11. Enzyme-immobilized hierarchically porous covalent organic framework biocomposite for catalytic degradation of broad-range emerging pollutants in waterNada Elmerhi, Khadega Al-Maqdi, Khawlah Athamneh, Abdul Khayum Mohammed, Tina Škorjanc, Felipe Gándara, Jesus Raya, Pascal Simon, Olivier Siri, Ali Trabolsi, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Efficient enzyme immobilization is crucial for the successful commercialization of large-scale enzymatic water treatment.
However, issues such as lack of high enzyme loading coupled with enzyme leaching present challenges for the widespread adoption
of immobilized enzyme systems. The present study describes the development and bioremediation application of an enzyme
biocomposite employing a cationic macrocycle-based covalent organic framework (COF) with hierarchical porosity for the
immobilization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). The intrinsic hierarchical porous features of the azacalix[4]arene-based COF
(ACA-COF) allowed for a maximum HRP loading capacity of 0.76 mg/mg COF with low enzyme leaching (<5.0%). The
biocomposite, HRP@ACA-COF, exhibited exceptional thermal stability (~200% higher relative activity than the free enzyme),
and maintained ~60% enzyme activity after five cycles. LCMSMS analyses confirmed that the HRP@ACA-COF system was able
to achieve >99% degradation of seven diverse types of emerging pollutants (2-mercaptobenzothiazole, paracetamol, caffeic acid,
methylparaben, furosemide, sulfamethoxazole, and salicylic acid)in under an hour. The described enzyme-COF system offers
promise for efficient wastewater bioremediation applications. Keywords: covalent organic frameworks, enzymes, emerging pollutants, water purification, biocomposite Published in RUNG: 11.08.2023; Views: 1080; Downloads: 6 Full text (1,45 MB) This document has many files! More... |
12. Multicomponent Cu-Mn-Fe silica supported catalysts to stimulate photo-Fenton-like water treatment under sunlightAndraž Šuligoj, Ivalina Trendafilova, Ksenija Maver, Albin Pintar, Alenka Ristić, Goran Dražić, Wael H. M. Abdelraheem, Zvonko Jagličić, Iztok Arčon, Nataša Zabukovec Logar, Dionysios D. Dionysiou, Nataša Novak Tušar, original scientific article Keywords: Magnetic catalyst, Photocatalyst, Water treatment, Sunlight, Contaminants of emerging concern, Photo-Fenton-like systems, Cu, Mn, Fe, XANES, EXAFS Published in RUNG: 06.07.2023; Views: 1408; Downloads: 5 Full text (4,32 MB) |
13. Potts spins, protein conformations and implicit water modelArtem Badasyan, 2023, published scientific conference contribution abstract (invited lecture) Abstract: I will summarize past and current achievements in the field of spin model applications to protein conformations. Using classical Statistical Mechanics scheme and 1D many-body Hamiltonian, exact partition function can be estimated, giving access to the free energy, order parameter and specific heat. I will introduce a simplified water model as an additive term at the level of Hamiltonian, and will show how the solvent degrees of freedom can be summed out. The suggested procedure results in the effective Hamiltonian with the temperature dependent hydrogen bonding energy. If the many-body range is reduced to the nearest neighbour, the approach reduces to the Zimm-Bragg model. Obtained expressions for the order parameter and the specific heat nicely fit to the corresponding experiments for protein folding, providing an alternative or complementary scheme for the processing of experimental data. Keywords: protein folding, Zimm-Bragg, protein-water interactions Published in RUNG: 19.06.2023; Views: 1250; Downloads: 7 Link to file This document has many files! More... |
14. Non-covalent ligand-oxide interaction promotes oxygen evolutionQianbao Wu, Junwu Liang, Mengjun Xiao, Chang Long, Lei Li, Zhenhua Zeng, Andraž Mavrič, Xia Zheng, Jing Zhu, Matjaž Valant, 2023, original scientific article Abstract: Strategies to generate high-valence metal species capable of oxidizing water often employ composition and coordination tuning of oxide-based catalysts, where strong covalent interactions with metal sites are crucial. However, it remains unexplored whether a relatively weak “non-bonding” interaction between ligands and oxides can mediate the electronic states of metal sites in oxides. Here we present an unusual non-covalent phenanthroline-CoO2 interaction that substantially elevates the population of Co4+ sites for improved water oxidation. We find that phenanthroline only coordinates with Co2+ forming soluble Co(phenanthroline)2(OH)2 complex in alkaline electrolytes, which can be deposited as amorphous CoOxHy film containing non-bonding phenanthroline upon oxidation of Co2+ to Co3+/4+. This in situ deposited catalyst demonstrates a low overpotential of 216 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and sustainable activity over 1600 h with Faradaic efficiency above 97%. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the presence of phenanthroline can stabilize CoO2 through the non-covalent interaction and generate polaron-like electronic states at the Co-Co center. Keywords: water oxidation, cobalt hydroxide, ligand-metal interactions Published in RUNG: 23.02.2023; Views: 1671; Downloads: 15 Full text (1,77 MB) |
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16. Iron phosphide thin films for electrocatalytic H2 generation and water remediation studies : abstractTakwa Chouki, Manel Machreki, Jelena Topic, Lorena Butinar, Plamen Stefanov, Erika Jež, Jack S Summers, Matjaž Valant, Aaron Fait, Saim Emin, 2022, published scientific conference contribution abstract Keywords: Iron phosphide thin films
H2 generation
water remediation Published in RUNG: 10.02.2023; Views: 1184; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
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18. Photocatalytic sol-gel/P25 TiO [sub] 2 coatings for water treatment : degradation of 7 selected pharmaceuticals (CO3:IL02)Lev Matoh, Boštjan Žener, Marin Kovačić, Hrvoje Kušić, Iztok Arčon, Meta Levstek, Urška Lavrenčič Štangar, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: The effect of different water matrices on the photocatalytic degradation of dissolved pharmaceuticals was
explored. The focus was on the degradation efficiencies in wastewater effluent from a bioreactor and water
effluent from a central wastewater treatment plant and comparing the results with degradation in deionized H2O.
The compounds tested included: oxytetracycline, marbofloxacin, ibuprofen, diclofenac, phenytoin, ciprofloxacin,
sulfamethoxazole. For the experiments performed in this study, a compact packed-bed photocatalytic reactor was
used in which the hybrid TiO2 photocatalyst (sol-gel/P25) was deposited on ~3 mm glass beads. As expected, the
reactions proceed more slowly in wastewater than in deionized water, yet it is shown that removal of the
compounds from the water is still possible even when other organic molecules are present. Total organic carbon
measurements have shown that complete mineralization takes place albeit at slower rates than the initial
degradation of parent compounds. The results show that an acidic pH can increase the reaction rates and the
adsorption on the photocatalyst surface. Analyses of the degradation intermediates were performed using tandem
liquid chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometry system. Additionally, X-ray absorption spectroscopy
was applied to get insight into the local structure of the photocatalyst before and after use. Understanding the
effects that different wastewater compositions have on photocatalytic reactions will help to refine the potential
applications of the technology. Keywords: titanium dioxide, sol-gel processes, functionla applications, water treatment Published in RUNG: 30.09.2022; Views: 1427; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |
19. Synthesis and Characterization of MWCNT-COOH/Fe3O4 and CNT-COOH/Fe3O4/NiO Nanocomposites: Assessment of Adsorption and Photocatalytic PerformanceAdina Stegarescu, Humberto Cabrera, Hanna Budasheva, Maria-Loredana Soran, Ildiko Lung, Francesca Limosani, Dorota Korte, Matteo Amati, Gheorghe Borodi, Ocsana Opris, Monica Dan, Stefano Bellucci, 2022, original scientific article Keywords: carbon nanotubes, magnetite, tartrazine, photodegradation, adsorption, water decontamination Published in RUNG: 02.09.2022; Views: 1445; Downloads: 25 Full text (5,78 MB) |
20. Abscisic acid-regulated water channels and their role in plant acclimation and tolerance to water stressChristina Paparokidou, 2014, master's thesis Abstract: The yield of worldwide crop production has already been negatively affected by high salinity and water deficiency prevailing in many of the cultivated lands (Yan et al., 2013; Serraj et al., 2011; Golldack et al., 2011). Consequently, reduced crop production is a major problem in terms of food sustainability world-wide (Spiertz, 2013). Plants as sessile organisms have to dynamically and constantly cope with various types of stress in their environment. Although stress perception by plants remains elusive (Gan et al., 2010; Shachar-Hill et al., 2013; Wu et al., 2012), the stress-responsive mechanisms that follow are starting to be better understood (Wasilewska et al., 2008; Kohli et al., 2013; Osakabe et al., 2013).
Abscisic acid (ABA) is a central plant hormone produced in response to abiotic stress and has been shown to play important roles in plant acclimation and tolerance towards stress (Nakashima and Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, 2013; Osakabe et al., 2014). ABA accumulation triggers the expression of a plethora of genes within the plant cell (Liu et al., 2013). The ABA-regulated genes are various in nature, including enzymes involved in osmolyte and cell wall biosynthesis, detoxifying enzymes, enzymes for fatty acid metabolism, proteinase inhibitors, macromolecule protective proteins, lipid transfer proteins, ion transporters and water channels, transcription factors (TFs), protein kinases, protein phosphatases and proteinases (Roychoudhury et al., 2013; Rock, 2000).
In this literature review the role of water channel-encoding genes, namely aquaporins (AQPs), in plant water stress will be discussed. The aim of this study is to understand how ABA-regulated AQPs are able to contribute to the plant’s tolerance and acclimation during water stress. The knowledge gained from this study is important for the engineering of salt and drought resistant crops within the modern agricultural context, thus contributing to world’s crop sustainable production (Jacobs et al., 2011; Park et al., 2005; Kujur et al., 2013). Keywords: Abscisic acid (ABA), ABA-regulated genes, aquaporins (AQPs), ABA-regulated AQPs, ABA-dependent water stress, root hydraulic conductance (Lpr), leaf hydraulic conductance (Kleaf), stomatal conductance (gs), AQP bioengineering Published in RUNG: 03.05.2022; Views: 1439; Downloads: 0 This document has many files! More... |