Biotechnological potential of industrial wastes for economical citric acid bioproduction by Aspergillus niger through submerged fermentation

Submerged citric acid (CA) bioproduction was carried out by Aspergillus niger NRRL‐567 using various industrial wastes, such as brewery spent liquid (BSL), lactoserum and starch industry water sludge. CA bioproduction was carried out by varying the temperature (25–35 °C), pH (3–5), addition of inducers, incubation time and supplementation with different proportions of apple pomace ultrafiltration sludge (APS). The results indicated that under the best conditions with 3% (v/v) methanol, the optimal concentration of 11.34 g L^?1 CA was recorded using BSL at pH 3.5 and temperature 30 °C after 120‐h incubation period. Supplementation of methanol resulted in an increase of 56% CA production. Meanwhile, under similar conditions, higher concentration of 18.34 g L^?1 CA was reported with the supplementation of BSL with 40% (v/v) APS having suspended solids concentration of 30 g L^?1. The present study demonstrated the potential of BSL supplemented with APS as an alternative cheap substrate for CA fermentation.     

Variation in the volatile terpenoids of two industrially important basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) cultivars during plant ontogeny in two different cropping seasons from India

BACKGROUND: Two Ocimum basilicum cultivars, ‘Vikarsudha’ and ‘CIM‐Saumya’, grown in the Kumaon region of western Himalaya were evaluated for their essential oil yield and composition at different stages of plant growth during two distinct cropping seasons (spring–summer and rain–autumn). RESULTS: The highest yield of essential oil was obtained at full bloom stage in both cultivars in both cropping seasons. The essential oils obtained from different stages in two cropping seasons were analysed by capillary gas chromatography with flame ionisation detection, and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The major component of cultivar ‘Vikarsudha’ was methyl chavicol (84.3–94.3%), while for cultivar ‘CIM‐Saumya’ the main components were methyl chavicol (62.5–77.6%) and linalool (14.4–34.1%). CONCLUSION: This study clearly indicated that cultivar, cropping season, plant ontogeny and plant part had significant effects on the yield and quality of the essential oil of O. basilicum. Further, the amount of methyl chavicol in the cultivars grown in this region was higher than in cultivars from other parts of India. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Fabrication and characterization of nanostructured (Sn–Ti)O<Subscript>2</Subscript> pellets and films for liquefied petroleum gas sensing

Present paper reports the synthesis of nanostructured (Sn–Ti)O₂ via physicochemical method, its characterization and performance as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sensor. The synthesized material was characterized using XRD that confirmed the formation of (Sn–Ti)O₂ nanocomposite. Minimum crystallite size was found as 7 nm. The material was also investigated through SEM, DSC, FTIR, PL and UV–Vis spectrophotometer. Further, the pellet, thick and thin films were fabricated for the sensing analysis. Pellets (9 mm diameter, 4 mm thickness) of (Sn–Ti)O₂ nanocomposite were made by hydraulic pressing machine by applying uniaxial pressure of 616 MPa, thick films (thickness ~2 µm) were made by screen printing technique and thin films were prepared using a Photo resist spinner unit. Further at room temperature, the pellet and films were exposed to LPG in a gas chamber under controlled conditions at room temperature and variations in resistance with the concentrations of LPG were observed. The maximum value of sensitivity of solid state pellet, thick and thin films based sensors were found 7, 9 and 39 for 5 vol% of LPG, respectively. Sensing characteristics were found to be reproducible, after 6 months of their fabrication, indicating the stability of the sensors.     

Effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers on permeation of S-amlodipine besylate through intercalated polymeric transdermal matrix: 3(2) designing,optimization and characterization

Objective: Innovation in material science has made it possible to fabricate a pharmaceutical material of modifiable characteristics and utility, in delivering therapeutics at a sustained/controlled rate. The objective of this study is to design and optimize the controlled release transdermal films of S-Amlodipine besylate by intercalating hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers.

Methods: 3(2) factorial design and response surface methodology was utilized to prepare formulations by intercalating the varied concentration of polymers(A) and penetration enhancer(B) in solvent. The effect of these independent factors on drug release and flux was investigated to substantiate the ex-vivo, stability and histological findings of the study.

Results: FTIR, DSC revealed the compatibility of drug with polymers; however, the semicrystallinity in drug was observed under PXRD. SEM micrographs showed homogeneous dispersion and entanglement of drug throughout the matrix. Results from the permeation study suggested the significant effect of factors on the ex vivo permeation of drug. It was observed that drug release was found to be increased with an increase in hydrophilic polymer concentration and PE. The formulations having polymers (EC:PVPK-30) at 7:3 showed maximum drug release with highest flux (102.60?±?1.12?µg/cm²/h) and permeability coefficient (32.78?±?1.38?cm/h). Significant effect of PE on lipid and protein framework of the skin was also observed which is responsible for increased permeation. The optimized formulation was found to be stable and showed no-sign of localized reactions, indicating safety and compatibility with the skin.

Conclusion: Thus, results indicated that the prepared intercalated transdermal matrix can be a promising nonoral carrier to deliver effective amounts of drug.     

Comprehensive review for energy efficient hierarchical routing protocols on wireless sensor networks

Wireless Networks - In recent years, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have played a major role in applications such as tracking and monitoring in remote environments. Designing energy efficient...     

Biophysicochemical evaluation and micropropagation study of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis for biodiesel production

The upcoming energy sources of Jatropha curcas and Ricinus communis promise to mitigate the energy crisis and environmental pollution belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family. Both of them have been researched in terms of availability, cost, and biochemical parameters. The seed oils of various jatropha and castor biotypes were screened out and evaluated for their physiochemical parameters viz. oil content (34–49%), biodiesel yield (30–81%), density (0.875–0.971 g/cm³), viscosity (0.6032–2.004 mm³/s), iodine value (75–450.45 mg/g), free fatty acid value (0.986–3.400 mg/g), saponification value (59.29–93.79 mg/g), flash point (133–218°C), fire point (163–262°C), fatty acid composition, and ash content (0.065–0.398%), and were estimated for comparison between jatropha and castor biotypes. Various combinations of auxins with cytokinins were used for a regeneration study. The best shoot regeneration (70%) was observed in MS medium supplemented with NAA (0.5 ppm) and BAP (2.5 ppm). Root induction (95%) was successfully obtained in plane MS. Acclimatization and hardening was quite successful with a survival rate of 70%.     

Polypropylene random copolymer/MWCNT nanocomposites: Isothermal crystallization kinetics,structural, and morphological interpretations

This article describes the crystallization process of polypropylene random copolymer (PPCP) under isothermal conditions in presence of varying amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) ranging from 0.5 to 4.0% w/w. Increase in the crystallization temperature under dynamic conditions confirmed the nucleating behavior of MWCNTs, which was also corroborated by crystallization studies under isothermal conditions. The crystallization kinetics was analyzed using Avrami equation and the parameters such as Avrami exponent, the equilibrium melting temperature and fold surface energy for the crystallization of PPCP chains in nanocomposites were obtained from the calorimetric data in order to determine the effect of MWCNTs on these parameters. Spherulitic growth of PPCP crystals was also investigated as a function of time and MWCNT content using hot stage polarizing microscope. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41734.