Siderophore natural products as pharmaceutical agents.

Siderophore natural products are characterized by an ability to tightly chelate metals. The origins of such compounds are often pathogenic microbes utilizing siderophores as virulence factors during host infection. The mechanism for siderophore formation typically involves the activity of nonribosomal peptide synthetases producing compounds across functional group classifications that include catecholate, phenolate, hydroxamate, and mixed categories.

Complex natural product production methods and options.

Natural products have had a major impact upon quality of life, with antibiotics as a classic example of having a transformative impact upon human health. In this contribution, we will highlight both historic and emerging methods of natural product bio-manufacturing. Traditional methods of natural product production relied upon native cellular host systems.

Consolidated plasmid Design for Stabilized Heterologous Production of the complex natural product Siderophore Yersiniabactin.

Yersiniabactin (Ybt) is a hybrid polyketide-nonribosomal complex natural product also known as a siderophore for its iron chelation properties. The native producer of Ybt, Yersinia pestis, is a priority pathogen responsible for the plague in which the siderophore properties of Ybt are used to sequester iron and other metal species upon host infection. Alternatively, the high metal binding properties of Ybt enable a plethora of potentially valuable applications benefiting from metal remediation and/or recovery.

Heterologous biosynthesis as a platform for producing new generation natural products.

Natural products have demonstrated value across numerous application areas, with antibiotics a notable historical example. Native cellular hosts provide an initial option in efforts to harness natural product production. However, various complexities associated with native hosts, including fastidious growth traits and limited molecular biology tools, have prompted an alternative approach termed heterologous biosynthesis that relies upon a surrogate biological system to reconstitute the biosynthetic sequence stemming from transplanted genetic blueprint.

Flux Balance Analysis for Media Optimization and Genetic Targets to Improve Heterologous Siderophore Production.

Siderophores are small molecule metal chelators secreted in sparse quantities by their native microbial hosts but can be engineered for enhanced production from heterologous hosts like Escherichia coli. These molecules have been proved to be capable of binding heavy metals of commercial and/or environmental interest. In this work, we incorporated, as needed, the appropriate pathways required to produce several siderophores (anguibactin, vibriobactin, bacillibactin, pyoverdine, and enterobactin) into the base E.

Regenerative Core-Shell Nanoparticles for Simultaneous Removal and Detection of Endotoxins.

Detection and removal of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from food and pharmaceutical preparations is important for their safe intake and administration to avoid septic shock. We have developed an abiotic system for reversible capture, removal, and detection of LPS in aqueous solutions. Our system comprises long C18 acyl chains tethered to FeO/Au/FeO nanoflowers (NFs) that act as solid supports during the separation process.