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Lutein is an oxygenated fat-soluble carotenoid and a functional compound with proven health benefits for the human body. Nevertheless, the poor water solubility and low oral bioavailability of lutein greatly limit its application. To address this, we developed an effective approach to enhance the water solubility of lutein through co-amorphous formulation. Specifically, the lutein-sucralose co-amorphous mixture was prepared at a molar ratio of 1:1 using ethanol and water as solvents by employing the solvent evaporation method, followed by solid-state characterization and dissolution testing conducted to assess the properties of the formulation. The X-ray diffraction pattern with an amorphous halo and the differential scanning calorimetry thermogram with no sharp melting peaks confirmed the formation of a binary co-amorphous system. Changes in peak shape, position, and intensity observed in the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum revealed intermolecular interactions between lutein and sucralose molecules, while molecular dynamics simulations identified interaction sites between their hydroxyl groups. Additionally, dissolution testing demonstrated better dissolution performance of lutein in the co-amorphous form compared to pure lutein and physical mixture counterparts. Our findings present a novel strategy for improving the water solubility of lutein to make better use of it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of nonprecious metal based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has received increasing attention over recent years. Previous studies have established Mo 2 C as a promising candidate. Nevertheless, its preparation requires high reaction temperature, which more than often causes particle sintering and results in low surface areas. In this study, we show supporting Mo 2 C nanoparticles on the three-dimensional scaffold as a possible solution to this challenge and develop a facile two-step preparation method for ∼3 nm Mo 2 C nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on carbon microflowers (Mo 2 C/NCF) via the self-polymerization of dopamine. The resulting hybrid material possesses large surface areas and a fully open and accessible structure with hierarchical order at different levels. MoO 4 2- was found to play an important role in inducing the formation of this morphology presumably via its strong chelating interaction with the catechol groups of dopamine. Our electrochemical evaluation demonstrates that Mo 2 C/NCF exhibits excellent HER electrocatalytic performance with low onset overpotentials, small Tafel slopes, and excellent cycling stability in both acidic and alkaline solutions.