Peptide-Mucin Binding and Biosimilar Mucus-Permeating Properties

This study aimed to understand the role of the mucus layer (a biological hydrogel) in the transport mechanisms of peptides. Using established in vitro models, the mucin-binding activity and mucus-permeating property of peptides were determined. Uncharged peptides with relatively high hydrophilicity, including MANT, TNGQ, and PASL, as well as cationic peptides, including KIPAVF and KMPV, possessed strong mucin-binding activity. Contrarily, uncharged peptides with high hydrophobicity index, including YMSV and QIGLF, exhibited weak mucin-binding activity. Only TNGQ, which has high Boman index and hydrophilicity, showed a high biosimilar mucus-permeating property with a permeability of 96 ± 30% after 60 min. TNGQ showed the potential for high bioavailability due to the high mucin-binding and biosimilar mucus-permeating activities.

Association of rhodamine cations with tetraphenylborate-anion in aqueous solution: structural properties of ions and stability of associates

The ability of rhodamine cations to form cation-anionic associates with tetraphenylborate-anion in an aqueous solution has been studied. The thermodynamic values of the equilibrium association constants Kasт were determined spectrophotometrically. The values of a number of properties of dye molecules (surface area, effective volume, hydrophobicity index log P, standard enthalpy of hydration ΔНohydr) were calculated using the QSAR model. The possibility of dependence of the value of Kasт on these factors has been reviewed. It was shown that changes in lg Kasт in the series of rhodamine associates are consistent with changes in the parameters log P and ΔНohydr.

Lipid droplet structural remodeling in adipose tissue upon caloric excess

Excess calories are stored as triacylglycerols (TAG) and cholesteryl esters (CE) in lipid droplets (LD), and during obesity, LD expansion occurs. X-ray scattering of adipose tissue uncovered that LDs comprise two TAG packing domains: a disordered core and a multilamellar shell. The number of TAG layers increases upon diet-induced obesity and is adipose depot-specific. Further, collagen was highly oriented in brown but randomly dispersed in white fat. We discovered that the body's surfactant, bile acids (BAs) stimulate remodeling of LD size. Deleting the BA receptor, Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) reduced a hydrophilic BA, beta muricholic acid (beta-MCA), and enlarged the adipocytes. BA composition is a critical determinant of overall hydrophobicity index and solubilization ability. Accordingly, we found that the obesogenic diet reduced a hydrophobic BA, chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). Taken together, these findings implicate that BAs, tissue niches, and diet influence LD structural remodeling.

Astragalus Polysaccharides Ameliorate Diet-Induced Gallstone Formation by Modulating Synthesis of Bile Acids and the Gut Microbiota

Cholesterol gallstone (CG) disease has relationships with several metabolic abnormalities. Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) have been shown to have multiple benefits against metabolic disorders. We attempted to uncover the effect and mechanism of action of APS on diet-induced CG formation in mice. Animals were fed a chow diet or lithogenic diet (LD) with or without APS supplementation. The effect of APS on CG formation was evaluated. The level of individual bile acids (BAs) in gallbladder bile and ileum were measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting were used to assess expression of the genes involved in BA metabolism and the enterohepatic circulation. Cecal contents were collected to characterize microbiota profiles. APS ameliorated LD-induced CG formation in mice. APS reduced the level of total cholesterol, bile acid hydrophobicity index and cholesterol saturation index in gallbladder bile. The protective effect of APS might result from reduced absorption of cholic acid in the intestine and increased hepatic BA synthesis. APS relieved the LD-induced activation of the intestinal farnesoid X receptor and decreased ileal expression of fibroblast growth factor 15. In the liver, expression of cytochrome P450 (Cyp) enzyme Cyp7a1 and Cyp7b1 was increased, whereas expression of adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette (Abc) transporters Abcg5 and Abcg8 was decreased by APS. APS improved the diversity of the gut microbiota and increased the relative abundance of the Bacteroidetes phylum. APS had demonstratable benefits against CG disease, which might be associated with enhanced BA synthesis and improved gut microbiota. Our results suggest that APS may be a potential strategy for the prevention of CG disease.

Polydimethyl siloxane/MIL-101 Composites for Enhanced Toluene Adsorption in the Presence of Humidity

<div><b>ABSTRACT</b> <br></div><div><br></div><div> Competition between atmospheric moisture and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for an adsorbent’s sites can significantly impact its VOC removal efficiency. The development of moisture-tolerant adsorbents is essential to address this issue. A vapor phase deposition process using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has created a hydrophobic form of the highly porous, normally hydrophilic, MOF MIL-101. After optimizing the PDMS vapor deposition time and molecular weights, hydrophobicity index calculations verified the improved hydrophobicity of the coated MOF (MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25) over its pristine form. The surface area, pore volume as well as single component vapor adsorption of water and toluene capacities were also preserved, resulting to similar performance to MIL-101. Toluene-water vapor co-adsorption experiments were conducted at 40% RH using two toluene concentrations: 0.5% P/P₀ and 10% P/P₀, mimicking environmental VOC and industrial concentrations, respectively. At 0.5% P/P₀, MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25 exhibited 60% higher adsorption capacity and twice the rate of toluene capture relative to pristine MIL-101, as well as a 3-fold higher toluene uptake relative to a commercial activated carbon. Preliminary adsorbent regeneration experiments confirm the stability and performance of MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25. Using a simple vapor phase modification, this new MOF-composite material offers superior competitive toluene vapor uptake in humidified real-world conditions at VOC concentrations. </div>

Polydimethyl siloxane/MIL-101 Composites for Enhanced Toluene Adsorption in the Presence of Humidity

<div><b>ABSTRACT</b> <br></div><div><br></div><div> Competition between atmospheric moisture and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for an adsorbent’s sites can significantly impact its VOC removal efficiency. The development of moisture-tolerant adsorbents is essential to address this issue. A vapor phase deposition process using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has created a hydrophobic form of the highly porous, normally hydrophilic, MOF MIL-101. After optimizing the PDMS vapor deposition time and molecular weights, hydrophobicity index calculations verified the improved hydrophobicity of the coated MOF (MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25) over its pristine form. The surface area, pore volume as well as single component vapor adsorption of water and toluene capacities were also preserved, resulting to similar performance to MIL-101. Toluene-water vapor co-adsorption experiments were conducted at 40% RH using two toluene concentrations: 0.5% P/P₀ and 10% P/P₀, mimicking environmental VOC and industrial concentrations, respectively. At 0.5% P/P₀, MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25 exhibited 60% higher adsorption capacity and twice the rate of toluene capture relative to pristine MIL-101, as well as a 3-fold higher toluene uptake relative to a commercial activated carbon. Preliminary adsorbent regeneration experiments confirm the stability and performance of MIL-PDMS-Sigma-0.25. Using a simple vapor phase modification, this new MOF-composite material offers superior competitive toluene vapor uptake in humidified real-world conditions at VOC concentrations. </div>

Prokaryotic Diversity of the Composting Thermophilic Phase: The Case of Ground Coffee Compost

Waste biomass coming from a local coffee company, which supplied burnt ground coffee after an incorrect roasting process, was employed as a starting material in the composting plant of the Experimental Station of the University of Naples Federico II at Castel Volturno (CE). The direct molecular characterization of compost using 13C-NMR spectra, which was acquired through cross-polarization magic-angle spinning, showed a hydrophobicity index of 2.7% and an alkyl/hydroxyalkyl index of 0.7%. Compost samples that were collected during the early “active thermophilic phase” (when the composting temperature was 63 °C) were analyzed for the prokaryotic community composition and activities. Two complementary approaches, i.e., genomic and predictive metabolic analysis of the 16S rRNA V3–V4 amplicon and culture-dependent analysis, were combined to identify the main microbial factors that characterized the composting process. The whole microbial community was dominated by Firmicutes. The predictive analysis of the metabolic functionality of the community highlighted the potential degradation of peptidoglycan and the ability of metal chelation, with both functions being extremely useful for the revitalization and fertilization of agricultural soils. Finally, three biotechnologically relevant Firmicutes members, i.e., Geobacillus thermodenitrificans subsp. calidus, Aeribacillus pallidus, and Ureibacillus terrenus (strains CAF1, CAF2, and CAF5, respectively) were isolated from the “active thermophilic phase” of the coffee composting. All strains were thermophiles growing at the optimal temperature of 60 °C. Our findings contribute to the current knowledge on thermophilic composting microbiology and valorize burnt ground coffee as waste material with biotechnological potentialities.

Biomembrane Modelling in Planar Chromatographic Determination of Lipophilicity Using Olive and Castor Oils

BackgroundLipophilicity is a crucial physicochemical parameter that predicts in vivo pharmacokinetics and should be reliably estimated in early stage drug discovery to reduce incidence of attrition. Previous methodologies for its measurement often lead to technically incorrect decisions due to simplistic architecture and poor biomimetic attributes. Significantly, a certain seed oil, used for biomembrane modelling on planar chromatographic platform, was reported to be sufficiently biomimetic and fit for purpose.ObjectivesTo evaluate olive oil (OL) and olive-castor oil (OL-C) equi-mixture as lipids for biomembrane simulation on planar chromatographic platform.Material and MethodRetention behavior of nabumetone, a model compound was used to optimize these potential lipid membranes using a thin film engineered from 5% Liquid paraffin (LP) as benchmark, while halofantrine, nabumetone , α-naphthol and β-naphthol representing varying molecular polarities, were used for validation studies. The validation involved 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) associated with variability in Basic lipophilicity parameter (Rmw), and Specific hydrophobic surface area (SHSA) for the optimized surfaces, relative to LP and octadecylsilane (ODS) Further validation entailed correlation of the lipophilicity descriptor i.e. isocratic chromatographic hydrophobicity index (ICHI) on OL, OL-C, ODS and LP with experimental Log P(octanol/water).ResultsOptimized film thicknesses were produced by 5% OL and 1.25% OL-C (p > 0.05). The 2-way ANOVA revealed great variability in performance characteristics of the surfaces (p < 0.0001), and the new surfaces also gave poorer correlation with Log P values (R2= 0.502 and 0.449 respectively).ConclusionThe 1.25 % OL-C demonstrated a higher biomimetic attribute and warrants further validation studies to ascertain biorelevance, of lipophilicity measurement on this platform, in predicting oral drug absorption. Keywords: Lipophilicity, Reversed-phase Thin Layer Chromatography, Retention behaviour, Olive oil, Castor oil

Effects of High Intensity Ultrasound on Physiochemical and Structural Properties of Goat Milk β-Lactoglobulin

This study aimed to compare the effects of high intensity ultrasound (HIU) applied at various amplitudes (20~40%) and for different durations (1~10 min) on the physiochemical and structural properties of goat milk β-lactoglobulin. No significant change was observed in the protein electrophoretic patterns by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Deconvolution and second derivative of the Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) showed that the percentage of β-sheet of goat milk β-lactoglobulin was significantly decreased while those of α-helix and random coils increased after HIU treatment The surface hydrophobicity index and intrinsic fluorescence intensity of samples was enhanced and increased with increasing HIU amplitude or time. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results exhibited that HIU treatments improved the thermal stability of goat milk β-lactoglobulin. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of samples showed that the goat milk β-lactoglobulin microstructure had changed and it contained larger aggregates when compared with the untreated goat milk β-lactoglobulin sample. Data suggested that HIU treatments resulted in secondary and tertiary structural changes of goat milk β-lactoglobulin and improved its thermal stability.