Multicompartment calcium alginate microreactors to reduce substrate inhibition in enzyme cascade reactions.

The formation of macromolecularly enriched condensates through associative or segregative liquid-liquid phase separation phenomena is known to play a central role in controlling various cellular functions in nature. The potential to spatially and temporally modulate multistep chemical reactions and pathways has inspired the use of phase-separated systems for the development of various synthetic colloidal micro- and nanoreactor systems. Here, we report a rational and synthetically minimal design strategy to emulate intended spatiotemporal functions in morphologically intricate and structurally defined calcium alginate hydrogel microreactors possessing multicompartmentalized internal architectures.

CO-responsive Pickering emulsions stabilized by soft protein particles for interfacial biocatalysis.

Pickering emulsions are emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles and serve as an excellent platform for biphasic enzymatic catalysis. However, developing simple and green strategies to avoid enzyme denaturation, facilitate product separation, and achieve the recovery of enzyme and colloidal particle stabilizers is still a challenge. This study aimed to report an efficient and sustainable biocatalysis system a robust CO/N-responsive Pickering oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion stabilized solely by pure sodium caseinate (NaCas), which was made naturally in a scalable manner.

Growth of Au nanoparticles on phosphorylated zein protein particles for use as biomimetic catalysts for cascade reactions at the oil-water interface.

Chemo-enzymatic cascade processes are invaluable due to their ability to rapidly construct high-value products from available feedstock chemicals in a one-pot relay manner. However, they have proven to be challenging because of the mutual inactivation of both catalysts. A conceptually novel strategy based on Pickering interfacial catalysis (PIC) is proposed here to address this challenge.

Sodium caseinate as a particulate emulsifier for making indefinitely recycled pH-responsive emulsions.

pH-responsive emulsions are one of the simplest and most readily implementable stimuli-responsive systems. However, their practical uses have been greatly hindered by cyclability. Here, we report a robust pH-responsive emulsion prepared by utilizing pure sodium caseinate (NaCas) as the sole emulsifier.

Biocycle Fermentation Based on Lactic Acid Bacteria and Yeast for the Production of Natural Ethyl Lactate.

Ethyl lactate is widely used in food and pharmaceutical industries, but the complexity of the synthesis process, in particular, involving the addition of organic solvents, hinders its application. Here, we report a natural green strategy to produce ethyl lactate by exploiting the synergistic fermentation of lactic acid bacteria and ester-producing microbes using biomass as a substrate. Interestingly, it is worth noting that the conjugate fermentation has a higher ethyl lactate yield (3.

pH-Responsive Emulsions with β-Cyclodextrin/Vitamin E Assembled Shells for Controlled Delivery of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids.

Lipid-based delivery systems (LBDSs) are widely applied in pharmaceuticals and health care because of the increased bioavailability of lipophilic components when they are coadministered with high-fat meals. However, how to accurately control their in vivo release and stability is still challenging. Here, after introducing the simple esterification and coprecipitation, we created the dual-functional composite ODS-β-CD-VE by the coassembly of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD), octadecenyl succinic anhydride (ODSA), and vitamin E (VE).

Protein-Based Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsions as Nutraceutical Vehicles of and the Template for Advanced Materials: A Perspective Paper.

Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) are normally highly concentrated emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles with a minimum internal phase volume fraction of 0.74. They have received considerable attention in many fields, including pharmaceuticals, tissue engineering, foods, and personal care products.

Modulation of Cyclodextrin Particle Amphiphilic Properties to Stabilize Pickering Emulsion.

Cyclodextrins have been proven to form complexes with linear oil molecules and stabilize emulsions. Amphiphilic properties of cyclodextrin particles were modulated through esterification reaction between β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and octadecenyl succinic anhydride (ODSA) under alkaline conditions. ODS-β-CD particles with degree of substitution (DS) of 0.