Globally, fire retardants are needed to satisfy a multibillion dollar market. Fire retardancy of polymeric materials is an important component of fire safety. Fire retardants either reduce the likelihood of ignition and/or reduce the rate of flame spread and hence, escalation of fire. The need to comply with safety legislations forces industry to use fire retardants in materials in order to save lives. With growing consumer demands and new legislations, the development of new systems is an on-going process, which also involves understanding their mechanisms of action. This book covers the latest developments in fire retardant strategies including: " new fire retardant systems (including nanoparticulate fillers, sometimes combined with conventional fire retardants) " intumescent formulations and their recent applications in bulk polymers, fibres and textiles " test-methods for material flammability " material-specific aspects of combustion, smoke and toxicity. Fire retardant strategies covered, include the use of synergistic combinations of alumina with organoclay, organophosphorus compunds, silica and organosilicones, clay-phosphate combinations and a novel tecnhique for investigating fire rerardant behaviour. The section on nanoparticulate fillers includes an investigation on the effect of filler shape, the use of carbon nanofibres and nanotubes, the interpretation of nanocomposite behaviour in the cone calorimeter, and groundbreaking new research on the influence of rheological properties on burning behaviour. The coverage of fibres and textiles includes a discussion on trends in textile fire retardancy and flammability regulations, and some novel halogen-free approaches to fire retardancy of cellulose, acrylic and polypropylene textiles. Finally, the influence of fire retardants on fire toxicity is discussed in detail, followed by an investigation of the toxic products from burning fire retarded polymer nanocomposites. This book will update fire retardant materials' developers with latest in research and design of new fire retardant materials. It will also provide a snapshot of the state-of-the-art for a range of other groups including environmentalists looking for alternatives to brominated flame retardants and engineers needing to use fire safe materials in their projects.

During the last decade, researchers working within the field of biologically active compounds were attracted to finding new compounds, materials and methods that could be used toward the protection of human health and environment, along with the preservation of cultural heritage from various microorganisms, viruses and fungi. The actuality of this problem was stressed at the 41st congress of IUPAC devoted to these and related topics. Many actual aspects on creation of new compounds were discussed, materials and methods capable of more effective solving of the aforementioned problems. The topics that are discussed in this book encompass novel bioactive systems for human and environmental protection and preservation of cultural heritage from the microorganisms' and fungi attacks. Also presented are the results of theoretical and experimental investigations conducted by the experienced scientists from different countries, along with the mechanistic comprehension of their performance under various experimental conditions.