigated. Prepared monticellite powders were characterized u...

The present work deals with a comparative study of ceramic/ceramic composites for the development of scaffolds for biomedical applications. Wollastonite and forsterite were synthesized by a sol–gel combustion method. The influence of constituents and composition on apatite deposition was studied by fabricating wollastonite/forsterite composites. Th...

This work reports on the preparation and characterization of mesoporous nano diopside (CaMgSi2O6) using a simple and cost-effective sol-gel combustion route. Stoichiometric oxidant/fuel ratio was adopted for the combustion reaction. Eggshell was used as a calcium source, glycine (fuel) as reductant, magnesium nitrate and nitric acid as oxidant were...

It has been demonstrated that nanocrystalline forsterite powder synthesised using urea as a fuel in sol-gel combustion method had produced a pure forsterite (FU) and possessed superior bioactive characteristics such as bone apatite formation and antibacterial properties. In the present study, 3D-scaffold was fabricated using nanocrystalline forster...

Cell viability. Presto blue cell viability measurement of hBMSCs seeded on FU scaffold, cBS and monolayer (baseline control) on day 1, 7 and 14. The presto blue absorbance readings on day 7 and 14 of FU scaffold, cBS and monolayer were corrected by subtracting the day 1 presto blue absorbance readings of the respective groups. (PDF)

Expression of osteogenic genes. Quantitative gene expression of osteogenic genes during the differentiation process from day 1 to day 14 of the hBMSCs seeded on FU scaffold and cBS was studied using a qPCR technique. The gene expression outcomes were normalised with GAPDH (housekeeping gene) and fold-change for day 7 and 14 calculated by using day...

Expression of osteogenic proteins. The Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and Osteocalcin (OC) concentration in media harvested from culture of hBMSCs seeded FU scaffolds and cBS were measured on day 1, 7, 14 and 21 using ELISA technique. (PDF)

Isotype controls. The isotype controls for CD34, CD105, CD73, CD90, CD45 and CD44 were used to differentiate non-specific background signal from specific antibody signal. (TIF)

Sequence of forward and reverse primers. Primers for ALP, BMP2, OPN, RUNX2, OC, ON and GAPDH (housekeeping) were designed using NCBI database for qPCR analysis. (TIF)

Osteogenic differentiation protein analysis using confocal. The intra- and/or extra-cellular proteins expressed by hBMSCs seeded onto FU scaffold and cBS on day 1 and 14 were imaged using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and the images were analysed using Image-J analysis software. The data were presented as corrected total cell fluorescen...

Hydroxyapatite is the inorganic constituent present in the bone and it is used as a drug delivery carrier in hard tissue regeneration applications. Hydroxyapatite was prepared by simple precipitation technique and the effect of experimental parameters on the phase formation was studied. Calcium nitrate tetra hydrate and diammonium hydrogen phosphat...

In the current work, forsterite samples with different surface area were investigated for its antibacterial activity. Dissolution studies show that the lower degradation of forsterite compared to other silicate bioceramics, which is a desirable property for repairing bone defects. Forsterite scaffold shows superior compressive strength than the cor...

In today's digital age to feed this ever increasing population there is a high demand for more production of food. To meet this task, artificial hormones are being used to increase the production of milk and meat. In this review, we address the controversial issue of adverse effects of hormones being administered in cattle. Oestradiol, Progesterone...

In today's digital age to feed this ever increasing population there is a high demand for more production of food. To meet this task, artificial hormones are being used to increase the production of milk and meat. In this review, we address the controversial issue of adverse effects of hormones being administered in cattle. Oestradiol, Progesterone...

The tablet form of microspheres for oral drug delivery system was prepared by the phase separation method by using the blends of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and corn starch in different ratios. Ciprofloxacin hydrochloride was used as a model drug to study the sustained release of drug from the vehicle. The as prepared microspheres were characterized...

This study presents different fuels (Glycine and Urea) that can be used to synthesize nanocrystalline forsterite by the sol-gel combustion method. The weight change of precursor during thermal treatment was studied by ther-mo-gravimetric analysis (TGA). Pure forsterite was characterized by heating microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscop...

Presently, various approaches have been exploited in the prolongation of gastric residence time which includes floating drug delivery system (FDDS), swelling and expanding systems, bio-adhesive systems, modified shape systems and high density systems. Among various methods, floating drug delivery system is considered to be a predominant method. Gas...

Purpose: Floating drug delivery system reduces the quantity of drug intake and the risk of overloading the organs with excess drug. Methods: In the present study, we prepared the blends of sodium alginate with polyethylene glycol (PEG) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a matrix, sodium hydrogen carbonate as a pore forming agent, methyl cellulose as...

Larnite (Ca2SiO4) was synthesized by the sol–gel combustion process by using raw eggshell powder as a calcium source and urea as a fuel. The main focus of this work is to convert biowaste into a biomedical material at a low-processing temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirms the phase purity of the larnite and Fourier transform infrare...