University of Basra Publishes Research Article in a Scopus-Indexed Journal

Dr. Ammar Yasser Jassim, a faculty member at the Marine Sciences Center at the University of Basra, published a rigorous scientific paper titled:

“Preparation of oxidized Starch/PVA/ZnO Nanobiocomposite hydrogel as a drug delivery agent: SERS-Driven vancomycin in vitro release kinetics and biological potential evaluation.”

in the “Journal of Polymer Research,” published by Springer Nature. The journal is ranked in the second quartile (Q2) with an impact factor of 2.9 in the Scopus database.

The Journal of Polymer Research is dedicated to publishing research and articles related to basic and applied research in the field of polymers. Its greatest strength lies in the diversity of its content, as it brings together findings from all aspects of polymer science and technology, public health, biology, and biochemistry.

This study highlighted the structural, morphological, physical, and chemical properties of a bio-nanohydrogel composed of oxidized starch/ polyvinyl alcohol/zinc oxide as a drug delivery agent, as well as its swelling behavior under various environmental conditions, including water, salts, and buffered solutions. Furthermore, its antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, its cytotoxicity against SW480 cells, and its hemocompatibility were evaluated to determine its biological performance. Vancomycin was also incorporated into the bio-nanohydrogel, and its release behavior was analyzed using both conventional UV-Vis spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10965-026-04920-8