A new way of valorizing biomaterials: the use of sunflower protein for 1 a-tocopherol microencapsulation

Biopolymer based microparticles were efficiently prepared from sunflower protein (SP) wall material and a-tocopherol (T) active core using a spray-drying technique. Protein enzymatic hydrolysis and/or N-acylation were carried out to make some structural modifications to the vegetable protein. Native and hydrolyzed SP were characterized by Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation (AsFlFFF). Results of AsFlFFF confirmed that size of proteinic macromolecules was influenced by degree of hydrolysis. The effect of protein modifications and the influence of wall/core ratio on both emulsions and microparticle properties were evaluated. Concerning emulsion properties, enzymatic hydrolysis involved a decrease in viscosity, whereas acylation did not significantly affect emulsion droplet size and viscosity. Microparticles obtained with hydrolyzed SP wall material showed lower retention efficiency (RE) than native SP microparticles (62-80% and 93% respectively). Conversely, acylation of both hydrolyzed SP and native SP allowed a higher RE to be reached (up to 100%). Increasing T concentration increased emulsion viscosity, emulsion droplet size, microparticle size, and enhanced RE. These results demonstrated the feasibility of high loaded (up to 79.2% T) microparticles

Fiber channel FCS/ATM interworking: design and performance study

The Fibre Channel provides a common efficient transport vehicle for existing channel protocols like Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), and High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI), while offering the characteristics of a new framing type protocol. The main focus driving the design was to find a solution to obtain high throughput using hardware processing and careful protocol relaying architecture between the FCS and ATM. A performance study, considering the protocol relaying architecture and the FCS flow control was performed; the results show that throughput rates approaching line bit rates can be achieved

Fiber channel workstations interconnections through ATM local network

The Fibre Channel Standard (FCS) is an emerging standard for providing a common efficient transport vehicle for existing channel protocols like the Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI), Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) and High Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI). This paper deals with the interconnection issue of FCS-based workstations through an ATM switch. In particular, the design of a high throughput FCS/ATM InterWorking Unit (IWU) is presented. A specialized segmenting and reassembly protocol, named FAP, has been defined to guarantee the transparency of the end-to-end FCS protocols. The hardware and software characteristics of the IWU are described and its performance evaluated by a simulation study. Performance evaluation has focused on FCS flow control functions with the twofold aim to determine the impact of IWU on the protocol parameters (e.g. timeouts, window size, etc.) and to assume reliable data for a suitable dimensioning criteria for IWU elements (e.g. segmenting and reassembly buffers). Results obtained show that throughput values approaching the available ATM link bandwidth can be achieved depending on the discipline utilized to manage the IWU buffers

Quantifying Pb and Cd complexation by alginates and the role of metal binding on macromolecular aggregation

The Pb and Cd binding capacity of alginates were quantified by the determination of their complex stability constants and the concentration of complexing sites using H+, Pb2+, or Cd2+ selective electrodes in both static and dynamic titrations. Centrifugation filter devices (30 kDa filter cutoff), followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements of lead or cadmium in the filtrates, were used to validate the results. The influence of ionic strength, pH, and the metal-to-alginate ratio was determined for a wide range of metal concentrations. Because of their polyelectrolytic properties, alginates may adopt different conformations depending on the physicochemistry of the medium, including the presence of metals. Therefore, molecular diffusion coefficients of the alginate were determined by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy under the same conditions of pH, ionic strength, and metal-to-alginate ratios that were used for the metal binding studies. The complexation and conformational properties of the alginate were related within the framework of the nonideal competitive adsorption isotherm (NICA) combined with a Donnan approach to account for both intrinsic and electrostatic contributions

Nicotine Fast Dissolving Films Made of Maltodextrins: A Feasibility Study

This work aimed to develop a fast-dissolving film made of low dextrose equivalent maltodextrins (MDX) containing nicotine hydrogen tartrate salt (NHT). Particular attention was given to the selection of the suitable taste-masking agent (TMA) and the characterisation of the ductility and flexibility under different mechanical stresses. MDX with two different dextrose equivalents (DEs), namely DE 6 and DE 12, were selected in order to evaluate the effect of polymer molecular weight on film tensile properties. The bitterness and astringency intensity of NHT and the suppression effect of several TMA were evaluated by a Taste-Sensing System. The films were characterised in term of NHT content, tensile properties, disintegration time and drug dissolution test. As expected, placebo films made of MDX DE 6 appeared stiffer and less ductile than film prepared using MDX DE 12. The films disintegrated within 10 s. Among the tested TMA, the milk and mint flavours resulted particularly suitable to mask the taste of NHT. The addition of NHT and taste-masking agents affected film tensile properties; however, the effect of the addition of these components can be counterweighted by modulating the glycerine content and/or the MDX molecular weight. The feasibility of NHT loaded fast-dissolving films was demonstrated