Journal of Applied Chemical Research
Volume:18 Issue: 1, Winter 2024

An easy and cost-effective sol-gel procedure is described for the synthesis and co-modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with various metal ions and positive-charge inducing polymers including PEI and PEG, for the construction of a reliable gene delivery vehicle. All of the samples (denoted as PEI-MSN, M-MSN, PEI-M-MSN, and PEG-PEI-MSN, where, M= Fe2+, Fe3+, Co2+, Zn2+, Al3+), were unambiguously characterized by conventional techniques including FTIR, XRD, SEM, and BET. The adsorption capacity of siRNA was found to be more related to the zeta potential of the samples than their specific surface areas. The best adsorption result was obtained by using PEI-Fe(III)-MSN (48.8 µg of siRNA per mg of support). The release of siRNA from PEIFe(III)-MSN, was also good (91.5%), but a burst release profile was observed. Interestingly, when a layer of PEG was used as a co-modifier, a sustained release profile was achieved, and meanwhile, the released amount of siRNA was improved (93.2%). The whole combination showed noconsiderable cytotoxicity according to the MTT test.

The synthesis and application of a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) as a carrier for drug delivery of Duloxetine (DUL) antipsychotic was investigated. Mimicking the natural receptors of DUL drug by synthesizing its MIP would lead to formation of some special active sites, which make able the MIP to accept only this special medicinal compound. Therefore, this MIP, which has been templated by DUL, could selectively absorb the molecules of DUL from the mediums in certain conditions and could release those chemical species in another place with different conditions. This MIP with its artificial receptors could be applied as a carrier for drug delivery applications and sustained released tablets. In order to synthesize this MIP based carrier, the precipitation polymerization method was applied. Also, methacrylic acid (MAA; as the functional monomer), 2,2-azobisissobutyronitrile (AIBN; as the initiator), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA;as the cross-linker), were applied to obtain this sorbent. Moreover, the release kinetics of the drug was investigated by HPLC system, which was shown to be fitted with the Higuchi expressionpattern at least at 5.8, and 6.8 pHs. Finally, the results revealed that the synthesized MIP is able to be used in formulation of the sustained released tablets.

This research work describes a simple, eco-friendly, and facile method to synthesize a novel graphene oxide (GO) nanocomposite based on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-chitosan (PHB-CS) grafted to poly(methyl methacrylate-block-(poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate-random-2-(dimethyl amino)ethyl methacrylate)) copolymer. The obtained nanocomposite was designated as GO/PHB-CS-gP(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) and investigated as a drug delivery system. The synthesized products were characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Doxorubicin (DOX) as an anticancer drug was loaded on the synthesized GO nanocomposite and the drug encapsulation efficiency was calculated about 76.4%. The release profiles indicated that the resulting GO nanocomposite has a pH-responsive behavior under physiological conditions due to the hydrogen bonding interaction between PHB-CS-g-P(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) and GO. The release property of DOX from GO nanocomposite exhibited a slow sustained release, and suggested that the GO/PHB-CS-gP(MMA-b-(PEGMA-ran-DMAEMA)) nanocomposite could be an appropriate candidate as a useful nanocarrier for the release of DOX in controlled drug delivery systems for treatment of cancer cells.

In this investigation, strontium hexaferrite nanocomposites co-doped with aluminum and chromium were prepared Sr(AlCr)xFe(12-2x)O19 with x different amounts (x= 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8), were synthesized. The magnetic nanocomposites have been prepared by simple sol-gel auto-combustion method. The morphology and structure of nano-samples were determined by FTIR, XRD and FESEM . The results of the XRD pattern confirmed P63/mmc space group and the single phase of the synthesized samples. The crystal size of the prepared samples decreases with increasing Al and Cr.The magnetic properties of these compounds are determined by the VSM. Magnetic properties (Mr, Ms and Hc) were measured. The result showed that Mr and Ms decrease with the increase of Al and Cr.

This study presents an efficient, rapid, green, and low-cost method for preconcentrating trace levels of Pb2+ using ultrasonic-assisted liquid-phase microextraction (UA-LPME) followed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. We used sulfanilamide as a complexing agent to form a hydrophobic complex with Pb2+, and a mixture of choline chloride-phenol as an extraction solvent. We investigated and optimized several parameters affecting the analyte's extraction recovery, including pH of the sample solution, concentration of the complexing agent, mole ratio of choline chloride phenol, volume of extraction solvent, volume of tetrahydrophoran (as an aprotic solvent), and ultrasonic time. Under the optimized conditions, we found that the proposed method has a linear range of 0.5-10 µg L-1 Pb2+ and a limit of detection of 0.16 µg L-1 Pb2+ (n=6). The proposed method's accuracy was verified using certified reference material-trace metals in drinking water (CRM-TMDW) samples. We also successfully used the proposed method to determine trace levels of Pb2+ in different water samples. In conclusion, our study offers an effective UA-LPMEbased method for preconcentrating trace levels of Pb2+ that can be applied to environmental monitoring and analysis.

The applicability of Zeolitic Imidazolate-67, Modified by Fe3O4 Nanoparticles, was studied for the removal of benzyl paraben from wastewater by adsorption method studied using response surface methodology (RSM). For the adsorption characterization of the adsorbent used in benzyl paraben adsorption, BET, FTIR, XRD, and SEM analyses were performed. The impacts of variables including initial benzyl paraben concentration (X1), pH (X2), adsorbent dosage (X3), and sonication time (X4) came under scrutiny using response surface methodology (RSM). The values of 10 mg L-1, 0.03 g, 7.0, and 4.0 min were considered as the ideal values for benzyl paraben concentration, adsorbent, pH, and contact time, respectively. Adsorption equilibrium and kinetic data were fitted with the Langmuir monolayer isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetics (R2: 0.999) with maximum adsorption capacity (92.0 mgg-1), respectively. The predicted values were in agreement with experimental values obtained for the components of the mixture. The values at the optimized process conditions indicated a commercially viable route for optimal removal of dyes from wastewater.