Resveratrol Encapsulation and Release from Pristine and Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Carriers.

Resveratrol, a naturally occurring polyphenol, has attracted significant attention due to its antioxidant, cardioprotective and anticancer potential. However, its low aqueous solubility limits resveratrol bioavailability and use. In this work, different mesoporous silica matrices were used to encapsulate the polyphenol and to increase its dissolution rate. Pristine MCM-41, MCM-48, SBA-15, SBA-16, FDU-12 and MCF silica were obtained. The influence of SBA-15 functionalized with aminopropyl, isocyanate, phenyl, mercaptopropyl, and propionic acid moieties on resveratrol loading and release profiles was also assessed. The cytotoxic effects were evaluated for mesoporous carriers and resveratrol-loaded samples against human lung cancer (A549), breast cancer (MDA-MB-231) and human skin fibroblast (HSF) cell lines. The effect on apoptosis and cell cycle were assayed for selected resveratrol-loaded carriers. The polyphenol molecules are encapsulated only inside the mesopores, mostly in amorphous state. All materials containing either pristine or functionalized silica carriers increased polyphenol dissolution rate. The influence of the physico-chemical properties of the mesoporous carriers and resveratrol-loaded supports on the kinetic parameters was identified. Resv@SBA-15-SH and Resv@SBA-15-NCO samples exhibited the highest anticancer effect against A549 cells (IC50 values were 26.06 and 36.5 µg/mL, respectively) and against MDA-MB-231 (IC50 values were 35.56 and 19.30 µg/mL, respectively), which highlights their potential use against cancer.

Phase Equilibria of the Carbon Dioxide + 1-Decanol System at High Pressures.

In this work experimental vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data and three-phase vapor-liquid-liquid equilibrium (VLLE) data are presented for the carbon dioxide + 1-decanol system. The VLE data were measured at five temperatures, (303.2, 308.2, 323.2, 333.2, and 343.2) K, and pressures up to 16 MPa. The VLLE data cover pressure-temperature (P-T) values from 289 K and 5 MPa to the upper critical end point (UCEP). We have used two models to represent the complex fluid phase behavior (P-T critical curve, VLLE line, and VLE isotherms) of the carbon dioxide + 1-decanol system: the cubic general equation of state (GEOS) and Peng-Robinson (PR) equation in conjunction with van der Waals two parameters conventional mixing rules (2PCMR). A correlation method involving temperature-dependent interaction parameters and a semipredictive approach with independent temperature interaction parameters have been used. Comparisons with experimental data reported in this work and available in the literature indicate that the topology of fluid phase behavior is satisfactorily given by the semipredictive procedure both for the critical line and in subcritical region, considering the relative simple used cubic equations of state.