New Insight into Mercury Removal from Fish Meat Using a Single-Component Solution Containing cysteine.

A novel approach for reducing mercury content in fish meat during post-packaging storage is developed to extend the margin of their safe consumption. It involves employing a single-component aqueous medium containing cysteine, as the active agent responsible for displacing mercury from fish proteins and its stabilization in the medium without the need for pH adjustments. The mercury removal efficiency depends on the cysteine concentration and its ratio to fish muscle.

CO induced phase transition on a self-standing droplet studied by X-ray scattering and magnetic resonance.

Hypothesis: Acoustic levitation is a suitable approach for studying processes occurring at the gas-liquid interfaces, as it allows its investigation in a contact-free manner while providing control over the gas phase. Here, we hypothesize that phase transitions induced by a CO rich atmosphere can be examined, at different length scales, in a contact-free manner.

Experimental: A system consisting of 12-hydroxysteric acid (HSA) soaps mixed with different ratios of monoethanolamine (MEA) and choline hydroxide, was prepared.

The role of chelating agent in the self-assembly of amphoteric surfactants.

Hypothesis: Limited research has been conducted on the influence of chelating agents on the self-assembly process in surfactant solutions. The traditional approach assumes the chelating agent only interferes as a salting-out ion, therefore promoting surfactant separation. However, the opposite behavior has been observed for iminodipropionate based surfactants, in which the presence of chelating agents of the aminopolycarboxylate type increases solubility of nonionic ethoxylated surfactants in mixed micellar systems.

Exploiting Mass Spectrometry to Unlock the Mechanism of Nanoparticle-Induced Inflammasome Activation.

Nanoparticles (NPs) elicit sterile inflammation, but the underlying signaling pathways are poorly understood. Here, we report that human monocytes are particularly vulnerable to amorphous silica NPs, as evidenced by single-cell-based analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells using cytometry by time-of-flight (CyToF), while silane modification of the NPs mitigated their toxicity. Using human THP-1 cells as a model, we observed cellular internalization of silica NPs by nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (nanoSIMS) and this was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy.

Liquid foams as sensors for the detection of biomarkers.

Bioassays are widely used in healthcare to detect and quantify biomarkers, such as molecules or enzymes, which are crucial in monitoring diseases and health conditions. In developed countries, healthcare professionals use specialized reagents and equipment's to perform these bioassays. However, in less-industrialized countries, the creation of low cost, fast, and technically simple bioassays is required.