Ostensible enzyme promiscuity: alkene cleavage by peroxidases.

Enzyme promiscuity is generally accepted as the ability of an enzyme to catalyse alternate chemical reactions besides the 'natural' one. In this paper peroxidases were shown to catalyse the cleavage of a C=C double bond adjacent to an aromatic moiety for selected substrates at the expense of molecular oxygen at an acidic pH. It was clearly shown that the reaction occurs due to the presence of the enzyme; furthermore, the reactivity was clearly linked to the hemin moiety of the peroxidase.

Towards the structure of the C-terminal part of the S-layer protein SbsC.

The S-layer protein SbsC from Geobacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 12980 is the most prevalent single protein produced by the bacterium and covers the complete bacterial surface in the form of a two-dimensional crystalline monolayer. In order to elucidate the structural features of the assembly domains, several N-terminally truncated fragments of SbsC have been crystallized. Crystals obtained from recombinant fragments showed anisotropic diffraction to a maximum of 3.

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from agricultural waste and surplus materials.

To be competitive with common plastics, the production costs of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have to be minimized. Biotechnological polymer production occurs in aerobic processes; therefore, only about 50% of the main carbon sources and even a lower percentage of the precursors used for production of co-polyesters end up in the products wanted. A second cost factor in normally phosphate-limited production processes for PHAs is the costs for complex nitrogen sources.

Antiphlogistics in periodontology.

In 146 individuals with inflammatory periodontal disease the authors verified the therapeutical effect of Sanchelin (the mixture of sanguinarine and chelerythrine in 0.05% concentration) in gel (4% hydrogel carboxymethylcellulose) applied into pockets and in aqueous solution administered in the intrapapillar route. The effect of Sanchelin in solution was compared with the effect of 2% hydrocortison in the same way of administration.