ABSTRACT
Low-temperature atmospheric pressure plasma was demonstrated to have an ability to generate different reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), showing wide biological actions. Within this study, mesoporous silica nanoparticles (NPs) and FexOy/NPs catalysts were produced and embedded in the polysaccharide matrix of chitosan/curdlan/hydroxyapatite biomaterial. Then, basic physicochemical and structural characterization of the NPs and biomaterials was performed. The primary aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of the combined action of cold nitrogen plasma and the materials produced on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs), which were seeded onto the bone scaffolds containing NPs or FexOy/NPs catalysts. Incorporation of catalysts into the structure of the biomaterial was expected to enhance the formation of plasma-induced RONS, thereby improving stem cell behavior. The results obtained clearly demonstrated that short-time (16s) exposure of ADSCs to nitrogen plasma accelerated proliferation of cells grown on the biomaterial containing FexOy/NPs catalysts and increased osteocalcin production by the cells cultured on the scaffold containing pure NPs. Plasma activation of FexOy/NPs-loaded biomaterial resulted in the formation of appropriate amounts of oxygen-based reactive species that had positive impact on stem cell proliferation and at the same time did not negatively affect their osteogenic differentiation. Therefore, plasma-activated FexOy/NPs-loaded biomaterial is characterized by improved biocompatibility and has great clinical potential to be used in regenerative medicine applications to improve bone healing process.
Subject(s)
Bone Substitutes/chemistry , Mesenchymal Stem Cells/cytology , Tissue Scaffolds/chemistry , 3T3 Cells , Animals , Cell Culture Techniques/methods , Cell Proliferation , Cells, Cultured , Ferric Compounds , Humans , Materials Testing , Mice , Microscopy, Electron, Scanning , Microscopy, Electron, Transmission , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Nanoparticles/ultrastructure , Nitrogen , Osteoblasts/cytology , Osteogenesis , Plasma Gases , Silicon Dioxide , Tissue EngineeringABSTRACT
Activation of a concentrated solution of d-fructose with carbonic acid, generated from carbon dioxide, induces the formation of difructose dianhydrides (DFAs) and their glycosylated derivatives (glycosyl-DFAs), a family of prebiotic oligosaccharides. Under optimized conditions, up to 70% of the active DFA species were obtained from a highly concentrated solution of fructose, avoiding the filtration step and contamination risk associated with the current procedures that employ heterogeneous catalysis with acid ion-exchange resins. The optimized CO2-promoted preparation of DFA-enriched caramel described here has been already successfully scaled up to 150 kg of d-fructose for nutritional studies, showing that implementation of this process is possible at a larger scale.
Subject(s)
Candy/analysis , Carbon Dioxide/chemistry , Disaccharides/chemistry , Fructose/chemistry , Prebiotics/analysis , Carbohydrates , GlycosylationABSTRACT
The hydrogenation of furfural to furfuryl alcohol was performed in the presence of a Co/SBA-15 catalyst. High selectivity (96 %) at a conversion higher than 95 % is reported over this catalytic system. As the conversion of furfural to furfuryl alcohol occurs over metallic Co sites, the effect of reduction temperature, H2 pressure, and reaction temperature were studied. Optimum reaction conditions were: 150 °C, 1.5â h, 2.0â MPa of H2 . The catalyst was recyclable, and furfuryl alcohol was recovered with a purity higher than 90 %. The effect of the solvent concentration was also studied. With a minimum of 50â wt % of solvent, the selectivity to furfuryl alcohol and the conversion of furfural remained high (both over 80 %). Likewise, the activity of the catalyst is maintained even in pure furfural, which confirms the real potential of the proposed catalytic system. This catalyst was also used in the hydrogenation of levulinic acid to produce γ-valerolactone selectively.
Subject(s)
Cobalt/chemistry , Furaldehyde/chemistry , Furans/chemistry , Silicon Dioxide/chemistry , Catalysis , Hydrogen/chemistry , Hydrogenation , Kinetics , Levulinic Acids/chemistry , Models, Molecular , Molecular Conformation , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Oxidation-Reduction , Porosity , Pressure , TemperatureABSTRACT
The one-pot production of industrially valuable diketone derivatives from carbohydrates is achieved through a bifunctional catalytic process. In particular, Pd/C-catalyzed hydrogenation of HMF in water and under CO2 affords 1-hydroxypentane-2,5-dione with up to 77% yield. The process is also eligible starting from fructose and inulin, affording 1-hydroxyhexane-2,5-dione with 36% and 15% yield, respectively. The key of the process is reversible in situ formation of carbonic acid, which is capable of assisting Pd/C during the hydrogenation reaction by promoting the dehydration of carbohydrates and the ring-opening of furanic intermediates. Interestingly, by changing the reaction medium from H2 O to a H2 O/THF mixture (1:9), it is possible to switch the selectivity of the reaction and to produce 2,5-hexanadione with 83% yield. Within the framework of sustainable chemistry, reactions presented in this report show 100% carbon economy, involve CO2 to generate acidity, require water as a solvent, and are conducted under rather low hydrogen pressures (10 bar).
