Molecule-Ion Interaction and Its Effect on Coordination Interaction

Coordination-Driven Nanomedicine Mitigates One-Lung Ventilation-Induced Lung Injury via Radicals Scavenging and Cell Pyroptosis Inhibition

One-lung ventilation (OLV) during thoracic surgery often leads to post-operative complications, yet effective pharmacological interventions are lacking. This study reports a baicalin-based metal-coordination nanomedicine with disulfiram (DSF) co-loading to address one-lung ventilation-induced lung injury and reperfusion injury (OLV-LIRI). Baicalin, known for its robust antioxidant properties, suffers from poor water solubility and stability. Leveraging nanotechnology, baicalin's coordination is systematically explored with seven common metal ions, designing iron/copper-mediated binary coordination nanoparticles to overcome these limitations. The self-assembled nanoparticles, primarily formed through metal coordination and π-π stacking forces, encapsulated DSF, ensuring high colloidal stability in diverse physiological matrices. Upon a single-dose administration via endotracheal intubation, the nanoparticles efficiently accumulate in lung tissues and swiftly penetrate the pulmonary mucosa. Intracellularly, baicalin exhibits free radical scavenging activity to suppress inflammation. Concurrently, the release of Cu2+ and DSF enables the in situ generation of CuET, a potent inhibitor of cell pyroptosis. Harnessing these multifaceted mechanisms, the nanoparticles alleviate lung injury symptoms without notable toxic side effects, suggesting a promising preventive strategy for OLV-LIRI.

Caffeine-loaded nano/micro-carriers: Techniques, bioavailability, and applications

Caffeine, as one of the most consumed bioactive compounds globally, has gained considerable attention during the last years. Considering the bitter taste and adverse effects of high levels of caffeine consumption, it is crucial to apply a strategy for masking the caffeine's bitter taste and facilitating its programmable deliverance within a long time. Other operational parameters such as food processing parameters, exposure to sunlight and oxygen, and gastrointestinal digestion could also degrade the phenolic compounds in general and caffeine in special. To overcome these challenges, various nano/micro-platforms have been fabricated, including lipid-based (e.g., nanoliposomal vehicles; nanoemulsions, double emulsions, Pickering emulsions; microemulsions; niosomal vehicles; solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers), as well as biopolymeric (e.g., nanoparticles; hydrogels, organogels, oleogels; nanofibers and nanotubes; protein-polysaccharide nanocomplexes, conjugates; cyclodextrin inclusion complexes) and inorganic (e.g., gold and silica nanoparticles) nano/micro-structures. In this review, the findings on various caffeine-loaded nano/micro-carriers and their potential applications in functional food products/supplements will be discussed. Also, the controlled release and bioavailability of encapsulated caffeine will be given, and finally, the toxicity and safety of encapsulated caffeine will be presented.

The interaction of extractants during synergistic solvent extraction of metals. Is it an important reaction?

The target of the review is to provide an overview on the possible interaction between the two ligands during synergistic solvent extraction of metallic species.

Characterization of supramolecular gels based on β-cyclodextrin and polyethyleneglycol and their potential use for topical drug delivery

Novel gels were prepared by blending β-cyclodextrin and polyethyleneglycol (PEG) in the presence of K2CO3. The objective of this study was thus to characterize the gels using rheology, modulated temperature differential scanning calorimetry (MTDSC), turbidity measurements, and hot stage microscopy, and then investigate the potential use of the gel for topical drug delivery. Two types of supramolecular gels, GelL and GelH were prepared at a low temperature (below 50 °C) and at a high temperature (above 70 °C), respectively. Both gels were thermo-reversible. Upon heating, GelL could turn to GelH. Nevertheless, upon cooling, GelH that was more stable than GelL precipitated and GelL could not be reformed. GelL may form through simple complexation of polyethyleneglycol (PEG) with β-cyclodextrin in the presence of K2CO3. However, GelH may form a specific complex or a pseudopolyrotaxane gel. For pharmaceutical application, GelL was investigated instead of GelH because the forming temperature of this gel was close to the human body temperature. The interactions among diclofenac sodium (DS), a model drug, and the components of the gel were examined using FTIR. These interactions may include ionic attraction and hydrogen bonds between the carboxylate groups of DS and the hydroxyl groups of PEG or β-cyclodextrin and probably also the inclusion of the aromatic ring of DS into the cavity of β-cyclodextrin. Furthermore, the release and permeation of diclofenac from GelL were significantly greater than those from a commercial gel. Therefore, GelL may be useful for the topical delivery of drugs.

Synthesis and lithium storage performance of nickel oxide octahedra

Octahedral NiO crystals obtained by a facile synthesis route show high performance for lithium storage.

Leveling effects of ammonium salts on thermal stabilities of polyethylene glycols

In this work, the thermal stabilities of a series of polyethylene glycols (PEG 4000, 6000 and 10000) were investigated after compositing with different kinds of inorganic salts, such as ammonium molybdate tetrahydrate (AMT), NH4VO3, (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, Na2SO4, Na2MoO4. It was first observed that all the ammonium salts exerted leveling effects for the thermal stabilities of the PEGs. In other words, the presence of the ammonium salts caused the occurrence of the maximum decomposition rates of the PEGs with the same repeat sequence but different chain lengths at almost the same temperatures. Leveling effects were defined by three parameters: leveling spans, leveling degrees and dispersion degrees of leveling. Further experiments revealed that leveling effects also occur in similar types of polymers: polypropylene glycols (PPG 2000, 3000 and 4000). A series of independent experiments including Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, time-of-flight mass spectrometry, conductivity and field-emission scanning electron microscopy were performed to explore the origin of leveling effects. We consider that the interaction between inorganic ions and polymer molecules and the Hofmeister effect of ions in solution are two important factors affecting the stability of salt–polymer composites, because they can contribute to decrease the interaction between the polymer chains, leading to changes in the conformation and pyrolysis mode of polymers. We believe that the finding of leveling effects would be significant for both basic and applied research of soft matter.

A controllable transformation in copper valence states and its applications

The present study revealed a surprising valence transformation of copper (Cu) in the sintering process of mixtures of copper chloride dihydrate (CuCl(2)·2H(2)O) with β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) in ambient atmosphere. Such a transformation in Cu valence states can be modulated by changing the initial molar ratio (IMR) of CuCl(2)·2H(2)O to β-CD in the mixtures. Firstly, as the value of IMR decreased, the content of cuprous chloride (CuCl) decreased, while the content of cupric oxide (CuO) increased gradually. That is to say, there is an unambiguous IMR-dependence of the contents of CuCl and CuO formed. However, such a controllable valence transformation from Cu(II) to Cu(I) to Cu(II) did not happen in nitrogen atmosphere. Secondly, the in situ composite of CuCl and CuO produced a highly ordered structure of self-assembled nanowires, intertwined, with a diameter of 30 to 50 nm. Furthermore, electronic structural analysis provided direct evidence that the Cu-Cl and Cu-O bonds in this composite material were simultaneously impaired by self-assembled growth. Finally, we noticed that the photoluminescence property of CuCl was regulated through the formation of composites with CuO. In addition, this in situ composite synthesis technique was used to modify the magnetic property of CuO. Furthermore, the anomalous ferromagnetic behaviour of the CuO nanocrystal was observed and explained. In short, this work not only demonstrates a flexible and easily controllable valence transformation of Cu, but also provides a novel approach for constructing inorganic nanocomposite materials. We believe that the implications of these findings are important and make significant contributions to the development of inorganic chemistry and material science.