Mycoremediation of unsterilized PCDD/F-contaminated field soil was successfully demonstrated by solid-state fermentation coupled with Pleurotus pulmonarius utilizing a patented incubation approach. The experiments were carried out in four setups with two as controls. The contaminated soil was homogenously mixed with solid inocula, 1:0.5 dry w/w, resulting in an initial concentration of 4432 ± 623 ng WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹. After a 30-day incubation under controlled conditions, the overall removal (approx. 60%) was non-specific. The removal was attributed to degradation by extracellular ligninolytic enzymes and uptake into the fruiting tissue (~110 ng WHO-TEQ kg⁻¹ of mushroom). Furthermore, less recalcitrant chlorinated metabolites were found, implying ether bond cleavage and dechlorination happened during the mycoremediation. These metabolites resulted from the complex interaction between P. pulmonarius and the indigenous microbes from the unsterilized soil. This study provides a new step toward scaling up this mycoremediation technique to treat unsterilized PCDD/F-contaminated field soil.

The distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the surface water and sediments in five regions of the Indian Sundarbans was assessed. The capability of microbial biofilm communities to sequester PAHs in a biofilm-promoting vessel was evaluated. The total PAH concentration of water and sediments ranged from undetectable to 125 ng ml⁻¹ and 4880 to 2 × 10⁴ ng g⁻¹ dry weight respectively. The total PAHs concentration of sediments exceeded the Effects Range–Low value and the recommended Effects Range-Median values, implying the PAHs might adversely affect the biota of the Sundarbans. Pyrogenic and petrogenic sources of PAH contamination were identified in most of the sampling sites. Indigenous biofilms were cultivated in a patented biofilm-promoting culture vessel containing liquid media spiked with 16 priority PAHs. Biofilm-mediated 97–100% removal efficiency of 16 PAHs was attained in all media. There was no significant difference between the mean residual PAH from the liquid media collected from hydrophobic and hydrophilic flasks. Residual amounts of acenaphthene (Ace), anthracene (Ant), benzo(b)fluoranthene [B(b)F], benzo(a)pyrene [B(a)P] and benzo(g,h,i)perylene [B(g,h,i)P] showed differences when cultivated in hydrophobic and hydrophilic flasks. The mean residual amounts of total PAHs extracted from biofilm biomasses were variable. A biofilm obtained from a specific sampling site cultured in the hydrophobic flask showed higher PAH sequestration when compared to the removal attained in the hydrophilic flask. Relative abundances of different microbial communities in PAH-sequestering biofilms revealed bacterial phyla including Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi and Planctomycetes as well as members of Ascomycota phylum of fungi. The dominance of Candida tropicalis, Clostridium butyricum, Sphingobacterium multivorum and Paecilomyces fulvus were established.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) is a neuropeptide that is produced by the lymphoid cells and plays a major role in immunological functions for controlling the homeostasis of the immune system. VIP has been identified as a potent anti-inflammatory factor, in boosting both innate and adaptive immunity. Since December 2019, SARS‐Cov‐2 was found responsible for the disease COVID‐19 which has spread worldwide. No specific therapies or 100% effective vaccines are yet available for the treatment of COVID‐19. Drug repositioning may offer a strategy and several drugs have been repurposed, including lopinavir/ritonavir, remdesivir, favipiravir, and tocilizumab. This paper describes the main pharmacological properties of synthetic VIP drug (Aviptadil) which is now under clinical trials. A patented formulation of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), named RLF-100 (Aviptadil), was developed and finally got approved for human trials by FDA in 2001 and in European medicines agency in 2005. It was awarded Orphan Drug Designation in 2001 by the US FDA for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome and for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2005. Investigational new drug (IND) licenses for human trials of Aviptadil was guaranteed by both the US FDA and EMEA. Preliminary clinical trials seem to support Aviptadil’s benefit. However, such drugs like Aviptadil in COVID‐19 patients have peculiar safety profiles. Thus, adequate clinical trials are necessary for these compounds.

This paper provides a short overview of the main oxidation processes more commonly applied for the remediation of contaminated sites, with specific reference to their application for the in situ remediation of contaminated sites, i.e. In Situ Chemical Oxidation (ISCO). A review of the main patents issued on this topic shows the relevant contribution to the development of this technology in the last 20 years, especially in the USA. The still limited deployment of ISCO in other geographical areas may be improved by the increased acceptance of the technology that may come from the development of proper application guidelines based on accepted design criteria. The latter ones are also discussed in this paper with reference to the application of Fenton's treatment. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Climate change crises and environmental imbalances have been a significant concern globally in recent times. The climatic changes give rise to various issues such as global warming, depletion of the ozone layer, deterioration of natural resources, soil erosion, deforestation, and more. Many international and national agreements and policies have been created to protect the environment, from the UNFCCC to the recent Paris Agreement, aiming to control rising environmental issues. However, developed and developing countries must achieve desirable results in combating climate change. Industrial and technological developments are critical reasons for environmental pollution and degradation. Progress is necessary for planned developing countries, but growth and expansions shall also consider ecological sustainability. Technology shall be novel in adapting to the changes, considering the effects it can produce on the environment. Green technology combines technology with the environment, also called environmental technology, clean technology, or sustainable technology. It is a combination of science and technology together to mitigate climatic changes and protect the environment. Green technology is the modern sustainable solution to pressing environmental concerns. India is one of the countries globally showing rapid green technology developments. The authors of this paper have tried to highlight the dire need to modify technological developments vis-a-vis environmental sustainability to protect the environment. The research paper delves into and understands the interface between clean technology’s importance and relevance for ecological sustainability and the role of patent law, particularly in dealing with issues of the environment. The paper shall also establish a harmonious relationship between patent law and its role in ensuring environmental sustainability.

In last decades, the biosorption process has become one of the main alternative treatment technologies for the removal of pollutants from dilute aqueous solution. Among these pollutants, toxic metals have drawn attention due to their negative effects in human body and food chain. Even though biosorption is considered a cost-effective and eco-friendly technology to remove toxic metals from dilute wastewaters, there are still obstacles that restrain its commercialization. For this reason, various scientific articles and patents have been published each year to make more effective and economical this technology. This review reports an overview of past achievements, current research of biosorption studies, and future trends for the development of the biosorption as sustainable cleaner technology. Mechanisms of metal uptake, recovery and biosorbent regeneration, process design, commercial application of biosorbents, and patents registered are presented. Finally, future aspects in biosorption research and suggestions for its application will be discussed.

Worldwide, year by year, Fenton’s Technologies have been highlighted in both academic and patent scopes, in part due to their proven efficiency as environment-friendly technologies destined to the abatement of organic pollutants, and also by their growing interest to produce industrial applications. Thus, aiming to understand the effective dynamic between two worlds, academy vs patents, the present study performs a comparative analysis about publications on Fenton-based Technologies (FbT). Therefore, in this work, technological foresight techniques were adopted focusing on patent and non-patent databases, employing for this, the Web of Science (WoS) database as a prospecting tool. The main results for the last decade point out to a strong increment of the Fenton’s Technologies, as much in R&D as in patent applications in the world. Chinese Universities and firms command the scenario. There is an expressive gap between the academic and patent issues.