Lightweight and Easily Foldable MCMB-MWCNTs Composite Paper with Exceptional Electromagnetic Interference Shielding

Lightweight and easily foldable with high conductivity, multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)-based mesocarbon microbead (MCMB) composite paper is prepared using a simple, efficient, and cost-effective strategy. The developed lightweight and conductive composite paper have been reported for the first time as an efficient electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding material in X-band frequency region having a low density of 0.26 g/cm(3). The investigation revealed that composite paper shows an excellent absorption dominated EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of -31 to -56 dB at 0.15-0.6 mm thickness, respectively. Specific EMI-SE of as high as -215 dB cm(3)/g exceeds the best values of metal and other low-density carbon-based composites. Additionally, lightweight and easily foldable ability of this composite paper will help in providing stable EMI shielding values even after constant bending. Such intriguing performances open the framework to designing a lightweight and easily foldable composite paper as promising EMI shielding material, especially in next-generation devices and for defense industries.

Multifunctional, robust, light-weight, free-standing MWCNT/phenolic composite paper as anodes for lithium ion batteries and EMI shielding material

Multifunctional, MWCNT/polymer composite of 140 μm thickness is demonstrated as an anode material for Li-ion battery and efficient EMI shielding material.

Chitosan as a macroaffinity ligand

(1) Chitosan was found to be a suitable macroaffinity ligand for affinity precipitation of chitinase from Neurospora crassa, cabbage and puffballs. (2) The activity recoveries of 85, 82 and 90% with concomitant fold purifications in terms of specific activities were 27, 15 and 30 with N. crassa, cabbage and puffballs and were obtained with affinity precipitation. These results were obtained with clarified extracts/homogenates as the starting materials. (3) The incorporation of chitosan in poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-salt aqueous two-phase system allowed purification of chitinases from these sources directly from unclarified extracts/homogenates. (4) The 96% (w/v) chitosan (of initially introduced into the aqueous two-phase system) partitioned into PEG-phase and this enhanced the partitioning of chitinases into PEG-phase. The chitosan, free as well as bound to chitinases, could be separated from PEG-phase by increasing the pH to 7. (5) By the process of desorption with 2.0 M MgCl2, 86, 80 and 88% activity recoveries (% expressed in terms of total units of enzyme activities in the crude extract) were obtained in the case of N. crassa, cabbage and puffballs, respectively. The corresponding fold purifications in terms of specific activities were 34, 20 and 38. (6) The purified preparations gave single bands on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and the estimated molecular masses agreed with the reported values in the literature.

Purification of phospholipase D by two-phase affinity extraction

An aqueous two-phase system of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-salt was used for purification of phospholipase D (PLD) from peanuts and carrots. Alginate, a known macroaffinity ligand for PLD, was incorporated in the PEG phase and resulted in 91 and 93% of the enzyme activity (from peanuts and carrots, respectively) getting partitioned in the PEG phase. The elution of the enzyme from alginate was facilitated by exploiting the fact that the latter can be reversibly precipitated in the presence of Ca2+. The enzyme was eluted from the polymer by using 0.5 M NaCl. Peanuts and carrots PLD could be purified 78- and 17-fold with 82 and 85% activity recovery, respectively. The purified enzyme from both sources gave a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel (SDS-PAGE) electrophoresis.

One-step purification of glucoamylase by affinity precipitation with alginate

It was found that alginate binds to glucoamylase, presumably through the recognition of starch binding domain of the latter. The present work exploits this for purification of glucoamylases from commercial preparation of Aspergillus niger and crude culture filtrate of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by affinity precipitation technique in a single-step protocol. Glucoamylase is selectively precipitated using alginate as macroaffinity ligand and later eluted with 1.0 M maltose. In the case of A. niger, 81% activity is recovered with 28-fold purification. The purified glucoamylase gave a single band on SDS-PAGE corresponding to 78 kDa molecular weight. The developed affinity precipitation process also works efficiently for purification of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens glucoamylase from its crude culture filtrate, giving 78% recovery with 38-fold purification. The purified preparation showed a major band corresponding to 62 kDa and a faint band about 50 kDa on SDS-PAGE. The latter corresponds to the molecular weight for alpha-amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

Free polymeric bioligands in aqueous two-phase affinity extractions of microbial xylanases and pullulanase

Two reversibly soluble-insoluble polymers (viz. Eudragit S-100 and alginate) were used as free macroaffinity bioligands in polyethylene glycol (PEG)/salt two-phase systems for separation of enzymes. Incorporation of Eudragit S-100 and alginate in the PEG phase led to considerable selectivity in separation of microbial xylanases and pullulanase, respectively. Xylanase from Aspergillus niger was recovered 93% with 56-fold purification, whereas the enzyme from Trichoderma reesei and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was obtained with 93% activity recovery (31-fold purification) and 90% activity recovery (32-fold purification), respectively. From Bacillus acidopullulyticus pullulanase, 85% enzyme activity recovery with 44-fold purification was obtained. The approach described here shows the potential of developing into a general approach for use of reversibly soluble-insoluble macroaffinity ligand in two-phase affinity extraction.

Reversibly soluble macroaffinity ligand in aqueous two-phase separation of enzymes

Use of alginate as a free bioligand incorporated in an aqueous two-phase system of polyethylene glycol 6000-salt resulted in considerable purification of wheat germ alpha-amylase and sweet potato beta-amylase from their crude extracts. The elution of the enzyme from the free bioligand was facilitated by exploiting the fact that alginate can be reversibly precipitated in the presence of Ca2+. alpha-Amylase could be purified 42-fold with 92% activity recovery. beta-Amylase on the other hand could be purified 43-fold with 90% recovery. Both purified enzymes showed a single band on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

An efficient purification process for sweet potato beta-amylase by affinity precipitation with alginate

beta-amylases are used in production of maltose syrup. It is shown that sweet potato beta-amylase can be purified by affinity precipitation with alginate with 80% activity yield and 44 fold purification. SDS-PAGE of the purified protein showed a single band and a subunit weight of 50 kDa. Preliminary data with soybean and barley enzymes indicate that this may be a general method for purification of beta-amylases.

Purification of alpha-amylases using magnetic alginate beads

Magnetic alginate beads were used to purify alpha-amylases from porcine pancreas, starchzyme, BAN 240L (a commercial purification from Bacillus subtilis), and wheat germ. The beads bound a significant level of alpha-amylase activity from porcine pancreas, BAN 240L, and wheat germ. In each case, the enzyme activity could be eluted by using 1.0 M maltose, a known competitive inhibitor of alpha-amylase. In the case of BAN 240L, 3.6-fold purification with 72% recovery of activity was observed. In the case of wheat germ enzyme, starting from the crude extract, 48-fold purification with 70% activity recovery was observed. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis also indicated considerable purification in the latter case.

A laboratory assessment of enamel hypoplasia of teeth with varying severities of dental fluorosis

The effect of lifelong exposure to drinking-water containing fluoride on tooth enamel microhardness was investigated. Dental fluorosis of teeth from adult subjects, who lived continuously since birth in areas characterized by the hot climate of India, supplied by drinking-water containing between 0.5 and 8.7 parts/10 F, was estimated by the Dean score. Tooth enamel sections were examined from the enamel surface towards the dentino-enamel junction (DEJ) for microhardness. Separated enamel crowns were pulverized and analysed for fluoride. Regarding the distribution of the fluoride concentrations in the drinking-water, we selected a partition below and above 0.8 parts/10 F as a criterion for comparison between the results. Tooth enamel of humans from Israel living in a drinking-water area containing about 0.5 parts/10 F was also examined. Positive associations were evident between fluoride in drinking-water, fluoride concentrations in the bulk enamel and fluorosis selection. A significantly high inverse relationship was evident between the fluoride concentration of the drinking-water and the subsurface enamel microhardness. In similar fluoride-concentration drinking-water areas of India and Israel the microhardness of the subsurface enamel was less for the Indian teeth. The microhardness of the enamel near the DEJ for the three different water fluoride-concentration areas was not significantly different.

Effect of Prunus amygdalus seeds on lipid profile

The effect of Prunus amygdalus, which is rich in unsaturated fat, fibre diet and low cholesterol was studied in 36 normolipidemic male albino rabbits for 60 days. Three different doses i.e. whole seeds defatted and oil showed a decrease in serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol and an increase in phospholipid, faecal sterol and HDL cholesterol. The maximum effects where shown by whole seeds followed by oil and defatted.

Hypoglycemic effect of Prunus amygdalus seeds in albino rabbits

On administration of 2.5 g almond seed and its proportionate fractions, viz. 1.22 g defatted seed and 1.28 g oil to three groups of albino rabbits, they showed a definite hypoglycemic action during a two months study. The active factor seems to be a non oil fraction which is only partly soluble in ethyl ether.