Multi-detection method for five common microalgal toxins based on the use of microspheres coupled to a flow-cytometry system

Freshwater and brackish microalgal toxins, such as microcystins, cylindrospermopsins, paralytic toxins, anatoxins or other neurotoxins are produced during the overgrowth of certain phytoplankton and benthic cyanobacteria, which includes either prokaryotic or eukaryotic microalgae. Although, further studies are necessary to define the biological role of these toxins, at least some of them are known to be poisonous to humans and wildlife due to their occurrence in these aquatic systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has established as provisional recommended limit 1 μg of microcystin-LR per liter of drinking water. In this work we present a microsphere-based multi-detection method for five classes of freshwater and brackish toxins: microcystin-LR (MC-LR), cylindrospermopsin (CYN), anatoxin-a (ANA-a), saxitoxin (STX) and domoic acid (DA). Five inhibition assays were developed using different binding proteins and microsphere classes coupled to a flow-cytometry Luminex system. Then, assays were combined in one method for the simultaneous detection of the toxins. The IC₅₀'s using this method were 1.9 ± 0.1 μg L⁻¹ MC-LR, 1.3 ± 0.1 μg L⁻¹ CYN, 61 ± 4 μg L⁻¹ ANA-a, 5.4 ± 0.4 μg L⁻¹ STX and 4.9 ± 0.9 μg L⁻¹ DA. Lyophilized cyanobacterial culture samples were extracted using a simple procedure and analyzed by the Luminex method and by UPLC–IT-TOF-MS. Similar quantification was obtained by both methods for all toxins except for ANA-a, whereby the estimated content was lower when using UPLC–IT-TOF-MS. Therefore, this newly developed multiplexed detection method provides a rapid, simple, semi-quantitative screening tool for the simultaneous detection of five environmentally important freshwater and brackish toxins, in buffer and cyanobacterial extracts.     

Production of Bacillus sphaericus entomopathogenic biomass using brewery residues

The use of brewery residues—yeast and trub—has been evaluated aiming to minimize the costs of the industrial production of Bacillus sphaericus-based bioinsecticide. Both brewery residues promoted growth and sporulation of the three B. sphaericus strains that were isolated from Brazilian soils (S1, S2, and S20). However, distinct growth and sporulation behaviors were observed in relation to the different nutritional conditions and strain used. The maximum sporulation percentage was obtained through the cultivation of S20 strain in brewery residual yeast. In general, the entomopathogenic biomasses produced showed good results for toxicity to Culex larvae. The minimum values of larvae population (LC50) were observed for the S20 strain grown on yeast brewery residue-containing media. After fermentation, a considerable decrease in the organic material of alternative media was verified, although the residual values were still higher than that considered appropriate for effluent discharge.     

Study of operational variables in the submerged growth ofPleurotus ostreatus mushroom mycelium

Pleurotus ostreatus mushroom mycelium was cultivated in submerged culture in shake-flask experiments with acid extract from peat and yeast extract as nutrient sources. Different concentrations of water-diluted peat extract were tested in an attempt to overcome the effect of growth inhibitors apparently present in nondiluted peat extracts. The best results were obtained with a ratio of one part of peat extract diluted with one part of water. Several operating variables were studied to optimize the growth of mycelial biomass ofP. ostreatus. The best results produced approximately 5 g/L dry biomass with a yield of 60% and an efficiency of 33%. These results were obtained in 8 d at 5% (v/v) inoculum ratio, 28°C, pH of 5.0, and 150 rpm.     

贝类体内麻痹性贝类毒素的提取方法研究

采用浓度系列为0.04、0.07、0.10、0.15、0.20、0.25、0.30、0.40、0.50、0.70、1.0 mol/L的HCl和HAc溶液作为提取液,分别取10 mL提取液与10 g栉孔扇贝性腺混合,在沸水浴中加热5 min提取麻痹性贝类毒素(PSP);同时采用0.3 mol/L HAc和0.2 mol/L HCl,于冰水浴中进行超声波提取麻痹性贝类毒素5~30 min。提取完成后将混合物于4℃冷冻离心机内离心5 min(3500 r/min),取上清液并以0.1 mol/L NaOH或5 mol/L HCl调整至pH为2.0~4.0。经超滤膜过滤后的提取液以高效液相色谱柱后衍生荧光检测法进行毒素分析,研究毒素组分间的转化关系和提取效率,并与超声波提取法进行了比较。结果表明,采用0.04~0.25 mol/L HCl和0.04~1.0 mol/L HAc从贝肉中提取PSP毒素,各毒素组分浓度差异不大,当HCl浓度大于0.25 mol/L时,N-磺酰氨甲酰基类毒素C1浓度急剧降低,HCl浓度大于0.5 mol/L时,N-磺酰氨甲酰基类毒素C2和GTX5浓度急剧降低,三者在酸度过大的情况下分解或转化为膝沟藻毒素-2(GTX2),膝沟藻毒素-3(GTX3)和石房蛤毒素(STX)。在相同浓度酸的情况下,超声波提取液中C1毒素的浓度显著低于沸水浴提取法,但C2的浓度略高于沸水浴提取液。     

Adsorption of small uremic toxin molecules on MFI type zeolites from aqueous solution

Adsorption properties of zeolites were investigated for the removal of p-cresol from aqueous solutions at 37 °C within the context of studying alternative methods to dialysis for removing uremic toxin from blood. MFI-framework type zeolites with different degrees of hydrophobicity and charge compensating cations were prepared: one pure silica MFI and four alumino-silicate MFIs (Si/Al = 30), with H⁺, Na⁺, K⁺ and Mg²⁺ as charge compensating cations. Adsorption isotherms and microcalorimetric measurements show a high affinity of p-cresol for all MFI type zeolites. The best capacity is obtained for the pure silica MFI, whereas the alumino-silicate samples show a higher affinity in the low concentration range. In the case of pure silica sample, the microscopic adsorption mechanism including the role of confined water is elucidated with the help of NMR, X-ray analysis (including Rietveld refinement) and Monte Carlo simulations. For all samples the high affinity is preserved in physiological serum solution, even in the presence of other toxin molecules such as urea. It is also shown that the compensating cation state of the samples is imposed by the physiological medium.     

超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱法测定毒蘑菇中5种鹅膏肽类毒素北大核心CSCD

鹅膏肽类毒素是毒蘑菇中毒事件中最常见的致死毒素,因此研究建立了超高效液相色谱-四极杆/静电场轨道阱高分辨质谱检测毒蘑菇中5种鹅膏肽类毒素的方法。样品经纯水提取后,以乙腈-5 mmol/L乙酸铵水溶液(含0.1%甲酸)为流动相进行梯度洗脱,用HSS T3色谱柱(100 mm×2.0 mm, 2.1μm)对待测组分进行色谱分离;采用可加热电喷雾电离源(HESI),全扫描/数据依赖二级质谱扫描(Full mass-ddMS^(2))模式对待测物进行定性分析;在目标离子选择性扫描(Targeted-SIM)模式下,以外标法对待测物进行定量测定。结果显示,5种鹅膏肽类毒素在1.0~20.0μg/L范围内均呈现良好的线性关系,相关系数均大于0.99,检出限均为0.006 mg/kg,加标回收率为81.8%~102.4%,相对标准偏差为3.2%~8.3%。方法提供了丰富的化合物特征信息,可根据提取离子流色谱图结合同位素分布信息锁定可疑化合物,根据一级质谱和二级质谱碎片离子的精确质荷比,在没有相关标准品的情况下可对未知化合物进行结构推断和确证。方法样品前处理简单,定性分析特异性强,定量测定灵敏度高,可满足突发公共卫生事件快速定性定量的检测要求,同时也为开展此类毒素中毒快速筛查及未知毒素的结构锁定提供了可靠的技术支撑。     

准静态扫集胶束电动毛细管色谱法测定扇贝样品中的贝类毒素

采用准静态扫集胶束电动毛细管色谱(MEKC)法测定了扇贝样品中的2种贝类毒素。毛细管内首先充满含十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)的缓冲溶液,调节缓冲溶液的pH值,使电渗流等于SDS胶束的电泳流速,电动进样时,带正电荷的贝类毒素离子被SDS扫集吸附,由于SDS在毛细管内处于准静止状态,可使进样时间延长至320 s。与常规电动进样MEKC相比,石房蛤毒素和软骨藻酸的检测灵敏度分别提高950和810倍。该方法对石房蛤毒素和软骨藻酸的检出限分别为0.05,0.12 ng/m L。方法可实现对扇贝样品中2种贝类毒素的快速、灵敏检测。     

A Supramolecular Approach toward Bioinspired PAMAM‐Dendronized Fusion Toxins

Nature has provided a highly optimized toolbox in bacterial endotoxins with precise functions dictated by their clear structural division. Inspired by this streamlined design, a supramolecular approach capitalizing on the strong biomolecular (streptavidin (SA))–biotin interactions is reported herein to prepare two multipartite fusion constructs, which involves the generation 2.0 (D2) or generation 3.0 (D3) polyamidoamine‐dendronized transporter proteins (dendronized streptavidin (D3SA) and dendronized human serum albumin (D2HSA)) non‐covalently fused to the C3bot1 enzyme from Clostridium botulinum, a potent and specific Rho‐inhibitor. The fusion constructs, D3SA‐C3 and D2HSA‐C3, represent the first examples of dendronized protein transporters that are fused to the C3 enzyme, and it is successfully demonstrated that the C3 Rho‐inhibitor is delivered into the cytosol of mammalian cells as determined from the characteristic C3‐mediated changes in cell morphology and confocal microscopy. The design circumvents the low uptake of the C3 enzyme by eukaryotic cells and holds great promise for reprogramming the properties of toxin enzymes using a supramolecular approach to broaden their therapeutic applications.

     

DNA Nanogels To Snare Carcinogens: A Bioinspired Generic Approach with High Efficiency

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are combustion‐related pollutants and are ubiquitous in the environment, including in sources of drinking water. Upon contact with DNA, stable PAH–DNA adducts form rapidly as the first step towards their toxic effects. In this work, we prepared hydrophilic DNA nanogels to exploit this generic complexation process as a biomimetic scavenging method. This approach relies on interaction between PAHs and the complete network that constitutes the water‐swollen nanogels, and is not restricted to interfacial adsorption. Up to 720 μg of PAH per gram of DNA nanogel are taken up, meaning that 1 mg of DNA nanogel is sufficient to purify a liter of water containing the critical PAH concentration for cancer risk (600 ng L^?1). As a result of short diffusion pathways, PAH uptake is rapid, reaching 50 % loading after 15 minutes. Beyond PAHs, DNA nanogels may be useful for the generic detoxification of water containing genotoxins, since most known molecules that strongly associate with DNA are mutagenic.