Solvent-free engineering of a co-amorphous efavirenz-ritonavir system by hot-melt extrusion: Solid-state stabilisation and improved bioavailability.

Efficient conjugation of chelator agents to IgG and accurate colorimetric determination of the chelator-to-IgG molar ratio.

Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction using a choline chloride-lactic acid green solvent for gingerbread sample preparation before elemental analysis by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.

One-part geopolymer concrete (GPC) offers a safer and more sustainable alternative to conventional alkali activation by eliminating hazardous liquid alkaline solutions. This study presents a novel thermochemical approach for synthesising a dry alkaline activator (DA) using waste glass powder (WGP). The effects of SiO 2 /Na 2 O molar ratio (Ms = 0.5, 1.5, 2.5), activation temperature (T of 150 to 350 °C), duration (t of 1 to 3 h), and water dosage (w of 0 to 10%) were investigated using a Taguchi design of experiments. FTIR and SEM-EDS analyses confirmed sodium silicate formation, with optimum efficiency (80%) achieved at Ms = 1.5, 150 °C, 2 h, and 10% water. This optimised DA was used to produce one-part geopolymer (GP) composite mixes at different DA/binder ratios (0.3–0.5), which were tested for rheological, mechanical, and microstructural properties. Rheological characterisation revealed shear-thinning behaviour with elastic-dominant viscoelasticity. Compressive strength increased with activator dosage, reaching up to 24.5 MPa after 28 days, under heat curing for 24 hours, surpassing that of liquid-activated GPC. Sustainability analysis revealed up to 68% CO 2 and 57% cost reduction compared with conventional GPC. Overall, the findings demonstrate the feasibility of waste-glass-based dry activators as a cleaner, safer, and economically viable alternative for scalable one-part GP production aligned with circular economy principles.

Coupling effect of phytoplankton community structure and nitrogen factors in estuary of Bohai Bay and its adjacent coastal waters.

Insights into the behavior and mechanism of K retention governed by Si-Al network structure during biomass thermal conversion.

Agronomic biofortification of durum wheat with selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) represents a promising strategy to combat micronutrient deficiencies in human populations relying on cereal-based diets. This study evaluated the effectiveness of soil Zn application (S0Zn: no application; S50Zn: 50 kg of ZnSO4·7H2O ha− 1) and foliar applications of Se and Zn (0 F: no application; ZnF: two applications of 4 kg ZnSO4·7H2O ha− 1; SeF: 10 g Na2SeO4 ha− 1; ZnF + SeF: combined ZnF and SeF) on nutrient accumulation and yield in durum wheat semolina and pasta under Mediterranean rainfed conditions over two growing seasons. Semolina and pasta were analyzed for nutrient concentrations, phytic acid content, and indices of Zn bioavailability, including phytic acid–Zn molar ratios and modelled fractional and total absorbed Zn (FAZ and TAZ). Foliar treatments significantly increased Zn and Se concentrations in both semolina and pasta, with the combined Zn + Se treatment reaching 36.7 mg Zn kg⁻¹ and 43.1 µg Se kg⁻¹ in semolina and 32.7 mg Zn kg⁻¹ and 41.6 µg Se kg⁻¹ in pasta. These treatments also reduced PA: Zn ratios and increased estimated Zn absorption, while improving semolina yield by up to 4%. Processing from grain to semolina and pasta resulted in moderate but consistent micronutrient losses, with retention rates ranging from 66 to 74%. Overall, combined foliar application of Zn and Se proved to be an effective strategy to improve the nutritional quality of durum wheat-derived products under Mediterranean conditions.

Simultaneous removal of Se(IV) and Cr(VI) from acidic wastewater using a Se(IV)-reducing internal circulation reactor: performance and microbial resistance mechanisms.

This study investigates the performance of a sequencing batch electro-membrane bioreactor (SB-EMBR) operated under low electric charge loading (39.9 mAh L⁻1), focusing on the effects of aeration intensity on treatment performance, biomass activity, and membrane fouling. The reactor was operated at a current density of 10 A m-2 and three specific aeration demand levels (SADₘ = 0.48, 0.24, and 0.12 m3m⁻2h⁻1). Organic matter and phosphorus removals remained consistently high (> 90% COD removal; TP < 1.0mg L⁻1) regardless of aeration intensity. In contrast, ammonium removal efficiency declined from 99.5 to 74.7% as the SADₘ decreased from 0.48 to 0.12 m3m⁻2h⁻1. Batch assays revealed reduced activity of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms under oxygen-limited conditions. The pronounced decrease in the P-release/COD-uptake ratio from 0.172 to 0.0164mol P mol⁻1 C indicates that TP removal at low dissolved oxygen became predominantly governed by chemical coagulation rather than the biological phosphorus removal process. The calculated Al/P molar ratio of 2.32mol Al mol⁻1 P was sufficient to sustain phosphorus removal through both precipitation and adsorption onto aluminum hydroxides. Reduced aeration favored anoxic phosphorus uptake, increasing the denitrifying phosphate assimilation potential from 18 to 41%. The membrane fouling rate increased from 1.02 to 4.81kPa d⁻1 as aeration decreased, mainly due to diminished shear forces, soluble microbial products accumulation (+ 205%), floc size reduction (- 50.1%), and higher capillary suction time (+ 123%). Owing to the short current application (1.6h d⁻1), the additional electrocoagulation cost was only 0.07 USD m⁻3, lower than values reported for continuous-flow EMBRs. Overall, operation of the SB-EMBR under reduced electric charge loading demonstrated promising energy efficiency while maintaining stable and satisfactory pollutant removal even at low aeration intensities.

Toxic and carcinogenic aromatic amines (AAs) can accumulate in the environment and food matrices, posing a serious threat to human health. Therefore, the development of novel adsorbents with high affinity and sensitive analytical methods for trace AA detection is urgently needed. A series of defected MIL-101(Cr) materials, denoted as DMIL-101(Cr)-x (x = 0.5, 1, 5, or 10, corresponding to the molar ratio of p-fluorobenzoic acid (p-FBA) to chromium(III) nitrate nonahydrate (Cr(NO3)3·9H2O)), were synthesized for the first time using p-FBA as a modulator. Increasing modulator dosage significantly affected the crystallization kinetics and particle morphology, producing materials with enhanced intrinsic microporosity and abundant surface defect sites. Among them, DMIL-101(Cr)-1 showed the highest equilibrium uptake for four AAs under screening conditions (C0 = 50 mg L-1), with capacities 1.29-2.06 times higher than those of pristine MIL-101(Cr). For 4-chloroaniline, the equilibrium adsorption capacity reached 36.36 mg g-1, while Langmuir fitting gave a maximum monolayer capacity of 128.35 mg g-1. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicated that adsorption was mainly driven by coordination interactions between open metal sites and aromatic rings, with additional contributions from hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking. A dispersive solid-phase extraction method coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was further developed for efficient extraction and determination of trace AAs in agricultural products. DMIL-101(Cr)-1 is a promising adsorbent for the efficient removal, extraction, and determination of AAs, showing strong potential for food safety monitoring. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

The contamination of aquatic environments by pharmaceuticals is a critical global concern, as a consequence of their persistence, bioaccumulation, and adverse effects on ecosystems and public health. To effectively mitigate this issue, it is essential to adopt a preventive approach based on regular monitoring of contaminants. Hence, this study reports the optimization of a green synthesis of silver selenide (AgxSe) quantum dots (QDs) as efficient signal amplifiers via surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopy. The QDs synthesis was performed in water using glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid as the stabilizing and reducing agent, respectively. The synthesis procedure was optimized using a Box-Behnken multivariate design approach, identifying critical parameters that influence the resulting optical response. AgxSe-GSH QDs exhibited an emission maximum around 700nm and an average diameter of 6nm. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) confirmed the expected presence and molar proportion of Ag and Se in the non-stoichiometric molar ratio of Ag:Se 7:1. Venlafaxine (VEN) was selected as a model pharmaceutical to evaluate QDs performance in SEIRA following two deposition strategies: (i) layered deposition (LD) and (ii) mixed deposition (MD). The following SEIRA experiments comparing MD and LD QDs resulted in more repeatable signals for the MD-QDs with IR signal amplification of up to 38-fold. The lowest detectable VEN concentration via SEIRA was 0.113mmolL-1, demonstrating the potential of SEIRA, augmented by AgxSe QDs, for monitoring pharmaceutical contaminants in aqueous matrices.

Plant-based antioxidants are widely incorporated into foods to retard oxidative deterioration and to deliver health-related benefits. Yet, their in-product and in vivo performance frequently diverges from predictions based on solution-phase chemical assays, because matrix interactions, processing history, and host metabolism reshape both stability and bioactivity. This review integrates molecular mechanisms, structure-activity relationships (SARs), and degradation kinetics with food-matrix and human-relevance considerations to explain when, where, and how plant-based antioxidants act. Evidence is collated across polyphenols, carotenoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols, and selected alkaloids, linking hydrogen-atom, single-electron, and proton-coupled transfer pathways. Together, with those evidences, transition-metal chelation, interactions with proteins and polysaccharides, interfacial partitioning in emulsions, and metal-catalyzed oxidation are discussed. The influence of conventional and emerging processing, storage, and delivery systems (Pickering and double emulsions, spray drying/chilling, complex coacervation, ionic gelation) on antioxidant stability, localization, and bioaccessibility is also examined. Across systems, efficacy is governed less by intrinsic reactivity or nominal polarity than by effective interfacial concentration, partitioning behavior, and metal management. Encapsulation, when matched to matrix and process, improves antioxidant retention. Combinations of antioxidants may act cooperatively under one set of conditions and become antagonistic, or even pro-oxidant, under high oxygen availability or at suboptimal molar ratios. In this review, solution-phase rankings (DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, ORAC) are interpreted as descriptors of intrinsic reactivity. They cannot, on their own, predict performance in real food matrices or the post-digestion metabolite pool reaching systemic circulation. Effective use of plant antioxidants in foods therefore requires that formulation choices be informed by interfacial kinetics, food-component interactions during digestion, gut-microbiota metabotypes, and biomarker-validated estimates of dietary intake.

Elemental analysis of wild Japanese cormorants captured for Ukai fishing in Ishihama coast, Hitachi City, Japan.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of different surface modifications of activated carbon: genipin (GAC), iminodiacetic acid associated with metal particles (MAC), and the combination of genipin with metal particles (GMAC). For the immobilization of two lipases (porcine pancreatic lipase - PPL and Candida rugosa lipase - CRL). In addition, the applicability of the resulting biocatalysts was investigated using ethyl lactate synthesis as a model esterification reaction (40°C/4h, with a 1:3 molar ratio of lactic acid to ethanol). All adsorbents showed immobilization yield higher than 87%, with metalized activated carbons exhibiting the highest hydrolytic activities for both immobilized enzymes (48.1 U for PPL and 51.6 U for CRL). The immobilized derivatives achieved ethyl lactate conversions above 90% for both enzymes, with PPL GMAC reaching 94.2%, comparable to the native enzyme (94.9%). Moreover, the derivatives-maintained ester conversions above 80% after five consecutive reaction cycles under organic reaction conditions (GMAC 85.8% for PPL; GMAC 88.1% for CRL), indicating that the immobilization strategy effectively reduced enzyme desorption while preserving catalytic activity. Therefore, the synthesized derivatives demonstrated potential as reusable biocatalysts for the production of industrially important ester compounds, contributing to the development of more sustainable biotechnological processes.

Heterogeneous photocatalytic CO2 reduction provides a promising route for syngas production. However, high reaction energy barriers and inefficient charge separation and transfer hinder the surface CO2 reduction. Herein, on a covalent organic framework (COF) based catalyst, through the enhanced photoelectron transfer efficiency by introduction of N atoms, also the increased electron density of the Co (II) site with two negative one-valent bidentate ligands, we achieved both ultrahigh syngas production rate and high H2/CO molar ratio. The best catalyst in this work: Triazine-COF-Co-SA enabled a record-high syngas production rate with high H2/CO molar ratio (≥2) of 698.7mmol g-1 h-1. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (fs-TAS), in situ infrared spectroscopy (In situ IR) and theoretical calculation indicated that N introduction to the framework and active site electron density increasing were effective for the previous challenges. On Triazine-COF-Co-SA, the energy barrier was lowered from 1.90 to 0.54eV, also fs-TAS showed an obvious τ4 = 1.5ns which represented a higher charge transfer efficiency. This study shows great potential for catalyst modification on COF-based catalysts to enhance CO2 photoreduction capability.

Graphene Quantum Dots-Bridged Fe-Ce Bimetallic Aerogel Catalyst for Efficient Alkaline Fenton Removal of Three Nitrogen Species (NH3-N, NO3--N, and NO2--N).

Valorization of glycerol via continuous etherification with ethanol: Thermodynamic modeling and process optimization.

Ethyl acetate is among the most widely utilized and produced compounds in the chemical industry, serving as a key solvent in coatings, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and various synthesis processes. Its production typically occurs through the esterification of acetic acid with ethanol, a reaction that is both exothermic and reversible. These characteristics make the control of operating conditions critically important for achieving high conversion rates and minimizing energy consumption. In this study, the optimization of two primary operating parameters, reactant ratio and temperature, was undertaken to enhance the conversion of ethyl acetate. Simulation results revealed that the optimal conditions were achieved with a reactant mole ratio of 3:1 at a temperature of 135.7 °C, resulting in an ethyl acetate conversion of 97.21%. These findings underscore the significance of systematic parameter optimization in improving process efficiency, reducing costs, and supporting sustainable production practices within the chemical industry. Copyright © 2026 by Authors, Published by Universitas Diponegoro and BCREC Publishing Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

With the rapid development of nuclear energy, achieving efficient and highly selective separation of TcO4- from acidic nuclear wastewater has become an urgent challenge. In this context, three amine-triamide ligands were selected to investigate the effect of ligand structure on the extraction performance toward TcO4-/ReO4-. Among them, the short-chain ethyl-substituted ligand N,N-diethyl-N',N',N″,N″-tetraoctylnitrilotriacetamide (LI) exhibited superior extractability and selectivity for TcO4-/ReO4- anions in dilute nitric acid solution compared to the long-chain butyl-substituted (LII) and octyl-substituted (LIII), using n-dodecane as the diluent. The study of the relationship between ligand structure and extraction performance revealed that the overall extraction performance of amine-triamide ligands─including loading capacity, extraction efficiency, and selectivity─is governed by a combination of steric hindrance and lipophilicity. Remarkably, even at a NO3-/ReO4- molar ratio as high as 1000:1, ligand LI maintained a DRe value of 3.5 with negligible coextraction of coexisting cations, outperforming most functional adsorbents reported to date. Slope analysis and loading capacity tests indicated the formation of a 1:1 extracted complex between the amine-triamide ligand and TcO4-/ReO4-. Furthermore, characterization by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed that the extraction proceeds via an anion-exchange mechanism.

Removal of ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) from real latex concentrate wastewater using struvite precipitation was investigated. The effect of two operational factors, namely pH and molar ratios for Mg2+:NH4+ and PO43-:NH4+, on struvite formation was investigated. The results revealed that external dosages of Mg2+ and PO43- were required to induce struvite precipitation. Highest NH4+-N removal of 81.7% can be achieved at an optimum pH of 9.5 and Mg2+:NH4+:PO43- molar ratios of 1.4:1:1.4. However, struvite precipitation also showed insignificant chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal. Thereby, an investigation on the incorporation of biological treatment with struvite precipitation in a sequential operation was conducted. The results showed that overall removal efficiencies of 93.1% for COD and 95.8% for NH4+-N were achieved in the sequence of biological treatment - struvite precipitation. This study indicates that the combination of biological methods and struvite precipitation is a feasible treatment option to remove both COD and NH4+ from latex concentrate wastewater.