Tetra Pak packaging is considered an important source of high quality waste paper for pulp industry. Parallel to the fibre recovery a large quantity of PE-Al laminate is produced as by product. Reclaiming that perspective resource will be in focus of many pulp processing plants as conventional ways of disposing of such material are limited by new regulations. From many perspective technologies, only a few have achieved industrial level implementation.

The sustained release of multiple anti-cancer drugs using a single delivery carrier to achieve a synergistic antitumor effect remains challenging in biomaterials and pharmaceutics science. In this study, a supramolecular hydrogel based on the host–guest complexes between pH-responsive micelle derived poly(ethylene glycol) chains and α-cyclodextrin was designed for codelivery of two kinds of anti-cancer agents, hydrophilic 8-hydroxyquinoline glycoconjugate and hydrophobic doxorubicin. The host–guest interactions were characterized using X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry techniques. The resultant supramolecular hydrogel showed thixotropic properties, which are advantageous to drug delivery systems. In vitro release studies revealed that the supramolecular hydrogel exhibited faster drug release profiles in acidic conditions. The MTT assay demonstrated a synergistic cancer cell proliferation inhibition of DOX/8HQ-Glu mixture. In vitro cytotoxicity studies indicated excellent biocompatibility of the supramolecular hydrogel matrix, whereas the DOX/8HQ-Glu-loaded supramolecular hydrogel showed a sustained inhibition efficacy against cancer cells. The codelivery of hydrophobic anti-cancer drugs and hydrophilic anti-cancer drug glycoconjugates via a pH-responsive supramolecular hydrogel opens up new possibilities for the development of an effective cancer treatment based on the tumor-specific Warburg effect.

Synthesis and properties of aromatic 1,3-diketones and bis-(1,3-diketones) obtained from acetophenone and phtalic acids esters