Microwave Approach Research Articles

Development and Characterization of Methyl-Anthranilate-Loaded Silver Nanoparticles: A Phytocosmetic Sunscreen Gel for UV Protection.

Methyl anthranilate (MA) is a naturally derived compound commonly used in cosmetic products, such as skin care products, fine perfumes, etc. The goal of this research was to develop a UV-protective sunscreen gel using methyl-anthranilate-loaded silver nanoparticles (MA-AgNPs). The microwave approach was used to develop the MA-AgNPs, which were then optimized using Box-Behnken Design (BBD). Particle size (Y1) and absorbance (Y2) were chosen as the response variables, while AgNO3 (X1), methyl anthranilate concentration (X2), and microwave power (X3) were chosen as the independent variables. Additionally, the prepared AgNPs were approximated for investigations on in vitro active ingredient release, dermatokinetics, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The study's findings showed that the optimal MA-loaded AgNPs formulation had a particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and percentage entrapment efficiency (EE) of 200 nm, 0.296 mV, -25.34 mV, and 87.88%, respectively. The image from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated the spherical shape of the nanoparticles. According to an in vitro investigation on active ingredient release, MA-AgNPs and MA suspension released the active ingredient at rates of 81.83% and 41.62%, respectively. The developed MA-AgNPs formulation was converted into a gel by using Carbopol 934 as a gelling agent. The spreadability and extrudability of MA-AgNPs gel were found to be 16.20 and 15.190, respectively, demonstrating that the gel may spread very easily across the skin's surface. The MA-AgNPs formulation demonstrated improved antioxidant activity in comparison to pure MA. The MA-AgNPs sunscreen gel formulation displayed non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behaviour, which is typical of skin-care products, and was found to be stable during the stability studies. The sun protection factor (SPF) value of MA-AgNPG was found to be 35.75. In contrast to the hydroalcoholic Rhodamine B solution (5.0 µm), the CLSM of rat skin treated with the Rhodamine B-loaded AgNPs formulation showed a deeper penetration of 35.0 µm, indicating the AgNPs formulation was able to pass the barrier and reach the skin's deeper layers for more efficient delivery of the active ingredient. This can help with skin conditions where deeper penetration is necessary for efficacy. Overall, the results indicated that the BBD-optimized MA-AgNPs provided some of the most important benefits over conventional MA formulations for the topical delivery of methyl anthranilate.

Microwave assisted Schiff base metal complexes as potential anticancer and antimicrobial agents: A critical review

Schiff bases are organic compounds which contain azomethine group (-C=N-) by reacting primary amines and carbonyl compounds. The presence of an azomethine group in the Schiff base facilitates coordination with transition metal ions. The term Schiff base is normally applied to these compounds when they are being used as ligands to form coordination complexes with metal ions. Such complexes occur naturally, but the majority of Schiff bases are artificial and are used to form many important catalysts. Schiff base metal complexes prepared using microwave irradiation have gained more attention because of their excellent strategy in generating quick and stable products in higher yields by improving the speed of reaction with lesser energy and exhibits various biological activities including antifungal, antibacterial, anti-tubercular, antiviral, antimalarial, anti-diabetic, anticancer, antioxidant, antidiuretic, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and anti-HIV agents. Apart from biological applications, they are also used as a catalyst in Aldol reactions, polymerization reactions, oxidation reactions and other chemical reactions. Imine-ligand containing transition metal complexes including copper, zinc and cadmium, have proven to be effective starting points for the synthesis of metal or metal chalcogenide nanoparticles. In this review, various metal complexes derived from Schiff bases synthesised using microwave approaches are discussed along with their antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities.

Greener microwave synthesized Se nanospheres for antioxidant, cell viability, and antibacterial effect.

Selenium nanocrystals (SeNPs) were developed using Coccinia grandis fruit (CGF) extract by green microwave approach. The morphological characters revealed that the quasi SeNPs with dimensions ranging from 12 to 24 nm have been arranged in encapsulated spherical geometries with dimensions ranging from 0.47 to 0.71 m. The DPPH assay revealed that SeNPs at a concentration of 70 µl of 99.2% had the greatest possible scavenging capacity. The nanoparticle concentrations were around 500 g/mL and the cellular uptake of SeNPs through living thing extracellular matrix cell lines in vitro was limited to 75.1 ± 3.8%. The biocidal activity was tested against E. coli, B. cereus, and S. aureus strains. Since it had the greatest MIC against B. cereus with 32 mm compared with the reference antibiotics. These incredible qualities of SeNPs suggest that attempting to manipulate multi-purpose nanoparticles for powerful and flexible wound and skin therapeutic innovations is very impressive.

Evaluation of passive microwave dry snow detection algorithms and application to SWE retrieval during seasonal snow accumulation

The microwave emission of snow has distinctive, frequency-dependent characteristics that enable the use of passive microwave remote sensing for the detection of (dry) snow alongside the study of further snow properties. Passive microwave approaches for the retrieval of snow water equivalent (SWE) often implement dry snow detection as one of the main processing steps. Reliable dry snow detection is thus crucial; however, common algorithms tend to underestimate snow cover extent. This study conducts a long-term assessment of six dry snow detection algorithms as part of ongoing GlobSnow SWE product development. We focus on terrestrial snow on the Northern Hemisphere, using exhaustive in situ snow depth measurements and spatially complete snow maps by the NOAA Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS). In addition to using conventional daily snow masks, cumulative snow masks are investigated as means to counteract underestimation and the results emphasise their potential for this purpose. Best performances are achieved by the cumulative versions of the algorithm of the EUMETSAT H SAF H11 product and of the decision tree by Grody and Basist (1996), which agree with in situ data by approximately 81% and 84% whilst differing from IMS maps by only about 15% and 11%, respectively. Their validation for hemispheric SWE retrieval in the GlobSnow framework, using in situ snow course SWE observations, shows a noticeable improvement of the current statistics especially during shallow snow conditions in autumn—reducing the bias by up to 2.2 mm and the RMSE by up to 2.0 mm. This highlights the impact that the algorithm choice for dry snow detection has on the quality of SWE retrieval and therefore on long-term climate data records.

Carbonized Polymer Dots with Controllable N, O Functional Groups as Electrolyte Additives to Achieve Stable Li Metal Batteries.

Electrolyte additive is an effective strategy to inhibit the uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites for lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, most of the additives are complex synthesis and prone to decompose in cycling. Herein, in order to guide the homogeneous deposition of Li+ , carbonized polymer dots (CPDs) as electrolyte additives are successfully designed and synthesized by microwave (M-CPDs) and hydrothermal (H-CPDs) approaches. The controllable functional groups containing N or O (especially pyridinic-N, pyrrolic-N, and carboxyl group) enable CPDs to keep stable in electrolytes for at least 3 months. Meanwhile, the clusters formed between CPDs and Li+ through electrostatic interaction effectively guide the uniform Li dispersion and limit the "tip effect" and dendrite formation. Moreover, as lithiophilic groups increase, the strong electrostatic interference for the solvation effect of Li+ in the electrolyte is formed, which induces faster Li+ diffusion/transfer. As expected, H-CPDs achieve the ultra-even Li+ transfer. The corresponding Li//LiFePO4 full cell delivers a high capacity retention rate of 93.8% after 200 cycles, which is much higher than that of the cells without additives (61.2%) and with M-CPDs (83.7%) as additives. The strategy in this work provides a theoretical direction for CPDs as electrolyte additives used in energy storage devices.

Fabrication and Characterization of Dextranase Nano-Entrapped Enzymes in Polymeric Particles Using a Novel Ultrasonication–Microwave Approach

In the current study, a novel method to improve the nano-entrapment of enzymes into Ca-alginate gel was investigated to determine the synergistic effects of ultrasound combined with microwave shock (UMS). The effects of UMS treatment on dextranase enzymes’ loading effectiveness (LE) and immobilization yield (IY) were investigated. By using FT-IR spectra and SEM, the microstructure of the immobilized enzyme (IE) was characterized. Additionally, the free enzyme was used as a control to compare the reusability and enzyme-kinetics characteristics of IEs produced with and without UMS treatments. The results demonstrated that the highest LE and IY were obtained when the IE was produced with a US of 40 W at 25 kHz for 15 min combined with an MS of 60 W at a shock rate of 20 s/min for 20 min, increasing the LE and the IY by 97.32 and 78.25%, respectively, when compared with an immobilized enzyme prepared without UMS treatment. In comparison with the control, UMS treatment dramatically raised the Vmax, KM, catalytic, and specificity constant values for the IE. The outcomes suggested that a microwave shock and ultrasound combination would be an efficient way to improve the immobilization of enzymes in biopolymer gel.

Ease to Challenges in Achieving Successful Synthesized Schiff Base, Chirality, and Application as Antibacterial Agent

This study reports how to overcome the challenges experienced in achieving successful synthesized Schiff base via types of Schiff base (chiral and achiral), synthesis, nature of products, and its antibacterial applications. Schiff base is a versatile ligand which is useful in asymmetric reactions to prepare chiral catalysts. It is also used in symmetric reactions to prepare achiral compounds. In line with the achiral compounds, conventional (room temperature and refluxing) and microwave irradiation methods are the two main types of methods to synthesize achiral Schiff base as reported in this review. Among various experimental approaches, this study supports the green chemistry microwave approach to synthesize Schiff base because of its benefits environmental sustainability. Problems relating to the nature of products formed from the synthesized Schiff bases were examined and resolved. Herein, the products could either be solid (crystals, powder, and precipitate), oily, or viscous (sticky) products. Some familiar characterization techniques used to identify and confirm the successful syntheses of Schiff bases, such as solubility test, melting point (MP), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐Vis), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR, 1H NMR, and 13C NMR), were discussed. In addition, the antibacterial studies on Schiff base and corresponding metal complexes confirmed their biological relevance to the human.

An improved approach of salting-out solvent-free microwave mediated rotary distillation for essential oil preparation from fresh leaves of magnolia (Oyama sieboldii).

An improved method denoted as salting out-solvent-free microwave rotary distillation (SOSFMRD) was successfully developed for the extraction of essential oils from fresh magnolia (Oyama sieboldii) leaves, in which we achieved the rotation of the reaction material by means of a rotating motor to subject the material to uniform microwave irradiation. Magnesium chloride was selected as the salting-out agent through a comparative study on the salting-out effects of different anions and cations of metal salts. The variables of SOSFMRD were systematically optimized. Under the obtained optimization conditions, the essential oil yield was 21.68±1.02mL/kgDW. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that the main chemical constituent of O. sieboldii essential oil was dehydrocostuslactone, the content of which reached 30.23±1.27%. Compared with the other conventional methods, this method has a high yield and low energy consumption, which can effectively reduce impact on the environment.

Fabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles via microwave and green approaches and their antimicrobial potential

Fabrication of copper oxide nanoparticles via microwave and green approaches and their antimicrobial potential

Sustained release of edaravone from (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin mediated tamarind kernel powder/kappa-carrageenan hydrogel: Microwave-assisted synthesis and optimization using experimental design

In the current study, a sustained release formulation made of natural polysaccharide tamarind kernel powder/kappa-carrageenan and (2-hydroxypropyl)-β-cyclodextrin (2-Hp-β-CD) was chosen to increase drug effectiveness. A kappa-carrageenan and tamarind kernel powder 3-D hydrogel network was synthesized with the aid of microwave irradiations. The ICs complexes were prepared using a physical mixture (PM), kneading (KM), and microwave (MW) approach and were then successfully loaded into the hydrogel. The synthesis of ICs was verified as a true IC using DSC, SEM, FTIR, 1H NMR, and 2D NMR ROESY. A study on the in vitro sustained release of EV at pH 2, 7, and 7.4 was conducted at 37 °C. The microwave (MW) method was the most effective method for preparing true ICs of EV and 2-Hp-β-CD for sustained drug release, as evidenced by the drug release data, which indicated that PM and KM displayed a burst release of the drug. Ritger-Peppas and Peppas-Sahlin were essential models for drug release. A phase solubility analysis was done to evaluate the IC's stoichiometry and complexation constant. Studies on drug release have shown that 2-Hp-β-CD was effective at causing pH-responsive sustained drug release.

Theoretical and experimental sensing of bone healing by microwave approach

AbstractA medical imaging system is often required to monitor bone growth or bone healing in patients. X‐ray imaging method is one of the most used imaging systems but it affects human health due to the ionizing effect of X‐rays on matter. In this paper, authors investigated the healing period of a bone structure by using electromagnetic antennas. Two different design approaches were examined which are the monopole antenna approach and the horn antenna approach with the frequency bands of 4–10 and 3–18 GHz, respectively. According to simulation results of the first scenario, radius change of a circular bone from 1 to 8 mm causes a transmission reduction from −13.5 dB to −20 dB at 7 GHz. In the second scenario, the thickness of the bone changed from 0.05 to 20 mm and the corresponding transmission value is reduced from −5 to −25 dB at 10 GHz of constant frequency. All these two approaches showed that the bone variation with time changes the transmission characteristics of detector antennas at the operating frequencies. In the last step of this study, an experimental measurement is carried out by using two opposite horn antennas and a planar bone structure in microwave laboratory. The measured results are in a good agreement with the simulated results in the second scenario. This study gives an opportunity to determine bone healing periods in medical applications by microwave techniques.

A Novel Microwave Resonant Sensor for Measuring Cancer Cell Line Aggressiveness.

The measurement of biological tissues’ dielectric properties plays a crucial role in determining the state of health, and recent studies have reported microwave biosensing to be an innovative method with great potential in this field. Research has been conducted from the tissue level to the cellular level but, to date, cellular adhesion has never been considered. In addition, conventional systems for diagnosing tumor aggressiveness, such as a biopsy, are rather expensive and invasive. Here, we propose a novel microwave approach for biosensing adherent cancer cells with different malignancy degrees. A circular patch resonator was designed adjusting its structure to a standard Petri dish and a network analyzer was employed. Then, the resonator was realized and used to test two groups of different cancer cell lines, based on various tumor types and aggressiveness: low- and high-aggressive osteosarcoma cell lines (SaOS-2 and 143B, respectively), and low- and high-aggressive breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231, respectively). The experimental results showed that the sensitivity of the sensor was high, in particular when measuring the resonant frequency. Finally, the sensor showed a good ability to distinguish low-metastatic and high-metastatic cells, paving the way to the development of more complex measurement systems for noninvasive tissue diagnosis.

The luminescence characteristics of Zn1-xHoxSe QDs synthesized via a polyol-assisted microwave technique for light emitting device applications

Highly luminescent Zn1-xHoxSe (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) QDs were prepared using the polyol-assisted microwave approach for light-emitting device applications. The influence of the holmium atoms (Ho) on the structure and morphology of the ZnSe nanocrystals was emphasized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements. The inclusion of the Ho-atoms in the ZnSe nanocrystals increases the particle size while preserving the cubic phase of the ZnSe nanocrystals. The inclusion of the Ho-atoms in the Zn-sites of the ZnSe nanocrystals decreases the optical bandgap. The photoluminescence measurements revealed that the introduction of the Ho-atoms in the Zn-sites of the ZnSe nanocrystals results in a redshift of the emission peaks and the increase of the luminescence intensity. Furthermore, the bandwidth of the emitted light is decreased due to the incorporation of the Ho-atoms in the ZnSe nanocrystals. The increase of the Ho-atoms concentration led to a decrease of the Stokes shift and an increase of the quantum yield reached 81%. Therefore, the developed synthetic recipe and the partial replacement of the Zn-atoms by Ho-atoms in the ZnSe crystal structure may open a new door to use the Zn1-xHoxSe QDs for LEDs application.

In Situ Microwave Sensors and Switching Circuit for Oil Slick Thickness Measurement

The measurement of oil slick thickness, although at an early stage, has immense applications in determining the extent and quantity of crude oil accidentally discharged in oceans. In this work, we present the design, development and measurement of sensors and switching circuit that were integrated to form a novel microwave oil spill sensor for the determination of oil slick thickness. We used four ultra-wideband polydimethylsiloxane encapsulated antenna-sensors in a cuboid configuration connected to a customised RF switching circuit comprising of two single pole double throw (SPDT) switches. Each of the SPDT switches were connected to two antennas and a port of the vector network analyser (VNA). We developed an android application on a smartphone to select each of the antenna-sensors for the oil slick thickness measurements. The four antenna-sensors operated in the radiating near-field regions. Crude oil has lower density compared to salted seawater, therefore, it floats on the surface. This enabled the four-sensor antenna array to establish the oil thickness using radio frequency. The simulated and measured transmission coefficients showed the capability of the oil slick measurement sensor and switching circuit to determine the oil slick thickness using a novel contact-based in situ microwave approach.

Microwave assisted facile green synthesis of silica coated magnetite nanoparticles for fast removal of methylene blue dye from environmental water samples

ABSTRACT To prepare a magnetic nano-adsorbent for efficient and fast removal of a dye, especially if present in trace concentration, along with a facile green synthetic methodology is a great challenge. The present work realises this task by combining the well-known advantages of both solvent-free microwave approach, nanoscale particle size and the fast magnetic separation. Thus, silica-coated magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs@SiO2) as an important precursor were produced directly via an optimised solid-solid interaction between silica and Fe3O4 NPs at 200 watt of microwave irradiation for only 10 min. The as-developed adsorbent was characterised using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. Its performance with no further modification for removal of Methylene blue (MB) dye from aqueous solution was achieved in a batch mode as a function of pH, contact time, adsorbent dose and initial dye concentration. The results demonstrate excellent removal efficiency (98.9%) within 5 min, as compared with recent adsorbents synthesised through a multi-steps reaction. Modelling of the experimental data denoting well-fitting with both Langmuir sorption isotherm (monolayer capacity 47.98 mg/g) and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. A possible MB binding mechanism has been proposed taking in account values of dissociation constants of the different forms of silica surface silanol groups. The adsorbent after first was successfully regenerated in situe for five consecutive cycles. Moreover, it was proved to be valid for collecting efficiently trace concentrations of MB spiked environmental water samples to be in the range 92.4–98.8%.

Influence of pH on optical and electrochemical performance of BiPO4 electrode material for energy storage applications

Bismuth phosphate nanostructures were fabricated by a simple microwave approach under an optimum atmosphere at different pH values (3, 5, 7, 9, and 11) without the aid of any surfactants and studied the optical and electrochemical energy storage behaviour of BiPO4 nanostructures. XRD study revealed hexagonal phase structure of BiPO4 nanostructures devoid of any contamination peak. FTIR and Raman spectra as well authenticate the hexagonal structure of all the developed samples. The FESEM investigation revealed the formation of non-uniform cube-like crystals, with the size allocation estimated to be in the range of 45–69 nm, which is consistent with the XRD findings. An extensive reduction in optical band energy (Eg) is ascertained by raising the pH values (3–11). In a three-electrode mechanism with 4 M KOH as an electrolyte, CV, GCD, and EIS addressed the electrochemical behaviour of the as-developed samples. The Faradic battery's oxidation-reduction efficiency is illustrated by the CV and GCD curves. The BiPO4 electrode synthesized at pH 7 as a battery-like activity shows excellent electrochemical evolution with a large specific capacity (∼328 Cg-1), perfect cycle life (∼89.0% at 5 Ag-1 over 900 cycles), respectively. According to the EIS analysis, the electrode prepared with pH 7 values has dominant capacitive behaviour due to a double layer capacitor formed at the interfacial between the electrode surface and the electrolyte. Therefore, such promising findings help the significant perspective of an electrode in enhancing energy storage appliances with superior efficiency for energy storage applications.

Microwave-Based Detection of the Bladder State as a Support Tool for Urinary Incontinence [Bioelectromagnetics

Microwave medical technologies have great potential to support health and wellness monitoring and the detection, diagnosis, and tracking of disease. Microwave approaches are typically low cost, noninvasive, and safe for frequent use, and they can be made portable and wearable <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">[1]</xref>&#x2013;<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref2"/><xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref3">[3]</xref>. Historically, most screening and monitoring of health conditions has been done at hospitals and advanced clinics using conventional imaging modalities, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) imaging, and ultrasound <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">[1]</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref4">[4]</xref>. However, microwave-based approaches hold the promise of easily accessible, earlier detection of disease and more regular monitoring for those at high risk and those undergoing treatment <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref1">[1]</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="ref5">[5]</xref>, particularly with recent technological advances in wireless telecommunication and wearable devices across a similar frequency range.

Synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives in an aqueous media and reflux conditions catalyzed by glycine at pH 5.2 under microwave approach

A versatile organic amino acid catalyst like Glycine was used to prepare an effective synthesis of Benzimidazole derivatives from a wide variety of aldehydes and substituted phenylenediamine in an aqueous environment under microwave conditions. this process produced the required compounds in good to outstanding yields. The synthesis of benzimidazole derivatives via a Glycine catalyzed process is both environmentally friendly, cost effective, easy to carry method and under microwave approach.

Impact of Incidence Angle Diversity on SMOS and Sentinel-1 Soil Moisture Retrievals at Coarse and Fine Scales

Incidence angle diversity of space-borne radiometer and radar systems operating at low microwave frequencies needs to be taken into consideration to accurately estimate soil moisture (<i>SM</i>) across spatial scales. In this study, the Single Channel Algorithm (SCA) is first applied to SMOS brightness temperatures at vertical polarization (<i>TB_V</i>) to estimate <i>SM</i> at coarse-resolution (25 km) and develop a land cover-specific and incidence angle (32.5&#x00B0;, 42.5&#x00B0; and 52.5&#x00B0;)-adaptive calibration of single scattering albedo (&#x03C9;) and soil roughness (<i>h_s</i>) parameters. These effective parameters are used together with fine-scale multi-angular Sentinel-1 backscatter in a single-pass active-passive downscaling approach to estimate <i>TB_V</i> at fine-scale (1 km) for each SMOS incidence angle. These <i>TB_V</i> are finally inverted to obtain the corresponding high-resolution <i>SM</i> maps. Results over the Iberian Peninsula for year 2018 show an increasing trend of &#x03C9; and a decreasing trend of <i>h_s</i> with SMOS incidence angle, with almost no variability of &#x03C9; across land cover types. The active-passive covariation parameter is shown to increase with SMOS incidence angle and decrease with Sentinel-1 incidence angle. Coarse and fine <i>TB_V</i> maps from the three SMOS incidence angles show similar distributions (mean differences below 0.38 K). Resulting high-resolution <i>SM</i> maps have maximum differences in mean and standard deviation of 0.016 and 0.015 m³/m³, respectively, and compare well with <i>in situ</i> measurements. Our results indicate that model-based microwave approaches to estimate <i>SM</i> can be adequately adapted to account for the incidence angle diversity of planned missions such as CIMR, ROSE-L and Sentinel-1 next generation.

Composition tuning of scalable antibacterial polyaniline/chitosan composites through rapid enhanced microwave synthesis

Biopolymers such as chitosan (Ch) can be included with the conducting polymer polyaniline (PANI) to improve mechanical properties and processability to allow the benefits of this multifunctional material to be realised. However, scalable processes for fabrication of these materials are lacking. We present a facile and rapid method based on enhanced microwave synthesis of PANI and PANI/Ch composites using 1.25 M aqueous hydrochloric acid (HCl) media at 93 W applied microwave power for the duration of 10 min at room temperature. Potassium iodate (KIO3) was chosen for aniline (An) polymerisation as a well-suited oxidising agent for scalable production of high quality PANI over a broad range of synthesis conditions. FTIR spectra of PANI/Ch samples confirm integration of PANI in the composite structure with the presence of all characteristic PANI bands. SEM analysis of PANI/Ch composites exhibited different morphologies from pure PANI fiber-like nanoporous morphology and these differences are more pronounced with the increase of molecular weight of Ch in the PANI/Ch composites. A comparative study of PANI/Ch composites prepared by chemical and enhanced microwave approaches with different Ch molecular weights and a mole ratio of An:Ch 1:1 demonstrated differences in morphology based on the method of synthesis for the same molecular weight of Ch, although control PANI sample has similar nanoporous morphology for both methods of preparation. Antibacterial evaluation results of all PANI/Ch composite samples against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria showed greater bactericidal efficacy against both type of bacteria than pure Chs and PANI samples. Our comprehensive study suggests that the eco-friendly enhanced microwave method can be used to fine-tune the morphology and structure of the antibacterial PANI/Ch composites toward specific applications and as a favourable alternative method for large-scale industrial production of these polymer composites.