Overview of Special Session B—Compositional and Structural Analysis of Biomass

Special Session B at the 29th Symposium on Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals was the first invited session at this symposium devoted to analytical methods. The special topic was added in response to numerous requests for information on new and innovative methods that could be applied in the growing renewable fuels industry. Presentation topics include analytical methods for the characterization and analysis of maize traits, tools for investigating cell wall limitations to enzymatic degradation, methods for customizing enzyme cocktails for biomass, new techniques for the analysis of carbohydrates, analytical methods that enhance our understanding of pretreatment, improved methods for monitoring process intermediates, and published standard analytical methods for biomass conversion processes.     

Emulsification and Demulsification — An Historical Overview

The origins of the fields of emulsification and demulsification and early studies are reviewed with particular emphasis on the last fifty years. Trends and causes of the current revival in interest are indicated.     

Liquid Chromatographic Separation of Olefin Oligomers and its Relation to Separation of Polyolefins – an Overview

Summary: Linear and branched alkanes are oligomers of polyethylene. Alkanes with higher molar masses are called waxes. These substances are widely used as fuels, oils, lubricants, etc. and for these reasons many groups have tried to analyse, separate and characterise alkanes by various methods, including liquid chromatography. Alkanes may be separated according to their size in solution by SEC. In addition to chromatographic systems separating in the SEC mode, various sorbent-solvent systems have been published, where alkanes have been separated one from another by adsorption and/or precipitation mechanism. The mobile phase is either a non-polar solvent or a polar solvent or a mixture of a solvent and a non-solvent for alkanes. Even near critical conditions, which have several advantages for applications of HPLC in polymer analysis, have been identified for alkanes. Moreover, selective separations of branched alkanes according to their structure have been published. In the majority of these published studies, solvents with low boiling points have been used as the mobile phases, which do not allow dissolution of crystalline polyolefins at atmospheric pressure. However, taking into account experiences with the separation of alkanes, new HPLC systems for the separation of polyolefins may be developed. This is a major challenge and first results are presented in this contribution.     

Immobilization of Yarrowia lipolytica Lipase—a Comparison of Stability of Physical Adsorption and Covalent Attachment Techniques

Lipase immobilization offers unique advantages in terms of better process control, enhanced stability, predictable decay rates and improved economics. This work evaluated the immobilization of a highly active Yarrowia lipolytica lipase (YLL) by physical adsorption and covalent attachment. The enzyme was adsorbed on octyl–agarose and octadecyl–sepabeads supports by hydrophobic adsorption at low ionic strength and on MANAE–agarose support by ionic adsorption. CNBr–agarose was used as support for the covalent attachment immobilization. Immobilization yields of 71, 90 and 97% were obtained when Y. lipolytica lipase was immobilized into octyl–agarose, octadecyl–sepabeads and MANAE–agarose, respectively. However, the activity retention was lower (34% for octyl–agarose, 50% for octadecyl–sepabeads and 61% for MANAE–agarose), indicating that the immobilized lipase lost activity during immobilization procedures. Furthermore, immobilization by covalent attachment led to complete enzyme inactivation. Thermal deactivation was studied at a temperature range from 25 to 45°C and pH varying from 5.0 to 9.0 and revealed that the hydrophobic adsorption on octadecyl–sepabeads produced an appreciable stabilization of the biocatalyst. The octadecyl–sepabeads biocatalyst was almost tenfold more stable than free lipase, and its thermal deactivation profile was also modified. On the other hand, the Y. lipolytica lipase immobilized on octyl–agarose and MANAE–agarose supports presented low stability, even less than the free enzyme.     

A New Trend on Biosensor for Neurotransmitter Choline/Acetylcholine—an Overview

Technology always has been an indispensible part in the development of biosensors. The performance of biosensors is being tremendously improved using new materials as transducer as well as binding material in their construction. The use of new materials allowed innovation on transduction technology in biosensor preparations. Because of the submicron dimensions of these sensors, simple and rapid analyses in vitro as well as in vivo are now possible. Portable instruments capable of analysing multiple components are becoming available, too. Sensors that provide excellent temporal and spatial resolution for in vivo monitoring such as for measurement of neurotransmitters have become prominent. The interest to improve the stability, sensitivity and selectivity of the sensors is paramount. This study tries to give an overview of the present status of the material-based biosensor design and new generation of choline/acetylcholine neurotransmitter biosensors.     

Organic Solvent Tolerance of an α-Amylase from Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria as a Function of pH,Temperature, and Salt Concentrations

A haloalkaliphilic bacterium was isolated from salt-enriched soil of Mithapur, Gujarat (India) and identified as Bacillus agaradhaerens Mi-10-6₂ based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis (NCBI gene bank accession, GQ121032). The bacterium was studied for its α-amylase characteristic in the presence of organic solvents. The enzyme was quite active and it retained considerable activity in 30% (v/v) organic solvents, dodecane, decane, heptane, n-hexane, methanol, and propanol. At lower concentrations of solvents, the catalysis was quite comparable to control. Enzyme catalysis at wide range of alkanes and alcohol was an interesting finding of the study. Mi-10-6₂ amylase retained activity over a broader alkaline pH range, with the optimal pH at 10–11. Two molars of salt was optimum for catalysis in the presence of most of the tested solvents, though the enzyme retained significant activity even at 4 M salt. With dodecane, the optimum temperature shifted from 50 °C to 60 °C, while the enzyme was active up to 80 °C. Over all, the present study focused on the effect of organic solvents on an extracellular α-amylase from haloalkaliphilic bacteria under varying conditions of pH, temperature, and salt.     

Organophosphate hydrolase — an enzyme catalyzing degradation of phosphorus-containing toxins and pesticides

The available investigations on the structure and properties of the enzyme organophosphate hydrolase exhibiting catalytic activity with respect to orthophosphates are reviewed. Recent data on the mechanism of enzymatic hydrolysis of paraoxon are surveyed. The role of two metal ions involved in the enzyme active site is considered. The substrate specificity and the influence of various inhibitors on the kinetic characteristics of the enzyme are discussed.     

The smartphone biosensors for point-of-care detection of human infectious diseases: Overview and perspectives—A systematic review

The accurate and fast diagnosis of infectious diseases plays a critical role in the timely and tailored treatment of the patients and preventing the infections from the further spread. This is especially necessary in regions with low- and middle-income of the world. According to the smartphone-based sensory applications such as the inimitable ability to obtain portable, user-friendly, accurate, and effective functions, that in turn, converts lab-on-hardware an interesting area of new investigations. In the present review, original research articles published in English were collected from various databases during January 2011–July 2021. Also, the reference lists of the articles have been searched. In between 121 electronically searched citations, 35 articles had the inclusion criteria. The maximum potential and extended utilization of smartphone-based biosensors in the diagnosis of human infectious agents belonged to colorimetric smartphone biosensors. Also, because of their unique futures in easy visualization, comfortable analyzing and processing by smartphone, they are easier to use for point-of-care products. Based on the results, smartphone-based biosensors are rapid, precise, and low-cost diagnostic methods and increasing their quality in limited-resource settings is of major importance. In addition, their abilities to connect to the “cloud” data storage systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) networks for collecting and sharing medical analytical data provide a trending novel research field in medical information technology.     

Improvement of UV stability and mechanical properties of biopolyesters through the addition of β-carotene

β-carotene, the most abundant carotenoid in nature and a natural antioxidant, has been added at a concentration of 2 × 10⁻⁴ g per mL of polymer film forming solution to three biopolyester matrices, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV). The dispersion and stability of the antioxidant within the films was studied using confocal Raman imaging spectroscopy, colorimetry and UV/visible spectrophotometry. The films were characterized in terms of thermal and mechanical properties in comparison with control films without β-carotene. Addition of β-carotene to the three biopolyesters studied resulted in significant increases in the deformation at break and lower Young modulus. This antioxidant is thought to act as a plasticizer in the biopolyesters, thus increasing their free volume and causing a change in their thermal properties. Moreover, when exposed to UV light the mechanical properties of the films with β-carotene were less affected displaying, in general, higher modulus and similar ultimate tensile strength while keeping the films more ductile than the pure films. Therefore, β-carotene can be potentially used as a natural additive to increase the UV stability of the biopolyesters.     

Improvement of procedures for preparing Tetrafluoroethane-β-sultone and fluorocarbonyldifluoromethanesulfonyl fluoride

Synthesis of tetrafluoroethane-β-sultone by the reaction of tetrafluoroethylene with sulfuric anhydride and of fluorocarbonyldifluoromethanesulfonyl fluoride by catalytic reaction of tetrafluoroethylene with sulfuric anhydride using BAU-2, SKT-6, or AG-3 activated carbon as catalyst was studied. The possibility of replacing sulfuric anhydride prepared by distillation from oleum by sulfuric anhydride prepared by sulfur dioxide oxidation was demonstrated.     

Synthesis and Antitumor Activity of an Analog of Phthalascidin

Ecteinascidin 743 (Et-743) is an exceedingly potent antitumor agent isolated from the extracts of the marine tunicate Ecteinascidia turbinate1 that is currently undergoing phase Ⅱ/Ⅲ clinical trials in Europe and the United States2. As the result of its …     

Studies on Mechanism of Hoesch Reaction with Mass Spectrometry and Its Improvement

It has been about ninety years since Hoesch reaction was first discovered in 1915. To our knowledge, although several authors[1,2] have studied the mechanism of Hoesch reaction, it has not been explained clearly. Here we represent an investigation on the mechanism with isotopic mass spectrometry. The effects of isotopes on mass spectra were illustrated obviously. FAB spectrum contained intermediate molecular ions at m/z 336 (M+, 19.3), 338 (M+, 18.2), 340 (M+, 12.3),etc and the peak 364 had already arose. This isotopic cluster demonstrated the positive ion 4 (M+, 336) was in existence (isotopes of Zn: 64, 66, 67, 68, 70). A possible intermediate molecular structure of the signal at m/z 364 could be assigned to 3 (M+, 364). Ions peaks of a possible intermediate negative ions suggested the structure 7.     

Paradigms and Paradoxes: Fractional and Other Non-integer Charges in Chemistry—an Understanding of Aromaticity

Structural Chemistry - In the current study, the energetics of fractionally (and indeed arbitrary non-integer) charged species is explicitly discussed for the enhanced understanding of aromaticity...     

Improvement of the effective nuclear charge model for triatomic molecules—VII

The effective nuclear charge model previously proposed for predicting the quadratic valence force constants of polyatomic molecules is further developed to allow the prediction of their anharmonic force constants. Especially, the correction term included in the effective intramolecular potential function which is assumed in the model is expanded in the analytic form of an inverse power series of the bonded and non-bonded internuclear distances. The improved model is tested using some triatomic molecules (CO₂, CS₂, OCS, N₂O) whose experimental anharmonic force constants are presently available, and it is shown that the model is useful in discussing anharmonic force fields of more complicated polyatomic molecules.     

Improvement of bagasse fiber–cement composites by addition of bacterial nanocellulose: an inverse gas chromatography study

The design of green fiber-reinforced nanocomposites with enhanced properties and durability has attracted attention from scientists. The present study aims to investigate the potential of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) as a green additive for fiber–cement composites. Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was used to evaluate the influence of incorporation of BNC as powder or gel, or coated onto the bagasse fibers, on the fiber–cement composite (FCC) surface. The results indicated that BNC incorporation made the FCC surface more reactive, increasing the dispersive component of the surface energy. The most relevant effects were found for BNC incorporation as gel or coated on the fibers. Incorporation of BNC as gel resulted in a predominantly organic FCC surface with substantial decreased surface basicity (K _a/K _b ratio from 2.88 to 5.75). IGC also showed that FCC with BNC incorporated as gel was more susceptible to hydration. However, BNC coated on fibers prevented fiber mineralization, increasing the inorganic materials at the surface, which caused an increase in the surface basicity (K _a/K _b ratio decrease to 2.00). These promising results could contribute to development of a new generation of green hybrid composites. The IGC technique enabled understanding of the physicochemical changes that occur on deliberate introduction of nanosized bacterial cellulose into fiber–cement composites.     

The Synthesis and Regioselective Hydrolysis of Dialkyl 2—Phenylfuran （an 2—Phenyltetrahydrofuran）—3,4—dicarboxylates

Dialkyl 2-phenylfuran (and 2-phenyltetrahydrofuran)-3,4-dicarboxylates (1,2,5-7), wich are potential precursors of the synthesis of furofuran and tetrahydrofurofuran lignans, can be selectively hydrolyzed to monoacid(3,8) by potassium hydroxide. The regioselective hydrolysis was affected significantly by the 2-phenyl group of the furan or tetrahydrofuran skeleton. The geometric structures of 3,8 and related compounds were elucidated and verified by NMR spectra.     

Simulation of droplet heating and desolvation in an inductively coupled plasma — Part I

The total desolvation rate of sample droplets in an argon inductively coupled plasma (Ar ICP) is investigated through the development of a two-phase continuum flow computer model. The desolvation model is supplemented by equations used to determine the trajectories of particles through the plasma. The model is used to calculate the behavior of aerosol droplets from a direct injection high efficiency nebulizer (DIHEN), a micronebulizer used to inject microliter quantities of samples that are toxic, expensive, or of limited volume. We use the combination of desolvation and transport models to present the first predicted spatial distribution of droplet concentrations and evaporation rates in an ICP flow. These data are compared with the behavior of a DIHEN spray in an environment with no net argon gas flow to determine the importance of gas flow rates to overall droplet concentration profiles in the ICP. In addition, two separate techniques (Stokes’ equation and the direct simulation Monte Carlo treatment) for determining droplet trajectories are contrasted.