Isolation, Purification, and Characterization of a Lectin from the Fungus Fusarium solani 4

Abstract: Electrophoretically homogeneous lectin with a specific activity of 100.0 U/mg protein was isolated and purified from the fungal mycelium of Fusarium solani 4. The molecular weight of the native lectin molecule (38 kDa) was determined. It was established that it consists of two identical subunits, with the molecular mass determined via PAGE-Na electrophoresis in the presence of DDS-Na equal to 19 kDa. The physicochemical properties and carbohydrate specificity of the lectin, as well as its in vitro effect on mammalian cancer cells, were studied. The results opened new prospects for the further study of lectin and its potential applications as a medical agent

Search for antagonists to protect plant raw materials from pathogens

The paper presents the results of research on the selection of biological agents with antagonism to microorganisms affecting raw materials of plant origin. The antagonists selected at the first stage showed significant changes in the antagonistic activity of various isolates when the temperature of the medium increased to 450C. There was no decrease in activity in isolate 20, so it is resistant to high temperature. Isolate No.21 had a significant increase in antagonistic activity, it is likely to be more resistant to high temperatures and some biochemical enzymatic processes are stimulated, leading to increased antagonistic properties. And in isolates 9, 16 and 23, on the contrary, it was lowered, possibly due to the fact that the increased temperature causes structural and biochemical changes in the cell of the microorganism. Similarly, isolated isolates No.9, 16, 23, 21, and 15 had high antagonistic activity against micromycetes that contaminate plant-based feed

Performance of Waterborne Polyurethanes in Inhibition of Gas Hydrate Formation and Corrosion: Influence of Hydrophobic Fragments

The design of new dual-function inhibitors simultaneously preventing hydrate formation and corrosion is a relevant issue for the oil and gas industry. The structure-property relationship for a promising class of hybrid inhibitors based on waterborne polyurethanes (WPU) was studied in this work. Variation of diethanolamines differing in the size and branching of N-substituents (methyl, n-butyl, and tert-butyl), as well as the amount of these groups, allowed the structure of polymer molecules to be preset during their synthesis. To assess the hydrate and corrosion inhibition efficiency of developed reagents pressurized rocking cells, electrochemistry and weight-loss techniques were used. A distinct effect of these variables altering the hydrophobicity of obtained compounds on their target properties was revealed. Polymers with increased content of diethanolamine fragments with n- or tert-butyl as N-substituent (WPU-6 and WPU-7, respectively) worked as dual-function inhibitors, showing nearly the same efficiency as commercial ones at low concentration (0.25 wt%), with the branched one (tert-butyl; WPU-7) turning out to be more effective as a corrosion inhibitor. Commercial kinetic hydrate inhibitor Luvicap 55 W and corrosion inhibitor Armohib CI-28 were taken as reference samples. Preliminary study reveals that WPU-6 and WPU-7 polyurethanes as well as Luvicap 55 W are all poorly biodegradable compounds; BODt/CODcr (ratio of Biochemical oxygen demand and Chemical oxygen demand) value is 0.234 and 0.294 for WPU-6 and WPU-7, respectively, compared to 0.251 for commercial kinetic hydrate inhibitor Luvicap 55 W. Since the obtained polyurethanes have a bifunctional effect and operate at low enough concentrations, their employment is expected to reduce both operating costs and environmental impact