Effect of surfactant and particle size reduction on hydrolysis of deinking sludge and nonrecyclable newsprint

Disposal of sludge from deinking mills represents a significant proportion of operating costs. Bioconversion of the cellulosic fraction of deinking sludge (DIS) to ethanol greatly reduces disposal costs while producing an environmentally friendly fuel. In this study, the cellulosic fraction of newsprint and deinking sludge was hydrolysed to produce fermentable sugars. For newsprint, a particle size of 1 to 1.5 mm provided optimal reaction rates in batch reactors over practical hydrolysis times, and reducing sugar concentrations as high as 35 g/L could be achieved using a fed-batch reactor configuration. For both newsprint and DIS, the hydrolysis rate increased nonlinearly with enzyme loading. Tween-80 only marginally improved sugar production but was able to release sugars from cellulosic substrates in the absence of lytic enzymes, in an amount proportional to the surfactant concentration and the substrate particle size. DIS was relatively recalcitrant to enzymatic hydrolysis, possibly due in part to inhibition by hydrophobic constituents. (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Chromosaponin I stimulates the growth of lettuce roots

A γ-pyronyl triterpenoid saponin termed chromosaponin 1 (CSI), a conjugate of soyasaponin I and γ-pyrone, was found at 3 mM to stimulate the growth of lettuce root ( Lactuca sativa L. ev. Grand Rapids) to about 190% of the control. Since CSI is an amphipathic reductant, the stimulating effect of this saponin was compared with other reductants and other surface-active compounds. Trolox (2-carboxy-2.5.7.8-tetraamethyl-6-chromanol). another amphipathic reductant, also stimulated root growth, while other hydrophilic reductants including ascorbate. NADPH, NADH and glutathione did not. Some surfactants promoted root growth but their stimulating effects were smaller than the optimum effect of CSI. These results suggest a possible Function of CSI as an amphipathic reductant in root growth regulation.     

A digitized fluorescence imaging study of intracellular Ca2+, pH,and mitochondrial function in primary cultures of rabbit corneal epithelial cells exposed to sodium dodecyl sulfate

Summary Primary cultures of rabbit corneal epithelial cells have been developed as an in vitro system to predict irritancy potential and delayed cytotoxicity of surfactants in our laboratory. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a common ingredient in consumer products, on intracellular Ca²⁺, pH, and mitochondrial function in this culture system. Ca²⁺ and pH were measured in single living corneal epithelial cells by ratio imaging of fura-2 and 2,′7′-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein fluorescence, respectively. Mitochondrial function was examined by probing mitochondrial membrane potential with the fluorescent dye rhodamine 123 and by measuring the ratio of ATP to ADP with an HPLC method. Cell viability was determined by fluorescence imaging of propidium iodide in single cells and LDH leakage assay in populations of cells. SDS (40 μg/ml) increased intracellular Ca²⁺ from 180±28nM to 453±86 nM within 2 min, and induced intracellular acidification (pHi dropped 0.3 units in 15 min). Treatment of the cultures with SDS also resulted in dissipation of the mitochondrial membrane potential and decrease of intracellular ATP/ADP. SDS-induced Ca²⁺ elevation and intracellular acidification preceded the loss of cell viability observed 20 min after exposure. However, SDS-induced cell injury does not appear to be triggered by extracellular Ca²⁺-influx, as absence of extracellular Ca²⁺ did not attenuate SDS-induced cytotoxicity while it completely blocked ionomycin-induced cytotoxicity. In summary, we observed a series of intracellular events that occurred temporally after exposure to the surfactant: elevation of intracellular Ca²⁺ and intracellular acidification, dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential, decrease of ATP/ADP ratio, and subsequent cell injury.     

Enhanced chemiluminescence of lucigenin with epinephrine in cationic surfactant micelles containing periodate

Epinephrine (EP) species involved in the lucigenin chemiluminescence (CL) were identified in alkaline solution by comparing the time course of the CL response and the formation of EP oxidation products. EP quinone and adrenolutine (AL) were found to be responsible for the lucigenin-CL reaction. The mechanism of the lucigenin-CL enhancement was investigated using cationic micellar hexadecyltrimethylammonium hydroxide (CTAOH), periodate, and a mixture of micellar CTAOH and periodate. The CL enhancement in the presence of micellar CTAOH and periodate could be explained in terms of increases in the oxidation rate of EP to EP quinone and the intramolecular oxidation rate of adrenochrome to AL.     

Surfactant-mediated gene transfer for animal cells

A commercially available cationic surfactant, dimethyl-dioctadecyl ammonium bromide (DDAB), was used for making lipid vesicles. DDAB easily dissolved in water at 60 °C and formed lipid vesicles at room temperature. The lipid vesicles showed very low cytotoxicity compared with other cationic surfactants. After the lipid vesicles were mixed with plasmid DNA solution, the solution was added to mammalian cells. The addition of a nonionic surfactant (Tween 80) to the cationic lipid vesicles at the weight ratio of 1:1 enhanced transfection efficiency. Adding more or less than the optimal amounts of DNA and lipid vesicles resulted in decreased transfection efficiency. With the optimal amounts of DNA (pCMVβ) and lipid vesicles, about 90–95% of CHO-K1 and BHK-21C13 cells transiently expressed β-galactosidase activity 24 h after transfection. By this procedure, stable transformants around 10⁵ cells corresponding to 10% efficiency could be obtained by one batch transfection. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

α-Helical coiled-coil oligomerization domains in extracellular proteins

Subunit oligomerization of many proteins is mediated by α-helical coiled-coil domains. 3,4-Hydrophobic heptad repeat sequences, the characteristic feature of the coiled-coil protein folding motif, have been found in a wide variety of gene products including cytoskeletal, nuclear, muscle, cell surface, extracellular, plasma, bacterial, and viral proteins. Whereas the majority of coiled-coil structures is represented by intracellular α-helical bundles that contain two polypeptide chains, examples of extracellular coiled-coil proteins are fewer in number. Most proteins located in the extracellular space form three-stranded α-helical assemblies. Recently, five-stranded coiled coils have been identified in thrombospondins 3 and 4 in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, and the formation of a heterotetramer has been observed in in vitro studies with the recombinant asialoglycoprotein receptor oligomerization domain. Coiled-coil domains in laminins and probably also in tenascins and thrombospondins are responsible for the formation of tissue-specific isoforms by selective oligomerization of different polypeptide chains.     

Synthesis and Reaction Chemistry of Nanosize Monosodium Titanate

This paper describes the synthesis and peroxide-modification of nanosize monosodium titanate (nMST), along with an ion-exchange reaction to load the material with Au(III) ions. The synthesis method was derived from a sol-gel process used to produce micron-sized monosodium titanate (MST), with several key modifications, including altering reagent concentrations, omitting a particle seed step, and introducing a non-ionic surfactant to facilitate control of particle formation and growth. The resultant nMST material exhibits spherical-shaped particle morphology with a monodisperse distribution of particle diameters in the range from 100 to 150 nm. The nMST material was found to have a Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of 285 m²g^-1, which is more than an order of magnitude higher than the micron-sized MST. The isoelectric point of the nMST measured 3.34 pH units, which is a pH unit lower than that measured for the micron-size MST. The nMST material was found to serve as an effective ion exchanger under weakly acidic conditions for the preparation of an Au(III)-exchange nanotitanate. In addition, the formation of the corresponding peroxotitanate was demonstrated by reaction of the nMST with hydrogen peroxide.     

Effect of ethyleneoxide groups of anionic surfactants on lipase activity

The use of enzymes in laundry and dish detergent products is growing. Such tendency implies dedicated studies to understand surfactant‐enzyme interactions. The interactions between surfactants and enzymes and their impact on the catalytic efficiency represent a central problem and were here evaluated using circular dichroism, dynamic light scattering, and enzyme activity determinations. This work focuses on this key issue by evaluating the role of the ethyleneoxide (EO) groups of anionic surfactants on the structure and activity of a commercial lipase, and by focusing on the protein/surfactant interactions at a molecular level. The conformational changes and enzymatic activity of the protein were evaluated in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS also denoted as SLE₀S) and of sodium lauryl ether sulfate with two EO units (SLE₂S). The results strongly suggest that the presence of EO units in the surfactant polar headgroup determines the stability and the activity of the enzyme. While SDS promotes enzyme denaturation and consequent loss of activity, SLE₂S preserves the enzyme structure and activity. The data further highlights that the electrostatic interactions among the protein groups are changed by the presence of the adsorbed anionic surfactants being such absorption mainly driven by hydrophobic interactions. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1276–1282, 2016     

大鼠神经源性肺水肿时交感神经放电活动、血浆儿茶酚胺含量及肺表面活性物质的改变

红藻氨酸(kainic acid,KA)注入大鼠双侧下丘脑外侧视前区(POA)复制神经源性肺水肿(NPE),观察左侧交感神经肾上腺支放电活动,测定血浆儿茶酚胺含量及肺泡灌洗液中肺表面活性物质(pulmonary surfactant,PS)物理特性变化。大鼠 POA 注入 KA 后交感神经放电频率迅速增加,(?)O和60min 时分别增加22.8±7.2%和32.2±8.0%。血浆儿茶酚胺含量增高,在30和60min 时最明显。PS 物理特性也有变化,最大表面张力降低,最小表面张力升高,回弹系数及稳定系数均下降,迟滞环面积缩小。实验结果表明:早期即有 PS 活性变化,交感神经神经放电活动和血浆儿茶酚胺含量变化在时间上相平行。这种神经源性肺水肿的发生可能与下丘脑水平自主神经功能紊乱、交感神经发放增加、血浆儿茶酚胺增多有关,PS 表面活性下降也有一定作用。     

Transport of an anionic substrate by the H+/monosaccharide symport inRhodotorula gracilis: Only the protonated form of the carrier is catalytically active

Summary The yeastRhodotorula gracilis accumulated glucuronate by an H⁺/symport. The transport was electroneutral, driven by the chemical gradient of protons pH. The observed stoichiometry amounted to 1 proton per molecule glucuronate. At pH 4, the half-saturation constantK _T was at its lowest value (K _T =8mm), whereas the maximal velocityV _T reached a maximum (V _T =15 nmol/min×mg dry wt). Monosaccharides competitively inhibited the uptake of glucuronate and vice versa. Hence, the two substrates share the same transport system. The steady-state accumulation of glucuronate reflected the course of the pH gradient. It is concluded that glucuronate is transported as an anionic substrate by the protonated carrier, the driving force being the chemical gradient of the H⁺ (pH). The ternary carrier/H⁺/glc-COOO-complex is electroneutral and independent of the membrane potential. Simultaneous uptake of organic acids (acetic or propionic acid) which is also energized by the pH gradient led to a noncompetitive inhibition of glucuronate transport. Thus, manipulation of the driving force, pH, reducedV _T without affectingK _T . Kinetic and energetic arguments are presented which stronly suggest that only the protonated carrier is catalytically active inR. gracilis.