Pharmaceuticals in urban streams: A review of their detection and effects in the ecosystem.

The presence of pharmaceuticals in urban freshwater has been considered an emerging issue. Although rivers are better studied, the streams crossing the cities, which are prone to higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals, and with a higher potential to affect animals, plant and human health, were never specifically addressed in a review. Thus, here we performed a literature review on the existing pharmaceutical contamination and impacts of these compounds in the urban stream ecosystems.

3D-printed aerogels as theranostic implants monitored by fluorescence bioimaging.

Aerogel scaffolds are nanostructured materials with beneficial properties for tissue engineering applications. The tracing of the state of the aerogels after their implantation is challenging due to their variable biodegradation rate and the lack of suitable strategies capable of monitoring the scaffolds. Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) have emerged as advanced tools for bioimaging because of their fluorescence properties.

Recovering Low-Density Polyethylene Waste for Gypsum Board Production: A Mechanical and Hygrothermal Study.

In recent decades, plastic waste management has become one of the main environmental challenges for today's society. The excessive consumption of so-called single-use plastics causes continuous damage to ecosystems, and it is necessary to find alternatives to recycle these products. In this work, a mechanical and hygrothermal characterisation of novel plaster composites incorporating LDPE waste in their interior was carried out.

Chitosan-Silica Composite Aerogel for the Adsorption of Cupric Ions.

A chitosan-silica hybrid aerogel was synthesized and presented as a potential adsorbent for the purification of cupric ion-contaminated media. The combination of the organic polymer (chitosan), which can be obtained from fishery wastes, with silica produced a mostly macroporous material with an average pore diameter of 33 µm. The obtained aerogel was extremely light (56 kg m), porous (96% porosity, 17 cm g pore volume), and presented a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area () of 2.

Retention of Ciprofloxacin and Carbamazepine from Aqueous Solutions Using Chitosan-Based Cryostructured Composites.

Water pollution is becoming a great concern at the global level due to highly polluted effluents, which are charged year by year with increasing amounts of organic residues, dyes, pharmaceuticals and heavy metals. For some of these pollutants, the industrial treatment of wastewater is still relevant. Yet, in some cases, such as pharmaceuticals, specific treatment schemes are urgently required.

Chitosan-Based Beads Incorporating Inorganic-Organic Composites for Copper Ion Retention in Aqueous Solutions.

In recent years, there has been a challenging interest in developing low-cost biopolymeric materials for wastewater treatment. In the present work, new adsorbents, based on different types of chitosan (commercial, commercial chitin-derived chitosan and chitosan synthesized from shrimp shell waste) and inorganic-organic composites have been evaluated for copper ions removal. The efficacy of the synthesis of chitosan-based composite beads has been determined by studying various characteristics using several techniques, including FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, porosimetry (N adsorption), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Synthesis of Highly Luminescent Silica-Coated Upconversion Nanoparticles from Lanthanide Oxides or Nitrates Using Co-Precipitation and Sol-Gel Methods.

Upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) are under consideration for their use as bioimaging probes with enhanced optical performance for real time follow-up under non-invasive conditions. Photostable and core-shell NaYF:Yb, Er-SiO UCNPs obtained by a novel and simple co-precipitation method from lanthanide nitrates or oxides were herein synthesized for the first time. The sol-gel Stöber method followed by oven or supercritical gel drying was used to confer biocompatible surface properties to UCNPs by the formation of an ultrathin silica coating.

Luminescent Papers with Asymmetric Complexes of Eu(III) and Tb(III) in Polymeric Matrices and Suggested Combinations for Color Tuning.

Complexes of lanthanide ions, such as Eu(III) (red light emission) and Tb(III) (green light emission), with proper ligands can be highly luminescent and color-tunable, also attaining yellow and orange emission under UV radiation. The ligands employed in this work were poly(sodium acrylate), working as polymeric matrix, and 1,10-phenanthroline, taking advantage of its antenna effect. Possibilities of color display were further enhanced by incorporating a cationic polyfluorene with blue emission.

A Comparative Thermoacoustic Insulation Study of Silica Aerogels Reinforced with Reclaimed Textile Fibres: Cotton, Polyester and Wool.

Silica aerogels are highly porous materials with exceptional thermal insulation performance. They become even more attractive if combined thermal and acoustic insulation is achieved. Silica aerogel composites reinforced with fibres are an ingenious way to surpass the fragility stemmed from the aerogel's intrinsic porosity, and textile fibres are good sound absorption materials.

Improvement of the Mechanical Properties of Silica Aerogels for Thermal Insulation Applications through a Combination of Aramid Nanofibres and Microfibres.

Reinforcement of silica aerogels, remarkable lightweight mesoporous materials with outstanding insulation performance, is still a challenging research topic. Among the strategies used to overcome their brittleness, one of the most effective is the manufacturing of aerogel composites with embedded fibres. In this work, the incorporation of nanofibres together with microfibres in a tetraethoxysilane-vinyltrimethoxysilane matrix is investigated for the first time for the development of novel aerogel nanocomposites.

Reduced Chitosan as a Strategy for Removing Copper Ions from Water.

Toxic heavy metals are priority pollutants in wastewater, commonly present in dangerous concentrations in many places across the globe. Although in trace quantities copper is a heavy metal essential to human life, in excess it causes various diseases, whereby its removal from wastewater is a necessity. Among several reported materials, chitosan is a highly abundant, non-toxic, low-cost, biodegradable polymer, comprising free hydroxyl and amino groups, that has been directly applied as an adsorbent or chemically modified to increase its performance.

Carbon Nanostructures-Silica Aerogel Composites for Adsorption of Organic Pollutants.

Silica aerogels are a class of materials that can be tailored in terms of their final properties and surface chemistry. They can be synthesized with specific features to be used as adsorbents, resulting in improved performance for wastewater pollutants' removal. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of amino functionalization and the addition of carbon nanostructures to silica aerogels made from methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) on their removal capacities for various contaminants in aqueous solutions.

Thermomechanical Performance Assessment of Sustainable Buildings' Insulating Materials under Accelerated Ageing Conditions.

The reliable characterization of insulation materials in relevant environmental conditions is crucial, since it strongly influences the performance (e.g., thermal) of building elements.

Aerogel Composites Produced from Silica and Recycled Rubber Sols for Thermal Insulation.

Hydrophobic rubber-silica aerogel panels (21.5 × 21.5 × 1.

Biological Thermal Performance of Organic and Inorganic Aerogels as Patches for Photothermal Therapy.

Aerogels are materials with unique properties, among which are low density and thermal conductivity. They are also known for their exquisite biocompatibility and biodegradability. All these features make them attractive for biomedical applications, such as their potential use in photothermal therapy (PTT).

Silica-Based Aerogel Composites Reinforced with Reticulated Polyurethane Foams: Thermal and Mechanical Properties.

In this work, silica aerogel composites reinforced with reticulated polyurethane (PU) foams have been manufactured having densities in the range from 117 to 266 kg/m and porosities between 85.7 and 92.3%.

Thermal Conductivity of Nanoporous Materials: Where Is the Limit?

Nowadays, our society is facing problems related to energy availability. Owing to the energy savings that insulators provide, the search for effective insulating materials is a focus of interest. Since the current insulators do not meet the increasingly strict requirements, developing materials with a greater insulating capacity is needed.

Triantennary GalNAc-Functionalized Multi-Responsive Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery Targeted at Asialoglycoprotein Receptor.

In recent years, mesoporous silica particles have been revealed as promising drug delivery systems combining high drug loading capacity, excellent biocompatibility, and easy and affordable synthetic and post-synthetic procedures. In fact, the straightforward functionalization approaches of these particles allow their conjugation with targeting moieties in order to surpass one of the major challenges in drug administration, the absence of targeting ability of free drugs that reduces their therapeutic efficacy and causes undesired side effects. In this context, the main goal of this work was to develop a new targeted mesoporous silica nanoparticle formulation with the capability to specifically and efficiently deliver an anticancer drug to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.

Ligands as copper and nickel ionophores: Applications and implications on wastewater treatment.

Modern society depends on many finite natural resources, from which metals are of great importance. Copper and nickel's relevance is due to their vast applications, resulting in high market value and demand. As such, their polluting emissions are also significant and their removal from wastewaters is imperative.

A study on the influence of prosthetic interface material in transtibial amputees' gait.

Background: Interfaces of transtibial prosthesis have an important role in the transmission of ground reaction forces, damping gait loads and tissue protection.

Objective: This work aims to study the influence of prosthesis interfaces on amputees' gait and perception on pain, comfort and the overall interface/prosthesis system.

Methods: Commercial samples of three different interface materials were selected: block copolymer (Material I), silicone gel (Material II) and silicone elastomer (Material III).

Supercritically dried superparamagnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticles for cancer theranostics.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles with a superparamagnetic iron oxide core were prepared in this work, in order to obtain multifunctional platforms with adequate features for cancer theranostics. Three different core-shell nanocomplexes were obtained: IO-OAm/mSiO, IO-APTES/mSiO and IO/SiO/mSiO. In the case of IO-OAm/mSiO and IO-APTES/mSiO, iron oxide (IO) was obtained by thermal decomposition, having in this case a coating of oleylamine (OAm) that was in the second formulation exchanged by (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane ligand (APTES).

An overview on alumina-silica-based aerogels.

Silica aerogels are remarkable materials with excellent physicochemical properties, such as high porosity and surface area, along with low density and thermal conductivity. In addition to their outstanding properties, these materials are quite interesting due to the possibility to change their chemistry according to intended applications. However, they also show some disadvantages, like low mechanical strength and poor dimensional stability under high temperatures (above 600 °C).

Silica Aerogels/Xerogels Modified with Nitrogen-Containing Groups for Heavy Metal Adsorption.

Heavy metals are common inorganic pollutants found in the environment that have to be removed from wastewaters and drinking waters. In this work, silica-derived aerogels and xerogels were modified via a co-precursor method to obtain functional adsorbents for metal cations. A total of six formulations based upon four different functional precursors were prepared.

Optimization of Polyamide Pulp-Reinforced Silica Aerogel Composites for Thermal Protection Systems.

The present work describes for the first time the preparation of silica-based aerogel composites containing tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) reinforced with Kevlar pulp. The developed system was extensively investigated, regarding its physical, morphological, thermal and mechanical features. The obtained bulk density values were satisfactory, down to 208 kg·m, and very good thermal properties were achieved-namely a thermal conductivity as low as 26 mW·m·K (Hot Disk) and thermal stability up to 550 °C.

Amine Modification of Silica Aerogels/Xerogels for Removal of Relevant Environmental Pollutants.

Serious environmental and health problems arise from the everyday release of industrial wastewater effluents. A wide range of pollutants, such as volatile organic compounds, heavy metals or textile dyes, may be efficiently removed by silica materials advanced solutions such as aerogels. This option is related to their exceptional characteristics that favors the adsorption of different contaminants.