Generation of a DSF-Guided Refolded Bacterially Expressed Hemagglutinin Ectodomain of Influenza Virus A/Puerto Rico/8/1934 H1N1 as a Model for Influenza Vaccine Antigens.

Influenza virus infections represent an ongoing public health threat as well as an economic burden. Although seasonal influenza vaccines have been available for some decades, efforts are being made to generate new efficient, flexible, and cost-effective technologies to be transferred into production. Our work describes the development of a model influenza hemagglutinin antigen that is capable of inducing protection against viral challenge in mice.

Nickel (II) and Cobalt (II) Alginate Biopolymers as a "Carry and Release" Platform for Polyhistidine-Tagged Proteins.

Protein immobilization using biopolymer scaffolds generally involves undesired protein loss of function due to denaturation, steric hindrance or improper orientation. Moreover, most methods for protein immobilization require expensive reagents and laborious procedures. This work presents the synthesis and proof of concept application of two alginate hydrogels that are able to bind proteins with polyhistidine tags by means of interaction with the crosslinking cations.

Nanocomposite particles with improved microstructure for 3D culture systems and bone regeneration.

Nano-apatite and gelatin-alginate hydrogel microparticles have been prepared by a one-step synthesis combined with electrostatic bead generation, for the reconstruction of bone defects. Based on the analysis of bone composition, architecture and embryonic intramembranous ossification, a bio-inspired fabrication has been developed. Accordingly, the mineral phase has been in situ synthesized, calcifying the hydrogel matrix while the latter was crosslinked, finally generating microparticles that can assemble into a bone defect to ensure interconnected pores.