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Background Blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, which have been studied for many years. Interest in these compounds has grown attributing to their possible therapeutic and beneficial effects, among which are the reduction of coronary heart disease, anticancer/antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic effects, as well as the improvement of visual acuity and cognitive behavior. However, the chemical instability of anthocyanins is one of the major limitations on their application. Anthocyanins are susceptible to degrade, leading to the loss of color. Several environmental factors could significantly influence the stability of anthocyanins, including temperature, light, oxygen, enzymes, and pH. The instability of anthocyanins would likely result in their poor bioavailability. Scope and approach This review provides critical information for a better understanding of the bioavailability of blueberry anthocyanins. Furthermore, recent findings regarding different approaches to increase the bioavailability of blueberry anthocyanins will be discussed. More than half of the nearly 100 papers cited in this review were published in the last decade. Key Findings and Conclusions The improvement in anthocyanin stability is an important problem that needs to be solved urgently. A major challenge in food applications is to find a strategy to overcome this obstacle of anthocyanin's instability, which could lead to low bioavailability. Therefore, the utilization of different formulations such as nanoparticulate systems, microencapsulation, and protein complexes could potentially improve the bioavailability after ingestion and during digestion. Developing effective novel systems to increase stability of anthocyanins and thus its bioavailability in the human body following ingestion, can enhance its nutraceutical use in the context of prevention and/or cure of diseases.

Natural bioactive ingredients have lower bioavailability because of their chemical instability and poor water solubility, which limits their applications in functional foods. Among diverse biopolymers that can be used to construct delivery systems of bioactives, chitosan has attracted extensive attention due to its unique cationic nature, excellent mucoadhesive properties and easy modification. In this review, chitosan and its composites-based food-grade delivery systems as well as the factors affecting their performance are summarized. Modification, crosslinking, combination with other biopolymer or utilization of coating material can effectively overcome the instability of pure chitosan-based carriers under acidic conditions, thereby constructing chitosan and its complex-based carriers with conspicuously improved performance. Furthermore, the applications of chitosan-based delivery systems in nutrition and health as well as their future development trends and challenges are discussed. Functional food ingredients, functional food packaging and biological health are potential applications of chitosan-based food-grade delivery systems. The research trends of nutraceutical delivery systems based on chitosan and its composites include co-delivery of nutrients and essential oils, targeted intestinal delivery, stimulus responsive/sustained release and their applications in real foods. In conclusion, food industry will be significantly promoted with the continuous innovation and development of chitosan-based nutraceutical delivery systems.

Phenolic compounds are abundant in nature and have multiple beneficial effects on human health due to their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antithrombotic, antiallergenic, anticancer, and antiatherosclerotic properties. For this reason, phenolics are becoming relevant functional ingredients for several industries, mainly the food industry, derived from food consumer exigencies and regulations. However, the use of their beneficial properties still presents some limitations, such as chemical instability under environmental and processing conditions, which leads to structural changes and compromises their biological activities. They also present poor water solubility and sensitivity to pH changes, decreasing their bioavailability in the organism. The technologies for extraction and stabilization of these compounds have evolved rapidly in the development of different delivery systems to encapsulate sensitive active molecules. Biopolymeric nanoparticles are biodegradable polymer-based colloidal systems with sizes ranging from 1 to 1000 nm, and different techniques can be carried out to develop them. These systems have emerged as a green and effective alternative to improve stability, bioavailability, and biological effects of phenolic compounds. This comprehensive review aims to present an overview of recent advances in encapsulation processes of phenolic compounds within biopolymer nanoparticles as delivery systems and the impact on their physicochemical properties and biological effects after encapsulation. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Owing to their promising application prospects, water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions have aroused continuous attention in recent years. However, long-term stability of W/O emulsions remains a particularly challenging problem in colloid science. With the increasing demand of consumers for natural, green, and healthy foods, the heavy reliance on chemically synthesized surfactants to achieve long-term stability has become the key technical defect restricting the application of W/O emulsions in food. To design and manufacture W/O emulsions with long-term stability and clean label, a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of the W/O emulsion system is required. This review aims to demystify the field of W/O emulsions and update its current research progress. We first provide a summary on the essential basic knowledge regarding the instability mechanisms, including physical and chemical instability in W/O emulsions. Then, the formulation of the W/O emulsion system is introduced, particularly focusing on the use of natural stabilizers. Besides, the characterization and application of W/O emulsions are also discussed. Finally, we propose promising research trends, including (1) developing W/O high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) as fat mimetic and substitute, (2) promising formulation routine for long-term stable double emulsions, and (3) searching for novel plant-derived stabilizers of W/O emulsions.

Background Food industry is committed to the consumers demand, having invested in the development and processing of innovative products capable to promote the human health and wellness. The incorporation of bioactive compounds – nutraceuticals – into dietary supplements and functional foods is of great importance to the human body, as they play an important key role in modulating metabolic processes. Encapsulation technology is herein an auspicious strategy to deal with the chemical instability and poor aqueous solubility of lipophilic bioactive compounds. Controlled delivery nano- and microsystems properly devised may protect and increase the stability of several bioactive compounds. Further incorporation of these loaded structures into food formulations might promote the bioaccessibility and bioactivity increase of bioactive compounds. Several gastrointestinal digestion models have been used to assess and identify the delivery systems that fulfil their function, improving the bioavailability of nutraceutical in the human body. Scope and approach This review starts with the presentation of several innovative food products with interest to the consumers. The main carrier-based systems and the encapsulating methods applied to nutraceuticals are further presented. In the last section, an overview about the main simulated gastrointestinal digestion and uptake models are addressed, as well as studies therein performed with delivery systems are discussed. Key findings and conclusions In vitro static models are widely used to evaluate the behaviour of different delivery systems in gastrointestinal tract. The combination of in vitro digestion models and cellular uptake can provide an improved understanding of the most suitable formulations for oral applications.

The presence of microplastics in water is a serious environmental problem. Although several approaches have been employed to tackle the problem, the use of membrane technology in addressing this problem remains encouraging but with limitation such as fouling and chemical instability which can be circumvented. This review identifies the presence of microplastics in water and the role of membrane technology in tackling the removal of microplastics in water. The study revealed the presence of microplastics in different water sources as well as the negative impact of microplastics on aquatic animals. Unfortunately, lack of proper management of plastic wastes has led to an increase in the presence of microplastics in the environment. Despite the profound performance by membrane technology towards the removal of microplastics in water, there is need to further improve on the limitations exhibited by this technology. However, there is no doubt that membrane technology remains an outstanding technology for the removal microplastics in water.

Background The food industry seeks to expand the color palette with natural colorants. Nevertheless, in nature, the blue color is rare compared to other colors. Despite synthetic colorants' effects on human health, synthetic blue colorants are largely used by the food industry. In this way, consumers usually associate the blue color with artificial ingredients. However, whether blue colorants obtained from natural sources were used in food production, would consumers better accept these products? Scope and approach The current demand for manufacturing food products with natural ingredients has increased the market interest for natural blue colorants. Therefore, this review summarizes the current scenario of synthetic blue colorants' use and the possible sources of natural colorants that the industry can use to replace them. Also, the challenges, alternatives, and future strategies are discussed. Key findings and conclusions Although a considerable effort has been dedicated to searching for new blue colorants, they present some limitations: physical and chemical instability, the unfamiliarity of the blue color compound, and high-production cost. Among the blue colorant options, the compound formed by the reaction between genipin and primary amines seems to have the highest potential for industrial application. However, its composition, toxicity, physical and chemical stability in adverse processing and storage conditions are still unknown.

Quantum dots have unique size-dependent properties and promising applications. However, their use in many applications remains hindered by mechanical, thermal, and chemical instability and the lack of viable quantum dot mass-production processes. Embedding quantum dots in matrices such as silica counteracts the instability challenges in some applications while preserving their unique properties and applicability. Here, we synthesize quantum dots of four different metal oxides embedded in a silica matrix in a one-step mass-production process using flame spray pyrolysis.

Because of their toxicity, flammability, and chemical instability, the vapor–liquid equilibria of the group V hydrides, phosphine, arsine, and stibine are underexplored. Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo ...

β-Cu2Se has attracted much attention due to its high thermoelectric performances at high temperatures. However, the fast migration of Cu ions at elevated temperatures, which stems from its intrinsic liquid-like behavior, causes chemical instability in β-Cu2Se, resulting in deterioration of its initial performance. Therefore, the improvement of its chemical stability is considered as the biggest challenge for practical thermoelectric application of β-Cu2Se. Here we report significantly enhanced chemical stability in interface-controlled Cu2+xSe-reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites and related thermoelectric performances. The solid-state reacted Cu2+xSe powder and RGO were consolidated into the bulk composites using spark plasma sintering at 823 K. By suppressing Cu migration using the impermeable RGO network, we successfully prepared the composites without Cu precipitates even in Cu-excess condition. Beneficial effects of the interface control on the thermoelectric properties of β-Cu2Se were discussed, and the maximum ZT of 1.05 was obtained from the Cu2.025Se-RGO composite at 823 K.

Organic–inorganic hybrid halide perovskites are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and light-emitting devices. Pursuing solutions to overcome the key problem of instability shown by most used MAPbI3 materials, all-inorganic perovskites like CsPbI3 are attracting considerable attention. Unfortunately, CsPbI3 still suffers from significant issues relating to chemical instability and toxicity due to the presence of Pb atoms; therefore, it is necessary to carry out a profound review of the properties of all-inorganic perovskites to overcome these problems. Experimental laboratories cannot afford, in terms of money and time, to synthesize and characterize large numbers of compounds to rigorously assess the outcomes. Therefore, a systematic density functional theory study of the family of all-inorganic perovskites with the general formula CsPb1−bSnb(I1−xBrx)3 has been performed, covering the entire chemical composition range and elucidating the connections between composition and the structural, thermodynamic, and mechanical properties, in addition to any effects on stability. Our results allow us to gain significant insight in the search for new all-inorganic perovskites with tailored structural, thermodynamic, and mechanical properties via fine-tuning the chemical composition.

The preservation risks surrounding music master tapes—the high-quality sources of most commercial recordings between the 1950s and 1990s—were dramatically highlighted in recent coverage of Universal Music’s 2008 vault fire. Other challenges include storage costs, chemical instability of tape stocks and technological obsolescence of playback equipment, with the industry’s ability to tackle these still unclear. This article examines an emerging solution—donation to public archival institutions—using recent experiences at the Alexander Turnbull Library (part of the National Library of New Zealand) as a case study. Focusing on the master-tape collections of the Viking and Ode record labels, it examines their status as a form of ‘popular music heritage’, practical considerations such as copyright, digitization work, and how this work is leveraged by the labels to reissue legacy recordings. There has been little scholarly study of master tapes and the article also explores their research potential in terms of sound quality, studio production and industry history. Master tapes, the article concludes, hold considerable aesthetic, commercial and historical significance.

The aminothiol cysteamine, derived from coenzyme A degradation in mammalian cells, presents several biological applications. However, the bitter taste and sickening odor, chemical instability, hygroscopicity, and poor pharmacokinetic profile of cysteamine limit its efficacy. The use of encapsulation systems is a good methodology to overcome these undesirable properties and improve the pharmacokinetic behavior of cysteamine. Besides, the conjugation of cysteamine to the surface of nanoparticles is generally proposed to improve the intra-oral delivery of cyclodextrin-drug inclusion complexes, as well as to enhance the colorimetric detection of compounds by a gold nanoparticle aggregation method. On the other hand, the detection and quantification of cysteamine is a challenging mission due to the lack of a chromophore in its structure and its susceptibility to oxidation before or during the analysis. Derivatization agents are therefore applied for the quantification of this molecule. To our knowledge, the derivatization techniques and the encapsulation systems used for cysteamine delivery were not reviewed previously. Thus, this review aims to compile all the data on these methods as well as to provide an overview of the various biological applications of cysteamine focusing on its skin application., Graphical abstract Image 1, Highlights • Cysteamine derivatization is required for quantification purposes. • Cysteamine applications are reviewed including hyperpigmentation treatment. • Drug delivery systems loading cysteamine are highlighted.

The chemical instability of Sir Joshua Reynolds’s paintings has puzzled commentators and conservators for a long time. Reynolds’s own contemporaries were divided over the merits of his techniques. ...

CsSnI3 is a representative all-inorganic and less toxic perovskite material. However, extreme structural and chemical instability of perovskite CsSnI3 makes its optoelectronic applications highly c...

Many diseases such as cancer are cured by natural substances, yet practical applications are limited by low pharmacodynamics due to poor solubility and permeability, photosensitivity, chemical instability, and first-pass metabolism. These issues are partly solved by nanotechnology. Here, we review briefly lipid-based nanomaterials for drug delivery. Indeed, lipid nanoconstructs allow active and passive targeting, biocompatibility, improved safety, and efficacy. Lipid nanoconstructs include both vesicular- and particulate-based systems such as liposomes, lipid micelles, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanostructured lipid carriers.

Organic radicals consisting of light elements exhibit a low spin-orbit coupling and weak hyperfine interactions with a long spin coherence length, which are crucial for future applications in molecular spintronics. However, the synthesis and characterization of these organic radicals have been a formidable challenge due to their chemical instability arising from unpaired electrons. Here, we report a direct imaging of the surface chemical transformation of an organic monoradical synthesized via the monodehydrogenation of a chemically designed precursor. Bond-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy unambiguously resolves various products formed through a complex structural dissociation and rearrangement of organic monoradicals. Density functional theory calculations reveal detailed reaction pathways from the monoradical to different cyclized products. Our study provides unprecedented insights into complex surface reaction mechanisms of organic radical reactions at the single molecule level, which may guide the design of stable organic radicals for future quantum technology applications.

The major concern of the physical and chemical instability of effervescent products during manufacturing and storage is addressed through a co-crystallization strategy. Citric acid (CA) and sodium ...

Background Natural polyphenols have potential therapeutic effects on colon-based diseases and gut microbial dysbiosis. However, the delivery of pure polyphenols to the colon has to overcome chemical instability, degradation, and metabolism in the upper gastrointestinal tract after oral ingestion. Dietary fibers have been exploited as microbiota-triggered release systems to protect polyphenols in the upper gut and specifically deliver them to the colon. Scope and approach This review focuses on the recent development of colon-targeted polyphenol delivery systems using encapsulation technologies based on dietary fibers for both food and pharmaceutical applications. The detailed characteristics and advantages of commonly used dietary fibers and the main mechanisms of encapsulation preparation are discussed. The challenges of targeting the colon and the colonic health benefits of polyphenols are elaborated. In addition, the scope for specific modulation of gut microbiota by the selective combination of polyphenol and dietary fiber is highlighted. Key findings and conclusions The microbial-triggered release mechanisms of dietary fiber-based delivery systems maintain the structural integrity and protect the polyphenols during passage through the harsh environment of the upper gastrointestinal tract to maximize their concentration in the colonic region. In addition, dietary fibers offer several advantages over other materials for polyphenol encapsulation and delivery, including strong dietary fiber-polyphenol binding interactions, high colonic mucoadhesion, and synergistic prebiotic effects from dietary fiber and polyphenol that result in health benefits for the colon and the body.

Lead-based organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite materials have been developed for advanced optoelectronic applications. However, the toxicity of lead and the chemical instability of lead-based perovskite materials have so far been demonstrated to be an overwhelming challenge. The discovery of perovskite materials based on low-toxicity elements, such as Sn, Bi, Sb, Ge, and Cu, with superior optoelectronic properties provides alternative approaches to realize high-performance perovskite optoelectronics. In this review, recent advances in the aspects of low-toxicity perovskite solar cells, photodetectors, light-emitting diodes, and thermoelectric devices are highlighted. The antioxidation stability of metal cation and the crystallization process of the low-toxicity perovskite materials are discussed. In the last part, the outlook toward addressing various issues requiring further attention in the development of low-toxicity perovskite materials is outlined.

The ideal HCl concentration used in stabilizing osmium standards was investigated in this study. Additionally, mathematical models were tested to predict the decomposition rate of osmium standards at room temperature. Osmium(IV) hexachloride stock solutions stabilized in 7 and 15% HCl were used to assess the decomposition rate using ICP-OES. Several sets of calibration standards were prepared from the original stock solutions. The first calibration set was prepared with no additional HCl added to the final solutions and other sets with a total HCl acid concentration of 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 1.0 and 1.5% v/v. Emission intensities were measured at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Standards with no additional HCl acid added kept at room temperature showed increase in emission intensities after 24 hours. These changes in emission intensities indicated chemical instability of osmium standards at low acid concentration levels. Standards stabilized in 1.0–1.5% HCl and refrigerated below 10 ⁰C showed consistent emission intensities and had a shelf life of up to 48 and 72 hours, respectively. Four mathematical models were tested to determine the decomposition rate of the osmium standard. The first used rate of change concept and the second a stochastic approach. Both failed to capture osmium decay. The third was based on non-local operators with power law kernel and was able to capture the decay at earlier, but not later stages. The fourth, based on non-local operators with non-singular kernel was able to capture earlier and later decay due to its crossover properties in waiting time distribution. Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(1), 193-202. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i1.18

Adequacy of insulin concentration in commercially available insulin formulations has recently been challenged. We therefore repeatedly evaluated insulin content and stability of 58 insulin vials containing 5 different insulin formulations (human insulin, standard/faster-acting insulin aspart, insulin lispro, and insulin glargine) over a period of 85 days. High-resolution mass spectrometry was used to quantify intact monomeric insulin in glass vials and plastic pump cartridges exposed to three different temperatures (4°C, 22°C, 37°C), simulating real-life conditions. In all cases, measured insulin concentration was in accordance with FDA and European Medicines Agency (EMA) requirements without evidence of chemical instability.

—The kinetics of Np(VI and V) reduction was studied in model underground water in the presence of bacteria, isolated from from deep-injection disposal of liquid radioactive wastes of Siberian Chemical Plant. Obtained data indicate a chemical instability of Np(VI) in the studied system. The reduction of neptunium (V) depended on its initial concentration and the presence of microorganisms. In microbiome samples, the reduction rate has significantly increased and neptunium-bearing particles more than 200 nm in size were formed. At neptunium concentrations less than 10–7 М, the reduction rate constant did not depend on the radionuclide content (half-reaction period of 36–40 days). An increase of Np concentration to 10–6 М led to a two-fold decrease of the reduction rate constant.

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are currently the leading thin-film photovoltaic technology owing to their high power conversion efficiency (PCE), as well as their low-cost and facile manufacturing process. Two-dimensional (2D) materials have been reported to improve both the PCE and the stability of PSCs when incorporated across the device's layered configuration. Hereby, a two-fold engineering approach is implemented in inverted PSCs by using ultra-thin Bi2Te3 flakes, i.e.: (1) to dope the electron transport layer (ETL) and (2) to form a protective interlayer above the ETL. Thorough steady-state and time-resolved transport analyses reveal that our first engineering approach improves the electron extraction rate and thus the overall PCE (+6.6% vs. reference cells), as a result of the favourable energy level alignment between the perovskite, the ETL and the cathode. Moreover, the Bi2Te3 interlayer, through the second engineering approach, facilitates further the electron transport and in addition protects the underlying structure against chemical instability effects, leading to enhanced device performance and stability. By combining the two engineering approaches, our optimised PSCs reach a PCE up to 19.46% (+15.2% vs. reference cells) and retain more than 80% of their initial PCE, after the burn-in phase, over 1100 h under continous 1 sun illumination. These performances are among the highest reported in the literature for inverted PSCs.

Histidine phosphorylation (pHis), which plays a key role in signal transduction in bacteria and lower eukaryotes, has been shown to be involved in tumorigenesis. Due to its chemical instability, substoichiometric properties, and lack of specific enrichment reagents, there is a lack of approaches for specific and unbiased enrichment of pHis-proteins/peptides. In this study, an integrated strategy was established and evaluated as an unbiased tool for exploring the histidine phosphoproteome. First, taking advantage of the lower charge states of pHis-peptides versus the non-modified naked peptides at weak acid solution (∼pH 2.7), strong cation exchange (SCX) chromatography was used to differentiate modified and non-modified naked peptides. Furthermore, selective enrichment of the pHis-peptide was performed by applying Cu-IDA beads enrichment. Finally, stable isotope dimethyl labeling was introduced to guarantee high-confidence assignment of pHis-peptides. Using this integrated strategy, 563 different pHis-peptides (H = 1) in 385 proteins were identified from HeLa lysates. Motif analysis revealed that pHis prefers hydrophobic amino acids and has the consensus motif-HxxK, which covered the reports from different approaches. Thus, our method may provide an unbiased and effective tool to reveal histidine phosphoproteome and to study the biological process and function of histidine phosphorylation.

Consumer awareness of the relationship between health and nutrition has caused a substantial increase in the demand for nutraceuticals and functional foods containing bioactive compounds (BACs) with potential health benefits. However, the direct incorporation of many BACs into commercial food and beverage products is challenging because of their poor matrix compatibility, chemical instability, low bioavailability, or adverse impact on food quality. Advanced encapsulation technologies are therefore being employed to overcome these problems. In this article, we focus on the utilization of plant and animal derived proteins to fabricate micro and nano-particles that can be used for the oral delivery of BACs such as omega-3 oils, vitamins and nutraceuticals. This review comprehensively discusses different methods being implemented for fabrications of protein-based delivery vehicles, types of proteins used, and their compatibility for the purpose. Finally, some of the challenges and limitations of different protein matrices for encapsulation of BACs are deliberated upon. Various approaches have been developed for the fabrication of protein-based microparticles and nanoparticles, including injection-gelation, controlled denaturation, and antisolvent precipitation methods. These methods can be used to construct particle-based delivery systems with different compositions, sizes, surface hydrophobicity, and electrical characteristics, thereby enabling them to be used in a wide range of applications.

Astaxanthin (AST) is a biomolecule known for its powerful antioxidant effect, which is considered of great importance in biochemical research and has great potential for application in cosmetics, as well as food products that are beneficial to human health and medicines. Unfortunately, its poor solubility in water, chemical instability, and low oral bioavailability make its applications in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical field a major challenge for the development of new products. To favor the search for alternatives to enhance and make possible the use of AST in formulations, this article aimed to review the scientific data on its application in delivery systems. The search was made in databases without time restriction, using keywords such as astaxanthin, delivery systems, skin, cosmetic, topical, and dermal. All delivery systems found, such as liposomes, particulate systems, inclusion complexes, emulsions, and films, presented peculiar advantages able to enhance AST properties, among which are stability, antioxidant potential, biological activities, and drug release. This survey showed that further studies are needed for the industrial development of new AST-containing cosmetics and topical formulations.

Many important food bioactive compounds are plant secondary metabolites that have traditional applications for health promotion and disease prevention. However, the chemical instability and poor bioavailability of these compounds represent major challenges to researchers. In the last decade, therefore, major impetus has been given for the research and development of advanced carrier systems for the delivery of natural bioactive molecules. Among them, stimuli-responsive carriers hold great promise for simultaneously improving stability, bioavailability, and more importantly delivery and on-demand release of intact bioactive phytochemicals to target sites in response to certain stimuli or combination of them (e.g., pH, temperature, oxidant, enzyme, and irradiation) that would eventually enhance therapeutic outcomes and reduce side effects. Hybrid formulations (e.g., inorganic-organic complexes) and multi-stimuli-responsive formulations have demonstrated great potential for future studies. Therefore, this review systematically compiles and assesses the recent advances on the smart delivery of food bioactive compounds, particularly quercetin, curcumin, and resveratrol through stimuli-responsive carriers, and critically reviews their functionality, underlying triggered-release mechanism, and therapeutic potential. Finally, major limitations, contemporary challenges, and possible solutions/future research directions are highlighted. Much more research is needed to optimize the processing parameters of existing formulations and to develop novel ones for lead food bioactive compounds to facilitate their food and nutraceutical applications.

Highlights • In the Vet field, there are lot of scientific publications with missing or incomplete data, poor case reports and papers without a control group or unrepresentative sample. • Differences between animal and human blood composition, anatomy and physiology must be taken into consideration, especially in therapies not yet fully approved. • Some practitioners produce their own ozonated solution or autohemotherapy, in the absence of information regarding the compatibility of the material used. • Other than the properties of the commercial preparations, the standardization of both treatment methods and times influence the results obtained with ozone therapy., The therapeutic use of ozone and its derivatives in the veterinary medicine it is still in an emergent stage. Gaseous ozone chemical instability makes necessary its extemporaneous preparation and the accordance about ozone treatments with the highest quality standards in publications is of paramount importance. Moreover, the numerous method of administration in different animal species, the prevalence of case reports, the deficiency of consistent evaluation of the outcomes, as well as the lack of standardization of the treatment operating procedures represents an open question for its spreading and official approval. The keywords “ozone”, “ozonated”, “ozonation” “ozonized”, “ozonization”, “oxygen-ozone therapy”, “veterinary”, “pets”, “animal” were used to perform a literature review using PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Zotero databases with the temporal restriction for published manuscripts starting from 2010. All the researches were critically evaluated, regardless of the impact factor, if any, of the journals in which they were presented. The deepening of the mechanisms of action of this bio-oxidative therapy can open new horizons on its use. The distinctive condition to achieve such a scenario is an improved knowledge of the qualitative/quantitative characteristics of ozone and its derivatives. All with the aim of taking nothing away to the cited original research papers, but of improving the promising therapeutic implications of ozone therapy in veterinary medicine as a standardization stimulus about this therapeutic resource with multiple application specificities., Graphical abstract Image, graphical abstract

Silver (Ag) is theoretically the best material to be used in the plasmonics and related areas. [1] However, its well known chemical instability makes it hardly useful for plasmonic devices. [2] The research by Zhang et al. [3] , [4] shows that by mixing Ag with small quantities of Al while co-sputtering, it becomes thermally stable, and one can obtain very smooth layers. Their research, and the subsequent articles that followed, concentrated on using the mentioned techniques in various plasmonic devices and applications. However, to our knowledge, there was no investigation of the layer’s optical properties and their variation.

The conversion of carbon dioxide into selective hydrocarbons is vital for green energy generation. Due to the chemical instability and lower activity, environmentally stable transition metal oxides...

A new chemoselective (enzymatic desymmetrization/Ru-catalyzed C-H activation) sequence to obtain differently substituted furans from the largely available 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) was developed. Series of di- and trisubstituted furans were prepared in very good yields and excellent chemoselectivity. This study discloses a new approach towards valorization of the furanics platform through the use of FDCA as a stable intermediate, thus circumventing the chemical instability of the parent 5-hydroxymethylfurfural.

The surface reactivity and chemical instability of de-lithiated Li-rich layered oxide at high voltages often leads to huge irreversible capacity (IC) loss in the first cycle leading to low initial coulombic efficiency (ICE). Herein we demonstrate that simple physical mixing of electrochemically active β-MnO2 with Li-rich layered Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 compound at different weight ratios effectively controls the initial IC loss and thereby enhances the ICE. It was observed that addition of β-MnO2 increased the ICE from 80.0% for the pristine material to 97.0% for composite containing 20 wt% β-MnO2. The dQ/dV plots of the composites showed that β-MnO2 becomes electrochemically active at lower potentials (

Resveratrol is a phenolic compound associated with many health benefits. Chemical instability and low bioavailability limit its use as a nutraceutical. Microencapsulation represents a potential alternative to overcome these limitations. Maillard-glycated conjugates provide improved emulsifying/stabilizing properties and therefore have great potential as encapsulating agents. The main proposal of our work was to evaluate the effect of heating time used to produce Maillard conjugates on the properties of spray-dried resveratrol-loaded microparticles. High resveratrol retention (80%–100%) and encapsulation efficiencies (>97%) were observed in particles formed with all the conjugates. Increasing the heating time to produce the conjugates did not affect particles moisture, aw and hygroscopicity. Conversely, it affected the glass transition temperature and also the resveratrol release profile in simulated gastrointestinal conditions. These findings of our work are very relevant for the formulation of powdered products to be used as ingredients in food products and beverages.