Efficacia di una terapia senza bendaggio con gel a base di trealosio ialuronato sodico carbomero, nella riparazione del danno corneale epiteliale di tipo meccanico vs terapia a base di pomata antibiotica oftalmica con bendaggio

Introduzione: la superficie oculare è una complessa unità funzionale, il cui normale funzionamento è regolato dal sistema nervoso, particolarmente espresso a livello corneale. Diverse patologie possono portare ad una alterazione della superficie oculare e tra queste le patologie traumatiche della superficie oculare. In caso di trauma lo scopo principale della terapia della superficie oculare è di riparare il danno epiteliale. L’effetto protettivo e riparativo di una formulazione in gel a base di trealosio/ialuronato sodico/carbomero può trovare una valida applicazione nei processi di riparazione di danno epiteliale. Scopo: valutare l’efficacia riparativa nei confronti del danno epiteliale di tipo meccanico, di una formulazione in gel a base di trealosio/ialuronato sodico/carbomero, senza bendaggio oculare in confronto ad una terapia topica antibiotica con bendaggio oculare. Materiali e metodi: studio osservazionale condotto su 262 pazienti afferiti presso la clinica Oculistica di Roma nel periodo maggio 2014 – giugno 2017 per una lesione corneale e/o corneo-congiuntivale di natura da corpo estraneo o per abrasione corneale traumatica. È stata ottenuta l’approvazione del Comitato Etico ed il consenso informato dei pazienti. Il primo gruppo era costituito da 158 pazienti sottoposti a rimozione di corpo estraneo corneale e trattati per 7 giorni con le seguenti modalità: 83 pazienti con una formulazione in gel a base di trealosio/ialuronato sodico/carbomero quattro volte al giorno senza bendaggio oculare; 75 pazienti con una terapia topica antibiotica quattro volte al giorno con bendaggio oculare. Il secondo gruppo costituito da 104 pazienti con abrasione corneale e trattati con le stesse modalità descritte nel primo gruppo di pazienti (50 vs 54 rispettivamente). Risultati: dopo 4 giorni di trattamento la percentuale di guarigione dei pazienti trattati con la formulazione in gel a base di trealosio/ialuronato sodico/carbomero rispetto ai pazienti trattati con terapia topica antibiotica era significativamente superiore in entrambi i gruppi (73% vs 32%; p<0,01 Gruppo 1) (78% vs 29%; p<0,01 Gruppo 2). La differenza si è mantenuta anche dopo 7 giorni di trattamento (98% vs 91%; p<0,01 Gruppo 1) (100% vs 87% Gruppo 2; p<0,01). Una differenza statisticamente significativa dopo 4 giorni di trattamento è stata riscontrata per i parametri soggettivi come dolore (0,22 vs 0,47; p<0,01 Gruppo 1) (0.1 vs 0.5; p<0,01 Gruppo 2), bruciore (0,23 vs 0,79; p<0,01 Gruppo 1) (0.1 vs 0.8; p<0,01 Gruppo 2) e sensazione di corpo estraneo (0,51 vs 1,37; p<0,01 Gruppo 1) (0.4 vs 1.8; p<0,01 gruppo 2). Conclusioni: la terapia con una formulazione in gel a base di trealosio/ialuronato sodico/carbomero senza bendaggio sembra una valida alternativa all’applicazione di pomata oftalmica antibiotica con bendaggio.Introduction: The ocular surface is a complex functional unit whose normal functions are regulated by the nervous system, particularly expressed at the corneal level. Various diseases, and also traumatic injuries, can lead to the alteration of the ocular surface. In case of trauma, the main purpose of ocular surface therapy is to repair the epithelial damage. A gel formulation based on trehalose/sodium hyaluronate/carbomer may represent a valid strategy to help the epithelial repair processes, thanks to its protective and repairing action. Aim: To evaluate the effect of a gel formulation based on trehalose/sodium hyaluronate/carbomer without eye patching compared to topical antibiotic therapy with eye patching, in recovering epithelial damage caused by mechanical injury. Materials and methods: An observational study involving 262 patients referred to the Ophthalmology Clinic in Rome between May 2014 and June 2017 for corneal and/or cornealconjunctival lesion caused by a foreign body or by traumatic corneal abrasion. Ethical approval was obtained , and only consenting subjects were involved. The first group involved 158 patients who underwent corneal foreign body removal and were treated for 7 days as follows: 83 patients received a gel formulation based on trehalose/sodium hyaluronate/carbomer four times a day, without occlusive eye patch; 75 patients were treated with topical antibiotic therapy four times a day and occlusive eye patch. The second group included 104 patients with corneal abrasion who underwent the same treatments described for the first group of patients (50 vs 54 patients, respectively). Results: After 4 days of treatment, the recovery rate was significantly higher in both groups of patients treated with the gel formulation based on trehalose/sodium hyaluronate/carbomer, compared to patients treated with topical antibiotic therapy (73% vs 32%, p<0.01; Group 1) (78% vs 29%, p<0.01; Group 2). The difference was maintained even after 7 days of treatment (98% vs 91%, p<0.01; Group 1) (100% vs 87%, p<0.01; Group 2). A statistically significant difference was found after 4 days of treatment in subjective parameters such as pain (0.22 vs 0.47, p<0.01; Group 1) (0.1 vs 0.5, p<0.01; Group 2), burning sensation (0.23 vs 0.79, p<0.01; Group 1) (0.1 vs 0.8, p<0.01; Group 2) and foreign body sensation (0.51 vs 1.37, p<0.01; Group 1) (0.4 vs 1.8, p<0.01; Group 2). Conclusions: Treatment with a gel formulation based on trehalose/sodium hyaluronate/carbomer without occlusive patch seems a valid alternative to the application of an antibiotic ophthalmic ointment and occlusive eye patching

An Experimental Study on Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) Bagasse and Corn (Zea mays L.) cob as a Potential Bio-adsorbent for Used Engine Oil

Oil pollution is one of the leading causes of detriment to water ecosystems. Bioadsorbents have been studied for oil cleanup potential, but mixed bio-adsorbents have not been thoroughly studied yet. Thus, this study investigated Sugarcane ( ) bagasse and Corn ( ) cobs, two of the most underutilized agricultural wastes, as bioadsorbents in their natural form. Five formulations were used, and used motor oil was utilized as the adsorbate. One gram of bio-adsorbent was used in a mixture of 3 grams of oil and 200 milliliters of water per trial. The oil sorption capacity (OSC) and water sorption amounts were collected to determine the efficiency in selectively adsorbing motor oil. Results showed that all formulations had similar oil sorption capacities, ranging from 288% to 298%, with pure bagasse (F1) having the highest and the formulation with a bagasse-cob mass ratio of 3:1 (F2) having the lowest. Statistical analysis posited that all group means for OSC are equal. Additionally, findings suggested that water sorption amount increases as the percentage by mass of bagasse in the formulation increases. F1 sorbed the most water with 5.80 grams, whereas the formulation with pure cobs (F5) sorbed the lowest with 2.09 grams, followed by the formulation with a bagasse-cob mass ratio of 1:3 (F4) with 3.22 grams. These results signified that not all mean water sorption amounts measured were equal, suggesting that formulations F4 and F5 are the most efficient in selectively absorbing oil

Synthesis of a novel series of Cu(I) complexes bearing alkylated 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane as homogeneous and carbon-supported catalysts for the synthesis of 1-and 2-substituted-1,2,3-triazoles

Funding Information: This research was funded by the Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, project UIDB/00100/2020 of the Centro de Qu?mica Estrutural, FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020) from Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry?LAQV, Scientific Employment Stimulus?Institutional Call (CEECINST/00102/2018) and by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program. I.L.L. acknowledges the FCT through the CATSUS PhD Program (PD/BD 135555/2018). A.G.M. was funded by Instituto Superior T?cnico, Portugal through the project CO2usE-1801P.00867.1.01 (contract no. IST-ID/263/2019). Funding Information: Funding: This research was funded by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, project UIDB/00100/2020 of the Centro de Química Estrutural, FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020) from Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry—LAQV, Scientific Employment Stimulus—Institutional Call (CEECINST/00102/2018) and by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program. I.L.L. acknowledges the FCT through the CATSUS PhD Program (PD/BD 135555/2018). A.G.M. was funded by Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal through the project CO2usE-1801P.00867.1.01 (contract no. IST-ID/263/2019). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.The N-alkylation of 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) with ortho-, meta-and para-substituted nitrobenzyl bromide under mild conditions afforded three hydrophilic PTA ammonium salts, which were used to obtain a new set of seven water-soluble copper(I) complexes. The new compounds were fully characterized and their catalytic activity was investigated for the low power microwave assisted one-pot azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction in homogeneous aqueous medium to obtain disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles. The most active catalysts were immobilized on activated carbon (AC), multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), as well as surface functionalized AC and CNT, with the most efficient support being the CNT treated with nitric acid and NaOH. In the presence of the immobilized catalyst, several 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles were obtained from the reaction of terminal alkynes, organic halides and sodium azide in moderate yields up to 80%. Furthermore, the catalyzed reaction of terminal alkynes, formaldehyde and sodium azide afforded 2-hydroxymethyl-2H-1,2,3-triazoles in high yields up to 99%. The immobilized catalyst can be recovered and recycled through simple workup steps and reused up to five consecutive cycles without a marked loss in activity. The described catalytic systems proceed with a broad substrate scope, under microwave irradiation in aqueous medium and according to “click rules”.publishersversionpublishe

The catalytic activity of carbon-supported Cu(I)-phosphine complexes for the microwave-assisted synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles

This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through project UIDB/00100/2020 of the Centro de Química Estrutural. It was also funded by national funds though FCT, under the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Institutional Call (CEECINST/ 00102/2018). We also acknowledge the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry—LAQV financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020). I.L.L. is grateful to the CATSUS Ph.D. Program for her grant (PD/BD 135555/2018). AGM is grateful to Instituto Superior Técnico, Portugal for his post-doctoral fellowship through the project CO2usE-1801P.00867.1.01 (Contract No. IST-ID/263/2019). It was also supported by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program.A set of Cu(I) complexes with 3,7-diacetyl-1,3,7-triaza-5-phosphabicyclo-[3.3.1]nonane (DAPTA) phosphine ligands viz. [CuX(κP-DAPTA)3] (1: X = Br; 2: X = I) and [Cu(µ-X)((κP-DAPTA)2]2 (3: X = Br; 4: X = I) were immobilized on activated carbon (AC) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), as well as on these materials after surface functionalization. The immobilized copper(I) complexes have shown favorable catalytic activity for the one-pot, microwave-assisted synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles via the azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC). The heterogenized systems with a copper loading of only 1.5-1.6% (w/w relative to carbon), established quantitative conversions after 15 min, at 80 °C, using 0.5 mol% of catalyst loading (relative to benzyl bromide). The most efficient supports concerning heterogenization were CNT treated with nitric acid and NaOH, and involving complexes 2 and 4 (in the same order, 2_CNT-ox-Na and 4_CNT-ox-Na). The immobilized catalysts can be recovered and recycled by simple workup and reused up to four consecutive cycles although with loss of activity.publishersversionpublishe

Heterogeneous gold nanoparticle-based catalysts for the synthesis of click-derived triazoles via the azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction

PD/BD 135555/2018 IST-ID/263/2019A supported gold nanoparticle-catalyzed strategy has been utilized to promote a click chemistry reaction for the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles via the azide-alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) reaction. While the advent of effective non-copper catalysts (i.e., Ru, Ag, Ir) has demonstrated the catalysis of the AAC reaction, additional robust catalytic systems complementary to the copper catalyzed AAC remain in high demand. Herein, Au nanoparticles supported on Al2 O3, Fe2 O3, TiO2 and ZnO, along with gold reference catalysts (gold on carbon and gold on titania supplied by the World Gold Council) were used as catalysts for the AAC reaction. The supported Au nanoparticles with metal loadings of 0.7–1.6% (w/w relative to support) were able to selectively obtain 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazoles in moderate yields up to 79% after 15 min, under microwave irradiation at 150◦ C using a 0.5–1.0 mol% catalyst loading through a one-pot three-component (terminal alkyne, organohalide and sodium azide) procedure according to the “click” rules. Among the supported Au catalysts, Au/TiO2 gave the best results.publishersversionpublishe

cyclohexane oxidation in homogeneous and carbon-supported catalysis

The authors are grateful for the Financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, through project UIDB/00100/2020 of Centro de Quίmica Estrutural. The work was also funded by national funds through FCT, under the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Institutional Call (CEEC-INST/00102/2018). We also acknowledge the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry – LAQV financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/5006/2020) and Base-UIDB/50020/ 2020 and Programmatic-UIDP/50020/2020 funding of the Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM. I. L. L. acknowledges the CATSUS Ph.D. Program from FCT for her grant PD/BD/135555/2018. A. P. is grateful to FCT and Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Portugal through DL/57/2017 (Contract no. IST-ID/197/2019). AGM is grateful to Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para Investigação e Desenvolvimento for his post-doctoral fellowship through grant no. BL133/2021-IST-ID. This publication is also supported by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program (recipient AJLP, preparation). A. V. G. thanks FCT, Instituto Superior Técnico (DL 57/2016, L 57/2017 and CEEC Institutional 2018 Programs, Contract no: IST-ID/110/2018) and Baku State University for financial support. The authors also acknowledge the Portuguese NMR Network (IST-UL Centre) for access to the NMR facility. CFGCG thanks the FCT for funding the Coimbra Chemistry Centre through the programmes UIDB/00313/2020 and UIDP/00313/2020, also co-founded by FEDER/ COMPETE 2020-EU. The authors are also thankful to Benjoe Rey B. Visayas (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth) for the help with the graphics.In accordance with UN's Sustainable Development Goal (UN's SDG) 12 which encompasses the sustainable use of chemical products and a sound circular economy, this work is focused on the synthesis of Co(II), Ni(II) and Mn(II) complexes bearing combined 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane and benzyl terpyridine core moieties (PTA–Bztpy) as ligand, followed by their evaluation as catalysts for the microwave-assisted cyclohexane oxidation using tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant. The most active catalyst, with a manganese metal center, was heterogenized on six different carbon materials. The results disclosed the influence of several reaction parameters, such as catalyst loading, temperature, reaction time and solvent, on the catalytic activity and selectivity of the homogeneous and carbon-supported catalysts. Recyclability of the carbon-supported catalyst allowed facile separations, recovery and reuse for five consecutive cycles.publishersversionpublishe

Novel organotin-PTA complexes supported on mesoporous carbon materials as recyclable catalysts for solvent-free cyanosilylation of aldehydes

The work was also funded by national funds through FCT, under the Scientific Employment Stimulus-Institutional Call (CEEC-INST/00102/2018). AGM is grateful to Associação do Instituto Superior Técnico para a Investigação e Desenvolvimento ( IST-ID ) for his post-doctoral fellowship through grant no. BL133/2021-IST-ID . AP and AMF are grateful to FCT and Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), Portugal through DL/57/2017 (Contract no. IST-ID/197/2019 and IST-ID/131/2018). This publication is also supported by the RUDN University Strategic Academic Leadership Program (recipient AJLP, preparation). The authors also acknowledge the Portuguese NMR Network (IST-UL Centre) for access to the NMR facility. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Elsevier B.V.New organotin compounds with general formula [(PTA-CH2-C6H4-p-COO)SnR3]Br (where R is Me for 3 and Ph for 4; PTA = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane), bearing the methylene benzoate PTA derivative, were synthesized through a mild two-step process. The compounds were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, elemental analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). They were heterogenized on commercially available activated carbon (AC) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT), as well as on their chemically modified analogues. The obtained materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Complex 3 supported on activated carbon (3-AC) was found to be an active and recyclable catalyst for the cyanosilylation of several aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes. Using 3-AC with a low loading of 0.1 mol% several substrates were quantitatively converted, within just 5 min at 50 °C and under microwave irradiation in solvent-free conditions. Multinuclear NMR analysis suggested a mechanism that potentially involves a double activation process, where the nucleophilic phosphorus at the PTA derivative acts as a Lewis base and the Sn(IV) metal centre as a Lewis acid.publishersversionpublishe

Preliminary Findings of the Role of FAPi in Prostate Cancer Theranostics

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths among men. Progress in molecular imaging has magnified its clinical management; however, an unmet clinical need involves the identification of new imaging biomarkers that complement the gold standard of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron emission tomography (PET) in cases of clinically significant PCa that do not express PSMA. Fibroblast activation protein (FAP) is a type II transmembrane serine overexpressed in many solid cancers that can be imaged through quinoline-based PET tracers derived from an FAP inhibitor (FAPi). Preliminary results of FAPi application in PCa (in PSMA-negative lesions, and in comparison with fluorodeoxyglucose-FDG) are now available in the literature. FAP-targeting ligands for PCa are not limited to detection, but could also include therapeutic applications. In this preliminary review, we provide an overview of the clinical applications of FAPi ligands in PCa, summarising the main results and highlighting contemporary strengths and limitations