Xuetuan Wei

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles by solar irradiation of cell-free Bacillus amyloliquefaciens extracts and AgNO3.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were obtained by solar irradiation of cell-free extracts of Bacillusamyloliquefaciens and AgNO3. Light intensity, extract concentration, and NaCl addition influenced the synthesis of AgNPs. Under optimized conditions (solar intensity 70,000 lx, extract concentration 3 mg/mL, and NaCl content 2 mM), 98.23±0.06% of the Ag+ (1 mM) was reduced to AgNPs within 80 min, and the ζ-potential of AgNPs reached -70.84±0.66 mV. TEM (Transmission electron microscopy) and XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis confirmed that circular and triangular crystalline AgNPs with mean diameter of 14.6 nm were synthesized. Since heat-inactivated extracts also mediated the formation of AgNPs, enzymatic reactions are likely not involved in AgNPs formation. A high absolute ζ-potential value of the AgNPs, possibly caused by interaction with proteins likely explains the high stability of AgNPs suspensions. AgNPs showed antimicrobial activity against Bacillussubtilis and Escherichiacoli in liquid and solid medium.

Reduction of hexavalent chromium by Pannonibacter phragmitetus LSSE-09 stimulated with external electron donors under alkaline conditions.

A novel Cr (VI) resistant bacterial strain LSSE-09, identified as Pannonibacter phragmitetus, was isolated from industrial sludge. It has strong aerobic and anaerobic Cr (VI)-reduction potential under alkaline conditions. At 37 °C and pH 9.0, growing cells of strain LSSE-09 could completely reduce 100 and 1000 mg L(-1) Cr (VI)-Cr (III) within 9 and 24h, respectively under aerobic condition. Resting cells showed higher anaerobic reduction potential with the rate of 1.46 mg g(-1)((dry weight))min(-1), comparing with their aerobic reduction rate, 0.21 mg g(-1)min(-1). External electron donors, such as lactate, acetate, formate, pyruvate, citrate and glucose could highly increase the reduction rate, especially for aerobic reduction. The presence of 3000 mg L(-1) acetate enhanced anaerobic and aerobic Cr (VI)-reduction rates up to 9.47 mg g(-1)min(-1) and 4.42 mg g(-1)min(-1), respectively, which were 5 and 20 times faster than those without it. Strain LSSE-09 retained high activities over six batch cycles and NO(3)(-) and SO(4)(2-) had slightly negative effects on Cr (VI)-reduction rates. The results suggest that strain LSSE-09 has potential application for Cr (VI) detoxification in alkaline wastewater.

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) covalently coated by PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer for drug delivery.

A stable drug carrier has been prepared by covalently coating magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer Pluronic P85. The particles were characterized by TEM, XRD, DLS, VSM, FTIR, and TGA. A typical product has a 15 nm magnetite core and a 100 nm hydrodynamic diameter with a narrow size distribution and is superparamagnetic with large saturation magnetization (57.102 emu/g) at room temperature. The covalently-coated Pluronic-MNPs (MagPluronics) were proven to be stable in different conditions, such as aqueous solution, 0.2 M PBS solution, and pH 13.5 solution, which would be significant for biological applications. Furthermore, MagPluronics also possess temperature-responsive property acquired from the Pluronic copolymer layer on their surface, which can cause conformational change of Pluronics and improve load and delivery efficiency of the particles. The temperature-controlled loading and releasing of hydrophobic model drug curcumin were tested with these particles. A loading efficiency of 81.3% and a sustained release of more than 4 days were achieved in simulated human body condition. It indicates that the covalently-coated MagPluronics are stable carriers with good drug-loading capacity and controlled-release property.

Production of Fibrinolytic Enzyme from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by Fermentation of Chickpeas, with the Evaluation of the Anticoagulant and Antioxidant Properties of Chickpeas

To develop safe and cheap thrombolytic agents, a fibrinolytic enzyme productive strain of LSSE-62 was isolated from Chinese soybean paste. This strain was identified as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Nucleotide and amino acid sequence analysis showed that this fibrinolytic enzyme was identical to subtilisin DJ-4. Chickpeas were used as the substrate for fibrinolytic enzyme production from B. amyloliquefaciens in solid-state fermentation. Under the optimized conditions (34 °C and 50% initial moisture content), the fibrinolytic activity of fermented chickpeas reached 39.28 fibrin degradation units (FU)/g. Additionally, the fermented chickpeas showed anticoagulant activity, and the purified anticoagulant component showed higher anticoagulant activity than heparin sodium. After fermentation, the total phenolic and total flavonoid contents increased by 222 and 71%, respectively, and then the antioxidant activities were improved significantly. This study provided a novel method for the preparation of multifunctional food of chickpeas or raw materials for the preparation of functional food additives and potential drugs.

Reduction of hexavalent chromium by Pannonibacter phragmitetus LSSE-09 coated with polyethylenimine-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles under alkaline conditions

A novel cell separation and immobilization method for Cr (VI)-reduction under alkaline conditions was developed by using superparamagnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles (NPs). The Fe(3)O(4) NPs were synthesized by coprecipitation followed by modification with sodium citrate and polyethyleneimine (PEI). The surface-modified NPs were monodispersed and the particle size was about 15 nm with a saturation magnetization of 62.3 emu/g and an isoelectric point (pI) of 11.5 at room temperature. PEI-modified Fe(3)O(4) NPs possess positive zeta potential at pH below 11.5, presumable because of the high density of amine groups in the long chains of PEI molecules on the surface. At initial pH 9.0, Pannonibacter phragmitetus LSSE-09 cells were immobilized by PEI-modified NPs via electrostatic attraction and then separated with an external magnetic field. Compared to free cells, the coated cells not only had the same Cr (VI)-reduction activity but could also be easily separated from reaction mixtures by magnetic force. In addition, the magnetically immobilized cells retained high specific Cr (VI)-reduction activity over six batch cycles. The results suggest that the magnetic cell separation technology has potential application for Cr (VI) detoxification in alkaline wastewater.