Magnetic superhydrophobic cellulose nanofibril based aerogel with rope-ladder like structure incorporating both superelasticity and excellent oil absorption.

Achieving an equilibrium between exceptional oil absorption and remarkable elasticity has emerged as a formidable challenge for magnetic porous materials designed for oil absorption. Here, we propose an original, magnetic and superhydrophobic cellulose nanofibril (CNF) based aerogel system with a rope-ladder like skeleton by to greatly improve the issue. Within this system, CNF as the skeleton was combined with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)@Fe3O4 as the magnetic and enhanced component, both methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) and acetonitrile-extracted lignin (AEL) as the soft-hard associating constituents. The resultant CNF based aerogel shows a rope-ladder like pore structure to contribute to high elasticity and excellent oil absorption (28.34-61.09 g/g for various oils and organic solvents) under the synergistic effect of Fe3O4@MWCNT, AEL and MTMS, as well as good specific surface area (27.97 m2/g), low density (26.4 mg/cm3). Notably, despite the introduced considerable proportion (0.5 times of mass-CNF) of Fe3O4@MWCNT, the aerogel retained an impressive compression-decompression rate (88%) and the oil absorption efficiency of above 87% for various oils due to the soft-hard associating structure supported by both MTMS and AEL. This study provides a prospective strategy to balance between high elasticity and excellent oil absorption of CNF based aerogel doping inorganic particles.

Construction of CNC@SiO2@PL Based Superhydrophobic Wood with Excellent Abrasion Resistance Based on Nanoindentation Analysis and Good UV Resistance.

Construction of superhydrophobic woods with high abrasion resistance is still a major challenge, and micro analysis for abrasion resistance is scarce. To improve these issues, cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)@SiO2@phosphorylated lignin (PL) rods were prepared by SiO2 in situ generated on CNC, and then the modified lignin attached to the CNC@SiO2 rods surface. Subsequently, the superhydrophobic coating was constructed using hydrophobic modified CNC@SiO2@PL rods as the main structural substance by simple spraying or rolling them onto wood surfaces, and both polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and epoxy resin were used as the adhesives. The resulting coating had excellent superhydrophobic properties with a water contact angle (WCA) of 157.4° and a slide angle (SA) of 6°. The introduced PL could enhance ultraviolet (UV) resistance of the coating due to the presence of these groups that absorbed UV light in lignin. In the abrasion resistance test, compared with the SiO2/PL coating, the abrasion resistance of the one with CNC was much higher, suggesting that CNC could improve the abrasion resistance of the coating due to its high crystallinity and excellent mechanical strength. The coating with PDMS performed better than the one with epoxy resin because the soft surface could offset part of the external impact by deformation in the abrasion process. This was also consistent with the results of the nanoindentation (NI) tests. In view of the simple preparation and good performance, this superhydrophobic wood will have broad application potential.

Multiplex quantitation of 17 drug-derived components in human plasma after administration of a fixed herbal preparation of Sailuotong using combined online SPE-LC-MS/MS methods.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Sailuotong (SLT) is a standardized herbal medicine formula made from extracts of ginseng (the dried root and rhizome of Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer), ginkgo (the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L.), and saffron (the stigma of Crocus sativus L.). It is prescribed compatibly for the treatment of vascular dementia (VaD) following the TCM principle of Qi-invigorating and Blood-activating. Ginseng is widely used as a tonic for the restoration of strength in China. Ginkgo and saffron have been traditionally used for a long time as medicines with the main effect of promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis. AIM OF THE STUDY: SLT has been proven to be a promising medicine for VaD by existing pharmacological and clinical evidence. To understand how the formula herbs and their active ingredients cooperate to produce comprehensive effects, the present study aimed to establish a highly sensitive and accurate quantitative method to reveal the plasma exposure profile of SLT in humans. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multiplex quantitation of a total of 17 SLT-derived components in human plasma was fulfilled by using online SPE for sample extractions followed by LC-MS/MS determinations. Among them, 8 ginsenoside (Rg1, Re, F1, Rf, Rb1, Rb2, Rc and Rd) were determined in ESI+ mode, and ginkgo flavonoids of quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin were in ESI- mode. Improved sensitivity was achieved through optimizing the condition of sample extraction and LC separation, as well as mass parameters. 4 ginkgolides, including ginkgolide A, B, C and bilobalide, and 2 crocins of crocin-1 and its metabolite crocetin, were analyzed concurrently in negative ion mode, and their stability was ensured by a series of protective solutions. RESULTS: The lower limit of quantitation was achieved to be extremely sensitive at 0.078 ng/mL for all ginsenosides, 0.033 ‒ 0.2 ng/mL for ginkgo flavonoids, 0.75 or 1.5 ng/mL for ginkgolides and 3 ng/mL for crocins. The methods were fully validated to be accurate and precise, and applicability was demonstrated by the analysis of clinical samples from 2 healthy volunteers. CONCLUSION: The developed methods should be useful in further detailed clinical pharmacokinetic research for clarifying the effect mechanism of SLT and formulating its rational therapeutic regimens.

Cellulose nanofibril/PVA/bamboo activated charcoal aerogel sheet with excellent capture for PM2.5 and thermal stability.

It is still a challenge to prepare air filtration materials with high filtration efficiency and good thermal stability from renewable materials. In this study, cellulose nanofibril (CNF), poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), and bamboo activated charcoal (BAC) were used to build an air filtration system with double filtration by mixing and freeze-drying. The resulting CNF/PVA/BAC aerogel sheet reached a filtration efficiency of 99.69% for PM2.5 due to its double filtration from the network structure of CNF and electrostatic adsorption of BAC. The composite material also showed high thermal stability with its filtration efficiency over 95% even after exposure to 200 °C. After modification, the hydrophobic CNF/PVA/BAC filtration sheet could be reused for over 5 times by water washing whereby the filtration efficiency remained above 95%. The environmentally friendliness excellent filtration efficiency and simplistic fabrication make the aerogel sheet a potential material choice to cope with the severe air pollution today.

Preparation of lignin nanospheres based superhydrophobic surfaces with good robustness and long UV resistance.

Lignin is an ideal substance for preparation of functional materials. Specifically, lignin nanospheres (LNPs) are formed by self-assembly of lignin molecules and show great application prospects in drug delivery, electrochemistry, catalysis, etc. At present, most superhydrophobic surfaces are mainly built using non-degradable inorganic particles and are still beset by defects such as poor environmental performance, easy aging, and low mechanical strength. In this study, an aqueous mixture containing LNPs, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was sprayed onto wood surfaces and then modified by 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane (FOTS) to obtain a superhydrophobic surface. In the superhydrophobic surface, LNPs were used as the main structural materials instead of inorganic particles, CNC was used as a reinforcement material and PVA was used as an adhesive. The resulting superhydrophobic surface showed a water contact angle (WCA) of 162°, good robustness resistance and long UV resistance in which the superhydrophobicity was still retained after exposure to ultra-high UV light (power of 1000 W) for 7 h, providing more directions for high-value application of lignin.

A facile preparation of superhydrophobic L-CNC-coated meshes for oil-water separation.

A superhydrophobic stainless steel mesh (called "mesh" in short) is an ideal device to solve oil pollution accidents by oil-water separation. However, its widespread application is prevented by complicated preparation, weak durability, and particularly poor mechanical strength. It is well known that the used adhesives play a key role in the mechanical strength of superhydrophobic coatings. In this study, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMSs) were respectively used as adhesives and lignin-nanocellulose crystal (L-CNC) particles as main structure materials to prepare L-CNC coated superhydrophobic meshes. Moreover, the meshes coated with L-CNC/PVDF and L-CNC/PDMS were compared with respect to the properties of wettability, sandpaper abrasion, oil-water separation, etc. The results showed that the L-CNC/PVDF-coated mesh had a higher water contact angle (WCA = 154.2°) than the L-CNC/PDMS-coated one (WCA = 152.6°), but worse abrasion resistance. Both of them showed high-efficiency oil/water separation with collection rates above 94.5% and stable reusable ability as the oil collection rates for toluene was still above 93.8% after reusing thirty times, meanwhile showing good heat, UV, acid and alkaline resistance properties.

Repeated administration of Sailuotong, a fixed combination of Panax ginseng, Ginkgo biloba, and Crocus sativus extracts for vascular dementia, alters CYP450 activities in rats.

BACKGROUND: Sailuotong (SLT) is a standard Chinese preparation made from extracts of Panax ginseng (ginseng), Ginkgo biloba (ginkgo), and Crocus sativus (saffron). Preliminary clinical trials and animal experiments have demonstrated that SLT could improve cognition of vascular dementia (VD). PURPOSE: To avoid incident drug-drug interaction which is easily encountered in patients of VD, the potential influence of SLT on main drug-metabolic cytochromes P450 enzymes (CYP450) was investigated. METHOD: A "cocktail probes" approach was employed to evaluate the activities of CYP450. A rapid and selective analysis method was developed to examine 5 CYP probe drugs and their specific metabolites in plasma by using online SPE followed by a single LC-MS/MS run. After pretreatment for 2 weeks with SLT, ginseng, gingko, saffron or water (control), a cocktail solution containing caffeine, losartan, omeprazole, dextromethorphan and midazolam was given to rats orally. The plasma was obtained at different time intervals and then measured for the concentration of probes and their metabolites using developed SPE-LC-MS/MS method. Activity of five isozymes was estimated by comparing plasma pharmacokinetics of substrates and their metabolites (caffeine/paraxanthine for CYP1A2, losartan/E-3174 for CYP2C11, omeprazole/5-hydroxyl omeprazole for CYP2C6, dextromethorphan/dextrophan for CYP2D2 and midazolam/1-hydroxyl midazolam for CYP3A1/2) between control and drug treatment groups. RESULT: Compared with control group, repeated administration of SLT induced CYP1A2 by enhancing AUC paraxanthine / AUC caffeine to144%. The influence is attributed to its herbal component of ginseng to a large extent. Meanwhile, metabolic ability towards losartan was significantly elevated in SLT and gingko group by 31% and 25% respectively, indicating weak induction of CYP2C11 in rats. The analysis on probes of omeprazole and dextromethorphan showed a lack of influence on CYP 2C6 and CYP2D2 in all treated groups. In terms of CYP3A1/2, SLT decreased AUC ratio of 1-hydroxyl midazolam to midazolam by 39% and extended the half-life of midazolam apparently. Besides, significantly decreased systematic exposure of midazolam suggested the inhibition on metabolism of CYP3A1/2 is likely secondary to the interaction on absorption at intestinal level. The inhibition of SLT on CYP3A was likely attributed to ginseng and gingko cooperatively. CONCLUSION: Further observation on herb-drug interaction should be considered during clinical application of SLT.