Nanoemulsion is a delivery system used to enhance bioavailability of plant-based compounds across the stratum corneum. Elaeis guineensis leaves are rich source of polyphenolic antioxidants, viz. ...gallic acid and catechin. The optimal E. guineensis leaves extract water-in-oil nanoemulsion was stable against coalescence, but it was under significant influence of Ostwald ripening over 90 days at 25 °C. The in-vitro permeability revealed a controlled and sustained release of the total phenolic compounds (TPC) of EgLE with a cumulative amount of 1935.0 ± 45.7 µgcm
after 8 h. The steady-state flux and permeation coefficient values were 241.9 ± 5.7 µgcm
h
and 1.15 ± 0.03 cm.h
, respectively. The kinetic release mechanism for TPC of EgLE was best described by the Korsmeyer-Peppas model due to the highest linearity of R
= 0.9961, indicating super case II transport mechanism. The in-silico molecular modelling predicted that the aquaporin-3 protein in the stratum corneum bonded preferably to catechin over gallic acid through hydrogen bonds due to the lowest binding energies of - 57.514 kcal/mol and - 8.553 kcal/mol, respectively. Thus, the in-silico study further verified that catechin could improve skin hydration. Therefore, the optimal nanoemulsion could be used topically as moisturizer to enhance skin hydration based on the in-silico prediction.
The primary means of immobilizing enzymes are to boost the enzyme productivity and operational stability, alongside facilitating the reuse of enzymes. Notwithstanding the aforementioned benefits, ...enzyme immobilization promotes high catalytic activity and stability, convenient handling of enzymes, in addition to their facile separation from reaction mixtures without contaminating the products. This review describes the choices of support materials and cross-linkers together with several mechanisms that influence the performance, stabilization and hyperactivation of immobilized enzymes. Altering enzyme properties often changes the enzyme structure due to random modifications in the behavior, which in some cases can be positive or negative. Future strategy to develop new generations of immobilized enzymes should capitalize on the rapid advances of genetic manipulation, organic chemistry, computational chemistry and bioinformatics, reactor and reaction design. Upcoming efforts to improve enzymes as industrial biocatalysts must consider their development for increased selective promiscuity suitable for multiple biotransformations, either independently or as catalytic cascade processes thereby enhance the cost-effectiveness of the processes.
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•Highlights on different choices of support materials.•Usage of crosslinkers for enzyme immobilization.•Future strategy to develop new generations of immobilized enzymes.
Plastic or microplastic pollution is a global threat affecting ecosystems, with the current generation reaching as much as 400 metric tons per/year. Soil ecosystems comprising agricultural lands act ...as microplastics sinks, though the impact could be unexpectedly more far-reaching. This is troubling as most plastic forms, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), formed from polymerized terephthalic acid (TPA) and ethylene glycol (EG) monomers, are non-biodegradable environmental pollutants. The current approach to use mechanical, thermal, and chemical-based treatments to reduce PET waste remains cost-prohibitive and could potentially produce toxic secondary pollutants. Thus, better remediation methods must be developed to deal with plastic pollutants in marine and terrestrial environments. Enzymatic treatments could be a plausible avenue to overcome plastic pollutants, given the near-ambient conditions under which enzymes function without the need for chemicals. The discovery of several PET hydrolases, along with further modification of the enzymes, has considerably aided efforts to improve their ability to degrade the ester bond of PET. Hence, this review emphasizes PET-degrading microbial hydrolases and their contribution to alleviating environmental microplastics. Information on the molecular and degradation mechanisms of PET is also highlighted in this review, which might be useful in the future rational engineering of PET-hydrolyzing enzymes.
There is an array of methodologies to prepare nanocellulose (NC) and its fibrillated form (CNF) with enhanced physicochemical characteristics. However, acids, bases or organosolv treatments on ...biomass are far from green, and seriously threaten the environment. Current approach to produce NC/CNF from biomass should be revised and embrace the concept of sustainability and green chemistry. Although hydrothermal process, high-pressure homogenization, ball milling technique, deep eutectic solvent treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis etc., are the current techniques for producing NC, the route designs remain imperfect. Herein, this review highlights the latest methodologies in the pre-processing and isolating of NC/CNF from lignocellulose biomass, by largely focusing on related papers published in the past two years till date. This article also explores the latest advancements in environmentally friendly NC extraction techniques that cooperatively use ball milling and enzymatic hydrolytic routes as an eco-efficient way to produce NC/CNF, alongside the potential applications of the nano-sized celluloses.
•Differentiations on CNCs and CNFs were briefly discussed.•Latest literature on NC production from plant biomass (2019-April 2020) is offered.•Ball milling enables better and chemical free defibrillation of lignocellulose.•Endoglucanase-rich enzymes favor the selective isolation of NC from agro-biomass.•Mechano-enzymatic extraction is a feasibly greener protocol to harvest NC.
The anthocyanin (ACN)-rich roselle extract has the potential to inhibit lung cancer. However, the compounds demonstrate low bioavailability and stability in biological applications. The present study ...proposed a stable formulation of a water-in-oil (w/o) roselle extract nanoemulsion by combining low (hot temperature inversion) and high-energy approaches (ultrasonication and ultra-homogenization) for pulmonary delivery. The stable w/o formulation comprised of roselle extract (0.04 w/w%), sodium chloride solution (3.0 w/w%), medium-chain triglyceride (81.9 w/w%), surfactant (Tween 80 and Span 80) (15.0 w/w%), hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) of 6.7 Tween 80/Span 80 (22.5:77.5) to yield the stable nanoemulsion.The best nanoemulsion showed an average 298 nm particle size, polydispersity index of 0.6, and zeta potential of −49.0 mV. The emulsions were stable in the centrifuge- and freeze-thaw cycle tests,-alongside the 60-days storage tests at 4 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C. The in-vitro release of the roselle extract at pH 6.5 buffer was 44.7% and 40.7% at pH 7.4 (p > 0.05), with the release patterns following the non-Fickian diffusion. Hence, the present study successfully developed a stable w/o roselle extract nanoemulsion with a relatively moderate release rate of the ACNs, supporting its suitability as a nanocarrier for pulmonary delivery.
Microbial-assisted removal of natural or synthetic pollutants is the prevailing green, low-cost technology to treat polluted environments. However, the challenge with enzyme-assisted bioremediation ...is the laborious nature of dehalogenase-producing microorganisms' bioprospecting. This bottleneck could be circumvented by in-silico analysis of certain microorganisms' whole-genome sequences to predict their protein functions and enzyme versatility for improved biotechnological applications. Herein, this study performed structural analysis on a dehalogenase (DehHsAAD6) from the genome of Halomonas smyrnensis AAD6 by molecular docking and molecular dynamic (MD) simulations. Other bioinformatics tools were also employed to identify substrate preference (haloacids and haloacetates) of the DehHsAAD6. The DehHsAAD6 preferentially degraded haloacids and haloacetates (−3.2-4.8 kcal/mol) and which formed three hydrogen bonds with Tyr12, Lys46, and Asp182. MD simulations data revealed the higher stability of DehHsAAD6-haloacid- (RMSD 0.22-0.3 nm) and DehHsAAD6-haloacetates (RMSF 0.05-0.14 nm) complexes, with the DehHsAAD6-L-2CP complex being the most stable. The detail of molecular docking calculations ranked complexes with the lowest binding free energies as: DehHsAAD6-L-2CP complex (−4.8 kcal/mol) = DehHsAAD6-MCA (−4.8 kcal/mol) < DehHsAAD6-TCA (−4.5 kcal/mol) < DehHsAAD6-2,3-DCP (−4.1 kcal/mol) < DehHsAAD6-D-2CP (−3.9 kcal/mol) < DehHsAAD6-2,2-DCP (−3.5 kcal/mol) < DehHsAAD6-3CP (−3.2 kcal/mol). In a nutshell, the study findings offer valuable perceptions into the elucidation of possible reaction mechanisms of dehalogenases for extended substrate specificity and higher catalytic activity.
Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma
Limited honey production worldwide leads to higher market prices, thus making it prone to adulteration. Therefore, regular physicochemical analysis is imperative for ensuring authenticity and safety. ...This study describes the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of Apis cerana honey sourced from the islands of Lombok and Bali, showing their unique regional traits. A comparative analysis was conducted on honey samples from Lombok and Bali as well as honey variety from Malaysia. Moisture content was found slightly above 20% in raw honey samples from Lombok and Bali, adhering to the national standard (SNI 8664:2018) of not exceeding 22%. Both honey types displayed pH values within the acceptable range (3.40-6.10), ensuring favorable conditions for long-term storage. However, Lombok honey exhibited higher free acidity (78.5±2.14 meq/kg) than Bali honey (76.0±1.14 meq/kg), surpassing Codex Alimentarius recommendations (≤50 meq/kg). The ash content, reflective of inorganic mineral composition, was notably lower in Lombok (0.21±0.02 g/100) and Bali honey (0.14±0.01 g/100) compared to Tualang honey (1.3±0.02 g/100). Electric conductivity, indicative of mineral content, revealed Lombok and Bali honey with lower but comparable values than Tualang honey. Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) concentrations in Lombok (14.4±0.11 mg/kg) and Bali (17.6±0.25 mg/kg) were slightly elevated compared to Tualang honey (6.4±0.11 mg/kg), suggesting potential processing-related changes. Sugar analysis revealed Lombok honey with the highest sucrose content (2.39±0.01g/100g) and Bali honey with the highest total sugar content (75.21±0.11 g/100g). Both honeys exhibited lower glucose than fructose content, aligning with Codex Alimentarius guidelines. The phenolic content, flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were significantly higher in Lombok and Bali honey compared to Tualang honey, suggesting potential health benefits. Further analysis by LC-MS/MS-QTOF targeted analysis identified various flavonoids/flavanols and polyphenolic/phenolic acid compounds in Lombok and Bali honey. The study marks the importance of characterizing the unique composition of honey from different regions, ensuring quality and authenticity in the honey industry.
•RML covalently bound on crosslinked CS/CNWs was used to synthesize eugenyl benzoate.•RML-CS/CNW: ∼8.1 mg/g with specific and residual activity 537 U/g and 137%.•Optimum: Enzyme loading (3 mg/mL) and ...molar ratio of eugenol:benzoic acid (3:1).•RML-CS/CNWs synthesized 56.3% of eugenyl benzoate while free RML was 47.3%.•NMR and FTIR data affirmed that eugenyl benzoate was enzymatically produced.
To overcome drawbacks in the conventional chemical route to synthesize eugenyl benzoate, immobilized Rhizomucor miehei lipase (RML) as the biocatalyst was proposed. The RML conjugated to a hybrid support consisting of biopolymers, chitosan (CS) and chitin nanowhiskers (CNWs). 1-ethyl-3-3-dimethylaminopropylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDAC) was used as the crosslinker to bind the lipase. Immobilization of RML was the highest on crosslinked CS/CNWs which gave a protein loading of ∼8.12 mg/g, corresponding to specific and residual activity of 537 U/g and 137%, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis-differential thermogravimetry, field emission scanning electron and atomic force microscopy of RML-CS/CNWs revealed that RML was successfully attached to the surface of crosslinked CS/CNWs. Under an optimized condition, the highest yield of eugenyl benzoate (56.3%) was attained after 5 h using 3 mg/mL of RML-CS/CNWs with molar ratio of eugenol: benzoic acid of 3:1, as compared to only 47.3% for the free RML. Analyses of FTIR and NMR on purified eugenyl benzoate affirmed that the ester was successfully produced in the enzymatic esterification. Therefore, the use of the RML-CS/CNWs biocatalysts appears promising to afford good yields of eugenyl benzoate within a relatively shorter reaction time.
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•Compatibility and adsorption of IL/IRMOF-1 was predicted using simulation.•IL/IRMOF-1 shows an improved resistance to water compared to pristine IRMOF-1.•Adsorption of H2S and CO2 ...was highly dependent on the IL loadings.•The hybrid composite was more selective in capturing H2S than CO2.
The compatibility and performance of an Isoreticular Metal-Organic Frameworks (IRMOF-1) impregnated with choline-based ionic liquids (ILs) for selective adsorption of H2S/CO2, were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. Cholinium alanate (ChlAla) was nominated as the suitable IL for impregnation into IRMOF-1, consistent with the low RMSD values (0.546 nm, 0.670 nm, 0.776 nm) at three IL/IRMOF-1 w/w ratios (WIL/IRMOF-1 = 0.4, 0.8, and 1.2). The Chl+ and Ala− ion pair was located preferentially around the carboxylate group within the IRMOF-1 framework, with the latter interacting strongly with the host than the Chl+. Results of radius of gyration (Rg) and root mean square displacement (RMSD) revealed that a ratio of 0.4 w/w of IL/IRMOF-1 (Rg = 1.405 nm; RMSD = 0.546 nm) gave the best conformation to afford an exceptionally stable IL/IRMOF-1 composite. It was discovered that the IL/IRMOF-1 composite was more effective in capturing H2S and CO2 compared to pristine IRMOF-1. The gases adsorbed in higher quantities in the IL/IRMOF-1 composite phase compared to the bulk phase, with a preferential adsorption for H2S, as shown by the uppermost values of adsorption (AH2S = 17.954 mol L−1 bar-1) and an adsorption selectivity (ASH2S/CO2 = 43.159) at 35 IL loading.
Abstract
The discovery of forensic evidence (e.g. weapons) during forensic underwater investigations has seen an increasing trend. To date, small particle reagent (SPR) has been one of the routinely ...used methods for visualising fingerprints on wet, non-porous substrates. However, the long term use of SPR is detrimental to humans and environment due to the use of toxic chemicals. Although previously we have successfully developed and optimised a greener nanobio-based reagent (NBR), its suitable practical use in a more realistic scene (e.g. outdoor pond) was not evaluated. Therefore, this present research is aimed at (1) investigating the performance of NBR against the benchmark SPR in visualising fingerprints immersed in a natural outdoor pond and (2) evaluating the greenness of NBR against the analytical Eco-Scale. Results showed that the performance of the optimised NBR was mostly comparable (University of Canberra (UC) comparative scale: 0) with SPR at visualising fingerprints on three different non-porous substrates immersed in a natural outdoor pond. Observably, the NBR had higher preference towards aged fingerprints (up to 4 weeks of immersion). In addition, its greenness assessment revealed 76 points, indicating ‘excellent green analysis’. The findings gathered here further supported the practical use of the NBR in forensic investigations.
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