Displaying publications 21 - 39 of 39 in total

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  1. Probing the characteristics and biofunctional effects of disease-affected cells and drug response via machine learning applications
    Mudali D, Jeevanandam J, Danquah MK
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 Nov;40(7):951-977.
    PMID: 32633615 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1789062
    Drug-induced transformations in disease characteristics at the cellular and molecular level offers the opportunity to predict and evaluate the efficacy of pharmaceutical ingredients whilst enabling the optimal design of new and improved drugs with enhanced pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Machine learning is a promising in-silico tool used to simulate cells with specific disease properties and to determine their response toward drug uptake. Differences in the properties of normal and infected cells, including biophysical, biochemical and physiological characteristics, plays a key role in developing fundamental cellular probing platforms for machine learning applications. Cellular features can be extracted periodically from both the drug treated, infected, and normal cells via image segmentations in order to probe dynamic differences in cell behavior. Cellular segmentation can be evaluated to reflect the levels of drug effect on a distinct cell or group of cells via probability scoring. This article provides an account for the use of machine learning methods to probe differences in the biophysical, biochemical and physiological characteristics of infected cells in response to pharmacokinetics uptake of drug ingredients for application in cancer, diabetes and neurodegenerative disease therapies.
  2. Biosensing based on surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy as an emerging/next-generation point-of-care approach for acute myocardial infarction diagnosis
    Low JSY, Thevarajah TM, Chang SW, Goh BT, Khor SM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 Dec;40(8):1191-1209.
    PMID: 32811205 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1808582
    Cardiovascular disease is a major global health issue. In particular, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) requires urgent attention and early diagnosis. The use of point-of-care diagnostics has resulted in the improved management of cardiovascular disease, but a major drawback is that the performance of POC devices does not rival that of central laboratory tests. Recently, many studies and advances have been made in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), including the development of POC biosensors that utilize this detection method. Here, we present a review of the strengths and limitations of these emerging SERS-based biosensors for AMI diagnosis. The ability of SERS to multiplex sensing against existing POC detection methods are compared and discussed. Furthermore, SERS calibration-free methods that have recently been explored to minimize the inconvenience and eliminate the limitations caused by the limited linear range and interassay differences found in the calibration curves are outlined. In addition, the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in SERS techniques to promote multivariate analysis and enhance diagnostic accuracy are discussed. The future prospects for SERS-based POC devices that include wearable POC SERS devices toward predictive, personalized medicine following the Fourth Industrial Revolution are proposed.
  3. New advances and potentials of fungal immunomodulatory proteins for therapeutic purposes
    Ejike UC, Chan CJ, Okechukwu PN, Lim RLH
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 Dec;40(8):1172-1190.
    PMID: 32854547 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1808581
    Fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) are fascinating small and heat-stable bioactive proteins in a distinct protein family due to similarities in their structures and sequences. They are found in fungi, including the fruiting bodies producing fungi comprised of culinary and medicinal mushrooms. Structurally, most FIPs exist as homodimers; each subunit consisting of an N-terminal α-helix dimerization and a C-terminal fibronectin III domain. Increasing numbers of identified FIPs from either different or same fungal species clearly indicates the growing research interests into its medicinal properties which include immunomodulatory, anti-inflammation, anti-allergy, and anticancer. Most FIPs increased IFN-γ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, potentially exerting immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting overproduction of T helper-2 (Th2) cytokines common in an allergy reaction. Recently, FIP from Ganoderma microsporum (FIP-gmi) was shown to promote neurite outgrowth for potential therapeutic applications in neuro-disorders. This review discussed FIPs' structural and protein characteristics, their recombinant protein production for functional studies, and the recent advances in their development and applications as pharmaceutics and functional foods.
  4. Sustainability of biodegradable plastics: a review on social, economic, and environmental factors
    Moshood TD, Nawanir G, Mahmud F
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2021 Sep 16.
    PMID: 34530658 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2021.1973954
    In line with the recent economic growth, especially in developing countries, human concern for the environment has increased over time. This paradigm shift has influenced many developing countries to pay more attention to the issues related to the use of synthetic plastics. Both industry and consumers are intrigued to discover the: economic characteristics, environmental consequences, and social attitudes to the benefits of biodegradable plastics. Biodegradable plastics are useful in packaging, agriculture, gastronomy, consumer electronics, and the automotive industry. This paper seeks to explain the prospects of biodegradable plastics regarding social, economic, and environmental sustainability and recognizes the latest advances in enzyme-based biodegradation of plastics in order to reduce plastics' negative effects and to make the environment safe. A multi-disciplinary strategy is a unique approach, with studies carried out across the triple bottom line (TBL) approach on three distinct sustainability concepts (economic characteristics, environmental consequences, and social attitudes). These three subjects were carefully chosen for their respective targets. This paper has used ATLAS.ti 9 software tools to thoroughly analyze the literature to save, identify, and assess this study's data. Therefore, the research showed that the environmental component was the most critical factor with the economic second and social third. We review bio-based and biodegradable polymers and highlight the value of biodegradable end-of-life management.
  5. Downstream protein separation by surfactant precipitation: a review
    Wong FWF, Ariff AB, Stuckey DC
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Feb;38(1):31-46.
    PMID: 28427287 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2017.1312266
    In a conventional protein downstream processing (DSP) scheme, chromatography is the single most expensive step. Despite being highly effective, it often has a low process throughput due to its semibatch nature, sometimes with nonreproducible results and relatively complex process development. Hence, more work is required to develop alternative purification methods that are more cost-effective, but exhibiting nearly comparable performance. In recent years, surfactant precipitation has been heralded as a promising new method for primary protein recovery that meets these criteria and is a simple and cost-effective method that purifies and concentrates. The method requires the direct addition of a surfactant to a complex solution (e.g. a fermentation broth) containing the protein of interest, where the final surfactant concentration is maintained below its critical micelle concentration (CMC) in order to allow for electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the surfactant and the target protein. An insoluble (hydrophobic) protein-surfactant complex is formed and backextraction of the target protein from the precipitate into a new aqueous phase is then carried out using either solvent extraction, or addition of a counter-ionic surfactant. Importantly, as highlighted by past researchers, the recovered proteins maintain their activity and structural integrity, as determined by circular dichroism (CD). In this review, various aspects of surfactant precipitation with respect to its general methodology and process mechanism, system parameters influencing performance, protein recovery, process selectivity and process advantages will be highlighted. Moreover, comparisons will be made to reverse micellar extraction, and the current drawbacks/challenges of surfactant precipitation will also be discussed. Finally, promising directions of future work with this separation technique will be highlighted.
  6. Strategy in manipulating transglycosylation activity of glycosyl hydrolase for oligosaccharide production
    Abdul Manas NH, Md Illias R, Mahadi NM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Mar;38(2):272-293.
    PMID: 28683572 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2017.1339664
    BACKGROUND: The increasing market demand for oligosaccharides has intensified the need for efficient biocatalysts. Glycosyl hydrolases (GHs) are still gaining popularity as biocatalyst for oligosaccharides synthesis owing to its simple reaction and high selectivity.

    PURPOSE: Over the years, research has advanced mainly directing to one goal; to reduce hydrolysis activity of GHs for increased transglycosylation activity in achieving high production of oligosaccharides.

    DESIGN AND METHODS: This review concisely presents the strategies to increase transglycosylation activity of GHs for oligosaccharides synthesis, focusing on controlling the reaction equilibrium, and protein engineering. Various modifications of the subsites of GHs have been demonstrated to significantly modulate the hydrolysis and transglycosylation activity of the enzymes. The clear insight of the roles of each amino acid in these sites provides a platform for designing an enzyme that could synthesize a specific oligosaccharide product.

    CONCLUSIONS: The key strategies presented here are important for future improvement of GHs as a biocatalyst for oligosaccharide synthesis.

  7. Genoproteomics-assisted improvement of Andrographis paniculata: toward a promising molecular and conventional breeding platform for autogamous plants affecting the pharmaceutical industry
    Valdiani A, Talei D, Lattoo SK, Ortiz R, Rasmussen SK, Batley J, et al.
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2017 Sep;37(6):803-816.
    PMID: 28049346 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2016.1260525
    Andrographis paniculata (Burm. f.) Wall. ex Nees. (AP) is a hermaphroditic, self-compatible, and habitual inbreeding plant. Its main bioactive component is andrographolide, which is capable of inducing autophagic cell death in some human cancer cells and helps fight HIV/AIDS. Increasing the andrographolide content by investigating the genetic mechanisms controlling its biosynthesis in order to improve and develop high-yielding cultivars are the main breeding targets for AP. However, there might exist some limitations or barriers for crossability within AP accessions. Recently, this problem was addressed in AP by using a combination of crossbreeding and biotechnology-aided genetic methods. This review emphasizes that development of a breeding platform in a hard-to-breed plant, such as AP, requires the involvement of a broad range of methods from classical genetics to molecular breeding. To this end, a phenological stage (for example, flowering and stigma development) can be simplified to a quantitative morphological trait (for example, bud or stigma length) to be used as an index to express the highest level of receptivity in order to manage outcrossing. The outcomes of the basic crossability research can be then employed in diallel mating and crossbreeding. This review explains how genomic data could produce useful information regarding genetic distance and its influence on the crossability of AP accessions. Our review indicates that co-dominant DNA markers, such as microsatellites, are also capable of resolving the evolutionary pathway and cryptic features of plant populations and such information can be used to select the best breeding strategy. This review also highlights the importance of proteomic analysis as a breeding tool. In this regard, protein diversification, as well as the impact of normal and stress-responsive proteins on morphometric and physiological behaviors, could be used in breeding programs. These findings have immense potential for improving plant production and, therefore, can be regarded as prospective breeding platforms for medicinal plants that have an autogamous mode of reproduction. Finally, this review suggests that novel site-directed genome editing approaches such as TALENs (Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases) and CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated protein-9 nuclease) systems together with other new plant breeding technologies (NPBT) should simultaneously be taken into consideration for improvement of pharmaceutical plants.
  8. Global trends in research and commercialization of exogenous and endogenous RNAi technologies for crops
    Mat Jalaluddin NS, Othman RY, Harikrishna JA
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Sep 09.
    PMID: 30198341 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2018.1496064
    It has only been about 20 years since the first Nobel Prize-winning work on RNA interference (RNAi) in Caenorhabditis elegans was published in the journal Nature. Fast forward to today, and the use of RNA molecules as gene-silencing elements in crops has helped scientists to unveil possible solutions to the global problems of agricultural losses due to pests, viruses, pathogens, and to other abiotic and biotic stresses. The recent proliferation of publications suggests that the technology has gained significant attention and received ample funding support. In this article, an attempt has been made to visualize recent trends in Research & Development (R&D) investment in this field by analyzing top cited scholarly articles, patent trends, and commercialization activity. The publication and citation analysis identified that the development of RNAi-based crops conferring resistance against viruses, fungi, and pests are at the forefront of RNAi research and that Chinese and US institutions are the leaders in this field. The patent landscape analysis for RNAi technology over all aspects related to RNAi-derived crops provides an overview of patenting activity from a geographical, organizational, and legal perspective. Such an exercise is pivotal to industry players and public institutions aiming at creating intellectual property that is commercially appealing. An upswing in commercial interests in this technology in recent years is reflected by a consistent number of patent filings in US, European, and Chinese patent offices, with multinational giant firms as the most prolific patent filers. The expanding RNAi commercialization landscape is supported by a series of strategic partnerships, licensing agreements, and acquisitions created between agribusinesses, public research institutions, and startup companies. From key observations, we would like to highlight that such investments have very positive impacts on the development of RNAi technology. Nonetheless, the success of this technology is dependent on several factors, such as financial requirements, the complexity, and timeframe of the entire development process, as well as stringent regulations imposed by the relevant authorities. In most countries, RNAi-based transgenic crops are still considered as a genetically modified (GM) product, which necessitates the crops to undergo rigorous evaluation before approval is granted. Recent advancements in exogenous RNAi-derived biopesticides have provided a nontransgenic alternative to GM crops. However, challenges still remain in the form of technical hurdles and regulatory ambiguities surrounding this emerging technology. Its full potential remains to be realized.
  9. Application of experimental designs and response surface methods in screening and optimization of reverse micellar extraction
    Sy Mohamad SF, Mohd Said F, Abdul Munaim MS, Mohamad S, Azizi Wan Sulaiman WM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 May;40(3):341-356.
    PMID: 31931631 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1712321
    Reverse micellar extraction (RME) has emerged as a versatile and efficient tool for downstream processing (DSP) of various biomolecules, including structural proteins and enzymes, due to the substantial advantages over conventional DSP methods. However, the RME system is a complex dependency of several parameters that influences the overall selectivity and performance of the RME system, hence this justifies the need for optimization to obtain higher possible extraction results. For the last two decades, many experimental design strategies for screening and optimization of RME have been described in literature. The objective of this article is to review the use of different experimental designs and response surface methodologies that are currently used to screen and optimize the RME system for various types of biomolecules. Overall, this review provides the rationale for the selection of appropriate screening or optimization techniques for the parameters associated with both forward and backward extraction during the RME of biomolecules.
  10. Recent development of unconventional aqueous biphasic system: characteristics, mechanisms and applications
    Kee PE, Ng TC, Lan JC, Ng HS
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 Jun;40(4):555-569.
    PMID: 32283954 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1747388
    Aqueous biphasic system (ABS) is widely used in the recovery, extraction, purification and separation of proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids and antibodies. The ABS with high water content and low interfacial tension offers a biocompatible environment for the recovery of labile biomolecules. Process integration can be achieved using ABS by incorporating multiple-steps of purification, concentration and purification of biomolecules in a single-step operation which often results in high product recovery yield and purity. Conventional ABS is usually formed by aqueous solutions of two polymers or a polymer and a salt above a critical concentration. The high viscosity of polymer-based ABS causes slow phase separation and hinders the mass transfer of biomolecules, whereas polymer/salt ABS is characterized by high ionic strength resulting in the loss of bioactivity of recovered biomolecules. These limitations have encouraged the development of novel ABS which is more cost-effective for various biotechnological applications. This review discusses the characteristics and mechanisms of several types of emerging unconventional ABS using phase-forming components such as hyperbranched polymers, special salts, surfactants, magnetic fields, the addition of nanoparticles and incorporation of various solvent. Moreover, several novel applications of ABS for different separation purposes such as microfluidic-based ABS, ABS bioreactors, application of ABS as an analytical tool, and ABS micropatterning are discussed in this review. In the last section of this review, a comprehensive summary of process integration using ABS for extractive fermentations, bioconversion, crystallization and precipitation is also supplemented for the comprehensive review of various types and applications of ABS in recent years.
  11. P(3HB-co-4HB) as high value polyhydroxyalkanoate: its development over recent decades and current advances
    Huong KH, Sevakumaran V, Amirul AA
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2021 Jun;41(4):474-490.
    PMID: 33726581 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1869685
    Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biogenic polymer that has the potential to substitute synthetic plastic in numerous applications. This is due to its unique attribute of being a biodegradable and biocompatible thermoplastic, achievable through microbial fermentation from a broad utilizable range of renewable resources. Among all the PHAs discovered, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-4HB)] stands out as a next generation healthcare biomaterial for having high biopharmaceutical and medical value since it is highly compatible to mammalian tissue. This review provides a critical assessment and complete overview of the development and trend of P(3HB-co-4HB) research over the last few decades, highlighting aspects from the microbial strain discovery to metabolic engineering and bioprocess cultivation strategies. The article also outlines the relevance of P(3HB-co-4HB) as a material for high value-added products in numerous healthcare-related applications.
  12. A review on the nucleic acid constituents in mushrooms: nucleobases, nucleosides and nucleotides
    Phan CW, Wang JK, Cheah SC, Naidu M, David P, Sabaratnam V
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Aug;38(5):762-777.
    PMID: 29124970 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2017.1399102
    Mushrooms have become increasingly important as a reliable food source. They have also been recognized as an important source of bioactive compounds of high nutritional and medicinal values. The nucleobases, nucleosides and nucleotides found in mushrooms play important roles in the regulation of various physiological processes in the human body via the purinergic and/or pyrimidine receptors. Cordycepin, a 3'-deoxyadenosine found in Cordyceps sinensis has received much attention as it possesses many medicinal values including anticancer properties. In this review, we provide a broad overview of the distribution of purine nucleobases (adenine and guanine); pyrimidine nucleobases (cytosine, uracil, and thymine); nucleosides (uridine, guanosine, adenosine and cytidine); as well as novel nucleosides/tides in edible and nonedible mushrooms. This review also discusses the latest research focusing on the successes, challenges, and future perspectives of the analytical methods used to determine nucleic acid constituents in mushrooms. Besides, the exotic taste and flavor of edible mushrooms are attributed to several nonvolatile and water-soluble substances, including the 5'-nucleotides. Therefore, we also discuss the total flavor 5'-nucleotides: 5'-guanosine monophosphate (5'-GMP), 5'-inosine monophosphate (5'-IMP), and 5'-xanthosine monophosphate (5'-XMP) in edible mushrooms.
  13. A comprehensive review on two-stage integrative schemes for the valorization of dark fermentative effluents
    Sivagurunathan P, Kuppam C, Mudhoo A, Saratale GD, Kadier A, Zhen G, et al.
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Sep;38(6):868-882.
    PMID: 29264932 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2017.1416578
    This review provides the alternative routes towards the valorization of dark H2 fermentation effluents that are mainly rich in volatile fatty acids such as acetate and butyrate. Various enhancement and alternative routes such as photo fermentation, anaerobic digestion, utilization of microbial electrochemical systems, and algal system towards the generation of bioenergy and electricity and also for efficient organic matter utilization are highlighted. What is more, various integration schemes and two-stage fermentation for the possible scale up are reviewed. Moreover, recent progress for enhanced performance towards waste stabilization and overall utilization of useful and higher COD present in the organic source into value-added products are extensively discussed.
  14. Synergetic anaerobic digestion of food waste for enhanced production of biogas and value-added products: strategies, challenges, and techno-economic analysis
    Sharma P, Parakh SK, Tsui TH, Bano A, Singh SP, Singh VP, et al.
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2023 Aug 29.
    PMID: 37643972 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2023.2241112
    The generation of food waste (FW) is increasing at an alarming rate, contributing to a total of 32% of all the waste produced globally. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is an effective method for dealing with organic wastes of various compositions, like FW. Waste valorization into value-added products has increased due to the conversion of FW into biogas using AD technology. A variety of pathways are adopted by microbes to avoid unfavorable conditions in AD, including competition between sulfate-reducing bacteria and methane (CH4)-forming bacteria. Anaerobic bacteria decompose organic matter to produce biogas, a digester gas. The composition depends on the type of raw material and the method by which the digestion process is conducted. Studies have shown that the biogas produced by AD contains 65-75% CH4 and 35-45% carbon dioxide (CO2). Methanothrix soehngenii and Methanosaeta concilii are examples of species that convert acetate to CH4 and CO2. Methanobacterium bryantii, Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum, and Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus are examples of species that produce CH4 from hydrogen and CO2. Methanobacterium formicicum, Methanobrevibacter smithii, and Methanococcus voltae are examples of species that consume formate, hydrogen, and CO2 and produce CH4. The popularity of AD has increased for the development of biorefinery because it is seen as a more environmentally acceptable alternative in comparison to physico-chemical techniques for resource and energy recovery. The review examines the possibility of using accessible FW to produce important value-added products such as organic acids (acetate/butyrate), biopolymers, and other essential value-added products.
  15. Colloidal gas aphrons for biotechnology applications: a mini review
    Pal P, Hasan SW, Abu Haija M, Sillanpää M, Banat F
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2023 Dec;43(7):971-981.
    PMID: 35968911 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2092716
    Colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs) are highly stable, spherical, micrometer-sized bubbles encapsulated by surfactant multilayers. They have several intriguing properties, including: high stability, large interfacial area, and the ability to maintain the same charge as their parent molecules. The physical properties of CGAs make them ideal for biotechnological applications such as the recovery of a variety of: biomolecules, particularly proteins, yeast, enzymes, and microalgae. In this review, the bio-application of CGAs for the recovery of natural components is presented, as well as: experimental results, technical challenges, and critical research directions for the future. Experimental results from the literature showed that the recovery of biomolecules was mainly determined by electrostatic or hydrophobic interactions between polyphenols and proteins (lysozyme, β-casein, β-lactoglobulin, etc.), yeast, biological molecules (gallic acid and norbixin), and microalgae with CGAs. Knowledge transfer is essential for commercializing CGA-based bio-product recovery, which will be recognized as a viable technology in the future.
  16. Microbial granules on reactors performance during organic butyrate digestion: clean production
    Ahmad A, Ghufran R
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2023 Dec;43(8):1236-1256.
    PMID: 36130802 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2022.2103641
    This critical review for anaerobic degradation of complex organic compounds like butyrate using reactors has been enormously applied for biogas production. Biogas production rate has a great impact on: reactor granulation methanogenesis, nutrient content, shear velocity, organic loading and loss of nutrients taking place in the reactor continuously. Various technologies have been applied to closed anaerobic reactors to improve biogas production and treatment efficiency. Recent reviews showed that the application of closed anaerobic reactors can accelerate the degradation of organics like volatile fatty acid-butyrate and affect microbial biofilm formation by increasing the number of methanogens and increase methane production 16.5 L-1 CH4 L-1 POME-1. The closed anaerobic reactors with stable microbial biofilm and established organic load were responsible for the improvement of the reactor and methane production. The technology mentioned in this review can be used to monitor biogas concentration, which directly correlates to organic concentrations. This review attempts to evaluate interactions among the: degradation of organics, closed anaerobic reactors system, and microbial granules. This article provides a useful picture for the improvement of the degradation of organic butyrate for COD removal, biogas and methane production in an anaerobic closed reactor.
  17. Bioreactor-based advances in plant tissue and cell culture: challenges and prospects
    Valdiani A, Hansen OK, Nielsen UB, Johannsen VK, Shariat M, Georgiev MI, et al.
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2018 Nov 15.
    PMID: 30431379 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2018.1489778
    Bioreactors are engineered systems capable of supporting a biologically active situation for conducting aerobic or anaerobic biochemical processes. Stability, operational ease, improved nutrient uptake capacity, time- and cost-effectiveness, and large quantities of biomass production, make bioreactors suitable alternatives to conventional plant tissue and cell culture (PTCC) methods. Bioreactors are employed in a wide range of plant research, and have evolved over time. Such technological progress, has led to remarkable achievements in the field of PTCC. Since the classification of bioreactors has been extensively reviewed in numerous reviews, the current article avoids repeating the same material. Alternatively, it aims to highlight the principal advances in the bioreactor hardware s used in PTCC rather than classical categorization. Furthermore, our review summarizes the most significant steps as well as current state-of-the-art of PTCC carried out in various types of bioreactor.
  18. Enhancing plastic biodegradation process: strategies and opportunities
    Crystal Thew XE, Lo SC, Ramanan RN, Tey BT, Huy ND, Chien Wei O
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2024 May;44(3):477-494.
    PMID: 36788704 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2023.2170861
    Plastic biodegradation has emerged as a sustainable approach and green alternative in handling the ever-increasing accumulation of plastic wastes in the environment. The complete biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate is one of the most recent breakthroughs in the field of plastic biodegradation. Despite the success, the effective and complete biodegradation of a wide variety of plastics is still far from the practical implementation, and an on-going effort has been mainly devoted to the exploration of novel microorganisms and enzymes for plastic biodegradation. However, alternative strategies which enhance the existing biodegradation process should not be neglected in the continuous advancement of this field. Thus, this review highlights various strategies which have shown to improve the biodegradation of plastics, which include the pretreatment of plastics using UV irradiation, thermal, or chemical treatments to increase the susceptibility of plastics toward microbial action. Alternative pretreatment strategies are also suggested and compared with the existing techniques. Besides, the effects of additives such as pro-oxidants, natural polymers, and surfactants on plastic biodegradation are discussed. In addition, considerations governing the biodegradation performance, such as the formulation of biodegradation medium, cell-free biocatalysis, and physico-chemical properties of plastics, are addressed. Lastly, the challenges and future prospects for the advancement of plastic biodegradation are also highlighted.
  19. Insight into recent advances in microalgae biogranulation in wastewater treatment
    Kabir Ahmad SF, Kanadasan G, Lee KT, Vadivelu VM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2024 Dec;44(8):1594-1609.
    PMID: 38485522 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2024.2317785
    Microalgae-based technology is widely utilized in wastewater treatment and resource recovery. However, the practical implementation of microalgae-based technology is hampered by the difficulty in separating microalgae from treated water due to the low density of microalgae. This review is designed to find the current status of the development and utilization of microalgae biogranulation technology for better and more cost-effective wastewater treatment. This review reveals that the current trend of research is geared toward developing microalgae-bacterial granules. Most previous works were focused on studying the effect of operating conditions to improve the efficiency of wastewater treatment using microalgae-bacterial granules. Limited studies have been directed toward optimizing operating conditions to induce the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs), which promotes the development of denser microalgae granules with enhanced settling ability. Likewise, studies on the understanding of the EPS role and the interaction between microalgae cells in forming granules are scarce. Furthermore, the majority of current research has been on the cultivation of microalgae-bacteria granules, which limits their application only in wastewater treatment. Cultivation of microalgae granules without bacteria has greater potential because it does not require additional purification and can be used for border applications.
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