Influence of deep eutectic solvents on redox biocatalysis involving alcohol dehydrogenases.

Redox biocatalysis plays an increasingly important role in modern organic synthesis. The recent integration of novel media such as deep eutectic solvents (DESs) has significantly impacted this field of chemical biology. Alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) are important biocatalysts where their unique specificity is used for enantioselective synthesis.

Protein Extraction and Purification by Differential Solubilization.

The preparation of purified soluble proteins for biochemical studies is essential and the solubility of a protein of interest in various media is central to this process. Selectively altering the solubility of a protein is a rapid and economical step in protein purification and is based on exploiting the inherent physicochemical properties of a polypeptide. Precipitation of proteins, released from cells upon lysis, is often used to concentrate a protein of interest before further purification steps (e.

Approaches to Avoid Proteolysis During Protein Expression and Purification.

All cells contain proteases, which hydrolyze the peptide bonds between amino acids of a protein backbone. Typically, proteases are prevented from nonspecific proteolysis by regulation and by their physical separation into different subcellular compartments; however, this segregation is not retained during cell lysis, which is the initial step in any protein isolation procedure. Prevention of proteolysis during protein purification often takes the form of a two-pronged approach: first, inhibition of proteolysis in situ, followed by the early separation of the protease from the protein of interest via chromatographic purification.

Methodology for clinical research.

A clinical research requires a systematic approach with diligent planning, execution and sampling in order to obtain reliable and validated results, as well as an understanding of each research methodology is essential for researchers. Indeed, selecting an inappropriate study type, an error that cannot be corrected after the beginning of a study, results in flawed methodology. The results of clinical research studies enhance the repertoire of knowledge regarding a disease pathogenicity, an existing or newly discovered medication, surgical or diagnostic procedure or medical device.

Extracellular secretion of a cutinase with polyester-degrading potential by E. coli using a novel signal peptide from Amycolatopsis mediterranei.

Recent studies in this laboratory showed that an extracellular cutinase from A. mediterranei (AmCut) was able to degrade the plastics polycaprolactone and polybutylene succinate. Such plastics can be slow to degrade in soils due to a lack of efficient polyester degrading organisms.

Novel Facet of an Old Dietary Molecule? Direct Influence of Caffeine on Glucose and Biogenic Amine Handling by Human Adipocytes.

Caffeine is a plant alkaloid present in food and beverages consumed worldwide. It has high lipid solubility with recognized actions in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues, notably the adipose depots. However, the literature is scant regarding caffeine's influence on adipocyte functions other than lipolysis, such as glucose incorporation into lipids (lipogenesis) and amine oxidation.

An extracellular lipase from is a cutinase with plastic degrading activity.

An extracellular lipase from (AML) with potential applications in process biotechnology was recently cloned and examined in this laboratory. In the present study, the 3D structure of AML was elucidated by comparative modelling. AML lacked the 'lid' structure observed in most true lipases and shared similarities with plastic degrading enzymes.

Ethics committees for clinical experimentation at international level with a focus on Italy.

Guiding legislation and associated bureaucracy for the ethical review of clinical trials observational studies and food related research play an important role in the competitiveness of a nation in the face of tough global competition to attract sponsors and investigators. This is of particular relevance in the case of multicentre trials and multidisciplinary research. Accordingly, in this report we tried to gather in-depth knowledge of the current role and practices of ethics committees nationwide in both clinical and research settings.

Methylxanthines Inhibit Primary Amine Oxidase and Monoamine Oxidase Activities of Human Adipose Tissue.

Methylxanthines including caffeine and theobromine are widely consumed compounds and were recently shown to interact with bovine copper-containing amine oxidase. To the best of our knowledge, no direct demonstration of any interplay between these phytochemicals and human primary amine oxidase (PrAO) has been reported to date. We took advantage of the coexistence of PrAO and monoamine oxidase (MAO) activities in human subcutaneous adipose tissue (hScAT) to test the interaction between several methylxanthines and these enzymes, which are involved in many key pathophysiological processes.

Theobromine and related methylxanthines as inhibitors of Primary Amine Oxidase.

Methylxanthines are among the most widely consumed drugs in the world and evidence of their health benefits has been growing in recent years. Primary Amine Oxidase (PrAO) has been recognized as a therapeutic target for the amelioration of inflammatory, vascular, and neurodegenerative diseases. Previous work in our laboratories showed that caffeine inhibited Bovine PrAO with a Ki of 1.

The Statistical Optimisation of Recombinant β-glucosidase Production through a Two-Stage, Multi-Model, Design of Experiments Approach.

β-glucosidases are a class of enzyme that are widely distributed in the living world, with examples noted in plants, fungi, animals and bacteria. They offer both hydrolysis and synthesis capacity for a wide range of biotechnological processes. However, the availability of native, or the production of recombinant β-glucosidases, is currently a bottleneck in the widespread industrial application of this enzyme.

Solvent stable microbial lipases: current understanding and biotechnological applications.

Objective: This review examines on our current understanding of microbial lipase solvent tolerance, with a specific focus on the molecular strategies employed to improve lipase stability in a non-aqueous environment.

Results: It provides an overview of known solvent tolerant lipases and of approaches to improving solvent stability such as; enhancing stabilising interactions, modification of residue flexibility and surface charge alteration. It shows that judicious selection of lipase source supplemented by appropriate enzyme stabilisation, can lead to a wide application spectrum for lipases.

The Goldilocks Approach: A Review of Employing Design of Experiments in Prokaryotic Recombinant Protein Production.

The production of high yields of soluble recombinant protein is one of the main objectives of protein biotechnology. Several factors, such as expression system, vector, host, media composition and induction conditions can influence recombinant protein yield. Identifying the most important factors for optimum protein expression may involve significant investment of time and considerable cost.

Isolation, purification and characterization of a novel solvent stable lipase from Pseudomonas reinekei.

The Pseudomonas sp. have been long recognized for their exogenous lipolytic activities yet the genus still contains a lot of unexplored strains. Due to the versatile metabolic machinery and their potential for adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions Pseudomonas sp.

β-Glucosidase from Streptomyces griseus: Nanoparticle immobilisation and application to alkyl glucoside synthesis.

A novel β-glucosidase from Streptomyces griseus was cloned and overexpressed in E. coli. The purified β-glucosidase (44 kDa) had a K of 8.

Avoiding Proteolysis During Protein Purification.

All cells contain proteases which hydrolyze the peptide bonds between amino acids in a protein backbone. Typically, proteases are prevented from nonspecific proteolysis by regulation and by their physical separation into different subcellular compartments; however, this segregation is not retained during cell lysis, which is the initial step in any protein isolation procedure. Prevention of proteolysis during protein purification often takes the form of a two-pronged approach; firstly inhibition of proteolysis in situ, followed by the early separation of the protease from the protein of interest via chromatographical purification.

New inhibitors of the Kvβ2 subunit from mammalian Kv1 potassium channels.

The role of the redox state of Kvβ subunits in the modulation of Kv1 potassium channels has been well documented over the past few years. It has been suggested that a molecule that binds to or inhibits the aldo-keto reductase activity of Kvβ might affect the modulation of channel properties. Previous studies of possible modulators of channel activity have shown that cortisone and some related compounds are able to physically dissociate the channel components by binding to a site at the interface between α and β subunits.

A short chain NAD(H)-dependent alcohol dehydrogenase (HpSCADH) from Helicobacter pylori: a role in growth under neutral and acidic conditions.

Toxic aldehydes produced by alcohol dehydrogenases have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori-related damage to the gastric mucosa. Despite this, the enzymes that might be responsible for producing such aldehydes have not been fully described. It was, therefore, of considerable interest to characterize the alcohol oxidizing enzymes in this pathogen.