Egg white hydrolysate peptides act as antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory agents for acne.

A simple method to generate antibacterial peptides by alkaline hydrolysis of hen egg whites is reported. The method reproducibly generates short peptides with molecular weight of less than 14.4 kDa that exhibit low to no cytotoxicity on RAW 264.

Evaluation of molecular inhibitors of loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP).

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a cost-effective and easy-to-perform assay that enables the direct detection of DNA. Its use in point-of-care diagnostic tests is growing, while it has the potential to be used in presumptive on-the-field forensic tests. Samples are often collected from complex matrices that contain high levels of contaminants.

Rational design of an N-terminal cysteine-containing tetrapeptide that inhibits tyrosinase and evaluation of its mechanism of action.

There has been a resurgence of interest in bioactive peptides as therapeutic agents. This is particularly interesting for tyrosinase, which can be inhibited by thiol-containing peptides. This work demonstrates that an N-terminal cysteine-containing tetrapeptide can be rationally designed to inhibit tyrosinase activity and in cells.

Rational design and characterization of cell-selective antimicrobial peptides based on a bioactive peptide from Crocodylus siamensis hemoglobin.

Antimicrobial resistance is a growing health concern. Antimicrobial peptides are a potential solution because they bypass conventional drug resistance mechanisms. Previously, we isolated a peptide from Crocodylus siamensis hemoglobin hydrolysate, which has antimicrobial activity and identified the main peptide from this mixture (QL17).

A SARS-Cov-2 sensor based on upconversion nanoparticles and graphene oxide.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased need for the development of novel diagnostic solutions that can accurately and rapidly detect SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this work, we demonstrate the targeting of viral oligonucleotide markers within minutes without the requirement of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification step the use of oligonucleotide-coated upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) and graphene oxide (GO).

Evaluation of TILI-2 as an Anti-Tyrosinase, Anti-Oxidative Agent and Its Role in Preventing Melanogenesis Using a Proteomics Approach.

There is a desire to develop new molecules that can combat hyperpigmentation. To this end, the N-terminal cysteine-containing heptapeptide TILI-2 has shown promising preliminary results. In this work, the mechanism by which it works was evaluated using a series of biochemical assays focusing on known biochemical pathways, followed by LC-MS/MS proteomics to discover pathways that have not been considered before.

An Integrated Proteomics and Bioinformatics Analysis of the Anticancer Properties of RT2 Antimicrobial Peptide on Human Colon Cancer (Caco-2) Cells.

New selective, efficacious chemotherapy agents are in demand as traditional drugs display side effects and face growing resistance upon continued administration. To this end, bioactive molecules such as peptides are attracting interest. RT2 is a cationic peptide that was used as an antimicrobial but is being repurposed for targeting cancer.

Proteomic profiling reveals antitumor effects of RT2 peptide on a human colon carcinoma xenograft mouse model.

A comparative study of human colon HCT-116 xenograft in nude mice treated with and without peptide RT2 at high doses is performed along with a label-free proteomic analysis of the tissue in order to understand the potential mechanisms by which RT2 acts in vivo against colorectal tumors. RT2 displays no significant systematic toxicity, but reduces tumor growth after either intraperitoneal or intratumoral injection demonstrating it is a safe and efficacious antitumor agent in vivo. Of the 3196 proteins identified by label-free proteomics, 61 proteins appear only in response to RT2 and are involved in cellular processes largely localized in the cells and cell parts.

A New 1,5-Disubstituted Triazole DNA Backbone Mimic with Enhanced Polymerase Compatibility.

Triazole linkages (TLs) are mimics of the phosphodiester bond in oligonucleotides with applications in synthetic biology and biotechnology. Here we report the RuAAC-catalyzed synthesis of a novel 1,5-disubstituted triazole (TL) dinucleoside phosphoramidite as well as its incorporation into oligonucleotides and compare its DNA polymerase replication competency with other TL analogues. We demonstrate that TL has superior replication kinetics to these analogues and is accurately replicated by polymerases.

"Split-and-Click" sgRNA.

CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing is dependent on a programmable single guide RNA (sgRNA) that directs Cas9 endonuclease activity. This RNA is often generated by enzymatic reactions, however the process becomes time-consuming as the number of sgRNAs increases and does not allow the incorporation of chemical modifications that can improve or expand the functionality of CRISPR. Solid-phase RNA synthesis can overcome these issues, but highly pure full-length sgRNA remains at the limits of current synthetic methods.

Squaramides and Ureas: A Flexible Approach to Polymerase-Compatible Nucleic Acid Assembly.

Joining oligonucleotides together (ligation) is a powerful means of retrieving information from the nanoscale. To recover this information, the linkages created must be compatible with polymerases. However, enzymatic ligation is restrictive and current chemical ligation methods lack flexibility.

An artificial triazole backbone linkage provides a split-and-click strategy to bioactive chemically modified CRISPR sgRNA.

As the applications of CRISPR-Cas9 technology diversify and spread beyond the laboratory to diagnostic and therapeutic use, the demands of gRNA synthesis have increased and access to tailored gRNAs is now restrictive. Enzymatic routes are time-consuming, difficult to scale-up and suffer from polymerase-bias while existing chemical routes are inefficient. Here, we describe a split-and-click convergent chemical route to individual or pools of sgRNAs.