Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro by chemically modified tyrosinase from .

Antiviral compounds are crucial to controlling the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Approved drugs have been tested for their efficacy against COVID-19, and new pharmaceuticals are being developed as a complementary tool to vaccines. In this work, a cheap and fast purification method for natural tyrosinase from (AbTyr) fresh mushrooms was developed to evaluate the potential of this enzyme as a therapeutic protein the inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro protease activity .

Metal Bionanohybrids against Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) Consortia.

In search of new materials that would help to prevent microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), we have designed and synthetized six different copper and copper-silver nanoparticle-enzyme hybrids using a mild-conditions method carried out in water and r.t. Characterization analyses exhibited the presence of small crystalline nanoparticles with diameters from 2 to 20 nm.

Low Silver/Copper Exchange in a Copper-Phosphate Enzyme Nanoflower Hybrid Extremely Enhanced Antimicrobial Efficacy against Multidrug Resistant Bacteria.

Infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to many drugs are a major threat to public health in many countries around the world. Here we demonstrate the creation of heterogeneous catalytic nanomaterials with outstanding antimicrobial properties against several superbugs. We have shown that replacing a small amount of copper in a generated copper-phosphate-enzyme nanoflower hybrid with silver drastically increases the antimicrobial capacity of the nanomaterial.

Synthesis, Structural Analysis, and Peroxidase-Mimicking Activity of AuPt Branched Nanoparticles.

Bimetallic nanomaterials have generated significant interest across diverse scientific disciplines, due to their unique and tunable properties arising from the synergistic combination of two distinct metallic elements. This study presents a novel approach for synthesizing branched gold-platinum nanoparticles by utilizing poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)-stabilized branched gold nanoparticles, with a localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) response of around 1000 nm, as a template for platinum deposition. This approach allows precise control over nanoparticle size, the LSPR band, and the branching degree at an ambient temperature, without the need for high temperatures or organic solvents.

Artificial Manganese Metalloenzymes with Laccase-like Activity: Design, Synthesis, and Characterization.

Laccase is an oxidase of great industrial interest due to its ability to catalyze oxidation processes of phenols and persistent organic pollutants. However, it is susceptible to denaturation at high temperatures, sensitive to pH, and unstable in the presence of high concentrations of solvents, which is a issue for industrial use. To solve this problem, this work develops the synthesis in an aqueous medium of a new Mn metalloenzyme with laccase oxidase mimetic catalytic activity.

Design of a gold nanoparticles site in an engineered lipase: an artificial metalloenzyme with enantioselective reductase-like activity.

The conjugation of gold complexes with proteins has proved to be interesting and effective in obtaining artificial metalloenzymes as catalysts with improved properties such as higher stability, activity and selectivity. However, the design and precise regulation of their structure as protein nanostructured forms level remains a challenge. Here, we have designed and constructed a gold nanoparticles-enzyme bioconjugate, by tailoring the formation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) at two specific sites on the structure of an alkalophilic lipase from (GTL).

Copper(i) as a reducing agent for the synthesis of bimetallic PtCu catalytic nanoparticles.

This work investigates the potential utilization of Cu(i) as a reducing agent for the transformation of the platinum salt KPtCl, resulting in the production of stable nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibit a bimetallic composition, incorporating copper within their final structure. This approach offers a convenient and accessible methodology for the production of bimetallic nanostructures.

Design and Synthesis of Copper Nanobiomaterials with Antimicrobial Properties.

In this work, nanostructured copper materials have been designed, synthetized, and evaluated in order to produce a more efficient and sustainable copper bionanohybrid with catalytical and antimicrobial properties. Thus, conditions are sought where the most critical steps are reduced or minimized, such as the use of reducing agents or the cryogenization step. In addition, the new materials have been characterized through different techniques, and their oxidative and reductive capacities, as well as their antimicrobial activity, have been evaluated.

Preparation of Highly Stable and Cost-Efficient Antiviral Materials for Reducing Infections and Avoiding the Transmission of Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

The current global pandemic due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus has demonstrated the necessity to develop novel materials with antimicrobial and antiviral activities to prevent the infection. One significant route for the spread of diseases is by the transmission of the virus through contact with contaminated surfaces. Antiviral surface treatments can help to reduce or even avoid these hazards.

Embracing the cordillera: Luis Carranza Ayarza and the development of environmental imaginaries in late-nineteenth-century Peru.

This article examines the relationship between local scientific ideas about the natural world and the economic potential to transform the modern nation-state in Peru during the late nineteenth century. Writings by the Peruvian scientist Luis Carranza indicate how support for a distinctive environmental imaginary of the country's geography made it possible to conceptualize nature as an essential component of Peruvian identity. As a result, local scientists had to "imaginatively" reshape the nature of the Andes for modernization purposes.

Graphene-TLL-CuONPs Hybrid as Highly Efficient Catalyst for Degradation of Organic Compounds.

In this work, CuO nanoparticles (NPs) were created in situ on graphene functionalized with lipase (G@TLL) where site-oriented supported TLL acted as template and binder in the presence of copper salt by tailorable synthesis under mild conditions, producing a heterogeneous catalyst. CuO NPs were confirmed by XRD and XPS. The TEM microscopy showed that the nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed over the G@TLL surface with sizes of 53 nm and 165 nm.

Temperature-induced formation of Pd nanoparticles in heterogeneous nanobiohybrids: application in C-H activation catalysis.

The effect of the temperature in the synthesis of Pd nanoparticles in the metal-enzyme biohybrids is evaluated. The effect on the formation, size, and morphology of nanoparticles was evaluated using B lipase as the protein scaffold. XRD analyses confirmed the formation of crystalline Pd(0) as the metal species in all cases.

Cascade Catalysis Through Bifunctional Lipase Metal Biohybrids for the Synthesis of Enantioenriched O-Heterocycles from Allenes.

Lipase/metal nanobiohybrids, generated by growth of silver or gold nanoparticles on protein matrixes are used as highly effective dual-activity heterogeneous catalysts for the production of enantiomerically enriched 2,5-dihydrofurans from allenic acetates in a one-pot cascade process combining a lipase-mediated hydrolytic kinetic resolution with a metal-catalyzed allene cycloisomerization. Incorporating a novel strategy based on enzyme-polymer bioconjugates in the nanobiohybrid preparation enables excellent conversions in the process. lipase B (CALB) in combination with a dextran-based polymer modifier (DexAsp) proved to be most efficient when merged with silver nanoparticles.

Synthesis of silver and gold nanoparticles-enzyme-polymer conjugate hybrids as dual-activity catalysts for chemoenzymatic cascade reactions.

Novel hybrids containing silver or gold nanoparticles have been synthesized in aqueous media and at room temperature using enzymes or tailor-made enzyme-polymer conjugates, which directly induced the formation of inorganic silver or gold species. The choice of pH, protein, or bioconjugate strongly affected the final metallic nanoparticles hybrid formation. Using (CALB) in a solution, nanobiohybrids containing AgO nanoparticles of 9 nm average diameter were obtained.

A Comparison of the Two-Minute Walk Test (2MWT) and Comprehensive High-level Activity Mobility Predictor (CHAMP) in People with a Leg Prosthesis.

Objective: To determine if the two-minute walk test (2MWT) could serve as an alternative measure of high-level mobility in lower limb prosthesis users when circumstances preclude administration of the Comprehensive High-level Activity Mobility Predictor (CHAMP).

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Indoor recreational athletic field and gymnasium.

Functional Glyconanomaterials.

Nanotechnology provides a new array of techniques and platforms to study biological processes including glycosystems [...

New PCR-Based Assay for the Identification of Causing Potato Soft Rot.

Soft rot on potato tuber is a destructive disease caused by pathogenic bacterial species of the genera and . Accurate identification of the causal agent is necessary to ensure adequate disease management because different species may have distinct levels of aggressiveness and host range. One of the most important potato pathogens is , a highly heterogeneous species capable of infecting multiple hosts.

In Vitro Antiviral Activity of Tyrosinase from Mushroom against Hepatitis C Virus.

Tyrosinases from a commercial protein extract and directly isolated from white mushrooms were purified in order to obtaining the well-known tyrosinase from () of 45 kDa and a newly discovered 50 kDa tyrosinase isoform (), and tested showing high antiviral activity against the hepatitis C virus for the first time. Cell toxicity and antiviral activity of tyrosinases were determined in cultured Huh 5-2 liver tumor cells transfected with a replicon system (a plasmid that includes all non-structural hepatitis C virus proteins and replicates autonomously). was able to inhibit the replication of the hepatitis C virus without inducing toxicity in liver cells.

Glyconanomaterials for Human Virus Detection and Inhibition.

Viruses are among the most infectious pathogens, responsible for the highest death toll around the world. Lack of effective clinical drugs for most viral diseases emphasizes the need for speedy and accurate diagnosis at early stages of infection to prevent rapid spread of the pathogens. Glycans are important molecules which are involved in different biological recognition processes, especially in the spread of infection by mediating virus interaction with endothelial cells.

Geranyl Functionalized Materials for Site-Specific Co-Immobilization of Proteins.

Different materials containing carboxylic groups have been functionalized with geranyl-amine molecules by using an EDC/NHS strategy. Chemical modification of the support was confirmed by XRD, UV-spectrophotometer, and FT-IR. This geranyl-functionalized material was successfully applied for four different strategies of site-selective immobilization of proteins at room temperature and aqueous media.

Pd-Oxazolone complexes conjugated to an engineered enzyme: improving fluorescence and catalytic properties.

Different Pd-complexes containing orthometallated push-pull oxazolones were inserted by supramolecular Pd-amino acid coordination on two genetically engineered modified variants of the thermoalkalophilic Geobacillus thermocatenolatus lipase (GTL). Pd-lipase conjugation was performed on the solid phase in the previously immobilized form of GTL under mild conditions, and soluble conjugated Pd-GTL complexes were obtained by simply desorbing by washing with an acetonitrile aqueous solution. Three different Pd complexes were incorporated into two different genetically modified enzyme variants, one containing all the natural cysteine residues changed to serine residues, and another variant including an additional Cys mutation directly in the catalytic serine (Ser114Cys).

Enzyme/Nanocopper Hybrid Nanozymes: Modulating Enzyme-like Activity by the Protein Structure for Biosensing and Tumor Catalytic Therapy.

Artificial enzymes with modulated enzyme-mimicking activities of natural systems represent a challenge in catalytic applications. Here, we show the creation of artificial Cu metalloenzymes based on the generation of Cu nanoparticles in an enzyme matrix. Different enzymes were used, and the structural differences between the enzymes especially influenced the controlled the size of the nanoparticles and the environment that surrounds them.

Microbial lipase: a new approach for a heterogeneous biocatalyst.

Lipases are enzymes employed in several industrial process and their applicability can be increased if these biocatalysts are in the immobilize form. The objective of this work was to study the immobilization of lipase produced by submerged cultivation of sp. by hydrophobic interaction, evaluating its stability and reuse capacity.

Assessment of Multilocus Sequence Analysis (MLSA) for Identification of Liberibacter Solanacearum from Different Host Plants in Spain.

is a bacterial group causing different diseases and disorders in plants. Among liberibacters, Liberibacter solanaceraum (CLso) produces disorders in several species mainly within Apiaceae and Solanaceae families. CLso isolates are usually grouped in defined haplotypes according to single nucleotide polymorphisms in genes associated with ribosomal elements.