TY - JOUR A1 - Scheer, Nico A1 - Ross, Jillian A1 - Kapelyukh, Yury A1 - Rode, Anja A1 - Wolf, C. Roland T1 - In vivo responses of the human and murine pregnane X receptor to dexamethasone in mice JF - Drug Metabolism and Disposition N2 - Dexamethasone (DEX) is a potent and widely used anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant glucocorticoid. It can bind and activate the pregnane X receptor (PXR), which plays a critical role as xenobiotic sensor in mammals to induce the expression of many enzymes, including cytochromes P450 in the CYP3A family. This induction results in its own metabolism. We have used a series of transgenic mouse lines, including a novel, improved humanized PXR line, to compare the induction profile of PXR-regulated drug-metabolizing enzymes after DEX administration, as well as looking at hepatic responses to rifampicin (RIF). The new humanized PXR model has uncovered further intriguing differences between the human and mouse receptors in that RIF only induced Cyp2b10 in the new humanized model. DEX was found to be a much more potent inducer of Cyp3a proteins in wild-type mice than in mice humanized for PXR. To assess whether PXR is involved in the detoxification of DEX in the liver, we analyzed the consequences of high doses of the glucocorticoid on hepatotoxicity on different PXR genetic backgrounds. We also studied these effects in an additional mouse model in which functional mouse Cyp3a genes have been deleted. These strains exhibited different sensitivities to DEX, indicating a protective role of the PXR and CYP3A proteins against the hepatotoxicity of this compound. Y1 - 2010 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1124/dmd.109.031872 SN - 1521-009X VL - 38 IS - 7 SP - 1046 EP - 1053 PB - ASPET CY - Bethesda ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidt, Aaron C. A1 - Turgut, Hatice A1 - Le, Dao A1 - Beloqui, Ana A1 - Delaittre, Guillaume T1 - Making the best of it: nitroxide-mediated polymerization of methacrylates via the copolymerization approach with functional styrenics JF - Polymer Chemistry N2 - The SG1-mediated solution polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA, Mₙ = 300 g mol⁻¹) in the presence of a small amount of functional/reactive styrenic comonomer is investigated. Moieties such as pentafluorophenyl ester, triphenylphosphine, azide, pentafluorophenyl, halide, and pyridine are considered. A comonomer fraction as low as 5 mol% typically results in a controlled/living behavior, at least up to 50% conversion. Chain extensions with styrene for both systems were successfully performed. Variation of physical properties such as refractive index (for MMA) and phase transition temperature (for OEGMA) were evaluated by comparing to 100% pure homopolymers. The introduction of an activated ester styrene derivative in the polymerization of OEGMA allows for the synthesis of reactive and hydrophilic polymer brushes with defined thickness. Finally, using the example of pentafluorostyrene as controlling comonomer, it is demonstrated that functional PMMA-b-PS are able to maintain a phase separation ability, as evidenced by the formation of nanostructured thin films. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C9PY01458F VL - 11 IS - 2 SP - 593 EP - 604 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Capitain, Charlotte A1 - Ross-Jones, Jesse A1 - Möhring, Sophie A1 - Tippkötter, Nils T1 - Differential scanning calorimetry for quantification of polymer biodegradability in compost JF - International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation N2 - The objective of this study is the establishment of a differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) based method for online analysis of the biodegradation of polymers in complex environments. Structural changes during biodegradation, such as an increase in brittleness or crystallinity, can be detected by carefully observing characteristic changes in DSC profiles. Until now, DSC profiles have not been used to draw quantitative conclusions about biodegradation. A new method is presented for quantifying the biodegradation using DSC data, whereby the results were validated using two reference methods. The proposed method is applied to evaluate the biodegradation of three polymeric biomaterials: polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), cellulose acetate (CA) and Organosolv lignin. The method is suitable for the precise quantification of the biodegradability of PHB. For CA and lignin, conclusions regarding their biodegradation can be drawn with lower resolutions. The proposed method is also able to quantify the biodegradation of blends or composite materials, which differentiates it from commonly used degradation detection methods. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ibiod.2020.104914 SN - 0964-8305 VL - 149 SP - In Press, Article number 104914 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Muschallik, Lukas A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Jablonski, Melanie A1 - Kipp, Carina Ronja A1 - Bongaerts, Johannes A1 - Pohl, Martina A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef A1 - Selmer, Thorsten A1 - Siegert, Petra T1 - Synthesis of α-hydroxy ketones and vicinal (R, R)-diols by Bacillus clausii DSM 8716ᵀ butanediol dehydrogenase JF - RSC Advances N2 - α-hydroxy ketones (HK) and 1,2-diols are important building blocks for fine chemical synthesis. Here, we describe the R-selective 2,3-butanediol dehydrogenase from B. clausii DSM 8716ᵀ (BcBDH) that belongs to the metal-dependent medium chain dehydrogenases/reductases family (MDR) and catalyzes the selective asymmetric reduction of prochiral 1,2-diketones to the corresponding HK and, in some cases, the reduction of the same to the corresponding 1,2-diols. Aliphatic diketones, like 2,3-pentanedione, 2,3-hexanedione, 5-methyl-2,3-hexanedione, 3,4-hexanedione and 2,3-heptanedione are well transformed. In addition, surprisingly alkyl phenyl dicarbonyls, like 2-hydroxy-1-phenylpropan-1-one and phenylglyoxal are accepted, whereas their derivatives with two phenyl groups are not substrates. Supplementation of Mn²⁺ (1 mM) increases BcBDH's activity in biotransformations. Furthermore, the biocatalytic reduction of 5-methyl-2,3-hexanedione to mainly 5-methyl-3-hydroxy-2-hexanone with only small amounts of 5-methyl-2-hydroxy-3-hexanone within an enzyme membrane reactor is demonstrated. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D0RA02066D SN - 2046-2069 VL - 10 SP - 12206 EP - 12216 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wardoyo, Arinto Y.P. A1 - Noor, Johan A.E. A1 - Elbers, Gereon A1 - Schmitz, Sandra A1 - Flaig, Sascha T. A1 - Budianto, Arif T1 - Characterizing volcanic ash elements from the 2015 eruptions of bromo and raung volcanoes, Indonesia JF - Polish Journal of Environmental Studies N2 - The volcanic eruptions of Mt. Bromo and Mt. Raung in East Java, Indonesia, in 2015 perturbed volcanic materials and affected surface-layer air quality at surrounding locations. During the episodes, the volcanic ash from the eruptions influenced visibility, traffic accidents, flight schedules, and human health. In this research, the volcanic ash particles were collected and characterized by relying on the detail of physical observation. We performed an assessment of the volcanic ash elements to characterize the volcanic ash using two different methods which are aqua regia extracts followed by MP-AES and XRF laboratory test of bulk samples. The analysis results showed that the volcanic ash was mixed of many materials, such as Al, Si, P, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, and others. Fe, Si, Ca, and Al were found as the major elements, while the others were the trace elements Ba, Cr, Cu, Mn, P, Mn, Ni, Zn, Sb, Sr, and V with the minor concentrations. XRF analyses showed that Fe dominated the elements of the volcanic ash. The XRF analysis showed that Fe was at 35.40% in Bromo and 43.00% in Raung of the detected elements in bulk material. The results of aqua regia extracts analyzed by MP-AES were 1.80% and 1.70% of Fe element for Bromo and Raung volcanoes, respectively. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/99101 SN - 2083-5906 VL - 29 IS - 2 SP - 1899 EP - 1907 PB - HARD CY - Olsztyn ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lowis, Carsten A1 - Ferguson, Simon A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - Hoehr, Cornelia T1 - Improved Sc-44 production in a siphon-style liquid target on a medical cyclotron JF - Applied Radiation and Isotopes Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apradiso.2021.109675 SN - 0969-8043 VL - 172 IS - Art. 109675 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bergs, Michel A1 - Monakhova, Yulia A1 - Diehl, Bernd W. A1 - Konow, Christopher A1 - Völkering, Georg A1 - Pude, Ralf A1 - Schulze, Margit T1 - Lignins isolated via catalyst-free organosolv pulping from Miscanthus x giganteus, M. sinensis, M. robustus and M. nagara: a comparative study JF - Molecules N2 - As a low-input crop, Miscanthus offers numerous advantages that, in addition to agricultural applications, permits its exploitation for energy, fuel, and material production. Depending on the Miscanthus genotype, season, and harvest time as well as plant component (leaf versus stem), correlations between structure and properties of the corresponding isolated lignins differ. Here, a comparative study is presented between lignins isolated from M. x giganteus, M. sinensis, M. robustus and M. nagara using a catalyst-free organosolv pulping process. The lignins from different plant constituents are also compared regarding their similarities and differences regarding monolignol ratio and important linkages. Results showed that the plant genotype has the weakest influence on monolignol content and interunit linkages. In contrast, structural differences are more significant among lignins of different harvest time and/or season. Analyses were performed using fast and simple methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Data was assigned to four different linkages (A: β-O-4 linkage, B: phenylcoumaran, C: resinol, D: β-unsaturated ester). In conclusion, A content is particularly high in leaf-derived lignins at just under 70% and significantly lower in stem and mixture lignins at around 60% and almost 65%. The second most common linkage pattern is D in all isolated lignins, the proportion of which is also strongly dependent on the crop portion. Both stem and mixture lignins, have a relatively high share of approximately 20% or more (maximum is M. sinensis Sin2 with over 30%). In the leaf-derived lignins, the proportions are significantly lower on average. Stem samples should be chosen if the highest possible lignin content is desired, specifically from the M. x giganteus genotype, which revealed lignin contents up to 27%. Due to the better frost resistance and higher stem stability, M. nagara offers some advantages compared to M. x giganteus. Miscanthus crops are shown to be very attractive lignocellulose feedstock (LCF) for second generation biorefineries and lignin generation in Europe. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/molecules26040842 SN - 1420-3049 N1 - Special Issue Lignin – A Natural Resource with Huge Potential https://www.mdpi.com/journal/molecules/special_issues/lignin_natural VL - 26 IS - 4 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Eckert, Alexander A1 - Abbasi, Mozhdeh A1 - Mang, Thomas A1 - Saalwächter, Kay A1 - Walther, Andreas T1 - Structure, Mechanical Properties, and Dynamics of Polyethylenoxide/Nanoclay Nacre-Mimetic Nanocomposites JF - Macromolecules N2 - Nacre-mimetic nanocomposites based on high fractions of synthetic high-aspect-ratio nanoclays in combination with polymers are continuously pushing boundaries for advanced material properties, such as high barrier against oxygen, extraordinary mechanical behavior, fire shielding, and glass-like transparency. Additionally, they provide interesting model systems to study polymers under nanoconfinement due to the well-defined layered nanocomposite arrangement. Although the general behavior in terms of forming such layered nanocomposite materials using evaporative self-assembly and controlling the nanoclay gallery spacing by the nanoclay/polymer ratio is understood, some combinations of polymer matrices and nanoclay reinforcement do not comply with the established models. Here, we demonstrate a thorough characterization and analysis of such an unusual polymer/nanoclay pair that falls outside of the general behavior. Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and sodium fluorohectorite form nacre-mimetic, lamellar nanocomposites that are completely transparent and show high mechanical stiffness and high gas barrier, but there is only limited expansion of the nanoclay gallery spacing when adding increasing amounts of polymer. This behavior is maintained for molecular weights of PEO varied over four orders of magnitude and can be traced back to depletion forces. By careful investigation via X-ray diffraction and proton low-resolution solid-state NMR, we are able to quantify the amount of mobile and immobilized polymer species in between the nanoclay galleries and around proposed tactoid stacks embedded in a PEO matrix. We further elucidate the unusual confined polymer dynamics, indicating a relevant role of specific surface interactions. Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01931 SN - 1520-5835 VL - 53 IS - 5 SP - 1716 EP - 1725 PB - ACS Publications CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Monakhova, Yulia A1 - Diehl, Bernd W. K. T1 - A step towards optimization of the qNMR workflow: proficiency testing exercise at an GxP-accredited laboratory JF - Applied Magnetic Resonance N2 - Quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance (qNMR) is considered as a powerful tool for multicomponent mixture analysis as well as for the purity determination of single compounds. Special attention is currently paid to the training of operators and study directors involved in qNMR testing. To assure that only qualified personnel are used for sample preparation at our GxP-accredited laboratory, weighing test was proposed. Sixteen participants performed six-fold weighing of the binary mixture of dibutylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and 1,2,4,5-tetrachloro-3-nitrobenzene (TCNB). To evaluate the quality of data analysis, all spectra were evaluated manually by a qNMR expert and using in-house developed automated routine. The results revealed that mean values are comparable and both evaluation approaches are free of systematic error. However, automated evaluation resulted in an approximately 20% increase in precision. The same findings were revealed for qNMR analysis of 32 compounds used in pharmaceutical industry. Weighing test by six-fold determination in binary mixtures and automated qNMR methodology can be recommended as efficient tools for evaluating staff proficiency. The automated qNMR method significantly increases throughput and precision of qNMR for routine measurements and extends application scope of qNMR. Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00723-021-01324-3 SN - 1613-7507 N1 - Corresponding author: Yulia Monakhova VL - 52 SP - 581 EP - 593 PB - Springer Nature CY - Wien ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Becht, Alexander A1 - Schollmayer, Curd A1 - Monakhova, Yulia A1 - Holzgrabe, Ulrike T1 - Tracing the origin of paracetamol tablets by near-infrared, mid-infrared, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis JF - Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry N2 - Most drugs are no longer produced in their own countries by the pharmaceutical companies, but by contract manufacturers or at manufacturing sites in countries that can produce more cheaply. This not only makes it difficult to trace them back but also leaves room for criminal organizations to fake them unnoticed. For these reasons, it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine the exact origin of drugs. The goal of this work was to investigate how exactly this is possible by using different spectroscopic methods like nuclear magnetic resonance and near- and mid-infrared spectroscopy in combination with multivariate data analysis. As an example, 56 out of 64 different paracetamol preparations, collected from 19 countries around the world, were chosen to investigate whether it is possible to determine the pharmaceutical company, manufacturing site, or country of origin. By means of suitable pre-processing of the spectra and the different information contained in each method, principal component analysis was able to evaluate manufacturing relationships between individual companies and to differentiate between production sites or formulations. Linear discriminant analysis showed different results depending on the spectral method and purpose. For all spectroscopic methods, it was found that the classification of the preparations to their manufacturer achieves better results than the classification to their pharmaceutical company. The best results were obtained with nuclear magnetic resonance and near-infrared data, with 94.6%/99.6% and 98.7/100% of the spectra of the preparations correctly assigned to their pharmaceutical company or manufacturer. KW - IR KW - Manufacturer KW - Linear discriminant analysis KW - Principal component analysis Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00216-021-03249-z SN - 1618-2650 VL - 413 SP - 3107 EP - 3118 PB - Springer Nature ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Jablonski, Melanie A1 - Münstermann, Felix A1 - Nork, Jasmina A1 - Molinnus, Denise A1 - Muschallik, Lukas A1 - Bongaerts, Johannes A1 - Wagner, Torsten A1 - Keusgen, Michael A1 - Siegert, Petra A1 - Schöning, Michael Josef T1 - Capacitive field‐effect biosensor applied for the detection of acetoin in alcoholic beverages and fermentation broths JF - physica status solidi (a) applications and materials science N2 - An acetoin biosensor based on a capacitive electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor (EIS) structure modified with the enzyme acetoin reductase, also known as butane-2,3-diol dehydrogenase (Bacillus clausii DSM 8716ᵀ), is applied for acetoin detection in beer, red wine, and fermentation broth samples for the first time. The EIS sensor consists of an Al/p-Si/SiO₂/Ta₂O₅ layer structure with immobilized acetoin reductase on top of the Ta₂O₅ transducer layer by means of crosslinking via glutaraldehyde. The unmodified and enzyme-modified sensors are electrochemically characterized by means of leakage current, capacitance–voltage, and constant capacitance methods, respectively. KW - acetoin KW - acetoin reductase KW - alcoholic beverages KW - biosensors KW - capacitive field-effect sensors Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pssa.202000765 SN - 1862-6319 VL - 218 IS - 13 PB - Wiley-VCH CY - Weinheim ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Niedermeier, Jana A1 - Penner, Crystal A1 - Usherovich, Samuel A1 - Bélanger-Champagne, Camille A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - Cornelia, Hoehr T1 - Optical Fibers as Dosimeter Detectors for Mixed Proton/Neutron Fields - A Biological Dosimeter JF - electronics N2 - In recent years, proton therapy has gained importance as a cancer treatment modality due to its conformality with the tumor and the sparing of healthy tissue. However, in the interaction of the protons with the beam line elements and patient tissues, potentially harmful secondary neutrons are always generated. To ensure that this neutron dose is as low as possible, treatment plans could be created to also account for and minimize the neutron dose. To monitor such a treatment plan, a compact, easy to use, and inexpensive dosimeter must be developed that not only measures the physical dose, but which can also distinguish between proton and neutron contributions. To that end, plastic optical fibers with scintillation materials (Gd₂O₂S:Tb, Gd₂O₂S:Eu, and YVO₄:Eu) were irradiated with protons and neutrons. It was confirmed that sensors with different scintillation materials have different sensitivities to protons and neutrons. A combination of these three scintillators can be used to build a detector array to create a biological dosimeter. KW - biological dosimeter KW - Bragg peak KW - relative dosimetry KW - optical fibers KW - proton therapy KW - protons KW - neutrons Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/electronics12020324 SN - 2079-9292 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Applications of Optical Fiber Sensors" VL - 12 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Penner, Crystal A1 - Usherovich, Samuel A1 - Niedermeier, Jana A1 - Bélanger-Champagne, Camille A1 - Trinczek, Michael A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - Hoehr, Cornelia T1 - Organic Scintillator-Fibre Sensors for Proton Therapy Dosimetry: SCSF-3HF and EJ-260 JF - electronics N2 - In proton therapy, the dose from secondary neutrons to the patient can contribute to side effects and the creation of secondary cancer. A simple and fast detection system to distinguish between dose from protons and neutrons both in pretreatment verification as well as potentially in vivo monitoring is needed to minimize dose from secondary neutrons. Two 3 mm long, 1 mm diameter organic scintillators were tested for candidacy to be used in a proton–neutron discrimination detector. The SCSF-3HF (1500) scintillating fibre (Kuraray Co. Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan) and EJ-260 plastic scintillator (Eljen Technology, Sweetwater, TX, USA) were irradiated at the TRIUMF Neutron Facility and the Proton Therapy Research Centre. In the proton beam, we compared the raw Bragg peak and spread-out Bragg peak response to the industry standard Markus chamber detector. Both scintillator sensors exhibited quenching at high LET in the Bragg peak, presenting a peak-to-entrance ratio of 2.59 for the EJ-260 and 2.63 for the SCSF-3HF fibre, compared to 3.70 for the Markus chamber. The SCSF-3HF sensor demonstrated 1.3 times the sensitivity to protons and 3 times the sensitivity to neutrons as compared to the EJ-260 sensor. Combined with our equations relating neutron and proton contributions to dose during proton irradiations, and the application of Birks’ quenching correction, these fibres provide valid candidates for inexpensive and replicable proton-neutron discrimination detectors Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/electronics12010011 SN - 2079-9292 N1 - This article belongs to the Special Issue "Applications of Optical Fiber Sensors" VL - 12 IS - 1 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Haeger, Gerrit A1 - Grankin, Alina A1 - Wagner, Michaela T1 - Construction of an Aspergillus oryzae triple amylase deletion mutant as a chassis to evaluate industrially relevant amylases using multiplex CRISPR/Cas9 editing technology JF - Applied Research N2 - Aspergillus oryzae is an industrially relevant organism for the secretory production of heterologous enzymes, especially amylases. The activities of potential heterologous amylases, however, cannot be quantified directly from the supernatant due to the high background activity of native α-amylase. This activity is caused by the gene products of amyA, amyB, and amyC. In this study, an in vitro CRISPR/Cas9 system was established in A. oryzae to delete these genes simultaneously. First, pyrG of A. oryzae NSAR1 was mutated by exploiting NHEJ to generate a counter-selection marker. Next, all amylase genes were deleted simultaneously by co-transforming a repair template carrying pyrG of Aspergillus nidulans and flanking sequences of amylase gene loci. The rate of obtained triple knock-outs was 47%. We showed that triple knockouts do not retain any amylase activity in the supernatant. The established in vitro CRISPR/Cas9 system was used to achieve sequence-specific knock-in of target genes. The system was intended to incorporate a single copy of the gene of interest into the desired host for the development of screening methods. Therefore, an integration cassette for the heterologous Fpi amylase was designed to specifically target the amyB locus. The site-specific integration rate of the plasmid was 78%, with exceptional additional integrations. Integration frequency was assessed via qPCR and directly correlated with heterologous amylase activity. Hence, we could compare the efficiency between two different signal peptides. In summary, we present a strategy to exploit CRISPR/Cas9 for gene mutation, multiplex knock-out, and the targeted knock-in of an expression cassette in A. oryzae. Our system provides straightforward strain engineering and paves the way for development of fungal screening systems. KW - aspergillus KW - CRISPR/Cas9 KW - filamentous fungi KW - genome engineering Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/appl.202200106 SN - 2702-4288 IS - Early View SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Wiley-VCH ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hoffstadt, Kevin A1 - Nikolausz, Marcell A1 - Krafft, Simone A1 - Bonatelli, Maria A1 - Kumar, Vivekanantha A1 - Harms, Hauke A1 - Kuperjans, Isabel T1 - Optimization of the ex situ biomethanation of hydrogen and carbon dioxide in a novel meandering plug flow reactor: start-up phase and flexible operation JF - Bioengineering KW - methanation KW - plug flow reactor KW - bubble column KW - biomethane KW - P2G Y1 - 2024 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering11020165 SN - 2306-5354 VL - 11 IS - 2 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Block, Franziska A1 - May, Alexander A1 - Wetzel, Katharina A1 - Adels, Klaudia A1 - Elbers, Gereon A1 - Schulze, Margit A1 - Monakhova, Yulia T1 - What is the best spectroscopic method for simultaneous analysis of organic acids and (poly)saccharides in biological matrices: Example of Aloe vera extracts? JF - Talanta Open N2 - Several species of (poly)saccharides and organic acids can be found often simultaneously in various biological matrices, e.g., fruits, plant materials, and biological fluids. The analysis of such matrices sometimes represents a challenging task. Using Aloe vera (A. vera) plant materials as an example, the performance of several spectro-scopic methods (80 MHz benchtop NMR, NIR, ATR-FTIR and UV–vis) for the simultaneous analysis of quality parameters of this plant material was compared. The determined parameters include (poly)saccharides such as aloverose, fructose and glucose as well as organic acids (malic, lactic, citric, isocitric, acetic, fumaric, benzoic and sorbic acids). 500 MHz NMR and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used as the reference methods. UV–vis data can be used only for identification of added preservatives (benzoic and sorbic acids) and drying agent (maltodextrin) and semiquantitative analysis of malic acid. NIR and MIR spectroscopies combined with multivariate regression can deliver more informative overview of A. vera extracts being able to additionally quantify glucose, aloverose, citric, isocitric, malic, lactic acids and fructose. Low-field NMR measurements can be used for the quantification of aloverose, glucose, malic, lactic, acetic, and benzoic acids. The benchtop NMR method was successfully validated in terms of robustness, stability, precision, reproducibility and limit of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ), respectively. All spectroscopic techniques are useful for the screening of (poly)saccharides and organic acids in plant extracts and should be applied according to its availability as well as information and confidence required for the specific analytical goal. Benchtop NMR spectroscopy seems to be the most feasible solution for quality control of A. vera products. KW - Spectroscopy KW - (Poly)saccharides KW - Organic acids KW - Aloe vera KW - qNMR Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.talo.2023.100220 SN - 2666-8319 VL - 7 IS - Art. No. 100220 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Trapp, Svenja A1 - Lammers, Tom A1 - Engudar, Gokce A1 - Hoehr, Cornelia A1 - Denkova, Antonia G. A1 - Paulßen, Elisabeth A1 - de Kruijff, Robin M. T1 - Membrane-based microfluidic solvent extraction of Ga-68 from aqueous Zn solutions: towards an automated cyclotron production loop JF - EJNMMI Radiopharmacy and Chemistry KW - Microfluidic solvent extraction KW - Ga-68 KW - Cyclotron production KW - Medical radionuclide production KW - Metal contaminants Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41181-023-00195-2 SN - 2365-421X VL - 2023 IS - 8, Article number: 9 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Springer Nature ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Falkenberg, Fabian A1 - Voß, Leonie A1 - Bott, Michael A1 - Bongaerts, Johannes A1 - Siegert, Petra T1 - New robust subtilisins from halotolerant and halophilic Bacillaceae JF - Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology N2 - The aim of the present study was the characterisation of three true subtilisins and one phylogenetically intermediate subtilisin from halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms. Considering the currently growing enzyme market for efficient and novel biocatalysts, data mining is a promising source for novel, as yet uncharacterised enzymes, especially from halophilic or halotolerant Bacillaceae, which offer great potential to meet industrial needs. Both halophilic bacteria Pontibacillus marinus DSM 16465ᵀ and Alkalibacillus haloalkaliphilus DSM 5271ᵀ and both halotolerant bacteria Metabacillus indicus DSM 16189 and Litchfieldia alkalitelluris DSM 16976ᵀ served as a source for the four new subtilisins SPPM, SPAH, SPMI and SPLA. The protease genes were cloned and expressed in Bacillus subtilis DB104. Purification to apparent homogeneity was achieved by ethanol precipitation, desalting and ion-exchange chromatography. Enzyme activity could be observed between pH 5.0–12.0 with an optimum for SPPM, SPMI and SPLA around pH 9.0 and for SPAH at pH 10.0. The optimal temperature for SPMI and SPLA was 70 °C and for SPPM and SPAH 55 °C and 50 °C, respectively. All proteases showed high stability towards 5% (w/v) SDS and were active even at NaCl concentrations of 5 M. The four proteases demonstrate potential for future biotechnological applications. KW - Biotechnological application KW - Bacillaceae KW - Subtilisin KW - Subtilases KW - Halotolerant protease Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00253-023-12553-w SN - 1432-0614 N1 - Corresponding author: Petra Siegert VL - 107 SP - 3939 EP - 3954 PB - Springer Nature CY - Berlin ER - TY - INPR A1 - Greiner, Lasse A1 - Jeromin, Günter Erich A1 - Sithole, Patience A1 - Petersen, Soenke T1 - Preprint: Studies on the enzymatic reduction of levulinic acid using Chiralidon-R and Chiralidon-S T2 - ChemRxiv N2 - The enzymatic reduction of levulinic acid by the chiral catalysts Chiralidon-R and Chiralidon-S which are commercially available superabsorbed alcohol dehydrogenases is described. The Chiralidon®-R/S reduces the levulinic acid to the (R,S)-4-hydroxy valeric acid and the (R)- or (S)- gamma-valerolactone. KW - Levulinic acid KW - Chiralidon-R KW - Chiralidon-S KW - 4-hydroxy valeric acid KW - (R)- or (S)- gamma-valerolactone Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2023-jlvcv ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Adels, Klaudia A1 - Elbers, Gereon A1 - Diehl, Bernd A1 - Monakhova, Yulia T1 - Multicomponent analysis of dietary supplements containing glucosamine and chondroitin: comparative low- and high-field NMR spectroscopic study JF - Analytical Sciences N2 - With the prevalence of glucosamine- and chondroitin-containing dietary supplements for people with osteoarthritis in the marketplace, it is important to have an accurate and reproducible analytical method for the quantitation of these compounds in finished products. NMR spectroscopic method based both on low- (80 MHz) and high- (500–600 MHz) field NMR instrumentation was established, compared and validated for the determination of chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine in dietary supplements. The proposed method was applied for analysis of 20 different dietary supplements. In the majority of cases, quantification results obtained on the low-field NMR spectrometer are similar to those obtained with high-field 500–600 MHz NMR devices. Validation results in terms of accuracy, precision, reproducibility, limit of detection and recovery demonstrated that the developed method is fit for purpose for the marketed products. The NMR method was extended to the analysis of methylsulfonylmethane, adulterant maltodextrin, acetate and inorganic ions. Low-field NMR can be a quicker and cheaper alternative to more expensive high-field NMR measurements for quality control of the investigated dietary supplements. High-field NMR instrumentation can be more favorable for samples with complex composition due to better resolution, simultaneously giving the possibility of analysis of inorganic species such as potassium and chloride. KW - Glucosamine KW - Chondroitin sulfate KW - Polysaccharides KW - Dietary supplements KW - High-field NMR Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s44211-023-00433-2 SN - 1348-2246 (Online) SN - 0910-6340 (Print) N1 - Corresponding author: Yulia Monakhova VL - 2023 PB - Springer Verlag CY - Cham ER -