Sesquiterpene Lactones Isolated from L. subsp. Inhibit the Radicle Growth of Broomrape Weeds.

The plant L. subsp has been investigated as a potential source of inhibitors of broomrape radicle growth. The latter are weeds that pose a threat to agriculture and for which there are few methods available for the control of infestations.

Multi-step semi-synthesis, structural characterization and growth factor interaction study of regiochemically sulfated diabolican polysaccharides.

Diabolican is an exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Vibrio diabolicus HE800, a mesophilic bacterium firstly isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal field. Its glycosaminoglycan (GAG)-like structure, consisting of a tetrasaccharide repeating unit composed of two aminosugars (N-acetyl-glucosamine and N-acetyl-galactosamine) and two glucuronic acid units, suggested to subject it to regioselective sulfation processes, in order to obtain some sulfated derivatives potentially acting as GAG mimics. To this aim, a multi-step semi-synthetic approach, relying upon tailored sequence of regioselective protection, sulfation and deprotection steps, was employed in this work.

Bioprospection of Phytotoxic Plant-Derived Eudesmanolides and Guaianolides for the Control of , , and Weeds.

The phytotoxicities of a selection of eudesmanolides and guaianolides, including natural products and new derivatives obtained by semisynthesis from plant-isolated sesquiterpene lactones, were evaluated in bioassays against three weeds of concern in agriculture ( L., L., and L.

Glycosaminoglycan-mimetic infernan grafted with poly(N-isopropylacrylamide): Toward a thermosensitive polysaccharide.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are essential constituents of the cell surface and extracellular matrix, where they are involved in several cellular processes through their interactions with various proteins. For successful tissue regeneration, developing an appropriate matrix supporting biological activities of cells in a similar manner than GAGs remains still challenging. In this context, this study aims to design a thermosensitive polysaccharide that could further be used as hydrogel for tissue engineering applications.

Effects of Sesquiterpene Lactones on Primary Cilia Formation (Ciliogenesis).

Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs), plant-derived metabolites with broad spectra of biological effects, including anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory, hold promise for drug development. Primary cilia, organelles extending from cell surfaces, are crucial for sensing and transducing extracellular signals essential for cell differentiation and proliferation. Their life cycle is linked to the cell cycle, as cilia assemble in non-dividing cells of G/G phases and disassemble before entering mitosis.

Towards the semi-synthesis of phosphorylated mimics of glycosaminoglycans: Screening of methods for the regioselective phosphorylation of chondroitin.

Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) mimics carrying phosphate rather than sulfate anionic groups have been poorly investigated, in spite of their interesting perspectives. While some GAG-mimicking phosphorylated polymers have been reported, to the best of our knowledge no phosphorylated polysaccharides having the same backbone of natural sulfated GAGs have been accessed yet. To fill this gap, in this work two standard phosphorylation protocols and two recently reported procedures have been screened on a set of polysaccharide species composed by microbial sourced chondroitin and three partially protected, semi-synthetic derivatives thereof.

Azobenzene-based optoelectronic transistors for neurohybrid building blocks.

Exploiting the light-matter interplay to realize advanced light responsive multimodal platforms is an emerging strategy to engineer bioinspired systems such as optoelectronic synaptic devices. However, existing neuroinspired optoelectronic devices rely on complex processing of hybrid materials which often do not exhibit the required features for biological interfacing such as biocompatibility and low Young's modulus. Recently, organic photoelectrochemical transistors (OPECTs) have paved the way towards multimodal devices that can better couple to biological systems benefiting from the characteristics of conjugated polymers.

Antarctic Marine Bacteria as a Source of Anti-Biofilm Molecules to Combat ESKAPE Pathogens.

The ESKAPE pathogens, including bacteria such as , , , , , and species, pose a global health threat due to their ability to resist antimicrobial drugs and evade the immune system. These pathogens are responsible for hospital-acquired infections, especially in intensive care units, and contribute to the growing problem of multi-drug resistance. In this study, researchers focused on exploring the potential of Antarctic marine bacteria as a source of anti-biofilm molecules to combat ESKAPE pathogens.

Harmful and beneficial properties of cyanotoxins: Two sides of the same coin.

Cyanotoxins are by definition "harmful agents" produced by cyanobacteria. Their toxicity has been extensively studied and reviewed over the years. Cyanotoxins have been commonly classified, based on their poisonous effects on mammals, into three main classes, neurotoxins, hepatotoxins and dermatotoxins, and, considering their chemical features, mainly identified as peptides, alkaloids and lipopolysaccharides.

Peptide-based metalloporphyrin catalysts: unveiling the role of the metal ion in indole oxidation.

Over the last decades, much effort has been devoted to the construction of protein and peptide-based metalloporphyrin catalysts capable of promoting difficult transformations with high selectivity. In this context, mechanistic studies are fundamental to elucidate all the factors that contribute to catalytic performances and product selectivity. In our previous work, we selected the synthetic peptide-porphyrin conjugate MnMC6*a as a proficient catalyst for indole oxidation, promoting the formation of a 3-oxindole derivative with unprecedented selectivity.

Bacterial Spore-Based Delivery System: 20 Years of a Versatile Approach for Innovative Vaccines.

Mucosal vaccines offer several advantages over injectable conventional vaccines, such as the induction of adaptive immunity, with secretory IgA production at the entry site of most pathogens, and needle-less vaccinations. Despite their potential, only a few mucosal vaccines are currently used. Developing new effective mucosal vaccines strongly relies on identifying innovative antigens, efficient adjuvants, and delivery systems.

Biotechnological advances in the synthesis of modified chondroitin towards novel biomedical applications.

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a well-known glycosaminoglycan present in a large variety of animal tissues, with an outstanding structural heterogeneity mainly related to molecular weight and sulfation pattern. Recently, few microorganisms, eventually engineered, proved able to synthesize the CS biopolymer backbone, composed of d-glucuronic acid and N-acetyl-d-galactosamine linked through alternating β-(1-3)- and β-(1-4)-glycosidic bonds, and secrete the biopolymers generally unsulfated and possibly decorated with other carbohydrates/molecules. Enzyme catalyzed/assisted methods and chemical tailored protocols allowed to obtain a variety of macromolecules not only resembling the natural extractive ones, but even enlarging the access to unnatural structural features.

Advances on the Amaryllidacea Alkaloids Collected in South Africa, Andean South America and the Mediterranean Basin.

The alkaloids are one of the most represented family of natural occurring biological active compounds. Amaryllidaceae are also very well known for their beautiful flower and are thus used as ornamental plants in historic and public gardens. The Amaryllidacea alkaloids constitute an important group that is subdivided into different subfamilies with different carbon skeletons.

Multi-step Strategies Toward Regioselectively Sulfated M-Rich Alginates.

Sulfated alginates (ASs), as well as several artificially sulfated polysaccharides, show interesting bioactivities. The key factors for structure-activity relationships studies are the degree of sulfation and the distribution of the sulfate groups along the polysaccharide backbone (sulfation pattern). The former parameter can often be controlled through stoichiometry, while the latter requires the development of suitable chemical or enzymatic, regioselective methods and is still missing for ASs.

Specialized Metabolites Produced by Phytotopatogen Fungi to Control Weeds and Parasite Plants.

Weeds such as parasite plants are one of the most serious pests that farmers are forced to combat since the development of agriculture using different methods including mechanic and agronomy strategies. These pests have generated significant losses of agrarian and herding production, constituting a serious impediment for agricultural activities in reforestation practices and in important infrastructures. All these serious problems have induced the expansive and massive use of synthetic herbicides, which represents one of the main cause of environmental pollution, as well as serious risks for human and animal health.

Aluminum induces a stress response in zebrafish gills by influencing metabolic parameters, morphology, and redox homeostasis.

Environmental air pollution and resulting acid rain have the effect of increasing aluminum levels in water bodies. We studied the effects of aluminum on fish gills, the tissue most exposed to aluminum, using zebrafish as an experimental model. Adult zebrafish were exposed to an aluminum concentration found in polluted environments (11 mg/L) for 10, 15 and 20 days and the effects on gill morphology, redox homeostasis (ROS content, NADPH oxidase, NOX, activity, oxidative damage, antioxidant enzymes, total antioxidant capacity, in vitro susceptibility to oxidants) and on behavioural and metabolic parameters (routine respiratory oxygen consumption rMO, tail-beating frequency, cytochrome oxidase activity and muscle lactate content) were evaluated.

Isolated from Infected Pears () in Italy Produces Non-Host Toxins and Hydrolytic Enzymes as Infection Mechanisms and Exhibits Competitive Exclusion against in Co-Infected Host Fruits.

is one of the most devastating phytopathogenic fungi. This microorganism causes black spots in many fruits and vegetables worldwide, generating significant post-harvest losses. In this study, an strain, isolated from infected pears () harvested in Italy, was characterized by focusing on its pathogenicity mechanisms and competitive exclusion in the presence of another pathogen, .

Production of (10,11)-(-)--Pyriculol and Its HPLC Quantification in Liquid Cultures of , a Potential Mycoherbicide for the Control of Buffelgrass ().

(10,11)-(-)--pyriculol is a phytotoxic metabolite produced by , a fungus identified as a foliar pathogen on the invasive weed species buffelgrass () in North America. The effective control of buffelgrass has not yet been achieved, and there is a need to develop effective and green solutions. Herbicides based on natural products and the use of phytopathogenic organisms could provide the most suitable tools for the control of weeds such as buffelgrass.

Colorectal Cancer Bioengineered Microtissues as a Model to Replicate Tumor-ECM Crosstalk and Assess Drug Delivery Systems In Vitro.

Current 3D cancer models (in vitro) fail to reproduce complex cancer cell extracellular matrices (ECMs) and the interrelationships occurring (in vivo) in the tumor microenvironment (TME). Herein, we propose 3D in vitro colorectal cancer microtissues (3D CRC μTs), which reproduce the TME more faithfully in vitro. Normal human fibroblasts were seeded onto porous biodegradable gelatin microbeads (GPMs) and were continuously induced to synthesize and assemble their own ECMs (3D Stroma μTs) in a spinner flask bioreactor.

Development of high-copy number plasmids in Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125.

The Antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 (PhTAC125) is considered an interesting alternative host for the recombinant protein production, that can be explored when the conventional bacterial expression systems fail. Indeed, the manufacture of all the difficult-to-express proteins produced so far in this bacterial platform gave back soluble and active products. Despite these promising results, the low yield of recombinant protein production achieved is hampering the wider and industrial exploitation of this psychrophilic cell factory.

Effect of Confinement and Coulomb Interactions on the Electronic Structure of the (111) LaAlO/SrTiO Interface.

A tight binding supercell approach is used for the calculation of the electronic structure of the (111) LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface. The confinement potential at the interface is evaluated solving a discrete Poisson equation by means of an iterative method. In addition to the effect of the confinement, local Hubbard electron-electron terms are included at the mean-field level within a fully self-consistent procedure.

Self-esterified hyaluronan hydrogels: Advancements in the production with positive implications in tissue healing.

Hyaluronan-(HA) short half-life in vivo limits its benefits in tissue repair. Self-esterified-HA is of great interest because it progressively releases HA, promoting tissue-regeneration longer than the unmodified-polymer. Here, the 1-ethyl-3-(3-diethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide(EDC)-hydroxybenzotriazole(HOBt) carboxyl-activating-system was evaluated for self-esterifying HA in the solid state.

Structure-Activity Relationship (SAR) Study of -Cinnamic Acid and Derivatives on the Parasitic Weed .

Yunck. is a parasitic weed responsible for severe yield losses in crops worldwide. The selective control of this weed is scarce due to the difficult application of methods that kill the parasite without negatively affecting the infected crop.