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Since its first description in the early 1960s, scleroglucan attracted much attention from both academia and industry. Scleroglucan is an exopolysaccharide secreted by the basidiomycete Sclerotium rolfsii and appreciated as a multipurpose compound applicable in many industrial fields, including oil industry, food industry and pharmacy. In this review, the current knowledge on scleroglucan chemistry, genetics, biosynthesis and production will be summarized and different application possibilities will be discussed. The biosynthesis of scleroglucan in S. rolfsii will be highlighted by recent transcriptomic data and linked to physiological data to better understand the biogenesis of scleroglucan and its link to the phytopathologic lifestyle of S. rolfsii.

Two analytical separation methods—size-exclusion chromatography and asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation—were implemented to evaluate the integrity of the colloidal composition of Chardonnay white wine and the impact of pressing and fermentations on the final macromolecular composition. Wine chromophoric colloidal matter, representing UV–visible-absorbing wine macromolecules, was evaluated by optical and structural measurements combined with the description of elution profiles obtained by both separative techniques. The objective of this study was to apply these two types of fractionation on a typical Chardonnay white wine produced in Burgundy and to evaluate how each of them impacted the determination of the macromolecular chromophoric content of wine. UV–visible and fluorescence measurements of collected fractions were successfully applied. An additional proteomic study revealed that grape and microorganism proteins largely impacted the composition of chromophoric colloidal matter of Chardonnay wines. Asymmetrical flow field-flow fractionation appeared to be more reliable and less invasive with respect to the native chemical environment of chromophoric wine macromolecules, and hence is recommended as a tool to fractionate chromophoric colloidal matter in white wines. Graphical Abstract An innovative macromolecular separation method based on Asymmetrical Flow Field-Flow Fractionation was developed to better control colloidal dynamics across Chardonnay white winemaking.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are frequently used for drug targeting, hyperthermia and other biomedical purposes. Recently, we have reported the synthesis of lauric acid-/albumin-coated iron oxide nanoparticles SEONLA-BSA, which were synthesized using excess albumin. For optimization of magnetic treatment applications, SPION suspensions need to be purified of excess surfactant and concentrated. Conventional methods for the purification and concentration of such ferrofluids often involve high shear stress and low purification rates for macromolecules, like albumin. In this work, removal of albumin by low shear stress tangential ultrafiltration and its influence on SEONLA-BSA particles was studied. Hydrodynamic size, surface properties and, consequently, colloidal stability of the nanoparticles remained unchanged by filtration or concentration up to four-fold (v/v). Thereby, the saturation magnetization of the suspension can be increased from 446.5 A/m up to 1667.9 A/m. In vitro analysis revealed that cellular uptake of SEONLA-BSA changed only marginally. The specific absorption rate (SAR) was not greatly affected by concentration. In contrast, the maximum temperature Tmax in magnetic hyperthermia is greatly enhanced from 44.4 °C up to 64.9 °C by the concentration of the particles up to 16.9 mg/mL total iron. Taken together, tangential ultrafiltration is feasible for purifying and concentrating complex hybrid coated SPION suspensions without negatively influencing specific particle characteristics. This enhances their potential for magnetic treatment.

A protocol was developed to fractionate soil particles down to the nanocolloid scale by combining sieving, sedimentation, centrifugation, and cross-flow filtration (CFF). The validity of the method and the performance of the CFF system were tested by characterizing fractions using laser granulometry, electron microscopy, and chemical analysis. The 0.1-μm-pore-size membrane CFF system effectively retained nanocolloids (<0.1 μm) as shown by laser granulometry and observed directly by transmission electron microscopy. However, environmental scanning electron microscopy images of freeze-dried colloids were very different from their TEM counterparts, suggesting that sample preparation influenced microscopy imaging. Chemical analysis of Cu, Cd, and organic carbon in each fraction showed that the concentrations of these components increased as particle size decreased, indicating colloids and nanocolloids play an important role in retaining trace metals. Particle-size fractionation combined with chemical analysis and electron microscopy can provide insight into the nature and properties of nanocolloids in soil.

The methodological approach used to robustly optimize the characterization of the polydisperse colloidal phase of drain water samples is presented. The approach is based on asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation coupled to online ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometry, multi-angle light scattering, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Operating factors such as the amount of sample injected and the ratio between main-flow and cross-flow rates were considered. The evaluation of the injection and fractionation steps was performed considering the polydispersity index and the contribution to the polydispersity of the plate height, the recovery, the retention ratio and the size range of the fractionated colloids. This approach allows the polydispersity of natural colloid samples to be taken into consideration to achieve the most efficient and representative fractionation. In addition to the size characterization, elemental analysis was also evaluated using the recovery, precision, and limits of detection and quantification relative to a trace element of interest (copper) in drain water. To complete this investigation, the potential application of the methodology was assessed using several independent drain water samples from different soils. The contribution of the polydispersity to the plate height ranges from 4.8 to 8.9 cm with a mean precision of 6 %. The mean colloidal recovery was 81 ± 3 %, and the mean retention ratio was 0.043–0.062. The limits of detection and quantification for copper were 0.6 and 1.8 μg L −1 , respectively.

Dielectrophoretic separation of particles finds a variety of applications in the capture of species such as cells, viruses, proteins, DNA from biological systems, as well as other organic and inorganic contaminants from water. The ability to capture particles is constrained by poor volumetric scaling of separation force with respect to particle diameter, as well as the weak penetration of electric fields in the media. In order to improve the separation of sub-micron colloids, we present a scheme based on multiple interdigitated electrode arrays under mixed AC/DC bias. The use of high frequency longitudinal AC bias breaks the shielding effects through electroosmotic micromixing to enhance electric fields through the electrolyte, while a transverse DC bias between the electrode arrays enables penetration of the separation force to capture particles from the bulk of the microchannel. We determine the favorable biasing conditions for field enhancement with the help of analytical models, and experimentally demonstrate the improved capture from sub-micron colloidal suspensions with the mixed AC/DC electrostatic excitation scheme over conventional AC-DEP methods.

Four physical–chemical processes were compared in terms of the efficiencies of dissolved and colloidal organic nitrogen (DON and CON) removal from the secondary effluents (SE) and reject water from full-scale biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems. Adsorption on activated carbon was most efficient and allowed removal from the SE of up to 80% and 100% of DON and CON, respectively. High efficiencies of DON removal from SE (up to 55%) were also obtained when using coagulation with iron(III) chloride and calcium hydroxide at final pH = 11.0–11.5. The efficiency of DON removal from thickening waste activated sludge (TWAS) reject water, obtained using coagulation with iron(III) chloride, was comparable with the efficiency for the SE. The efficiency of this process with regard to the sludge digester liquors (SDL) was significantly higher, i.e., 65–70% for both DON and CON. The ion exchange process with strongly acidic cation exchange resin (without pH correction) resulted in a relatively small efficiency of DON removal (<15%), and negligible efficiency of CON removal (<10%). Furthermore, ultrafiltration (0.015 μm) of SE and TWAS reject water resulted in a relatively low efficiency of DON removal (10–13% and 10–20% respectively). Ultrafiltration was found to be more effective for DON removal from SDL (41–68%).

This study investigated the effects of organic and colloidal fouling on the removal of a representative micropollutant sulphamethoxazole by two commercially available NF membranes. Alginate, bovine serum albumin and colloidal silica were selected as model foulants to simulate hydrophilic and hydrophobic organic fractions, and colloidal matter that are often found in treated effluent and surface water. Membrane fouling was related to the membrane and foulant characteristics and subsequently the separation behaviour of the micropollutant sulphamethoxazole under different solution pH. On the basis of these results, it was confirmed that membrane fouling is strongly dependent on both the foulant and membrane characteristics. The complex relationship among retention mechanisms, fouling mechanisms and the effects of fouling on retention was systematically delineated. Of the three model foulants selected for this study, colloidal fouling resulted in the most significant reduction in retention of sulphamethoxazole as well as inorganic salts, while flux decline as a result of colloidal fouling was quite moderate. Reduction in retention caused by fouling was attributed to a phenomenon known as cake-enhance concentration polarisation, which was a predominant mechanism of colloidal fouling. In addition, the reported results suggested that the effect of fouling on retention is also membrane pore size dependent.

After bank filtration, effluent influenced surface waters are often used as raw drinking water. It is known that high concentrations of iodinated X-ray contrast media are detectable in such surface waters and thus, more knowledge about the behaviour of the contrast media during bank filtration is necessary and the subject of investigations in this study. The adsorbable organic iodine (AOI), four widely used iodinated X-ray contrast media and four possible transformation products were quantified in an influenced lake, five groundwater wells and a drinking water well. Under anoxic conditions the AOI as well as the concentration of the contrast media are decreased by bank filtration, whereby the AOI is decreased by 64% and the contrast media concentration can be reduced up to 95%, depending on the compound. In the raw drinking water the following average concentrations were determined: Iopromid <20 ng/L, Diatrizote 166 ng/L, Iopamidol 166 ng/L and Iohexol 34 ng/L. Instationary conditions during the sampling period indicate that, at least under anoxic conditions, a large part of the contrast media and transformation products, which are still iodinated, may be associated to colloids and/or humic material.

The Self-Forming Dynamic Membrane Coupled Bioreactor (SFDMBR), which uses coarse pore-sized material to separate solid and liquid in bioreactors, has some advantages compared with MBR using micro-/ultra-filtration membranes, for example, low module cost and high flux. The cake layer and gel layer formed on the surface and in the pores of the material during filtration played an important role, called self-forming dynamic membrane (DM), which mainly consisted of activated sludge. In this study, the function of DM in pollutant removal was investigated. It was found that DM could remove some organic matter (12.6 mg L−_rm;1 on average) and total nitrogen (3.01 mg L−_rm;1 on average) in the supernatant. Colloids and organic nitrogen were partly removed by DM while DOC, ammonia nitrogen and nitrate nitrogen removal by DM varied from negative to positive, which resulted from the combination of various biological activities, e.g. nitrification, biological utilization and so on. DO concentration in DM decreased with the depth and reached zero at about 1.5–2.5 mm depth. The organic degradation activity and nitrification activity of the biomass suspended in the bioreactor were higher than those of the biomass in the cake layer, which might be caused by the low DO concentration and low organic pollutant content in DM.