The fruit of Maclura pomifera tree is a sustainable source for the pharmacologically interesting isoflavones, osajin and pomiferin. A reversed-phase HPLC method was developed to identify osage orange samples with high isoflavone content and to determine the optimum conditions for sample preparation. Analytical run time was 8 min at a flow rate of 1 mL/min using a gradient of acetonitrile in H2O (0.1% formic acid) and UV peak detection at 274 nm. The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision, and limits of detection and quantitation (LOD/LOQ). The method was applied to determine the levels of osajin and pomiferin in extracts prepared from different samples of osage orange growing in the United States Midwest and South. Results demonstrated the effect of different variables, such as sample preparation, geographical location, and growth stage, on the levels of osajin and pomiferin in analyzed samples.

Corn fiber and sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) are both pre-processed lignocellulosic materials that can be used to produce liquid biofuels. Pretreatment using dilute sulfuric acid at a severity factor of 1.06 and 1.02 released 83.2 and 86.5 % of theoretically available sugars out of corn fiber and SSB, respectively. The resulting hydrolysates derived from pretreatment of SSB at SF of 1.02 supported growth of Cryptococcus curvatus well. In 6 days, the dry cell density reached 10.8 g/l with a lipid content of 40 % (w/w). Hydrolysates from corn fiber, however, did not lead to any significant cell growth even with addition of nutrients. In addition to consuming glucose, xylose, and arabinose, C. curvatus also utilized formic acid, acetic acid, 4-hydroxymethylfurfural, and levulinic acid for growth. Thus, C. curvatus appeared to be an excellent yeast strain for producing lipids from hydrolysates developed from lignocellulosic feedstocks.

In this paper, we describe a paper microfluidic device capable of performing a variety of presumptive tests for the presence of biological fluids at crime scenes.