This book provides a comprehensive description of the application of clay minerals as disinfectants and the ingredients of medicines. While the presently available literature highlights one or two aspects of medicinal clays, a comprehensive text on all their major pharmaceutical applications is lacking. This book endeavors to fill up this lacuna. It further elucidates the properties of clay minerals that facilitate their application in the protection of human health, and how these properties are related to the chemical compositions and internal structures of selected mineral groups, thus revealing to the students, teachers and researchers the underlying relationship of seemingly different disciplines like mineralogy, material science and medical science. The thought-provoking questions added at the end of each chapter will give the readers a better insight of this subject. The tangible definitions and explanations of all the relevant scientific terms provided in this book, both within the text and in a glossary list at the end, are expected to help the beginners to develop a clear-cut understanding regarding different aspects of the subject and clear any confusion resulting from the ambiguous usage of terms in the existing literature.
Author(s): Bhaskar Ghosh, Dola Chakraborty
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 181
City: Cham
Preface
Acknowledgements
About This Book
Contents
About the Authors
1 An Overview of the Clay Minerals: Composition, Classification, Internal Structure and Properties
1.1 Clay Minerals and Clays: What They Actually Are
1.2 Composition and Classification of the Clay Minerals
1.3 Internal Structures of the Clay Minerals
1.4 Specific Surface Area of the Clay Minerals
1.5 Colour of Clay Minerals
1.6 Cation Substitution and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) of Clay Minerals
1.7 Clay Mineral as Adsorbents of Organic and Inorganic Substances
References and Further Reading
2 Clay-Induced Antimicrobial and Antitoxic Mechanisms: How Do the Clays Protect Us from Pathogens and Toxins?
2.1 Clays Protecting from Viral Infections: The Mechanism of Virus Adoption
2.1.1 The Role of Cations in the Adsorption Mechanism
2.1.2 Flocculation and the Virus Adsorption Mechanism
2.1.3 The Importance of CEC of Clays in Virus Adsorption
2.1.4 Effects of Van der Waals Forces of Attraction and Hydrogen Bonding
2.1.5 Effects of Specific Surface Area and Surface Charge Density
2.1.6 Possible Effects of Other Physico-Chemical Properties of Clays on Their Virus Adsorption Mechanism
2.1.7 Effects of Presence of Organic Matters
2.1.8 Strength of Bonding Between the Clay Surfaces and the Adsorbed Viruses
2.2 Antibacterial Actions of Clay Minerals
2.2.1 The Mechanisms of Clay-Supported Bactericidal Processes
2.2.2 Adsorption of Bacteria on Clay Surfaces
2.2.3 Other Antibacterial Actions of Clays
2.3 Loading of Clay Interlayer Spaces with Antimicrobial Cations
2.4 Antitoxic Actions of Clays: Mechanism and Controlling Factors
References and Further Reading
3 Traditional Applications of the Antimicrobial and Antitoxic Properties of Clay Minerals
3.1 Clays in the Healing of Diseases
3.2 The Traditional Ways of Killing Bacteria with Clays
3.3 Peloid Therapy
References and Further Reading
4 Antimicrobial Applications of Clays and Their Derivatives in Protection of Human Health
4.1 Application of Antimicrobial Property of Clay Minerals in the Treatment of Common Diseases
4.2 Other Application of Clay Minerals in Medicines
4.3 Interactions of Clay Minerals with Gastrointestinal Mucus
References and Further Reading
5 Antitoxic Applications of Clays in the Protection of Human Health
5.1 Quantitative Representation of Adsorption Potential: The Sorption Coefficient
5.2 Clay Minerals in the Treatment of Orally Ingested Toxic Substances
5.3 Clay Minerals in the Treatment of Toxic Substances Synthesised Within Human Body
References and Further Reading
6 Clays in the Global War Against COVID-19: Why are They Preferable Over the Conventional Weaponry?
6.1 Characteristic Features of SARS-CoV-2
6.1.1 Common Variants of SARS-CoV-2
6.1.2 Entry of SARS-CoV-2 in Human Cells: The Role of hACE2
6.1.3 Effects of SARS-CoV-2 on Human Health
6.2 Prevention of Covid-19: Common Practices and Associated Problems
6.2.1 Effects of Soaps on Human Skin
6.2.2 Effects of Alcohol-based Sanitisers and Surface Sprays on Human Health
6.2.3 Effects of Detergents on Human Health and Environment
6.3 Clays in Covid-19 Prevention: Disinfectants that Are Safe for Human Health and Environment
6.3.1 Clay-based Hand Sanitisers
6.3.2 Clay-based Surface Disinfectants
6.3.3 Clay Preventing Airborne Virus Propagation
6.3.4 Clay Against Virus Propagation from Biomedical Wastes
6.4 Prospective Application of Clays in the Treatment of COVID-19
6.4.1 Clays in the Treatment of Similar Viruses
6.4.2 Prospects of Developing Drugs from Nano-Clays for Healing SARS-CoV-2
6.4.3 Clay in the Drug Delivery Systems of Anti-COVID-19 Medications
6.4.4 The Expected Synergistic Actions of Clay-based Drugs: Double-Edged Swords Against COVID-19?
References and Further Reading
7 The Present and the Future: Advantages, Drawbacks, and Future Prospects of Clays for Protection of Human Health
7.1 Advantages of Clay Minerals Over the Other Medicine Ingredients
7.1.1 Therapeutic Considerations
7.1.2 Economic Consideration
7.1.3 Health and Environmental Considerations
7.1.4 Better Alternative for Preventing the Spread of Infectious Diseases
7.2 Antimicrobial Applications of Clay Nanocomposites and Clay-Drug Nanohybrids
7.2.1 The Multifaceted Applications of Nanotechnology in Medical Sciences
7.2.2 Properties of Nanomaterials Favourable for Their Medical Applications
7.2.3 Basic Ideas on Clay Nanocomposites and Nanohybrids
7.2.4 Nanoclay Derivatives in Pharmaceutical Industries
7.2.5 Nanoclay Derivatives in Food Preservation and Packaging
7.3 Potential Environmental Hazards of Clay-based Medicinal Industries
7.4 Suggested Fields for Future Investigations
7.4.1 Mineralogical and Material Scientific Researches
7.4.2 Pathogenic and Microbiological Investigations
7.4.3 Chemical and Biochemical Investigations
7.4.4 Researches on Nanoclays and Nanoclay Derivatives
References and Further Reading
Think for a While
References
Index of Pathogens
Subject Index
