The Effect of the Liposomal Encapsulated Saffron Extract on the Physicochemical Properties of a Functional Ricotta Cheese

In this study, the encapsulation of saffron extract (SE) was examined at four various concentrations of soy lecithin (0.5%–4% w/v) and constant concentration of SE (0.25% w/v). Particle size and zeta potential of liposomes were in the range of 155.9–208.1 nm and −34.6–43.4 mV, respectively. Encapsulation efficiency was in the range of 50.73%–67.02%, with the stability of nanoliposomes in all treatments being >90%. Encapsulated SE (2% lecithin) was added to ricotta cheese at different concentrations (0%, 0.125%, 1%, and 2% w/v), and physicochemical and textural properties of the cheese were examined. Lecithin concentration significantly (p ≤ 0.05) affected the particle size, zeta potential, stability, and encapsulation efficiency of the manufactured liposomes. In terms of chemical composition and color of the functional cheese, the highest difference was observed between the control cheese and the cheese enriched with 2% liposomal encapsulated SE. Hardness and chewiness increased significantly (p ≤ 0.05) in the cheeses containing encapsulated SE compared to the control cheese. However, there was no significant difference in the case of adhesiveness, cohesiveness, and gumminess among different cheeses. Overall, based on the findings of this research, liposomal encapsulation was an efficient method for the delivery of SE in ricotta cheese as a novel functional food.

Muon anomalous magnetic moment and Higgs potential stability in the 331 model from SU(6)

We consider a $$SU(3)_c \times SU(3)_L \times U(1)_X$$ S U ( 3 ) c × S U ( 3 ) L × U ( 1 ) X model from a SU(6) Grand Unified Theory (GUT). In order to explain the anomalous magnetic moments of muon and electron, we introduce two new scalar triplets without vacuum expectation values (VEVs) so that the leading contributions to $$\Delta a_{\mu }$$ Δ a μ and $$\Delta a_{e}$$ Δ a e can avoid the suppression from small muon mass. In addition, the Higgs potential stability of this 331 model is studied by giving a set of sufficient conditions to ensure the boundedness from below of the potential.

Ion-to-electron capacitance of single-walled carbon nanotube layers before and after ion-selective membrane deposition

The capacitance of the ion-to-electron transducer layer helps to maintain a high potential stability of solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs), and its estimation is therefore an essential step of SC-ISE characterization. The established chronopotentiometric protocol used to evaluate the capacitance of the single-walled carbon nanotube transducer layer was revised in order to obtain more reliable and better reproducible values and also to allow capacitance to be measured before membrane deposition for electrode manufacturing quality control purposes. The capacitance values measured with the revised method increased linearly with the number of deposited carbon nanotube–based transducer layers and were also found to correlate linearly before and after ion-selective membrane deposition, with correlation slopes close to 1 for nitrate-selective electrodes, to 0.7 and to 0.5 for potassium- and calcium-selective electrodes. Graphical abstract

Lactobacillus crispatus BC1 Biosurfactant Delivered by Hyalurosomes: An Advanced Strategy to Counteract Candida Biofilm

The emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs has made the treatment of vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) very challenging. Among natural substances, biosurfactants (BS) produced by Lactobacillus have gained increasing interest in counteracting Candida infections for their proven anti-adhesive properties and safety profile. In the present study, liposomes (LP-BS) or liposomes coated with hyaluronic acid (HY-LP-BS) were prepared in the presence of the BS isolated from the vaginal strain Lactobacillus crispatus BC1 and characterized in terms of size, ζ potential, stability and mucoadhesion. The anti-biofilm activity of free BS, LP-BS and HY-LP-BS was investigated against different Candida albicans and non-albicans strains (C. glabrata, C. lusitaniae, C. tropicalis, C. krusei and C. parapsilosis), clinically isolated from patients affected by VVC. The inhibition of biofilm formation and the dispersal of pre-formed biofilm were evaluated. The obtained phospholipid vesicles showed suitable size for vaginal application and good stability over the storage period. HY-LP-BS exhibited good mucoadhesive properties and the best anti-biofilm profile, both in preventing or limiting the surface colonization by a broad spectrum of Candida species. In conclusion, the formulation of a novel antifungal agent derived from the vaginal microbiota into mucoadhesive nanocarriers appears to be a promising biotherapeutic strategy to counteract vulvovaginal candidiasis.

Metal-free graphene-based nanoelectrodes for the electrochemical determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and p-nitrophenol (p-NP): implication towards biosensing and environmental monitoring

Herein, tyramine functionalized graphene oxide electrocatalyst is used for the electrochemical determination of ascorbic acid and p-nitrophenol in 1 M phosphate buffer solution at pH-7 with long term current/potential stability and reproducibility.

All-Solid-State Calcium Sensors Modified with Polypyrrol (PPY) and Graphene Oxide (GO) as Solid-Contact Ion-to-Electron Transducers

Reliable, cost-effective, and robust screen-printed sensors were constructed and presented for Ca2+ ions determination. The sensors were based on the use of bilirubin (1,3,6,7-tetramethyl-4,5- dicarboxyethy-2,8-divinyl-(b-13)-dihydrobilenone) as a recognition sensory material in plasticized poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) membranes. Polypyrrol (PPY) and graphene oxide (GO) were used as ion-to-electron transducers, where the effects of anionic excluder, pH, and selectivity were investigated. In a 50 mM tris buffer solution of pH 5, the electrodes offered a potential response for Ca2+ ions with a near-Nernstian slopes of 38.1 ± 0.4 (r2 = 0.996) and 31.1 ± 0.6 (r2 = 0.999), detection limits 3.8 × 10−6 (0.152 μg/mL) and 2.3 × 10−7 M (8.0 ng/mL), and linear concentration ranges of 7.0 × 10−6–1.0 × 10−2 (400–0.28 μg/mL) and 7.0 × 10−7–1.0 × 10−2 M (400–0.028 μg/mL) for sensors based on PPY and GO, respectively. Both sensors revealed stable potentiometric responses with excellent reproducibility and enhanced selectivity over a number of most common metal ions, such as Na+, K+, Li+, NH4+, Fe2+, Mg2+, and Ba2+. Impedance spectroscopy and chronopotentiometric techniques were used for evaluating the potential drift and the interfacial sensor capacitance. The proposed sensors offered the advantages of simple design, ability of miniaturization, good potential stability, and cost-effectiveness. The developed electrodes were applied successfully to Ca2+ ion assessment in different pharmaceutical products, baby-food formulations, and human blood samples. The results obtained were compared with data obtained by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).