Publications by authors named "Kathy-Uyen Nguyen"
Article Synopsis
- Tolyporphins were discovered 30 years ago during a global search for cancer-fighting compounds from cyanobacteria, with the HT-58-2 culture being the only known producer.
- There are eighteen identified tolyporphins, each with unique structures that feature various chromophores and glycoside groups, which differentiate them from other pigments.
- Research into tolyporphins includes investigations into their origins, biosynthetic pathways, and potential medical uses, highlighting the interest from various scientific disciplines.
Article Synopsis
- Antibody-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (ADEPT) utilizes an enzyme linked to antibodies to convert inactive prodrugs into active cancer drugs, although the diffusion of the active drugs away from the target site poses a challenge.
- Research is exploring a molecular brachytherapy approach that involves converting soluble radiotherapeutics to insoluble forms at the target site for better immobilization, which has seen limited investigation so far.
- The study also developed 21 compounds based on aggregation-induced emission (AIE) principles, which enhance solubility and provide a platform for further research into effective strategies for molecular brachytherapy.
Tolyporphins A-R are unusual tetrapyrrole macrocycles produced by the non-axenic filamentous cyanobacterium HT-58-2. A putative biosynthetic gene cluster for biosynthesis of tolyporphins (here termed BGC-1) was previously identified in the genome of HT-58-2. Here, homology searching of BGC-1 in HT-58-2 led to identification of similar BGCs in seven other filamentous cyanobacteria, including strains sp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTolyporphins are distinctive tetrapyrrole natural products found singularly in a filamentous cyanobacterial-microbial holobiont (termed HT-58-2) from Micronesia. The absorption and fluorescence features of tolyporphins resemble those of chlorophyll a, complicating direct analysis of culture samples. Treatment of the crude (unfractionated) organic extract (CH Cl /2-propanol, 1:1) of HT-58-2 cultures with NaBH in methanol causes reduction of the peripheral ketone auxochromes, whereupon tolyporphins (predominantly 7,17-dioxobacteriochlorins) exhibit a bathochromic shift (λ ˜ 676 → ˜ 700 nm) and chlorophyll a (a 13 -oxochlorin) exhibits a hypsochromic shift (λ 665 → 634 nm).
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