From Spent Black and Green Tea to Potential Health Boosters: Optimization of Polyphenol Extraction and Assessment of Their Antioxidant and Antibacterial Activities.

Tea, one of the most popular beverages worldwide, generates a substantial amount of spent leaves, often directly discarded although they may still contain valuable compounds. This study aims to optimize the extraction of polyphenols from spent black tea (SBT) and spent green tea (SGT) leaves while also exploring their antioxidant and antibacterial properties. Response surface methodology was utilized to determine the optimal experimental conditions for extracting polyphenols from SBT and SGT.

Preparation of chitosan/lignin nanoparticles-based nanocomposite films with high-performance and improved physicochemical properties for food packaging applications.

Chitosan (CH)-based composite films have attracted increasing attention as promising green food packaging materials due to their biodegradability and ease of fabrication. Additionally, lignin (LN) has been widely used as additive for chitosan-based films to improve their physicochemical properties. In this study, a series of composite films made of chitosan nanoparticles (NCH) as a matrix and alkali lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) as functional filler were prepared.

Optimized Extraction of Polyphenols from Kiwifruit Peels and Their Biological Activities.

(1) Background: Kiwifruit is a globally valued fruit. Its industrial processing produces a substantial amount of waste, particularly peels, which present an appealing potential source of bioactive compounds. This study focuses on optimizing the extraction of phenolics from kiwi peels using a water bath (WB) and infrared irradiation (IR) and assessing their biological activities.

Optimization of Bioactive Compound Extraction from Iranian Brown Macroalgae with Ultrasound and Microwave Methods Using Fuzzy Logic.

In this study, three extraction methods of bioactive compounds from the brown algae were ranked using the fuzzy weighting system in two stages, ranking between different conditions and choosing the optimal conditions for each extraction method separately. The inputs included extraction yield (EY), antioxidant activity (DPPH), total flavonoid content (TFC), total phenolic content (TPC), total phlorotannin content (TPhC), time, temperature, power, and cost. The top ranks of the first phase output included: Maceration Extraction (ME) with a score of 52.

Comparison of hydroxyapatite and honeycomb micro-structure in bone tissue engineering using electrospun beads-on-string fibers.

Thick honeycomb-like electrospun scaffold with nanoparticles of hydroxyapatite (nHA) recently demonstrated its potential to promote proliferation and differentiation of a murine embryonic cell line (C3H10T1/2) to osteoblasts. In order to distinguish the respective effects of the structure and the composition on cell differentiation, beads-on-string fibers were used to manufacture thick honeycomb-like scaffolds without nHA. Mechanical and biological impacts of those beads-on string fibers were evaluated.

Integrated Biorefinery for a Next-Generation Methanization Process Focusing on Volatile Fatty Acid Valorization: A Critical Review.

This review addresses the critical issue of a rapidly increasing worldwide waste stream and the need for sustainable management. The paper proposes an integrated transformation toward a next-generation methanization process, which leads not only to treating waste but also to converting it into higher value compounds and greener energy. Although the current and commonly used anaerobic digestion process is useful for biogas production, it presents limitations of resource exploitation and some negative environmental impacts.

Sugar-Based Surfactants: Effects of Structural Features on the Physicochemical Properties of Sugar Esters and Their Comparison to Commercial Octyl Glycosides.

Two series of sugar esters with alkyl chain lengths varying from 5 to 12 carbon atoms, and with a head group consisting of glucose or galactose moieties, were synthesized. Equilibrium surface tension isotherms were measured, yielding critical micellar concentration (CMC) surface tensions at CMC (γcmc) and minimum areas at the air-water interface (Amin). In addition, Krafft temperatures (Tks) were measured to characterize the ability of molecules to dissolve in water, which is essential in numerous applications.

A Novel Method to Enhance the Mechanical Properties of Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Mats: An Experimental and Numerical Investigation.

This study addresses the challenge of enhancing the transverse mechanical properties of oriented polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, which are known for their excellent longitudinal tensile strength, without significantly compromising their inherent porosity, which is essential for effective filtration. This study explores the effects of doping PAN nanofiber composites with varying concentrations of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (0.5%, 1%, and 2%), introduced into the PAN matrix via a dip-coating method.

Transcriptomic profiling analysis of the effect of palmitic acid on 3D spheroids of β-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is posing a serious public health concern with a considerable impact on human life and health expenditures worldwide. The disease develops when insulin plasma level is insufficient for coping insulin resistance, caused by the decline of pancreatic β-cell function and mass. In β-cells, the lipotoxicity exerted by saturated free fatty acids in particular palmitate (PA), which is chronically elevated in T2D, plays a major role in β-cell dysfunction and mass.

A Finite Element Method for Determining the Mechanical Properties of Electrospun Nanofibrous Mats.

This study focuses on the mechanical properties of electrospun nanofibrous mats, highlighting the importance of the characteristics of single nanofibers in determining the overall mechanical behavior of the mats. Recognizing the significant impacts of the diameter and structural properties of the nanofibers, this research introduces a novel methodology for deriving the effects of the mechanical properties of single nanofibers on the aggregate mechanical performance of electrospun oriented nanofiber mats. For this purpose, a finite element method (FEM) model is developed to simulate the elastoplastic response of the mats, incorporating the influence of structural parameters on mechanical properties.

Comparative Study of Single-stranded Oligonucleotides Secondary Structure Prediction Tools.

Background: Single-stranded nucleic acids (ssNAs) have important biological roles and a high biotechnological potential linked to their ability to bind to numerous molecular targets. This depends on the different spatial conformations they can assume. The first level of ssNAs spatial organisation corresponds to their base pairs pattern, i.

Species-specific arsenic species and health risk assessment in seaweeds from tropic coasts of South China Sea.

Arsenic (As) is a notorious toxic contamination in marine environments, while the toxicity and health risk of As is highly dependent on As species in seafoods. In this study, we hypothesized that the species-specific As bioaccumulation and species resulted in species-specific healthy risk of As in seaweeds. To test the hypothesis, we collected 10 common edible seaweeds from the coast of Hainan Island in South China Sea.

Correction: Generation of β-like cell subtypes from differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells in 3D spheroids.

Correction for 'Generation of β-like cell subtypes from differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells in 3D spheroids' by Lisa Morisseau , , 2023, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3mo00050h.

Generation of β-like cell subtypes from differentiated human induced pluripotent stem cells in 3D spheroids.

Since the identification of four different pancreatic β-cell subtypes and bi-hormomal cells playing a role in the diabetes pathogenesis, the search for models that mimics such cells heterogeneity became a key priority in experimental and clinical diabetology. We investigated the potential of human induced pluripotent stem cells to lead to the development of the different β-cells subtypes in honeycomb microwell-based 3D spheroids. The glucose-stimulated insulin secretion confirmed the spheroids functionality.

Development of a lung-liver in vitro coculture model for inhalation-like toxicity assessment.

Animal models are considered prime study models for inhalation-like toxicity assessment. However, in light of animal experimentation reduction (3Rs), we developed and investigated an alternative in vitro method to study systemic-like responses to inhalation-like exposures. A coculture platform was established to emulate inter-organ crosstalks between a pulmonary barrier, which constitutes the route of entry of inhaled compounds, and the liver, which plays a major role in xenobiotic metabolism.

Optimization of the Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Caffeoylquinic Acids from Forced Chicory Roots and Antioxidant Activity of the Resulting Extracts.

Forced chicory roots (FCR) are the main but also the least valued by-products of Belgian endive culture. However, they contain molecules of interest for industry such as caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs). This study aims to investigate accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) as a green technique to recover chlorogenic acid (5-CQA) and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-diCQA), the main CQAs.

Purification of Natural Pigments Violacein and Deoxyviolacein Produced by Fermentation Using .

Violacein and deoxyviolacein are bis-indole pigments synthesized by a number of microorganisms. The present study describes the biosynthesis of a mixture of violacein and deoxyviolacein using a genetically modified strain as a production chassis, the subsequent extraction of the intracellular pigments, and ultimately their purification using column chromatography. The results show that the optimal separation between the pigments occurs using an ethyl acetate/cyclohexane mixture with different ratios, first 65:35 until both pigments were clearly visible and distinguishable, then 40:60 to create a noticeable separation between them and recover the deoxyviolacein, and finally 80:20, which allows the recovery of the violacein.

A continuous flow mode with a scalable tubular reactor for the green preparation of stable alkali lignin nanoparticles assisted by ultrasound.

Lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) have become a hot topic recently because of their improved physicochemical properties and the excellent integration into various industrial sectors compared to lignin. However, the green large-scale production of stable LNPs severely restricts the high-value applications of LNPs. In this work, a simple and potentially scalable continuous-flow mode setup with a tubular flow reactor was designed for the green preparation of stable alkali LNPs assisted by ultrasound.

Investigation of the metabolomic crosstalk between liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and hepatocytes exposed to paracetamol using organ-on-chip technology.

Organ-on-chip technology is a promising in vitro approach recapitulating human physiology for the study of responses to drug exposure. Organ-on-chip cell cultures have paved new grounds for testing and understanding metabolic dose-responses when evaluating pharmaceutical and environmental toxicity. Here, we present a metabolomic investigation of a coculture of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs, SK-HEP-1) with hepatocytes (HepG2/C3a) using advanced organ-on-chip technology.

Peanut Allergenicity: An Insight into Its Mitigation Using Thermomechanical Processing.

Peanuts are the seeds of a legume crop grown for nuts and oil production. Peanut allergy has gained significant attention as a public health issue due to its increasing prevalence, high rate of sensitization, severity of the corresponding allergic symptoms, cross-reactivity with other food allergens, and lifelong persistence. Given the importance of peanuts in several sectors, and taking into consideration the criticality of their high allergic potential, strategies aiming at mitigating their allergenicity are urgently needed.

Investigation of the Exometabolomic Profiles of Rat Islets of Langerhans Cultured in Microfluidic Biochip.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a complex disease with high prevalence of comorbidity and mortality. DM is predicted to reach more than 700 million people by 2045. In recent years, several advanced in vitro models and analytical tools were developed to investigate the pancreatic tissue response to pathological situations and identify therapeutic solutions.

Complexation of soybean protein isolate with β-glucan and myricetin: Different affinity on 7S and 11S globulin by QCM-D and molecular simulation analysis.

The complexation of soybean protein isolate (SPI) with β-glucan (DG) and myricetin (MC) was focused in this study. UV-Vis, circular dichroism and 3D fluorescence analysis jointly proved that interaction with DG and MC altered the structures of SPI, whose β-sheet decreased to 29 % and random coil increased to 35 %, respectively. Moreover, the microenvironment of tryptophan and tyrosine from protein were changed.

Development of Liver-on-Chip Integrating a Hydroscaffold Mimicking the Liver's Extracellular Matrix.

The 3Rs guidelines recommend replacing animal testing with alternative models. One of the solutions proposed is organ-on-chip technology in which liver-on-chip is one of the most promising alternatives for drug screening and toxicological assays. The main challenge is to achieve the relevant in vivo-like functionalities of the liver tissue in an optimized cellular microenvironment.

Insights on the physico-chemical properties of alkali lignins from different agro-industrial residues and their use in phenol-formaldehyde wood adhesive formulation.

The current study investigates for the first time the physico-chemical performances of lignins from cactus waste seeds (CWS) and spent coffee (SC) in comparison to previously isolated lignins from sugar byproducts (bagasse (SCB) and beet pulp (SBP)). In this work, lignin-phenol formaldehyde (LPF) resins were formulated using various lignin loadings (5-30 wt%), characterized and applied in the manufacturing of plywood panels. Several characterization techniques were applied to identify the chemical and morphological properties, thermal stability, and phenolic content of the extracted lignins, as well as the bonding strength and wood failure of the formulated resins.