Effect of moist or dry heat cooking procedures on carotenoid retention and colour of fillets of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fed astaxanthin or canthaxanthin

Rainbow trout were pigmented with diets containing astaxanthin or canthaxanthin for 100 days, and then they were moist or dry heat-cooked. Fish fillet weight, fillet colour, and fillet biochemical contents (moisture, canthaxanthin and astaxanthin contents, and total lipid content) were analyzed. There was no significant effect of using astaxanthin or canthaxanthin on moisture, lipid or carotenoid contents of fish fillet. Giving astaxanthin or canthaxanthin to fish resulted in different hues; astaxanthin-fed fish yielded fillets that were visually more red than those of canthaxanthin-fed fish. The dry heat-cooking procedure showed the highest impact on the fillet colour. Carotenoid retention was affected by carotenoid source and cooking procedure. Canthaxanthin appeared more stable after heat processing than did astaxanthin.     

Intraparticle mass transfer kinetics on molecularly imprinted polymers of structural analogues of a template

The intraparticle mass transfer kinetics of the structural analogues of a template on a Fmoc-L-Tryptophan (Fmoc-L-Trp) imprinted polymer (MIP) and on the corresponding non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were quantitatively studied using the lumped pore diffusion model (POR) of chromatography. The best equilibrium isotherm models of these compounds were used to calculate the high-concentration band profiles of different substrates on the MIP and the NIP with the POR model. These profiles were compared to experimental band profiles. The numerical values of the intraparticle pore and surface diffusion coefficients were adjusted to determine those that minimized the differences between calculated and experimental profiles. The results of this exercise show that surface diffusion is the dominant intraparticle mass transfer process for the substrates on the polymers and that the energetic heterogeneity of the surface should be considered in accounting for the surface diffusion of the L-enantiomers on the MIP. The surface diffusion coefficient increases with decreasing overall affinity of each substrate for the polymers.     

Isotherm parameters and intraparticle mass transfer kinetics on molecularly imprinted polymers in acetonitrile/buffer mobile phases

The equilibrium isotherm and the intraparticle mass transfer kinetics of the enantiomers of the template were investigated on an Fmoc-L-tryptophan (Fmoc-L-Trp) imprinted polymer at different pHs and water concentrations in acetonitrile/aqueous buffer mobile phases. The equilibrium isotherm data were measured using frontal analysis at . The adsorption energy distribution was found to be trimodal, with narrow modes. Consistent with this distribution, the adsorption data were modeled using a tri-Langmuir isotherm equation and the best estimates of the isotherm parameters were determined. The intraparticle mass transfer parameters were derived by comparing the profiles of experimental overloaded bands and the profiles calculated using the isotherm model and the lumped pore diffusion (POR) model of chromatography. These results showed that different adsorption and mass transfer mechanisms exist in mobile phases made of acetonitrile/aqueous buffer and of acetonitrile/acetic acid solutions.     

Thermodynamics and mass transfer kinetics of phenol in reversed phase liquid chromatography

The thermodynamics and the mass transfer kinetics of the chromatographic system made of phenol, in a water-acetonitrile mobile phase, on a C18 RPLC column, were studied in the temperature range from 21 to and the interstitial velocity range of 0.021 to 1.27 cm/s. The equilibrium isotherm was accurately approximated by a multilayer model assuming lateral interactions between adsorbed molecules. The parameters of the kinetics of the phenol mass transfer in this column were measured by the method of moments. These data were analyzed using the available models and correlations. It was proven that the parameters of the mass transfer kinetics measured under linear conditions could be successfully used for the prediction of the concentration profiles obtained under overloaded conditions.     

The functional role of cardiac T-tubules explored in a model of rat ventricular myocytes

The morphology of the cardiac transverse-axial tubular system (TATS) has been known for decades, but its function has received little attention. To explore the possible role of this system in the physiological modulation of electrical and contractile activity, we have developed a mathematical model of rat ventricular cardiomyocytes in which the TATS is described as a single compartment. The geometrical characteristics of the TATS, the biophysical characteristics of ion transporters and their distribution between surface and tubular membranes were based on available experimental data. Biophysically realistic values of mean access resistance to the tubular lumen and time constants for ion exchange with the bulk extracellular solution were included. The fraction of membrane in the TATS was set to 56%. The action potentials initiated in current-clamp mode are accompanied by transient K+ accumulation and transient Ca2+ depletion in the TATS lumen. The amplitude of these changes relative to external ion concentrations was studied at steady-state stimulation frequencies of 1-5 Hz. Ca2+ depletion increased from 7 to 13.1% with stimulation frequency, while K+ accumulation decreased from 4.1 to 2.7%. These ionic changes (particularly Ca2+ depletion) implicated significant decrease of intracellular Ca2+ load at frequencies natural for rat heart.     

Investigation of the mixing efficiency of a chaotic micromixer using thermal lens spectrometry

This work investigates the efficiency of a chaotic micromixer using thermal lens spectrometry. The outlet of the mixing device was connected to a thermal lens detection head integrating the probe beam optical fibers and the sample capillary. The chaotic micromixer consisted of a Y-shaped poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microchip in which ribbed herringbone microstructures were etched on the floor of the main channel. Due to the solvent composition dependence of the thermal lens response, the photothermal method was shown to be highly sensitive to nonhomogeneous mixing compared to fluorescence detection. The apparatus was applied to the determination of Fe2+ with 1,10-phenanthroline using flow injection analysis; a limit of detection of 11 microg L(-1) of iron was obtained.     

Analytical study of PPV-oligomer- and C60-based devices for optimising organic solar cells

A blend of a 5-ring n-octyloxy-substituted oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) and C₆₀, sandwiched between two electrodes, has been used as the active layer for an organic solar cell. It delivered external quantum efficiencies up to 60% in the visible and 70% in the UV part of the spectrum. To unambiguously determine which parts of the bulk heterojunction structure are responsible for the rectifying behaviour and which can be considered as ohmic, the I–V characteristics of several other devices were investigated. It is found that the presence of C₆₀ in a bulk heterojunction solar cell introduces fill factor reducing shunting paths.     

Bacterial Bioconversion of Primary Aliphatic and Aromatic Alcohols into Acids: Effects of Molecular Structure and Physico-chemical Conditions

The biotransformation of four alcohol substrates (butanol, 2-methylbutanol, 3-methylbutanol and 2-phenylethanol) into their acids was studied using a strain of Acetobacter aceti. Bioconversion yields depended on the molecular structure of the alcohol. Biotransformation of high concentrations of alcohols was possible until the precursor reached an inhibiting concentration (3·8 g dm⁻³ for butanol and 3-methylbutanol, 4·2 g dm⁻³ for 2-methylbutanol). In contrast, biotransformation of 2-phenylethanol decreased when alcohol concentration was higher than 0·3 g dm⁻³. Dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH conditions of the medium were important factors in improving bioconversion. Transformation of 2-methylbutanol into the corresponding acid was increased when dissolved oxygen partial pressure increased from 60 to 80% and regulation at pH 6 allowed an increase in the production of butyric acid from butanol. © 1997 SCI.     

Synthesis and polymerization of fluorinated monomers bearing a reactive lateral group—part 7. Copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene with ω‐hydroxy trifluorovinyl monomers

The radical copolymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and trifluorovinyl ω‐hydroxy comonomers [F₂CCF(CH₂)_mOH with m = 1 (FA1) and m = 3 (FA3)] for the synthesis of fluorinated polymers bearing hydroxy side groups is presented. FA1 was prepared by dehydrofluorination of 2,2,3,3‐tetrafluoropropanol, whereas FA3 was obtained in a three‐step scheme starting from the radical addition of 1,2‐dichloroiodotrifluoroethane to allyl alcohol. The copolymerization conditions (in bulk or in solution in di n‐butyl ether) and the polymer compositions considerably influenced the molecular weights, the molecular weight distributions, and the thermal properties of these copolymers. The kinetics of copolymerization of both couples enabled to determine the reaction order to the initiator (being 0.9) and the close values of apparent activation energies for [TFE/FA1 (E_a = 52.4 kJ · mol⁻¹) and for TFE/FA3 (E_a = 46.8 kJ · mol⁻¹)] couples. From the Tidwell and Mortimer method, the relative reactivity ratios were calculated by elemental analysis or by ¹⁹F‐NMR spectroscopy, showing a higher reactivity of the TFE to incorporate the copolymer (r_TFE = 2.47 and r_FA1 = 0.41; r_TFE = 1.57 and r_FA3 = 0.45). The high values of the reaction order to the initiator and low molecular weights of copolymers were associated to the allylic chain transfer of the hydroxy comonomers and a mechanism of copolymerization was proposed. The comonomer diad and triad distribution was determined by the statistic theory and allowed one to calculate the average length of the comonomer sequences. Finally, the thermal decomposition of these cooligomers showed that those containing FA3 units are more thermostable than those synthesized from FA1, and that the higher the fluorinated alcohol content, the faster the thermal decomposition. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 73: 189–202, 1999