A simple microextraction and preconcentration approach based on a mixed matrix membrane

A simple adsorption/desorption procedure using a mixed matrix membrane (MMM) as extraction medium is demonstrated as a new miniaturized sample pretreatment and preconcentration technique. Reversed-phase particles namely polymeric bonded octadecyl (C₁₈) was incorporated through dispersion in a cellulose triacetate (CTA) polymer matrix to form a C₁₈-MMM. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) namely diclofenac, mefenamic acid and ibuprofen present in the environmental water samples were selected as targeted model analytes. The extraction setup is simple by dipping a small piece of C₁₈-MMM (7 mm × 7 mm) in a stirred 10 mL sample solution for analyte adsorption process. The entrapped analyte within the membrane was then desorbed into 100 μL of methanol by ultrasonication prior to high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Each membrane was discarded after single use to avoid any analyte carry-over effect. Several important parameters, such as effect of sample pH, salting-out effect, sample volume, extraction time, desorption solvent and desorption time were comprehensively optimized. The C₁₈-MMM demonstrated high affinity for NSAIDs spiked in tap and river water with relative recoveries ranging from 92 to 100% and good reproducibility with relative standard deviations between 1.1 and 5.5% (n = 9). The overall results obtained were found comparable against conventional solid phase extraction (SPE) using cartridge packed with identical C₁₈ adsorbent.     

Comparison of HPLC and MEEKC for Miconazole Nitrate Determination in Pharmaceutical Formulation

A simple solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using UV detector and microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography (MEEKC) has been developed and compared for the quantitative determination of miconazole nitrate in pharmaceutical formulation. For HPLC method, two parameters were optimized, namely, the wavelength and the mobile phases. The optimized condition was at the 225 nm wavelength and the mobile phase of ACN:MeOH (90:10 v/v). There are seven MEEKC parameters that were optimized, in this research, which were applied to voltage, temperature, wavelength, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) concentration, buffer pH, buffer concentration and butan-1-ol concentration. The optimum MEEKC condition was obtained using 86.35 % (w/w) 2.5 mM borate buffer pH 9, 0.25 % (w/w) SDS, 0.8 % (w/w) ethyl acetate, 6.6 % w/w butan-1-ol and 6.0 % (w/w) acetonitrile. The combination of SPE using a diol column with HPLC–UV and the MEEKC methods were successfully applied for the determination of miconazole nitrate in a pharmaceutical formulation with the recovery percentage of 98.35 and 92.50 %, respectively.     

Adsorption and Micellization Behavior of Cationic Surfactants (Gemini and Conventional)—Amphiphilic Drug Systems

In the present work, the behavior of mixed drug–surfactant systems has been studied by surface tension measurements. The drug used in this work is adiphenine hydrochloride (ADP) and the surfactants are of m-s-m type geminis, i.e., alkanediyl-α,ω-bis(dimethylalkylammonium bromide), with m = (14, 16), s = (4, 5, 6), and conventional alkyltrimethylammonium bromides (CTAB, TTAB). The excess surface concentration (Γ _max ) increases and the minimum head group area at the air/water interface (A _min) decreases with increasing concentration of surfactant in the drug solution. Both the critical micelle concentration (cmc) and ideal cmc (cmc*) values decrease with mole fraction of surfactants. Also, the cmc values are lower than cmc*, indicating attractive interactions are present in the mixed micelles. The mole fractions of surfactant in the micelles $ \left( {X_{1}^{m} } \right) $ and monolayers $ \left( {X_{1}^{\sigma } } \right) $ , as well as the respective interaction parameters ( $ \beta^{m} $ , $ \beta^{\sigma } $ ), indicate that monolayer formation is easier than micelle formation due to the rigid hydrophobic part of the drug.     

Micelle-Catalyzed Interaction Between [Ni(II)-Gly-Gly]+ and Ninhydrin

The effect of cationic micelles of cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) on the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant for the interaction of nickel dipeptide complex [Ni(II)-Gly-Gly]⁺ with ninhydrin has been studied spectrophotometrically. At constant temperature and pH, increase in the [CTAB] from 0.0 to 60.0 × 10^?3 mol dm^?3 caused nearly three-fold increase of the rate constant. The micellar catalysis is explained in terms of the pseudophase model. From the observed kinetic data, binding constants of micelle–[Ni(II)-Gly-Gly]⁺ (K _S), and micelle–ninhydrin (K _N) are evaluated, respectively, to be 5.3 mol^?1 dm³ and 84.0 mol^?1 dm³. The role of added inorganic (NaCl, NaBr, Na₂SO₄) and organic salts (NaBenz, NaSal) on the reaction rate has also been examined.     

Ultra Moisturizing Anti-Wrinkle Lotion Enriched with Tocotrienols

A stable palm-based anti-wrinkle lotion enriched with tocotrienols was successfully prepared. The stability of the product was due to the presence of liquid crystalline structure in the emulsion system. It helps in bringing the active to the dermis layer. Functionality active ingredients such as tocotrienols and anti-wrinkle were added in the formulation. A commercial plant extract was used to strengthen the collagen seated at the dermis layer. The product was formulated to pH 5.5 which is suitable for the skin. The mean droplet size is 10.2 µm with a monomodal distribution pattern which prevents agglomeration. This will decrease Brownian motion, thus prolonging its stability. Long-term acute moisturizing tests show a significant increase of between 24% and 17% hydration for five and six weeks respectively. The efficacy testing on 12 subjects confirmed a reduction in natural fine wrinkles on faces during aging or premature aging at ?7.6%.     

Understanding the acceleration in the ring-opening of lactones delivered by microwave heating

This paper reports the first detailed study focussed upon identifying the influence that microwave heating (MWH) has upon the mechanic steps involved in the tin catalysed ring-opening of lactones such as ?-caprolactone (CL). Direct comparison of conventional (CH) and microwave (MWH) heated kinetic studies showed that a key factor in the reduction of the polymerisation cycle time with MWH was the elimination of the induction period associated with in situ catalyst manufacture and initiation. NMR studies demonstrated that the most significant mechanistic change contributing to the observed induction time reduction/elimination was faster initiation (i.e., reaction of the initiatior/catalyst complex with the first monomer unit). Consequently, analysis of the dielectric properties of the reaction components predicted that this MWH induced change was related to the selective volumetric heating of both the catalyst and the monomer. Furthermore, this indication of the greater significance of the initiation step in defining the length of the induction period suggests that this is the rate determining step of the process, whether conducted by CH or MWH. Increasing the catalyst concentration was demonstrated to produce significant reductions in reaction heat-up time and to induce a significant (up to 30 °C) overshoot in reaction mixture bulk temperature in with MWH only. Thus supporting the conclusion that selective heating of the organometallic species in the system contributes directly to differences in the reaction conditions and which need to be taken into account when drawing comparisons with CH systems. Consequently, both effects were concluded to be thermally generated from selective volumetric heating.     

Asymmetric aldol reactions catalyzed by the promiscuous aldo–ketoreductase enzyme

The promiscuous aldo–ketoreductase (AKR) enzyme is used as a sustainable biocatalyst for the first time to catalyze asymmetric aldol reactions in aqueous medium. The reactions between aromatic aldehydes and cyclic/acyclic ketones give the corresponding products in moderate yields and enantioselectivities in the presence of water. The influence of solvents, the mole ratio of substrates, and enzyme concentration are investigated. The mechanism of the AKR1A1-catalyzed aldol reaction is also discussed.     

Effect of Experimental Variables on the Combustion Characteristics of Water-in-Diesel Emulsion Fuels

Water-in-diesel (W/D) emulsion fuels were prepared through an ultrasonic processor by using high energy emulsification method. Accordingly, the physical and chemical properties were analyzed. A decrease in viscosity was found in the emulsion fuel in contrast to the neat diesel which signifies the enhanced fluidity of the fuel. The emulsion fuel was then used to carry combustion tests in an internal combustion engine. A decrease in exhaust temperature was observed when a high surfactant to water ratio was used, which lead to minimal heat loss. As water is emulsified with diesel, effectiveness of combustion is improved rather than neat diesel fuel. It was also explored that the addition of water-in-diesel is influential in terms of reduction in exhaust gas emission such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ammonia from the internal combustion engine. Therefore, this type of emulsion fuel would be a useful contribution in the fuel economy, but also in making it environmentally friendly since diesel fuel is now considered one of the leading fuels causing ecological contamination.     

In vitro dielectrophoresis of HEK cell migration for stimulating chronic wound epithelialization

This article describes a dielectrophoresis (DEP)-based simulation and experimental study of human epidermal keratinocyte (HEK) cells for wounded skin cell migration toward rapid epithelialization. MyDEP is a standalone software designed specifically to study dielectric particles and cell response to an alternating current (AC) electric field. This method demonstrated that negative dielectrophoresis (N_DEP) occurs in HEK cells at a wide frequency range in highly conductive medium. The finite element method was used to characterize particle trajectory based on DEP and drag force. The performance of the system was assessed using HEK cells in a highly conductive EpiLife suspending medium. The DEP experiment was performed by applying sinusoidal wave AC potential at the peak-to-peak voltage of 10 V in a tapered aluminum microelectrode array from 100 kHz to 1 MHz. We experimentally observed the occurrence of NDEP, which attracted HEK cells toward the local electric field minima in the region of interest. The DIPP-MotionV software was used to track cell migration in the prerecorded video via an automatic marker and estimate the average speed and acceleration of the cells. The results showed that HEK cell migration was accomplished approximately at 6.43 μm/s at 100 kHz with 10 V, and F_DEP caused the cells to migrate and align at the target position, which resulted in faster wound closures because of the application of an electric field frequency to HEK cells in random locations.     

Identification of phytobioconstituents present in Simmondsia chinensis L. seeds extract by GC-MS analysis

Simmondsia chinensis L. commonly called as Jojoba and belongs to family Simmondsiaceae. It has shown positive pharmacological activities of these compounds which include antidiabetic, antirheumatic, anthelminthic, antipsoriatic, antioxidant, antiepileptic, antigonorrheal, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and pesticidal activity of jojoba. The multifaceted action of numerous bioactives existing in the seed extract with therapeutic activity have attracted great research interest by pharmaceutical industries. n-hexane extract of Simmondsia chinensis L. (SC) Seeds was analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy for identification and characterization of phytobioconstituents and its therapeutic claim by traditional system. The major compounds discovered in SC seeds extract are cis-9-octadecen-1-ol (24.85%), 9-octadecen-1-ol, (Z)- (18.24%), Stigmast-5-en-3-ol (14.10%), Ergost-5-en-3-ol, (3-β)-ol (5.26%), (Z)-14-tricosenyl formate (5.24%), Thiositosteroldisulfide (3.64%), Silane, Dimethyl (dimethylpentyloxysilyloxy) tetradecyloxy- (3.41%), Ergost-5-ene, 3-methoxy-, (3β,24R)- (2.55%), Ergosta-5,22-dien-3-ol (2.22%), 1,19-eicosadiene (2.17%), Pentacosane (2.02%), Stigmasta-5,22-dien-3-ol (1.64%), 1,19-eicosadiene (1.57%), 9-octadecen-1-ol, (Z)- (1.46%), 9,19-cyclo-9β-lanostan-3β-ol, 24-methylene- (1.14%), (9Z)-9-octadecenyl palmitate (1.50%), Hexadecanoic acid, 9-octadecenyl ester, (Z) (1.37%), 9Z)-9-octadecenyl (9Z)-9-hexadecenoate (1.01%). The hexane extract of Simmondsia chinensis seeds comprises various polar and nonpolar phytobioconstituents. These compounds were established qualitatively via GC-MS evaluation. GC-MS reports will be promising in pharmaceutical sector in identification of variety of Phytobioconstituents in distinct plant extracts, polyherbal extract and the standardization of particular plant materials.