Application of seed mucilage as functional biopolymer in meat product processing and preservation.

Meat products consumption is rising globally, but concerns about sustainability, fat content, and shelf life. Synthetic additives and preservatives used for extending the shelf life of meat often carry health and environmental drawbacks. Seed mucilage, natural polysaccharides, possesses unique functional properties like water holding, emulsifying, and film forming, offering potential alternatives in meat processing and preservation. This study explores the application of seed mucilage from diverse sources (e.g., flaxseed, psyllium, basil) in various meat and meat products processing and preservation. Mucilage's water-holding and emulsifying properties can potentially bind fat and decrease the overall lipid content in meat and meat-based products. Moreover, antimicrobial and film-forming properties of mucilage can potentially inhibit microbial growth and reduce oxidation, extending the shelf life. This review emphasizes the advantages of incorporating mucilage into processing and coating strategies for meat and seafood products.

A review of valorization of agricultural waste for the synthesis of cellulose membranes: Separation of organic, inorganic, and microbial pollutants.

Agricultural waste presents a significant environmental challenge due to improper disposal and management practices, contributing to soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and pollution of water and air resources. To address these issues, there is a growing emphasis on the valorization of agricultural waste. Cellulose, a major component of agricultural waste, offers promising opportunities for resource utilization due to its unique properties, including biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability. Thus, this review explored various types of agricultural waste, their chemical composition, and pretreatment methods for cellulose extraction. It also highlights the significance of rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, and other agricultural residues as cellulose-rich resources. Among the various membrane fabrication techniques, phase inversion is highly effective for creating porous membranes with controlled thickness and uniformity, while electrospinning produces nanofibrous membranes with high surface area and exceptional mechanical properties. The review further explores the separation of pollutants including using cellulose membranes, demonstrating their potential in environmental remediation. Hence, by valorizing agricultural residues into functional materials, this approach addresses the challenge of agricultural waste management and contributes to the development of innovative solutions for pollution control and water treatment.

Celastrol-loaded polymeric mixed micelles shows improved antitumor efficacy in 4 T1 bearing xenograft mouse model through spatial targeting.

In this study, we have proposed a novel approach that combines hyaluronic acid (HA), folic acid (FA), and celastrol (CLS) within a polymeric micelle system (CLS-HF/MLs), offering a dual-action strategy against breast cancer. Polymeric mixed micelles were prepared through the thin-film hydration method, and comprehensive quality control parameters were established, encompassing particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, surface morphology, encapsulation efficiency, drug content, in vitro drug release, and storage stability assessment. The average particle size of CLS-HF/MLs micelles was found to be 120 nm and their drug loading and encapsulation efficiencies were 15.9 % and 89.52 %, respectively. The in vitro release data showed that the CLS-HF/MLs targeted mixed micelles displayed a prolonged release profile compared to the free drug. Additionally, the stability of the developed polymeric mixed micelles was maintained for up to 8 weeks of storage in terms of particle size and drug content. Furthermore, both flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy studies indicated a significant enhancement in the cellular uptake efficiency and cytotoxicity of CLS-HF/MLs mixed micelles against MCF-7 cell line. In terms of pharmacokinetic analysis, the half-life and AUC values of CLS-HF/MLs mixed micelles were found to be approximately 4.71- and 7.36-folds higher than the values of free drug (CLS), respectively. The CLS-HF/MLs micelles exhibited remarkable antitumor efficacy (almost complete ablation of the 4 T1-cell bearing tumor xenografts mouse model) due to the dual receptor (CD44 and folate) targeting effects with minimal side effects. When considering the cumulative findings of our present research, it becomes evident that mixed micelles designed for chemotherapy offer a promising and potentially effective therapeutic avenue for the treatment of breast cancer.

An acrylamide biosensor based on immobilization of hemoglobin onto multiwalled carbon nanotube/copper nanoparticles/polyaniline hybrid film.

A method is described for the construction of a highly sensitive electrochemical biosensor for the detection of acrylamide, based on covalent immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) onto carboxylated multiwalled carbon nanotube/copper nanoparticle/polyaniline (c-MWCNT/CuNP/PANI) composite electrodeposited onto pencil graphite (PG) electrode. The enzyme electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The biosensor showed an optimal response at pH 5.5 (0.1 M sodium acetate buffer) and 35 °C when operated at 20 mV s(-1). The biosensor exhibited low detection limit (0.2 nM) with high sensitivity (72.5 µA/nM/cm(2)), fast response time (<2 s), and wide linear range (5 nM to 75 mM). Analytical recovery of added acrylamide was 95.40 to 97.56%. Within- and between-batch coefficients of variation were 2.35 and 4.50%, respectively. The enzyme electrode was used 120 times over a period of 100 days, when stored at 4 °C.

Crosslinked and PEGylated Pectin Chitosan nanoparticles for delivery of Phytic acid to colon.

Polysaccharide-based nanoparticles (NPs) such as pectin/ chitosan (PN/CN) had always been of greatest interest because of their excellent solubility, biocompatibility, and higher suitability for oral drug delivery. This study employed blending-crosslinking of polymers (PN&CN) followed by emulsification-solvent evaporation to prepare and compare two sets of PEGylated NPs to deliver phytic acid (IP6) to colon orally as it has potential to manage colon cancer but fails to reach colon when ingested in pure form. The first set was crosslinked with Glutaraldehyde (GE) (GE*PN-CN-NPs) while the second set was crosslinked with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) (TPP*PN-CN-NPs). IP6-loaded-GE/TPP*PN-CN-NPs were optimized using a central composite design. Developed TPP*PN-CN-NPs had a smaller size (210.6 ± 7.93 nm) than GE*PN-CN-NPs (557.2 ± 5.027 nm). Prepared NPs showed <12% IP6 release at pH 1.2 whereas >80% release was observed at pH 7.4. Further, NPs were explored for cytocompatibility in J774.2 cell lines, cytotoxicity, and cellular uptake in HT-29 and DLD-1 cell lines. While exhibiting substantial cytotoxicity and cellular uptake in HT-29 and DLD-1, the NPs were deemedsafe in J774.2. The PEGylated-TPP*PN-CN-NPs showed time-dependent uptake in J774.2 cell lines. Conclusively, the employed NP development method successfully delivered IP6 to colon and may also open avenues for the oral delivery of other drugs to colon.

The dynamics of starch hydrolysis and thickness perception during oral processing.

While it is known that salivary amylase changes perceived thickness in starch-based foods, the dynamics of oral breakdown of starch has not been related to that of sensory perception. This work examines the associations between in-mouth oral breakdown of starch by α-amylase and thickness of a semisolid product measured instrumentally and using a sensory panel. Pureed carrots made with added waxy maize (w/w) (0% (control), 0.4% (S0.4) and 0.8% (S0.8)), were tested for dilution and hydrolysis effects with the addition of water and saliva and measuring viscosity (shear of 10 s-1), viscoelasticity (10-0.01 Hz at 0.1% strain) and maltose release. Sensory testing was conducted using progressive profiling. Control and S0.8 pureed carrots showed similar viscosities at 10 s-1 while S0.4 was lower. Addition of saliva had the highest impact on viscosity drop for S0.8. Viscoelastic properties of pureed carrots decreased with starch addition which decreased further with water/saliva incorporation. Starch breakdown measured in terms of maltose release did not change with starch concentration and oral processing times. Unlike instrumental viscosity results, perceived thickness of purees increased with starch concentration. During oral processing, thickness decreased at a constant rate across all samples highlighting the dilution effect of saliva. A relation was observed only between oral viscosity and starch hydrolysis and not rheological measurements. This indicates that changes in starch hydrolysis during oral processing can be used as an indicator of rate of drop in perceived viscosity in starch-based semi-solid foods such as pureed carrots.

Assessment of cancer risk of microplastics enriched with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Abundance of microplastics in aquatic and marine ecosystems is contaminating the seafood and it is leading to transfer of toxic pollutants to human beings. In this article, we report the hazardous nature and cancer risk of microplastics which originate from e-waste. Capture of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) onto microplastics by adsorption phenomena and an assessment of probable cancer risk of ingested PAHs enriched microplastics by human beings have been investigated. The adsorption equilibrium was well fit for the Freundlich isotherm model. The adsorption capacity of carcinogenic PAHs on microplastics was ranged from 46 to 236 µg g-1 and the maximum binding was achieved within 45 min in water. The leachate derived from microplastics of e-waste were highly hazardous in nature, for example, the sum of PAHs was 3.17 mg L-1 which is about 1000 times higher than the standard for benzo[a]pyrene, a congener of PAHs. The calculated cancer risk in terms of lifetime of microplastic ingestion would be 1.13 × 10-5 for children and 1.28 × 10-5 for adults and these values are higher than the recommended value of 106. The abundance of microplastics could transfer hazardous pollutants to seafood (e.g., fishes and prawns) leading to cancer risk in human beings.

Highly selective electrochemical nanofilm sensor for detection of carcinogenic PAHs in environmental samples.

A highly sensitive sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer film was devised for determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) in aquatic solutions. In this paper we report, electro-polymerisation of 4-vinyl pyridine (4VP) and target, pyrene, using cyclic voltammeter in electrolyte medium, forming the pyrene imprinted polymer. After polymerisation, the pyrene was removed from imprinted polymer using methanol to produce sensory nanofilm characterised by infrared spectrometer, optical and atomic force microscopy. The mechanism of nanofilm sensing was established using atomic models and electrochemical response by differential pulse voltammeter with the redox system of ([Fe(CN)6]3-/[Fe(CN)6]4-). The π-π interaction between pyrene and 4VP was primary cause for pyrene recognition in aqueous solutions and the model binding score for this interaction was -5.10 kcal mol-1. The electrochemical sensor determined pyrene in the concentration range of 1 × 10-4 - 1 ng L-1, resulting best linear regression (r2 > 0.9) and detection limit of 0.001 ng L-1. The recovery percentage of pyrene from the nanofilm was 83-110% in water samples and the imprinting factor value was 2.67. Therefore, the novel imprinted polymer nanofilm sensor showed highest sensitivity for target pyrene in aqueous samples compared to reported sensors.