Functionalized graphene oxide-zinc oxide hybrid material and its deployment for adsorptive removal of levofloxacin from aqueous media.

This work reports on the synthesis of aspartic acid-functionalized graphene oxide-zinc oxide, as a functional porous material, and its potential to mitigate levofloxacin (LFXN). The adsorbent was characterized by various techniques, including ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average crystallite size of the prepared composite was about 17.30 nm. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to elucidate the adsorption process for LFXN. Different parameters, including contact time, LFXN initial concentration, adsorbent concentration, pH, temperature, and ionic strength were studied. The mechanism and kinetics were studied by fitting the data to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, respectively. The isotherm data was better fitted to Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0.999) as compared to the Freundlich model. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained at equilibrium was 73.15 mg/g. For kinetic studies, Pseudo first order was better fitted with R2 = 0.87797, confirming the physisorption process. Thermodynamics parameters revealed that the process was exothermic and spontaneous at low temperatures. The adsorption mechanism was studied and the impregnation of LFXN in the adsorbent was confirmed by FTIR studies. This research proved that the designed GO/Asp-ZnO was a novel and promising adsorbent for the removal of LFXN with an efficiency of 95.12% at 30 mg/L LFXN by 0.6 g/L adsorbent in 24 h at pH = 7 and T = 25 °C.

Spirothienoquinoline-based acceptor molecular systems for organic solar cell applications: DFT investigation.

In this research, eight three-dimensional benzothiadiazole and spirothienoquinoline-based donor molecules of the A-D-A-D-A configuration were formulated by introducing new acceptor groups (A1-A4) to the terminal sites of recently synthesized potent donor molecule (tBuSAF-Th-BT-Th-tBuSAF). Frontier molecular orbital analysis, reorganization energies, the density of states analysis, transition density matrix analysis, dipole moment, open-circuit voltage, and some photophysical properties were all assessed using CAMB3LYP/LanL2DZ. The optoelectronic properties of freshly proposed compounds were compared to the reference molecule (SQR). Due to the existence of robust electron-attracting acceptor moiety, SQM3 and SQM7 had the greatest maximum absorption of all other investigated molecules, with the values of 534 and 536 nm, respectively. The maximum dipole moment, narrow bandgap (3.81 eV and 3.66 eV), and HOMO energies (- 5.92 eV, 5.95 eV) are also found in SQM3 and SQM7, respectively. The SQM3 molecule also possesses the least reorganization energy for hole mobility (0.007237 eV) than all other considered molecules. The open-circuit voltage of all the molecules considered to be donors, was calculated with respect to PC61BM and it is estimated that except SQM7 and SQM3 all other newly developed molecules have improved open-circuit voltage. The findings show that most of the designed donor molecules can perform better experimentally and should be employed for practical implementations in the future.

Exopolysaccharides production from marine Bacillus strains and their antioxidant and bio-flocculant capacities.

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPS) have gained high scientific concern due to their exceptional physicochemical features and high industrial applicability. Owing to their biotechnological importance, the present study was designed to screen and isolate the EPS-producing Bacillus strains based on their growth potential on specific media and colony morphologies. The bacterial isolates Bacillus subtilis Bs1-01, Bacillus licheniformis Bl1-02, and Bacillus brevis Bb1-04 showed excellent EPS production due to their shortened lag phase and abundant biomass production. Shake-flask fermentation valued the maximum production yield of 50.19 ± 1.14 g/L by Bl1-02 after 72 h incubation (about 3.40 times higher than that of Bacillus thuringiensis Bt1-05). The basic component analysis revealed the improved amount of total carbohydrate, reducing sugar ends, and protein contents by Bl1-02 strain. Structural characteristics and functional groups of the EPS characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that all EPS were in close agreement to each other due to the presence of similar chemical bonds and functional groups. EPS from Bl1-02 strain showed stronger and more stable bio-emulsifying and hygroscopicity activities (12.23%). The crude EPS exhibited potent antioxidant properties which were examined against reducing potential (H2O2 scavenging) and total antioxidant tests. Among bio-flocculation activities of EPS at different concentrations, Bs1-01 strain produced EPS at a concentration of 60 mg/mL was observed to show the maximum value of 79.20%. In conclusion, the EPS from marine Bacillus strains showed excellent functional properties suggesting potential industrial applications that demand separate investigations.

Exploring Marine as a Rich Source of Bioactive Peptides: Challenges and Opportunities from Marine Pharmacology.

This review highlights the underexplored potential and promises of marine bioactive peptides (MBPs) with unique structural, physicochemical, and biological activities to fight against the current and future human pathologies. A particular focus is given to the marine environment as a significant source to obtain or extract high-value MBPs from touched/untouched sources. For instance, marine microorganisms, including microalgae, bacteria, fungi, and marine polysaccharides, are considered prolific sources of amino acids at large, and peptides/polypeptides in particular, with fundamental structural sequence and functional entities of a carboxyl group, amine, hydrogen, and a variety of R groups. Thus, MBPs with tunable features, both structural and functional entities, along with bioactive traits of clinical and therapeutic value, are of ultimate interest to reinforce biomedical settings in the 21st century. On the other front, as the largest biome globally, the marine biome is the so-called "epitome of untouched or underexploited natural resources" and a considerable source with significant potentialities. Therefore, considering their biological and biomedical importance, researchers around the globe are redirecting and/or regaining their interests in valorizing the marine biome-based MBPs. This review focuses on the widespread bioactivities of MBPs, FDA-approved MBPs in the market, sustainable development goals (SDGs), and legislation to valorize marine biome to underlying the impact role of bioactive elements with the related pathways. Finally, a detailed overview of current challenges, conclusions, and future perspectives is also given to satisfy the stimulating demands of the pharmaceutical sector of the modern world.

Bio-based active food packaging materials: Sustainable alternative to conventional petrochemical-based packaging materials.

In food industry, a growing concern is the use of suitable packaging material (i.e., biodegradable coatings and films) with enhanced thermal, mechanical and barrier characteristics to prevent from contamination and loss of foodstuff. Biobased polymer resources can be used for the development of biodegradable bioplastics. To achieve this goal, biopolymers should be economic, renewable and abundantly available. Bioplastic packaging materials based on renewable biomass could be used as sustainable alternative to petrochemically-originated plastic materials. This review summarizes the recent advancements in biopolymer-based coatings and films for active food packaging applications. Microbial polymers (PHA and PLA), wood-based polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose, starch & lignin), and protein-based polymers (gelatin, keratin, wheat gluten, soy protein and whey protein isolates) were among the materials most widely exploited for the development of smart packaging films. These biopolymers are able to synthesize coatings and films with good barrier properties against food borne pathogens and the transport of gases. Biobased reinforcements e.g., plant essential oils and natural additives to bioplastic films improve oxygen barrier, antibacterial and antifungal properties. To induce the desired functionality the simultaneous utilization of different synthetic and biobased polymers in the form of composites/blends is also an emerging area of research. Nanoscale reinforcements into bioplastic packaging have also been reported to improve packaging characteristics ultimately increasing food shelf life. The development of bioplastic/biocomposite and nanobiocomposites exhibits high potential to replace nonbiodegradable materials with characteristics comparable to fossil-based plastics, additionally, giving biodegradable and compostable characteristics. The idea of utilization of renewable biomass and the implications of biotechnology can firstly reduce the burden from fossil-resources, while secondly promoting biobased economy.

Multifunctional materials conjugated with near-infrared fluorescent organic molecules and their targeted cancer bioimaging potentialities.

Near-infrared fluorescent dyes based on small organic molecules are believed to have a great influence on cancer diagnosis at large and targeted cancer cell bioimaging, in particular. NIR dyes-based organic molecules have notable characteristics features, such as high tissue penetration and low tissue autofluorescence in the NIR spectral region. Cancer targeted bioimaging relies significantly on the synthesis of highly specific molecular probes with excellent stability. Recently, NIR dyes have emerged as unique fluorescent probes for cancer bioimaging. These current advancements have overcome many limitations of conventional NIR probes e.g., poor photostability and hydrophilicity, insufficient stability and low quantum yield. The further potential lies in NIR dyes or NIR dyes-coated nanocarriers conjugated with cancer-specific ligand (e.g., peptides, antibodies, proteins or other small molecules). Multifunctional NIR dyes have synthesized, which efficiently accumulate in cancer cells without requiring chemical conjugation and also these dyes have presented novel photophysical and pharmaceutical properties for in vivo imaging. This review highlights the recently developed NIR dyes with novel applications in cancer bioimaging. We believe that these novel fluorophores will enhance our understanding of cancer imaging and pave a new road in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Improved exopolysaccharide production from Bacillus licheniformis MS3: Optimization and structural/functional characterization.

Exopolysaccharides (EPS) are microbially-originated, complex biosynthetic polymers, mainly carbohydrates in nature. They have gained attention of modern researches due to their novel physicochemical characteristics. However, the development of cost-effective strategies to improve the EPS yield, remains a challenge. In this study, cost-effective EPS production was carried out from B. licheniformis in solid state fermentation of mango peels substrate with waste-to-value theme. Initially, B. licheniformis was exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiations of short wavelength which significantly improved the EPS yield (from 3.4 to 4.6 g/L). The highest EPS producing mutant strain (B. licheniformis MS3) was further proceeded for yield optimization using RSM-CCD approach. Optimization improved the yield >3.2-folds (from 4.6 to 15.6 g/L). The optimally yielded fraction was characterized using HPLC, FT-IR and SEM analyses. HPLC revealed the hetero-polymeric nature of EPS containing mannose (20.60%), glucose (46.80%), and fructose (32.58%) subunits. FT-IR spectroscopy revealed the presence of hydroxyl and carboxyl functional groups, and glycosidic linkages among monosaccharides. SEM microstructure showed that EPS comprise smoother surface with less porosity. Studies on functional characteristics revealed the presence of hydrophilic moieties among EPS with moderate water (105.3%) and oil (86.3%) uptake capacity. The EPS exhibited excellent emulsifying properties showed good stability against all hydrocarbons/oils tested. In conclusion, the cost-effective EPS production with multifunctional properties, this study may be valuable for various biochemical and biotechnological sectors.

Environmentally responsive and anti-bugs textile finishes - Recent trends, challenges, and future perspectives.

Bugs, such as microorganisms and insects, are present in the environment and sometimes can be health-hazardous if the living environment is not maintained following proper hygienic regulations. In the present scenario of increasing public awareness, environmental consciousness, and growing demand for easy-care, and disinfected textiles, the manufacturing of protective and easy-to-care textiles has become a key necessity of the modern world. Comfortable, clean, hygienic, antimicrobial, and insect repelling properties of textile goods are gaining the accelerating research momentum as a basic requirement to produce multifunctional textiles. These functional finishes have numerous applications such as in-home textiles, bed nets, and tenting, camping gear as well as in military uniforms. Synthetic antimicrobial and insect repellents are quite effective against insects and microscopic organisms but are slightly toxic to the human being and the environment. To overcome these problems, researchers are considering natural agents for functional finishes, but their effectiveness is less durable to textile material. Besides needful advantages, the excessive use of dyes in finishing processes heavily required washing cycles and ultimately release various types of hazardous dyes or wasteful effluents in the environment. This review reports the chemical composition and recent developments in textile finishes, particularly antimicrobial and insect repellent textile finishes. A large number of commonly used antimicrobial agents (i.e. chitosan, zwitterionic compounds, silver and silver-based compounds, titanium dioxide nanoparticles, imidazolium salts, triclosan and quaternary ammonium salts) and insect repellent textile finishes (i.e. N­N­diethyl­m­toluamide, permethrin, cypermethrin, pyrethrum, picaridin, bioallethrin, citriodiol and essential oils) have been presented. Finally, the review is wrapped up with major research gaps/challenges, concluding remarks, and future opportunities in this area of research.

Engineering enzyme-coupled hybrid nanoflowers: The quest for optimum performance to meet biocatalytic challenges and opportunities.

The current industrial revolution signifies the high-value of biocatalysis engineering. Over the past decade, multiple micro- and nanostructured materials have been attempted for immobilization of enzymes to improve their catalytic properties. Conventional immobilization strategies result in improved stability, while insolubilized enzymes generally lost their activity compared to free counterparts. Recently, a new generation organic-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers with unique properties have received great attention as a novel and incentive immobilization approach owing to their simple fabrication, high biocatalytic efficiency, and enzyme stabilizing capability. The hybrid nanoflowers biocatalytic system implicates metal ions and biomolecules (enzymes). In contrast to free or conventionally immobilized enzymes, single enzyme or multi enzyme-incorporated flowers-like hybrid nanoconstructs demonstrated elevated catalytic activities and stabilities over a very broader range of experimental conditions, i.e., pHs, temperatures and salt concentration. This review discusses the recent developments in the fabrication strategies to diversifying nanoflowers, types, characteristics, and applications of organic-inorganic hybrid nanoflowers as a host platform to engineer different kinds of enzymes with requisite functionalities for biocatalysis applications in different sectors of the modern world. Based on experimental and theoretical literature data, the review is wrapped up with concluding remarks and an outlook in terms of upcoming challenges and prospects for their scale-up applications.

Optimization of process variables for enhanced production of extracellular lipase by Pleurotus ostreatus IBL-02 in solid-state fermentation.

In the present study, Pleurotus ostreatus IBL-02, a white rot basidiomycete was exploited for lipase production in solid-state fermentation (SSF). Different agro-industrial wastes such as canola-oilseed cake, cotton-oilseed cake, linseed-oil cake, sesame-oilseed cake, rice bran and wheat bran were screened for fermentative production of the lipolytic enzyme. The enzyme profile of P. ostreatus showed the highest activity of lipase on canola oil seed cake as a substrate under SSF conditions. Various physiological factors such as incubation time, humidity level, culture pH, incubation temperature and supplementation of carbon and nitrogen sources were optimized to induce the lipase synthesis capability of P. ostreatus at an optimal level. Optimum lipase activity (3256 U/gram dry substrate) was measured in the solid fermentation medium using moisture level, 50.0%; pH, 4.0; temperature, 30°C and olive oil, 2.0% after 72 h of incubation period with glucose and urea as carbon and nitrogen supplements, respectively. Glucose supplementation significantly stimulated the lipase production, while nitrogen addition did not exert any significant effect on lipase yield. Overall, under optimized bioprocess conditions, the enzyme activity was improved up to 1.6 folds with respect to the original enzyme activities. The current findings indicate that culture conditions have great influence on the lipase production potential of P. ostreatus for commercial purpose.

Multi-point enzyme immobilization, surface chemistry, and novel platforms: a paradigm shift in biocatalyst design.

Engineering enzymes with improved catalytic properties in non-natural environments have been concerned with their diverse industrial and biotechnological applications. Immobilization represents a promising but straightforward route, and immobilized biocatalysts often display higher activities and stabilities compared to free enzymes. Owing to their unique physicochemical characteristics, including the high-specific surface area, exceptional chemical, electrical, and mechanical properties, efficient enzyme loading, and multivalent functionalization, nano-based materials are postulated as suitable carriers for biomolecules or enzyme immobilization. Enzymes immobilized on nanomaterial-based supports are more robust, stable, and recoverable than their pristine counterparts, and are even used for continuous catalytic processes. Furthermore, the unique intrinsic properties of nanomaterials, particularly nanoparticles, also confer the immobilized enzymes to be used for their broader applications. Herein, an effort has been made to present novel potentialities of multi-point enzyme immobilization in the current biotechnological sector. Various nano-based platforms for enzyme/biomolecule immobilization are discussed in the second part of the review. In summary, recent developments in the use of nanomaterials as new carriers to construct robust nano-biocatalytic systems are reviewed, and future trends are pointed out in this article.

Enhanced production of streptokinase from Streptococcus agalactiae EBL-31 by response surface methodology.

Streptokinase (SK) is a fibrinolytic protein used for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders. In the present study, enhanced production of SK was achieved by determining the optimum fermentation conditions for the maximum growth of Streptococcus agalactiae EBL-31 using response surface methodology (RSM). Four process variables (pH, temperature, incubation time and inoculum size) with five levels were evaluated in 30 experimental runs. Central composite rotatable design (CCRD) was employed to predict the effect of independent variables on SK activity. The statistical evaluation by ANOVA showed that the model was fit as the effect of single factors, quadratic effects and most of the interactions among variables. The value ofR2 (0.9988) indicated the satisfactory interaction between the experimental and predicted responses. Furthermore, the model F value (902.67) and coefficient of variation (1.92) clearly showed that the model is significant (p =>0.0001). The functional activity of SK was determined by spectrophotometric analysis and maximum SK production was obtained at pH-7.0, temperature- 37.5oC, an incubation time of 36 hours and 2.5 mL inoculum size. Hence it was concluded that the optimization of culture conditions through RSM increases the production of SK by 2.01-fold. Production of SK by fermentation is an economical choice to be used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.

Protease-based cross-linked enzyme aggregates with improved catalytic stability, silver removal, and dehairing potentials.

Proteases have gained special research place due to their broader activity spectrum and applied perspectives for different industrial sectors. The present research focused on three aims, i.e., (1) to identify the best protease producer strain among three different Aspergillus strains, (2) the development of protease-based cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) and (3) silver removal and dehairing potentialities of developed CLEAs. A. flavus gave optimum activity (98.50 U/mL) with the culture conditions (pH -7.5, 35 °C, inoculum 2.5 mL and fermentation time 48 h) by applying RSM under CCD. The protease-CLEAs were developed with recovery activity (37.45%) by optimizing conditions through RSM under CCD (80% ammonium sulfate, 65 mM glutaraldehyde, and 0.15 mM BSA). The adequacy of the model was checked by ANOVA, and the interactions among different variables were plotted using 3-D graphs. The characterization profile revealed high pH and thermal stability at pH -9 and 60 °C, respectively. The kinetic study revealed lower KM and higher Vmax values (31.02 µM and 91.16 U/mL, respectively) after CLEAs formation, as compared to the free protease (61.42 µM and 84.45 U/mL, respectively). By applying on X-ray film and animal hides, protease-CLEAs showed the best activity with minimum time as compared to free protease.

Development and characterization of cross-linked enzyme aggregates of thermotolerant alkaline protease from Bacillus licheniformis.

An alkaline protease was produced by B. licheniformis with 132.43±3.4U/mL activity in LSF which was further enhanced by optimizing culture conditions. The optimum enzyme activity (148.9±4.1U/mL) was harvested at pH7.5; temperature, 40°C and inoculum, 1.5mL after 48h incubation. Alkaline protease was immobilization by forming cross linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) and the processes of CLEAs formation was also optimized. The protease CLEAs developed using 80% ammonium sulfate, 65mM glutaraldehyde and 0.11mM BSA showed best activity recovery (39.76%). Free protease and CLEAs were characterized and compared. It was observed that CLEAs of protease exhibited broad pH range with best activity at pH10. The immobilized protease was also thermo-tolerant with optimum activity at 65°C temperature. The Vmax and Km of protease-CLEAs were 125.5U/mL and 18.97µM, respectively as compared to 104.9U/mL and 29µM, respectively for free protease. It was concluded that immobilized enzyme in the form of CLEAs is a valuable catalyst for potential industrial applications.

Immobilized lignin peroxidase from Ganoderma lucidum IBL-05 with improved dye decolorization and cytotoxicity reduction properties.

Use of free microbial enzymes for bioremediation and other industrial applications has several disadvantages like low stability and non-reusability in repeated batch operations. Immobilized enzymes are stable, recoverable and reusable in industrial processes. In this scenario G. lucidum IBL-05 LiP was entrapped in Ca-alginate beads using optimum concentrations of Na-alginate (4%), calcium chloride (0.2M) and glutraldehyde (0.02%). Optimum pH (pH 5) and temperature (55°C) for entrapped LiP were improved as compared to free LiP. Catalytic behavior of LiP also significantly enhanced, as Km value (0.25mM) decreased and Vmax value (868.6µmol/min) increased after ca-alginate entrapment of LiP. Decolorization efficiencies of Sandal reactive dyes after treating with immobilized LiP were in the range of 80-93%. A significant reduction was observed in water quality parameters including, BOD (66.44-98.22%), COD (81.34-98.82%) and TOC (80.21-97.77%) values. The cytotoxicity values for heamolytic and brine shrimp lethality of dye solutions treated with Ca-alginate immobilized LiP reduced up to 2.10-5.06% and 5.43-9.23%, respectively. On the basis of reduced toxicity and cytotoxicity values, it was concluded that Ca-alginate beads entrapped LiP may be an effective biocatalyst for bioremediation of dye based textile industry effluents.

Bio-catalytic performance and dye-based industrial pollutants degradation potential of agarose-immobilized MnP using a Packed Bed Reactor System.

In this study, the matrix-entrapment technique was adopted to immobilize a novel manganese peroxidase (MnP). Agarose beads developed from 3.0% agarose concentration furnished the preeminent immobilization yield (92.76%). The immobilized MnP exhibited better resistance to changes in the pH and temperature as compared to the free counterpart, with optimal conditions being pH 6.0 and 45°C. Thermal and storage stability characteristics were significantly improved after immobilization, and the immobilized-MnP displayed higher tolerance against different temperatures than free MnP state. After 72h, the insolubilized MnP retained its activity up to 41.2±1.7% and 33.6±1.4% at 55°C and 60°C, respectively, and 34.3±1.9% and 22.0±1.1% activities at 65°C and 70°C, respectively, after 48h of the incubation period. A considerable reusability profile was recorded with ten consecutive cycles. Moreover, to explore the industrial applicability, the agarose-immobilized-MnP was tested for bioremediation of textile industry effluent purposes. After six consecutive cycles, the tested effluents were decolorized to different extents (with a maximum of 98.4% decolorization). In conclusion, the remarkable bioremediation potential along with catalytic, thermo-stability, reusability, as well as storage stability features of the agarose-immobilized-MnP reflect its prospects as a biocatalyst for bioremediation and other industrial applications.

Enzyme-based solutions for textile processing and dye contaminant biodegradation-a review.

The textile industry, as recognized conformist and stake industry in the world's economy, is facing serious environmental challenges. In numerous industries, in practice, various chemical-based processes from initial sizing to final washing are fascinating harsh environment concerns. Some of these chemicals are corrosive to equipment and cause serious damage itself. Therefore, in the twenty-first century, chemical and allied industries quest a paradigm transition from traditional chemical-based concepts to a greener, sustainable, and environmentally friendlier catalytic alternative, both at the laboratory and industrial scales. Bio-based catalysis offers numerous benefits in the context of biotechnological industry and environmental applications. In recent years, bio-based processing has received particular interest among the scientist for inter- and multi-disciplinary investigations in the areas of natural and engineering sciences for the application in biotechnology sector at large and textile industries in particular. Different enzymatic processes such as chemical substitution have been developed or in the process of development for various textile wet processes. In this context, the present review article summarizes current developments and highlights those areas where environment-friendly enzymatic textile processing might play an increasingly important role in the textile industry. In the first part of the review, a special focus has been given to a comparative discussion of the chemical-based "classical/conventional" treatments and the modern enzyme-based treatment processes. Some relevant information is also reported to identify the major research gaps to be worked out in future.

Optimization of pH, temperature and CaCl2 concentrations for Ricotta cheese production from Buffalo cheese whey using Response Surface Methodology.

The recovery of milk constituents from cheese whey is affected by various processing conditions followed during production of Ricotta cheese. The objective of the present investigation was to optimize the temperature (60-90 °C), pH (3-7) and CaCl2 concentration (2·0-6·0 mm) for maximum yield/recovery of milk constituents. The research work was carried out in two phases. In 1st phase, the influence of these processing conditions was evaluated through 20 experiments formulated by central composite design (CCD) keeping the yield as response factor. The results obtained from these experiments were used to optimize processing conditions for maximum yield using response surface methodology (RSM). The three best combinations of processing conditions (90 °C, pH 7, CaCl2 6 mm), (100 °C, pH 5, CaCl2 4 mm) and (75 °C, pH 8·4, CaCl2 4 mm) were exploited in the next phase for Ricotta cheese production from a mixture of Buffalo cheese whey and skim milk (9 : 1) to determine the influence of optimized conditions on the cheese composition. Ricotta cheeses were analyzed for various physicochemical (moisture, fat, protein, lactose, total solids, pH and acidity indicated) parameters during storage of 60 d at 4 ± 2 °C after every 15 d interval. Ricotta cheese prepared at 90 °C, pH 7 and CaCl2 6 mm exhibited the highest cheese yield, proteins and total solids, while high fat content was recorded for cheese processed at 100 °C, pH 5 and 4 mm CaCl2 concentration. A significant storage-related increase in acidity and NPN was recorded for all cheese samples.

Lignocellulose: A sustainable material to produce value-added products with a zero waste approach-A review.

A novel facility from the green technologies to integrate biomass-based carbohydrates, lignin, oils and other materials extraction and transformation into a wider spectrum of marketable and value-added products with a zero waste approach is reviewed. With ever-increasing scientific knowledge, worldwide economic and environmental consciousness, demands of legislative authorities and the manufacture, use, and removal of petrochemical-based by-products, from the last decade, there has been increasing research interests in the value or revalue of lignocellulose-based materials. The potential characteristics like natural abundance, renewability, recyclability, and ease of accessibility all around the year, around the globe, all makes residual biomass as an eco-attractive and petro-alternative candidate. In this context, many significant research efforts have been taken into account to change/replace petroleum-based economy into a bio-based economy, with an aim to develop a comprehensively sustainable, socially acceptable, and eco-friendly society. The present review work mainly focuses on various aspects of bio-refinery as a sustainable technology to process lignocellulose 'materials' into value-added products. Innovations in the bio-refinery world are providing, a portfolio of sustainable and eco-efficient products to compete in the market presently dominated by the petroleum-based products, and therefore, it is currently a subject of intensive research.

Purification, Kinetic, and Thermodynamic Characteristics of an Exo-polygalacturonase from Penicillium notatum with Industrial Perspective.

An extracellular exo-polygalacturonase (exo-PG) produced by Penicillium notatum was purified (3.07-folds) by ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion exchange, and gel filtration chromatography. Two distinct isoforms of the enzyme, namely exo-PGI and exo-PGII, were identified during column purification with molecular weights of 85 and 20 kDa, respectively, on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The enzyme displayed its optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 50 °C and was found to be stable in the slightly acidic pH (ranging from 4.5 to 6.0). Michaelis-Menten parameters, i.e., K m (app) and V max for pectin hydrolysis, were calculated to be 16.6 mg/mL and 20 µmol/mL/min, respectively. The enzyme followed biphasic deactivation kinetics. Phase I of the exo-PGI showed half-lives of 6.83 and 2.39 min at 55 and 80 °C, respectively, whereas phase II of the enzyme exhibited a half-life of 63.57 and 22.72 min at 55 and 80 °C, respectively. The activation energy for denaturation was 51.66 and 44.06 kJ/mol for phase I and phase II of the exo-PGI, respectively. The enzyme activity was considerably enhanced by Mn2+, whereas exposure to a hydrophobic environment (urea and sodium azide solution) drastically suppressed the enzyme activity. Results suggest that exo-PGI might be considered as a potential candidate for various applications, particularly in the food and textile industries.