Electrospun gelatin/chitosan nanofibers containing curcumin for multifunctional food packaging

Recently,food grade nanofiber-based materials have received growing attentions in food packaging.In this work,novel active and intelligent packaging nanofibers based on gelatin/chitosan with curcumin(GA/CS/CUR)were developed via electrospinning technique.Effects of the incorporation of CUR content(0.1%-0.3%,m/m)on the microstructure and functional properties of the electrospun nanofibers were investigated.Morphological studies using scanning electron microscopy indicated that loading CUR can affect the average diameter of nanofiber mats,which remained around 160-180 nm.The addition of an appropriate level CUR(0.2%,m/m)led to a stronger intermolecular interaction,and thus enhanced the thermal stability and tensile strength of the obtained nanofibers.Meanwhile,the incorporation of CUR significantly improved antioxidant activity and the antimicrobial activity of GA/CS/CUR nanofibers.Moreover,the sensitivity of nanofibers to ammonia results indicated that GA/CS nanofibers containing 0.2%CUR(GA/CS/CURⅡ)presented high sensitivity of colorimetric behavior to ammonia(within 3 min).These results suggest GA/CS/CURⅡnanofibers has great potential as a multifunctional packaging to protect and monitor the freshness of proteinrich animal foods,such as meat and seafood.

Influence of Heavy Metals on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth in <i>Eruca sativa</i>Mill.

Heavy metals present in soil and water naturally or as contaminants from human activities can cause bioaccumulation affecting the entire ecosystem and pose harmful health consequences in all life forms. Some famous non-food hyperaccumulators such as Thlaspi caerulescens, Sedum alfredii, Pteris vittata, Arabidopsis halleri and Athyrium yokoscense are of very little economic value, making it difficult for them to be used for phytoremediation. In this paper, the influence of heavy metals Cu, Ni, Zn, Hg, Cr, Pb and Cd on seed germination and early seedling growth in oil crop Eruca sativa was evaluated under laboratory conditions. Our results indicated that among the 7 heavy metals tested, only Ni at higher concentrations (1 mM and above) significantly decreased the Eruca seed germination in a dose-dependent manner. All heavy metals except Zn and Ni decreased the root length first, then the shoot length or the fresh seedling weight, and seed germination was always the last to be influenced. With Ni, the root length, shoot length and fresh seedling weight were stimulated when Ni concentrations were under 1 mM;with Zn, the root length, shoot length and fresh seedling weight were increased by all concentrations tested (0.20 - 5.0 mM). Our results indicated that Eruca is tolerant or moderately tolerant to Cu, Hg, Cr, and Cd and highly tolerant to Pb, Ni and Zn, and can be developed as an industrial oil crop for phytoremediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals.

Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous(3DOM) structure promoted the activity and H_(2)O poisoning resistance of Ce Mn/3DOM-TiO_(2) catalyst in NH_(3)-SCR

NH_(3)-SCR is an effective mean of NOxremoval in the non-electric industry, however, the high activation temperature and poor H_(2)O resistance of SCR catalysts posed a barrier to its application. In this work, a series of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous(3DOM) catalysts were synthesized via a colloidal crystal template(CCT) method, and various characterizations were carried out to explore the physicochemical property of catalysts. The experiment results reveal that Ce_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)/3DOM-TiO_(2) catalyst presents the excellent low-temperature catalytic activity of nearly 100% at 100℃. Furthermore, the enhanced H_(2)O resistance is achieved, certified by the unaffected NO remove at 150℃ in the participation of 15 vol% H_(2)O. The characterizations results exhibit that the improved dispersion of the active component and enhanced redox ability are conducive to the low-temperature catalytic activity. N_(2) adsorption and desorption experiments indicate that catalyst with 3DOM support possesses a larger pore diameter and specific surface area, which may weaken the condensation of H_(2)O in the microporosity of catalysts and improved the H_(2)O resistance of the catalyst. In situ DRIFTS results manifest that Ce_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)/3DOM-TiO_(2) catalyst could not only absorb more NH_(3) and generate more surface-active sites, but inhibit the competitive adsorption between H_(2)O and SCR reactants.

Inhibition of citral nanoemulsion to growth,spoilage ability and Al-2/luxS quorum sensing system of Shewanella putrefaciens CN-32:a study on bacteriostasis from in vitro culture and gene expression analysis

Objectives:The bacteriostatic effects of a citral nanoemulsion against Shewanella putrefaciens CN-32(SHP CN-32)were investigated using in vitro culture and gene expression analysis,forbuilding a potential application in spoilage microorganism control and aquatic products quality maintenance.Materials and Methods:SHP CN-32 was treated by prepared citral nanoemulsion when the minimal inhibitory concentration(MIC)was verified.The growth curve,membrane integrity,scanning electron microscope(SEM)observation,biofilm formation and quorum sensing(QS)signaling molecule Al-2 content were evaluated in different MIC treatment groups(0 to 1.00 MIC).The gene expression status of SHP CN-32 in O and 0.50 MIC groups were compared using transcriptome sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction(PCR).Results:The in vitro culture revealed that the citral nanoemulsion could inhibit the growth of SHP CN-32 with MIC of approximately 200μg/mL.Images of membrane integrity.SEM and biofilm formation suggested significant biological structure damage in bacteria after treatment.Meanwhile,the Qs signaling molecule Al-2 content showed a decline with increasing treatment concentration.Transcriptome sequencing and quantitative PCR revealed that the majority genes related diversified functional metabolic pathways of SHP CN-32 were downregulated at varying degree.Conclusion:A significant bacteriostasis of citral nanoemulsion against SHP CN-32 was verified via the results of growth inhibition,structural destruction,signal molecular decrease and gene expression downregulation of strains.These synergies significantly affect the characteristic expression of SHP CN-32,revealing the application potential as bacteriostat,QS inhibitor and preservative in aquatic products.