Search

This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Emodin-loaded polymer lipid hybrid nanoparticles (E-PLNs) for breast cancer. The size, Zeta potential, surface morphology, encapsulation efficiency, stability, in vitro drug release of E-PLNs prepared by the nanoprecipitation method were characterized. The uptake, in-vitro cytotoxicities and apoptosis of free drug, E-PLNs were investigated against MCF-7 cells. The efficacy of E-PLNs in tumor bearing nude mice has also been studied.The average particle size of the experimentally prepared E-PLNs was (122.7±1.79) nm, and the encapsulation rate was 72.8%. Compared with free Emodin (EMO), E-PLNs showed greater toxicity to MCF-7 cells by promoting the uptake of EMO, and can promote the early apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. In addition to the morphological changes of apoptotic cells, the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was significantly increased, which indicated that E-PLNs can induce apoptosis in MCF-7 cells to achieve anticancer effect. Finally, E-PLNs significantly inhibited tumor growth by more than 60%, which may be related to its passive targeting effect on tumor site. Our results suggest that E-PLNs have shown good anti-breast cancer effect than free EMO. Moreover, the effect of E-PLNs on MCF-7 cells is mainly related to the induction of apoptosis., (Copyright © 2021 American Pharmacists Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Increasing attention has been focused on the removal of micropollutants from contaminated drinking source water. However, low rejection efficiency and membrane fouling still inhibit further application of nanofiltration membrane in this field. Interesting results were found that the residual hydrolyzed-aluminum nanoparticles from supernatant after coagulation and sedimentation strongly improved the nanofiltration performance for micropollutant removal. A simulated raw water containing humic acids, micropollutants and kaolinite clay was employed to investigate the factors of water matrix affecting the nanoparticle-enhanced nanofiltration for micropollutant removal. Results of experiments showed that these hydrolyzed-aluminum nanoparticles easily induced the aggregation of bisphenol-A (BPA) and humic acids in the supernatant. The enhancement of BPA removal was mainly attributed to the repelling interaction between the Al-BPA-DOC complexity and in situ-modified membrane surface during nanofiltration. 'This in situ surface modification by the hydrolyzed-aluminum nanoparticles improved membrane hydrophilicity, roughness and positively-charging capacity. For the treatment of River Songhua water spiked with micropollutant, the percentage removal of BPA was improved to be 88.5%, much more than the case of single nanofiltration without coagulation (60.7%). Meanwhile, the membrane fouling was reduced by 2.13 times than the case of single nanofiltration without the dynamically deposited-layer of nanoparticles. This in situ modification of nanofiltration membrane by hydrolyzed-aluminum nanoparticles achieved excellent removal efficiency for micropollutants from River Songhua water background., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) addition into membranes is able to improve water flux without jeopardizing selectivity, which enhance the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) processes owing to its intrinsic physical and chemical properties, such as porosity structure and high compatibility with the polymer matrix. However, there were few studies about influences of nanoparticle size on MOFs-incorporated thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes. Here ZIF-8 particles with different average sizes (50, 150 and 400 nm) were synthesized and incorporated into organic monomer solution to fabricate TFN membranes for water desalination to investigate the membrane performance changed by nanomaterial size. Dispersion of ZIF-8 in selective layer during interfacial polymerization process was affected by particle size. The apparent morphology, roughness, and hydrophilicity of ZIF-8 modified TFN membranes were changed subsequently, which affected the water permeability, salt rejection and fouling resistance performance of the TFN membranes correspondingly. Our results showed that the TFN membrane comprising ZIF-8 with particle size of 50 nm had the best performance due to the highest dispersion in polyamide layer, revealing the importance of MOFs particle size in further investigation of MOFs-incorporated TFN membranes., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In this work, microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μ-PAD) was applied in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) method and thus a truly low-cost, simple, portable, and disposable microfluidic PEC origami device (μ-PECOD) was demonstrated. The molecular imprinting technique was introduced into microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) through electropolymerization of molecular imprinted polyaniline (MPANI) in a novel Au nanoparticle (AuNP)-modified paper working electrode (Au-PWE). This is fabricated through the growth of an AuNP layer on the surfaces of cellulose fibers in the PWE. Under visible light irradiation, MPANI can generate the photoelectric transition from the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), delivering the excited electrons to the AuNPs, and then to the carbon working electrode. Simultaneously, it is believed that a positively charged hole of MPANI that took part in the oxidation process was consumed by ascorbic acid (AA) to promote the amplifying photocurrent response. On the basis of this novel MPANI-Au-PWE and the principle of origami, a microfluidic molecular imprinted polymer (MIP)-based photoelectrochemical analytical origami device (μ-MPECOD), comprised of an auxiliary tab and a sample tab, is developed for the detection of heptachlor in the linear range from 0.03 nmol L−1 to 10.0 nmol L−1 with a low detection limit of 8.0 pmol L−1. The selectivity, reproducibility, and stability of this μ-MPECOD are investigated. This μ-MPECOD would provide a new platform for high-throughput, sensitive, specific, and multiplex assay in public health, environmental monitoring, and the developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Co3O4 nanoparticles were readily obtained via thermal decomposition of cobalt oxalate nanorods precursor, which was synthesized by microemulsion-mediated solvothermal method. Experimental results revealed that the molar ratio of water to surfactant and the concentration of reactants played important roles in morphological control of CoC2O4·2H2O nanorods as well as Co3O4 nanoparticles. Catalytic activity of Co3O4 nanoparticles for methane combustion was also investigated. The results showed a high conversion efficiency (∼67%) at a lower temperature (350°C) compared with bulk Co3O4, indicating a significant improvement for availability of the natural gas combustion and the removal of toxic gases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The uniformity of nanoparticles on supported catalysts is crucial for the understanding of their active sites. Compared to traditional synthesis methods, continuous flow method can effectively control the size of nanoparticles. Herein, we successfully synthesized a series of Pt/C catalysts with uniform Pt nanoparticles by continuous flow method and discriminated the active sites for 2-methylfuran (2-MF) hydrogenation. The activation energy and XPS characterization results indicate that the 2-MF hydrogenation is mainly governed by Pt geometric properties for Pt nanoparticles ≥ 3.05 nm. Based on the truncated cuboctahedron model, the dominant active sites for 2-MF hydrogenation are further discriminated as follows: the (111) facet for 2-MF conversion, the (100) facet for 2-pentanone (2-PN) formation, the edge site for 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MTHF) formation and the corner site for 2-pentanol (2-POL) formation. For Pt nanoparticles < 3.05 nm, the reaction is mainly influenced by the electronic properties of Pt. [Display omitted] • Continuous flow method was used to prepare the Pt/C catalyst. • Pt/C catalyst exhibited a uniform size distribution. • Active sites for Pt-catalyzed 2-methylfuran hydrogenation were successfully discriminated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Porous carbon nanoparticles were derived from ZIF-8 carbonization. • Thin-film nanocomposite membrane was prepared by incorporation of porous carbon. • Water flux and antifouling performance were enhanced for TFN membranes. In this study, we investigated the influences of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 derived porous carbon (CZIF-8) on the permeation and antifouling property of thin-film nanocomposite membranes (TFN). The incorporation of CZIF-8 into polyamide layer enhanced the water flux from 11.64 to 18.23 L/m2∙h without decreasing NaCl rejection. Dynamic fouling tests with bovine serum albumin illustrated that the TFN membrane possessed an enhanced antifouling property after three cycles. The higher water flux recovery ratio and the lower fouling ratio of TFN membranes are attributed to the changes in physiochemical property of membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: PVDF/TiO2 hybrid microfiltration membranes with different nano-TiO2 dosage were prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method, and dimethal-phthalate (DMP) was used as a diluent. The membranes prepared were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Their properties such as pure water flux, contact angle, porosity and mechanical performances were also determined. Results showed that PVDF and PVDF/TiO2 hybrid membranes were formed by solid–liquid phase separation and had spherical crystallites structure with cells. The addition of nano-TiO2 particles to the PVDF/DMP mixtures had a strong effect on the crystallization temperature of hybrid membranes and crystallization formation in the TIPS process. The addition of the nano-TiO2 particles did not affect the type of PVDF crystal form (α phase). Nano-TiO2 particles were well distributed in PVDF matrix at the lower concentration and exist in a continuous phase and aggregated in PVDF matrix at the higher concentration. Pure water flux, contact angle, porosity, tensile strength and elongation at break first increased, then decreased with the increase of TiO2 dosage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]