α-Mangostin was extracted with methanol from the rind of mangosteen fruit and purified by using silica gel column chromatography technique. The compound is characterised using infrared, (13)C and (1)H NMR as well as UV-vis spectroscopy. The α-mangostin dispersion in colloidal systems was studied by incorporating it with an ionic microgel, poly (N-Isopropylacrylamide)-co-2VP at different pH.
Nano-colloidal systems formulated from amphiphilically-modified polysaccharides (degree of modification 16.6%) are focus of prominent study due to their potential to augment active penetration across the skin. Here we report the synthesis of amphiphilically-modified guar gum (GBE-GG) prepared by grafting with glycidol butyl ether (GBE), which were subsequently formed into nanocarriers and loaded with α-arbutin (22.3% loading). The monodispersed and close-to-spherical nanocarriers (size range 239-297 nm) formed via cross-linking were adequately stable mainly at low temperature (4 °C) under physiological pH condition. α-arbutin was released from GBE-GG NPs in a more sustained manner and the release profiles can be accurately represented by the 1st order kinetic model. In-vitro interactions on immortalised human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells revealed an increase in biological membrane permeability as well as the absence of cellular toxicity at application pertinent concentrations. No substantial haemolytic activity appeared and flow cytometry analysis revealed effective cellular uptake, suggesting their potential as promising nanocarriers for percutaneous delivery that warrants further comprehensive research.
In recent years, the environmental pollution of microplastics (MPs) has increasingly drawn our attention. MPs are small fragments of plastics that are commonly dispersed in the environment. The accumulation of environmental MPs is due to population growth and urbanization, while natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding and human activity may influence their distribution. The leaching of chemicals from MPs raises a significant safety problem and environmental approaches aimed at reducing the use and recycling of plastics, with the replacement by bioplastics and wastewater treatment developments are called for. This summary also helps in demonstrating the connection between terrestrial and freshwater MPs and wastewater treatment plants as the major contributors to environmental MPs by discharges of sludge and effluent. More research on the classification, detection, characterization and toxicity of MPs are essential to enable greater options and solutions. Control initiatives need to intensify the comprehensive study of MP waste control and management information programmes in the fields of institutional engagement, technological research and development, legislation and regulation. A comprehensive quantitative analysis approach for MPs should be created in the future, and more reliable traceability analysis methods should be built to examine further its environmental activity and existence, where this should be done to improve scientific research on MP pollution in terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments and hence, develop more scientific and rational control policies.
pH-sensitive poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hydrogel reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) was prepared. Acrylic acid (AA) was subjected to chemical cross-linking using the cross-linking agent MBA (N,N-methylenebisacrylamide) with CNC entrapped in the PAA matrix. The quantity of CNC was varied between 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 wt %. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed an increase in crystallinity with the addition of CNC, while rheology tests demonstrated a significant increase in the storage modulus of the hydrogel with an increase in CNC content. It was found that the hydrogel reached maximum swelling at pH 7. The potential of the resulting hydrogels to act as drug carriers was then evaluated by means of the drug encapsulation efficiency test using theophylline as a model drug. It was observed that 15% CNC/PAA hydrogel showed the potential to be used as drug carrier system.
The presence of organic dyes from industrial wastewater can cause pollution and exacerbate environmental problems; therefore, in the present work, activated carbon was synthesized from locally available oil palm trunk (OPT) biomass as a low-cost adsorbent to remove synthetic dye from aqueous media. The physical properties of the synthesized oil palm trunk activated carbon (OPTAC) were analyzed by SEM, FTIR-ATR, and XRD. The concurrent effects of the process variables (adsorbent dosage (g), methylene blue (MB) concentration (mg/L), and contact time (h)) on the MB removal percentage from aqueous solution were studied using a three-factor three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM), followed by the optimization of MB adsorption using OPTAC as the adsorbent. Based on the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the three parameters considered, adsorbent dosage (X1) is the most crucial parameter, with an F-value of 1857.43, followed by MB concentration (X2) and contact time (X3) with the F-values of 95.60 and 29.48, respectively. Furthermore, the highest MB removal efficiency of 97.9% was achieved at the optimum X1, X2, and X3 of 1.5 g, 200 mg/L, and 2 h, respectively.
Nanostructures play an important role in targeting sparingly water-soluble drugs to specific sites. Because of the structural flexibility and stability, the use of template microemulsions (μEs) can produce functional nanopharmaceuticals of different sizes, shapes, and chemical properties. In this article, we report a new volatile oil-in-water (o/w) μE formulation comprising ethyl acetate/ethanol/brij-35/water to obtain the highly water-dispersible nanoparticles of an antihyperlipidemic agent, ezetimibe (EZM-NPs), to enhance its dissolution profile. A pseudoternary phase diagram was delineated in a specified brij-35/ethanol ratio (1:1) to describe the transparent, optically isotropic domain of the as-formulated μE. The water-dilutable μE formulation, comprising an optimum composition of ethyl acetate (18.0%), ethanol (25.0%), brij-35 (25.0%), and water (32.0%), showed a good dissolvability of EZM around 4.8 wt % at pH 5.2. Electron micrographs showed a fine monomodal collection of EZM-loaded μE droplets (∼45 nm) that did not coalesce even after lyophilization, forming small spherical EZM-NPs (∼60 nm). However, the maturity of nanodrug droplets observed through dynamic light scattering suggests the affinity of EZM to the nonpolar microenvironment, which was further supported through peak-to-peak correlation of infrared analysis and fluorescence measurements. Moreover, the release profile of the as-obtained EZM-nanopowder increased significantly >98% in 30 min, which indicates that a reduced drug concentration will be needed for capsules or tablets in the future and can be simply incorporated into the multidosage formulation of EZM.
To overcome the increased disease rate, utilization of the versatile broad spectrum antibiotic drugs in controlled drug-delivery systems has been a challenging and complex consignment. However, with the development of microemulsion (μE)-based formulations, drugs can be effectively encapsulated and transferred to the target source. Herein, two biocompatible oil-in-water (o/w) μE formulations comprising clove oil/Tween 20/ethylene glycol/water (formulation A) and clove oil/Tween 20/1-butanol/water (formulation B) were developed for encapsulating the gatifloxacin (GTF), a fourth-generation antibiotic. The pseudoternary phase diagrams were mapped at a constant surfactant/co-surfactant (1:1) ratio to bound the existence of a monophasic isotropic region for as-formulated μEs. Multiple complementary characterization techniques, namely, conductivity (σ), viscosity (η), and optical microscopy analyses, were used to study the gradual changes that occurred in the microstructure of the as-formulated μEs, indicating the presence of a percolation transformation to a bicontinuous permeate flow. GTF showed good solubility, 3.2 wt % at pH 6.2 and 4.0 wt % at pH 6.8, in optimum μE of formulation A and formulation B, respectively. Each loaded μE formulation showed long-term stability over 8 months of storage. Moreover, no observable aggregation of GTF was found, as revealed by scanning transmission electron microscopy and peak-to-peak correlation of IR analysis, indicating the stability of GTF inside the formulation. The average particle size of each μE, measured by dynamic light scattering, increased upon loading GTF, intending the accretion of drug in the interfacial layers of microdomains. Likewise, fluorescence probing sense an interfacial hydrophobic environment to GTF molecules in any of the examined formulations, which may be of significant interest for understanding the kinetics of drug release.