Search Results (412)

Lactose is widely used as a pharmaceutical excipient, yet little is known about how its physicochemical behavior may be influenced by pretreatment history and weak environmental magnetic conditions. In this pilot study, we investigated oxidation–reduction potential (ORP) and UV absorbance of 0.2% aqueous lactose solutions prepared from lactose powders with different pretreatment histories: Active water, Native water, and untreated control. Samples were exposed for 30 min to three static magnetic field conditions: weak geomagnetic field (~4 µT), ambient geomagnetic field (~30 µT), and elevated static field (~750 µT). UV/VIS spectroscopy was performed in the 200–400 nm range, with particular focus on the deep-UV absorption maximum near 200 nm. The strongest differentiation between pretreated samples and control occurred under weak geomagnetic conditions. In this weak-field regime, pretreated lactose solutions showed higher ORP values and a same-direction trend toward increased UV absorbance near 200 nm relative to untreated lactose. Across all samples, both ORP and UV absorbance decreased with increasing magnetic field strength, indicating a consistent field-dependent shift in the overall physicochemical state of the lactose solutions, particularly in redox balance and deep-UV optical response. The same-direction changes in ORP and increased 200 nm absorbance at the group level suggests that weak-field conditions may influence oxidation-related processes, potentially including the formation or stabilization of lactose oxidation products such as lactobionic acid. These findings indicate that lactose-containing aqueous systems may be sensitive to both pretreatment history and low-intensity magnetic environments, with potential implications for pharmaceutical formulation stability, quality control, and biotechnological reproducibility. Full article

Skin aging is a central focus of skin health. Supramolecular chemistry has emerged as a powerful strategy for enhancing the performance of cosmetic active ingredients. Adenosine is a promising anti-aging ingredient in skincare products, but its cosmetic application is limited by poor water solubility and low skin penetration. This study developed a supramolecular complex combining adenosine with ectoine through cocrystallization. The supramolecular assembly was characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed extensive hydrogen-bonding networks between the components. The optimal supramolecular composition (1:1.5 molar ratio) achieved a 5.5-fold increase in water solubility. The supramolecular organization enhanced skin permeability by 3.1-fold in ex vivo porcine skin models. In fibroblast cell models, the supramolecular system exhibited superior antioxidant activity with 30.3% greater reactive oxygen species (ROS) reduction and restored cellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels by 2.1-fold under H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress compared to individual components. These findings demonstrate that the adenosine–ectoine supramolecular complex represents an innovative multifunctional ingredient for basic anti-aging cosmetics, offering enhanced delivery, improved safety, and superior biological efficacy through supramolecular engineering. Full article

Edible powders are important food ingredients, and their quality strongly affects processability, stability, and nutrient delivery. Compared with conventional grinding, superfine grinding enables particle-size reduction to the micron or submicron scale and has shown considerable potential for improving the physicochemical and functional properties of food powders. This review summarizes five representative superfine grinding technologies and discusses how different mechanical force fields regulate powder quality through changes in particle size, specific surface area, cell-wall integrity, and macromolecular structure. Current evidence indicates that superfine grinding can improve hydration behavior, dissolution, the release of bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and in vitro bioaccessibility, but these effects are highly dependent on raw-material characteristics and processing conditions. At the same time, excessive micronization may induce particle agglomeration, thermal degradation of sensitive components, sensory deterioration, high energy consumption, and potential safety concerns related to ultrafine particles. Therefore, the performance of a single grinding technology is often constrained by intrinsic physicochemical and engineering limitations. Recent studies suggest that combining superfine grinding with pretreatment, interfacial stabilization, or encapsulation strategies can improve powder stability and functionality more effectively than grinding alone. Future research should focus on standardized evaluation systems, mechanistic clarification across food matrices, and integrated process design for industrial application. Full article

Powder coatings applied to medium-density fiberboard (MDF) substrates have attracted increasing attention due to their low volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and high material utilization efficiency. The review synthesizes the interdisciplinary literature from coating engineering, CMF design, and furniture design. However, existing studies often focus on individual coating properties and lack a systematic framework integrating color, material, and finish (CMF). Therefore, this review examines the design and application of MDF powder coatings from a CMF perspective, focusing on the relationships between coating engineering parameters and user-oriented perceptual requirements. Within this framework, color performance is associated with pigment dispersion and particle size distribution; the material dimension is governed by low-temperature curing kinetics and substrate properties, and the finish dimension is shaped by surface texturing and functional additives. The review also discusses current limitations, including the trade-off between low-temperature curing reactivity and storage stability, the influence of nano-additives on surface quality, and the recyclability challenges of powder-coated MDF. Future research should focus on industrial scalability, lifecycle sustainability, and long-term durability of MDF powder coating systems. This review provides a CMF-oriented framework for linking user experience requirements with coating engineering strategies, which is of great importance for the development of customized home furnishing. Full article

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) poses significant simulation challenges due to its highly nonlinear thermo-fluid-solid coupling. To address this, we propose an adaptive framework coupling the edge-based smoothed finite element method (ES-FEM) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) via a bidirectional element-particle transformation algorithm. This integration leverages ES-FEM for modeling solid thermo-mechanical responses and SPH for resolving melt pool dynamics, enabling fully coupled simulation of temperature, fluid flow, and stress within a unified model. The framework comprises three key components: a nodal mass normalization scheme ensuring conservation during transformations, a ghost particle algorithm for solid-fluid heat transfer and interaction, and a bidirectional finite-element-to-particle conversion mechanism. This work represents the first implementation of bidirectional coupling between mesh-free Lagrangian SPH and Lagrangian FEM. The validation against benchmark cases confirms the framework’s accuracy in capturing transient thermal, hydrodynamic, and mechanical behavior. It successfully reproduces key LPBF phenomena, including melt pool morphology, Marangoni flows, and residual stress evolution, demonstrating its suitability for high-fidelity LPBF process simulation. It should be noted that the current ES-FEM-SPH framework has not taken into account the recoil pressure, evaporation, and the interaction between the powder and the molten pool. The powder is regarded as a rigid body. Future work will focus on incorporating these neglected physical factors to further improve the predictive capability of the proposed framework. Full article

Fish-derived products are extensively acknowledged for their substantial role in fostering balanced diets and supporting a healthy way of life. This research is aimed at formulating, analyzing and evaluating a fish-based food product. The methodology adopted in this study adheres to contemporary food safety standards, prioritizing the utilization of minimal technological processes and natural ingredients, a focus that is gaining prominence within contemporary industrial practices. Thus, the proposal for a formulation obtained by integrating powders and extracts from plant byproducts (Citrus) represents a concrete application direction with real potential for commercialization. The product has been enriched with biocomponents derived from orange peel, namely orange extract (OE) and orange peel powder (PPO). The research focused on product development and the in situ evaluation of the effects of OE and PPO. The physicochemical composition, bioactive compound content, and antioxidant activity were evaluated, along with the microbiological status under post-opening refrigeration conditions, in order to simulate actual consumer use. In addition, the product’s color parameters and sensory attributes were analyzed. The results highlight significant potential for the development of a clean-label fish-based product, characterized by a simplified and easily implementable formulation, aligned with current production and consumption requirements. Compared to the control sample, both OE and PPO significantly influenced the analyzed parameters. Differences in physicochemical composition were observed in the experimental samples. In addition, PPO increased the antioxidant activity of the samples and the profile of bioactive compounds. Microbiological analysis, performed on day 0 and after 3 and 7 days of storage at 4 °C showed opening, confirmed the absence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in all samples and had an influence on the growth of fungi. The acceptability of fish-based products is often limited by odor perception, which is one of the main factors leading to consumer rejection. Sensory evaluation demonstrated that citrus-enriched samples were distinguished by the perception of particular sensory attributes. This formulation presents a practical solution to address this constraint, thereby enhancing the product’s sensory acceptability. The integration of OE and PPO yielded a more harmonized sensory profile, as evidenced by elevated hedonic scores and an intermediate placement in both principal component analysis (PCA) and external preference mapping. This research furnishes a thorough characterization of a fish-based food product, underscoring its potential as a viable option for balanced dietary regimens. Simultaneously, the findings support the product’s adherence to sustainability principles through the utilization of bioactive compounds sourced from plant byproducts, thus satisfying contemporary requirements for foods that possess an optimal nutritional profile and a diminished environmental footprint. Full article

This article addresses the lack of repeatability and reproducibility that has inhibited the widespread adoption of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing (PBF-LB/M) for service-critical part fabrication in production. A rigorous analysis of critical dimensional variations at a statistically significant scale is essential to understand the influence of process co-factors in PBF-LB/M, serving as a vital step toward process control. Structured white-light profilometry provides an effective balance of capability and features for performing such analysis, including advanced focus variation-based feature extraction. In this work, two types of samples were fabricated, each having either thin gaps or thin walls of varying widths ranging from 200 to 1000 µm. Samples containing these features were designed with and without a constraining base geometry and built along different orientations across various locations on the build plate in two layer thicknesses: 30 µm and 60 µm. Co-factors such as base geometry, specimen orientation, layer thickness, and location on the build plate were investigated for their impact on measurement variations in the as-built condition. The achievable resolution and repeatability was found to be 500 μm, and thus did not conform to the machine manufacturer’s stated minimum of 150 μm. The presence of a base geometry effectively reduced the variations preferentially for features larger than this limit. Features smaller than 500 µm exhibited a variation of approximately 1.5–3 times the D50 size of the powder feedstock, regardless of the co-factors. The tightest control over the variations was observed to occur at the center of the build plate. This study aims to quantify the combined effect of multiple process co-factors on the repeatable dimensional process capability of sub-millimeter PBF-LB/M features in Ti6Al4V. Full article

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a malignant tumor with high global incidence and mortality rates, urgently requires more effective targeted drug delivery systems for its treatment. As an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, gefitinib has its clinical efficacy limited by poor solubility and low bioavailability. This study aimed to develop a gefitinib–salicylic acid salt (Gef-Sa) and its nano-formulation (Gef-Sa-NPs) via a combined strategy of crystal engineering and nanotechnology to improve its pharmaceutical properties. Methods: Gef-Sa was prepared using a suspension method, and its salt formation and thermal stability were predicted by the ΔpKa rule and confirmed by various solid-state characterization techniques, including single crystal/powder X-ray diffraction, thermal analysis, and infrared spectroscopy. Gef-Sa-NPs were prepared via an ultrasound-assisted anti-solvent precipitation method. Their performance was evaluated through in vitro dissolution tests, pharmacokinetic studies, and in vitro antitumor experiments. Results: Gef-Sa-NPs with a particle size of 31 nm (PDI = 0.15) were successfully prepared. In vitro dissolution tests demonstrated that the nano-formulation exhibited a significantly higher dissolution rate in pH 1.2, pH 4.5, pH 6.8 and pure water when compared with the raw drug (p < 0.01). Pharmacokinetic studies revealed that Gef-Sa and Gef-Sa-NPs increased the oral bioavailability in rats to 1.5-fold and 1.9-fold that of the raw drug, respectively. In vitro antitumor experiments confirmed that the Gef-Sa-NPs increased the inhibition rate against A549 cells compared with the Gef. Conclusions: This study innovatively combines salt formation and nanonization technologies to systematically address the key issue of the poor solubility of Gef. The resulting nano-formulation demonstrates excellent dissolution characteristics, pharmacokinetic behavior, and antitumor efficacy. This strategy not only provides a novel drug delivery system with translational potential for NSCLC treatment but also offers a paradigm for the formulation design of poorly soluble drugs. Subsequent research will focus on scaling up production and evaluating pre-clinical safety. Full article

In the 21st century, the desire for improved fuel efficiency of engines, lower fuel prices, and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{O}}_2$ and ${\mathrm{N}\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{x}}$ are leading the aviation industry to seek hybrid-electric jet engines for commercial aircraft. These aircraft will have greater maintenance challenges due to additional components requiring more reliable materials for the engine’s parts, such as turbine blades. Turbine blades must be composed of materials that have enhanced fatigue performance. Resistance to dynamic loads and high strength will be needed to ensure modern gas turbine blades are as reliable as possible. This review paper examines hybrid-electric engine turbine blades and subsequently introduces additive manufacturing (AM) and multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) with a focus on laser powder bed fusion (LPBF), high-entropy alloys (HEAs), and medium-entropy alloys (MEAs). The tensile properties of LPBF HEAs range from 5 to 47% elongation and a UTS of 572–1640 MPa, while LPBF MEAs range from 8 to 73.9% and a UTS of 573–1382 MPa. This study focused on dynamic and fatigue properties while acknowledging gaps in high-temperature testing. The combination of mechanical properties with the ability to control internal geometry makes these AM alloys an attractive option for the next generation of gas turbine blades. Full article

The progressive phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Portugal has significantly reduced the availability of fly ash (FA) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), reinforcing the need for sustainable alternatives. Waste glass powder (WGP), characterized by its high amorphous silica content, has emerged as a promising candidate; however, most studies focus on ultrafine particles or isolated performance indicators, lacking an integrated technical, environmental, and economic assessment. This study evaluates cement pastes incorporating 25% WGP (by volume) with different particle size distributions, including fineness levels comparable to cement and FA. Mechanical performance, grinding energy demand, carbon footprint, and cost were systematically analyzed. The results indicate that WGP is technically viable as an SCM, with a median particle size (D₅₀) of approximately 48 µm providing the most balanced performance. Although finer particles enhance pozzolanic reactivity, the associated increase in grinding energy and economic cost offsets these gains. The findings demonstrate that optimizing particle size, rather than maximizing fineness, enables a technically robust and industrially realistic use of WGP. This approach supports circular economic strategies and contributes to the decarbonization of the construction sector by identifying an efficient replacement pathway for FA under resource-scarcity conditions. Full article

Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) technology has now reached a significant level of commercial maturity, offering some of the most reliable solutions in the additive manufacturing (AM) field. However, AM processes may introduce defects that result in high variability of mechanical properties and low reproducibility. This entails the need to thoroughly understand the behavior of the materials used, studying their response to the different types of stresses typical of real-world applications. The research activity presented consists of the analysis of the mechanical properties of the aluminum alloy AlSi10Mg, which is widely used due to its good strength-to-density ratio. Focus is put on the response to axial, torsional, and combined axial-torsional static and fatigue strength, comparing as-built T6 heat-treated conditions. Full article

Powder coatings, as a widely used green surface treatment material, face significant combustion and explosion risks due to the simultaneous presence of high-concentration combustible dust clouds and electrostatic ignition sources in their application environments. With the advancement of new materials and emerging industrial sectors, research on powder coating explosions has become increasingly interdisciplinary, resulting in a somewhat fragmented knowledge base. To systematically reveal the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and development trends in this field, this study employs bibliometric methods based on 857 relevant publications retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection database between 2015 and September 2025. Using VOSviewer (Version 1.6.20) and CiteSpace (Version 6.4), the analysis examines institutional collaboration, journal distribution, author collaboration patterns, regional differences, co-citation relationships, knowledge foundations, and research frontiers. The results indicate that powder coating explosion research has gradually developed an integrated knowledge system centered on materials science, chemical engineering, and combustion science. Institutions from China, Russia, and India represent some of the most productive contributors in this field. Current research hotspots focus on the explosion mechanisms of powder coatings, explosion-proof materials, risk assessment, numerical simulation, and protective measures for emerging industrial applications. Future trends are expected to focus increasingly on intelligent explosion suppression systems, multi-scale coupling mechanisms, and international collaborative governance. This study provides a comprehensive knowledge map to support scientific planning and safety strategy development in powder coating explosion research. Full article

This paper investigates how the thickness of dogbone tensile specimens made from heat-treated Hastelloy-X alloy produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) influences their mechanical properties and microstructure. The focus of the investigation is on surfaces in an “as-built” condition and considers a range of thickness from 3 to 1 mm. The “as-built” surfaces condition is a fundamental outcome, considering that LPBF technology’s key feature is the ability to produce intricate and complex geometries that are difficult to achieve with conventional manufacturing technologies. The specimens were fabricated according to ASTM E8/E8M-21 and were heat-treated in a vacuum furnace at 1150 °C for two hours. The microstructure of the material was evaluated through porosity, EBSD, and Microhardness analyses. The mechanical properties were evaluated through tensile tests conducted at room temperature on dogbone specimens fabricated both parallel and perpendicular to the building direction. The findings indicate a significant reduction in mechanical properties that could be correlated with the reduction in specimen thickness, reflecting a gradual decline from the baseline. Specifically, a 14% decrease in Ultimate Tensile Strength (from 612 to 528 MPa), an approximately 19% reduction in Young’s Modulus (from 190 GPa to 153 GPa), and a 32% decrease in Elongation at Break (from 59.2% to 40.0%) were observed. Furthermore, it was noted that the printing orientation of the specimens significantly affects their mechanical properties, regardless of thickness. Overall, the results suggest that applying standard heat treatment under specific conditions, such as with a thin, exposed wall of about 1mm with a striped strategy, may not lead to adequate material performance. Full article

Plasma-facing materials (PFMs) for future fusion reactors require advanced mechanical and thermal properties to withstand the extreme challenges of high heat flux, plasma exposure, and neutron irradiation. Tungsten is one of the most suitable materials for use as a PFM in the divertor region. However, considering the high thermal loading/thermal stress combining plasma exposure and neutron irradiation/embrittlement, one of the major concerns for tungsten in PFMs is its intrinsic brittleness. To avoid cracking and components failure, tungsten toughening has been widely investigated, including the development of tungsten fiber-reinforced tungsten composites (W_f/W) using an extrinsic toughening mechanism, which could provide damage resilience against neutron embrittlement. Recently, a type of aligned long-fiber W_f/W (L-W_f/W) based on a powder metallurgical fabrication process was developed, demonstrating advanced fracture toughness while retaining other application-relevant properties. For L-W_f/W, the relatively easy production process suggests the feasibility and basis of industrialization. This work reports on the initial progress in industrializing L-W_f/W, with a focus on adapting the lab sintering process to a sintering process with industrial partner (Dr. Fritsch Sondermaschinen GmbH) and optimizing the process parameters. To improve the sinterability of tungsten and achieve higher density, various tungsten powders were explored, including commercial W powders, bimodal mixtures of different particle sizes, and granulated W powders. At the dedicated yttria interface, the thickness of yttria coating on the fibers was also optimized to ensure effective separation between the fibers and the matrix. Series of samples were produced with different dimensions up to 100 mm × 100 mm × 4 mm. After optimization, samples with 93% density and desired pseudo-ductility were prepared. Similarly to production in the lab, a major challenge in this work involved balancing the densification of the tungsten matrix with controlling fiber recrystallization and mitigating damage to the yttria interface. Full article

A Cu-containing FeCrMnNiAl multi-principal element alloy was processed by laser-based and electron beam-based powder bed fusion (PBF-LB/M and PBF-EB/M) to investigate processing–microstructure–property relationships. In focus were alloy variants with a relatively high Cu content. Two PBF-LB/M scan strategies, employing a Gaussian beam with and without a re-scan with a laser featuring a flat-top profile, were compared to PBF-EB/M processing, followed by heat-treatments between 300 °C and 1000 °C. The phase constitution, elemental partitioning and grain boundary characteristics were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, electron backscatter diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Mechanical behavior was assessed by hardness and tensile testing. Both manufacturing routes promoted the evolution of stable multi-phase microstructures composed of face-centered-cubic (FCC)- and body-centered-cubic (BCC)-type phases across all heat-treatment conditions. PBF-LB/M processing resulted in finer, dendritic microstructures and suppressed formation of a Cu-rich FCC phase due to higher cooling rates, whereas PBF-EB/M promoted the evolution of Cu-rich FCC segregates and equiaxed grain morphologies. Heat-treatment above 700 °C led to recrystallization, accompanied by an increase of the FCC phase fraction, grain coarsening, and recovery. At lower heat-treatment temperatures, the changes in microstructure are different. Here, it is assumed that small, non-clustered Cu-rich precipitates formed at the grain and sub-grain boundaries, although this assumption is only based on the assessment of the mechanical properties. The size of these precipitates is below the resolution limit of the techniques applied for analysis in the present work. Additional structures seen within the Cu-rich areas of PBF-EB/M-manufactured samples treated at lower temperatures also seem to have an influence on the hardness and yield strength. All of the conditions investigated exhibited pronounced brittleness, limiting reliable tensile property evaluation and indicating the need for further optimization of processing strategies and microstructural control for high-Cu-fraction-containing multi-principal element alloys. Full article