In recent decades the world population has been impressively growing and this involves an always increasing demand of food. In order to satisfy this huge essential request, agriculture and breeding techniques must be optimized, maximizing productions and minimizing wastes, but considering also sustainability and respect for animal and human health. This concept must be the base of modern intensive farming and it has been the inspiration that led to the birth of Foodtech Project. This project aim is the creation of highly innovative zootechnical products able to provide the required nutrients and to limit the antibiotic administration to the animal, substituting them with antioxidants and immunostimulatory natural molecules. This thesis work is part of Foodtech Project and it focuses on methionine, an essential amino acid involved in tissue growth, milk production and in supporting liver and immune system functions. Methionine is provided to the animal through the feed, but unfortunately the amount of amino acid which could be directly assimilated by animals is limited, since rumen microbial fermentation degrades most of the nutrients originally present in the feed to produce different ones. For this reason, methionine must be protected in order to pass through the rumen without damages and to be released in the abomasum or in the intestine of the animal. Till now this protection is guaranteed by means of an expensive biodegradables polymeric coating, which resists at the rumen pH and it is degraded only in the abomasum. This study has the main purpose of testing natural carriers as more sustainable alternatives to polymeric coating. New hybrid organic-inorganic materials have been prepared and characterized by several analytic techniques in order to detect their composition and their main properties. Capture and release tests have been performed to evaluate the adsorption and desorption capability of each carrier towards target molecules. Different adsorption models have been considered in order to understand the adsorption mechanism, predict the capture behaviour and optimize future experimental campaigns.
Negli ultimi decenni la popolazione mondiale è cresciuta in modo impressionante e ciò comporta una sempre crescente domanda di cibo. Per soddisfare questa elevata richiesta, le tecniche di agricoltura e allevamento devono essere ottimizzate, massimizzando le produzioni e minimizzando gli sprechi, ma considerando anche la sostenibilità e il rispetto per la salute umana e animale. Questo concetto deve essere la base del moderno allevamento intensivo ed è stato l’ispirazione che ha portato alla nascita del Progetto Foodtech. Lo scopo di questo progetto è la creazione di prodotti zootecnici altamente innovativi, capaci di fornire i nutrienti necessari e limitare la somministrazione di antibiotici all'animale, sostituendoli con molecole naturali antiossidanti e immunostimolanti. Questa tesi è parte del progetto Foodtech ed è focalizzata sulla metionina, un amminoacido essenziale coinvolto nella crescita dei tessuti, nella produzione di latte e nel supporto delle funzioni del fegato e del sistema immunitario. La metionina è fornita all'animale tramite il mangime, ma sfortunatamente la quantità di amminoacido che può essere direttamente assimilata è limitata, dato che la fermentazione microbica del rumine degrada la maggior parte dei nutrienti originariamente presenti nel mangime per produrne altri diversi. Per questo motivo la metionina deve essere protetta al fine di attraversare il rumine senza danni ed essere rilasciata nell'abomaso o nell'intestino dell'animale. Finora questa protezione è garantita tramite coating con costosi polimeri biodegradabili, i quali resistono al pH del rumine e si degradano solo nell'abomaso. Questo studio ha come principale scopo la ricerca di un carrier naturale come alternativa più sostenibile al coating polimerico. Nuovi materiali ibridi organici-inorganici sono stati preparati e caratterizzati tramite varie tecniche analitiche per individuare la loro composizione e le loro principali proprietà. Inoltre, sono state effettuate prove di cattura e rilascio per valutare le capacità di adsorbimento e desorbimento delle molecole target per ogni carrier. Infine, sono stati considerati vari modelli di adsorbimento al fine di comprendere il meccanismo di adsorbimento, prevedere il comportamento durante la cattura e ottimizzare future campagne sperimentali.
Natural clays as potential amino acid carriers : preparation, characterization and modeling of absorption mechanics
MOTTINI, NICHOLAS
2018/2019
Abstract
In recent decades the world population has been impressively growing and this involves an always increasing demand of food. In order to satisfy this huge essential request, agriculture and breeding techniques must be optimized, maximizing productions and minimizing wastes, but considering also sustainability and respect for animal and human health. This concept must be the base of modern intensive farming and it has been the inspiration that led to the birth of Foodtech Project. This project aim is the creation of highly innovative zootechnical products able to provide the required nutrients and to limit the antibiotic administration to the animal, substituting them with antioxidants and immunostimulatory natural molecules. This thesis work is part of Foodtech Project and it focuses on methionine, an essential amino acid involved in tissue growth, milk production and in supporting liver and immune system functions. Methionine is provided to the animal through the feed, but unfortunately the amount of amino acid which could be directly assimilated by animals is limited, since rumen microbial fermentation degrades most of the nutrients originally present in the feed to produce different ones. For this reason, methionine must be protected in order to pass through the rumen without damages and to be released in the abomasum or in the intestine of the animal. Till now this protection is guaranteed by means of an expensive biodegradables polymeric coating, which resists at the rumen pH and it is degraded only in the abomasum. This study has the main purpose of testing natural carriers as more sustainable alternatives to polymeric coating. New hybrid organic-inorganic materials have been prepared and characterized by several analytic techniques in order to detect their composition and their main properties. Capture and release tests have been performed to evaluate the adsorption and desorption capability of each carrier towards target molecules. Different adsorption models have been considered in order to understand the adsorption mechanism, predict the capture behaviour and optimize future experimental campaigns.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2019_12_Mottini.pdf
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Descrizione: Testo della tesi
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/151204