The effect of ionic and non-ionic surfactants and pH on the stability, adsorption and electrokinetic properties of the alginic acid/alumina system

3D bioprinting approaches for spinal cord injury repair

Regenerative healing of spinal cord injury (SCI) poses an ongoing medical challenge by causing persistent neurological impairment and a significant socioeconomic burden. The complexity of spinal cord tissue presents hurdles to successful regeneration following injury, due to the difficulty of forming a biomimetic structure that faithfully replicates native tissue using conventional tissue engineering scaffolds. 3D bioprinting is a rapidly evolving technology with unmatched potential to create 3D biological tissues with complicated and hierarchical structure and composition. With the addition of biological additives such as cells and biomolecules, 3D bioprinting can fabricate preclinical implants, tissue or organ-like constructs, andin vitromodels through precise control over the deposition of biomaterials and other building blocks. This review highlights the characteristics and advantages of 3D bioprinting for scaffold fabrication to enable SCI repair, including bottom-up manufacturing, mechanical customization, and spatial heterogeneity. This review also critically discusses the impact of various fabrication parameters on the efficacy of spinal cord repair using 3D bioprinted scaffolds, including the choice of printing method, scaffold shape, biomaterials, and biological supplements such as cells and growth factors. High-quality preclinical studies are required to accelerate the translation of 3D bioprinting into clinical practice for spinal cord repair. Meanwhile, other technological advances will continue to improve the regenerative capability of bioprinted scaffolds, such as the incorporation of nanoscale biological particles and the development of 4D printing.

Larvicidal formulation containing N-tosylindole: A viable alternative to chemical control of Aedes aegypti

Aedes aegypti is currently a major public health problem. This mosquito is responsible for the spread of infectious diseases that have been causing epidemics worldwide. Surfactant-stabilized systems, such as microemulsions, liquid-crystalline precursors and liquid crystals, are promising sustained delivery formulations of hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances. These systems are biocompatible water-soluble reservoirs for N-tosylindole exhibiting biological activity against Aedes aegypti Linn. (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae. The ternary diagram displayed four regions: microemulsion (ME), liquid crystal (LC), emulsion (EM) and phase separation (PS). PLM and SAXS distinguished microemulsions, lamellar and hexagonal phase liquid crystals. The system had a lethal concentration of 50% (LC₅₀ = 0.1 ppm, 0.36 µM) lower than pure N-tosylindole (0.24 ppm, 0.88 µM), which has limitations in aqueous media. Furthermore, the formulation displayed no toxicity to Artemia sp., a non-target organism. The system exhibited excellent larvicidal activity as an alternative to commercial larvicides that have shown resistance and toxicity to the environment by Ae. aegypti larvae due to prolonged use. In addition, a two-fold increase in potency was observed.

New alginic acid derivatives ester for methylene blue dye adsorption: kinetic, isotherm, thermodynamic, and mechanism study

In this paper, the application of ester materials prepared by grafting different carbon chain lengths of diols in alginic acid (AA) by a simple, fast and efficient method for the adsorption of methylene blue (MB) is studied. The AA ester derivatives are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and Zeta potential before and after MB adsorption. This study shows a significant improvement in the adsorption capacity of MB by AA after its esterification with a Q_max value up to 454.545 mg/g for the best adsorbent "Poly(AA-g-EG)". The experimental data are studied according to two isothermal models (Langmuir and Freundlich) and two kinetic models (pseudo-second order and intra-particle diffusion). The adsorption of MB is also evaluated thermodynamically. An adsorption mechanism of MB is established.

Comparison of the influence of cationic polysaccharides on the stability properties of montmorillonite suspensions in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate

The mixtures of cationic cellulose (CC) or cationic guar gum (CGG) with the anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant (SDS) were used as stabilizers for the aqueous suspensions of montmorillonite (Mt). The stabilization processes and the stabilization mechanism were investigated using the UV-VIS. The obtained results show that both polysaccharides can be used as stabilizers of the water suspensions of montmorillonite due to the effective adsorption of CC and CGG with or without SDS on the Mt. surface. To obtain complete information on the studied systems, the additional measurements of the surface tension, zeta potential, FT-IR, XRD and SEM were made. The results prove that the intermolecular complexes formed between the polysaccharides and SDS can adsorb on the Mt. surface, change the structure of the electrical double layer and the stability properties of the studied suspensions.

Removal of Zn(II) and Ni(II) heavy metal ions by new alginic acid-ester derivatives materials

The present work concerns the preparation of new materials based on alginic acid (AA) and diols in a facile and efficient process by improving the adsorption properties of Zn(II) and Ni(II) metal ions on the modified AA. The materials were analysed by zeta potential, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), derivative thermogravimetry (DTG), in addition to the Fourier Transform InfraRed spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) before and after the adsorption behaviour was conducted. The results show that the esterification of AA with diols of different lengths significantly improves its adsorption efficiency of Zn(II) and Ni(II) with Q_max up to 200 mg/g and 185.185 mg/g respectively. Equilibrium and kinetic studies showed that the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models fit the experimental data well, and followed a pseudo-first order kinetic model and the particle diffusion model with correlation coefficients R² ≈ 1.

Alginic acid as a stabilizer of zirconia suspensions in the presence of cationic surfactants

The influence of hydrocarbon (CTAB), fluorocarbon (S-106-A) and silicone (C-Si) cationic surfactants: on stability, adsorption and electrokinetic properties of the alginic acid (AA)/zirconia (ZrO₂) suspensions was studied. The results obtained from the spectrophotometric measurements indicate on very high effectiveness of the surfactants in stabilization of the studied systems. This is due to the formation of multimolecular complexes between alginic acid and the surfactants. The existence of these complexes was confirmed by the surface tension and the zeta potential measurements. Presented studies also enabled the estimation of the conditions under which the complexes are effectively created and the determination of their character. These findings were also confirmed by the adsorption data. Moreover, the surface charge density measurements proved that the adsorption of AA or the AA/surfactant complexes changes the structure of the electrical double layer. The presented results may find applications in the fields of functionalized materials.

Stabilizing properties of fucoidan for the alumina suspension containing the cationic surfactant

The paper presents the influence of fucoidan (FD) on stability of alumina suspensions in the presence of cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The research results show that fucoidan adsorbs on the alumina surface and that the adsorption decreases in the CTAB presence. This is due to formation of the polymer-surfactant complexes characterized by lower affinity for the alumina surface than pure fucoidan. The complex formation was confirmed by the tensiometric studies where the increase of the CTAB/FD surface tension in comparison to pure CTAB was observed. It was established that fucoidan possesses great stabilizing efficiency regardless of pH. Furthermore, stability of the fucoidan/alumina system increased after CTAB addition due to the presence of non-adsorbed complexes between the alumina particles. The results indicate that fucoidan could be successfully used as a stabilizer of colloidal suspensions where the presence of surfactant is required, that is in cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

The pH dependent surface charging and points of zero charge. VIII. Update

A critical review of the points of zero charge (PZC) obtained by potentiometric titration and of isoelectric points (IEP) obtained by electrokinetic measurements. The results from the recent literature are presented with experimental details (temperature, method, type of apparatus, etc.), and they are compared with the zero points of similar materials reported in older publications. Most studies of PZC and IEP reported in the recent papers were carried out for metal oxides and hydroxides, especially alumina, iron oxides, and titania, and the results are consistent with the PZC and IEP of similar materials reported in older literature, and summarized in previous reviews by the same author. Relatively few studies were carried out with less common materials, and IEP of (nominally) VO₂ and BN have been reported for the 1st time.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel, pH-responsive, bola-based dynamic crosslinked fracturing fluid

Fracturing fluids are important media for hydraulic fracturing. Typically, the fluids are gelled using a polymeric gelling agent. Technological improvements over the years have focused primarily on improving the rheological performance, thermal stability, and the clean-up of crosslinked gels. In this study, novel supramolecular assembly of a low-damage fracturing fluid combining an ionic polymer gel (hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride guar-cationic guar) and a bola surfactant fluid (bola carboxylate polypropylene glycol) is carried out and it is reported to have improved properties and special characteristics due to the synergistic effects of the dual systems, which are different from those of polymer gels and surfactant fluids. The viscosity of the fracturing fluid shows a sudden increase upon an increase in temperature and excellent self-assembly recovery after shearing. The fracturing fluid exhibits pH-responsive viscosity changes and low permeability impairment, due to the formation of a network structure and supramolecular microspheres at different pH values.

Fracturing fluids are important media for hydraulic fracturing.