Considering the significant evidential values of fingerprints in underwater criminal investigations and the need to visualise them using a user- and environmentally-friendly reagent, development of a novel, rapid and relatively greener nanobio-based reagent (NBR) is deemed beneficial. Lipase from the commercial Candida rugosa immobilised onto acid-functionalised multi-walled carbon nanotubes (NBR) was used as the safer and cheap lipid-sensing reagent to visualise groomed whole/split fingerprints on non-porous objects immersed in stagnant tap water for up to 30 days under a laboratory-controlled setting. Attenuated Total Reflectance - Fourier Transform Spectrometry, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy and bioinformatics (molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations) were employed to characterise and confirm the attachment of NBR onto the lipid constituents of wet fingerprints. Chromatographic results further confirmed the presence of n-hex-adecanoic and octadecanoic acids on fingerprints up to 30 days of immersion. Thus, NBR may potentially be useful as the future state-of-the-art fingerprint visualisation technology.

Increasing energy demands call for sustainable alternative sources. Solid state fermentation (SSF) of raw oil palm frond leaves (OPFL) as the substrate to produce extracellular cellulases and xylanase by a novel Rhizopus oryzae UC2 (GenBank accession no. MF767597) was optimized. Optimum SSF conditions (30 degrees C, 40% moisture content, 2.0 x 10(8) spores/g inoculum size) yielded the maximum carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) (94.68 U/g), filter paperase (FPase) (25.46 U/g), beta-glucosidase (145.47 U/g) and xylanase (213.99 U/g) activities, showing a broad pH range of between 6.0 and 12.0. Proteome analysis of crude enzyme cocktail revealed three beta-glucosidases, as well as one endo-beta-1,4-glucanase, exoglanase and endo-beta-1,4-xylanase each. Activities of the enzyme complex were maximal at an acidic pH and temperature that ranged between pH 3.0-5.0 and 50-60 degrees C, respectively. In situ hydrolysis of OPFL released various concentrations of sugars viz. glucose (26.74 mg/g), xylose (1.44 mg/g), fructose (50.8 mg/g) and cellobiose (58.31 mg/g). Moreover, CMCase, FPase, beta-glucosidase and xylanase exhibited half-lives of 5.13, 1.48, 18.81, 9.23 h when incubated at 60 degrees C, respectively. Thus, the desirable qualities of R. oryzae UC2 seen here supported its prospective biocatalytic role for timely and safe production of digestible carbohydrates from agro-industrial biomass for the subsequent biotransformation into biofuel. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evidences of crime are often disposed in waterways to destroy all ties to the crime. Nonetheless, these evidences are not inevitably lost as the water insoluble lipid components may remain on the object. Currently, Small Particle Reagent (SPR) is used for visualizing such wet fingerprints and it comprises of several chemicals that are relatively hazardous to the crime investigator and the environment. The adaptation of a greener nano-biotechnological route might be useful, but there is still much to be done to improve this fingerprint visualisation method. Henceforth, this study was carried out to optimise the visualization protocol for CRL-MWCNTs/GA/I3K/SAF on split natural fingerprints immersed in purified tap water for one-and 15 days using response surface methodology (RSM). The addition of I3K as the mordant expedited the overall staining process. This study achieved a better mean fingerprints quality for the one-day immersed samples fared better compared to 15 days, thus suggesting the adequate use of CRL in the formulation. Hence, it was shown that RSM is reliable in predicting the optimum condition that yielded the highest mean fingerprint quality for both time intervals (one and 15 days).

Ananas comosus (L.) Merr is one of many commercially popular fruits in the cannery food industry that contributes to the increasingly mounting agro-industrial waste. In this study, a four-factor-three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) that comprised of sonication time (A), solvent ratio (B), amplitude (C) and liquid-solid ratio (D) for the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of pineapple peels (PP) was utilized to optimize the yield of total phenolic content (TPC). Under an optimized UAE condition [5 min; 50 % of ethanol: water; 65 % of amplitude; 35:1 mL/g of liquid-solid ratio], the highest TPC from PP of 708.10 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g DW was achieved. Antioxidant capacity analysis of PP revealed a high total flavonoid content (TFC) with the IC50 for 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) of 1146.86 +/- 11.83 mg QE/g, 11.83 mg/mL and 1578.07 +/- 25.96 mu M Fe (II)/100g, respectively. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed that the major flavonoid in the phenolic profile of PP extracts being catechin followed by quercetin and gallic acid. The UAE of PP extracts exhibited higher TPC than known conventional extraction techniques, thus indicating its efficacy to recover satisfactory quantities of phenolics in PP under optimized conditions.