Comparative study of peroxidase purification from apple and orange seeds

This paper reports the isolation and purification of peroxidase from low cost material; moreover, no significant work has been done on the isolation and purification of peroxidase from such cost effective sources (apple and orange seeds). Peroxidases had attracted considerable interest in recent years because of their activities towards a wide variety of chromogenic substances. Peroxidase activity in crude extract of apple and orange seeds was measured by recording a spectrophotometric value. Partial purification of crude enzyme extract was done by ammonium sulfate precipitation and ion exchange chromatography. It was observed that after partial purification, the enzyme activity was increased as compared to crude enzyme extract. Peroxidase from orange seed was purified up to 17.17 fold with specific activity of 10.17 U/mg and that from apple seed was 6.82 fold with specific activity of 7.53 U/mg after diethyl amino ethyl (DEAE) cellulose chromatography. It was shown that orange seed peroxidase had more activity than apple seed peroxidase in crude extract and each step of purification. Further purification was obtained through gel filtration chromatography by using sephadex-G-75 column. Peroxidase from orange and apple seeds got purified up to 30.64 and 8.34 fold with their specific activity of 18.16 and 9.20 U/mg, respectively. It is more evident that peroxidase is the most heat stable enzyme; therefore, it is concluded that it may be potentially useful for industrial purposes.Key words: Apple and orange seeds, extraction, peroxidase, purification

The shadow pandemic of single use personal protective equipment plastic waste: A blue print for suppression and eradication

Single use personal protective equipment (PPE) has played a major role in preventing COVID-19 infection. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, over 4 million tonnes of polypropylene PPE waste has been disposed into the environment in uncontrolled manner causing significant and long-term ecological damage. This work also highlights several effective measures to alleviate the problem of polypropylene PPE waste. Short-term measures include knowledge sharing to minimise the use of single use PPE and to adapt innovative polypropylene recycling technologies. To prepare for a future pandemic, it is also essential to phase out polypropylene PPE using natural based polymers

Carbon nanotubes assisted analytical detection – sensing/delivery cues for environmental and biomedical monitoring

The architecture of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) demonstrate phenomenal electronic, mechanical, biological and thermal attributes for highly requisite real-time applications. For instance, electronic and biological features of CNTs are surprisingly striking to engineer robust sensing and/or delivery cues for environmental, analytical diagnostics, and biomedical settings. With CNTs enforcement, several types of pristine and hybrid nanomaterials have been fabricated, though using different support carriers and synthetic or biological materials and used as sensory items or exploited as drug delivery systems (DDSs). Regardless of intensive research and applied potentialities of CNTs, several concerns, such as biodegradability, biotoxicity, and biosafety remains challenging and should be dealt with care prior to design and fabrication. This is mainly because of the lacking standardized protocols and ramification of pristine CNTs or CNTs-based hybrid nano-constructs on the ecosystem and human body are not well-established. For the futuristic use of these remarkable materials in the environmental, analytical diagnostics, and biomedical settings, their biological attributes and multifunctional characteristics must be elucidated with state-of-the-art. Herein, we reviewed CNTs-assisted analytical detection potentialities at large, and sensing/delivery potentialities of CNTs-based cues, in particular for environmental and biomedical monitoring. Several examples are given with particular emphasis to biosensors, DDSs, and implantations of CNTs-based cues to recognize viruses, cancerous cells, glucose, DNA, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and various inorganic gases. The review is wrapped-up with concluding notes and brief outlook over the futuristic developments to further insight the CNTs-based robust cues and their perspectives for commercialization

Aligned nanofibres made of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) grafted to hyaluronan for potential healthcare applications

In this work, a hybrid copolymer consisting of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) grafted to hyaluronic acid (HA) was synthesised and characterised. Once formed, the P(3HB)-g-HA copolymer was soluble in water allowing a green electrospinning process. The diameters of nanofibres can be tailored by simply varying the Mw of polymer. The optimization of the process allowed to produce fibres of average diameter in the range of 100-150 nm and low polydispersity. The hydrophobic modification has not only increased the fibre diameter, but also the obtained layers were homogenous. At the nanoscale, the hybrid copolymer exhibited an unusual hairy topography. Moreover, the hardness and tensile properties of the hybrid were found to be superior compared to fibres made of unmodified HA. Particularly, this reinforcement was achieved at the longitudinal direction. Additionally, this work reports the use in the composition of a water-soluble copolymer containing photo cross-linkable moieties to produce insoluble materials post-electrospinning. The derivatives as well as their nanofibrous mats retain the biocompatibility of the natural polymers used for the fabrication

Tailored functional materials as robust candidates to mitigate pesticides in aqueous matrices—a review

Pesticides are among the top-priority contaminants, which significantly contribute to environmental deterioration. Conventional techniques are not efficient enough to remove pollutants from environmental matrices. The development of functional materials has emerged as promising candidates to remove and degrade pesticides and related hazardous compounds. Furthermore, the nanohybrid materials with unique structural and functional characteristics, such as better material anchorage, mass transfer, electron-hole separation, and charged interaction make them a versatile option to treat and reduce pollutants from aqueous matrices. Herein, we present the current progress in the development of functional materials for the abatement of toxic pesticides. The physicochemical characteristics and pesticide-removal functionalities of various metallic functional materials (e.g., zirconium, zinc, titanium, tungsten, and iron), polymer, and carbon-based materials are critically discussed with suitable examples. Finally, the industrial-scale applications of the functional materials, concluding remarks, and future directions in this important arena are given

Esterases as emerging biocatalysts: mechanistic insights, genomic and metagenomic, immobilization, and biotechnological applications

Esterase enzymes are a family of hydrolases that catalyze the breakdown and formation of ester bonds. Esterases have gained a prominent position in today's world's industrial enzymes market. Due to their unique biocatalytic attributes, esterases contribute to environmentally sustainable design approaches, including biomass degradation, food and feed industry, dairy, clothing, agrochemical (herbicides, insecticides), bioremediation, biosensor development, anticancer, antitumor, gene therapy, and diagnostic purposes. Esterases can be isolated by a diverse range of mammalian tissues, animals, and microorganisms. The isolation of extremophilic esterases increases the interest of researchers in the extraction and utilization of these enzymes at the industrial level. Genomic, metagenomic, and immobilization techniques have opened innovative ways to extract esterases and utilize them for a longer time to take advantage of their beneficial activities. The current study discusses the types of esterases, metagenomic studies for exploring new esterases, and their biomedical applications in different industrial sectors

Genetic modifications associated with sustainability aspects for sustainable developments

10.1080/21655979.2022.2061146Bioengineered1349508-952