Metabolomic fingerprinting of Brazilian marine sponges: a case study of Plakinidae species from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago.

Marine sponges from the Plakinidae family are well known for hosting cytotoxic secondary metabolites and the Brazilian Atlantic coast and its oceanic islands have been considered as a hotspot for the discovery of new Plakinidae species. Herein, we report the chemical profile among cytotoxic extracts obtained from four species of Plakinidae, collected in Fernando de Noronha Archipelago (PE, Northeastern Brazil). Crude organic extracts of Plakinastrella microspiculifera, Plakortis angulospiculatus, Plakortis insularis, and Plakortis petrupaulensis showed strong antiproliferative effects against two different cancer cell lines (HCT-116: 86.

Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase from T. cruzi magnetic beads affinity-based screening assays on crude plant extracts from Brazilian Cerrado.

In T. cruzi, a causative agent of Chagas disease, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (TcPEPCK) is associated with carbohydrate catabolism. Due to its importance in the metabolism of the parasite, it has become a promising target for the development of new drugs against Chagas disease.

Micro- and nano-sized amine-terminated magnetic beads in a ligand fishing assay.

Functionalized micro- and nano-sized magnetic beads (MBs) have been widely used as versatile supports for proteins, enzymes, and drugs. Immobilized protein on MB surfaces has been successfully applied for ligand fishing assays allowing for direct identification of active ligands from complex mixtures, such as natural products and synthetic libraries. MBs with different properties such as different core compositions, sizes, coatings, and surface modifications are available commercially.