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Dendritic mesoporous bioactive glass nanoparticles (DMBGNs) with unique three-dimensional structures are attracting increasing attention for biomedical applications. However, it is still challenging to tune the chemical composition of DMBGNs. In this work, we provide for the first time a feasible post-impregnation approach to incorporate metallic ions (Ca and Ce) into dendritic mesoporous silica nanoparticles, resulting in SiO₂-CaO and SiO₂-CaO-CeO₂ (Ce-DMBGNs) without destroying the dendritic mesoporous topography. Both DMBGNs and Ce-DMBGNs were amorphous, negatively charged, with a hydrodynamic size of ∼200 nm. The synthesized DMBGNs and Ce-DMBGNs exhibited high bioactivity as evidenced by the rapid formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 7 days. In addition, DMBGNs and Ce-DMBGNs showed high propolis loading efficiency and sustained release behavior. The results suggest that the developed Ce-DMBGNs have the potential to be used as a delivery vehicle of therapeutic ions and drugs in bone regeneration applications.

Bioplastics have emerged as a viable alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastic (PET). Three of the most common bioplastic polymers are polyhydroxybutyrate-valerate (PHBV), polylactide (PLA), and cellulose-based bioplastic (CBB). This study assessed biodegradation through anaerobic digestion (AD) of these three bioplastics and PET digested with food waste (FW) at mesophilic (35 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures. The four plastic types were digested with FW in triplicate batch reactors. Additionally, two blank treatments (inoculum-only) and two PHBV treatments (with FW + inoculum and inoculum-only) were digested at 35 and 55 °C. The PHBV treatment without FW at 35 °C (PHBV-35) produced the most methane (CH4) normalized by the volatile solids (VS) of the bioplastics over the 104-day experimental period (271 mL CH4/g VS). Most bioplastics had more CH4 production than PET when normalized by digester volume or gram substrate added, with the PLA-FW-55 (5.80 m3 CH4/m3), PHBV-FW-55 (2.29 m3 CH4/m3), and PHBV-55 (4.05 m3 CH4/m3) having 848,275 and 561%, respectively, more CH4 production than the PET treatment. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed full degradation of PHBV pellets after AD. The results show that when PHBV is used as bioplastic, it can be degraded with energy production through AD.

Survey Notes is an informative, non-technical magazine on noteworthy and interesting geologic topics in Utah. It is the official Utah Geological Survey newsletter and is produced three times a year. Regular columns include Glad You Asked, GeoSights, Teacher's Corner, Energy News, Survey News, Core Center News, and New Publications. Published as Quarterly Review (1967-1975) and Survey Notes (1976- ). Articles in this issue include: 1) Groundwater Conditions at the Utah FORGE site, by Stefan M. Kirby; 2) Monroe's "Sweet" Groundwater Points to Contamination Source, by J. Lucy Jordan; 3) Monitoring Groundwater Response to Large-Scale Juniper Treatments, by Hugh Hurlow, J. Lucy Jordan, Stan Smith, and Emily Keller; 4) Teacher's Corner; 5) Utah Hosts Field Conference on Gigantic Landslides, by Robert F. Biek; 6) Energy News: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Annual Convention and Exhibition is Coming to Salt Lake City!, by Michael Vanden Berg; 7) Glad You Asked: What is Unconformity?, by Jim Davis; and 8) GeoSights: Crystal Geyser, Grand County, Utah, by Lance Weaver.