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One way to obtain more benefit from coconut waste is to utilise coir fibre (CF) as reinforcement in biodegradable plastics. The current work aims to study the effect of CF on the performance of a thermoplastic starch (TPS)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blend. TPS/PLA/CF biocomposites with a constant TPS PLA ratio of 6040 by weight and various concentrations of CF (2.7, 5.5, 8.2, and 10.9 wt%) were fabricated using a twin-screw extruder and then injection moulded into dumbbell-shaped specimens for property testing. The obtained TPS/PLA/CF biocomposites exhibited improved stiffness and hardness, corresponding to the stronger hydrogen bond interaction between starch and PLA and/or starch and CF and the increased PLA crystallinity. Due to the reinforcing effect, the biocomposites also exhibited lower extensibility, tensile strength and impact strength compared to the TPS/PLA blend. Incorporating CF enhanced compatibility between the TPS and PLA phases; however, it also caused reduced melt flow ability, increased shear viscosity, and a decreased shear thinning effect of the blend. The resulting TPS/PLA/CF biocomposites could potentially be used to produce bio-based and biodegradable injection-moulded products. V.Chitosan-based nanoparticles (Ch-NPs) prepared via ionotropic gelation of Ch with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) have been widely examined as potential drug carriers. Yet, recent studies have shown these particles to be unstable in model (pH 7.2-7.4) physiological media. To this end, here we explored the possibility of improving TPP-crosslinked Ch-NP stability through chemical Ch modification. Specifically, Ch samples with either 76% or 92% degrees of deacetylation (DD) were grafted with either polyethylene glycol (PEG), a hydrophilic molecule, or folic acid (F), a hydrophobic molecule. Limited variation in dispersion light scattering intensity, particle size and apparent ζ-potential, and lack of macroscopic precipitation were chosen as analytical evidence of dispersion stability. TPP titrations were performed to determine the optimal TPPglucosamine molar ratio for preparing particles with near 200-nm diameters, which are desirable for systemic administration of drugs, cellular uptake, and enhancing NP blood circulation. Both DD and Ch modification influenced the particle formation process and the evolution in NP size and ζ-potential upon 30-day storage in virtually salt-free water at 25 °C and 37 °C, where the NPs underwent partial aggregation (along with possible dissolution and swelling) but remained colloidally dispersed. Under model physiological (pH 7.2; 163 mM ionic strength) conditions, however (where the chitosan amine groups were largely deprotonated), the particles quickly became destabilized, evidently due to particle dissolution followed by Ch precipitation. Overall, within the degrees of substitution used for this work (1% for PEG, and 3 and 6% for F), neither PEG nor F qualitatively improved Ch-NP stability at physiological pH 7.2 conditions. Thus, application of TPP-crosslinked Ch-NPs in drug delivery (even when Ch is derivatized with PEG or F) should likely be limited to administration routes with acidic pH (at which these NPs remain stable). V.The foremost intention of this work is to test the suitability of the Ficus religiosa Root Fiber (FRRF) as the better reinforcement for the natural fiber-reinforced composite structures. In the current work, the attempts have been made with the view of improving the physical, thermal, chemical, surface, and crystalline properties of FRRF employing 5 wt% of NaOH solution. Five samples of FRRF have been prepared by soaking the raw fiber in the alkali solution under different soaking times. The thermogravimetric analysis results reveal that the alkali-treated FRRF soaked for 60 min holds a maximum range of thermal stability (improved by 9.54%); in turn, the remaining analyses have been carried out with that fiber samples. The increased quantity of cellulose contents was witnessed over the surface of treated FRRF. The improvement in the CI from 42.92-48.64% was noted as the result of X-Ray Diffraction test. The morphology study results ensured that the surface of the treated FRRF became so rough comparably, which confirms the removal of unwanted wax and impurities on the fiber surface. All the above observations validated that the proposed fiber is suitable to prepare the composite structures after the optimal alkali treatment. V.Resistant starch (RS) served as a novel functional ingredient has attracted much attention. In this paper, the structure and physicochemical properties of arrowhead resistant starch (ARS) prepared by subcritical water (SW-ARS), ultrasound-subcritical water (USW-ARS), autoclaving (AM-ARS) and ultrasound-autoclaving (UAM-ARS) were investigated. The results showed that the structure of starch granules was completely disrupted and the size of starch granules was obviously increased. SW-ARS, USW-ARS, AM-ARS and UAM-ARS exhibited a B-type crystallinity pattern with different degree of crystallinity. UAM-ARS displayed the highest molecular order with the highest degree of double helixes while SW-ARS, USW-ARS and AM-ARS showed a lower degree of molecular order than that of arrowhead native starch (ANS). The ANS and ARS prepared by four methods possessed high gelation enthalpy in which UAM-ARS had the highest gelation enthalpy, indicating that they had excellent thermostability. Therefore, ANS and the resulting ARS may be a promising starch-based material. All these results are expected to provide information on the preparation and application of ANS and ARS. The cysteinyl leukotrienes (CysLTs), i.e. LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4, are a family of proinflammatory agents synthesized from the arachidonic acid. [https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ri-1.html RI-1] In target cells, these lipid mediators bind to the cysteinyl leukotriene receptors (CysLTR), a family of seven transmembrane G-protein coupled receptors. The CysLT1R is a validated target for treatment of pulmonary diseases and several selective antagonists for this receptor, including montelukast, zafirlukast and pranlukast, have shown effective in the management of asthma. Nevertheless, others CysLT1R antagonists, such as the alpha-pentyl-3-[2-quinolinylmethoxy] benzyl alcohol (REV5901), have been extensively characterized without reaching sufficient priority for clinical development. Since drug reposition is an efficient approach for maximizing investment in drug discovery, we have investigated whether CysLT1R antagonists might exert off-target effects. In the report we demonstrate that REV5901 interacts with GPBAR1, a well characterized cell membrane receptor for secondary bile acids.