Preparation methods,biological activities,and potential applications of marine algae oligosaccharides:a review

Marine algae are valuable sources of health-promoting molecules that have been consumed by Asians for decades.Among aquatic flora,marine algae stand out in terms of high content of marine algae polysaccharides(MAP)such as carrageenan,alginate,fucoidan,laminaran,agarose,rhamnan,and ulvan.When hydrolyzed,MAP generate marine algae oligosaccharides(MAO),which have attracted interest in recent years due to their superior solubility compared with MAP.Besides,MAO have been demonstrated numerous biological activities including antioxidant,antidiabetic,anti-inflammatory,antimicrobial,and prebiotic activities.Thus,this review summarizes the main chemical classes of MAO,their sources,and the main processes used for their production(i.e.,physical,chemical,and biological methods),coupled with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.Highlights of the biological activities of MAO and their potential applications in food,nutraceutical,and pharmaceuticals would also be discussed and summarized.

Preparation and Photocatalytic Application of High Temperature Stabilized ZrSiO_4@TiO_2 Hybrid Nanostructure

A new ZrSiO4@TiO2 hybrid nanostructure was prepared by a heterogeneous flocculation method. Phytic acid was introduced to modify the surface charging of the components for hybrid assembly. The obtained powder was coated on ceramic tiles and fired at 900 ℃ to fabricate photocatalytic ceramic. Experimental results show that anatase TiO2 in the composite powder has high thermal stability until 1 200 ℃. ZrSiO4 matrix prevents the mass transfer of anatase TiO2 at high temperature and greatly retards the phase transition of anatase to rutile. Besides, the photocatalytic ceramic shows apparent activities for the degradation of methyl orange under ultra-violet irradiation.

The Preparation and Application of Chitosan Compound Flocculant

[Objective]The research aimed to study preparation and application of the environment-friendly compound flocculant.[Method]Chitosan（natural biological product,CTS）,ferric sulfate[Fe2（SO4） 3]and polymeric aluminum chloride（PAC） as the main raw materials,four kinds of environment-friendly flocculants were made to conduct flocculation treatment on the domestic wastewater of Wuhan Bioengineering Institute.COD and turbidity of the wastewater as the main indicators,influences of the compound flocculant formulation,flocculant dosage and pH on flocculation effect were studied.[Result]CTS/PAC and CTS/Fe2（SO4） 3 compound flocculants had better removal rates for COD and turbidity when compared with single inorganic flocculant.The best volume ratio of CTS/PAC was 1.0：5.0.The smallest dosage of CTS/PAC in each 500 ml of water sample was 4.0 ml.When pH was 7.2,removal rates of the COD and turbidity were respectively 78.5% and 98.4%,which rose by 36.5% and 21.5% respectively than that singly using PAC.[Conclusion]CTS/PAC was a kind of ideal compound flocculant and had better application prospect.

Recent advances in cell sheet technology for bone and cartilage regeneration: from preparation to application

Bone defects caused by trauma,tumour resection,infection and congenital deformities,together with articular cartilage defects and cartilage–subchondral bone complex defects caused by trauma and degenerative diseases,remain great challenges for clinicians.Novel strategies utilising cell sheet technology to enhance bone and cartilage regeneration are being developed.The cell sheet technology has shown great clinical potential in regenerative medicine due to its effective preservation of cell–cell connections and extracellular matrix and its scaffold-free nature.This review will first introduce several widely used cell sheet preparation systems,including traditional approaches and recent improvements,as well as their advantages and shortcomings.Recent advances in utilising cell sheet technology to regenerate bone or cartilage defects and bone–cartilage complex defects will be reviewed.The key challenges and future research directions for the application of cell sheet technology in bone and cartilage regeneration will also be discussed.

Preparation of Monoclonal Antibody Against HPT and Its Application to Detecting Marker Protein in Genetically Modified Rice

To produce the monoclonal antibodies （mAbs） against hygromycin B phosphotransferase （HPT） and to develop immunoassay based on mAbs for biosafety assessment of HPT in genetically modified rice （GM rice）. Methods BALB/c mice were immunized with purified recombinant 6His. HPT protein, and the conventional hybridoma technology was used to generate the monoclonal hybridoma cells. ELISA and Western blot were used to analyze the specificity of mAbs recognizing HPT and the cross reaction with other proteins. A double-Ab sandwich ELISA method was established to detect HPT expression level in the sck gene-modified rice plants. Results Four hybridomas, named F1,D4-2, D4-4, and D4-5, producing the mAbs against HPT were successfully obtained with the titer of ascetic mAbs ranging from 10×10^-4 to10×10^-5. Identification of subclass showed that all the produced mAbs belonged to IgG1. Western blot showed specific binding reaction between the mAbs to the HPT proteins expressed in the GM rice. A double sandwich ELISA coated with anti-HPT polyclonal antibody was established with mAbs as sandwich antibody, which showed a sensitivity of 30ng/mL and did not crossreact with other proteins. The expression level of HPT in the leaves of sck-transformed lines was detected （80-150ng/mL）. But HPT protein in the grain and seed of GM rice could not be detected using this ELISA assay, Conclusion Anti-HPT mAbs prepared herein have a high specificity and can be used for rapid assay of HPT antigen. The expression level of HPT in the GM rice grain and seed is lower than our ELISA detection limit.

Preparation,Characterization and Application of ZnAlLa-Hydrotalcite-Like Compounds

The preparation of ZnAlLa-hydrotalcite-like compounds [ZnAlLa-HTLcs] wasstudied. ZnAlLa-HTLcs were synthesized by a method of variable pH with the raw materials ofZn(NO_3)_2, Al(NO_3)_3, La(NO_3)_3, and NaOH. The eS'ccts of some factors (i.e. pH values, the moleratio of Al^(3+) to La^(3+), temperature and the period of hydrothermal treatment) on thepreparation of HTLcs were discussed systematically. XRD, TG-DTA, FT-IR spectroscopy, and ICP wereperformed to characterize ZnAlLa-HTLcs samples, and the thermal stability of HTLcs was alsodiscussed. It was shown that unique ZnAlLa-HTLcs with high crystallinity can be prepared, under theconditions of pH = 5.5-6.5, n(Zn^(2+))/n(Al^(3+) + La^(3+))=2 and the atomic ratio of La^(3+) toAl^(3+) ranging from 0.07 to 2, hydrothermal treatment at 120 ℃ for 5 h. When the calcination ofthe HTLcs is performed at temperatures above 200 ℃, ZnO phase is detected with Al_2O_3 and La_2O_3spreading on its top. The complex metal oxides derived from ZnAlLa-HTLcs at 500 ℃ have highercatalytic activity and selectivity than those from ZnAl-HTLcs for the esterification of acetic acidwith n-butanol under the same reaction conditions.

Progress in Nanocellulose Preparation and Application

Nanocellulose is a biodegradable, renewable, nonmeltable polymeric material that is insoluble in most solvents due to hydrogen bonding and crystallinity. Nanocellulose has attracted considerable attention in recent decades owing to its environmental friendliness, wide availability, good biocompatibility, high crystallinity, and high Young's modulus. This review presents the recent achievements in preparation and applications of nanocellulose, including a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of various preparation methods and a summary of the applications of nanocellulose in composite materials research. Finally, we examine the mounting evidence of more widespread potential applications of nanocellulose.

Review: Progress in the Preparation of Iron Based Magnetic Nanoparticles for Biomedical Applications

With unique physical properties, chemical properties, and biological effects, magnetic nanomaterials are important functional materials in many fields. In the past decades, iron based magnetic nanomaterials have attracted much attention in the biomedicine field due to their superior magnetic properties and great potential in biomedical applications. In particular, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles(MIONPs) have been playing a crucial role in the biomedicine field because of their diagnostic and therapeutic functions. Meanwhile, MIONPs are benign, low toxic, biocompatible, and biodegradable, so they are the only inorganic magnetic nanomaterials approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) for clinical use at present. In this review, we mainly introduce the progress in the preparation of iron based magnetic nanomaterials for biomedical applications, including pure iron nanoparticles, iron-based alloy nanoparticles, and MIONPs, with a focus on MIONPs. Also, we summarize the preparation methods of MIONPs and point out the importance of their developments.

Recent Progress in Preparation and Application of Nano-Chitin Materials

Chitin is a kind of natural macromolecule material which was first discovered in mushrooms and was widely found in the shells of crustaceans and arthropods,the cell walls of fungi(yeast and mold)and algae,and the mollusks.The original chitin in nature usually has an antiparallel molecular chain alignment forming nanofibers connected by inter-and intramolecular hydrogen bonds.These microfibers consist of nanofibers about 2-5 nm in diameter,and about 300 nm long,embedded by protein matrices.Due to their unique dimensional,optical,mechanical,and other characteristics,the preparation of nano-chitin materials is an important subject.It is possible to extract nano-chitins from their sources with various methods,including acid hydrolysis,mechanical disintegration,TEMPO-mediated oxidation,electrospinning,and others.In this article,the latest progress in recent years in the preparation and applications of nano-chitin were reviewed.The morphology of the nano-chitins obtained from the above methods was presented.The advantages and disadvantages of each method were analyzed.An overview of applications of nano-chitins was discussed,including biomedicine,food applications,water treatment,green electronic materials,enzyme immobilization carriers,cotton textile materials,cosmetics,and others.

Preparation and application of carbon nanotubes flexible sensors

Based on the good extensibility and conductivity,the flexible sensors(FSs)have a wide range of applications in the field of the electrochemical energy storage and variable stress sensors,which causes that the preparation of FSs also become a hot spot of research.Among the materials for preparing the FSs,the flexible carbon matrix composites(FCMCs)have become the widely used material since the good performance in the properties of electrochemistry and mechanics,which could be divided into three types:the carbon nanofibers(CNFs),the carbon nanospheres(CNSs)and the carbon nanotubes(CNTs).Compared with CNFs and CNSs,the CNTs wrapped by the polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)have the advantages of the excellent extensibility and electrochemical stability.Therefore,the CNTs flexible sensor(CFS)could be well used in the field of the FSs.The purpose of this review is summarizing the preparation methods and application fields of CFS and proposing the research direction of CFS in the future.In this paper,two methods for fabricating the CFS have been designed by consulting the methods mentioned in the literature in recent years,and the advantages and disadvantages between the two methods have been explained.The application fields of CFS in recent years are enumerated,and the conclusion that the application fields of CFS are very wide is drawn.At the end of this paper,the review concludes with an overview of key remaining challenges in the application fields of the CFS.

Recent Advances in the Preparation, Characterization and Applications of Locust Bean Gum-Based Films

Locust bean gum(LBG)is a typical galactomannan isolated from carob bean(Ceratonia siliqua L.)cultivated in the Mediterranean area.Due to its superior biodegradable,rheological and film-forming properties,LBG has been used alone or combined with other biopolymers(e.g.,polysaccharides,proteins and lipids)to develop films.Till now,different kinds of functional ingredients(e.g.,montmorillonite,bacteriocins,antibiotics,plant extract,essential oils and microbial cells)have been added into LBG-based films.Notably,the physical and functional properties of LBG-based films are affected by many factors,such as the structure of LBG,the type and content of other biopolymers and functional ingredients,and the physical treatment of film-forming solution.LBG-based films can be not only used as active packaging and edible coating in food industry but also used as wound dressings in pharmaceutical industry.For the first time,this review focuses on the recent advances in the preparation,characterization,physical and functional properties,and potential applications of LBG-based films.

Preparation and Application Progress of Porous Alumina

Porous alumina ceramics are widely used in various fields because of their unique characteristics in structure and properties.This article mainly provided an overview of preparation techniques of porous alumina ceramics;besides,the principles and the characteristics of pore-forming agents processes,gel-casting processes,freeze-casting processes,anodizing processes and other common processes in obtaining the required properties of porous alumina ceramics were introduced.Meanwhile,the relevant applications and the performance of porous alumina ceramics were described.The research prospects of porous alumina ceramics were put forward based on the research status at the end of this paper.

Preparation and Application of Biomass-based Sprayable Hydrogels

Hydrogels have three-dimensional network structures that have been widely applied owing to their high water content,excellent biocompatibility,and physicochemical properties.Compared with conventional hydrogels,sprayable hydrogels exhibit excellent temporal and spatial controllability.Biomass materials offer easy accessibility,biocompatibility,biodegradability,and other physicochemical properties that are extensively used in the formation of sprayable hydrogels.In situ formed biomass-based sprayable hydrogels are realized by chemical or physical crosslinking.Rapid spray filming,in situ drug delivery,high permeability,and flexible portability enable biomass-based sprayable hydrogels to show great potential for topical drug delivery,wound healing,and other applications.This review describes in detail the status of research on the preparation and application of biomassbased sprayable hydrogels and suggests prospects for their future development.

Preparation,Characterization and Applications of Titanate/Titania Nanocrystals

The present paper focused on the preparation of hydrogen titanate nanotubes and nanowires and their conversion into titania by heat treatments.The structural,morphology and optical properties of as-prepared nanostructured titanate and titania were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM),X-ray diffraction (XRD) and diffusive reflectance spectra.The slim diameter of these nanostructured titanate and titania,the versatile crystal structure and special optical and electronic properties may make them find versatile applications in chemical sensors for multiple purposes.

Preparation and Application of New Porous Environmental Ceramics Filter Medium

A new kind of environmental ceramics medium which was made of industrial solid wastes discharged hy Shandong Alum Corporation has been used in the process of drinking water treatment. New techniques were introduced to ensure its remarkable advantages such us high porosity and strength. The results of proctical application shotc that this sort of filter medium has shorter,filtration run, shorter mature period and higher filter deposit cupability compared with traditional sand filter medium. Moreaver, up to 25%-30% of the daily running costs are expected to be reduced by using this ceramics medium.

Research Progress in Preparation and Application of Photonic Crystals

Photonic crystals are periodic structural materials that have an impact on the propagation properties of photons.Due to their excellent optical,electrical and magnetic properties,their advantages and potential for applications in the above areas are gradually emerging.Therefore,an increasing number of researchers have focused on photonic crystals.In this paper,the characteristics of biological photonic crystal structures,such as those found in butterfly wings,sea mouse bristles,peacock feathers,melon jellyfish epidermal cells,and weevil exoskeletons,are described.The preparation methods of photonic crystals are systematically summarized(including the template method,self-assembly technology,electron beam evaporation coating technology,chemical vapor deposition technology,femtosecond laser two-photon technology,spin coating technology,and a variety of technology mixing),and the characteristics,advantages,and disadvantages of the different methods are compared.Furthermore,the development of photonic crystals in the field of sensors,solar cells,filters,and infrared stealth is discussed,demonstrateing the great development potential of photonic crystals.It is concluded that the realization of photonic crystals with high precision,high sensitivity,angle independence,and large-area uniform preparation is a key problem requiring urgent solution.Moreover,photonic crystals have potential development prospects in the fields of equipment stealth,new concept weapons,production,an daily life.