Medicinal herb drying using a photovoltaic array and a solar thermal system

Drying of medicinal herbs should take place as soon as possible after harvesting; otherwise insects and fungi, which thrive in most conditions, render them unusable. Conventional drying methods such as open sun drying and conventional-fuel dryers are not suitable; since they may yield a less quality product and/or may increase the drying cost and/or time. Moreover, they may not be reliable and environmentally safe. Therefore, the trend is toward using controlled-nonconventional drying methods, to improve the quality of the product to be dried and at the same time to decrease the drying cost and time. These methods use renewable energy sources for their operation, which are highly recommendable. This work proposes and develops a new controlled drying method; which uses a solar collector and a bio-gas fuel to heat the drying air, and a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system to feed the electrical load of the dryer. The designed control technique ensures correct and continuous operation of the dryer’s subsystems. Also, this work presents the dynamic modeling for the different components in the solar thermal system, which is responsible for heating the drying air. The results indicate the high effectiveness of the drying method.     

Permeation of Telone C‐35 EC™ and chloropicrin through protective gloves

Telone is a potent volatile liquid chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide based on 1,3‐dichloropropene that is applied without dilution for fumigation purposes, and so poses an inhalation and air pollution threat, as proven by past monitoring. 1,3‐Dichloropropene also causes allergic skin effects, is absorbed through the skin, and metabolites have been shown to be excreted after skin absorption, so making it a skin exposure threat too, one that may become most important in the situations of adequate respirator protection or cleaning up spills. It is often coformulated with agents like chloropicrin, a chemical warfare agent, to substitute for methyl bromide fumigant. The aim of the study was to assess if nitrile and laminated gloves provided adequate protection against Telone C‐35 EC?, using an ASTM‐type I‐PTC‐600 permeation cell containing disposable (Safeskin?) and chemically‐resistant (Sol‐Vex?) nitrile and laminated (Barrier? and Silver Shield?) glove materials with hexane liquid collection. Analyses of cis‐ and trans‐1,3‐dichloropropene and chloropicrin in the collection fluid at various times were performed on a moderately polar capillary column, using gas chromatography–electron capture detection by the internal and external standards methods. Both nitrile materials were degraded by the formulation and pure chloropicrin, and so were unsuitable for protection. Both laminated glove materials offered some protection with Silver Shield? the better, since less mass had permeated by 8 h, but the extent of protection was still inadequate, as illustrated by a risk assessment of the skin exposure situation. It is recommended that Viton gloves be worn rather than the laminated ones when Telone C‐35 EC? is handled. Laminated gloves may protect against pure chloropicrin. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 18–25, 2006     

Exploiting bilosomes for delivering bioactive polysaccharide isolated from Enteromorpha intestinalis for hacking hepatocellular carcinoma

Bile salts containing vesicles (bilosomes) represent a portentous vesicular carrier that showed prosperous results in delivering active moieties in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). In this study, bilosomes were exploited to deliver sulfated polysaccharide–protein complexes of Enteromorpha intestinalis (EHEM) and enhance its activity against hepatocellular carcinoma as well as resist harsh GIT conditions. Bilosomes were prepared using the sodium salt of three different bile acids (cholic, deoxycholic, taurodeoxycholic) and two different nonionic surfactants (Span 40 and 65). The effects of experimental variables were thoroughly studied to obtain an optimum formulation loading EHEM. The selected formulation (EH-Bilo-2) prepared with sodium cholate and Span 65 displayed nano-sized (181.1?±?16.80?nm) spherical vesicles with reasonable entrapment efficiency (71.60?±?0.25%) and controlled release properties; and thus was investigated as anti-hepatocarcinogenic candidate for in vivo studies. Treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) bearing rats with EH-Bilo-2 experienced significant decrease in serum α-fetoprotein, endoglin, lipocalin-2, and heat shock protein 70 levels vs. the untreated counterparts. Furthermore, the photomicrographs of their liver tissue sections showed focal area of degenerated pleomorphic hepatocytes with fine fibrosis originating from the portal area. Thus, the optimized bilosomal formulation is a promising delegate for tackling hepatocellular carcinoma owing to its powerful anti-cancer and anti-angiogenic activity.     

Characterization and bioactivity of phycocyanin isolated from Spirulina maxima grown under salt stress

In this study, Spirulina maxima (SM) has been selected following preliminary investigations, for cultivation in either normal (0.02 M) or stress (0.1 M) NaCl medium (Zarrouk) under room conditions to evaluate the possibility of increasing the total phycobiliprotein content (TPC) and their chemical constituents: C-phycocyanin (C-PC), allophycocyanin (APC) and phycoerthrin (PE). TPC material was separated, purified and characterized by various spectroscopic techniques (UV-Vis and IR spectra). The antioxidant activity against free radicals of DPPH, ABTS, superoxide (˙(-)O(2)), hydroxy (˙OH) and reducing power potential were determined. Results indicated a highly significant correlation between increased TPC content in SM cells and the increasing concentration of NaCl in medium, and its chemical constituents were significantly different (P > 0.05). TPC of SM (grown in stress NaCl) containing high amounts of C-PC groups, showed strong antioxidant activity compared with ascorbic acid (standard antioxidant). Although, it activity against different free radicals were found to be variable and dose-dependent. Moreover, the TPC showed lower antimicrobial activity (MIC values in the range of 250-300 μg mL(-1)) than that of chloramphinicol (30 μg mL(-1), reference antimicrobial). Therefore, Spirulina maxima could be cultivated in a salinated open pond, and considered as highly healthy foods and source of natural pigments.     

Nanoethosomes for transdermal delivery of tropisetron HCl: multi-factorial predictive modeling,characterization, and ex vivo skin permeation

Objective: The aim of the present work is to exclusively optimize and model the effect of phospholipid type either egg phosphatidylcholine (EPC) or soybean phosphatidylcholine (SPC), together with other formulation variables, on the development of nano-ethosomal systems for transdermal delivery of a water-soluble antiemetic drug. Tropisetron HCl (TRO) is available as hard gelatin capsules and IV injections. The transdermal delivery of TRO is considered as a novel alternative route supposing to improve BAV as well as patient convenience.

Methods: TRO-loaded ethanolic vesicular systems were prepared by hot technique. The effect of formulation variables were optimized through a response surface methodology using 3?×?2²-level full factorial design. The concentrations of both PC (A) and ethanol (B) and PC type (C) were the factors, while entrapment efficiency (Y₁), vesicle size (Y₂), polydispersity index (Y₃), and zeta potential (Y₄) were the responses. The drug permeation across rat skin from selected formulae was studied. Particle morphology, drug–excipient interactions, and vesicle stability were also investigated.

Results: The results proved the critical role of all formulation variables on ethosomal characteristics. The suggested models for all responses showed good predictability. Only the concentration of phospholipid, irrespective to PC type, had a significant effect on the transdermal flux (p?Conclusion: The study suggests the applicability of statistical modeling as a promising tool for prediction of ethosomal characteristics. The ethanolic vesicles were considered as novel potential nanocarriers for accentuated transdermal TRO delivery.     

Chemical composition and mineral content of rice bran of two egyptian rice varieties heated by microwave

Two rice varieties, a short grain (Giza 175) and a long grain (Giza 181), were parboiled by soaking in water at 80—85 °C for 1.5 h, then dried in the microwave oven for 3, 5, 6 and 8 min. The effect of such parboiling treatment on the chemical composition and mineral content (Zn, Mn, Cu, Fe, Na, K, Ca, Mg and P) of rice bran were studied. The ash and protein contents of parboiled rice bran varieties decreased with microwave time. The oil extraction increased until 5 min, then decreased after 6 and 8 min microwave time, while acid value of the oils decreased gradually. Each of the mineral components of the brans exhibited different magnitudes of loss, but Mg loss was smaller.     

The collection and concentration of aroma components of soft fruit using porapak Q

A comparison of various methods for collecting aroma components of plums using adsorption on Porapak Q indicated that extracts were more representative of components present above the intact fruit if it was loosely packed into the collecting vessel, high gas flows used for purging and the entrained volatiles adsorbed on to gram quantities of Porapak, kept agitated during collection and then desorbed by eluting with ether. Tight packing of fruit and low gas flows during collection led to extracts with fermented aromas and higher concentrations of components associated with microbial action. Heat desorption of volatiles gave poor recoveries of components eluting beyond acetic acid on a Carbowax 20M gas chromatographic column.     

Fighting Non-Small Lung Cancer Cells Using Optimal Functionalization of Targeted Carbon Quantum Dots Derived from Natural Sources Might Provide Potential Therapeutic and Cancer Bio Image Strategies

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is an important sub-type of lung cancer associated with poor diagnosis and therapy. Innovative multi-functional systems are urgently needed to overcome the invasiveness of NSCLC. Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) derived from natural sources have received interest for their potential in medical bio-imaging due to their unique properties, which are characterized by their water solubility, biocompatibility, simple synthesis, and low cytotoxicity. In the current study, ethylene-diamine doped CQDs enhanced their cytotoxicity (98 ± 0.4%, 97 ± 0.38%, 95.8 ± 0.15%, 86 ± 0.15%, 12.5 ± 0.14%) compared to CQDs alone (99 ± 0.2%, 98 ± 1.7%, 96 ± 0.8%, 93 ± 0.38%, 91 ± 1.3%) at serial concentrations (0.1, 1, 10, 100, 1000 μg/mL). In order to increase their location in a specific tumor site, folic acid was used to raise their functional folate recognition. The apoptotic feature of A549 lung cells exposed to N-CQDs and FA-NCQDs was characterized by a light orange-red color under fluorescence microscopy. Additionally, much nuclear fragmentation and condensation were seen. Flow cytometry results showed that the percentage of cells in late apoptosis and necrosis increased significantly in treated cells to (19.7 ± 0.03%), (27.6 ± 0.06%) compared to untreated cells (4.6 ± 0.02%), (3.5 ± 0.02%), respectively. Additionally, cell cycle arrest showed a strong reduction in cell numbers in the S phase (14 ± 0.9%) compared to untreated cells (29 ± 0.5%). Caspase-3 levels were increased significantly in A549 exposed to N-CQDs (2.67 ± 0.2 ng/mL) and FA-NCQDs (3.43 ± 0.05 ng/mL) compared to untreated cells (0.34 ± 0.04 ng/mL). The functionalization of CQDs derived from natural sources has proven their potential application to fight off non-small lung cancer.     

Naturally Occuring Organic Substances as Corrosion Inhibitors for mild steel in acid medium

Inhibition of the corrosion of mild steel in H₂SO₄ by amino acids was studied by measuring the Tafel polarization curves. Nineteen different naturally occuring amino acids were used as corrosion inhibitors. Two-site adsorption model was proposed to explain the adsorption of some amino acids on the metal surface. At 1 × 10^?4M concentration of inhibitor, the best corrosion inhibition was obtained with the sulphur-containing amino acids. Other amino acids gave various corrosion inhibition efficiency depending or their structure.