Optimization of the enzymatic synthesis of fructo-oligosaccharides using fructosyltransferase from aspergillus aculeatus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Simović

The obvious benefits of employing prebiotics as functional components in many food and feed products have resulted in higher demand for their industrial production, necessitating the development of more efficient and cost-effective manufacturing procedures. As a result, the goal of this study was to synthesize confirmed prebiotics, namely fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), using sucrose as a substrate, since it allows the synthesis of oligosaccharides with lower polymerization degree, and consequently, a more pronounced prebiotic effect. Due to its availability, low market price, and high stability under industrial conditions, a commercial enzymatic mixture, Pectinex® Ultra SP-L, is used as a source of enzyme – fructosyltransferase (FTase). By optimizing reaction conditions such as pH, temperature, enzyme and substrate concentrations, as well as the duration of the process, the composition of the FOS mixture can be adjusted to fit the potential applications. It was found that by performing the reaction in an aqueous medium (pH 7), at a temperature of 50 °C using an enzyme concentration of 1% (v/v) and any sucrose concentration in the range of 200-700 g/L, it was possible to achieve maximum FOS yield of 60% of total carbohydrates within a 24 h. The produced syrup with a high content of FOS can be further used as an adequate food additive, or else, optimized proceses should be used for transformation of various food products (such as juices, jams, fillings, candies, cakes, etc.) in which sucrose dominates, creating products with lower caloric and higher functional value.

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 318
Author(s):  
Paula García Milla ◽  
Rocío Peñalver ◽  
Gema Nieto

Moringa oleifera belongs to the Moringaceae family and is the best known of the native Moringa oleifera genus. For centuries, it has been used as a system of Ayurvedic and Unani medicine and has a wide range of nutritional and bioactive compounds, including proteins, essential amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, fibre, vitamins, minerals, phenolic compounds, phytosterols and others. These characteristics allow it to have pharmacological properties, including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antimicrobial and hepatoprotective properties. The entire Moringa oleifera plant is edible, including its flowers, however, it is not entirely safe, because of compounds that have been found mainly in the root and bark, so the leaf was identified as the safest. Moringa oleifera is recognised as an excellent source of phytochemicals, with potential applications in functional and medicinal food preparations due to its nutritional and medicinal properties; many authors have experimented with incorporating it mainly in biscuits, cakes, brownies, meats, juices and sandwiches. The results are fascinating, as the products increase their nutritional value; however, the concentrations cannot be high, as this affects the organoleptic characteristics of the supplemented products. The aim of this study is to review the application of Moringa oleifera in bakery products, which will allow the creation of new products that improve their nutritional and functional value.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 885
Author(s):  
Nicole Knoblauch ◽  
Peter Mechnich

Zirconium-Yttrium-co-doped ceria (Ce0.85Zr0.13Y0.02O1.99) compacts consisting of fibers with diameters in the range of 8–10 µm have been successfully prepared by direct infiltration of commercial YSZ fibers with a cerium oxide matrix and subsequent sintering. The resulting chemically homogeneous fiber-compacts are sinter-resistant up to 1923 K and retain a high porosity of around 58 vol% and a permeability of 1.6–3.3 × 10−10 m² at a pressure gradient of 100–500 kPa. The fiber-compacts show a high potential for the application in thermochemical redox cycling due its fast redox kinetics. The first evaluation of redox kinetics shows that the relaxation time of oxidation is five times faster than that of dense samples of the same composition. The improved gas exchange due to the high porosity also allows higher reduction rates, which enable higher hydrogen yields in thermochemical water-splitting redox cycles. The presented cost-effective fiber-compact preparation method is considered very promising for manufacturing large-scale functional components for solar-thermal high-temperature reactors.


Crystals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 560
Author(s):  
Ravindra Ketan Mehta ◽  
Anupama Bhat Kaul

In this work, we implemented liquid exfoliation to inkjet-print two-dimensional (2D) black phosphorous (BP) and molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) p–n heterojunctions on a standard indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate in a vertical architecture. We also compared the optical and electrical properties of the inkjet-printed BP layer with that of the MoS2 and the electrical properties of the mechanically exfoliated MoS2 with that of the inkjet-printed MoS2. We found significant differences in the optical characteristics of the inkjet-printed BP and MoS2 layers attributed to the differences in their underlying crystal structure. The newly demonstrated liquid exfoliated and inkjet-printed BP–MoS2 2D p–n junction was also compared with previous reports where mechanically exfoliated BP–MoS2 2D p–n junction were used. The electronic transport properties of mechanically exfoliated MoS2 membranes are typically better compared to inkjet-printed structures but inkjet printing offers a cost-effective and quicker way to fabricate heterostructures easily. In the future, the performance of inkjet-printed structures can be further improved by employing suitable contact materials, amongst other factors such as modifying the solvent chemistries. The architecture reported in this work has potential applications towards building solar cells with solution processed 2D materials in the future.


Author(s):  
Mamou Diallo ◽  
Servé W. M. Kengen ◽  
Ana M. López-Contreras

AbstractThe Clostridium genus harbors compelling organisms for biotechnological production processes; while acetogenic clostridia can fix C1-compounds to produce acetate and ethanol, solventogenic clostridia can utilize a wide range of carbon sources to produce commercially valuable carboxylic acids, alcohols, and ketones by fermentation. Despite their potential, the conversion by these bacteria of carbohydrates or C1 compounds to alcohols is not cost-effective enough to result in economically viable processes. Engineering solventogenic clostridia by impairing sporulation is one of the investigated approaches to improve solvent productivity. Sporulation is a cell differentiation process triggered in bacteria in response to exposure to environmental stressors. The generated spores are metabolically inactive but resistant to harsh conditions (UV, chemicals, heat, oxygen). In Firmicutes, sporulation has been mainly studied in bacilli and pathogenic clostridia, and our knowledge of sporulation in solvent-producing or acetogenic clostridia is limited. Still, sporulation is an integral part of the cellular physiology of clostridia; thus, understanding the regulation of sporulation and its connection to solvent production may give clues to improve the performance of solventogenic clostridia. This review aims to provide an overview of the triggers, characteristics, and regulatory mechanism of sporulation in solventogenic clostridia. Those are further compared to the current knowledge on sporulation in the industrially relevant acetogenic clostridia. Finally, the potential applications of spores for process improvement are discussed.Key Points• The regulatory network governing sporulation initiation varies in solventogenic clostridia.• Media composition and cell density are the main triggers of sporulation.• Spores can be used to improve the fermentation process.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 1939
Author(s):  
Helyati Abu Hassan Shaari ◽  
Muhammad Mahyiddin Ramli ◽  
Mohd Nazim Mohtar ◽  
Norizah Abdul Rahman ◽  
Azizan Ahmad

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a lightweight insulating polymer that possesses good mechanical stability. On the other hand, polyaniline (PANi) is one of the most favorable conducting materials to be used, as it is easily synthesized, cost-effective, and has good conductivity. However, most organic solvents have restricted potential applications due to poor mechanical properties and dispersibility. Compared to PANi, PMMA has more outstanding physical and chemical properties, such as good dimensional stability and better molecular interactions between the monomers. To date, many research studies have focused on incorporating PANi into PMMA. In this review, the properties and suitability of PANi as a conducting material are briefly reviewed. The major parts of this paper reviewed different approaches to incorporating PANi into PMMA, as well as evaluating the modifications to improve its conductivity. Finally, the polymerization condition to prepare PMMA/PANi copolymer to improve its conductivity is also discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 2530-2538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel de Braux ◽  
Fletcher Warren-Myers ◽  
Tim Dempster ◽  
Per Gunnar Fjelldal ◽  
Tom Hansen ◽  
...  

Abstract Otolith marking with enriched stable isotopes via immersion is a recent method of batch marking larval fish for a range of research and industrial applications. However, current immersion times and isotope concentrations required to successfully mark an otolith limit the utility of this technique. Osmotic induction improves incorporation and reduces immersion time for some chemical markers, but its effects on isotope incorporation into otoliths are unknown. Here, we tested the effects of osmotic induction over a range of different isotope concentrations and immersion times on relative mark success and strength for 26Mg:24Mg, 86Sr:88Sr and 137Ba:138Ba on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) larvae. 71% and 100% mark success were achieved after 1 h of immersion for 86Sr (75 µg L−1) and 137Ba (30 µg L−1) isotopes, respectively. Compared with conventional immersion, osmotic induction improved overall mark strength for 86Sr and 137Ba isotopes by 26–116%, although this effect was only observed after 12 h of immersion and predominately for 86Sr. The results demonstrate that osmotic induction reduces immersion times and the concentrations of isotope required to achieve successful marks. Osmotically induced isotope labels via larval immersion may prove a rapid and cost-effective way of batch marking fish larvae across a range of potential applications.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry Fredy Gomez Cahuata ◽  
Yessica Estefany Rosas-Quina ◽  
Erika Pachari Vera

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to divulge the current knowledge about the nutritional and functional characteristics of Cañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen), in addition to its potential applications in the food industry since research studies related to it are still limited compared to other cereals of greater diffusion. Design/methodology/approach The scientific information was collected from Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases, using keywords such as nutrition value of Chenopodium pallidicaule, amaranth and pseudocereals. Consistent information was selected according to its relevance, year of publication and accuracy with the topic. A total of 49 research papers were selected. Findings Cañihua is a grain with high nutritional potential, considered a superfood because it has a high protein quality, a balanced composition of essential amino acids and unsaturated fatty acids, with a high concentration of linoleic and oleic acid. Besides, it has a good level of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant capacity. However, its production and consumption are limited outside its area of origin, although its cultivation is possible under harsh conditions. Originality/value This paper, through a systematic bibliographic review, highlights the potential of cañihua to be considered in the development of food products with high nutritional and functional value. The information compiled will help researchers and professionals become aware of the importance of this grain and join forces in its processing and enhancement of its attributes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haliza Katas ◽  
Noor Zianah Moden ◽  
Chei Sin Lim ◽  
Terence Celesistinus ◽  
Jie Yee Chan ◽  
...  

Biosynthesized or biogenic metallic nanoparticles, particularly silver and gold nanoparticles (AgNPs and AuNPs, respectively), have been increasingly used because of their advantages, including high stability and loading capacity; moreover, these nanoparticles are synthesized using a green and cost-effective method. Previous studies have investigated reducing and/or stabilizing agents from various biological sources, including plants, microorganisms, and marine-derived products, using either a one-pot or a multistep process at different conditions. In addition, extensive studies have been performed to determine the biological or pharmacological effects of these nanoparticles, such as antimicrobial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. In the recent years, chitosan, a natural cationic polysaccharide, has been increasingly investigated as a reducing and/or stabilizing agent in the synthesis of biogenic metallic nanoparticles with potential applications in nanomedicine. Here, we have reviewed the mechanism of biosynthesis and potential applications of AgNPs and AuNPs and their chitosan-mediated nanocomposites in nanomedicine.


Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1038
Author(s):  
Alberto Ion ◽  
Pierre Sallot ◽  
Victor Badea ◽  
Patrice Duport ◽  
Camelia Popescu ◽  
...  

MAX phase compounds offer an attractive mixture of ceramic–metallic properties due to their covalent ionic–metallic nature. Since their discovery, a great interest was attributed to their synthesis and potential applications, but the processing of pure compounds as coatings for industrial large-scale application is still considered a challenge. To date, a limited number of papers have evaluated the build-up of MAX phase coating by cold spray (CS), a novel cost-effective and productive spray technology used in both areas of research and industry. Employing CS, the hot gas-propelled material particles have ballistic impingement on a substrate where they undergo plastic deformation. Because of the brittleness, internal delamination, and limited deformability, the deposition of the pure MAX phase is rather challenging. This paper presents the building-up ability of dense MAX-phase coatings by CS with retained structures and compositions, in close relation with the substrate characteristics and phase composition that influences the dual character ceramic–metallic behaviour. Besides recent literature, the originality of this research consists of pioneering deposition of Ti3AlC2 that emphasizes the ceramic–metallic character influenced by the particle speed and the mechanical properties of both substrate and compound.


Metals ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sónia Simões

The prospect of joining titanium alloys to advanced ceramics and producing components with extraordinary and unique properties can expand the range of potential applications. This is extremely attractive in components for the automotive and aerospace industries where combining high temperature resistance, wear resistance and thermal stability with low density materials, good flowability and high oxidation resistance is likely. Therefore, a combination of distinct properties and characteristics that would not be possible through conventional production routes is expected. Due to the differences between the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) and Young's modulus of metals and ceramics, the most appropriate methods for such dissimilar bonding are brazing, diffusion bonding, and transient liquid phase (TLP) bonding. For the joining of titanium alloys to ceramics, brazing appears to be the most promising and cost-effective process although diffusion bonding and TLP bonding have clear advantages in the production of reliable joints. However, several challenges must be overcome to successfully produce these dissimilar joints. In this context, the purpose of this review is to point out the same challenges and the most recent advances that have been investigated to produce reliable titanium alloys and ceramic joints.


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