نشریه بیولوژی کاربردی
سال یازدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 41، بهار 1400)

Zinc plays an important role in the function of vital organs, especially the central nervous system. Zinc homeostasis disorder causes and progresses nervous system diseases such as Alzheimer, depression, learning disabilities and stress. Zinc homeostasis in the body is mediated by ZnT and ZIP proteins. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 genes in hippocampus cells as one of the tissues with high zinc density.

First, the cell passage of the hippocampus cell line was performed, then the MTT assay test was performed for zinc oxide nanoparticles. In the next step, RNA extraction and CDNA synthesis were performed, and nanodrop spectrophotometer was used to ensure the purity of the RNA samples. Specific and appropriate primers of the desired genes were designed and synthesized. Then, changes in the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 genes were investigated using Real-Tim e RT-PCR.

Concentrations of 10 and 20 μg/mL of zinc oxide nanoparticles, significantly increased the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 genes in the hippocampus cell line of rat, while creating the lowest cytotoxicity.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles can be investigated pharmacologically by increasing the expression of Znt1, Znt2, Znt3, and Znt4 genes in the treatment of zinc homeostasis disorders such as Alzheimer, depression, learning disabilities and stress.

Plants are among the most important sources of phenolic compounds, which also include natural antioxidants. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of two methods of extraction by ultrasonic bath and maceration on the extraction of phenolic compounds from jujube fruit using water and 80% ethanol solvents.

In the ultrasonic bath method, water and 80% ethanol solvents were used in three time levels of 15, 30 and 60 minutes and two temperature levels of 50 and 70 °C. In the maceration method, water and 80% ethanol solvents and their combinations were used and the content of phenolic compounds using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the extraction efficiency of the extracts were determined.

Based on the results of ultrasonic bath extraction method, 80% ethanol solvent, 60 minutes and 50 °C extracted the highest content of phenolic compounds (86.33 mg GAE/100 g of dry sample) from the fruit and the extraction efficiency of its extract was 95.66%. In the maceration extraction method, 80% ethanol solvent extracted the highest content of phenolic compounds (61.40 mg GAE/100 g of dry sample) and the extraction efficiency of the extract was 77%.

According to the results of both methods, the content of extraction of bioactive compounds based on the type of solvent, temperature and time were significantly different and 80% ethanol solvent was the best solvent for the extraction of compounds. Ultrasonic extraction had a significant effect on the extraction of phenolic compounds of jujube fruit.

Food safety has always been a major global challenge for human health. The demand for sustainability, product safety improvement and high quality standards have always been important in all areas of the biological sciences such as the food industry, which requires close monitoring and continuously throughout the food supply chain. In this area, the suitable and satisfactory food packaging in the industry is the basis for maintaining and preserving proper and suitable quality and safety in food. Despite the industry's efforts to produce safe products, food products may become contaminated during the process or from contaminated raw materials. Therefore, to solve the problems and defects related to food safety, several strategies and approaches have been considered and designed. Among various pathways the use of metal-organic frameworks is a new opportunity and challenges to ensure the quality and safety of food. Metal-organic frameworks are known as fundamental class of porous nonmaterial which has unique physical and chemical properties promising in a food safety program. These nanoporus materials have recently attracted a lot of attentions and have found their way into various industries, including the food industry, and have shown great potential for practical development because of a wide range of applications in diverse fields. This article tries to emphasize and introduce this technology with a brief overview of the use of metal-organic frameworks in the food industry in three subsets of packaging, storage and cleaning, and their applications in this industry and the advantages and benefits which come with using it.

In summary, it can be said that MOFs have shown exciting potential in the field of food safety and have shown all their efficiency through the ability to be used in different parts of the process. Emerging MOFs or composite-based MOFs have been considered as a practical coating in intelligent food packaging, for the controlled release of preservatives and to monitor food safety. Therefore, these materials need to have excellent adsorption and stability properties; Be further developed for use in packaging. MOFs have also been shown to be effective in eliminating hazardous substances in the food supply chain. Therefore, the need to synthesize new multifunctional MOFs to remove contaminants is essential. Finally, while MOFs are a promising substance to help improve food safety at various stages of the food chain; However, precise control of the pore size and volume of these frameworks for specific applications is still a challenge, so more attention needs to be paid to achieving high quality MOFs for use in food safety. Further research is also needed on the toxicity of MOFs.

Onychomycosis consider as the most common nail diseases and yeasts are the important causative agents in onychomycosis. The aim of current study is the investigation of candidial onychomycosis and investigation of isolated species using direct examination.culturing and PCR-RFLP techniques.

In this cross- sectional study nail sampling has been examined in 280 patients with dystrophic nail problem who were the applicant of Medical mycology laboratory in Tehran. Direct examination test, Culturing on SDA, candida Chrome agar, Corn meal agar and germ tube test were used for identification of isolated yeasts from onychomycosis and finally PCR-RFLP techniques using MSP1 enzyme were performed for definitive diagnosis of Candida species which had not been identified by conventional methods.

Out of 280 patients with onychomycosis 54 cases (candida albicanse), 16 cases (candida parapsilosis), 7 cases (candida tropicalis), 6 cases (candida glabrata), 3 cases (candida krusei) and 1 case (candida guilliermondii) have been identified respectively.In order to identification of unknown species and also confirmation of the results of conventional methods PCR-RFLP genotyping methods have been performed on 20 samples. The results obtained from Culturing and direct examination and the identification of unknown species have been confirmed using PCR-RFLP methods.

As conventional diagnostic laboratory methods such as culturing, are time-consuming, it is better to use fast and safe genotyping techniques (PCR-RFLP) due to the possibility of better identification in species level. Therefore using modern molecular methods for diagnosis and identification in species level would be useful.

The main habitat of microalgae is natural or man-made aquatic environments. Microalgae are used in the process of water and wastewater treatment or biomass production that can be used in the production of biodiesel, biofertilizers, supplements and feed for poultry and aquatic animals. Microalgae extraction methods from aqueous medium such as gravitational deposition, centrifugation, filtration and screening, flotation, electrolyte separation and flocculation have been used.

In the flocculation method, different flocculants have been proposed for the deposition of microalgae (sulfate and chloride compounds of metals such as iron, aluminum and zinc, cationic compounds such as cationic starch and biopolymers such as chitosan, etc.). Disadvantages such as the high amount of flocculants required, the production of wastes that need to be re-separated, the low sedimentation efficiency and the high price of flocculants have made the search for cheap.

Low-consumption flocculants without the need for re-separation seriously considered by researchers. Factors such as quantity and type Biofluccolants and environmental factors such as temperature, pH, mixing rate play a role in biofluctuation efficiency. Studies show that the isolation of microalgae in the bioflucculation method in some cases increases up to 99%.

The present review shows that sedimentary microorganisms such as bacteria, diatoms and specific microalgae can be used as bioflucculants and microalgae can be harvested and isolated for various purposes in an environmentally friendly manner.

Bio-butanol has been regarded as an alternative to petroleum fuels due to its renewability. The aim of this study is to produce bio-butanol using bread waste and environmental bacteria.

In this study, samples were randomly taken from the depth of 50 to 100 cm of Parishan Lake sediments. After culturing under anaerobic conditions and phenotypic diagnosis of the Clostridium genus, 16S rRNA primer was used for genotypic identification. Isolates were screened based on amylase activity in starch-agar medium. To evaluate the effect of environmental factors (pH, temperature and raw material) on amylase activity of the selected isolates, a modified culture medium containing starch was used. Then, in an optimal culture medium, merely consisting of water and dry bread, bio-butanol was produced and separated by fractional distillation. The accuracy of its presence was confirmed by chromic acid test and gas chromatography.

Out of a total of 530 isolated bacteria, three clostridium isolates had the highest amylase activity and bio-butanol production, which after 16S rRNA sequencing, were registered as Clostridium Beijerinckii (KM999944), Clostridium diolis (KM999945) and Clostridium roseum (KM999946) in NCBI. The highest yield with a concentration of 2.344g/l in the culture medium containing 25g/l bread waste, pH7 and 35°C has been related to Clostridium roseum.

The results showed that under optimal conditions, environmental clostridia have a good potential for the production of bio-butanol from cheap raw materials like bread waste.