Biocomposites of Epoxidized Natural Rubber/Poly(lactic acid) Modified with Natural Fillers (Part I)

The study aimed to prepare sustainable and degradable elastic blends of epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) that were reinforced with flax fiber (FF) and montmorillonite (MMT), simultaneously filling the gap in the literature regarding the PLA-containing polymer blends filled with natural additives. The performed study reveals that FF incorporation into ENR/PLA blend may cause a significant improvement in tensile strength from (10 ± 1) MPa for the reference material to (19 ± 2) MPa for the fibers-filled blend. Additionally, it was found that MMT employment in the role of the filler might contribute to ENR/PLA plasticization and considerably promote the blend elongation up to 600%. This proves the successful creation of the unique and eco-friendly PLA-containing polymer blend exhibiting high elasticity. Moreover, thanks to the performed accelerated thermo-oxidative and ultraviolet (UV) aging, it was established that MMT incorporation may delay the degradation of ENR/PLA blends under the abovementioned conditions. Additionally, mold tests revealed that plant-derived fiber addition might highly enhance the ENR/PLA blend’s biodeterioration potential enabling faster and more efficient growth of microorganisms. Therefore, materials presented in this research may become competitive and eco-friendly alternatives to commonly utilized petro-based polymeric products.     

Natural Silk Film for Magnesium Protection: Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic Interaction and Self‐Healing Effect

Biodegradable implants are required in order to provide successful treatment of injuries. Temporary magnesium‐based implants with particular properties are needed in cases when it is desirable not only to maintain vital activity, but also to initiate the self‐healing process of damaged bones or tissues as well. Unfortunately, the use of magnesium alloys is limited due to the fast biodegradability of the applied material. The aim of this research is to improve the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys by sonochemical treatment in silk solution followed by additional layer‐by‐layer deposition of natural silk on the magnesium surface. The sonication process is carried out at a frequency of 20 kHz during 5–10 min, while the duration of the silk layer deposition is 15 min. The corrosion behavior of magnesium substrates modified by natural silk layer‐by‐layer assembly is studied. Magnesium substrates sonochemically treated in silk solution demonstrate three times better corrosion resistance compared to control samples sonochemically treated in water. Additional deposition of a silk layer enhances obtained corrosion resistance by 18 times, resulting in a 54‐fold increase overall.     

化学品生物降解的评价方法

本文介绍了化学品生物降解的定义、化学品在微生物中的曝露实验的方法,总结了有机物好氧生物降解和厌氧生物降解的评价方法。最后介绍了难于生物降解的“三致”型(致癌、致畸、致突变)有机污染物的降解方法,为污染物的降解提供了参考。     

Nanoconfined (Bio)Catalysts as Efficient Glucose‐Responsive Nanoreactors

Herein, the design, synthesis, and characterization of bifunctional hybrid nanoreactors used for concurrent one‐pot chemoenzymatic reactions are shown. In the design, the enzyme, glucose oxidase, is wrapped with a peroxidase‐mimetic catalytic polymer. Hemin, the organic catalyst, is linked to the flexible polymeric scaffold through coordination to the imidazole groups that hang out the network. This spatial arrangement, which works as a metabolic channel, is optimized for cooperative chemoenzymatic reactions in which the enzyme catalyzes first. A deep characterization of the integrated nanoreactors demonstrates that the confinement of two distinct catalytic sites in the nanospace is very effective in one‐pot reactions. Moreover, besides its role as scaffold material, the polymeric mantel protects both the biocatalyst and the chemical catalyst from degradation and inactivation in the presence of organic solvents. Furthermore, the polymeric environment of the nanoreactors can be tailored in order to trigger the assembly of those into highly active heterogeneous hybrid catalysts. Finally, the new nanoreactors are applied to the efficient degradation of organic aromatic compounds using glucose as the only fuel.     

Design of tailored biodegradable implants: The effect of voltage on electrodeposited calcium phosphate coatings on pure magnesium

Magnesium, as a biodegradable metal, offers great potential for use as a temporary implant material, which dissolves in the course of bone tissue healing. It can sufficiently support the bone and promote the bone healing process. However, the corrosion resistance of magnesium implants must be enhanced before its application in clinical practice. A promising approach of enhancing the corrosion resistance is deposition of bioactive coating, which can reduce the corrosion rate of the implants and promote bone healing. Therefore, a well-designed substrate-coating system allowing a good control of the degradation behavior is highly desirable for tailored implants for specific groups of patients with particular needs. In this contribution, the influence of coating formation conditions on the characteristics of potentiostatically electrodeposited CaP coatings on magnesium substrate was evaluated. Results showed that potential variation led to formation of coatings with the same chemical composition, but very different morphologies. Parameters that mostly influence the coating performance, such as the thickness, uniformity, deposits size, and orientation, varied from produced coating to coating. These characteristics of CaP coatings on magnesium were controlled by coating formation potential, and it was demonstrated that the electrodeposition could be a promising coating technique for production of tailored magnesium-CaP implants.     

Isolation and identification of caffeine-degrading bacteria from coffee plantation area

Decaffeination of food and beverage products is in high demand. In this study, a caffeine-degrading bacterium Burkholderia spp. was isolated from coffee plantation area of Chiang Mai province of Thailand. The bacterial isolates were first identified by morphological, physiological, and biochemical tests followed by 16S rDNA analysis. The bacterial isolate of Burkholderia spp. showed 45.5% of caffeine degradation in caffeine containing media (2.5 g/L) after 110 h of incubation period. Burkholderia spp. showed only 2.6% caffeine degradation when exposed to high concentrations of caffeine containing medium (20 g/L). The growth rate of Burkholderia spp. declined with the increase in the caffeine concentration, which indicated the inhibiting effect of caffeine at very high concentrations. The maximum growth rate of 0.053 h^?1 was observed at 2.5 g/L of caffeine. Overall due to high caffeine tolerance and biodegradation of caffeine, Burkholderia spp. can be effectively used to degrade caffeine from agro-industrial wastes targeted for value added food applications and environmental remediation.     

垃圾渗滤液污染土壤的生物修复技术的研究

垃圾卫生填埋因操作简单、处理量大而成为我国处理城市生活垃圾的主要方法,其所产生的垃圾渗滤液因含有高浓度的有机污染物对地表水、地下水及土壤环境产生严重的污染。文章概述了垃圾渗滤液的产生及其对环境的影响;介绍了垃圾渗滤液的修复技术;重点阐述了垃圾渗滤液在土壤环境中的吸附行为与生物降解及其在土壤中的迁移行为,以及生物修复技术处理垃圾渗滤液污染土壤的机理和处理效果。     

海洋中石油烃类降解与微生物腐蚀关系研究

在工程实践中,国家重要的海洋工程设施（如海底输油管线和船舶燃料系统等）发生的腐蚀破坏案例常常涉及到油水环境,并与微生物腐蚀作用密切相关,而了解海洋含油环境中石油烃类的生物转换机制是了解微生物腐蚀的关键。阐述了海洋环境中降解石油烃类的主要微生物及其降解机制,其在有氧和无氧条件下呈现不同的特点。微生物降解石油烃类过程中非常重要的一步即为接受电子,该过程将生物无法直接利用的化学能转换成可直接利用的能量形式,即腺苷三磷酸（ATP）。有氧条件下的烃类降解以氧气作为最终电子受体,而在缺氧条件下可利用硝酸盐、铁离子、硫酸盐等作为电子受体。海洋环境中的石油烃类会促进腐蚀性硫化物的生成,因此油水环境下的微生物腐蚀机理以硫化物的腐蚀破坏为主。此外,烃类降解过程产生的琥珀酸等酸性中间代谢物也会加剧腐蚀的发生。但目前关于海洋油水环境中微生物群落作为一个整体展现出的功能性及其对钢铁设施的破坏机理,仍然缺乏系统性的研究,而基于高通量测序的微生物组学研究技术将成为有效解决这些问题的手段之一。     

城市污水处理过程中壬基酚的迁移转化途径研究

采用GC—Ms法对北京市某污水处理厂各处理单元的壬基酚（NP）分布状况进行了检测，探讨了城市污水处理过程中壬基酚的迁移转化途径。结果表明，城市污水处理厂进水NP平均浓度为19．26μg／L，出水NP平均浓度为4．57μg／L。由于泥区回流液中NP浓度较高，导致NP浓度随水处理流程有先升高后降低的趋势，沉砂池出水NP浓度最高，为进水浓度的1．5倍。在污水处理流程中，除原水外，泥区回流液是NP的一个重要来源；NP的迁出与去除途径包括：初沉池生污泥和二沉池活性污泥的吸附作用，曝气池内的生物降解作用以及随处理出水的排放。