Global concerns regarding microplastics emerging in the environment have been raised recently. Using samples collected during the OceanXplorer mission in Aqaba, we explored the depth-based and regional variations of microplastics across pelagic and benthic zones. Microplastics (63.0-950.0 mu m) from the surface seawater, middle seawater, bottom seawater, and deep-sea sediment were quantified and identified using a dissecting microscope and Fourier Transform Infrared microscope (mu-FTIR). The results revealed that the average abundance of microplastics was 6.7 +/- 6.05 particles L-1 in the pelagic zone and 2900 +/- 1650 particles kg-1 in the benthic zone. A size gradation of microplastics was observed across depths from 5 to 840 m, accompanied by a shift in particle types: fragments were the most common in the benthic zone, whereas fibers dominated the pelagic zone. mu-FTIR analysis identified the presence of the following polymers: polyethylene (PE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyamide 6 (PA 6), and polypropylene (PP). These findings establish baseline data for future monitoring and management efforts addressing microplastic pollution in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Agricultural residue-activated carbon and biochar, inexpensive and environmentally friendly adsorbent materials, have recently received significant research attention. This study investigated the potential use of oak cupules in activated carbon form to remove widespread heavy metals (Pb2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+) from wastewater. The oak-activated carbon was prepared from oak cupules and activated with phosphoric acid. Oak-activated carbon was characterized using FTIR, BET analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The Freundlich, Langmuir, and Temkin isotherm models were used to assess the equilibrium data. The impact of various parameters, including pH effect, temperature, adsorbent dose, and contact time, was estimated. The Freundlich model was the most agreeable with Pb2+ adsorption by oak-based activated carbon, and Langmuir was more compatible with Cu+2 and Ni+2. Under optimum conditions, the average maximum removal was 63% Pb2+, 60% Cu2+, and 54% Ni2+ when every ion was alone in the aqueous solution. The removal was enhanced to 98% Pb2+, 72% Cu2+, and 60% Ni2+ when found as a mixture. The thermodynamic model revealed that the adsorption of ions by oak-based activated carbon is endothermic. The pseudo-second-order kinetic best describes the adsorption mechanism in this study; it verifies chemical sorption as the rate-limiting step in adsorption mechanisms. The oak-activated carbon was effective in removing Pb2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+ from wastewater and aqueous solutions.

Phytosomes are pharmaceutical formulations known as herbal delivery systems to encapsulate natural pure compounds/extracts. Recently, natural medicines are considered a promising alternative approach over conventional medicine, based on synthetic chemical compounds, to enhance therapeutic efficiency and minimize side effects. These herbal bioactive secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, glycosides, and flavonoids, are mainly lipid insoluble with poor absorption and decreased bioavailability. Phytosomes are usually formulated with conventional herbal compounds/extracts in the presence of phosphatidylcholine, resulting in better absorption and a novel herbal dosage form. Phytosomes might be used in medicine, dietary supplements, and cosmetics. This chapter focuses on phytosomes as an herbal drug delivery approach, preparation strategies, and physicochemical characterization. Moreover, an overview of phytosomes’ various applications will be discussed in detail with current marketed phytosome formulations.

Nucleic acid therapeutics are rapidly expanding because of recent advancements in production and purification. This class of therapeutics may change the field of disease treatment and personalized medicine since it can cure diseases. However, drug delivery systems are crucial for these therapeutics to fulfill their potential. Liposomes have long been considered ideal platforms for systemic drugs delivery. Considering the development in cancer therapeutics, this work emphases on the current advancements in liposomes’ Nano-formulations, functionalization, and design and how it has been applied to nucleic acid therapeutics. Accordingly, this review covers the literature that deals with liposomes in nucleic acid therapy.

Liposomes are now considered the most commonly used nanocarriers for various potentially active hydrophobic and hydrophilic molecules due to their high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low immunogenicity. Liposomes also proved to enhance drug solubility and controlled distribution, as well as their capacity for surface modifications for targeted, prolonged, and sustained release. Based on the composition, liposomes can be considered to have evolved from conventional, long-circulating, targeted, and immune-liposomes to stimuli-responsive and actively targeted liposomes. Many liposomal-based drug delivery systems are currently clinically approved to treat several diseases, such as cancer, fungal and viral infections; more liposomes have reached advanced phases in clinical trials. This review describes liposomes structure, composition, preparation methods, and clinical applications.

: A new multi-residue analytical method for simultaneous determination of four antibiotic resi- dues (doxycycline (DOX), enrofloxacin (EN), ciprofloxacin (CP) chloramphenicol (CAM) in cow’s milk has developed and validated by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, was successfully ap - plied to investigate commercially available cow’s milk in Jordan. The analytes including etoricoxib as IS were extracted using liquid-liquid extraction and separated from their matrix chromatographically by using Fortis UniverSil Cyano column (50 × 2.1 mm, 5 µm), eluted by a mobile phase of 0.5 mM ammonium chloride /methanol /formic acid (35 : 65 : 0.08%, v/v) and delivered isocratically at a constant flow rate of 0.4 mL/min for total LC run time of 1 min. Twenty-six cow’s milk samples from different brands of dry powder milk, long shelf-life milk, and raw untreated milk were collected randomly from the Jorda- nian market and analyzed in the triplicate analysis. The calibration curve was linear within the dynamic range of 10-1000 ng/mL in spiked milk for each analyte and the correlation coefficients were greater than 0.9973 for all calibration curves during validation. The internal standard-normalized matrix effects extend from 0.901 to 1.11. The intra-assay and inter-assay precision normalized matrix effects extend from 0.901 to 1.11. The within-day and between-day precision ranged from 2.60-12.71% and 2.68-12.66%, respectively, and the relative error of accuracy does not exceed 15%. The results obtained are less than the approved stated regulatory guidelines and all samples screened were found to be free of any of the antibiotics tested.

Limited permeability through the stratum corneum (SC) is a major obstacle for numerous skin care products. One promising approach is to use lipid nanoparticles as they not only facilitate penetration across skin but also avoid the drawbacks of conventional skin formulations. This review focuses on solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs), nanostructured lipid nanocarriers (NLCs), and nanoemulsions (NEs) developed for topical and transdermal delivery of active compounds. A special emphasis in this review is placed on composition, preparation, modifications, structure and characterization, mechanism of penetration, and recent application of these nanoparticles. The presented data demonstrate the potential of these nanoparticles for dermal and transdermal delivery.

Advancements in both material science and bionanotechnology are transforming the health care sector. To this end, nanoparticles are increasingly used to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and therapy. Huge research is being carried out to improve the design, efficiency, and performance of these nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are also considered as a major area of research and development to meet the essential requirements for use in nanomedicine where safety, compatibility, biodegradability, biodistribution, stability, and effectiveness are requirements towards the desired application. In this regard, lipids have been used in pharmaceuticals and medical formulations for a long time. The present work focuses on the use of lipid nanostructures to combat brain tumors. In addition, this review summarizes the literature pertaining to solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) and nanostructured lipid carriers (LNC), methods of preparation and characterization, developments achieved to overcome blood brain barrier (BBB), and modifications used to increase their effectiveness.

The recycling of untreated dry biosolids, as costless biodegradable adsorbent for the removal of cadmium from aqueous phase was characterized. The adsorption of cadmium was reported to depend on initial pH, adsorbent dose, agitation time, and initial Cd concentration. The results of the batch experiments revealed that the maximum adsorption capacity of the untreated dry biosolids was 39.22 mg g(-1) under optimum operating conditions (i.e. pH: 5, adsorbent dose: 2 g l(-1), contact time: 16h). Adsorption reaches equilibrium after 16h, which can be attributed to both external surface adsorption (R-2 = 0.86) and intraparticle diffusion (R-2 = 0.98). The Langmuir isotherm model best described cadmium adsorption (R-2 = 0.99) and the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was obeyed, suggest -ing that the mechanism involved was chemisorption. Biodegradability would make the recovery of adsorbed Cd an environmentally friendly process. Comparing the obtained findings with the related published results, it can be concluded that treating biosolids might be an unnecessary and costly procedure for recycling biosolids as an adsorbent for cadmium.

As a potential approach for enhanced energy generation from anaerobic digestion, iron-based conductive nanoparticles have been proposed to enhance the methane production yield and rate. In this study, the impact of two different types of iron nanoparticles, namely the nano-zero-valent-iron particles (NZVIs) and magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated, using batch test under mesophilic conditions (35 °C). Magnetite NPs have been applied in doses of 25, 50 and 80 mg/L, corresponding to 13.1, 26.2 and 41.9 mg magnetite NPs/gTS of substrate, respectively. The results reveal that supplementing anaerobic batches with magnetite NPs at a dose of 25 mg/L induces an insignificant effect on hydrolysis and methane production. However, incubation with 50 and 80 mg/L magnetite NPs have instigated comparable positive impact with hydrolysis percentages reaching approximately 95% compared to 63% attained in control batches, in addition to a 50% enhancement in methane production yield. A biodegradability percentage of 94% was achieved with magnetite NP doses of 50 and 80 mg/L, compared to only 62.7% obtained with control incubation. NZVIs were applied in doses of 20, 40 and 60 mg/L, corresponding to 10.8, 21.5 and 32.2 mg NZVIs/gTS of substrate, respectively. The results have shown that supplementing anaerobic batches with NZVIs revealed insignificant impact, most probably due to the agglomeration of NZVI particles and consequently the reduction in available surface area, making the applied doses insufficient for measurable effect.

أجريت هذه الدراسة لتطوير طريقة تحليل دقيقة للتحديد المتزامن للاندابامايد والأملوديبين والبيرندوبريل في الأقراص و التثبت منها باستخدام الفصل الكروماتوغرافي عالي الكفاءة. تم تنفيذ الفصل الكروماتوغرافي باستخدام عامود فصل من نوع (Inertsil C8) أبعاده (25 سنتيمتر*4.6 ملمتر*5 ميكرومتر) محفوظ في درجة حرارة 40°س, و طور متحرك يتكون من خليط محلول ثلاثي ايثيل الامين المنظم (رقمه الهيدروجيني 3.0) و الاسيتونايتريل بنسبة (2:1) بمعدل تدفق 1.5 مللتر/دقيقة و على طول موجي 205 نانومتر للكشف, بحيث ينتهي فصل المواد الثلاثة في أقل من 20 قيقة. تم التثبت من طريقة التحليل استنادا إلى المبادئ التوجيهية للمؤتمر الدولي للتنسيق. من خلال هذه الدراسة يمكننا التوصية باستخدام طريقة التحليل هذه في كافة مختبرات تحليل الأدوية لتحليل الاندابامايد والأملوديبين والبيرندوبريل.

Jordan relies heavily on rainwater stored in reservoirs because it has extremely limited alternative water resources. These reservoirs are essential for drinking water and irrigation, so monitoring their water quality is extremely important. In this study we monitored 55 semi-volatile organic chemicals (SVOCs) in monthly samples from the Zarqa River and three reservoirs between April and August 2010, and also screened the samples for non-target pollutants. Twelve SVOCs were detected and quantified at King Talal Dam followed by ten at Zarqa River and four each at Wadi Al-Arab and Mujib dams. Phenol and phthalate esters were detected at wide range concentrations (0.01–25 μg/L) in all water samples. Phenol has the highest level at the Zarqa River (18.5 ± 5.5 μg/L) followed by King Talal (12.5 ± 2.5 μg/L) and Wadi Al-Arab (2.5 ± 0.63 μg/L). Phthalate esters (total) were detected at the Zarqa River, King Talal, Wadi Al-Arab, and Mujib dams at levels 3.85, 3.75, 1.03 and 0.12 μg/L. Other contaminants, including polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were detected at low concentrations in the King Talal Dam reservoir and Zarqa River samples. Two non-targeted phosphate plasticizers, tri-n-butylphosphate and tris(2-chloroethyl)phosphate were identified in the July and August Zarqa River samples. A comparison study reveals that SVOC pollution of surface water in Jordan is within acceptable international limits, but long-term monitoring programs should be implemented.