Semi reflective biopolymer layers for the detection of biomass hydrolytic enzymatic activities

2011 ◽  
Vol 1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Cerclier ◽  
C. Moreau ◽  
A. Guyomard-Lack ◽  
E. Bonnin ◽  
H. Bizot ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTStructural colors were obtained by the deposition of plant cell walls biopolymers films on reflective support. Multilayered xyloglucan(XG)/cellulose nanocrystals(CN) thin films were obtained by spin-assisted layer-by-layer assembly while arabinoxylan (AX) thin films were elaborated via the spin-coating of AX/melamine formaldehyde resin followed by a cross-linking step. The effects of aqueous solutions on the stability of the structural colors were evaluated. The films were subsequently used to detect cellulase and xylanase activities by the change in the colors due to the film degradation. This enzymatic assay method appeared to be about 150 more sensitive that a standard method. Moreover due its simplicity, the method could be used to detect other biomass-hydrolyzing enzymes and more generally for other heterocatalytic degradations of solid polymer layers.

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (51) ◽  
pp. e2111723118
Author(s):  
Yin Chang ◽  
Rox Middleton ◽  
Yu Ogawa ◽  
Tom Gregory ◽  
Lisa M. Steiner ◽  
...  

Chiral asymmetry is important in a wide variety of disciplines and occurs across length scales. While several natural chiral biomolecules exist only with single handedness, they can produce complex hierarchical structures with opposite chiralities. Understanding how the handedness is transferred from molecular to the macroscopic scales is far from trivial. An intriguing example is the transfer of the handedness of helicoidal organizations of cellulose microfibrils in plant cell walls. These cellulose helicoids produce structural colors if their dimension is comparable to the wavelength of visible light. All previously reported examples of a helicoidal structure in plants are left-handed except, remarkably, in the Pollia condensata fruit; both left- and right-handed helicoidal cell walls are found in neighboring cells of the same tissue. By simultaneously studying optical and mechanical responses of cells with different handednesses, we propose that the chirality of helicoids results from differences in cell wall composition. In detail, here we showed statistical substantiation of three different observations: 1) light reflected from right-handed cells is red shifted compared to light reflected from left-handed cells, 2) right-handed cells occur more rarely than left-handed ones, and 3) right-handed cells are located mainly in regions corresponding to interlocular divisions. Finally, 4) right-handed cells have an average lower elastic modulus compared to left-handed cells of the same color. Our findings, combined with mechanical simulation, suggest that the different chiralities of helicoids in the cell wall may result from different chemical composition, which strengthens previous hypotheses that hemicellulose might mediate the rotations of cellulose microfibrils.


2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 180456 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Holloway ◽  
G. Cupples ◽  
D. J. Smith ◽  
J. E. F. Green ◽  
R. J. Clarke ◽  
...  

Suspensions of self-motile, elongated particles are a topic of significant current interest, exemplifying a form of ‘active matter’. Examples include self-propelling bacteria, algae and sperm, and artificial swimmers. Ericksen's model of a transversely isotropic fluid (Ericksen 1960 Colloid Polym. Sci. 173 , 117–122 ( doi:10.1007/bf01502416 )) treats suspensions of non-motile particles as a continuum with an evolving preferred direction; this model describes fibrous materials as diverse as extracellular matrix, textile tufts and plant cell walls. Director-dependent effects are incorporated through a modified stress tensor with four viscosity-like parameters. By making fundamental connections with recent models for active suspensions, we propose a modification to Ericksen's model, mainly the inclusion of self-motility; this can be considered the simplest description of an oriented suspension including transversely isotropic effects. Motivated by the fact that transversely isotropic fluids exhibit modified flow stability, we conduct a linear stability analysis of two distinct cases, aligned and isotropic suspensions of elongated active particles. Novel aspects include the anisotropic rheology and translational diffusion. In general, anisotropic effects increase the instability of small perturbations, while translational diffusion stabilizes a range of wave-directions and, in some cases, a finite range of wavenumbers, thus emphasizing that both anisotropy and translational diffusion can have important effects in these systems.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Tawheed Hashem ◽  
Elvia P. Valadez Sanchez ◽  
Evgenia Bogdanova ◽  
Anna Ugodchikova ◽  
Alaa Mohamed ◽  
...  

In the context of thin film nanotechnologies, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are currently intensively explored in the context of both, novel applications and as alternatives to existing materials. When it comes to applications under relatively harsh conditions, in several cases it has been noticed that the stability of MOF thin films deviates from the corresponding standard, powdery form of MOFs. Here, we subjected SURMOFs, surface-anchored MOF thin films, fabricated using layer-by layer methods, to a thorough characterization after exposure to different harsh aqueous environments. The stability of three prototypal SURMOFs, HKUST-1, ZIF-8, and UiO-66-NH2 was systematically investigated in acidic, neutral, and basic environments using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. While HKUST-1 films were rather unstable in aqueous media, ZIF-8 SURMOFs were preserved in alkaline environments when exposed for short periods of time, but in apparent contrast to results reported in the literature for the corresponding bulk powders- not stable in neutral and acidic environments. UiO-66-NH2 SURMOFs were found to be stable over a large window of pH values.


Author(s):  
Béatrice Satiat-Jeunemaitre ◽  
Chris Hawes

The comprehension of the molecular architecture of plant cell walls is one of the best examples in cell biology which illustrates how developments in microscopy have extended the frontiers of a topic. Indeed from the first electron microscope observation of cell walls it has become apparent that our understanding of wall structure has advanced hand in hand with improvements in the technology of specimen preparation for electron microscopy. Cell walls are sub-cellular compartments outside the peripheral plasma membrane, the construction of which depends on a complex cellular biosynthetic and secretory activity (1). They are composed of interwoven polymers, synthesised independently, which together perform a number of varied functions. Biochemical studies have provided us with much data on the varied molecular composition of plant cell walls. However, the detailed intermolecular relationships and the three dimensional arrangement of the polymers in situ remains a mystery. The difficulty in establishing a general molecular model for plant cell walls is also complicated by the vast diversity in wall composition among plant species.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrik Pedersen ◽  
Björn Alling ◽  
Hans Högberg ◽  
Annop Ektarawong

Thin films of boron nitride (BN), particularly the sp<sup>2</sup>-hybridized polytypes hexagonal BN (h-BN) and rhombohedral BN (r-BN) are interesting for several electronic applications given band gaps in the UV. They are typically deposited close to thermal equilibrium by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at temperatures and pressures in the regions 1400-1800 K and 1000-10000 Pa, respectively. In this letter, we use van der Waals corrected density functional theory and thermodynamic stability calculations to determine the stability of r-BN and compare it to that of h-BN as well as to cubic BN and wurtzitic BN. We find that r-BN is the stable sp<sup>2</sup>-hybridized phase at CVD conditions, while h-BN is metastable. Thus, our calculations suggest that thin films of h-BN must be deposited far from thermal equilibrium.


Author(s):  
Ю.И. Цой

Задача получения однородного состава ЛКМ сводится к правильному выбору пленкообразователей и соответствующих растворителей и, в случае необходимости, разбавителей и добавок. На основе положений теории растворимости была проведена оценка совместимости компонентов и стабильности таких систем. Критериями оценки были приняты параметры растворимости и термодинамического взаимодействия. Исследовали совместимость алкидных лаков с аминоформальдегидными смолами в бутаноле, и результаты этих исследований представлены в треугольной фазовой диаграмме. Для оценки совместимости смол по результатам расчета параметров термодинамического взаимодействия были построены спинодали для тройных систем. Как показывает анализ результатов проведенных исследований, даже при большой разности ?? = |?12 – ?13| = 0,2 наблюдается небольшая область несовместимости. С уменьшением разности ?? область несовместимости сужается. При ?23 > ?с область несовместимости расширяется как для ? = 0,2, так и для ?? = 0,1 и ?? = 0. Таким образом, для таких систем на совместимость компонентов, в первую очередь, влияет их взаимодействие между собой – чем оно больше, тем лучше они совместимы. Проведенные исследования показали, что парциальные параметры растворимости, учитывающие природу когезионных сил, более объективно характеризуют растворимость пленкообразующих смол в органических растворителях, чем их общий параметр растворимости. Растворимость пленкообразующих алкидных и этерифицированных аминоформальдегидных смол в органических растворителях обусловлена термодинамическим взаимодействием молекулярных сил различной природы. Стабильность смеси алкидной и этерифицированной аминоформальдегидной смолы в бутаноле обусловлена в большей степени термодинамическим взаимодействием молекулярных сил; при этом степень бутанолизации меламиноформальдегидной смолы оказывает наибольшее влияние на стабильность cистемы. Проведенные исследования по стабильности лакокрасочных смесей из различных пленкообразующих смол на основе рассмотренных критериев оценки могут быть использованы для совершенствования технологии защитно-декоративной отделки древесины. The problem of obtaining a homogeneous composition of the coatings is reduced to the proper selection of film-forming agents, and diluent and, if appropriate, diluents and additives. On the basis of the theory of solubility, we have carried out the assessment of the compatibility of the components and stability of such systems. The evaluation criteria were adopted the parameters of the solubility and thermodynamic interaction. Researched the compatibility with alkyd varnishes aminoformaldehyde resin in butanol, and the results of these studies are presented in the triangular phase diagram. To evaluate the compatibility of the resins according to the results of calculation of thermodynamic parameters of interaction were built spinodal for ternary systems. As the analysis of the results of the studies, even when the difference ??|?12 – ?13| = 0,2 there is a small area of incompatibility. With the decrease of the difference ? ? region incompatibility narrows. When ?23> ?с region incompatibility extends to ?? = 0,2, and for ?? = 0.1 and ?? = 0. Thus, for such systems, compatibility of components, primarily, affects their interaction with each other – the further away it is, the better they are compatible. Studies have shown that the partial solubility parameters, which take into account the nature of cohesive forces, more objectively characterize the solubility of film-forming resins in organic solvents than their total solubility parameter. The solubility and film-forming aminoformaldehyde esterified alkyd resins in organic solvents due to thermodynamic interaction of molecular forces of different nature. Тhe stability of the mixture and aminoformaldehyde esterified alkyd resin in butanol is generated largely by thermodynamic forces of molecular interaction; the degree of butanolate melamine-formaldehyde resin has the greatest effect on the stability of the system. Conducted research on the stability of the paint mixtures of various film-forming resins on the basis of the evaluation criteria can be used to improve the technology of protective and decorative wood finish.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyi Lu ◽  
Deirdre Mikkelsen ◽  
Hong Yao ◽  
Barbara Williams ◽  
Bernadine Flanagan ◽  
...  

Plant cell walls as well as their component polysaccharides in foods can be utilized to alter and maintain a beneficial human gut microbiota, but it is not known whether the...


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1263
Author(s):  
David Stuart Thompson ◽  
Azharul Islam

The extensibility of synthetic polymers is routinely modulated by the addition of lower molecular weight spacing molecules known as plasticizers, and there is some evidence that water may have similar effects on plant cell walls. Furthermore, it appears that changes in wall hydration could affect wall behavior to a degree that seems likely to have physiological consequences at water potentials that many plants would experience under field conditions. Osmotica large enough to be excluded from plant cell walls and bacterial cellulose composites with other cell wall polysaccharides were used to alter their water content and to demonstrate that the relationship between water potential and degree of hydration of these materials is affected by their composition. Additionally, it was found that expansins facilitate rehydration of bacterial cellulose and cellulose composites and cause swelling of plant cell wall fragments in suspension and that these responses are also affected by polysaccharide composition. Given these observations, it seems probable that plant environmental responses include measures to regulate cell wall water content or mitigate the consequences of changes in wall hydration and that it may be possible to exploit such mechanisms to improve crop resilience.


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