Phenolic Extraction of Moringa oleifera Leaves in DES: Characterization of the Extracts and Their Application in Methylcellulose Films for Food Packaging.

In this work, a qualitative study of the phenolic content of Moringa oleifera leaves (MO), extracted with deep eutectic solvents (DES) based on choline chloride (ChCl) with lactic acid (LA) or glycerol (GLY), was performed by high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MSn). The two solvents (DES-LA and DES-GLY) extract similar classes of phenolics, and ten compounds were identified. The antioxidant profile was also studied (TPC, TFC, DPPH, FRAP, ORAC, and ABTS). Both solvents show an efficient extraction of phenolic compounds and high antioxidant capacity was verified for the extracts. However, the DES-Gly have a higher capacity for polyphenolic extraction (TPC led to 38.409 ± 0.095 mg GAE.g-1 and 2.259 ± 0.023 mg QE.g-1 for TFC). Films based on methylcellulose (MC) containing different amounts of DES or MO extracts, acting as plasticizers, were developed and characterized regarding their mechanical, optical, water vapor permeability, and microstructural properties. All films are uniform, clear, and transparent with smooth, homogeneous surfaces. It was found that the presence of more than 10% of MO extract and/or DES provided more flexible films (Eb for MC 2%_DES 20% achieved 4.330 ± 0.27 %, and 8.15 ± 0.39 % for MC 2%_MO 20%) with less mechanical and barrier resistance. The ultimate objective of this study was to provide information that could assist in the development of antimicrobial active methylcellulose films for sliced wheat bread packaging.

Development of a disposable paper-based potentiometric immunosensor for real-time detection of a foodborne pathogen.

This work reports a new paper-based sensing platform and its application in a label-free potentiometric immunosensor for Salmonella typhimurium detection based on the blocking surface principle. A paper-based strip electrode was integrated with a filter paper pad which acted as a reservoir of the internal solution. The design offers a convenient platform for antibody immobilization and sampling, proving also that is a simple and affordable methodology to control an ionic flux through a polymer membrane. Two different immunosensing interfaces were assembled on the developed paper-strip electrode. The simplest interface relied on direct conjugation of the antibody to the polymer membrane and the second one resorted to an intermediate layer of a polyamidoamine dendrimer, with an ethylenediamine core from the fourth generation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to assess the successive interface modification steps and the resulting analytical performance of both immunosensors was compared. For such, the potential shift derived from the blocking effect of the ionic flux caused by antigen-antibody conjugation was correlated with the logarithm of the Salmonella typhimurium concentration in the sample. In optimized conditions, a limit of detection of 5 cells mL-1 was achieved. As a proof-of-concept, the proposed method was applied to apple juice samples, demonstrating to be a suitable prototype to be used in real scenarios in useful time (<1 h assay).

Edible Chitosan Films and Their Nanosized Counterparts Exhibit Antimicrobial Activity and Enhanced Mechanical and Barrier Properties.

Chitosan and chitosan-nanoparticles were combined to prepare biobased and unplasticized film blends displaying antimicrobial activity. Nanosized chitosans obtained by sonication for 5, 15, or 30 min were combined with chitosan at 3:7, 1:1, and 7:3 ratios, in order to adjust blend film mechanical properties and permeability. The incorporation of nanosized chitosans led to improvements in the interfacial interaction with chitosan microfibers, positively affecting film mechanical strength and stiffness, evidenced by scanning electron microscopy. Nanosized or blend chitosan film sensitivity to moisture was significantly decreased with the drop in biocomposite molecular masses, evidenced by increased water solubility and decreased water vapor permeability. Nanosized and chitosan interactions gave rise to light biobased films presenting discrete opacity and color changes, since red-green and yellow-blue colorations were affected. All chitosan blend films exhibited antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The performance of green unplasticized chitosan blend films displaying diverse morphologies has, thus, been proven as a potential step towards the design of nontoxic food packaging biobased films, protecting against spoilage microorganisms, while also minimizing environmental impacts.

Strategies to improve the mechanical strength and water resistance of agar films for food packaging applications.

Agar films possess several properties adequate for food packaging applications. However, their high cost-production and quality variations caused by physiological and environmental factors affecting wild seaweeds make them less attractive for industries. In this work, native (NA) and alkali-modified (AA) agars obtained from sustainably grown seaweeds (integrated multi-trophic aquaculture) were mixed with locust bean gum (LBG) to make 'knife-coated' films with fixed final concentration (1 wt%) and variable agar/LBG ratios. Agar films were easier to process upon LBG addition (viscosity increase and gelling character decrease of the film-forming solutions observed by dynamic oscillatory and steady shear measurements). The mechanical properties and water resistance were optimal for films with 50 and/or 75% LBG contents and best in the case of NA (cheaper to extract). These findings can help reduce the cost-production of agar packaging films. Moreover, the controlled cultivation of seaweeds can provide continuous and reliable feedstock for transformation industries.

Improving agar electrospinnability with choline-based deep eutectic solvents.

Very recently our group has produced novel agar-based fibers by an electrospinning technique using water as solvent and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as co-blending polymer. Here, we tested the deep eutectic solvent (DES), (2-hydroxyethyl)trimethylammonium chloride/urea prepared at 1:2 molar ratio, as an alternative solvent medium for agar electrospinning. The electrospun materials were collected with an ethanol bath adapted to a previous electrospinning set-up. One weight percent agar-in-DES showed improved viscoelasticity and hence, spinnability, when compared to 1 wt% agar-in-water and pure agar nanofibers were successfully electrospun if working above the temperature of sol-gel transition (∼80 °C). By changing the solvent medium we decreased the PVA concentration (5 wt% starting solution) and successfully produced composite fibers with high agar contents (50/50 agar/PVA). Best composite fibers were formed with the 50/50 and 30/70 agar/PVA solutions. These fibers were mechanically resistant, showed tailorable surface roughness and diverse size distributions, with most of the diameters falling in the sub-micron range. Both nano and micro forms of agar fibers (used separately or combined) may have potential for the design of new and highly functional agar-based materials.

Alternative plasticizers for the production of thermo-compressed agar films.

Agar films were produced by thermo-compression using choline chloride (ChCl) as a plasticizer with urea. The three solid components were mixed together with the salt and urea (minor components) added to agar (main component) according to a fixed mass ratio of, respectively, 1.16:1:5. A central composite rotatable design (CCRD) with three parameters, 2(3), was used to evaluate the effects of temperature (X1; °C), time (X2; min) and applied load (X3; kN) of heat-pressing on the maximum tensile strength (TS) of the films (Y; MPa). Mixtures of urea and agar prepared at a mass ratio of 1:5 did not form homogeneous films suggesting the important plasticizing role of the salt. Heat-pressing the mixtures at more draconian conditions led to much darker and opaque films, with better mechanical resistance (higher values of TS). The most resistant film (∼ 15 MPa) was obtained at 140°C, 20 min and 176 kN. Selected films, including the optimal, showed similar water sorption profiles and close values of water vapor permeability (∼ 2.5-3.7 × 10(-9)gm(-1)s(-1)Pa(-1)). The fracture behavior and mechanical properties of the films were greatly affected by additional water plasticization when the films were stored at different conditions of relative humidity.

Electrospinning of agar/PVA aqueous solutions and its relation with rheological properties.

In this work, we report the successful fabrication of agar-based nanofibers by electrospinning technique, using water as solvent media. A tubeless spinneret was attached inside the electrospinning chamber, operating at 50°C, to avoid agar gelation. Agar pure solution (1 wt%) showed inadequate spinnability regardless of the used electrospinning conditions. The addition of a co-blending polymer such as PVA (10 wt% starting solution) improved the solutions viscoelasticity and hence, the solutions spinnability. Agar/PVA solutions were prepared with different mass ratios (100/0, 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, 20/80 and 0/100) and electrospun at various sets of electrospinning conditions. Best nanofibers were obtained with 30/70 and 20/80 agar/PVA blends while samples with higher agar contents (50/50 and 40/60 agar/PVA) were harder to process and led to discontinuous fibrous mats. This first set of encouraging results can open a new window of opportunities for agar-based biomaterials in the form of nanofibers.

Choline chloride based ionic liquid analogues as tool for the fabrication of agar films with improved mechanical properties.

In the present paper, we test the suitability of ChCl/urea (DES-U) and ChCl/glycerol (DES-G) eutectic mixtures, each one prepared at 1:2 molar ratio, for the production of agar films. A three-step process is proposed: pre-solubilization of polymer in DES followed by compression-molding and subsequent drying. The mechanical properties, water resistance and microstructure of the films were evaluated at different polymer concentrations (i.e. 2-6%, w/w). DES-U showed by far, the best film forming ability. Agreeing with the diffusion and SEM data, films with the best mechanical properties were found at the lowest and highest agar concentrations (tensile strengths of 24.2-42 MPa and elongations of 15.4-38.9%). The water sorption and contact angle studies suggested increased hydrophilicity for the film containing the lowest concentration of agar. The use of choline chloride based ionic liquid analogues as solvent and plasticizer might be a promising tool for the development of new non-aqueous materials based on seaweed polysaccharides.

Influence of the extraction process on the rheological and structural properties of agars.

Agars obtained by traditional hot-water (TWE) and microwave-assisted (MAE) extractions were compared in terms of their rheological and physicochemical properties and molecular self-association in solutions of low (0.05%, w/w) and high (1.5%, w/w) polymer concentrations. At low concentration, thin gelled layers were imaged by AFM. Slow or rapid cooling of the solutions influenced structure formation. In each case, TWE and MAE agar structures were different and apparently larger for MAE. At high concentration, progressive structural reinforcement was seen; while TWE agar showed a more open and irregular 3D network, MAE agar gel imaged by cryoSEM was denser and fairly uniform. The rheological (higher thermal stability and consistency) and mechanical (higher gel strength) behaviors of MAE agar seemed consistent with a positive effect of molecular mass and 3,6-anhydro-α-l-galactose content. MAE produced non-degraded agar comparable with commercial ones and if properly monitored, could be a promising alternative to TWE.

Study of the rheological behaviour of human blood using a controlled stress rheometer.

The aim of this work was to investigate the rheological behaviour of human blood, in a controlled stress rheometer, using different cone-plate and parallel plate geometries. Steady-shear (flow curves and kinetics) and oscillatory (strain, frequency and time sweeps) tests were performed at 37°C. The results demonstrated that rheological data are significantly influenced by the measuring geometry and the rheological parameters obtained from rheological models must be analysed with great caution. The Cross model provided a better fit of the flow curves and the Power Law model gave a better concordance between the rheological parameters obtained with the different measuring systems. The oscillatory measurements demonstrated a linear viscoelastic behaviour below a critical frequency and the Friedrich-Braun model described well the frequency sweeps experimental data in that region. The correlation between steady-shear and oscillatory properties (Cox-Merz rule) suggests that the two methods can be complementary and may give important information on red blood cells aggregation and deformability. Results from oscillatory time sweeps confirm a blood aggregation process in two steps.

Pé madura - relato de um caso e revisäo da literatura / Madura foot - a case report and review of the literature

Resumo: Neste trabalho é apresentado um caso de pé Madura. Os aspectos clínicos e imagenológicos säo discutidos, juntamente com uma revisäo da literatura.