‘Super melanin’ heals skin injuries from sunburn, chemical burns

Synthetic cream also protects skin from sun damage

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

 

VIDEO: 

B-ROLL FROM THE CHEMISTRY LAB OF STUDY AUTHOR NATHAN GIANNESCHI.

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CREDIT: NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSI

• 
  
• Cream is non-toxic and clear when rubbed on skin
• Applied after damage has occurred, cream accelerates healing of the skin
• ‘You are protecting the skin and repairing it simultaneously. It’s continuous repair.’
• Cream is biomimetic, biocompatible, biodegradable

CHICAGO --- Imagine a skin cream that heals damage occurring throughout the day when your skin is exposed to sunlight or environmental toxins. That’s the potential of a synthetic, biomimetic melanin developed by scientists at Northwestern University. 

In a new study, the scientists show that their synthetic melanin, mimicking the natural melanin in human skin, can be applied topically to injured skin, where it accelerates wound healing. These effects occur both in the skin itself and systemically in the body. 

When applied in a cream, the synthetic melanin can protect skin from sun exposure and heals skin injured by sun damage or chemical burns, the scientists said. The technology works by scavenging free radicals, which are produced by injured skin such as a sunburn. Left unchecked, free radical activity damages cells and ultimately may result in skin aging and skin cancer. 

The study will be published Nov. 2 in Nature npj Regenerative Medicine.

Melanin in humans and animals provides pigmentation to the skin, eyes and hair. The substance protects your cells from sun damage with increased pigmentation in response to sunlight — a process commonly referred to as tanning. That same pigment in your skin also naturally scavenges free radicals in response to damaging environmental pollution from industrial sources and automobile exhaust fumes.

“People don’t think of their everyday life as an injury to their skin,” said co-corresponding author Dr. Kurt Lu, the Eugene and Gloria Bauer Professor of Dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a Northwestern Medicine dermatologist. “If you walk barefaced every day in the sun, you suffer a low-grade, constant bombardment of ultraviolet light. This is worsened during peak mid-day hours and the summer season. We know sun-exposed skin ages versus skin protected by clothing, which doesn’t show age nearly as much.”

The skin also ages due to chronological aging and external environmental factors, including environmental pollution. 

“All those insults to the skin lead to free radicals which cause inflammation and break down the collagen,” Lu said. “That’s one of the reasons older skin looks very different from younger skin.”

When the scientists created the synthetic melanin engineered nanoparticles, they modified the melanin structure to have higher free radical scavenging capacity.

“The synthetic melanin is capable of scavenging more radicals per gram compared to human melanin,” said co-corresponding author Nathan Gianneschi, the Jacob and Rosaline Cohn Professor of Chemistry, Materials Science & Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology at Northwestern. “It’s like super melanin. It’s biocompatible, degradable,nontoxic and clear when rubbed onto the skin. In our studies, it acts as an efficient sponge, removing damaging factors and protecting the skin.”

Once applied to the skin, the melanin sits on the surface and is not absorbed into the layers below. 

“The synthetic melanin stabilizes and sets the skin on a healing pathway, which we see in both the top layers and throughout the body,” Gianneschi said.

Pivoting to a new theory

The scientists, who have been studying melanin for nearly 10 years, first tested their synthetic melanin as a sunscreen.

“It protected the skin and skin cells from damage,” Gianneschi said. “Next, we wondered if the synthetic melanin, which functions primarily to soak up radicals, could be applied topically after a skin injury and have a healing effect on the skin? It turns out to work exactly that way.”

Lu envisions the synthetic melanin cream being used as a sunscreen booster for added protection and as an enhancer in moisturizer to promote skin repair. 

“You could put it on before you go out in the sun and after you have been in the sun,” Lu said. “In both cases, we showed reduction in skin damage and inflammation. You are protecting the skin and repairing it simultaneously. It’s continuous repair.”

The cream could also potentially be used for blisters and open sores, Lu said.

Topical cream quiets immune system

Gianneschi and Lu discovered that the synthetic melanin cream, by soaking up the free radicals after an injury, quieted the immune system. The stratum corneum, the outer layer of mature skin cells, communicates with the epidermis below. It is the surface layer, receiving signals from the body and from the outside world. By calming the destructive inflammation at that surface, the body can begin healing instead of becoming even more inflamed. 

“The epidermis and the upper layers are in communication with the entire body,” Lu said. “This means that stabilizing those upper layers can lead to a process of active healing.” 

How the experiment worked 

The scientists used a chemical to create a blistering reaction to a human skin tissue sample in a dish. The blistering appeared as a separation of the upper layers of the skin from each other.

“It was very inflamed, like a poison ivy reaction,” Lu said. 

They waited a few hours, then applied their topical melanin cream to the injured skin. Within the first few days, the cream facilitated an immune response by initially helping the skin’s own radical scavenging enzymes to recover, then by halting the production of inflammatory proteins. This initiated a cascade of responses in which they observed greatly increased rates of healing. This included the preservation of healthy skin layers underneath. In samples that did not have the melanin cream treatment, the blistering persisted. 

“The treatment has the effect of setting the skin on a cycle of healing and repair, orchestrated by the immune system,” Lu said. 

Melanin could protect people from toxins including nerve gas

Gianneschi and Lu are studying melanin as part of research programs funded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This has included looking at melanin as a dye for clothing that would also act as an absorbent for toxins in the environment, particularly nerve gas. They showed they could dye a military uniform black with the melanin, and that it would absorb the nerve gas. 

Melanin also absorbs heavy metals and toxins. “Although it can act this way naturally, we have engineered it to optimize absorption of these toxic molecules with our synthetic version,” Gianneschi said.  

The scientists are pursuing clinical translation and trials testing for efficacy of the synthetic melanin cream. In an initial step, the scientists recently completed a trial showing that the synthetic melanins are non-irritating to human skin.

Given their observation that melanin protects biologic tissue from high energy radiation, they surmise that this could be an effective treatment for skin burns from radiation exposure.

The promising work may well provide treatment options for cancer patients in the future, undergoing radiation therapy. 

The paper is titled: “Topical Application of Synthetic Melanin Promotes Tissue Repair.”

Other Northwestern authors include: Dauren Biyashev, Zofia Siwicka, Ummiye Onay, Michael Demczuk, Madison Ernst, Spencer Evans, Cuong Nguyen, Florencia Son, Navjit Paul, Naneki McCallum, Omar Farha, Stephen Miller and Dan Xu.

The research was supported by grant U54 AR079795 from the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, of NIH and grant FA9550-18-1-0142 from the DOD.

Dermatology lab b-roll [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases

B-roll of co-corresponding aut [VIDEO] | EurekAlert! Science News Releases

Inflamed skin shows free radicals (green) within the skin. ROS are "reactive oxygen species," or free radicals.

The synthetic melanin is being applied to inflamed skin. Just under the surface of the skin are green free radicals, also known as ROS, or "reactive oxygen species."

Illustration of a layer of the synthetic melanin sits on top of inflamed skin. Just under the surface of the skin are green free radicals, also known as ROS, or "reactive oxygen species."

The skin, after being treated with the synthetic melanin, is now recovered. inflamed skin.

CREDIT

Yu Chen, Northwestern University

JOURNAL

npj Regenerative Medicine

ARTICLE TITLE

Topical Application of Synthetic Melanin Promotes Tissue Repair

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2023

 

Sight loss in working-age people is under-researched

New study reveals knowledge gaps for conditions that affect 18-64-year-olds in UK

Peer-Reviewed Publication

ANGLIA RUSKIN UNIVERSITY

A new study has highlighted a lack of clinical research to address the leading causes of severe sight impairment (SSI) among the working-age UK population, which costs the UK economy an estimated £7.4bn annually.

 

The study, carried out by researchers from Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Oxford, examined how clinical studies align with the causes of SSI, among both the general and working populations.

 

Researchers found that eye conditions causing the most SSI certifications in working-age (aged 16-64) individuals are less clinically researched compared to those in the general population.

 

Inherited retinal disorders (IRDs), which cause sight loss in approximately 1 in 2,000 people, was identified as a critical area for further clinical research. Despite being the leading cause of SSI in the working population, the number of registered clinical studies on IRDs lags behind other conditions.

 

The research also highlights the need for increased focus on disorders of the visual cortex and congenital anomalies of the eye, which are leading causes of visual impairment in children and working-age individuals.

 

Lead author Dr Jasleen Jolly, Associate Professor within the Vision and Eye Research Institute (VERI) at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Our research found that degeneration of the macula and posterior pole is the leading cause of SSI certification in the general population and is the subject of the most research activity. However, hereditary retinal disorders are the predominant cause of SSI certifications in the working-age population, yet the number of clinical studies focusing on this group of conditions is substantially smaller than those on macular degeneration.

 

“These findings emphasise the need to understand and address not only the leading causes of sight loss in the UK population as a whole, but also to prioritise conditions that severely impact working-age individuals to reduce the health and socioeconomic impacts of sight loss.”

 

The research was published in the journal Clinical Ophthalmology. The full, open-access study can be read here.

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JOURNAL

Clinical Ophthalmology

DOI

10.2147/OPTH.S417773 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Literature review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Clinical Research on the Leading Causes of Severe Sight Impairment in the UK General and Working Populations

Highly strong and tough silk by feeding silkworms with rare earth ion-modified diets

Peer-Reviewed Publication

SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

 

IMAGE: 

ON THE ABOVE, THE RARE EARTH SOLUTION WAS SPRAYED ON MULBERRY, WHICH WAS FED TO SILKWORM TO SPUN REINFORCED SILK FIBERS. ON THE BELOW, IT ILLUSTRATES THE ION−DIPOLE AND CATION−Π INTERACTION BETWEEN RARE EARTH IONS AND SILK.

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CREDIT: ©SCIENCE CHINA PRESS

This study is led by Dr. Yingying Zhang (Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University). The team devised a scheme utilizing silkworms to produce highly strong and tough silk through feeding them with rare earth ion-modified diets. The rare earth ions can be incorporated into silk fibroin through feeding. And the incorporated ions are capable of forming ion-dipole and cation-π interactions with silk fibroin (see below). These interactions are promising to tune the structures of silk to enhance its mechanical performance.

Spectra analysis confirmed the successful incorporation of rare earth ions into silk fibers, and their chemical interactions. Morphological and structural analysis demonstrated that rare earth ions reduced the diameter of silkworm silk fibers, increased the amorphous component content and crystalline orientation.

These chemical interactions and structural evolutions contributed to the mechanical improvement of silk fibers. The average values for tensile strength, Young's modulus, and toughness reached 0.85 ± 0.07 GPa, 18.0 ± 1.5 GPa, and 156 ± 13 MJ m−3, respectively, and maximum values reached 0.97 ± 0.04 GPa, 19.0 ± 1.5 GPa, and 188 ± 19 MJ m−3. The comprehensive mechanical performance of this silk is comparable to spider dragline silk, and superior to that of silk modified by other functional materials (see below).

This work provides a simple, efficient, and scalable strategy to prepare super strong and tough silkworm silk fibers. And the as-obtained silk fiber are potential candidates for individual sports, medical treatment, and aerospace.

See the article:

Highly strong and tough silk by feeding silkworms with rare earth ion-modified diets

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.032

On the above, the strength, modulus, and toughness increased with the mass ration of rare earth ions. On the below, the comprehensive mechanical performance of rare earth ion-modified silk is superior to that of silk modified by other functional materials.

CREDIT

©Science China Press

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JOURNAL

Science Bulletin

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2023.09.032 

Buzz around new centralized pollination portal for better global bee data

Peer-Reviewed Publication

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

THE BEAUTIFUL AND BEARDED TRICHOCOLLETES BURNSI IS AN AUSTRALIAN NATIVE BEE THAT IS THREATENED BY CHANGING FIRE REGIMES, ESPECIALLY FOLLOWING THE 2019–20 BLACK SUMMER BUSHFIRES. (COPYRIGHT James Dorey Photography)

 

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CREDIT: JAMES DOREY (FLINDERS UNIVERSITY) & JAMES DOREY PHOTOGRAPHY

A powerful new way to fill major gaps in public bee data – including from Africa, Asia and other under-reported zones – has been addressed with a centralised tool for consolidating bee pollinator occurrences around the globe.

Called BeeBCD, the package outlined in a new Nature journal article, brings together more than 18 million bee occurrence records from multiple public and private databases to improve accuracy and accessibility of species data from around the world for future conservation, research and farming management.

The rationalised bee occurrence datasets will help support future plant and crop production – as well as for important scientific communications, says lead author, Flinders University bee expert Dr James Dorey, in a new article in Scientific Data, a Nature Research journal.

The new BeeBDC (Dorey et al, 2023) package complements and links to the existing bdc (Ribeiro et al. 2022) and CoordinateCleaner (Zizka et al. 2019) as a new ‘arsenal’ for entomologists and other experts to quickly and reliably mobilise occurrence datasets, he says.

“Simplifying the workflow to use global bee occurrence data has been a big task – and will be foundational for biodiversity analysis, particularly with climate change, land clearance and pollution leading to rising extinction rates, crop failure and loss of native plant diversity.

“With mounting pressures on pollinating insects and other animals, we hope this ‘democratisation’ of a consistent reference point for species occurrence data will be an example for other such projects to follow.

“We already have researchers around the world using BeeBDC and the database to examine important continental and clade-wide questions connected to bee-plant and bee-environment interactions, impacts of invasive species, and broad bee ecology and evolution.”

“The project has already shown that regions with potentially high bee species diversities, such as Asia and Africa, are very under-represented in the data collection, so this central portal could inspire more reporting from these important and under-funded regions into the future.”

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says native plants as well as more than 100 food crops valued at $US18bn grown in the United States depend on pollination, including from more than 4000 species of wild bees. As well as honeybees, the department notes many environmental stressors on both native and managed pollinators including clean air and water, other habitat changes, pesticides and climate change.

Senior author Dr Neil Cobb, Director of the US not-for-profit Biodiversity Outreach Network and lead principal investigator of the iDigBees.org project funded by the National Science Foundation, says BeeBDC provides “a significant contribution to address the ‘Wallacean Shortfall,’ by simply documenting where the 20,000+ species of bees occur “so we can begin to understand their evolutionary biogeography and better inform conservation efforts”.

“These services, and many organisations, are helping to bring together science, researchers and the general public,” Dr Cobb says. “We need to widen and increase our collective efforts to reduce the impacts of human activities on our environments to improve outcomes for communities around the world.” 

Authors of the article in Scientific Data hope the new model will enable The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Wild Bee Specialist Groups to “spring into the task of assessing and conserving the world’s bee diversity’”.

“The BeeBDC project was inspired by wanting to allow anyone to safely access and use these critical pieces of information, and not just ‘mega labs’ at wealthy institutions,” adds Dr Dorey.

“Creating this treasure trove of easy-to-access, audited information will now inspire new research into important fields of discovery and encourage better public outreach materials,” he says, also acknowledging community science data in iNaturalist and data aggregators such as the Symbiota Collection of Arthropod Network (SCAN) and Global Biodiversity Information Facility which also encourage understanding of the natural world around us.

The article – A globally synthesised and flagged bee occurrence dataset and cleaning workflow (2023) by James B Dorey, Erica E Fischer, Paige R Chesshire, Angela Nava Bolaños, Robert L O’Reilly, Silas Bossert, Shannon M Collins, Elinor M Lichtenberg, Erika M Tucker, Allan Smith-Pardo, Armando Falcon-Brandis, Diego A Guevara, Bruno Ribeiro, Deigo de Pedro, John Pickering, Ken-Lou James Hung, Katherine A Parys, Lindsie M McCabe, Matthew S Rogan, Robert L Minckley, Santiago JE Velazco, Terry Griswold, Tracy A Zarrillo, Walter Jetz, Janina V Sica, Michael C Orr, Laura M Guzman, John S Ascher, Alice C Hughes and Neil S Cobb, will be published in Scientific Data (Nature)  2 November 2023 DOI:10.1038/s41597-023-02626-w.

The database project involved experts from King’s College London, North Arizona University, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Washington State University, Smithsonian Institution, University of North Texas, Arizona and California government agencies, University of Kentucky, Universidad Nacional Colombia, Universidade Federal de Goiás (Brazil), Baja California Ensenada Centre for Scientific Research, Discover Centre US, University of Oklahoma, USDA ARS Pollinator Research Units, Yale University, University of Rochester, Universidad Nacional de Misiones (Argentina), Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart. Chinese Academy of Sciences (Beijing), National University of Singapore and University of Hong Kong.  

Acknowledgements: The research received support and funding from multiple organisations including the data providers, Biodiversity Outreach Network, US government, private scholarships and associated universities. 

Captions: Courtesy James Dorey Photography (JamesDoreyPhotography.com.au) and Prof Michael Orr Please credit with this release

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IqzeUIMNhCqZJ-jAsNW7A5pIBg3zugv-?usp=sharing

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JOUR

Xylocopa (IMAGE)

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

Xylocopa (Lestis) aerata, male - copyright James Dorey Photography: This big and iconic Australian native bee is threatened by habitat destruction and altered fire regimes.

CREDIT

Courtesy James Dorey (Flinders University) & James Dorey PhotographyNAL

Scientific Data

DOI

10.1038/s41597-023-02626-w 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Animals

ARTICLE TITLE

A globally synthesised and flagged bee occurrence dataset and cleaning workflow

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2023

 

What a “2D” quantum superfluid feels like to the touch

Peer-Reviewed Publication

LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

THE EXPERIMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT AT ABOUT A 10000TH OF A DEGREE ABOVE ABSOLUTE ZERO IN A SPECIAL REFRIGERATOR AND MADE USE OF MECHANICAL RESONATOR THE SIZE OF A FINGER TO PROBE THE VERY COLD SUPERFLUID; DR SAMULI AUTTI (RIGHT) AT LANCASTER UNIVERSITY

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CREDIT: MIKE THOMPSON

Researchers from Lancaster University in the UK have discovered how superfluid helium 3He would feel if you could put your hand into it.

The interface between the exotic world of quantum physics and classical physics of the human experience is one of the major open problems in modern physics.

Dr Samuli Autti is the lead author of the research published in Nature Communications.

Dr Autti said: “In practical terms, we don’t know the answer to the question ‘how does it feel to touch quantum physics?’

“These experimental conditions are extreme and the techniques complicated, but I can now tell you how it would feel if you could put your hand into this quantum system.

“Nobody has been able to answer this question during the 100-year history of quantum physics. We now show that, at least in superfluid 3He, this question can be answered.”

The experiments were carried out at about a 10000th of a degree above absolute zero in a special refrigerator and made use of mechanical resonator the size of a finger to probe the very cold superfluid. 

When stirred with a rod, superfluid 3He carries the generated heat away along the surfaces of the container. The bulk of the superfluid behaves like a vacuum and remains entirely passive.

Dr Autti said: “This liquid would feel two-dimensional if you could stick your finger into it. The bulk of the superfluid feels empty, while heat flows in a two-dimensional subsystem along the edges of the bulk - in other words, along your finger.”

The researchers conclude that the bulk of superfluid 3He is wrapped by an independent two-dimensional superfluid that interacts with mechanical probes instead of the bulk superfluid, only providing access to the bulk superfluid if given a sudden burst of energy.

That is, superfluid 3He at the lowest temperatures and applied energies is thermo-mechanically two dimensional.

“This also redefines our understanding of superfluid 3He. For the scientist, that may be even more influential than hands-in quantum physics.”

Superfluid 3He is one of the most versatile macroscopic quantum systems in the laboratory. It often influences seemingly distant fields such as particle physics (for example the Higgs mechanism), cosmology (Kibble mechanism), and quantum information processing (time crystals).

A redefinition of its basic structure may therefore have far-reaching consequences.

 

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JOURNAL

Nature Communications

DOI

10.48550/arXiv.2303.16518 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Transport of bound quasiparticle states in a two-dimensional boundary superfluid

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

2-Nov-2023

 

New study reveals overlooked driver of biodiversity across landscapes: conditions during plant establishment

In a new study published in Ecology, Holden researcher Katie Stuble and colleagues use restored grassland experiments to demonstrate how planting conditions impact diversity, but only for certain community types

Peer-Reviewed Publication

HOLDEN FORESTS & GARDENS

 

IMAGE: 

RESEARCHERS ESTABLISHED A SERIES OF WHAT THEY CALL “GRASSLAND MESOCOSMS” — THINK MINIATURE ECOSYSTEMS — OF NATIVE PERENNIALS OR NON-NATIVE ANNUALS IN MULTIPLE YEARS AT SITES LIKE THE ABOVE. THEY LEARNED THAT PERENNIALS, BUT NOT ANNUALS, ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO ESTABLISHMENT-YEAR CONDITIONS, WHICH IN TURN INCREASED BIODIVERSITY ACROSS THE LANDSCAPE.

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CREDIT: KATIE STUBLE, HOLDEN ARBORETUM

How can so many different species coexist in an ecosystem? In a new study published in Ecology, researchers from Holden Forests & Gardens, the University of California, Davis, and Southern Oregon University reveal an under-appreciated driver of diversity across landscapes: the conditions during plant establishment, or year effects. The results have important implications for our understanding of biodiversity patterns and for the management of restoration efforts.

Researchers have known for a number of years that a planted community, like a restored grassland, can be highly impacted by the specific conditions that occur during planting. Conditions like rainfall, temperature, how hungry the local rodents are for seeds that season, and more can not only alter which plants grow in the first year, but also have lasting effects on what species persist and thrive in that place. 

“Time is really an underappreciated factor in ecology,” says Katie Stuble, scientist at Holden Forests & Gardens. “We assume that ecological factors such as biodiversity and community composition will vary from site to site, but tend not to give equal consideration to how variation in conditions across time has the potential to shape communities.”

Previous studies focused on how year of establishment might affect ecosystems on a local scale. However, until now, it was unknown how these effects would scale up to influence the patterns of biodiversity across a landscape. 

To address this gap, the researchers established a series of what they call “grassland mesocosms” — think miniature ecosystems — at three different sites over a five-year period. Each mesocosm was planted with plant species that were either native perennials (species that live for multiple years) or non-native annuals (species that live only one year), with the planting methods and species otherwise held constant year over year. The researchers then monitored the mesocosms for four to eight years to see how the year of establishment and the site location influenced the composition and diversity of the plant communities.

They found that the perennial species responded to planting year conditions, meaning planting the same mix of perennials, even at the same site, resulted in different plant communities depending on the year. That means planting the same mix in different different years actually increased the diversity of the landscape as a whole.

But for annual species, the trends flipped. Annual communities looked different at different sites, presumably due to different local conditions like soils, but within sites, planting year effects were a wash. 

The findings have important implications for our understanding of the drivers of biodiversity. They show that the way in which plant communities are established and the timing of establishment can have a major impact on the patterns of biodiversity across a landscape. This is especially true in systems dominated by perennial species, where the year of establishment can influence the diversity of plant communities for many years to come.

“It’s been really interesting to see how timing can shape communities, and ultimately increase biodiversity across the landscape,” says Stuble.

By understanding the importance of year effects on plant communities, land managers can better design and implement restoration projects to promote diversity and long-term resilience. For example, they can consider planting in different years, or establishing mesocosms at different sites, to promote a greater diversity of plant communities across a landscape. By improving our understanding of the key drivers of biodiversity, this study provides valuable insights for managing restoration efforts and promoting diverse ecosystems.

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Citation: Werner, Chayya et al. “Year effects drive beta diversity, but unevenly across plant community types.” Ecology.

About Holden Forests & Gardens: Holden Forests & Gardens is made up of two of Northeast Ohio’s most important environmental and cultural institutions — the Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden — whose mission is to connect people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities. One of the largest public gardens in the country, Holden Forests & Gardens has 18,000 member households and an annual attendance of nearly 350,000 for whom we strive to provide inspirational and educational visitor experiences. For more information, visit holdenfg.org.

JOURNAL

Ecology

DOI

10.1002/ecy.4188 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Year effects drive beta diversity, but unevenly across plant community types

 

Self-powered microbial fuel cell biosensor for monitoring organic freshwater pollution

Ritsumeikan University researchers designed a low-cost biosensor for assessing water quality at the input of lakes and rivers

Peer-Reviewed Publication

RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: 

THE 3D-PRINTED, LOW-COST, AND FLOATING BIOSENSOR MONITORS WATER QUALITY AT THE INPUT OF FRESHWATER LAKES AND RIVERS.

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CREDIT: KOZO TAGUCHI FROM RITSUMEIKAN UNIVERSITY, JAPAN

The discharge of organic effluents—biodegradable waste materials from plants and animals—into freshwater bodies is a significant environmental concern, affecting the health and sustainability of these aquatic ecosystems. However, the methods currently available for inspecting water quality are complex and costly.

In this regard, researchers from Ritsumeikan University, Japan, have recently developed a self-powered, inexpensive, and floating biosensor for monitoring water quality at the input of freshwater lakes and rivers. This paper was made available online on September 9, 2023, and was published in Volume 200 of the Biochemical Engineering Journal on November 1, 2023.

“We developed a self-powered, stand-alone, floating biosensor based on a microbial fuel cell (MFC) for early organic wastewater detection. The MFC case was fabricated by a 3D printer and the electrodes were fabricated from low-cost carbon-based materials,” remarks Professor Kozo Taguchi from the College of Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, who led the study.

MFCs generate electricity with the help of electrogenic bacteria. These microorganisms produce an electric current as a result of their biological metabolism. The amount of electricity generated by the MFC is proportional to the concentration of the organic waste that is being consumed by the electrogenic microorganisms. This characteristic feature is, thus, used to design organic waste biosensors powered by MFCs.

Using inexpensive carbon-based materials, the Japanese research team developed a self-powered biosensor based on a floating MFC (FMFC) to continually track the level of organic contamination in lakes and rivers. To this end, the team filled the anode (the electrode where oxidation occurs and electrons are given off) of the FMFC with soil containing electrogenic bacteria. The anodic bacteria subsequently decomposed the organic matter present in the water and converted the stored chemical energy into electricity. The electrical output was then used as a measure of the organic waste present in the contaminated water.

Although the researchers did not characterize the bacterial communities present in the soil sample, they rationally hypothesized that microorganisms from the genera Geobacter, Shewanella, and Pseudomonas contributed to the electrical activity. Prior studies indicate that paddy soils naturally contain electrogenic bacteria belonging to these genera.

Next, the team added a light-emitting diode (LED) to the floatable biosensor assembly. The LED was able to harness the electricity produced by the electrogenic bacteria and visually indicate the level of organic contamination in the water samples under investigation. It started flashing when the chemical oxygen demand (COD)—a parameter used to measure the level of organic contaminants in water—exceeded the threshold value of 60 mg/L. In addition, the LED flashed at an increased pace when the COD significantly exceeded the threshold value.

Prof. Taguchi adds, “Because the FMFC biosensor produces its own electricity, it requires no external power supply. Moreover, it can be used in early detection systems that monitor influxes of organic wastewater in freshwater bodies.”

Mr. Trang Nakamoto and Mr. Dung Nakamoto, both from the College of Science and Engineering, contributed to the biosensor development.

In summary, the study authors designed, developed, and tested a 3D-printed and cost-effective FMFC biosensor that effectively monitors organic contamination in freshwater bodies.

Kudos to the research team for developing a novel biosensor that finds use in monitoring and safeguarding our freshwater ecosystems!

 

***

 

Reference

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2023.109087

 

About Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Ritsumeikan University is one of the most prestigious private universities in Japan. Its main campus is in Kyoto, where inspiring settings await researchers. With an unwavering objective to generate social symbiotic values and emergent talents, it aims to emerge as a next-generation research university. It will enhance researcher potential by providing support best suited to the needs of young and leading researchers, according to their career stage. Ritsumeikan University also endeavors to build a global research network as a “knowledge node” and disseminate achievements internationally, thereby contributing to the resolution of social/humanistic issues through interdisciplinary research and social implementation.

Website: http://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/

 

About Professor Kozo Taguchi from Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Dr. Kozo Taguchi is a Professor at the College of Science and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Ritsumeikan University. He received his Dr. Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan (1996). Dr. Taguchi’s laboratory primarily focuses on research related to high-performance energy exchange, energy-harvesting devices, sustainable materials/methods, biofuel cells, microfluidic cell-based devices, biosensors, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), quasi-solid/solid DSSCs, and hydrogen energy. Prof. Taguchi is a member of the Japan Society of Applied Physics and the Electrochemical Society of Japan. He has over 75 publications to his credit thus far.

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JOURNAL

Biochemical Engineering Journal

DOI

10.1016/j.bej.2023.109087 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Cells

ARTICLE TITLE

Stand-alone floating microbial fuel cell-based biosensor for tracking organic pollution influx

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

1-Nov-2023