Publications by authors named "Esteban Urena-Benavides"

Lignin@FeO nanoparticles adsorb at oil-water interfaces, form Pickering emulsions, induce on-demand magnetic responses to break emulsions, and can sequester oil from water. Lignin@FeO nanoparticles were prepared using a pH-induced precipitation method and were fully characterized. These were used to prepare Pickering emulsions with castor oil/Sudan red G dye and water at various oil/water volume ratios and nanoparticle concentrations.

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The objective of the project was to investigate the plausibility of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to undergo sublimation from topical application following evaporation of solvent. Topical formulations with different APIs were subjected to a sublimation screening test. The APIs in the selected topical products were found to undergo sublimation to a different extent.

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Chitin nanocrystals (ChNCs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have been recently used to stabilize emulsions; however, they generally require significant amounts of salt, limiting their applicability in food products. In this study, we developed nanoconjugates by mixing positively charged ChNCs and negatively charged CNCs at various ChNC:CNC mass ratios (2:1, 1:1, and 1:2), and utilized them in stabilizing soybean oil-water Pickering emulsions with minimal use of NaCl salt (20 mM) and nanoparticle (NP) concentrations below 1 wt%. The nanoconjugates stabilized the emulsions better than individual CNC or ChNC in terms of a reduced drop growth and less creaming.

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Nanocelluloses in recent years have garnered a lot of attention for their use as stabilizers of liquid-liquid and gas-liquid interfaces. Both cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) have been used extensively in multiple studies to prepare emulsions and foams. However, there is limited literature available that systematically discusses the mechanisms that affect the ability of nanocelluloses (modified and unmodified) to stabilize different types of interfaces.

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This work offers a facile fabrication method for lignin nanocomposites through the assembly of kraft lignin onto magnetic nanoparticles (FeO) based on pH-driven precipitation, without needing organic solvents or lignin functionalization. Kraft lignin@FeO multicore nanocomposites fabrication proceeded using a simple, pH-driven precipitation technique. An alkaline solution for kraft lignin (pH 12) was rapidly injected into an aqueous-based FeO nanoparticle colloidal suspension (pH 7) under constant mixing conditions, allowing the fabrication of lignin magnetic nanocomposites.

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Interfacial properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) and surfactants were studied in high ionic strength () brines and correlated to the stability of dodecane/brine Pickering emulsions. Bis-(2-hydroxyethyl) cocoalkylamine (CAA), dodecyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and octyl-β-d-glucopyranoside (OGP) were adsorbed onto CNC in American Petroleum Institute (API) brine ( = 1.9 M) and synthetic seawater (SSW), with = 0.

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Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess unique properties that have led to an increase in their research and usage for a wide variety of fields. This growing demand of CNTs poses a major public health risk given its unregulated release into the environment. Unfortunately there is a significant information gap on the actual quantity of CNTs in the environment due to limitation of existing detection methods.

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Alginate fibers have found many applications such as the preparation of dressings to treat exuding wounds, drug delivery, enzyme immobilization, etc.; however, their use is limited due to poor mechanical properties. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were isolated from cotton and introduced into calcium alginate fibers with the goal of improving their strength and modulus.

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