-
International Journal of Biological... Jun 2024This research uses a novel [email protected] composite sponge was created by encasing TiO nanoparticles in the natural polymers alginate and chitosan, resulting in a...
Synthesis and characterization of a novel TiO@chitosan/alginate nanocomposite sponge for highly efficient removal of As(V) ions from aqueous solutions: Adsorption isotherm, kinetics, experiment and adsorption mechanism optimization using Box-Behnken design.
This research uses a novel [email protected] composite sponge was created by encasing TiO nanoparticles in the natural polymers alginate and chitosan, resulting in a nanocomposite that is both ecologically friendly and biocompatible. Using the generated nanocomposite as a new environmentally friendly adsorbent, As(V) heavy metal ions were effectively removed from aqueous media. The following techniques were used to analyse the physicochemical properties of the obtained materials: pH, FTIR, XRD, BET, SEM, and XPS. Utilizing nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, the [email protected] composite sponge's textural properties were identified. This revealed a BET surface area of 168.42 m/g and a total pore volume of 1.18 cc/g, indicating its porous nature and potential for high adsorption capacity. Examine the effects of temperature, pH, dose, and beginning concentration on adsorption. The adsorption characteristics were determined based on equilibrium and adsorption kinetics measurements. The adsorption process was both pseudo-second-order (PSOE) and Langmuir isothermally fit. Chemisorption was the adsorption method since the adsorption energy was 25.45 kJ·mol. An endothermic and spontaneous adsorption process was indicated by more metal being absorbed as the temperature increased. The optimal conditions for adsorption were optimized via Box-Behnken design software to be pH of 5 in the solution, a dosage of 0.02 g of the [email protected] composite sponge per 25 mL, and an arsenate (As(V)) solution the adsorption capacity was 202.27 mg/g are ideal for efficient adsorption. These parameters are critical in achieving the maximum adsorption capacity of the composite sponge for arsenate, which could be beneficial for water purification applications. Utilizing Design-Expert software's response surface methodology (RSM) and Box-Behnken design (BBD), the adsorption process was optimized with the fewest planned tests. After six successive cycles of adsorption and desorption, the adsorbent stability was confirmed by the adsorbent reusability test without any noticeable decrease in removal efficacy. Additionally, it displayed good efficiency, the same XRD and XPS data before and after reuse, and no change in chemical composition.
PubMed: 38955292
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.133513 -
Journal of the American College of... Jun 2024
PubMed: 38955291
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2024.06.012 -
European Journal of Pharmaceutics and... Jun 2024Drug product development of therapeutic antibody formulations is still dictated by the risk of protein particle formation during processing or storage, which can lead to...
Drug product development of therapeutic antibody formulations is still dictated by the risk of protein particle formation during processing or storage, which can lead to loss of potency and potential immunogenic reactions. Since structural perturbations are the main driver for irreversible protein aggregation, the conformational integrity of antibodies should be closely monitored. The present study evaluated the applicability of a plate reader-based high throughput method for intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence emission (ITFE) spectroscopy to detect protein aggregation due to protein unfolding in high-concentrated therapeutic antibody samples. The impact of fluorophore concentration on the ITFE signal in microplate readers was investigated by analysis of dilution series of two therapeutic antibodies and pure tryptophan. At low antibody concentrations (<5 mg/mL, equivalent to 0.8 mM tryptophan), the low inner filter effect suggests a quasi-linear relationship between antibody concentration and ITFE intensity. In contrast, the constant ITFE intensity at high protein concentrations (>40 mg/mL, equivalent to 6.1 mM tryptophan) indicate that ITFE spectroscopy measurements of IgG1 antibodies are feasible in therapeutically relevant concentrations (up to 223 mg/mL). Furthermore, the capability of the method to detect low levels of unfolding (around 1 %) was confirmed by limit of detection (LOD) determination with temperature-stressed antibody samples as degradation standards. Change of fluorescence intensity at the maximum (ΔIaM) was identified as sensitive descriptor for protein degradation, providing the lowest LOD values. The results demonstrate that ITFE spectroscopy performed in a microplate reader is a valuable tool for high-throughput monitoring of protein degradation in therapeutic antibody formulations.
PubMed: 38955284
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejpb.2024.114377 -
The Science of the Total Environment Jun 2024Northern temperate and boreal forests are large biomes playing crucial ecological and environmental roles, such as carbon sequestration. Despite being generally remote,...
Northern temperate and boreal forests are large biomes playing crucial ecological and environmental roles, such as carbon sequestration. Despite being generally remote, these forests were exposed to anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition over the last two centuries and may still experience elevated N deposition as human activities expand towards high latitudes. However, the impacts of long-term high N deposition on these N-limited forest ecosystems remain unclear. For 18 years, we simulated N deposition by chronically adding ammonium nitrate at rates of 3 (LN treatment) and 10 (HN treatment) times the ambient N deposition estimated at the beginning of the experiment at a temperate sugar maple and a boreal balsam fir forest site, both located in northeastern America. LN and HN treatments corresponded respectively to addition of 26 kgN·ha·yr and 85 kgN·ha·yr at the temperate site and 17 kgN·ha·yr and 57 kgN·ha·yr at the boreal site. Between 2002 and 2018, soil solution was collected weekly during summer and concentrations of NO, NH, Ca and pH were measured, totalling ~12,700-13,500 observations per variable on the study period. N treatments caused soil solution NO, NH and Ca concentrations to increase while reducing its pH. However, ion responses manifested through punctual high concentration events (predominantly on the HN plots) that were very rare and leached N quantity was extremely low at both sites. Therefore, N addition corresponding to 54 years (LN treatment) and 180 years (HN treatment) of accelerated ambient N deposition had overall small impacts on soil solution chemistry. Our results indicate an important N retention of northeastern American forests and an unexpected strong resilience of their soil solution chemistry to long-term simulated N deposition, potentially explained by the widespread N-limitation in high latitude ecosystems. This finding can help predict the future productivity of N-limited forests and improve forest management strategies in northeastern America.
PubMed: 38955275
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174387 -
Cell Reports Jun 2024Cell functions rely on intracellular transport systems distributing bioactive molecules with high spatiotemporal accuracy. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) tubular network...
Cell functions rely on intracellular transport systems distributing bioactive molecules with high spatiotemporal accuracy. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) tubular network constitutes a system for delivering luminal solutes, including Ca, across the cell periphery. How the ER structure enables this nanofluidic transport system is unclear. Here, we show that ER membrane-localized reticulon 4 (RTN4/Nogo) is sufficient to impose neurite outgrowth inhibition in human cortical neurons while acting as an ER morphoregulator. Improving ER transport visualization methodologies combined with optogenetic Ca dynamics imaging and in silico modeling, we observed that ER luminal transport is modulated by ER tubule narrowing and dilation, proportional to the amount of RTN4. Excess RTN4 limited ER luminal transport and Ca release, while RTN4 elimination reversed the effects. The described morphoregulatory effect of RTN4 defines the capacity of the ER for peripheral Ca delivery for physiological releases and thus may constitute a mechanism for controlling the (re)generation of neurites.
PubMed: 38955182
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114357 -
Nanotechnology Jul 2024Combining the photoisomerization of molecules with an electrical device is important for developing optoelectronic devices. Field effect transistors (FETs) with...
Combining the photoisomerization of molecules with an electrical device is important for developing optoelectronic devices. Field effect transistors (FETs) with atomically thin channels are suitable for this purpose because the FET properties respond to chemical changes in molecules. Since the photoisomerization wavelength of the switching molecules can be tuned, complex logic operations can be realized if a specific molecule is delivered to the target FET of an integrated circuit. However, conventional techniques for transferring molecules, such as drop casting and sublimation, cannot efficiently realize this goal. In this study, we fabricated a MoS2 FET device combined with a microfluidic platform, wherein the MoS2 channel was in contact with the flow of an azobenzene solution in isopropyl alcohol as the solvent. UV radiation (365 nm) and thermal relaxation realize the cycle of trans- and cis-azobenzene states and the switching of the substantial FET properties. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using the solution for optical switching of the MoS2-FET, which can realize quick phase changes in the molecule and the delivery of the molecule to the target FET by a microfluidic platform. .
PubMed: 38955169
DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad5dc0 -
Microbial Physiology Jul 2024The global poultry industry produces millions of tons of waste feathers every year, which can be degraded to make feed, fertilizer, and daily chemicals. However, feather...
INTRODUCTION
The global poultry industry produces millions of tons of waste feathers every year, which can be degraded to make feed, fertilizer, and daily chemicals. However, feather degradation is a complex process that is not yet fully understood. This results in low degradation efficiency and difficulty in industrial applications. Omics-driven system biology research offers an effective solution to quickly and comprehensively understand the molecules and mechanisms involved in a metabolic pathway.
METHODS
In the early stage of this process, feathers are hydrolyzed into water-soluble keratin monomers. In this study, we used high-throughput RNA-seq technology to analyze the genes involved in the internalization and degradation of keratin monomers in S. maltophilia DHHJ strain cells. Moreover, we used Co-IP with LC-MS/MS technology to search for proteins that interact with recombinant keratin monomers.
RESULTS
We discovered TonB transports and molecular chaperones associating with the keratin monomer, which may play a crucial role in the transmembrane transport of keratin. Meanwhile, multiple proteases belonging to distinct families were identified as binding partners of keratin monomers, among which ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA+) family proteases are overrepresented. Four genes, including JJL50_15620, JJL50_17955 (TonB-dependent receptors), JJL50_03260 (ABC transporter ATP-binding protein), and JJL50_20035 (ABC transporter substrate-binding protein), were selected as representatives for determining their expressions under different culture conditions using qRT-PCR and they were found to be upregulated in response to keratin degradation consistent with the data from RNA-seq and Co-IP.
CONCLUSION
This study highlights the complexity of keratin biodegradation in S. maltophilia DHHJ, in which multiple pathways are involved such as protein folding, protein transport, and several protease systems. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanism of feather degradation.
PubMed: 38955164
DOI: 10.1159/000540072 -
Journal of Chromatography. A Jun 2024This study describes the preparation of a cylindrical polymer foam column termed Chitosan/β-Cyclodextrin/MIL-68(Al) (CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al)). An ice template-freeze drying...
This study describes the preparation of a cylindrical polymer foam column termed Chitosan/β-Cyclodextrin/MIL-68(Al) (CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al)). An ice template-freeze drying technique was employed to prepare the CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam column by embedding MIL-68(Al) in a polymer matrix comprising cross-linked chitosan (CS) and β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). The cylindrical CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam was subsequently inserted into a syringe to develop a solid phase extraction (SPE) device. Without the requirement for an external force, the sample solution passed easily through the SPE column thanks to the porous structure of the CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam column. Moreover, the CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam column was thought to be a superior absorbent for SPE since it included the adsorptive benefits of CS, β-CD, and MIL-68(Al). The SPE was utilized in conjunction with high-performance liquid chromatography to analyze six sulfonamides found in milk, urine, and water. With matrix effects ranging from 80.49 % to 104.9 % with RSD values of 0.4-14.0 %, the method showed high recoveries ranging from 80.6 to 107.4 % for water samples, 93.4-105.2 % for urine, and 87.4-100.9 % for milk. It also demonstrated good linearity in the range of 10-258 ng·mL with the limits of detection ranging from 1.88 to 2.58 ng·mL. The cylindrical CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam column prepared in this work offered several advantages, including its simple fabrication, excellent water stability, absence of pollutants, biodegradability, and reusability. It is particularly well-suited for SPE. Furthermore, the developed SPE method, employing CS/β-CD/MIL-68(Al) foam column, is straightforward and precise, and its benefits, including affordability, ease of preparation, lack of specialized equipment, and solvent economy, underline its broad applicability for the pretreatment of aqueous samples.
PubMed: 38955130
DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2024.465130 -
Computers in Biology and Medicine Jul 2024The RIME optimization algorithm is a newly developed physics-based optimization algorithm used for solving optimization problems. The RIME algorithm proved...
The RIME optimization algorithm is a newly developed physics-based optimization algorithm used for solving optimization problems. The RIME algorithm proved high-performing in various fields and domains, providing a high-performance solution. Nevertheless, like many swarm-based optimization algorithms, RIME suffers from many limitations, including the exploration-exploitation balance not being well balanced. In addition, the likelihood of falling into local optimal solutions is high, and the convergence speed still needs some work. Hence, there is room for enhancement in the search mechanism so that various search agents can discover new solutions. The authors suggest an adaptive chaotic version of the RIME algorithm named ACRIME, which incorporates four main improvements, including an intelligent population initialization using chaotic maps, a novel adaptive modified Symbiotic Organism Search (SOS) mutualism phase, a novel mixed mutation strategy, and the utilization of restart strategy. The main goal of these improvements is to improve the variety of the population, achieve a better balance between exploration and exploitation, and improve RIME's local and global search abilities. The study assesses the effectiveness of ACRIME by using the standard benchmark functions of the CEC2005 and CEC2019 benchmarks. The proposed ACRIME is also applied as a feature selection to fourteen various datasets to test its applicability to real-world problems. Besides, the ACRIME algorithm is applied to the COVID-19 classification real problem to test its applicability and performance further. The suggested algorithm is compared to other sophisticated classical and advanced metaheuristics, and its performance is assessed using statistical tests such as Wilcoxon rank-sum and Friedman rank tests. The study demonstrates that ACRIME exhibits a high level of competitiveness and often outperforms competing algorithms. It discovers the optimal subset of features, enhancing the accuracy of classification and minimizing the number of features employed. This study primarily focuses on enhancing the equilibrium between exploration and exploitation, extending the scope of local search.
PubMed: 38955125
DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108803 -
Talanta Jun 2024To date, clinical laboratories face challenges in quantifying retinol from DBS samples. Disputes arise throughout the whole detection process, encompassing the storage...
BACKGROUND
To date, clinical laboratories face challenges in quantifying retinol from DBS samples. Disputes arise throughout the whole detection process, encompassing the storage condition, the release strategy as well as the selection of internal standards.
METHODS
We incubated DBS with ascorbic acid solution. Then, retinol-d4 in acetonitrile was introduced to incorporate isotopic internal standard and promote protein precipitation. Afterward, sodium carbonate solution was added to ionize cytochromes (such as bilirubin), which amplified the difference of their hydrophobicity to retinol. Subsequently, cold-induced phase separation could be facilitated to separate retinol from the impurities. In the end, the upper layer was injected for LC-MS/MS analysis.
RESULTS
By comparing the detected retinol content in whole blood and DBS samples prepared from the same volume, we confirmed the established pretreatment was capable to extract most of retinol from DBS (recovery >90 %). Thereafter, we verified that within DBS, retinol possessed satisfying stability without antioxidation. Indoor-light exposure and storage duration would not cause obvious degradation (<10 %). Following systematic validation, the established method well met the criteria outlined in the relevant guidelines. After comparing with detected DBS results to the paired plasma samples, 54 out of 60 met the acceptance limit for cross-validation of ±20 %.
CONCLUSIONS
We realized precise quantification of retinol from one 3.2 mm DBS disc. By circumventing conventional antioxidation, liquid-liquid/solid-phase extraction and organic solvent evaporation, the pretreatment could be completed within 15 min consuming only minimal amounts of low-toxicity chemicals (ascorbic acid, acetonitrile, and sodium carbonate). We expect this contribution holds the potential to significantly facilitate the evaluation of patients' vitamin A status by using DBS samples in the future.
PubMed: 38955103
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2024.126491