An adsorbent called chitosan coated magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (CS-MHAP) was prepared with the purpose of improvement for the removal of Ni2+ ions and textile dye by coprecipitation. Structure and properties of CS-MHAP were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). Weight percent of chitosan was investigated by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The prepared CS-MHAP presents a significant improvement on the removal efficiency of Ni2+ ions and reactive blue 19 dye (RB19) in comparison with chitosan and magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoparticles. Moreover, the adsorption capacities were affected by several parameters such as contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dosage, and initial pH. Interestingly, the prepared adsorbent could be easily recycled from an aqueous solution by an external magnet and reused for adsorption with high removal efficiency.

Abstract:Acne is the over growth of the commensal bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) on human skin. Lauric acid (LA) has been investigated as an effective candidate to suppress the activity of P. acnes. Although LA is nearly insoluble in water, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) has been reported to effectively solubilize LA. However, the toxicity of DMSO can limit the use of LA on the skin. In this study, LA-loaded poly(ε-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(ε-caprolactone) micelles (PCL-PEG-PCL) were developed to improve the bactericidal effect of free LA on P. acnes. The block copolymers mPEG-PCL and PCL-PEG-PCL with different molecular weights were synthesized and characterized using 1 H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H NMR), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). In the presence of LA, mPEG-PCL diblock copolymers did not self-assemble into nano-sized micelles. On the contrary, the average particle sizes of the PCL-PEG-PCL micelles ranged from 50-198 nm for blank micelles and 27-89 nm for LA-loaded micelles. The drug loading content increased as the molecular weight of PCL-PEG-PCL polymer increased. Additionally, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of free LA were 20 and 80 µg/mL, respectively. The MICs and MBCs of the micelles decreased to 10 and 40 µg/mL, respectively. This study demonstrated that the LA-loaded micelles are a potential treatment for acne.

Green plasma-based technology production of N-doped NPs for a new agri-tech revolution in pest control.

In this study a novel magnetic composite used as a photocatalyst with combination of zinc oxide nanoparticles and chitosan (ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 /CS) was synthesized by a simple co-precipitation method. The role of the prepared magnetic nanocomposite is to improve the removal efficiency of textile dye due to the photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles and reusable capacity of Fe 3 O 4 magnetic nanoparticles. Constituents and structure properties of ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 /CS were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Magnetic property of the prepared composite was determined by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results demonstrated that ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 /CS nanocomposite dramatically improved the removal efficiency of reactive blue 198 dye (RB198) with high photocatalytic activity and easy separation by a permanent magnet. In addition, the photocatalytic activity of the prepared composite was also performed under different parameters such as contact time, initial pH, the amount of composite and initial concentration of RB198. Interestingly, ZnO/Fe 3 O 4 /CS nanocomposite still showed high removal efficiency after recycling three times and performed in a real textile dyeing wastewater.