Cellulose nanocrystals coated with a tannic acid-Fe3+ complex as a significant medium for efficient CH4 microbial biotransformation.

Microbial biotransformation of CH4 gas has been attractive for the production of energy and high-value chemicals. However, insufficient supply of CH4 in a culture medium needs to be overcome for the efficient utilization of CH4. Here, we utilized cellulose nanocrystals coated with a tannic acid-Fe3+ complex (TA-Fe3+CNCs) as a medium component to enhance the gas-liquid mass-transfer performance. TA-Fe3+CNCs were well suspended in water without agglomeration, stabilized gas bubbles without coalescence, and increased the gas solubility by 20 % and the kLa value at a rapid inlet gas flow rate. Remarkably, the cell growth rate of Methylomonas sp. DH-1 as model CH4-utilizing bacteria improved with TA-Fe3+CNC concentration without any cytotoxic or antibacterial properties, resulting in higher metabolite production ability such as methanol, pyruvate, formate, and succinate. These results showed that TA-Fe3+CNCs could be utilized as a significant component in the culture medium applicable as a promising nanofluid for efficient CH4 microbial biotransformation.

Chiral nematic self-assembly of minimally surface damaged chitin nanofibrils and its load bearing functions.

Chitin is one of the most abundant biomaterials in nature, with 10(10) tons produced annually as hierarchically organized nanofibril fillers to reinforce the exoskeletons of arthropods. This green and cheap biomaterial has attracted great attention due to its potential application to reinforce biomedical materials. Despite that, its practical use is limited since the extraction of chitin nanofibrils requires surface modification involving harsh chemical treatments, leading to difficulties in reproducing their natural prototypal hierarchical structure, i.e. chiral nematic phase. Here, we develop a chemical etching-free approach using calcium ions, called "natural way", to disintegrate the chitin nanofibrils while keeping the essential moiety for the self-assembly, ultimately resulting in the reproduction of chitin's natural chiral structure in a polymeric matrix. This chiral chitin nanostructure exceptionally toughens the composite. Our resultant chiral nematic phase of chitin materials can contribute to the understanding and use of the reinforcing strategy in nature.