Metals are pivotal elements in our daily life and industrial processes, to produce electronic devices, catalysts, smart materials and so on. However, they are mostly present as a mixture in the environment that makes their separation challenging over the past decade. Host-guest chemistry principle thoroughly has been used to design and synthesize thousands of organic receptors with high complexation ability and selectivity to certain metal ions. On the other hand, the droplet microfluidic device is well-known for its unique characteristics of fluid dynamics, such as large specific surface area and short diffusion distance making the process robust and efficient. Therefore, many reports of research employ host-guest chemistry of the droplet microfluidic system for the effective metal separation process. This chapter deals with up-to-date examples of the droplet microfluidic system application for separation of base and alkali metals, recovery of rare-earth and precious metals and removal of heavy metals either from the competitive metal system or from the real waste solution sample through solvent extraction techniques utilizing host-guest chemistry principle.
Part of the book: Advances in Microfluidic Technologies for Energy and Environmental Applications
The human skin is pivotal for protecting the body from various stresses and diseases, regulating several physiological aspects, and sensing any signal changes around the environment. To work and function optimally, the skin should be protected and cared regularly by using some treatments. Chalcone, as a privileged structure, exhibits wide and unique bioactivities related to several skin disorders such as in preventing and treating pigmentation disorders (melasma and vitiligo), cutaneous leishmaniasis, rashes (acne vulgaris, seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff, psoriasis and atopic dermatitis), and rosacea. In this chapter, the role of chalcone derivatives in treating several skin disorders as mentioned above is discussed to provide a brief and comprehensive perspective regarding the role of chalcone in dermatology including in vitro, preclinical, and clinical assays.
Part of the book: Beauty