Prevention of radiation induced dermatitis in head and neck cancer patients using cryptomphalus aspersa secretion.

Introduction: Radiotherapy (RT) is a technique widely used in oncology, acquiring special prominence in head and neck cancer (HNC). RT of HNC may be associated with secondary effects including skin reaction, being dermatitis the most common radio-induced side effect during treatment.

Purpose: The use of a wide variety of agents is reported to handle skin toxicity.

Sustainable Setups for the Biocatalytic Production and Scale-Up of Panthenyl Monoacyl Esters under Solvent-Free Conditions.

A sustainable scaling-up process for the biocatalytic production of new bioactive provitamin-B monoacyl esters has been demonstrated. A solvent-free reaction protocol, based on the formation of eutectic mixtures between neat substrates, renders highly efficient direct esterification of free fatty acids (., from C to C alkyl-chain length) with panthenol catalyzed by lipase.

Active biopolymers in green non-conventional media: a sustainable tool for developing clean chemical processes.

The greenness of chemical processes turns around two main axes: the selectivity of catalytic transformations, and the separation of pure products. The transfer of the exquisite catalytic efficiency shown by enzymes in nature to chemical processes is an important challenge. By using appropriate reaction systems, the combination of biopolymers with supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) and ionic liquids (ILs) resulted in synergetic and outstanding platforms for developing (multi)catalytic green chemical processes, even under flow conditions.

Supercritical synthesis of biodiesel.

The synthesis of biodiesel fuel from lipids (vegetable oils and animal fats) has gained in importance as a possible source of renewable non-fossil energy in an attempt to reduce our dependence on petroleum-based fuels. The catalytic processes commonly used for the production of biodiesel fuel present a series of limitations and drawbacks, among them the high energy consumption required for complex purification operations and undesirable side reactions. Supercritical fluid (SCF) technologies offer an interesting alternative to conventional processes for preparing biodiesel.

Immobilised lipase on structured supports containing covalently attached ionic liquids for the continuous synthesis of biodiesel in scCO2.

Different nanostructured supports, based on 1-decyl-2-methyimidazolium cations covalently attached to a polystyrene divinylbenzene porous matrix, were used as carriers to immobilise Candida antarctica lipase B. The suitability of these immobilised lipase derivatives for the synthesis of biodiesel (methyl oleate) by the methanolysis of triolein has been tested in both tert-butanol and supercritical (sc)CO(2) (18 MPa, 45 °C) as reaction media. The use of modified supports with low ionic-liquid loading covalently attached to the main polymeric backbone chains provide structured materials that led to the best biodiesel yields (up to 95 %) and operational stability (85 % biodiesel yield after 45 cycles of 8-4 h) in scCO(2) (45 °C, 18 MPa).