Photo-crosslinking: An Emerging Chemical Tool for Investigating Molecular Networks in Live Cells

Studying protein–protein interactions (PPIs) is useful for understanding cellular functions and mechanisms. Evaluating these PPIs under conditions as similar as possible to native conditions can be achieved using photo-crosslinking methods because of their on-demand ability to generate reactive species in situ by irradiation with UV light. Various fusion tag, metabolic incorporation, and amber codon suppression approaches using various crosslinkers containing aryl azide, benzophenone, and diazirines have been applied in live cells. Mass spectrometry and immunological techniques are used to identify crosslinked proteins based on their capture transient and context-dependent interactions. Herein we discuss various incorporation methods and crosslinkers that have been used for interactome mapping in live cells.     

微生物源单宁酶的研究进展

单宁酶可将单宁水解成没食子酸和葡萄糖，是一种重要的工业用酶。植物、动物和微生物中都含单宁酶，其中微生物是单宁酶的主要来源。基于单宁酶的国内外研究成果，该文归纳总结了不同微生物来源的单宁酶、酶学性质、作用机制，阐述了单宁酶在食品、饲料、制革、精细化工等实际生产中的应用，并对单宁酶今后的研究方向和应用前景进行了展望。     

Enzymatic extraction of fucoxanthin from brown seaweeds

Brown seaweeds contain a number of bioactive compounds. The xanthophyll, fucoxanthin, has in vivo efficacy against disorders such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. Organic solvents are traditionally employed to extract fucoxanthin, but carry a toxic chemical and environmental burden. The aim of this study was to optimise a fucoxanthin extraction method using enzymes, water, low‐temperature dehydration and mechanical blending, to produce yields comparable to those achieved with an organic solvent (acetone). Response surface methodology was applied, using Fucus vesiculosus as a model species. A fucoxanthin yield of 0.657 mg g^?1 (dry mass) was obtained from F. vesiculosus blade using the enzymatic method, equivalent to 94% of the acetone‐extracted yield. Optimum extraction parameters were determined to be enzyme‐to‐water ratio 0.52%, seaweed‐to‐water ratio 5.37% and enzyme incubation time 3.05 h. These findings may be applied to the development of value‐added nutraceutical products from seaweed.     

Interactions of mixing and reaction kinetics of depolymerization of cellulose to renewable fuels

As the biofuel industry is heavily depend on technological advancement to remain competent, creation of new process techniques becomes inevitable to replace the existing under-performed operations. Mixing in the reactor requires enormous amount of energy to achieve required homogeneity. Reduction in the energy consumption and ultimately the cost of the product is possible by devising smart mixing strategies. In this review, interactions of mixing and reaction kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis, fermentation, and cellulosic depolymerization in ionic solvents are discussed. When the processes are operated under various mixing conditions, changes in the reaction kinetics and dynamics of the processes occur. Therefore, analyzing the mixing effects at various levels (micro to macro) is crucial to decide best operating mixing conditions that drive the reaction kinetics toward the increased product yield. The review is helpful to identify a suitable mixing strategy that maximizes the production of biofuels—ethanol, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, etc.     

Improved oil treatment conditions for soft degumming

“Soft degumming” is a new physicochemical degumming process. It involves the complete elimination of phospholipids by using a chelating agent, EDTA, in the prescence of an emulsifying additive. To study the optimal cost of the process, a laboratory study was undertaken to find a method based on substituting the emulsifying additive by endogenous phospholipids. The phospholipids were first extracted from the oil by an initial hot-water treatment. In a second stage, a solution containing a chelating agent was incorporated. The mixture was then vigorously stirred to form an emulsion. The degummed oil was obtained after centrifugation. A comparative study carried out on several oils provided an indication of the efficiency of this alternative procedure. The phospholipid content of the processed oils was about 5 ppm phosphorus.     

响应面法优化月桂酸单甘油酯的酶催化合成工艺

以月桂酸三甘油酯和甘油为原料,脂肪酶催化甘油解反应合成月桂酸单甘油酯。在单因素试验的基础上,采用响应面分析法进行合成工艺优化。结果表明,含水量(相对于甘油的质量)对月桂酸单甘油酯产率的影响最为显著,且较优合成条件为:恒温振荡器转速100 r/min,酶添加质量分数(相对于底物)5%,n(甘油)∶n(月桂酸三甘油酯)=6∶1,底物质量分数(相对于整个反应体系)51.9%,温度65℃,含水量4.23%,反应时间5 h。在此条件下,月桂酸单甘油酯产率的预测值和实验值分别为81.68%和81.32%,说明二次多项回归模型具有良好的预测性。