Publications by authors named "Woodley J"

This study investigates the intricate dynamics underlying lipase performance in organic solvents using comprehensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, supported by enzyme kinetics data. The study reveals that a single criterion can neither predict nor explain lipase activity in organic solvents, indicating the need for a comprehensive approach. Three lipases were included in this study: lipase B (CALB), lipase (RML), and lipase (TLL).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

trans-Cinnamic acid (tCA) can be produced by the deamination of L-phenylalanine using phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). In bioprocesses, optimizing production processes to improve key performance metrics such as titer, rate, and yield has proved challenging. This study investigates tCA production in Pseudomonas putida KT2440 using a whole-cell biocatalyst expressing four different PAL genes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Enzymes have multiple applications in medicine but during the past decades interest in the application of enzymes as (bio)catalysts to produce a wide range of valuable molecules in various industries has increased. Many chemical compounds (from pharmaceuticals to bulk commodities) can be produced by a series of enzymatically-catalysed chemical steps, and in many cases one of these steps is an oxidation. The use of molecular oxygen as an oxidising agent in biocatalytic processes is a double-edged approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa type 17 (adRP, type RP17) is caused by complex structural variants (SVs) affecting a locus on chromosome 17 (chr17q22). The SVs disrupt the 3D regulatory landscape by altering the topologically associating domain (TAD) structure of the locus, creating novel TAD structures (neo-TADs) and ectopic enhancer-gene contacts. Currently, screening for RP17-associated SVs is not included in routine diagnostics given the complexity of the variants and a lack of cost-effective detection methods.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: With absence of a cure, the mainstay of management for patients with motor neurone disease (MND) is holistic supportive care and symptom control. Non-invasive ventilation (NIV) can provide relief from distressing dyspnoea which often accompanies progressive respiratory muscle weakness. Some patients using NIV will become dependent on it, with a small proportion of these patients going on to request withdrawal.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Advanced microbiome therapeutics have emerged as a powerful approach for the treatment of numerous diseases. While the genetic instability of genetically engineered microorganisms is a well-known challenge in the scale-up of biomanufacturing processes, it has not yet been investigated for advanced microbiome therapeutics. Here, the evolution of engineered Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 strains producing Interleukin 2 and Aldafermin were investigated in two strain backgrounds with and without the three error-prone DNA polymerases polB, dinB, and umuDC, which contribute to the mutation rate of the host strain.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Bio-based production of fuels, chemicals and materials is needed to replace current fossil fuel based production. However, bio-based production processes are very costly, so the process needs to be as efficient as possible. Developments in synthetic biology tools has made it possible to dynamically modulate cellular metabolism during a fermentation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Organochlorides and particularly chlorophenols are environmental pollutants that deserve special attention. Enzymatic membrane bioreactors may be alternatives for efficiently removing such hazardous organochlorides from aqueous solutions. We propose here a novel enzymatic membrane bioreactor comprising an ultrafiltration membrane GR81PP, electrospun fibers made of cellulose acetate, and laccase immobilized using an incubation and a fouling approach.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biocatalytic oxidation is an interesting prospect for the selective synthesis of active pharmaceutical intermediates. Bubbling air or oxygen is considered as an efficient method to increase the gas-liquid interface and thereby enhance oxygen transfer. However, the enzyme is deactivated in this process and needs to be further studied and understood to accelerate the implementation of oxidative biocatalysis in larger production processes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Natural and pure p-coumaric acid has valuable applications, and it can be produced via bioprocessing. However, fermentation processes have so far been unable to provide sufficient production metrics, while a biocatalytic process decoupling growth and production historically showed much promise. This biocatalytic process is revisited in order to tackle product inhibition of the key enzyme tyrosine ammonia lyase.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a common pathology with significant morbidity and mortality, often occurring in the lower limb. Ultrasound is the modality of choice for diagnosis of DVT, but all guidance in the United Kingdom assumes a single leg referral. Few studies have addressed the question of bilateral referrals and bilateral DVTs, and it is not known how these should be included in ultrasound protocols.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Raman spectroscopy has been used to measure the concentration of a pharmaceutically relevant model amine intermediate for positive allosteric modulators of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in a ω-transaminase-catalyzed conversion. A model based on a one-dimensional convolutional neural network was developed to translate raw data augmented Raman spectra directly into substrate concentrations, with which the conversion from ketone to amine by ω-transaminase could be determined over time. The model showed very good predictive capabilities, with R values higher than 0.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A novel salt-tolerant cation-exchange membrane, prepared with a multimodal ligand, 2-mercaptopyridine-3-carboxylic acid (MMC-MPCA), was examined for its purification properties in a bind-and-elute mode from the high conductivity supernatant of a Pichia pastoris fermentation producing and secreting a single-chain variable fragment (scFv). If successful, this approach would eliminate the need for a buffer exchange prior to product capture by ion-exchange. Two fed-batch fermentations of Pichia pastoris resulted in fermentation supernatants reaching an scFv titer of 395.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Applications of lipases in low-water environments are found across a broad range of industries, including the pharmaceutical and oleochemical sectors. This includes condensation reactions in organic solvents where the enzyme activity has been found to depend strongly on both the solvent and the water activity (). Despite several experimental and computational studies, knowledge is largely empirical, and a general predictive approach is much needed.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Mol-scale oxyfunctionalization of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol/cyclohexanone (KA-oil) using an unspecific peroxygenase is reported. Using UPO from and simple HO as an oxidant, cyclohexanol concentrations of more than 300 mM (>60% yield) at attractive productivities (157 mM h, approx. 15 g L h) were achieved.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • p-Coumaric acid (pCA) can be produced through bioprocessing and is important for creating organic thin film transistors.
  • The study examined variants of the tyrosine ammonia lyase (TAL) enzyme from two bacteria to understand their activity, stability, and how they are affected by product inhibition.
  • Although FjTAL showed promising activity and low affinity for pCA, it still faces challenges from product inhibition and requires engineering improvements for better stability and efficiency in industrial applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In vivo, quiescent fibroblasts reside in three-dimensional connective tissues and are activated in response to tissue injury before proliferating rapidly and becoming migratory and contractile myofibroblasts. When deregulated, chronic activation drives fibrotic disease. Fibroblasts cultured on stiff 2D surfaces display a partially activated phenotype, whilst many 3D environments limit fibroblast activation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * To address these challenges, EnzymeML is an XML-based markup language designed to standardize storage and sharing of enzymatic data, enhancing its findability and accessibility (the FAIR principles).
  • * The EnzymeML toolbox has been tested in six scenarios, demonstrating its effectiveness in facilitating communication between various platforms and promoting collaboration within the scientific community, with all resources freely available online.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The group of natural aromatic compounds known as phenylpropanoids has diverse applications, but current methods of production which are largely based on synthesis from petrochemicals or extraction from agricultural biomass are unsustainable. Bioprocessing is a promising alternative, but improvements in production titers and rates are required to make this method profitable. Here the recent advances in genetic engineering and bioprocess concepts for the production of phenylpropanoids are presented for the purpose of identifying successful strategies, including adaptive laboratory evolution, enzyme engineering, in-situ product removal, and biocatalysis.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Investigate feasibility and acceptability of prism adaptation training for people with inattention (spatial neglect), early after stroke, during usual care.

Design: Phase II feasibility randomised controlled trial with 3:1 stratified allocation to standard occupational therapy with or without intervention, and nested process evaluation.

Setting: Ten hospital sites providing in-patient stroke services.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: While it has been posited that young people with language needs may be viewed more negatively (e.g., as more rude, less cooperative) than those without language needs, the impact of knowing about a person's language needs on others' perceptions has yet to experimentally tested.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Radiography Research Ethics Standards for Europe (RRESFE) project studies how research ethics are handled in Europe and what challenges researchers face.* -
  • Researchers in Europe were surveyed, and most said ethics approval is needed before starting research, but the rules vary by region and study type.* -
  • Countries with longer study programs and better training had less confusion about ethics rules, meaning they understood the requirements better.*
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The Radiography Research Ethics Standards for Europe (RRESFE) project looked at how research ethics are taught and used in radiography across Europe.
  • An online survey was done from April to July 2021, gathering responses from 232 researchers in 33 European countries to understand the challenges and needs for better research ethics training.
  • Most researchers had some ethics training, but many lacked in areas like protecting vulnerable patients, and the survey suggested that teaching research ethics earlier and making approval processes easier would be helpful.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Enzyme immobilization has been developing since the 1960s and although many industrial biocatalytic processes use the technology to improve enzyme performance, still today we are far from full exploitation of the field. One clear reason is that many evaluate immobilization based on only a few experiments that are not always well-designed. In contrast to many other reviews on the subject, here we highlight the pitfalls of using incorrectly designed immobilization protocols and explain why in many cases sub-optimal results are obtained.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biocatalysis offers many attractive features for the synthetic chemist. In many cases, the high selectivity and ability to tailor specific enzyme features via protein engineering already make it the catalyst of choice. From the perspective of sustainability, several features such as catalysis under mild conditions and use of a renewable and biodegradable catalyst also look attractive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF