Mean Particle Size Research Articles

Sedimentary records of giant landslide-dam breach events in western Sichuan, China

Introduction: Landslide-dammed lake outburst floods (LLOFs) are common natural disasters in high-mountain regions, posing serious safety threats to residents’ livelihoods and properties and causing major damage to engineering facilities. Giant landslides and river damming events commonly occur in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau in southwestern China. Dam failure generate LLOFs that form outburst deposits (ODs). This phenomenon is particularly common in some giant ancient landslide-dammed lakes.Methods: This study conducted a detailed investigation of the sedimentary characteristics of large-scale landslide-dammed lake outburst deposits in the Diexi Reach of the Upper Minjiang River and Tangjiashan Reach of the Tongkou River Basin, West Sichuan Plateau, China. Meanwhile, typical evidence of high-energy ODs was recorded.Results and Discussion: The longitudinal distribution of these ODs is similar to an elongated fan-shaped terrace along the river channel, presenting a distinctive sedimentary disordered–sub-ordered–ordered sequence from upstream to downstream. Several typical units of “sedimentary facies” are developed in the OD profiles, such as boulder units deposited by high-energy outburst flood (OF) events and the gravel and sand units representing pulsating-flow sedimentary environments during the recession stage. The grain size frequency curves are bimodal, and the granularity accumulated curves are upward convex, which reflect that the detrital characteristics of the sediment source area are mainly composed of coarse gravel and boulders. This indicates that the coarse gravel sediment gradually become decreased from upstream to downstream. Moreover, the OD hydrodynamic intensity displays a gradual weakening, and sediment sorting is improved. From upstream to the downstream, the mean particle-size and sorting of the ODs gradually decrease. The skewness become larger, and the kurtosis of the ODs is distributed in all the types. In addition, the different combinations of quartz sand surface microtextures indicate the transformation from high-to low-energy impacts over a short distance, which is controlled by flood hydrodynamics and regime.Significance: These sedimentary characteristics of ODs explain the hydrodynamic changes during the propagation of OFs, and are also important records for distinguishing between ODs, and “normal” floods.

Thermosensitive and mucoadhesive gels containing solid lipid nanoparticles loaded with fluconazole and niosomes loaded with clindamycin for the treatment of periodontal diseases: a laboratory experiment

BackgroundPeriodontal diseases may benefit more from topical treatments with nanoparticles rather than systemic treatments due to advantages such as higher stability and controlled release profile. This study investigated the preparation and characterization of thermosensitive gel formulations containing clindamycin-loaded niosomes and solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) loaded with fluconazole (FLZ), as well as their in vitro antibacterial and antifungal effects in the treatment of common microorganisms that cause periodontal diseases.MethodsThis study loaded niosomes and SLNs with clindamycin and FLZ, respectively, and assessed their loading efficiency, particle size, and zeta potential. The particles were characterized using a variety of methods such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Thermosensitive gels were formulated by combining these particles and their viscosity, gelation temperature, in-vitro release profile, as well as antibacterial and antifungal effects were evaluated.ResultsBoth types of these nanoparticles were found to be spherical (TEM) with a mean particle size of 243.03 nm in niosomes and 171.97 nm in SLNs (DLS), and respective zeta potentials of -23.3 and -15. The loading rate was 98% in niosomes and 51% in SLNs. The release profiles of niosomal formulations were slower than those of the SLNs. Both formulations allowed the release of the drug by first-order kinetic. Additionally, the gel formulation presented a slower release of both drugs compared to niosomes and SLNs suspensions.ConclusionThermosensitive gels containing clindamycin-loaded niosomes and/or FLZ-SLNs were found to effectively fight the periodontitis-causing bacteria and fungi.

Fabrication and Characterization of Sustained-Release Eudragit RSPO Microsphere of Lornoxicam by Spray Drying Technique

Background: Lornoxicam is a potent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) with strong analgesic properties; however, its short half-life necessitates frequent administration for sustained efficacy. Objective: The objective of the present study was to identify critical formulation parameters affecting sustained release Eudragit RSPO microsphere of lornoxicam employing the concept of design of experiments Method: The lornoxicam-loaded microspheres were prepared using a spray drying technique by optimizing the drug:polymer ratio(X1) and inlet air temperature (X2) using a 32 full factorial design. The percentage drug entrapment (Y1), percentage yield (Y2) and cumulative percentage of the drug dissolved at 18 hr (Y3) were selected as dependent variables. Microspheres were evaluated for percentage drug entrapment, mean particle size, percentage yield, in vitro drug release study and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Result: The optimized batch showed 84.51% drug release after 18 h with significantly higher drug entrapment and percentage yield. The optimization was further verified using overlay and desirability plots. The sustained release behavior of the drug from microspheres in GIT was displayed. The predicted and observed responses for the optimized formulation were in close agreement with the release profile of the drug. Conclusion: The sustained release microspheres of lornoxicam may prove to be an effective analgesic with excellent anti-inflammatory potential.

Changes in the Transcription of Proliferation- and Apoptosis-Related Genes in Embryos in Women of Different Ages under the Influence of Extracellular Vesicles from Donor Follicular Fluid In Vitro.

We studied the influence of extracellular vesicles from the follicular fluid of a young donor on gene expression (MKI67, MYBL2, CCNB1, CCND1, CCNE1, CALM2, BAX, NDRG1, TP53I3, VEGF, VCAN, HAS2, CTSL2, PIBF1, RPL37, PFKP, GPX3, and AQP3) in embryos of women of different ages. According to nanoparticle tracking analysis data, the concentration of extracellular vesicles was 3.75±0.47×1011 particles/ml and the mean particle size was 138.78±9.90 nm. During co-culturing of the follicular fluid extracellular vesicles with blastocysts of young women, we observed significantly increased expression of mRNA for genes CTSL2, CCND1, CCNE1, VEGF and reduced expression of BAX gene mRNA in comparison with embryos in women of late reproductive age. We hypothesized that addition of extracellular vesicles of the oocyte follicular fluid from a young donor to the culture medium of embryos could slow down apoptosis process typical of blastocyst cells in women above 36 years.

PVP/aprepitant microcapsules produced by supercritical antisolvent process

The supercritical antisolvent (SAS) process was a green alternative to improve the low bioavailability of insoluble drugs. However, it is difficult for SAS process to industrialize with limited production capacity. A coaxial annular nozzle was used to prepare the microcapsules of aprepitant (APR) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) by SAS with N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent. Meanwhile, the effects of polymer/drug ratio, operating pressure, operating temperature and overall concentration on particles morphology, mean particle diameter and size distribution were analyzed. Microcapsules with mean diameters ranging from 2.04 μm and 9.84 μm were successfully produced. The morphology, particle size, thermal behavior, crystallinity, drug content, drug dissolution and residual amount of DMF of samples were analyzed. The results revealed that the APR drug dissolution of the microcapsules by SAS process was faster than the unprocessed APR. Furthermore, the drug powder collected every hour is in the kilogram level, verifying the possibility to scale up the production of pharmaceuticals employing the SAS process from an industrial point of view.

Single-Crystal P2-Na0.67Mn0.67Ni0.33O2 Cathode Material with Improved Cycling Stability for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Layered oxides constitute one of the most promising cathode materials classes for large-scale sodium-ion batteries because of their high specific capacity, scalable synthesis, and low cost. However, their practical use is limited by their low energy density, physicochemical instability, and poor cycling stability. Aiming to mitigate these shortcomings, in this work, we synthesized polycrystalline (PC) and single-crystal (SC) P2-type Na0.67-δMn0.67Ni0.33O2 (NMNO) cathode materials through a solid-state route and evaluated their physicochemical and electrochemical performance. The SC-NMNO cathode with a large mean primary particle size (D50) of 12.7 μm was found to exhibit high cycling stability leading to 47% higher capacity retention than PC-NMNO after 175 cycles at 1C rate in the potential window 4.2-1.5 V. This could be attributed to the effective mitigation of parasitic side reactions at the electrode-electrolyte interface and suppressed intergranular cracking induced by anisotropic volume changes. This is confirmed by the lower volume variation of SC-NMNO (ΔV ∼ 1.0%) compared to PC-NMNO (ΔV ∼ 1.4%) upon charging to 4.2 V. Additionally, the SC-NMNO cathode displayed slightly higher thermal stability compared to PC-NMNO. Both cathodes exhibited good chemical stability against air and water exposure, thus enabling material storage/handling in the ambient atmosphere as well as making them suitable for aqueous processing. In this regard, PC-NMNO was investigated with two low-cost aqueous binders, carboxymethyl cellulose, and sodium trimetaphosphate, which exhibited higher binding strength and displayed excellent electrochemical performance compared to PVDF, which could potentially lead to significant cost reduction in electrode manufacturing.

Egg yolk peptide‐iron chelate: preparation, conformational structure, chelating mechanism and stability in vitro

SummaryIn this study, a method to produce iron‐chelating peptides derived from egg yolk proteins was developed and optimised. The egg yolk proteins were enzymolysed and ultrafiltered to prepare egg yolk peptide (EYP), and then the EYP was chelated with Fe to produce egg yolk peptide‐Fe (EYP‐Fe). The optimised mass ratio of peptide to iron, pH, temperature and reaction time were found at 8:1, pH 8.0, 40 °C and 30 min, respectively. The mean particle size of EYP‐Fe was 389.2 ± 2.61 nm, and the chelating ratio was 95.38 ± 1.93%. The measurements of FTIR, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and NMR showed that ferrous ions mainly combined with the amino and carboxyl of EYP to form EYP‐Fe. In vitro stability studies have shown that the iron release rate of the EYP‐Fe is maintained at around 5% under alkaline conditions, and there is no significant difference in iron release rate under conditions of 30 °C–80 °C; besides, it has a lower iron release rate (18%) in gastrointestinal digestion compared to FeSO4 (97.93%), indicating that the EYP‐Fe has good heat tolerance, alkalinity and digestion tolerance. The above results provide a scientific basis for the use of EYP‐Fe derived from egg yolk protein as a potential alternative to iron supplements.

Enhanced efficiency of photodynamic therapy-mediated the plant pigment hypericin through Folate-PEG functionalized chitosan nanoparticles

Hypericin (Hy), an anthraquinone-derived pigment, has recently attracted attention as a safe and natural photosensitizer for photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, its clinical applications have been limited by its hydrophobicity and off-target photoactivity. This work aimed to enhance efficacy of Hy-based PDT using a high-efficiency and high-specificity vehicle for targeted delivery Hy to the cancer cells. Hy-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (Hy-CNs) were prepared using the ionic gelation technique, and further functionalized with folic acid (FA) and PEG. These generated nanoparticles (PEG-FA-Hy-CNs) were physicochemically characterized using, FT-IR spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and SEM analysis and then compared with other Hy formulations in terms the singlet oxygen production, intra cellular uptake, and phototoxicity under suitable irradiation (590 nm, 10 Jcm−2). All the formed nanostructures presented a mean particle size about 200–300 nm and greater than 80 % entrapment efficiency. Drug release data of PEG-FA-Hy-CNs indicated a sustained release of Hy and a good correlation with Higuchi model. PEG-FA-Hy-CNs induced a much higher singlet oxygen formation, cellular uptake, photoactivity, and apoptosis compared to Hy-CN, Hy-FA, Hy-PEG, and free Hy. Additionally, these effects were much higher in FA receptors over-expressing breast cancer cells than healthy cell lines. Results suggest that PEG-FA-Hy-CNs can be used for controlled Hy release and active targeting of breast cancer cells, which are beneficial for Hy-based PDT.

Development and in vitro antiviral activity of ivermectin liposomes as a potential drug carrier system.

This study aimed to assess and compare diverse formulations of ivermectin-loaded liposomes, employing lipid film hydration and ethanol injection methods. Three lipids (DOPC, SPC, and DSPC) were used in predetermined molar ratios. A total of 18 formulations were created, and a factorial design determined the optimal formulation based on particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency. The average mean particle size, PDI and zeta potential of the selected formulations (F1, F2, F7, F9, and F11) was, respectively, 196.40 ± 44.60 nm, 0.39 ± 0.09, and -40.24 ± 9.17. The encapsulation efficiency exceeded 80%, with a mean loading capacity of 4.00 ± 1.70%. In vitro studies included transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, drug release, and antiviral activity assessments against SARS-CoV-2. The liposomal formulations demonstrated superior antiviral activity compared to free ivermectin, as indicated by lower IC50 values. The results of this study emphasize the effectiveness of ivermectin-loaded liposomes in inhibiting viral activity, highlighting their potential as promising candidates for antiviral therapy. The findings suggest that the strategic use of liposomes as drug carriers can significantly modulate and improve the antiviral properties of ivermectin, offering a novel approach to harnessing its full therapeutic potential. Collectively, these results provide a robust foundation for further exploration of ivermectin as a viral protection tool and optimization of its delivery mechanisms.

Development and assessment of nano drug delivery systems for combined delivery of rosuvastatin and ezetimibe.

Worldwide, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death, which accordingly increased by hyperlipidemia. Hyperlipidemia therapy can include lifestyle changes and medications to control cholesterol levels. Statins are the medications of the first choice for dealing with lipid abnormalities. Rosuvastatin founds to control high lipid levels by hindering liver production of cholesterol and to achieve the targeted levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, another lipid lowering agents named ezetimibe may be used as an added therapy. Both rosuvastatin and ezetimibe have low bioavailability which will stand as barrier to decrease cholesterol levels, because of such depictions, formulations of this combined therapy in nanotechnology will be of a great assistance. Our study demonstrated preparations of nanoparticles of this combined therapy, showing their physical characterizations, and examined their behavior in laboratory conditions and vivo habitation. The mean particle size was uniform, polydispersity index and zeta potential of formulations were found to be in the ranges of (0.181-0.72) and (-13.4 to -6.24), respectively. Acceptable limits of entrapment efficiency were affirmed with appearance of spherical and uniform nanoparticles. In vitro testing showed a sustained release of drug exceeded 90% over 24 h. In vivo study revealed an enhanced dissolution and bioavailability from loaded nanoparticles, which was evidenced by calculated pharmacokinetic parameters using triton for hyperlipidemia induction. Stability studies were performed and assured that the formulations are kept the same up to one month. Therefore, nano formulations is a suitable transporter for combined therapy of rosuvastatin and ezetimibe with improvement in their dissolution and bioavailability.

Emulsifying property, antioxidant activity, and bitterness of soybean protein isolate hydrolysate obtained by Corolase PP under high hydrostatic pressure

Enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins can enhance their emulsifying properties and antioxidant activities. However, the problem related to the hydrolysis of proteins was the generation of the bitter taste. Recently, high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment has attracted much interest and has been used in several studies on protein modification. Hence, the study aimed to investigate the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis by Corolase PP under different pressure treatments (0.1, 100, 200, and 300 MPa for 1–5 h at 50 °C) on the emulsifying property, antioxidant activity, and bitterness of soybean protein isolate hydrolysate (SPIH). As observed, the hydrolysate obtained at 200 MPa for 4 h had the highest emulsifying activity index (47.49 m2/g) and emulsifying stability index (92.98 %), and it had higher antioxidant activities (44.77 % DPPH free radical scavenging activity, 31.12 % superoxide anion radical scavenging activity, and 61.50 % copper ion chelating activity). At the same time, the enhancement of emulsion stability was related to the increase of zeta potential and the decrease of mean particle size. In addition, the hydrolysate obtained at 200 MPa for 4 h had a lower bitterness value and showed better palatability. This study has a broad application prospect in developing food ingredients and healthy foods.

Effect of Mean Particle Size and Uniformity on Modulus Degradation of Nonlinearly Graded Marine Sands

Effect of Mean Particle Size and Uniformity on Modulus Degradation of Nonlinearly Graded Marine Sands

Biofabrication of Silver Nanoparticles Using Green Seaweed: Characterisation and Antibacterial Evaluation

This study investigates the Chaetomorpha antennina (CA) seaweed-mediated biosynthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The synthesis process of silver nanoparticles was monitored over time with the help of an Ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer and further characterisation studies were also performed. Differential Light Scattering (DLS) measurements revealed a mean particle size of approximately 103.5nm and a mean zeta potential value of -57.5mV for AgNPs. The spherical shape and size of the AgNPs were confirmed through High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) imaging, while Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDAX) analysis provided insights into the elemental composition. The concentration of AgNPs was estimated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES). The antibacterial potential of AgNPs was evaluated against both gram-positive (Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and gram-negative bacterial strains (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Shigella dysentriae, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis) using the agar well diffusion method. From the results, AgNPs exhibited significant antibacterial activity against B. subtilis and S. typhi among all the tested concentration levels (25, 50, 75 and 100μl).

Parameter Optimization of Frazil Ice Evolution Model Based on NSGA-II Genetic Algorithm

This study is based on the research results of frazil ice evolution in recent years and proposes an improved frazil ice evolution mathematical model. Based on the NSGA-II genetic algorithm, seven key parameters were used as optimization design variables, the minimum average difference between the number of frazil ice, the mean and the standard deviation of particle diameter of the simulation results, and the observed data were used as the optimization objective, the Pareto optimal solution set was optimized, and the importance of each objective function was analyzed and discussed. The results show that compared to previous models, the improved model has better agreement between simulation results and experimental results. The optimal parameters obtained by the optimization model reduces the difference rate of water temperature process by 5.75%, the difference rate of quantity process by 39.13%, the difference rate of mean particle size process by 47.64%, and the difference rate of standard deviation process by 56.84% during the period of intense evolution corresponding to the initial parameter group. The results prove the validity of the optimization model of frazil ice evolution parameters.

Environmentally friendly use of silver nanoparticles prepared with Anchusa azurea flower to detect mercury (II) ions

ABSTRACT In this study, the extract obtained from the flowers of the Anchusa azurea (AA) plant was mixed with silver nitrate to obtain silver nanoparticles. The ion sensing ability of the obtained bio-sourced silver nanoparticles in aqueous solutions was investigated and the presence of Hg2+ ions was determined colorimetrically. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) prepared on Green Chemistry method, which is both an environmentally friendly and cost-effective synthesis technique, were characterised using different analytical tools. The mean particle size of AA-AgNPs from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images was determined to be 22 nm in diameter. XRD measurements showed that the crystallite sizes of the synthesised AgNPs were in the face-centred cubic crystal structure with an average size of 22 nm, which is consistent with TEM results. AA-AgNPs showed absorption at 435 nm, indicating that AgNPs exhibit a strong surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and play a role in stabilisation. AgNPs synthesised with Anchusa azurea flowers were observed using UV-vis spectroscopy to selectively and sensitively detect mercury ions (Hg2+). When Hg2+ in aqueous solution was added to the AgNPs, the overall absorbance dramatically decreased and the colour changed from yellow to colourless. This study shows that AA-AgNPs can be used as a cost-effective material in optical sensors for colorimetric determinations.

Effects of Particle Size Distribution on the Physicochemical, Functional, and Structural Properties of Alfalfa Leaf Powder

To explore the effects of particle size distribution on its physicochemical, functional, and structural properties, alfalfa leaf powders with mean particle sizes (D50) of 506.1, 246.3, 209.8, 92.01, and 20.68 μm were prepared by sieving. The physicochemical, functional, and structural properties of alfalfa were compared, and correlation and principal component analyses were conducted. As the D50 of alfalfa leaf decreased, the bulk density, tap density, and the swelling capacity increased first and then decreased, but the compressibility, transition temperature, and melting temperature exhibited an opposite trend. The solubility, lightness, and inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzymes and tyrosinase were enhanced. Specifically, the alfalfa leaf with a D50 of 209.8 μm exhibited a higher bulk density and swelling capacity and a lower compressibility, transition temperature, and melting temperature. The alfalfa leaf with a D50 of 20.68 μm presented better solubility, lightness, and inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzymes and tyrosinase. Additionally, the surface roughness and the number of surface hydroxyls improved and the crystallinity index decreased, but the type of surface functional groups was unchanged. These changes in microstructure can provide an explanation for the trend of the physicochemical and functional properties. Moreover, based on the results of the correlation analysis and principal component analysis, it can be concluded that there are strong correlations among the particle size, physicochemical properties, and functional properties of alfalfa leaf. Overall, this conclusion can help determine the appropriate grinding particle size range for alfalfa leaf in different functional food products.

Development and characterization of pH-sensing films based on red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel treated by high-pressure homogenization for monitoring fish freshness

High pressure homogenization (HPH) was used to physically modify red pitaya (Hylocereus polyrhizus) peel (RPP) dispersions to develop pH-sensing films for monitoring fish freshness. Effects of HPH treatment at various pressures of 0 (control), 10, 20, 30, 40, 60 and 80 MPa on microstructure and properties of RPP film-forming dispersions (FFDs) and their resultant films were systematically investigated. Results showed that due to the structure destructing effect of HPH, the mean particle size of RPP dispersion treated at 80 MPa decreased significantly from 129.17 to 37.41 μm and its total soluble solids content increased from 7.64 to 8.62 °Bx. Rheological analysis manifested that all FFDs exhibited a shear thinning behavior with higher apparent viscosities as well as storage modulus and loss modulus with increasing HPH pressure. Besides, the HPH treated FFDs had a higher total betacyanins content and showed an obvious color response to pH variation. Consequently, the resultant films had not only smoother surfaces and more transparent appearance, but also better water vapor barrier and mechanical properties than the control. Particularly, film obtained from RPP treated at 60 MPa showed a highest tensile strength of 21.87 MPa and elongation at break of 22.09%, together with a lowest water vapor permeability of 11.41 g⋅mm⋅m−2⋅d−1⋅kPa−1. Notably, this film also exhibited high sensitivity to volatile ammonia and showed a remarkable color variation when applied for monitoring fish spoilage at 25 °C. Thus, the pH-sensing films developed from HPH treated RPP had desirable properties to be potentially used in intelligent food packaging.

Gas atomization of AA2017 aluminum alloy: Effect of process parameters in the physical properties of powders for additive manufacturing

Close-coupled gas atomization (CCGA) uses pressurized gas jets to atomize molten metals, producing powders suitable for additive manufacturing (AM). Optimization of processing parameters is crucial to achieve powders with good fluidity and high apparent density for laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) and increase production yield. This study evaluated the influence of melt feed nozzle diameter, superheating temperature, and atomization pressure on AA2017 aluminum alloy powders' physical properties. Parameters variation poorly affected the median particle diameter (d50), while significantly altering the particle size distribution curves width (IDR = d90-d10). Suitable powders for AM/L-PBF were produced using a specific set of parameters (d0= 1.5 mm; ΔT= 150 °C; PG= 20 Bar), presenting appropriate fluidity and apparent density due to an optimal granulometric distribution and morphological characteristics. Mathematical analysis showed a good correlation between experimental and calculated mean particle size, suggesting an equation to predict percentile d90 based on previous correlations.

Dopamine- and Grape-Seed-Extract-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles: Interaction Studies between Particles and Differentiated SH-SY5Y Neuronal Cell Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, primarily associated with dopaminergic neuron depletion in the Substantia Nigra. Current treatment focuses on compensating for dopamine (DA) deficiency, but the blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses challenges for effective drug delivery. Using differentiated SH-SY5Y cells, we investigated the co-administration of DA and the antioxidant Grape Seed Extract (GSE) to study the cytobiocompability, the cytoprotection against the neurotoxin Rotenone, and their antioxidant effects. For this purpose, two solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) formulations, DA-co-GSE-SLNs and GSE-ads-DA-SLNs, were synthesized. Such SLNs showed mean particle sizes in the range of 187-297 nm, zeta potential values in the range of -4.1--9.7 mV, and DA association efficiencies ranging from 35 to 82%, according to the formulation examined. The results showed that DA/GSE-SLNs did not alter cell viability and had a cytoprotective effect against Rotenone-induced toxicity and oxidative stress. In addition, this study also focused on the evaluation of Alpha-synuclein (aS) levels; SLNs showed the potential to modulate the Rotenone-mediated increase in aS levels. In conclusion, our study investigated the potential of SLNs as a delivery system for addressing PD, also representing a promising approach for enhanced delivery of pharmaceutical and antioxidant molecules across the BBB.

Defects assisted the enhancement of optical and ferromagnetism in Zn1-xCoxS quantum dots: Toward efficient optoelectronic and spintronic applications

Colloidal Co-doped ZnS Quantum dots (QDs) were successfully synthesized through a facile and effective chemical co-precipitation method using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a capping agent. A comprehensive study on the structure, optoelectronic, and magnetic properties of ZnS: Co2+ QDs was thoroughly carried out using diverse characterization techniques. Transmission electron micrographs reveal spherical QDs with a mean particle size of 5 ± 0.5 nm, whereas the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Raman spectroscopy confirm the exclusive presence of cubic ZnS phase structure, without any signs of Co-related impurity phases. Energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis verifies the presence of only three elements: Zinc, Cobalt, and Sulphur, with nearly stoichiometric proportions. X-ray photoemission (XPS) analysis confirmed the presence of Co2+ ions in the divalent oxidation state as well as the fair existence of sulphur vacancies. Optical measurements demonstrate that Co-doping in ZnS leads to a decrease in the optical band gap owing to the presence of defects that create localized states within the band structure. In addition, the refractive index (n) is found to increase with Co-doping level due to the increase in the polarizability. The outcomes of optical properties reveal that the tunability of the optical band gap and dispersive oscillator parameters in Co-doped ZnS QDs results in an enhancement of the non-linear optical parameters, such as third-order non-linear optical susceptibility χ(3), and non-linear refractive index n2, rendering them well-suited for applications in optoelectronic devices. Furthermore, the room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra revealed that the Co-doped ZnS QDs have two broad emission bands, including the blue emission, and the green emission. By varying the level of Co-doping, it becomes possible to effectively control the relative PL intensities of dual-color emissions, highlighting their potential for producing adjustable color outputs. The room temperature ferromagnetic behaviour of the QDs has been observed and analyzed in accordance with the bound magnetic polarons model. These findings suggest that Co-doped ZnS QDs can be utilized effectively in the design of spintronic devices.