REVIEW ON CUBOSOMES

Cubosomes are stable nanostructured liquid crystalline particles which are made of a specific group of amphiphilic lipids in definite proper ratio in water and then stabilised by biocompatible substances like triblock polymer. Cubosomes are curved bicontinuous cubic phase liquid crystals and they can split to form thermodynamically stable particulate dispersions. Cubosomes have biocompatible and bio-adhesive properties andare capable of loading 3D bilayered structure resembling honeycomb (carvenous) like structure by encapsulating lipophilic, hydrophobic and amphiphilic substances. Cubosomes are administered through different ways such as orally, parenterally and percutaneously. Cubosomes are versatile systems in their structure for drug delivery systems.

Transfersomes: A Promising Nanoencapsulation Technique for Transdermal Drug Delivery

Transdermal delivery systems have gained much interest in recent years owing to their advantages compared to conventional oral and parenteral delivery systems. They are noninvasive and self-administered delivery systems that can improve patient compliance and provide a controlled release of the therapeutic agents. The greatest challenge of transdermal delivery systems is the barrier function of the skin’s outermost layer. Molecules with molecular weights greater than 500 Da and ionized compounds generally do not pass through the skin. Therefore, only a limited number of drugs are capable of being administered by this route. Encapsulating the drugs in transfersomes are one of the potential approaches to overcome this problem. They have a bilayered structure that facilitates the encapsulation of lipophilic and hydrophilic, as well as amphiphilic, drug with higher permeation efficiencies compared to conventional liposomes. Transfersomes are elastic in nature, which can deform and squeeze themselves as an intact vesicle through narrow pores that are significantly smaller than its size. This review aims to describe the concept of transfersomes, the mechanism of action, different methods of preparation and characterization and factors affecting the properties of transfersomes, along with their recent applications in the transdermal administration of drugs.

Construction of Interface Dipoles by Surface Doping and Their Role in the Open Circuit Voltage in Polymer Solar Cells

A kind of dipolar interface is realized by surface doping of poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) with tetrafluoro-tetracyano-quinodimethane (F4TCNQ). PEDOT is in situ synthesized by electrochemical polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode, and then F4TCNQ is spin-coated atop the PEDOT layer. Because the LUMO of F4TCNQ is lower than the HOMO of PEDOT, the spontaneous electron transfer from PEDOT to F4TCNQ results in a bilayered structure of PEDOT cations and F4TCNQ anions. Thus, a permanent interfacial dipole is formed in the surface-doping system. The surface doping not only enhances the conductivity of PEDOT, but also increases the surface work function of the electrode. The dipolar film is applied as the anode interface in polymer solar cells (PSCs), and the results show that such an interface dipole plays a very important role in the open circuit voltage (V oc) of the PSCs.

Bifunctional g-C3N4/WO3 Thin Films for Photocatalytic Water Purification

A bifunctional thin film photocatalyst consisting of graphitic carbon nitride on tungsten trioxide (g-C3N4/WO3) is introduced for the improvement of photocatalytic activity concerning hexavalent chromium reduction and methylene blue dye removal in water, compared to the bare, widely used WO3 semiconductor. A bilayered structure was formed, which is important for the enhancement of the charge carriers’ separation. The characterization of morphological, structural, optoelectronic, and vibrational properties of the photocatalysts permitted a better understanding of their photocatalytic activity for both dye degradation and Cr+6 elimination in water and the analysis of the photocatalytic kinetics permitted the determination of the corresponding pseudo-first-order reaction constants (k). Trapping experiments performed under UV illumination revealed that the main active species for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr+6 ions are electrons, whereas in the case of methylene blue azo-dye (MB) oxidation, the activation of the corresponding photocatalytic degradation comes via both holes and superoxide radicals.

Flexible N-Donor Ligands Direct the Structural Characteristics of CoII Complexes: Syntheses, Structures, and Magnetic Properties

Solvothermal reactions of 3,3′,5,5′-biphenyltetracarboxylic acid (H4BPTC) and cobalt(ii) ions in the presence of two different flexible N-donor ancillary ligands afford two novel coordination polymers, {[Co(BPTC)0.5(bix)]·H2O}n (1), {[Co(BPTC)0.5(bpp)]·3H2O}n (2) (bix=1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene; bpp=1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane). Their structures have been determined by elemental analyses, IR spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, and powder X-ray diffraction. The pillared layered framework of 1 can be simplified to a (4,6)-connected net with a Schläfli symbol of (44·62)(44·69·82). Complex 2 manifests a bilayered structure, and can be simplified to a (4,4)-connected net with a Schläfli symbol of (55·8)(54·62). The thermal stabilities of both complexes and the magnetic behaviours of 1 are also discussed.

An electrochemically induced bilayered structure facilitates long-life zinc storage of vanadium dioxide

VO2 is firstly employed as high-performance zinc ion battery cathode material and in detail investigated its electrochemical zinc-storage mechanism.

Fabrication of TiO2/CuO photoelectrode with enhanced solar water splitting activity

A bilayered TiO2/CuO photoelectrode was fabricated on a fluorine-doped tin oxide FTO substrate by spin-coating and pulsed laser deposition methods. The prepared bilayered system was assessed as a photoelectrode for solar water splitting. The fabricated TiO2/CuO photoelectrode exhibited a higher photocurrent density (0.022[Formula: see text]mA/cm2 at 1.23[Formula: see text]V vs. RHE) compared to bare TiO2 photoelectrode (0.013[Formula: see text]mA/cm2 at 1.23[Formula: see text]V vs. RHE). This photocurrent density enhancement was attributed to the improved charge separation combined with the improved sunlight harvesting efficiency of a bilayered structure.