Recent Patents on Nanotechnology - Current Issue

The world is currently facing a growing concern regarding freshwater scarcity, which has arisen as a result of a complex interplay of various factors. Renewable energy-powered water desalination is a feasible solution to address freshwater scarcity.

This patent study presents a comprehensive investigation of the performance of a conventional solar still (CSS) and its modified versions, such as a still with copper plates, a still with PCM and a still with PCM and 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blend. The experiments were carried out concurrently under identical circumstances for the CSS and the proposed stills. Prior to usage, the CuO nanoparticles and their blend with PCM were characterized through various analyses.

The investigation showcased the copper plate attached solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM significantly improved the distillate production, achieving approximately 6.85 kg/m²/day. This represents an increment of approximately 23.42% compared to the still with copper plate and PCM and 69.14% related to the CSS.

Moreover, the solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM demonstrated a thermal efficiency of 74.23% and an exergy efficiency of 9.75%. The production cost of distillate for all four stills remained at $0.03 per kg. These findings highlight the effectiveness of the proposed copper plate attached solar still with 3 wt% CuO nanoparticles blended with PCM as a viable method for producing potable water.

This article describes the use of graphite (Gr) and boron carbide (B4C) as multiple nanoparticle reinforcements in LM25 aluminum alloy. Because boron carbide naturally absorbs neutron radiation, aluminium alloy reinforced with boron carbide metal matrix composite has gained interest in nuclear shielding applications. The primary goal of the endeavor is to create composite materials with high wear resistance, high microhardness, and high ultimate tensile strength for use in nuclear applications. Patents on Gr and B4C can cover a wide range of subjects, including the synthesis and production methods of structural, armor materials, abrasives, and nuclear shielding.

Science and Technology have brought a vast change to human life. The human burden has been minimized by the use of innovation in developing new and innovative technologies. To improve the quality of human life, fresh, lightweight, and creative materials are being used, which play a vital role in science and technology and reduce the human workload. Composite materials made of metal are being used because they are lightweight. Neutron absorption, high ultimate strength, high wear resistance, high microhardness, high thermal and electrical conductivity, high vacuum environmental resistance, and low coefficient of thermal expansion under static and dynamic conditions are all demands for the hybrid metal matrix composites utilized in nuclear applications.

Stir casting is used to create the novel LM 25 aluminum alloy/graphite and boron carbide hybrid nanocomposites. The mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, percentage of elongation, microhardness, and wear behavior are calculated. Three analyses are performed: microstructure, worn surface analysis, and fracture analysis of the tensile specimen.

(1) Stir casting process. (2) Tensile, hardness, wear test. (3) Materials characterization – FESEM, optical microscopy, EDS.

The mechanical properties values are 308.76 MPa, 293.51 MPa, 7.8, 169.2 VHN, and 0.01854 mm³/m intended for ultimate tensile strength, yield strength, percentage of elongation, microhardness, and wear behavior, respectively. This implies that the synthesized composite may be used in nuclear applications successfully.

The subsequent explanation was drawn from this investigative work: The LM 25/B4C/Gr hybrid nanocomposite was successfully manufactured by employing the stir casting technique. For nuclear shielding applications, these composites were prepared with three different weight percentages of nanoparticle reinforcements in 2,4,6% Boron carbide and constant 4 wt.% graphite. The microhardness values of the three-hybrid nanocomposite fabricated castings were determined to be 143.4VHN, 156.7VHN, and 169.2VHN, respectively. The hybrid nano composite's microstructure revealed that the underlying LM 25 aluminum alloy matrix's fine-grained, evenly dispersed nanoparticles of graphite and boron carbide were present. The microtensile test was carried out and it was found that the ultimate tensile strength, yield strength and percentage of elongation values are 281.35MPa, 296.52MPa, 308.76MPa, 269.43, 274.69, 293.51 and 3.4, 5.7, 7.8 respectively. Deformation caused the hybrid LM 25/B4C/Gr nanocomposite to fracture in ductile mode. Dimples and cavities are seen in the fracture because of the nanoparticle reinforcements and the matrix's tight connection. The wear loss of nanocomposite based on the input parameter applied load, sliding velocity and sliding distance values are 0.02456, 0.02189, 0.01854, 0.02892, 0.02586, 0.02315 and 0.02682, 0.02254, 0.02015 mm³/m, respectively. The LM 25 alloy's elemental analysis displays the aluminum alloy phase as the largest peak and the remaining elements as smaller peaks; also, the spectral analysis reveals the presence of boron (B), graphite (C), silicon, and ferrous in the aluminum alloy LM 25. Through worn surface FESEM investigation, it was shown that under sliding and high load situations, debris, delamination, and groove develop. Further rupture, fine, and continuous grooves were seen when low stress and sliding circumstances were applied to the LM 25/B4C/Gr and stir cast specimen. This result implies the presence of mild adhesive and delamination wear processes.

Two-phase hybrid mode thermal interface materials were created and characterized for mechanical properties, thermal conductivity, and wear behaviour. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this current research was to use alkali-treated glass fibre and other allotropes to produce high-performance two-phase thermal interface materials that can be patented for engineering applications.

Three different polymer composites were prepared to contain 20 vol.% alkalies (NaOH) treated e-glass fibre (E) and epoxy as a matrix with varying proportions of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), graphene (G), copper oxide (C). The one-phase material contained epoxy+20%e-glass+1%MWCNT (EMGC1), the two-phase hybrid composite contained epoxy+20%e-glass+1%MWCNT+1%graphene+1%CuO (EMGC2), and two-phase material contained epoxy+20%e-glass+1%graphene+1%CuO (EMGC3). Vacuum bagging method was used for fabricating the composites.

The higher thermal conductivity observed was 0.3466 W/mK for EMGC2, the alkali-treated glass fibre/hybrid mode nanofillers epoxy matrix composite was mechanically tougher than the other two composites (EMGC1 & EMGC3). Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed the fine filler dispersion and homogenous interaction with the glass fibre/epoxy resin composite of the upper and lower zone, which also revealed the defective zone, fibre elongation, fibre/filler breakages, and filler leached surfaces.

Finally, it was concluded that the hybrid mode two-phased structure EMGC2 epoxy matrix composite replicated the maximum thermal conductivity, mechanical properties, and wear properties of the other two specimens.

Recently, progress has been made toward understanding the efficiency of polymer composites with natural fibres. With the hope of enhancing the characteristics of polymer composites supplemented with natural fibres in a watery environment, TiO2 nanoparticles have been used to improve their performance in the field.

These nanoparticles were filled in luffa-epoxy components at 1, 3, and 5% volume fractions. A combination of çx-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was utilized to conduct the structural examinations. The nanoparticle spread was captured by field emission scanning electron microscopy.

Results show that dry nanocomposite's tensile strength and modulus have increased by 74% and, 13%, 137%, and 50% compared with epoxy and 40 vol% luffa-epoxy (E/L) composites, respectively. In wet nanocomposites, maximum reduction in tensile strength and modulus were observed as 27.4% and 16.54%, respectively. The diminished water absorption and thickness swelling percentage of nanocomposites were recorded as 98% and 91.8%, respectively. The onset temperature of these nanocomposites was scattered in the range of 379-393°C, with a maximum char residue of 38%.

The increase in the percentage of residue indicates the effectiveness of epoxy's flame retardant, improved thermal stability, diminished water absorption (approximately 2%), and 95% retention of wet composites' tensile properties. These results provided data support for improving the application of nanocomposites in the automobile field and to develop possible patents on the new material development.

Milk contamination has been a longstanding global concern, with Heavy Metals (HM) like lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) posing significant risks. These contaminants often infiltrate milk through contaminated water sources or during pasteurization. This petent introduces a novel approach to detecting milk contaminants by analyzing the current–voltage (I-V) characteristics of copper (Cu) electrodes modified with gold nanoparticle (AuNPs).

Leveraging the exceptional conductivity of metal nanoparticles, electrons freely traverse the surface, facilitating electron movement across the copper substrate. Additionally, the nanoparticles serve as binding agents, aiding in the comparative detection of contaminants. This method enables the preliminary detection of two HM (As, Cd) by evaluating their current gains in milk supernatant samples at varying concentrations.

AuNPs deposited on Cu electrodes exhibited a linear I-V trend, with a significant increase in current compared to bare electrodes. Spiked milk supernatant drop cast on the electrode system displayed a current gain, which was evaluated towards sensing application of HM ions in milk. The synthesized AuNPs underwent initial characterization using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, revealing a prominent plasmonic peak around 520 nm, confirming nanoparticle formation. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed the Face-Centred Cubic (FCC) crystal structure.

Notably, different concentrations (1 and 10 ppm) and types of HM (As, Cd, Hg, and Pb) in milk supernatant yielded varying current gains, providing insights specifically targeting As and Cd contamination.

Thermal spray coatings have emerged as a pivotal technology in materials engineering, primarily for augmenting the characteristics related to wear and tribology of metallic substrates.

This study aims to develop into applying High-Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) thermal-sprayed WC-Co nanocoatings on Titanium Grade-5 alloy (Ti64). The coating process, utilizing nano-sized WC-Co powder, undergoes systematic optimization of HVOF parameters, encompassing the flow rate of carrier gas, powder feed rate, and nozzle distance. Experimental assessments via Pin-on-Disc (PoD) tests encompass Loss of Wear (WL), Friction Coefficient (CoF), and Frictional Force (FF). Later, an exhaustive optimization of responses is conducted using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method and the golden jack optimization algorithm (GJOA).

Outcomes show a substantial increase in WL, CoF, and FF with a rise in the carrier gas and powder feed rate. However, with increasing spraying distance of powder, the WL, CoF, and FF tend to lower due to higher bonding, which leads to increased wear resistance. The ideal parametric settings achieved from TOPSIS and GJOA are 245 mm of spray distance, 30 gpm rate of powder feed, and 11 lpm of carrier gas flow rate. The powder feed rate contributes 88.99% to the control action, as seen from ANOVA.

The confirmation experiment presents that the WL, CoF, and FF output responses are 42.33, 27.97, and 9.38% less than the mean of experimental data. These results highlight the HVOF process in spraying WC-Co nanocoatings to fortify the durability and performance of Ti64 alloy that can be patented for diverse engineering applications.

Rutin, often known as vitamin P, is a natural flavonoid compound, which offers a broad spectrum of therapeutic potentials. Rutin is metabolised to different compounds by the gut bacteria after consumption, therefore, very little is absorbed. Higher plants contribute to rutin synthesis in large quantities, and it may also be found in many fruits and fruity rinds, particularly citrus fruits and berries.

The present paper highlights several studies and patents conducted on rutin along with its nanoformulations regarding its broad spectrum of therapeutic potentials.

Numerous electronic databases, including Springer, PubMed, Science Direct, Pubchem, Google Patents etc. were searched to extract relevant published literature demonstrating rutin effectiveness in various ailments.

The reviewed literature showed that rutin and related flavonoids possess a variety of physiological properties that protects human beings, plants and animals. Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, cytoprotective, vasoprotective, anticarcinogenic, neuroprotective, cardioprotective, antibacterial, antiviral, antiprotozoal, antitumor, anti-hypertensive antiplatelet, antispasmodic and hypolipidemic, activities. Nanotechnology has been implemented for the improvement of the bioavailability of rutin using novel drug-delivery carriers.

The study concludes that the development of rutin nanoformulations for multiple therapeutic approaches contributes towards enhanced aqueous solubility as well as tailored pharmacokinetics compared to conventional delivery of rutin. However, more investigations should be conducted to confirm the improved bioavailability of the rutin nanoformulations.

A nano drug delivery system is an effective tool for drug delivery and controlled release, which is used for a variety of medical applications. In recent decades, nano drug delivery systems have been significantly developed with the emergence of new nanomaterials and nanotechnologies.

This article aimed to provide insight into the technological development of nano drug delivery systems through patent analysis.

3708 patent documents were used for patent analysis after retrieval from the Incopat patent database.

The number of patents on nano drug delivery systems has shown a rapid growth trend in the past two decades. At present, China and the United States have obvious contributions to the number of patents. According to the patent data, the nanomaterials used in nano drug delivery system are mainly inorganic nanomaterials, lipid-based nanomaterials, and macromolecules. In recent years, the highly cited patents (≥14) for nano drug delivery systems mainly involve lipid-based nanomaterials, indicating that their technology is mature and widely used. The inorganic nanomaterials in drug delivery have received increasing attention, and the number of related patents has increased significantly after 2016. The number of highly cited patents in the United States is 250, which is much higher than in other countries.

Even after decades of development, nano drug delivery systems remain a hot topic for researchers. The significant increase in patents since 2016 can be attributed to the large number of new patents from China. However, according to the proportion of highly cited patents in total, China's patented technologies in nano drug delivery systems are not advanced enough compared to developed countries, including the United States, Canada, Germany, and France. In the future, research on emerging nanomaterials for nano drug delivery systems, such as inorganic nanomaterials, may focus on developing new materials and optimising their properties. The lipid-based and polymer-based nanomaterials can be continuously improved for the development of new nanomedicines.