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Being the second leading cause of death globally, cancer has been a long-standing and rapidly evolving focus of biomedical research and practice in the world. Recently, there has been growing interest in cyanobacteria. This focus is particularly evident in developing innovative anticancer treatments to reduce reliance on traditional chemotherapy. This study investigates the anticancer potential of the Spirulina maxima extract nanoemulsion (SMNE) technique to improve the delivery, stability, and solubility of the S. maxima extract (SME). SMNE, prepared in three concentrations (SMNEC1, SMNEC2, SMNEC3), was characterized and confirmed to successfully load SME into silica-coated nanoparticles. Cytotoxicity tests on HepG2 and MCF-7 cell lines revealed a significant reduction in cell viability after 48-hour SMNE treatment, with IC50 values of 1488 µg/mL and 1721.936 µg/mL, respectively. SMNE also demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting tumor growth in mice with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, normalizing alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels, and reducing oxidative stress markers such as catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Histopathological examination showed that SMNEC3-treated groups had almost normal liver architecture. Additionally, SMNE downregulated oncogenic miR-221-3p and miR-222-3p, activating cancer suppression genes p27 and PTEN. The study concludes that SMNE, with its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and ability to modulate key miRNAs, enhances SME delivery and shows promise as an effective cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon black (CB) as rubber reinforcement has raised environmental concerns regarding this traditional petroleum-based filler, which is less susceptible to biodegradability. Although it has great reinforcing properties, the production technique is no longer sustainable, and its cost increases regularly. For these reasons, it is wise to look for sustainable replacement materials. Microalgal biomass (MB) has demonstrated great potential for use as biodegradable nano fillers in rubber composites. Microalgal has a high biomass productivity compared to traditional crops. They can produce a large amount of biomass per unit of land area, making them highly efficient in terms of resource utilization. In the present research, microalgal biomass was blended with CB at different concentrations for preparing two different kinds of rubber composites: Nitrile rubber Acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) are two common synthetic rubbers. In this study, the researchers investigated using microalgal biomass as filler in rubber composites. They assessed the filler-matrix interaction by evaluating the processability, mechanical characteristics, Payne effect, and swelling properties of the MB/CB-filled composites and compared them to CB-filled composites. The results show that rubber composites incorporating dual fillers (microalgal biomass and carbon black) had faster cure times, increased torque, and improved mechanical properties. The results prove biomass helps to minimize bulk quantities of CB and may be used as a partial replacement while still improving the mechanical properties. According to the study, microalgal biomass can successfully replace up to 50% of the CB filler. This will reduce petroleum dependence and possibly costs, depending on current petroleum prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Microalgae have attracted worldwide interest resulting from their extensive applications in renewable energy and biomass production. However, in algal fuel cells, photosynthetically evolved oxygen hinders the use of algal biofilms formed at the anode surface. Here, nanostructured bio‐electrochemical systems have been designed to explore the algal bio‐electrochemistry at different illumination and growth conditions. RESULTS: Three algal strains were screened for their exoelectrogenic activity and the possibility of direct electron transfer to the chemically modified surfaces. After adjusting light and dark conditions and medium compositions, oxygen production within the fuel cells was regulated. At the anode surface, the obtained bioelectrochemical responses and the morphological characterizations suggested that Oscillatoria agardhii has the potential to serve as electron donor and the nanostructured surface is the final electron acceptor. To that end, dual‐chamber algal fuel cells were constructed and glucose (10 g L–1) was used as carbon source. CONCLUSION: Power density of 26.8 mW m–2 was produced using the biofilm formed by O. agardhii. Eventually, the consumption of organic waste was monitored, whereas the chemical oxygen demand removal reached 82%. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to grow Scenedesmus obliquus using vertical photobioreactor (PBR) and examine the oil production capacity of Scenedesmus obliquus grown under nitrogen repletion and starvation conditions. The volume of PBR was 4000 liters as a demo unit with the facility of computerized controlled system. Three dilution rates (0.125%, 0.18%, and 0.25%) were applied. The results showed that, the maximum biomass achieved with the highest dilution rate (0.25%) was 43.2 g /m².day. This was detected when the dry weight was 2.1 g/L with consuming about 62.5 ≈ g/m²/day of CO2. The maximum oil content reached to 26%±0.23 after 29 days under nitrogen repletion conditions. However, under nitrogen starvation, the oil content was dramatically increased and reached to 41.9%±0.6 after 8 days. Fatty acids profile showed that, both saturated and unsaturated were detected. The major saturated fatty acids were palmitic (C:16:0) and stearic (C:18:0). The unsaturated fractions were detected as palmetoleic (C:16:1), oleic (C:18:1), linoleic (C:18:2) and linolenic acids (C:18:3). The fatty acids with four or more double ponds were not detected. Total saturated fatty acids represented 60.47% and 67.43% under nitrogen repletion and nitrogen starvation respectively. Therefore, nitrogen content not only affects oil content but also affects oil fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae represent a rich source that satisfies the growing need for novel ingredients of nutriceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and food supplements. Haematococcus pluvialis and Dunaliella salina microalgae are isolated from the Egyptian hydro-flora and are reported for their potent antioxidant activities. The cytotoxic activity of different fractions of both microalgae was investigated on 4 cell lines HePG2, MCF7, HCT116, and A549. The carotenoid rich fraction of H. pluvialis showed potent cytotoxic activity against colon cancer cell line and moderate activity against both liver and breast cancer cell lines. On the other hand, the carotenoid rich fraction of D. salina showed mild cytotoxic activity on breast and liver cancer cell lines. The carotenoid rich fraction of H. pluvialis was analysed using LC-DAD/ESI-MS and the major carotenoids were identified either free as well as bounded to fatty acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four algal species namedScenedesmus obliquus(green algae), Oscillatoria agardhii, Oscilatoria limnetica,andAnabaena sphaerica(blue green algae) were isolated from Ismailia Canal water (Port Said, Egypt). The fat of the samples was Soxhlet extracted using hexane for 8 h. The organic fractions were purified using silica columns. Organic compounds such asn-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and other hydrocarbons that can be produced from these strains were determined, separated, and identified by GC and GC/MS. The identification and quantification of the aliphatic hydrocarbons as well as PAHs have been carried out using gas chromatography with flame ionization detector. The total hydrocarbon content was between 11.7 and 30.4 mg/g dry weight, while the concentrations of PAHs andn-alkanes varied between 145.1–238.7 μg/L and 106.4–120.6 μg/L, respectively. On the other hand, unknown compounds were verified by Varian 4500 GC/MS. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]