Immobilisation of bifidobacteria in biodegradable food-grade microparticles

The present research features a natural polymer that can be used for immobilisation of bifidobacteria as well as a method of immobilisation. We described a modified method of microencapsulation of probiotics using sodi- um alginate. The experiment studied the effect of encapsulation on probiotic stability and involved an in vitro model of human digestive tract. The test sample of microencapsulated Bifi obacterium bifi um 791 showed a decrease in the activity from 3.0×107 to 2.2×105 CFU/ml in a mouse model with pH 1.2. By contrast, the control sample, unprotected by biodegradable polymer microcapsules, demonstrated a higher death rate of bifidobacteria: from 2.6×108 CFU/ml to 5.0×103 CFU/ml. The control sample demonstrated the same downward trend in in vitro gastrointestinal models with pH values of 4.5, 6.8, 7.2, and 5.8. Because the total plate count fell down to 4.0l g CFU/ml in acidity gradients, the titres of the initial microencapsulated biomass had to be increased up to > 109 CFU/ml. According to the results of scanning electron microscopy, the new type of microcapsules obtained by using a resistant starch had a closed sur- face. Prebiotics increased the resistance of bacteria to low pH and bile salts. Bifidobacteria encapsulated with natural biodegradable polymers proved to be well-tolerated and harmless for mice. The experiment revealed that biodegrad- able polymer microcapsules did not cause any chronic or acute toxicity when administered orally at 2×107 CFU per 1 gram of animal mass. The microcapsules demonstrated neither dermonecrotic properties nor any irritant effect on the ocular mucosa and, thus, can be used for food enforcement

Piezo-, photo- and piezophotocatalytic activity of electrospun fibrous PVDF/CTAB membrane

A composite material based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) was synthesized by coaxial electrospinning. The morphology and structure of the material were studied by SEM, FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, XPS, and the piezo-photo- and piezo-photocatalytic activity during the decomposition of the organic dye Methylene blue (MB) was studied. It is shown that the addition of CTAB promotes additional polarization of the PVDF structure due to ion-dipole interaction. It has been shown for the first time that the addition of CTAB promotes the photosensitivity of the wide-gap dielectric polymer PVDF (the band gap is more than 6 eV). It was demonstrated that the photocatalytic decomposition efficiency was 91% in 60 minutes. The material exhibits piezocatalytic activity – 73% in 60 minutes. Experiments on trapping active oxidizing forms have established that OH hydroxyl radicals play the main role in the photocatalytic process

NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT FOR CONTROL OF DIABETES

Analysis of diabetic patients’ dietary habits indicate that there is an imbalance of selected vitamins and minerals. A nutrient supplement composition; intended for prophylactic administration, was developed to correct this imbalance. It was composed of dried eggs and yeast component (60%), vitamin В1 (0.02%) and nicotinamide (0.04%), chromium chelate (0.02%), “selen-active” (0.02%) and lecithin (39.9%). The dried eggs and yeast component was prepared by homogenization of lysozyme rich chicken eggs and yeast followed by storage and drying at a pre-defined temperature and to a set water content respectively. The nutritional supplement was incorporated at 5% concentration into a cooked sausage recipe. An assessment of the safety and efficacy of the prophylactic nutritional supplement was performed in an alloxan induced diabetic rat model. The developed composition, as a part of feedstuff, improved metabolic processes, increased antioxidant activity, reduced lipid peroxidation, decreased blood cholesterol, and improved the carbohydrate metabolism

Nutritional supplement for control of diabetes

The analysis of diabetic patients’ dietary habits indicate that there is an imbalance of selected vitamins and minerals. A nutrient supplement composition, intended for prophylactic administration, was developed to correct this imbalance. It was composed of dried eggs and a yeast component (60%), vitamin Â1 (0.02%) and nicotinamide (0.04%), chromium chelate (0.02%), “selen-active” (0.02%) and lecithin (39.9%). The dried eggs and yeast component were prepared by the homogenization of lysozyme rich chicken eggs and yeast followed by storage and drying at a pre-defined temperature and to a set water content respectively. The nutritional supplement was incorporated at 5% concentration into a sausage recipe which was subsequently cooked into animal feed. An assessment of the safety and efficacy of the prophylactic nutritional supplement was performed in an alloxan induced diabetic rat model. The developed composition, as a part of the animal feed, improved metabolic processes, increased antioxidant activity, reduced lipid peroxidation, decreased blood cholesterol, and improved carbohydrate metabolism in the experimental animals

Piezo-Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of the Electrospun Fibrous Magnetic PVDF/BiFeO₃ Membrane

Creating stimulus-sensitive smart catalysts capable of decomposing organic dyes with high efficiency is a critical task in ecology. Combining the advantages of photoactive piezoelectric nanomaterials and ferroelectric polymers can effectively solve this problem by collecting mechanical vibrations and light energy. Using the electrospinning method, we synthesized hybrid polymer-inorganic nanocomposite fiber membranes based on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) and bismuth ferrite (BFO). The samples were studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), total transmittance and diffuse reflectance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), and piezopotential measurements. It has been demonstrated that the addition of BFO leads to an increase in the proportion of the polar phase from 86.5% to 96.1% due to the surface ion–dipole interaction. It is shown that the composite exhibits anisotropy of magnetic properties depending on the orientation of the magnetic field. The results of piezo-photocatalytic experiments showed that under the combined action of ultrasonic treatment and irradiation with both visible and UV light, the reaction rate increased in comparison with photolysis, sonolysis, and piezocatalysis. Moreover, for PVDF/BFO, which does not exhibit photocatalytic activity, under the combined action of light and ultrasound, the reaction rate increases by about 3× under UV irradiation and by about 6× under visible light irradiation. This behavior is explained by the piezoelectric potential and the narrowing of the band gap of the composite due to mechanical stress caused by the ultrasound