Evaluation of fungal biomass developed from cocoa by-product as a substrate with corrosion inhibitor for carbon steel

Integrating microfluidics and synthetic biology: advancements and diverse applications across organisms

Synthetic biology is the design and modification of biological systems for specific functions, integrating several disciplines like engineering, genetics, and computer science. The field of synthetic biology is to understand biological processes within host organisms through the manipulation and regulation of their genetic pathways and the addition of biocontrol circuits to enhance their production capabilities. This pursuit serves to address global challenges spanning diverse domains that are difficult to tackle through conventional routes of production. Despite its impact, achieving precise, dynamic, and high-throughput manipulation of biological processes is still challenging. Microfluidics offers a solution to those challenges, enabling controlled fluid handling at the microscale, offering lower reagent consumption, faster analysis of biochemical reactions, automation, and high throughput screening. In this review, we diverge from conventional focus on automating the synthetic biology design-build-test-learn cycle, and instead, focus on microfluidic platforms and their role in advancing synthetic biology through its integration with host organisms - bacterial cells, yeast, fungi, animal cells - and cell-free systems. The review illustrates how microfluidic devices have been instrumental in understanding biological systems by showcasing microfluidics as an essential tool to create synthetic genetic circuits, pathways, and organisms within controlled environments. In conclusion, we show how microfluidics expedite synthetic biology applications across diverse domains including but not limited to personalized medicine, bioenergy, and agriculture.

Structural alteration of cocoa bean shell fibers through biological treatment using Penicillium roqueforti

Lignocellulosic residues, such as cocoa bean shell (FI), are generated in large quantities during agro-industrial activities. Proper management of residual biomass through solid state fermentation (SSF) can be effective in obtaining value-added products. The hypothesis of the present work is that the bioprocess promoted by P. roqueforti can lead to structural changes in the fibers of the fermented cocoa bean shell (FF) that confer characteristics of industrial interest. To unveil such changes, the techniques of FTIR, SEM, XRD, TGA/TG were used. After SSF, an increase of 36.6% in the crystallinity index was observed, reflecting the reduction of amorphous components such as lignin in the FI residue. Furthermore, an increase in porosity was observed through the reduction of the 2θ angle, which gives the FF a potential candidate for applications of porous products. The FTIR results confirm the reduction in hemicellulose content after SSF. The thermal and thermogravimetric tests showed an increase in the hydrophilicity and thermal stability of FF (15% decomposition) in relation to the by-product FI (40% decomposition). These data provided important information regarding changes in the crystallinity of the residue, existing functional groups and changes in degradation temperatures.

Corrosion inhibition properties of schiff base derivative against mild steel in HCl environment complemented with DFT investigations

There is growing interest in using corrosion inhibitors and protective treatments to limit the degradation of mild steel, leading to the development of numerous Schiff bases as cutting-edge inhibitors. In this study, the effectiveness of a Schiff base, 3-((5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)imino)indolin-2-one (MTIO), to prevent mild steel corrosion in HCl was investigated using weight loss measurements, potentiodynamic polarization measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques, and surface characterization. The experimental results showed that 0.5 mM MTIO exhibited a satisfactory inhibitor efficiency of 96.9% at 303 K. The MTIO molecules physically and chemically adsorbed onto the mild steel surface following the Langmuir model, forming a compact protective film attributed to the presence of a thiazole ring in the MTIO structure. Theoretical calculations were combined with experimental techniques to investigate the anticorrosion performance and mechanism of inhibition.

Corrosion Inhibition Properties of Phenyl Phthalimide Derivatives against Carbon Steel in the Acidic Medium: DFT, MP2, and Monte Carlo Simulation Studies

The effectiveness of phenyl phthalimide and its derivatives at preventing corrosion of carbon steel has been tested experimentally using gravimetric and electrochemical measurements. However, experimental studies have not thoroughly explained the structural patterns and coating mechanisms of phenyl phthalimide and its derivatives during corrosion inhibition. In this study, the density functional theory (DFT), ab initio MP2, and Monte Carlo simulation are applied to study phenyl phthalimide (PP) and its derivatives as corrosion inhibitors of carbon steel. The geometry, quantum parameters, and reactive site of the inhibitors were determined by DFT and ab initio MP2 methods. The real environment conditions of corrosion inhibition in the solution phase can be replicated by the Monte Carlo simulation. The corrosion inhibition efficiency of phthalimide derivatives is PP-OCH₃ > PP-CH₃ > PP-H > PP-Cl > PP-NO₂. The theoretical study is consistent with previously reported experimental results.