Charcoal Nanoparticles as a Delivery System for Doxorubicin and Sorafenib in Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer and one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Advanced HCC displays strong resistance to chemotherapy, and traditional chemotherapy drugs do not achieve satisfactory therapeutic efficacy. The delivery of therapeutic compounds to the target site is a major challenge in the treatment of many diseases. Objective: This study aims to evaluate activated charcoal nanoparticles as a drug delivery system for anticancer agents (Sorafenib and Doxorubicin) in Hepatocellular Cancer Stem Cells. Method: The percent efficiency of entrapment (% EE) of the doxorubicin and sorafenib entrapped onto the activated charcoal was obtained by determining the free doxorubicin and sorafenib concentration in the supernatant-prepared solutions. Then the characterizations of nanoparticles were formed by determination of the particle size distribution, zeta potential, and polydispersity index (PDI). The anticancer activity of activated Charcoal, Doxorubicin-ACNP, sorafenib-ACNP, free doxorubicin, and free sorafenib solutions was measured based on cell viability percentage in HepG2 cell lines (ATCC-CCL 75). In vitro RBC’s toxicity of Doxorubicin/sorafenib loaded charcoal was estimated by hemolysis percentage. Results: The synthesized Doxorubicin-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP were evaluated and their physiochemical properties were also examined. Essentially, the percent Efficiency of Entrapment (EE %) was found to be 87.5% and 82.66% for Doxorubicin-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP, respectively. The loading capacity was 34.78% and 24.31% for Doxorubicin-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP. Using the Dynamic Light scattering [DLS] for the determination of the hydrodynamic size and surface zeta potential, a narrow sample size distribution was obtained of (18, 68, and 190 nm for charcoal, 105, 255, and 712 nm for doxorubicin, and 91, 295, and 955 nm for sorafenib), respectively. A surface charge of −13.2, −15.6 and −17 was obtained for charcoal, doxorubicin/charcoal, and sorafenib/charcoal nanoparticles. The cytotoxic activity of Doxorubicin-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP was evaluated in-vitro against HepG2 cell lines and it was observed that Drug loaded ACNP improved anticancer activity when compared to Doxorubicin or Sorafenib alone. Moreover, testing the toxicity potential of DOX-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP showed a significant reduction in the hemolysis of red blood cells when compared to Doxorubicin and Sorafenib alone. Conclusion: In conclusion, it is notable to state that this study is regarded as the first to investigate the use of Activated charcoal for the loading of Doxorubicin and Sorafenib for further use in the arena of hepatocellular carcinoma. Doxorubicin-ACNP and Sorafenib-ACNP showed noteworthy anticancer activity along with a reduced potential of RBCs hemolysis rendering it as an efficacious carrier with a low toxicity potential.

Chemoselective Transfer Hydrogenation of Cinnamaldehyde over Activated Charcoal Supported Pt/Fe3O4 Catalyst

A variety of spherical and structured activated charcoal supported Pt/Fe3O4 composites with an average particle size of ~100 nm have been synthesized by a self-assembly method using the difference of reduction potential between Pt （Ⅳ） and Fe （Ⅱ） precursors as driving force. The formed Fe3O4 nanoparticles （NPs） effectively prevent the aggregation of Pt nanocrystallites and promote the dispersion of Pt NPs on the surface of catalyst, which will be favorable for the exposure of Pt active sites for high-efficient adsorption and contact of substrate and hydrogen donor. The electron-enrichment state of Pt NPs donated by Fe304 nanocrystallites is corroborated by XPS measurement, which is responsible for promoting and activating the terminal C=O bond of adsorbed substrate via a vertical configuration. The experimental results show that the activated charcoal supported Pt/Fe3O4 catalyst exhibits 94.8% selectivity towards cinnamyl alcohol by the transfer hydrogenation of einnamaldehyde with Pt loading of 2.46% under the optimum conditions of 120 ℃ for 6 h, and 2-propanol as a hydrogen donor. Additionally, the present study demonstrates that a high-efficient and recyclable catalyst can be rapidly separated from the mixture due to its natural magnetism upon the application of magnetic field.

Adsorption of ruthenium ions on activated charcoal: influence of temperature on the kinetics of the adsorption process

Influence of temperature on ruthenium adsorption on activated charcoal from 3 mol/L HNO3 solutions was inves- tigated in the temperature range of 288 K to 308 K. It was observed that the rise in temperature increases the adsorption of ru- thenium ions on activated charcoal and follows the kinetics of first order rate law with rate constant values 0.0564?0.0640 min?1 in the temperature range of 288 K to 308 K respectively. The activation energy for the adsorption process was found to be 1.3806 kJ/mol. Various thermodynamics quantities namely ?H, ?S and ?G were computed from the equilibrium constant KC values. The results indicated a positive heat of adsorption, a positive ?S and a negative ?G.

Adsorption characteristics of chitooligosaccharides onto activated charcoal in aqueous solutions

To investigate the adsorption characteristics of chitooligosaccharides in solution onto activated charcoal,we studied the optimal adsorption conditions and the adsorption mechanisms of the chitooligosaccharides onto activated charcoal,which will greatly promote the application of activated charcoal in the chitooligosaccharides separation and purification.We studied the effects of particle size of activated charcoal,pH of solution,contact time,temperature,and initial concentration of chitooligosaccharides on the adsorption behavior in batch mode experiments.Activated charcoal in fine particle size showed a high uptake of chitooligosaccharides.Weak alkaline solution(pH 8–9)was the most favorable to the adsorption.The adsorption equilibrium after 60 min was established,which followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.The adsorption capacity(Q_(max))reached 0.195 g/g(chitooligosaccharides/activated charcoal)at 298 K.The adsorption was temperature-insensitive,and the adsorption isotherms could be best described by the Langmuir equation.Chitooligosaccharides adsorbed on activated charcoal could be desorbed in 50%ethanol solution in combination with an acidic condition(pH 2),reaching desorption efficiency of 96.0%.These findings are of great significance for the production and purification of amino oligosaccharides including chitooligosaccharides using activated charcoal.

Enhanced dehydrogenation kinetic properties and hydrogen storage reversibility of LiBH_4 confined in activated charcoal

LiBH4 was confined into activated charcoal（AC） by melt infiltration method（MI）, and its effects on the hydrogen sorption properties were investigated. The N2 adsorption results reveal that melt infiltration method can effectively incorporated LiBH4 into AC. It can maintain the structural integrity of the scaffold and ensure the confinement effect. The nano-confined LiBH4/AC starts to release hydrogen at around 190 °C, which is 160 °C lower than that of pure LiBH4, and reaches a hydrogen desorption capacity of 13.6% at 400 °C. When rehydrogenated under the condition of 6 MPa H2 and 350 °C, it has a reversible hydrogen storage capacity of 6%, while pure LiBH4 shows almost no reversible hydrogen storage capacity under the same condition. Mass spectrometry analysis（MS） results suggest that no diborane or other impurity gases are released in the decomposition process. The apparent activation energy of dehydrogenation of LiBH4 after confinement into AC decreases from 156.0 to 121.1 k J/mol, which leads to the eminent enhancement of dehydrogenation kinetics of LiBH4.

Management of acute carbamazepine poisoning:A narrative review

Standard management protocols are lacking and specific antidotes are unavailable for acute carbamazepine(CBZ)poisoning.The objective of this review is to provide currently available information on acute CBZ poisoning,including its management,by describing and summarizing various therapeutic methods for its treatment according to previously published studies.Several treatment methods for CBZ poisoning will be briefly introduced,their advantages and disadvantages will be analyzed and compared,and suggestions for the clinical treatment of CBZ poisoning will be provided.A literature search was performed in various English and Chinese databases.In addition,the reference lists of identified articles were screened for additional relevant studies,including non-indexed reports.Nonpeer-reviewed sources were also included.In the present review,154 articles met the inclusion criteria including case reports,case series,descriptive cohorts,pharmacokinetic studies,and in vitro studies.Data on 67 patients,including 4 fatalities,were reviewed.Based on the summary of cases reported in the included articles,the cure rate of CBZ poisoning after symptomatic treatment was 82%and the efficiency of hemoperfusion was 58.2%.Based on the literature review,CBZ is moderately dialyzable and the recommendation for CBZ poisoning is supportive management and gastric lavage.In severe cases,extracorporeal treatment is recommended,with hemodialysis as the first choice.

In vitro propagation of a medicinal plant: Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f.

In this study a reliable protocol was developed for the establishment of commercial in vitro cultures of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook f.. Juvenile shoots from one-year-old elite plants were used as the source of explants. New axillary shoots were obtained after 30 days of culture on a MS medium supplemented with BAP （2.0 mg.L^-1） and NAA （0.1 mg.L^-1）. The optimal multiplication medium was a modified MS medium supplemented with BAP （1.0 mg.L^-1） and NAA （0.1 mg.L^-1）. This yielded a multiplication rate of 2.4 for each subculture. Slightly more than 92% of shoots rooted when cultured on a modified MS medium containing IBA （0.2 mg.L^-1） and activated charcoal （0.5 mg.L^-1）. Activated charcoal promoted both a strong and a high rooting rate during the rooting phase. Plantlets were transferred to pots for a short acclimatization stage in a greenhouse where 95% of the plantlets survived. This highly reproducible procedure can be adopted for large-scale propagation of T. wilfordii.

Effective and selective adsorption of uranyl ions by porous polyethylenimine-functionalized carboxylated chitosan/oxidized activated charcoal composite

Composite materials have elicited much interest because of their superior performance in the removal of toxic and radioactive uranyl ions from aqueous solutions.With polyethyleneimine as a functional group,carboxylated chitosan as a matrix,and oxidizing activated carbon as a nanofiller,this study synthesized a novel environment-friendly polyethylenimine-functionalized carboxylated chitosan/oxidized activated charcoal(PCO)biocomposite with a unique three-dimensional porous structure.PCO was synthesized through an easy chemical cross-linking method.Detailed characterization certified the formation of the unique three-dimensional porous structure.The obtained PCO was used to remove uranyl ions from an aqueous solution,demonstrating the maximum adsorption capacity of 450 mg·g^(−1).The adsorption capacity of PCO decreased by less than 7.51%after five adsorption-desorption cycles.PCO exhibited good adsorption selectivity(K_(d)=3.45×10^(4) mL·g^(−1))for uranyl ions.The adsorption mechanism of PCO was also discussed.The material showed good potential for application in the treatment of wastewater containing uranyl ions.

Cryopreservation of Cyrtopodium hatschbachii Pabst (Orchidaceae) immature seeds by encapsulation-dehydration

The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficiency of the encapsulation-dehydration technique for cryopreservation of Cyrtopodium hastchbachii Pabst seeds.Immature seeds of this species were cryopreserved by an encapsulation-dehydration technique.Seeds of five immature pods,120 days after pollination,were encapsulated in 3%calcium alginate matrix and pretreated in liquid medium supplemented with 0.08 M sucrose(24 h),0.15 M sucrose(24 h),0.25 M sucrose(48 h),0.5 M sucrose(24 h)and 0.75 M sucrose(24 h)in shaker at 60 rpm.Alginate beads were dehydrated 5 h in silicagel and immersed in liquid nitrogen for 12 h.Cryopreserved beads were thawed at 30℃ for 1 min,rehydrated using the same liquid mediums[0.75 M sucrose(24 h),0.5 M sucrose(24 h),0.25 M sucrose(48 h)and 0.15 M sucrose(24 h)]and cultivated in half strength Murashige&Skoog medium(1962)with the addition of 2 g/L activated charcoal.Sixty four percent of seeds survived and developed into acclimatized plants after being cryopreserved.In this work,the encapsulation-dehydration technique was employed for first time in Cyrtopodium hatschbachii.

Effect of Porous Activated Charcoal Reinforcement on Mechanical and In-Vitro Biological Properties of Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Scaffolds

The present work focused on developing an innovative composite material by reinforcing polymer matrix with highly porous activated charcoal. Polyvinyl alcohol-activated charcoal（PVA-AC） composite scaffolds were developed by varying the AC concentrations（0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 wt%） in PVA matrix by freeze drying method. The developed scaffolds were characterized for their physicochemical, mechanical and in-vitro biological properties. In addition, the effect of AC on the attachment, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblast MG 63 cells was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay, alkaline phosphatase（ALP） activity assay and alizarin red stain-based（ARS） assay. All the PVA-AC composite scaffolds exhibited good bioactivity, hemocompatibility and protein adsorption properties. The scaffolds with high AC concentration（2.5 wt%） showed controlled drug release kinetics that are suitable for long term healing. The mechanical properties of all the PVA-AC composite scaffolds were improved when compared to the pure PVA scaffold. The high porosity, swelling degree and hydrophilicity of PVA-AC composite scaffolds facilitated cell attachment and proliferation. This is due to porous AC present in the sample that supported the osteoblast differentiation and formed mineralized nodules without the addition of any extra agents. From the above studies, it can be concluded that PVA-AC composite scaffolds are promising biomaterials for bone tissue engineering applications.

发光二极管用于活性炭负载光催化剂反应器中挥发性有机化合物的降解(英文)

The applicability of ultraviolet-light emitting diodes(LEDs)as a light source for photocatalysis using granular activated charcoal (GAC)impregnated with transition metal-enhanced photocatalysts for the control of volatile organic compounds(VOCs)was investigated. Two target compounds(toluene and methyl mercaptan)were selected to evaluate the removal activities of the TiO2/GAC composites.The photocatalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method.Methyl trimethoxy silane was added as a precursor sol solution to bind the photocatalyst with the GAC.Metal(Zn 2+ ,Fe 3+ ,Ag + ,and Cu 2+ )enhanced TiO2/GAC composites were prepared and tested for their photocatalytic activities under 400 nm LED irradiation.The specific surface area(SSA)and the surface chemical composition of the prepared composites were investigated.The SSAs of all the impregnated composites were similar to those of pure GAC.Both field emission-scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopic analysis confirmed that titanium and the impregnated metals were deposited on the surface of the adsorbent.The breakthrough time for GAC toward toluene or methyl mercaptan gas increased upon photocatalytic impregnation and LED illumination.Using different binders affected the breakthrough time of the TiO2/GAC composite and the addition of zinc oxide to TiO2 increased the VOC removal capacity of the GAC composite.

Atrazine removal from water by activated charcoal cloths

Pollution control structures may be adapted to enhance the removal of nutrients and pesticides from water. Charcoal-like material is known to sorb organic compounds in solution, including atrazine, a herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds, which persists in soils and can migrate from soils to water bodies, ultimately affecting water quality. The primary goal of this study was to investigate if activated charcoal cloths (single-weave, SW;double-weave, DW;and knitted, KT) are more efficient to remove atrazine from aqueous solutions than a cloth without activated charcoal (control) currently used in pollution control structures. The approach consisted of sorption kinetics, flow-through, and desorption/degradation experiments using 50 and 1000μg L-1 atrazine solutions. Results showed that within 30 min of contact time, the control sorbed from 22.6 to 36.1% of atrazine in solution;whereas the activated charcoal cloths sorbed from 76 to 99% of atrazine in solution (SW > KT > DW). The flow-through ex-periments showed that the SW sorbed 88.2, 76.1, and 52.2%of atrazine at the contact time of 0.75, 5, and 10 min, respectively. After 28 days of incubation, previously sorbed atrazine on the SW cloth did not degrade and <2.0% was desorbed. The results showed that activated charcoal cloths are a practical alternative for improving atrazine removal in water in pollution control structures.

Enzymatic Method for Rapid Determination of Oxalic Acid in Bleaching Filtrates from the Pulp and Paper Industry

Bleaching with oxygen-containing agents and recirculation of process streams in the pulp and paper industry has increased the accumulation of oxalic acid and danger for precipitation of calcium oxalate encrusts, scaling. Analysis and control of oxalic acid in bleaching filtrates is therefore becoming increasingly important in the pulp and paper industry. Chromatographic methods, such as IC and HPLC, are generally more time-consuming but are valuable as standard methods for determination of oxalic acid. However, the instrumentation needed is expensive and stationary. In this study, an enzymatic method based on oxalate oxidase and peroxidase was developed to determine oxalic acid in authentic bleaching filtrates using a spectrophotometer. The results showed that bleaching filtrates contain some compounds interfering with the enzymatic method. Pretreatment of the samples with activated charcoal was a successful approach for decreasing problems with interference. By using dilution followed by charcoal treatment, the results obtained from five bleaching filtrates with the colorimetric method correlated very well with those obtained using IC. This study offers a selective, fast and mobile analysis method to determine oxalic acid in bleaching fiRrates from the pulp and paper industry, The convenient enzyme-based method improves the possibilities for control of critical oxalic acid concentrations in closed-loop bleaching streams.