In the following, the first results on ultraviolet laser desorption (UVLD) of bioorganic compounds in the mass range above 10000 daltons are reported. Strong molecular ion signals were registered by use of an organic matrix with strong absorption at the wavelength used for controlled energy deposition and soft desorption (7)

Laser desorption ionization of proteins with molecular masses exceeding 10,000 daltons

Cellulose constitutes the most abundant renewable polymer resource available today. As a chemical raw material, it is generally well-known that it has been used in the form of fibers or derivatives for nearly 150 years for a wide spectrum of products and materials in daily life. What has not been known until relatively recently is that when cellulose fibers are subjected to acid hydrolysis, the fibers yield defect-free, rod-like crystalline residues. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNs) have garnered in the materials community a tremendous level of attention that does not appear to be relenting. These biopolymeric assemblies warrant such attention not only because of their unsurpassed quintessential physical and chemical properties (as will become evident in the review) but also because of their inherent renewability and sustainability in addition to their abundance. They have been the subject of a wide array of research efforts as reinforcing agents in nanocomposites due to their low cost, availability, renewability, light weight, nanoscale dimension, and unique morphology. Indeed, CNs are the fundamental constitutive polymeric motifs of macroscopic cellulosic-based fibers whose sheer volume dwarfs any known natural or synthetic biomaterial. Biopolymers such as cellulose and lignin and † North Carolina State University. ‡ Helsinki University of Technology. Dr. Youssef Habibi is a research assistant professor at the Department of Forest Biomaterials at North Carolina State University. He received his Ph.D. in 2004 in organic chemistry from Joseph Fourier University (Grenoble, France) jointly with CERMAV (Centre de Recherche sur les Macromolecules Vegetales) and Cadi Ayyad University (Marrakesh, Morocco). During his Ph.D., he worked on the structural characterization of cell wall polysaccharides and also performed surface chemical modification, mainly TEMPO-mediated oxidation, of crystalline polysaccharides, as well as their nanocrystals. Prior to joining NCSU, he worked as assistant professor at the French Engineering School of Paper, Printing and Biomaterials (PAGORA, Grenoble Institute of Technology, France) on the development of biodegradable nanocomposites based on nanocrystalline polysaccharides. He also spent two years as postdoctoral fellow at the French Institute for Agricultural Research, INRA, where he developed new nanostructured thin films based on cellulose nanowiskers. Dr. Habibi’s research interests include the sustainable production of materials from biomass, development of high performance nanocomposites from lignocellulosic materials, biomass conversion technologies, and the application of novel analytical tools in biomass research. Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 3479–3500 3479

Cellulose nanocrystals: chemistry, self-assembly, and applications.

https://faculty.washington.edu/stevehar/Biomass-Overview.pdf

Energy production from biomass (Part 1): Overview of biomass.

Non-conventional low-cost adsorbents for dye removal: A review

Gram-negative bacteria characteristically are surrounded by an additional membrane layer, the outer membrane. Although outer membrane components often play important roles in the interaction of symbiotic or pathogenic bacteria with their host organisms, the major role of this membrane must usually be to serve as a permeability barrier to prevent the entry of noxious compounds and at the same time to allow the influx of nutrient molecules. This review summarizes the development in the field since our previous review (H. Nikaido and M. Vaara, Microbiol. Rev. 49:1-32, 1985) was published. With the discovery of protein channels, structural knowledge enables us to understand in molecular detail how porins, specific channels, TonB-linked receptors, and other proteins function. We are now beginning to see how the export of large proteins occurs across the outer membrane. With our knowledge of the lipopolysaccharide-phospholipid asymmetric bilayer of the outer membrane, we are finally beginning to understand how this bilayer can retard the entry of lipophilic compounds, owing to our increasing knowledge about the chemistry of lipopolysaccharide from diverse organisms and the way in which lipopolysaccharide structure is modified by environmental conditions.

Molecular Basis of Bacterial Outer Membrane Permeability Revisited

New Trends in Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry

Topics in enzyme and fermentation biotechnology, volume 4: Editor: A. Wiseman Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1980, 242 pp., £22.50, US $59.40

The n-alkane-degrading bacteria Pseudomonas C12B and Pseudomonas A3 were immobilised by physical entrapment of cells within reticulated polyurethane foam. Such immobilised biocatalysts have been shown to be appropriate for the effective removal (sorption on the support plus biodegradation) of n-decane and n-hexadecane. Support particles exhibit a positive fractionating effect of the substrate on the polymer matrix. This effect involves sorption of the n-alkane onto the polyurethane foam, saturating it and synergistically enhancing the biodegradative activity of the immobilised cells. Comparison of sets of kinetics for the overall n-alkane (n-decane and n-hexadecane) removal from water for polyurethane foam with and without (controls) entrapped cells showed that the overall kinetics for the immobilised biocatalyst were well fitted to a biphasic process. A rapid sorption step of the substrates onto the cell-loaded support [1], and the intrinsic primary biodegradation slower step [2], both acting synergistically: ([n-alkane] = Ae−k1t + Ae−k2t + C) (k1 = 0.092 min−1, (t1/2)1 = 7.5 minutes)… … … … … …[1] (k2 = 4.9 × 10−4 min−1, (t1/2)2 = 23.6 hours)… … … … … … [2]

KINETICS OF BIODEGRADATION OF n-ALKANES BY PSEUDOMONAS IMMOBILISED IN RETICULATED POLYURETHANE FOAM

Medicinal Plant Biotechnology: from Basic Research to Industrial Applications, 2 volume set, O. Kayser, W. Quax (Eds.). Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany (2007), , 576 pp., Price: £160.00, ISBN: 3-527-31443-0

Improving the Thermal Processing of Foods, P. Richardson (Ed.). Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Cambridge, CB1 6AH, UK (2004), (xiii+507 pp., £150.00, ISBN 1-85573-730-2)

John F. Kennedy

Papers

New Trends in Synthetic Medicinal Chemistry

Topics in enzyme and fermentation biotechnology, volume 4: Editor: A. Wiseman Ellis Horwood, Chichester, 1980, 242 pp., £22.50, US $59.40

KINETICS OF BIODEGRADATION OF n-ALKANES BY PSEUDOMONAS IMMOBILISED IN RETICULATED POLYURETHANE FOAM

Medicinal Plant Biotechnology: from Basic Research to Industrial Applications, 2 volume set, O. Kayser, W. Quax (Eds.). Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany (2007), , 576 pp., Price: £160.00, ISBN: 3-527-31443-0

Improving the Thermal Processing of Foods, P. Richardson (Ed.). Woodhead Publishing Ltd, Cambridge, CB1 6AH, UK (2004), (xiii+507 pp., £150.00, ISBN 1-85573-730-2)