A review of biodegradation of synthetic plastic and foams.

Synthetic polymeric foams have pervaded every aspect of modern life. Although foams provide numerous benefits, they also cause a significant environmental litter problem because of their recalcitrant and xenobiotic nature. Biodegradation may provide solution to the problem, but not enough is known about the biodegradation process of synthetic plastic and plasticbased foams. This review has been written to provide an overview of the current state of plastic foam biodegradation. Several biodegradation pathways of a few select synthetic polymers are also presented along with a discussion on some of the physico-chemical factors that can influence the biodegradation of plastic foams.

Expression of single chain antibodies (ScFvs) for c-myc oncoprotein in recombinant Escherichia coli membranes by using the ice-nucleation protein of Pseudomonas syringae.

The ice nucleation protein (INP) is a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchored outer membrane protein found in certain Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, the INP from Pseudomonas syringae was applied as a fusion partner with the single chain antibody fragment (ScFv) against the human oncoprotein c-myc. Two new plasmids pNinaZ-myc and pNinaZScFv-BsaA1 were constructed and cloned into Escherichia coli JM109. The expression of the fusion protein was successfully demonstrated in the cloned cells. The fusion proteins had no effect on the viability of the host cells. Ice nucleation activity measurements and flow cytometry studies were followed to investigate the membrane expression of the fusion protein.

A new kinetic model of protein adsorption on suspended anion-exchange resin particles.

The kinetics of adsorption of bovine serum albumin on an anion-exchange resin were measured in a batch system using a flow cell and ultraviolet absorbance, as a function of initial liquid-phase protein concentration and solid-to-liquid phase ratio. A new mathematical model for adsorption kinetics is presented that fits the experimental data to give a highly linear relationship with time, following a short transient period. Numerical integration of the differential form of the new composite nonlinear (CNL) kinetic model, containing three independent parameters, is shown to describe the dynamics of batch adsorption much better than alternative lumped parameter models. Although the new model is phenomenological rather than mechanistic, its principal parameter is shown to be a direct linear function of a physically measurable quantity. This study demonstrates that the model can accurately simulate protein concentration-time profiles using parameter estimates derived from correlations over a wide range of initial protein concentrations and phase ratios. The new CNL model is shown to be considerably superior to the Langmuir and solid-film linear kinetic models in this regard, having the additional advantage that an equilibrium isotherm for the system is not required.

Carbon paste biosensor based on crude soybean seed hull extracts for phenol detection.

In this study, a novel biosensor based on enzyme extracts from soybean seed hulls has been prepared, which demonstrated promising results in the detection of hydrogen peroxide and phenol. The biosensor preparation is straightforward and inexpensive, and the response time is 50 s. The optimum conditions of pH and temperature are a pH of 7.4 and a temperature of 20 degrees C. Contrary to expectations, the biosensor showed narrow pH and temperature optimums. The effects of enzyme loading and type of mediator were also investigated. The biosensor showed a linear response up to 500 microM phenol.

Mediated, amperometric biosensor for glucose-6-phosphate monitoring based on entrapped glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, Mg2+ ions, tetracyanoquinodimethane, and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate in carbon paste.

In this study, an amperometric carbon paste biosensor is developed for glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) monitoring which is based on entrapped Mg2+ ions, G6P dehydrogenase, NADP+ polyethylenimine (PEI) and the electroactive mediator, tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ). The calibration line had a slope of 1.55 x 10(-5) A. M-1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9965. The limit of detection (defined as three times the standard deviation of the response of the electrode to blank phosphate buffer injections (noise)) of the G6P biosensor was 5.0 x 10(-5) M. The application of this biosensor for monitoring G6P in human blood using the standard addition method is also demonstrated. A two-parameter empirical equation which adequately describes the deactivation of the biosensor steady-state response with time is also proposed.

Determination of glutamine and glutamic acid in mammalian cell cultures using tetrathiafulvalene modified enzyme electrodes.

Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) mediated amperometric enzyme electrodes have been developed for the monitoring of L-glutamine and L-glutamic acid in growing mammalian cell cultures. The detection of glutamine was accomplished by a coupled enzyme system comprised of glutaminase plus glutamate oxidase, while the detection of glutamic acid was carried out by a single enzyme, glutamate oxidase. The appropriate enzyme(s) were immoblized on the Triton-X treated surface of tetrathiafulvalene modified carbon paste electrodes by adsorption, in conjunction with entrapment by an electrochemically deposited copolymer film of 1,3-phenylenediamine and resorcinol. Operating conditions for the glutamine enzyme electrode were optimized with respect to the amount of enzymes immoblized, pH, temperature and mobile phase flow rate for operation in a flow injection (FIA) system. When applied to glutamine and glutamic acid measurements in mammalian cell culture in FIA, the results obtained with enzyme electrodes were in excellent agreement with those determined by enzymatic analysis.

Principles and applications of biosensors for bioprocess monitoring and control.

Biosensors are useful analytical devices that can be integrated with on-line process monitoring schemes. In this article, the principles and applications of these devices for bioprocess monitoring are considered. Several different types of biosensors are described, and the applications and limitations of flow injection analysis (FIA) for these applications are discussed. It is hoped that the background provided here can be useful to researchers in this area.

Principles and biotechnological applications of bacterial ice nucleation.

Certain aerobic, Gram-negative bacteria, including the epiphytic plant pathogen, Pseudomonas syringae, possess a membrane protein that enables them to nucleate crystallization in supercooled water. Currently, these ice-nucleating (IN) bacteria are being used in snow making and have potential applications in the production and texturing of frozen foods, and as a replacement of silver iodide in cloud seeding. A negative aspect of these IN bacteria is frost damage to plant surfaces. Thus, of the various types of biological ice nucleators, bacteria have been the subject of most research and also appear relevant to the anticipated practical uses. The intent of this review is to explain the identification and ecology of the ice-nucleating bacteria, as well as to discuss aspects of molecular biology related to ice nucleation and consider existing and potential applications of this unique phenomenon.

Immunoelectrophoretic quantitation of alpha-fetoprotein.

We describe an immunoelectrophoretic method for alpha-fetoprotein quantitation. The sensitivity of the method, which is easy to perform in the routine laboratory, is under the best conditions 50 mug/liter, but 83 mug/liter can always be detected. With this test, sera from patients with various hepatic diseases and from pregnancies can be tested.