Jackfruit peel cellulose nanocrystal - Alginate hydrogel for doripenem adsorption and release study.

As a natural raw material to replace synthetic chemicals, cellulose and its derivatives are the most popular choices in the pharmaceutical industry. For drug delivery applications, cellulose is usually used as a cellulose nanocrystal (CNC). CNC-based hydrogels are widely utilized for drug delivery because drug molecules can be encapsulated in their pore-like structures. This study aims to develop CNC hydrogels for the delivery of doripenem antibiotics. CNC was obtained from jackfruit peel extraction, and alginate was used as a network polymer to produce hydrogels. Ionotropic gelation was used in the synthesis of CNC-alginate hydrogel composites. The maximum adsorption of doripenem by CNC was 65.7 mg/g, while the maximum adsorption by CNC-alginate was 98.4 mg/g. One of the most challenging aspects of drug delivery is predicting drug release from a solid matrix using simple and complex mathematical equations. The sigmoidal equation could represent the doripenem release from CNC, while the Ritger-Peppas equation could describe the doripenem release from CNC-Alginate. The biocompatibility testing of CNC and CNC-alginate against a 7F2 cell line indicates that both materials were non-toxic.

Preparation of MIL100/MIL101-alginate composite beads for selective phosphate removal from aqueous solution.

Numerous studies have reported various approaches for synthesizing phosphate-capturing adsorbents to mitigate eutrophication. Despite the efforts, concerns about production cost, the complexity of synthesis steps, environmental friendliness, and applicability in industrial settings continue to be a problem. Herein, phosphate-selective composite adsorbents were prepared by incorporating alginate (Alg) with MIL100 and MIL101 to produce the MIL100/Alg and MIL101/Alg beads, where Fe3+ served as the crosslinker. The unsaturated coordination bond of MIL100 and MIL101 serves as a Lewis acid that can attract phosphate. The adsorption equilibrium isotherm, uptake kinetics, and effects of operating parameters were studied. The phosphate adsorption capacity of MIL100/Alg (103.3 mg P/g) and MIL101/Alg (109.5 mg P/g) outperformed their constituting components at pH 6 and 30 °C. Detailed evaluation of the adsorbent porosity using N2 sorption reveals the formation of mesoporous structures on the Alg network upon incorporation of MIL100 and MIL101. The composite adsorbents have excellent selectivity toward anionic phosphate and can be easily regenerated. Phosphate adsorption by MIL100/Alg and MIL101/Alg was driven by electrostatic attraction and ligand exchange. Preliminary economic analysis on the synthesis of the adsorbents indicates that the composites, MIL100/Alg and MIL101/Alg, are economically viable adsorbents.

Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) and Its Modified Form from Durian Rind as Dexamethasone Carrier.

In this study, CNCs were extracted from durian rind. Modification to CNCs with saponin was conducted at 50 °C for one h. CNCs and CNCs-saponin were employed as dexamethasone carriers. Modification to CNCs using saponin did not change the relative crystallinity of CNCs. CNCs' molecular structure and surface chemistry did not alter significantly after modification. Both nanoparticles have surface charges independently of pH. Dexamethasone-released kinetics were studied at two different pH (7.4 and 5.8). Higuchi, Ritger-Peppas, first-order kinetic and sigmoidal equations were used to represent the released kinetic data. The sigmoidal equation was found to be superior to other models. The CNCs and CNCs-saponin showed burst release at 30 min. The study indicated that cell viability decreased by 30% after modification with saponin.

Low-cost structured alginate-immobilized bentonite beads designed for an effective removal of persistent antibiotics from aqueous solution.

The removal of persistent antibiotics from the water bodies can be quite challenging. The present study deals with the removal of doripenem, one of the most stable and persistent antibiotics, from aqueous solution via adsorption technique using the low-cost structured alginate-immobilized bentonite (Alg@iB) beads which can be easily recovered after the process. Alg@iB possesses a porous interior and higher basal spacing compared with the acid-activated bentonite (iB). Its adsorption/desorption isotherm corresponds to type IV IUPAC classification and H4-type hysteresis loops, implying the presence of slit- or plane-shaped pores. The influences of four independent adsorption parameters, e.g., pH, initial doripenem concentrations (md), temperature (T), and Alg@iB loading (mc), on the removal rate of doripenem (Yd) are investigated. The maximum Yd (95.8% w/w) is obtained at pH = 5, mc = 1.4% w/v, T = 50 °C, and md = 250 mg/l. The study suggests that the adsorption of doripenem is spontaneous and endothermic. Further analysis using the multi-linear intra-particle diffusion (IPD) model indicates that the rate-governing step in this adsorption process is the physical diffusion from the bulk solution to the boundary layer of Alg@iB. However, the mechanism study also considers the chemical hydrogen binding between the hydronium ions of Alg@iB and hydroxyl groups of doripenem as one of the driving forces that promote adsorption. Alg@iB shows good reusability with Yd > 90% w/w up to five adsorption cycles. Based on the study, the Alg@iB beads exhibit excellent affinity to doripenem, indicating that an effective doripenem removal can be achieved using this sorbent material.