Ag Nanometallic Surfaces for Self-Assembled Ordered Morphologies of Zein

Methods to Screen the Adhesion of Fish Cells on Plant-, Algal- and Fungal-Derived Biomaterials

Cellular agriculture, an alternative and innovative approach to sustainable food production, has gained momentum in recent years. However, there is limited research into the production of cultivated seafood. Here, we investigated the ability of fish mackerel cells (Scomber scombrus) to adhere to plant, algal and fungal-based biomaterial scaffolds, aiming to optimize the cultivation of fish cells for use in cellular agriculture. A mackerel cell line was utilized, and metabolic assays and confocal imaging were utilized to track cell adhesion, growth, and differentiation on the different biomaterials. The mackerel cells adhered and grew on gelatin (positive control), zein, and soy proteins, as well as on alginate, chitosan, and cellulose polysaccharides. The highest adhesion and growth were on the zein and chitosan substrates, apart from the gelatin control. These findings provide a blueprint to enhance scaffold selection and design, contributing to the broader field of cellular agriculture through the development of scalable and eco-conscious solutions for meeting the growing global demand for seafood.

Green Approach Towards Morphology-Controlled Synthesis of Zein-Functionalized TiO2 Nanoparticles for Cosmeceutical Application

Biomolecular approaches for synthesis of inorganic nanoparticle are very popular among researchers and exhibit significant shape-directing morphologies in classified condition. The proteins are the most abundant macromolecules and employed for the hybrid synthesis as well as shape-directing agent. The present study is designed to investigate the potential role of a plant protein 'zein' to synthesize hybrid TiO₂ nanoparticles. This versatile amphiphilic protein paves a unique path towards shape directing synthesis and act as template in the biomineralization process. The structural changes occurred in protein structure is thoroughly characterized using the circular dichroism (CD) and FTIR spectroscopy. UV, XPS and HRTEM analysis confirms the presence of zein on the nanoparticle surface. The proposed approach provides finely engineered nano-cuboidal (22.75±5.07 nm) geometry with homogenous dispersion, curved edged cuboids (403.51±0.05 nm) and spherical (97.85±0.62 nm) shaped from different modification, as evidenced by TEM. We also discussed in-vitro method for the detection of antimicrobial activity of nanocuboids against acne causing microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae. Our results demonstrate that hybrid nanocuboids could be an efficient green material and provide cognitive antimicrobial evidence that could be deployed for cosmeceutical application.

Temperature induced phase transition in fluorescence active zein nanoparticles

Stable colloidal zein nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by using controlled precipitation method. They were made fluorescence active by incorporating a small amount of fluorescence quinolinium surfactant. The incorporation of fluorescence surfactant provided both the colloidal stability and the fluorescence ability to determine the phase transition in zein NPs under the effect of temperature variation. Maintaining colloidal stability under the effect of temperature variation is an essential aspect of zein NPs applicability as a source of vegetarian protein supplement in different food suspensions. Different techniques such as fluorescence, DLS size, zeta potential, and FTIR measurements were applied to determine the influence of temperature on the colloidal stability of zein NPs. Zein NPs undergo phase transition well above room temperature while maintaining their size in nanometer range, and the phase transition temperature decreased with the amount of zein used in the synthesis of zein NPs. The results highlighted the potential use of zein NPs as a vegetarian supplement protein in different food products.

Impact of nanomaterials on ecosystems: Mechanistic aspects in vivo

Nanotechnologies are becoming increasingly popular in modern era of human development in every aspect of life. Their impact on our ecosystem in air, soil, and water is largely unknown because of the limited amount of information available, and hence, they require considerable attention. This account highlights the important routes of nanomaterials toxicity in air, soil, and water, their possible impact on the ecosystem and aquatic life. The mechanistic aspects have been focused on the size, shape, and surface modifications of nanomaterials. The preventive measures and future directions along with appropriate designs and implementation of nanotechnologies have been proposed so as to minimize the interactions of nanomaterials with terrestrial flora and aquatic life. Specifically, the focus largely remains on the toxicity of metallic nanoparticles such as gold (Au) and silver (Ag) because of their applications in diverse fields. The account lists some prominent mechanistic routes of nanotoxicity along with in vivo experimental results based on the fundamental understanding that how nanometallic surfaces interact with plant as well as animal biological systems. The appropriate modifications of the nanometallic surfaces with biocompatible molecules are considered to be the most effective preventive measures to reduce the nanotoxicity.

Barrera E. Development of Functionalized Carbon Nano-Onions Reinforced Zein Protein Hydrogel Interfaces for Controlled Drug Release

In the current study, poly 4-mercaptophenyl methacrylate-carbon nano-onions (PMPMA-CNOs = f-CNOs) reinforced natural protein (zein) composites (zein/f-CNOs) are fabricated using the acoustic cavitation technique. The influence of f-CNOs inclusion on the microstructural properties, morphology, mechanical, cytocompatibility, in-vitro degradation, and swelling behavior of the hydrogels are studied. The tensile results showed that zein/f-CNOs hydrogels fabricated by the acoustic cavitation system exhibited good tensile strength (90.18 MPa), compared with the hydrogels fabricated by the traditional method and only microwave radiation method. It reveals the magnitude of physisorption and degree of colloidal stability of f-CNOs within the zein matrix under acoustic cavitation conditions. The swelling behaviors of hydrogels were also tested and improved results were noticed. The cytotoxicity of hydrogels was tested with osteoblast cells. The results showed good cell viability and cell growth. To explore the efficacy of hydrogels as drug transporters, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) release was measured under gastric and intestinal pH environment. The results showed pH-responsive sustained drug release over 15 days of study, and pH 7.4 showed a more rapid drug release than pH 2.0 and 4.5. Nonetheless, all the results suggest that zein/f-CNOs hydrogel could be a potential pH-responsive drug transporter for a colon-selective delivery system.

Role of Gluten in Surface Chemistry: Nanometallic Bioconjugation of Hard, Medium, and Soft Wheat Protein

Hard, medium, and soft wheat proteins, based on gluten content, were studied for their important roles in nanometallic surface chemistry. In situ synthesis of Au nanoparticles (NPs) was followed to determine the surface adsorption behavior of wheat protein based on the gluten contents. A greater amount of gluten contents facilitated the nucleation to produce Au NPs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface analysis clearly showed the surface adsorption of protein on nanometallic surfaces which was almost equally prevalent for the hard, medium, and soft wheat proteins. Wheat protein conjugated NPs were highly susceptible to phase transfer from aqueous to organic phase that was entirely related to the amount of gluten contents. The presence of higher gluten content in hard wheat protein readily enabled the hard wheat protein conjugated NPs to move across the aqueous-organic interface followed by medium and soft wheat protein conjugated NPs. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS page) analysis allowed us to determine molar masses of nanometallic surface adsorbed protein fractions. Only two protein fractions of high molar masses (74 and 85 kDa) from SDS solubilized hard, medium, and soft wheat proteins preferred to adsorb on nanometallic surfaces out of more than 15 protein fractions of pure wheat protein. This made the surface adsorption of wheat protein highly selective and closely related to gluten content. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solubilized wheat protein conjugated NPs demonstrated their strong antimicrobial activities against both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria making them suitable for their applications in food industry.