Publications by authors named "Palashpriya Das"

Background: The recent rise in the incidence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections in a densely populated city of eastern India ("mixing vessel" of people of varied socio-economic and immune status) prompted this study. Applying saliva on fingers for enumerating bank notes is a common practice in the Indian subcontinent. Paper notes may be a potential source of "horizontal" transmission of this virus, especially if there are cuts/bruises on the oral mucous membrane or skin.

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Nanoparticles synthesized through the green route deserve special mention because this green technology is not only energy-efficient and cost-effective but also amenable to the environment. Various biological resources have been used for the generation of these 'green nanoparticles'. Biological wastes have also been focused in this direction thereby promoting the value of waste.

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Rhamnolipid biosurfactants produced mainly by Pseudomonas sp. had been reported to possess a wide range of potential industrial application. These biosurfactants are produced as monorhamnolipid (MRL) and di-rhamnolipid (DRL) congeners.

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Marine environment occupies the vast majority of the earth's surface and is a rich source of highly potent and active compounds. In recent years, microbial surfactants and emulsifiers have been reported from marine microflora. Surfactant and emulsifier molecules having diverse chemical nature such as exopolysaccharides, carbohydrate-lipid-protein complexes or glycolipopeptide, glycolipids, lipopeptides, phospholipids and ornithine lipids have been reported from various marine bacteria.

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The present study was aimed at elucidating the role of biosurfactant product isolated from a marine bacterium in removing heavy metals from heavy metal containing solutions. In this study, metal removal was biosurfactant-mediated. Efficiency of metal removal depended on the concentration of the metal as well as that of the biosurfactant.

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The antiadhesive action of a lipopeptide biosurfactant from a marine bacterium was investigated. The effect of cultivation conditions on the adhesion property of few bacterial strains was studied. It was observed that the static cultures showed greater adhesion due to scarcity of oxygen.

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Quantification of the biosurfactants produced by a variety of microorganisms is a time taking and difficult task due to the lack of rapid, efficient and accurate methods. This work presents a simple turbidometric method for quantification of crude biosurfactants based on their property to become insoluble at low pH values. Biosurfactants obtained from a Bacillus sp.

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The potential of a marine microorganism to utilize different carbon substrates for the production of an extracellular biosurfactant was evaluated. Among the several carbon substrates tested for this purpose, production of the crude biosurfactant was found to be highest with glycerol (2.9+/-0.

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Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are organic pollutants mostly derived from the processing and combustion of fossil fuels and cause human health hazards. In the present study a marine biosurfactant producing strain of Bacillus circulans was used to increase the bioavailability and consequent degradation of a model polyaromatic hydrocarbon, anthracene. Although the organism could not utilize anthracene as the sole carbon source, it showed better growth and biosurfactant production in an anthracene supplemented glycerol mineral salts medium (AGlyMSM) compared to a normal glycerol mineral salts medium (GlyMSM).

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Microbial biosurfactants are surface active metabolites synthesized by microbes growing on a variety of substrates. In spite of having great potential for commercial, therapeutic and environmental applications, industrial level production has not been realized for their low yields and productivities. One vital factor determining their biosynthesis is the genetic makeup of the producer organisms.

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Biosurfactants or microbial surfactants are surface-active biomolecules that are produced by a variety of microorganisms. Biosurfactants have gained importance in the fields of enhanced oil recovery, environmental bioremediation, food processing and pharmaceuticals owing to their unique properties--higher biodegradability, lower toxicity, and effectiveness at extremes of temperature, pH and salinity. However, large-scale production of these molecules has not been realized because of low yields in production processes and high recovery and purification costs.

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