Biochemical Engineering

The study of novel drug delivery systems represents one of the frontiers of the biomedical research area. Multi-disciplinary scientific approaches combining traditional or engineered technologies are used to provide major advances in improving drug bioavailability, rate of release, cell/tissue specificity and therapeutic index. Biodegradable and bio-absorbable polymers are usually the building blocks of these systems, and their copolymers are employed to create delivery components. For example, poly (lactic acid) or poly (glycolic acid) are often used as bricks for the production drug-based delivery systems as polymeric microparticles (MPs) or micron-scale needles. To avoid time-consuming empirical approaches for the optimization of these formulations, in silico-supported models have been developed. These methods can predict and tune the release of different drugs starting from designed combinations. Starting from these considerations, this review has the aim of investigating recent...

In light of the evolving nature of various diseases, time becomes a crucial factor in diagnosis and identifying the underlying causes. A point-of-care device provides a rapid diagnosis of a disease without using complex and advanced instruments, which are costly and difficult to transport. A paper-based device is a relatively frugal solution wherein the paper is used as a substratum in which the reactions are carried out. These methods are non-invasive, and the sample collection is relatively easy. Saliva is one such body fluid in which various biomarkers are present for numerous diseases. Bioanalysis of saliva has attracted more attention recently due to its non-invasiveness and robustness. Exploiting the discovery of clinical biomarkers from salivary analysis has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare sector by providing crucial information to monitor the health status of individuals and disease progression which enables personalized treatment. This review provides the limitation of the traditional methods in clinical applications and highlights the significance of saliva as a non-invasive biological fluid that is a source of multiple biomarkers associated with various diseases. It also provides insights into the different paperbased colorimetric microfluidic devices developed against salivary biomarkers in the past decade. The major challenges in the point-of-care application and the future prospects have been discussed as well. Further, we also emphasize the importance of this approach in dental disease diagnosis which is least explored and holds potential applications.

There is a great need for rapid testing strategies for reproductive toxicity testing, avoiding animal use. The EU Framework program 7 project ChemScreen aimed to fill this gap in a pragmatic manner preferably using validated existing tools and place them in an innovative alternative testing strategy. In our approach we combined knowledge on critical processes affected by reproductive toxicants with knowledge on the mechanistic basis of such effects. We used in silico methods for prescreening chemicals for relevant toxic effects aiming at reduced testing needs. For those chemicals that need testing we have set up an in vitro screening panel that includes mechanistic high throughput methods and lower throughput assays that measure more integrative endpoints. In silico pharmacokinetic modules were developed for rapid exposure predictions via diverse exposure routes. These modules to match in vitro and in vivo exposure levels greatly improved predictivity of the in vitro tests. As a further step, we have generated examples how to predict reproductive toxicity of chemicals using available data. We have executed formal validations of panel constituents and also used more innovative manners to validate the test panel using mechanistic approaches. We are actively engaged in promoting regulatory acceptance of the tools developed as an essential step towards practical application, including case studies for read-across purposes. With this approach, a significant saving in animal use and associated costs seems very feasible.

Since their discovery, MXenes have conferred various intriguing features because of their distinctive structures. Focus has been placed on using MXenes in electrochemical energy storage including a supercapacitor showing significant and promising development. However, like other 2D materials, MXene layers unavoidably experience stacking agglomeration because of its great van der Waals forces, which causes a significant loss of electrochemically active sites. With the help of MoS 2 , a better MXene-based electrodecan is planned to fabricate supercapacitors with the remarkable electrochemical performance. The synthesis of MXene/MoS 2 and the ground effects of supercapacitors are currently being analysed by many researchers internationally. The performance of commercial supercapacitors might be improved via electrode architecture. This analysis will support the design of MXene and MoS 2 hybrid electrodes for highly effective supercapacitors. Improved electrode capacitance, voltage window and energy density are discussed in this literature study. With a focus on the most recent electrochemical performance of both MXene and MoS 2 -based electrodes and devices, this review summarises recent developments in materials synthesis and its characterisation. It also helps to identify the difficulties and fresh possibilities MXenes MoS 2 and its hybrid heterostructure in this developing field of energy storage. Future choices for constructing supercapacitors will benefit from this review. This review examines the newest developments in MXene/MoS 2 supercapacitors, primarily focusing on compiling literature from 2017 through 2022. This review also presents an overview of the design (structures), recent developments, and challenges of the emerging electrode materials, with thoughts on how well such materials function electrochemically in supercapacitors.

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The industrial exploitation of microalgae is characterized by the production of high value compounds. Optimization of the performance of microalgae culture systems is essential to render the process economically viable. For raceway systems, the task of optimization is rather challenging since the process is by essence periodically forced and, as a consequence, optimization must be carried out in a periodic framework. In this paper, we propose a simple operational criterion for raceway systems that when integrated in a strategy of closed-loop control allows to attain biomass productivities very near to the maximal producitivities. The strategy developed was tested numerically by using a mathematical model of microalgae growth in raceways. The model takes into account the dynamics of environmental variables temperature and light intensity and their influence on microalgae growth.

This paper deals with output feedback control of phytoplanktonic algae growth models in the chemostat. The considered class of model is of variable yield type, meaning that the ratio between the environmental nutrient absorption rate and the cells' growth rate varies, which is different from classical bioprocesses assumptions. On the basis of weak qualitative hypotheses on the analytical expressions of the involved biological phenomena (which guarantee robustness of the procedure towards modelling uncertainties) we propose a nonlinear controller and prove its ability to globally stabilize such processes. Finally, we illustrate our approach with numerical simulations and show its benefits for biological laboratory experiments, especially for ensuring persistence of the culture facing classical experimental problems.

The oxygen carrying performance of a perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) emulsion is considered. The intended purpose is to enhance hepatocyte growth and function in a bio-artificial liver support system (BALSS). Such oxygen carrying emulsions have previously been used in biological systems (e.g. cell culturing). However, optimum emulsion characteristics for enhanced oxygen mass transfer have not been established nor was consideration given to the effect of emulsion rheology on mass transfer: With increase in the dispersed phase volume fraction (φ p ) both the oxygen holding capacity and the viscosity increases. These issues are addressed here using simplified mass transfer models, amenable to analytical solution, for both gas-sparged and membrane oxygenators. The model predictions that the rate at which oxygen can be supplied improves with increase in φ p and decrease in emulsion droplet size were checked experimentally for perfluorooctyl bromide emulsions. Biological applications mandate a suitably low emulsion viscosity and this limits the usable range for the PFOB volume fraction to φ p < 0.5. There is also a lower practical limit to the possible droplet size (about 100 nm). The predicted higher oxygen loading rates for the membrane oxygenator compared to the gas-sparged oxygenator was also confirmed by experiment. Predicted and measured volumetric mass transfer coefficients (k × a) were ca. 8 × 10 -4 s -1 for the gas-sparged oxygenator and ca. 1 s -1 for the hollow fibre membrane unit at 20 vol.% PFOB emulsions.

The use of synthetic dyes has been found to have negative environmental impacts, leading to a growing demand for natural alternatives. This study explores the potential of bacterial pigments, derived from microorganisms, as a sustainable alternative for textile dyeing. The first chapter examines the ecological impact of synthetic dyes and the potential of natural dyes, including bacterial pigments, as a sustainable alternative. Biodegradability and life-cycle-assessment are discussed in this chapter since they are important factors to evaluate the environmental impact of any substance. The second chapter discusses the potential for bacterial pigments to functionalize textile materials with new therapeutic properties, including antifungal and anti-inflammatory effects. Additionally, some bacterial pigments can be used as semiconductors for electronics. The third chapter outlines the challenges of using natural pigments in textile production and suggests techniques to improve colourfa...

Electrochemical mass transfer probes are used to measure the velocity gradient at a wall. Recent advances In their application are reviewed. These include corrections for the time response of the probe, the simultaneous mea surement at a number of locations of the two components of the fluctuating velocity gradient and a study of the influence of drag reducing polymers on turbulence. It is found that drag-reducing polymers cause an increase in the scale of flow oriented eddies In the viscous sublayer. large y. If one makes a pseudo-steady state approximation and neglects , the following relation between the mass transfer coefficient and the velocity gradient is obtained: Where D is the diffusion coefficient and L is the length of the electrode. If s ~ is small enough, Eq. 3 can be simplified to give:

Seeds die inevitably but unexpectedly during storage and current understanding of seed quality and storage conditions do not allow reliable means to predict or prevent this critical problem. Chemical degradation of seed components likely occurs through oxidative damage, but the rate of these reactions is dominated by properties of seed that are affected by temperature and moisture. These visco-elastic properties contribute to the structure of seeds as amorphous solids. This paper presents the perspective of seed maturation and post-harvest treatment as an exercise in engineering design for a structure that must persist through time and fluctuating conditions. Structural analyses are engineering tools used to select proper composition of materials and predict their behavior under a range of circumstances and are applicable to measurement within seeds. Thermal mechanical analysis (TMA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) measure structural deformation and stress-strain relationships, providing sensitive and universal parameters that detect differences in structural stability in materials with subtle compositional differences or processing methods. When applied to seeds, TMA and DMA techniques provide information consistent with existing information on glass and first order transitions. The depth of additional information obtainable about the behavior of the glass and interactions with lipid structure suggests that these techniques will be able to quantify differences among seed structures that contribute to their tendency to age.

As nanomaterials are turning into high demand products due to use in many applications, the sonoelectrochemistry method may be accessible to yield these nanomaterials at industrial significant measures. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to give a brief summary of recent developments in sonoelectrochemistry for generating numerous kinds of nanomaterials. It is expected that the analysis of these studies will produce further importance in the field, to fuel further research of novel nanomaterials as well as driving this technology is becoming a commercially practical synthetic technique. The subsequent units of this review report the use and improvements in sonoelectrochemical processes in the production of numerous electrocatalytic materials applications in electrolyzes, fuel cell technologies, and the degradation of many organic pollutants. The experimental procedures of sonoelectrochemical techniques are examined by this review that are commonly used in the synthesis of materials,...

In recent years, lipopeptides (LPs) have attracted a lot of attention in the pharmaceutical industry due to their broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity against a variety of pathogens and their unique mode of action. This class of compounds has enormous potential for application as an alternative to conventional antibiotics and for pest control. Understanding how LPs work from a structural and biophysical standpoint through investigating their interaction with cell membranes is crucial for the rational design of these biomolecules. Various analytical techniques have been developed for studying intramolecular interactions with high resolution. However, these tools have been barely exploited in lipopeptide-lipid interactions studies. These biophysical approaches would give precise insight on these interactions. Here, we reviewed these state-of-the-art analytical techniques. Knowledge at this level is indispensable for understanding LPs activity and particularly their potential specificity, which is relevant information for safe application. Additionally, the principle of each analytical technique is presented and the information acquired is discussed. The key challenges, such as the selection of the membrane model are also been briefly reviewed.

Alkalophilic Bacillus licheniformis NH1 strain produced at least five major extracellular proteases and a unique amylase as showed by zymography technique. The optimum pH and temperature for the proteolytic activity were 10.0 and 70 • C, respectively, while those of amylolytic activity were 6.5 and 90 • C, respectively. The alkaline proteases and thermostable ␣-amylase showed extreme stability towards nonionic and anionic surfactants after pre-incubation for 1 h at 40 • C, and relative stability towards oxidizing agents. Additionally, the crude enzyme showed excellent stability and compatibility with various solid and liquid detergents. Wash performance analysis revealed that the NH1 crude enzyme could effectively remove a variety of stains, such as blood, chocolate and barbecue sauce. Considering its promising properties, B. licheniformis NH1 crude enzyme containing both ␣-amylase and proteases activities may be considered a potential candidate for future use in detergent processing industries.

Exopolysaccharides, known as bacterial EPS, are complex sugar polymers that bacteria secrete into their environment. EPSs play a crucial role in bacterial survival and proliferation by protecting cells from environmental threats. They also contribute to proper adhesion to numerous surfaces through biofilm production. Bacterial EPS display a wide range of biological activities conferred by their outstanding physical and chemical properties, which make them great candidates for medical and industrial applications. The main biological activities recorded up-to-day include antioxidant, anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antibacterial, immune-modulatory and chelating properties. They also can be used as thickening agents in the industry or as additives to improve soil quality in agriculture. The current review offers a thorough overview of bacterial EPS, their biosynthesis processes and regulation, and biotechnological strategies to increase their production. The revie...

Anaerobic digestion is a technology that has been used by humans for centuries. Anaerobic digestion is considered to be a useful tool that can generate renewable energy and significant research interest has arisen recently. The underlying theory of anaerobic digestion has been established for decades; however, a great deal of current research is directed towards the optimization of anaerobic digestion under diverse digestion conditions. This review provides a summary of the processes underlying anaerobic digestion, commonly-utilized measurements of anaerobic sludge, operating parameters of anaerobic digesters, and methods of acceleration and optimization used to improve process efficiency. Recent developments in addition to older research are considered to provide a general but comprehensive summary of accumulated knowledge in the theory of anaerobic digestion, as well as considerations in the efficient operation of digesters. We have determined that the numerous factors pertinent t...

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of photoand hetero-trophic culture conditions on growth performance and microanatomy changes of microalga, Tetraselmis suecica shake flask and stirred tank bioreactor. The changes in cell composition such as lipid, protein and carbohydrate content were determined and the kinetic parameters and microanatomy of T. suecica under heterotroand photo-autotrophic conditions were studied. Results revealed that lipid content in the heterotrophic cells was about two times higher when compared to that of photoautotrophic cells. The final cell concentration obtained at the end of exponential phase in heterotrophic cultivation (74 g.L-1) was higher than that obtained in photoautotrophic cultivation (13.7 g.L-1), in photobioreactor. The shape of photoautotrophic T. suecica cells was oval (12.5 μm long and 7.5 μm wide) with a volume of about 552 μm3. In heterotrophic cultivation, the cell was changed to a spherical shape with a diameter of approximately 3...

Optimization of medium composition for the improvement of heterotrophic cultivation of green microalgae, Tetraselmis suecica, was performed using response surface methodology (RSM). Heterotrophic cultivation of T. suecica was conducted in total darkness using Walne medium formulated with natural sea water. Initially, the effect of two types of carbon source (glucose and sodium acetate) and various types of nitrogen source (peptone, yeast extract, meat extract, malt extract, urea, sodium nitrate and ammonium nitrate) on growth of T. suecica was studied. The concentration of medium component that was found to significantly influence the heterotrophic growth of T. suecica (glucose, peptone, yeast extract and meat extract) was further optimized using RSM. The medium that consists of 5.78 g/L glucose, 9 g/L peptone, 4.48 g/L yeast extract and 3.01 g/L meat extract was found optimal for heterotrophic cultivation of T. suecica. The final cell concentration (28.88 g/L) obtained in heterotrophic cultivation using this optimized medium was about 3 and 2 times higher than obtained in photoautotrophic culture (8.40 g/L) and non-optimized medium for heterotrophic cultivation (13.81 g/L), respectively. In addition, the cell yield based on glucose consumed (9.31 g cell/g glucose) was increased by about 3 times as compared to non-optimized medium (3.61 g cell/g glucose).

In the last decade, there has been an increase in research related to green corrosion inhibitors for conservation of metals cultural heritage to help promote sustainable practices in the field that are safe, environmentally friendly, and ecologically acceptable. The most common are organic substances derived either from natural and/or biological sources: plant extracts and oils, amino acids, microorganisms, and biopolymers. The chapter will provide a review of these substances as corrosion inhibitors for metals conservation, by discussing the state-of-the-art research to date, with a special focus on cysteine. Most of the research has focused on the examination of such inhibitors on metal coupons with or without corrosion products using electrochemical techniques or weight-loss measurements to determine their effectiveness. Some of these studies have also considered the conservation principles for practice, i.e., reversibility of the treatment and the visual aspect of the modificati...

Abstract. In this study, sequencing batch reactors (SBR) was used for treatment of raw landfill leachate from Kulim landfill site. To show the effect of adsorbent on SBR performance, two types of SBRs (namely non–powdered activated carbon–SBR (NPAC– ...

Asymmetric synthesis is one of the significant subjects of research in recent times. It incorporates regulating stereochemistry of compounds to produce enantiomerically pure chemical substances. Chiral auxiliaries/substrates and enantioselective reagents and organocatalysis are used for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure molecules in organic synthesis. Significance of chiral compounds results in the generation of new bonds in a stereo and enantio-controlled method. Separation of enantiomers from enantiomerically impure sources is a difficult process. Asymmetric synthesis finds its challenging applications in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, life sciences, chromatography, and extraterrestrial chemistry. This article features the eco-friendly approach and costeffectiveness of different strategies of asymmetric synthesis.

Metabolic engineering is a promising strategy to realize green synthesis of valued chemicals derived from petroleum. According to the literature, cell factories for producing L-aspartate and its derivatives (β-alanine, ectoine, 3-hydroxypropionate, D-pantothenic acid and L-homoserine) have been developed. In this review, we firstly introduced the functions, applications and markets of L-aspartate and its derivatives. Then, the current research progress on microbial production of them was elaborated in detail. Finally, we have discussed the limiting factors and given some suggestions for realizing applications of engineered bacteria in the industry, including metabolic engineering of the bacteria to increase the titer, yield and productivity of the target products, fermentation condition optimization and downstream purification. With the development of novel technologies and increased investments in synthetic biology, it is promising to realize sustainable production of L-aspartate a...

Recent years have seen a rise in interest in biosurfactants, which are surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms that affect surfaces, particularly the surface tension of liquid-vapor interfaces. Due to their ability to emulsify and solubilize hydrophobic compounds as result of their amphipathic nature, biosurfactants are useful in degradation of hydrocarbon and are therefore applicable in oil spill management. Because they are biodegradable, have low toxicity, work well at high or low pH levels, and are more environmentally friendly than their chemical equivalents, biosurfactants have merits over their chemical counterparts. Biosurfactants are adaptable materials with a wide range of uses in the biodegradation and bioremediation of environmental contaminants. In addition, they have uses in pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. The continuous interest in biosurfactants results from these benefits and their vast variety of applications. Hydrophobic pollutants such as hydrocarbons and their derivatives are the major environmental issues due to their poor degradation but the use of biosurfactants can enhance their microbial degradation. When microorganisms try to use substrates like hydrocarbon as a source of carbon, they produce a variety of compounds called biosurfactants that help the diffusion into the cell. This review discusses the roles of these microbial products as veritable tools in environmental management with particular emphasis on the roles of biosurfactants in the sanitation of petroleum pollution and bioremediation of soils contaminated by pesticides.

In this paper, the influence of pH in the 4-8 interval and NaCl concentration up to 25 mM on the cross-flow microfiltration of BSA was investigated. A tubular ceramic membrane with a pore size of 0.14 m was employed and its point of zero charge was calculated. The evolution of permeate flow and BSA transmission with time was determined at 45 • C, a cross-flow velocity of 3.5 m/s and a transmembrane pressure of 100 kPa. The curves of permeate flow were explained according to the resistances in series model. Maximum protein transmission was obtained at the isoelectric point of BSA (4.9), with significant transmission also at the point of zero charge of the membrane and null transmission at pH 4 and 8. The highest permeate flow was observed at pH 7 and the lowest at 4.9. Finally, the addition of salt resulted to some extent in an improvement of both protein transmission and permeate flow.

In this paper, the influence of pH in the 4-8 interval and NaCl concentration up to 25 mM on the cross-flow microfiltration of BSA was investigated. A tubular ceramic membrane with a pore size of 0.14 m was employed and its point of zero charge was calculated. The evolution of permeate flow and BSA transmission with time was determined at 45 • C, a cross-flow velocity of 3.5 m/s and a transmembrane pressure of 100 kPa. The curves of permeate flow were explained according to the resistances in series model. Maximum protein transmission was obtained at the isoelectric point of BSA (4.9), with significant transmission also at the point of zero charge of the membrane and null transmission at pH 4 and 8. The highest permeate flow was observed at pH 7 and the lowest at 4.9. Finally, the addition of salt resulted to some extent in an improvement of both protein transmission and permeate flow.

In this study, AuNPs were biosynthesized from Cucurbita moschata fruit peel extracts. Biosynthesized AuNPs exhibited maximum absorbance at a 555 nm wavelength, and XRD analysis indicated that the CM-AuNPs had a particle size of less than 100 nm and a cubic crystal structure. TEM scans revealed that the gold particles exhibited a spherical morphology, with an average size of 18.10 nm. FTIR analysis revealed strong peaks indicating the presence of functional groups involved in the reduction reactions. The surface charge of the biosynthesized AuNPs was determined to be -19.7 mV. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of AuNPs against pathogen strains were assessed by the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) method. The cytotoxic effects of CM-AuNPs on cancer cell lines (Sk-Ov-3, CaCo 2 , and A549) and healthy cell lines (HUVEC) were investigated using the MTT method. The findings indicated that AuNPs biosynthesized by the green synthesis method using C. moschata peel aqueous extract had high inhibition on the growth of pathogenic microorganisms and effective cytotoxic activity against cancerous cell lines at low doses. As a result, it can be concluded that CM-AuNPs will be eminently effective in the production of antibacterial and/or anticancer drugs in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been lauded as next-generation medicines, but very few EV-based therapeutics have progressed to clinical use. Limited clinical translation is largely due to technical barriers that hamper our ability to mass produce EVs, i.e., to isolate, purify, and characterize them effectively. Technical limitations in comprehensive characterization of EVs lead to unpredicted biological effects of EVs. Here, using a range of optical and non-optical techniques, we showed that the differences in molecular composition of EVs isolated using two isolation methods correlated with the differences in their biological function. Our results demonstrated that the isolation method determines the composition of isolated EVs at single and sub-population levels. Besides the composition, we measured for the first time the dry mass and predicted sedimentation of EVs. These parameters were likely to contribute to the biological and functional effects of EVs on single cell and cell...

Microalgal harvesting is one of the most challenging processes in the development of algal research and development. Several methods, such as centrifugation, flocculation, and filtration, are available at the laboratory scale. However, the requirement of expensive pieces of equipment and the possibility of biomass contamination are recurring gaps that hinder the development of microalgae I+D in different parts of the world. Recently, the electroflotation has been proved as a suitable method for the harvesting of different species of microalgae and cyanobacteria. To this day, there are no companies that sell laboratory-scale electroflotation equipment; this is mainly due to the gap in the knowledge on which factors (time, mixing rate, number of electrodes, and others) will affect the efficiency of concentration without reducing the biomass quality. This paper aims to build an innovative low-cost electroflotation system under 300 USD with cheap and resistant materials. To achieve our ...

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The paper discusses the potential applicability of the process of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) in the production of algal extracts with the consideration of the process conditions and yields. State of the art in the research on solvent-free isolation of biologically active compounds from the biomass of algae was presented. Various aspects related with the properties of useful compounds found in cells of microalgae and macroalgae were discussed, including their potential applications as the natural components of plant protection products (biostimulants and bioregulators), dietary feed and food supplements, and pharmaceuticals. Analytical methods of determination of the natural compounds derived from algae were discussed. Algal extracts produced by SFE process enable obtaining a solvent-free concentrate of biologically active compounds; however, detailed economic analysis, as well as elaboration of products standardization procedures, is required in order to implement the prod...

The assessment of an organization/product&#39;s environmental footprint is based on the protocols developed by the Joint Research Centre of the European Union, which take into account 16 impact categories. Among the categories covered are toxicity to freshwater ecosystems and to humans. Standard protocols use only chemical parameters as input data, preventing the true impact of entire complex mixtures, such as emissions discharged into the environment, from being determined. Biological assays allow us to bridge this gap: in the current study, assays were used to determine baseline toxicity towards aquatic organisms (green algae, luminescent bacteria, and crustaceans) as well as specific toxicity (mutagenicity and carcinogenicity). Expected impacts were compared using two approaches (standard and bioassay-centered results obtained are not always in line and, in general, the traditional method underestimates impacts). This demonstrates the importance of these assays and suggests that ...

Background: Passively acquired maternal antibodies through the placenta and/or breastfeeding may protect neonates against SARS-CoV-2 before they are considered eligible for active immunization. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the concentration and correlation of maternal and cord blood anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Iranian seropositive women. In this preliminary study, attempts were also made to assess the effects of some variables on the transplacental transfer efficiency. Methods: From September 2021 to November 2021, pregnant women presenting to Kamali Hospital in Karaj, Iran, were enrolled in this monocentric study. The maternal and neonatal demographic characteristics were collected. The maternal and cord blood spike protein-specific antibody levels, measured at delivery (119 paired samples), were evaluated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Based on the transplacental antibody transfer ratios, the participants were divided into 2 groups: Transfer ratio ≤ 1 (n = 53) and transfer ratio > 1 (n = 66). The results revealed that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were transferred across the placenta in all seropositive pregnant Iranian women, and a significant correlation was found between maternal and cord blood-specific IgG antibody levels (r = 0.9646; P < 0.05). A relatively efficient transplacental transfer ratio was observed in Iranian seropositive women (transfer ratio > 1 in 66 out of 119 individuals; 55.46%). Although there were significant differences in the transplacental transfer ratio regarding the neonatal birth weight and maternal body mass index (BMI), more extensive investigations with a larger sample size are needed to confirm the significant association of these variables with the transplacental transfer efficiency of specific SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Conclusions: The present study highlighted the importance of vaccination during pregnancy to improve neonatal immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Background: Passively acquired maternal antibodies through the placenta and/or breastfeeding may protect neonates against SARS-CoV-2 before they are considered eligible for active immunization. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the concentration and correlation of maternal and cord blood anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Iranian seropositive women. In this preliminary study, attempts were also made to assess the effects of some variables on the transplacental transfer efficiency. Methods: From September 2021 to November 2021, pregnant women presenting to Kamali Hospital in Karaj, Iran, were enrolled in this monocentric study. The maternal and neonatal demographic characteristics were collected. The maternal and cord blood spike protein-specific antibody levels, measured at delivery (119 paired samples), were evaluated by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results: Based on the transplacental antibody transfer ratios, the participants were divided into 2 groups: Transfer ratio ≤ 1 (n = 53) and transfer ratio > 1 (n = 66). The results revealed that anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were transferred across the placenta in all seropositive pregnant Iranian women, and a significant correlation was found between maternal and cord blood-specific IgG antibody levels (r = 0.9646; P < 0.05). A relatively efficient transplacental transfer ratio was observed in Iranian seropositive women (transfer ratio > 1 in 66 out of 119 individuals; 55.46%). Although there were significant differences in the transplacental transfer ratio regarding the neonatal birth weight and maternal body mass index (BMI), more extensive investigations with a larger sample size are needed to confirm the significant association of these variables with the transplacental transfer efficiency of specific SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Conclusions: The present study highlighted the importance of vaccination during pregnancy to improve neonatal immune responses against SARS-CoV-2.

Thermozymes (from thermophiles or hyperthermophiles) offer obvious advantages due to their excellent thermostability, broad pH adaptation, and hydrolysis ability, resulting in diverse industrial applications including food, paper, and textile processing, biofuel production. However, natural thermozymes with low yield and poor adaptability severely hinder their large-scale applications. Extensive studies demonstrated that using genetic modifications such as directed evolution, semi-ration design, and rational design, expression regulations and chemical modifications effectively improved enzyme's yield, thermostability and catalytic efficiency. However, mechanism-based techniques for thermozymes improvements and applications need more attention. In this review, stabilizing mechanisms of thermozymes are summarized for thermozymes improvements, and these improved thermozymes eventually have large-scale industrial applications.

The findings of research proceedings on pesticide metabolites detection are both an environmental inventory and prevention of potential foodstuffs contaminants. Since, the requirement of a quality environment is a condition for ensuring food security, the newly designed methods with validated sensitivities and efficiencies should be highlighted as solutions for reducing pesticide metabolites. In this respect, this review provides information about pesticides metabolism subject to various analytical conditions applied to standard methods, in addition to the pesticide/related metabolites ratio (R) developed for the intended purpose.

Modeling the flow and mass transfer behavior in biological bioreactors has always been one of the key challenges in biological engineering. Although computational fluid dynamics (CFD) provides an accurate tool for simulating these behaviors, limitations such as high computational time requirements, dependence on complex meshing, and inflexibility under changing conditions have made it difficult to use it in industrial environments with real-time dynamics. In this study, a new conceptual framework, called CFD cognitive surrogate, is presented, which operates based on a cognitive architecture, including contextual understanding modules, adaptive memory, inference, and control suggestion. Using real data and machine learning models, this framework has the ability to predict critical conditions such as thermal shock, sudden foaming, and shear stresses in three dimensions. The outputs are presented in the form of interpretable numerical graphs, and the system interacts with the process control unit in real time. The results show that this framework can be used as an adaptive and efficient alternative to traditional CFD in smart bioreactors.

This article investigates microalgae as a sustainable source of omega fatty acids, particularly focusing on DHA and EPA. It delves into optimizing growth conditions, employing abiotic stressors, manipulating pathways and utilizing radiation to enhance biomass, lipid and omega-fatty acid yields. Additionally, the downstream process encompassing biomass harvest, lipid extraction and omega fatty acid purification is detailed. The nutritional and health advantages of omega fatty acids are emphasized, along with their diverse applications. The article also addresses challenges and offers insights into prospects for microalgal omega fatty acid production. In summary, microalgae represent a promising and sustainable avenue for omega fatty acid production, holding significant implications for nutrition and health.

Phototrophic microorganisms that convert carbon dioxide are being explored for their capacity to solve different environmental issues and produce bioactive compounds for human therapeutics and as food additives. Full-scale phototrophic cultivation of microalgae and cyanobacteria can be done in open ponds or closed photobioreactor systems, which have a broad range of volumes. This review focuses on laboratory-scale photobioreactors and their different designs. Illuminated microtiter plates and microfluidic devices offer an option for automated high-throughput studies with microalgae. Illuminated shake flasks are used for simple uncontrolled batch studies. The application of illuminated bubble column reactors strongly emphasizes homogenous gas distribution, while illuminated flat plate bioreactors offer high and uniform light input. Illuminated stirredtank bioreactors facilitate the application of very well-defined reaction conditions. Closed tubular photobioreactors as well as open photobioreactors like small-scale raceway ponds and thin-layer cascades are applied as scale-down models of the respective large-scale bioreactors. A few other less common designs such as illuminated plastic bags or aquarium tanks are also used mainly because of their relatively low cost, but up-scaling of these designs is challenging with additional lightdriven issues. Finally, this review covers recommendations on the criteria for photobioreactor selection and operation while up-scaling of phototrophic bioprocesses with microalgae or cyanobacteria.

Phototrophic microorganisms that convert carbon dioxide are being explored for their capacity to solve different environmental issues and produce bioactive compounds for human therapeutics and as food additives. Full-scale phototrophic cultivation of microalgae and cyanobacteria can be done in open ponds or closed photobioreactor systems, which have a broad range of volumes. This review focuses on laboratory-scale photobioreactors and their different designs. Illuminated microtiter plates and microfluidic devices offer an option for automated high-throughput studies with microalgae. Illuminated shake flasks are used for simple uncontrolled batch studies. The application of illuminated bubble column reactors strongly emphasizes homogenous gas distribution, while illuminated flat plate bioreactors offer high and uniform light input. Illuminated stirred-tank bioreactors facilitate the application of very well-defined reaction conditions. Closed tubular photobioreactors as well as open ...

Aquaponics is the combined production of aquaculture and hydroponics, connected by a water recirculation system. In this productive system, the microbial community is responsible for carrying out the nutrient dynamics between the components. The nutrimental transformations mainly consist in the transformation of chemical species from toxic compounds into available nutrients. In this particular field, the microbial research, the “Omic” technologies will allow a broader scope of studies about a current microbial profile inside aquaponics community, even in those species that currently are unculturable. This approach can also be useful to understand complex interactions of living components in the system. Until now, the analog studies were made to set up the microbial characterization on recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS). However, microbial community composition of aquaponics is still unknown. “Omic” technologies like metagenomic can help to reveal taxonomic diversity. The perspe...

At present the pharmaceutical academia and industries are focusing on the use of natural materials and resources for development of pharmaceutical product. Due to advances in drug delivery technology, currently, excipients are included in novel dosage forms to fulfill specific functions. Various natural polymers are widely being studied as a potential carrier material for site specific drug delivery because of its non-toxic and biocompatible in nature. Natural polymers (polysaccharides) have been investigated for drug delivery applications as well as in biomedical fields. Modified polymer or synthetic polymers have found its application as a support material for cell culture, tissue engineering and gene delivery. Recent trends towards use of natural products or plant based products demand the replacement of synthetic additives with natural ones. These natural materials have many advantages over synthetic ones as they are biodegradable, chemically inert, less expensive, nontoxic and ...

The cosmetic industry has an undeniable need to design and develop new ecosustainable products to respond to the demands of consumers and international regulations. This requires substituting some traditional ingredients derived from petrochemical sources with new ones with more ecofriendly profiles. However, this transition towards the use of green ingredients in the cosmetic industry cannot compromise the effectiveness of the obtained products. Emerging ingredients in this new direction of the cosmetic industry are chitosan and its derivatives, which combine many interesting physicochemical and biological properties for the fabrication of cosmetic products. Thus, the use of chitosan opens a promising future path to the design of cosmetic formulations. In particular, chitosan's ability for interacting electrostatically with negatively charged substrates (e.g., skin or damaged hair), resulting in the formation of polymeric films which contribute to the conditioning and moisturizing of cosmetic substrates, makes this polymer an excellent candidate for the design of skin and hair care formulations. This review tries to provide an updated perspective on the potential interest of chitosan and its derivatives as ingredients of cosmetics for skin and hair care.

The design and synthesis of biopolymer nano-and micro-formulations are a new trend with growing priority in scientific research and development in the fields of biomedicine, bioorganic/ medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutics, agrochemistry and food industry. This incorporates a vast variety of improved and newly-developed analytical and physico-chemical techniques for green and efficient synthesis. The scope of the present review was to outline the recent advances in the methods for design of novel chitosan micro-and nano-carriers and transporters. Special emphasis is laid on their functionalities and capacity for encapsulation of natural bioactive compounds and controlled in vitro/in vivo release in various biological/physiological media. Expectations for the application of chitosan formulations and chitosan-based hybrid systems are progressively increasing as the knowledge regarding their physical, chemical and biological properties constantly expands. Thus, this review proposes insights on the objective assessment of the capacity, applicability and versatility of newly-designed chitosan-based hybrid systems. A detailed integrative approach, which incorporates the innovative scientific achievements based on complex novel, precise and reliable analytical procedures and methods for qualitative and quantitative morphological, structural, spectral, chemical and biochemical analyses of the bioprecursors and the designed chitosan-carrier micro/nano-hybrid systems, is applied. Sustainable knowledge on the mechanism and methods of natural bioactive substances encapsulation and in vitro/in vivo release is reviewed and discussed.

Halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms have potential applications in a number of very relevant environmental and industrial bioprocesses, from wastewater treatment to production of value-added chemicals. While numerous microbial strains have been identified and studied in the literature, the number of those successfully used in industrial applications is comparatively small. Literature is abundant in terms of characterisation of specific strains under a microbiology perspective; however, there is a need for studies tackling the selection of strains for bioprocess applications. This review presents a database of over 200 halophilic and halotolerant prokaryote strains compiled from taxonomic microbiological resources and classified by trophic groups as well as by their salinity, pH and temperature tolerance and optimum ranges, all under a process development perspective. In addition to this database, complementary systematic approaches for the selection of suitable strains for a given trophic activity and environmental conditions are also presented. Both the database and the proposed selection approaches together constitute a general tool for process development that allows researchers to systematically search for strains capable of specific substrate degradations under specific conditions (pH, T, salinity). Many exiting established halotolerant and halophilic environmental and industrial bioprocesses appear to have been developed following strategies in line with the systematic approaches proposed here.