Direct catalytic oxidation of rice husk lignin with hydroxide nanorod-modified copper foam and muconate production by engineered Pseudomonas sp. NGC7.

For the direct alkaline oxidation of rice husk lignin, we developed a copper foam-based heterogeneous catalyst that offers advantages in its recovery after the reaction mixture. The depolymerized products were utilized for muconate production by an engineered Pseudomonas sp. NGC7-based strain. A hydroxide nanorod-modified copper foam was prepared by the surface oxidation of copper foam, followed by alkaline oxidation of rice husk lignin over the catalyst. The catalyst was easily separated from the cellulosic residues in the reaction mixture, and the residues were then recovered by filtration. The resulting lignin stream was composed of a variety of aromatic monomers containing p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl compounds. The catabolic activity of Pseudomonas sp. NGC7 was demonstrated to be more suitable for muconate production from a mixture comprising 4-hydroxybenzoate (a typical p-hydroxyphenyl compound), vanillate (a guaiacyl compound), and syringate (a syringyl compound), owing to its natural ability to grow on syringate. Thus, it was applied to produce muconate from a rice husk lignin stream prepared through hydroxide nanorod-modified copper foam-catalyzed alkaline oxidation by conferring the genes responsible for converting the acetophenone derivatives to their corresponding aromatic acids and protocatechuate decarboxylase to an NGC7-based strain deficient in protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase and muconate cycloisomerase. As a result, the engineered NGC7-based muconate-producing strain produced muconate selectively from the rice husk lignin stream at 93.7 mol% yield.

Hydroxyapatite-Gold Modified Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode for Selective SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Immunosensor.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), or coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is still spreading worldwide; therefore, the need for rapid and accurate detection methods remains relevant to maintain the spread of this infectious disease. Electrochemical immunosensors are an alternative method for the rapid detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Herein, we report the development of a screen-printed carbon electrode immunosensor using a hydroxyapatite-gold nanocomposite (SPCE/HA-Au) directly spray-coated with the immobilization receptor binding domain (RBD) Spike to increase the conductivity and surface electrode area. The HA-Au composite synthesis was optimized using the Box-Behnken method, and the resulting composite was characterized by UV-vis spectrophotometry, TEM-EDX, and XRD analysis. The specific interaction of RBD Spike with immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies was evaluated by differential pulse voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods in a [Fe(CN)6]4-/3- solution redox system. The IgG was detected with a detection limit of 0.0561 pg mL-1, and the immunosensor had selectivity and stability of 103-122% and was stable until week 7 with the influence of storage conditions. Also, the immunosensor was tested using real samples from human serum, where the results were confirmed using the chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) method and showed satisfactory results. Therefore, the developed electrochemical immunosensor can rapidly and accurately detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Low-interference norepinephrine signal on dopamine detection using nafion-coated boron doped diamond electrodes.

The detection of dopamine in the presence of norepinephrine using nafion-coated boron doped diamond (Nafion-BDD) electrodes was presented. An increase current signal for dopamine could be observed at around 0.75 V using Nafion-BDD, while a change in the current signal of norepinephrine that appears at similar potential was not observed. This might be due to electronegativity of the norepinephrine that is not positive enough to be attracted towards the nafion membrane, albeit neutral enough to pass through the membrane and undergo electrochemical oxidation. An optimization process including accumulation time of dopamine inside the nafion layer, solution of the pH, and nafion thickness was conducted to exploit the difference electrochemical behavior between those two catecholamines at the Nafion-BDD. Using an accumulation time of 300 s, solution pH of 7, and nafion thickness of 1.1 µm, dopamine's LOD was found to be 0.966 µM. Low-interference signal of norepinephrine to the dopamine could be observed with an excellent %recovery of dopamine in 5% range when the concentration of norepinephrine was 10 times lower compared to dopamine concentration.

Enhanced adsorption capacity of activated carbon over thermal oxidation treatment for methylene blue removal: kinetics, equilibrium, thermodynamic, and reusability studies.

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective and inexpensive adsorbent material for dye removal, but it cannot always be used repeatedly. Furthermore, the adsorbed dyes with toxicity usually remain on its surface. In this study, a thermal air oxidation process was used to modify the surface of AC and decompose adsorbed methylene blue (MB). The behavior of this process on spent AC was investigated using TGA-DTA, while the degradation of MB before and after the regeneration process was analyzed using a carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur (CHNS) analyzer. It was discovered that thermal air oxidation could promote the formation of oxygenated functional groups on AC produced from steam-activated carbon coconut shell (SACCS), which when treated at 350 °C (denoted as SACCS-350), demonstrated an adsorption capacity 2.8 times higher than the non-air-oxidized AC (SACCS). The key parameters for the MB adsorption of SACCS and SACCS-350, such as kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamics, were compared. Moreover, the SACCS-350 could be reused at least 3 times for the adsorption of MB. Based on these results, thermal air oxidation treatment could successfully improve the adsorption performance of AC and regenerate spent AC through a reasonable and environmentally friendly process compared to other regeneration methods.

Adsorptive removal and photocatalytic decomposition of cationic dyes on niobium oxide with deformed orthorhombic structure.

Nano-rod-shaped niobium oxide with a deformed orthorhombic structure (ortho-Nb2O5) is first demonstrated as a selective adsorbent to remove cationic dyes wastewater. Ortho-Nb2O5 quickly adsorbs methylene blue (MB) with much greater capacity than reported inorganic adsorbents. Furthermore, ortho-Nb2O5 has a stronger affinity to cationic dye than anionic dye because cation exchange is involved in the adsorption process. The dye molecule adsorbed onto ortho-Nb2O5 can be degraded entirely under UV light irradiation because of its photocatalytic properties. Moreover, the regenerated ortho-Nb2O5 shows high reusability for use in additional adsorption processing. As described herein, new insights into the use of ortho-Nb2O5 as a photocatalytically regeneratable adsorbent for wastewater treatment are presented.