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Carbonic anhydrases (CAs; EC 4.2.1.1) are metalloenzymes with a pivotal potential role in the biomimetic CO2 capture process (CCP) because these biocatalysts catalyse the simple but physiologically crucial reaction of carbon dioxide hydration to bicarbonate and protons in all life kingdoms. The CAs are among the fastest known enzymes, with kcat values of up to 106 s−1 for some members of the superfamily, providing thus advantages when compared with other CCP methods, as they are specific for CO2. Thermostable CAs might be used in CCP technology because of their ability to perform catalysis in operatively hard conditions, typical of the industrial processes. Moreover, the improvement of the enzyme stability and its reuse are important for lowering the costs. These aspects can be overcome by immobilising the enzyme on a specific support. We report in this article that the recombinant thermostable SspCA (α-CA) from the thermophilic bacterium Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense can been heterologously produced by a high-density fermentation of Escherichia coli cultures, and covalently immobilised onto the surface of magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles (MNP) via carbodiimide activation reactions. Our results demonstrate that using a benchtop bioprocess station and strategies for optimising the bacterial growth, it is possible to produce at low cost a large amount SspCA. Furthermore, the enzyme stability and storage greatly increased through the immobilisation, as SspCA bound to MNP could be recovered from the reaction mixture by simply using a magnet or an electromagnetic field, due to the strong ferromagnetic properties of Fe3O4.

In Turkey most farmers keep 1-2 buffaloes for family consumption and this system is very widespread in villages while farms with around 100 heads are located near to the big cities. These two most common housing systems were used to contribute to the somatic characterization of Anatolian buffalo in the context of a wide typification programme of this buffalo aimed to improve its productive and reproductive potentiality in agreement with a sustainable development. 76 males and 127 females of the Istanbul district and 32 males and 70 females raised in Danamandra vıllage of Silivri district were measured. On each buffalo, withers height, rump height, body length, chest depth and chest width were determined. The results showed a significant difference between males and females starting from 12 months in buffaloes of Danamandra village and from 3 years of age in animals of Istanbul district.

Flavour is an important consumer attractive that directly influences the success of food products on the market. The determination of odorous molecules and their identification allows to useful knowledge for producers to valorise their own products. Buffalo meat has a different chemical composition from pork and beef and requires some cautions in cooking and processing. This work aims at the identification of volatile molecules responsible for flavours in river buffalo meat. The determination was carried out by solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) technique and analysed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The most relevant results were the higher odorous impact of buffalo meat and the higher content of sulphide compounds responsible for wild aroma respect to pork and beef. These results were obtained comparing the total area of peaks detected in every chromatogram. We have also found significant differences concerning the contents of pentadecane, 1-hexanol-2 ethyl, butanoic acid, furano-2-penthyl. The origin of volatile organic compounds and their influence on the river buffalo aromas were discussed.