With the evolution of nanoscience and nanotechnology, studies have been focused on manipulating nanoparticle properties through the control of their size, composition, and morphology. As nanomaterial research has progressed, the foremost focus has gradually shifted from synthesis, morphology control, and characterization of properties to the investigation of function and the utility of integrating these materials and chemical sciences with the physical, biological, and medical fields, which therefore necessitates the development of novel materials that are capable of performing multiple tasks and functions. The construction of multifunctional nanomaterials that integrate two or more functions into a single geometry has been achieved through the surface-coating technique, which created a new class of substances designated as core-shell nanoparticles. Core-shell materials have growing and expanding applications due to the multifunctionality that is achieved through the formation of multiple shells as well as the manipulation of core/shell materials. Moreover, core removal from core-shell-based structures offers excellent opportunities to construct multifunctional hollow core architectures that possess huge storage capacities, low densities, and tunable optical properties. Furthermore, the fabrication of nanomaterials that have the combined properties of a core-shell structure with that of a hollow one has resulted in the creation of a new and important class of substances, known as the rattle core-shell nanoparticles, or nanorattles. The design strategies of these new multifunctional nanostructures (core-shell, hollow core, and nanorattle) are discussed in the first part of this review. In the second part, different synthesis and fabrication approaches for multifunctional core-shell, hollow core-shell and rattle core-shell architectures are highlighted. Finally, in the last part of the article, the versatile and diverse applications of these nanoarchitectures in catalysis, energy storage, sensing, and biomedicine are presented.

The aim of the present study was to determine the content of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in Capsicum samples collected from city markets in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), calculate their pungency in Scoville heat units (SHU) and evaluate the average daily intake of capsaicin for the population of Riyadh. The investigated samples consisted of hot chillies, red chillies, green chillies, green peppers, red peppers and yellow peppers. Extraction of capsaicinoids was done using ethanol as solvent, while high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used for separation, identification and quantitation of the components. The limit of detection (LOD) of the method was 0.09 and 0.10 µg/g for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, respectively, while the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.30 and 0.36 µg/g for capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin, respectively. Hot chillies showed the highest concentration of capsaicin (4249.0 ± 190.3 µg/g) and the highest pungency level (67984.60 SHU), whereas green peppers had the lowest detected concentration (1.0 ± 0.9 µg/g); green peppers, red peppers and yellow peppers were non pungent. The mean consumption of peppers for Riyadh city population was determined to be 15.5 g/person/day while the daily capsaicin intake was 7.584 mg/person/day.

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Multiwalled carbon nanotubes were impregnated with 4-(2-thiazolylazo)resorcinol and used for the separation and preconcentration of Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II) and Ni(II) ions from food samples. The analytes were quantitatively recovered at pH 7.0 and eluted with 3 mol L −1 acetic acid. The effects of pH value, flow rate, eluent type and sample volume on the recoveries, and the effects of alkali, earth alkali and transition metals on the retention of the analytes were studied. The method was validated using the standard certified reference materials SRM 1570A (spinach leaves) and IAEA 336 (lichen), and the results were found to be compatible with the certified values of reference materials. The new enrichment procedure was applied to the determination of these ions in various food samples.

Agricultural wastes have great potential for the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. The contamination of water by toxic heavy metals is a worldwide environmental problem. Unlike organic pollutants, the majority of which are susceptible to biological degradation, heavy metals do not degrade into harmless end products. Discharges containing cadmium, in particular, are strictly controlled because of the highly toxic nature of this element and its tendency to accumulate in the tissues of living organisms. This work aims to develop inexpensive, highly available, effective metal ion adsorbents from natural wastes as alternatives to existing commercial adsorbents. In particular, Tamrix articulata wastes were modified chemically by esterification with maleic acid to yield a carboxyl-rich adsorbent. The adsorption behavior of treated Tamrix articulata wastes toward cadmium ions in aqueous solutions in a batch system has been studied as a function of equilibration time, adsorbent dose, temperature and pH. Results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity was 195.5 mg/g in a pH 4 solution at 30 °C with a contact time of 120 min, an initial concentration of 400 mg/L and an adsorbent dose of 0.3 g/L. The kinetic data were analyzed using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. It was shown that the adsorption of cadmium could be described by a pseudo-second-order equation. The experimental data were also analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich models of adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔGo, ΔHo and ΔSo have been evaluated and it has been found that the sorption process was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. From all of our data, we conclude that the treated Tamrix articulata wastes investigated in this study showed good potential for cadmium removal from aqueous solutions.

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