Synthesis and Characterization of Mg-Hydroxyapatite and Its β-Cyclodextrin Composite as Enhanced Bio-Carrier of 5-Fluorouracil Drug; Equilibrium and Release Kinetics

An advanced form of magnesium-doped hydroxyapatite (Mg·HAP) was integrated in composite with β-cyclodextrin producing a safe biocomposite (β-CD/HAP) as an enhanced delivery structure of traditional 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy during the treatment stages of colorectal cancer cells. The qualifications of β-CD/HAP as a carrier for 5-FU were followed based on the loading, release, and cytotoxicity as compared to Mg·HAP. β-CD/HAP composite exhibits notably higher 5-FU encapsulation capacity (272.3 mg/g) than Mg·HAP phase (164.9 mg/g). The 5-FU encapsulation processes into β-CD/HAP display the isotherm behavior of the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.99) and kinetic assumptions of pseudo-first order kinetic (R2 > 0.95). The steric studies reflect a strong increment in the quantities of the free sites after the β-CD integration steps (Nm = 61.2 mg/g) as compared to pure Mg·HAP (Nm = 42.4 mg/g). Also, the capacity of each site was enhanced to be loaded by 5 of 5-FU molecules (n = 4.45) in a vertical orientation. The 5-FU encapsulation energy into β-CD/HAP (<40 kJ/mol) reflects physical encapsulation reactions involving van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding. The 5-FU release profiles of β-CD/HAP exhibit slow and controlled properties for about 80 h either in gastric fluid (pH 1.2) or in intestinal fluid (pH 7.4). The release kinetics and diffusion exponent (>0.45) signify non-Fickian transport and complex erosion/diffusion release mechanism. The free β-CD/HAP particles display a considerable cytotoxic effect on the HCT-116 cancer cells (33.62% cell viability) and its 5-FU-loaded product shows a strong cytotoxic effect (2.91% cell viability).

Chemical Fractionations of Lead and Zinc in the Contaminated Soil Amended with the Blended Biochar/Apatite

Heavy metal contamination in agricultural land is an alarming issue in Vietnam. It is necessary to develop suitable remediation methods for environmental and farming purposes. The present study investigated the effectiveness of using peanut shell-derived biochar to remediate the two heavy metals Zn and Pb in laboratory soil assays following Tessier’s sequential extraction procedure. The concentration of heavy metals was analyzed using Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This study also compared the effectiveness of the blend of biochar and apatite applied and the mere biochar amendment on the chemical fractions of Pb and Zn in the contaminated agricultural soil. Results have shown that the investigated soil was extremely polluted by Pb (3047.8 mg kg−1) and Zn (2034.3 mg kg−1). In addition, the pH, organic carbon, and electrical conductivity values of amended soil samples increased with the increase in the amendment’s ratios. The distribution of heavy metals in soil samples was in the descending order of carbonate fraction (F2) > residue fraction (F5) > exchangeable fraction (F1) > Fe/Mn oxide fraction (F3) > organic fraction (F4) for Pb and F5 ≈ F2 > F1 > F3 > F4 for Zn. The peanut shell-derived biochar produced at 400 °C and 600 °C amended at a 10% ratio (PB4:10 and PB6:10) could significantly reduce the exchangeable fraction Zn from 424.82 mg kg−1 to 277.69 mg kg−1 and 302.89 mg kg−1, respectively, and Pb from 495.77 mg kg−1 to 234.55 mg kg−1 and 275.15 mg kg−1, respectively, and immobilize them in soil. Amending the biochar and apatite combination increased the soil pH, then produced a highly negative charge on the soil surface and facilitated Pb and Zn adsorption. This study shows that the amendment of biochar and biochar blended with apatite could stabilize Pb and Zn fractions, indicating the potential of these amendments to remediate Pb and Zn in contaminated soil.

Spatiotemporal distribution of some dissolved salts and minerals in Lake Edku connected to Mediterranean Sea: in relation to different pollutant inputs

Regarding the generally accepted view of the minerals formed in solving the problem of ecosystem pollution, this research aims to track the role of seasonal minerals in overcoming widespread pollution problems in Lake Edku. At eleven locations inside Lake Edku and three locations in the outside the water inlets, some physical and chemical parameters that affect the formation of minerals and salts were detected seasonally. As a result of human activities from 1972 to 2020, the applied remote sensing technology showed a decrease in the area of Edku Lake by 13.3%. The saturation index (SI) of twelve minerals formed in fifty-six seasonal water samples collected from fourteen locations inside and outside the lake was estimated. The saturation index (SI) of anhydrite (ANH), gypsum (GYP), calcium phosphate (CP), magnesium phosphate (MP), calcite (CAL), aragonite (ARG), dolomite (DOL), magnesite (MGS), fluorapatite (FAP), hydroxyapatite (HAP), octacalcium phosphate (OCP), and carbonate-fluorapatite (CFAP) was calculated. The presented SI values of apatite and phosphate minerals including FAP (SI 30.63-65.65), CFAP (SI 28.14-40.02), HAP (SI 24.83-31.81), Ca₃(PO₄)₂ (SI 23.99-25.95), OCP (SI 19.96-25.47), and Mg₃(PO₄)₂ (SI 15.80-17.46) were high. Palmer-Roger's diagram and piper ternary diagram models reflected the abundance of NaCl in lake water with 30, 40, 46, and 75% in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. Using correlation matrix, multiple stepwise regression and cluster analysis for statistical analysis, the relationship between sedimentary minerals and outflow and drainage, as well as the role of sedimentary minerals in reducing pollution in the lake area, was outlined.

Core-shell Fe3O4@zeolite NaA as an Adsorbent for Cu2

Here, using Fe3O4@SiO2 as a precursor, a novel core-shell structure magnetic Cu2+ adsorbent (Fe3O4@zeolite NaA) was successfully prepared. Several methods, namely X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), Transmission electron microscope (TEM), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) were used to characterize the adsorbent. A batch experiment was conducted to study the Cu2+ adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA at different pH values, contact time, initial Cu2+ concentration and adsorbent does. It is found that the saturated adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA on Cu2+ is 86.54 mg/g. The adsorption isotherm analysis shows that the adsorption process of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA to Cu2+ is more consistent with the Langmuir model, suggesting that it is a monolayer adsorption. Adsorption kinetics study found that the adsorption process of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA to Cu2+ follows the pseudo-second kinetics model, which means that the combination of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA and Cu2+ is the chemical chelating reaction. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the adsorption process of Fe3O4@zeolite NaA to Cu2+ is endothermic, with increasing entropy and spontaneous in nature. The above results show that Fe3O4@zeolite NaA is a promising Cu2+ adsorbent.