Simultaneous quantification of free fatty acids,free sterols,squalene, and acylglycerol molecular species in palm oil by high-temperature gas chromatography-flame ionization detection

This paper discusses a rapid GC-FID technique for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of FFA, MAG, DAG, TAG, sterols, and squalene in vegetable oils, with special reference to palm oil. The FFA content determined had a lower SE compared with a conventional titrimetric method. Squalene and individual sterols, consisting of β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, and cholesterol, were accurately quantified without any losses. This was achieved through elimination of tedious conventional sample pretreatments, such as saponification and preparative TLC. With this technique, the separation of individual MAG, consisting of 16∶0, 18∶0, and 18∶1 FA, and the DAG species, consisting of the 1,2(2,3)- and 1,3-positions, was sufficient to enable their quantification. This technique enabled the TAG to be determined according to their carbon numbers in the range of C₄₄ to C₅₆. Comparisons were made with conventional methods, and the results were in good agreement with those reported in the literature.     

HPLC method for the determination of synthetic thermal heating fluid (therminol 55<Superscript>TM</Superscript>) in basic oleochemicals

A combination of alumina column chromatography and HPLC procedures was developed for the determination of synthetic hydrocarbon-based thermal heating fluid (trade-marked as Therminol 55^TM) in basic oleochemicals. In each run, 3 g of sample solution was loaded onto the alumina (50 g) column and was eluted with 200 mL of hexane. The eluate was then concentrated to 1 mL with the aid of a nitrogen stream prior to HPLC analysis. The HPLC chromatogram of Therminol 55 was characterized by a humped shape that could not be resolved into individual peaks. The lowest limit of quantification obtained from various spiked samples was 30 μg/g. The recovery results obtained from the method were good, ranging from 70 to 80%, whereas the overall CV were all below 10%. The method is simple and thus is ideal for quality assurance purposes.     

Interspecific Variation in Defense Secretions of Malaysian Termites from the Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bulbitermes</Emphasis>

The chemicals of the defense secretions of Malaysian Bulbitermes, B. singaporensis, B. germanus, B. sarawakensis, and Bulbitermes sp. B, show that B. singaporensis is distinct from the other species, which are themselves closely related; the genetic distance between B. singaporensis and B.germanus is 0.71. B. singaporensis contains tetracyclic kempane, and B. germanus and B. sarawakensis contain tricyclic trinervitene; Bulbitermes sp. B contains a mixture of kempane and trinervitene. The mono- and diterpenoid compositions are species-specific.     

Sulfonated Beet Pulp as Solid Catalyst in One-Step Esterification of Industrial Palm Fatty Acid Distillate

In this research a new heterogeneous catalyst has been prepared for biodiesel production. The catalyst was prepared by sulfonating industrial sugar waste. Unlike homogeneous catalysts, which require further purification and separation from the biodiesel production reaction media, this inexpensive synthetic catalyst does not need to go through an additional separation process. This advantage consequently minimizes the total application costs. The catalyst was prepared by partially carbonizing sugar beet pulp at 400 °C. The carbonization product was then sulfonated with concentrated H₂SO₄ vapor in order to produce a solid catalyst. The prepared catalyst was used in the esterification reaction between palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD) and methanol. The effects of the temperature, methanol/PFAD ratio, reaction time and catalyst dosage on the efficiency of the production were individually investigated. The optimum biodiesel production occurred at 85 °C, a reaction time of 300 min, catalyst dosage of 3 g and methanol/PFAD ratio of 5:1 (mol/mol), lowering the acid value from 198 to 13.1 (mg KOH/g oil) or the equivalent, with a fatty acid methyl ester yield of around 92 %. The results suggest that the synthesized inexpensive catalyst is useful for biodiesel production from PFAD.     

Modified poly(caprolactone trifumarate) with embedded gelatin microparticles as a functional scaffold for bone tissue engineering

Bone tissue engineering offers high hopes in reconstructing bone defects that result from trauma, infection, tumors, and other conditions. However, there remains a need for novel scaffold materials that can effectively stimulate ossification with appropriate functional properties. Therefore, a novel injectable, biodegradable, and biocompatible scaffold made by incorporating modified poly(caprolactone trifumarate) (PCLTF) with embedded gelatin microparticles (GMPs) as porogen is developed. Specifically, in vitro and in vivo tests were carried out. For the latter, to determine the osteogenic ability of PCLTF‐GMPs scaffolds, and to characterize bone‐formation, these scaffolds were implanted into critical‐sized defects of New Zealand white rabbit craniums. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) demonstrated cells of varying shapes attached to the scaffold surface in vitro. The PCLTF‐GMPs demonstrated improved biocompatibility in vivo. Polyfluorochrome tracers detected bone growth occurring in the PCLTF‐GMPs filled defects. By incorporating PCLTF with GMPs, we have fabricated a promising self‐crosslinkable biocompatible and osteoconducive scaffold for bone tissue engineering. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43711.     

Microbial fuel cell-based sensor for Enterobacter sp. KBH6958 activity monitoring during hydrogen production: the effects of pH and glucose concentration

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is an electricity-generating device utilising electrochemically active microorganisms as biocatalysts. Using MFC as a biosensor to...     

Effects of manganese doping on properties of sol-gel derived biphasic calcium phosphate ceramics

We have investigated the effect of manganese (Mn) doping on properties of nanosized biphasic calcium phosphate powders and their dense bodies. Manganese levels of 0.6, 1.3, 1.9, 4.3, 7.0 and 11.9 at.% were successfully incorporated into biphasic calcium phosphate via a sol-gel route. The prepared powders were calcined at temperatures of 500-1200 °C. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that a mix phase comprising of hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate were present, however the content of each phases in the structure was affected by the Mn content. The studies found that the largest portion of β-tricalcium phosphate was detected at 4.3 at.% Mn doping. The incorporation of Mn has also greatly increased the crystallinity of the biphasic calcium phosphate powder due to progressive densification of particles. Characterization on their sintered dense bodies showed that manganese concentration affected the physical properties of the dense bodies. The highest density was found for 4.3 at.% Mn doped biphasic calcium phosphate sintered at 1300 °C.     

KCNQ1 Haplotypes Associate with Type 2 Diabetes in Malaysian Chinese Subjects

The aim of this study was to investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of potassium voltage-gated channel, KQT-like subfamily, member 1 (KCNQ1) with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Malaysian Chinese subjects. The KCNQ1 SNPs rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 were genotyped in 300 T2D patients and 230 control subjects without diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Two logistic regression models of analysis were applied, the first adjusted for age and gender while the second adjusted for age, gender and body mass index. The additive genetic analysis showed that adjusting for body mass index (BMI) even strengthened association of rs2237892, rs2283228 and rs2237895 with T2D (OR = 2.0, P = 5.1 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 5.2 × 10(-5); OR = 1.9, P = 7.8 × 10(-5), respectively). The haplotype TCA containing the allele of rs2237892 (T), rs2283228 (C) and rs2237895 (A) was highly protective against T2D (Second model; OR = 0.17, P = 3.7 × 10(-11)). The KCNQ1 rs2237892 (TT), and the protective haplotype (TCA) were associated with higher beta-cell function (HOMA-B) in normal subjects (P = 0.0002; 0.014, respectively). This study found that KCNQ1 SNPs was associated with T2D susceptibility in Malaysian Chinese subjects. In addition, certain KCNQ1 haplotypes were strongly associated with T2D.     

Conventional Study on Novel Dicationic Ionic Liquid Inclusion with β-Cyclodextrin

This study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of the inclusion complex of β-Cyclodextrin (β-CD) with dicationic ionic liquid, 3,3'-(1,4-Phenylenebis [methylene]) bis(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-3-ium) di(bromide) (PhenmimBr). The inclusion complex was prepared at room temperature utilizing conventional kneading technique. Proton ((1)H) NMR and 2D ((1)H-(1)H) COSY NMR were the primary characterization tools employed to verify the formation of the inclusion complex. COSY spectra showed strong correlations between protons of imidazolium and protons of β-CD which indicates that the imidazolium ring of PhenmimBr has entered the cavity of β-CD. UV absorption indicated that β-CD reacts with PhenmimBr to form a 2:1 β-CD-PhenmimBr complex with an apparent formation constant of 2.61 × 10(5) mol&(-2) L(2). Other characterization studies such as UV, FT-IR, XRD, TGA, DSC and SEM studies were also used to further support the formation of the β-CD-PhenmimBr inclusion complex.     

Efficient synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and urea with lanthanum oxide as a solid base catalyst

Lanthanum oxide catalyst prepared by precipitation method and calcined at 600 °C exhibited better catalytic activity in the catalytic synthesis of glycerol carbonate from glycerol and urea with TOF up to 1506 mmol/g·h. It was proposed that the lanthanum oxide catalyst with more strong basic sites (T_d > 400 °C) exhibited higher catalytic activity. Accordingly, the catalyst containing appropriate amount of La₂O₂CO₃ phase exhibited higher catalytic activity. Moreover, the recycling experiments demonstrated that the catalytic activity can be essentially preserved during the recycling tests investigated.