Immobilization of human tyrosine hydroxylase onto magnetic nanoparticles - A novel formulation of a therapeutic enzyme.

Human tyrosine hydroxylase (hTH) has key role in the production of catecholamine neurotransmitters. The structure, function and regulation of hTH has been extensively researched area and the possibility of enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) involving hTH through nanocarriers has been raised as well. However, our understanding on how hTH may interact with nanocarriers is still lacking. In this work, we attempted to investigate the immobilization of hTH on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with various surface linkers in quantitative and mechanistic detail. Our results showed that the activity of hTH was retained after immobilization via secondary and covalent interactions as well. The colloidal stability of hTH could be also enhanced proved by Dynamic light scattering and Zeta potential analysis and a homogenous enzyme layer could be achieved, which was investigated by Raman mapping. The covalent attachment of hTH on MNPs via aldehyde or epoxy linkers provide irreversible immobilization and 38.1 % and 16.5 % recovery (ER). The hTH-MNPs catalyst had 25 % ER in average in simulated nasal electrolyte solution (SNES). This outcome highlights the relevance of immobilization applying MNPs as a potential formulation tool of sensitive therapeutic enzymes offering new opportunities for ERT related to neurodegenerative disorders.

Management of dredged marine sediments in Southern France: main keys to large-scale beneficial re-use.

Fifty million cubic meters of marine sediments are dredged each year in France in order to maintain harbor activities and sustain the economy of littoral territories. Because of anthropogenic activities in and around harbors, sediments can contain significant amounts of chemical and organic pollutants whose behavior during dredging must be addressed in order to avoid releasing risks for humans and the environment. French regulations come to govern the management of dredged sediments, considering them "safe" and possible to be dumped at sea or "contaminated" and needed to be treated on land as waste. In recent years, new constraints have been pushed toward the management of land. This management is, however, challenging as few channels are proposed to reuse marine sediments, and elimination appears to be economically and environmentally unsustainable. This study provides an overview of the technical and regulatory aspects related to dredged marine sediment management in France and aims to identify and discuss the limits of their valorization. Dredged sediments are mainly composed of particles with heterogeneous grain size, some being known for many applications such as building materials and growing media. However, several reasons have been put forward to explain why these particles are not reused when extracted from dredged sediments. Several technical, socio-economic, and regulatory obstacles explain the low demand for dredged sediments. This demand can be stimulated by government incentives and a good regulatory framework. National regulations could help streamline their reuse by removing their "waste" status and creating a regulated market for dredged sediment.

Unlocking the Mitochondria for Nanomedicine-based Treatments: Overcoming Biological Barriers, Improving Designs, and Selecting Verification Techniques.

Enhanced targeting approaches will support the treatment of diseases associated with dysfunctional mitochondria, which play critical roles in energy generation and cell survival. Obstacles to mitochondria-specific targeting include the presence of distinct biological barriers and the need to pass through (or avoid) various cell internalization mechanisms. A range of studies have reported the design of mitochondrially-targeted nanomedicines that navigate the complex routes required to influence mitochondrial function; nonetheless, a significant journey lies ahead before mitochondrially-targeted nanomedicines become suitable for clinical use. Moving swiftly forward will require safety studies, in vivo assays confirming effectiveness, and methodologies to validate mitochondria-targeted nanomedicines' subcellular location/activity. From a nanomedicine standpoint, we describe the biological routes involved (from administration to arrival within the mitochondria), the features influencing rational design, and the techniques used to identify/validate successful targeting. Overall, rationally-designed mitochondria-targeted-based nanomedicines hold great promise for precise subcellular therapeutic delivery.

Appraising the characteristics of particulate matter from leather tanning micro-environments, their respirational risks, and dysfunctions amid exposed working cohorts.

Leather tanneries are known for chemical laden work environments and pulmonic complaints among workers. This study presents an analysis of tannery micro-environments emphasizing on size-based variation in composition of particulate matter and consequent respiratory dysfunctions. Qualitative (FTIR, SEM-EDX) and quantitative assessment (elemental composition, carbon forms) of PM10 and 2.5 has been employed. For lung function evaluation of workforce, spirometry with ATS proprieties was used. The peak concentrations of both PM10 and 2.5 have been found at PU, FU, and B&S. The LTCR for only Cr is high for both PM2.5 and PM10. HQ was high for Al, Cr, and Mn for both PM sizes. The maximum organic and secondary organic carbon in PM10 was found at FU and in PM2.5 at PU. The varied PM composition included carbohydrate (B&S, WMO), ether (S&S, P&S) and hydroxyl (B&S, S&S, P&S), proteins, polyenes, vinyl groups (S&S, P&S, FU), alcohols (PU and FU), and aldehyde present at PU. These results were armored by high organic and total carbon concentrations for the same sites. Therefore, PM are classified into biogenic (carbonaceous: microbial and animal remains) from PU and WMO, incidental (industrial, mixt physico-chemical character) from PU, FU, WMO, B&S and P&S, and geogenic (crustal mineral dust) from RHT, B&S, PU, and P&S. Furthermore, increase in metal concentrations in PM10 (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, V, As, Be, Ba, and Cd) and PM2.5 (As, Pb) while TC, OC, and SOC in PM2.5 caused depreciation overall lung function. The exposure to biogenic and incidental PM nature are key cause of pulmonic dysfunction.

Evaluation of Osteogenic Potential of Fucoidan Containing Chitosan Hydrogel in the Treatment of Periodontal Intra-Bony Defects-A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Periodontal diseases significantly impact about half of the global population, and their treatment often encompasses relieving symptoms as well as regenerating the destroyed tissues. Revolutionary research in the management of periodontal disease includes biomaterials, a boon to re-generative dentistry owing to their excellent biological properties: non-toxicity, anti-inflammatory, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and adhesion. This study aimed to fabricate an injectable fucoidan containing chitosan hydrogel and prove its effectiveness in periodontal bone regeneration. The injectable hydrogel was prepared using the sol-gel method and was subjected to various physical, chemical, and biological characterizations to understand its efficacy in formation of new bone. The effectiveness of the developed hydrogel was assessed in periodontal bony defects to study the soft and hard tissue changes. A total of 40 periodontitis patients with bony defects were recruited and randomized into two groups to receive fucoidan-chitosan hydrogel and concentrated growth factor, respectively. Customized acrylic stents were used to guide the hydrogel placement into the defect site. Post-surgical changes in clinical parameters were assessed at 3, 6, and 9 months to appreciate the soft and hard tissue changes using repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni's post hoc test. Significance was kept at 5%. The porosity, water uptake of the prepared hydrogel showed good efficacy, with particle size of the fucoidan containing chitosan hydrogel of 6.000 nm. The MG-63 osteoblasts cell line revealed biocompatibility, biodegradability and showed slow and sustained drug release, increased cell proliferation, and enhanced alkaline phosphatase secretion. Mineralization assay was greatest in the fucoidan containing chitosan hydrogel. Clinically, it exhibited significantly lower probing depth values and a higher mean improvement in clinical attachment level as compared to the concentrated growth factor (CGF) group at the end of 3 and 6 months (p < 0.05). The mean of the defect fills in the fucoidan containing chitosan group was 1.20 at the end of 9 months (p < 0.001) as compared with defect fills observed in the CGF group. The presence of fucoidan in the hydrogel significantly contributed to bone regeneration in humans, thus strengthening its potential in tissue engineering. Fucoidan-chitosan will be a promising biomaterial for bone tissue regeneration.

Efficient and Green Isolation of Keratin from Poultry Feathers by Subcritical Water.

The isolation of keratin from poultry feathers using subcritical water was studied in a batch reactor at temperatures (120-250 °C) and reaction times (5-75 min). The hydrolyzed product was characterized by FTIR and elemental analysis, while the molecular weight of the isolated product was determined by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. To determine whether disulfide bond cleavage was followed by depolymerization of protein molecules to amino acids, the concentration of 27 amino acids in the hydrolysate was analyzed by GC/MS. The optimal operating parameters for obtaining a high molecular weight protein hydrolysate from poultry feathers were 180 °C and 60 min. The molecular weight of the protein hydrolysate obtained under optimal conditions ranged from 4.5 to 12 kDa, and the content of amino acids in the dried product was low (2.53% w/w). Elemental and FTIR analyses of unprocessed feathers and dried hydrolysate obtained under optimal conditions showed no significant differences in protein content and structure. Obtained hydrolysate is a colloidal solution with a tendency for particle agglomeration. Finally, a positive influence on skin fibroblast viability was observed for the hydrolysate obtained under optimal processing conditions for concentrations below 6.25 mg/mL, which makes the product interesting for various biomedical applications.

Pachira aquatica (Malvaceae): An unconventional food plant with food, technological, and nutritional potential to be explored.

Pachira aquatica (Malvaceae) is an unconventional food plant (UFP) native to Mexico and found all over Brazil, where it is commonly known as monguba. It has an arboreal shape, exotic flowers, and a fruit similar to cocoa with several seeds. Although its main application is in urban ornamentation and folk medicine, monguba's fruit has a great potential for use in the food, pharmacology, cosmetic, and bioenergy industry, mainly due to its oil's characteristics. This review aims to compile the nutritional composition, bioactive and antioxidant activities, and technological and nutritional potential of monguba's seed, leaf, and fruit pericarp. It reviews studies of different databases between January 2018 and October 2021. Monguba seeds are rich in lipids, proteins, and minerals; the bark is rich in fiber; and all parts of the fruit have bioactive compounds. Discussing the use of UFP is a way of finding new alternative food sources, usually discarded, offering products with high nutritional value allied to technological and consumption potential, such as the monguba fruit.

Multi-Parametric Exploration of a Selection of Piezoceramic Materials for Bone Graft Substitute Applications.

This work was devoted to the first multi-parametric unitary comparative analysis of a selection of sintered piezoceramic materials synthesised by solid-state reactions, aiming to delineate the most promising biocompatible piezoelectric material, to be further implemented into macro-porous ceramic scaffolds fabricated by 3D printing technologies. The piezoceramics under scrutiny were: KNbO3, LiNbO3, LiTaO3, BaTiO3, Zr-doped BaTiO3, and the (Ba0.85Ca0.15)(Ti0.9Zr0.1)O3 solid solution (BCTZ). The XRD analysis revealed the high crystallinity of all sintered ceramics, while the best densification was achieved for the BaTiO3-based materials via conventional sintering. Conjunctively, BCTZ yielded the best combination of functional properties-piezoelectric response (in terms of longitudinal piezoelectric constant and planar electromechanical coupling factor) and mechanical and in vitro osteoblast cell compatibility. The selected piezoceramic was further used as a base material for the robocasting fabrication of 3D macro-porous scaffolds (porosity of ~50%), which yielded a promising compressive strength of ~20 MPa (higher than that of trabecular bone), excellent cell colonization capability, and noteworthy cytocompatibility in osteoblast cell cultures, analogous to the biological control. Thereby, good prospects for the possible development of a new generation of synthetic bone graft substitutes endowed with the piezoelectric effect as a stimulus for the enhancement of osteogenic capacity were settled.

Monitoring hospital effluents through physico-chemical characterization and genotoxic testing.

Inefficient monitoring of the water resource recovery facility at various health care establishments may lead to detrimental effects on human population, especially when such water get mixed with potable municipal water supply. To ensure the efficiency and proper functioning of the water resource recovery facility and quality of water, before it being disposed of, the present study was conducted with the assessment of physico-chemical parameters of water and its genotoxic and cytogenetic effects in mice. The sample water was given ad libitum to animals for three different time durations, that is, 7, 15, and 30 days. Bone marrow chromosomal aberration and bone marrow micronucleus (MN) assay were performed to get the extent of genotoxicity and cytogenicity. The results showed presence of chromosomal aberrations like fragments breaks and ring formation in different groups. Besides this, a significant (p < 0.05*, p < 0.01**, p < 0.001***) decrease in the mitotic index was noted in the group which was given 100% concentrated sample water for 30 days. A significant (p < 0.05*, p < 0.01**, p < 0.001***) increase in MN induction and decreased ratio of polychromatic to normochromatic erythrocytes were observed in groups which were given samples at 10% and 100% concentrations for longer durations. The findings suggest that even the recovered sample water reflects a positive in vivo genotoxic potential when given for a longer duration of 30 days, indicating some lacuna in the treatment process.

Comprehensive physicochemical characterization of a peptide-based medicine: Teduglutide (Revestive®) structural description and stress testing.

Teduglutide (Revestive®) is a glucagon-like peptide-2 analogue used for the treatment of short bowel syndrome, a rare life-threatening condition in which the amount of functional gut is too short to enable proper absorption of nutrients and fluids. During handling prior to administration to the patient in hospital, it is possible that peptide-based medicines may be exposed to environmental stress conditions that could affect their quality. It is therefore essential to carry out stress testing studies to evaluate how such medicines respond to these stresses. For this reason, in this paper we present a strategy for a comprehensive analytical characterization of a peptide and a stress testing study in which it was subjected to various stress conditions: heating at 40 °C and 60 °C, light exposure and shaking. Several complementary analytical techniques were used throughout this study: Far UV circular dichroism, intrinsic protein fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, size-exclusion chromatography and intact and peptide mapping reverse-phase chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to offer an in-depth description of the chemical structure of teduglutide peptide and its physicochemical characteristics after stress stimuli were applied to the reconstituted medicine Revestive®.

Chitosan-based films with alternative eco-friendly plasticizers: Preparation, physicochemical properties and stability.

Chitosan-based films modified with synthesized (propylene glycol monoacetate, propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, and epoxidized propylene glycol esters) and commercial eco-friendly plasticizers (epoxidized soybean oil and epoxidized palm oil) were prepared by a casting technique, with the aim to obtain environmentally friendly materials for packaging applications. To assess the applicability of alternative plasticizers, their properties were compared to the two most common plasticizers, i.e. glycerol and sorbitol. The chemical structure of newly synthesized plasticizers was verified by gas chromatography with mass detector, infrared spectroscopy and 1H NMR; and their acid, epoxy, iodine, and saponification values were determined. Plasticized chitosan-based films were characterized in terms of hydrophilic, barrier, thermal, mechanical properties, zeta potential and morphology, confirming their flexibility and homogeneity. The research confirmed that the alternative plasticizers introduced by us are more effective than commercially available ones, exhibiting lower hydrophilicity and superior mechanical properties compared to samples plasticized with traditional plasticizers. Moreover, these properties were found to be even better after ageing for 10 months.

A state of the art in analytical quality-by-design and perspectives in characterization of nano-enabled medicinal products.

Quality-by-Design (QbD) guidance is a risk-based and proactive approach to drug development proposed in the early 2000s and now widely used in the pharmaceutical field in compliance with the ICH Q8-Q11 guidelines. Analytical Quality by Design (AQbD), introduced in 2010, is the adaptation of the QbD paradigm for the development of analytical methods. AQbD aims at optimizing the accuracy and robustness of analysis results by identifying and controlling critical analytical variables and method parameters over the entire protocol, including biological sample preparation, measurement technology and statistical analysis. Nevertheless, much remains to be done for a clear understanding and an efficient implementation of this new paradigm in practice. The first objective of this review is to propose a global clarification of the Analytical Quality by Design approach by reviewing its terminology and steps and by clarifying its relationships with the well-established QbD paradigm and ICH guidelines. Two new templates of documents have been proposed: a form designed for the definition of the analytical target profile and a connection matrix between expected metrological properties and analytical attributes. Finally, the open challenges in the characterization of nano-enabled medicinal products are examined from the AQbD angle.

Fighting the Huntington's Disease with a G-Quadruplex-Forming Aptamer Specifically Binding to Mutant Huntingtin Protein: Biophysical Characterization, In Vitro and In Vivo Studies.

A set of guanine-rich aptamers able to preferentially recognize full-length huntingtin with an expanded polyglutamine tract has been recently identified, showing high efficacy in modulating the functions of the mutated protein in a variety of cell experiments. We here report a detailed biophysical characterization of the best aptamer in the series, named MS3, proved to adopt a stable, parallel G-quadruplex structure and show high nuclease resistance in serum. Confocal microscopy experiments on HeLa and SH-SY5Y cells, as models of non-neuronal and neuronal cells, respectively, showed a rapid, dose-dependent uptake of fluorescein-labelled MS3, demonstrating its effective internalization, even in the absence of transfecting agents, with no general cytotoxicity. Then, using a well-established Drosophila melanogaster model for Huntington's disease, which expresses the mutated form of human huntingtin, a significant improvement in the motor neuronal function in flies fed with MS3 was observed, proving the in vivo efficacy of this aptamer.

Oxidative potential and in vitro toxicity of particles generated by pyrotechnic smokes in human small airway epithelial cells.

Pyrotechnic smokes are widely used in civilian and military applications. The major issue arise from the release of particles after smoke combustion but the health risks related to their exposure are poorly documented whereas toxicity of airborne particles on the respiratory target are very well known. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the in vitro toxicity of the particle fraction of different pyrotechnic smokes. Particles from a red signalling smoke (RSS), an hexachloroethane-based obscuring smoke (HC-OS) and an anti-intrusion smoke (AIS) were collected from the cloud. RSS particles displayed the highest organic fraction (quinones and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) of the three samples characterized. AIS particles contained K and cholesterol derivatives. HC-OS particles were mainly metallic with very high concentrations of Al, Fe and Ca. Intrinsic oxidative potential of smoke particles was measured with two assays. Depletions of DTT by RSS particles was greater than depletion obtained with AIS and HC-OS particles but depletion of acid ascorbic (AA) was only observed with HC-OS particles. In vitro toxicity was assessed by exposing human small airway epithelial cells (SAEC) to various concentrations of particles. After 24 h of exposure, cell viability was not affected but significant modifications of mRNA expression of antioxidant (SOD-1 and -2, catalase, HO-1, NQO-1) and inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α) were observed and were dependent on smoke type. Particles rich in metal, such as HC-OS, induced a greatest depletion of AA and a greatest inflammatory response, whereas particles rich in organic compounds, such as RSS, induced a greatest DTT depletion and a greatest antioxidant response. In conclusion, the three smoke particles have an intrinsic oxidative potential and triggered a cell adaptive response. Our study improved the knowledge of particle toxicity of pyrotechnic smokes and scientific approach developed here could be used to study other type of particles.

The Road to Achieving the European Commission's Chemicals Strategy for Nanomaterial Sustainability-A PATROLS Perspective on New Approach Methodologies.

The European Green Deal outlines ambitions to build a more sustainable, climate neutral, and circular economy by 2050. To achieve this, the European Commission has published the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability: Towards a Toxic-Free Environment, which provides targets for innovation to better protect human and environmental health, including challenges posed by hazardous chemicals and animal testing. The European project PATROLS (Physiologically Anchored Tools for Realistic nanOmateriaL hazard aSsessment) has addressed multiple aspects of the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability by establishing a battery of new approach methodologies, including physiologically anchored human and environmental hazard assessment tools to evaluate the safety of engineered nanomaterials. PATROLS has delivered and improved innovative tools to support regulatory decision-making processes. These tools also support the need for reducing regulated vertebrate animal testing; when used at an early stage of the innovation pipeline, the PATROLS tools facilitate the safe and sustainable development of new nano-enabled products before they reach the market.

An analytical study of lipid-oligonucleotide aggregation properties.

Lipid-oligonucleotides (LON) attract great interest as supramolecular scaffolds to improve the intracellular delivery of nucleic acids. Analytical characterization of LON assemblies is critical to formulation development, understanding in-vivo performance, as well as quality control. For this study, we selected LONs featuring different modifications on both oligonucleotide (with or without a G4 prone sequence) and lipid (mono or bis-alkyl chain covalently attached to the oligonucleotide sequence). Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and, for the first time, capillary electrophoresis (CE) were investigated to study LON supramolecular self-assemblies. Results were correlated to those obtained with conventional physico-chemical characterization techniques i.e. gel electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering, and circular dichroism. In SEC, a separation between LON monomers and micelles was achieved in 5min on a TSK-gel G3000PW column at 70°C with 100% water, as mobile phase. CE conditions were optimized using a fused-silica capillary length of 10.0cm effective length at 15°C. Different background electrolytes were tested by varying the nature and the concentration of salts added. A sodium tetraborate buffer with 75mM NaCl appeared suitable to promote LON assembly. CE offers benefits to LON micelle analysis in terms of speed of analysis, high resolution, and low quantity of sample injected. Moreover, CE provides an appropriate tool to assess the impact of media of biological relevance on LON self-assembly. In this work, the key role of lipophilic tails and the formation of tetramolecular G-quadruplexes on the stability of LON micelles was confirmed.

Ultrasound irradiation as an effective tool in synthesis of the slag-based catalysts for carboxymethylation.

Waste minimization strategy was applied in the current work for synthesis of the catalysts from industrial solid waste, namely desulfurization slag. The starting slag material comprising CaCO3, Ca(OH)2, SiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, and TiO2 was processed by various treating agents systematically varying the synthesis parameters. A novel efficient technique - ultrasound irradiation, was applied as an additional synthesis step for intensification of the slag dissolution and crystallization of the new phases. Physico-chemical properties of the starting materials and synthesized catalysts were evaluated by several analytical techniques. Treatment of the industrial slag possessing initially poor crystal morphology and a low surface area (6 m2/g) resulted in formation of highly-crystalline catalysts with well-developed structural properties. Surface area was increased up to 49 m2/g. High basicity of the neat slag as well as materials synthesized on its basis makes possible application of these materials in the reactions requiring basic active sites. Catalytic performance of the synthesized catalysts was elucidated in the synthesis of carbonate esters by carboxymethylation of cinnamyl alcohol with dimethyl carbonate carried out at 150 °C in a batch mode. Ultrasonication of the slag had a positive effect on the catalytic activity. Synthesized catalysts while exhibiting similar selectivity to the desired product (ca. 84%), demonstrated a trend of activity increase for materials prepared using ultrasonication pretreatment. The choice of the treating agent also played an important role in the catalytic performance. The highest selectivity to the desired cinnamyl methyl carbonate (88%) together with the highest activity (TOF35 = 3.89*10-7 (mol/g*s)) was achieved over the material synthesized using 0.6 M NaOH solution as the treating agent with the ultrasound pre-treatment at 80 W for 4 h.

Ultra-structural and physico-chemical characterization of eggs and egg hairs (setae) of the new invasive pest, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) in India: A first report.

In this study, we report first time in India on the morphology, ultra-architectural pattern of the chorion in the egg and egg hair (setae). Further, physico-chemical characterizations of egg hairs (setae) were studied in the new invasive pest, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. The egg is dome shaped with flattened base and curves upward to a broadly rounded point at the apex. HR-SEM micrographs revealed the surface ultrastructure of eggs chorion and shows structural elements of a marked rosette of petals surround the micropyle followed by micropylar rosette region around the micropyle plate. There was a small single micropylar opening along with 9 micropylar rosette cells and 13 micropylar rosette zones present near to the micropylar pit. In the egg the first order ribs were absent, but around 58-60 numbers of second order ribs were present. All the ventral and lateral cells of the eggs are connected by 19-22 cross striae and not forming a grid pattern, but joints with the longitudinal ribs at several of angles and totally 1,277-1,495 convex cells present at the egg's surface. The physico-chemical characteristics of egg hairs were studied using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) analysis. TGA results show that three weight losses occurred at 142, 418, and 880°C, respectively. FT-IR confirms the presence of amides, sulfoxide, and nitro compounds in egg hairs (setae).

Lipids from algal biomass provide new (nonlamellar) nanovectors with high carrier potentiality for natural antioxidants.

Lipid mesophases are lyotropic liquid crystalline systems which differ from liposomes and other globular aggregates in dilute regimes due to their inner ordering. It is known that natural lipids enable to obtain a rich variety of nanosystems and many of them have been proposed as delivery agents for bioactive compounds. Due to their packing parameters, several classes of lipids found in natural sources are able to self-assemble into nonlamellar structures. Among lipids occurring in plants and algae, triglycerides display this tendency. In the present study we examine new nanosystems built with lipids extracted from the marine microalga Nannochloropsis sp and their use as carriers for lipophilic antioxidants. The antioxidants studied, curcumin and tocopherol were encapsulated with high rate in the carriers. The physico-chemical characterization of plain and loaded vectors showed their structure and localization site, as well as the structure-functionality relationship related to potential drug delivery. The results show that the cargo molecules play an active role in driving the interactions which characterize the overall structure of the aggregates. The systems studied showed several coexisting mesophases, the most predominant structure being of cubic symmetry.

Compositional heterogeneity of different biochar: Effect of pyrolysis temperature and feedstocks.

We have quantified the influence of different pyrolysis temperature and feedstocks types on thirty six compositional characteristics of biochar. The properties of biochar were principally influenced more by the feedstocks type than pyrolytic temperature. Higher porosity and surface area illustrated its soil structural modification and nutrient retention capacity along with their utilization for wastewater adsorbents. The total carbon content in all the biochar increased upto 10.14% with the increase in pyrolysis temperature. The produced biochar can replace the conventional fossil fuels due to their high fixed carbon. The cation exchange capacity of biochar augmented with rise in pyrolysis temperature. But the dissolved organic carbon reduced exponentially with increase in temperature. At low temperature pyrolysis the polarity index tends to increase and vice-versa. All the biochar has a potential to alleviate soil boron deficiency due to its higher concentration. Therefore, dissimilar properties of biochar can be produced by selecting the right feedstock type and standardizing specific pyrolytic temperature, depending on the necessity for environmental application in a specific crisis.