Mitoxantrone removal by electrochemical method: A comparison of homogenous and heterogenous catalytic reactions

Background: Mitoxantrone (MXT) is a drug for cancer therapy and a hazardous pharmaceutical to the environment which must be removed from contaminated waste streams. In this work, the removal of MXT by the electro-Fenton process over heterogeneous and homogenous catalysts is reported. Methods: The effects of the operational conditions (reaction medium pH, catalyst concentration and utilized current intensity) were studied. The applied electrodes were carbon cloth (CC) without any processing (homogenous process), graphene oxide (GO) coated carbon cloth (GO/CC) (homogenous process) and Fe3O4@GO nanocomposite coated carbon cloth (Fe3O4@GO/CC) (heterogeneous process). The characteristic properties of the electrodes were determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and cathode polarization. MXT concentrations were determined by using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometer. Results: In a homogenous reaction, the high concentration of Fe catalyst (>0.2 mM) decreased the MXT degradation rate. The results showed that the Fe3O4@GO/CC electrode included the most contact surface. The optimum operational conditions were pH 3.0 and current intensity of 450 mA which resulted in the highest removal efficiency (96.9%) over Fe3O4@GO/CC electrode in the heterogeneous process compared with the other two electrodes in a homogenous process. The kinetics of the MXT degradation was obtained as a pseudo-first order reaction. Conclusion: The results confirmed the high potential of the developed method to purify contaminated wastewaters by MXT

Evaluation of the saponin green extraction from Ziziphus spina-christi leaves using hydrothermal, microwave and Bain-Marie water bath heating methods

Saponin as a biosurfactant was extracted from Iranian Ziziphus spina-christi leaves using three green extraction methods namely, autoclave, microwave and Bain-Marie heating methods. In this study, three solvents namely, methanol, ethanol and water were used to extract saponin. The results revealed that water, as compared to the methanol and ethanol, is a more suitable solvent to extract saponin from the Z. spina-christi leaves. The obtained results indicated that saponin extraction using autoclave provided more suitable physico-chemical properties along with a better yield. In fact, maximum foam volume (12.56 cm3), color intensity (3.24% absorbance unit [a.u.]) and turbidity (1.39% a.u.) of the extracted solutions was obtained by the autoclave heating method. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) results also illustrated that the amounts of extracted saponin using autoclave, Bain-Marie and microwave heating extraction methods were 14, 8.8 and 1.3 (intensity mV), respectively. The results obtained by HPLC were reconfirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis

Assessment of Oxaliplatin-Loaded Iodine Nanoparticles for Chemoradiotherapy of Human Colorectal Cancer (HT-29) Cells

Colorectal cancer is highly prevalent worldwide and has significant morbidity and mortality in humans. High-atomic-number nanoparticles such as iodine can act as X-rays absorbers to increase the local dose. The synthesis and fabrication of oxaliplatin-loaded iodine nanoparticles, their characterization, cell toxicity, radiosensitivity, cell apoptosis, and cell cycle assay in human colorectal cancer (HT-29) cells are investigated. Results show that the synthesis of a new iodine nanoparticle, polymerized triiodobenzene coated with chitosan and combined with oxaliplatin as a chemotherapeutic drug, performed well in vitro in an intracellular radiosensitizer as chemoradiotherapy agent in HT-29 cell lines. Findings also show that the INPs alone have no impact on cell cycle development and apoptosis. In contrast, oxaliplatin-loaded INPs along with 2 and 6 MV radiation doses produced more apoptosis. The interaction of INPs with mega-voltage photon energies is the cause of a major radiosensitization enhancement in comparison to radiation alone. Furthermore, results show that INPs may work as radiosensitization nanoprobe agents in the treatment of HT-29 cells due to their effect on increasing radiation dose absorption. Overall, iodine nanoparticles may be used in the treatment of colorectal cancers in clinical studies

Fe₃O₄ Nanoparticles in Combination with 5-FU Exert Antitumor Effects Superior to Those of the Active Drug in a Colon Cancer Cell Model

(1) Background: Colon cancer is one of the most common cancer types, and treatment options, unfortunately, do not continually improve the survival rate of patients. With the unprecedented development of nanotechnologies, nanomedicine has become a significant direction in cancer research. Indeed, chemotherapeutics with nanoparticles (NPs) in cancer treatment is an outstanding new treatment principle. (2) Methods: Fe3O4 NPs were synthesized and characterized. Caco-2 colon cancer cells were treated during two different periods (24 and 72 h) with Fe3O4 NPs (6 μg/mL), various concentrations of 5-FU (4–16 μg/mL), and Fe3O4 NPs in combination with 5-FU (4–16 μg/mL) (Fe3O4 NPs + 5-FU). (3) Results: The MTT assay showed that treating the cells with Fe3O4 NPs + 5-FU at 16 µg/mL for 24 or 72 h decreased cell viability and increased their LDH release (p p p p p p 3O4-NPs + 5-FU, the IL-10 gene was downregulated and PTEN gene expression was upregulated (p p 3O4 NPs exert a synergistic cytotoxic effect with 5-FU on Caco-2 cells at concentrations below the active drug threshold levels