US scientists have provided a strategy to improve the properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) by combining ionic liquids (used to improve the properties of solid APIs) with prodrugs (used to improve solubility, permeability and bioavailability of APIs).
The prodrug ionic liquids present additional advantages such as controlled release of the APIs in simulated body fluids. This work could offer an important strategy to improve the properties of APIs and drug delivery.
Ionic liquid formulation for safer herbicide
An international collaboration of scientists has formulated a commonly used weed-killer as an ionic liquid to reduce its environmental impact. Research published in Green Chemistry describes how the scientists have created a less volatile and less water soluble form of the herbicide dicamba ... more
Hydrogen storage gets new hope
A new method for "recycling" hydrogen-containing fuel materials could open the door to economically viable hydrogen-based vehicles. In an article appearing in Angewandte Chemie, Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Alabama researchers working within the U.S. Department of Energ ... more
Queen's scientists discover eco-friendly wood dissolution
Scientists at Queen's University Belfast have discovered a new eco-friendly way of dissolving wood using ionic liquids that may help its transformation into popular products such as bio fuels, textiles, clothes and paper. Dr Héctor Rodríguez and Professor Robin Rogers from the University's ... more
High-performance epoxy resin adhesives from renewable green starting materials
A series of epoxy resins has been synthesised by a team of chemists from Germany, who used renewable starting materials for a more environmentally friendly approach than conventional methods. The resulting epoxy resins have highly desirable mechanical properties, such as high stiffness, tha ... more
Electrospun polymer fibres better than non-woven polymer fibres at mopping up oil from oil spills
Electrospun polystyrene shell/polyurethane core fibres made by scientists in China have absorption capacities 2-3 times higher than reported for non-woven polypropylene fibres (widely used to clean up oil spills). Electrospun fibres are an ideal candidate for soaking up oil, as their struct ... more
Cheap, simple and efficient molybdenum carbide electrocatalysts for hydrogen production
US scientists have made an efficient catalytic system to split water that uses molybdenum carbide nanoparticles on a carbon nanotube support. Molybdenum and carbon are both low cost and abundant elements. Water splitting using sustainable energy sources, such as solar and wind power, has be ... more
Chemical sensing with 2D materials
During the last decade, two-dimensional materials (2DMs) have attracted great attention due to their unique chemical and physical properties, which make them appealing platforms for diverse applications in opto-electronic devices, energy generation and storage, and sensing. Among their vari ... more
Atomic hydrogen interactions with gas-phase coronene cations: hydrogenation versus fragmentation
Sequential hydrogenation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) cations drives a gradual transition from a planar to a puckered geometry and from an aromatic to an aliphatic electronic structure. The resulting H-induced weakening of the molecular structure together with the exothermic nat ... more
An intramolecular annulation strategy has been developed for the synthesis of tetrahydrobenzo[e]pyrano[4,3-c][1,2]thiazine derivatives by means of coupling of aldehydes with 2-(4-hydroxybut-1-yn-1-yl)-N-arylsulfonamides using a catalytic amount of silver hexafluoroantimonate in toluene at 8 ... more
