Adsorption of the harmful hormone ethinyl estradiol inside hydrophobic cavities of CTA(+) intercalated montmorillonite.

Hydrophobic cavities produced by cetyltrimethylammonium cation (CTA(+)) exchanged and trapped in the interlayer space of montmorillonite were used to remove the harmful hormone contaminant ethinyl estradiol (EE2) from water. X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry/derivative thermogravimetry, elemental analysis (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen), Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and contact angle analyses showed that the intercalation of 9, 16 and 34 wt% CTA(+) in the montmorillonite resulted in the d001 expansion from 1.37 to 1.58, 2.09 and 2.18 nm, respectively. EE2 adsorption experiments showed that the original clay montmorillonite does not remove EE2 from water whereas the intercalated composites showed high efficiency with adsorption capacities of 4.3, 8.8 and 7.3 mg g(-1) for M9CTA(+), M16CTA(+) and M34CTA(+), respectively. Moreover, experiments with montmorillonite simply impregnated with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide showed that the intercalation of CTA(+) to form the hydrophobic cavity is very important for the adsorption properties. Simple solvent extraction can be used to remove the adsorbed EE2 without significant loss of CTA(+), which allows the recovery and reuse of the adsorbent for at least five times.

Controlled release of rhodium (II) carboxylates and their association complexes with cyclodextrins from hydroxyapatite matrix.

Preparation and characterization of a controlled release system of rhodium (II) citrate, acetate. propionate, butyrate and their inclusion or association compounds with cyclodextrin (CD) are described. The porous hydroxyapatite (HA) was characterized by X-ray powder pattern diffraction, FTIR and solid state 31P NMR. Scanning electron microscopy and gas adsorption analysis (BET) were also performed. Release profiles of rhodium (II) carboxylates and their inclusion or association compounds from HA matrix were obtained at different drug loadings (5% and 10%). These were reasonably consistent with a diffusion model. This analysis, mainly using rhodium (II) citrate and butyrate, showed that the strategy of using CDs with a HA matrix may offer a useful new method for the controlled release of these compounds, and hence an alternative strategy for the controlled release of chemotherapeutic agents containing toxic metals. This may be a valuable new technique for localized anti-tumour chemotherapy that minimizes the side effects of such agents.