Cofactor NAD(P)H regeneration inspired by heterogeneous pathways

This work was supported by The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland (70265), The Royal Society (RG150001 and IE150611) and Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage (SCCS) program. J.S. also acknowledges financial support from The National Natural Science Foundation of China (21406163 and 91534126). T.S. was supported by a University of Aberdeen Elphinstone PhD Scholarship.Peer reviewedPostprin

Synthesis of conductive carbon aerogels decorated with β-tricalcium phosphate nanocrystallites

There has been substantial interest in research aimed at conductive carbon-based supports since the discovery that the electrical stimulus can have dramatic effect on cell behavior. Among these carbon-aerogels decorated with biocompatible polymers were suggested as future materials for tissue engineering. However, high reaction temperatures required for the synthesis of the aerogels tend to impair the stability of the polymeric networks. Herein, we report a synthetic route towards carbon-aerogel scaffolds decorated with biocompatible ceramic nanoparticles of tricalcium phosphate. The composites can be prepared at temperature as high as 1100 °C without significant effect on the morphology of the composite which is comparable with the original aerogel framework. Although the conductivity of the composites tends to decrease with the increasing ceramic content the measured conductivity values are similar to those previously reported on polymer-functionalized carbon-aerogels. The cell culture study revealed that the developed constructs support cell proliferation and provide good cell attachment suggesting them as potentially good candidates for tissue-engineering applications

Direct purification and immobilization of his-tagged enzymes using unmodified nickel ferrite NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles

Purification of valuable engineered proteins and enzymes can be laborious, costly, and generating large amount of chemical waste. Whilst enzyme immobilization can enhance recycling and reuse of enzymes, conventional methods for immobilizing engineered enzymes from purified samples are also inefficient with multiple-step protocols, regarding both the carrier preparation and enzyme binding. Nickel ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (NiFe2O4 MNPs) offer distinct advantages in both purification and immobilization of enzymes. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of NiFe2O4 MNPs via a one-step solvothermal synthesis and their use in direct enzyme binding from cell lysates. These NiFe2O4 MNPs have showed an average diameter of 8.9 ± 1.7 nm from TEM analysis and a magnetization at saturation (Ms) value of 53.0 emu g–1 from SQUID measurement. The nickel binding sites of the MNP surface allow direct binding of three his-tagged enzymes, D-phenylglycine aminotransferase (D-PhgAT), Halomonas elongata ω-transaminase (HeωT), and glucose dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis (BsGDH). It was found that the enzymatic activities of all immobilized samples directly prepared from cell lysates were comparable to those prepared from the conventional immobilization method using purified enzymes. Remarkably, D-PhgAT supported on NiFe2O4 MNPs also showed similar activity to the purified free enzyme. By comparing on both carrier preparation and enzyme immobilization protocols, use of NiFe2O4 MNPs for direct enzyme immobilization from cell lysate can significantly reduce the number of steps, time, and use of chemicals. Therefore, NiFe2O4 MNPs can offer considerable advantages for use in both enzyme immobilization and protein purification in pharmaceutical and other chemical industries

Localization of coated iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles on tomato seeds and their effects on growth

IFood demand due to the growing population globally has been stretching the agriculture sector to the limit. This demands the cultivation of plants in shrinking land areas which makes the search for highly effective systems for plant nutrition and pest control important. In this context, the application of nanoparticles (NPs) in agriculture can have a transformative effect on food production techniques as it can enable the delivery of bioactive agents (including growth factors, pesticides and fungicides) directly to plants. Herein we report the application of unfunctionalized as well as amine-functionalized and polycaprolactone-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NP) to seed treatment and plant growth. The study reveals that the treatment has no side effects on plant germination and development. Furthermore, the penetration of NPs in tomato seeds (Solanum Lycopersicum) and their translocation in tomato seedlings post-treatment depends on the level of the NPs functionalization. The research also demonstrates that a fraction of NP is preferentially translocated to tomato seedling roots and shoots, however, uptake is lower for functionalized NPs (both amine and PCL). Thus, the results suggest that the functionalization of NPs can act as a versatile platform for delivering of active compounds, such as fungicides and growth factor agents

Biological applications of organically functionalised mesoporous molecular sieves and related materials

The adsorption behaviour of mesoporous molecular sieves SBA-15 and MCF was studied using a family of polysaccharide molecules, dextrans. The results provide some insight into the accessibility of the mesopores to biological molecules. The effect of an amine functionalised surface of the solid was also examined