Micro/nanoengineered agricultural by-products for biomedical and environmental applications

Sunho Park; Harshita Sharma; Mahpara Safdar; Jeongryun Lee; Woochan Kim; Sangbae Park; Hoon Eui Jeong; Jangho Kim

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2024.118490

Micro/nanoengineered agricultural by-products for biomedical and environmental applications

Environ Res. 2024 Feb 14:250:118490. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118490. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Sunho Park¹, Harshita Sharma², Mahpara Safdar², Jeongryun Lee², Woochan Kim², Sangbae Park³, Hoon Eui Jeong⁴, Jangho Kim⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Rural and Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in IT-Bio Convergence System, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Bio-Industrial Machinery Engineering, Pusan National University, Miryang, 50463, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Rural and Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in IT-Bio Convergence System, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea.
³ Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Rural and Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in IT-Bio Convergence System, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Biosystems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Republic of Korea.
⁴ Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan, 44919, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hoonejeong@unist.ac.kr.
⁵ Department of Convergence Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Department of Rural and Biosystems Engineering, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program in IT-Bio Convergence System, Chonnam National University, Gwangju, 61186, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: rain2000@jnu.ac.kr.

PMID: 38365052
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118490

Abstract

Agriculturally derived by-products generated during the growth cycles of living organisms as secondary products have attracted increasing interest due to their wide range of biomedical and environmental applications. These by-products are considered promising candidates because of their unique characteristics including chemical stability, profound biocompatibility and offering a green approach by producing the least impact on the environment. Recently, micro/nanoengineering based techniques play a significant role in upgrading their utility, by controlling their structural integrity and promoting their functions at a micro and nano scale. Specifically, they can be used for biomedical applications such as tissue regeneration, drug delivery, disease diagnosis, as well as environmental applications such as filtration, bioenergy production, and the detection of environmental pollutants. This review highlights the diverse role of micro/nano-engineering techniques when applied on agricultural by-products with intriguing properties and upscaling their wide range of applications across the biomedical and environmental fields. Finally, we outline the future prospects and remarkable potential that these agricultural by-products hold in establishing a new era in the realms of biomedical science and environmental research.

Keywords: Agricultural by-products; Biomedical engineering; Environmental engineering; Micro/nano-engineering.

Publication types

Review