Drug release profile of phenytoin-loaded starch-based biomaterials incorporating hierarchical microparticles with photothermal effects.

This study aimed to synthesize phenytoin (PHT)-loaded water chestnut starch-based biomaterials and evaluate their drug release kinetics for use in transdermal drug delivery systems for antiepileptic therapy. Hierarchical microparticles (HMPs) extracted from human hair were also used to improve the PHT release efficiency. The physicochemical characteristics of PHT, HMPs, and the prepared biomaterials were evaluated by physical properties, antimicrobial activities, FE-SEM, FT-IR, XRD, H NMR, and C CPMAS solid-state NMR.

Sustained drug release behavior of captopril-incorporated chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose biomaterials for antihypertensive therapy.

Captopril (CTP) is an oral drug widely used to treat high blood pressure and congestive heart failure. In this study, CTP-incorporated biomaterials for antihypertensive therapy were synthesized from chitosan, carboxymethyl cellulose, and plasticizers. The physicochemical properties of the prepared biomaterials were characterized using FE-SEM, FT-IR analysis, and physical properties.

The Water Quality Management for Recirculating Aquaculture System by Applying Nano Adsorption Technology.

In a fish farm, the water quality is important to ensure fish growth and farm productivity. However, the study of the quality of water using in aquaculture has been ignored until now. Although there are several methods to treat water, nanomaterials have not yet been applied for indoor fish farming because it may difficult to supply a sufficient amount of water, and the operating parameters have not been developed for recirculating aquaculture systems.

Recovering Nutrients from Waste Black Water Through Multi-Functional Mesoporous Silica.

In order to prevent the harmful effects in water phase such as eutrophication, industrial and urban sewages must be treated before discharging into the aquatic environment. In this work, amine grafted magnetic nanoporous silica materials are synthesized and applied as an adsorbent for the recovery of nutrients from waste black water. The magnetic force could separate the surface func-tionalized nanoporous silica materials from aqueous medium after treatment, and showed the higher adsorption capacity of nutrients than that of the original mesoporous silica.

Ti₃C₂T MXene-Based Three-Dimensional Architecture for Carbon Dioxide Capture.

Dramatic increases in fossil fuel consumption inevitably led to the emission of huge amounts of CO₂ gas, causing abnormalities in the climate system. Despite continuous efforts to resolve global atmospheric problems through CO₂ capture and separation, success has been limited by poor CO₂ selectivity in the CO₂/N₂ mixture. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of a three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure from two-dimensional transition metal carbides (Ti₃C₂T, MXene), and assess its utility as an adsorbent in a CO₂ capture system.

Radio-Frequency Thermal Plasma Treated Activated Carbon Impregnated with Mn and Ag for Volatile Organic Compounds Adsorption.

In this study, we have prepared a composite adsorbent with highly dispersed Mn and Ag nanocatalyst on the surface of activated carbon (AC) by applying the Radio-Frequency (RF) thermal plasma technique for the efficient removal of VOCs. The ACs before and after metal impregnation with RF plasma treatment were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, and nitrogen adsorption analysis. Adsorption behaviors of toluene, acetaldehyde, and formaldehyde on ACs before and after modification were also investigated in fixed-bed systems.

Preparation of Mesoporous Gamma Alumina Derived from Waste Can for Nutrient Recovery Process.

Mesoporous gamma alumina (MGA) was synthesized using aluminum trash containers by a low temperature hydrothermal method for effectively removing phosphate from wastewater. The effects of precursor concentrations in gel precipitation process over the pore size and surface area of MGA were investigated in detail. The phosphate removal by prepared MGAs were rigorously investigated through adsorption isotherms and kinetics of phosphate.

Fabrication of granular activated carbons derived from spent coffee grounds by entrapment in calcium alginate beads for adsorption of acid orange 7 and methylene blue.

Biomass-based granular activated carbon was successfully prepared by entrapping activated carbon powder derived from spent coffee grounds into calcium-alginate beads (SCG-GAC) for the removal of acid orange 7 (AO7) and methylene blue (MB) from aqueous media. The dye adsorption process is highly pH-dependent and essentially independent of ionic effects. The adsorption kinetics was satisfactorily described by the pore diffusion model, which revealed that pore diffusion was the rate-limiting step during the adsorption process.

Comprehensive reuse of drinking water treatment residuals in coagulation and adsorption processes.

While drinking water treatment residuals (DWTRs) inevitably lead to serious problems due to their huge amount of generation and limitation of landfill sites, their unique properties of containing Al or Fe contents make it possible to reuse them as a beneficial material for coagulant recovery and adsorbent. Hence, in the present study, to comprehensively handle and recycle DWTRs, coagulant recovery from DWTRs and reuse of coagulant recovered residuals (CRs) were investigated. In the first step, coagulant recovery from DWTRs was conducted using response surface methodology (RSM) for statistical optimization of independent variables (pH, solid content, and reaction time) on response variable (Al recovery).

Efficient recovery of nitrate and phosphate from wastewater by an amine-grafted adsorbent for cyanobacterial biomass production.

Various types of wastewater have been widely utilized in microalgae and cyanobacteria cultivation for environmental and economic reasons. However, the problems of low cell growth and biomass contamination due to direct use of wastewater remain unresolved. In the present study, nitrate and phosphate were separated from wastewater by adsorption and subsequently used for cyanobacterial biomass production.

Phosphate adsorption ability of biochar/Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites prepared by aluminum-electrode based electro-assisted modification method with MgCl₂ as electrolyte.

In this work, the textural properties and phosphate adsorption capability of modified-biochar containing Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites prepared by an effective electro-assisted modification method with MgCl2 as an electrolyte have been determined. Structure and chemical analyses of the modified-biochar showed that nano-sized stonelike or flowerlike Mg-Al assembled composites, MgO, spinel MgAl2O4, AlOOH, and Al2O3, were densely grown and uniformly dispersed on the biochar surface. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics data suggested that the biochar/Mg-Al assembled nanocomposites have an energetically heterogeneous surface and that phosphate adsorption could be controlled by multiple processes.

A novel approach for preparation of modified-biochar derived from marine macroalgae: Dual purpose electro-modification for improvement of surface area and metal impregnation.

In the present study, an aluminum electrode-based electrochemical process was newly adopted as a modification method for fabricating physically and chemically modified biochar derived from marine macroalgae. Specifically, a current density of 93.96 mA cm(-2) was applied for 5 min at pH 3.

Lead and copper removal from aqueous solutions using carbon foam derived from phenol resin.

Phenolic resin-based carbon foam was prepared as an adsorbent for removing heavy metals from aqueous solutions. The surface of the produced carbon foam had a well-developed open cell structure and the specific surface area according to the BET model was 458.59m(2)g(-1).

Decolorization of Acid Orange 7 by an electric field-assisted modified orifice plate hydrodynamic cavitation system: Optimization of operational parameters.

In this study, the decolorization of Acid Orange 7 (AO-7) with intensified performance was obtained using hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) combined with an electric field (graphite electrodes). As a preliminary step, various HC systems were compared in terms of decolorization, and, among them, the electric field-assisted modified orifice plate HC (EFM-HC) system exhibited perfect decolorization performance within 40 min of reaction time. Interestingly, when H2O2 was injected into the EFM-HC system as an additional oxidant, the reactor performance gradually decreased as the dosing ratio increased; thus, the remaining experiments were performed without H2O2.

Application and optimization of electric field-assisted ultrasonication for disintegration of waste activated sludge using response surface methodology with a Box-Behnken design.

In the present study, an electric field is applied in order to disintegrate waste activated sludge (WAS). As a preliminary step, feasibility tests are investigated using different applied voltages of 10-100V for 60min. As the applied voltage increases, the disintegration degrees (DD) are gradually enhanced, and thereby the soluble N, P, and carbohydrate concentrations increase simultaneously due to the WAS decomposition.

Development of a novel electric field-assisted modified hydrodynamic cavitation system for disintegration of waste activated sludge.

In this current study, we present a modified hydrodynamic cavitation device that combines an electric field to substitute for the chemical addition. A modified HC system is basically an orifice plate and crisscross pipe assembly, in which the crisscross pipe imparts some turbulence, which creates collision events. This study shows that for maximizing disintegration, combining HC system, which called electric field-assisted modified orifice plate hydrodynamic cavitation (EFM-HC) in this study, with an electric field is important.

Synthesis and characterization of monodispersed core-shell/polystyrene-silica composite nanospheres as artificial dusts.

Monodispersed core-shell/polystyrene-silica composite nanospheres are synthesized as artificial dusts by a two-step process, the preparation of seed copolymer spheres and the formation of a silica layer on the seed spheres. The poly(styrene-co-MPS) copolymer spheres containing silanol groups are first prepared by emulsion polymerization using 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (MPS) as a co-monomer, potassium persulfate (KPS) as a initiator, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a stabilizer. The diameter of the copolymer spheres is in the range of 220-270 nm with very small coefficients of variation (CV), depending on the content of MPS.

Quartz crystal microbalance sensor coated with nano-sized polystyrene latex spheres for SO2 detection.

In order to investigate the effect of surface morphology on the sensing performance in detecting sulfur dioxide, two different types polystyrene, polystyrene latex spheres (PLS) and polystyrene film (PSF), are synthesized by using an emulsion polymerization, which are coated on quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) surfaces. It is found that the sensing performance is strongly dependent on the morphology of polymer materials. The adsorption capacity of the synthesized PLS is higher than that of the PSF.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers for the detection of aromatic hydrocarbons.

In this study, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are designed to improve their sensitivity and selectivity for specific aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene, and xylene isomers. The MIPs based on methyl acrylate (MA) monomer are prepared using toluene and ethylene glycol dimetacrylate (EGDMA) as a template and a cross linking agent, respectively. The binding sites on the MIPs are characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).

A quartz crystal microbalance-based sensor system coated with functional polymers for SO2 and NO2 detection.

In this work, a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM)-based adsorption sensor system with high sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility is designed and fabricated. The functional polymers such as polypyrrole, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and polystyrene are coated on 8 MHz AT-cut quartz crystal surfaces as sensing materials for SO2 and NO2. All sensing materials on the QCM surface are characterized experimentally by SEM and AFM.

Adsorption and thermo desorption characteristics of hydrocarbons on single walled carbon nanotubes.

We investigated the heterogeneous adsorption and thermal desorption behaviors of acetone, n-hexane and trichloroethylene (TCE) on single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Adsorption isotherms for selected molecules on SWCNTs were measured using a quartz spring balance at temperatures ranging from 303.15 to 323.