Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is a derivative of cellulose that shares its biodegradability, biocompatibility,and renewability while being soluble in water and some organic solvents. It is due to these characteristics that the aerogel produced from CMC will share these advantages. In this study,we produced CMC carbon aerogel from different concentrationsof CMC aerogels (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%) and under different carbonisation temperatures (300 °C, 400 °C, 500 °C, 600 °C, 700 °C and 800 °C) for a period of 1 hour and 2 hours. The prepared CMC carbon aerogel samples were then analysed based on the difference in mass loss,which differed according to the varying experimental parameters. In temperatures varying from 300 °C to 600 °C,there was a decrease in mass loss as the concentration was increased due to the physical properties of the CMC aerogel. At higher temperatures of 700 °C and 800 °C,the mass loss at higher concentrations of CMC increased due to the completed decomposition and carbonisation of CMC aerogel.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) has been amongst of essential part of medical diagnostics in gynaecology and oncology since its discovery. Application of gold nanoparticles in detecting HCG is due to gold nanoparticles possess extraordinary optical and physical properties, making them invaluable in various prominent aspects, including its synthesis, stabilization, and functionalization as a sensor. In addition, microfluidic analytical device, a platform for point-of-care testing and numerous applications in various field, can be applied for detection of HCG using diverse types of detection methods. From the literatures, combination of gold nanoparticles and microfluidic analytical device can be assembled to obtain a rapid, simple and user-friendly analytical site for detection of HCG.

Oneof the valuable inorganic multifunctional chemical substances is silica,which can be found in crystalline, gel,and amorphous forms. On the crust of the earth, silica is the most complex and abundant family of materials, and ithas been used extensively in ceramics, adhesives, detergents, dental materials, electronics, pharmaceutical items,and chromatography column packing. Several kinds of research have fascinated the recycling of agricultural wastes using extraction for useful products such as silica, lignin, adsorbents, cellulose, biofuels, silicon, carbon,and inhibitors. In this review article, we report most of the silica nanoparticles extracted from the Poaceae family since they accumulate significant amounts of silica,and most of them are easily found in Malaysia. This study investigates the significant amount of extracting silica nanoparticles from the Poaceae family via green technology sol-gel technique as pure silica can be produced with thepotential to manage the size of the particle, size of distribution,and morphology via the reaction parameters in systematic monitoring. This technique can also produce pure silica usinga low-energy method. Subsequently, the key chemical compounds that existed in silica nanoparticles are characterized and identified using FTIR analysis. According to this article, most of the Poaceae family species are considered to gain a high purity of above 90% of silica based on the quantification results. The Poaceae family is recognized for having high silicon concentrations. However, the concentration varies depending on the species.Keywords—Silica nanoparticles, Poaceae family, sol-gel, characterization, FTIR.I.INTRODUCTIONSilica is known as a mineral component that representssilicon and oxygen and is categorized as the two most abundant elements in the crust of the earth,which can be found in crystalline, amorphous,and aqueous forms. In synthetic chemistry, silica is applied as a significant precursor for various organometallic and inorganic materials, such as thin films or coatings for electronic catalysts and optical materials [1]. However, instead of using naturalsilica compounds,which arehydrophilic, silica nanoparticles are more in demand nowadays since they provide more crucial benefits than naturalsilica compounds. Some of the general benefits are easeoffunctionalization, biocompatibility, large surface area, site-directed delivery, high loading capacity,and in a few situations, actuated drug release in antimicrobial therapeutics in the medical fields [2].Nanoparticles are defined as particles with a size less than 1000nm by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The widespread use of plastics in everyday life will cause serious harm to the ecosystem if not managed properly. To solve this problem, more sustainable alternatives like bioplastics, made from plant-based materials such as starch, have been developed. In this study, banana peel is seen as a good resource for bioplastics productions as it contains a high starch content compared to other fruit peels. Furthermore, there is no further research on bioplastics starch derived from Musa acuminata. In addition, plastics made from starch have a low mechanical property such as low tensile strength and are easily infected by fungal and bacteria. Therefore, the ability of starch derived from Musa acuminata and the effect of plasticizers on the mechanical properties of the bioplastics were investigated. The potential of these bioplastics is demonstrated through rigorous physical testing, which includes biodegradability, solubility, tensile strength, and FTIR analysis. Based on the results obtained, the solubility rate increased from 3.2 ± 0.29% to 14.5 ± 0.28% as glycerol volume increased, and a similar trend was observed in the biodegradability test, where the weight loss of the bioplastic increased from week 1 until week 2, showing that as the concentration of glycerol increases, the solubility and biodegradability will also increase. Regarding tensile strength, elevating the glycerol content enhances the strength and durability of the bioplastic, but excessive use can lead to brittleness. Therefore, the most suitable glycerol concentration is found to be at 1 wt. (%) which represents 1 wt. (%) of banana peel starch.