Search results for "Biochemical engineering"

Computational strategies for the design of new enzymatic functions

2015

In this contribution, recent developments in the design of biocatalysts are reviewed with particular emphasis in the de novo strategy. Studies based on three different reactions, Kemp elimination, Diels–Alder and Retro-Aldolase, are used to illustrate different success achieved during the last years. Finally, a section is devoted to the particular case of designed metalloenzymes. As a general conclusion, the interplay between new and more sophisticated engineering protocols and computational methods, based on molecular dynamics simulations with Quantum Mechanics/Molecular Mechanics potentials and fully flexible models, seems to constitute the bed rock for present and future successful desig…

Conventional, non-conventional extraction techniques and new strategies for the recovery of bioactive compounds from plant material for human nutriti…

2019

Considering a large number of variations in the chemical structures of bioactive compounds (BACs) that are valuable to humans and a large number of their sources, it is necessary to build a standard and integrated extraction and analytical approaches for obtaining these compounds. From this perspective, the main purpose of this Special Issue of Food Research International was to publish research related to the extractions with data about isolation of BACs from plant matrices for human nutrition. This Special Issue includes both, conventional and innovative extraction techniques, highlighting their characteristics and advantages in relation to the target matrix. Many of presented works conta…

Mineral Profile

2013

The identification of foods with protected designation of origin (PDO) has been a long-standing issue. Its detection provides valuable information to regulatory commissions (government and industries) which can regulate precise quality control procedures for their products. Authentication of food covers many different aspects, including characterization, mislabelling and misinformation regarding origin, and adulteration, which is defined as the process to reduce the quality or nature of a given substance by adding a foreign or an inferior substance and removing a vital element. Numerous methods have been developed as fingerprinting methodologies for PDO products. The analytical techniques c…

A review of non-chromatographic methods for speciation analysis.

2008

This manuscript overviews relevant scientific literature concerning speciation of trace elements by using non-chromatographic methods. The main principles of the different strategies proposed in the published works and their advantages and drawbacks are discussed in order to provide to the readers an appropriate picture of the state-of the-art of fast and cheap methodologies available to obtain information about the presence of different chemical forms of trace elements in environmental, clinical and food samples. A selection of the methods proposed for the speciation of the different elements studied was also provided together with their main features.

Current Developments in Industrial Fermentation Processes

2021

The expanding role of LC-MS in analyzing metabolites and degradation products of food contaminants

2008

Abstract Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) has contributed significantly in advancing research in the analysis of metabolites and degradation products of food contaminants. Of particular interest is the comprehensive application of LC-MS to discovery of degradation products and metabolites. This review, covering research published between 2003 and 2008, describes how LC-MS has been used in this field, with the majority of work dealing with target-metabolite analysis and only a small fraction using LC-MS comprehensively. In considering the significance of this topic and the potential interest in it, we briefly describe state-of-the art mass analyzers applied for it (QtrAP, QqTO…

Facilitated Oxygen Transport

2010

The amount of dioxygen an organism needs for aerobic metabolism depends on many factors, size and activity being the most important. However, as an approximate figure, we may say that a typical higher eukaryote will utilize about 3.5 ml dioxygen kg−1 body weight per minute. This must reach the tissues where active metabolism is occurring and be maintained there at a steady-state pressure of approximately 2 Torr. This will assure a sufficient rate of delivery to mitochondria and allow continued utilization therein for oxidative reactions (see Chap. 4). The problem faced by the organism is how to assure sufficient delivery to all the tissues, even those buried deep in the body, sometimes whil…

Detection and characterization of emerging psychoactive substances by ion mobility spectrometry

2014

Rapid detection and identification of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) continues to present significant analytical challenges to forensic and analytical chemists. Ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) has been traditionally considered as the analytical technique of choice to detect illicit drugs in security points in airports, borderlines and customs. Databases of the reduced mobility (K0 ) values of illicit drugs are available in the scientific literature and they should be completed with data of emerging designer drugs. In this paper, we have evaluated the effect of different measurement conditions and determined the K0 values of an important number of NPS including different families; such …

Advanced Mass Spectrometry

2015

Abstract Until recently, analytical methods for food safety and quality control had mainly been focused on restricted lists of well-known analytes. Nowadays, in addition to these classical methods, comprehensive analysis attains authentication as well as the detection of hazardous or safety-relevant manipulations and violations of the laws (e.g., addition of nonauthorized substances or application of technological processes prohibited is of urgent need in food control). This chapter shows that high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) associated with the data mining tools developed for metabolomics can address this issue by enabling (1) targeted analyses, (2) detection of untargeted and unkn…

Quantitative Analysis, Infrared

2000

In this article, after reviewing the different mathematical methods used in quantification we will describe and discuss their respective advantages and inconveniences. First of all, different examples of applications of infrared (IR) spectroscopy, used with or without other analytical chemistry methods, will be presented. Some examples of direct quantitative analysis in food analysis will be reviewed: lipids (measurement of unsaturation degrees, lipids determination), carbohydrates, proteins (secondary structures, quantitative analysis). We will also focus on original examples of the use of IR spectroscopy combined with enzymes. Secondly, some examples of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) a…