1089 results about "Biomaterial" patented technology

The invention discloses a recombinant XVII type collagen engineering bacterium as well as a preparation method and application thereof, and belongs to the technical field of genetic engineering, and the recombinant XVII type collagen engineering bacterium is realized through three steps of designing and optimizing collagen, improving translation through codon optimization and selecting a vector for cloning. By optimizing the amino acid sequence and the codon, the expression efficiency and the stability of the recombinant XVII type collagen in engineering bacteria are improved. The optimization not only improves the production efficiency of the protein, but also reduces the production cost. The recombinant XVII type collagen has potential in the medical field, especially in the fields of skin repair, wound healing, aging resistance and the like. Meanwhile, in the fields of beauty and biological materials, collagen is widely applied to products such as masks and skin care products as a basic component, and can promote skin cell regeneration and enhance skin elasticity and repair capacity.

The invention provides a recombinant humanized elastin with high biological activity as well as a preparation method and application thereof, and belongs to the technical field of genetic engineering and biological materials. 100% of the amino acid sequence of the elastin is derived from human elastin and is prepared by expression of genetically engineered bacteria; the protein has a typical beta-spiral hydrophobic structural domain and a lysine-rich hydrophilic structural domain, has a good bionic structure and functional characteristics, can significantly promote proliferation, adhesion and migration of human skin fibroblasts, also has excellent antioxidant, anti-wrinkle and anti-aging activities, and can be used for preparing a biomimetic protein. The hydrogel can be widely applied to the fields of skin repair dressings, injection implants, artificial skin, biomedical materials, functional skin care products and the like; in addition, the elastin is good in solubility, high in stability, mature in expression system and suitable for large-scale production.

A system for preparation of an implant and ab interno insertion of the implant into an eye including a handle having one or more actuators and an elongated shaft having an outer sheath and an elongate member positioned within a lumen of the tubular outer sheath. The system includes a recess sized for holding a patch of material fixed relative to the handle and a cutting member movable relative to the handle and to the recess. The cutting member cuts the patch of material into an implant as the cutting member moves towards a cutting configuration. The implant, once cut, is axially aligned with the lumen of the tubular outer sheath. The inner elongate member is movable relative to the tubular outer sheath to advance the implant into a deployment position in the lumen of the tubular outer sheath for delivery into the eye. Related devices and methods are provided.

The invention discloses a method for constructing a multicellular living body material by adopting a droplet bioreactor, which belongs to the crossing field of biological materials and microbial engineering, and comprises the following steps: (1) resuspending different cells in different polymer solutions to prepare degradable or phase-separable hydrogel particles containing cells; (2) dispersing the hydrogel particles in a cross-linkable hydrogel matrix to form a composite hydrogel; and (3) curing the composite hydrogel, and then carrying out degradation treatment to obtain the liquid cavity structure multicellular system bioreactor with spatial partition and dynamic interaction characteristics. According to the invention, ordered distribution and metabolism synergy of different microorganisms in space can be realized, controllable degradability and excellent mass transfer performance are realized, bacterial slow release and metabolite exchange can be maintained, and the method is suitable for long-term stable operation of a continuous flow reactor. The method has wide application prospects in the fields of green biological manufacturing, renewable energy source production, environmental restoration, biomedical engineering and the like.

The application discloses a kind of imitated plant leaf hydrogel composite material and preparation method thereof, belong to bionic composite material field.The application first by colorant compounding preparation printing paste, and fabric is printed, obtain the green fabric that can realize to plant leaf " green peak " and " red edge " spectral characteristic simulation, and with green fabric simulation leaf structure in fence organization and skeleton;Then with biomaterial polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as base material, join with strong hygroscopic monomer and crosslinking agent, initiator blend preparation hydrogel prepolymer solution;Finally, hydrogel prepolymer solution is poured into the mold containing green fabric and copolymerization, it directly forms hydrogel in fabric surface and pore interior, obtains imitated plant leaf hydrogel composite material.The material gets rid of the dependence on hygroscopic salt, has water absorption and simulation effect stable, durability is good and the like advantages.

The invention belongs to the technical field of biological materials and ultrasonic printing, and particularly discloses a biological adhesive for ultrasonic printing and preparation and application thereof. The biological adhesive comprises a heat-sensitive main body material and a chemical adhesion component, the heat-sensitive main body material comprises hydroxybutyl chitosan, and the chemical adhesion component comprises polyacrylic acid-N-hydroxysuccinimide ester. The bioadhesive has excellent ultrasonic responsiveness, formability and bioadhesion performance, directional deposition, in-situ solidification and tissue surface adhesion can be achieved in a non-contact and accurately-controlled ultrasonic printing system, and the bioadhesive is suitable for various biomedical scenes such as tissue repair, minimally invasive medicine, biological device construction and drug delivery interface printing.

The invention belongs to the field of high polymer materials, and discloses a double-trigger programmable degradable PHA composition and a preparation method thereof. A cured film structure formed by the composition sequentially comprises an outer protective layer, a trigger layer and an inner functional layer from outside to inside, wherein the outer protective layer takes polyhydroxyalkanoate as a base material, a reversible cross-linked network is introduced into the outer protective layer, the trigger layer is provided with humidity and ion double-trigger microcapsules, and the inner functional layer is used for bearing functional auxiliaries. The cured film can maintain low permeability and mechanical stability before application. After application, under the synergistic effect of specific moisture and ions, the trigger layer is activated, so that the cured film is subjected to step-type improvement of moisture permeability in a preset time window, and a through hole is formed. And finally, integral disintegration is realized through physical structure failure. The technology can be applied to the fields of seed coating and the like, the activity of a biological base material can be ensured by adopting a low-temperature process with the temperature lower than 50 DEG C, and unification of stable protection before application and on-demand disintegration after application is achieved.

The present invention relates to the field of biomaterials, specifically a collagen material comprising recombinant humanized collagen type 21 (ColpepA1 21) and its application in facial augmentation. This invention utilizes collagen to not only provide an effective solution to skin aging but also promotes the natural synthesis of collagen within the skin, optimizing skin hydration and barrier function, and enhancing the skin's self-repair capacity. The resulting collagen material is a facial augmentation material. Through local injection or external application, it rapidly smoothes and firms the facial skin, while also improving overall skin health with long-term use.

An acellular product may be derived from human placenta and may be used in various scenarios for wound healing. Because the product may be acellular, the product may be processed for storage and transportation with minimal degradation. The product may include various scaffolding such as biomaterials or human tissue, and the scaffolding may be infused with various plasmas and agents. The cell-free treatment may maintain the biological activity of many therapeutic agents found within cells and may possess multiple structural components to support cellular attachment. The structural components or scaffolds may function as a reservoir of highly diffusible chemotactic and cellular-programming factors that may be useful to treat injury and disease.

The invention relates to a biological glue patch applied to non-invasive repair of dura mater, and relates to the technical field of medical biological materials. The biological glue patch comprises a patch base material, a biological membrane layer is arranged on one side of the patch base material, a hydrophobic membrane layer is arranged on the outer side of the biological membrane layer, a vacuum cavity is formed between the inner side of the biological membrane layer and the side portion of the patch base material, and biological glue is arranged in the vacuum cavity; one side, facing the biological membrane layer, of the patch base material is provided with a stabbing part for stabbing the biological membrane layer and the hydrophobic membrane layer. According to the biological glue patch, repairing of the dura mater is achieved in a glue adhesion mode, pinholes are avoided, the phenomenon of leakage of cerebrospinal fluid is avoided, meanwhile, the biological glue is protected through the biological film layer and the hydrophobic film layer, and the biological glue is prevented from being solidified and adhered in advance; the biological glue is released by arranging the stabbing part, the operation is simple, and the device can be applied to repairing the dural mater injury by a non-invasive single-side dual-channel spine endoscope technology.

Biomaterials disclosed herein can comprise a hydrogel comprising PEG, gelatin, and a glycosaminoglycan with sulfated moiety; and chondrogenic, osteogenic, and immunomodulatory cytokines; wherein the biomaterial is capable of potentiating bone regeneration in a compromised wound while reducing inflammatory response. The glycosaminoglycan with sulfated moiety can comprise heparin, heparan sulfate, keratin sulfate, chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate, and / or similar materials. The biomaterial can further comprise mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), a crosslinking initiator, microparticles and nanoparticles, and or other materials. The biomaterial can be injectable into a wound, or the biomaterial can be loaded in, or further comprise a porous scaffold providing mechanical support for other components of the biomaterial, such that it can be implanted into a wound.

The invention discloses an adipose-derived stem cell exosome compound loaded with silver nanoparticles and application of the adipose-derived stem cell exosome compound loaded with the silver nanoparticles, and ADSC-Exos loaded with the silver nanoparticles is developed by integrating AgNPs into an exosome of ADSCs. In vivo, the Exo-AgNPs can accelerate healing of infected wounds by reducing bacterial colonization and promoting collagen deposition, angiogenesis and M2 type macrophage polarization. In vitro, the Exo-AgNPs activates the functions of fibroblasts and vascular endothelial cells, and shows an excellent antibacterial property. In addition, the Exo-AgNPs induces polarization of M2 type macrophages and inhibits secretion of proinflammatory cytokines by activating autophagy. The results show that Exo-AgNPs is expected to become an ideal biological material for treating infected wounds.

The invention discloses application of a PdeTLP protein and a related biological material thereof in regulation and control of plant root system development. Experiments prove that compared with wild poplar, the number of adventitious roots, the number of adventitious root lateral roots, the root length and the root included angle of PdeTLP knockout poplar are obviously increased, and the plant height, the number of stem nodes and the stem diameter are also obviously increased. In addition, the xylem width, the phloem width and the xylem cell area of the poplar with the PdeTLP knocked out are obviously higher than those of the wild poplar. The PdeTLP gene participates in regulation and control of the root system number, the root system length, the root system included angle, the plant height, the stem node number, the stem diameter and the secondary microtubule tissue development of the poplar. The method not only has important significance on molecular mechanism and theoretical research of regulating and controlling the number and length of poplar root systems, plant height, number of stem nodes and stem diameter, but also has important guiding significance on directionally cultivating trees meeting actual production requirements.

The invention discloses application of protein TaTDM and related biological materials thereof, and belongs to the field of plant breeding. The amino acid sequence of the protein TaTDM is as shown in SEQ ID NO: 2 or SEQ ID NO: 4 or SEQ ID NO: 6. The TaTDM gene knockout homozygous mutant strains tatdmm1 and tatdmm2 are obtained by carrying out gene knockout on wild type wheat Fielder, and it is found that at the temperature of 25 DEG C, the total floret number of each spike of the Fielder, the tatdmm1 and the tatdmm2 and the survival rate under the water shortage treatment condition are remarkably higher than those of the wild type wheat Fielder. The protein TaTDM has an important application value in regulation and control of wheat ear type characters and stress tolerance, provides a high-quality germplasm resource, and is of great significance in cultivation of drought-enduring plant varieties and improvement of crop yield.

The application discloses a preparation method of a dopamine-coated poly(L-lactic acid) piezoelectric biomaterial, S1, ultrasonic dispersion of dopamine hydrochloride in an organic solvent is carried out to obtain a dopamine hydrochloride dispersion liquid; S2, poly(L-lactic acid) powder is added into the dopamine hydrochloride dispersion liquid and stirring is carried out to obtain an electrostatic spinning liquid; S3, bubbles in the electrostatic spinning liquid are removed, a nanofiber membrane is obtained through an electrostatic spinning process, high-temperature annealing is carried out on the nanofiber membrane, and cooling is carried out, so that the dopamine-coated poly(L-lactic acid) piezoelectric biomaterial is prepared. The preparation method adopts an interface anchoring effect, strong intermolecular interaction at an interface between dopamine and poly(L-lactic acid) is responsible for anchoring self-polarization poly(L-lactic acid) chains and promoting crystal nucleation, so that the prepared piezoelectric biomaterial exhibits significantly enhanced piezoelectric performance and excellent service life.

The invention relates to a composite hydrogel artificial bile duct as well as a preparation method and application thereof, the artificial bile duct is prepared by taking sodium alginate (SA) loaded with human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells and methylacryloylated gelatin (GelMA) composite hydrogel as raw materials, and the artificial bile duct can be used for biological materials or instruments for treating bile duct defects. The composite hydrogel artificial bile duct has better biocompatibility, can be tightly connected with an in-vivo tissue mucous membrane, and reduces stimulation to a local mucous membrane, so that bile duct obstruction caused by local tissue granulation hyperplasia is avoided, and adverse reactions are reduced; in addition, the composite hydrogel artificial bile duct can be automatically degraded after being implanted into a human body; the structure is compact, the mechanical property is good, and a good environment is provided for cell proliferation; the human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells can be directionally differentiated into bile duct cell-like cells, and bile duct injury repair is promoted.

The invention belongs to the technical field of medical biological materials, and particularly relates to a sodium hyaluronate gel regeneration filler for injection and a preparation method and application thereof.The sodium hyaluronate gel serves as a carrier to disperse acellular matrix particles, the sodium hyaluronate gel forms a micron-sized porous structure in the cross-linking process through a microbubbling technology, and the sodium hyaluronate gel is prepared into the sodium hyaluronate gel regeneration filler for injection and the preparation method and application of the sodium hyaluronate gel regeneration filler. A local cross-linked network is strengthened by combining a secondary cross-linking process, high elastic modulus is realized while the content of sodium hyaluronate is reduced, so that the porous structure has excellent instant filling and shaping capability and controllable degradation behavior, the porous structure can promote permeation of hyaluronidase, the degradation period of the hyaluronidase is matched with the tissue regeneration process, and the tissue regeneration effect is improved. And the acellular matrix particles can continuously induce adhesion, migration, proliferation and differentiation of endogenous cells of tissues, synergistically promote in-situ tissue regeneration, effectively reduce repeated injection requirements and reduce long-term complication risks, and have a good application prospect in soft tissue filling and repairing.

The present disclosure relates generally to methods of inhibiting a tripartite VAP-A, ORP3 and Rab7 (VOR) protein complex in multicellular organisms, to methods of identifying agents which inhibit such complex and to the medical use of those agents. Inhibition of the VOR complex causes interference with at least one mechanism of intercellular communication, wherein the intercellular communication is mediated by receptor-ligand interaction and / or EVs, and viral infection involving the transport of endocytosed biomaterials to the nucleus of recipient cells.

The invention belongs to the technical field of biological materials, and discloses a PEEK bone implant material of a piezoelectric catalysis biological heterojunction and a preparation method of the PEEK bone implant material, the material comprises a PEEK bone implant loaded with the biological heterojunction, the biological heterojunction is composed of BiVOO and a chalcogenide calcium compound in a molar ratio of 1-3, and the chalcogenide calcium compound is calcium sulfide, calcium selenide or calcium telluride; during preparation, the BiVO / CaX biological heterojunction is firstly prepared by a hydrothermal method or an in-situ composite method, then PEEK is sequentially subjected to acetone, ethanol and deionized water cleaning, sulfuric acid ultrasonic treatment for 5-10 minutes and dopamine modification, the biological heterojunction is in contact with the modified PEEK at 4 DEG C for 12 hours to complete loading, and improvement means can be introduced into part of schemes. The material has the acoustic catalytic antibacterial function and the bone repair promoting function, the antibacterial effect can be regulated and controlled through ultrasound, the process is simple, and the reaction condition is mild; the multi-drug-resistant bacterial infection can be dealt with, and the heterojunction loading stability and the material cell compatibility are improved.

The invention discloses a functional microbial agent for purifying breeding sewage and a preparation method of the functional microbial agent, and belongs to the technical field of functional microbial materials. The microbial agent is composed of a core functional unit and a porous carrier according to a mass ratio of 3: 1 to 5: 1, the core functional unit comprises a symbiotic engineering flora and a compound enzyme system in a volume ratio of 7: 1, and the symbiotic engineering flora is compounded by sphingomonas aeruginosa, paenibacillus splendidus and acinetobacter hemolyticus according to a ratio of 1: 1: 1; the porous carrier is a low-cost porous carbon material prepared on the basis of an animal waste blood / iron complex. Through systematic cooperation of a specific functional flora, a compound enzyme system and a special porous carrier, synergism of adsorption protection and biodegradation is achieved, the stress resistance and purification efficiency of the microbial agent in an antibiotic and heavy metal combined pollution environment are remarkably improved, and the industrial problem that an aquaculture sewage biological treatment system is prone to collapse is particularly solved; meanwhile, waste is treated by waste, and the method is low in cost and suitable for large-scale application.

The invention discloses an ultrasonic controllable multifunctional microneedle patch as well as a preparation method and application thereof, and belongs to the technical field of biological materials. The preparation method comprises the following steps: preparing crystalline CoW-LDH nanosheets from Co (NO3) 2.6 H2O, Na2WO4. 2H2O and NaOH, dispersing the crystalline CoW-LDH nanosheets in PBS (Phosphate Buffer Solution), centrifuging and collecting the crystalline CoW-LDH nanosheets, and re-dispersing the crystalline CoW-LDH nanosheets in ultrapure water to obtain amorphous CoW-LDH nanosheets; adding PEG (Polyethylene Glycol), ultrasonically dispersing, stirring at room temperature, centrifuging, collecting and centrifugally washing with ultrapure water to obtain a PEG modified amorphous CoW-LDH nanosheet; and adding microalgae and an amorphous CoW-LDH nanosheet modified by PEG (Polyethylene Glycol) to prepare the ultrasonic controllable multifunctional microneedle patch. The multifunctional microneedle patch disclosed by the invention is high in biological safety, can realize ultrasonic controllability, has a sonodynamic treatment effect and an oxygen supply effect, remarkably inhibits melanoma recurrence and remarkably promotes wound healing, and has a wide application prospect.

The invention belongs to the technical field of medical biological materials, and particularly relates to a repair material for trigeminal nerve injury as well as a preparation method and application of the repair material. The repairing material is prepared from the following raw materials in parts by mass: 0.5 to 5 parts of nervous tissue acellular matrix micro powder, 0.5 to 5 parts of oxidized sodium alginate, 0.005 to 0.02 part of calcium dobesilate, 0.4 to 1 part of Ca-EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) and 0.4 to 1 part of D-glucolactone. The repairing material is directly injected to the exposed nerve part, damaged nerves are wrapped, the protection effect is achieved, external environment irritation is prevented, the components of the repairing material have the nerve nourishing effect, repairing of the damaged nerves can be promoted, permanent injury of trigeminal nerves is avoided, the duration time of related symptoms is shortened, and the repairing material has a good application prospect. Therefore, the method has good practical application value.

An endoscopic printing device comprising: a printing head having: a nozzle for outputting a biomaterial; a central conduit connectable to a source of the biomaterial and connected to the nozzle, the central conduit being flexible; ribs disposed around the central conduit and spaced apart from one, a rib of the ribs defining three or more guiding apertures extending axially through the rib, the ribs being interconnected to one another; and cables extending through the guiding apertures, ends of the cables attached to the central conduit, the cables configured to be engaged to an actuator for controlling motion of the endoscopic printing head; and an actuation system engaged to the cables, the actuation system including actuators each engaged to a respective one of the cables, the actuators operable to vary a tension in one or more of the cables relative to a remainder of the cable to bend the central conduit.

The application discloses a tilapia collagen piezoelectric hydrogel and application of the tilapia collagen piezoelectric hydrogel in preparation of biomaterials for treating tissue injury. The piezoelectric hydrogel is collagen / oxidized gellan gum / barium titanate hydrogel, presents an irregular interconnected porous structure, the compressive strength of the piezoelectric hydrogel is 46.26-95.74 kPa, and the output voltage is 4.47-90.59 mV. The piezoelectric hydrogel based on tilapia collagen is introduced, amino titanium acid barium and oxidized gellan gum are introduced to improve the physical properties of the hydrogel, piezoelectric characteristics are integrated into the hydrogel, and therefore, the dependence of a traditional electric stimulation device on an external power supply is avoided.

The invention relates to the technical field of biological materials, in particular to composite hydrogel as well as a preparation method and application thereof. In particular to an ion response type ELPs-SA composite hydrogel constructed based on elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and sodium alginate (SA) as well as a preparation method and application of the ion response type ELPs-SA composite hydrogel. According to the hydrogel, elastic-like polypeptides ELP-Vs (such as adhesion promotion, angiogenesis, antibiosis and the like) with biological functions are introduced and react with SA, CaCO3 and gluconolactone (GDL) together, and the non-covalent cross-linked three-dimensional network hydrogel is formed under mild conditions. The obtained hydrogel has excellent mechanical strength (the energy storage modulus is 450-1773 Pa), a proper microporous structure (the pore diameter is 50-100 microns) and good biocompatibility, and can support three-dimensional culture of cells and promote angiogenesis and immunoregulation. The material has a wide application prospect in the biomedical fields of tissue engineering, wound repair, organoid construction and the like.

The invention relates to the field of biological materials and nanotechnology, and discloses a nano lignin-based hydrogel preparation method which comprises the following steps: S1, pretreating more than 15% of lignin-rich cellulose biomass raw materials by using a choline chloride-lactic acid deep eutectic solvent to prepare nano lignin particles; s2, the nano lignin particles are mixed with silver nitrate and sodium hydroxide, and lignin-silver nano particles are synthesized through an oxidation-reduction reaction; s3, adding the lignin-silver nanoparticles into a polyvinyl alcohol solution, and mixing to form a mixture; and S4, carrying out freezing-thawing cycle induced physical crosslinking on the mixture to form the nano composite hydrogel. By forming a compact porous network, the hydrogel not only has good mechanical properties (the tensile strength reaches 0.7-0.9 MPa), but also has good toughness and ductility (1.0-1.3 MJ.m <-3 >) and excellent pressure sensitivity (the pressure sensitivity is 2.5-2.7 kPa <-1 >).

The invention discloses modified cellulose nanofiber reinforced bi-crosslinking immunoregulation hydrogel as well as a preparation method and application thereof, and belongs to the technical field of biological materials and biomedical engineering. Oxidized sodium alginate and dopamine grafted gelatin are adopted to prepare a main body of the composite hydrogel, aldehyde groups on the oxidized sodium alginate and amino groups on the gelatin can form Schiff base bonds, and borax, the oxidized sodium alginate and vicinal diol structures on modified cellulose nanofibers can form boric acid ester bonds. The double-crosslinking structure enhances the mechanical property of the hydrogel. The borate bond and the Schiff base bond are both dynamic chemical bonds and can respond to pH change, so that the hydrogel is endowed with self-healing performance and pH-responsive drug release ability, the hydrogel can quickly release liposome with an anti-inflammatory function in an acidic inflammatory environment in the early stage of cartilage injury, and the hydrogel recovers to an original state after fracture caused by joint movement. And the overall stability of the hydrogel is ensured by the double-crosslinking structure.

A system (100) includes a bioprinter (110) having a nozzle (116) that is transluminally advanceable to the heart via a catheter (120). The bioprinter houses a bioink (140) comprising a biomaterial (142). While the nozzle extends from a distal portion (124) of the catheter, the nozzle can extrude the bioink into the heart such that the biomaterial assumes a three-dimensional implant-shape. Other embodiments are also described.

The invention belongs to the technical field of agriculture, and particularly relates to a preparation method of artificial soil, which comprises the steps of two-stage fermentation, construction of a nano mineral and biochar composite skeleton system, inoculation of a complex microbial inoculant, soil activation and the like. According to the invention, by systematically simulating a natural soil forming mechanism, combining soil, biology and material science, and surrounding three key dimensions of organic matter gradient conversion, mineral skeleton precision construction and microbial community cultivation, synergistic aerobic fermentation of multi-source organic wastes is improved; according to the method, a nano-scale mineral activation and biochar modification technology is developed to construct a honeycomb-like multi-stage pore structure, and meanwhile, a specific functional microbial community is implanted, so that high humus, high structural stability and high biological activity of the cultivated soil are achieved while rapid establishment of a soil self-sustaining ecosystem is realized.

The present invention belongs to the technical field of genetic engineering. Provided are a single-base editor, a deaminase used therein, and the use thereof. The technical problems to be solved are to identify a naturally occurring cytosine deaminase without sequence preference, construct a base editor, and improve the efficiency and scope of base editing. In order to solve the technical problems above, a cytosine base editor is provided. The cytosine base editor is a fusion protein, wherein the fusion protein is a protein containing a cytidine deaminase, a Cas protein and a uracil-DNA glycosylase inhibitor, and the cytidine deaminase is a protein having an amino acid sequence of positions 28-164 of SEQ ID NO. 2. Further provided is the use of the fusion protein above and a biomaterial related thereto in plant single-base editing. The single-base editor can improve the efficiency of cytosine base editing and accurately mediate the base mutation of a target, and is widely applicable in the cells of maize and even other plants.