Formation of vesicular structures from fatty acids formed under simulated volcanic hydrothermal conditions.

Microscopic compartmentalization is beneficial in synthetic chemistry and indispensable for the evolution of life to separate a reactive "inside" from a hydrolyzing "outside". Here, we show compartmentalization in aqueous solution containing mixtures of fatty acids up to 19 carbon atoms which were synthesized by one-pot reactions of acetylene and carbon monoxide in contact with nickel sulfide at 105 °C, reaction requirements which are compatible to Hadean Early Earth conditions. Based on confocal, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements, vesicle-like structures with diameters of 10-150 nm are formed after solvent extraction and resolubilisation.

Phage Therapy in Germany-Update 2023.

Bacteriophage therapy holds promise in addressing the antibiotic-resistance crisis, globally and in Germany. Here, we provide an overview of the current situation (2023) of applied phage therapy and supporting research in Germany. The authors, an interdisciplinary group working on patient-focused bacteriophage research, addressed phage production, phage banks, susceptibility testing, clinical application, ongoing translational research, the regulatory situation, and the network structure in Germany.

Cell-free production of personalized therapeutic phages targeting multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Bacteriophages are potent therapeutics against biohazardous bacteria, which rapidly develop multidrug resistance. However, routine administration of phage therapy is hampered by a lack of rapid production, safe bioengineering, and detailed characterization of phages. Thus, we demonstrate a comprehensive cell-free platform for personalized production, transient engineering, and proteomic characterization of a broad spectrum of phages.

Practical Assessment of an Interdisciplinary Bacteriophage Delivery Pipeline for Personalized Therapy of Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections.

Despite numerous advances in personalized phage therapy, smooth logistics are challenging, particularly for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections requiring high numbers of specific lytic phages. We conducted this study to pave the way for efficient logistics for critically ill patients by (1) closely examining and improving a current pipeline under realistic conditions, (2) offering guidelines for each step, leading to safe and high-quality phage supplies, and (3) providing a tool to evaluate the pipeline's efficiency. Due to varying stipulations for quality and safety in different countries, we focused the pipeline on all steps up to a required phage product by a cell-free extract system.

Evaluation of an E. coli Cell Extract Prepared by Lysozyme-Assisted Sonication via Gene Expression, Phage Assembly and Proteomics.

Over the past decades, starting from crude cell extracts, a variety of successful preparation protocols and optimized reaction conditions have been established for the production of cell-free gene expression systems. One of the crucial steps during the preparation of cell extract-based expression systems is the cell lysis procedure itself, which largely determines the quality of the active components of the extract. Here we evaluate the utility of an E.