Publications by authors named "Vidya Sundaram"

Article Synopsis
  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a global threat, and the bacterial SOS response, regulated by LexA and RecA, allows bacteria to gain mutations that contribute to AMR.
  • Targeting LexA, which is absent in human cells, with a new inhibitor could suppress the SOS response and thereby lessen the chances of AMR by preventing adaptive mutations.
  • Research involving various scientific methods demonstrated that an inhibitor could effectively bind to LexA in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, blocking its function and reducing mutation rates linked to AMR.
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Protein-coated microbubbles have become one of the emerging platforms in biomedical research as theranostic agents. In recent years, microbubbles have been extensively used as ultrasound contrast agents and carriers of molecular cargoes, pertaining to which several studies have focused on tuning the properties of these bubbles to achieve a higher degree of biocompatibility and extended stability. Synthesis of microbubbles has so far been traditionally carried out with pre-heated proteins like bovine serum albumin (BSA) as shell coatings, owing to the ease in making BSA crosslinked structures through disulfide bridge formation.

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As a class of ionic liquids with higher biocompatibility, cholinium aminoates ([Cho][AA]) hold potential as solvation media for enzymatic bioprocessing. Herein, solvation effect of [Cho][AA] on structural stability and enzymatic activity of lipase B (CALB) was evaluated using experimental and computational approaches. Influence of [Cho][AA] on CALB stability was investigated using amino acid anions ([AA]) with varying hydrophobicity levels.

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Despite extensive studies revealing the potential of cholinium-based ionic liquids (ILs) in protein stabilization, the nature of interaction between ILs' constituents and protein residues is not well understood. In this work, we used a combined computational and experimental approach to investigate the structural stability of a peptide hormone, insulin aspart (IA), in ILs containing a choline cation [Ch] and either dihydrogen phosphate ([Dhp]) or acetate ([Ace]) as anions. Although IA remained stable in both 1 M [Ch][Dhp] and 1 M [Ch][Ace], [Dhp] exhibited a much stronger stabilization effect than [Ace].

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Protein kinases are responsible for healthy cellular processes and signalling pathways, and their dysfunction is the basis of many pathologies. There are numerous small molecule inhibitors of protein kinases that systemically regulate dysfunctional signalling processes. However, attaining selectivity in kinase inhibition within the complex human kinome is still a challenge that inspires unconventional approaches.

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Cholinium aminoates [Ch][AA] have gained tremendous interest as a promising ionic liquid medium for the synthesis and storage of proteins. However, high alkalinity of [Ch][AA] limits its usage with pH-sensitive proteins. Here, we probed the structure, stability, and interactions of a highly unstable therapeutic protein, insulin aspart (IA), in a range of buffered [Ch][AA] (b-[Ch][AA]) using a combination of biophysical tools and in silico pipeline including ultraviolet-visible, fluorescence, and circular dichroism spectroscopies, dynamic light scattering measurements and molecular docking.

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