Magnetic carbon composites as recycling electron shuttles on anaerobic biotransformations

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] The unique properties of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP), such as high surface area, magnetic, sorption and catalytic characteristics, make them very versatile for many applications in different areas including environmental remediation, as catalysts, adsorbents, immobilising agents for microorganisms and enzymes, and as supports for biofilm growth and water disinfectants. In order to improve their stability and to introduce additional surface properties and functionalities, MNP can be coated with carbon materials (CM) due to their chemical stability, biocompatibility and possibility of tailoring their textural and surface chemical properties for specific applications [1]. We have previously proved that various CM, including activated carbon, carbon xerogels and carbon nanotubes (CNT), can be used as redox mediators (RM) in anaerobic biotransformation, accelerating the electron transfer and, consequently, the reduction rates of organic compounds [1,2]. The combination of CM with MNP offers the possibility of creating magnetic carbon composites with synergistic properties: the adsorptive and catalytic properties of both and the magnetic character of MNP, improving the material performance and rendering it easier to be retained and recovered, by applying a magnetic field. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

CM@MNP composites for the biodegradation of organic compounds

The ability of different Carbon Materials (CM), including Activated Carbon, Xerogels and Nanotubes, to accelerate the chemical and biological reduction rates of dyes and aromatic amines, and their advantages in comparison with soluble electron shuttles, such not needing to be constantly dosed, due to being continuously regenerated in the process, was previously demonstrated [1-3]. Though, powder CM is tricky to retain inside continuous reactors due to their low density. The talent of Magnetic NanoParticles (MNP) as strong reducers also enables their use in the remediation. In this way, our investigation aims to combine both materials to create a CM@MNP composite with synergistic properties by integrating the high catalytic activity and magnetic character. Combining materials is advantageous to exploit new applications and minimize cost.FCT Strategic PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013Project “BioEnv - Biotechnology and Bioengineering for a sustainable world”, REF.NORTE-07-0124 FEDER-000048.” Co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2 – O NovoNorte), QREN, FEDER

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states