Molecular structure and granule morphology of native and heat‐moisture‐treated pinhão starch

Pinhão seed is an unconventional source of starch and the pines grow up in native forests of southern Latin America. In this study, pinhão starch was adjusted at 15, 20 and 25% moisture content and heated to 100, 110 and 120 °C for 1 h. A decrease in λ max (starch/iodine complex) was observed as a result of increase in temperature and moisture content of HMT. The ratio of crystalline to amorphous phase in pinhão starch was determined via Fourier transform infra red by taking 1045/1022 band ratio. A decrease in crystallinity occurred as a result of HMT. Polarised light microscopy indicated a loss of birefringence of starch granules under 120 °C at 25% moisture content. Granule size distribution was further confirmed via scanning electron microscopy which showed the HMT effects. These results increased the understanding on molecular and structural properties of HMT pinhão starch and broadened its food and nonfood industrial applications.     

Effect of gums on viability and β‐galactosidase activity of Lactobacillus spp. in milk drink during refrigerated storage

The viability and β‐galactosidase activity of four Lactobacillus strains in milk drink containing gums during 28 days of refrigerated storage at 4 °C were assessed. The population of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GGB101 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GGB103 were maintained, whereas the population of Lactobacillus reuteri DSM20016 and Lactobacillus reuteri SD2112 significantly decreased. The recommended level of 6 log CFU g^?1 was exceeded for all tested trains throughout storage. The highest viable number of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GGB103 (8.76 ± 0.03 log CFU mL^?1) was obtained in the product containing carrageenan–maltodextrin. The addition of guar–locust bean–carrageenan led to 20‐fold increase in the level of β‐galactosidase activity for L. rhamnosus GGB101 (1208 ± 2.12 Miller units mL^?1) compared to the control (61 ± 2.83 Miller units mL^?1). Our results suggested that gums could be added to milk to improve viability and enhance β‐galactosidase activity of Lactobacillus.     

Towards a Better Prediction of Cell Settling on Nanostructure Arrays—Simple Means to Complicated Ends

Vertical arrays of nanostructures (NSs) are emerging as promising platforms for probing and manipulating live mammalian cells. The broad range of applications requires different types of interfaces, but cell settling on NS arrays is not yet fully controlled and understood. Cells are both seen to deform completely into NS arrays and to stay suspended like tiny fakirs, which have hitherto been explained with differences in NS spacing or density. Here, a better understanding of this phenomenon is provided by using a model that takes into account the extreme membrane deformation needed for a cell to settle into a NS array. It is shown that, in addition to the NS density, cell settling depends strongly on the dimensions of the single NS, and that the settling can be predicted for a given NS array geometry. The predictive power of the model is confirmed by experiments and good agreement with cases from the literature. Furthermore, the influence of cell‐related parameters is evaluated theoretically and a generic method of tuning cell settling through surface coating is demonstrated experimentally. These findings allow a more rational design of NS arrays for the numerous exciting biological applications where the mode of cell settling is crucial.