Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Publication
    Preliminary studies on antimicrobial activity of extracts from aloe vera leaf, citrus hystrix leaf, zingiber officinale and Sabah snake grass against bacillus subtilis
    Herbal plants have several potential antimicrobial activities either as antifungal or antibacterial to fight against the disease and pathogen that attack the plants. The extractions of the Aloe vera leaf, Citrus hystrix leaf, Zingiber officinale rhizome and Sabah snake grass were selected in this study to fight against Bacillus subtilis. B. subtilis is a Gram-positive bacterium, rodshaped and catalase-positive that lives on decayed organic material. It is known as Gram-positive bacteria because of its thick peptidoglycan and would appear purple when subjected to Gram test. This species is commonly found in the upper layers of the soil, in meat or vegetables, in pastry, cooked meat, in bread or poultry products. The extracts of Sabah Snake Grass found to be most effective than A.vera leaf, Z. officinale, and C. hystrix against the B. subtilis.
  • Publication
    Effect of different starch contents on physical, morphological, mechanical, barrier, and biodegradation properties of tapioca starch and poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) blend film
    (Wiley, 2023) ;
    Syazana A. Zubir
    ;
    Jaafar Mariatti
    Study on degradation behaviors of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) blended with different compositions of thermoplastic starch (TPS) under soil burial and natural weathering environments is vital in order to predict the product service-life and planning for in situ biodegradation after product disposal. In this article, different compositions of TPS (0%, 20%, 40%, 50%, and 60%) were compounded with PBAT using single screw extruder. The samples were characterized for their tensile properties, fractured surface morphology, water barrier and surface hydrophorbicity properties in order to investigate the effect of starch fractions in PBAT blends. The degradation behavior under natural weathering and soil burial conditions was also determined during the 9 months duration by observing the change of physical appearance, weight loss, surface morphology, chemical structural, and tensile properties. The findings showed that the addition of TPS (20%, 40%, 50%, and 60%) had led to a reduction in tensile strength (41.47%, 60.53%, 63.43%, and 68.53%), and reduction in elongation at break (42.92%, 92.1%, 92.23%, and 93.22%, respectively) and water barrier properties. The findings also showed that there were distinct degradation behavior under both conditions. Upon exposure to natural weathering, photodegradation and Norrish type I & II occurred whereas under the soil burial condition, hydrolytic, and enzymatic degradation take places. Sample with the highest starch contents underwent the highest weight loss and reduction in tensile properties under both environments. The findings in this study are useful in order to investigate the feasibility of PBAT/Tapioca starch blends for biodegradable plastic film for various industrial applications especially in packaging and agricultural mulch.
  • Publication
    Ethylene gas sensing properties of Tin Oxide nanowires synthesized via CVD method
    (IOP Publishing, 2018-03-19) ;
    Khairudin Mohamed
    ;
    Sheikh A. Rezan
    ;
    Arafat M.M.
    ;
    Haseeb A.S.M.A.
    ;
    ;
    This paper studies ethylene gas sensing performance of tin oxide (SnO2) nanowires (NWs) as sensing material synthesized using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique. The effect of NWs diameter on ethylene gas sensing characteristics were investigated. SnO2 NWs with diameter of ∼40 and ∼240 nm were deposited onto the alumina substrate with printed gold electrodes and tested for sensing characteristic toward ethylene gas. From the finding, the smallest diameter of NWs (42 nm) exhibit fast response and recovery time and higher sensitivity compared to largest diameter of NWs (∼240 nm). Both sensor show good reversibility features for ethylene gas sensor.
      5  10
  • Publication
    Properties of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)thermoplastic starch filled with treated and untreated sugarcane bagasse fiber
    ( 2024-07) ;
    Syazana Ahmad Zubir
    ;
    Mariatti Jaafar
    Sugarcane bagasse, comprising fibrous rind and spongy pith, is frequently employed as a reinforcing agent in both concrete and plastic composites. In thin plastic films, sugarcane bagasse is typically utilized as finely ground particles within the composite film. The integration of this agricultural byproduct into biodegradable plastic films could potentially lower production expenses and promote the film's biodegradability. This study presents the development of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/thermoplastic starch (TPS) (90/10) formulations incorporating varying loadings of sugarcane bagasse fibers. The impact of alkaline and silane surface treatments on tensile strength, thermal properties, and water barrier properties was investigated. Upon the inclusion of sugarcane bagasse (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%), a decrease in tensile strength from 23.47 to 8.41 MPa and elongation at break from 1135% to 55.83% was observed. Conversely, the Young's modulus increased from 47.12 to 188.50 MPa following the addition of 20% sugarcane bagasse in the PBAT/TPS matrix. Modest enhancements in tensile properties, thermal characteristics, and water barrier properties were noted after treating the bagasse fibers with alkaline and silane. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis revealed that silane-treated sugarcane bagasse exhibited increased surface roughness due to the removal of lignin and hemicellulose, facilitating better adhesion between the fibers and the PBAT/TPS matrix.
      26  1
  • Publication
    Effect of Potassium Permanganate and Zeolite on Shelf Life and Quality of Musa Acuminata
    This paper study the effect of ethylene scavenger treatments in different quantity (T0: 0g, T1: 1g, T2: 3g, T3: 5g and T4: 10g per sachet) and types of packaging (T5: non-perforated and T6: perforated packaging) on Musa Acuminata to its shelf life and physicochemical quality. Potassium permanganate (KMnO4) and zeolite were used as ethylene absorbent which stored together with the bananas under uniform atmospheric condition at temperature of 25-28°C and 85-95% of relative humidity (RH). Physicochemical analysis (e.g. weight loss, peel colour changes, firmness, total soluble solid content and titratable acidity) were performed to evaluate the effectiveness of each treatments throughout its storage period. Results showed that treatment with higher quantity of KMnO4-zeolite (T4: 10g) shows reduction and retardation in percent weight loss (9.62%), peel colour changes, firmness changes (28.2%), total soluble solid (TSS) (12.1% Brix), titratable acidity (TA) (0.084% malic acid) and also greater storability of banana. Therefore, postharvest losses can be reduced by the mentioned treatment and it can be implemented in postharvest industries for extending the shelf life of banana effectively.
      23  6