Biodegradability and Toxicity of Cellobiosides and Melibiosides

Neuroprotective properties of exosomes and chitosan nanoparticles of Tomafran, a bioengineered tomato enriched in crocins

Saffron has many pharmacological properties in addition to being a frequently used food seasoning. Crocin and picrocrocin which accumulate in saffron stigma, are responsible for these pharmacological properties. These natural products have health-promoting effects for the prevention and treatment of numerous diseases, including age-related cognitive and memory disfunction. Currently, crocin and picrocrocin are obtained from saffron, considered as the spice with the highest price in the market. To develop an efficient and low-cost approach to producing these compounds with high bioactivity, biosynthetic genes isolated from saffron can be exploited in the metabolic engineering of heterologous hosts and the production of crocins in productive crop plants. Recently, we engineered tomato fruit producing crocins (Tomafran). In this study, we demonstrated that crocin-rich extract, encapsulated in chitosan or in exosomes may function as a neuroprotective strategy. Crocins contained in the Tomafran extracts and much lower doses in chitosan nanoparticles or exosomes were enough to rescue the neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y after damage caused by okadaic acid. Our results confirm the neuroprotective effect of Tomafran and its exosomes that may be useful for the delay or prevention of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Formal Anti-Markovnikov Addition of Water to Olefins by Titanocene-Catalyzed Epoxide Hydrosilylation: From Stoichiometric to Sustainable Catalytic Reactions

Here, the evolution of the titanocene-catalyzed hydrosilylation of epoxides that yields the corresponding anti-Markovnikov alcohols is summarized. The study focuses on aspects of sustainability, efficient catalyst activation, and stereoselectivity. The latest variant of the reaction employs polymethylhydrosiloxane (PMHS), a waste product of the Müller-Rochow process as terminal reductant, features an efficient catalyst activation with benzylMgBr and the use of the bench stable Cp₂TiCl₂ as precatalyst. The combination of olefin epoxidation and epoxide hydrosilylation provides a uniquely efficient approach to the formal anti-Markovnikov addition of H₂O to olefins.

Comparison of synthetic rhamnolipids as chemical precipitants for Pb, La, and Mg

Identifying and exploiting cost-effective and green methods of metal recovery from natural and contaminated aqueous systems is widely recognized as necessary to supplement the supply of critical elements, decrease the environmental impacts associated with hardrock mining, and remediate metal-contaminated waters. This research examines a novel approach based on rhamnolipid-facilitated chemical precipitation of metals. Three techniques were assessed to remove the rhamnolipid:metal complex from solution: mixing only, and mixing following by filtration or centrifugation. Recent advances in the ability to synthetically produce rhamnolipid surfactants allowed investigation of a variety of rhamnolipid structures. Rhamnolipids differing in the length and number of hydrophobic tails were assessed to remove Pb, La, and Mg from single metal solutions. In general, removal increased with increased rhamnolipid hydrophobicity and with the addition of an active removal step (filtration or centrifugation). Filtration removed up to 96% of all metals while centrifugation removed up to 97% for Pb and La and 60% for Mg. Results suggest tailoring the rhamnolipid structure and removal methods may enable selective metal removal to achieve specific outcomes. Future studies in mixed-metal and real-world solutions will be needed to confirm the viability of these techniques in complex systems.

Interfacial and Solution Aggregation Behavior of a Series of Bioinspired Rhamnolipid Congeners Rha-C14-Cx (x = 6, 8, 10, 12, 14)

Rhamnolipids are glycolipids produced by microorganisms with outstanding surfactant properties. They are a class of biosurfactants that are potential candidates for biodegradable and nontoxic replacements of current specialty synthetic surfactants. Building on our previous efforts in developing an efficient and practical chemical methodology to synthesize rhamnolipids allows us to now explore the tunability of rhamnolipid properties. Here, we explore the impact on solution self-assembly and adsorption at the air/water interface of symmetry of the two lipid tails for diastereomeric mixtures of a series of monorhamnolipids of the generic structure Rha-C14-Cx. Surface activity of the anionic forms of these molecules at pH 8 is described by surface tensiometry. Characteristics of their aggregation behavior in aqueous solutions including hydrodynamic radius, aggregation number, and aggregate morphology are determined using dynamic light scattering and time-resolved fluorescence quenching spectroscopy. The solution aggregation behavior of this series is found to unexpectedly vary in a nonmonotonic fashion. This is explained by molecular structural attributes of each series member that result in differences in the respective intermolecular interactions of various parts of these surfactants.