Green synthesis of biogenetic Te(0) nanoparticles by high tellurite tolerance fungus Mortierella sp. AB1 with antibacterial activity

Tellurite [Te(IV)] is a high-toxicity metalloid. In this study, a fungus with high Te(IV) resistance was isolated. Strain AB1 could efficiently reduce highly toxic Te(IV) to less toxic Te(0). The reduced products formed rod-shaped biogenetic Te(0) nanoparticles (Bio-TeNPs) intracellularly. Further TEM-element mapping, FTIR, and XPS analysis showed that the extracted Bio-TeNPs ranged from 100 to 500 nm and consisted of Te(0), proteins, lipids, aromatic compounds, and carbohydrates. Moreover, Bio-TeNPs exhibited excellent antibacterial ability against Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sakazakii, and Salmonella typhimurium according to inhibition zone tests. Further growth and live/dead staining experiments showed that E. coli and S. typhimurium were significantly inhibited by Bio-TeNPs, and cells were broken or shriveled after treatment with Bio-TeNPs based on SEM observation. Additionally, the antioxidant and cytotoxicity tests showed that the Bio-TeNPs exhibited excellent antioxidant capacity with no cytotoxicity. All these results suggested that strain AB1 showed great potential in bioremediation and Bio-TeNPs were excellent antibacterial nanomaterials with no cytotoxicity.Peer reviewe

Egg yolk powder-starch gel as novel ink for food 3D printing: Rheological properties, microstructure and application

This study investigated the multiscale properties and 3D printing performance of egg yolk powder-starch gel using egg yolk powder as the main material and adding potato starch (PS) and corn starch (CS) with different content (10%, 15%, and 20%), respectively. The results showed that the egg yolk powder-starch gel with higher starch content showed higher storage modulus (G'), loss modulus (G"), apparent viscosity, and hardness. Egg yolk powder-corn starch (EYP-CS) gels were tested for stronger gel strength and denser microstructure. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) confirmed no significant difference in functional groups and chemical bonding between various groups of yolk powder-starch gel. From the 3D printing results. EYP-20%PS and EYP-10%CS showed the best 3D printing performance. Lastly, the dysphagia test was additionally conducted and the results showed that EYP-10%CS, EYP-15%CS, and EYP-20%CS could be identified as Level 5 swallowed foods that have good swallowing performance

Effect of xanthan gum on physicochemical properties and 3D printability of emulsion-filled starch gels

The effects of xanthan gum (XG) concentration (0, 0.32%, 0.64%, 0.96%, 1.28%) on the rheological properties, microstructure, and 3D printing characteristics of emulsion-filled starch gels containing curcumin (XG-EFGs) were investigated. The results showed that the interaction between starch and XG led to an increase in mechanical strength with increasing XG concentration. The gels exhibited weak strain overshoot in large amplitude oscillatory shear tests, and the Lissajous curve shifted from elastic dominance to viscous dominance in the transition from linear to nonlinear behavior. The nonlinear parameters also demonstrated that the addition of XG led to strain stiffening and shear thinning behavior. Combining the rheological properties and 3D printing results, it was concluded that the addition of XG effectively improved the dimensional accuracy and stability of the printed products. Also, the addition of XG decreased the hardness, springiness, and gumminess of the XG-EFGs, changed the color brightness,and resulted in a superior delivery system for curcumin. This research contributes to the development of 3D printed gel foods fortified with lipophilic nutrients

Effect of induction mode on 3D printing characteristics of whey protein isolate emulsion gel

This study mainly explored the influence of different induction modes such as NaCl and Transglutaminase on the 3D printing characteristics of whey protein isolate emulsion gel. The properties of gel were characterized from rheological properties, microstructure, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermal stability and other aspects, and the relationship between 3D printing molding characteristics of gel and its applicability as a diet for dysphagia was discussed. Strain and frequency sweep showed that the addition of NaCl made gel difficult to be extruded during printing, while the addition of TG could get the opposite result. From a microscopic point of view, too high concentration of NaCl would lead to the disordered aggregation of proteins, which would reduce the structural strength of gel and make the water binding unstable. The addition of TG made the gel network have an orderly three-dimensional structure, making the water binding more stable. Both NaCl and TG can cause the secondary structure of protein to be more orderly and the thermal stability to be reduced, and the texture characteristics such as hardness, resilence, springiness, gumminess and chewiness to be reduced. During 3D printing of emulsion gel containing high concentration of NaCl, unsmooth extrusion filaments and pattern collapse occurred. TG can significantly improve the accuracy of 3D printing products. This study provided a basis for the application of whey protein isolate emulsion gel in 3D printing

Reversibly Migratable Fluorescent Probe for Precise and Dynamic Evaluation of Cell Mitochondrial Membrane Potentials

The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP, ΔΨmito) provides the charge gradient required for mitochondrial functions and is a key indicator of cellular health. The changes in MMP are closely related to diseases and the monitoring of MMP is thus vital for pathological study and drug development. However, most of the current fluorescent probes for MMP rely solely on the cell fluorescence intensity and are thus restricted by poor photostability, rendering them not suitable for long-term dynamic monitoring of MMP. Herein, an MMP-responsive fluorescent probe pyrrolyl quinolinium (PQ) which is capable of reversible migration between mitochondria and nucleolus is developed and demonstrated for dynamic evaluation of MMP. The fluorescence of PQ translocates from mitochondria to nucleoli when MMP decreases due to the intrinsic RNA-specificity and more importantly, the translocation is reversible. The cytoplasm to nucleolus fluorescence intensity ratio is positively correlated with MMP so that this method avoids the negative influence of photostability and imaging parameters. Various situations of MMP can be monitored in real time even without controls. Additionally, long-term dynamic evaluation of MMP is demonstrated for HeLa cells using PQ in oxidative environment. This study is expected to give impetus to the development of mitochondria-related disease diagnosis and drug screening

Berberine Alleviates Doxorubicin-Induced Myocardial Injury and Fibrosis by Eliminating Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Damage via Promoting Nrf-2 Pathway Activation

Doxorubicin (DOX)-related cardiotoxicity has been recognized as a serious complication of cancer chemotherapy. Effective targeted strategies for myocardial protection in addition to DOX treatment are urgently needed. The purpose of this paper was to determine the therapeutic effect of berberine (Ber) on DOX-triggered cardiomyopathy and explore the underlying mechanism. Our data showed that Ber markedly prevented cardiac diastolic dysfunction and fibrosis, reduced cardiac malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in DOX-treated rats. Moreover, Ber effectively rescued the DOX-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MDA, mitochondrial morphological damage and membrane potential loss in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts. This effect was mediated by increases in the nuclear accumulation of nuclear erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM). We also found that Ber suppressed the differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into myofibroblasts, as indicated by decreased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I and collagen III in DOX-treated CFs. Pretreatment with Ber inhibited ROS and MDA production and increased SOD activity and the mitochondrial membrane potential in DOX-challenged CFs. Further investigation indicated that the Nrf2 inhibitor trigonelline reversed the protective effect of Ber on both cardiomyocytes and CFs after DOX stimulation. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that Ber effectively alleviated DOX-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage by activating the Nrf2-mediated pathway, thereby leading to the prevention of myocardial injury and fibrosis. The current study suggests that Ber is a potential therapeutic agent for DOX-induced cardiotoxicity that exerts its effects by activating Nrf2

Berberine Alleviates Doxorubicin-Induced Myocardial Injury and Fibrosis by Eliminating Oxidative Stress and Mitochondrial Damage via Promoting Nrf-2 Pathway Activation

Doxorubicin (DOX)-related cardiotoxicity has been recognized as a serious complication of cancer chemotherapy. Effective targeted strategies for myocardial protection in addition to DOX treatment are urgently needed. The purpose of this paper was to determine the therapeutic effect of berberine (Ber) on DOX-triggered cardiomyopathy and explore the underlying mechanism. Our data showed that Ber markedly prevented cardiac diastolic dysfunction and fibrosis, reduced cardiac malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increased antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in DOX-treated rats. Moreover, Ber effectively rescued the DOX-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and MDA, mitochondrial morphological damage and membrane potential loss in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts. This effect was mediated by increases in the nuclear accumulation of nuclear erythroid factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and levels of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM). We also found that Ber suppressed the differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into myofibroblasts, as indicated by decreased expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I and collagen III in DOX-treated CFs. Pretreatment with Ber inhibited ROS and MDA production and increased SOD activity and the mitochondrial membrane potential in DOX-challenged CFs. Further investigation indicated that the Nrf2 inhibitor trigonelline reversed the protective effect of Ber on both cardiomyocytes and CFs after DOX stimulation. Taken together, these findings demonstrated that Ber effectively alleviated DOX-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage by activating the Nrf2-mediated pathway, thereby leading to the prevention of myocardial injury and fibrosis. The current study suggests that Ber is a potential therapeutic agent for DOX-induced cardiotoxicity that exerts its effects by activating Nrf2

Optimization on Preparation Conditions of Salidroside Liposome and Its Immunological Activity on PCV-2 in Mice

The aim of this study was to optimize the preparation conditions of salidroside liposome with high encapsulation efficiency (EE) and to study the immunological enhancement activity of salidroside liposome as porcine circovirus type 2 virus (PCV-2) vaccine adjuvant. Response surface methodology (RSM) was selected to optimize the conditions for the preparation of salidroside liposome using Design-Expert V8.0.6 software. Three kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants were prepared to study their adjuvant activity. BALB/c mice were immunized with PCV-2 encapsulated in different kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants. The PCV-2-specific IgG in immunized mice serum was determined with ELISA. The results showed that when the concentration of ammonium sulfate was 0.26 mol·L−1, ethanol volume 6.5 mL, temperature 43°C, ethanol injection rate 3 mL·min−1, and salidroside liposome could be prepared with high encapsulation efficiency of 94.527%. Salidroside liposome as adjuvant could rapidly induce the production of PCV-2-specific IgG and salidroside liposome I adjuvant proved to provide the best effect among the three kinds of salidroside liposome adjuvants