Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2025.110064
Hongyuan Sun , Jiaqi Liu , Xuewen Gao , Kuizu Su , Rui Tang , Xinmin Zhan , Zhen-Hu Hu
Dry anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising technology for pig manure treatment, yet it is challenged by ammonia inhibition. Magnesium salt addition promotes the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP), which in-situ captures ammonia nitrogen and mitigates inhibition, while high solids content limits MAP crystallization. This study evaluated the effect of magnesium salt pretreatment of wheat straw on dry AD of pig manure. Four Mg:P molar ratios (1.0:1.0, 1.5:1.0, 2.0:1.0, and 3.0:1.0) were investigated. Adding magnesium salt-pretreated wheat straw under molar ratios of 1.0:1.0 and 1.5:1.0 captured 14.3–14.4 % of ammonia nitrogen and reduced free ammonia by 19.0–19.1 %. Methane production increased by 15.0–19.2 % and substrate degradation by 8.4–8.6 %. Such pretreatment promoted MAP nucleation and growth on the straw surface, facilitating ammonia nitrogen capture. The capture of ammonia nitrogen restored the abundance of acetoclastic methanogens from 7.3 % to 12.5 %, thereby enhancing methane production. These results provide a practical strategy for mitigating ammonia inhibition in dry AD of pig manure.
{"title":"Enhancing dry anaerobic digestion of pig manure via in-situ ammonia capture by adding magnesium salt-pretreated wheat straw","authors":"Hongyuan Sun , Jiaqi Liu , Xuewen Gao , Kuizu Su , Rui Tang , Xinmin Zhan , Zhen-Hu Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110064","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110064","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Dry anaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising technology for pig manure treatment, yet it is challenged by ammonia inhibition. Magnesium salt addition promotes the formation of magnesium ammonium phosphate (MAP), which <em>in-situ</em> captures ammonia nitrogen and mitigates inhibition, while high solids content limits MAP crystallization. This study evaluated the effect of magnesium salt pretreatment of wheat straw on dry AD of pig manure. Four Mg:P molar ratios (1.0:1.0, 1.5:1.0, 2.0:1.0, and 3.0:1.0) were investigated. Adding magnesium salt-pretreated wheat straw under molar ratios of 1.0:1.0 and 1.5:1.0 captured 14.3–14.4 % of ammonia nitrogen and reduced free ammonia by 19.0–19.1 %. Methane production increased by 15.0–19.2 % and substrate degradation by 8.4–8.6 %. Such pretreatment promoted MAP nucleation and growth on the straw surface, facilitating ammonia nitrogen capture. The capture of ammonia nitrogen restored the abundance of acetoclastic methanogens from 7.3 % to 12.5 %, thereby enhancing methane production. These results provide a practical strategy for mitigating ammonia inhibition in dry AD of pig manure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110064"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923128","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rare ginsenoside CK is in high demand due to its significant physiological activity, but its low natural abundance limits applications. While metal-organic framework (MOF)-based immobilized enzyme technology enables the conversion of ginsenoside Rb1 to CK, it remains largely confined to laboratory scale. In this study, a zirconium-based MOF (UiO-66-Ser) was greenly synthesized in a choline chloride-ethylene glycol deep eutectic solvent (DES) using L-serine as a modulator for the co-immobilization of snailase and β-glucosidase. This co-immobilized system achieved a CK yield of 88.89 % at the laboratory scale. To evaluate scalability, systematic investigations were conducted on the effects of scaling up the synthesis system (20–60 mL), cross-linking system (20–200 mL), and conversion system (1–100 mL). The results indicate that after large-scale production, immobilized enzymes consistently exhibit superior thermal stability, pH stability, and organic solvent stability compared to free enzymes. Even at the maximum scale (60 mL synthesis, 200 mL cross-linking), the CK yield remained around 65 % (65 ± 0.38 %). The conversion system achieved peak efficiency at 10 mL, with a CK yield reaching 90.41 %, and the immobilized enzyme showed a more gradual decline in yield than free enzymes during scale-up. This study confirms the excellent scalability of the DES-synthesized Zr-MOF-based dual-enzyme immobilization system, providing a theoretical foundation and practical support for the industrial application of efficient biotransformation of natural products.
{"title":"Scale-up of a deep eutectic solvent-mediated Zr-MOF platform for sustainable production of rare ginsenoside CK via immobilized dual-enzyme catalysis","authors":"Yifan Liu, Qianqian Shen, Chunxiao Cui, Xiaojun Wang, Zhansheng Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110056","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110056","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rare ginsenoside CK is in high demand due to its significant physiological activity, but its low natural abundance limits applications. While metal-organic framework (MOF)-based immobilized enzyme technology enables the conversion of ginsenoside Rb1 to CK, it remains largely confined to laboratory scale. In this study, a zirconium-based MOF (UiO-66-Ser) was greenly synthesized in a choline chloride-ethylene glycol deep eutectic solvent (DES) using <span>L</span>-serine as a modulator for the co-immobilization of snailase and β-glucosidase. This co-immobilized system achieved a CK yield of 88.89 % at the laboratory scale. To evaluate scalability, systematic investigations were conducted on the effects of scaling up the synthesis system (20–60 mL), cross-linking system (20–200 mL), and conversion system (1–100 mL). The results indicate that after large-scale production, immobilized enzymes consistently exhibit superior thermal stability, pH stability, and organic solvent stability compared to free enzymes. Even at the maximum scale (60 mL synthesis, 200 mL cross-linking), the CK yield remained around 65 % (65 ± 0.38 %). The conversion system achieved peak efficiency at 10 mL, with a CK yield reaching 90.41 %, and the immobilized enzyme showed a more gradual decline in yield than free enzymes during scale-up. This study confirms the excellent scalability of the DES-synthesized Zr-MOF-based dual-enzyme immobilization system, providing a theoretical foundation and practical support for the industrial application of efficient biotransformation of natural products.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110056"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145974054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2026.110076
Dian Dai , Li Feng , Qing Li , Sirui Lv , Zhe Zhang , Ruicheng Yang , Zhangfeng Hu , Liandong Zhu
Incorporating organic carbon sources into the growth medium serves as an effective method for promoting microalgal productivity. Importantly, variations in carbon metabolism significantly impact the efficiency of subsequent biomass harvesting processes. There is a clear necessity to evaluate and select carbon sources that enable large-scale microalgae growth while preserving the efficiency of subsequent biomass separation. In this study, three representative flocculants (alum, CPAM: cationic polyacrylamide, and CS: chitosan) were utilized to evaluate the flocculation performance of microalgae cultivated with diverse carbon sources. Furthermore, by monitoring fundamental physiological parameters of microalgae, the feasibility of spent medium following harvesting with different flocculants was systematically evaluated. The research findings indicated that the flocculation performance of sodium acetate‑cultured microalgae was inhibited when harvested with alum or CS, primarily due to excessive extracellular protein secretion. Ethanol can be considered the optimal carbon source choice. While markedly enhancing microalgal biomass, its use in conjunction with alum, CPAM, or CS enables efficient harvesting, outperforming other carbon sources. When microalgae were recultured in a solution containing 50 % recycled spent medium, minimal impact was observed on fundamental physiological indicators, with only a slight reduction in fatty acid unsaturation detected. This study provided valuable insights into the selection of appropriate organic carbon sources for promoting microalgal harvesting and clarified the spent medium after harvesting utilization strategies.
{"title":"Flocculation process performance evaluation of microalgae grown with different organic carbon sources and recycling of spent medium","authors":"Dian Dai , Li Feng , Qing Li , Sirui Lv , Zhe Zhang , Ruicheng Yang , Zhangfeng Hu , Liandong Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110076","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110076","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Incorporating organic carbon sources into the growth medium serves as an effective method for promoting microalgal productivity. Importantly, variations in carbon metabolism significantly impact the efficiency of subsequent biomass harvesting processes. There is a clear necessity to evaluate and select carbon sources that enable large-scale microalgae growth while preserving the efficiency of subsequent biomass separation. In this study, three representative flocculants (alum, CPAM: cationic polyacrylamide, and CS: chitosan) were utilized to evaluate the flocculation performance of microalgae cultivated with diverse carbon sources. Furthermore, by monitoring fundamental physiological parameters of microalgae, the feasibility of spent medium following harvesting with different flocculants was systematically evaluated. The research findings indicated that the flocculation performance of sodium acetate‑cultured microalgae was inhibited when harvested with alum or CS, primarily due to excessive extracellular protein secretion. Ethanol can be considered the optimal carbon source choice. While markedly enhancing microalgal biomass, its use in conjunction with alum, CPAM, or CS enables efficient harvesting, outperforming other carbon sources. When microalgae were recultured in a solution containing 50 % recycled spent medium, minimal impact was observed on fundamental physiological indicators, with only a slight reduction in fatty acid unsaturation detected. This study provided valuable insights into the selection of appropriate organic carbon sources for promoting microalgal harvesting and clarified the spent medium after harvesting utilization strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110076"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923134","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-06DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2026.110073
Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung , Ta Thi Minh Anh , Bui Thi Thu Uyen , Luu Thi Thu Ha , Dao Duy Khanh , Tran Dang Thuan , Tran Huu Quang , Phan Quang Thang
Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by cyanobacteria represents a promising pathway toward net-zero CO₂ emissions and circular bioeconomy. This study evaluated a newly isolated strain, Synechocystis salina M8, to determine how key environmental factors regulate biomass accumulation and PHB synthesis. Using a Plackett–Burman design, light intensity (4500–13,500 lux), pH (5–9), and temperature (25–35 °C) were identified as the most influential parameters for biomass growth, while PHB accumulation was significantly affected only by pH. A subsequent Box–Behnken optimization defined the conditions that maximized strain performance: a light intensity of 9773 lux, pH 8.07, and temperature 31.97 °C. Under these optimized conditions, S. salina M8 achieved a high dry biomass concentration of 2.73 g L⁻¹ , with PHB content reaching 21.41 % of dry biomass, reflecting efficient intracellular biopolymer accumulation alongside robust growth. Beyond PHB production, the strain displayed strong environmental functionality, exhibiting substantial inorganic carbon assimilation (3.06–4.06 %) and remarkable nutrient removal efficiencies for phosphate (94.2–99.8 %) and nitrate (87.3–96.1 %). These attributes highlight its suitability for integrated CO₂ sequestration and wastewater bioremediation. Overall, the results demonstrate that precise environmental tuning is crucial for optimizing both biomass productivity and PHB yield. This study provides a practical framework for scaling cyanobacterial cultivation toward sustainable PHB production, supporting broader applications in circular bioeconomy development and climate mitigation strategies.
{"title":"High-efficiency PHB production in Synechocystis salina M8 through sequential screening and optimization of bioprocess parameters","authors":"Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung , Ta Thi Minh Anh , Bui Thi Thu Uyen , Luu Thi Thu Ha , Dao Duy Khanh , Tran Dang Thuan , Tran Huu Quang , Phan Quang Thang","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110073","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110073","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production by cyanobacteria represents a promising pathway toward net-zero CO₂ emissions and circular bioeconomy. This study evaluated a newly isolated strain, <em>Synechocystis salina</em> M8, to determine how key environmental factors regulate biomass accumulation and PHB synthesis. Using a Plackett–Burman design, light intensity (4500–13,500 lux), pH (5–9), and temperature (25–35 °C) were identified as the most influential parameters for biomass growth, while PHB accumulation was significantly affected only by pH. A subsequent Box–Behnken optimization defined the conditions that maximized strain performance: a light intensity of 9773 lux, pH 8.07, and temperature 31.97 °C. Under these optimized conditions, <em>S. salina</em> M8 achieved a high dry biomass concentration of 2.73 g L⁻¹ , with PHB content reaching 21.41 % of dry biomass, reflecting efficient intracellular biopolymer accumulation alongside robust growth. Beyond PHB production, the strain displayed strong environmental functionality, exhibiting substantial inorganic carbon assimilation (3.06–4.06 %) and remarkable nutrient removal efficiencies for phosphate (94.2–99.8 %) and nitrate (87.3–96.1 %). These attributes highlight its suitability for integrated CO₂ sequestration and wastewater bioremediation. Overall, the results demonstrate that precise environmental tuning is crucial for optimizing both biomass productivity and PHB yield. This study provides a practical framework for scaling cyanobacterial cultivation toward sustainable PHB production, supporting broader applications in circular bioeconomy development and climate mitigation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110073"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-16DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2026.110083
Penaganti Praveen, Debabrata Mazumder
The rapid increase in plastic production has led to a corresponding rise in plastic pollution, posing significant environmental challenges. The management of mixed plastic waste, which typically requires complex separation processes, could be simplified by co-digesting plastic waste with organic waste, such as fruit and vegetable waste, in an anaerobic digester. While some studies have explored the anaerobic digestion of plastics, the biodegradation rates are typically low, rendering it an inefficient solution for large-scale plastic waste treatment. To address this limitation, this study investigates the potential of a two-stage anaerobic co-digestion process with an experimental period of 330 days, emphasizing the role of hydrolytic bacteria, which are crucial for virgin plastic beads and plastic waste degradation. Results showed a reduction in methane production, ranging from 10.1 % to 39.4 % in the co-digestion batch compared to the control batch. However, the biodegradation rates were significantly higher than those observed in previous anaerobic digestion studies of plastic waste. Notably, the highest biodegradation rate was observed for polyvinyl chloride waste (21.01 %), while the lowest was for high-density polyethylene beads (13.02 %). Further confirmation of these findings was provided by SEM and FTIR analyses, which revealed distinct signs of plastic biodegradation. Additionally, microbial community analysis and carbon mass balance calculations were performed, further validating the enhanced biodegradability in this two-stage anaerobic digestion system.
{"title":"Enhanced biodegradation of plastics through engineered two-stage anaerobic co-digestion: Integrating organic waste valorization","authors":"Penaganti Praveen, Debabrata Mazumder","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid increase in plastic production has led to a corresponding rise in plastic pollution, posing significant environmental challenges. The management of mixed plastic waste, which typically requires complex separation processes, could be simplified by co-digesting plastic waste with organic waste, such as fruit and vegetable waste, in an anaerobic digester. While some studies have explored the anaerobic digestion of plastics, the biodegradation rates are typically low, rendering it an inefficient solution for large-scale plastic waste treatment. To address this limitation, this study investigates the potential of a two-stage anaerobic co-digestion process with an experimental period of 330 days, emphasizing the role of hydrolytic bacteria, which are crucial for virgin plastic beads and plastic waste degradation. Results showed a reduction in methane production, ranging from 10.1 % to 39.4 % in the co-digestion batch compared to the control batch. However, the biodegradation rates were significantly higher than those observed in previous anaerobic digestion studies of plastic waste. Notably, the highest biodegradation rate was observed for polyvinyl chloride waste (21.01 %), while the lowest was for high-density polyethylene beads (13.02 %). Further confirmation of these findings was provided by SEM and FTIR analyses, which revealed distinct signs of plastic biodegradation. Additionally, microbial community analysis and carbon mass balance calculations were performed, further validating the enhanced biodegradability in this two-stage anaerobic digestion system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110083"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146035100","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2026.110078
Quanli Man, Linhao Kang, Hanjie Zu, Zhineng Wu, Xiaodong Ma
This study reports a novel petroleum-degrading strain of Staphylococcus sp. that addresses the challenges of high costs and low productivity in lipopeptide (LP) production. Strain DG-2 produces LP through solid-state fermentation using low-cost agricultural waste, specifically soybean meal. FTIR, HPLC-MS, and surface tension analyses confirmed the LP structure as CH3-(CH2)17-CHO-CH2-CO-Gly-Gly-Gly-Leu-Met-Leu-Leu, with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 160 mg/L, effectively reducing the surface tension to 26.9 mN/m while maintaining stability across a pH range of 8–12 and temperatures of 20–80°C. Under optimized SSF conditions (30°C, 6 d, 12.9 g soybean meal, 1.3 g/L MgSO4·7H2O, 0.38 g/L FeSO4), response surface methodology optimization achieved a remarkable LP concentration of 49.5 mg/g ds, representing a 25.8 % increase from initial conditions. Notably, DG-2 demonstrated 52.5 % degradation of C13-C26 alkanes and 71.1 % removal of 2–4 ring PAHs in crude oil. Under optimal washing conditions (0.2 g/L LP, water-soil ratio 10:1, 65°C, 60 min), a total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal of 53.0 % was achieved from heavily petroleum-contaminated soil (8.0 % TPH). These findings demonstrated that DG-2 is an exceptional candidate for petroleum bioremediation, offering both a high-performance microbial resource and an optimized low-cost production strategy with significant industrial potential.
{"title":"Low-cost solid-state fermentation of lipopeptides by Staphylococcus sp. DG-2 for petroleum-contaminated soil remediation","authors":"Quanli Man, Linhao Kang, Hanjie Zu, Zhineng Wu, Xiaodong Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study reports a novel petroleum-degrading strain of <em>Staphylococcus</em> sp. that addresses the challenges of high costs and low productivity in lipopeptide (LP) production. Strain DG-2 produces LP through solid-state fermentation using low-cost agricultural waste, specifically soybean meal. FTIR, HPLC-MS, and surface tension analyses confirmed the LP structure as CH<sub>3</sub>-(CH<sub>2</sub>)<sub>17</sub>-CHO-CH<sub>2</sub>-CO-Gly-Gly-Gly-Leu-Met-Leu-Leu, with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 160 mg/L, effectively reducing the surface tension to 26.9 mN/m while maintaining stability across a pH range of 8–12 and temperatures of 20–80°C. Under optimized SSF conditions (30°C, 6 d, 12.9 g soybean meal, 1.3 g/L MgSO<sub>4</sub>·7H<sub>2</sub>O, 0.38 g/L FeSO<sub>4</sub>), response surface methodology optimization achieved a remarkable LP concentration of 49.5 mg/g ds, representing a 25.8 % increase from initial conditions. Notably, DG-2 demonstrated 52.5 % degradation of C13-C26 alkanes and 71.1 % removal of 2–4 ring PAHs in crude oil. Under optimal washing conditions (0.2 g/L LP, water-soil ratio 10:1, 65°C, 60 min), a total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) removal of 53.0 % was achieved from heavily petroleum-contaminated soil (8.0 % TPH). These findings demonstrated that DG-2 is an exceptional candidate for petroleum bioremediation, offering both a high-performance microbial resource and an optimized low-cost production strategy with significant industrial potential.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110078"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923130","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2025.110070
Qian-Dong Qin , Jun-Cheng Han , Jin Cai , Tong Cai , Hao-Nan Xiao , Hou-Yun Yang , Kan Wang
To address the limited denitrification efficiency caused by low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio in municipal wastewater effluents, a mixotrophic denitrification reactor (PWSMDR) was constructed utilizing polycaprolactone/wheat straw composite (PWS) and sulfur as dual electron donors. Its performance was systematically compared with a heterotrophic denitrification reactor (PWHDR) employing PWS as the sole electron donor. The results demonstrated that PWSMDR achieved a high nitrate removal efficiency of approximately 99.2 % under a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 h, with a nitrate removal rate of 0.38 kg N/m3/d, representing an increase of nearly 23 % compared with PWHDR. Furthermore, PWSMDR exhibited enhanced resilience to shock loading. Autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification pathways in PWSMDR were responsible for 33.6–62.3 % and 37.7–66.4 % of the nitrate removal, respectively. High-throughput sequencing further revealed a significant enrichment of key autotrophic denitrifiers (e.g. Thiobacillus and Sulfurimonas) and heterotrophic denitrifiers (e.g. Thauera, Dechloromonas, and Diaphorobacter) in PWSMDR. The abundance of key functional genes involved in carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen transformations was enhanced in PWSMDR, promoting more efficient nitrate reduction to N2. Additionally, the effluent COD and TN in PWSMDR were maintained at approximately 14 mg/L and 0.95 mg/L, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the PWS–sulfur mixotrophic denitrification strategy not only ensures highly efficient and stable nitrogen removal, but also offers a cost-effective and sustainable engineering approach for municipal tailwater polishing.
{"title":"Coupled biodegradable polymer composite and sulfur-driven mixotrophic denitrification toward municipal tailwater polishing: Process performance and microbial synergism","authors":"Qian-Dong Qin , Jun-Cheng Han , Jin Cai , Tong Cai , Hao-Nan Xiao , Hou-Yun Yang , Kan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110070","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110070","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To address the limited denitrification efficiency caused by low carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio in municipal wastewater effluents, a mixotrophic denitrification reactor (PWSMDR) was constructed utilizing polycaprolactone/wheat straw composite (PWS) and sulfur as dual electron donors. Its performance was systematically compared with a heterotrophic denitrification reactor (PWHDR) employing PWS as the sole electron donor. The results demonstrated that PWSMDR achieved a high nitrate removal efficiency of approximately 99.2 % under a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 2 h, with a nitrate removal rate of 0.38 kg N/m<sup>3</sup>/d, representing an increase of nearly 23 % compared with PWHDR. Furthermore, PWSMDR exhibited enhanced resilience to shock loading. Autotrophic and heterotrophic denitrification pathways in PWSMDR were responsible for 33.6–62.3 % and 37.7–66.4 % of the nitrate removal, respectively. High-throughput sequencing further revealed a significant enrichment of key autotrophic denitrifiers (e.g. <em>Thiobacillus</em> and <em>Sulfurimonas</em>) and heterotrophic denitrifiers (e.g. <em>Thauera</em>, <em>Dechloromonas</em>, and <em>Diaphorobacter</em>) in PWSMDR. The abundance of key functional genes involved in carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen transformations was enhanced in PWSMDR, promoting more efficient nitrate reduction to N<sub>2</sub>. Additionally, the effluent COD and TN in PWSMDR were maintained at approximately 14 mg/L and 0.95 mg/L, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the PWS–sulfur mixotrophic denitrification strategy not only ensures highly efficient and stable nitrogen removal, but also offers a cost-effective and sustainable engineering approach for municipal tailwater polishing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110070"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923136","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2026.110072
Sneha Banerjee, Anna Mariya, Sreeja Vangapally, Bhaskar Paidimuddala
Nanobody-Drug Conjugates (NDCs) represent a rapidly emerging class of targeted therapeutics that merge the precision of nanobodies with the potency of cytotoxic or functional drug payloads. Unlike traditional Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), NDCs offer superior advantages, such as improved tissue penetration, faster systemic clearance, and compatibility with modular engineering platforms. Despite these promising features, NDCs remain understated in clinical pipelines, emphasizing the need for integrated insights into their therapeutic development. This review provides an inclusive analysis of structural and functional optimization strategies for NDCs, including nanobody selection, site-specific conjugation chemistries, linker design, and payload engineering to enhance intracellular delivery and therapeutic index. This review also highlights unresolved challenges, including maintaining the biochemical stability of linkers under physiological conditions, the structural and functional integration of diverse drug payloads with nanobody scaffolds, and limited mechanistic insights into nanobody pharmacodynamics and fate following intracellular drug release. Furthermore, this review discusses the recent advancements in both preclinical models and early clinical investigations, with a focus on the expanding therapeutic utility of NDCs in oncology, infectious diseases, and molecular imaging applications to accelerate the clinical viability of NDCs as next-generation biologics.
{"title":"Nanobody-drug conjugates as versatile tools for improving therapeutic potential","authors":"Sneha Banerjee, Anna Mariya, Sreeja Vangapally, Bhaskar Paidimuddala","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110072","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2026.110072","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanobody-Drug Conjugates (NDCs) represent a rapidly emerging class of targeted therapeutics that merge the precision of nanobodies with the potency of cytotoxic or functional drug payloads. Unlike traditional Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), NDCs offer superior advantages, such as improved tissue penetration, faster systemic clearance, and compatibility with modular engineering platforms. Despite these promising features, NDCs remain understated in clinical pipelines, emphasizing the need for integrated insights into their therapeutic development. This review provides an inclusive analysis of structural and functional optimization strategies for NDCs, including nanobody selection, site-specific conjugation chemistries, linker design, and payload engineering to enhance intracellular delivery and therapeutic index. This review also highlights unresolved challenges, including maintaining the biochemical stability of linkers under physiological conditions, the structural and functional integration of diverse drug payloads with nanobody scaffolds, and limited mechanistic insights into nanobody pharmacodynamics and fate following intracellular drug release. Furthermore, this review discusses the recent advancements in both preclinical models and early clinical investigations, with a focus on the expanding therapeutic utility of NDCs in oncology, infectious diseases, and molecular imaging applications to accelerate the clinical viability of NDCs as next-generation biologics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"228 ","pages":"Article 110072"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145923137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been making a significant impact on the fields of regenerative medicine and cell biology. Several cell-freezing media for dispersed single-cell iPSCs are already commercially available. However, cryopreservation techniques for iPSCs cultured in 2D and 3D formats remain to be established. In this study, we developed a xeno-free cell-freezing medium containing D-proline and a synthetic block copolymer composed of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEGMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), designated PDEGMA-b-PMPC-b-PDEGMA, that enables the cryopreservation of iPSCs cultured in 2D on microplates without detachment of the cells. Prior to cryopreservation, 2D-cultured iPSCs were treated with TrypLE Select Enzyme to weaken their adhesion to the microplate surfaces. Subsequently, the cells were cryopreserved in the cell-freezing medium containing D-proline and PDEGMA-b-PMPC-b-PDEGMA at −80°C for 2 days. At 48 h after thawing, the cell recovery (cell viability) was at least 70 % relative to the cell viability before freezing, while the cell recovery with commercially available media was 1.2 % at most. The most effective composition of the cell-freezing medium was 10 vol% DMSO, 5 vol% Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium, 85 vol% water, 1 % (w/v) PDEGMA-b-PMPC-b-PDEGMA, 2 % (w/v) D-proline, and 0.35 % (w/v) NaCl. The cell recovery value remained stable after 3 months of cryopreservation. Most importantly, the iPSCs maintained their pluripotency after cryopreservation in the newly developed cell-freezing medium.
{"title":"Ready-to-use cryopreservation of undifferentiated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) without detachment from culture plates using D-proline and a synthetic polymer","authors":"Kenta Morita , Shinya Kawasaki , Tomoko Yashiro , Ryoko Futai , Chanhyon Kin , Aito Nakahashi , Hikaru Amo , Yukiya Kitayama , Takashi Aoi , Michiyo Koyanagi-Aoi , Tatsuo Maruyama","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110041","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been making a significant impact on the fields of regenerative medicine and cell biology. Several cell-freezing media for dispersed single-cell iPSCs are already commercially available. However, cryopreservation techniques for iPSCs cultured in 2D and 3D formats remain to be established. In this study, we developed a xeno-free cell-freezing medium containing <span>D</span>-proline and a synthetic block copolymer composed of 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEGMA) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC), designated PDEGMA-<em>b</em>-PMPC-<em>b</em>-PDEGMA, that enables the cryopreservation of iPSCs cultured in 2D on microplates without detachment of the cells. Prior to cryopreservation, 2D-cultured iPSCs were treated with TrypLE Select Enzyme to weaken their adhesion to the microplate surfaces. Subsequently, the cells were cryopreserved in the cell-freezing medium containing <span>D</span>-proline and PDEGMA-<em>b</em>-PMPC-<em>b</em>-PDEGMA at −80°C for 2 days. At 48 h after thawing, the cell recovery (cell viability) was at least 70 % relative to the cell viability before freezing, while the cell recovery with commercially available media was 1.2 % at most. The most effective composition of the cell-freezing medium was 10 vol% DMSO, 5 vol% Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium, 85 vol% water, 1 % (w/v) PDEGMA-<em>b</em>-PMPC-<em>b</em>-PDEGMA, 2 % (w/v) <span>D</span>-proline, and 0.35 % (w/v) NaCl. The cell recovery value remained stable after 3 months of cryopreservation. Most importantly, the iPSCs maintained their pluripotency after cryopreservation in the newly developed cell-freezing medium.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 110041"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-11-24DOI: 10.1016/j.bej.2025.110015
Xiaoxin Du , Lisen Yang , Bo Wang , Guangda Zhang
A growing number of studies have demonstrated that many complex human diseases are closely associated with microbial communities. Therefore, identifying potential microbe-disease associations is of great significance for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. However, traditional biomedical experiments are often costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. To address these challenges, we propose a novel computational model (HWP-SMFDCFL), for microbe-disease association prediction. Specifically, we introduce a new similarity matrix fusion algorithm (SMF) to integrate microbe and disease similarities. Second, a high-order weighted perturbation (HWP) technique is designed to dynamically assign weights to associations of different orders, thereby fully capturing high-order relational information. On this basis, a dual-path matrix factorization (DPMF) method is employed to reconstruct both original and high-order association matrices and extract low-dimensional linear features. Furthermore, by integrating hypergraph convolution and multilayer perceptron into dual-channel feature learning module (DCFL), the model captures nonlinear relationships in the microbe-disease similarity network at multiple levels, thus enhancing feature representation. Finally, Deep neural network (DNN) combined with Heterogeneous Newton boosting machine (HNBoost) is used to make the final predictions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms six state-of-the-art prediction methods. Ablation Experiments and case study further validate its effectiveness and reliability. HWP-SMFDCFL is publicly available at https://github.com/senliyang/HWP-SMFDCFL.
{"title":"Inferring microbe–disease association via higher-order weighted perturbation and dual-channel feature learning based on similarity matrix fusion","authors":"Xiaoxin Du , Lisen Yang , Bo Wang , Guangda Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bej.2025.110015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A growing number of studies have demonstrated that many complex human diseases are closely associated with microbial communities. Therefore, identifying potential microbe-disease associations is of great significance for disease diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. However, traditional biomedical experiments are often costly, time-consuming, and labor-intensive. To address these challenges, we propose a novel computational model (HWP-SMFDCFL), for microbe-disease association prediction. Specifically, we introduce a new similarity matrix fusion algorithm (SMF) to integrate microbe and disease similarities. Second, a high-order weighted perturbation (HWP) technique is designed to dynamically assign weights to associations of different orders, thereby fully capturing high-order relational information. On this basis, a dual-path matrix factorization (DPMF) method is employed to reconstruct both original and high-order association matrices and extract low-dimensional linear features. Furthermore, by integrating hypergraph convolution and multilayer perceptron into dual-channel feature learning module (DCFL), the model captures nonlinear relationships in the microbe-disease similarity network at multiple levels, thus enhancing feature representation. Finally, Deep neural network (DNN) combined with Heterogeneous Newton boosting machine (HNBoost) is used to make the final predictions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms six state-of-the-art prediction methods. Ablation Experiments and case study further validate its effectiveness and reliability. HWP-SMFDCFL is publicly available at <span><span>https://github.com/senliyang/HWP-SMFDCFL</span><svg><path></path></svg></span>.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8766,"journal":{"name":"Biochemical Engineering Journal","volume":"227 ","pages":"Article 110015"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145617519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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