Antibacterial, wearable, transparent tannic acid-thioctic acid-phytic acid hydrogel for adhesive bandages.

Making a hydrogel-based first-aid bandage with green resources, desirable biocompatibility, universal adhesive properties, low cost and simple production is a long-standing research aspiration. Considering this, three naturally existing organic acids, namely tannic acid, thioctic acid and phytic acid, were used to construct a novel adhesive gel (TATAPA hydrogel) for epidermal tissue bandage applications. This hydrogel could be synthesized under mild conditions with no need for a freeze-thawing shaping procedure, and was transparent, moldable and stretchable with good stability under continuous water immersion. In lap-shear tests, the TATAPA hydrogel could adhere to various hydrophilic and hydrophobic surfaces. Moreover, in the case of skin tissue adhesion, the hydrogel could be easily peeled off from the skin, meeting wearability requirements. Rheological tests showed that the hydrogel possessed thermal sensitive properties derived from multi-supramolecular interactions. The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected burn wound test demonstrated that the hydrogel had desirable antibacterial activity and was beneficial for wound healing. A femoral artery bleeding assay was also used to reveal that the TATAPA hydrogel could be directly pasted onto the bleeding site for hemostasis. Overall, this hydrogel demonstrates potential as a surgical bioadhesive for a broad range of medical applications.

[Determination of arsenic, mercury and selenium in Gynostemma pentaphyllum and rhizospheric soil samples collected from different regions by hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry].

The contents of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) in Gynostemma pentaphyllum and rhizospheric soil samples collected from seven provinces were determined, through the optimization of the hydride generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry working conditions. The results show that: the contents of As, Hg and Se in Gynostemma pentaphyllum from seven provinces revealed large differences, but compared with the limits of the two kinds of heavy metal element: As and Hg set by the Green Trade Standards of Importing & Exporting Medicinal Plants & Preparations (As < or = 2.0 mg x kg(-1), Hg < or = 0.2 mg kg(-1)), the As and Hg contents in Gynostemma pentaphyllum samples are both lower than them. The Se content in Gynostemma pentaphyllum samples and in rhizospheric soil samples revealed significant correlation, and as a result, the Gynostemma pentaphyllum from the Fu Xi area Enshi in Hu Bei province had obviously higher Se content than others in the 6 provinces. From this study, a preliminary conclusion can be drawn that Se in Gynostemma pentaphyllum is mainly from the soil, moreover, the As and Hg show the difference from Se, possibly they are still affected by the dry and wet deposition of atmospheric aerosols.