Dynamic study of the synthesis of 1,1-dibutoxyethane in a fixed-bed adsorptive reactor

The synthesis of 1,1-Dibutoxyethane in a fixed-bed adsorptive reactor using Amberlyst 15 was studied for the first time. The adsorption of non-reactive pairs was investigated experimentally, at 25 °C, by frontal chromatography in a fixed-bed adsorber. In order to avoid the immiscibility of the liquid phase, the liquid-liquid equilibrium for the mixture 1-butanol/water was studied. The multicomponent equilibrium adsorption data was assumed to follow the modified Langmuir type isotherm. Reaction experiments of 1,1-Dibutoxyethane production and column regeneration were performed in the fixed-bed adsorptive reactor. This work will enable further developments in chromatographic reactors aiming at the 1,1-Dibutoxyethane process intensification

Towards first-principles based kinetic modeling of biomass fast pyrolysis

Biomass conversion to chemicals and fuels through fast pyrolysis shows great potential but requires a more fundamental approach for its deployment. To this end, molecular-based kinetic modeling is starting to play a central role in the prediction of the molecular composition of bio-oil. A molecular-level representation of biomass provides the start point for the generation of detailed pyrolysis reaction networks for both the condensed and the gas phases. Significant progress has been made for cellulose, glucose-based carbohydrates, and lignin, together with the incorporation of the catalytic effects of minerals. Ab initio techniques are widely used to discriminate between reaction mechanisms and to calculate kinetic parameters. Automatic kinetic model generation is expected to play an even more important role in fast pyrolysis as it does already today. Experimental techniques enabled to obtain intrinsic kinetics and to decouple the timescales between reaction kinetics and analytic techniques. This greatly benefits the improvement of detailed kinetic models. The prospects for achieving a first-principles based kinetic model of biomass fast pyrolysis are promising. However, significant work is still needed to couple condensed- and gas-phase reaction networks

Hot Melt Extrusion: Highlighting Physicochemical Factors to Be Investigated While Designing and Optimizing a Hot Melt Extrusion Process

Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is a well-accepted and extensively studied method for preparing numerous types of drug delivery systems and dosage forms. It offers several advantages: no solvents are required, it is easy to scale up and employ on the industrial level, and, in particular, it offers the possibility of improving drug bioavailability. HME involves the mixing of a drug with one or more excipients, in general polymers and even plasticizers, which can melt, often forming a solid dispersion of the drug in the polymer. The molten mass is extruded and cooled, giving rise to a solid material with designed properties. This process, which can be realized using different kinds of special equipment, may involve modifications in the drug physicochemical properties, such as chemical, thermal and mechanical characteristics thus affecting the drug physicochemical stability and bioavailability. During process optimization, the evaluation of the drug solid state and stability is thus of paramount importance to guarantee stable drug properties for the duration of the drug product shelf life. This manuscript reviews the most important physicochemical factors that should be investigated while designing and optimizing a hot melt extrusion process, and by extension, during the different pre-formulation, formulation and process, and post-formulation phases. It offers a comprehensive evaluation of the chemical and thermal stability of extrudates, the solid physical state of extrudates, possible drug-polymer interactions, the miscibility/solubility of the drug-polymer system, the rheological properties of extrudates, the physicomechanical properties of films produced by hot melt extrusion, and drug particle dissolution from extrudates. It draws upon the last ten years of research, extending inquiry as broadly as possible

How Water's Properties Are Encoded in Its Molecular Structure and Energies.

How are water's material properties encoded within the structure of the water molecule? This is pertinent to understanding Earth's living systems, its materials, its geochemistry and geophysics, and a broad spectrum of its industrial chemistry. Water has distinctive liquid and solid properties: It is highly cohesive. It has volumetric anomalies-water's solid (ice) floats on its liquid; pressure can melt the solid rather than freezing the liquid; heating can shrink the liquid. It has more solid phases than other materials. Its supercooled liquid has divergent thermodynamic response functions. Its glassy state is neither fragile nor strong. Its component ions-hydroxide and protons-diffuse much faster than other ions. Aqueous solvation of ions or oils entails large entropies and heat capacities. We review how these properties are encoded within water's molecular structure and energies, as understood from theories, simulations, and experiments. Like simpler liquids, water molecules are nearly spherical and interact with each other through van der Waals forces. Unlike simpler liquids, water's orientation-dependent hydrogen bonding leads to open tetrahedral cage-like structuring that contributes to its remarkable volumetric and thermal properties

A three-drug nanoscale drug delivery system designed for preferential lymphatic uptake for the treatment of metastatic melanoma

Metastatic melanoma has a high mortality rate due to lymphatic progression of the disease. Current treatment is surgery followed by radiation and intravenous chemotherapy. However, drawbacks for current chemotherapeutics lie in the fact that they develop resistance and do not achieve therapeutic concentrations in the lymphatic system. We hypothesize that a three-drug nanoscale drug delivery system, tailored for lymphatic uptake, administered subcutaneously, will have decreased drug resistance and therefore offer better therapeutic outcomes. We prepared and characterized nanoparticles (NPs) with docetaxel, everolimus, and LY294002 in polyethyleneglycol-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEG-PCL) polymer with different charge distributions by modifying the ratio of anionic and neutral end groups on the PEG block. These NPs are similarly sized (~48nm), with neutral, partially charged, or fully charged surface. The NPs are able to load ~2mg/mL of each drug and are stable for 24h. The NPs are assessed for safety and efficacy in two transgenic metastatic melanoma mouse models. All the NPs were safe in both models based on general appearance, weight changes, death, and blood biochemical analyses. The partially charged NPs are most effective in decreasing the number of melanocytes at both the proximal (sentinel) lymph node (LN) and the distal LN from the injection site. The neutral NPs are efficacious at the proximal LN, while the fully charged NPs have no effect on either LNs. Thus, our data indicates that the NP surface charge and lymphatic efficacy are closely tied to each other and the partially charged NPs have the highest potential in treating metastatic melanoma

Theory of chromatography and its application to cation exchange in soils.

Different types of solutions of the differential equation describing the process of cation exchange chromatography are compared and evaluated for their applicability to soil conditions. In cases where divalent cations replace monovalent ions, the exchange front assumes a stationary profile at an early stage which then yields an analytical solution provided a fairly simple exchange equation like that of Gapon or Vanselow is applicable. Where monovalent ions replace divalent ions, a non-stationary front arises, which is strongly dominated by the exchange equation. A good approximation of the front can be obtained by an analytical solution taking no account of diffusion or dispersion. Knowledge of the total electrolyte in the soil column is often the limiting factor in predicting the location and shape of the exchange front.[112.23.07]. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission

Production of large-particle-size monodisperse latexes

The research program achieved two objectives: (1) it has refined and extended the experimental techniques for preparing monodisperse latexes in quantity on the ground up to a particle diameter of 10 microns; and (2) it has demonstrated that a microgravity environment can be used to grow monodisperse latexes to larger sizes, where the limitations in size have yet to be defined. The experimental development of the monodisperse latex reactor (MLR) and the seeded emulsion polymerizations carried out in the laboratory prototype of the flight hardware, as a function of the operational parameters is discussed. The emphasis is directed towards the measurement, interpretation, and modeling of the kinetics of seeded emulsion polymerization and successive seeded emulsion polymerization. The recipe development of seeded emulsion polymerization as a function of particle size is discussed. The equilibrium swelling of latex particles with monomers was investigated both theoretically and experimentally. Extensive studies are reported on both the type and concentration of initiators, surfactants, and inhibitors, which eventually led to the development of the flight recipes. The experimental results of the flight experiments are discussed, as well as the experimental development of inhibition of seeded emulsion polymerization in terms of time of inhibition and the effect of inhibitors on the kinetics of polymerization

Recent Changes in Drug Abuse Scenario: The Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPS) Phenomenon

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