Search results for "Minerals"

The natural hydrous sodium silicates from the northern bank of Lake Chad : occurrence, petrology and genesis

2005

Abstract Hydrous sodium silicates sometimes associated with zeolites, form in an alkaline environment, in which there is a high concentration of dissolved silica. Such an environment existed during the Holocene in N'Guigmi interdunal depressions (Lake Chad), which led to the precipitation of various types of hydrous sodium silicates, including magadiite, kenyaite, and zeolites. Scanning electron and optical microscope observations allow several microstructures to be distinguished. These microstructures result from either precipitation sequences or a transformation along a diagenetic gradient. New petrological, microstructural and geochemical data confirm the transformation of magadiite into…

Synthesis, Characterization, and Study, of New Nanostructured Materials

Ettringite surface chemistry: Interplay of electrostatic and ion specificity

2011

International audience; This paper presents a detailed experimental study combined with Monte Carlo (MC) simulations within the primitive model of the physical chemistry at the ettringite-water interface over a wide range of pH and bulk conditions for which ettringite exists thanks to its solubility in aqueous solutions. Ettringite, which is an important phase in hydrated cement-based systems, bears a permanent and positive structural charge. In contrast with previous studies, electrokinetic measurements together with the careful chemical analysis of the equilibrium solutions of the dispersions have brought strong support to designate sulfate as being the ion determining the potential. Simu…

Novel molluskan biomineralization proteins retrieved from proteomics: a case study with upsalin.

2012

12 pages; International audience; The formation of the molluskan shell is regulated by an array of extracellular proteins secreted by the calcifying epithelial cells of the mantle. These proteins remain occluded within the recently formed biominerals. To date, many shell proteins have been retrieved, but only a few of them, such as nacreins, have clearly identified functions. In this particular case, by combining molecular biology and biochemical approaches, we performed the molecular characterization of a novel protein that we named Upsalin, associated with the nacreous shell of the freshwater mussel Unio pictorum. The full sequence of the upsalin transcript was obtained by RT-PCR and 5'/3…

Representative major element compositions of clinopyroxenes and phlogopites from ultrapotassic rocks from Nangqian basin (Eastern Tibet)

2020

Representative major element compositions (in wt%) of clinopyroxenes and phlogopites from Nangqian ultrapotassic rocks. In-situ major-element compositions of mineral phases were obtained using the JEOL JXA-8230 Electron Microprobe at ISTerre, University Grenoble Alpes. Analytical conditions were 15 kV accelerating voltage and 12 nA beam current. The ZAF procedure was applied to reduce the raw data. The microprobe was calibrated using natural and synthetic standards. An X-ray element map of a calcite-bearing aggregate was acquired using 15 kV accelerating voltage and 10 nA beam current.

Current Status of Nanoclay Phytotoxicity

2018

The use of nanotechnology in several fields has created a great interest and its rapid development with application in material science, nanomedicine, medical diagnosis, computer chips, catalysis and so on. The use of nanomaterials represents various advantages, including size, highly active surfaces, unique physico-chemical properties, and in some cases a controlled release of chemicals. In this context phyto-nanotechnology is growing and has promising application in agricultural aspects, such as use of soil remediation, antioxidants, adsorbents, nano-sensor for detection of soil quality, delivery of fertilizers and many others. Plants are very important components of the terrestrial eco-s…

A laboratory study of the mineralization and binding of 14C-labeled herbicide rimsulfuron in a rendzina soil

1999

Abstract The fate of pyrimidine-2- 14 C-rimsulfuron in a rendzina soil was investigated using a laboratory microcosm approach. Measurement of CO 2 evolution suggested that rimsulfuron applied at 5 times the recommended dose did not affect soil respiration. Under abiotic conditions, no mineralization of 14 C-rimsulfuron into 14 C-CO 2 occured and under biotic ones it was very low reaching 0.75 % of the applied 14 C-rimsulfuron after 246 days of incubation. The analysis of data showed that a three-half order model provided the best fit for the mineralization curve. Extractable 14 C-residues decreased over time to 70 – 80% of the applied 14 C-rimsulfuron at the end of the incubation. After 246…

Characterization of an isoproturon mineralizing bacterial culture enriched from a French agricultural soil.

2009

The phenylurea herbicide isoproturon, 3-(4-isopropylphenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea (IPU), was found to be rapidly mineralized by a bacterial culture isolated from an agricultural soil regularly exposed to IPU. Molecular analysis of the bacterial culture by DNA fingerprinting, cloning and sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that it consisted of six different members among whom the dominant was related to Sphingomonas sp. Six bacterial strains belonging to genera Ancylobacter, Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Methylobacterium, Variovorax and Agrobacterium were isolated from the IPU-degrading culture. None of these were able to degrade IPU in pure culture and only the intact culture sustained th…

Self-healing, an intrinsic property of biomineralization processes

2013

The sponge siliceous spicules are formed enzymatically via silicatein, in contrast to other siliceous biominerals. Originally, silicatein had been described as a major structural protein of the spicules that has the property to allow a specific deposition of silica onto their surface. More recently, it had been unequivocally demonstrated that silicatein displays a genuine enzyme activity, initiating and maintaining silica biopolycondensation at low precursor concentrations (<2 mM). Even more, as silicatein becomes embedded into the biosilica polymer, formed by the enzyme, it retains its functionality to enable a controlled biosilica deposition. The protection of silicatein through the biosi…

Nanoencapsulation of promising bioactive compounds to improve their absorption, stability, functionality and the appearance of the final food products

2021

The design of functional foods has grown recently as an answer to rising consumers’ concerns and demands for natural, nutritional and healthy food products. Nanoencapsulation is a technique based on enclosing a bioactive compound (BAC) in liquid, solid or gaseous states within a matrix or inert material for preserving the coated substance (food or flavor molecules/ingredients). Nanoencapsulation can improve stability of BACs, improving the regulation of their release at physiologically active sites. Regarding materials for food and nutraceutical applications, the most used are carbohydrate-, protein- or lipid-based alternatives such as chitosan, peptide–chitosan and β-lactoglobulin nanopart…