Waste activated sludge is slower to biodegrade under anaerobic conditions than is primary sludge due to the glycan strands present in microbial cell walls. The use of pre-treatments may help to disrupt cell membranes and improve waste activated sludge biodegradability. In the present study, the effect of ultrasound, low-temperature thermal and alkali pre-treatments on the rheology, hygienizatio...

Many novel techniques of extraction such as solvent extraction by soxhlet, ultrasonication and extraction by boiling of licorice have been well developed. But ultrasonication has been proved as the best and relevant method for extraction of the glycyrrhizin. To optimize the process conditions for the maximum yield of the glycyrrhizin and easier purification, three types of solvents were employe...

We report the direct formation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) by ultrasonication of graphite in dimethylformamide (DMF) upon addition of ferrocene aldehyde (Fc-CHO). The tubular structures appear exclusively at the edges of graphene layers and contain Fe clusters. Fc in conjunction with benzyl aldehyde, or other Fc derivatives, does not induce formation of NT. Higher amounts of Fc-CHO a...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Miconazole is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug that has poor aqueous solubility (<1 µg/mL); as a result, a reduction in its therapeutic efficacy has been reported. The aim of this study was to formulate and evaluate miconazole-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (MN-SLNs) for oral administration to find an innovative way to alleviate the disadvantages associated with comme...

UNLABELLED An ecofriendly procedure for the synthesis of graphene-titanium dioxide nanocomposites (GTNC) has been developed by dispersing nano-titanium dioxide (TiO2) and graphene nanosheets (GNSs) in ethanol via ultrasonication followed by microwave irradiation. Such nanohybrids were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM), Fourier Tra...

Quantum dots (QDs) have been widely used as fluorescent probes in cell-targeted imaging. However, nonspecific binding to cellular membranes has been a major challenge. In this study, a new approach is developed for effective reduction of nonspecific binding by bovine serum albumin (BSA)-coated QDs in cell targeting. The experimental results show efficient transfer of hydrophobic QDs from organi...

A method using ultrasonication extraction and solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up for determination of US EPA 16 priority pollutant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in soils by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) with ultraviolet (UV) absorption detection was studied. Separation and detection of the 16 PAHs were completed in 31 min by RP-LC with a C18 column (Bakerbond PAH 6 P...

Biocompatible 5-aminolevulinic acid/Au nanoparticle-loaded ethosomal vesicle (A/A-ES) is prepared via ultrasonication for synergistic transdermal photodynamic/photothermal therapy (PDT/PTT) of hypertrophic scar (HS). Utilizing ultrasonication, Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) are synthesized and simultaneously loaded in ethosomal vesicles (ES) without any toxic agents, and 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) i...

One of the essential factors for selection drying process is energy consumption. This study intended to optimize treatment capers using convection (CD), refractive window (RWD), and vacuum (VD) combined with ultrasonic pretreatment by a comparative approach among artificial neural networks (ANN) response surface methodology (RSM) focusing on specific consumption (SEC). For this purpose, effects...

Most plastics products are made from a base polymer mixed with complex blends of materials known collectively as additives, to ensure that the physical, mechanical and surface properties of the final product is optimised in all aspects. This will include safer, cleaner product possessing optimal colour and properties. Fine additives such as fillers or coloured pigments are most widely used and ...