Multifunctional AgO/chitosan nanocomposites synthesized via sol-gel with enhanced antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties: A novel food packaging material.

In this study, a single step in situ sol-gel method was used to syntheses nanocomposite films using chitosan (CS) as the basis material, with the addition of silver oxide nanoparticles (AgO) at several weight percentages (5 %, 10 %, and 15 % AgO/CS). The structural characteristics of AgO/CS films were investigated using a range of analytical techniques. The presence of the primary distinctive peaks of chitosan was verified using FTIR spectra analysis.

Untargeted metabolomics analysis of four date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars using MS and NMR.

Since ancient times, the inhabitants of dry areas have depended on the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) as a staple food and means of economic security. For example, dates have been a staple diet for the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula and Sahara Desert in North Africa for millennia and the local culture is rich in knowledge and experience with the benefits of dates, suggesting that dates contain many substances essential for the human body.

Natural Polysaccharides as Preventive and Therapeutic Horizon for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are a serious and widespread global public health burden amongst aging populations. The total estimated worldwide global cost of dementia was US$818 billion in 2015 and has been projected to rise to 2 trillion US$ by 2030. While advances have been made to understand different neurodegenerative disease mechanisms, effective therapeutic strategies do not generally exist.

Living with the enemy: from protein-misfolding pathologies we know, to those we want to know.

Conformational diseases are caused by the aggregation of misfolded proteins. The risk for such pathologies develops years before clinical symptoms appear, and is higher in people with alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) polymorphisms. Thousands of people with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) are underdiagnosed.

NMR as a "Gold Standard" Method in Drug Design and Discovery.

Studying disease models at the molecular level is vital for drug development in order to improve treatment and prevent a wide range of human pathologies. Microbial infections are still a major challenge because pathogens rapidly and continually evolve developing drug resistance. Cancer cells also change genetically, and current therapeutic techniques may be (or may become) ineffective in many cases.

Extraction, Characterization, and Anticoagulant Activity of a Sulfated Polysaccharide from Viscera.

Bioactive compounds for drug discovery are increasingly extracted and purified from natural sources including marine organisms. Heparin is a therapeutic agent that has been used for several decades as an anticoagulant. However, heparin is known to cause many undesirable complications such as thrombocytopenia and risk of hemorrhage.

Access to new anticoagulant by sulfation of pectin-like polysaccharides isolated from Opuntia ficus indica cladodes.

In order to develop new and low cost anticoagulants as potential heparin alternatives, sulfation of a pectin-like polysaccharide from Opuntia ficus indica cladodes using SO-DMF complex was performed with a significant sulfate content (7%). FTIR and NMR assays indicated that the sulfation reaction had occurred. In addition, GC-MS analyses demonstrated that sulfation was carried out on the arabinose units of native polysaccharide.

In vitro and in vivo hemocompatibility evaluation of a new dermatan sulfate-modified PET patch for vascular repair surgery.

The development of new vascular devices requires to study the effects of materials on blood cells and on coagulation, both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we have developed a new material by grafting dermatan sulfate (DS) from shark skin onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET). We have evaluated the haemocompatibility of PET-DS material in vitro by measuring thrombin generation, plasma recalcification time, hemolytic activity, and platelet adhesion and in vivo with a model of vascular patch in rat abdominal aorta.

Grafting of dermatan sulfate on polyethylene terephtalate to enhance biointegration.

The aim of the present study was to achieve the immobilization of dermatan sulfate (DS) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surfaces and to evaluate its biocompatibility. DS obtained from the skin of Scyliorhinus canicula shark was immobilized via carbodiimide on knitted PET fabrics, modified with carboxyl groups. PET-DS characterization was performed by SEM, ATR-FTIR and contact angle measurements.

Anticoagulant activity of a dermatan sulfate from the skin of the shark Scyliorhinus canicula.

A dermatan sulfate isolated from the shark Scyliorhinus canicula skin by enzymatic digestion followed by purification with anion exchange chromatography was identified by chondroitinase and nitrous acid treatment and partially characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Dermatan sulfate was the major glycosaminoglycan and represented 75% of the polysaccharide fraction in the sharkskin. This dermatan sulfate had a 38.

Highly sulfated dermatan sulfate from the skin of the ray Raja montagui: anticoagulant activity and mechanism of action.

The dermatan sulfate (DS) isolated from the ray skin Raja montagui was identified and characterized. Its average molecular weight (Mw) and sulfate content were 39 kDa and 25% w/w, respectively. This DS prolonged thrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time and inhibited the thrombin generation in a concentration-dependent manner whereas it had no effect on the anti-Xa assay and on platelet function.

Mechanism of thrombin inhibition by heparin cofactor II and antithrombin in the presence of the ray (Raja radula) skin dermatan sulfate.

Introduction: The kinetics of the thrombin inhibition by heparin cofactor II (HCII) and antithrombin (AT) have been studied as a function of the concentration of a dermatan sulfate (DS) from the skin of the ray Raja radula.

Materials And Methods: The initial concentrations of inhibitor (I), HCII or AT, and thrombin (E) were set at equimolecular levels (3.10(-9) M).

Characterization of a novel dermatan sulfate with high antithrombin activity from ray skin (Raja radula).

Introduction: A novel dermatan sulfate (DS) from the skin of the ray Raja radula with high anticoagulant activity was identified and its monosaccharide composition and anticoagulant mode of action and potency were determined.

Materials And Methods: The DS isolated from the ray skin was identified by chondroitinase treatment and characterized by FT-IR and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Its anticoagulant activity was checked by activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), thrombin time (TT), thrombin generation (TG), heparin cofactor II (HCII) and antithrombin (AT)-mediated inhibition of thrombin.