Temperature stimuli-responsive nanoparticles from chitosan-graft-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) as a drug delivery system

This work describes the preparation of thermosensitive chitosan-graft-poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) nanoparticles by ionic gelation and their potential use as a controlled drug delivery system, using doxorubicin as a model drug. A systematic study of the effect of the main processing parameters on both the size and thermoresponsive behavior of nanoparticles was investigated. The size of the particles is strongly dependent on the length of the poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) grafted chains and the concentration of the copolymer and crosslinking agent solutions. The molecular structure of the copolymer plays an essential role in the phase transition temperature of the particles, which decreases with the length of PVCL grafted chain. The system displayed proper drug-association parameters, and the drug-loaded nanoparticles exhibited dose-dependent cytotoxicity. A significant increase in the doxorubicin delivery rate was observed above the phase transition temperature (40 °C). These features indicate that these nanoparticles are suitable for the development of a new thermally controlled anti-cancer drug delivery system. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47831.     

DRIFTS Study on the Decomposition Mechanism of Mn Acetylacetonates Supported on SBA-15

Manganese oxides supported on mesoporous SBA-15 catalysts have been prepared by molecularly designed dispersion method, using Mn(II) and Mn(III) acetylacetonate organic precursors. XRD and in situ Raman studies demonstrate the formation of highly dispersed Mn₂O₃ and Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles on SBA-15 for the calcined samples. The detailed decomposition mechanism was studied by using in situ DRIFTS. Acetylacetonate ligands are stable up to 573 K and can only be completely removed by oxygen treatment.     

Highly Diastereo‐ and Enantioselective Catalytic Domino Thia‐Michael/Aldol Reactions: Synthesis of Benzothiopyrans with Three Contiguous Stereocenters

Highly enantioselective organocatalytic domino thia‐Michael/aldol reactions between 2‐mercaptoacetophenone and α,β‐unsaturated aldehydes are presented. The reactions proceed with excellent chemo‐, diastereo‐ and enantioselectivity to give the corresponding benzothiopyran derivatives in high yields with up to >15:1 dr and 96 to >99 % ee.     

Peracetic acid‐enhanced photocatalytic and sonophotocatalytic inactivation of E. coli in aqueous suspensions

BACKGROUND: Although chlorination is an effective and widely employed method of water disinfection, it suffers serious drawbacks such as the formation of toxic chlorinated by‐products. Therefore, other disinfection technologies have been researched and developed, including advanced oxidation. RESULTS: The efficacy of heterogeneous photocatalysis and sonophotocatalysis induced by UV‐A irradiation and low frequency (24–80 kHz) ultrasound irradiation in the presence of TiO₂ as the photocatalyst and peracetic acid (PAA) as an additional disinfectant to inactivate E. coli in sterile water was evaluated. PAA‐assisted UV‐A/TiO₂ photocatalysis generally leads to nearly complete E. coli inactivation in 10–20 min of contact time with the extent of inactivation depending on the photocatalyst type and loading (in the range 100–500 mg L^?1) and PAA concentration (in the range 0.5–2 mg L^?1). The simultaneous application of ultrasound and UV‐A irradiation in the presence of TiO₂ and PAA prompted further E. coli inactivation. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed advanced disinfection technology offers complete E. coli inactivation at short treatment times and low PAA doses. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Cerium Dioxide Thin Films Deposited by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis

Nanostructured thin films of cerium dioxide have been prepared on single-crystalline silicon substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis using cerium acetylacetonate as a metal–organic precursor dissolved in anhydrous methanol and acetic acid as an additive. The morphology, structure, optical index, and electrical properties were studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, ellipsometry, and impedance spectroscopy. The use of additives is very important to obtain crack-free films. The substrate temperature and flow rate was optimized for obtaining smooth ( R _a<0.4 nm), dense ( n >2), and homogeneous nanocrystalline films with grain sizes as small as 10 nm. The influence of thermal annealing on the structural properties of films was studied. The low activation energy calculated for total conductivity (0.133 eV) is attributed to the nanometric size of the grains.     

Bio-based sustainable films from the Algerian Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes powder: Effect of plasticizer content

The present study investigated the fabrication and characterization of bio-based sustainable films composed of a terrestrial plant raw material, namely Opuntia ficus-indica (OFI) cladodes powder (CP) and a marine seaweed derivative, namely agar (A). The effect of glycerol concentration on the properties of the casted films was evaluated at four different contents, namely 30, 40, 50 and 60 wt%. The films present UV-blocking properties, as well as moderate mechanical performance, thermal stability, and water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). The results point to an increase in thickness, elongation at break, moisture content, water solubility, and WVTR with increasing glycerol content. On the contrary, Young's modulus, tensile strength, and water contact angle decreased as glycerol concentration increased. The best combination is obtained for the film with 30% glycerol, based on an intermediate compromise between physical, mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. All these outcomes express the potentiality of the powder obtained from grinding the OFI cladodes as raw material to produce low-cost films for the development of sustainable packaging materials.     

Energy Production in Water Distribution Networks: A PAT Design Strategy

Pump operating as turbine (PAT) is an effective source of reducing the equipment cost in small hydropower plants. However, the manufacturers provide poor information on the PAT performance thus representing a limit for its wider diffusion. Additional implementation difficulties arise under variable operating conditions, characteristic of water distribution networks (WDNs). WDNs allow to obtain widespread and globally significant amount of produced energy by exploiting the head drop due to the network pressure control strategy for leak reductions. Thus a design procedure is proposed that couples a parallel hydraulic circuit with an overall plant efficiency criteria for the market pump selection within a WDN. The proposed design method allows to identify the performance curves of the PAT that maximizes the produced energy for an assigned flow and pressure-head distribution pattern. Finally, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is shown as a suitable alternative for performance curve assessment covering the limited number of experimental data.     

An Automated Tool for Smart Water Network Partitioning

Water Network Partitioning (WNP) represents the application of the “divide and conquer” paradigm to a Smart WAter Network (SWAN) that allows the improved application of techniques for water balance and pressure control. Indeed, these techniques can be applied with greater effectiveness by defining smaller permanent network parts, called District Meter Areas (DMAs), created by the insertion of gate valves and flow meters. The traditional criteria for the design of network DMAs are based on empirical suggestions (number of properties, length of pipes, etc.) and on approaches such as ‘trial and error’, even if used together with hydraulic simulation software. Nevertheless, these indications and procedures are very difficult to apply to large water supply systems because the insertion of gate valves modifies the original network layout and may considerably worsen the hydraulic performance of the water network. The proposed tool, based on some graph partitioning techniques, commonly applied in distributed computing, and on an original optimisation technique, allows the automatic design of a WNP comparing different possible layouts that are compliant with hydraulic performance. In this paper, the methodology was tested on a real case study using some performance indices to compare different WNPs. The proposed tool was developed in Phyton and integrates graph partitioning, hydraulic simulation techniques and a heuristic optimisation criterion. It allows the definition of DMAs with resulting performance indices that are very similar to the original network layout.     

Electrochemical hydrodehalogenation of polychloromethanes at silver and carbon electrodes

The reductive dehalogenation of CCl₄, CHCl₃, CH₂Cl₂ and CH₃Cl has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential electrolysis at Ag, glassy carbon (GC) and graphite electrodes in dimethylformamide (DMF) + 0.1 M Et₄NClO₄ in the absence and presence of a proton donor. In particular, the study was focused in the evaluation of the intermediates and final products of the reduction process and how their distribution could be affected by tuning relevant chemical and electrochemical parameters. In general, depending on the value of the applied potential, all polychloromethanes (PCMs) can be partially or completely dechlorinated, methane being exclusively formed in the latter case. The nature of the electrode material and the proton availability of the medium affect drastically the distribution of reduction products. The results point out that at both types of electrode, reduction of PCMs takes place through two competing reaction pathways both leading to methane. One reaction route involves a sequence of reductive dehalogenation steps, with the removal of one chlorine atom at a time, whereas the other is based on hydrogenolysis of carbenes and bypasses the intermediacy of partially dechlorinated PCMs. The presence of a proton source affects substantially the hydrodehalogenation efficiency, enhancing the concentration of intermediate PCMs and the final yield of methane. The silver electrode exhibits an extraordinary electrocatalytic effect resulting in remarkable positive shifts of the reduction potentials of all PCMs with respect to GC. The Ag surface strongly affects the kinetics of the dissociative electron transfer to CH_nCl_(4−n) (n = 0–3) as well as the reactivity of the intermediate radicals, carbanions and carbenes.     

Discussion between alternative processing and preservation technologies and their application in beverages: A review

The alternative technologies discussed in this review are able to eliminate pathogenic bacteria while retaining bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins, phenols, pigments, and vitamins, improve the extraction processes of fruit or vegetable juices. The use of nonthermal processing technologies in beverages might provide a higher quality value to the final product and consumers tended to prefer more natural products with minimum preservative substances. This review is analyze and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of alternative technologies applied in beverages, evaluating the parameters that can optimize beverage processing such as time, temperature, pressure, frequency, tension, among others. Additionally, finding solutions to beverage processing issues will be considered analyzing the results obtained with other applied methods, and an overview of new strategies such as microfiltration or the combination of two alternative technologies to improve the quality of the final product will also be evaluated.

Practical applications

The applications of alternative technologies mentioned in this article, are a feasible option for the preservation of beverages in the area of industry. The capacity of each of them has been demonstrated, in addition to the use of microfiltration and ultrafiltration, but the combination between them sounds very encouraging to achieve the quality and safety of beverages, with an extended shelf life and greater protection of its main components. This provides a wide range of research opportunities for any type of beverage.