Monolith enzymatic microreactor at the frontier of glycomic toward a new route for the production of bioactive oligosaccharides

Current Status and Future Strategies to Increase Secondary Metabolite Production from Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria, given their ability to produce various secondary metabolites utilizing solar energy and carbon dioxide, are a potential platform for sustainable production of biochemicals. Until now, conventional metabolic engineering approaches have been applied to various cyanobacterial species for enhanced production of industrially valued compounds, including secondary metabolites and non-natural biochemicals. However, the shortage of understanding of cyanobacterial metabolic and regulatory networks for atmospheric carbon fixation to biochemical production and the lack of available engineering tools limit the potential of cyanobacteria for industrial applications. Recently, to overcome the limitations, synthetic biology tools and systems biology approaches such as genome-scale modeling based on diverse omics data have been applied to cyanobacteria. This review covers the synthetic and systems biology approaches for advanced metabolic engineering of cyanobacteria.

Radical Depolymerization of Alginate Extracted from Moroccan Brown Seaweed Bifurcaria bifurcata

The degradation of alginate extracted from Moroccan Bifurcaria bifurcata has not been fully established to date. In this work, we report the extraction and the characterization of alginate (ASBB) from the brown algae B. bifurcata, as well as the production of oligo-alginates (OGABs) by using a green chemistry process. The depolymerization of ASBB was carried out by controlled radical hydrolysis through our green chemistry process using a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) catalyst. The molecular weight (Mw) and degree of polymerization (DP) distribution of oligo-alginates (OGABs) obtained were then characterized by HPLC size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and high-performance anion exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD). Structural characterization revealed that after 6 h of depolymerization of ASBB, we obtained OGABs with Mw ≤ 5.5 kDa and 2 ≤ DP ≤ 24. These results highlight the effectiveness of the controlled radical hydrolysis of alginate to produce good yields of alginate fractions with controlled Mw with a known polymerization degree (DP) and without altering properties of oligo-alginates. Bifurcaria bifurcata can be a potential source of alginate and oligo-alginates given its abundance on the northwest Atlantic coast. The production and characterization of oligo-alginates promote their exploitation in the cosmetic, pharmaceutic, and agriculture fields.

Modification of Chitosan for the Generation of Functional Derivatives

Today, chitosan (CS) is probably considered as a biofunctional polysaccharide with the most notable growth and potential for applications in various fields. The progress in chitin chemistry and the need to replace additives and non-natural polymers with functional natural-based polymers have opened many new opportunities for CS and its derivatives. Thanks to the specific reactive groups of CS and easy chemical modifications, a wide range of physico-chemical and biological properties can be obtained from this ubiquitous polysaccharide that is composed of β-(1,4)-2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-glucose repeating units. This review is presented to share insights into multiple native/modified CSs and chitooligosaccharides (COS) associated with their functional properties. An overview will be given on bioadhesive applications, antimicrobial activities, adsorption, and chelation in the wine industry, as well as developments in medical fields or biodegradability.

Sensory analysis of juice blend containing isomalto-oligosaccharides produced by fermentation with Weissella cibaria

This study aimed at producing isomaltooligosaccharides in juice blends using orange juice and malt extract and assessing their acceptability. Different blend formulations were prepared and fermented, varying the concentration of orange juice, sucrose and malt extract. Dextransucrase from Weissella cibaria 10 M was used to enzymatically synthesize α(1-6) linked glucan-oligosaccharides by transglycosylation reactions, with maltose as acceptor carbohydrate and sucrose as donor. The optimal yield of oligosaccharides was after 24 h, producing 19.4 g/L of oligosaccharides (degree of polymerization 3) from 36 g/L maltose and 19 g/L sucrose. All the blend proved to be good alternatives for synthesizing isomalto-oligosaccharides with different degrees of polymerization. Sensory analysis showed good average acceptability compared to natural orange juice, achieving scores of around 6 on a 9-point hedonic scale. In a comprehensive analysis, juice blends containing orange juice and malt extract with Weissella cibaria to produce oligosaccharides exhibited good sensory indicators as an innovative prebiotic beverage. A prebiotic oligosaccharide beverage can be produced by enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides with different degrees of polymerization.

Polyethylenimine: a very useful ionic polymer in the design of immobilized enzyme biocatalysts

This review discusses the possible roles of polyethylenimine (PEI) in the design of improved immobilized biocatalysts from diverse perspectives.

Enabling technologies and green processes in cyclodextrin chemistry

The design of efficient synthetic green strategies for the selective modification of cyclodextrins (CDs) is still a challenging task. Outstanding results have been achieved in recent years by means of so-called enabling technologies, such as microwaves, ultrasound and ball mills, that have become irreplaceable tools in the synthesis of CD derivatives. Several examples of sonochemical selective modification of native α-, β- and γ-CDs have been reported including heterogeneous phase Pd- and Cu-catalysed hydrogenations and couplings. Microwave irradiation has emerged as the technique of choice for the production of highly substituted CD derivatives, CD grafted materials and polymers. Mechanochemical methods have successfully furnished greener, solvent-free syntheses and efficient complexation, while flow microreactors may well improve the repeatability and optimization of critical synthetic protocols.

Novel process windows for enabling, accelerating, and uplifting flow chemistry

Novel Process Windows make use of process conditions that are far from conventional practices. This involves the use of high temperatures, high pressures, high concentrations (solvent-free), new chemical transformations, explosive conditions, and process simplification and integration to boost synthetic chemistry on both the laboratory and production scale. Such harsh reaction conditions can be safely reached in microstructured reactors due to their excellent transport intensification properties. This Review discusses the different routes towards Novel Process Windows and provides several examples for each route grouped into different classes of chemical and process-design intensification.

Enzyme-immobilized microfluidic process reactors

Microreaction technology, which is an interdisciplinary science and engineering area, has been the focus of different fields of research in the past few years. Several microreactors have been developed. Enzymes are a type of catalyst, which are useful in the production of substance in an environmentally friendly way, and they also have high potential for analytical applications. However, not many enzymatic processes have been commercialized, because of problems in stability of the enzymes, cost, and efficiency of the reactions. Thus, there have been demands for innovation in process engineering, particularly for enzymatic reactions, and microreaction devices represent important tools for the development of enzyme processes. In this review, we summarize the recent advances of microchannel reaction technologies especially for enzyme immobilized microreactors. We discuss the manufacturing process of microreaction devices and the advantages of microreactors compared to conventional reaction devices. Fundamental techniques for enzyme immobilized microreactors and important applications of this multidisciplinary technology are also included in our topics.