Droplet Microfluidics-Assisted Fabrication of Shape Controllable Iron-Alginate Microgels with Fluorescent Property.

Droplet-based microfluidics-assisted fabrication of alginate microgels has extensive applications in biomaterials, biomedicines, and related fields. This approach is typically achieved by crosslinking droplets of an aqueous solution of sodium alginate with various divalent and trivalent ions, such as Ca, Ba, Sr, etc. Despite the exceptional features exhibited by bulk alginate hydrogels when using iron ions as the crosslinking reagent, including stimulus responsiveness and complex chemistry, no attention has been given to studying the fabrication of Fe-alginate microgels through droplet microfluidics.

Inhibition of autophagic flux by the curcumin analog EF-24 and its antiproliferative effect on MCF-7 cancer cells.

5-Bis[(2-fluorophenyl)methylene]-4-piperidinone (EF-24) is a curcumin analog, which was identified for its physiochemical stability and diverse pharmacological functions. In the present study, EF-24 was added to the breast cancer cell line MCF-7 and its cellular effects were characterized. The results indicated that EF-24 possessed antiproliferative and antimigratory activities on MCF-7 cells as determined by MTT assay, wound healing, and transwell assay, respectively.

Effects of increased levels of atmospheric CO2 and high temperatures on rice growth and quality.

The increased atmospheric temperatures resulting from the increased concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) have had a profound influence on global rice production. China serves as an important area for producing and consuming rice. Therefore, exploring the effects of the simultaneously rising levels of atmospheric CO2 and temperatures on rice growth and quality in the future is very important.

Oxygenation cascade analysis in conversion of n-octane catalyzed by cytochrome P450 CYP102A3 mutants at the P331 site.

To improve the hydroxylation efficiency of cytochrome P450 CYP102A3 to substrate n-octane, a previously reported triple-mutant F88V/S188Q/A330V with altered regioselectivity was selected and site-saturation mutagenesis was performed at its P331 site, which is adjacent to one of the active sites A330. Using whole-cell biotransformations to analyze the created mutants, four better mutants P331A, P331T, P331S, and P331V were achieved and exhibited significantly improved conversion rates toward n-octane, which are 33%, 33%, 22% and 28%, respectively, whereas the activity of P331R was greatly reduced and P331K gave almost zero conversion of n-octane. Besides the main product octanols, different octanones and 1,7-octanediol were also detected for some of the mutants.

Biochemical and molecular characterization of the gentisate transporter GenK in Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Background: Gentisate (2,5-dihydroxybenzoate) is a key ring-cleavage substrate involved in various aromatic compounds degradation. Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC13032 is capable of growing on gentisate and genK was proposed to encode a transporter involved in this utilization by its disruption in the restriction-deficient mutant RES167. Its biochemical characterization by uptake assay using [(14)C]-labeled gentisate has not been previously reported.

MhbT is a specific transporter for 3-hydroxybenzoate uptake by Gram-negative bacteria.

Klebsiella pneumoniae M5a1 is capable of utilizing 3-hydroxybenzoate via gentisate, and the 6.3-kb gene cluster mhbRTDHIM conferred the ability to grow on 3-hydroxybenzoate to Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida PaW340. Four of the six genes (mhbDHIM) encode enzymes converting 3-hydroxybenzoate to pyruvate and fumarate via gentisate.

Purification and characterization of the ncgl2923 -encoded 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase from Corynebacterium glutamicum.

Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 metabolizes 3-hydroxybenzoate via gentisate. We have now characterized the ncgl2923 -encoded 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase involved in the initial step of 3-hydroxybenzoate catabolism by this strain, a first 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase molecularly and biochemically characterized from a Gram-positive strain. The ncg12923 gene from Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 was shown to encode 3-hydroxybenzoate 6-hydroxylase, the enzyme that catalyzes the NADH-dependent conversion of 3-hydroxybenzoate to gentisate.

Characterization of a para-nitrophenol catabolic cluster in Pseudomonas sp. strain NyZ402 and construction of an engineered strain capable of simultaneously mineralizing both para- and ortho-nitrophenols.

Pseudomonas sp. strain NyZ402 was isolated for its ability to grow on para-nitrophenol (PNP) as a sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy, and was shown to degrade PNP via an oxidization pathway. This strain was also capable of growing on hydroquinone or catechol.