Nearly complete depolymerization of untreated post-consumer plastic with an immobilized and reusable PET hydrolase.

The accumulation of plastics in the environment has become a serious concern for the entire society. In recent years, enzyme-based biodegradation has emerged as a promising and sustainable strategy for the recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), one of the most widely used polyester plastics. However, the translation of these technologies to the industrial field faces several underexplored challenges, including the immobilization and reusability of the biocatalysts.

Exploring macroalgae biorefinery: Extraction of bioactive compounds and production of volatile fatty acids.

Macroalgae have gained significant attention in recent research owing to their potential as novel food source and their noteworthy nutritional properties. However, a substantial amount of these macroalgae accumulates along the coast without being utilized, highlighting the need for proper treatment and disposal methods to mitigate secondary pollution effects. Previous studies on macroalgae have primarily focused on extracting bioactive compounds or anaerobic digestion processes to produce methane or volatile fatty acids (VFA), with observed improvements following different pre-treatments.

Exploiting UPO versatility to transform rutin in more soluble and bioactive products.

The discovery of unspecific peroxygenases (UPOs) completely changed the paradigm of enzyme-based oxyfunctionalization reactions, as these enzymes can transform a wide variety of substrates with a relatively simple reaction mechanism. The fact that UPO can exert both peroxygenative and peroxidative activity in either aromatic or aliphatic carbons, represents a great potential in the production of high value-added products from natural antioxidants. In this work, the flavonoid rutin has been considered as possible substrate for UPO from Agrocybe aegerita, and its peroxygenation or its peroxidation and successive oligomerization have been studied.

Integral multi-valorization of agro-industrial wastes: A review.

Agriculture and industries related to the agriculture sector generate a large amount of waste each year. These wastes are usually burned or dumped, causing damage to the environment, the economy and society. Due to their composition, they have great potential for obtaining high value-added products in biorefineries.

Microwave-assisted autohydrolysis of avocado seed for the recovery of antioxidant phenolics and glucose.

This study describes the valorization of avocado seed (AS) within a green biorefinery concept using microwave-assisted autohydrolysis. After the treatment at temperatures of 150-230 °C for 5 min, the resulting solid and liquor were characterized. The temperature of 220 °C led to the simultaneous optimal values of antioxidant phenolics/flavonoids (42.

Valorization of bioethanol by-products to produce unspecific peroxygenase with Agrocybe aegerita: Technological and proteomic perspectives.

Unspecific peroxygenase (UPO) presents a wide range of biotechnological applications. This study targets the use of by-products from bioethanol synthesis to produce UPO by Agrocybe aegerita. Solid-state and submerged fermentations (SSF and SmF) were evaluated, achieving the highest titers of UPO and laccase in SmF using vinasse as nutrients source.

Avoiding acid crash: From apple pomace hydrolysate to butanol through acetone-butanol-ethanol fermentation in a zero-waste approach.

Apple pomace (AP) is a lignocellulosic residue from the juice and cider industries that can be valorized in a multi-product biorefinery to generate multiple value-added compounds, including biofuels such as butanol. Butanol is produced biologically by acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation using bacteria of the genus Clostridium from sugar-based feedstocks. In this study, AP hydrolysate was used as a substrate for producing butanol by ABE fermentation.

Potential and prospects for utilization of avocado by-products in integrated biorefineries.

The industrial processing of avocado to extract oil, and produce guacamole or sauces generates enormous quantities of peels and seeds (around 2 million tons worldwide in 2019) without commercially valuable applications. However, various studies have suggested the presence of a wide range of interesting compounds in the composition of these by-products. This review depicts a thorough outline of the capacity of avocado residues to be converted into a portfolio of commodities that can be employed in sectors such as the food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, environment, and energy industries.

3D Printing: An Emerging Technology for Biocatalyst Immobilization.

Employment of enzymes as biocatalysts offers immense benefits across diverse sectors in the context of green chemistry, biodegradability, and sustainability. When compared to free enzymes in solution, enzyme immobilization proposes an effective means of improving functional efficiency and operational stability. The advance of printable and functional materials utilized in additive manufacturing, coupled with the capability to produce bespoke geometries, has sparked great interest toward the 3-dimensional (3D) printing of immobilized enzymes.

Bundling the removal of emerging contaminants with the production of ligninolytic enzymes from residual streams.

Enzymes offer interesting features as biological catalysts for industry: high specificity, activity under mild conditions, accessibility, and environmental friendliness. Being able to produce enzymes in large quantities and having them available in a stable and reusable form reduces the production costs of any enzyme-based process. Agricultural residues have recently demonstrated their potential as substrates to produce ligninolytic enzymes by different white rot fungi.

A customizable 3D printed device for enzymatic removal of drugs in water.

The infiltration of drugs into water is a key global issue, with pharmaceuticals being detected in all nearly aqueous systems at often alarming concentrations. Pharmaceutical contamination of environmental water supplies has been shown to negatively impact ecological equilibrium and pose a risk to human health. In this study, we design and develop a novel system for the removal of drugs from water, termed as Printzyme.

Hydrothermal treatment of avocado peel waste for the simultaneous recovery of oligosaccharides and antioxidant phenolics.

Avocado industrial processing generates huge quantities of residues that are currently wasted without any valuable commercial application. This work deals with autohydrolysis of Avocado peel (AP) for the concomitant recovery of oligosaccharides and polyphenolics. Temperature of 150 °C allowed the highest recovery of oligosaccharides (14.

Chemical and thermal stabilization of CotA laccase via a novel one-step expression and immobilization in muNS-Mi nanospheres.

A methodology that programs eukaryotic or bacterial cells to encapsulate proteins of any kind inside micro/nanospheres formed by muNS-Mi viral protein was developed in our laboratory. In the present study such "in cellulo" encapsulation technology is utilized for immobilizing a protein with an enzymatic activity of industrial interest, CotA laccase. The encapsulation facilitates its purification, resulting in a cost-effective, one-step way of producing immobilized enzymes for industrial use.

Energy requirements and economics of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) extractive fermentation: a solvent-based comparative assessment.

The reindustrialization of acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation is hampered by its significant production cost, linked to high product inhibition and low product yield. ABE fermentation can be significantly enhanced by integrating in situ liquid-liquid extraction. In this study, hybrid simulations using Excel and ASPEN Plus were performed based on solvent-dependent experimental data (product titer, yield and productivity) to consider the physiological response of the microorganism in specific extractive ABE fermentations, and to quantify the energy requirements and the economic improvement of the overall process.

Valorization of horse chestnut burs to produce simultaneously valuable compounds under a green integrated biorefinery approach.

A biorefinery scheme for the valorization of horse chestnut biowastes (a municipal solid waste) into added value bioactive compounds is proposed in this work. The bur fraction of horse chestnut was evaluated as a novel and cheap renewable feedstock to obtain valuable compounds suitable for their use in industrial applications. The integrated valorization scheme comprised an initial hydroethanolic extraction of antioxidant compounds (optimized through surface response methodology), the alkaline delignification of the exhausted solid to obtain a lignin-enriched fraction, and the enzymatic digestibility of the remaining cellulose fraction to produce fermentable sugars.

Valorisation of olive agro-industrial by-products as a source of bioactive compounds.

A large amount of olive-derived biomass is generated yearly in Spain, which could be used as a potential source of bioactive compounds. The present work evaluates the recovery of natural antioxidants from olive tree pruning (OTP) and olive mill leaves (OML). For this purpose, the effect of different solvents on the total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity was evaluated.

Hydrothermal treatment of chestnut shells (Castanea sativa) to produce oligosaccharides and antioxidant compounds.

Hydrothermal treatment is an environmentally friendly technology that allows the solubilisation of hemicellulosic oligosaccharides with potential for their use as prebiotics. The purpose of this study was to solubilize oligosaccharides and antioxidant compounds from chestnut shells by a hydrothermal processing. The highest content of oligosaccharides (18.

Bifidobacterial growth stimulation by oligosaccharides generated from olive tree pruning biomass.

This work aims to evaluate the prebiotic potential of oligosaccharides (OS) obtained from autohydrolysis of olive tree pruning biomass (OTPB). Two selected fractions (F1 and F2) were characterized and used in in vitro fermentations by two Bifidobacterium spp. (B.

Continuous removal of endocrine disruptors by versatile peroxidase using a two-stage system.

The oxidant Mn(3+) -malonate, generated by the ligninolytic enzyme versatile peroxidase in a two-stage system, was used for the continuous removal of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) from synthetic and real wastewaters. One plasticizer (bisphenol-A), one bactericide (triclosan) and three estrogenic compounds (estrone, 17β-estradiol, and 17α-ethinylestradiol) were removed from wastewater at degradation rates in the range of 28-58 µg/L·min, with low enzyme inactivation. First, the optimization of three main parameters affecting the generation of Mn(3+) -malonate (hydraulic retention time as well as Na-malonate and H2 O2 feeding rates) was conducted following a response surface methodology (RSM).

Removal of estrogenic compounds from filtered secondary wastewater effluent in a continuous enzymatic membrane reactor. Identification of biotransformation products.

In the present study, a novel and efficient technology based on the use of an oxidative enzyme was developed to perform the continuous removal of estrogenic compounds from polluted wastewaters. A 2 L enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was successfully operated for 100 h with minimal requirements of laccase for the transformation of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)from both buffer solution and real wastewater (filtered secondary effluent). When the experiments were performed at high and low concentrations of the target compounds, 4 mg/L and 100 μg/L, not only high removal yields (80-100%) but also outstanding reduction of estrogenicity (about 84-95%) were attained.

Biocatalytic generation of Mn(III)-chelate as a chemical oxidant of different environmental contaminants.

The objective of this study was to investigate the enzymatic generation of the Mn(3+) -malonate complex and its application to the process of oxidizing several organic compounds. The experimental set-up consisted of an enzymatic reactor coupled to an ultrafiltration membrane, providing continuous generation of Mn(3+) -malonate from a reaction medium containing versatile peroxidase (an enzyme produced by Bjerkandera adusta strain BOS55), H(2) O(2) , MnSO(4,) and malonate. The effluent of the enzymatic reactor was introduced into a batch-stirred reactor to oxidize three different classes of compounds: an azo dye (Orange II), three natural and synthetic estrogens, and a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (anthracene).

Ex vivo expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells on microcarriers.

Due to the very low titers of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in their niches, namely the bone marrow, an effective approach to isolate and expand those cells ex vivo is required to meet the needs of the increasing MSC clinical applications (e.g., therapy-resistant severe acute graft-versus-host disease).

Oxidation of pharmaceutically active compounds by a ligninolytic fungal peroxidase.

Pharmaceuticals are an important group of emerging pollutants with increasing interest due to their rising consumption and the evidence for ecotoxicological effects associated to trace amounts in aquatic environments. In this paper, we assessed the potential degradation of a series of pharmaceuticals: antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole), antidepressives (citalopram hydrobromide and fluoxetine hydrochloride), antiepileptics (carbamazepine), anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac and naproxen) and estrogen hormones (estrone, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethinylestradiol) by means of a versatile peroxidase (VP) from the ligninolytic fungus Bjerkandera adusta. The effects of the reaction conditions: VP activity, organic acid concentration and H(2)O(2) addition rate, on the kinetics of the VP based oxidation system were evaluated.

Maximizing the ex vivo expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells using a microcarrier-based stirred culture system.

Bioreactor systems have been developed as alternatives to standard culture flasks due to their homogeneous nature, easiness of monitoring and increased cell production. Here we investigated the in vitro expansion of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) in spinner flasks, using gelatin microcarriers (Cultispher S) to support cell adhesion and proliferation. MSC expansion was performed using a low-serum containing medium (2% of fetal bovine serum, FBS).