Screening of ionic liquids for PUFA extraction from microalgal biomass using COSMO-RS

Omega-3 Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have many health benefits including reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune, inflammatory disorders, cystic fibrosis, disrupted neurological function, bowel disease and mental illness. The EPA and DHA from microalgae are favorable due to algal is farmed in a controlled environment that avoids harmful contamination such as methyl mercury, copper from the sea. Moreover, microalgae oil do not have the problem to deficiency of vitamin E unlike fish oil. It has also the advantage of presenting neither an unpleasant odour nor a high amount of cholesterol, and contains squalene and phytosterols, which offer additional benefits to human health. However, the existing conventional methods of lipid extraction like soxhlet consume large amount of solvent and consider as high toxic and energy intensive methods. Ionic liquids (ILs) is one of the new classes of solvent that has potential in extracting the microalgae PUFA. It provides low vapor pressure, high thermal stability, non-toxicity and dissolve polar, non polar organic, inorganic and polymeric components. However, very limited research has been conducted on extracting microalgae PUFA using ILs. Therefore, this study aims to screen the potential ILs that can be used in the microalgae extraction process. The screening work was carried out using Continuum Solvation Models for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS). In this research use cosmo-rs to investigate the effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic anions base ILs and also effect of the increase alkyl chain length from C2 to C8 on the EPA and DHA extraction. Cosmo-rs done this simulation by the calculation of activity coefficient (γ). It was found that the lowest activity coefficient has the best interaction between the solute and solvent. According to the results lowest activity coefficient for EPA and DHA extraction belong to [Cl] as anion for the imidazolium, pyridinium and pyrrolidinium with different alkyl chains. The effectiveness of those combinations will be further tested in the microalgae extraction

UNSUPERVISED DYNAMIC TOPIC MODEL FOR EXTRACTING ADVERSE DRUG REACTION FROM HEALTH FORUMS

The relationship between drug and its side effects has been outlined in two websites: Sider and WebMD. The aim of this study was to find the association between drug and its side effects. We compared the reports of typical users of a web site called: "Ask a patient" website with reported drug side effects in reference sites such as Sider and WebMD. In addition, the typical users' comments on highly-commented drugs (Neurotic drugs, Anti-Pregnancy drugs and Gastrointestinal drugs) were analyzed, using deep learning method. To this end, typical users' comments on drugs' side effects, during last decades, were collected from the website “Ask a patient”. Then, the data on drugs were classified based on deep learning model (HAN) and the drugs' side effect. And the main topics of side effects for each group of drugs were identified and reported, through Sider and WebMD websites. Our model demonstrates its ability to accurately describe and label side effects in a temporal text corpus by a deep learning classifier which is shown to be an effective method to precisely discover the association between drugs and their side effects. Moreover, this model has the capability to immediately locate information in reference sites to recognize the side effect of new drugs, applicable for drug companies. This study suggests that the sensitivity of internet users and the diverse scientific findings are for the benefit of dis¬tinct detection of adverse effects of drugs, and deep learning would facilitate it

Nanoemulsions: factory for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics

Nanotechnology, particularly nanoemulsions (NEs), have gained increasing interest from researchers throughout the years. The small-sized droplet with a high surface area makes NEs important in many industries. In this review article, the components, properties, formation, and applications are summarized. The advantages and disadvantages are also described in this article. The formation of the nanosized emulsion can be divided into two types: high and low energy methods. In high energy methods, high-pressure homogenization, microfluidization, and ultrasonic emulsification are described thoroughly. Spontaneous emulsification, phase inversion temperature (PIT), phase inversion composition (PIC), and the less known D-phase emulsification (DPE) methods are emphasized in low energy methods. The applications of NEs are described in three main areas which are food, cosmetics, and drug deliver

Association between the empirical dietary inflammatory index and musculoskeletal pain in community-dwelling older adults: a cross-sectional study

Objectives Inflammation has been proposed to be one of the main causes of musculoskeletal pain. Diet is a lifestyle factor that plays an important role in managing inflammation; thus, we assessed the inflammatory potential of diets using the empirical dietary inflammatory index (EDII) to investigate the relationship between diet and musculoskeletal pain. Methods This cross-sectional study included 212 elderly individuals who were selected from health centers in Tehran, Iran. Dietary intake was evaluated using a valid and reliable 147-item food frequency questionnaire. To measure the intensity of pain, a visual analogue scale was used. Multiple linear regression was applied to assess the association between the EDII and musculoskeletal pain. Results In total, 62.7% and 37.3% of participants had mild and severe pain, respectively. The EDII values were 0.97±0.72 and 1.10±0.66, respectively, in those with mild and severe pain. A higher EDII score was associated with more intense musculoskeletal pain after adjusting for age and sex (β=0.20; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.06–0.26; p<0.001), but not after adjustment for other confounders (β=–0.13; 95% CI, –1.54 to 0.60; p=0.39). Conclusion Our findings indicated that higher dietary inflammation might not be associated with musculoskeletal pain in older adults. However, further investigations are required to confirm these findings

Screening of suitable ionic liquids as green solvents for extraction of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) from microalgae biomass using COSMO-RS model

Omega-3 poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) particularly eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), have many health benefits including reducing the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Recently, the use of ionic liquids (ILs) in lipid extraction from microalgae provides the potential to overcome common drawbacks, offers several other benefits. To date, very limited researches are available to focus on extracting microalgae lipid and PUFA in particular by using ILs. The objective of current work is to screen the potential ILs that can be applied in EPA extraction. In this study, fast ILs screening was performed with the help of a conductor like screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) and the ILs with higher capacity values for use in extraction of EPA were compared. According to the results, the highest capacity for EPA extraction among 352 screened cation/anion combinations belongs to [TMAm][SO4]. It is expected to achieve a higher yield of EPA once applying this combination as the solvent in the process of extraction. ILs with small anions were observed to have higher capacities, as well possessing higher charge density compared to larger ones, and therefore, they are more preferable for extraction purposes. Moreover, shorter alkyl chain cations are preferred when using imidazolium-based IL, which agrees with experimental data

Ionic liquid method for the extraction of lipid from microalgae biomass: a review

Microalgae are an alternative source of renewable energy and high-value products for pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, etc., due to rich in carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and high-density lipoproteins. Existing methods for cell disruption and extraction are costly and suffered from low proficiencies. Ionic liquids are proven to be an environmentally friendly substitute to conventional volatile organic solvents. They have been used in extracting different types of biomass, including microalgae. This article reviews the potential of ILs in extracting biomolecules, lipid, and omega-3, from microalgae biomass. The physicochemical properties of ILs, including viscosity, density, and melting point, their advantages and limitation, as well as toxicity and recyclability of ILs in lipid processing, are discussed

Screening of long chain imidazolium base ionic liquids for EPA and DHA extraction from microalgae using COSMO-RS model

Omega-3 Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids (Omega-3 PUFA) in various types including alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have many benefits for human health. The EPA and DHA from microalgae are favorable as the algal is farmed in a controlled environment that avoids harmful contamination such as methyl mercury and copper from the sea. Microalgae has the advantage of presenting neither an unpleasant odour nor a high amount of cholesterol. The presence of squalene and phytosterols in microalgae offer additional benefits to human health. The existing conventional methods of lipid extraction like soxhlet consume large amount of solvent and hence consider high toxic and energy intensive. Ionic liquids (ILs) are new classes of solvents that have the potential in extracting the microalgae lipid. ILs provide low vapor pressure, high thermal stability, non-toxicity and they can dissolve polar, non-polar and polymeric components. Very limited research has been conducted on extracting microalgae lipid especially PUFA using ILs therefore, this study aims to screen the potential ILs that can be used in the lipid extraction process. The screening was carried out using Continuum Solvation Models for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) method to investigate the effect of different types of anions base ILs by calculate the activity coefficient value. It was found that the lowest activity coefficient has the best interaction between the solute and solvent. According to the results the lowest activity coefficient for EPA and DHA extraction belongs to [benzoate] as anion for the octyl-methyl imidazolium base ILs

COSMO-RS based prediction for alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) extraction from microalgae biomass using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILS)

One of the essential fatty acids with therapeutic impacts on human health is known to be omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). More lately, ionic liquids (ILs) have received significant attention among scientists in overcoming the disadvantages of traditional solvents in biomass lipid extraction. However, the large pool of cations and anions possibly accessible will lead to a growing number of innovatively synthesized ILs. Nevertheless, the exhaustive measurement of all these systems is economically impractical. The conductive screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is considered a precious approach with the availability of a few models to predict the characteristics of ILs. This work introduces the estimate of capacity values at infinite dilution for a range of ILs using COSMO-RS software as part of solid-liquid extraction. This favorable outcome presented that the capacity values of the IL molecules are extremely dependent on both anions and cations. Among the 352 combinations of cation/anion tested, short alkyl chain cations coupled with inorganic anions were found to be most efficient and therefore superior in the extraction method. Sulphate-, chloride-, and bromide-based ILs were found to have higher extraction capacities in contrast with the remainders, while propanoate revealed an extraordinary capacity when combined with ethyl-based cations. Eventually, the predicted results from COSMO-RS were validated through the experimentally calculated extraction yield of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) compound from Nannochloropsis sp. microalgae. Three selected ILs namely [EMIM][Cl], [TMAm][Cl], and [EMPyrro][Br] were selected from COSMO-RS for empirical extraction purpose and the validation results pinpointed the good prediction capability of COSMO-RS

COSMO-RS based prediction for aalpha-linolenic acid (ALA) extraction from microalgae biomass using room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs)

One of the essential fatty acids with therapeutic impacts on human health is known to be omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). More lately, ionic liquids (ILs) have received significant attention among scientists in overcoming the disadvantages of traditional solvents in biomass lipid extraction. However, the large pool of cations and anions possibly accessible will lead to a growing number of innovatively synthesized ILs. Nevertheless, the exhaustive measurement of all these systems is economically impractical. The conductive screening model for real solvents (COSMO-RS) is considered a precious approach with the availability of a few models to predict the characteristics of ILs. This work introduces the estimate of capacity values at infinite dilution for a range of ILs using COSMO-RS software as part of solid-liquid extraction. This favorable outcome presented that the capacity values of the IL molecules are extremely dependent on both anions and cations. Among the 352 combinations of cation/anion tested, short alkyl chain cations coupled with inorganic anions were found to be most efficient and therefore superior in the extraction method. Sulphate-, chloride-, and bromide-based ILs were found to have higher extraction capacities in contrast with the remainders, while propanoate revealed an extraordinary capacity when combined with ethyl-based cations. Eventually, the predicted results from COSMO-RS were validated through the experimentally calculated extraction yield of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) compound from Nannochloropsis sp. microalgae. Three selected ILs namely [EMIM][Cl], [TMAm][Cl], and [EMPyrro][Br] were selected from COSMO-RS for empirical extraction purpose and the validation results pinpointed the good prediction capability of COSMO-RS

Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation of Gas-Solid Hydrodynamics in a Bubbling Fluidized-Bed Reactor: Effects of Air Distributor, Viscous and Drag Models

In this work, we employed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based model with a Eulerian multiphase approach to simulate the fluidization hydrodynamics in biomass gasification processes. Air was used as the gasifying/fluidizing agent and entered the gasifier at the bottom which subsequently fluidized the solid particles inside the reactor column. The momentum exchange related to the gas-phase was simulated by considering various viscous models (i.e., laminar and turbulence models of the re-normalisation group (RNG), k-ε and k-ω). The pressure drop gradient obtained by employing each viscous model was plotted for different superficial velocities and compared with the experimental data for validation. The turbulent model of RNG k-Ɛ was found to best represent the actual process. We also studied the effect of air distributor plates with different pore diameters (2, 3 and 5 mm) on the momentum of the fluidizing fluid. The plate with 3-mm pores showed larger turbulent viscosities above the surface. The effects of drag models (Syamlal–O’Brien, Gidaspow and energy minimum multi-scale method (EMMS) on the bed’s pressure drop as well as on the volume fractions of the solid particles were investigated. The Syamlal–O’Brien model was found to forecast bed pressure drops most consistently, with the pressure drops recorded throughout the experimental process. The formation of bubbles and their motion along the gasifier height in the presence of the turbulent flow was seen to follow a different pattern from with the laminar flow.Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) Malaysia; Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Counci