Newly identified bacteriolytic enzymes that target a wide range of clinical isolates of Clostridium difficile.

Clostridium difficile has emerged as a major cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitalized patients, with increasing mortality rate and annual healthcare costs exceeding $3 billion. Since C. difficile infections are associated with the use of antibiotics, there is an urgent need to develop treatments that can inactivate the bacterium selectively without affecting commensal microflora.

Binding domains of Bacillus anthracis phage endolysins recognize cell culture age-related features on the bacterial surface.

Bacteriolytic enzymes often possess a C-terminal binding domain that recognizes specific motifs on the bacterial surface and a catalytic domain that cleaves covalent linkages within the cell wall peptidoglycan. PlyPH, one such lytic enzyme of bacteriophage origin, has been reported to be highly effective against Bacillus anthracis, and can kill up to 99.99% of the viable bacteria.

A purification process for heparin and precursor polysaccharides using the pH responsive behavior of chitosan.

The contamination crisis of 2008 has brought to light several risks associated with use of animal tissue derived heparin. Because the total chemical synthesis of heparin is not feasible, a bioengineered approach has been proposed, relying on recombinant enzymes derived from the heparin/HS biosynthetic pathway and Escherichia coli K5 capsular polysaccharide. Intensive process engineering efforts are required to achieve a cost-competitive process for bioengineered heparin compared to commercially available porcine heparins.

Characterization of the activity of the spore cortex lytic enzyme CwlJ1.

The germination enzyme CwlJ1 plays an important role in degrading the cortex during the germination of Bacillus anthracis spores. However, the specific function and catalytic activity of CwlJ1 remain elusive. Here we report for the first time a detailed in vitro mechanistic study of CwlJ1 expressed in Escherichia coli and its activity against the spore cortical fragments of B.

Nanotubes in biological applications.

Researchers over the last few years have recognized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as promising materials for a number of biological applications. CNTs are increasingly being explored as potent drug carriers for cancer treatment, for biosensing, and as scaffolds for stem cell culture. Moreover, the integration of CNTs with proteins has led to the development of functional nanocomposites with antimicrobial properties.

Enzyme-driven Bacillus spore coat degradation leading to spore killing.

The bacillus spore coat confers chemical and biological resistance, thereby protecting the core from harsh environments. The primarily protein-based coat consists of recalcitrant protein crosslinks that endow the coat with such functional protection. Proteases are present in the spore coat, which play a putative role in coat degradation in the environment.