Wei Zhang

Flinders University · Department of Medical Biotechnology

This study focused on the valorization of the roots of Saccharina japonica (brown algae) using subcritical water extraction (SSE) and hot water extraction (SHW). The quantities of bioactive compounds from both extracts were also analyzed. The antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of these extracts were evaluated under various extracti...

The study aimed to identify the optimal subcritical water extraction (SWE) parameters for phlorotannin (marine polyphenols) from Ecklonia stolonifera using response surface methodology (RSM). The reaction temperature, time, and the solid-to-solvent ratio were optimized, and the best extraction conditions were 198.5°C, 36.21 min, and 12.23 g/mL, res...

The discovery of natural products derived from marine sources has demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory for the decade of 2011-2020, holding significant promise for the development of novel drugs and many other marine bioproducts. In recent years, the spotlight has shifted away from marine sponges (Porifera) towards marine microorganisms as t...

The subcritical water extraction of Undaria pinnatifida (blade, sporophyll, and root) was evaluated to determine its chemical properties and biological activities. The extraction was conducted at 180 °C and 3 MPa. Root extracts exhibited the highest phenolic content (43.32 ± 0.19 mg phloroglucinol/g) and flavonoid content (31.54 ± 1.63 mg quercetin...

Marine organisms are an important source of bioactive compounds, among which marine carotenoids have garnered attention for their health benefits. Hundreds of carotenoids are extracted from different natural biomass; among them marine carotenoids always have special appeal due to their unique properties. This review discusses recent literature on m...

Environmental pollution is a significant problem due to the improper disposal of plastics and shrimp shells outdoors. Therefore, the synthesis of biodegradable film from waste materials is highly important. The novelty of this research lies in the extraction of protein hydrolysates and chitosan from shrimp shells, as well as the fabrication of biod...

Phycoerythrin (PE) extract from red algae Laver (Pyropia dentata) was used in the fabrication of a smart packaging film. The PE showed pH sensitivity, implying unique color shifts at different pH. The film colors altered from red through purple-brown to colorless with increasing pH. The smart packaging films were prepared by casting method composed...

Sponge-associated marine fungi are potential source for secondary metabolite compounds. The aim of this research was to investigate sponge-associated marine fungus as secondary metabolite producers against Escherichia coli. The fungus was isolated from Indonesian marine sponge Stylissa sp. and identified as Aspergillus hortai through a combination...

This study aimed at the consecutive extraction of neutral and polar lipids (phospholipids) from skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) byproducts using an entrainer (ethanol) combination of green extraction system supercritical carbon dioxide. The head, viscera, and skin of tuna fish were subjected to extraction. The highest proportion of lipids was ob...

The challenge of wound healing, particularly in patients with comorbidities such as diabetes, is intensified by wound infection and the accelerating problem of bacterial resistance to current remedies such as antibiotics and silver. One promising approach harnesses the bioactive and antibacterial compound C‐phycocyanin from the microalga Spirulina...

Shell wastes pose environmental and financial burdens to the shellfish industry. Utilizing these undervalued shells for commercial chitin production could minimize their adverse impacts while maximizing economic value. Shell chitin conventionally produced through harsh chemical processes is environmentally unfriendly and infeasible for recovering c...

Arthrospira maxima has been identified as a sustainable source of rich proteins with diverse functionalities and bioactivities. After extracting C-phycocyanin (C-PC) and lipids in a biorefinery process, the spent biomass still contains a large proportion of proteins with potential for biopeptide production. In this study, the residue was digested u...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have a high specific surface area and inherent biodegradability due to their unique structure and composition. As well, owing to the properties of nanomaterials and especially their magnetic features, Fe3O4 nanoparticles and MOFs composite materials have great potential in the design and application of drug release....

This study explored the gut health potential of the green seaweed Ulva rigida (SW-U) and the red seaweed Gracilaria fisheri (SW-G), as well as polysaccharide-enriched extracts (PF-U and PF-G, respectively). The polysaccharide-enriched extracts were not digestible by small intestinal enzymes, but the morphology of samples was changed. After 24 h in...

Sea cucumbers are amongst the highest value seafoods available commercially, especially in the south-east Asian region, primarily due to their nutritional and health benefits as applied in Traditional Chinese Medicine. While the majority of studies for nutritional products derived from sea cucumber compounds have been conducted in vitro, the number...

The chemical and nutritional constituents of mushrooms can alter significantly when grown on different substrates. Based on this fact, an approach was made to cultivate a new type of mushroom, Hengshan Astragalus Shiitake, by growing Shiitake mushrooms on beds supplemented with the roots of an edible herbal plant, Astragalus membranaceus. In this s...

Highly processible graphene oxide (GO) has a diversity of applications as a material readily dispersed in aqueous media. However, methods for preparing such free-standing GO use hazardous and toxic reagents and generate significant waste streams. This is an impediment for uptake of GO in any application, for developing sustainable technologies and...

Phlorotannins are polyphenolic compounds predominantly found in brown seaweeds tentatively identified as having neuroprotective bioactivity; however, the effects of individual constituent phlorotannins against amyloid β neurotoxicity, the main hallmark neurotoxic protein in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), is yet to be fully characterised. In this study,...

Reproductive and sexual health issues, including infertility and sexual dysfunctions (SD), are common concerns affecting millions of reproductive age worldwide. Scattered literature reports that marine animals such as oysters, sea cucumbers, seahorses and spoon worms have unique bioactive compounds like saponins, steroids, seahorse-derived hydrolys...

Mixing immiscible liquids typically requires the use of auxiliary substances including phase transfer catalysts, microgels, surfactants, complex polymers and nano-particles and/or micromixers. Centrifugally separated immiscible liquids of different densities in a 45° tilted rotating tube offer scope for avoiding their use. Micron to submicron size...

With an increasing global population, the demand for protein will place unprecedented pressure on protein production worldwide. The full utilization of microalgae biomass as a nutrient source based on the biorefinery concept remains challenging, especially with regard to protein isolation and extraction. Herein, we report a strategy combining sodiu...

Background The polyphenolic phlorotannins derived from brown macroalgae consist of complex polymers of phloroglucinol residues with diverse structures ascribed pleiotropic bioactivity. This study aimed to isolate and purify the phlorotannins from Ecklonia radiata and to investigate their neuroprotective activity in PC-12 cells. Methods This study...

Introduction: Urinary stone disease (USD) has been associated with an increased risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in Western populations. However, the metabolic disorders associated with unilateral and bilateral renal stones and the association of these types of stones with CKD and kidney tubular injury marke...

Astragalus root (Huang Qi) and Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) are both considered medicinal foods and are frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine due to their anticancer and immunomodulating properties. Here, the scientific literatures describing evidence for the anticancer and immunogenic properties of Shiitake and Astragalus were re...

The red macroalgal genus Asparagopsis consists of six identified species, which produce and store bromoform. In co-feed trials, the species A. taxiformis and A. armata inhibited enteric-generated methane (CH4 – a greenhouse gas) emissions in ruminants, owing to their bromoform content. Estimations suggest that global anthropogenic CH4 emissions cou...

Sponges are among the most primitive multicellular organisms and well-known as a major source of marine natural products. Cultivation of sponge cells has long been an attractive topic due to the prominent evolutionary and cytological significance of sponges and as a potential approach to supply sponge-derived compounds. Sponge cell culture is carri...

Unlabelled: Natural extracts and compounds from marine resources have gained intensive scientific and industry attention for radioprotective activities in the past ten years. However, the marine-derived radioprotectants have been studied against UV-rays, gamma (γ)-rays and X-rays for more than 30 years. This review aims to identify key marine-deri...

Shear stress in dynamic thin films, as in vortex fluidics, can be harnessed for generating non-equilibrium conditions, but the nature of the fluid flow is not understood. A rapidly rotating inclined tube in the vortex fluidic device (VFD) imparts shear stress (mechanical energy) into a thin film of liquid, depending on the physical characteristics...

Oxidative stress plays a critical role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. We have previously developed a powerful antioxidant, HL-008. This study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective function of HL-008. HL-008 efficacy in vitro and in vivo was evaluated using a PC-12 cell oxidative stress model induced by hydrogen peroxide and a rat model...

Dysiscalarones A-E (1−5), five new scalarane-type bishomoscalarane sesterterpenoids, were isolated from marine sponge Dysidea granulosa collected from the South China Sea, together with two known ones, honulactone A (6) and phyllofolactone I (7). The new structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis including HR-ESI-MS and 1D and 2...

The physicochemical properties of alginate can affect the release profile of encapsulated bioactives, but this is poorly understood. The influence of alginate viscosity (low- A1, medium- A2 and high- A3) and molecular weight (kDa) on the release of encapsulated bioactives (seaweed and spirulina powder) was investigated in an in-vitro gastrointestin...

Phlorotannins are polyphenolic compounds mostly found in brown seaweed and are comprised of polymeric chains of phloroglucinol residues (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene) connected via C–C and/or C–O–C couplings. Due to the presence of highly complex polymeric mixtures of structural and conformational isomers of phlorotannins and the absence of available co...

Oxidative stress plays a critical role in cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury. We previously developed a powerful antioxidant, HL-008, and this study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective function of HL-008. The in vitro and in vivo efficacy of HL-008 was evaluated using a PC-12 cell oxidative stress model induced by hydrogen peroxide and a rat...

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing specific cargo molecules from the cell of origin are naturally secreted from bacteria. EVs play significant roles in protecting the bacterium, which can contribute to their survival in the presence of antibiotics. Herein, we isolated EVs from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in an environmen...

The fabrication of hybrid protein-Cu3(PO4)2 nanoflowers (NFs) via an intermediate toroidal structure is dramatically accelerated under shear using a vortex fluidic device (VFD), which possesses a rapidly rotating angled tube. As-prepared laccase NFs (LNFs) exhibit ≈1.8-fold increase in catalytic activity compared to free laccase under diffusion con...

Commercially valuable proteins, chitin, and minerals of Australian lobster shells were successfully produced with high yields and good quality at laboratory scale using a newly developed microwave-intensified biorefinery process. This study analyses the technical and economic feasibility of upscaling the process to industrial production using a pro...

b>Induced mechanical energy in a thin film of liquid in an inclined rapidly rotating tube in the vortex fluidic device (VFD) can be harnessed for generating non-equilibrium conditions, which are optimal at 45^o tilt angle, but the nature of the fluid flow is not understood. Through understanding that the fluid exhibits resonance behaviour...

The increased efflux of fluoroquinolone antibiotics to the environment has become of worldwide concern due to their potential to disturb aquatic ecosystems. How to improve the antibiotic release is a challenge. In this work, magnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a drug release vehicle were prepared using the green synthesis method. It is a simple and env...

The global demand for dietary proteins and protein-derived products are projected to dramatically increase which cannot be met using traditional protein sources. Seafood processing by-products (SPBs) and microalgae are promising resources that can fill the demand gap for proteins and protein derivatives. Globally, 32 million tonnes of SPBs are esti...

Brown seaweed (Phaeophyceae) polyphenolics such as phlorotannins are ascribed various biological activities, including neuroprotection. Of these seaweeds, Ecklonia radiata is found abundantly along South Australian coastal regions; however it has not been explored for various biological activities relative to any component phlorotannins previously...

The impact of extract composition on the neuroprotective activities of Ecklonia radiata was investigated in multiple neuroprotective assays in vitro. A total of six fractions (crude extract (CE), phlorotannin (PT), polysaccharide (PS), free sugar (FS), low molecular weight (LM), and high molecular weight (HM)) prepared from E. radiata were used to...

Bottlenecks on the development of biodiesel production could be eliminated using direct transesterification (DT). This review presents a comprehensive overview for DT from oleaginous seed crops (edible and non-edible), microalgal and fungal/yeast biomass. Effects of key operational parameters, affecting the yield of biodiesel, such as feedstock, fe...

Australian Rock lobster head by-products (LHBs) are underutilised, but they contain about 43.5% protein. An integrated process of ultrasonic intensification and chitosan co-precipitation was developed for the efficient protein recovery. This process efficiency is influenced by pH, the ratio of water/LHBs and chitosan concentration. Up to 99% lobste...

A magnetic field activated drug delivery and pH-sensitive controlled drug release system based on carboxyl-modified green synthesized Fe3O4@SiO2 (Fe3O4@SiO2-Glu) nanoparticles was established. Doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), as a drug model, was adsorbed onto the Fe3O4@SiO2-Glu nanoparticles' surface, where the observed drug loading capacity of 34...

Understanding how dietary nutrients modulate the gut microbiome is of great interest for the development of food products and eating patterns for combatting the global burden of non-communicable diseases. In this narrative review we assess scientific studies published from 2005 to 2019 that evaluated the effect of micro- and macro-nutrients on the...

Hot water pretreatment of sea cucumbers potentially changes nutritional benefits. This study aimed to quantify hot water pretreatment-induced changes in metabolite profiles of sea cucumber body walls. ICP-OES, GC-MS, and LC-MS analyses of untreated- (UT-BW), hot water-treated body walls (HW-BW) of Apostichopus japonicus, and the hot water extract (...

Nano or microsized particles have been a research focus for decades, and the advancement of microfluidic technologies provides alternative strategies for the synthesis of such materials for various applications. Recent advances of using different microfluidic devices (MDs), including continuous laminar flow, segmented flow, droplet‐based, and other...

Sponges are complex holobionts in which the structure of the microbiome has seldom been characterized above the host species level. The hypothesis tested in this study is that the structure of the sponge microbiomes is specific to the host at the order and family levels. This was done by using 33 sponge species belonging to 19 families representing...

Sargassum is one of the major and commercially viable macro-algae found in the coastal zone of Sri Lanka. Sargassum wightii and Sargassum crassifolium were identified as the two major Sargassum species, along with substantial amounts of S. polycystum. An approximately 144t dry weight of these three main Sargassum species has been roughly estimated....

Herein, the synthesis, characterization and catalytic application of an organic-inorganic, palladium (Pd)-containing hybrid material, poly(amidoamine)-cyclodextrin (Pd@PAAs-CD), is reported as an efficient catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions. The structure of Pd@PAAs-CD was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), tra...

Sponges (phylum Porifera), sessile invertebrates, are the oldest multicellular animals that play an important role in evolutionary study. Thanks to their efficient filter-feeding capabilities, sponges have important ecological and biotechnological functions in nutrient cycles within marine ecosystems. Sponges permanently host remarkable microbial t...

Since Fe3O4 nanoparticles synthesized by plant extracts possess good bio-compatibility and superparamagnetic properties, the possibility of these could be used as a carrier in drug delivery. In this work, doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX), an anti-cancer drug, loaded on glutaric anhydride-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@SiO2-Glu) was inv...

Marine sponges (phylum Porifera) are hosts to microorganisms that make up to 40–60% of the mesohyl volume. The challenge is to characterise this microbial diversity more comprehensively. To accomplish this, a new method was for the frst time proposed to obtain sequence coverage of all the variable regions of the 16S rRNA gene to analyze the amplico...

Amyloid beta (Aβ) can aggregate and form plaques, which are considered as one of the major hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. This study aims to directly compare the neuroprotective activities in vitro of two marine-derived carotenoids astaxanthin and fucoxanthin that have shown a spectrum of biological activities, including neuroprotection. The in...

Conventional alginate extraction from brown seaweed uses alkaline conditions to produce soluble sodium alginate as a single product. The objective of this study was to develop and optimise a seaweed biorefinery process to extract polysaccharides of alginate, fucoidan and laminarin from an Australian seaweed species Durvillaea potatorum (giant bull...

Sponges (phylum Porifera), sessile invertebrates, are the oldest multicellular animals that play an important role in evolutionary study. Thanks to their efficient filter-feeding capabilities, sponges have important ecological and biotechnological functions in nutrient cycles within marine ecosystems. Sponges permanently host remarkable microbial t...

Direct biodiesel production from wet fungal biomass may significantly reduce production costs, but there is a lack of fast and cost-effective processing technology. A novel thin film continuous flow process has been applied to study the effects of its operational parameters on fatty acid (FA) extraction and FA to fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) conv...

Mutations in RAS/RAF occur in large portion of malignancies and are associated with aggressive clinical behaviors and poor prognosis. Therefore, we developed a novel benzoxazole compound (KZ‐001) as a highly potent and selective MEK 1/2 inhibitor. Our efforts were focused on enhancing the activity of the known MEK inhibitor AZD6244 and overcoming t...

Radiation‐induced intestinal injury is one of the major side effects in patients receiving radiation therapy. There is no specific treatment for radiation enteritis in the clinic. We designed and synthesized a new compound named XH‐105, which is expected to cleave into polyphenol and aminothiol in vivo to mitigate radiation injury. In the following...