This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of the cisplatin encapsulated into polybutylcyanoacrylate (PBCA) nanoparticles for the treatment of kidney cancer. The nanoformulation was successfully developed using the miniemulsion polymerization method and characterized in terms of size, size distribution, drug loading and encapsulation efficiencies, drug release behavior, in vitro cytotoxicity effects, in vivo toxicity, and therapeutic effects. Cisplatin-loaded PBCA nanoparticles were confirmed to be in nanoscale with the drug entrapment efficiency of 23% and controlled drug release profile, in which only 9% of the loaded drug was released after 48 h. The nanoparticles caused an increase in the cytotoxicity effects of cisplatin against renal cell adenocarcinoma cells (ACHN) (2.3-fold) and considerably decreased blood urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations when compared to the standard cisplatin (1.6-fold and 1.5-fold, respectively). The nanoformulation also caused an increase in the therapeutic effects of cisplatin by 1.8-fold, in which a reduction in the mean tumor size was seen (3.5 mm vs. 6.5 mm) when compared to the standard cisplatin receiver rats. Overall, cisplatin-loaded PBCA nanoparticles can be considered as a promising drug candidate for the treatment of kidney cancer due to its potency to reduce the side effects of cisplatin and its toxicity and therapeutic effects on cancer-bearing Wistar rats.

The two‐chambered microbial fuel cell (MFC) was designed and used for studying the efficiency of the real wastewater treatment from a non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory pharmaceutical plant as well as from synthetic wastewater containing diclofenac sodium (DS). The removal of the contaminants was expressed regarding chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, as measured by spectrophotometry experiments. Moreover, the effect of two different types of the cathode on current characteristics and COD removal was investigated. This research showed that the Pt‐coated Ti cathode could lead to higher efficiency of both power density and COD removal. In this case, the results indicated that the maximum power density (Pmax) was 20.5 and 6.5 W/m3 and the maximum COD removal was 93 and 78% for MFCs using real and synthetic wastewater, respectively.

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This work is mainly focused on studying the effects of cathode aeration in a tubular mediator-less microbial fuel cell. COD removal efficiency and the effect of closing the circuit are among other parameters investigated. A new combination of electrodes, i.e., platinumcoated titanium as the cathode and chrome-/vanadiumcoated stainless steel as the anode, is used in this work. Aeration of the cathode chamber is carried out by addition of oxygen, which plays the role of final electron-acceptor terminal. When the cathode chamber is aerated, the maximum achievable voltage and current are 630 mV and 1.06 mA, respectively. When the cathode operates under anaerobic conditions, COD reduced by only 40 % after 90 h, as opposed to 90 % achieved with cathode aeration, in which case more than 36 % of COD is removed in the first 8 h, while the rest of it is eliminated over a much longer period of time (i.e., 82 h). The best curve fitting for COD removal follows a logarithmic pattern, indicating higher removal levels when more substrate is available. Closing the circuit is followed by a plunge in voltage, which is attributable to the ohmic resistance.

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This study investigated the attenuation and release behaviour of copper ions using a standard kaolin-silt slurry as the synthetic tailings in a high solids/high salinity application before and after inline flocculation. A homogenous, synthetic tailings slurry was prepared in a 0.6 M NaCl solution and treated in a low-shear mixer by adding Magnafloc® 336 flocculant. Following the evaluation of morphological properties of both the untreated (UT) and polymer-treated tailings (PT), identical equilibrium tests were performed via the bottle-point method constant concentration technique. The maximum copper ions uptake capacity of polymer-treated tailings was 25% more than the untreated slurry at the equilibrium state in a chemisorption process in which the ions had the capability of binding onto one location on the sorbent, which could be influencing other binding sites on the same sorbent. Polymer treatment resulted in a highly porous structure that exhibited an increased capacity to adsorb and retain copper ions compared to the UT materials. This behaviour indicates the strong binding between the copper ions and active site of the treated tailings particles with greater capability of this material for preserving heavy metal ions within their structure across a wide pH range (2–10) compared to the UT materials. The results advance the fundamental understanding of how inline flocculation can considerably improve the sorption capacity of high solids/high salinity tailings favouring potential long-term rehabilitation purposes at mine closure and the role of sorption and desorption of heavy metal ions’ behaviour play to achieve this goal.