ABSTRACT
Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimise a temperature-responsive hydrogel formulation synthesised via the direct incorporation of biocellulose, which was extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) using the PF127 method. The optimised temperature-responsive hydrogel formulation was found to contain 3.000 w/v% biocellulose percentage and 19.047 w/v% PF127 percentage. The optimised temperature-responsive hydrogel provided excellent LCST near to the human body surface temperature, with high mechanical strength, drug release duration, and inhibition zone diameter against Staphylococcus aureus. Moreover, in vitro cytotoxicity testing against human epidermal keratinocyte (HaCaT) cells was conducted to evaluate the toxicity of the optimised formula. It was found that silver sulfadiazine (SSD)-loaded temperature-responsive hydrogel can be used as a safe replacement for the commercial SSD cream with no toxic effect on HaCaT cells. Last, but not least, in vivo (animal) dermal testing-both dermal sensitization and animal irritation-were conducted to evaluate the safety and biocompatibility of the optimised formula. No sensitization effects were detected on the skin applied with SSD-loaded temperature-responsive hydrogel indicating no irritant response for topical application. Therefore, the temperature-responsive hydrogel produced from OPEFB is ready for the next stage of commercialisation.
ABSTRACT
Oil-contaminated water and industrial oily wastewater discharges have adversely affected aquatic ecosystems and human safety. Membrane separation technology offers a promising solution for effective oil-water separation. Thus, a membrane with high surface area, hydrophilic-oleophobic properties, and stability is a promising candidate. Electrospinning, a straightforward and efficient process, produces highly porous polymer-based membranes with a vast surface area and stability. The main objective of this study is to produce hydrophilic-oleophobic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and cellulose acetate (CA) nanofibers using core-shell electrospinning. Incorporating CA into the shell of the nanofibers enhances the wettability. The core PAN polymer improves the electrospinning process and contributes to the hydrophilicity-oleophobicity of the produced nanofibers. The PAN/CA nanofibers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and surface-wetting behavior. The resulting PAN/cellulose nanofibers exhibited significantly improved surface-wetting properties, demonstrating super-hydrophilicity and underwater superoleophobicity, making them a promising choice for oil-water separation. Various oils, including gasoline, diesel, toluene, xylene, and benzene, were employed in the preparation of oil-water mixture solutions. The utilization of PAN/CA nanofibers as a substrate proved to be highly efficient, confirming exceptional separation efficiency, remarkable stability, and prolonged durability. The current work introduces an innovative single-step fabrication method of composite nanofibers, specially designed for efficient oil-water separation. This technology exhibits significant promise for deployment in challenging situations, offering excellent reusability and a remarkable separation efficiency of nearly 99.9%.
ABSTRACT
Drug delivery is a difficult task in the field of dermal therapeutics, particularly in the treatment of burns, wounds, and skin diseases. Conventional drug delivery mediums have some limitations, including poor retention on skin/wound, inconvenience in administration, and uncontrolled drug release profile. Hydrogels able to absorb large amount of water and give a spontaneous response to stimuli imposed on them are an attractive solution to overcome the limitations of conventional drug delivery media. The objective of this study is to explore a green synthesis method for the development of thermo-responsive cellulose hydrogel using cellulose extracted from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB). A cold method was employed to prepare thermo-responsive cellulose hydrogels by incorporating OPEFB-extracted cellulose and Pluronic F127 (PF127) polymer. The performance of the synthesized thermo-responsive cellulose hydrogels were evaluated in terms of their swelling ratio, percentage of degradation, and in-vitro silver sulfadiazine (SSD) drug release. H8 thermo-responsive cellulose hydrogel with 20 w/v% PF127 and 3 w/v% OPEFB extracted cellulose content was the best formulation, given its high storage modulus and complex viscosity (81 kPa and 9.6 kPa.s, respectively), high swelling ratio (4.22 ± 0.70), and low degradation rate (31.3 ± 5.9%), in addition to high t50% value of 24 h in SSD in-vitro drug release to accomplish sustained drug release. The exploration of thermo-responsive cellulose hydrogel from OPEFB would promote cost-effective and sustainable drug delivery system with using abundantly available agricultural biomass.
