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This review aims to explore recent advancements in polymer-grafted materials that have emerged as effective adsorbents for the removal of contaminants from wastewater. The most significant environmental issues affecting public health are the presence of dyes, heavy metals, and metalloids in wastewater discharged by various industries. Unfortunately, traditional techniques for treating wastewater are incapable of removing dyes and heavy metals. Due to enhanced capabilities, larger surface areas, greater stability, adjustable properties, and cost-effectiveness, polymer-grafted nanomaterials (PGNs) have attracted the attention of researchers for water purification. Surface engineering of materials with the use of polymers improves greatly their colloidal stability and pollutant adsorption capacity. This study investigates different parameters such as adsorption capacity, pH, and duration in recently reported papers where polymer-grafted adsorbents are developed. The review concludes by offering an overview of recent advancements in the field and proposing potential avenues for future research on related topics.

This study investigates the Quincke rolling phenomenon of snowman-shaped colloidal particles. These chiral rollers exhibit individual and collective dynamic states that depend upon the population and driving field strength. In addition to the previously identified dynamic states, such as spinning and vortex states, we identify the standing and bounded motion of the particles. The bounded motion involves the confined orbiting of particles around the center of mass due to hydrodynamic interactions at low particle area fractions. Our findings provide valuable insights into the behavior of active systems and the fabrication of active materials, emphasizing emergent order and adaptability as key guiding principles.

Understanding the release behaviour of nanodrugs is a crucial step to better assess and control therapeutic outcomes and unfavourable side effects. Herein, we report a systematic study comparing the release kinetics and thermodynamics of paclitaxel (PTX) from supramolecularly assembled sub-micron particles based on natural macromolecules such as zein, whey, casein, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and conventional stabilizers such as pluronic F-127 (poloxamer 407), and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to gain insights into the role of carrier chemistry. For this purpose, nanomedicines with statistically indifferent sizes —in the range of 191.0 ± 0.8 nm (BSA) to 243.3 ± 11.6 nm (zein) were prepared (p > 0.05). The zeta potential values ranged from −3.2 ± 1.1 mV (pluronic F-127) to −17.2 ± 1.8 mV (whey) in phosphate buffered saline. The type of nanocarrier significantly influenced the long-term steady-state plateau of the release, resulting in a cumulative release of 70.3 ± 2.0 % of PTX from casein (the highest) and 46.8 ± 4.7 % of PTX from zein (the lowest). Time-resolved release data were analysed with various kinetical models, encompassing zero-order, first-order, Higuchi, Peppas-Sahlin, and Korsmeyer-Peppas kinetics. The analysis revealed that the Korsmeyer-Peppas model best captured the data. For these nanomedicines, the half-life of the encapsulated drugs was found to be 106.4 ± 31.3 h (zein), 4.7 ± 1.2 h (whey), 10.7 ± 1.8 h (pluronic F-127), 6.4 ± 0.9 h (casein), 10.8 ± 3.2 h (β-CD), and 4.0 ± 1.0 h (BSA). TEM characterization revealed differences in the macromolecular arrangement of the active ingredient within these nanocarriers, in addition to the structural differences among the various encapsulating agents. These differences manifested as variations in the internal nanostructures, leading to the creation of distinct microenvironments that could either facilitate or impede the movement of PTX molecules through the encapsulant matrices. In clinical settings, such fine details of nanocarrier design are important: by choosing the most appropriate nanocarrier (or their mixtures), clinicians can fine-tune drug administration to obtain the intended therapeutic window while mitigating the risk of potential negative reactions.

This study aimed to develop an hydroxypropyl methylcellulose-sorbitol (HPMC-sorbitol) thin film as a targeted drug delivery system for coconut shell liquid smoke (CSLS) to effectively treat oral ulcers. The HPMC-sorbitol thin film containing CSLS was created using solvent-casting methods. The resulting thin film underwent comprehensive analysis for shrinkage rate, weight, thickness, water absorption rate, swelling, dissolution, and disintegration time. The producible HPMC-sorbitol thin film containing CSLS exhibited a thickness of 34.89 ± 0.55 μm and a weight of 307.58 ± 10.76 mg, containing phenol and 13-octadecenoic acids. Notably, its swelling, disintegration, and dissolution times were approximately 5 min faster than the blank film. In vitro testing on BHK21 and 7F2 cells demonstrated the thin film's ability to maintain cell viability. In an in vivo oral ulcer model, the thin film reduced neutrophil recruitment, increased macrophage recruitment, and fostered fibroblast proliferation. The HPMC-sorbitol thin film containing CSLS emerged as an effective and well-tolerated delivery system for oral ulcer treatment. Its controlled release mechanism, precise dosing, and protective covering characteristics contribute to enhanced therapeutic outcomes, positioning it as a promising candidate for further development in oral ulcer treatment to improve human health.

The paper presents a quantum chemical approach for assessment of the thermodynamic parameters of association for alkanes C_nH_2n+2 (n = 6–14) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) of the coronene series as model structures of the graphene surface within the framework of semiempirical methods. The enthalpy, entropy and Gibbs energy of formation and binding for alkanes with PAH were calculated using the PM3 and PM6-DH2 methods. It is shown that an adequate description of the interactions in the regarded complexes requires the use of PM6-DH2 method, since it contains corrections for dispersion interactions and hydrogen bonds. The parallel orientation of the alkane molecule relative to the coronene plane is proved to be more energetically preferable than perpendicular one, which is consistent with experimental data.

Intermolecular C–H/π interactions are revealed to be crucial in the 2D film formation of alkanes on graphene/graphite. While interactions between alkane molecules make a destabilizing contribution due to the implementation of energetically unfavorable types of intermolecular CH/HC interactions. This stipulates a threshold chain length of alkanes capable of film formation on the graphene/graphite surface at standard temperature: 14 and 19 carbon atoms for parallel and perpendicular oriented alkanes, respectively. The obtained threshold values of the alkane chain length, as well as the geometric parameters of their orientation in 2D monolayers on the graphene/graphite surface are consistent with available experimental data.

The present study involved the preparation, characterization, and evaluation of layered double hydroxide (LDH) with the assistance of the algae Spirulina platensis (NiAl-Sp and ZnAl-Sp). These materials were investigated for their potential for selective adsorption of cationic dyes, including rhodamine B, malachite green, and methylene blue. The adsorbents exhibit a significant level of selectivity in their capacity to adsorb malachite green in comparison to other cationic dyes. The next parameter of adsorption was evaluated in malachite green as the selective adsorption of cationic dyes. Based on the Langmuir isotherm model, the calculated maximum adsorption capacities of NiAl-Sp and ZnAl-Sp for malachite green were determined to be 478.190 mg/g (pH = 4, 50 °C for 30 min) and 123.457 mg/g (pH = 4, 30 °C for 30 min), respectively. The main processes of adsorption encompassed not only electrostatic interactions but also hydrogen bonding and π-π interactions involving the dye and the amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl functional groups derived from Spirulina platensis. Spirulina platensis enhances the functional group of LDH. The findings of this study indicate that the NiAl-Sp and ZnAl-Sp composite demonstrated stability as a sorbent for the adsorption of malachite green. Furthermore, it was observed that this composite could be utilized for up to four adsorption cycles, but there was a noticeable decrease in its adsorption capability over time. The findings revealed that the synthesized composite adsorbents of NiAl-Sp and ZnAl-Sp exhibit high efficacy in the adsorption of malachite green from effluent.

Trigonella foenum-graecum is an economically important plant that has significant nutraceutical properties. Various parts of the plant have previously been reported to synthesize metal nanoparticles. However, the seeds of the plant have limited potential to synthesize metal nanoparticles. Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles requires phytochemicals as reducing and metal chelating agents, in addition to the stabilizing agents that play critical role in nanoparticles stabilization. The quantitative analysis of the methanol extract of the seeds suggest that the extract has significant antioxidant activity and reducing potential which is comparable to that of ascorbic acid. Likewise, GCMS data of the extract identified several phytochemical components that have nanoparticles stabilizing potential. Evidently, the extract indeed synthesized silver nanoparticles in dark, albeit in very low quantity. This limitation of low quantity of nanoparticles synthesis was overcome by photocatalysis. The rate of nanoparticles synthesis increased significantly with increase in the intensity of the white light-emitting diode (LED) light. Furthermore, the photocatalytic effect of the white light also has significant impact on the physicochemical characterisation of the nanoparticles. Particle size, nanoparticles yield and elemental analysis demonstrated that the 2000 lumens white LED light is optimum for photocatalysis as compared to the 250 lumens and 825 lumens light. However, the stability of nanoparticles is not influenced by photoirradiation, and is rather controlled by the phytochemical composition of the extract. Methanol extract of the seeds significantly enhanced the stability of the silver nanoparticles irrespective of the light intensities used for photocatalysis.

Recently, there has been growing interest in the hierarchical assemblies of zwitterionic betaine amphiphiles across various fields due to their utility as stimuli-responsive materials. Herein, we systematically investigate the binary supramolecular assembly of zwitterionic amido betaines and diamines to determine how alkyl chain length of amido betaines (C_nDAB) and amine degree of diamines influence their relaxation dynamics of the resultant coacervates. To this end, we synthesized five C_nDAB molecules with systematically varying carbon chain lengths (n = 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20) and conjugated them with three different diamines (ethylenediamine, EDA; n,n'-dimethylethylenediamine, DMEDA; and n,n,n',n'-tetramethylethylenediamine,TMEDA). We employed rheology to compare the bulk properties and relaxation dynamics of these assemblies as well as to gain insight into their responsiveness to pH stimulus. All betaine/diamine co-assemblies for all pH values showed shear-thinning behavior while the onset of shear thinning behavior showed some variation for the shear rate inducing such an onset. By changing molecular architecture of co-assembling pairs, zero-shear viscosity values varied from ∼10⁻¹ Pa s to ∼10³ Pa s at a concentration of 100 mM C_nDAB and 50 mM diamine in water. Four-order-of-magnitude difference in viscosity with small changes in molecular architecture and pH indicates that precise tuning of the rheological properties is possible simply by controlling the self-assembly tendencies and nano-to-micro scale aggregation morphologies through bi-molecular design. Out of 15 different combinations of betaine and diamine pairs studied, the primary amine EDA conjugated with C₁₈DAB resulted in the highest degree of pH-controlled viscosity changes (i.e., highest pH-responsivity). Below 16-carbon alkyl chains on the betaines, pH responsiveness mostly disappeared. Overall, this systematic study brings new insights into the molecular structure-property relationships of amido betaine/diamine systems, which are widely used in diverse sets of applications and fields.

The review discusses the development of a quantum chemical approach for calculating the thermodynamic clusterization parameters of surfactants at the air/water interface. It characterizes the intermolecular interactions that govern the process of surfactant association. Of particular interest are the dispersion interactions CH···HC between the hydrophobic chains of surfactants, as well as their accurate description within the exploited scheme and semiempirical methods. The scheme is based on calculating the thermodynamic parameters of formation for a certain number of surfactant monomers and small clusters with different chain lengths using the supermolecule approximation. Furthermore, it enables the construction of an additive scheme with assessed values of the increments of CH···HC interactions and interactions between the hydrophilic parts. This scheme provides equations for thermodynamic clusterization parameters per one surfactant molecule of infinite 2D films. The number of parameters adequately assessed within this approach is described in the previous review in Colloid Polym. Sci., 2015, 293, 3065–3089: the threshold chain length of spontaneous clusterization, the “temperature effect” of clusterization, and the assessment of the molecular tilt angle of the surfactant with respect to the interface. In this context, our aim is to describe additional parameters and experimental phenomena. These include the dependence of the area per surfactant molecule in a 2D monolayer at the LE-LC phase transition on temperature and chain length, the correlation of the surfactant clusterization threshold with the solubility threshold, and with the donor-acceptor properties of the substituents included in the hydrophilic part. We also explore surfactant binary mixtures, surfactant – alkane mixtures, and the role of amphiphiles in the formation of alkane adsorption layers. Additionally, we investigate the shifting of the acid or base value (pK_a, pK_b) of surfactants with chain elongation during monolayer formation, as well as the dendricity of surfactant domains with an increase in temperature or shortening of chain length.