A comprehensive review of ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE) for bioactive components: Principles, advantages, equipment, and combined technologies

The increasing focus on health and well-being has sparked a rising interest in bioactive components in the food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical industries. These components are gaining popularity due to their potential benefits for overall health. The growing interest has resulted in a continuous rise in demand for bioactive components, leading to the exploration of both edible and non-edible sources to obtain these valuable substances. Traditional extraction methods like solvent extraction, distillation, and pressing have certain drawbacks, including lower extraction efficiency, reduced yield, and the use of significant amounts of solvents or resources. Furthermore, certain extraction methods necessitate high temperatures, which can adversely affect certain bioactive components. Consequently, researchers are exploring non-thermal technologies to develop environmentally friendly and efficient extraction methods. Ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) is recognized as an environmentally friendly and highly efficient extraction technology. The UAE has the potential to minimize or eliminate the need for organic solvents, thereby reducing its impact on the environment. Additionally, UAE has been found to significantly enhance the production of target bioactive components, making it an attractive method in the industry. The emergence of ultrasonic assisted extraction equipment (UAEE) has presented novel opportunities for research in chemistry, biology, pharmaceuticals, food, and other related fields. However, there is still a need for further investigation into the main components and working modes of UAEE, as current understanding in this area remains limited. Therefore, additional research and exploration are necessary to enhance our knowledge and optimize the application of UAEE. The core aim of this review is to gain a comprehensive understanding of the principles, benefits and impact on bioactive components of UAE, explore the different types of equipment used in this technique, examine the various working modes and control parameters employed in UAE, and provide a detailed overview of the blending of UAE with other emerging extraction technologies. In conclusion, the future development of UAEE is envisioned to focus on achieving increased efficiency, reduced costs, enhanced safety, and improved reliability. These key areas of advancement aim to optimize the performance and practicality of UAEE, making it a more efficient, cost-effective, and reliable extraction technology.

Critical review of technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater: From conventional to combined advanced processes

This review aims to assess different technologies for the on-site treatment of hospital wastewater (HWW) to remove pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) as sustances of emerging concern at a bench, pilot, and full scales from 2014 to 2020. Moreover, a rough characterisation of hospital effluents is presented. The main detected PhCs are antibiotics and psychiatric drugs, with concentrations up to 1.1 mg/L. On the one hand, regarding the presented technologies, membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are a good alternative for treating HWW with PhCs removal values higher than 80% in removing analgesics, anti-inflammatories, cardiovascular drugs, and some antibiotics. Moreover, this system has been scaled up to the pilot plant scale. However, some target compounds are still present in the treated effluent, such as psychiatric and contrast media drugs and recalcitrant antibiotics (erythromycin and sulfamethoxazole). On the other hand, ozonation effectively removes antibiotics found in the HWW (>93%), and some studies are carried out at the pilot plant scale. Even though, some families, such as the X-ray contrast media, are recalcitrant to ozone. Other advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as Fenton-like or UV treatments, seem very effective for removing pharmaceuticals, Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria (ARBs) and Antibiotic Resistance Genes (ARGs). However, they are not implanted at pilot plant or full scale as they usually consider extra reactants such as ozone, iron, or UV-light, making the scale-up of the processes a challenging task to treat high-loading wastewater. Thus, several examples of biological wastewater treatment methods combined with AOPs have been proposed as the better strategy to treat HWW with high removal of PhCs (generally over 98%) and ARGs/ARBs (below the detection limit) and lower spending on reactants. However, it still requires further development and optimisation of the integrated processes.

Novel dry powder inhaler formulation containing antibiotic using combined technology to improve aerodynamic properties

Dry Powder Inhaler (DPI) could offer a propellant-free, easy-to-use powder form ensuring better stability than liquid dosage forms. Therefore the development of traditional carrier-based and carrier-free new generation systems is a determinative factor in the field of DPI formulation. The purpose of our research work was to combine these two systems, utilizing their beneficial properties to produce a novel pulmonary drug delivery system containing ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIP). Co-spray drying, surface smoothing and the preparation of an interactive physical mixture were applied as the technological procedures of sample preparation. The carrier-based and carrier-free formulations, as well as the developed novel product were compared to each other. Structural investigations were made by X-ray powder diffraction and micrometric properties (habit, bulk density) were determined. Particle interactions were also evaluated to investigate surface free energy, cohesive-adhesive forces, and spreading coefficient. In vitro aerodynamic properties (mass median aerodynamic diameter), fine particle fraction (FPF) and emitted dose of DPIs were measured using Andersen Cascade Impactor. A novel in silico Stochastic Lung Model was also used to quantify the amount of particles deposited at the target area. The novel-formulated composition presented amorphous spherical particles with an average size of about 2 μm. The in vitro aerodynamic investigations showed a variance in FPF as a function of formulation method (carrier-based: 24%, carrier-free: 54% and applying the novel combination method: 63%). The in silico deposition results were in line with the in vitro measurements and yielded increased lung doses for the sample prepared by the combined technology. This novel DPI formulation provides an opportunity for a more effective therapy with deeper deposition of CIP.