Analysis of the Influence of Substrate Formulations on the Bioactive Chemical Profile of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom, Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes) by Conventional and Chemometrics Methods.

Ganoderma lucidum, a mushroom with medicinal properties, can grow on diverse lignocellulosic substrates. Substrate enrichment with additives has been used as a strategy to increase mushroom productivity. In this study, we evaluated the impact of substrate formulation on the bioactive chemical profile of the basidiome. The bioactive chemical profile of basidiomes cultivated on rice agro-residues (RA) or sunflower seed hulls (SSH) enriched with olive oil and/or copper was evaluated using conventional colorimetric methods and FT-MIR spectrometry coupled with chemometrics. The contents of total triterpenoids, ganoderic acids, high-molecular-weight carbohydrates, and phenolic compounds were sensitive to substrate formulation and harvest time. Moreover, cluster analysis and principal component analysis of the mid-IR spectra were able to discriminate between basidiomes cultivated on either RA or SSH substrates, and for SSH substrates between enriched and nonenriched formulas. These results indicate that the bioactive composition of G. lucidum can be influenced by the formulation of the cultivation substrate.

Photoluminescent SBA-16 Rhombic Dodecahedral Particles: Assembly, Characterization, and ab Initio Modeling.

Nowadays, the use of polyhedral instead of spherical particles as building blocks of engineering new materials has become an area of particular effort in the scientific community. Therefore, fabricating in a reproducible manner large amounts of uniform crystal-like particles is a huge challenge. In this work we report a low reagent-consuming binary surfactant templated method mediated by a hydrothermal treatment as a facile and controllable route for the synthesis of crystal-like rombdodecahedral particles exhibiting SBA-16 mesoporosity. It was determined that the hydrothermal treatment conditions were a key point upon the final material morphology, surface area, microporosity, wall thickness, and mesopore width. As a consequence of their internal mesoporosity order, rhombic dodecahedral synthesized particles exhibited highly efficient ultraviolet absorptions and photoluminescence emissions at room temperature. Conducting experimental and theoretical comparative studies allowed us to infer that the presence of intrinsic defects confined into an ordered mesoporous structure plays a very important role in semiconductor materials. The information presented here is expected to be useful, giving new, accurate information, for the construction of novel technological devices.

Effect of ionization on the behavior of n-eicosanephosphonic acid monolayers at the air/water interface. Experimental determinations and molecular dynamics simulations.

Monolayers of n-eicosanephosphonic acid, EPA, were studied using a Langmuir balance and a Brewster angle microscope at different subphase pH values to change the charge of the polar headgroups (Zav) from 0 to -2. Molecular dynamics simulations (MDS) results for |Zav| = 0, 1, and 2 were compared with the experimental ones. EPA monolayers behave as mixtures of mutually miscible species (C20H41-PO3H2, C20H41-PO3H(-), and C20H41-PO3(2-), depending on the subphase pH). The order and compactness of the monolayers decrease when increasing |Zav|, while go from strongly interconnected by phosphonic-phosphonic hydrogen bonds (|Zav| = 0-0.03) through an equilibrium between the total cohesive energy and the electrostatic repulsion between the charged polar groups (0.03 < |Zav| < 1.6) to an entirely ionic monolayer (|Zav| ≈ 2). MDS reveal for |Zav| = 0 that the chains form spiralled nearly rounded structures induced by the hydrogen-bonded network. When |Zav| ≈ 1 fingering domains were identified. When Z ≈ 2, the headgroups are more disordered and distanced, not only in the xy plane but also in the z direction, forming a rough layer and responding to compression with a large plateau in the isotherm. The monolayers collapse behavior is consistent with the structures and domains founds in the different ionization states and their consequent in-plane rigidity: there is a transition from a solid-like response at low pH subphases to a fluid-like response at high pH subphases. The film area in the close-packed state increases relatively slow when the polar headgroups are able to form hydrogen bonds but increases to near twice that this value when |Zav| ≈ 2. Other nanoscopic properties of monolayers were also determined by MDS. The computational results confirm the experimental findings and offer a nanoscopic perspective on the structure and interactions in the phosphonate monolayers.

Enhancing CaP biomimetic growth on TiO2 cuboids nanoparticles via highly reactive facets.

Pure decahedral anatase TiO(2) particles with high content of reactive {001} facets were obtained from titanium(IV) tetrachloride (TiCl(4)) using a microemulsions droplet system at specific conditions as chemical microreactor. The product was systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy (FE-SEM, TEM), N(2) adsorption-desorption isotherms, FT-IR and UV-vis spectroscopy, and photoluminescence studies. The obtained cuboids around 90 nm in size have a uniform and dense surface morphology with a BET specific surface area of 11.91 m(2) g(-1) and a band gap energy (3.18 eV) slightly inferior to the anatase dominated by the less-reactive {101} surface (3.20 eV). The presence of reactive facets on titania anatase favors the biomimetic growth of amorphous tricalcium phosphate after the first day of immersion in simulated human plasma. The results presented here can facilitate and improve the integration of anchored implants and enhance the biological responses to the soft tissues.

Reactive dyes remotion by porous TiO2-chitosan materials.

In this work, the aim was to evaluate the remotion (adsorption plus degradation) of two reactive dyes, Methylene Blue (MB) and Benzopurpurin (BP), from aqueous solutions by the utilization of TiO2-chitosan microporous materials. Two different TiO2-chitosan hybrid materials were synthesized: TiO2-Chit A with 280 mg chitosan/gTiO2 and TiO2-Chit B with 46.76 mg chitosan/g TiO2. Adsorption data obtained at different solution temperatures (25, 35, and 45 degrees C) revealed an irreversible adsorption that decrease with the increment of T. Langmuir, Freundlich and Sips isotherm equation were applied to the experimental data. The obtained parameters and correlation coefficient showed that the adsorption of both dyes on TiO2-Chit A at the three work temperatures was best predicted by the Langmuir isotherm, while Sips equation adjusted better to adsorption data on TiO2-Chit B. The adsorption enthalpy was relatively high and varied with T, indicating that interaction between adsorbent and adsorbate molecules was not only physical but chemical. There is a change in the adsorption heat capacity, (Delta(ads)C(p)<0), related with intense hydrophobic interactions. The kinetic adsorption data were processed by the application of Lagergren and Avrami models. It was found that adsorption of both dyes on both adsorbents under the operating conditions was best predicted by Avrami model. The variation of kinetic order, n, and k(av) with T are related to a pore followed by intra particle diffusion control of the adsorption rate. MB photodegradation on both TiO2-chitosan hybrid materials was of 91 (in A) and 41% (in B) and augmented with the chitosan content. For BP can be seen that the process in darkness resulted in a high remotion capacity than in UV light presence.