Sporopollenin exine capsules (SpECs) derived from Lycopodium clavatum provide practical antioxidant properties by retarding rancidification of an ω-3 oil

In recent years the use of natural antioxidants in foodstuffs and personal care products has become increasingly important for consumers and therefore manufacturers. In this work, sporopollenin exine capsules (SpECs), extracted from spores of the common club moss Lycopodium clavatum L, have been shown to protect an ω-3 oil from oxidation caused by natural light or accelerated oxidation with UV irradiation. The mechanism of action has been shown to be principally by free radical quenching as opposed to light shielding, supported by evidence of similarity in levels of protection when the ratio of SpECs to oil was 0.2 % w/v compared with 50 % w/w. The antioxidant effect is not materially altered by the extraction process from the raw material and is clearly an inherent property of the sporopollenin contained in the spores of L. clavatum due to the accessible phenolic groups on the surface on the SpECs. These results provide promising evidence that SpECs could be useful as a bio-sourced antioxidant for protecting ω-3 oils and related oxidation-prone molecules

The human sodium iodide symporter as a reporter gene for studying Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus pathogenesis

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is frequently used in oncology and cardiology to evaluate disease progression and/or treatment efficacy. Such technology allows for real-time evaluation of disease progression and when applied to studying infectious diseases may provide insight into pathogenesis. Insertion of a SPECT-compatible reporter gene into a virus may provide insight into mechanisms of pathogenesis and viral tropism. The human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS), a SPECT and positron emission tomography reporter gene, was inserted into Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), a recently emerged virus that can cause severe respiratory disease and death in afflicted humans to obtain a quantifiable and sensitive marker for viral replication to further MERS-CoV animal model development. The recombinant virus was evaluated for fitness, stability, and reporter gene functionality. The recombinant and parental viruses demonstrated equal fitness in terms of peak titer and replication kinetics, were stable for up to six in vitro passages, and were functional. Further in vivo evaluation indicated variable stability, but resolution limits hampered in vivo functional evaluation. These data support the further development of hNIS for monitoring infection in animal models of viral disease.IMPORTANCE Advanced medical imaging such as single photon emission computed tomography with computed tomography (SPECT/CT) enhances fields such as oncology and cardiology. Application of SPECT/CT, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography to infectious disease may enhance pathogenesis studies and provide alternate biomarkers of disease progression. The experiments described in this article focus on insertion of a SPECT/CT-compatible reporter gene into MERS-CoV to demonstrate that a functional SPECT/CT reporter gene can be inserted into a virus

Electrochemical Determination of Diffusion Anisotropy in Molecularly-Structured Materials

Theory is presented for the case of two-dimensional diffusion anisotropy in axiosymmetric systems, which, advantageously and indirectly, affords a unified theory of diffusive mass transport at planar, microdisk (or nanodisk) and cylindrical electrodes in isotropic media. A strategy is proposed to determine the extent of diffusion anisotropy in experimental data; proof-of-concept is considered, via a lamellar lyotropic liquid crystalline system

MRI contrast agent delivery using spore capsules: controlled release in blood plasma

The exine coatings of spores can be used to encapsulate drug molecules. We have demonstrated that these microcapsules can be filled with a commercial gadolinium(III) MRI contrast agent (in this proof of concept study Gd-DTPA-BMA was used) which is slowly released in plasma due to enzymatic digestion of the capsule

Electrochemistry and charge transport in sporopollenin particle arrays

Electrochemical oxidation of hollow sporopollenin particles immobilised on an electrode surface is investigated in aqueous acidic solution. Redox activity is demonstrated to occur via a mixture of 2e(-)-2H(+) and 2e(-)-1H(+) processes, likely due to the oxidation of conjugated phenolics embedded within the surface-shell of the polymer particles. Charge transport over the surface is suggested to be fast based on comparison with an approximate physicochemical model. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Global vegetation dynamics and latitudinal temperature gradients during the Mid to Late Miocene (15.97–5.33 Ma)

A 617 site palaeobotanical dataset for the Mid to Late Miocene is presented. This dataset is internally consistent and provides a comprehensive overview of vegetational change from 15.97 to 5.33 Ma. The palaeobotanical dataset has been translated into the BIOME4 classification scheme to enable direct comparison with climate model outputs. The vegetation change throughout the Langhian, Seravallian, Tortonian and Messinian is discussed. The data shows that the Langhian, which includes the end of the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, represents a world significantly warmer than today. The high northern latitudes were characterised by cool-temperate forests, the mid-latitudes by warm-temperate mixed forests, the tropics by tropical evergreen broadleaf forests and Antarctica by tundra shrub vegetation. Cool-temperate mixed forest existed during the Seravallian in the high northern latitudes, a reduction in warm-temperate mixed forests in the mid latitudes and a loss of tundra on Antarctica was noted. Tortonian vegetation distribution indicates that further cooling had occurred since the Seravallian. The major changes in vegetation include the first evidence for cold taiga forest in the high northern latitudes and a further reduction of warm-temperate mixed forests. By the Messinian, this cooling trend had eliminated warm-temperate mixed forests from the western USA and Australia and had formed mid-latitude deserts. Despite the cooling trend throughout the Mid to Late Miocene, the vegetation distribution of all four reconstructed stages reflect the vegetation of a world warmer than the pre-industrial conditions. The latitudinal distribution of bioclimatic zones suggests that the latitudinal temperature gradient for the Langhian would have been significantly shallower than at present and has gradually, but asymmetrically, become more modern towards the end of the Miocene. First the southern hemisphere distribution of bioclimatic zones became more modern, probably due to the climatic effects of a fully glaciated Antarctica. The northern hemisphere bioclimatic zone gradient continued to be shallower than modern throughout the Miocene and slowly became more modern by the Messinian

Viability of plant spore exine capsules for microencapsulation

Sporopollenin exine capsules (SECs) (outer exoskeletal wall of the spores of Lycopodium clavatum) were extracted and examined for their potential use as microcapsules. They were shown, by laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), to be void of their inner contents. The removal of nitrogenous and other internal materials was supported by a combination of elemental and gravimetric analyses. Two different methods were investigated to encapsulate substances into SECs which were (i) mild passive migration of materials into the SECs and (ii) subjecting SECs and materials to a vacuum. A range of fluorescent dyes with different polarities were seen using LSCM to encapsulate efficiently into the SECs (up to 1 g. g(-1)). Relatively unstable materials with different polarities were encapsulated into the SECs: polyunsaturated oils, which are labile to oxidation, and the enzymes streptavidin-horseradish peroxidase (sHRP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Irrespective of the encapsulation techniques employed no oxidation of the oils or denaturation of the enzymes was observed following their full recovery. This study gives the first indication of the viability of SECs to microencapsulate various potentially unstable materials without causing a detrimental effect