1,3-β-Glucanase from Vigna aconitifolia and its possible use in enzyme bioreactor fabrication

Polysaccharide-based hydrogels for medical devices, implants and tissue engineering: A review

Hydrogels are highly biocompatible biomaterials composed of crosslinked three-dimensional networks of hydrophilic polymers. Owing to their natural origin, polysaccharide-based hydrogels (PBHs) possess low toxicity, high biocompatibility and demonstrate in vivo biodegradability, making them great candidates for use in various biomedical devices, implants, and tissue engineering. In addition, many polysaccharides also show additional biological activities such as antimicrobial, anticoagulant, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hemostatic, and anti-inflammatory, which can provide additional therapeutic benefits. The porous nature of PBHs allows for the immobilization of antibodies, aptamers, enzymes and other molecules on their surface, or within their matrix, potentiating their use in biosensor devices. Specific polysaccharides can be used to produce transparent hydrogels, which have been used widely to fabricate ocular implants. The ability of PBHs to encapsulate drugs and other actives has been utilized for making neural implants and coatings for cardiovascular devices (stents, pacemakers and venous catheters) and urinary catheters. Their high water-absorption capacity has been exploited to make superabsorbent diapers and sanitary napkins. The barrier property and mechanical strength of PBHs has been used to develop gels and films as anti-adhesive formulations for the prevention of post-operative adhesion. Finally, by virtue of their ability to mimic various body tissues, they have been explored as scaffolds and bio-inks for tissue engineering of a wide variety of organs. These applications have been described in detail, in this review.

Physiological Mechanisms of Improved Smut Resistance in Sugarcane Through Application of Silicon

Sugarcane smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum is a severe, global sugarcane disease with severe economic losses and is difficult to prevent. To explore more effective control techniques for smut, the effects and physiological mechanism of silicon (Si) on smut resistance in two smut-susceptible cultivars, ROC22 and Badila, were investigated. The results show that Si application significantly enhances smut resistance in ROC22 and Badila, and the incidence of sugarcane smut decreased by 11.57-22.58% (ROC22) and 27.75-46.67% (Badila). The incidence of smut is negatively correlated with the amount of Si applied and the Si content in sugarcane leaves, stems, and roots (highly significantly negatively correlated with stem Si content). Under S. scitamineum stress, the activities of pathogenesis-related enzymes, chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, secondary metabolism-related enzymes such as polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine-ammonia-lyase (PAL), and the contents of secondary metabolites, total soluble phenol, and lignin in sugarcane leaves treated with Si were significantly higher than those without Si (CK). The results also demonstrated that the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity of sugarcane leaves treated with Si increased in the seedling and tillering stages, and the peroxidase (POD) activity decreased in the seedling stage, which caused the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that in turn triggered defense responses. Moreover, MDA and H2O2 levels decreased, and the activities of SOD and POD increased at the jointing stage, which was beneficial to the removal of excessive ROS. Collectively, these results suggest that Si modulates pathogenesis-related protein activity, secondary metabolism, and active oxygen metabolism of sugarcane that positively regulate resistance to smut. This study is the first to reveal the physiological mechanism of Si in improving smut resistance in sugarcane, and the results provide a theoretical basis for the development of Si fertilizers to control sugarcane smut.

Recent developments in enzyme immobilization technology for high-throughput processing in food industries

The demand for food and beverage markets has increased as a result of population increase and in view of health awareness. The quality of products from food processing industry has to be improved economically by incorporating greener methodologies that enhances the safety and shelf life via the enzymes application while maintaining the essential nutritional qualities. The utilization of enzymes is rendered more favorable in industrial practices via the modification of their characteristics as attested by studies on enzyme immobilization pertaining to different stages of food and beverage processing; these studies have enhanced the catalytic activity, stability of enzymes and lowered the overall cost. However, the harsh conditions of industrial processes continue to increase the propensity of enzyme destabilization thus shortening their industrial lifespan namely enzyme leaching, recoverability, uncontrollable orientation and the lack of a general procedure. Innovative studies have strived to provide new tools and materials for the development of systems offering new possibilities for industrial applications of enzymes. Herein, an effort has been made to present up-to-date developments on enzyme immobilization and current challenges in the food and beverage industries in terms of enhancing the enzyme stability.