Environmental,economic and exergy analysis of separation of ternary azeotrope by variable pressure extractive distillation based on multi-objective optimization

In this work,the ternary azeotrope of tert-butyl alcohol/ethyl acetate/water is separated by extractive distillation(ED)to recover the available constituents and protect the environment.Based on the conductor like shielding model and relative volatility method,ethylene glycol was selected as the extractant in the separation process.In addition,in view of the characteristic that the relative volatility between components changes with pressure,the multi-objective optimization method based on nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II optimizes the pressure and the amount of solvent cooperatively to avoid falling into the optimal local solution.Based on the optimal process parameters,the proposed heat-integrated process can reduce the gas emissions by 29.30%.The heat-integrated ED,further coupled with the pervaporation process,can reduce gas emission by 42.36%and has the highest exergy efficiency of 47.56%.In addition,based on the heat-integrated process,the proposed two heat pump assisted heat-integrated ED processes show good economic and environmental performance.The double heat pump assisted heat-integrated ED can reduce the total annual cost by 28.78%and the gas emissions by 55.83%compared with the basis process,which has a good application prospect.This work provides a feasible approach for the separation of ternary azeotropes.

Economy, environmental assessment and energy conservation for separation of isopropanol/diisopropyl ether/water multi-azeotropes via extractive distillation coupled pervaporation process

This wok proposed the extraction distillation coupled pervaporation(ED+PV) technology process using two different solvents to separate isopropanol(IPA) and diisopropyl ether(DIPE) from DIPE/IPA/H_(2)O ternary heterogeneous azeotropes in industrial wastewater from the synthesis of isopropanol in this study.Based on strict design specifications, simulation and sequential iteration methods are used for process design and optimization. Compared to the ethylene glycol(EG)-EG+H_(2)O process and the 1,3-propanediol(PDO)-IPA+H_(2)O process, the total annual cost(TAC) of the EG-IPA+H_(2)O process decreased by 20.76% and 7.86%(PDO). Compared to the EG-EG+H_(2)O process, the TAC of the PDO-IPA+H_(2)O process reduced 14%, but the global warming potential(GWP) and human toxicity of the PDO-IPA+H_(2)O process increased 11.3% and 4.07% respectively. Compared to the PDO-IPA+H_(2)O process, the EG-IPA+H_(2)O process saves 7.86%(TAC), 9.78%(GWP) and 9.85%(human toxicity). The ED+PV process with EG is superior to PDO in factors of TAC, energy consumption, human toxicity and environment. The EG-IPA+H_(2)O process changed the separation order of the products of the multi-azeotropic system, reduced the cost and energy conservation of the system, and enhanced the environmental protection evaluation of the process, is the best process through life cycle assessment for analyzing the economy, energy conservation, environmental assessment and human toxicity, designing cleaner products, controlling waste discharge, and promoting the chemical purification industry. This work provides a new process design and optimized separation ideas, will have a good guiding significance for the research and application separation of multi-azeotropic mixture with mixed solvents in organic wastewater from the cleaner chemical production, has been up to standard wastewater discharge process, and realized the development goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality in the sustainable development of chemical clean industry.

Ginkgo biloba extract alleviates fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome in laying hens via reshaping gut microbiota

Background Ginkgo biloba extract(GBE)is evidenced to be effective in the prevention and alleviation of metabolic disorders,including obesity,diabetes and fatty liver disease.However,the role of GBE in alleviating fatty liver hemorrhagic syndrome(FLHS)in laying hens and the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated.Here,we investigated the effects of GBE on relieving FLHS with an emphasis on the modulatory role of GBE in chicken gut microbiota.Results The results showed that GBE treatment ameliorated biochemical blood indicators in high-fat diet(HFD)-induced FLHS laying hen model by decreasing the levels of TG,TC,ALT and ALP.The lipid accumulation and pathological score of liver were also relieved after GBE treatment.Moreover,GBE treatment enhanced the antioxidant activity of liver and serum by increasing GSH,SOD,T-AOC,GSH-PX and reducing MDA,and downregulated the expression of genes related to lipid synthesis(FAS,LXRα,GPAT1,PPARγand Ch REBP1)and inflammatory cytokines(TNF-α,IL-6,TLR4 and NF-κB)in the liver.Microbial profiling analysis revealed that GBE treatment reshaped the HFD-perturbed gut microbiota,particularly elevated the abundance of Megasphaera in the cecum.Meanwhile,targeted metabolomic analysis of SCFAs revealed that GBE treatment significantly promoted the production of total SCFAs,acetate and propionate,which were positively correlated with the GBE-enriched gut microbiota.Finally,we confirmed that the GBE-altered gut microbiota was sufficient to alleviate FLHS by fecal microbiota transplantation(FMT).Conclusions We provided evidence that GBE alleviated FLHS in HFD-induced laying hens through reshaping the composition of gut microbiota.Our findings shed light on mechanism underlying the anti-FLHS efficacy of GBE and lay foundations for future use of GBE as additive to prevent and control FLHS in laying hen industry.

Evaluation of the intracellular lipid-lowering effect of polyphenols extract from highland barley in HepG2 cells

Active ingredients from highland barley have received considerable attention as natural products for developing treatments and dietary supplements against obesity.In practical application,the research of food combinations is more significant than a specific food component.This study investigated the lipid-lowering effect of highland barley polyphenols via lipase assay in vitro and HepG2 cells induced by oleic acid(OA).Five indexes,triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(T-CHO),low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C),aspartate aminotransferase(AST),and alanine aminotransferase(ALT),were used to evaluate the lipidlowering effect of highland barley extract.We also preliminary studied the lipid-lowering mechanism by Realtime fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction(q PCR).The results indicated that highland barley extract contains many components with lipid-lowering effects,such as hyperoside and scoparone.In vitro,the lipase assay showed an 18.4%lipase inhibition rate when the additive contents of highland barley extract were 100μg/m L.The intracellular lipid-lowering effect of highland barley extract was examined using 0.25 mmol/L OA-induced HepG2 cells.The results showed that intracellular TG,LDL-C,and T-CHO content decreased by 34.4%,51.2%,and 18.4%,respectively.ALT and AST decreased by 51.6%and 20.7%compared with the untreated hyperlipidemic HepG2 cells.q PCR results showed that highland barley polyphenols could up-regulation the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes such as PPARγand Fabp4.

A Review on Sources,Extractions and Analysis Methods of a Sustainable Biomaterial:Tannins

Condensed and hydrolysable tannins are non-toxic natural polyphenols that are a commercial commodity industrialized for tanning hides to obtain leather and for a growing number of other industrial applications mainly to substitute petroleum-based products.They are a definite class of sustainable materials of the forestry industry.They have been in operation for hundreds of years to manufacture leather and now for a growing number of applications in a variety of other industries,such as wood adhesives,metal coating,pharmaceutical/medical applications and several others.This review presents the main sources,either already or potentially commercial of this forestry by-materials,their industrial and laboratory extraction systems,their systems of analysis with their advantages and drawbacks,be these methods so simple to even appear primitive but nonetheless of proven effectiveness,or very modern and instrumental.It constitutes a basic but essential summary of what is necessary to know of these sustainable materials.In doing so,the review highlights some of the main challenges that remain to be addressed to deliver the quality and economics of tannin supply necessary to fulfill the industrial production requirements for some materials-based uses.

Automatic Extraction Method of 3D Feature Guidelines for Complex Cultural Relic Surfaces Based on Point Cloud

Cultural relics line graphic serves as a crucial form of traditional artifact information documentation,which is a simple and intuitive product with low cost of displaying compared with 3D models.Dimensionality reduction is undoubtedly necessary for line drawings.However,most existing methods for artifact drawing rely on the principles of orthographic projection that always cannot avoid angle occlusion and data overlapping while the surface of cultural relics is complex.Therefore,conformal mapping was introduced as a dimensionality reduction way to compensate for the limitation of orthographic projection.Based on the given criteria for assessing surface complexity,this paper proposed a three-dimensional feature guideline extraction method for complex cultural relic surfaces.A 2D and 3D combined factor that measured the importance of points on describing surface features,vertex weight,was designed.Then the selection threshold for feature guideline extraction was determined based on the differences between vertex weight and shape index distributions.The feasibility and stability were verified through experiments conducted on real cultural relic surface data.Results demonstrated the ability of the method to address the challenges associated with the automatic generation of line drawings for complex surfaces.The extraction method and the obtained results will be useful for line graphic drawing,displaying and propaganda of cultural relics.

Economic and entropy production evaluation of extractive distillation and solvent-assisted pressure-swing distillation by multi-objective optimization

Extractive distillation(ED)and solvent-assisted pressure-swing distillation(SA-PSD)are both special distillation processes that perform good at separating pressure-insensitive azeotropes.However,few reported studies have compared the performance of the two processes.In this paper,ED processes with N-methylpyrrolidone(NMP)and dimethlac-etamide(DMCA)as entrainer,SA-PSD process with isopropyl-alcohol(IPA)as solvent and SA-PSD process with partial heat integration(PHI-PSD)are proposed to achieve high purity separation of a mixture of cyclohexane/2-butanol system.The optimal operating conditions of the processes are obtained after optimizing with NSGA-Ⅱ algorithm when total annual cost(TAC)and the entropy production of process are set as objectives.The optimal results show that the optimal PHI-PSD process has lower TAC by 28.7% and the lower entropy production by 39.5% than the optimal SA-PSD process while the ED process with NMP as entrainer has lower TAC by 50.9% and the lower entropy production by 56.1% than the optimal SA-PSD process.The optimal results show that the ED process with NMP as entrainer has the best economic and thermodynamic efficiency among the four proposed processes in this paper.

Preferentially selective extraction of lithium from spent LiCoO_(2)cathodes by medium-temperature carbon reduction roasting

Lithium recovery from spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)have attracted extensive attention due to the skyrocketing price of lithium.The medium-temperature carbon reduction roasting was proposed to preferential selective extraction of lithium from spent Li-CoO_(2)(LCO)cathodes to overcome the incomplete recovery and loss of lithium during the recycling process.The LCO layered structure was destroyed and lithium was completely converted into water-soluble Li2CO_(3)under a suitable temperature to control the reduced state of the cobalt oxide.The Co metal agglomerates generated during medium-temperature carbon reduction roasting were broken by wet grinding and ultrasonic crushing to release the entrained lithium.The results showed that 99.10%of the whole lithium could be recovered as Li2CO_(3)with a purity of 99.55%.This work provided a new perspective on the preferentially selective extraction of lithium from spent lithium batteries.

Effects of conductive agent type on lithium extraction from salt lake brine with LiFePO_(4) electrodes

Electrochemical lithium extraction from salt lakes is an effective strategy for obtaining lithium at a low cost.Nevertheless,the elevated Mg:Li ratio and the presence of numerous coexisting ions in salt lake brines give rise to challenges,such as prolonged lithium extraction periods,diminished lithium extraction efficiency,and considerable environmental pollution.In this work,Li FePO4(LFP)served as the electrode material for electrochemical lithium extraction.The conductive network in the LFP electrode was optimized by adjusting the type of conductive agent.This approach resulted in high lithium extraction efficiency and extended cycle life.When the single conductive agent of acetylene black(AB)or multiwalled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs)was replaced with the mixed conductive agent of AB/MWCNTs,the average diffusion coefficient of Li+in the electrode increased from 2.35×10^(-9)or 1.77×10^(-9)to 4.21×10^(-9)cm^(2)·s^(-1).At the current density of 20 mA·g^(-1),the average lithium extraction capacity per gram of LFP electrode increased from 30.36 mg with the single conductive agent(AB)to 35.62 mg with the mixed conductive agent(AB/MWCNTs).When the mixed conductive agent was used,the capacity retention of the electrode after 30 cycles reached 82.9%,which was considerably higher than the capacity retention of 65.8%obtained when the single AB was utilized.Meanwhile,the electrode with mixed conductive agent of AB/MWCNTs provided good cycling performance.When the conductive agent content decreased or the loading capacity increased,the electrode containing the mixed conductive agent continued to show excellent electrochemical performance.Furthermore,a self-designed,highly efficient,continuous lithium extraction device was constructed.The electrode utilizing the AB/MWCNT mixed conductive agent maintained excellent adsorption capacity and cycling performance in this device.This work provides a new perspective for the electrochemical extraction of lithium using LFP electrodes.

Antimicrobial Activities of Plant Extracts against Streptococcus pneumoniae Isolated from Pediatric Patients at Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Ebonyi State

Antibiotic-resistant genes have become a threat to synthetic or conventional medications and because of this much work has been done on using plants and plants part to treat disease caused by bacteria, Herbal medicine has served as effective treatment against various diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria and multi drug-resistant strains of bacteria which made it advantageous over synthetic medications. This study aimed to reveal the sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae from clinical isolate and perform antibacterial assay on the organism using plants leaf extracts of Ocimum gratissimum, Sida acuta, Newbouldia laevia and Mimosa pudica. Gram staining and various biochemical test were used for the identification of Streptococcus pneumoniae. The plants leaves were aseptically washed, dried and ground into fine powder and diluted in varying concentration and agar well diffusion method was used to test for the antimicrobial properties of this plants on Streptococcus pneumoniae at various concentrations as follows 0.1 g/ml, 0.4 g/ml, 0.6 g/ml and 1 g/ml. The plants extract of Ocimum gratissimum showed a greater antibacterial effects on Streptococcus pneumoniae in high concentration more than other plant extracts while Sida acuta and Newbouldia laevia plant extract showed weak antibacterial properties to the organism. This proves that Ocimum gratissimum and Mimosa pudica leaves have good and strong antibacterial properties against Streptococcus pneumoniae than Sida acuta and Newbouldia laevia and can be used as antibacterial agent at adequate concentrations.

Influence of the Extraction Process on the Characteristics of Romanian Mountain Walnut Oil

The objective of this work is to extract walnut oil using various processes in order to compare the influence on the nature of the components extracted, and thus identify the areas of potential use. We carried out the extractions by mechanical process, thanks to a press in reduced model provided with a worm. We obtained cold extracted oil whose characteristics slightly diverge from extra virgin oil found in shops in Romania, but its composition is similar. We were also able to extract by chemical process using two methods, Folch and Soxhlet. Commercially available table walnut oils are only cold extracted to avoid the presence of solvents. Those are difficult to remove and strongly oxidize the oil. Currently, consumers appreciate walnut oil for its taste and nutritional qualities. In nutrition, this oil is put forward for its composition rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are needed for human body. Food supplements made from walnut oil are available today. For the moment, this is the only use of walnut oil. Indeed, there are some studies on other fields of application, but they remain in the field of research and nothing has yet been commercialized. In this present study, we compared the chemical and physical properties of cold-extracted oil with the solvent extraction of walnut kernel originating from the mountain region of Rumania. The cold extracted oil has a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (63%) and monounsaturated fatty acids (30%), a very low level of saturated fatty acid (7%) and no content of linolenic acid. The Soxhlet and Folch methods produced slightly different oils with increased amounts of minor components, which changes their characteristic. Even when solvent-extracted oils do not meet the standard criteria imposed by the Codex Alimentarius, they offer a possible use in the fields of food, cosmetics industries and biomedicine.

Development of a Simple Extraction Method for Tetracycline Analogues from Bovine Milk

Tetracycline and analogues are among the most used antibiotics in the dairy industry. Besides the therapeutic uses, tetracyclines are often incorporated into livestock feed as growth promoters. A considerable amount of antibiotics is released unaltered through milk from dairy animals. The presence of antibiotic residues in milk and their subsequent consumption can lead to potential health impacts, including cancer, hypersensitivity reactions, and the development of antibiotic resistance. Thus, it is important to monitor residual levels of tetracyclines in milk. The purpose of this study is to develop a quick and simple method for simultaneously extracting five tetracycline analogues from bovine milk. Specifically, five tetracycline analogues: Chlortetracycline (CTC), demeclocycline (DEM), doxycycline (DC), minocycline (MC), and tetracycline (TC) were simultaneously extracted from milk using trifluoroacetic acid. Subsequently, the extracted analogues were separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and detected at 355 nm using UV/Vis. Calibration curves for all five tetracycline analogues show excellent linearity (r2 value > 0.99). Percent recovery for MC, TC, DEM, CTC, and DC were: 31.88%, 96.91%, 151.29, 99.20%, and 85.58% respectively. The developed extraction method has good precision (RSD < 9.9% for 4 of the 5 analogues). The developed method with minimal sample preparation and pretreatment has the potential to serve as an initial screening test.

Effect of Rosmarinus officinalis and Origanum majorana extracts on stability of sunflower oil during storage and repeated heating

Both rosemary(Rosmarinus officinalis)and marjoram(Origanum majorana)are abundant in phenolic compounds,exhibiting exceptional antioxidant activity.This study aims to assess the impact of rosemary and marjoram extracts on the stability of sunflower oil during storage and repeated heating.Sunflower oil supplemented with herbal extracts or butylated hydroxytoluene(BHA)at a concentration of 200 ppm was stored for six months under light and dark conditions at room temperature.Peroxide value(PV),p-anisidine value(An-V),and total oxidation(TOTOX)value were measured to monitor lipid oxidation progression.A significant difference(P<0.05)was observed between light and dark storage for all studied samples regarding oxidation parameters.The ethanolic extract of rosemary exhibited higher antioxidant activity compared to BHA and other extracts.Furthermore,sunflower oil supplemented with the ethanolic extract of rosemary underwent weekly treatment at 100℃for 30 min over four consecutive weeks.Although all oxidation indicators increased during repeated heating,the addition of rosemary and marjoram extracts as well as BHA significantly reduced these indicators.These findings demonstrate that both rosemary extracts and marjoram extracts can serve as natural antioxidants in edible oils.

A Joint Entity Relation Extraction Model Based on Relation Semantic Template Automatically Constructed

The joint entity relation extraction model which integrates the semantic information of relation is favored by relevant researchers because of its effectiveness in solving the overlapping of entities,and the method of defining the semantic template of relation manually is particularly prominent in the extraction effect because it can obtain the deep semantic information of relation.However,this method has some problems,such as relying on expert experience and poor portability.Inspired by the rule-based entity relation extraction method,this paper proposes a joint entity relation extraction model based on a relation semantic template automatically constructed,which is abbreviated as RSTAC.This model refines the extraction rules of relation semantic templates from relation corpus through dependency parsing and realizes the automatic construction of relation semantic templates.Based on the relation semantic template,the process of relation classification and triplet extraction is constrained,and finally,the entity relation triplet is obtained.The experimental results on the three major Chinese datasets of DuIE,SanWen,and FinRE showthat the RSTAC model successfully obtains rich deep semantics of relation,improves the extraction effect of entity relation triples,and the F1 scores are increased by an average of 0.96% compared with classical joint extraction models such as CasRel,TPLinker,and RFBFN.

Antimicrobial Activities of Extracts of Macrosphyra longistyla against Gram-Positive Oral Biofilm-Formers from School Children in Southwestern Nigeria and Toxicity Studies Using Brine Shrimps

The world will benefit from more effective antimicrobial agents against oral conditions arising from the actions of biofilm forming bacteria. Also, information is lacking on the oral biofilm-forming bacterial diversity in Southwestern Nigeria. In this study, we isolate and characterize oral biofilm producing bacteria in the oral cavities of schoolchildren in Southwestern Nigeria. We also investigate the antimicrobial properties of Macrosphyra longistyla extracts against the biofilm-formers and the toxicity of potent extracts. Samples were obtained from 109 schoolchildren aged 4 - 14 years from Lagos, Oyo and Osun States. Agar well diffusion technique was used in the antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Toxicity testing was done using brine shrimps (Artemia salina). Biofilm-formers in this study are Klebsiella sp., Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Micrococcus sp. Ethanol leaf extracts had the highest activity against all biofilm-producing bacteria. Ethanol stem bark extract, which elicited activity against Klebsiella only, was found to be less toxic than the ethanol leaf extract. Staphylococcus showed >10 mm susceptibility to the ethanol and aqueous extracts of Macrosphyra longistyla. Streptococcus and Micrococcus were susceptible to the antimicrobial actions of the ethanolic leaf extracts. Although the ethanol extracts of the leaves had lower minimum inhibitory concentrations than the ethanol extracts of the stem bark, toxicity studies showed ethanol extracts of the stem-bark to be more toxic than the ethanol extracts of the leaves. In conclusion, ethanolic extracts of Macrosphyra longistyla show potential as sources of antimicrobials against gram-positive, oral biofilm-forming bacteria.

Phytochemical Analysis and Antioxidant Activity of Aqueous and Hydroethanolic Extracts from Three Anticancerous Fabaceae of Northern Cameroon Pharmacopoeia

Background: Cancer continues to pose a significant threat to our society, representing one of the most pressing health concerns worldwide. This study aimed to evaluate the chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of aqueous and hydroethanolic extracts from Acacia nilotica (An), Bauhinia reticulate (Br), and Tamarindus indica (Ti) of Fabaceae family, traditionally used in Northern Cameroon for cancer treatment. Methods: The phytochemical screening of the three plants was conducted using conventional colorimetric methods, followed by the measurement of total phenol content, flavonoids, and tannins. The antiradical and antioxidant activities of both plant extracts were assessed through FRAP, ABTS, and DPPH methods. A principal components analysis was employed to correlate the quantities of the evaluated secondary metabolites with the activities. Results: Both types of extracts from the three plants contain alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, tannins, glycosides, terpenoids, coumarins, anthocyanins, and anthraquinones. The aqueous extracts of Br and An are significantly richer (p Conclusion: The three Fabaceae plants from northern Cameroon, prepared in different solvents, can be utilized for their antiradical properties in cancer treatment.

Management of Strawberry Grey Mold Disease Using Biocontrol Agents and Plant Extracts

Strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is a significant global soft fruit crop, prized for its nutrient content and pleasant flavor. However, diseases, particularly grey mold caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers. Fr. poses major constraints to strawberry production and productivity. Grey mold severely impacts fruit quality and quantity, diminishing market value. This study evaluated five B. cinerea isolates from various locations in the Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya. All isolates were pathogenic, with isolate SGM 2 identified as highly virulent. Host range studies showed the pathogen-producing symptoms in the fava bean pods, marigold, gerbera, and chrysanthemum flowers and in the fava bean, gerbera, and lettuce leaves. In vitro tests revealed that neem extract (15% w/v) achieved the highest mycelial growth inhibition at 76.66%, while black turmeric extract (5% w/v) had the lowest inhibition at 9.62%. Dual culture methods with bio-control agents indicated that Bacillus subtilis recorded the highest mean inhibition at 77.03%, while Pseudomonas fluorescens had the lowest at 20.36% against the two virulent isolates. Pot evaluations demonstrated that B. subtilis resulted in the lowest percent disease index at 20.59%, followed by neem extract at 23.31%, with the highest disease index in the control group at 42.51%. Additionally, B. subtilis significantly improved plant growth, yielding an average of 0.32 kg compared to 0.14 kg in the control. The promising results of B. subtilis and neem leaf extract from this study suggest their potential for eco-friendly managing grey mold in strawberries under field conditions.

Assessing the Efficacy of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) and Sambong (Blumea balsamifera) Extracts in Combating Black Pod Disease: Sustainable Solutions for Controlling Phytophthora megakarya in Cameroon’s Cocoa Plantations

The use of plant extracts as antifungal agents is gaining increasing attention, particularly for the control of black pod disease in cocoa. Despite extensive research, current strategies haven’t been entirely effective. This study evaluated the effectiveness of Cymbopogon citratus and Blumea balsamifora leaf extracts, both individually and in combination, against Phytophthora megakarya. We assessed the efficacy of the most promising combination (75% B. balsamifera, 25% C. citratus) after storage at room temperature for up to 9 days. Agar microdilution and in vivo bioassays were conducted to determine antifungal susceptibility and effectiveness. Blumea extract exhibited the highest overall inhibitory activity, with the lowest minimum inhibitory concentration (117 µl mL−1) while C. citratus had a narrower range of MIC (146 to 233 µl mL−1). The combination of C. citratus and B. balsamifera demonstrated a synergistic effect against P. megakarya, achieving growth inhibition on V8 media (92.72 ± 4.20% to 100%) and on artificially infected detached pod cortex (92.24 ± 4.53% to 98.75 ± 1.25%), which was not significantly different from the positive control (Ridomil). Furthermore, this combination maintained its effectiveness for up to 9 days at room temperature. These findings suggest that combining plant extracts can enhance their antifungal properties.

Development of Extraction and Detection Method for a Chemotherapeutic Drug with Phenytoin in Biological Samples

Dexamethasone is classified as a corticosteroid and is commonly used among cancer patients to decrease the amount of swelling around the tumor. Among patients with cancer, in particular brain tumors, seizures can become a daily routine in their everyday lives. To counteract the seizures, an antiepileptic drug such as phenytoin is administered to act as an anticonvulsant. Phenytoin and dexamethasone are frequently administrated concurrently to brain cancer patients. A previous study has shown that phenytoin serum concentration decreases when administrated concurrently with dexamethasone. Thus, it is important to monitor the concentration of these two drugs in biological samples to ensure that the proper dosages are administrated to the patients. This study aims to develop an effective extraction and detection method for dexamethasone and phenytoin. A reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV/Vis detection has been developed to separate phenytoin and dexamethasone at 219 nm and 241 nm respectively from urine samples. The mobile phase consists of a mixture of 0.01 M KH2PO4, acetonitrile, and methanol adjusted to pH 5.6 (48:32:20) and is pumped at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Calibration curves were prepared for phenytoin and dexamethasone (r2 > 0.99). An efficient solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the extraction of dexamethasone and phenytoin from urine samples was developed with the use of C-18 cartridges. The percent recovery for phenytoin and dexamethasone is 95.4% (RSD = 1.15%) and 81.1% (RSD = 3.56%) respectively.

Highly selective extraction of aromatics from aliphatics by using metal chloride-based ionic liquids

The separation of aromatics from aliphatics is essential for achieving maximum exploitation of oil resources in the petrochemical industry.In this study,a series of metal chloride-based ionic liquids were prepared and their performances in the separation of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene(tetralin)/dodecane and tetralin/decalin systems were studied.Among these ionic liquids,1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrachloroferrate([EMIM][FeCl_(4)])with the highest selectivity was used as the extractant.Density functional theory calculations showed that[EMIM][FeCl_(4)]interacted more strongly with tetralin than with dodecane and decalin.Energy decomposition analysis of[EMIM][FeCl_(4)]-tetralin indicated that electrostatics and dispersion played essential roles,and induction cannot be neglected.The van der Waals forces was a main effect in[EMIM][FeCl_(4)]-tetralin by independent gradient model analysis.The tetralin distribution coefficient and selectivity were 0.8 and 110,respectively,with 10%(mol)tetralin in the initial tetralin/dodecane system,and 0.67 and 19.5,respectively,with 10%(mol)tetralin in the initial tetralin/decalin system.The selectivity increased with decreasing alkyl chain length of the extractant.The influence of the extraction temperature,extractant dosage,and initial concentrations of the system components on the separation performance were studied.Recycling experiments showed that the regenerated[EMIM][FeCl_(4)]could be used repeatedly.