This study investigated the effects of solvent polarity and crude paclitaxel loading concentration on the precipitation behavior of paclitaxel in a glass bead-assisted anti-solvent fractional precipitation process, thereby optimizing selective purification efficiency and loading capacity. As the polarity index (PI) of the mixed solvent increased with the addition of distilled water as an anti-solvent, the Hansen distance between paclitaxel and the solvent increased, resulting in decreased affinity. This thermodynamic reduction in affinity acted as a driving force to elevate supersaturation in the solution, continuously enhancing the yield and partition coefficient of paclitaxel. However, the purity and selectivity reached their maximum values at a PI of 6.987. Furthermore, as the crude paclitaxel loading concentration increased, the optimal surface area per working volume (S/V) required also increased, while the time to achieve a 90
Sargassum sp., a bloom-forming marine brown macroalga, was evaluated as a substrate for 2,3-butanediol (BDO) production through three sequential operations: thermal-acid hydrolysis, enzymatic saccharification, and bacterial fermentation. A three-factor Box-Behnken design was used to model the effects of sulfuric acid concentration, reaction time, and biomass loading on total reducing sugar (TRS) yield at 121 °C. The model predicted its highest within-range TRS yield (16.11
The increasing environmental problem of conventional plastics has driven interest in biodegradable alternatives and their sustainable monomer production. 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BDO) is one of the building blocks of polybutylene adipate terephthalate, a biodegradable polymer. In this study, L-glutamate-based whole-cell conversion system for 1,4-BDO production was developed using an engineered Escherichia coli strain. A synthetic metabolic pathway was composed of gadB, gabT, yqhD, and car3/sfp genes. The maximum titer of 1,4-BDO production was 48 mM from 100 mM L-glutamate as a substrate. Polyphosphate kinase 2 (PPK2) was introduced into the system together with polyphosphate (polyP) as a phosphate donor. Under the PPK2-expressing system, the 1,4-BDO titer increased up to 55 mM depending on polyP availability. Further analysis of metal ions identified Mg2+ as the most effective cofactor, and under Mg2+-optimized conditions, a 1,4-BDO titer of approximately 71 mM was obtained from 100 mM L-glutamate. These results suggest that PPK2 introduction combined with Mg2+ optimization is an effective strategy for enhancing 1,4-BDO production in an E. coli whole-cell conversion system.
The incidence of hair loss among the younger generation has been rapidly increasing. Hair loss can cause mental and social issues, such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. The main causes of hair loss include stress, genetic factors, and androgen imbalance. While finasteride and minoxidil are currently available as hair loss treatments, natural extracts are gaining attention as safe alternatives due to the side effects associated with the conventional drugs. In this study, the protective effects of Phragmites communis root extract against dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced cellular dysfunction were evaluated using human hair follicle dermal papilla cells. The results showed that Phragmites communis root extract increased CCK-8-derived metabolic activity, promoted cell migration, reduced intracellular ROS accumulation, preserved mitochondrial functional parameters, and regulated hair follicle-related gene and protein expression. These findings suggest that Phragmites communis root extract protects human hair follicle dermal papilla cells against DHT-induced cellular dysfunction and may serve as a candidate cosmetic ingredient for supporting hair follicle-related cellular functions.
Clinical data suggest that gut dysbiosis induced by high-fat diets is associated with skin diseases, but animal and clinical studies have limited mechanistic resolution of these interactions. In vitro multi-organ models offer an experimental platform for dissecting these interactions, yet existing gut-skin models lack sebaceous glands, a key regulator of skin lipid metabolism and lipid-related inflammation. Here, we report a gut-skin multi-organ-on-a-chip model (MOOC) with three-dimensional sebocyte-containing collagen microbeads. The gut-skin MOOC supports co-cultures of a skin compartment (dermal fibroblasts together with sebocyte-loaded collagen beads) and a gut compartment (intestinal epithelium), each differentiated on a cell culture insert. Application of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) lowered the TEER of the intestinal epithelium while preserving tight junction architecture, whereas lipid treatment produced focal disruption of junctional ZO-1, indicating distinct modes of barrier remodeling. Compared to the skin-only model, the gut-skin MOOC exhibited lower TNF-α secretion across all conditions. LPS-induced TNF-α elevation was observed in the skin-only model but not in the gut-skin MOOC. In contrast, lipid treatment increased IL-6 secretion in the gut-skin MOOC but not in the skin-only model. Our study demonstrates that the gut-skin MOOC captures both barrier function and interorgan crosstalk, providing an in vitro platform for testing dermatological interventions that act on the gut-skin axis.
