Biopolymeric drug delivery systems enhance the bioavailability and therapeutic efficacy of poorly soluble bioactive compounds. In this study, chitosan (Chi), dextran (Dex), carboxymethyl dextran (mDex), lignin (L), and curcumin (Cu) were combined to develop materials with controlled release, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. The mechanical evaluation showed that Chi-mDex-L-Cu exhibited the highest diametral tensile strength (2.40 MPa), a 1233% increase compared to Chi-mDex-L, due to strong hydrogen bonding interactions between curcumin and matrix components. Curcumin release kinetics, modeled using the Weibull equation, demonstrated that Chi-mDex-L-Cu presented the slowest release rate, reducing the cumulative release by 55.66% as compared to Chi-L-Cu, ensuring prolonged bioactivity. Despite its controlled release, Chi-mDex-L-Cu retained 60% antioxidant and 70% anti-inflammatory activity, making it a promising sustained-release system. The biocompatibility assessment confirmed cell viability above 85%, with Chi-mDex-L-Cu showing a slight (~10%) reduction at higher concentrations while remaining non-cytotoxic. These findings suggest that Chi-mDex-L-Cu is a strong candidate for biomedical applications requiring prolonged therapeutic effects, such as osteoarthritis treatment.

The paper presents the synthesis and characterization of new cobalt ferrite-lignin hybrids. The hybrids were obtained through the combustion of cobalt nitrate and ferric nitrate, two kinds of lignin being used as combustion agents. The temperatures of calcination were 500 °C and 900 °C, respectively. The hybrids were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The magnetic properties were also assessed by vibrating sample magnetometer system (VSM). This facile synthesis method made it possible to obtain cobalt ferrite-lignin hybrids with a spinel structure. Their particle sizes and crystallite sizes have increased with an increment in the calcination temperature. A different occupancy of cations at octahedral and tetrahedral sites also occurred upon the increase in temperature. The hybrids comprising organic lignin presented the best magnetic properties.

This study focuses on the development of adsorptive materials to retain degraded 5w40 motor oil. The materials were prepared using xanthan (XG) and XG esterified with acrylic acid (XGAC) as the polymeric matrix. LignoBoost lignin (LB), LB esterified with oleic (LBOL), stearic acid (LBST) and montmorillonite (CL) were added into XG and XGAC matrices to obtain the adsorbents. Adsorption experiments revealed that XG/CL/LBOL had the highest adsorption capacity at 46.80 g/g, followed by XGAC/CL at 45.73 g/g, and XG/CL at 37.58 g/g. The kinetic studies, employing the pseudo-second-order (PSO) model, indicated rapid sorption rates with a good correlation to experimental data. FTIR spectra analysis have evidenced the physical nature of adsorption process, involving interactions such as hydrogen bonding, van der Waals forces, and π–π interactions. Equilibrium data fitting to the Henry, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models showed that the adsorption occurs within materials diverse pore structures, enhancing oil retention. Structural parameters like density, porosity, and surface area were pivotal, with XG/CL/LBOL showing the most favorable properties for high oil adsorption. Additionally, it was found that the adsorption efficiency was influenced by the material’s morphology and the presence of chemical modifications. This comprehensive evaluation highlights the potential of these novel adsorptive materials for environmental remediation applications, offering an efficient and sustainable approach to reducing degraded motor oil pollution.

Heparin (Hep), with its anticoagulant activity, antiangiogenic and apoptotic effects, and growth factor binding, plays an important role in various biological processes. Formulations as drug delivery systems protect its biological activity, and limit the potential side effects of faulty administration. The objective of this study was to develop novel xanthan-based materials as a delivery carrier for heparin. The materials exhibited remarkable elastic behavior and toughness without any crack development within the network, which also support their application for tissue engineering. It was found that all materials possessed the ability to control the release of heparin, according to the Korsmeyer–Peppas release model. All Hep-containing materials caused significant exchanges of the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) and prothrombin time (PT) parameters, indicating that formulated natural/natural synthetic polymeric networks conserved heparin’s biological activity and its ability to interrupt the blood coagulation cascade. The obtained results confirmed that developed materials could be carriers for the controlled release of heparin, with potential applications in topical administration.

In the present study, carbon structures from LignoBoost lignin were synthetized using HNO₃/H₂SO₄ one-pot hydrothermal treatment, followed by a thermal treatment. The obtained compounds were characterized using different techniques, such as FTIR, DVS, DLS, XRD, fluorescence imaging and STEM. The formed LCMs presented graphitized structure with quasi-spherical shapes. All obtained materials presented negative values of zeta potential due to the charge from the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups, as confirmed by XPS analysis. All the data obtained sustained the heterogeneous composition of the lignin-based carbon materials, which arise from the complex structure of lignin. Fluorescence imaging demonstrated the potential of the materials as optical imaging agents.