Star-Shaped Poly(furfuryl glycidyl ether)-Block-Poly(glyceryl glycerol ether) as an Efficient Agent for the Enhancement of Nifuratel Solubility and for the Formation of Injectable and Self-Healable Hydrogel Platforms for the Gynaecological Therapies

In this paper, we present novel well-defined unimolecular micelles constructed a on poly(furfuryl glycidyl ether) core and highly hydrophilic poly(glyceryl glycerol ether) shell, PFGE-b-PGGE. The copolymer was synthesized via anionic ring-opening polymerization of furfuryl glycidyl ether and (1,2-isopropylidene glyceryl) glycidyl ether, respectively. MTT assay revealed that the copolymer is non-cytotoxic against human cervical cancer endothelial (HeLa) cells. The copolymer thanks to furan moieties in its core is capable of encapsulation of nifuratel, a hydrophobic nitrofuran derivative, which is a drug applied in the gynaecology therapies that shows a broad antimicroorganism spectrum. The study shows high loading capacity of the copolymer, i.e., 146 mg of nifuratel per 1 g of copolymer. The load unimolecular micelles were characterized using DLS and TEM microscopy and compared with the reference glyceryl glycerol ether homopolymer sample. The presence of numerous 1,2-diol moieties in the shell of PFGE-b-PGG macromolecules enabled the formation of reversible cross-links with 2-acrylamidephenylboronic acid-based polyacrylamide. The obtained hydrogels were both injectable and self-healable, which was confirmed with a rheological study.

Solvent-Free Benzylation of Glycerol by Benzyl Alcohol Using Heteropoly Acid Impregnated on K-10 Clay as Catalyst

Value addition to glycerol, the sole co-product in biodiesel production, will lead to reform of the overall biodiesel economy. Different valuable chemicals can be produced from glycerol using heterogeneous catalysis and these valuable chemicals are useful in industries such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, fuels, soap, paints, and fine chemicals. Therefore, the conversion of glycerol to valuable chemicals using heterogeneous catalysis is a noteworthy area of research. Etherification of glycerol with alkenes or alcohols is an important reaction in converting glycerol to various value-added chemicals. This article describes reaction of glycerol with benzyl alcohol in solvent-free medium by using a clay supported modified heteropolyacid (HPA), Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40/K-10 (Cs-DTP/K-10) as solid catalyst and its comparison with other catalysts in a batch reactor. Mono-Benzyl glycerol ether (MBGE) was the major product formed in the reaction along with formation of di-benzyl glycerol ether (DBGE). The effects of different parameters were studied to optimize the reaction parameters. This work provides an insight into characterization of Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40/K-10 catalyst by advanced techniques such as surface area measurement, X-ray analysis, ICP-MS, FT-IR, and SEM. Reaction products were characterized and confirmed by using the GCMS method. The kinetic model was developed from an insight into the reaction mechanism. The apparent energy of activation was found to be 18.84 kcal/mol.

Lipopeptide Epimers and a Phthalide Glycerol Ether with AChE Inhibitory Activities from the Marine-Derived Fungus Cochliobolus Lunatus SCSIO41401

A pair of novel lipopeptide epimers, sinulariapeptides A (1) and B (2), and a new phthalide glycerol ether (3) were isolated from the marine algal-associated fungus Cochliobolus lunatus SCSIO41401, together with three known chromanone derivates (4–6). The structures of the new compounds, including the absolute configurations, were determined by comprehensive spectroscopic methods, experimental and calculated electronic circular dichroism (ECD), and Mo2 (OAc)4-induced ECD methods. The new compounds 1–3 showed moderate inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase (AChE), with IC50 values of 1.3–2.5 μM, and an in silico molecular docking study was also performed.

Lignin to Value-Added Chemical Synthesis

Background: There is a developing demand for innovation in petroleum systems replacements. Towards this aim, lignocellulosic biomass suggested as a possible sustainable source for the manufacturing of fuels and produced chemicals. The aims of this paper are to investigate different kinds of β-O-4 lignin model compounds for the production of value-added chemicals in presence of ionic liquids. Especially, a cheap β-O-4 lignin model Guaiacol glycerol ether (GGE) (Guaifenesin) is introduced to produce valuable chemicals and novel products. Methods: Research related to chemical depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomass activity is reviewed, the notes from different methods such as thermal and microwave collected during at least 10 years. So, this collection provides a good source for academic research and it gives an efficient strategy for the manufacturing of novel value-added chemicals at an industrial scale. Results: This research presented that ionic liquid microwave-assisted is a power saving, cost efficient, fast reaction, and clean way with high selectively and purity for production of high value chemicals rather that conversional heating. Guaiacol and catechol are some of these valuable chemicals that is produced from β-O-4 lignin model compounds with high word demands that are capable to produce in industry scale. Conclusion: The β-O-4 lignin model compounds such as Guaiacol glycerol ether (GGE) (Guaifenesin) are good platform for developing food materials, perfumery, biorefinery, and pharmaceutical industry by ionic liquids-assisted lignin depolymerization method.

The origins and implications of glycerol ether lipids in China coastal wetland sediments

Coastal wetlands are terrestrial-marine transition zones harboring diverse active microbial communities. The origins of diverse glycerol ether lipids preserved in coastal wetlands are rarely investigated. 16 surface sediments were collected from the coastal wetland at Guangrao (GR), Changyi (CY) and Xiamen (XM), where both climate and sedimentary environment show significant differences. Ten groups of glycerol ether lipids, including isoprenoidal and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (iGDGTs and bGDGTs), isoprenoidal and branched glycerol dialkanol diethers (iGDDs and bGDDs), hydroxylated isoprenoidal GDGTs and GDDs (OH-GDGTs and OH-GDDs), overly branched GDGTs (OB-GDGTs), sparsely branched GDGTs (SB-GDGTs), hybrid isoprenoid/branched GDGTs (IB-GDGTs) and a tentatively assigned H-shaped branched GDGTs (H-B-GDGTs) were detected and quantified. Sediments collected in the north (Guangrao and Changyi) contain, in general, a lower abundance of GDGT (3.7–55.9 ng/g sed) than samples from south (Xiamen; 251–1020 ng/g sed). iGDGTs and bGDGTs are the predominant components at all sites and account for 17.2–74.3% and 16.1–75.1% of total ether lipids, respectively. The relative abundance of iGDGTs decreases but that of bGDGTs increases with the distance from sea, suggesting a marine vs. terrestrial origin of iGDGT and bGDGTs, respectively. In addition, the methylation index (MIOB/B/SB) of branched GDGTs shows a significant inverse correlation with water content, suggesting that marine waters have a major influence on the microbial communities inhabiting wetland sediment. Such an assumption was confirmed by the distinct lipid pattern of three low water content (<5%) samples collected in an area isolated from tidal flushing. The other isoprenoidal ether lipids, such as iGDDs, OH-GDGTs and OH-GDGTs, have a similar distribution as iGDGTs, indicating a common biological source, so do the corresponding non-isoprenoidal ether lipid series with bGDGTs. The BIT value increases with increasing distance from the sea, which implies that the BIT index can be probably applied to trace past sea level change in costal wetland settings. The reconstructed temperature from TEX86 shows significant offset from observed data, but only little deviation for the MBT/CBT calculated temperature. This suggests that the MBT/CBT has the potential to reconstruct past temperatures in coastal wetland settings.

Etherification of Glycerol with Propylene or 1-Butene for Fuel Additives

The etherification of glycerol with propylene over acidic heterogeneous catalysts, Amberlyst-15, S100, and S200 resins, produced mono-propyl glycerol ethers (MPGEs), 1,3-di- and 1,2-di-propyl glycerol ethers (DPGEs), and tri-propyl glycerol ether (TPGE). The propylation of glycerol over Amberlyst-15 yielded only TPGE. The glycerol etherification with 1-butene over Amberlyst-15 and S200 resins produced 1-mono-, 2-mono-, 1,2-di-, and 1,3-di-butyl glycerol ethers (1-MBGE, 2-MBGE, 1,2-DBGE, and 1,3-DBGE). The use of Amberlyst-15 resulted in the propylation and butylation of glycerol with higher yields than those obtained from the S100 and S200 resins. The PGEs, TPGE, and BGEs were evaluated as cold flow improvers and octane boosters. These alkyl glycerol ethers can reduce the cloud point of blended palm biodiesels with diesel. They can increase the research octane number and the motor octane number of gasoline.