Functional Properties Research Articles

Microstructure and properties of superelastic Ti-18Zr-15Nb alloy subjected to combination of moderate/severe cold drawing and post-deformation annealing

Ti-18Zr-15Nb (at. %) shape memory alloy was subjected to a thermomechanical treatment (TMT), combining cold drawing (CD) with moderate (e = 0.5/1.1), and severe (e = 1.9/3.3) true strains, and post-deformation annealing (PDA) at 500-600 °C to fabricate a wire for medical application. The phase composition, microstructure, crystallographic texture, mechanical and functional properties were studied. The combination of cold drawing with true strain e = 0.5 and PDA at 550 °C for 5min showed remnants of the original deformed grains, inside of which there is apparently a polygonized substructure, and a partially recrystallized structure of β-phase with a low amount of α-phase (grain size of D≈8 μm). With an increase in true strain, annealing temperature and holding time, a fully recrystallized structure and grain growth were observed. After TMT including the moderate cold drawing, a crystallographic texture with preferable orientation in the <101>β direction was formed. As true strain increases to e = 1.9/3.3, the preferable orientation changes to the <210>β direction; the intensity of this crystallographic texture increases as the true strain increases. Maximum difference between the dislocation and transformation yield stresses was observed after CD with true strain e = 1.1 and PDA at 550 °C for 30min (Δσ ≈ 405MPa). Elongation to failure about 20% was observed after CD with a true strain of e = 0.5 and PDА at 600 °C for 30min (D≈15 μm). During superelastic cyclic testing with 4% applied strain after CD (e = 1.9-3.3) and PDA at 550 °C for 5-15min (D≈1-3 μm) the alloy exhibits high values of superelastic (εrse ≈ 1,8-2,1%) and total elastic+superelastic (εrel+se ≈ 3,3-3,5%) recovery strains as well as sufficient maximum tensile stress (σmax ≈ 441-472MPa), and accumulated residual strain (εacc ≈ 0.4-0.7%).

Comparative genomic analysis and characterization of novel high-quality draft genomes from the coal metagenome.

Coal, a sedimentary rock harbours a complex microbial community that plays a significant role in its formation and characteristics. However, coal metagenome sequencing and studies were less, limiting our understanding of this complex ecosystem. This study aimed to reconstruct high-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the coal sample collected in the Neyveli mine to explore the unrevealed diversity of the coal microbiome. Using Illumina sequencing, we obtained high-quality raw reads in FASTQ format. Subsequently, de novo assembly and binning with metaWRAP software facilitated the reconstruction of coal MAGs. Quality assessment using CheckM identified 10 High-Quality MAGs (HQ MAGs), 7 medium-quality MAGs (MQ MAGs), and 6 low-quality MAGs (LQ MAGs). Further analysis using GTDB-Tk revealed four HQ MAGs as known species like Dermacoccus abyssi, Sphingomonas aquatilis, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Burkholderia cenocepacia. The remaining six HQ MAGs were classified as Comamonas, Arthrobacter, Noviherbaspirillum, Acidovorax, Oxalicibacterium, and Bordetella and designated as novel genomes by the validation of digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH). Phylogenetic analysis and further pangenome analysis across the phylogenetic groups revealed a similar pattern with a high proportion of cloud genes. We further analysed the functional potential of these MAGs and closely related genomes using COG. The comparative functional genomics revealed that novel genomes are highly versatile, potentially reflecting adaptations to the coal environment. BlastKOALA was used to conduct a detailed analysis of the metabolic pathways associated with the MAGs. This study highlights the comparative genomic analysis of novel coal genomes with their closely related genomes to understand the evolutionary relationships and functional properties.

Effects of mono- and dual-frequency ultrasounds on structure and physicochemical properties of faba bean proteins

Faba bean proteins are currently viewed as promising animal protein alternatives. However, certain functional properties e.g. relatively low solubility compared to whey protein isolates, can limit the application of faba bean protein isolates (FPIs) in certain food products. Therefore, it may be desirable to use modification approaches such as the application of ultrasound to alter such limiting physicochemical properties. In this study, Faba Bean Protein Isolates (FPI) were treated by ultrasound with different frequencies (20 kHz, 40 kHz and 20 + 40 kHz) prior to hydration (1 %) at different pH levels (3, 7, and 9). Then the structure and physicochemical properties (i.e. particle size, ζ-potential, surface hydrophobicity, thermal behavior, and solubility) of control and untreated FPIs were investigated. Ultrasound treatment had no obvious effect on the molecular weight of FPIs, whereas it changed the secondary structure of FPIs from a more ordered structure to a more disordered structure. The applied treatment resulted in an increase in surface hydrophobicity across all treatment levels and pHs. It also decreased the particle size of FPI at pH 3, while it increased the particle size at pH 7 and 9, compared to the untreated FPI. In addition, the solubility and thermal properties of FPI were modified through the ultrasound treatment. The higher solubility of FPI could improve its potential to be used as a functional ingredient for many food applications. Ultrasound treatment at 20 kHz and 20 + 40 kHz had more effects on the physiochemical properties of FPI compared to that at 40 kHz. Overall, ultrasound treatment with different frequencies (20 kHz, 40 kHz, and 20 + 40 kHz) modified the structure and physiochemical properties of FPI to different degrees and may be beneficial for the development of FPI for certain food applications.

Effect of screw pressing temperature on apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) kernels oil quality properties and apricot kernels protein isolate functional properties

This study evaluated the effects of screw pressing temperature (40°C to 200°C) on the yields, physicochemical properties, oxidation stabilities, and antioxidant activities of apricot kernels oil (AO). Additionally, this study comparatively analyzed the functional properties of different apricot kernels protein isolates (APIs). The oil yield ranged from 30.06% to 49.07% with AO-200 showing the highest yield. Compared with cold pressing, high-temperature pressing significantly increased the trace components (such as total phenols, tocopherols, and phytosterols), oxidation stabilities, and antioxidant activities of AOs. High-temperature pressing also increased the functional properties of API. Multivariate analysis revealed that spiral pressing at 120°C may be an optimal strategy for obtaining high-quality oil and protein isolate from apricot kernels. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the extraction and application of AO and API.

Exploring effects of plasma surface engineering on cellulose nanofilms via broadband THz spectroscopy

For the extended ultra-wideband THz band up to 10 THz and beyond, materials with different functional properties are required. In addition, the THz shielding devices require the desired thickness for different shielding effects, which can be tailored by the surface functionalities. Here, a plasma-assisted soft chemistry approach was used to tailor the cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), and the effects of plasma surface treatment were investigated using non-destructive terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). CNFs with three different thicknesses were investigated as a function of mild and strong plasma treatment. The ultra-broadband THz-TDS evaluation of CNF films overcomes the challenge by surpassing the conventional low-frequency THz-TDS measurements and reveals many characteristic THz features of CNF at 2.1, 3.1, 5.1, 7.0, 10.3 and 10.9 THz. THz-TDS analysis indicates thinning of CNF after plasma treatment due to the plasma etching effect. At the same time, the microcrystalline properties of the CNF samples remain intact even after significant surface modification under plasma carbonisation conditions. Apart from this, the studies proposed the required minimum thickness for THz shielding applications based on the optical parameters and THz properties derived from the plasma-treated CNF structures, which could be used to define the thickness of sustainable shielding materials for THz devices.

Tailoring β-Ti based shape memory alloy with the exceptional mechanical and functional properties towards biomedical bone implants application

In the present study, the interstitial hydrogen (H) atoms were introduced as β-stabilizing element to tailor the microstructure, martensitic phase transition, and functional properties of Ti-V-Al shape memory alloys for biomedical applications. The results revealed that the addition of interstitial H atoms into Ti-V-Al shape memory alloys induced the transition from a single αˊˊ martensite to the coexistence of β parent phase and α phase, regardless of H content. Moreover, the amount of α phase firstly increases and then decreases in the present Ti-V-Al based shape memory alloy with H content increasing. Besides, H addition resulted in larger lattice distortion, further causing the formation of nano-domains in Ti-V-Al based alloys. Besides, no endothermic and exothermic peaks were detected due to the confinement of α-phase, and the emergence of nano-domains. With increasing H atoms content, the mechanical properties such as fracture strength, hardness, recoverable strain for Ti-V-Al based shape memory alloys initially increased and then decreased. (Ti-13V-3Al)99.2H0.8 shape memory alloys exhibited the highest fracture strength of 862MPa, superior hardness of 307HV, and the fully recoverable strain under 6% pre-strain as well as the moderate elastic modulus, which was mainly attributed to the solution strengthening of interstitial H atoms and the precipitation strengthening of α phase. The best corrosion resistance of Ti-V-Al based shape memory alloys was observed with the 2.0at. % H, which was due to the formation of TiO2, Ti2O3 oxide films. Moreover, the best wear resistance with the lower wear rate of 0.9347×10-6 mm3/N mm was obtained in (Ti-13V-3Al)99.2H0.8 shape memory alloy, due to the integrated effects of higher microhardness, reinforcing effect of α phase and lubrication effect of the hydrogenated film.

Multi-omics analysis of metabolic differences in rape bee pollen fermented by single and mixed lactic acid bacterial strains

Bee pollen is a nutrient-rich granule, but its hard cell wall limits the absorption of its nutrients by the human body. Fermenting bee pollen with lactic acid bacteria breaks down its cell wall and enhances its metabolite profile, improving nutrient availability. However, the differences in metabolites and cell wall disruption effects between mixed and single-strain fermentation have not been clarified. This study aimed to analyze the metabolites of Lactobacillus plantarum comprehensively fermented bee pollen (LPFP), Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented bee pollen (LAFP), and L. plantarum and L. acidophilus mixed fermented bee pollen (LMFP) using targeted and untargeted metabolomics as well as lipidomics, to explore the key metabolic pathways of LMFP. The results showed that under scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the cell wall of LMFP was more thoroughly disrupted. Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) and metabolic pathway enrichment analysis indicated that the degradation of flavonoids in LMFP was reduced, while the contents of total phenols, total flavonoids, rutin, and other polyphenols were significantly increased. Meanwhile, the metabolism of sucrose and amino acids in LMFP was enhanced, which might have contributed to the production of flavor compounds. Additionally, compared to LAFP and LPFP, triglycerides (TG) in LMFP increased by 8.14% and 9.85%, respectively, while the proportion of phosphatidylcholine (PC) decreased by 0.62% and 2.88%. Overall, this study presents a comprehensive metabolic profile of LAFP, LPFP, and LMFP, demonstrating how fermentation strategies affect cell wall disruption and metabolite diversity, laying a foundation for enhancing bee pollen's nutritional and functional properties.

Unified algorithms for distributed regularized linear regression model

In recent years, distributed statistical models have received increasing attention for large-scale data analysis. On the one hand, data sets come from multiple data sources, and are stored in different locations due to limited bandwidth and storage, or privacy protocols, directly centralizing all data together is impossible. On the other hand, the size of data is so large that it is difficult or inefficient to analyze data together. There are two main research aspects to using distributed statistical models to analyze large-scale data. The first one is to study the statistical convergence rate under some mild assumptions. The second one is to establish fast and efficient optimization algorithms considering the property of the loss function. There is a lot of research on the first aspect, but relatively little research on the second one. Motivated by this, we consider the construction of unified algorithms for distributed linear regression with different losses and regularizers. As a result, we designed two type methods, proximal alternating direction method of multipliers (pADMM) and distributed accelerated proximal gradient method with line-search (DAPGL). In order to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithms, we perform numerical experiments on the distributed Huber-Lasso model and Huber-Group-Lasso model. In view of the numerical results, we can observe that these two algorithms are more competitive than some of state-of-art algorithms. In particular, DAPGL algorithm performs better than pADMM in most cases.

Assessing the quality of the time delay estimate in acoustic leak localisation

The problem considered in this paper is assessing the quality of the time delay estimate between leak signals measured on water pipes. This is practically important, as a quantitative assessment of the accuracy of time delay estimation (TDE) results makes it possible to infer the reliability of acoustic leak localisation results in a given situation. Three quality assessment approaches are developed by considering the statistical properties of the cross-correlation function (CCF): information-criterion, processing gain, and statistical approaches. In the information-criterion approach, the Bayes factor (BF) is employed to decide the most likely probability distribution of observed CCF peak values. The processing gain approach determines the quality of the time delay estimate using indices that indicate detectability of the CCF peak, namely, the peak-to-side lobe ratio (PSR) and the peak-to-mean ratio (PMR). In the statistical approach, an index termed inconsistency score (ICS) is used to describe the quality of TDE results based on root-mean square of deviations of time delay estimates from their statistical mode. Experimental results show that the proposed approaches provide effective means of assessing the accuracy of the time delay estimate in acoustic leak detection applications. Also, the proposed indices can be employed as figures of merit for selecting best parameters for TDE, for example, filter cut-off frequencies.

Exponential synchronization of fractional-order T–S fuzzy complex multi-links networks with intermittent dynamic event-triggered control

In this paper, the exponential synchronization problem for fractional-order T–S fuzzy complex multi-links networks under an intermittent dynamic event-triggered control (IDE-TC) strategy is discussed. To this end, a new triggering rule with a dynamical variable is first introduced, including some available static triggering rules as its particular form. Then, it is proved that the applied dynamical variable is positive by using some properties of the Mittag-Leffler function. Hence, the inter-event time between any two successive triggering moments can be enlarged than static event-triggered results. Additionally, there is a guaranteed positive minimum inter-event time for each sample path solution of systems. Based on the Lyapunov method and the graph theory, exponential synchronization criteria of the proposed networks under the IDE-TC strategy is deduced. Finally, the validity and feasibility of the derived theoretical results are investigated by an application with simulations.

Removal, mechanistic and kinetic studies of Cr(VI), Cd(II), and Pb(II) cations using Fe3O4 functionalized Schiff base chelating ligands.

The Schiff base chelating ligands; (E)-2-(3,3-dimethoxy-2-oxa-7,10-diaza-3-silaundec-10-en-11-yl)phenol (L1), (E)-N-(2-((pyridine-2ylmethylene)amino)ethyl)-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propan-1-amine (L2) and (E)-N-(2-((thiophen-2-ylmethylene)amino)ethyl)-3-(trimethoxysilyl)propan-1-amine (L3) were immobilized on Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and utilized in the extraction of Cr(VI), Cd(II) and Pb(II) metal cations from aqueous solutions. The compounds synthesized, denoted as L1@ Fe3O4, L2@Fe3O4, and L3@Fe3O4, were characterized using FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM-SEM, VSM, and BET/BHJ techniques for analysis of functional groups, surface morphology, magnetic properties, and degree of porosity of the adsorbents, respectively. BET/BHJ technique confirmed the mesoporous nature of the compounds as their pore diameters ranged between 15 and 17nm. The initial optimization conditions of pH, adsorbent dosage, initial metal concentration, and contact time on adsorption were studied using L1@ Fe3O4. The optimum efficiencies recorded were 68% and 46% for Cr(VI) and Cd(II), respectively, obtained at pH 3, and a metal concentration of 20ppm while an efficiency of 99% was recorded for Pb(II) cations at pH 7 and a metal concentration of 100ppm. Compounds L2@Fe3O4 and L3@ Fe3O4 were also used in the extraction of metal cations from aqueous solution and gave efficiencies of 22%, 56%, and 78% for L2@ Fe3O4 and 19%, 90%, and 59% using L3@ Fe3O4 for Cr(VI), Cd(II), and Pb(II), respectively. The maximum adsorption capacities of L1@ Fe3O4 for Cr(VI), Cd(II), and Pb(II) cations were obtained from the Langmuir isotherm as 32.84, 41.77, and 450.45mg/g, respectively. The experimental data was analyzed using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, intraparticle diffusion, and Elovich kinetic models. Both linear and non-linear forms of kinetic isotherms; Langmuir, Freundlich, Redlich-Peterson, and Temkin were utilized to investigate the nature of adsorption on L1@Fe3O4. The mechanistic studies deduced that the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic model better described the adsorption process both yielding high correlation coefficient values (R2 > 0.98).

Enhancing the electrochemical efficiency of Ni3V2O8 NPs synthesised by hydrothermal methods for supercapattery applications

A key challenge in renewable energy production is the persistent gap between energy supply and demand. Developing and optimizing materials for energy storage devices offers a promising solution to this issue. The Ni3V2O8 Nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using a simple hydrothermal process and their structural, morphology, functional and elemental properties were confirmed with special analytical tools like PXRD, SEM, FTIR and EDX with mapping correspondingly. Ensuring the redox peaks and electrochemical interaction, charge/discharge cycles and conductivity of electrode materials were examined through the CV, GCD and EIS studies. The prepared Ni3V2O8 electrode exhibits a superior specific capacity of 581.07 at 5 mV/s. The cyclic stability of the electrode attained 72 % specific-capacity retention completing 10,000 cycles with 5 A/g. The supercapatteries belong to the electrode configuration of Ni3V2O8||AC fabricated and also investigated its properties with capacitive and diffusive mechanisms. Additionally essentially, fabricated asymmetric supercapatteries with a notable power density (PD) and energy density (ED) 1976 W kg and 45.5 Wh/kg and outstanding cycle stability performance above 92 % specific capacity retention after 10,000 cycles is accrued effectively by using the Ni3V2O8 as electrode material for supercapattery applications.

Ab-initio atomistic insights into lead-free perovskites for Photovoltaics Technology

The primary objective of this manuscript is to enhance knowledge and comprehension of hexagonal perovskites KNiX3 (X=I, Br). The world is fascinated by halide perovskites because of their advancements in opto-electronic applications, particularly in the photovoltaic field. KNiI3 and KNiBr3 halide perovskites correspond to the two anion I and Br. Here we aim to investigate how opto-electronic applications are affected by the substitution of cations and anion. Within the framework of density functional theory (DFT), the structural, electronic, and optical properties have been computed using the PBE GGA approximation. Br-based perovskites have a shorter bond length than I-based compounds because iodine ions have a larger ionic radius than bromine ions. Thus, the lattice constant increases from I-based potassium halide perovskites to Br-based potassium halide perovskites. The values of the lattice constant match the results of experimental computations. The Density of States (DOS) curves and band structure are used to examine the contribution of the bands. From Br to I, there is a reduction in the band gap, indicating an improvement in photovoltaic applications. Various energy ranges are used to calculate the optical spectra, dielectric function, absorption coefficient, optical reflectivity, and refractive index. KNiX3 (X=I, Br) compound reveals low reflection value which is typically an excellent choice for photovoltaic and opto-electronic applications.

Theoretical investigation of structural, electronic, mechanical, surface work function and thermodynamic properties of La1-xMxB6 (M = Ba, Sr, Ca) compounds: Potential plasma grid materials in N-NBI system

This study employs first-principles calculations to investigate the structural, electronic, and mechanical properties of La1-xMxB6 (M = Ba, Sr, Ca), focusing on the surface work function, elastic constants, bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young’s modulus, Debye temperature, and melting point. The results indicate that doping generally leads to a reduction in the surface work function, with La0.375Ba0.625B6 achieving a work function as low as 1.27 eV. The influence of doping concentration on the mechanical properties and anisotropy is analyzed, revealing that La1-xMxB6 and La0.5Sr0.5B6 exhibit oscillatory changes related to the layered structure of the dopants. Brittleness is assessed through the B/G ratio and Poisson’s ratio. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the melting points of these compounds exceed 2000 K. These findings provide useful references for choosing cesium-free electrode materials applied for plasma-facing applications in neutral beam injection.

Fluorogenic RNA aptamer based artificial membraneless organelles for small molecule and cell sensing

Artificial membraneless organelle with molecularly crowded and confined microenvironment shows great potential for improving functional RNA properties and developing biosensing. However, the performance of current artificial membraneless organelles are impaired with polycationic components. In this work, we demonstrate the construction of a purely fluorescent RNA aptamer based artificial membraneless organelle (FRAME) for improving RNA performance and biosensing. The fluorescent RNA aptamer in FRAME exhibited higher enzymatic resistance, thermostability, photostability and binding affinity than that dispersed in solution. The FRAME can be easily designed as a biosensor for tetracycline detection in lake water and tap water, which eliminated the adverse effects of polycationic components and demonstrated about 42.8-fold sensitivity improvement than the biosensor prepared with Poly-L-Lysine and RNA. By introducing epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) aptamer to specific recognition of tumor cells, the FRAME is easily engineered as an ultra-sensitive probe to precisely identify cancer cell phenotypes. We believe that the proposed FRAME system would provide a universal platform for biosensing.

Effects of combining ultrasound and dual enzymolysis with hydroxypropylation, acrylate grafting, or phosphate grafting on the physicochemical and functional properties of oil palm mesocarp expeller dietary fiber

Oil palm mesocarp expeller is an abundant and low-cost dietary fiber resource, but its poor hydration and adsorption properties limit its utilization in foods. Therefore, ultrasound and enzymolysis combined with hydroxypropylation, acrylate grafting, or phosphate grafting were used to improve the adsorption properties of oil palm mesocarp expeller fiber (OPMEDF) for the first time. The results revealed that these composite modifications made the microstructure of OPMEDF more porous, and significantly increased its soluble fiber content, surface area, hydration properties, and sorption abilities of glucose, nitrite, copper, and lead ions but decreased its brightness. OPMEDF modified by ultrasound, enzymolysis, and acrylate grafting had the highest content of extractable polyphenol and sorption abilities on oil and nitrite ion. OPMEDF subjected to ultrasound, enzymolysis, and phosphate grafting showed the highest water-swelling volume (3.84 mL∙g‒1) and sorption abilities of copper (II) and lead (II) ions. Notably, OPMEDF modified by ultrasound, enzymolysis, and hydroxypropylation exhibited the highest soluble fiber content (14.72 g∙100 g‒1), water-retention ability (5.22 g∙g‒1), viscosity (13.90 cp), and glucose adsorption capacity (38.18 g∙100 g‒1). These results indicated that these composite modifications are good options to improve the adsorption capacities of OPMEDF and can expand its potential hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects.

Silver-Tungsten Induced Codeposition: Influence of pH and Carboxylic Acid Form in a DMH-based Electrolyte

Silver-tungsten coatings were successfully electrodeposited on platinum and copper substrates from a non-toxic 5.5-dimethylhydantoin electrolyte at low pH and two different carboxylic acid forms: citrate or tartrate. Tungsten contents remain at low levels compared to former works, but close to the values considered as optimal for functional properties without having to recourse to controversial substances such as thiourea. Electrochemical studies by linear sweep voltammetry allow to distinguish two typical behaviors and give interesting insight into the induced codeposition mechanism. Silver-tungsten codeposition only occurred at pH 2.0 and 3.5 using citrates and at pH 2.0 using tartrates, corresponding to the forms H3Cit, H2Cit-2, and H2Tar, respectively. No silver-tungsten reduction was possible with less than two protonated carboxyl groups on either tartrate or citrate ions. Separate silver and tungsten lattice are both present in the resulting alloy. Grain and crystallite sizes were observed by SEM. XPS investigations show that for our low W content alloys, silver is found to be metallic whereas tungsten is present in oxide form. The carbon peaks and also gaps between peaks when N is absent indicate that citrates are present in the coating, unlike DMH.

Restoring sweat gland function in mice using regenerative sweat gland cells derived from chemically reprogrammed human epidermal keratinocytes

The regeneration of sweat glands (SwGs) plays a pivotal role in the functional recovery of extensive skin wounds. Recent research has illuminated the possibility of reprogramming human epidermal keratinocytes (HEKs) into induced SwG cells through the ectopic expression of ectodysplasin A. However, the clinical application of this genetic manipulation approach is inherently limited. In this study, we present findings demonstrating that a combination of six compounds can effectively and speedily reprogram HEKs in culture into fully functional SwG cells. These chemically induced SwG-like cells (ciSGCs) closely resemble the morphology, phenotypes, and functional properties of human primary SwG ductal cells. Furthermore, ciSGCs can be stimulated to differentiate into mature SwG cell types in vitro. In a 3D culture system, they can also generate SwG organoids that exhibit structural and biological features akin to native SwGs. Upon transplantation into scalded mouse paw skin, ciSGCs significantly expedited cutaneous wound healing and completely restored the structural and functional aspects of the SwGs. In conclusion, the small molecule cocktail-directed SwG reprogramming offers a non-transgenic and controllable strategy for producing high-quality, clinical-grade SwG cells, showing immense potential for the treatment of burn patients.

Effect of cyclic vacuum-steam blanching on the quality characteristics and functional properties of Malabar spinach (Basella alba) dried by non-water infrared Refractance window drying

In the present work, an effluent-free novel method including cyclic vacuum-steam pulsed blanching (VSPB) pretreatment and non-water infrared refractance window drying (non-water IR-RWD) was employed to explore its effect on enzyme inactivation, drying behavior, quality and functional properties of dried Malabar spinach. The highest inactivation of peroxidase (90.23 %) and polyphenol oxidase (94.58 %) was observed in the 4th cycle of the VSPB pretreatment. With the increase in VSPB cycles from 1 to 5, the drying time was significantly reduced by 27.27 % to 55.45 % compared to the untreated sample. The color change values (ΔE) of VSPB pretreated non-water IR-RWD samples varied from 7.37 to 8.03. The findings in the current work indicated that vacuum-steam pulsed blanching combined with a non-water IR-RWD process is a promising technique for Malabar spinach powder production.

Pharmacokinetics and fate of free and encapsulated IRD800CW-labelled human BChE intravenously administered in mice

Human butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) is an efficient bioscavenger of toxicants. Highly purified BChE was labelled with the near infrared fluorescent IRDye800CW. The goal was to determine the pharmacokinetics and fate of enzyme in mice. BChE-IRDye800CW was encapsulated in polyethylene glycol−polypropylene sulfide-based spherical polymersome nanoreactors with the following characteristics: 140 nm diameter, ξ = −6 mV, PDI ≤ 0.2, 1 year stability. Encapsulation did not alter the functional properties of BChE. Free and encapsulated enzyme were injected intravenously to CD-1 mice (single dose of enzyme 1.5 mg/kg and PEG-PPS polymersomes 25 mg/kg) and were analyzed for 8 days using an in vivo imaging system. Results showed that the pharmacokinetic distribution a-phase of encapsulated BChE (t1/2 = 17.6 h) was longer than for free enzyme (t1/2 = 6.6 h). The mean half-time for elimination b-phase was 2-time longer for encapsulated enzyme than for free enzyme (150 vs 72 h). Transient changes in infrared fluorescence in organs showed that BChE is eliminated from liver. However, free and encapsulated enzymes were cleared via different pathways. This first study of pharmacokinetics and fate of BChE encapsulated in polymersomes initiates research of new formulations of bioscavengers aimed at increasing the residence time of enzymes in the blood stream.