Pectins from Aloe Vera: Extraction and production of gels for regenerative medicine

Extraction, purification, and gel preparation of Aloe Vera pectin and the evaluation of the biocompatibility of the pectin gels were studied, considering as end use as implantable materials for regenerative medicine. A. Vera was chosen as source of pectin, as this pectin was described to possess high molecular weight and a low degree of esterification. As the properties of pectins are strictly dependent upon the extraction methods in combination with the natural source, the extraction method was modified in order to optimize the yield of the final product, its purity, the duration of the process and the selection of non‐toxic chemical reagents. Changing the experimental conditions resulted in four different extraction processes and products with different physical and chemical characteristics. The optimal extraction resulted to be the process: with enzimatic deactivation by microwave and the use of sodium citrate as chelating agent the molecular weight of the pectin extracted was estimated to be 118 kDa and the 2.93% esterification degree. Cytocompatibility of pectin gels, prepared by ionotropic gelation, showing an improved cell adhesion if compared to commercial pectin. The results suggest that the extracted A. Vera pectins possess interesting properties to be exploited for the production of mechanically stable gels by ionotropic gelation and high rhamnose content matrices for application in regenerative medicine. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39760.     

Antitumor Activity of Ionic Liquids Based on Ampicillin

Significant antiproliferative effects against various tumor cell lines were observed with novel ampicillin salts as ionic liquids. The combination of anionic ampicillin with appropriate ammonium, imidazolium, phosphonium, and pyridinium cations yielded active pharmaceutical ingredient ionic liquids (API‐ILs) that show potent antiproliferative activities against five different human cancer cell lines: T47D (breast), PC3 (prostate), HepG2 (liver), MG63 (osteosarcoma), and RKO (colon). Some API‐ILs showed IC₅₀ values between 5 and 42 nM , activities that stand in dramatic contrast to the negligible cytotoxic activity level shown by the ampicillin sodium salt. Moreover, very low cytotoxicity against two primary cell lines—skin (SF) and gingival fibroblasts (GF)—indicates that the majority of these API‐ILs are nontoxic to normal human cell lines. The most promising combination of antitumor activity and low toxicity toward healthy cells was observed for the 1‐hydroxyethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium–ampicillin pair ([C₂OHMIM][Amp]), making this the most suitable lead API‐IL for future studies.     

A New Methodology to Evaluate the Cure of Resin-Impregnated Paper for HPL

This paper presents a study on the curing conditions of several resin-impregnated papers and its impact on the performance of HPL (high-pressure decorative laminate). A new methodology for evaluating the bond strength development between the different layers of a HPL(overlay, decorative, and kraft papers) was developed using ABES (Automated Bonding Evaluation System) equipment. The proposed method can be applied to the study of the curing step of the different impregnated paper and the development of bonds between them (overlay paper on decorative paper, decorative paper on kraft paper, and kraft paper on kraft paper) trying to simulate the hot-pressing of an industrial HPL. This will permit to establish a more adapted temperature gradient in hot-press in order to achieve the same curing rate for all layers and provide a good final overall product quality.     

Torrefied biomass‐polypropylene composites

Torrefied almond shells and wood chips were incorporated into polypropylene as fillers to produce torrefied biomass‐polymer composites. The composites were prepared by extrusion and injection molding. Response surface methodology was used to examine the effects of filler concentration, filler size, and lignin factor (relative lignin to cellulose concentration) on the material properties of the composites. The heat distortion temperatures, thermal properties, and tensile properties of the composites were characterized by thermomechanical analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and tensile tests, respectively. The torrefied biomass composites had heat distortion temperatures of 8–24°C higher than that of neat polypropylene. This was due to the torrefied biomass restricting mobility of polypropylene chains, leading to higher temperatures for deformation. The incorporation of torrefied biomass generally resulted in an increase in glass transition temperature, but did not affect melting temperature. Also, the composites had lower tensile strength and elongation at break values than those of neat polypropylene, indicating weak adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. However, scanning electron microscopy results did indicate some adhesion between torrefied biomass and polypropylene. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41582.     

Synthesis of Nickel Phosphide Nanorods as Catalyst for the Hydrotreating of Methyl Oleate

Arrays of nickel phosphide nanorods were successfully synthesized by nanocasting using mesostructured silica SBA-15 as a hard template (HT-Ni₂P). After temperature-programmed reduction of the phosphate precursor infiltrated within the pore walls of SBA-15, the unsupported material was obtained by removing the silica matrix with diluted HF. The pore channel of the SBA-15 template stabilizes the Ni₂P particles, preventing sintering after the high reduction temperature and shaping their elongated morphology. Moreover, HT-Ni₂P catalyst shows an improvement in the textural properties with a significantly higher surface area than the reference sample synthesized in the absence of template. X-ray diffraction revealed that the only crystalline phase present in this material was Ni₂P. On the other hand, transmission electron microscopy shows that the catalyst is mainly constituted by agglomerates of nanorods. Through EDX microanalysis the efficient removal of silicon was confirmed. Under hydrotreating conditions, nanorods of Ni₂P show a fourfold enhancement in the conversion of methyl oleate with respect to conventional Ni₂P synthesized in absence of hard template. Nevertheless, when these data are normalized to surface area, the specific activity of HT-Ni₂P nanorods is significantly lower than that of the conventionally prepared sample. Differences in selectivity were also observed as Ni₂P nanorods favored the decarboxylation reaction leading to a higher yield of n-heptadecane.     

Removal of sulfamethoxazole from waters and wastewaters by conductive‐diamond electrochemical oxidation

BACKGROUND: Sulfamethoxazole (SMX, used as a model bacteriostatic antibiotic) is persistent to conventional biological treatments of wastewaters. In this work, conductive‐diamond electrochemical oxidation (CDEO) was found to be an effective technology for its removal from the effluents of conventional wastewater treatment plants. RESULTS: The use of CDEO has been evaluated for the removal of the antibiotic SMX from water and wastewaters. The results show that CDEO can reduce the concentration of this organic pollutant to values below 0.1 µg dm^?3. The variation of the SMX concentration during electrolysis shows a complex shape with a plateau zone that increases in size with the initial concentration of SMX. This complex trend is not observed in the changes of TOC, which seems to indicate that the CDEO of SMX solutions does not lead directly to the generation of carbon dioxide as a final product. A tentative reaction pathway has been proposed based on a thorough analysis of the reaction mixture, in which the main intermediate products were identified. The use of liquid chromatography time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (LC‐TOFMS) allowed the identification of nine organic intermediates (with M_w 98, 108, 172, 173, 197, 203, 227, 269 and 287) during the electrolysis and the concentration of these compounds depends on the initial SMX concentration and on the current density applied. CONCLUSIONS: CDEO is able to reduce the concentration of the organic pollutant below 0.1 mg dm^?3. SMX removal is faster than that of TOC. This fact indicates the formation of reaction intermediates. Analytical techniques show that nine reaction intermediates are generated in the system, and that their concentration depends on the initial SMX concentration and on the current density used. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Multifunctional TiO2 coatings for Cultural Heritage

Environmental pollution arising from industrial implants and urban factors is constantly increasing, causing aesthetical and durability concerns to urban structures exposed to the atmosphere.     

Anisotropic thermal conductivity of silicon nitride ceramics containing carbon nanostructures

Silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) composites containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or graphene nanoplateles (GNPs) are of great relevance in the electronic and aerospace industries where the search for new materials with enhanced and anisotropic thermal conductivity to work in harsh environments is a strategic guideline. Here we study thermal conduction in Si₃N₄ composites with different amounts of carbon nanostructures. The effects of the nanostructure orientation respect the heat flux, the testing temperature and the α/β Si₃N₄ phase ratio are analyzed. The addition of CNTs and GNPs leads to an anisotropic thermal response, decreasing the through-thickness thermal conductivity of the Si₃N₄ composites and raising the in-plane thermal conductivity, especially for GNPs that enhance it up to twice that of the monolithic Si₃N₄. This effect is related to the preferred orientation of the nanostructures that gives a less resistive network in the in-plane direction and the intrinsic anisotropy of their thermal conductivity.     

Dense bulk silicon oxycarbide glasses obtained by spark plasma sintering

Dense silicon oxycarbide glasses (SiOC) have been produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of SiOC powders. Raw powders were obtained by pyrolysis under nitrogen at 1100 °C of tetraethylorthosilcate/polydimethylsiloxane (TEOS/PDMS) hybrids. SPS experiments were carried out at 1300 and 1500 °C at 10 and 80 MPa and then were studied by chemical analysis, ²⁹Si and ¹³C MAS NMR, ATR, Raman, XRD, FE-SEM, density, porosity, microhardness (H_v) and thermal conductivity (K). The SiOC materials are formed by Si_xOC_4?x units within a silica matrix where silicon carbide and graphite nanodomains are also present. After the SPS treatment the silicon carbide crystallite size is close to 2.5 nm. At 1300 °C and 1500 °C the carbon nanodomain size is close to 3 nm and 2 nm, respectively. H_v values vary from 3.4 to 9.15 GPa, for 30% and 1% of porosity, respectively. Finally, K is always close to 1.38 W m^?1 K^?1.     

Preparation and magnetoelectric properties of NiFe2O4–PZT composites obtained in-situ by gel-combustion method

Magnetoelectric composites of xNiFe₂O₄–(1 ? x)Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ with x = 2, 5, 10, 20, 30% were prepared by citrate–nitrate combustion using PZT-based template powders. In order to ensure a better connectivity of dissimilar phases, we have used chemical methods for preparation in situ composites, followed by adequate sintering procedure. The structural, microstructural and functional properties of di-phase magnetoelectric composites of NiFe₂O₄–PZT are reported. The XRD analysis is demonstrating the synthesis of pure ferrite phase directly on the ferroelectric templates. An excellent mixing was obtained in the composite powders, as proved by a detailed SEM analysis.The magnetic and dielectric behaviors of the ceramic composites vary with the ratio of the two phases. The dielectric behavior is greatly influenced by the magnetic phase. The magnetoelectric (ME) coefficient was measured as a function of applied DC magnetic field. The maximum ME coefficient (dE/dH) varies from 0.0011 mV/(cm Oe) to 0.5 mV/(cm Oe) with increasing of NF addition.