The order affects the release of vitamin D from hybrid self-assembled silica systems.

Vitamin D (VD) suffers from low water solubility and strong degradation, which both decrease its bioavailability. This work aims at obtaining a silica-surfactant-VD hybrid material and verifying if this system can protect VD from degradation and enhance its solubility. This preliminary study aspires at tuning the mesostructure order of the hybrid system (by modifying the surfactant amount) with the scope of controlling, somewhat, its drug release capability.

The Role of the pH in the Impregnation of Spherical Mesoporous Silica Particles with L-Arginine Aqueous Solutions.

In the context of the development of carriers for amino acids delivery, Spherical Mesoporous Silica Particles (SMSP), characterized by particles size ranging from 0.15 µm to 0.80 µm and average pore diameter of 2.

Whey Proteins-Zinc Oxide Bionanocomposite as Antibacterial Films.

The use of toxic crosslinking agents and reagents in the fabrication of hydrogels is a frequent issue which is particularly concerning for biomedical or food packaging applications. In this study, novel antibacterial bionanocomposite films were obtained through a simple solvent casting technique without using any crosslinking substance. Films were made from a flexible and transparent whey protein matrix containing zinc oxide nanoparticles synthesised via a wet chemical precipitation route.

Valorization of Byproducts of Hemp Multipurpose Crop: Short Non-Aligned Bast Fibers as a Source of Nanocellulose.

Nanocellulose was extracted from short bast fibers, from hemp ( L.) plants harvested at seed maturity, non-retted, and mechanically decorticated in a defibering apparatus, giving non-aligned fibers. A chemical pretreatment with NaOH and HCl allowed the removal of most of the non-cellulosic components of the fibers.

Piroxicam Loading onto Mesoporous Silicas by Supercritical CO Impregnation.

Piroxicam (PRX) is a commonly prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug. Its efficacy, however, is partially limited by its low water solubility. In recent years, different studies have tackled this problem and have suggested delivering PRX through solid dispersions.

Amino groups modified SBA-15 for dispersive-solid phase extraction in the analysis of micropollutants by QuEchERS approach.

In the analysis of contaminants in food products, sample preparation is performed by proper adsorbents, whose choice is crucial to eliminate matrix interference. In this work we modified SBA-15 adsorbents by functionalization with (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane (SBA-15-APTES) and N-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]aniline (SBA-15-AN) aiming to use them for the first time in the clean-up step of a QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) extraction of micropollutants from strawberry, a sugar rich fruit. After physico-chemical characterization by nitrogen adsorption, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, the adsorption capabilities of SBA-15 sorbents and possible interaction mechanisms were studied at different pH (2.

Bispyrene Functionalization Drives Self-Assembly of Graphite Nanoplates into Highly Efficient Heat Spreader Foils.

Thermally conductive nanopapers fabricated from graphene and related materials are currently showing great potential in thermal management applications. However, thermal contacts between conductive plates represent the bottleneck for thermal conductivity of nanopapers prepared in the absence of a high temperature step for graphitization. In this work, the problem of ineffective thermal contacts is addressed by the use of bifunctional polyaromatic molecules designed to drive self-assembly of graphite nanoplates (GnP) and establish thermal bridges between them.

Supercritical Solvent Impregnation of Different Drugs in Mesoporous Nanostructured ZnO.

Supercritical solvent impregnation (SSI) is a green unconventional technique for preparing amorphous drug formulations. A mesoporous nanostructured ZnO (mesoNsZnO) carrier with 8-nm pores, spherical-nanoparticle morphology, and an SSA of 75 m/g has been synthesized and, for the first time, subjected to SSI with poorly water-soluble drugs. Ibuprofen (IBU), clotrimazole (CTZ), and hydrocortisone (HC) were selected as highly, moderately, and poorly CO-soluble drugs.

Nanostructured ZnO as Multifunctional Carrier for a Green Antibacterial Drug Delivery System-A Feasibility Study.

The physico⁻chemical and biological properties of nanostructured ZnO are combined with the non-toxic and eco-friendly features of the scCO₂-mediated drug loading technique to develop a multifunctional antimicrobial drug delivery system for potential applications in wound healing. Two nanostructured ZnO (NsZnO) with different morphologies were prepared through wet organic-solvent-free processes and characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and nitrogen adsorption analysis. The antimicrobial activity of the two samples against different microbial strains was investigated together with the in vitro Zn release.