Adsorption of Estrogenic Hormones in Aqueous Solution Using Electrospun Nanofibers From Waste Cigarette Butts: Kinetics, Mechanism, and Reusability

This study emphasizes rapid and simultaneous adsorptive removal of estrogenic hormones (EHs): estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), and estriol (E3) from wastewater using recycled waste cigarette electrospun nanofibers (WCENFs). The nanofibers exhibited a small diameter (196±65 nm) and large surface area (18.05 m 2 /g), along with a strong affinity towards all EHs by adsorption due to abundant hydrogen bonding interactions. A one-step high-performance liquid chromatography technique was developed to detect each EH present in the solution simultaneously. The adsorption kinetics helps select optimum conditions for the large-scale removal process, so experimental data using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intra-particle diffusion, Elovich, and fractional power models were fitted. It was found that E1, E2, and EE2 followed pseudo-second-order kinetics while E3 followed pseudo-first-order kinetic models. The total adsorption capacity on WCENFs was determined to be 2.14 mg/g, whereas the individual adsorption capacities of E1, E2, EE2, and E3 were found to be 0.551, 0.532, 0.687, and 0.369 mg/g, respectively. The percentage efficiency of WCENFs was highest with EE2 ~64.3% and least with E3 ~34.6%. Adsorption-desorption studies revealed that WCENFs could repeatedly be used four times. The reported results indicate a significant potential of WCENFs to be an effective sorbent and portable filter for simultaneous estrogenic hormone removal. WCENFs filter is a suitable alternative to commercial Cellulose acetate filters.

Role of Sex in the Therapeutic Targeting of p53 Circuitry

Sex profoundly affects cancer incidence and susceptibility to therapy, with sex hormones highly contributing to this disparity. Various studies and omics data suggest a relationship between sex and the oncosuppressor p53 circuitry, including its regulators MDM2 and MDM4. Association of this network with genetic variation underlies sex-related altered cancer risk, age of onset, and cancer sensitivity to therapy. Moreover, sex-related factors, mainly estrogenic hormones, can affect the levels and/or function of the p53 network both in hormone-dependent and independent cancer. Despite this evidence, preclinical and clinical studies aimed to evaluate p53 targeted therapy rarely consider sex and related factors. This review summarizes the studies reporting the relationship between sex and the p53 circuitry, including its associated regulators, MDM2 and MDM4, with particular emphasis on estrogenic hormones. Moreover, we reviewed the evaluation of sex/hormone in preclinical studies and clinical trials employing p53-target therapies, and discuss how patients’ sex and hormonal status could impact these therapeutic approaches.

Detection of Estrogenic Hormones Using Plasmonic Nanostructures

<div> <div> <div> <p>By optimising the geometry of asymmetric split-H (ASH) resonators fabricated on zinc selenide, we have produced a total of four distinct plasmonic resonances that could be matched with six molecular vibration wavelengths (for O-H, C-H, C=O, C=C, CºC-H and C-C bonds) which are relevant to the detection of four estrogenic hormones: estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) and synthetic estrogen; 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2). Specifically, sensitivities of 363 nm/RIU and 636 nm/RIU were achieved from the deposition of E2 on ASH1 (2 μm and 4 μm) and ASH2 (5 μm and 8 μm) respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was used to measure the transmittance resonances of the fabricated ASH arrays. The amplitudes of the molecular vibrational resonances were also around 500 times greater when matched with the plasmonic resonances of the ASHs as compared with deposit on on bulk ZnSe substrates. Finally, when mixtures of two hormones were deposited on the nanoantennas, the molar ratio for each of the hormones could also be calculated by using the peak intensities for the different molecular vibration wavelengths. By engineering the spectral response of ASH resonators to match specific estrogenic fingerprints, the work paves the way for the development of metamaterial sensors with better specificity and enhanced functionalities.</p> </div> </div> </div>

Detection of Estrogenic Hormones Using Plasmonic Nanostructures

<div> <div> <div> <p>By optimising the geometry of asymmetric split-H (ASH) resonators fabricated on zinc selenide, we have produced a total of four distinct plasmonic resonances that could be matched with six molecular vibration wavelengths (for O-H, C-H, C=O, C=C, CºC-H and C-C bonds) which are relevant to the detection of four estrogenic hormones: estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) and synthetic estrogen; 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2). Specifically, sensitivities of 363 nm/RIU and 636 nm/RIU were achieved from the deposition of E2 on ASH1 (2 μm and 4 μm) and ASH2 (5 μm and 8 μm) respectively. A Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer was used to measure the transmittance resonances of the fabricated ASH arrays. The amplitudes of the molecular vibrational resonances were also around 500 times greater when matched with the plasmonic resonances of the ASHs as compared with deposit on on bulk ZnSe substrates. Finally, when mixtures of two hormones were deposited on the nanoantennas, the molar ratio for each of the hormones could also be calculated by using the peak intensities for the different molecular vibration wavelengths. By engineering the spectral response of ASH resonators to match specific estrogenic fingerprints, the work paves the way for the development of metamaterial sensors with better specificity and enhanced functionalities.</p> </div> </div> </div>