Maximizing crustaceans (shrimp, crab, and lobster) by-products value for optimum valorization practices: A comparative review of their active ingredients, extraction, bioprocesses and applications.

BACKGROUND: The processing of the three major crustaceans (shrimp, lobster, and crab) is associated with inevitable by-products, high waste disposal costs, environmental and human health issues, loss of multiple biomaterials (chitin, protein hydrolysates, lipids, astaxanthin and minerals). Nowadays, these bioresources are underutilized owing to the lack of effective and standardized technologies to convert these materials into valued industrial forms. AIM OF REVIEW: This review aims to provide a holistic overview of the various bioactive ingredients and applications within major crustaceans by-products. This review aims to compare various extraction methods in crustaceans by-products, which will aid identify a more workable platform to minimize waste disposal and maximize its value for best valorization practices. KEY SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS OF REVIEW: The fully integrated applications (agriculture, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paper industries, etc.) of multiple biomaterials from crustaceans by-products are presented. The pros and cons of the various extraction methods, including chemical (acid and alkali), bioprocesses (enzymatic or fermentation), physical (microwave, ultrasound, hot water and carbonic acid process), solvent (ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents, EDTA) and electrochemistry are detailed. The rapid development of corresponding biotechnological attempts present a simple, fast, effective, clean, and controllable bioprocess for the comprehensive utilization of crustacean waste that has yet to be applied at an industrial level. One feasible way for best valorization practices is to combine innovative extraction techniques with industrially applicable technologies to efficiently recover these valuable components.

Molecular characterization and transcriptional regulation analysis of the Torreya grandis squalene synthase gene involved in sitosterol biosynthesis and drought response.

The kernel of Torreya grandis cv. 'Merrillii' (Cephalotaxaceae) is a rare nut with a variety of bioactive compounds and a high economic value. ß-sitosterol is not only the most abundant plant sterol but also has various biological effects, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, lipid-lowering, antioxidant, and antidiabetic activities. In this study, a squalene synthase gene from T. grandis, TgSQS, was identified and functionally characterized. TgSQS encodes a deduced protein of 410 amino acids. Prokaryotic expression of the TgSQS protein could catalyze farnesyl diphosphate to produce squalene. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing TgSQS showed a significant increase in the content of both squalene and ß-sitosterol; moreover, their drought tolerance was also stronger than that of the wild type. Transcriptome data from T. grandis seedlings showed that the expression levels of sterol biosynthesis pathway-related genes, such as HMGS, HMGR, MK, DXS, IPPI, FPPS, SQS, and DWF1, increased significantly after drought treatment. We also demonstrated that TgWRKY3 directly bound to the TgSQS promoter region and regulated its expression through a yeast one-hybrid experiment and a dual luciferase experiment. Together, these findings demonstrate that TgSQS has a positive role in ß-sitosterol biosynthesis and in protecting against drought stress, emphasizing its importance as a metabolic engineering tool for the simultaneous improvement of ß-sitosterol biosynthesis and drought tolerance.

Metabolomics reveal changes in flavor quality and bioactive components in post-ripening Torreya grandis nuts and the underlying mechanism.

Secondary metabolites are a group of small molecules with critical roles in plants fitness in addition to their potential bioactivities in humans. Most of these compounds are associated with the flavor and quality formation of fruits or nuts during the development or the postharvest stages. Change in metabolic profiles and shifts underpinning the post-ripening process in T. grandis nuts are not yet reported. In this study, a large scale untargeted metabolomics approach was employed in T. grandis nuts, revealing for a total of 140 differential accumulated metabolites. Among them, nearly 60% of metabolites belonging to terpenoids, coumarins and phenolic acids, and phytohormones were showed a gradual accumulation pattern, while most of compounds in flavonoids were decreased during post-ripening. An in-depth analysis of changes in these metabolite classes suggest a framework for post-ripening process effect associated with the postharvest quality of T. grandis nuts for the first time.

Identification of key genes and enzymes contributing to nutrition conversion of Torreya grandis nuts during post-ripening process.

The seeds of Torreya grandis are necessary to go through a ripening process, which eventually leads to nutrition conversion and the production of edible nuts. However, the molecular basis of nutrition conversion remains unclear. Here, transcriptome sequencing was performed on seeds treated with different temperature and humidity. A total of 881 unigenes related to nutrition conversion were identified. The correlations between nutrient content and gene expression suggested that sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS), dihydrolipoyllysine-residue succinyltransferase component of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex (DLST), glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) and Pyruvate kinase (PK) may play key roles in nutrition conversion. Transient over-expression of TgDLST, TgPK and TgGPAT in tobacco leaves promoted nutritional conversion. Moreover, enzyme activity analysis indicated that diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) activities may also accelerate the nutritional conversion. This study uncovers the molecular basis of nutrition conversion in T. grandis seeds, which critical for shortening the time of nutrition conversion.

Identification of key genes contributing to amino acid biosynthesis in Torreya grandis using transcriptome and metabolome analysis.

Torreya grandis has high economic and nutritional value due to the high nutrients in its kernels. The kernels of different development stages vary enormously in their amino acids content. However, the molecular basis and the regulatory mechanism of amino acid biosynthesis remain unclear. Here, transcriptome and metabolome analysis were performed. Correlation analysis result showed that 4 unigenes were significantly and positively correlated with at least 10 amino acids. The full length CDS of 2 unigenes (TgDAHP2 and TgASA1) were successfully cloned from the 4 unigenes for DAHP, ASA and CITS. Subcelluar localization analysis showed that both TgDAHP2 and TgASA1 were localized to the chloroplast. Overexpression of TgDAHP2 and TgASA1 in Arabidopsis can greatly increase the content of most amino acids. Moreover, 3 transcription factors were found to positively regulate the expression of TgASA1. This research contributes to understand the molecular regulatory mechanisms of amino acid biosynthesis in T. grandis.

Transcriptome sequencing and metabolomics analyses provide insights into the flavonoid biosynthesis in Torreya grandis kernels.

The kernel of Torreya grandis (T. grandis) is a rare nut with a variety of bioactive compounds. Flavonoids are a very important class of bioactive compounds with high antioxidant activity in T. grandis kernels. However, the flavonoid compositions which mainly contribute to antioxidant capacity and the molecular basis of flavonoid biosynthesis in T. grandis remain unclear. Here, transcriptome sequencing and metabolomics analysis for kernels were performed. In total, 124 flavonoids were identified. Among them, 9 flavonoids were highly correlated with antioxidant activity. Furthermore, unigenes encoding CHS, DFR and ANS showed significant correlation with the 9 flavonoids. Transient overexpression of TgDFR1 in tobacco leaves resulted in increased antioxidant activity. Moreover, several transcription factors from MYB, bHLH and bZIP families were identified by co-expression assay, suggesting that they may regulate flavonoid biosynthesis. Our findings provide a molecular basis and new insights into the flavonoid biosynthesis in T. grandis kernels.

Effective removal of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) by sodium alginate intercalated MgAl-layered double hydroxide: adsorption properties and mechanistic studies.

To improve the adsorption efficiency of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) for heavy metals, a novel sodium alginate (SA) intercalated MgAl-LDH (SA-LDH) was synthesized in this work. SA-LDH was characterized by XRD, FTIR, XPS and employed as adsorbent for Cd(II), Pb(II), Cu(II) elimination. Adsorbent dosage, initial pH and contact time, which are regarded as several key parameters, were optimized. The results showed that SA-LDH exhibited better adsorption performance compared with the pristine MgAl-LDH. The maximum adsorption capacities of SA-LDH for Cu(II), Pb(II) and Cd(II) reached 0.945, 1.176 and 0.850 mmol/g, respectively. The possible mechanisms were analyzed by XPS, XRD and FTIR. The results showed that Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) may be removed by SA-LDH via (i) bonding or complexation with Sur-OH or Sur-O- of SA-LDH, (ii) precipitation of metal hydroxides or carbonates, (iii) isomorphic substitution, and (iv) chelation with -COO- in the interlayers. This work provides an effective method for the development of LDH-based adsorbent and the treatment of wastewater containing heavy metals.

Rhodol-derived Colorimetric and Fluorescent Probe with the Receptor of Carbonothioate for the Specific Detection of Mercury Ions.

Developing some methods that can simply and effectively detect mercury ions (Hg2+) in the environment and biological systems are very important due to the problems of high toxicity and biological accumulation. Herein, we report a simple rhodol-derived colorimetric and fluorescent probe rhodol-Hg with a recognition receptor of carbonothioate for the specific determination of Hg2+. The color of probe rhodol-Hg solution changed remarkably from colorless to pink in the presence of Hg2+, thus rhodol-Hg could act as a "naked-eye" probe for Hg2+. Additionally, this probe exhibited high selectivity and ultrasensitivity in aqueous solution with the limit of detection (LOD) of 1.4 nM toward Hg2+, and the linear range was 0 - 0.8 µM determined by turn-on fluorescence spectrometry. Importantly, this probe has been successfully used for the detection of Hg2+ in environmental waters and living cells.

A reductant-resistant ratiometric, colorimetric and far-red fluorescent probe for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of nitroxyl.

Development of selective fluorescent probes for rapid and ultrasensitive detection of nitroxyl (HNO) is of great importance for biomedical researchers to investigate the detailed functions and mechanisms of HNO in living systems. Herein, based on an internal charge transfer (ICT) mechanism, we developed a novel ratiometric, colorimetric and far-red fluorescent probe (HNO-TCF) for the rapid and ultrasensitive detection of HNO in living cells. HNO-TCF exhibits high HNO-selectivity even in the presence of a high concentration of biological reductants including glutathione (GSH), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and ascorbate (AA), which might be ascribed to the adoption of the 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoate recognition moiety. The ICT-based fluorescent probe HNO-TCF displays a large (185 nm) red-shifted absorption spectrum and the color changes from yellow to blue upon addition of HNO. In addition, the results showed that HNO-TCF could quantitatively detect HNO in the range of 0 to 4 µM with a detection limit of 10 nM by ratiometric absorption and fluorescence spectrometry methods. Importantly, HNO-TCF was successfully applied to the fluorescence imaging of HNO levels in living cells, and it is expected to be a useful chemical tool for investigating the detailed functions and mechanisms of HNO in living systems.

A highly specific and ultrasensitive fluorescent probe for basal lysosomal HOCl detection based on chlorination induced by chlorinium ions (Cl+).

The development of techniques for detecting HOCl at the subcellular level is very important to elucidate its cellular functions. Due to its relatively low concentration, it is still a great challenge to specifically track the basal HOCl in normal cells. In this paper, based on the unique chlorination of HOCl by the initiation of chlorinium ions (Cl+) in an acidic medium, we have developed a simple pH-mediated lysosome-targetable fluorescent probe Lyso-HOCl for the specific detection of HOCl over other bioactive molecules at higher concentration (500 µM). Our results show that Lyso-HOCl possesses a detection limit of 8.0 pM, and can quantitatively detect HOCl at the picomolar level. The ultrasensitive and ultrafast response property of probe Lyso-HOCl offers a good opportunity to monitor the basal HOCl and the fluctuation of endogenous HOCl levels in the lysosomes of macrophages (Raw 264.7 cells), and we thus anticipate that this probe would provide a promising tool for further unraveling the biological functions of HOCl in subcellular lysosomes.

Catalytic combustion of soot particulates over rare-earth substituted Ln2Sn2O7 pyrochlores (Ln=La, Nd and Sm).

Catalytic combustion is one of the most promising methods for diesel soot removal. Ln2Sn2O7 pyrochlores substituted with different rare-earth (RE) elements (Ln=La, Nd and Sm) were prepared through co-precipitation method for catalytic combustion of soot particulates. The structural, textural and redox properties, together with the oxygen vacancy of the catalysts were investigated systematically. Their catalytic activities were evaluated by both temperature-programmed oxidation and isothermal reaction techniques. With the increasing in RE ionic radius (r), the SnO bond strength in Ln2Sn2O7 pyrochlores evaluated from the stretching IR band was decreased, resulting in the improved reducibility and enhanced oxygen vacancies of catalysts. The increase of oxygen vacancy concentration was further confirmed by photoluminescence (PL) investigations wherein upon excitation with UV radiation, the pyrochlores nanoparticles exhibited strong and sharp transition at 408nm attributed to oxygen vacancies. Catalytic combustion and isothermal reactions revealed that the ignition activity (ignition temperature, T5) and the intrinsic activity (turnover frequency, TOF) were shown to depend correlatedly on redox properties and oxygen vacancy concentrations, both of which were influenced by the substitution of different RE elements. Among the pyrochlore oxides, the as-synthesized La2Sn2O7 sample displayed relatively the highest ignition activity and the largest intrinsic activity with TOF of 2.33×10(-3)s(-1).

Heterogeneous activation of Oxone by Co(x)Fe(3-x)O4 nanocatalysts for degradation of rhodamine B.

The removal of Rhodamine B (RhB) by Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles activated Oxone has been performed in this study. A series of Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) nanoparticles was synthesized using a hydrothermal method. The synthetic Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results showed that they were spinel structures and Co was introduced into their structures. The performances of Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) nanocatalysts on the activation of Oxone for removal of RhB were investigated and we found that the higher cobalt content in the catalyst, the better removal performance was resulted. A series experiments of reaction conditions were also performed, which confirmed that weak acidic, higher temperature, higher dosages of Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) nanocatalyst and Oxone and lower concentration of RhB were favored for the degradation of RhB. The pseudo-first order kinetics was observed to fit the Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4)/Oxone process. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism was discussed and the scavenging effect was examined by using phenol and tert-butyl alcohol which indicated that sulfate radicals were the dominating reactive species responsible for the degradation process. Finally, the stability of Co(x)Fe(3-x)O(4) nanocatalyst was studied.

Degradation of amoxicillin in aqueous solution using sulphate radicals under ultrasound irradiation.

Degradation of the antibiotics amoxicillin in aqueous solution using sulphate radicals under ultrasound irradiation was investigated. The preliminary studies of optimal degradation methodology were conducted with only oxone (2KHSO(5) · KHSO(4) · K(2)SO(4)), cobalt activated oxone (oxone/Co(2+)), oxone+ultrasonication (oxone/US) and cobalt activated oxone+ultrasonication (oxone/Co(2+)/US). The chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency were in the order of oxone

A 4-hydroxynaphthalimide-derived ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter for imaging palladium in living cells.

A highly selective ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter derived from 4-hydroxynaphthalimide was designed and synthesized to image palladium species in living cells by virtue of a palladium-catalyzed depropargylation reaction, and it could monitor three typical palladium species (0, + 2 and + 4) without additional reagents.

A highly selective colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter for imaging fluoride ions in living cells.

A simple but highly selective colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescent chemodosimeter was designed and synthesized to detect fluoride ions (F(-)) in aqueous solution and living cells by virtue of the strong affinity of F(-) toward silicon.