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The objective of the work was preparation and characterization of novel biomaterial produced by modification of the mucilage of nopal acylated with lauric acid and to increase the knowledge and better understanding about its relationship with the techno-functional properties. Hydrophobic mucilage was obtained, and its structural features were elucidated and confirmed by FTIR, X-ray diffraction, and 1H NMR. Modified mucilage exhibited significantly different physicochemical and functional properties compared to native mucilage. The modified mucilage was less soluble (15.65–16.99%), had lower water holding capacity (5.59–13.45 g/g), and exhibited greater oil holding capacity (4.47 g/g) than the native mucilage; in addition, it showed a surface tension of 57.2 mN/m, which correspond to a critical micellar concentration of 0.023 mg/mL. Acylated mucilage exhibited the highest foaming capacity (124.16%) at pH 10. This study demonstrates that the acylation of mucilage with lauric acid modifies the physicochemical and functional properties of mucilage from Opuntia ficus-indica and suggests applications in the food, pharmaceutical, or packaging industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oleaginous microorganisms such as microalgae, yeasts, bacteria and filamentous fungi are alternative sources of vegetal or animal fats for biodiesel production. This research evaluated the lipid production by the biomass Trichoderma koningiopsis MX1 with a non-stirring culture at room temperature, and fungal lipids were extracted through three techniques for biodiesel generation purposes. The three modified lipid extraction techniques yielded 18.4, 10.3 and 17.1 % of fungal lipids. The trans-esterification of lipids indicated that the controlling components for biodiesel were palmitic (40.8 %) and linoleic acids (ranging from 37.6 % to 41.2 %). Results show that fungal cultural conditions and the lipid extraction technique are determinants for producing biodiesel from fungal lipids. Therefore, the modification of some of these conditions could increase their efficiency and viability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]