Potential of Salvinia biloba Raddi for removing atrazine and carbendazim from aquatic environments.

In this exploratory study, naturally occurring Salvinia biloba Raddi specimens were assessed for atrazine and carbendazim polluted water remediation. Experiments were carried out over 21 days in glass vessels containing deionized water artificially contaminated with 0, 5, 10, and 20 mg L-1 of atrazine or carbendazim. Atrazine had a pronounced detrimental impact on S. biloba, as no biomass development was observed in all macrophytes exposed to this herbicide in the entire concentration range. However, carbendazim-treated plants were able to grow and survive in the polluted medium even when subjected to the highest concentration of this fungicide (i.e., 20 mg L-1). In addition, increased chlorosis and necrosis were also detected in plants subjected to carbendazim as a result of the high phytotoxicity caused by atrazine. A maximal removal efficiency of ~ 30% was observed for both pesticides at 5 mg L-1 and decreased with increasing concentrations of the pollutants. The spectrum of the FTIR-ATR analysis revealed the existence of various functional groups (e.g., amide, carboxyl, hydroxyl, phosphate, sulfate) on the plants, which could be related to pesticide biosorption. In addition, at the end of the 21-day assay, seven carbendazim-resistant bacteria could be isolated from the roots of fungicide-treated plants. Therefore, the use of autochthonous free-floating S. biloba macrophytes for phytoremediation of aquatic environments contaminated with carbendazim shows great promise. Still, additional research is required to further elucidate the plant-mediated carbendazim elimination process and the role of the herbicide-resistant bacteria, and seek alternative species capable of mitigating atrazine contamination.

Partitioning of xylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus in PEG/NaCit aqueous two-phase systems: Structural and functional approach.

The structure and catalytic activity of xylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus were studied in different media (containing polyethylene glycol -PEG- or salt) at different temperatures. The aim was to study how the native structure of the enzyme is affected to understand the partitioning behavior of xylanase in PEG/sodium citrate (PEG/NaCit) aqueous two-phase systems. The presence of PEGs of different molar masses slightly altered the native structure of xylanase, although its catalytic activity was not affected. All the polymers assayed protect the native structure (and catalytic activity) of xylanase against temperature, except for PEG1000. Surface hydrophobicity experiments showed that xylanase favorable interacts with PEGs. Partitioning experiments confirmed this result and demonstrated that PEG1000/NaCit is the best system to partition xylanase from Thermomyces lanuginosus, since the Kp was 17.7 ± 0.3.

Optimization of pancreatic trypsin extraction in PEG/citrate aqueous two-phase systems.

Enzyme extraction using aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) has been increasingly used as a primary recovery technique which integrates the clarification, concentration and partial purification of important biomolecules from their natural source in a single step. The goal of this work was to optimize the extraction of trypsin from pancreas homogenate with polyethylene glycol and sodium citrate (PEG/NaCit) ATPS by using the tools of experimental design. The variables NaCl concentration - added inert salt -, the top/bottom phase volume ratio - Vr - and the biomass loaded into the system - in percentage - were selected as the main factors in the trypsin extraction. The yield (%) and the purification factor of trypsin were considered the responses to be optimized. The central composite design and the response surface analysis proved to be suitable tools for a quick and efficient study. As a result, the optimal extraction conditions in PEG3350/NaCit system were 3.34% wt/wt for NaCl concentration, a biomass load which represented 9.30% wt/wt of the total ATPS mass and 6.37 top/bottom volume ratio giving a purification factor of 2.55 and a yield of 99.7% in top phase.