Search results for "Biochemical engineering"

Fundamentals on the Molecular Mechanism of Action of Antimicrobial Peptides

2019

Abstract Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are produced by several organisms as their first line of defense. Constituted by amino acids, they may present different mechanisms of action. The antimicrobial activity can be used by the peptide-producing organism itself, as innate immune strategy, or in the industry, applying as natural source preservatives. Understanding the possibilities of the operation of these compounds is a prerequisite for the development of effective uses, as well as for the establishment of combinations, which can even expand their applications considering the possibilities of genetic manipulations. Thus, the objective of this article is to review the basic principles of AM…

The Challenges of Air Protection and Control

2016

Opening of New Synthetic Routes Using Segmented Microflow in Multistep Syntheses

2017

The application of microfluidics in organic chemistry is a valuable tool to access new synthesis pathways and to break limitations set by traditional batch chemistry. In the past, the majority of research focused on solving problems associated with individual reactions. It is necessary to advance the field by incorporating flow chemistry in longer multistep syntheses to open more direct paths towards complicated compounds. Several strategies were developed to meet the demands of a four-step synthesis, which includes biphasic nitrations, gaseous substrates, and very fast reactions on multifunctional molecules. A unique micro flow setup was applied in each reaction to meet its specific requir…

Anticipating the impact of pitfalls in kinetic biodegradation parameter estimation from substrate depletion curves of organic pollutants

2019

[EN] Accurate and reliable estimation of kinetic parameters of pollutant biodegradation processes is essential for environmental and health risk assessment. Common biodegradation models proposed in the literature, such as the nonlinear Monod equation and its simplified versions (e.g. Michaelis-Menten-like and first-order equations), are problematic in terms of accuracy of kinetic parameters due to the parameter correlation. However, a comparison between these models in terms of accuracy and reliability, related to data imprecision, has not been performed in the literature. This task is necessary, mainly because the model selection cannot be straightforward, as shown in this work. To facilit…

Microbiology and atmospheric processes: biological, physical and chemical characterization of aerosol particles

2008

Abstract. The interest in bioaerosols has traditionally been linked to health hazards for humans, animals and plants. However, several components of bioaerosols exhibit physical properties of great significance for cloud processes, such as ice nucleation and cloud condensation. To gain a better understanding of their influence on climate, it is therefore important to determine the composition, concentration, seasonal fluctuation, regional diversity and evolution of bioaerosols. In this paper, we will review briefly the existing techniques for detection, quantification, physical and chemical analysis of biological particles, attempting to bridge physical, chemical and biological methods for …

Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification: Principles and Applications in Plant Virology

2020

In the last decades, the evolution of molecular diagnosis methods has generated different advanced tools, like loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). Currently, it is a well-established technique, applied in different fields, such as the medicine, agriculture, and food industries, owing to its simplicity, specificity, rapidity, and low-cost efforts. LAMP is a nucleic acid amplification under isothermal conditions, which is highly compatible with point-of-care (POC) analysis and has the potential to improve the diagnosis in plant protection. The great advantages of LAMP have led to several upgrades in order to implement the technique. In this review, the authors provide an overview r…

Algae in Biotechnological Processes

2018

As photoautotrophic organisms, algae possess all of the valuable features that determine their role as the primary producers in the biosphere. A wide range of tolerance based on their extremely efficient adaptation to biochemical processes, as well as the specific cellular structure of these organisms, when correlated with the ecological plasticity of microalgae in particular, predispose these biota to growing and developing under either laboratory or industrial conditions. Hence, the natural features of algae have opened wide the door for the multidirectional biotechnological use of these organisms, with a dynamically growing number of such applications fully supporting this thesis. Among …

Recent advancements in lactic acid production - a review.

2017

Abstract Lactic acid, as an organic acid, has essential roles in industrial applications ranging from the food industry to life-sciences. Conventional fermentation methods have been well-studied since late 18th century, but are unable to achieve consumers' expectations regarding both quality and quantity. Therefore, novel technological developments of lactic acid production to increase yield and decrease over-all cost have become the primary goal. Genetic and metabolic engineering are great tools to overcome problems associated with product inhibition, undesired by-product formation, the negative effect of extreme culture conditions and most importantly inefficient use of expensive substrat…

Terpenoid bio-transformations and applications via cell/organ cultures: a systematic review.

2019

Structurally diverse natural products are valued for their targeted biological activity. The challenge of working with such metabolites is their low natural abundance and complex structure, often with multiple stereocenters, precludes large-scale or unsophisticated chemical synthesis. Since select plants contain the enzymatic machinery necessary to produce specialized compounds, tissue cultures can be used to achieve key transformations for large-scale chemical and/or pharmaceutical applications. In this context, plant tissue-culture bio-transformations have demonstrated great promise in the preparation of pharmaceutical products. This review describes the capacity of cultured plant cells t…

Fermentation at non-conventional conditions in food- and bio-sciences by the application of advanced processing technologies

2017

The interest in improving the yield and productivity values of relevant microbial fermentations is an increasingly important issue for the scientific community. Therefore, several strategies have been tested for the stimulation of microbial growth and manipulation of their metabolic behavior. One promising approach involves the performance of fermentative processes during non-conventional conditions, which includes high pressure (HP), electric fields (EF) and ultrasound (US). These advanced technologies are usually applied for microbial inactivation in the context of food processing. However, the approach described in this study focuses on the use of these technologies at sub-lethal levels,…