Microbial analysis and enrichment of anaerobic phenol and p-cresol degrading consortia with addition of AQDS

Quinones and humus are ubiquitous in the biosphere and play an important role in the anaerobic biodegradation and biotransformation of organic acids, poisonous compounds as well as inorganic compounds. The impact of humic model compound, anthraquinone-2, 6-disulfonate (AQDS) on anaerobic phenol and p-cresol degradation were studied. Four methanogenic AQDS-free phenol and p-cresol enrichments and two phenol-AQDS enrichments were obtained using two sludges with potential biodegradability of phenol and cresol isomers as inoculum. 16S rRNA gene-cloning analysis combined with fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that syntrophic aromatic compound degrading bacterium Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans was dominant in four AQDS-free enrichments, whereas phenol degrading Cryptanaerobacter phenolicus was dominant in two phenol-AQDS enrichments. Neither co-culture of Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans with Methanospirillum hungatei nor two phenol-AQDS enrichments could metabolize phenol using AQDS as the terminal electron acceptor. Further degradation experiments suggested that C. phenolicus related microbes in two phenol-AQDS enrichments were responsible for the conversion of phenol to benzoate, and benzoate was further degraded by benzoate degraders of Syntrophus aciditrophicus or Sporotomaculum syntrophicum to acetate.

Plant oil-based polymers

Polymer materials derived from natural resources have gained increasing attention in recent years because of the uncertainties concerning petroleum supply and prices in the future as well as their environmental pollution problems. As one of the most abundant renewable resources, plant oils are suitable starting materials for polymers because of their low cost, the rich chemistry that their triglyceride structure provides, and their potential biodegradability. This chapter covers the structure, modification of triglycerides and their derivatives as well as synthesis of polymers therefrom. The remarkable advances during the last two decades in organic synthesis using plant oils and the basic oleochemicals derived from them are selectively reported and updated. Various methods, such as condensation, radical/cationic polymerization, metathesis procedure, and living polymerization, have also been applied in constructing oil-based polymers. Based on the advance of these changes, traditional polymers such as polyamides, polyesters, and epoxy resins have been renewed. Partial oil-based polymers have already been applied in some industrial areas and recent developments in this field offer promising new opportunities.

Biodegradation of graphdiyne oxide in classically activated (M1) macrophages modulates cytokine production

Graphdiyne oxide (GDYO) is a carbon‐based nanomaterial possessing sp2 and sp-hybridized carbon atoms with many promising applications. However, its biocompatibility and potential biodegradability remain poorly understood. Using human primary monocyte-derived...

Counterion-insulated near-infrared dyes in biodegradable polymer nanoparticles for in vivo imaging

Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) are highly attractive for biomedical applications due to their potential biodegradability and capacity to encapsulate different loads, notably drugs and contrast agents. For in vivo optical...

Synthesis of Glycoconjugates Utilizing the Regioselectivity of a Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase

ABSTRACTPolysaccharides from plant biomass are the most abundant renewable chemicals on Earth and can potentially be converted to a wide variety of useful glycoconjugates. While anomeric hydroxyl groups of carbohydrates are amenable to a variety of useful chemical modifications, selective cross-coupling to non-reducing ends has remained challenging. Several lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), powerful enzymes known for their application in cellulose degradation, specifically oxidize non-reducing ends, introducing carbonyl groups that can be utilized for chemical coupling. This study provides a simple and highly specific approach to produce oxime-based glycoconjugates from LPMO-functionalized oligosaccharides. The products are evaluated by HPLC, mass spectrometry and NMR. Furthermore, we demonstrate potential biodegradability of these glycoconjugates using selective enzymes.

Aminated β-Cyclodextrin-Modified-Carboxylated Magnetic Cobalt/Nanocellulose Composite for Tumor-Targeted Gene Delivery

Gene therapy is a new kind of medicine, which uses genes as drugs in order to treat life threatening diseases. In the present work, a nonviral vector, aminated β-cyclodextrin-modified-carboxylated magnetic cobalt/nanocellulose composite (ACDC-Co/NCC), was synthesized for efficient transfection of genes into tumour cells. The synthesized ACDC-Co/NCC was characterized by means of FTIR, XRD, SEM, and ESR techniques. DNA condensing ability of ACDC-Co/NCC was found to be increased with increase in amount of ACDC-Co/NCC and 84.9% of DNA (1.0 μg/mL) inclusion was observed with 6.0 μg/mL of ACDC-Co/NCC. The cytotoxicity of ACDC-Co/NCC was observed to be minimal, even at higher concentration, with respect to the model transfecting agent, poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI). 88.2% of the gene was transfected at high dose of DNA, as indicated by the highest luciferase expression. These results indicated that ACDC-Co/NCC might be a promising candidate for gene delivery with the characteristics of good biocompatibility, potential biodegradability, minimal cytotoxicity, and relatively high gene transfection efficiency.