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d-limonene nanoemulsion (NE) previously showed satisfactory potential for storage stability and might be a safety carrier for transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDSs). Curcumin has been widely studied for health promotion, food safety, and functions. This study evaluated the application of d-limonene NE carrier for curcumin embedding and the transdermal absorption effect. Results revealed that the droplet size of curcumin NE affected the cumulative concentration of transdermal absorption following the descending order of hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) 11 > 8 > 5 > 3 > microemulsion (p

This research aims to deduce new simple empirical equations for applying Griffin's method for the Hydrophilic–Lipophilic Balance (HLB) to calculate the percentages of three to five emulsifiers used as an emulsifier mixture to form a stable emulsion. To achieve this aim, various types of oils, emulsifiers, and other additives (i.e. corrosion inhibitor and biocide) were used in emulsions formation for use in various purposes such as cosmetic chemistry, metalworking fluid (MWF), and emulsion polymerization fields. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) was used to measure the change of droplet size with time to assess the stability of emulsions. The emulsifiers were chosen based on their physical properties, chemical structure, and HLB value. The use of the deduced equations was restricted to the chemical structure and the HLB values of the emulsifiers used, the required HLB (RHLB) values of the oil and oil mixtures used, and the synergy in chemical structure between the hydrocarbon chain of oil(s) and the lipophilic moiety of the emulsifiers used. The results demonstrated that increasing the number of emulsifiers for a mixture of more than two emulsifiers increased the stability of the emulsion formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compatibility of poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDO) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is very important when they are blended. Herein, three kinds of snowman‐like Janus particles (JPs) with different hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) were prepared by one‐pot method by adjusting the surficial functional groups of polystyrene (PS) side and used as the compatibilizer of PPDO/PLA composites. JPs self‐assemble at the cell‐structure PPDO/PLA interface, which provides channels for the migration of PPDO. The silica (SiO2) side forms hydrogen bond with PLA, and the PS side forms hydrophobic action with PPDO. Therefore, JPs improve interfacial adhesion and suppress phase separation. Among the three JPs, silica@polystyrene‐graft‐polymethylmethacrylate (SiO2@PS‐PMMA) possesses the most excellent interfacial behavior because its HLB value is similar to that of PPDO/PLA composites. Tensile strength was increased from the original 14.59 MPa to the maximum 24.18 MPa at 1.5 phr of SiO2@PS‐PMMA JPs, and the elongation at break increased from 39% to 203%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nitrogen oxide (NOx) release of diesel engines can be reduced using water in diesel emulsion fuel without any engine modification. In the present paper, different formulations of water in diesel emulsion fuels were prepared by ultrasonic irradiation. The water droplet size in the emulsion, polydisperisty index, and the stability of prepared fuel was examined, experimentally. Afterwards, the performance characteristics and exhaust emission of a single cylinder air-cooled diesel engine were investigated using different water in diesel emulsion fuels. The effect of water content (in the range of 5%–10% by volume), surfactant content (in the range of 0.5%–2% by volume), and hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) (in the range of 5–8) was examined using Box-Behnken design (BBD) as a subset of response surface methodology (RSM). Considering multi-objective optimization, the best formulation for the emulsion fuel was found to be 5% water, 2% surfactant, and HLB of 6.8. A comparison was made between the best emulsion fuel and the neat diesel fuel for engine performance and emission characteristics. A considerable decrease in the nitrogen oxide emission (−18.24%) was observed for the best emulsion fuel compared to neat diesel fuel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract The design and synthesis of amphiphiles with varying hydrophobicity both in the spacer unit as well as at the terminal hydrophobic moiety have been demonstrated. Variation of the spacer moiety by changing the alkyl chain length (C0, C2, C6 to C11 and phenyl) and aromatic substitution having pyrene as terminal hydrophobic unit led to the formation of only vesicle in water and 2:1 v/v, DMSO-water. In contrary, transition in the morphology of self-aggregates from vesicle to fused-vesicle to gel fibril network was observed upon alteration in the hydrophobic end of amphiphile from pyrene to naphthyl to C16 alkyl chain. Abstract Hypothesis With increasing surge in the development of supramolecular self-assemblies, it is crucial to predict the influence of amphiphilic segment in dictating the morphology of self-aggregates. This article reports the design and synthesis of low molecular weight amphiphiles with varying hydrophobicity both in the spacer unit and at the terminal moiety. Experiments Hydrophobicity at the spacer moiety was modulated by altering alkyl chain length and by inclusion of aromatic ring and the same was changed at hydrophobic terminal using pyrene, naphthalene, n -hexadecane having 2-aminopyridine as polar head. Microscopy and spectroscopy were used to investigate the morphologies of self-aggregated amphiphiles. Findings Variation of hydrophobicity of the spacer moiety either by changing the alkyl chain length (C0, C2, C6, C11 and phenyl ring) having pyrene as terminal hydrophobic unit led to the formation of only spherical vesicles in respective solvent system. Morphological transformation of self-aggregates from vesicle to fused-vesicle to gel was observed in DMSO-water upon alteration in the hydrophobic end of amphiphile from pyrene to naphthyl to C16 alkyl chain having C6 alkyl chain as spacer. Hence, the hydrophobicity at the terminal of the amphiphile has the predominant role in tuning the morphology of self-aggregates through modulation in the hydrophobic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of amphiphiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, seven new non-ionic demulsifiers using different units of ethylene oxide (EO) and propylene oxide (PO) were synthesised. The chemical structure of the prepared demulsifiers was confirmed using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy and1HNMR spectroscopy. The effect of demulsifier concentrations and water loading percentage on demulsification performance were assessed at a temperature of 45°C. Effect of (EO) content, hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) and relative solubility number (RSN) on the demulsifiers’ performance were investigated. Also, the kinematics of the demulsification process was photographed with an optical polarising microscope. The obtained results show that the maximum demulsification efficiency by L9 at concentration 800 ppm, water content 50%, 120 min and 45°C was 85%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), an organosulfur compound in cruciferous vegetables, is a natural antimicrobial and potential chemopreventive agent. However, the instability of AITC in aqueous systems restrains its applications. In this study, oil-in-water AITC nanoemulsion was prepared by the emulsion inversion point (EIP) method, aiming at improving the aqueous stability of AITC. The optimal hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB op ) value of surfactants containing Tween 80 and Span 80 was established at 11.0–13.0, yielding nanodroplets with diameters of 137–215 nm. The mechanism of droplet formation within the HLP op region was discussed in terms of the possible structure of adsorbed surfactant layers at the oil–water interface in multiple emulsion droplets. In a 6.5-month storage test, the droplet sizes and the count rates (intensity of scattered light) of nanoemulsions decreased only slightly by 4–13% (depending on surfactant-to-oil ratio), even in highly diluted status, indicating the desirable stability of the nanoemulsions. Moreover, the nanoemulsion demonstrated superior protection against AITC degradation (78% remaining after 60 d at 30 °C), compared with protein nanoparticles as well as non-encapsulated aqueous dispersion. This work shows for the first time that AITC can be formulated into nanoemulsions and thus obtains satisfactory aqueous solubility and chemical stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Estrogenic activity is quantified in sports supplements and an exposure and risk assessment performed. [•] 17β-Estradiol equivalent activity levels were higher than the ADI in 26% of exposure assessment samples. [•] 17β-Estradiol equivalent activity levels were higher in 66% of exposure assessment samples than levels present in the typical diet. [•] The predicted hormonal impact of greatest concern is for young boys and postmenopausal women. [•] Consumers of sport supplements may be exposed to high levels of estrogenic endocrine disruptors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Synthesis of novel multi-arm, short chain nonionic fluorosurfactants is presented. [•] Static and dynamic surface tensions are characterized by ring and maximum bubble pressure tensiometry. [•] Fluorosurfactant chemical structure and dynamic and static properties are correlated. [•] Branched systems can be used to substitute long chain fluorosurfactants. [•] Saccharide-based surfactants highlight the importance of the hydrophilic block on the fluorosurfactant properties. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] “Intractable proteins” in GM crops cannot be isolated or studied by existing methods. [•] Intractability results from low expression, membrane association, or other factors. [•] The established tiered weight-of-evidence approach can be used for safety assessment. [•] No protein is needed for history of safe use (HOSU) and bioinformatics analyses. [•] Enriched or substitute proteins may offer alternatives to pure protein dose testing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We developed an oil/water-type tacrolimus (FK506) cream formulation as an alternative to Protopic ointment for atopic dermatitis treatment. We determined the effects of solvents used in topical preparations on FK506 solubility and stability, and evaluated FK506 transdermal absorption into rat skin from solutions, emulsions, and creams. Screening indicated that diethyl sebacate (DES), isopropyl myristate (IPM), propylene glycol (PG), and oleyl alcohol (OA) were adequate FK506 solvents. When FK506 solutions prepared using these solvents were transdermally administered, AUC0–24 values for DES and IPM were higher than or similar to that for 0.1% Protopic ointment. The AUC0–24 values for PG and OA were low, so these solvents did not enhance absorption. The residual ratios of FK506 in DES and IPM solutions after incubation at 70°C for 9d were 95.6% and 88.6%, respectively, so DES and IPM were chosen for emulsion preparation. When the emulsions were transdermally administered, the IPM emulsion AUC0–24 values increased 4.6-fold; DES emulsions did not show high transdermal absorption, but showed sustained characteristics. A cream formulation prepared by mixture of IPM and DES also showed high absorption and transdermal absorption increased with increasing IPM ratio. We developed an FK506 cream formulation with a controllable transdermal absorption rate by manipulating the IPM:DES ratio. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The separation of water is essential in crude oil processing. The presence of water-in-crude oil emulsions increases the cost of production and transportation of petroleum oil and causes pump failure, pipeline corrosion, and other problems such as catalysts poisoning in downstream. The present essay aims to provide an overview of the state-of-the-art methods of water and oil separation, particularly practical applications in industry. Salt content causes problems such as corrosion, fouling, or catalyst degradation in the refinery. Water and salt content should be less than 0.1 wt% of the crude oil to control the mentioned problems. For oil and water separation, industrial separation systems such as centrifuges are used but this separation is not complete and the water or oil content is not within the permissible limit. So it is necessary to use a complementary system. Demulsifiers and desalters, which have played a major role in the industry, have problems due to their high dependence on viscosity, high cost, environmental impact, formation of fine secondary droplets, energy consumption, etc. Nanomaterials, especially nanostructures of silicone and carbon, with a better performance have been investigated as a subsequent recommendation rather than demulsifiers in some studies. Presenting environmental stimuli for switch wettability that possess easy applying for industrial operation as well as find a smart material with a similar efficiency to demulsifiers will definitely be able to compete with demulsifiers and other conventional methods and replace with them. Changing surface properties by functionalization of the surface or surface charging followed by hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) adjustment can enable the surface to do dewatering process or even act as a smart separator with switching from W/O separation to O/W or vice versa. Therefore, this article reviews nanomaterial-based filtration methods as an efficient method for separating water and oil, and studies the advances that researchers have made so far. • An overview of the state-of-the-art methods of water and oil separation. • Drawbacks of conventional and novel oil-water separation systems. • The concerns with demulsifiers in the industry that have the greatest share of use. • Smart nanostructured-based as an alternative to demulsifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Emulsifier promoted comprehensive performance of agar/maltodextrin-beeswax film. • Emulsifier enhanced compatibility of film matrix, especially glycerol monostearate. • Glycerol monostearate led to compact film structure with uniform beeswax distribution. • Emulsifier could significantly improve oxygen barrier property of beeswax added film. The structural and physicochemical properties of agar/maltodextrin-beeswax films in the presence of three emulsifiers, including glycerol monostearate, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and polysorbate 80 were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that addition of lower hydrophilic-lipophilic balance value emulsifiers produced smaller size and more uniform distribution of beeswax in the film matrix. X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the emulsifiers with lower hydrophilic-lipophilic balance values promoted the compatibility between agar/maltodextrin and beeswax more effectively. The incorporation of different emulsifiers showed diverse impacts on the film network structure and physicochemical properties. Agar/maltodextrin-beeswax-polysorbate 80 film showed maximum stiffness (861.99 MPa). Agar/maltodextrin-beeswax-glycerol monostearate film exhibited the highest tensile strength (26.79 MPa), elongation at break (31.83%), water vapor barrier (7.64 × 10−13 g·m−1·s−1·Pa−1) and oxygen barrier properties (3.82 × 10−17 cm2·s−1·Pa−1), which could be more effective for packaging foods that are prone to oxidize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Pumps of the ATP-binding cassette superfamily (ABCs) regulate the access of drugs to the intracellular space. In this context, the overexpression of ABCs is a well-known mechanism of multidrug resistance (MDR) in cancer and infectious diseases (e.g., viral hepatitis and the human immunodeficiency virus) and is associated with therapeutic failure. Since their discovery, ABCs have emerged as attractive therapeutic targets and the search of compounds that inhibit their genetic expression and/or their functional activity has gained growing interest. Different generations of pharmacological ABC inhibitors have been explored over the last four decades to address resistance in cancer, though clinical results have been somehow disappointing. “Generally Recognized As Safe” (GRAS) is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration designation for substances that are accepted as safe for addition in food. Far from being “inert”, some amphiphilic excipients used in the production of pharmaceutical products have been shown to inhibit the activity of ABCs in MDR tumors, emerging as a clinically translatable approach to overcome resistance. The present article initially overviews the classification, structure and function of the different ABCs, with emphasis on those pumps related to drug resistance. Then, the different attempts to capitalize on the activity of GRAS nanopharmaceuticals as ABC inhibitors are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] Determination of steroid hormones in human and animal plasma or serum. [•] Simultaneous analysis by liquid or gas chromatography. [•] Detection by tandem mass spectrometry (multiple reaction monitoring mode). [•] Overview of sample volume, preparation and derivatization. [•] Relationships between analytical setups and obtained limit of quantification. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The influence of natural emulsifiers or their mixtures with synthetic emulsifiers (surfactants) on the retention, release characteristics and odor intensity of hydrophilic diacetyl and hydrophobic (-)-u-pinene in oil-in-water emulsions was examined, A lipid fraction was composed of rapeseed oil, whereas sodium caseinate, concentrate of soy proteins, dried egg yolk, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), polyoxyethylene sorbitan monostearate (Tween 60) and polyoxyethylene sorbitan tristearate (Tween 65) were used as emulsifiers. The hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of surfactants was within the range of 11-40. The thermodynamic study showed that natural emulsifiers and surfactants affected more retention of hydrophobic aroma compound than the one of hydrophilic odorant. Release rate constants of (-)-α-pinene were observed to decrease mainly with lowering the HLB value of surfactants or their mixtures, whereas the ones of diacetyl with increasing viscosity of the system. Microstructural properties of the emulsions i.e. surface area of the oil-water interface, surface protein concentration and the dispersion index, had no statistically significant effect on the release rate of hydrophobic aroma compound. Odour intensity detected orthonasally was higher correlated with headspace concentration of aroma compounds. measured by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, in relation to (-)-α-pinene than diacetyl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An approach to speed up the isolation of hydrophilic metabolites in complex natural matrixes by using a HLB/MCX–HPLC/MS system based on the retention properties of hydrophilic–lipophilic and cation exchange polymeric cartridges was developed. This methodology was successfully applied to the re-isolation of small water soluble compounds with completely different structures from two different natural extracts such as a dipeptide (vanchrobactin) from a bacterium culture broth and a pyrrolidine bearing a carboxylic acid moiety (clionapyrrolidine A) from a sponge. This method improved not only the efficiency of the isolation methodology but also the isolation time in relation to the existing methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Carapa guianensis, a popular medicinal plant known as 'Andiroba' in Brazil, has been used in traditional medicine as an insect repellent and anti-inflammatory product. Additionally, this seed oil has been reported in the literature as a repellent against Aedes aegypti. The aim of this work is to report on the emulsification of vegetable oils such as 'Andiroba' oil by using a blend of nonionic surfactants (Span 80® and Tween 20®), using the critical hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) and pseudo-ternary diagram as tools to evaluate the system's stability. The emulsions were prepared by the inverse phase method. Several formulations were made according to a HLB spreadsheet design (from 4.3 to 16.7), and the products were stored at 25°C and 4°C. The emulsion stabilities were tested both long- and short-term, and the more stable one was used for the pseudo-ternary diagram study. The emulsions were successfully obtained by a couple of surfactants, and the HLB analysis showed that the required HLB of the oil was 16.7. To conclude, the pseudo-ternary diagram identified several characteristic regions such as emulsion, micro-emulsion, and separation of phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An analytical method based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with fluorescence detection (FL) has been developed for the simultaneous determination of fumonisin B1 (FB1) and its totally hydrolized metabolite aminopentol-1 (AP1) in pig liver. The sample preparation is based on a single solid phase extraction (SPE). o-Phthalaldehyde (OPA) was used for pre-column derivatization before the programmed reversed-phase analysis on phenylhexyl column. The developed method shows good repeatibility for inter- and intra-day precision as well as adequate linearity of calibration curves (r2 was 0.9855 for FB1 and 0.9831 for AP1). Average recoveries from the matrix were 93.6% for FB1 and 95.3% for AP1. The limit of quantification (LOQ) in swine liver was 75μg/kg for FB1 and 42μg/kg for AP1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The hexose transporter family, which mediates a facilitated uptake in mammalian cells, consists of more than 10 members containing 12 membrane-spanning segments with a single N-glycosylation site. However, it remains unknown how these isoforms are functionally organized in the membrane domains. In this report, we describe a differential distribution of the glucose transporter isoforms GLUT1 and GLUT3 to detergent-resistant membrane domains (DRMs) in non-polarized mammalian cells. Whereas more than 80% of cellular proteins containing GLUT3 in HeLa cell lines was solubilized by a non-ionic detergent (either Triton X-100 or Lubrol WX) at 4 °C, GLUT1 remained insoluble together with the DRM-associated proteins, such as caveolin-1 and intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP). These DRM-associated proteins and the ganglioside GM1 were shown to float to the upper fractions when Triton X-100-solubilized cell extracts were centrifuged on a density gradient. In contrast, GLUT3 as well as most soluble proteins remained in the lower layers. Furthermore, perturbations of DRMs due to depletion of cholesterol by methyl-β-cyclodextrin (mβCD) rendered GLUT1 soluble in Triton X-100. Immunostaining patterns for these isoforms detected by confocal laser scanning microscopy in a living cell were also distinctive. These results suggest that in non-polarized mammalian cells, GLUT1 can be organized into a raft-like DRM domain but GLUT3 may distribute to fluid membrane domains. This differential distribution may occur irrespective of the N-glycosylation state or cell type. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]