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•A well-regulated, stable and incessant nanonization method was demonstrated.•The critical conditions of SC-CO2 were consistent and resulting in desired yields.•Altered physical state ...of lonidamine resulted in the solubility improvement.•Improved solubility enhanced the anti-tumor effects of lonidamine after nanonization.
Despite the significant advancements in the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, the aqueous solubility of most of the potent drugs has remained as an unresolved problem during the formulation development and drug delivery processes. To address this critical issue, we modified the continuous-rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS-C) process, which is incessant, stable and well-regulated. Initially, the solubility of lonidamine (LND) in supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) was tested using a static analytical method at altered critical conditions (T: 308.15-328.15K, P: 10.0-30.0MPa). Under optimized conditions (LND conc.- 0.5% (w/v), flow rate- 1.0mL/min, T- 328.15K, P- 20.0MPa and CO2 flow rate- 30.0g/min), the modified RESS-C process resulted in nano-sized spheres with a smooth surface and a narrow particle size distribution. Further, the crystal properties of the samples and their molecular interactions were elucidated. The altered physical state of RESS-C processed LND from crystalline to amorphous resulted in the solubility improvement and also enhanced the in vitro antiproliferative effects compared to the unprocessed LND, demonstrating the potential of the modified RESS-C process in improving the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs.
In this paper, we describe the formation of Au nanoparticle-graphene oxide (Au-GO) and -reduced GO (Au-rGO) composites by noncovalent attachment of Au nanoparticles premodified with ...2-mercaptopyridine to GO and rGO sheets, respectively, viaπ-π stacking and other molecular interactions. Compared with in situ reduction of HAuCl4 on the surface of graphene sheets that are widely used to prepare Au-GO composites, the approach developed by us offers well controlled size, size distribution, and morphology of the metal nanoparticles in the metal-GO nanohybrids. Moreover, we investigated surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and catalysis properties of the Au-graphene composites. We have demonstrated that the Au-GO composites are superior SERS substrates to the Au NPs. Similarly, a comparative study on the catalytic activities of the Au, Au-GO, and Au-rGO composites in the reduction of o-nitroaniline to 1,2-benzenediamine by NaBH4 indicates that both Au-GO and Au-rGO composites exhibit significantly higher catalytic activities than the corresponding Au nanoparticles.
Background
Extrathyroid implantation or dissemination of thyroid tissue secondary to a thyroid procedure is rare. Most of these belonged to thyroid carcinoma with metastatic potential and uncommon ...for benign pathologies.
Methods
We report the case of a 31‐year‐old female who was identified to have multiple subcutaneous implantation of thyroid tissue 5 years after transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy vestibular approach. A comprehensive literature search on implantation of thyroid tissue secondary to thyroid procedures was performed.
Results
Accidental tearing of the capsule during previous surgery may lead to the subcutaneous implantation. Through literature review, a total 29 articles with 47 patients were identified. 33.3% were benign lesions, and implantation was mostly secondary to fine needle aspiration biopsy (46.5%).
Conclusions
Subcutaneous or port site implantation after endoscopic thyroid surgery may occur in benign thyroid pathologies and therefore, oncologic principles must be strictly followed during surgery regardless of its histopathological nature.
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•Multifunctional 3D GCT foam was prepared via hydrothermal and freeze-drying methods.•The GCT foam can be used to separate various oil/water emulsions and organic dyes.•The GCT foam ...showed superhigh separation efficiency for various stabilized emulsions.•The GCT foam showing excellent self-cleaning property.
Oily wastewater causes serious pollution to the environment and has aroused widespread concern. Herein, non-toxic, environmentally friendly, multi-functional superwetting GO/g-C3N4/TiO2 (GCT) foam was prepared via hydrothermal treatment and freeze-drying methods. The as-prepared GCT foam could simultaneously separate oil–water mixtures and adsorb water-soluble organic dyes, both the separation efficiency and adsorption efficiency are higher than 98%. In addition, the GCT foam have the ability to separate various oil-in-water emulsions with separation efficiency of higher than 99%. Meanwhile, the as-prepared GCT foam was able to degrade oil pollution and showed excellent antioil-fouling capability. The as-prepared multifunctional GCT foam is expected to have broad prospects in the treatment of oily wastewater and the adsorption of water-soluble organic pollutants, which may be providing a new strategy for the oily wastewater remediation.
Abstract
Sulfur is an important electrode material in metal−sulfur batteries. It is usually coupled with metal anodes and undergoes electrochemical reduction to form metal sulfides. Herein, we ...demonstrate, for the first time, the reversible sulfur oxidation process in AlCl
3
/carbamide ionic liquid, where sulfur is electrochemically oxidized by AlCl
4
−
to form AlSCl
7
. The sulfur oxidation is: 1) highly reversible with an efficiency of ~94%; and 2) workable within a wide range of high potentials. As a result, the Al−S battery based on sulfur oxidation can be cycled steadily around ~1.8 V, which is the highest operation voltage in Al−S batteries. The study of sulfur oxidation process benefits the understanding of sulfur chemistry and provides a valuable inspiration for the design of other high-voltage metal−sulfur batteries, not limited to Al−S configurations.
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•A novel approach was developed on the hot topic of carbon nanotube dispersion in composites.•Homogeneous carbon nanotube dispersion with a large aspect ratio and small damage was ...obtained.•Strength enhancement by carbon nanotube addition was examined by load transfer mechanism in Al matrix composites.•Al4C3 nano-rods were detected and helpful for load transfer in carbon nanotube/Al composites.
Good dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was the bottleneck to convert their attractive properties to CNT reinforced composites. In this study, a solution ball milling (SBM) approach was developed to homogeneously disperse CNTs in Al matrix composites (AMCs). The process integrated strategies of solution coating, mechanical ball milling and Al-flake producing into a simple organic unity. The dispersion quality, crystal-structure and strengthening effect of CNTs in AMCs processed by SBM were investigated through scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman analysis and tensile tests. Compared with previous methods, the SBM process was simple and effective to obtain a homogeneous CNT dispersion with a large aspect ratio and small CNT damages. Resultantly, the tensile strength of Al matrix was noticeably enhanced by CNT additions agreeing with the potential strengthening effect predicted by the load transfer mechanism.
Background Recent studies have shown that bone marrow stromal cell-derived exosomes (BMSC-Exos) can be used for tissue repair. However, whether the BMSC-Exos can promote tendon-bone healing after ...anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is still unclear. In this study, we observed in vivo and in vitro the effect of rat BMSC-Exos on tendon-bone healing after ACLR and its possible mechanism. Methods Highly expressed miRNAs in rat BMSC-Exos were selected by bioinformatics and verified in vitro. The effect of overexpressed miRNA in BMSC-Exos on M2 macrophage polarization was observed. A rat model of ACLR was established. The experimental components were divided into three groups: the control group, the BMSC-Exos group, and the BMSC-Exos with miR-23a-3p overexpression (BMSC-Exos mimic) group. Biomechanical tests, micro-CT, and histological staining were performed for analysis. Results Bioinformatics analysis showed that miR-23a-3p was highly expressed in rat BMSC-Exos and could target interferon regulatory factor 1 (IRF1, a crucial regulator in M1 macrophage polarization). In vitro, compared with the control group or the BMSC-Exos group, the BMSC-Exos mimic more significantly promoted the polarization of macrophages from M1 to M2. In vivo, at 2 weeks, the number of M2 macrophages in the early local stage of ACLR was significantly increased in the BMSC-Exos mimic group; at 4 and 8 weeks, compared with the control group or the BMSC-Exos group, the bone tunnels of the tibia and femur sides of the rats in the BMSC-Exos mimic group were significantly smaller, the interface between the graft and the bone was narrowed, the bone volume/total volume ratio (BV/TV) increased, the collagen type II alpha 1 level increased, and the mechanical strength increased. Conclusions BMSC-Exos promoted M1 macrophage to M2 macrophage polarization via miR-23a-3p, reduced the early inflammatory reaction at the tendon-bone interface, and promoted early healing after ACLR. Keywords: Bone marrow stromal cell, Exosome, Macrophage polarization, Tendon-bone healing, miRNA
Capacitive deionization (CDI) represents one of the most thermodynamically efficient technologies for brackish water desalination. Its performance is highly reliant on the surface properties of ...carbon-based electrodes. Zeolitic-imidazolate framework (ZIF)-derived carbon materials have emerged among the most promising candidates owing to their high structural and compositional tuneability. However, the impacts of the precursory ZIF structure on the properties of the final carbon, and therefore, CDI capacity and efficiency remain to be further explored. In this work, four Zn-based ZIFs with different side-chain substitutions on the imidazolates were synthesized on a gram scale with high yields to produce N-doped carbons by pyrolysis. The resulting carbons along with four commercial carbon blacks were characterized physically and electrochemically to explore the structure-performance relationship. We demonstrated that the imidazole side-chain substitution alters the ZIF's decomposition during pyrolysis, influencing the elemental compositions, surface properties, wettability and graphitization levels. The diverse carbon properties result in variable double layer capacitance and charge-transfer resistance, ultimately impacting the CDI performance. Among these carbons, Zn (4abIm)2-C afforded the greatest salt adsorption capacity of 14.19 mgNaCl·gC−1, while Zn (mIm)2-C showed the highest overall salt adsorption capacity and rate; both exceeded the performance of the commercial carbon blacks.
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•An array of zeolitic-imidazolate frameworks are converted to carbon materials.•ZIF-derived carbons show tunable surface area, conductivity, and wettability.•An optimal ZIF-carbon shows a CDI salt adsorption capacity of 14.19 mgNaCl·gC−1.•Graphitization is correlated with CDI charge efficiency and energy consumption.
N‐Substituted naphthalimides (NNIs) have been shown to exhibit highly efficient and persistent room‐temperature phosphorescence from an NNI‐localized triplet excited state, when the N‐substitution is ...a sufficiently strong donor and mediates an intramolecular charge‐transfer (ICT) state upon photo‐excitation. This work shows that, when the electron‐donating ability of the N‐substitution is further increased in the presence of a carbanion or phenoxide, spontaneous electron transfer (ET) occurs and results in radical anions, verified with electron‐paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. However, the EPR‐active anion is surprisingly persistent and impervious to nucleophilic and radical reactions under anionic conditions. The stability is thought to originate from an intramolecular spin pairing between the N‐donor and the NI acceptor post ET, which is demonstrated in supramolecular chemistry.
What makes an anion stable and exhibit radical characters? When it is spatially confined to an electron deficient aromatic molecule, a carbanion or phenoxide becomes a persistent radical‐like species at room temperature, presumably due to spin‐pairing interactions. Interesting supramolecular chemistry may thus be constructed.
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•Cu species are optimally impregnated along with Ca species in BG networks.•Cu-BG without drug induced Fenton-like reaction-assisted deadly free radicals.•Ca species in BG presented ...enhanced calcification for osteogenesis.•Biocompatible Cu-BG networks enhanced the (HIF)-1α expression.•Cu-BG networks showed synergistic cancer killing and bone regeneration abilities.
Malignant osteosarcoma is one of the serious health concerns attributed to inferior prognosis and uncontrolled metastasis in clinics. Indeed, multifunctional therapeutics with precise tumor killing and subsequent regeneration of damaged tissue are of immense requirement in treating osteosarcoma. Herein, this study demonstrates the fabrication of versatile calcium/copper-impregnated bioactive glass (Ca-BG/Cu-BG) frameworks with orchestrated cancer inhibition and bone tissue calcification towards osteosarcoma therapy. Initially, the designed composites are systematically characterized to explore various morphological attributes and physicochemical properties. The optimal formulation of Cu-BG (10 mol%) presented orchestrated effects of an excellent pH-responsive anticancer effect through hydroxyl radical (·OH) generation and facilitated hydroxyapatite formation towards bone tissue calcification. Further, in vitro investigations demonstrated substantial biocompatibility in mouse embryo osteoblast precursor cell line (MC3T3-E1) and exceptional anti-tumor effects in human osteosarcoma cells (HOS) through improved cellular internalization efficacy and free radical generation, respectively. Finally, in vivo immunostaining and micro-computed tomography (μCT) images of osteosarcoma-bearing mice confirmed Fenton-like reaction-induced chemodynamic therapy (CDT), over-expressed hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α through p53 pathway, and formation of calcified nodules. In addition, hematological analyses of hematoxylin-eosin (HE) stained main organ sections presented biosafety elucidations. Together, the synergistic prospects of Cu2+ and Ca2+ species had substantially orchestrated towards regenerative medicine.
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