Opportunities and Challenges of Establishing a Regional Bio-based Polylactic Acid Supply Chain.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is the bioplastic with the highest market share. However, it is mainly produced from first-generation feedstock and there are various inconsistencies in the literature in terms of its production and recycling processes, carbon footprint, and prices. The aim of this study is to compile and contrast these aspects and investigate second-generation PLA production from technical, economic, and ecological perspectives simultaneously.

Rectal use of levetiracetam: best practice report for a stepwise approach for sustainable off-label decision making and treatment.

Off-label drug use is common practice in palliative care. It may pose a risk to the patient and benefit should outweigh harm. A decision and documentation aid for off-label use was developed to support practitioners in clinical practice off-label use.

Effective Ligand Design: Zinc Complexes with Guanidine Hydroquinoline Ligands for Fast Lactide Polymerization and Chemical Recycling.

Invited for this month's cover is the group of Sonja Herres-Pawlis at RWTH Aachen University. The image shows how the zinc guanidine complexes help a circular economy of bioplastics by mediating the ring-opening polymerization of lactide and the depolymerization of polylactide (PLA). The Research Article itself is available at 10.

Effective Ligand Design: Zinc Complexes with Guanidine Hydroquinoline Ligands for Fast Lactide Polymerization and Chemical Recycling.

In this study, the synthesis of two new guanidine hydroquinoline ligands served as basis for six new zinc guanidine complexes. Two of these complexes showed very high activity in the lactide polymerization under industrial conditions. The lactide polymerization was demonstrated in solution and melt conditions observing high activity and molar masses up to 90 000 g mol .

The Green toxicology approach: Insight towards the eco-toxicologically safe development of benign catalysts.

Green toxicology is a novel approach increasingly applied for the development of materials and chemicals that are more benign to the environment and human health than their conventional counterparts. It includes predictive eco-toxicological assessments of chemicals during the early developmental process to exclude adverse effects. In the present study, two guanidine zinc catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization of lactide were investigated using eco-toxicological tools.

Drug Information Needs of Health Care Professionals in Palliative Care: A Retrospective Evaluation of a Palliative Care Drug Information Service.

Context: Drug therapy is an integral part of palliative care but pharmacotherapy can be challenging for health care professionals. Access to information is essential for health care providers to choose the best drug treatment for an individual patient. A drug information service can support health care professionals to obtain appropriate, unbiased information.

Sedatives and Sedation at the End of Life in Nursing Homes: A Retrospective Multicenter Cohort Study.

Objectives: There is scarce information about sedation in nursing homes at the end of life. We aimed to assess (1) the use of sedatives generally and "sedatives with continuous effect," based on objective operational criteria, within the last week of life in nursing homes and (2) factors associated with this treatment.

Design: Retrospective cohort study, using the nursing homes' medical records.

Next Generation of Zinc Bisguanidine Polymerization Catalysts towards Highly Crystalline, Biodegradable Polyesters.

Polylactide and polycaprolactone are both biodegradable polymers produced through metal-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization. For a truly sustainable lifecycle of these polymers it is essential to replace the industrially used cytotoxic catalyst tin(II) bis(2-ethylhexanoate) [Sn(Oct) ] with non-toxic alternatives. Here, we report the fastest known robust catalyst in the polymerization of lactide and ϵ-caprolactone.

3D Heterocycles from Sulfonimidamides by Sequential C-H Bond Alkenylation/Aza-Michael Cyclization.

Starting from NH-sulfonimidamides, rhodium-catalyzed C-H bond alkenylation followed by aza-Michael cyclization leads to unprecedented benzoisothiazole 1-oxides. The applicability and robustness of the method is demonstrated in 25 examples with yields up to 95 %. The resulting scaffolds are partly saturated, 3D heterocycles with potential significance for medicinal and agricultural chemistry.

Tuning a robust system: N,O zinc guanidine catalysts for the ROP of lactide.

Non-toxic, highly active and robust complexes are the holy grail as ideal green catalysts for the polymerisation of biorenewable and biodegradable polylactide. Four new zinc guanidine complexes [ZnCl2(TMG4NMe2asme)], [ZnCl2(TMG5Clasme)], [ZnCl2(TMG5Measme)] and [ZnCl2(TMG5NMe2asme)] with different electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups on the ligand's aromatic backbone have been synthesised. Ligands are derived from low-cost commercially available compounds and have been converted by a three- or four-step synthesis process into the desired ligand in good yields.

Iron Oxide-labeled Collagen Scaffolds for Non-invasive MR Imaging in Tissue Engineering.

Non-invasive imaging holds significant potential for implementation in tissue engineering. It can e.g.