Complex Composition Research Articles

New Molecular Complexes of Glycyrrhizic Acid Monoammonium Salt (Glycyram) with Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics

Aims: The study aimed to search of new molecular complexes of licorice saponin with fluoroquinolone antibiotics and to explore their pharmaceutical potential. Background: Molecular complexation of triterpene glycosides with pharmaceutical substances reduces side effects and therapeutic doses, increases bioavailability and stability, and expands the spectrum of biological activity of drugs. Glycyrrhizic acid is the major triterpene glycoside of licorice. Molecular complexes of monoammonium salt of glycyrrhizic acid (glycyram, GC) with fluoroquinolone antibiotics have not been described. Objectives: This study is devoted to the preparation and analysis of molecular complexes of GC with fluoroquinolones, and investigation of their antimicrobial activity. Methods: Complexation was studied via FT-IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy and mass spectrometry methods. Results: Molecular complexes of GC with fluoroquinolone antibiotics, along with their benzylated derivatives, were obtained for the first time. Conclusion: The complexes composition was defined as 1:1. Intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed during complexation. In addition, stability constants of 105 М-1 order were calculated. Some complexes are comparable in antimicrobial activity with individual antibiotics ciprofloxacin (CP) and moxifloxacin (Moc) or surpass them in relation to a number of bacteria. These molecular complexes could be potential low-dose drugs with antimicrobial activity.

Research on treating inorganic salt deposition in production wells of Tho Trang oil field

The Tho Trang oil field, operated by the Russia"-"Vietnam Joint Venture"- Vietsovpetro, produced oil from the lower Miocene and upper Oligocene sediments. After a long time of exploitation, the production wells at the Tho Trang oil field have problems with salt deposition, which greatly affects the efficiency of exploitation, a matter of concern to Vietsopetro."Salt deposition, in general, has a complex composition. At the initial stage of production, the most common components of deposition are Calcite (CaCO<sub>3</sub>), Gypsum (CaSO<sub>4</sub>.2H<sub>2</sub>O), Anhydrite (CaSO<sub>4</sub>), Barite (BaSO<sub>4</sub>), Asentin (SrSO<sub>4</sub>), Halite which is a mineral of NaCl. In addition to the common minerals mentioned above, inorganic salt deposits may contain other inorganic minerals such as: MgCO<sub>3</sub>, MgSO<sub>4</sub>, Ca(OH)<sub>2</sub>, Mg(OH)<sub>2</sub>, Fe(OH)<sub>3</sub>, quartz"- SiO<sub>2</sub>, Biotite"- MgCl<sub>2</sub>.6H<sub>2</sub>O, CaF<sub>2</sub>,… and some organic substances such as asphaltenes, resins, paraffins, some aromatic compounds, high molecular weight compounds, etc."The phenomenon of inorganic salt deposition has reduced the ability to exploit and transport oil and gas due to reducing the permeability of the reservoir, causing blockage of production wells, pipelines, and suction pumping systems. There are many methods applied to control and deal with salt deposition. One of them is the use of chemicals with special structures inhibiting the formation and crystal growth of salt deposits."This paper presents solutions to improve the efficiency of inorganic salt deposition treatment at the Tho Trang oil field. The method of using chemicals to inhibit salt deposition is the preferred method to maintain oil production. This is considered to be the most advanced and effective method to keep production well without being stopped.

Structural, 40Ar/39Ar Geochronological and Rheological Feature Analysis of the Guoxuepu Shear Zone: Indications for the Jitang Metamorphic Complex in the Northern Lancangjiang Zone

AbstractThe Jitang metamorphic complex is key to studying the tectonic evolution of the Northern Lancangjiang zone. Through structural‐lithological mapping, structural analysis and laboratory testing, the composition of the Jitang metamorphic complex was determined. The macro‐ and microstructural analyses of the ductile detachment shear zone (Guoxuepu ductile shear zone, 2–4 km wide) between the metamorphic complex and the overlying sedimentary cap show that the shear sense of the ductile shear zones is top‐to‐the‐southeast. The presence of various deformation features and quartz C‐axis electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) fabric analysis suggests multiple deformation events occurring at different temperatures. The average stress is 25.68 MPa, with the strain rates (έ) ranging from 9.77×10–14 s–1 to 6.52×10–16 s‐1. The finite strain of the Guoxuepu ductile shear zone indicates an elongated strain pattern. The average kinematic vorticity of the Guoxuepu ductile shear zone is 0.88, implying that the shear zone is dominated by simple shear. The muscovite selected from the protomylonite samples in the Guoxuepu ductile shear zone yields a 40Ar‐39Ar age of 60.09 ± 0.38 Ma. It is suggested that, coeval with the initial Indo–Eurasian collision, the development of strike‐slip faults led to a weak and unstable crust, upwelling of lower crust magma, then induced the detachment of the Jitang metamorphic complex in the Eocene.

Ion Beam Analysis including ToF-ERDA of complex composition layers

When developing new materials for example, for high-temperature nuclear reactors with the potential of hydrogen production, that are characterized by radiation, high temperature and corrosion resistance, it is indispensable the knowledge of their detailed elemental composition and its possible variation with depth from surface. Several analytical methods based on different physical principles are used to determine the depth distribution of elements in the surface layers of materials. For the quantitative determination of elemental depth profile to a depth of several micrometres are applicable established Ion Beam Analysis (IBA) methods such as RBS, EBS, NRA and ERDA. Their advantage is that they are considered to be absolute and to a certain extent non-destructive. Each of these methods is advantageously used to analyse a certain range of elements, sometimes depending on the combination of other elements present. The recently commissioned Time of Flight Elastic Recoil Analysis (ToF-ERDA) measuring system at the Slovak University of Technology MTF in Trnava significantly enhanced the Ion Beam Laboratory capability of a comprehensive elemental analysis of thin films to the depth of hundreds of nanometres. Using the primary analysing 50 MeV Au beam, the depth profiles of all elements from W to H can be obtained within a single measurement. Analysis of complex samples using traditional IBA methods and high-energy ToF-ERDA is discussed and compared. The first measurements on the new ToF-ERDA installation are also presented.

Highly efficient conversion of plastic waste into fuel via thermal cracking: Thermo-structural analysis of the pyrolysis reactor and characterization of the final product

This study aimed to convert plastic waste into Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) through pyrolytic fuel, using a discontinuous reactor at the laboratory scale. To achieve this, a thermomechanical analysis was conducted using ANSYS software to assess thermal stresses and deformations, testing the material resistance of the pyrolysis unit against temperature variations. Thermal degradation occurred within a temperature range of 350–550 °C. Pyrolysis conditions were adjusted to maximize the production of liquid pyrolytic oil, achieving a yield of 70.2 % at a temperature of 450 °C and a heating speed of 10 °C/min maintained for a duration of 150 min. FT-IR analysis of the pyrolytic oil identified the presence of aliphatic compounds, confirmed by gas chromatography (GC), revealing a complex composition including alkanes, cycloalkanes, and aromatic compounds. These results highlight the similarity of pyrolytic oil to traditional fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

Control of organic impurities in antibiotics

Introduction: the international, as well as Russian Pharmacopoeia criteria for organic impurity assessment are not applicable to medicinal products obtained by fermentation, therefore the setting of limits for product-related impurities in antibiotics is not regulated by any commonly shared rules. The aim of the study was to analyse and summariese pharmacopoeial requirements for and methodological approaches to organic impurities control in active substances and finished products of semisynthetic antibiotics, peptide antibiotics, and antibiotics obtained by fermentation. Material and methods: the authors analysed the requirements for organic impurities control, as established by the leading world pharmacopoeias and the State Pharmacopoeia of the Russian Federation, using the example of three different groups of antibiotics (semisynthetic antibiotics, antibiotics obtained by fermentation, and peptide antibiotics). The study used comparative analysis and content analysis methods. Results: the study demonstrated that the product-related impurity profiles of the analysed active substances and corresponding finished products often differ significantly across the leading pharmacopoeias, either qualitatively or quantitatively, and do not necessarily comply with the EMA Guideline on setting specifications for related impurities in antibiotics. The methodological approaches to product-related impurity control also differ a lot in terms of pharmacopoeial reference standards used, accelerated stability studies, etc. Conclusion: the complex composition of product-related compounds does not always allow for their unambiguous classification as either impurities or active moieties (e.g. in the case of bleomycin). Most Russian Pharmacopoeia antibiotic monographs are harmonised with the European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.), which is fraught with problems regarding reference standards (RSs) use, since the composition of Ph. Eur. RSs includes both the active substance and several (sometimes up to 8) impurities. The Russian Pharmacopoeia monographs on antibiotics obtained by a process involving the fermentation stage, include the abnormal toxicity test, which seems redundant in comprehensive impurity control, at least for semisynthetic antibiotics.

Natural Silicates Encapsulated Enzymes as Green Biocatalysts for Degradation of Pharmaceuticals.

Biocatalytic degradation with the use of enzymes has gained great attention in the past few years due to its advantages of high efficiency and environmental friendliness. Novel, cost-effective, and green nanoadsorbents were produced in this study, using natural silicates as an enzyme host matrix for core-shell immobilization technique. With the natural silicate as a core and silica layer as a shell, it was possible to encapsulate two different enzymes: horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and laccase, for removal and degradation of three pharmaceuticals: diclofenac (DFC), carbamazepine (CBZ), and paracetamol (PC). The biocatalysts demonstrated high oxidation rates for the selected pollutants. In particular HRP immobilized fly ash and perlite degraded DFC and PC completely during 3 days of interaction and also showed high degradation rates for CBZ. Immobilized laccase was successful in PC degradation, where up to 70-80% degradation of the compounds with aromatic rings was reported by NMR measurements for a high drug concentration of 10 μg/mL. The immobilization method played a significant role in this process by providing stability and protection for the enzymes over 3 weeks. Furthermore, the enzymes acted differently in the three chosen supports due to their complex chemical composition, which could have an effect on the overall enzyme activity.

Evaluating the Role of Functional Groups in the Selective Capture of Ag(I) onto UiO-66-Type Metal-Organic Frameworks.

UiO-66-type metal-organic frameworks have been considered as promising adsorbents for capturing Ag(I) from wastewater. However, uncertainties persist regarding the specific absorptivity of individual functional groups to the UiO-66 framework structure. In this study, UiO-66-type metal-organic frameworks (UiO-66-X), featuring diverse functional groups (X = -(OH)2, -(COOH)2, -NO2, -NH2, -SO3H, -(SH)2), were synthesized in situ for Ag(I) capture. The findings revealed that functionalization significantly enhanced the adsorption capacity of Ag(I). Notably, quantitative analysis showed that 1 mol of -SH functional group onto the UiO-66 framework structure can adsorb 0.73 mol of Ag(I) ions, surpassing those of -COOH, -OH, -NH2, -SO3H, and -NO2 by 2.4-, 3.5-, 3.8-, 9.1-, and 24.3-fold, respectively. This represents the first assessment of the adsorption capacity of functionalized UiO-66 for Ag(I) based on each effective functional group, addressing limitations in traditional unit mass calculations. Further, the adsorption mechanism of UiO-66-X for selectively capturing Ag(I) was elucidated through experimental and theoretical analyses. Additionally, selectivity and practical applications confirm that UiO-66-(SH)2 exhibits strong anti-interference ability, whether in natural water bodies with complex compositions or in industrial wastewater under harsh conditions. We anticipate that this study will enhance our understanding of structure-performance dependencies of multivariate MOFs for designing novel adsorbents for Ag(I) capture.

Activity-Guided Proteomic Profiling of Proteasomes Uncovers a Variety of Active (and Inactive) Proteasome Species

Proteasomes are multisubunit, multicatalytic protein complexes present in eukaryotic cells that degrade misfolded, damaged, or unstructured proteins. In this study, we used an activity-guided proteomic methodology based on a fluorogenic peptide substrate to characterize the composition of proteasome complexes in WT yeast and the changes these complexes undergo upon the deletion of Pre9 (Δα3) or of Sem1 (ΔSem1). A comparison of whole-cell proteomic analysis to activity-guided proteasome profiling indicates that the amounts of proteasomal proteins and proteasome interacting proteins in the assembled active proteasomes differ significantly from their total amounts in the cell as a whole. Using this activity-guided profiling approach, we characterized the changes in the abundance of subunits of various active proteasome species in different strains, quantified the relative abundance of active proteasomes across these strains, and charted the overall distribution of different proteasome species within each strain. The distributions obtained by our mass spectrometry-based quantification were markedly higher for some proteasome species than those obtained by activity-based quantification alone, suggesting that the activity of some of these species is impaired. The impaired activity appeared mostly among 20SBlm10 proteasome species which account for 20% of the active proteasomes in WT. To identify the factors behind this impaired activity, we mapped and quantified known proteasome-interacting proteins. Our results suggested that some of the reduced activity might be due to the association of the proteasome inhibitor Fub1. Additionally, we provide novel evidence for the presence of nonmature and therefore inactive proteasomal protease subunits β2 and β5 in the fully assembled proteasomes.

Genome-wide analysis of the Siboney de Cuba cattle breed: genetic characterization and framing with cattle breeds worldwide.

Crossbreeding has been employed to address environmental challenges. One successful example is the Siboney de Cuba, developed in response to economic challenges in the 1960s. The aim of this study was to perform the first genomic characterization of the Siboney de Cuba breed, a successful hybrid breed resulting from the crossbreeding of Cuban Zebu and Holstein, using SNP array chip. For this purpose, 48 Siboney de Cuba cattle samples were collected and genotyped with the GGP Bovine 100k BeadChip, resulting in 83,314 SNPs after quality control. The genetic diversity was investigated using observed and expected heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficient, and minor allele frequency. Runs of homozygosity (ROH) analysis provided insights into molecular inbreeding. Additionally, the study investigated copy number variants (CNV), identifying CNV regions and their distribution. The genetic relationship and population structure of Siboney de Cuba were analyzed in comparison with worldwide cattle populations using ADMIXTURE, multidimensional scaling, and phylogenetic analysis. Six ROH islands containing a total of 50 genes were discovered, some of which were uncharacterized loci. Furthermore, 792 CNV with higher occurrence of genetic material loss were observed. The overall genome coverage for CNV regions was 2.16%. The Siboney de Cuba exhibited a good level of genetic variability with high heterozygosity and low inbreeding when compared with other cattle breeds worldwide. Also, the breed shared genetic similarity to hybrids from America and Bos indicus from Africa and highlighted a moderate level of genetic isolation with some overlaps with Bos taurus from America. The breed showed a complex genetic composition, influenced by historical factors. Overall, findings of the present study contribute to the understanding of genomic structure of Siboney de Cuba cattle breed.

Extraction Of LiCl From Low-Purity Chlorides Through Solid Electrolyte Towards High-Purity Li2CO3 Production.

Lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) plays a crucial role in advancing state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for efficient energy storage. The primary source of lithium is lithium-rich brines, which have complex compositions. Conventional extraction processes from brines involve cumbersome methods that often lead to emissions and/or large volumes of wastewater. To address these environmental challenges, a novel and eco-friendly lithium extraction process under ambient pressure is necessary. In this project, we developed an electrolytic process utilizing a NASICON-type solid-state electrolyte (LATP) to extract lithium chloride from low-purity sources at a temperature of 380 °C. To reduce the melting points of the lithium sources, ZnCl2 was introduced as a fluxing agent. The electrolytic process effectively separated Li+ from other coexisting ions, but resulted in their mixture with Zn2+. Subsequently, purification and carbonation processes were employed to produce high-purity Li2CO3 (98.9 %). We also obtained high-purity Zn(OH)2 (>99.9 %) as a value by-product. Despite the formation of color centers that caused the LATP disk to change from white to black during the electrolytic process, it exhibited sufficient ionic conductivity for successful lithium extraction. Our environmentally friendly approach offers a promising pathway for efficient and sustainable lithium extraction, contributing to the advancement of LIB technology for energy storage applications.

Activity quantification and assessment of recycled concrete powder based on the contributions of the dilution effect, physical effect and chemical effect

Improving the utilization of recycled concrete powder (RCP) is crucial for optimizing the resource utilization of construction and demolition waste (CDW). The assessment of RCP activity is essential for its extended applications. However, regarding RCP with complex compositions and high content of inert materials, the current standard activity index method fails to provide a comprehensive and efficient assessment. This study aimed to elucidate the activity of RCP, correlate the particle characteristics of RCP with its activity, and propose activity quantification and characterization methods applicable to RCP from different sources. Specifically, the type, particle size distribution, and replacement of supplementary cementitious materials were investigated to categorize their influence as dilution, physical and chemical effects on mortar strength. The relationship between the particle size distribution, replacement, and rehydration properties of RCP and these effects was explored. The results showed that the contributions of dilution, physical and chemical effects of the RCP to the activity could be effectively predicted by their fundamental properties, which were also verified by the Random Forest model and the empirical model for accuracy and rationality. Finally, the activity evaluation method based on the fundamental properties of RCP is proposed. The study findings present an efficient means for accessing the activity of RCP from different sources, thereby facilitating their better applications and enhancing the utilization of CDW.

Additive manufacturing of high-quality tritium breeding pebbles using ceramic precursors

In this study, the fabrication of advanced lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) ceramic tritium breeding pebbles through photopolymerization using ceramic precursors (i.e., SiO2 and Li2CO3) is reported for the first time. The pebbles exhibit excellent mechanical and physical properties. Through optimization of manufacturing parameters and a geometrical correction model to compensate printing deviations, the printing accuracy of the pebbles was enhanced. The resulting pebbles had a diameter of approximately 1 mm, a sphericity of 1.01, a uniformly distributed pore structure, a phase purity > 95%, and a satisfying relative density reaching 91.39%. The average crush load 25.7 ± 0.3 N, surpassed that achieved by previously reported methods. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity was enhanced compared to that of solid-phase synthesized Li4SiO4 powder, facilitating the tritium release process for fusion applications. This study may serve as a guidance for designing appropriate ceramic breeders, providing a cost-effective approach applicable to produce other high-precision ceramic components with complex compositions.

Insights into simultaneous efficient removal of cationic and anionic dyes by nitrogen-rich seaweed carbon adsorbent

Textile dyes, including methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO), pose a significant threat to water quality. This study delves into the competitive adsorption mechanisms pivotal for the concurrent removel of cationic MB and anionic MO dyes using nitrogen-rich seaweed-based carbon adsorbents. Synthesized through the pyrolysis and NaOH activation of Enteromorpha seaweed biomass, the preparation method is both uncomplicated and cost-effective, holding promising applications in industry. Characterization unveiled a commendable specific surface area of 911 m2/g, accompanied by abundant nitrogen- and oxygen-containing functional groups. Batch adsorption experiments showcased exceptional removal efficiencies surpassing 99.8% for both dyes. Molecular dynamics simulations offered valuable insights into the dynamic multi-stage adsorption behavior, while density functional theory calculations clarified the chemisorption-based interaction mechanism. Notably, MB displayed superior adsorption affinity compared to MO. An integrated adsorption mechanism was proposed, encompassing electrostatic attraction, migration, and enhanced chemisorptive binding of dye aggregates at active sites on the adsorbent surface. The innovative adsorption mechanism adopted by this carbon-based adsorbent prepared from nitrogen-rich seaweed can effectively remove cationic and anionic dyes, laying a solid foundation for future research on real water bodies with complex compositions.

A disseminação cultural de complexos vegetais na medicina popular do estado de Alagoas

Plant complexes are mixtures of plants, in which several species are associated with each other in closed containers, together with alcoholic and sweetened substances, forming over the days a substance used to cure illnesses. They are exemplified by bottles, syrups, and lickers. Seeking to understand the biocultural aspects associated with these preparations is essential, as they play a historical and traditional role for different local populations in Northeastern Brazil. Thus, this work aimed to investigate the role and composition of plant complexes used by folk medicine in the state of Alagoas through a systematic review. For this, we carried out searches for ethnobotanical works carried out in Alagoas that showed complex plants used in the region. To search for the works, we used keywords in Portuguese and English on the Google Academic and Scielo platforms, which were selected and analyzed. We identified 169 vegetable complexes through 6 categories of use (41 lickers, 41 bottles, 11 medicinal baths, 53 teas, 16 syrups and 07 juices. A total of 70 species were identified (32 are exotic and 38 are native) used in the preparations. Such complexes are used to cure various illnesses, especially those associated with the respiratory system. Plant complexes play a significant role for people in the region, as in addition to being used for medicinal purposes, they are part of the sociocultural aspects of the region. This work effectively contributes to the dissemination of biocultural aspects associated with plant complexes in popular medicine in the state of Alagoas and serves as a subsidy for carrying out new related works.

Quality Consistency Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicines: Current Status and Future Perspectives.

Quality consistency evaluation of traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) is a crucial factor that determines the safe and effective application in clinical settings. However, TCMs exhibit diverse, heterogeneous, complex, and flexible chemical compositions, as well as variability in preparation processes. These characteristics pose greater challenges in researching the consistency of TCMs compared to chemically synthesized and biological drugs. Therefore, it is paramount to develop effective strategies for evaluating the quality consistency of TCMs. From the starting point of quality properties, this review explores the strategy used to evaluate quality consistency in terms of chemistry-based strategy (chemical consistency) and the biology-based strategy (bioequivalence). Among them, the chemistry-based strategy is the mainstream, and biology-based strategy complements the chemistry-based strategy each other. Furthermore, the emerging chemistry-biology strategies (overall evaluation) is discussed, including individually combining strategy and integration strategy. Finally, this review provides insights into the challenges and future perspectives in this field. By highlighting current status and trends in TCMs quality consistency, this review aims to contribute to establishment of generally applicable chemistry-biology integrated evaluation strategy for TCMs. This will facilitate the advancement toward a higher stage of overall quality evaluation.

Multiple and Optimal Screening Subset: a method selecting global characteristic congeners for robust foodomics analysis.

Metabolomics and foodomics shed light on the molecular processes within living organisms and the complex food composition by leveraging sophisticated analytical techniques to systematically analyze the vast array of molecular features. The traditional feature-picking method often results in arbitrary selections of the model, feature ranking, and cut-off, which may lead to suboptimal results. Thus, a Multiple and Optimal Screening Subset (MOSS) approach was developed in this study to achieve a balance between a minimal number of predictors and high predictive accuracy during statistical model setup. The MOSS approach compares five commonly used models in the context of food matrix analysis, specifically bourbons. These models include Student's t-test, receiver operating characteristic curve, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), random forests, and support vector machines. The approach employs cross-validation to identify promising subset feature candidates that contribute to food characteristic classification. It then determines the optimal subset size by comparing it to the corresponding top-ranked features. Finally, it selects the optimal feature subset by traversing all possible feature candidate combinations. By utilizing MOSS approach to analyze 1406 mass spectral features from a collection of 122 bourbon samples, we were able to generate a subset of features for bourbon age prediction with 88% accuracy. Additionally, MOSS increased the area under the curve performance of sweetness prediction to 0.898 with only four predictors compared with the top-ranked four features at 0.681 based on the PLS-DA model. Overall, we demonstrated that MOSS provides an efficient and effective approach for selecting optimal features compared with other frequently utilized methods.

Bi-directional prediction of hydrothermal carbonization characteristics of agroforestry and livestock wastes with variable components: Graph learning model-aided waste recycle

Agricultural resource management is essential in present-day society. The hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is a promising technology for recovering valuable resources from wastes. However, there is a paucity of efficient approaches to predict and comprehend the agricultural waste HTC process. Machine learning modeling approaches have emerged as an important tool for simulating thermochemical reaction processes such as HTC. However, previous studies all limit to predicting products properties of single-component HTC, which are contrary to the complex composition of raw materials, and demonstrate poor generalization performance. Herein, the homogeneity graph data is employed to represent the HTC data with variable components. Then, based on graph encoder-decoder transformer method, a bi-directional prediction model is established to model the HTC process of agroforestry and livestock wastes. In the case of the forward prediction, the model can predict the composition and yield of hydrochar according to the given HTC conditions. The comparisons with the experimental data other than the training and validation datasets show that the prediction accuracy (R2) of ash, carbon and nitrogen contents of the hydrochar are 0.895, 0.908 and 0.840, respectively, which proves the good generalizability of the model. Moreover, owing to the embedding vector, which connects the reactant data with the product data in HTC, the model can also achieve backward prediction of HTC reaction conditions such as raw material composition and reaction temperature. Furthermore, by dimensionality reduction analysis of the embedding vector in the model, the similarity of any two HTC reactions can be quantified. The established HTC-graph neural network (GNN) model shows both high accuracy and good generalization ability in bi-directional prediction of HTC process. Based on the effectiveness of the proposed model and the given evaluation indexes, the corresponding HTC parameters can be determined, which greatly benefits to the resources saving and energy consumption reduction.

Quantitative and qualitative analysis of cell culture media powders for mammalian cells by Raman microscopy

Cell culture media are essential for large-scale recombinant protein production using mammalian cell cultures. The composition and quality of media significantly impact cell growth and product formation. Analyzing media poses challenges due to complex compositions and undisclosed exact compositions. Traditional methods like NMR and chromatography offer sensitivity but require time-consuming sample preparation and lack spatial information. Raman chemical mapping characterizes solids, but its use in cell culture media analysis is limited so far. We present a chemometric evaluation for Raman maps to qualify and quantify media components, evaluate powder homogeneity, and perform lot-to-lot comparisons. Three lots of a marketed cell culture media powder were measured with Raman mapping technique. Chemometrics techniques have outlined a strategy to extract information from complex data. First, a spectral library has been structured. In addition to the 23 spectra for presumed ingredients, we obtained another 9 pure components with Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS). Then the Spectral Angle Mapper-Orthogonal Projection (SAM-OP) algorithm revealed whether references actually occur in the mapped media powders. Finally, a quantification was provided by Classical Least Squares (CLS) modelling. Quantities of 18 significant amino acids mostly correlated with the reference method. The proposed method can be generally applied even for such complicated samples. Leveraging Raman mapping and innovative chemometric methods enhance recombinant protein production by improving the understanding of the spatial distribution and composition of cell culture media in mammalian cell cultivations.

Initial Physiological, Biochemical and Elemental Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Clove Responses to T. vulgaris and S. aromaticum Extract Application

Plant extracts are getting attention for their sterilizing, growth-promoting properties in the agricultural field. No exception exists when it comes to the treatment of propagating material with these natural components. Plant extracts may have complex compositions which affect plants or seeds in a positive way. However, they could also cause negative effects, like decreased germination, secondary metabolite contents or biomass gain. As the agricultural field requires sustainable techniques for plant growth and quality assurance in production, it is important to evaluate the potential effects of every alternative natural compound that shows promise for future plant treatment. Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a popular spice crop grown in various regions of the world. Therefore, our study focused on an investigation of the early physiological and biochemical changes in garlic cloves (cv. ‘Jarus’ and ‘Vasariai’) treated with Thymus vulgaris essential oil and Syzygium aromaticum extract. Experiments were carried out in controlled climate conditions, in which the treated cloves were kept for four weeks. Results show that S. aromaticum extract increased germination in cv. ‘Jarus’ compared to untreated garlic cloves. Meanwhile, T. vulgaris caused lower germination of both cultivars compared to untreated cloves. None of the extracts increased biomass gain in garlic cloves. ABTS antioxidant activity was decreased by both extracts in cv. ‘Jarus’ (~7–47%) and ‘Vasariai’ (~22–32%) compared to untreated garlic cloves. Antioxidant DPPH and FRAP activities were ~6–11% and ~14–15% higher after ‘Vasariai’ treatment with extracts. Meanwhile, in ‘Jarus’ only, S. aromaticum extract caused an increase in DPPH and FRAP antioxidant activities. The elemental content was the highest in garlic cloves treated with T. vulgaris essential oil. Total phenolic compounds (TPC) and flavonoids (TF) were 1.2 times higher after S. aromaticum treatment of ‘Jarus’ compared to untreated cloves, while slightly increased TPC and two times higher TF values were found after treatment with T. vulgaris. Around 10% higher TPC and 1.5–3 times lower TF values were observed after the plant extract treatment of ‘Vasariai’ garlic cloves. Our study demonstrates initial changes in garlic cloves dependent on the plant extract treatment and cultivar. This provides important information for the future utilization of such technology, either alone or in combination with others.