This experiment was conducted to compare carcass and meat quality traits, and muscle fibre characteristics in the longissimus muscle of the Landrace [an European pig breed] and the Lantang [a Chinese native pig breed] at the ages of 60, 90 and 150 days. The characteristics of muscle fibres were determined by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and histological methods (ATPase and succinodehydrogenase, SDH). A significant age difference was observed in loin eye area (LEA), backfat thickness (BF), pH45 min , pH24 h , drip loss, moisture, ash, number percentages of αR and αW fibres, muscle fibre cross-sectional area and mRNA expression of myosin heavy chain (MyHC)-slow and MyHC-IIb. The Lantang showed a higher intramuscular fat (IMF) content and BF than the Landrace, while the Landrace exhibited a higher LEA and ash content than the Lantang. Both breeds exhibited similar developments in muscle fibre composition, and there were small differences in muscle fibre composition and muscle fibre cross-sectional area. However, Landrace pigs showed a significantly higher mRNA relative expression of MyHC-IIb. These results suggested that age was an important factor in the variation of carcass, meat quality traits and characteristics of muscle fibres. The main differences between the breeds at the same age were LEA, BF, IMF and ash contents, and fast glycolytic MyHC-IIb in the mRNA level.

Neste trabalho, foi desenvolvido um método para preparação de nanopartículas magnéticas monodispersas funcionalizadas com grupos carboxila. Maguemita de dimensões nanométricas (y-Fe2O3, 7,0 ± 1,0 nm) foi sintetizada usando-se o método de coprecipitação térmica e subseqüentemente coberta com grupos funcionais por copolimerização em suspensão conduzida em uma etapa. Estudos de espectroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier e análise termogravimétrica confirmaram o sucesso da funcionalização dos grupos carboxila na superfície dos nanocristais magnéticos. Esta superfície química torna possível a purificação de DNA baseada em SPRI (imobilização reversível em fase sólida). Assim, as nanopartículas foram empregadas para isolamento de DNA de cultura de células bacterianas e os resultados demonstraram sua aplicabilidade na preparação de DNA.

In this work, a method was developed to prepare monodispersed carboxyl-group functionalized magnetic nanoparticles. Nanosized maghemite (y-Fe2O3, 7.0 ± 1.0 nm) was synthesized using thermal co-precipitation method and subsequently coated with functional groups by one-step suspension copolymerization. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy study and thermogravitmetric analyses confirmed the successful functionalization of carboxyl groups on the surface of magnetic nanocrystals. The surface chemistry makes it possible for SPRI (solid phase reversible immobilization)-based DNA purification. Thus the nanoparticles were employed to isolate plasmid DNA from bacterial cell culture and the results demonstrated its applicability in DNA preparation.