Order/Disorder in Protein and Peptide-Based Biomaterials

Nature utilizes both order and disorder (or controlled disorder) to achieve exceptional materials properties and functions, while synthetic supramolecular materials mostly exploit just supramolecular order, thus limiting the structural diversity, responsiveness and consequent adaptive functions that can be accessed. Herein, we review the emerging field of supramolecular biomaterials where disorder and order deliberately co-exist, and can be dynamically regulated by considering both entropic and enthalpic factors in design. We focus on sequence-structure relationships that govern the (cooperative) assembly pathways of protein and peptide building blocks in these materials. Increasingly, there is an interest in introducing dynamic features in protein and peptide-based structures, such as the remarkable thermo-responsiveness and exceptional mechanical properties of elastin materials. Simultaneously, advances in the field of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) give new insights about their involvement in intracellular liquid-liquid phase separation and formation of disordered, dynamic coacervate structures. These have inspired efforts to design biomaterials with similar dynamic properties. These hybrid ordered/disordered materials employ a combination of intramolecular and supramolecular order/disorder features for construction of assemblies that are dynamically reconfigurable. The assembly of these dynamic structures is mainly entropy-driven, relying on electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions and is mediated in part through the adopted (unstructured) protein conformation or by introducing an oppositely charged guest for peptide building blocks. Examples include design of protein building blocks composed of disordered repeat sequences of elastin-like polypeptides in combination with ordered regions that adopt a secondary structure, the co-assembly of proteins with peptide amphiphiles to achieve reconfigurable, yet highly stable membranes or tyrosine-containing tripeptides with sequence-controlled order/disorder that upon enzymatic oxidation give rise to melanin-like polymeric pigments with customizable properties. The resulting hybrid materials with controlled disorder can be metastable, and sensitive to various external stimuli giving rise to insights that are especially attractive for the design of responsive and adaptive materials.     

Improving the safety and shelf-life of orange and mango juices using Panax ginseng, malic acid and potassium sorbate

In this research, several plant compounds were in vitro evaluated against Salmonella enterica ser. Saintpaul and Escherichia coli O157:H7 through disc’s method. Among them Panax ginseng (PG) showed the highest antimicrobial activity in comparison to other natural antimicrobials. Combinations of PG (2?% v/v) with malic acid (MA) (0.5?% v/v) and/or potassium sorbate (PS) (0.05?% v/v) were made for evaluating their effects on S. Saintpaul and E. coli O157:H7 populations in sterile and fresh mango and orange juices stored at 5?°C. The best combination of antimicrobial compounds on native flora (during 21?days) as well as sensory attributes (0?day) of fresh juices were evaluated. The antimicrobial compounds added into mango and orange juices were more effective against S. Saintpaul than against E. coli O157:H7. The combination of PG (2?% v/v), MA (0.5?% v/v) and PS (0.05?% v/v) showed the highest antimicrobial effectiveness against both pathogenic microorganisms in both juices, in addition to a higher microbiological inhibition during storage (21?days). Sensory attributes such as aroma, color and taste were enhanced, but acidity was notably affected in both juices. In conclusion, the combination of PG, MA and PS could be an effective method in the food industry for ensuring the microbial safety and quality in mango and orange juices.     

Microbiological shelf life and sensory evaluation of fruit juices treated by high-intensity pulsed electric fields and antimicrobials

The effect of combining high-intensity pulsed electric fields (HIPEF) with citric acid or cinnamon bark oil, as antimicrobial substances, on the microbiological shelf life of strawberry, orange, apple, pear and tomato juices was evaluated in addition to the sensory properties of these products. An extension of the microbiological shelf life of fruit juices treated by HIPEF with or without antimicrobial substances was observed in comparison with those juices without processing. Naturally occurring microorganisms in the juices were inactivated by HIPEF treatment. Among the HIPEF treated juices, those from strawberry and orange did not show microbial growth along the 91 days of storage at 5 °C. However, resident microbial populations in apple, pear and tomato juices only were controlled during that time when HIPEF was combined with antimicrobials. Therefore, combinations of those treatments may be a feasible alternative to thermal pasteurization to ensure the microbiological quality and safety in juices, and to avoid the risk of foodborne illness caused by the consumption of these commodities. No significant changes on the sensory attributes in all studied fruit juices processed by HIPEF were found; but, when citric acid or cinnamon bark oil were added, noticeable changes on some sensory attributes such as aroma, taste and sourness of these fruit juices were perceived.     

Gauging food and nutritional care quality in hospitals

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Food and nutritional care quality must be assessed and scored, so as to improve health institution efficacy. This study aimed to detect and compare actions related to food and nutritional care quality in public and private hospitals. METHODS: Investigation of the Hospital Food and Nutrition Service (HFNS) of 37 hospitals by means of structured interviews assessing two quality control corpora, namely nutritional care quality (NCQ) and hospital food service quality (FSQ). HFNS was also evaluated with respect to human resources per hospital bed and per produced meal. RESULTS: Comparison between public and private institutions revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the number of hospital beds per HFNS staff member (p = 0.02) and per dietitian (p < 0.01). The mean compliance with NCQ criteria in public and private institutions was 51.8% and 41.6%, respectively. The percentage of public and private health institutions in conformity with FSQ criteria was 42.4% and 49.1%, respectively. Most of the actions comprising each corpus, NCQ and FSQ, varied considerably between the two types of institution. NCQ was positively influenced by hospital type (general) and presence of a clinical dietitian. FSQ was affected by institution size: large and medium-sized hospitals were significantly better than small ones. CONCLUSIONS: Food and nutritional care in hospital is still incipient, and actions concerning both nutritional care and food service take place on an irregular basis. It is clear that the design of food and nutritional care in hospital indicators is mandatory, and that guidelines for the development of actions as well as qualification and assessment of nutritional care are urgent.     

Different ratios of carbon sources in the fermentation of cheese whey and glucose as substrates for hydrogen and ethanol production in continuous reactors

The fermentation of glucose, cheese whey and the mixture of glucose and cheese whey were evaluated in this study from two inocula sources (sludge from a UASB reactor for swine wastewater treatment and poultry slaughterhouse) for hydrogen production in continuous anaerobic fluidized bed reactors (AFBR). For all fermentations, a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 6 h and a substrate concentration of 5 g COD L⁻¹ were used. In glucose fermentation, the maximum hydrogen yield (HY) was 1.37 mmol H₂ g⁻¹ COD. The co-fermentation of the cheese whey and glucose mixture was favorable for the concomitant production of hydrogen and ethanol, with yields of up to 1.7 mmol H₂ g⁻¹ COD and 3.45 mol EtOH g⁻¹ COD in AFBR2. The utilization of cheese whey as a sole substrate resulted in an HY of 1.9 mmol H₂ g⁻¹ COD. Throughout the study, ethanol fermentation was evident.