Hexiang Sun,Zachary Magnuson,Wenwen He,Weijie Zhang,Harsh Vardhan,Xiaolong Han,Gaohong He,Shengqian Ma
The desulfurization property of conventional mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) cannot meet the necessary demand due to particles aggregation and interface defects. Here, we put forward a layer-by-layer (LBL) approach to make a novel PEG@ZIF-8/poly(vinylidene difluoride)(PVDF) composite membrane for pervaporation desulfurization. In this way, a ZIF-8 layer is covered on the surface of the PVDF porous membrane via an in situ growth method. Then, a PEG layer is covered on the ZIF-8 layer by a casting method. Compared with pristine PEG membranes, the separation performance of the ZIF-8@PEG/PVDF nanocomposite membrane increased significantly. This can be attributed to the homogeneous ZIF-8 particle layer and better compatibility between the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) matrix and ZIF-8 particles. The membrane achieves a maximum total flux of 3.08 kg·m–2·h–1 at the third in situ growth cycles of ZIF-8 particles and a maximum sulfur enrichment factor of 7.6 at the sixth in situ growth cycles of ZIF-8 particles.
Melanoma is one of the highly malignant tumors whose incidence and fatality rates have been increased year by year. However, in addition to early surgical resection, there still lacks specific targeted drugs and treatment strategies. In this study, it was discovered that hinokiflavone (HF) encapsulated in zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) exhibited a superior anti-melanoma effect in vitro and in vivo. HF was encapsulated in ZIF-8 through a one-step synthesis method, and polyethylene glycol (PEG-2000) was used to optimize the size and dispersion of the drug-loaded complex (PEG/ZIF-8@HF). The results show that the prepared PEG/ZIF-8@HF has a high encapsulation efficiency (92.12%) and can achieve selective drug release in an acidic microenvironment. The results of in vitro anti-melanoma experiments indicate that PEG/ZIF-8@HF shows up-regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and can restrain the migration and invasion of B16F10 cells. Moreover, in vivo animal experiments further confirm that PEG/ZIF-8@HF shows anti-tumor effect by up-regulating the pro-apoptotic proteins caspase-3 and caspase-8, and down-regulating the migration-promoting invasion protein MMP-9. This study developed a safe and effective oral administration of HF based on the high-efficiency delivery ZIF-8 system, which provides an effective treatment strategy for melanoma.
Zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticles loaded with polysaccharides are excellent drug-delivery carriers with high loading capacity and pH sensitivity. This study describes the one-step encapsulation of Dendrobium huoshanense polysaccharides (DHP) in ZIF-8. The resultant PEG6000/ZIF-8@DHP complex exhibited drug release properties in acidic microenvironments, possessed water solubility, demonstrated high drug loading capacity, and displayed effective encapsulation. The effects of PEG6000/ZIF-8@ DHP administration on immunoregulation, antioxidant activities, and resistance against Aeromonas veronii in channel catfish were assessed. The study revealed that the PEG6000/ZIF-8@DHP complex stimulated cellular proliferation and phagocytosis, while also inducing the production of cytokines and nitric oxide. Additionally, the complex exhibited improved antioxidant properties and increased serum lysozyme and alkaline phosphatase activities. PEG6000/ZIF-8@DHP exhibited efficacy in vivo against Aeromonas veronii infection. These results indicate that PEG6000/ZIF-8@DHP is an efficient immunostimulant and vaccine adjuvant for enhancing immunity in channel catfish.