Alternative Plasticizers As Emerging Global Environmental and Health Threat: Another Regrettable Substitution?

Water-reducers, or plasticizers, are chemical admixtures used in concrete to improve strength and workability. These additives reduce the water-cement ratio without compromising workability, lower the cement content while maintaining the same workability, or increase workability to assist concrete placement in inaccessible areas.
Plasticizers function by using surface-active agents to create repulsive electrostatic forces between cement particles. This dispersion enhances the concrete's...

Humans continually engage with an environment rich in potentially harmful chemicals. These are introduced to our bodies through inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact. These chemicals exist in various forms, such as air and environmental pollutants, agricultural chemicals, organic solvents, and heavy metals.
Air pollutants, primarily gases, pose significant threats to respiratory health, leading to conditions like hypoxia, lung cancer, and in extreme cases, death.
Environmental pollutants like...

Superplasticizers are advanced admixtures that enhance the workability of concrete by lowering the water content without compromising the strength of the material. These substances are highly effective water reducers, improving concrete flow, making it easier to work with, and enabling concrete to reach inaccessible areas or densely reinforced sections without mechanical vibration. The key components in superplasticizers are either sulfonated melamine or naphthalene formaldehyde condensates,...

Drugs, encompassing various chemical compounds from natural sources, lab synthesis, or genetic engineering, elicit different biological responses in living organisms. Some of these responses are desirable or therapeutic, while others are undesirable. The primary goal of administering a drug is to achieve a therapeutic effect, that is, to address a specific disease or health condition. Any concurrent effects outside of this therapeutic outcome are considered undesirable. These undesirable...

When toxic substances penetrate the human body, they disseminate to various tissues, undergoing metabolic changes. This process yields reactive metabolites that may covalently bind with specific target molecules, resulting in toxicity.
Toxicity falls into two primary categories: local and systemic.
Local toxicity appears at the exposure site, such as protein denaturation caused by caustic substances.
In contrast, systemic toxicity requires the toxic agent's absorption and distribution,...

Chemicals play important roles in controlling microbial growth by targeting microbial structures and functions as sanitizers, antiseptics, disinfectants, and sterilants.Alcohols are commonly used sanitizers, effectively disrupting lipid membranes, which compromises cell integrity. They are also used as antiseptics and disinfectants due to their rapid action and versatility.Phenols and their derivatives phenolics , known for denaturing proteins and disrupting cell membranes, are particularly...