Enhanced remediation of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater by coupling electrokinetics with ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/AC-based permeable reactive barrier

Although widely used in permeation reaction barrier(PRB)for strengthening the removal of various heavy metals,zero-valent iron(ZVI)is limited by various inherent drawbacks,such as easy passivation and poor electron transfer.As a solution,a synergistic system with PRB and electrokinetics(PRB-EK)was established and applied for the efficient removal of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater.As the filling material of PRB,ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/activated carbon(ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/AC)composites were synthesized by ball milling and thermal treatment.A series of continuous flow column experiments and batch tests was conducted to evaluate the removal efficiency of Cr(Ⅵ).Results showed that the removal efficiency of Cr(Ⅵ)remained above 93%even when the bed volume(BV)reached 2000 under the operational parameters(iron/AC mass ratio,2:1;current,5 m A).The mechanism of Cr(Ⅵ)removal by the PRB-EK system was revealed through field emission scanning electron microscopy images,X-ray diffraction,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Fe^(2+) concentration,and redox potential(E h)values.The key in Cr(Ⅵ)reduction was the Fe^(2+)/Fe^(3+) cycle driven by the surface microelectrolysis of the composites.The application of an externally supplied weak direct current maintained the redox process by enhancing the electron transfer capability of the system,thereby prolonging the column lifetime.Cr(Ⅵ)chemical speciation was determined through sequential extraction,verifying the stability and safety of the system.These findings provide a scientific basis for PRB design and the in-situ remediation of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater.

Structure-guided discovery of potent and oral soluble epoxide hydrolase inhibitors for the treatment of neuropathic pain

Soluble epoxide hydrolase(sEH) is related to arachidonic acid cascade and is over-expressed in a variety of diseases, making sEH an attractive target for the treatment of pain as well as inflammatory-related diseases. A new series of memantyl urea derivatives as potent sEH inhibitors was obtained using our previous reported compound 4 as lead compound. A preferential modification of piperidinyl to 3-carbamoyl piperidinyl was identified for this series via structure-based rational drug design. Compound A20 exhibited moderate percentage plasma protein binding(88.6%) and better metabolic stability in vitro. After oral administration, the bioavailability of A20 was 28.6%. Acute toxicity test showed that A20 was well tolerated and there was no adverse event encountered at dose of 6.0 g/kg. Inhibitor A20 also displayed robust analgesic effect in vivo and dose-dependently attenuated neuropathic pain in rat model induced by spared nerve injury, which was better than gabapentin and sEH inhibitor(±)-EC-5026. In one word, the oral administration of A20 significantly alleviated pain and improved the health status of the rats, demonstrating that A20 was a promising candidate to be further evaluated for the treatment of neuropathic pain.