Description of a New Species of Hua (Gastropoda: Semisulcospiridae) from Guizhou, China, Based on Morphology and Molecular Evidence.

A new species of Hua, Hua qiannanensis sp. nov., is described from Guizhou Province, China, based on morphological and molecular evidence. The new species can be distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: the smooth shell, only three smaller cusps of lateral teeth on the inner side, outer marginal teeth with eight flattened and rounded denticles, an ovipositor pore in females, and BW/H ≥ 80%, B/H = 76.8-82.3%. Molecular analysis based on partial mitochondrial COI and 16S rDNA also supports the systematic position of the new taxon.

C1orf194 deficiency leads to incomplete early embryonic lethality and dominant intermediate Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease in a knockout mouse model.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease is the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy and shows clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Mutations in C1orf194 encoding a Ca2+ regulator in neurons and Schwann cells have been reported previously by us to cause CMT disease. In here, we further investigated the function and pathogenic mechanism of C1or194 by generating C1orf194 knockout (KO) mice. Homozygous mutants of C1orf194 mice exhibited incomplete embryonic lethality, characterized by differentiation abnormalities and stillbirth on embryonic days 7.5-15.5. Heterozygous and surviving homozygous C1orf194 KO mice developed motor and sensory defects at the age of 4 months. Electrophysiologic recordings showed decreased compound muscle action potential and motor nerve conduction velocity in the sciatic nerve of C1orf194-deficient mice as a pathologic feature of dominant intermediate-type CMT. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed demyelination and axonal atrophy in the sciatic nerve as well as swelling and loss of mitochondrial matrix and other abnormalities in axons and Schwann cells. A histopathologic examination showed a loss of motor neurons in the anterior horn of the spinal cord and muscle atrophy. Shorter internodal length between nodes of Ranvier and Schmidt-Lanterman incisures was detected in the sciatic nerve of affected animals. These results indicate that C1orf194 KO mice can serve as an animal model of CMT with a severe dominant intermediate CMT phenotype that can be used to investigate the molecular mechanisms of the disease and evaluate the efficacy of therapeutic strategies.

Comparative Studies on the Proton Conductivities of Hafnium-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks and Related Chitosan or Nafion Composite Membranes.

Hafnium (Hf)-based UiO-66 series metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have been widely studied on gas storage, gas separation, reduction reaction, and other aspects since they were first prepared in 2012, but there are few studies on proton conductivity. In this work, one Hf-based MOF, Hf-UiO-66-fum showing UiO-66 structure, also known as MOF-801-Hf, was synthesized at room temperature using cheap fumaric acid as the bridging ligand, and then imidazole units were successfully introduced into MOF-801-Hf to obatin a doped product, Im@MOF-801-Hf. Note that both MOF-801-Hf and Im@MOF-801-Hf demonstrate excellent thermal, water, and acid-base stabilities. Expectedly, the maximum proton conductivity (σ) of Im@MOF-801-Hf (1.46 × 10-2 S·cm-1) is nearly 4 times greater than that of MOF-801-Hf (3.98 × 10-3 S·cm-1) under 100 °C and 98% relative humidity (RH). To explore their possible practical application value, we doped them into chitosan (CS) or Nafion membranes as fillers, namely, CS/MOF-801-Hf-X, CS/Im@MOF-801-Hf-Y, and Nafion/MOF-801-Hf-Z (X, Y, and Z are the doping percentages of MOF in the membrane, respectively). Intriguingly, it was found that CS/MOF-801-Hf-6 and CS/Im@MOF-801-Hf-4 indicated the highest σ values of 1.73 × 10-2 and 2.14 × 10-2 S·cm-1, respectively, under 100 °C and 98% RH and Nafion/MOF-801-Hf-9 also revealed a high σ value of 4.87 × 10-2 S·cm-1 under 80 °C and 98% RH, which showed varying degrees of enhancement compared to the original MOFs or pure CS and Nafion membranes. Our study illustrates that these Hf-based MOFs and related composite membranes offer great potential in electrochemical fields.

Rapid and sensitive detection of NGAL for the prediction of acute kidney injury via a polydopamine nanosphere/aptamer nanocomplex coupled with DNase I-assisted recycling amplification.

Early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) is important, as early intervention and treatment can prevent further kidney injury and improve kidney health. Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) has emerged as the earliest and promising non-invasive biomarker of AKI in urine, and has been used as a new predictive biomarker of AKI in the bench-to-bedside journey. In this work, a nanocomplex composed of a polydopamine nanosphere (PDANS) and a fluorophore-labelled aptamer has been constructed for the detection of NGAL using a DNase I-assisted recycling amplification strategy. After the addition of NGAL, the fluorescence intensity increases linearly over the NGAL concentration range from 12.5 to 400 pg mL-1. The limit of detection of this strategy is found to be 6.25 pg mL-1, which is almost 5 times lower than that of the method that does not involve DNase I. The process can be completed within 1 h, indicating a fast fluorescence response. Furthermore, the method using the nanocomplex coupled with DNase I has been successfully utilized for the detection of NGAL in the urine from cisplatin-induced AKI and five-sixths nephrectomized mice, demonstrating its promising ability for the early prediction of AKI. This method also demonstrates the protective effect of the Huangkui capsule on AKI, and provides an effective way to screen potentially protective drugs for renal disease.

Targeted Myocardial Hypoxia Imaging Using a Nitroreductase-Activatable Near-Infrared Fluorescent Nanoprobe.

Development of a highly selective and sensitive imaging probe for accurate detection of myocardial hypoxia will be helpful to estimate the degree of ischemia and subsequently guide personalized treatment. However, an efficient optical approach for hypoxia monitoring in myocardial ischemia is still lacking. In this work, a cardiomyocyte-specific and nitroreductase-activatable near-infrared nanoprobe has been developed for selective and sensitive imaging of myocardial hypoxia. The nanoprobe is a liposome-based nanoarchitecture which is functionalized with a peptide (GGGGDRVYIHPF) for targeting heart cells and encapsulating a nitrobenzene-substituted BODIPY for nitroreductase imaging. The nanoprobe can specifically recognize and bind to angiotensin II type 1 receptor that is overexpressed on the ischemic heart cells by the peptide and is subsequently uptaken into heart cells, in which the probe is released and activated by hypoxia-related nitroreductase to produce fluorescence emission at 713 nm. The in vitro response of the nanoprobe toward nitroreductase resulted in 55-fold fluorescence enhancement with the limit of detection as low as 7.08 ng/mL. Confocal fluorescence imaging confirmed the successful uptake of nanoprobe by hypoxic heart cells and intracellular detection of nitroreductase. More significantly, in vivo imaging of hypoxia in a murine model of myocardial ischemia was achieved by the nanoprobe with high sensitivity and good biocompatibility. Therefore, this work presents a new tool for targeted detection of myocardial hypoxia and will promote the investigation of the hypoxia-related physiological and pathological process of ischemic heart disease.

In Situ Visualization of Concentration Polarization during Membrane Ultrafiltration Using Microscopic Laser-Induced Fluorescence.

A novel noninvasive technique-microscopic laser-induced fluorescence (micro-LIF)-has been applied to achieve in situ visualization of concentration polarization (CP) of nanoparticles during cross-flow ultrafiltration at high resolutions. The reversible, highly dynamic nature of CP and its sensitive response to the filtration conditions were investigated and validated by direct visualization of the CP layer and the well depicted concentration profile near the membrane surface. Using micro-LIF, the formation of a CP layer during filtration and its back-diffusion after the filtration ceased can be directly observed. The dynamic variation of the CP layer with the cross-flow velocity and transmembrane pressure (TMP) change has also been demonstrated. The results showed that CP reached the steady state approximately 1 min after the filtration condition change. A higher cross-flow velocity and/or a lower TMP decrease the CP concentration and thickness. Further quantitative analysis of the filtration test results using the film theory model helps to obtain the particle concentration at the membrane surface and the thickness of the CP layer (30-50 µm). Accordingly, the nature of CP dynamics was characterized and the deficiency of the traditional CP model was explored.

Selective precipitation and characterization of lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCCs) from Eucalyptus.

MAIN CONCLUSION: Six types of lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) fractions were isolated from Eucalyptus. The acidic dioxane treatment applied significantly improved the yield of LCCs. The extraction conditions had a limited impact on the LCC structures and linkages. Characterization of the lignin-carbohydrate complex (LCC) structures and linkages promises to offer insight on plant cell wall chemistry. In this case, Eucalyptus LCCs were extracted by aqueous dioxane, and then precipitated sequentially by 70% ethanol, 100% ethanol, and acidic water (pH = 2). The composition and structure of the six LCC fractions obtained by selective precipitation were investigated by sugar analysis, molecular weight determination, and 2D HSQC NMR. It was found that the acidic (0.05-M HCl) dioxane treatment significantly improved the yield of LCCs (66.4% based on Klason lignin), which was higher than the neutral aqueous dioxane extraction, and the extraction condition showed limited impact on the LCC structures and linkages. In the fractionation process, the low-molecular-weight LCCs containing a high content of carbohydrates (60.3-63.2%) were first precipitated by 70% ethanol from the extractable solution. The phenyl glycoside (PhGlc) bonds (13.0-17.0 per 100Ar) and highly acetylated xylans were observed in the fractions recovered by the precipitation with 100% ethanol. On the other hand, such xylan-rich LCCs exhibited the highest frequency of ß-O-4 linkages. The benzyl ether (BE) bonds were only detected in the fractions obtained by acidic water precipitation.

[Research on the effect of extract of dentin matrix on the differentiation of dental pulp cells].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of human treated dentin matrix (hTDM) extracellular matrix molecules on odontogenetic and neural differentiation of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) with an aim to find an effective method to collect extracellular matrix molecules to contribute to reparation dental-pulp complex with dentin defects. METHODS: hDPCs were obtained and biological characteristics such as source of cells and multi-differentiation potentials were assessed using immunofluorescence and flow cytometry. Fabrication of hTDM extracts and hDPCs was induced with it for 1 week. The odontogenetic differentiation associated genes were tested by qRT-PCR. Results qRT-PCR results showed that cells were higher expression of odontogenetic differentiation associated genes ALP, OPN, OCN, BSP, DMP-1, DSP, beta-III tubulin. CONCLUSION: The method of extracting extracellular matrix molecules from dentin matrix was effective. The extract liquid provides a suitable microenvironment for odontogenetic and neural differentiation of hDPCs and contributes to reparation dental-pulp complex.

T cell-responsive macroporous hydrogels for in situ T cell expansion and enhanced antitumor efficacy.

Adoptive T cell therapy has demonstrated great promise for treating cancer and other diseases. While extensive effort has been made to improve ex vivo expansion of T cells, strategies for maintaining the proliferation and function of T cells post adoptive transfer are still lacking. Here we report an injectable T cell-responsive macroporous hydrogel that enables in situ activation and expansion of T cells. The macroporous gel is composed of a polymeric network with dispersed macropores (∼150 µm) that are large enough to home T cells. In the presence of T cells that can gradually disrupt the gel network surrounding the macropores, activation cues can be gradually released for in situ activation and expansion of T cells. This T cell-responsive macroporous gel enables expansion of effector T cells in vivo, is stable over weeks upon subcutaneous injection, and results in enhanced CD8+ T cell response and antitumor efficacy. We further show that the T cell-responsive macroporous gel could achieve comparable antitumor efficacy to conventional T cell therapy with a much lower cell dose. This injectable, T cell-responsive macroporous gel provides a platform for in vivo expansion of engineered T cells in a controlled manner, for timely and effective treatment of diseases.

Effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide on osteoblast differentiation in an osteoblast and endothelial cell co-culture system.

We have investigated the in vitro effects and regulatory mechanism of CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) on the differentiation of OB (osteoblasts) in co-culture with HUVEC (human umbilical vein endothelial cells). Primary human MOB (mandibular OB) and OB-like cells (MG-63) were either cultured directly or indirectly co-cultured with HUVEC at a 1:1 ratio. Expression of OC (osteocalcin) was measured by ELISA, and expression of ALP (alkaline phosphatase) and collagen mRNA was measured by quantitative fluorescent PCR. For mineralization nodus, OB were stained with Alizarin Red-S. When co-cultured with HUVEC, expression of OC and ALP mRNA were increased in MG-63 (P<0.01), and the expression of OC, ALP and collagen mRNA were increased in MOB (P<0.01 or 0.05). When treated with CGRP, OC and ALP mRNA and mineralization nodus numbers were increased in the MG-63 co-culture system (P<0.01 or 0.05); OC, ALP and collagen mRNA, and mineralization nodus numbers were increased in the MOB co-culture system (P<0.01 or 0.05). The effect of CGRP regulation on the differentiation of OB is not only direct but also indirect, via its effect on HUVEC and stimulation of OB.

Targeted delivery of liposomal chemoimmunotherapy for cancer treatment.

Chemoimmunotherapy that utilizes the immunomodulatory effect of chemotherapeutics has shown great promise for treating poorly immunogenic solid tumors. However, there remains a significant room for improving the synergy between chemotherapy and immunotherapy, including the efficient, concurrent delivery of chemotherapeutics and immunomodulators into tumors. Here, we report the use of metabolic glycan labeling to facilitate cancer-targeted delivery of liposomal chemoimmunotherapy. 4T1 triple-negative breast cancer cells can be metabolically labeled with azido groups for subsequently targeted conjugation of dibenzocycoloctyne (DBCO)-bearing liposomes loaded with doxorubicin and imiquimod (R837) adjuvant via efficient click chemistry. The encased doxorubicin can induce the immunogenic death of cancer cells and upregulate the expression of CD47 and calreticulin on the surface of cancer cells, while R837 can activate dendritic cells for enhanced processing and presentation of tumor antigens. Targeted delivery of liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin and R837 to 4T1 tumors, enabled by metabolic glycan labeling and click chemistry, showed the promise to reshape the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment of solid tumors. This cancer-targetable liposomal chemoimmunotherapy could provide a new approach to improving conventional chemotherapy.

A double crosslinking adhesion mechanism for developing tough hydrogel adhesives.

Tough hydrogel adhesives that consist of a robust gel network and can strongly adhere to wet tissues have shown great promise as the next generation of bioadhesives. While a variety of chemistries can be utilized to construct the tough gel network, the covalent conjugation methods for tissue adhesion are still limited. Here we report, for the first time, the use of side product-free amine-thiolactone chemistry which initiates a double crosslinking adhesion mechanism to develop tough gel adhesives. Thiolactone groups can conjugate with tissue-surface amines via a ring-opening reaction. The resultant thiol end groups can be further crosslinked into disulfide linkages, enabling the formation of a robust and stable adhesion layer. The thiolactone-bearing tough hydrogel composed of methacrylate-modified gelatin, acrylic acid, and thiolacone acrylamide exhibited good biocompatibility and mechanical properties, and strong adhesion to various types of engineering solids and tissues. We also demonstrated its ability to function as a tissue sealant and drug depot. The novel adhesion mechanism will diversify future design of bioadhesives for hemostasis, drug delivery, tissue repair, and other applications. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Tough hydrogel adhesives with excellent tissue-adhesive and mechanical properties have demonstrated tremendous promise for hemostasis, tissue repair, and drug delivery applications. However, the covalent chemistry for tissue adhesion has been limited, which narrows the choice of materials for the design of bioadhesives and may pose a safety concern. Here, for the first time, we report the use of side product-free amine-thiolactone chemistry, which involves a double crosslinking adhesion mechanism, for developing tough hydrogel adhesives. We demonstrate that thiolactone-bearing tough hydrogels exhibit favorable biocompatibility and mechanical properties, and superior adhesion to both engineering solids and tissues. Our new adhesion technology will greatly facilitate future development of advanced bioadhesives for numerous biomedical applications.

Effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide on nitric oxide production in osteoblasts: an experimental study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effects and regulatory mechanism of CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide) on NO (nitric oxide) production in osteoblasts. MOB (primary human mandibular osteoblasts) and osteoblast-like cells (MG-63) were either cultured with CGRP or co-incubated with inhibitors targeting eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase), iNOS (inducible nitric oxide synthase), nNOS (neuronal nitric oxide synthase) and [Ca2+]i (intracellular Ca2+). The NO concentration in cell culture supernatants was measured during the first 24 h using the Griess test; cellular NO was marked with the fluorescent marker DAF-FM, DA (3-amino, 4-aminomethyl-2',7'-difluorescein; diacetate) and measured by fluorescence microscopy from 1 to 4 h after treatment. eNOS and iNOS mRNA expression levels were measured by quantitative RT-PCR during the first 24 h after treatment. CGRP-induced NO production in the supernatants was high between 1 to 12 h, while cellular NO was highest between 1 to 2 h after treatment and returned to basal levels by 3 h. Both in MG-63 cells and MOBs, the most effective CGRP concentration was 10 nM with a peak time of 1 h. CGRP-induced NO production decreased when eNOS activity was inhibited or when voltage-dependent L-type Ca2+ channels were blocked at 4 h. CGRP was not able to induce changes in iNOS or eNOS mRNA levels and had no effect on the cytokine-induced increase of iNOS expression. Our results suggest that CGRP transiently induces NO production in osteoblasts by elevating intracellular Ca2+ to stimulate the activity of eNOS in vitro.

A nanosensor for precise discrimination of nephrotoxic drug mechanisms via dynamic fluorescence fingerprint strategy.

Drug-induced kidney injury causes structural or functional abnormalities of kidney, seriously affecting clinical practice and drug discovery. However, rapid and effective identification of nephrotoxic drug mechanisms is yet a challenging task arising from the complexity and diversity of various nephrotoxic mechanisms. Herein, we have constructed a polydopamine-polyethyleneimine/quantum dots sensor to instantaneously read out the nephrotoxic drugs mechanisms based on the disparate cell surface phenotypes. Cell surface components induced by multiple nephrotoxic drugs can change the fluorescence emission of multicolor quantum dots, generating their corresponding fluorescent fingerprints. The fluorescence response signatures induced by different nephrotoxic agents are gained with 84% accuracy via linear discriminant analysis. Furthermore, taking the time-toxicity relationship into consideration, dynamic fluorescent fingerprint is obtained through continuous monitoring the progress of renal cell damage, achieving 100% precise classification for nephrotoxic mechanisms of four types of antibiotics. Notably, the fluorescent fingerprint-based high-throughput sensor has been demonstrated by successfully distinguishing nephrotoxic drugs in seconds, employing a promising protocol to discriminate the specific mechanism of nephrotoxic drugs, as well as drug safety evaluation.

Integrating the Polydopamine Nanosphere/Aptamers Nanoplatform with a DNase-I-Assisted Recycling Amplification Strategy for Simultaneous Detection of MMP-9 and MMP-2 during Renal Interstitial Fibrosis.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) play important roles in the progression of renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF). There is an increasing demand to construct a novel method for the simultaneous detection of MMP-9 and MMP-2 to monitor the progression of RIF. Herein, a strategy based on the nanoplatform composed of the polydopamine nanosphere and fluorescence-labeled aptamers is developed to simultaneously detect MMP-9 and MMP-2 with DNase-I-assisted recycling signal amplification. In the light of tracing the recovered fluorescence intensity at 520 and 610 nm upon adding MMP-9 and MMP-2, the increased fluorescence intensity is linear to the different concentrations of MMP-9 and MMP-2 with the detection limits of 9.6 and 25.6 pg/mL for MMP-9 and MMP-2, respectively. More intriguingly, the results of unilateral ureteral obstruction mice show that the concentration of MMP-9 in urine is increased with the extension of ligation time while the concentration of MMP-2 is reversed, indicating that the ratio of MMP-9 to MMP-2 could be considered as the potential urinary biomarker to evaluate the progress of RIF and the therapeutic effect of Huangkui capsule on RIF. Therefore, this study provides a paradigmatic strategy for the simultaneous detection of the dual markers of RIF, which is promising for the auxiliary clinical diagnosis and assessment of the prognosis of chronic kidney disease.

A cancer-specific activatable theranostic nanodrug for enhanced therapeutic efficacy via amplification of oxidative stress.

Rationale: Despite considerable advances, the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated cancer treatment suffers from the problems of up-regulation of adaptive antioxidants in cancer cells as well as side effects to normal cells. Therefore, development of a new generation of cancer-specific nanomedicine capable of amplifying oxidative stress would be of great interest for accurate and effective cancer treatment. Methods: Herein, transferrin (Tf)-decorated, dihydroartemisinin (DHA), L-buthionine-sulfoximine (BSO), and CellROX-loaded liposomal nanoparticles (Tf-DBC NPs) were developed for precise cancer theranositcs. Tf-DBC NPs could specifically recognize cancer cells via Tf-Tf receptor binding and be uptaken into the lysosomes of cancer cells, where Tf-DBC NPs were activated to release Fe(II), DHA, and BSO. ROS was generated by DHA in the presence of Fe(II), and GSH was depleted by BSO to disrupt the redox balance in cancer cells. Furthermore, CellROX, as a fluorescent probe for imaging of intracellular oxidative stress, was used to monitor the therapeutic efficacy. Results: The integration of Tf, DHA, and BSO into the acidic pH-responsive liposomes selectively and effectively killed cancer cells and prevented the oxidative injury to normal cells. The high oxidative state was visualized at the tumor site and the amplification of oxidative stress enabled tumor eradication by Tf-DBC NPs, demonstrating the successful implementation of this novel strategy in vivo. Conclusion: Our study provides a new paradigm for the design of ROS-mediated therapeutics and offers a promising perspective for precise cancer treatment.

In vivo cancer targeting via glycopolyester nanoparticle mediated metabolic cell labeling followed by click reaction.

We developed glycopolyesters (GPs) via azido-sugar initiated ring-opening polymerization of O-carboxyanhydrides (OCAs) and achieved efficient in vivo cancer targeting via GP-nanoparticle (GP-NP) mediated metabolic cell labeling followed by Click reaction. GP-NP shows controlled release of azido-sugars and can efficiently label LS174T colon cancer cells with azido groups in tumor-bearing mice. The exogenously introduced azido groups render excellent in vivo cancer targeting and retention of dibenzocyclooctyne-Cy5 (DBCO-Cy5) with an increasing tumor retention enhancement over time (68% at 6 h, 105% at 24 h, and 191% at 48 h) compared to control mice without azido labeling. The tumor accumulation of DBCO-doxorubicin is also significantly enhanced in GP-NP pretreated mice, resulting in improved in vivo anticancer efficacy. This study, for the first time, proposes the use of azido-sugar initiated polymerization of OCAs to form sugar delivery vehicles with high stability and controlled release, and demonstrates the increasing tumor targeting effect of DBCO-cargo over time by azido-modified tumor cells.

Characterization of lignins isolated with alkali from the hydrothermal or dilute-acid pretreated rapeseed straw during bioethanol production.

A better understanding of the lignin in the straw of rapeseed, Brassica campestris L., is a prerequisite for promoting the biorefinery industry of rapeseed. Two different methods for fractionating lignin from rapeseed straw were proposed in this study. Lignin in the raw material was isolated with alkaline solution and recovered by acid precipitation. A comparison between two lignin preparations obtained from two different methods has been made in terms of yield and purity. The structural features were investigated by gel permeation chromatography, FT-IR spectroscopy, 2D-HSQC NMR and 31P NMR. Taking into consideration of the yield and purity, the proposed methods are effective for extracting lignin. NMR results showed that syringyl (S) was the predominant unit over guaiacyl (G) or p-hydroxyphenyl (H) units in the lignin preparations, and linkages ß-O-4', ß-ß' and ß-5' were also identified and quantified by NMR techniques. This study demonstrated that the combination of hydrothermal or dilute-acid pretreatment and alkaline process could efficiently isolate the lignins from the rapeseed straw to further applications for industries. It was found that the enzymatic hydrolysis of the two-step pretreated rapeseed straw increased 5.9 times than the straw without treatment, which is benefit for bioethanol production from rapeseed straw.

Fractionation of rapeseed straw by hydrothermal/dilute acid pretreatment combined with alkali post-treatment for improving its enzymatic hydrolysis.

The aim of the research was to evaluate the effect of combined treatments on fermentable sugar production from rapeseed straw. An optimum condition was found to be the combination of hydrothermal pretreatment at 180°C for 45min and post-treatment by 2% NaOH at 100°C for 2h, which was based on the quantity of monosaccharides released during enzymatic hydrolysis. As compared with the raw material without treatment, the combination of hydrothermal pretreatment and alkali post-treatment resulted in a significant increase of the saccharification rate by 5.9times. This process potentially turned rapeseed straw into value added products in accordance with the biorefinery concept.

Influence of ultrafiltration membrane on ophiopogonins and homoisoflavonoids in Ophiopogon japonicus as measured by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Ultrafiltration is one of the most fascinating technologies, which makes it possible to improve the quality of traditional medicines for application in the pharmaceutical industry. However, researchers have paid little attention to the effect of ultrafiltration membrane on traditional medicines chemical constituents. In this work, Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f) Ker-Gawl. was used as an example to illuminate the influence of ultrafiltration with different material and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) membrane on natural chemical constituents as measured by ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UFLC-IT-TOF/MS). Our results indicated that ultrafiltration membrane significantly impacted homoisoflavonoids, especially homoisoflavonoids that were almost completely retained on the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane. We also found that the larger number of aglycone hydroxy and sugar moiety in steroid saponins, the higher the transmittance. Furthermore, the passage rate (%) of ophiogenin type saponins was higher than that of others. The possible adsorptive mechanisms were hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and benzene ring interaction by π-π stacking. In conclusion, it is crucial to choose appropriate ultrafiltration membrane based on the characteristics of produce products for application of ultrafiltration technique.