In the last few decades, pharmaceuticals, credited with saving millions of lives, have emerged as a new class of environmental contaminant. These compounds can have both chronic and acute harmful effects on natural flora and fauna. The presence of pharmaceutical contaminants in ground waters, surface waters (lakes, rivers, and streams), sea water, wastewater treatment plants (influents and effluents), soils, and sludges has been well doccumented. A range of methods including oxidation, photolysis, UV-degradation, nanofiltration, reverse osmosis, and adsorption has been used for their remediation from aqueous systems. Many methods have been commercially limited by toxic sludge generation, incomplete removal, high capital and operating costs, and the need for skilled operating and maintenance personnel. Adsorption technologies are a low-cost alternative, easily used in developing countries where there is a dearth of advanced technologies, skilled personnel, and available capital, and adsorption appears to be the most broadly feasible pharmaceutical removal method. Adsorption remediation methods are easily integrated with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Herein, we have reviewed the literature (1990-2018) illustrating the rising environmental pharmaceutical contamination concerns as well as remediation efforts emphasizing adsorption.

Pharmaceuticals of Emerging Concern in Aquatic Systems: Chemistry, Occurrence, Effects, and Removal Methods.

There is great need for stand-alone luminescence-based chemosensors that exemplify selectivity, sensitivity, and applicability and that overcome the challenges that arise from complex, real-world media. Discussed herein are recent developments toward these goals in the field of supramolecular luminescent chemosensors, including macrocycles, polymers, and nanomaterials. Specific focus is placed on the development of new macrocycle hosts since 2010, coupled with considerations of the underlying principles of supramolecular chemistry as well as analytes of interest and common luminophores. State-of-the-art developments in the fields of polymer and nanomaterial sensors are also examined, and some remaining unsolved challenges in the area of chemosensors are discussed.

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Supramolecular Luminescent Sensors

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Emodin: A Review of its Pharmacology, Toxicity and Pharmacokinetics: Emodin: Pharmacology, Toxicity and Pharmacokinetics

Emodin is a natural anthraquinone derivative that occurs in many widely used Chinese medicinal herbs, such as Rheum palmatum, Polygonum cuspidatum and Polygonum multiflorum Emodin has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for over 2000 years and is still present in various herbal preparations Emerging evidence indicates that emodin possesses a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties, including anticancer, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities However, emodin could also lead to hepatotoxicity, kidney toxicity and reproductive toxicity, particularly in high doses and with long-term use Pharmacokinetic studies have demonstrated that emodin has poor oral bioavailability in rats because of its extensive glucuronidation This review aims to comprehensively summarize the pharmacology, toxicity and pharmacokinetics of emodin reported to date with an emphasis on its biological properties and mechanisms of action Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ptr.5631

Aloe‐emodin: A review of its pharmacology, toxicity, and pharmacokinetics

Poloxamer 407, also known by the trademark Pluronic® F127, is a water-soluble, non-ionic triblock copolymer that is made up of a hydrophobic residue of polyoxypropylene (POP) between the two hydrophilic units of polyoxyethylene (POE). Poloxamer 407-based hydrogels exhibit an interesting reversible thermal characteristic. That is, they are liquid at room temperature, but they assume a gel form when administered at body temperature, which makes them attractive candidates as pharmaceutical drug carriers. These systems have been widely investigated in the development of mucoadhesive formulations because they do not irritate the mucosal membranes. Based on these mucoadhesive properties, a simple administration into a specific compartment should maintain the required drug concentration in situ for a prolonged period of time, decreasing the necessary dosages and side effects. Their main limitations are their modest mechanical strength and, notwithstanding their bioadhesive properties, their tendency to succumb to rapid elimination in physiological media. Various technological approaches have been investigated in the attempt to modulate these properties. This review focuses on the application of poloxamer 407-based hydrogels for mucosal drug delivery with particular attention being paid to the latest published works.

Mucosal Applications of Poloxamer 407-Based Hydrogels: An Overview.

Effect of piperine on the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of emodin in rats.

A simple and efficient method combining solid-phase extraction (SPE) with homogeneous liquid–liquid microextraction (HLLME) has been developed for fast pretreatment of chloramphenicol (CAP) from water samples prior to determination by high-performance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet detection. Oasis HLB sorbent was chosen for SPE. In HLLME, N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine was used as a CO2-triggered switchable solvent that could switch reversibly between hydrophilic and hydrophobic forms. The parameters influencing both SPE and HLLME were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the method exhibited low limit of detection (0.1 ng/mL), good linearity (0.5-50 ng/mL), acceptable precision (RSD <5.0%) and accuracy (RE <4.0%). An enrichment factor of 340 was obtained. The proposed method is simple, fast, cost-effective, and suitable for the determination of trace chloramphenicol in water matrices.

Solid-phase extraction coupled with switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for chloramphenicol enrichment in environmental water samples: a novel alternative to classical extraction techniques.

Microwave assisted extraction in combination with solid phase purification and switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of sulfonamides in chicken meat.

Microwave-assisted extraction in combination with capillary electrophoresis for rapid determination of isoquinoline alkaloids in Chelidonium majus L.

Linarin is a flavone glycoside in the plants Flos chrysanthemi indici, Buddleja officinalis, Cirsium setosum, Mentha arvensis and Buddleja davidii, and has been reported to possess analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities. In this paper, linarin was investigated for its AChE inhibitory potential both in-vitro and ex-vivo. Ellman's colorimetric method was used for the determination of AChE inhibitory activity in mouse brain. In-vitro assays revealed that linarin inhibited AChE activity with an IC50 of 3.801 ± 1.149 μM. Ex-vivo study showed that the AChE activity was significantly reduced in both the cortex and hippocampus of mice treated intraperitoneally with various doses of linarin (35, 70 and 140 mg/Kg). The inhibition effects produced by high dose of linarin were the same as that obtained after huperzine A treatment (0.5 mg/Kg). Molecular docking study revealed that both 4'-methoxyl group and 7-O-sugar moiety of linarin played important roles in ligand-receptor binding and thus they are mainly responsible for AChE inhibitory activity. In view of its potent AChE inhibitory activity, linarin may be a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of some diseases associated with AChE, such as glaucoma, myasthenia gravis, gastric motility and Alzheimer's disease.

http://ijpr.sbmu.ac.ir/article_1702_239be0d92204be974e344e0e0efee090.pdf

Youping Liu

Papers

Effect of piperine on the bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of emodin in rats.

Solid-phase extraction coupled with switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for chloramphenicol enrichment in environmental water samples: a novel alternative to classical extraction techniques.

Microwave assisted extraction in combination with solid phase purification and switchable hydrophilicity solvent-based homogeneous liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of sulfonamides in chicken meat.

Microwave-assisted extraction in combination with capillary electrophoresis for rapid determination of isoquinoline alkaloids in Chelidonium majus L.

Linarin Inhibits the Acetylcholinesterase Activity In-vitro and Ex-vivo