Towards Rational Biosurfactant Design-Predicting Solubilization in Rhamnolipid Solutions.

The efficiency of micellar solubilization is dictated inter alia by the properties of the solubilizate, the type of surfactant, and environmental conditions of the process. We, therefore, hypothesized that using the descriptors of the aforementioned features we can predict the solubilization efficiency, expressed as molar solubilization ratio (MSR). In other words, we aimed at creating a model to find the optimal surfactant and environmental conditions in order to solubilize the substance of interest (oil, drug, etc.

Rhamnolipid CMC prediction.

Relationships between the purity, pH, hydrophobicity (logK) of the carbon substrate, and the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of rhamnolipid type biosurfactants (RL) were investigated using a quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) approach and are presented here for the first time. Measured and literature CMC values of 97 RLs, representing biosurfactants at different stages of purification, were considered. An arbitrary scale for RLs purity was proposed and used in the modelling.

[Effect of a new low-cholesterol meat and vegetal product on correction of simulated lipid metabolism disorders in rats].

The paper presents the biomedical evaluation of meat and cereal spread from low-cholesterol raw material with vegetable ingredients, recommended as a functional food. The experimental model with myocardial infarction like changes in hearts of the animals, accompanied by vascular changes similar to atherosclerotic changes in humans, as well as the modeling of the metabolic imbalance of lipids have been carried out by intramuscular injection of epinephrine and unbalanced feeding the animals with food rich in cholesterol, with a high content of carbohydrates and fats. Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups of 12 animals each.

[Ranking of radionuclides and pathways according to their contribution to the dose burden to the population resulting from NPP releases].

Approaches are described towards estimating the consequences of radioactive contamination of ecosystems by nuclear fuel cycle enterprises with the rationale for the optimal specification level for nuclear power plants (NPP) operating in the normal mode. Calculations are made based on the initial data of the IAEA project, INPRO ENV, dealing with the ranking of radionuclides escaping to the environment from the operating NPPs. Influence of various factors on rankings of radionuclides and pathways of public exposure is demon- strated.

The importance of rhamnolipid-biosurfactant-induced changes in bacterial membrane lipids of Bacillus subtilis for the antimicrobial activity of thiosulfonates.

The antimicrobial properties of methyl (MTS) and ethyl (ETS) esters of thiosulfonic acid alone and in combination with rhamnolipid-biosurfactant (RL) have been characterized for their ability to disrupt the normal physiological functions of living pathogens. Bactericidal and fungicidal activities of MTS and ETS and their combination with rhamnolipid were demonstrated on strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Alcaligenes faecalis, and Rhizopus ngtricans. It was found that the combination of rhamnolipid and thiosulfonic esters has a synergistic effect leading to decreasing of bactericidal and fungicidal concentrations of MTS and ETS.