Application of proteomics in environmental science

Proteomics involves the separation of proteins, identification of the amino acid sequence of the interested or target proteins, study of the function of the proteins, modification, structure and ultimate assignments to functional pathways in the cell. The proteomic investigations have contributed greatly to human diseases studies, new drugs discovery researches, and environmental science in recent years. This article provides a review on the development of the main proteomic technologies, including both the gel based and non-gel based technologies, and their applications in environmental science. Proteomic technologies have been utilized in the environmental stresses studies to analyze the induction or reduction of proteins at expression level and identify the target proteins to investigate their function in response to environmental stresses, such as high or low pH, oxidation stress, and toxic chemicals. Such protein responses are also helpful to understand the mechanisms of some cellular activities and the functions of some proteins.     

Accelerated sunlight photocatalysis through improved electron mobility between g-C3N4 and BiPO4 nanomaterial

Herein, we report a detailed study on creating heterojunction between graphitic carbon nitride (g-C₃N₄) and bismuth phosphate (BiPO₄), enhancing the unpaired free electron mobility. This leads to an accelerated photocatalysis of 2,4-dichlorophenols (2,4-DCPs) under sunlight irradiation. The heterojunction formation was efficaciously conducted via a modest thermal deposition technique. The function of g-C₃N₄ plays a significant role in generating free electrons under sunlight irradiation. Together, the generated electrons at the g-C₃N₄ conduction band (CB) are transferred and trapped by the BiPO₄ to form active superoxide anion radicals (?O₂^?). These active radicals will be accountable for the photodegradation of 2,4-DCPs. The synthesized composite characteristics were methodically examined through several chemical and physical studies. Due to the inimitable features of both g-C₃N₄ and BiPO₄, its heterojunction formation, 2.5wt% BiPO₄/g-C₃N₄ achieved complete 2,4-DCP removal (100%) in 90 min under sunlight irradiation. This is due to the presence of g-C₃N₄ that enhanced electron mobility through the formation of heterojunctions that lengthens the electron-hole pairs’ lifetime and maximizes the entire solar spectrum absorption to generate active electrons at the g-C₃N₄ conduction band. Thus, this formation significantly draws the attention for future environmental remediation, especially in enhancing the entire solar spectrum’s harvesting.

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4R of rubber waste management: current and outlook

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Excessive accumulation of rubber waste necessitates the need to revisit the effectiveness of the existing rubber waste management system. This...