Investigation and modelling of the pyrolysis kinetics of industrial biomass wastes.

Pyrolysis of the waste organic fraction is expected to be a central element to meet the primary energy demand in future: it increases the impact of renewable energy sources on the power generation sector and allows the amount of waste to be reduced, putting an end to landfills. In the present study, kinetic studies on the pyrolysis of biomass wastes are carried out. Two kinds of industrial organic waste are investigated: brewery spent grain (BSG) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). The main target of this work is to provide a global equation for the one-step pyrolysis reaction of the investigated materials in an argon atmosphere using isoconversional methods. The conducted analysis allowed to estimate the activation energy as 225.4-253.6 kJ/mol for BSG and 197.9-216.7 kJ/mol for MDF. For both materials nth order reaction was proposed with reaction order of 7.69-8.70 for BSG and 6.32-6.55 for MDF. The developed equation allowed to simulate the theoretical curves of thermal conversion. These curves indicated the highest conversion at the temperature of the degradation of dominant component, which was experimentally verified. By this method, a one-step kinetic model is derived, which can be applied for the reaction kinetics in the CFD modelling of, e.g., pyrolysis and gasification processes.

A New Tetracyclic Bromopyrrole-Imidazole Derivative through Direct Chemical Diversification of Substances Present in Natural Product Extract from Marine Sponge Petrosia (Strongylophora) sp.

Chemical diversification of substances present in natural product extracts can lead to a number of natural product-like compounds with a better chance of desirable bioactivities. The aim of this work was to discover unprecedented chemical conversion and produce new compounds through a one-step reaction of substances present in the extracts of marine sponges. In this report, a new unnatural tetracyclic bromopyrrole-imidazole derivative, rac-6-OEt-cylindradine A (1), was created from a chemically diversified extract of the sponge Petrosia (Strongylophora) sp. We also confirmed that 1 originated from naturally occurring (-)-cylindradine A (2) via a new reaction pattern. Moreover, (-)-dibromophakellin (3) and 4,5-dibromopyrrole-2-carboxylic acid (4), as well as 2, were reported herein for the first time in this genus. Studies on the possible reaction mechanism and bioactivities were also conducted. The results indicate that the direct chemical diversification of substances present in natural product extracts can be a speedy and useful strategy for the discovery of new compounds.

Shining light on carbon dots: Toward enhanced antibacterial activity for biofilm disruption.

In spite of tremendous efforts dedicated to addressing bacterial infections and biofilm formation, the post-antibiotic ear continues to witness a gap between the established materials and an easily accessible yet biocompatible antibacterial reagent. Here we show carbon dots (CDs) synthesized via a single hydrothermal process can afford promising antibacterial activity that can be further enhanced by exposure to light. By using citric acid and polyethyleneimine as the precursors, the photoluminescence CDs can be produced within a one-pot, one-step hydrothermal reaction in only 2 h. The CDs demonstrate robust antibacterial properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and, notably, a considerable enhancement of antibacterial effect can be observed upon photo-irradiation. Mechanistic insights reveal that the CDs generate singlet oxygen (1O2) when exposed to light, leading to an augmented reactive oxygen species level. The approach for disruption of biofilms and inhibition of biofilm formation by using the CDs has also been established. Our findings present a potential solution to combat antibacterial resistance and offer a path to reduce dependence on traditional antibiotics.

Biosynthesis of 10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic Acid through a One-Step Whole-Cell Catalysis.

10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA) is an important component of royal jelly, known for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, blood pressure-lowering, and antiradiation effects. Currently, 10-HDA biosynthesis is limited by the substrate selectivity of acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase, which restricts the technique to a two-step process. This study aimed to develop an efficient and simplified method for synthesizing 10-HDA. In this study, ACOX from Candida tropicalis 1798, which catalyzes 10-hydroxydecanoyl coenzyme A desaturation for 10-HDA synthesis, was isolated and heterologously coexpressed with FadE, Macs, YdiI, and CYP in Escherichia coli/SK after knocking out FadB, FadJ, and FadR genes. The engineered E. coli/AKS strain achieved a 49.8% conversion of decanoic acid to 10-HDA. CYP expression was improved through ultraviolet mutagenesis and high-throughput screening, increased substrate conversion to 75.6%, and the synthesis of 10-HDA was increased to 0.628 g/L in 10 h. This is the highest conversion rate and product concentration achieved in the shortest time to date. This study provides a simple and efficient method for 10-HDA biosynthesis and offers an effective method for developing strains with high product yields.

One-Step Method for Direct Acrylation of Vegetable Oils: A Biobased Material for 3D Printing.

The substitution of fossil resources by alternatives derived from biomass is a reality that is taking on a growing relevance in the chemical and energy industries. In this sense, fats, oils, and their derived products have become indispensable inputs due to their broad functional attributes, stable price and sustainable character. Acrylated vegetable oils are considered to be very versatile materials for very broad applications (such as in adhesives, coatings or inks) since, in the presence of photoinitiators, they can be polymerized by means of UV-initiated free radical polymerizations. The usual process for the synthesis of acrylate vegetable oils consists in reacting epoxidized oils derivatives with acrylic acid. Here, the influence of different catalysts on the activity and selectivity of the process of acrylation of epoxidized soybean oil is studied. In addition, a novel one-step method for direct acrylation of vegetable oils is also explored. This new approach advantageously uses the original vegetable resource and eliminates intermediate reactions, thus being more environmentally efficient. This study offers a simple and low-cost option for synthesizing a biomass-derived monomer and studies the potential for the 3D printing of complex structures via digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing of the thus-obtained novel sustainable formulations.

Harnessing Nuclear Energy to Gold Nanoparticles for the Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy of Glioblastoma.

Nuclear fission reactions can release massive amounts of energy accompanied by neutrons and γ photons, which create a mixed radiation field and enable a series of reactions in nuclear reactors. This study demonstrates a one-pot/one-step approach to synthesizing radioactive gold nanoparticles (RGNP) without using radioactive precursors and reducing agents. Trivalent gold ions are reduced into gold nanoparticles (8.6-146 nm), and a particular portion of 197Au atoms is simultaneously converted to 198Au atoms, rendering the nanoparticles radioactive. We suggest that harnessing nuclear energy to gold nanoparticles is feasible in the interests of advancing nanotechnology for cancer therapy. A combination of RGNP applied through convection-enhanced delivery (CED) and temozolomide (TMZ) through oral administration demonstrates the synergistic effect in treating glioblastoma-bearing mice. The mean survival for RGNP/TMZ treatment was 68.9 ± 9.7 days compared to that for standalone RGNP (38.4 ± 2.2 days) or TMZ (42.8 ± 2.5 days) therapies. Based on the verification of bioluminescence images, positron emission tomography, and immunohistochemistry inspection, the combination treatment can inhibit the proliferation of glioblastoma, highlighting the niche of concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) attributed to RGNP and TMZ.

Acetylated cellulose nanocrystals with high-crystallinity obtained by one-step reaction from the traditional acetylation of cellulose.

One-step reaction instead of two-step or multi-step reaction is simple and feasible to prepare the acetylated cellulose nanocrystals (ACNCs). Herein, a common and moderate one-step reaction for obtaining the acetylated cellulose nanocrystals (ACNCs) with high-crystallinity via traditional acetylation of cellulose is first proposed. Morphology property analysis indicates that ACNCs with a rod-like structure have a length of 21-140 nm and a width of 12-20 nm. The ACNCs show an allomorph of cellulose II with a high-crystallinity of ∼70%. 13C NMR and FT-IR analysis indicate that the obtained ACNCs have been acetylated, and the DS of ACNC-1.5 and ACNC-2.0 are 0.18 and 0.42, respectively. By studying the reaction mechanism, it can be found that ACNCs were obtained in the synergetic process of hydrolysis and acetylation. They can be redispersed in both water and organic solvent systems. This study provides a simple new method to prepare the acetylated CNCs with high crystallinity.

Facile synthesis of a water-soluble fluorescence sensor for Al3+ in aqueous solution and on paper substrate.

In this study, a facile water-soluble fluorescence sensor 2-((2-hydroxybenzylidene)-amino)-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol (ST) was synthesized via one-step reaction, and its fluorescence sensing performance for Al3+ both in aqueous solution and on paper substrate was evaluated. The results showed that ST exhibited an specific fluorescence "turn-on" response to Al3+ over other cations in aqueous solution as well as on the test paper. The limit of detection was found to be 3.2×10-7M, which revealed that the obtained Schiff-base based fluorescence chemosensor ST possessed a great potential for the rapid, quantitative and qualitative detection of Al3+.