Quantitative determination of the intracellular fate of internalized plasma membrane in dissociated pituitary prolactin cells utilizing a radioiodinated cationic ferritin probe (CFI*) and electron microscopic autoradiography

Dissociated anterior pituitary cells derived from estrogen-treated female rats were incubated with radioiodinated cationic ferritin (CFI) for 2 min and subsequently in the absence of CFI for varying periods of time up to 3 hr in order to quantitate, using electron microscopic autoradiography, the distribution of retrieved plasma membrane in these cells. Following a 2-min incubation with CFI, autoradiographic grains were found to be associated almost exclusively with the plasma membrane. With increasing periods of incubation in the absence of CFI, grain-density analysis revealed increasing levels of CFI in multiple intracellular organelles. The levels of CFI were greatest for the lysosomes, intermediate for the mature secretory granules, and least for the Golgi cisternae and immature secretory granules. These findings are consistent with the idea that a portion of the retrieved plasma membrane is degraded in lysosomes and that the remainder is recycled to organelles comprising the secretory pathway to be reutilized in successive waves of the secretory cycle.     

Potential of termite gut microbiota for biomethanation of lignocellulosic wastes: current status and future perspectives

Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology - Lignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable energy resource on earth that can be utilized for biofuel production. However, its...     

Biopulping of lignocellulosic material using different fungal species: a review

Biopulping can be an alternative to the traditional methods of pulping. Biopulping use fungi that are known to be able to degrade wood as well as lignin constituent of wood. Amongst these white rot fungi are the most proficient biodegrader. The fungus is non sporulating and is a selective lignin degrader. It colonizes either on living or dead wood and decomposes all wood polymers including lignin and extractives making it to be extremely potential to be used in biopulping. The process of biopulping reduces the utilization of chemical in pulping industry and help in decreasing the environmental hazard caused by normal pulping. The present review deals with diverse aspects of biopulping and their ecological as well as economic significances.     

Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles by using polyol chemistry for their antimicrobial and antibiofilm activity

The present investigation deals with facile polyol mediated synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanoparticles and their antimicrobial activities against pathogenic microorganisms. The synthesis process was carried out by refluxing zinc acetate precursor in diethylene glycol(DEG) and triethylene glycol(TEG) in the presence and in the absence of sodium acetate for 2 h and 3 h. All synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV visible spectroscopy (UV), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) technique. All nanoparticles showed different degree of antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (NCIM 2654)and Gram-negative Proteus vulgaris (NCIM 2613). The antibacterial and antibiofilm activity was inversely proportional to the size of the synthesized ZnO nanoparticles. Among all prepared particles, ZnO nanoparticles with least size (~ 15 nm) prepared by refluxing zinc acetate dihydrate in diethylene glycol for 3 h exhibited remarkable antibacterial and antibiofilm activity which may serve as potential alternatives in biomedical application.