Effects of esterification on the structural, physicochemical, and flocculation properties of dextran.

Dextran is an interesting starting material to design new functional polymers by chemical modification. Potential applications of dextran in water treatment should be increasingly developed and the structure properties of dextran derivatives should be focused on. In the study, dextran ester was synthesized through the esterification reaction of hydroxyl. The structure and some physicochemical properties of synthesized dextran ester were characterized and further analyzed. And we found that dextran ester could exert desirable flocculation performance in both kaolin and sugarcane juice under acidic conditions but not lower than pH 4. Our obtained flocculant was readily-available, sustainable and environmental friendly, which is suitable for juice flocculation process.

Designing of a novel dextransucrase efficient in synthesizing oligosaccharides.

Dextransucrase (EC2.4.5.1) from strain Leuconostoc mesenteroides 0326, which synthesizes dextran and oligosaccharides, which act as prebiotics, are popularly used in such industries as food and medicine. A novel dextransucrase efficient in synthesizing oligosaccharides was designed. We constructed the truncation mutant DSR-S1-ΔA (residues 1-3087bp) by deleting the 1494bp fragment of the C-terminal. The novel enzyme (MW: 110kDa) loss activity, when sucrose was used as only substrate. After adding an acceptor, DSR-S1-ΔA was fully activated but with heavily impaired polysaccharide synthesis ability. Instead, the enzyme produced a large amount of oligosaccharides. DSR-S1-ΔA showed transglycosylation for synthesizing more oligosaccharides of lower degree of polymerization (DP) with different acceptors, and it also improved the selection range of dextransucrase acceptor response to acceptors. The enzyme developed in this study can be applied in glycodiversifcation studies.

Purification, characterization, and application of a thermostable dextranase from Talaromyces pinophilus.

Dextranase can hydrolyze dextran to low-molecular-weight polysaccharides, which have important medical applications. In the study, dextranase-producing strains were screened from various soil sources. The strain H6 was identified as Talaromyces pinophilus by a standard ITS rDNA analysis. Crude dextranase was purified by ammonium sulfate fractionation and Sepharose 6B chromatography, which resulted in a 6.69-fold increase in the specific activity and an 11.27% recovery. The enzyme was 58 kDa, lower than most dextranase, with an optimum temperature of 45 °C and an optimum pH of 6.0, and identified as an endodextranase. It was steady over a pH range from 3.0 to 10.0 and had reasonable thermal stability. The dextranase activity was increased by urea, which enhanced its activity to 115.35% and was conducive to clinical dextran production. Therefore, T. pinophilus H6 dextranase could show its superiority in practical applications.

An efficiently sustainable dextran-based flocculant: Synthesis, characterization and flocculation.

Polysaccharide-modified flocculant is a notable material in the field of wastewater treatment. Synthesis of biopolysaccharide derivatives as eco-friendly flocculants is remarkably desired for environmental protection. This work presents an efficient flocculant synthesized through copolymerization of acrylamide, sodium acrylate (AS), and dextran. Physicochemical properties of the flocculant were evaluated. Process parameters of coal-washing wastewater flocculation were tested using Response Surface Method. The application of graft polymers exhibited efficient flocculation performance at low level of flocculant dosage in alkalescent environment. The improved dextran contributes to handle industrial effluent and sanitary sewage.

Upregulated P2X3 Receptor Expression in Patients with Intractable Temporal Lobe Epilepsy and in a Rat Model of Epilepsy.

Purinergic P2X3 receptors (P2X3Rs) play extensive roles in nerve cells in the central nervous system, particularly in hyperexcitability and calcium (Ca(2+)) influx. However, the role of P2X3Rs in epilepsy has not been previously investigated. To determine the relationship between P2X3Rs and epilepsy, the expression and cellular location of P2X3Rs in patients with intractable temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and in a lithium chloride-pilocarpine-induced chronic rat model of epilepsy were assessed. Furthermore, the function of P2X3Rs was assessed in vitro. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot analysis were used to evaluate the expression levels of P2X3Rs in brain tissues from TLE patients and an epileptic rat model, whereas immunofluorescence labeling was applied to determine the distribution of target proteins. Whole-cell recording was subsequently performed to identify the influence of P2X3Rs on seizure-like discharges. P2X3Rs were located at the cell bodies and dendrites of neurons with significantly increased expression in the TLE patients and epileptic rat model. In vitro, P2X3R activation accelerated sustained repetitive firing, whereas P2X3R inhibition led to relatively low-frequency discharges. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study provide evidence that upregulated P2X3R expression exists in both epileptic humans and rats and may aggravate the epileptic state in vitro. Thus, P2X3Rs may represent a novel therapeutic target for antiepileptic drugs.

Suppression of phase coarsening in immiscible, co-continuous polymer blends under high temperature quiescent annealing.

The properties of polymer blends greatly depend on the morphologies formed during processing, and the thermodynamic non-equilibrium nature of most polymer blends makes it important to maintain the morphology stability to ensure the performance stability of structural materials. Herein, the phase coarsening of co-continuous, immiscible polyamide 6 (PA6)-acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) blends in the melt state was studied and the effect of introduction of nano-silica particles on the stability of the phase morphology was examined. It was found that the PA6-ABS (50/50 w) blend maintained the co-continuous morphology but coarsened severely upon annealing at 230 °C. The coarsening process could be divided into two stages: a fast coarsening process at the initial stage of annealing and a second coarsening process with a relatively slow coarsening rate later. The reduction of the coarsening rate can be explained from the reduction of the global curvature of the interface. With the introduction of nano-silica, the composites also showed two stages of coarsening. However, the coarsening rate was significantly decreased and the phase morphology was stabilized. Rheological measurements indicated that a particle network structure was formed when the concentration of nano-silica particles was beyond 2 wt%. The particle network inhibited the movement of molecular chains and thus suppressed the coarsening process.