3rd TAGRA

With the current industrialization and its effects on the environment has led to an alarming need of valuable products from sustainable resources. With the aim of sustainable products and environmental protection different value added products from carbon dioxide using nanobiocatalysis and bioactive biopolymer from feather biomass and biopigments from microalgae, waste marigold flower biomass and fungi have been carried out. Carbon dioxide, the current escalator of temperature and concern, was used to synthesize calcium carbonate (used in cement industries) using carbonic anhydrase isolated from Cornybaterium flavescens. Microalgae (Tetradesmus obliquus), the natural sequester of CO2 has been utilized to enhance its biomass and extract medically important compounds such as lutein, an eye protector carotenoid and the microalgal biomass was used to remove synthetic dye. Further, to combat the problems of emerging pollutants such as synthetic dyes and pharmaceutical waste products (antibiotics), laccase extracted from Pleurotus florida, a fungal isolate, was used by immobilizing it on a metal organic framework(ZIF-8, ZIF-8/GO). The use of biopolymers and biopolymer based composites has also been explored in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals industry. Poultry feathers, a major bulk waste generated by the poultry industry, were utilized as a sustainable feedstock for keratin extraction, and the recovered bioactive protein was used in value-added products, including bioplastics for packaging, hydrogels and creams for wound healing, sponges for dye removal, and topical creams for skincare applications. In a separate study, a multifunctional polymeric patch was developed using chicken feather-derived keratin and Moringa oleifera extract for potential skin repair and wound healing, while Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus), Reishi(Ganoderma lucidum) mushroom extract was independently investigated as a bioactive ingredient for incorporation into a patch-based topical system. Collectively, these studies highlight the potential of sustainable bioresources and waste-derived biomaterials for developing innovative, value-added products addressing environmental remediation, healthcare, and cosmoceutical applications.