RESULTS: Headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that the spice flavor of beef was significantly enhanced by 500 W ultrasound-assisted marination. Meanwhile, the experimental results demonstrated that the ultrasound-assisted marination promoted the unfolding of beef myofibrillar protein structure, which increased the number of hydrophobic and hydrogen bonding sites, enhanced the electrostatic effect and improved the functional properties of the protein. Ultrasound-assisted marination significantly enhanced the binding ability of beef myofibrillar proteins to flavor compounds compared with conventional marination. An electronic nose confirmed that this resulted in a significant increase in the flavor of the marinated meat.
CONCLUSION: Ultrasound-assisted marination effectively enhanced the flavor of marinated meat, which was closely related to the development of protein conformation. The results of this study have important implications for the food industry and the role of protein unfolding processes in flavor modulation. In particular, the findings can be practically applied to improving meat flavor under ultrasound-assisted marination. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
RESULTS: A new dimethyl aminopyridine based stabilizing agent named as DMAP-PTA was synthesized and used for stabilization of gold nanoparticles. Gold nanoparticles coated with DMAP-PTA abbreviated as DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were thoroughly characterized by UV-visible, FT-IR spectroscopic methods and transmission electron microscope before biological assay. DMAP-PTA, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin were examined for their antibacterial potential against E. coli, and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined to be 300, 200 and 50 µg/mL respectively. Gold nanoparticles conjugation was found to significantly enhance the antibacterial activity of DMAP-PTA as compared to pure compound. Moreover, effects of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs on the antibacterial potential of Pefloxacin was also evaluated by combination therapy of 1:1 mixture of DMAP-PTA-AuNPs and Pefloxacin against E. coli in a wide range of concentrations from 5 to 300 µg/mL. The MIC of Pefloxacin + DMAP-PTA-AuNPs mixture was found to be 25 µg/mL as compared to Pefloxacin alone (50 µg/mL), which clearly indicates that DMAP-PTA-AuNPs increased the potency of Pefloxacin. AFM analysis was also carried out to show morphological changes occur in bacteria before and after treatment of test samples. Furthermore, DMAP-PTA-AuNPs showed high selectivity towards Pefloxacin in spectrophotometric drug recognition studies which offers tremendous potential for analytical applications.
CONCLUSIONS: Gold nanoparticles conjugation was shown to enhance the antibacterial efficacy of DMAP-PTA ligand, while DMAP-PTA-AuNPs also induced synergistic effects on the potency of Pefloxacin against E. coli. DMAP-PTA-AuNPs were also developed as Pefloxacin probes in recognizing the drug in blood and water samples in the presence of other drugs.