Microcolumn lanthanide separation using bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid functionalized ordered mesoporous carbon materials.

Adjacent lanthanides are among the most challenging elements to separate, to the extent that current separations materials would benefit from transformative improvement. Ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) materials are excellent candidates, owing to their small mesh size and uniform morphology. Herein, OMC materials were physisorbed with bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (HDEHP) and sorption of Eu was investigated under static and dynamic conditions.

Conserved Activity of Reassociated Homotetrameric Protein Subunits Released from Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles.

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) with enlarged pores were prepared and characterized, and reversibly dissociated subunits of concanavalin A were entrapped in the mesopores, as shown by multiple biochemical and material characterizations. When loaded in the MSN, we demonstrated protein stability from proteases and, upon release, the subunits reassociated into active proteins shown through mannose binding and o-phthalaldehyde fluorescence. We have demonstrated a versatile and facile method to load homomeric proteins into MSN with potential applications in enhancing the delivery of large therapeutic proteins.

Controlled release and intracellular protein delivery from mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

Protein therapeutics are promising candidates for disease treatment due to their high specificity and minimal adverse side effects; however, targeted protein delivery to specific sites has proven challenging. Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSN) have demonstrated to be ideal candidates for this application, given their high loading capacity, biocompatibility, and ability to protect host molecules from degradation. These materials exhibit tunable pore sizes, shapes and volumes, and surfaces which can be easily functionalized.