Understanding the Self-Assembly of Cellulose Nanocrystals—Toward Chiral Photonic Materials

Over millions of years, animals and plants have evolved complex molecules and structures that endow them with vibrant colors. Among the sources of natural coloration, structural color is prominent in insects, bird feathers, snake skin, plants, and other organisms, where the color arises from the interaction of light with nanoscale features rather than absorption from a pigment. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are a biorenewable resource that spontaneously organize into chiral nematic liquid crystals having a hierarchical structure that resembles the Bouligand structure of arthropod shells. The periodic, chiral nematic organization of CNC films leads them to diffract light, making them appear iridescent. Over the past two decades, there have been many advances to develop the photonic properties of CNCs for applications ranging from cosmetics to sensors. Here, the origin of color in CNCs, the control of photonic properties of CNC films, the development of new composite materials of CNCs that can yield flexible photonic structures, and the future challenges in this field are discussed. In particular, recent efforts to make flexible photonic materials using CNCs are highlighted.     

常压室温等离子诱变与微生物微滴培养选育几丁质脱乙酰基酶高产菌株

该研究将室温等离子（ARTP）诱变与微生物微滴培养（MMC）技术应用于几丁质脱乙酰基酶（CDA）高产菌株的诱变选育，构建高产CDA菌株的诱变及高通量筛选方法。结果表明，经过4轮的ARTP诱变及MMC筛选，从200个不同的液滴中共筛选出5个发酵产酶明显提升的液滴，并通过进一步的平板筛选、24-深孔板复筛，获得了17株产酶提高300%以上的诱变菌株。通过对比分析17株高产菌株产CDA的能力，确定了1株最佳CDA高产菌株B4，其CDA最大产量比出发菌株提高了3.15倍，发酵产酶总量达到419.11 U/mL，为原始菌种的3.90倍。该研究为CDA高产菌株的诱变选育及高通量筛选提供了借鉴。     

Lysin Motif (LysM) Proteins: Interlinking Manipulation of Plant Immunity and Fungi

The proteins with lysin motif (LysM) are carbohydrate-binding protein modules that play a critical role in the host-pathogen interactions. The plant LysM proteins mostly function as pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that sense chitin to induce the plant’s immunity. In contrast, fungal LysM blocks chitin sensing or signaling to inhibit chitin-induced host immunity. In this review, we provide historical perspectives on plant and fungal LysMs to demonstrate how these proteins are involved in the regulation of plant’s immune response by microbes. Plants employ LysM proteins to recognize fungal chitins that are then degraded by plant chitinases to induce immunity. In contrast, fungal pathogens recruit LysM proteins to protect their cell wall from hydrolysis by plant chitinase to prevent activation of chitin-induced immunity. Uncovering this coevolutionary arms race in which LysM plays a pivotal role in manipulating facilitates a greater understanding of the mechanisms governing plant-fungus interactions.     

Structure and properties of films fabricated from chitin solution by coagulating with heating

In the present work, chitin films were fabricated from chitin solution dissolved in 8 wt % NaOH/4 wt % urea aqueous systems at low temperature by coagulating with heating without using any coagulant. The formation of the chitin films was confirmed to be an entirely physical process, namely chitin inclusion complex associated with NaOH, urea and water in the solvent was broken by heating, leading to the aggregation of the chitin chains through the hydrogen bonding. A schematic model was proposed to describe the regeneration mechanism of the chitin, indicating the physical crosslinking and entanglement of the chitin chains to form the films. Glycerol was used as plasticizer, and with an increase of the glycerol content, the elongation at break (?_b) of chitin films increased rapidly from 7.8 to 83.1%, whereas the tensile strength (σ_b) decreased from 89.3 to 51.7 MPa. This work provided a “green” pathway for the researches and developments of chitin materials. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39538.     

Exposure to Diflubenzuron Results in an Up-Regulation of a Chitin Synthase 1 Gene in Citrus Red Mite,Panonychus citri (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Chitin synthase synthesizes chitin, which is critical for the arthropod exoskeleton. In this study, we cloned the cDNA sequences of a chitin synthase 1 gene, PcCHS1, in the citrus red mite, Panonychus citri (McGregor), which is one of the most economically important pests of citrus worldwide. The full-length cDNA of PcCHS1 contains an open reading frame of 4605 bp of nucleotides, which encodes a protein of 1535 amino acid residues with a predicted molecular mass of 175.0 kDa. A phylogenetic analysis showed that PcCHS1 was most closely related to CHS1 from Tetranychus urticae. During P. citri development, PcCHS1 was constantly expressed in all stages but highly expressed in the egg stage (114.8-fold higher than in the adult). When larvae were exposed to diflubenzuron (DFB) for 6 h, the mite had a significantly high mortality rate, and the mRNA expression levels of PcCHS1 were significantly enhanced. These results indicate a promising use of DFB to control P. citri, by possibly acting as an inhibitor in chitin synthesis as indicated by the up-regulation of PcCHS1 after exposure to DFB.     

Cellulose/chitin beads for adsorption of heavy metals in aqueous solution

We successfully prepared the biodegradable cellulose/chitin beads by coagulating a blend of cellulose and chitin in 6 wt% NaOH/5 wt% thiourea aqueous solution with 5% H2SO4 as coagulant, and investigated the adsorption of heavy metals (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+) from an aqueous solution on the beads by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out as a function of ion concentrations, initial pH, ionic strength, temperature, adsorption time and desorption time. The results revealed that the cellulose/chitin beads could adsorb effectively Pb2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+ ions, and the uptakes of Pb2+, Cd2+ and Cu2+ ions on cellulose/chitin beads were 0.33 mmol/g at pH0 4, 0.32 mmol/g at pH0 5 and 0.30 mmol/g at pH0 4, respectively. Experimental results also showed that the adsorption of these heavy metals was selective to be in the order of Pb2+ > Cd2+ > Cu2+ in a low ion concentration solution. The adsorption equilibrium time of these heavy metals on beads was 4-5 h, but the desorption time was 5-15 min. Moreover, these beads could be regenerated up to about 98% by treating with 1 mol/L HCl aqueous solution. The mechanisms for the removal of free heavy metal ions by cellulose/chitin beads was based on mainly complexation adsorption model, as well as a affinity of hydroxyl groups of the materials on metals. Therefore, we developed new environment-friendly beads prepared by a simple produce process for removal and recovery of heavy metals.     

Bioactive Carbohydrates and Peptides in Foods: An Overview of Sources,Downstream Processing Steps and Associated Bioactivities

Bioactive peptides and carbohydrates are sourced from a myriad of plant, animal and insects and have huge potential for use as food ingredients and pharmaceuticals. However, downstream processing bottlenecks hinder the potential use of these natural bioactive compounds and add cost to production processes. This review discusses the health benefits and bioactivities associated with peptides and carbohydrates of natural origin and downstream processing methodologies and novel processes which may be used to overcome these.     

Biodegradable Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) composites reinforced with bio-based nanochitin: Preparation,enhanced mechanical and thermal properties

The accumulation of nonbiodegradable petrochemical-based polymers in the environment motivates the development and use of low-cost, eco-friendly, and biodegradable polymers. A series of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) composites reinforced by sustainably sourced nanochitin were successfully prepared using melt blending and compression molding methods. Structural, thermal, and mechanical characterizations of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/nanochitin composites were performed. SEM revealed that the nanochitin was uniformly dispersed throughout the PBAT matrix at low contents (<2 wt %), while DSC analyses revealed a corresponding increase in the crystallinity (32.6% enhancement) of the PBAT matrix. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the PBAT/nanochitin composite containing 0.5 wt % nanochitin were higher by 82.5 and 64.2%, respectively, compared with pristine PBAT. The Chitin-0.5 composite also showed improved thermal stability compared with PBAT (the char yield improved by 8%) due to the uniform dispersion of nanochitin in the PBAT matrix. The enhanced performance of the PBAT/nanochitin composites, prepared without an added compatibilizer, informs the development of improved biodegradable PBAT-based polymers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48485.