I was surfing this morning and this article got my attention.

Apricot and cashew nut by-products can be used as renewable feedstocks to make nanomaterials, say scientists in the US.

George John and Praveen Kumar Vemula from the City College of the City University of New York, US, have used plant-derived resources to make a variety of soft nanomaterials, which are useful for a wide variety of applications.

John started with amygdalin, a by-product from the apricot industry and used an enzyme catalysis route to make amphiphiles - molecules with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts - that have very effective gelation properties, even before purification. John used the hydrogel formed from these amphiphiles as a successful drug delivery vehicle for curcumin, a well-known drug with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. 'Enzyme catalysis was used as a tool to make and break the hydrogels, which triggered controlled drug delivery,' said John.


Posted by: Ethen    Source

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