Mohamad Yusof Maskat

Effect of copper oxide nanoparticles on the conformation and activity of β-galactosidase.

The primary objective of this study is to explore the interaction of β-galactosidase with copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). Steady-state absorption, fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic techniques have been employed to unveil the conformational changes of β-galactosidase induced by the binding of CuO NPs. Temperature dependent fluorescence quenching results indicates a static quenching mechanism in the present case. The binding thermodynamic parameters delineate the predominant role of H-bonding and van der Waals forces between β-galactosidase and CuO NPs binding process. The binding was studied by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and the result revealed that the complexation is enthalpy driven, the ΔH°<0, ΔS°<0 indicates the formation of hydrogen bonds between β-galactosidase and CuO NPs occurs. Disruption of the native conformation of the protein upon binding with CuO NPs is reflected through a reduced functionality (in terms of hydrolase activity) of the protein CuO NPs conjugate system in comparison to the native protein and CuO NPs exhibited a competitive mode of inhibition. This also supports the general belief that H-bond formation occurs with NPs is associated with a lesser extent of modification in the native structure. Morphological features and size distributions were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Additionally the considerable increase in the Rh following the addition of CuO NPs accounts for the unfolding of β-galactosidase. Chemical and thermal unfolding of β-galactosidase, when carried out in the presence of CuO NPs, also indicated a small perturbation in the protein structure. These alterations in functional activity of nanoparticle bound β-galactosidase which will have important consequences should be taken into consideration while using nanoparticles for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Application of Box-Behnken Design in Optimization of Glucose Production from Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Cellulose

Oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFB) is a lignocellulosic waste from palm oil mills. It contains mainly cellulose from which glucose can be derived to serve as raw materials for valuable chemicals such as succinic acid. A three-level Box-Behnken design combined with the canonical and ridge analysis was employed to optimize the process parameters for glucose production from OPEFB cellulose using enzymatic hydrolysis. Organosolv pretreatment was used to extract cellulose from OPEFB using ethanol and water as the solvents. The extracted cellulose was characterized by thermogravimetric analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy. Hydrolysis parameters including amount of enzyme, amount of cellulose, and reaction time were investigated. The experimental results were fitted with a second-order polynomial equation by a multiple regression analysis and found that more than 97% of the variations could be predicted by the models. Using the ridge analysis, the optimal conditions reaction time found for the production of glucose was 76 hours and 30 min, whereas the optimum amount of enzyme and cellulose was 0.5 mL and 0.9 g, respectively. Under these optimal conditions, the corresponding response value predicted for glucose concentration was 169.34 g/L, which was confirmed by validation experiments.

Effect of Surfactant and Batter Mix Ratio on the Properties of Coated Poultry Product

Abstract Chicken breasts were battered and breaded using batter solutions of different surfactant (Tween 80) levels (0, 2.5, and 75 ppm) and batter mix to solvent ratios (1:1.5, 1:2.2, and 1:3). The battered and breaded chicken breasts were fried at an initial temperature of 160°C for 240 s. The fried products were then analyzed for yield parameters (coating pickup, cooking loss, and cooked yield), moisture content, fat content, and coating adhesion. Contact angle of the batter solution with raw chicken meat was also determined, and was found to significantly (p < 0.05) decrease with increasing levels of surfactant as well as decreasing batter mix ratios. The level of surfactant did not have a significant effect on yield parameters or moisture content of the coated product; however, surfactant level did have a significant effect (p < 0.05) on fat content and coating adhesion. The high fat content of coatings with higher surfactant levels was attributed to the lower interfacial tension between the frying oil and coating. Higher fat content in the coating was suggested to be the cause of higher coating loss during shaking in the coated products. The batter mix ratio was found to have significant (p < 0.05) effects on all parameters, with the exception of the moisture content of the middle region and cooking loss.

Characterisation of fucoidan extracted from Malaysian Sargassum binderi

Fucoidan is a sulphated polysaccharide that consists mainly of fucose, normally found in brown seaweeds. In this study, fucoidan was extracted from Sargassum binderi (Fsar) from Malaysia and subsequently characterised. The chemical characteristics of Fsar were found to be different than those of commercial food grade fucoidan (Fysk) and those of previously studied fucoidans. NMR analysis proposed that the main structure of Fsar is →3)fuc-2-OSO3(-)(1→3)fuc(1→. The molecular weight (47.87kDa) and degree of sulphation (0.20) of Fsar were higher than those of Fysk, at 27.98kDa and 0.15, respectively. However, Fsars polydispersity index (1.12) and fucose content (34.50%) were lower than those of Fysk, at 1.88 and 43.30%, respectively. Both Fsar and Fysk showed similar thermo-gravimetric properties with four mass losses, amorphous in nature and negative optical rotations. Results show that Fsar has fundamental characteristics of fucoidan with different structural conformation i.e. variation in glycosidic linkages and sulphate group orientation.

Immobilization of horseradish peroxidase on β-cyclodextrin-capped silver nanoparticles: Its future aspects in biosensor application

ABSTRACT This study aimed to work out a simple and high-yield procedure for the immobilization of horseradish peroxidase on silver nanoparticle. Ultraviolet–visible (UV-vis) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize silver nanoparticles. Horseradish peroxidase was immobilized on β-cyclodextrin-capped silver nanoparticles via glutaraldehyde cross-linking. Single-cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) was also performed to confirm the genotoxicity of silver nanoparticles. To decrease toxicity, silver nanoparticles were capped with β-cyclodextrin. A comparative stability study of soluble and immobilized enzyme preparations was investigated against pH, temperature, and chaotropic agent, urea. The results showed that the cross-linked peroxidase was significantly more stable as compared to the soluble counterpart. The immobilized enzyme exhibited stable enzyme activities after repeated uses.

Production of succinic acid from oil palm empty fruit bunch cellulose using Actinobacillus succinogenes

Succinic acid is a common metabolite in plants, animals and microorganisms. It has been used widely in agricultural, food and pharmaceutical industries. Enzymatic hydrolysate glucose from oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) cellulose was used as a substrate for succinic acid production using Actinobacillus succinogenes. Using cellulose extraction from OPEFB can enhance the production of glucose as a main substrate for succinic acid production. The highest concentration of glucose produced from enzymatic hydrolysis is 167 mg/mL and the sugar recovery is 0.73 g/g of OPEFB. By optimizing the culture medium for succinic acid fermentation with enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose, the nitrogen sources could be reduced to just only 2.5 g yeast extract and 2.5 g corn step liquor. Batch fermentation was carried out using enzymatic hydrolysate of OPEFB cellulose with yeast extract, corn steep liquor and the salts mixture, 23.5 g/L succinic acid was obtained with consumption of 72 g/L glucose in enzymatic hydrol...

Fibrous Agricultural Biomass as a Potential Source for Bioconversion to Vanillic Acid

This study was conducted to assess the potential of six fibrous agricultural residues, namely, oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber (OPEFBF), coconut coir fiber (CCF), pineapple peel (PP), pineapple crown leaves (PCL), kenaf bast fiber (KBF), and kenaf core fiber (KCF), as a source of ferulic acid and phenolic compounds for bioconversion into vanillic acid. The raw samples were pretreated with organosolv (NaOH-glycerol) and alkaline treatment (NaOH), to produce phenol-rich black liquor. The finding showed that the highest amount of phenolic compounds and ferulic acid was produced from CCF and PP, respectively. This study also found that organosolv treatment was the superior method for phenolic compound extraction, whereas alkaline treatment was the selective method for lignin extraction. Vanillic acid production by Aspergillus niger I-1472 was only observed when the fermentation broth was fed with liquors from PP and PCL, possibly due to the higher levels of ferulic acid in those samples.

Antioxidative Activities of Palm Sugar-Like Flavouring

Maillard reaction products have been considered to have antioxidant capacities due to the reductones com- pound formations which contribute to antioxidant activity. Besides caramelisation, Maillard reaction takes place during the production of palm sugar. This paper reports the antioxidative activity of palm sugar-like flavourings and the commer- cial palm sugar (CPS) which was obtained from Pahang by using different types of methods. Formulation of palm sugar- like flavourings which had been optimised was obtained from the previous studies. Palm sugar-like flavourings (PSLFs) were prepared from sucrose and selected amino acids (Asparagine, Glutamine, Arginine and Lysine) at various ratios with buffer solutions (pH 7.86), heated at 143°C for 116 minutes. The results revealed that the PSLF (C) showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in reducing power, thiobarbituric acid (TBA) test, and radical scavenging activity (DPPH) compared to other formulations of PSLF and commercial palm sugar.

Characterizing the Deacidification Adsorption Model of Organic Acids and Phenolic Compounds of Noni Extract Using Weak Base Ion Exchanger

Although noni (Morinda citrifolia L.) has been used to treat a broad range of diseases, many people avoid consuming the fruits because of its unpleasant odor caused by organic acids. Even though ion exchange resins were able to reduce the odor, it also reduced beneficial antioxidant compounds. Thus, to preserve antioxidants (phenolic compounds) during deacidification, it is important to characterize the interaction of ion exchange resin with both organic acids and phenolic compounds. Adsorption capacities of organic acids and phenolic compounds commonly found in the noni fruit were conducted onto Amberlite IRA 67 resin. The phase contact time to reach equilibrium for octanoic acid and hexanoic acid compounds was 326.86 and 160.72 min, respectively. The values of initial adsorption rate, , and adsorption extent, , decreased with the increase of initial concentration for all compounds studied. Results for all the compounds studied fitted well to the Langmuir model. The effect of pH in adsorption capacity of the actual system (noni juice) has been applied based on the model system studied.

The effect of deodorization on volatile compositions of fucoidan extracted from brown seaweed (Sargassum sp.)

Fucoidan is a biologically active polysaccharide that were made up of complex mixture of fucose, sulfate and uronic acid. This study was conducted to identify the volatile compositions of crude fucoidan and deodorized fucoidans extracted from brown seaweed Sargassum sp. (Fsar). The volatile compositions was also compared with a standard commercial fucoidan (Fysk). Fucoidan was extracted from Sargassum sp. originated in coastal area of Indonesia, by using a low pH acid extraction method. Approximately 20 mL of 1% freshly extracted fucoidan was then subjected to deodorization process by using three different method i.e., by treating it with 10 g activated carbon (Fac), 0.4 g ion exchange resin, Amberlite 67 (Fresin) and 2 mL of 1% calcium carbonate (FCaCO3) and incubated for 12 hrs before further analysis. Forty-six volatile compounds were successfully identified in all of the five samples by using Headspace-Solid Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) and analysed by using Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (GC...