Cassava (Manihot esculenta) also known as tapioca, is a key agricultural crop in Jamaica, valued for its potential in value-added products like known as Bammy, Pancake Mix, Cassava Chips, and Bammy Sticks. However, the production of these items generates significant waste, including peelings (20-30% of the tuber weight), fibrous by-products (pulp waste), starch residue, and wastewater.
Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) serves as a bio-inspired platform for developing multifunctional metamaterials, with potential applications in energy storage, aerospace, and biomedical technologies. This research integrates three key studies aimed at enhancing BNC’s performance and versatility. First, UV Radiation-Enhanced Production Yield increases scalability through sustainable biosynthesis, optimizing BNC production for larger-scale applications.
Glycans are a class of carbohydrate oligomers that densely coat many cell surface proteins and lipids, acting as the first point of contact between a cell and its microenvironment. A network of over 700 glycan-processing enzymes, 10 monosaccharides, and architectural complexity give rise to diverse glycan structures with specific biological functions. Cell-surface proteins can act as receptors for glycans, initiating binding events which influence myriad biological processes within the cell.
The application of quantum-based NMR methods for the structural elucidation of natural and unnatural products has grown significantly. However, accurately calculating the conformational landscape of flexible molecules with intricate intramolecular hydrogen bonding (IHB) networks continues to be a major challenge. Previous studies have shown that to solve biased systems with strong IHB interactions, it is necessary to calculate the Boltzmann contributions using Gibbs free energies computed with at least a triple-ξ basis set and the SMD solvation model.
Carbohydrate mimetics play vital roles in various cell-mediated processes due to their structural resemblance to natural sugars, yet they exhibit distinct properties. Thioglycosides, in which an exocyclic oxygen atom is replaced by sulfur, are recognized as key building blocks in the preparation of glycans and the development of novel monosaccharides. These compounds serve as valuable intermediates in carbohydrate chemistry, being widely utilized in sequential glycosylation strategies for oligosaccharide synthesis.