Tiny Beads Preserve Enzymes for Biocatalysis

Increased the stability of the enzymes under plasma treatment up to a factor of 44

23-Nov-2023 - Plasmas can provide the co-substrate needed for biocatalysis of valuable substances, but are also harmful to enzymes. By attaching enzymes to small beads the enzymes are protected and remain active up to 44 times longer. Some enzymes, such as the one derived from fungi and investigated in this ...

Innovative technologies remove pharmaceutical residues from wastewater

21-Mar-2023 - Every year on 22 March, World Water Day reminds us of the importance of one of the most important resources of life. Almost two-thirds of our planet is covered with water, but not even three percent is drinkable freshwater. Every day, large quantities of chemicals enter our waters and endanger ...

Cold physical plasma kills corona viruses

The new method promises innovative therapies for the corona pandemic and other infectious diseases

07-Sep-2022 - A Greifswald research team from the Centre of Excellence ZIK plasmatis at the Leibniz Institute for Plasma Science and Technology e.V. (INP) was able to demonstrate for the first time in laboratory experiments the inactivation of corona viruses by physical plasma. The new method promises ...

Consumption of extra virgin olive oil during pregnancy increases the level of antioxidants in breast milk and in offspring

13-Jul-2022 - The consumption of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) —a product with widely known benefits for our health— increases the level of phenolic compounds in breast milk and can cross the placental barrier, reaching the descendant. This has been stated in a study carried out by a team of the Faculty of ...

Two tricks for biocatalysis

Plasmas usually have a destructive effect on enzymes - But in this instance, they supply them with a building block for biocatalysis at the push of a button

25-Jun-2021 - Enzymes can do a good job as catalysts – they can, for example, synthesise a specific product, but not its mirror image, which has to be laboriously separated in other processes. However, they are sensitive and are sometimes inactivated by the substrate they convert. Using plasma, the team of ...

How bacteria protect themselves from plasma treatment

21-Jun-2019 - Plasmas are applied in the treatment of wounds to combat pathogens that are resistant against antibiotics. But bacteria know how to defend themselves. Considering the ever-growing percentage of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, interest in medical use of plasma is increasing. In ...

Precisely fitting bone implants from the printer

07-Dec-2018 - Cancerous tumors, infections or bad fractures can make it necessary to surgically remove bones and insert implants in their place. In collaboration with European partners, Fraunhofer researchers have now developed a technique with which bone implants that are precisely fitting, stable and ...

A lipid’s role in cell division

14-Nov-2017 - Proper cell division is a basic process critical to cell survival. A ring composed of actin filaments and myosin motor proteins pinches the cell apart, producing two daughter cells with equal amounts of cellular components. Kathleen Gould , Ph.D., and colleagues characterized how this powerful ...

Anti-tumor effect of novel plasma medicine caused by lactate

16-Dec-2016 - Physical plasma is one of the four fundamental states of matter, together with solid, liquid, and gas, and can be completely or partially ionized (thermal/hot or non-thermal/cold plasma, respectively). Non-thermal plasma has many industrial applications, but plasma medicine is a new field of ...

The fourth state of matter, plasma: A technology to improve bone healing?

15-Aug-2016 - Cold plasma looks like the glow from the "Star Wars" blue light saber but this beam of energy, made of electrons that change polarity at micro-second or nanosecond speeds, could help bones heal faster, according to a study. Most people interact with plasma every day. It's in our TVs, fluorescent ...