Effect of tannic acid modification on the interface and emulsification properties of zein colloidal particles.

BACKGROUND: Interface modification driven by supramolecular self-assembly has been accepted as a valuable strategy for emulsion stabilization enhancement. However, there has been a dearth of comparative research on the effect of simple complexation and assembly from the perspective of the responsible mechanism. RESULTS: The present study selected zein and tannic acid (TA) as representative protein and polyphenol modules for self-assembly (coined as TA-modified zein particle and TA-zein complex particle) to explore the surface properties and interfacial behavior, as well as the stability of constructed Pickering emulsions to obtain the regulation law of different modification methods on the interfacial behavior of colloidal particles. The results demonstrated that TA-modified zein colloidal particles potentially improved the emulsifying properties. When the TA concentration was 3 mmol L-1 , the optimized TA-modified zein particle was nano-sized (109.83 nm) and had advantageous interfacial properties, including sharply reduced surface hydrophobicity, as well as a low diffusion rate at the oil/water interface. As a result, the shelf life of Pickering emulsion containing 50% oil phase was extended to 90 days. CONCLUSION: Through multi-angled research on the properties of the interfacial membrane, improvement of emulsion stability was a result of the formation of viscoelastic interfacial film that resulted from the decrease of absorption rate between particles and interface. Using refined regulation to investigate the role of different sample preparation methods from a mechanistic perspective. Overall, the present study has provided a reference for TA to regulate the surface properties and interface behavior of zein colloidal particles, enriched the understanding of colloidal interface assembly, and provided a theoretical basis for the quality control of interface-oriented food systems. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Exploring the influence of ultrasound on the antibacterial emulsification stability of lysozyme-oregano essential oil.

A lysozyme-oregano essential oil (Lys-OEO) antibacterial emulsion was developed via ultrasonic treatment. Based on the general emulsion materials of ovalbumin (OVA) and inulin (IN), the addition of Lys and OEO successfully inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus, two representatives of which were Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria respectively. The emulsion system in this study was designed to compensate for the limitation that Lys could only act on Gram-positive bacteria, and the stability of the emulsion was improved using ultrasonic treatment. The optimal amounts among OVA, Lys and OEO were found to be the mass ratio of 1:1 (Lys to OVA) and 20% (w/w) OEO. The ultrasonic treatment at the power of 200, 400, 600, and 800 W and time length of 10 min improved the stability of emulsion, in which the surface tension was below 6.04 mN/m and the Turbiscan stability index (TSI) did not exceed 10. The multiple light scattering showed that sonicated emulsions were less prone to delamination; salt stability and pH stability of emulsions were improved, CLSM image showed emulsion as oil-in-water type. In the meantime, the particles of the emulsions were found to become smaller and more uniform with ultrasonic treatment. The best dispersion and stability of the emulsion were both achieved at 600 W with a zeta potential of 7.7 mV, the smallest particle size and the most uniform particle distribution.

Analysis of Therapeutic Approaches and Potential Targets of Rosuvastatin on Myocardial Injury in Diabetic Rats Based on LncRNA Sequencing / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

Statins can bring some benefits to the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), but the specific molecular pathway of their action is still unclear. Recent studies have shown that abnormal expression of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is closely related to the pathological development of DCM. To compare the degree of myocardial injury between diabetic rats treated with rosuvastatin and rats treated with conventional therapy, the therapeutic pathway and potential target of rosuvastatin on DCM was investigated. Total RNA of DCM rats was extracted and 1ncRNA microarray was prepared to screen out differentially expressed 1ncRNA and bioinformatics analysis was carried out. The results showed that 770 target genes were up-regulated and 884 were down-regulated in the treatment group compared with the model group, which were mainly related to improvement of metabolic disorder, regulation of the ratio of myocardial cells to collagen fibers, reduction of myocardial injury and exercise burden, prevention of autonomic nervous system and microcirculation diseases and change of eating habits. The signaling pathways involved are mainly concentrated in sensory pathways, signal transduction, lipid metabolism and so on. It is suggested that rosuvastatin may play a role in the treatment of DCM by regulating the participation of 1ncRNA in glucose and lipid energy metabolism and ion balance, inhibiting the process of myocardial fibrosis and improving the effect of high glucose toxicity on autonomic nervous function.

Effects of irradiation treatment on protein structure and digestion characteristics of seed-watermelon (Citrullus lanatus var.) kernel protein.

This study examined the effects of different doses of irradiation treatments on protein structure and digestion characteristic of seed-watermelon seed kernel protein. The results showed that, the molecular structure of seed-watermelon kernel protein was unfolded after the irradiation treatment, the content of ß-sheet structure in the secondary structure was decreased, while the content of random coil structure increased. The average particle size of the protein increased, and the hydrophobic group buried in the ß-sheet structure was exposed hence the surface hydrophobicity increased. Besides, the surface morphology of seed-watermelon protein changed from smooth and flat to coarse and concave, the specific surface area in contact with the aqueous medium increased and its solubility increased, the distribution of peptides in the digesta became wider, and the small molecular weight peptides gradually increased.

GdFe0.8Ni0.2O3: A Multiferroic Material for Low-Power Spintronic Devices with High Storage Capacity.

Multiferroic materials are strong candidates for reducing the energy consumption of voltage-controlled spintronic devices because of the coexistence of ferroelectric (FE) and magnetic orders in a single phase. In this article, we present a new multiferroic perovskite, GdNixFe1-xO3 (GFNO), produced via sputtering on a SrTiO3 substrate. The proposed GFNO is FE and canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) within a monoclinic framework at room temperature. The FE polarization of the GFNO is up to 37 µC/cm2. When capped with a Co layer, the resulting heterostructure exhibits voltage-controlled magnetism (VCM). The heterostructured device exhibits two distinct features. First, its VCM depends on the magnitude as well as the polarity of the applied bias, thereby doubling the number of available magnetic readout states under a fixed voltage. Furthermore, the magnetic order of the device can be controlled very effectively within ±1 V. These two characteristics satisfy the requirements for low-power and high-storage technology. Theoretical analysis and experimental results indicate the importance of Ni dopant in regulating the polarity-dependent multiferroicity of this gadolinium ferrite system.

Study on the Emulsifying Properties of Pomegranate Peel Pectin from Different Cultivation Areas.

Pomegranate peel pectin is an important acidic anionic plant polysaccharide which can be used as a natural emulsifier. In order to study its emulsifying properties, this paper systematically analyses pomegranate peel pectin samples from Chinese Xinjiang, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, through rheometer, interfacial rheometer, Zetasizer Nano-ZS and mastersizer. It is shown that pomegranate peel pectin can effectively reduce the oil-water interfacial tension, reaching an emulsion droplet size of only 0.507 µm, 0.669 µm and 0.569 µm, respectively, while the pectin concentration is 1.5% and the oil phase (MCT) is 10%. It has also shown that the extreme conditions of pH and ion strength can not significantly change its emulsion stability. However, freeze-thaw cycles can cause the pomegranate peel pectin emulsion to become less stable. Furthermore, the effects of decolourization, protein removal and dialysis on the emulsifying properties of pomegranate peel pectin are investigated using mastersizer rheometer and interfacial rheometer. It is found that the protein and pigment in pomegranate peel pectin have little effect on its emulsifying properties, while the results from dialyzed pectin show that the small molecule substances can reduce the emulsion particle size and increase the emulsion stability. The research outcomes of this study provide technical support for the further application of pomegranate peel pectin in the food industry.

Up-and-down-shaker-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for the determination of fungicides in wine.

An up-and-down-shaker-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (UDSA-DLLME) method coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was developed for the determination of fungicides (cyprodinil, procymidone, fludioxonil, flusilazole, benalaxyl, and tebuconazole) in wine. The developed method requires 11 µL of 1-octanol without the need for dispersive solvents. The total extraction time was approximately 3 min. Under optimum conditions, the linear range of the method was 0.05-100 µg L(-1) for all fungicides and the limit of detection was 0.007-0.025 µg L(-1). The absolute and relative recoveries were 31-83% and 83-107% for white wine, respectively, and 32-85% and 83-108% for red wine, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day precision were 0.5-7.5% and 0.7-6.1%, respectively. Our developed method had good sensitivity and high extraction efficiency. UDSA-DLLME is a desirable method in terms of performance and speed.

Water with low concentration of surfactant in dispersed solvent-assisted emulsion dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of fungicides in wine.

A sample preparation method, dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction assisted by an emulsion with low concentration of a surfactant in water and dispersed solvent coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, was developed for the analysis of the fungicides cyprodinil, procymidone, fludioxonil, flusilazole, benalaxyl, and tebuconazole in wine. A microsyringe was used to withdraw and discharge a mixture of extraction solvent and 240 µL of an aqueous solution of Triton X-100 (the dispersed agent) four times within 10 s to form a cloudy emulsion in the syringe. This emulsion was then injected into a 5 mL wine sample spiked with all of the above fungicides. The total extraction time was approximately 0.5 min. Under optimum conditions using 1-octanol (12 µL) as extraction solvent, the linear range of the method in analysis of all six fungicides was 0.05-100 µg L(-1), and the limit of detection ranged from 0.013 to 0.155 µg L(-1). The absolute recoveries (n = 3) and relative recoveries (n = 3) were 30-83 and 81-108% for white wine at 0.5, 5, and 5 µg L(-1), and 30-92 and 81-110% for red wine, respectively. The intraday (n = 7) and interday (n = 6) relative standard deviations ranged from 4.4 to 8.8% and from 4.3 to 11.2% at 0.5 µg L(-1), respectively. The method achieved high enrichment factors. It is an alternative sample preparation technique with good performance.

Selective extraction of melamine using 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid-capped gold nanoparticles followed by capillary electrophoresis.

This study describes the use of 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid-capped gold nanoparticles (MUA-AuNPs) for selective extraction of melamine prior to analysis by capillary electrophoresis with UV detection. The highest degree of melamine-induced aggregation of MUA-AuNPs was found to occur at pH 5.0, indicating that the NP aggregation is mainly because of hydrogen bonding between the carboxylate groups of MUA and the amine groups of melamine. Moreover, the degree of melamine-induced NP aggregation gradually increased when the chain length of the mercaptoalkanoic acid was increased from two to 12 carbon atoms. At pH 5.0, the extraction efficiency of melamine was highly dependent on the concentration of MUA-AuNPs, the concentration of dithiothreitol (DTT), the extraction time between MUA-AuNPs and melamine, and the incubation time between melamine-adsorbed AuNPs and DTT. The separation of the extracted melamine and DTT (releasing agent) was accomplished using a solution of 10 mM phosphate (pH 6.0) containing 1.6% (v/v) poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride). Under the optimum extraction and separation conditions, the limit of detection at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3 was estimated to be 77 pM for melamine, with linear range of 1-1000 nM. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of melamine in tap water and in milk.