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Sample records for enzymatic activities required

  1. Enzymatic Activity of Free-Prostate-Specific Antigen (f-PSA) Is Not Required for Some of its Physiological Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chadha, Kailash C.; Nair, Bindukumar B.; Chakravarthi, Srikant; Zhou, Rita; Godoy, Alejandro; Mohler, James L.; Aalinkeel, Ravikumar; Schwartz, Stanley A.; Smith, Gary J.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is a well known biomarker for early diagnosis and management of prostate cancer. Furthermore, PSA has been documented to have anti-angiogenic and anti-tumorigenic activities in both in vitro and in vivo studies. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism(s) involved in regulation of these processes, in particular the role of the serine-protease enzymatic activity of PSA. METHODS Enzymatic activity of PSA isolated directly from seminal plasma was inhibited specifically (>95%) by incubation with zinc2+. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were utilized to compare/contrast the physiological effects of enzymatically active versus inactive PSA. RESULTS Equimolar concentrations of enzymatically active PSA and PSA enzymatically inactivated by incubation with Zn2+ had similar physiological effects on HUVEC, including inhibiting the gene expression of pro-angiogenic growth factors, like VEGF and bFGF, and up-regulation of expression of the anti-angiogenic growth factor IFN-γ; suppression of mRNA expression for markers of blood vessel development, like FAK, FLT, KDR, TWIST-1; P-38; inhibition of endothelial tube formation in the in vitro Matrigel Tube Formation Assay; and inhibition of endothelial cell invasion and migration properties. DISCUSSION Our data provides compelling evidence that the transcriptional regulatory and the anti-angiogenic activities of human PSA are independent of the innate enzymatic activity PMID:21446007

  2. Testing the applicability of rapid on-site enzymatic activity detection for surface water monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadler, Philipp; Vogl, Wolfgang; Juri, Koschelnik; Markus, Epp; Maximilian, Lackner; Markus, Oismüller; Monika, Kumpan; Peter, Strauss; Regina, Sommer; Gabriela, Ryzinska-Paier; Farnleitner Andreas, H.; Matthias, Zessner

    2015-04-01

    bacteria. Therefore the applicability of on-site enzymatic activity determination as a direct surrogate or proxy parameter for microbiological standard assays and quantification of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentration could not be approved and further research in this field is necessary. Presently we conclude that rapid on-site detection of enzymatic activity is applicable for surface water monitoring and that it constitutes a complementary on-site monitoring parameter with high potential. Selection of the type of measured enzymatic activities has to be done on a catchment-specific basis and further work is needed to learn more about its detailed information characteristics in different habitats. The accomplishment of this method detecting continuous data of enzymatic activity in high temporal resolution caused by a target bacterial member is on the way of becoming a powerful tool for water quality monitoring, health related water quality- and early warning requirements.

  3. Enzymatic activity of the cellulolytic complex produced by trichoderma reesei. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfonsel Jaen, M.; Negro, M.J.; Saez, R.; Martin Moreno, C.

    1986-01-01

    The enzymatic activity characterization of the cellulolytic complex obtained from Trichoderma reese QM 9414 and the influence of the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on the hydrolysis yield are studied. Pure cellulose and native or alkali pretreated biomass from Onopordum nervosum have been used as substrates. The values of pH, temperature, substrate concentration and enzyme-substrate ratio for the optimum activity of that complex, evaluated as glucose and reducing sugars productions, have been selected. Previous studies on enzymatic hydrolysis of O. nervosum have shown a remarkable effect of the alkaline pretreatments on the final hydrolysis yield. (author). 10 figs.; 10 refs

  4. Enzymatic activity of the cellulolytic complex produced by Trichoderma reesei. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alfonsel J, M.; Negro A, M. J.; Saez A, R.; Martin M, C.

    1986-01-01

    The enzymatic activity characterization of the cellulolytic complex obtained from Trichoderma reesei QM 9414 and the influence of the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on the hydrolysis yield are studied. Pure cellulose and native or alkali pretreated biomass Onopordum nervosum have been used as substrates. The values of pH, temperature, substrate concentration and enzyme-substrate ratio for the optimum activity of that complex, evaluated as glucose and reducing sugars production, have been selected. Previous studies on enzymatic hydrolysis of 0. nervosum have shown a remarkable effect of the alkaline pretreatments on the final hydrolysis yield. (Author) 10 refs

  5. Detection of extracellular enzymatic activity in microorganisms ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Detection of extracellular enzymatic activity in microorganisms isolated from waste vegetable oil contaminated soil using plate methodologies. Eugenia G. Ortiz Lechuga, Isela Quintero Zapata, Katiushka Arévalo Niño ...

  6. Detection of extracellular enzymatic activity in microorganisms ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    sunny t

    2015-09-18

    Sep 18, 2015 ... microorganisms with all three enzymatic activities, thereby establishing these techniques as ... supplemented at 1% with vegetable oils, including olive (OLI) ..... cepacia lipase for biodiesel fuel production from soybean oil.

  7. Heavy metal pollution and soil enzymatic activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tyler, G

    1974-01-01

    The activity of hydrolytic soil enzymes was studied on spruce mor, polluted with Cu and Zn from a brass foundry in Sweden. Approximately straight regression lines were obtained between enzymatic activity or respiration rate and log Cu + Zn concentration, with highly significant negative regression coefficients for urease and acid phosphatase activity as well as respiration rate, whereas US -glucosidase activity was not measurably lower at high concentrations of Cu + Zn. 17 references, 5 figures.

  8. Variations in Enzymatic Activities of Shoots and Roots as an Indicator for Irradiated Seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdelbbaary, N.A.; Elagamay, M.R.

    2005-01-01

    Germinated seedlings from oil seeds (sesame and sunflower) and legumes (Trigonella, Haricot, broad bean and cow pea) were irradiated with gamma rays at doses of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8 and 1 kGy and the data were collected from shoots and roots. Enzymatic activities appeared to be correlated with gamma irradiation dose. The enzymatic activities of irradiated seeds understudy were significantly higher than controls. The peroxidase activities were nearly similar in both roots and shoots, while acid phosphatase activities in roots were higher than in shoots. Also protein contents were higher in roots. The peroxidase and acid phosphatase specific activities in roots were similar. Shoots peroxidase enzymatic activity increased with increased gamma doses. The seedling under study showed two different levels of peroxidase activity, higher as sesame, Trigonella and Sunflower, and lower such as all other legumes understudy. Similar tendency have been also noticed in roots-enzymatic activity, positive correlation between gamma doses treatment and peroxidase enzymatic activity, again two groups higher activity cow pea, broad bean, bean and Trigonella lower such as sesame, such as sesame, sunflower and haircut

  9. Computational study on a puzzle in the biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanin: Why is an enzymatic oxidation/ reduction process required for a simple tautomerization?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Hajime; Wang, Chao; Yamazaki, Mami; Saito, Kazuki; Uchiyama, Masanobu

    2018-01-01

    In the late stage of anthocyanin biosynthesis, dihydroflavonol reductase (DFR) and anthocyanidin synthase (ANS) mediate a formal tautomerization. However, such oxidation/reduction process requires high energy and appears to be unnecessary, as the oxidation state does not change during the transformation. Thus, a non-enzymatic pathway of tautomerization has also been proposed. To resolve the long-standing issue of whether this non-enzymatic pathway is the main contributor for the biosynthesis, we carried out density functional theory (DFT) calculations to examine this non-enzymatic pathway from dihydroflavonol to anthocyanidin. We show here that the activation barriers for the proposed non-enzymatic tautomerization are too high to enable the reaction to proceed under normal aqueous conditions in plants. The calculations also explain the experimentally observed requirement for acidic conditions during the final step of conversion of 2-flaven-3,4-diol to anthocyanidin; a thermodynamically and kinetically favorable concerted pathway can operate under these conditions.

  10. Enzymatic activity measured by microcalorimetry in soil amended with organic residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karina Cenciani

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Enzymatic activity is an important property for soil quality evaluation. Two sequences of experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the enzymatic activity in a soil (Rhodic Eutrudox amended with cattle manure, earthworm casts, or sewage sludges from the municipalities of Barueri and Franca. The activity of commercial enzymes was measured by microcalorimetry in the same soil samples after sterilization. In the first experiment, the enzyme activities of cellulase, protease, and urease were determined in the soil samples during a three month period. In the second sequence of experiments, the thermal effect of the commercial enzymes cellulase, protease, and urease on sterilized soil samples under the same tretaments was monitored for a period of 46 days. The experimental design was randomized and arranged as factorial scheme in five treatments x seven samplings with five replications. The treatment effects were statistically evaluated by one-way analysis of variance. Tukey´s test was used to compare means at p < 0.05. The presence of different sources of organic residues increased the enzymatic activity in the sampling period. Cattle manure induced the highest enzymatic activity, followed by municipal sewage sludge, whereas earthworm casts induced the lowest activity, but differed from control treatment. The thermal effect on the enzyme activity of commercial cellulase, protease, and urease showed a variety of time peaks. These values probably oscillated due to soil physical-chemical factors affecting the enzyme activity on the residues.

  11. Antimicrobial and enzymatic activity of anemophilous fungi of a public university in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LAUREANA V. SOBRAL

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT To the fungal microbiota the UFPE and biotechnological potential enzymatic and antimicrobial production. Air conditioned environments were sampled using a passive sedimentation technique, the air I ratio and the presence of aflatoxigenic strains evaluated for ANVISA. Icelles were to determine the enzymatic activity of lipase, amylase and protease metabolic liquids to determine antimicrobial activity. Diversity was observed in all CAV environments, CFU/m3 ranged from 14 to 290 and I/E ratio from 0.1 to 1.5. The of the fungal genera were: Aspergillus (50%, Penicillium (21%, Talaromyces (14%, Curvularia and Paecilomyces (7% each. Aspergillus sydowii (Bainier & Sartory Thom & Church presented enzymatic activity and the Talaromyces purpureogenus Samson, Yilmaz, Houbraken, Spierenb., Seifert, Peterson, Varga & Frisvad presented antibacterial activity against all bacteria that all environments present fungal species biodiversity no toxigenic or pathogenic fungi were found, according to ANVISA legislation for conditioned environments and airborne filamentous fungi present potential for enzymatic and antimicrobial activity.

  12. The variations of enzymatic activity of pepsin preparation by γ-irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimura, Syojiro; Taimatsu, Meiko; Kanbashi, Toshitaka; Okamoto, Shinichi; Ohnishi, Tokuhiro.

    1993-01-01

    Effect of γ-irradiation on the enzymatic activity of raw pepsin and some saccharated pepsin preparations were studied in the dose range from 0 to 300 kGy. As a result, the apparent reduction rate of saccharated pepsin preparations is less than of raw pepsin. K values of raw and saccharated pepsins were 0.014 and 0.0040-0.0061, and G values of raw and saccharated pepsins were 3.98 and 1.13-1.73, respectively. The lower K and G values of saccharated pepsin than those of raw pepsin seem to be due to radiolytic products of lactose in the preparations as an excipient. Retention rates of enzymatic activity of irradiated preparations at the dose of 25 kGy, which is a complete sterilization dose of pharmaceutical materials, were estimated to be 83% for raw pepsin, and 86% and 93% for saccharated pepsin preparations. At the dose of 10 kGy suggested for food irradiation the retention rates were more than 93% for all pepsins. Therefore, this method is applicable considering the stability of the enzymatic activity after irradiation in the proper range of dose. However, it is necessary to consider the fact that radiolytic products of lactose affect the measurement of enzymatic activity. (author)

  13. Site-Specific Bioconjugation of an Organometallic Electron Mediator to an Enzyme with Retained Photocatalytic Cofactor Regenerating Capacity and Enzymatic Activity

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    Sung In Lim

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Photosynthesis consists of a series of reactions catalyzed by redox enzymes to synthesize carbohydrates using solar energy. In order to take the advantage of solar energy, many researchers have investigated artificial photosynthesis systems mimicking the natural photosynthetic enzymatic redox reactions. These redox reactions usually require cofactors, which due to their high cost become a key issue when constructing an artificial photosynthesis system. Combining a photosensitizer and an Rh-based electron mediator (RhM has been shown to photocatalytically regenerate cofactors. However, maintaining the high concentration of cofactors available for efficient enzymatic reactions requires a high concentration of the expensive RhM; making this process cost prohibitive. We hypothesized that conjugation of an electron mediator to a redox enzyme will reduce the amount of electron mediators necessary for efficient enzymatic reactions. This is due to photocatalytically regenerated NAD(PH being readily available to a redox enzyme, when the local NAD(PH concentration near the enzyme becomes higher. However, conventional random conjugation of RhM to a redox enzyme will likely lead to a substantial loss of cofactor regenerating capacity and enzymatic activity. In order to avoid this issue, we investigated whether bioconjugation of RhM to a permissive site of a redox enzyme retains cofactor regenerating capacity and enzymatic activity. As a model system, a RhM was conjugated to a redox enzyme, formate dehydrogenase obtained from Thiobacillus sp. KNK65MA (TsFDH. A RhM-containing azide group was site-specifically conjugated to p-azidophenylalanine introduced to a permissive site of TsFDH via a bioorthogonal strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition and an appropriate linker. The TsFDH-RhM conjugate exhibited retained cofactor regenerating capacity and enzymatic activity.

  14. The effects of xylitol and sorbitol on lysozyme- and peroxidase-related enzymatic and candidacidal activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Bum-Soo; Chang, Ji-Youn; Kim, Yoon-Young; Kho, Hong-Seop

    2015-07-01

    To investigate whether xylitol and sorbitol affect enzymatic and candidacidal activities of lysozyme, the peroxidase system, and the glucose oxidase-mediated peroxidase system. Xylitol and sorbitol were added to hen egg-white lysozyme, bovine lactoperoxidase, glucose oxidase-mediated peroxidase, and whole saliva in solution and on hydroxyapatite surfaces. The enzymatic activities of lysozyme, peroxidase, and glucose oxidase-mediated peroxidase were determined by the turbidimetric method, the NbsSCN assay, and production of oxidized o-dianisidine, respectively. Candidacidal activities were determined by comparing colony forming units using Candida albicans ATCC strains 10231, 11006, and 18804. While xylitol and sorbitol did not affect the enzymatic activity of hen egg-white lysozyme both in solution and on hydroxyapatite surfaces, they did inhibit the enzymatic activity of salivary lysozyme significantly in solution, but not on the surfaces. Xylitol and sorbitol enhanced the enzymatic activities of both bovine lactoperoxidase and salivary peroxidase significantly in a dose-dependent manner in solution, but not on the surfaces. Sorbitol, but not xylitol, inhibited the enzymatic activity of glucose oxidase-mediated peroxidase significantly. Both xylitol and sorbitol did not affect candidacidal activities of hen egg-white lysozyme, the bovine lactoperoxidase system, or the glucose oxidase-mediated bovine lactoperoxidase system. Xylitol and sorbitol inhibited salivary lysozyme activity, but enhanced both bovine lactoperoxidase and salivary peroxidase activities significantly in solution. Xylitol and sorbitol did not augment lysozyme- and peroxidase-related candidacidal activities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Enzymatic browning control in cut apples (Red delicious through a system of active packaging

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    Felipe Jadán Piedra

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Enzymatic browning is one of the most relevant mechanisms of deterioration that take place in fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, as a consequence of the activity of the polyphenol oxidase enzyme on the phenolic compounds release after cellular lysis . This work is focused on the reduction of these enzymatic activity by an active packaging technology, which make use of a material that incorporates antioxidant active agents. Thus, films of ethylene-vynil alcohol copolymer (EVOH containing a typical food antioxidant, such as ascorbic acid and a polyphenol oxidase-inhibiting agent, the 4-hexylresorcinol have been developed and used to wrap apple slices. The evolution of color, the enzymatic activity and the kinetic of agents release to food simulants were monitored. The results showed an improvement of apple slice color stability and a reduction of the enzymatic activity. The film with 10 % of agents in 3/1 ratio (4-hexylresorcinol/ascorbic acid provided the best results.

  16. First results on enzymatic activities in two salt marsh soils under different hydromorphic level and vegetation

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    Carmen Trasar-Cepeda

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Salt-marsh soils are soils characterized by non-permanent hydric saturation that, depending on factors like duration of submersion periods, are dominated by different salt-tolerant plant species. The composition of microbial communities is an essential component in trophic dynamics and biogeochemical processes in salt marshes, and determines the level of enzymatic activities, which catalyze the conversion of complex molecules into simpler ones. Despite of this, the enzymatic activities in marsh-soils has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to analyze the enzymatic activities in two soil profiles of marsh-soils under different water saturation level and dominated by different plant species [Juncus maritimus Lam and Spartina maritima (Curtis Fernald (Sp]. In both soils, the enzymatic activities were much lower than the levels typically found in terrestrial ecosystems. The enzymatic activities were measured both in air-dried and in re-moistened and incubated soil samples. In air-dried samples, the enzymatic activities were higher in Juncus than in Spartina soil and tended to decrease with depth, being sharper the decrease in Juncus than in Spartina soil. Re-moistened and pre-incubated soils showed a general increase in all the enzymatic activities and throughout the whole soil profile, especially in Spartina soils. Hydrolase activities showed a strong and positive relationship with organic matter content both in air-dried and in re-moistened soil samples, higher in these latter. In general, oxidoreductase activities only showed this relationship in re-moistened soil samples. More studies, preferably using freshly collected soil samples, are needed to understand the relationship between enzymatic activities and these environmental conditions.

  17. Enzymatic activity of fungi isolated from crops

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    Wioletta A. Żukiewicz-Sobczak

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To detect and assess the activity of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes and to find differences in enzymograms between fungi isolated from wheat and rye samples and grown on Czapek-Dox Broth and Sabouraud Dextrose Broth enriched with cereal (wheat or rye. Isolated strains were also classified in the scale of biosafety levels (BSL. Material and methods: The study used 23 strains of fungi cultured from samples of wheat and rye (grain, grain dust obtained during threshing and soil collected in the Lublin region (eastern Poland. API ZYM test (bioMérieux was carried out according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Classification of BSL (Biosafety levels was based on the current literature. Results : High enzymatic activity was found in strains cultured in media containing 1% of wheat grain ( Bipolaris holmi, Penicillium decumbens and with an addition of 1% of rye grain ( Cladosporium herbarum, Aspergillus versicolor, Alternaria alternata . The total number of enzymes varied depending on the type of media, and in most cases it was higher in the culture where an addition of cereal grains was used. Conclusions : Isolated strains of fungi reveal differences in the profiles of the enzyme assay. It can be assumed that the substrate enriched in grains stimulate the higher activity of mold enzymes. Key words: enzymatic activity, mold fungi, zymogram, biohazards.

  18. Effect of restricted motion in high temperature on enzymatic activity of the pancreas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abdusattarov, A.; Smirnova, G. I.

    1980-01-01

    Effects of 30 day hypodynamia coupled with high temperature (35-36 C) on enzymatic activity of the pancreas of male adult rats were studied. The test animals were divided into four groups. Group one served as controls (freedom of movement and a temperature of 25-26 C, considered optimal). The remaining animals were divided into three additional groups: Group two freedom of movement but high temperature (35-36 C); group three hypodynamia but an optimal temperature; group four hypodynamia and 35-36 C. Considerable change in the enzymatic activity in the pancreas of the four groups is observed in three experimental groups (two, three, and four) as compared to the control (group one). The results indicate that adaption of the organism to the thermal factor and restricted movement is accompanied by a change in the enzymatic spectrum of the pancreas. With the combined effect of these two stresses under conditions of the adaption of the organism especially sharp shifts occur in the enzymatic activity.

  19. Enzymatic activities of Azotobacter chroococcum and survival in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Enzymatic activities of Azotobacter chroococcum and survival in schloropyrifos amended sterile and non-sterile. M Shukla, V Kumar, RL Thakur, N Narula. Abstract. No Abstract. Cameroon Journal of Experimental Biology Vol. 2 (2) 2006: pp. 88-94. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for ...

  20. Impact of herbaceous vegetation on the enzymatic activity of coal mining wastes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Osmanczyk, D

    1980-01-01

    Differences in the enzymatic activity of reclaimed and crude dump wastes after coal mining were investigated. Due to the increased activity of six investigated enzymes (dehydrogenase, catalase, saccharase, BETA-glucosidase, urease and asparaginase), a favourable impact of herbaceous vegetation on the biological activation of the breeding-ground was noticed. Particularly in the case of sacharase and BETA-glucosidase, an increase of the enzymatic activity at a rate of several times or even more than ten times speaks not only for an adequate increase of the metabolic rate of carbohydrates but also for specific properties of the habitat which favours an adsorption of these enzymes. (6 refs.) (In Polish)

  1. Malondialdehyde level and some enzymatic activities in subclinical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes occurring in milk malondialdehyde (MDA) level and some enzymatic activities as a result of subclinical mastitis (SCM) in dairy cows. A total of 124 milk samples were collected from 124 lactating cows from the same herd in the period between the 2nd week after calving ...

  2. Differentiation of enzymatic activity of yeasts and yeast-like microorganisms isolated from various environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elżbieta Bogusławska-Wąs

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The aim of study was to determinate enzymatic activity of yeast-like organisms - Candida lipolytica, Rhodotorula rubra, Trichosporon beigelii, Zygosaccharomyces sp. - isolated from the Szczecin Lagoon and herring salads. We have shown that lipolytic activity was higher than protcolytic for every strain tested. The lowest activity level was found out for amylolytic hydrolases. The results also demonstrated that yeast-like organisms isolated from the Szczecin Lagoon revealed much higher average enzymatic activity compared to tbe same species isolated from herring salads, excepting C. lipolytica.

  3. Extracellular enzymatic activities and physiological profiles of yeasts colonizing fruit trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molnárová, Jana; Vadkertiová, Renáta; Stratilová, Eva

    2014-07-01

    Yeasts form a significant and diverse part of the phyllosphere microbiota. Some yeasts that inhabit plants have been found to exhibit extracellular enzymatic activities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of yeasts isolated from leaves, fruits, and blossoms of fruit trees cultivated in Southwest Slovakia to produce extracellular enzymes, and to discover whether the yeasts originating from these plant organs differ from each other in their physiological properties. In total, 92 strains belonging to 29 different species were tested for: extracellular protease, β-glucosidase, lipase, and polygalacturonase activities; fermentation abilities; the assimilation of xylose, saccharose and alcohols (methanol, ethanol, glycerol); and for growth in a medium with 33% glucose. The black yeast Aureobasidium pullulans showed the largest spectrum of activities of all the species tested. Almost 70% of the strains tested demonstrated some enzymatic activity, and more than 90% utilized one of the carbon compounds tested. Intraspecies variations were found for the species of the genera Cryptococcus and Pseudozyma. Interspecies differences of strains exhibiting some enzymatic activities and utilizing alcohols were also noted. The largest proportion of the yeasts exhibited β-glucosidase activity and assimilated alcohols independently of their origin. The highest number of strains positive for all activities tested was found among the yeasts associated with leaves. Yeasts isolated from blossoms assimilated saccharose and D-xylose the most frequently of all the yeasts tested. The majority of the fruit-inhabiting yeasts grew in the medium with higher osmotic pressure. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. Quantitation of Na+, K+-atpase Enzymatic Activity in Tissues of the Mammalian Vestibular System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, T. P.

    1985-01-01

    In order to quantify vestibular Na(+), K(+)-ATPase, a microassay technique was developed which is sufficiently sensitive to measure the enzymatic activity in tissue from a single animal. The assay was used to characterize ATPase in he vestibular apparatus of the Mongolian gerbil. The quantitative procedure employs NPP (5 mM) as synthetic enzyme substrate. The assay relies upon spectrophotometric measurement (410 nm) of nitrophenol (NP) released by enzymatic hydrolysis of the substrate. Product formation in the absence of ouabain reflects both specific (Na(+), K(+)-ATPase) and non-specific (Mg(++)-ATPase) enzymatic activity. By measuring the accumulation of reaction product (NP) at three-minute intervals during the course of incubation, it is found that the overall enzymatic reaction proceeds linearly for at least 45 minutes. It is therefore possible to determine two separate reaction rates from a single set of tissues. Initial results indicate that total activity amounts to 53.3 + or - 11.2 (S.E.M.) nmol/hr/mg dry tissue, of which approximately 20% is ouabain-sensitive.

  5. PARTIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES PRODUCED BY A WILD STRAIN OF A. NIGER

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    María Martos

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Aspergillus niger, isolated from decay citrus peels in the province of Misiones, was able to produce pectinases by submerged fermentation. The enzymatic extract exhibited polygalacturonase, pectinesterase and lyase activities. Others enzymes capable of degrading cell wall polymers were also detected in the enzymatic extract such as cellulases and xylanases. Polygalacturonase was an endo-polygalacturonase. The enzyme exhibited a maximal activity at pH range between 4.5 to 5.0, was stable in the pH range from 2.5 to 5.5 and remained unchanged when was incubated at temperatures lower than 50 ºC. The fungi produced three PG isoenzymes. The enzymatic extract was able to clarify apple juice. The results observed make the pectinolytic enzymes produced by A. niger appropriate for future application in fruit juice processing industries.

  6. Enzymatic Activity of Candida spp. from Oral Cavity and Urine in Children with Nephrotic Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olczak-Kowalczyk, Dorota; Roszkowska-Blaim, Maria; Dąbkowska, Maria; Swoboda-Kopeć, Ewa; Gozdowski, Dariusz; Mizerska-Wasiak, Małgorzata; Demkow, Urszula; Pańczyk-Tomaszewska, Małgorzata

    2017-01-01

    Oral colonization with Candida spp. is not synonymous with a systemic active infection. The aim of the study was to evaluate enzymatic activity of Candida strains isolated from the oral cavity in patients with nephrotic syndrome (NS) and to compare it with the activity determined in urine. We studied 32 children with NS and 26 control healthy children. Children with NS were treated with glucocorticosteroids, cyclosporin A, mycophenolate mofetil or azathioprine. In all children, API-ZYM enzymatic tests were performed to evaluate hydrolytic enzymes of Candida isolated from the oral cavity and in urine. Candida spp. were isolated from the oral cavity in 11 patients with NS (34.4%), all receiving immunosuppressive treatment. All strains produced valine arylamidase, 9 alpha-glucosidase (E16), and 9 N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase (E18). A positive correlation between the presence of Candida in the oral cavity and E16 and E18 enzymatic activity in both oral cavity and urine was found. A dose of cyclosporin A had an effect on the enzymatic activity (p Candida invasion. The results of this study suggest that oral candida infection should be monitored in children with nephrotic syndrome, particularly those treated with immunosuppressive agents.

  7. The enzymatic activity of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase/IMP cyclohydrolase (ATIC) is enhanced by NPM-ALK

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boccalatte, Francesco E; Voena, Claudia; Riganti, Chiara

    2009-01-01

    . A well-defined set of ALK-associated tyrosine phospho-peptides, including metabolic enzymes, kinases, ribosomal and cytoskeletal proteins was identified. Validation studies confirmed that VASP and ATIC associated with NPM-ALK and their phosphorylation required ALK activity. ATIC phosphorylation was also...... documented in cell lines and primary tumors carrying ALK proteins and other tyrosine kinases, including TPR-Met and wild type c-Met. Functional analyses revealed that ALK-mediated ATIC phosphorylation enhanced its enzymatic activity, dampering the methotrexate-mediated transformylase activity inhibition...

  8. The Activation of Phytophthora Effector Avr3b by Plant Cyclophilin is Required for the Nudix Hydrolase Activity of Avr3b.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Guanghui; Zhao, Yao; Jing, Maofeng; Huang, Jie; Yang, Jin; Xia, Yeqiang; Kong, Liang; Ye, Wenwu; Xiong, Qin; Qiao, Yongli; Dong, Suomeng; Ma, Wenbo; Wang, Yuanchao

    2015-08-01

    Plant pathogens secrete an arsenal of effector proteins to impair host immunity. Some effectors possess enzymatic activities that can modify their host targets. Previously, we demonstrated that a Phytophthora sojae RXLR effector Avr3b acts as a Nudix hydrolase when expressed in planta; and this enzymatic activity is required for full virulence of P. sojae strain P6497 in soybean (Glycine max). Interestingly, recombinant Avr3b produced by E. coli does not have the hydrolase activity unless it was incubated with plant protein extracts. Here, we report the activation of Avr3b by a prolyl-peptidyl isomerase (PPIase), cyclophilin, in plant cells. Avr3b directly interacts with soybean cyclophilin GmCYP1, which activates the hydrolase activity of Avr3b in a PPIase activity-dependent manner. Avr3b contains a putative Glycine-Proline (GP) motif; which is known to confer cyclophilin-binding in other protein substrates. Substitution of the Proline (P132) in the putative GP motif impaired the interaction of Avr3b with GmCYP1; as a result, the mutant Avr3bP132A can no longer be activated by GmCYP1, and is also unable to promote Phytophthora infection. Avr3b elicits hypersensitive response (HR) in soybean cultivars producing the resistance protein Rps3b, but Avr3bP132A lost its ability to trigger HR. Furthermore, silencing of GmCYP1 rendered reduced cell death triggered by Avr3b, suggesting that GmCYP1-mediated Avr3b maturation is also required for Rps3b recognition. Finally, cyclophilins of Nicotiana benthamiana can also interact with Avr3b and activate its enzymatic activity. Overall, our results demonstrate that cyclophilin is a "helper" that activates the enzymatic activity of Avr3b after it is delivered into plant cells; as such, cyclophilin is required for the avirulence and virulence functions of Avr3b.

  9. Modeling the minimum enzymatic requirements for optimal cellulose conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Den Haan, R; Van Zyl, W H; Van Zyl, J M; Harms, T M

    2013-01-01

    Hydrolysis of cellulose is achieved by the synergistic action of endoglucanases, exoglucanases and β-glucosidases. Most cellulolytic microorganisms produce a varied array of these enzymes and the relative roles of the components are not easily defined or quantified. In this study we have used partially purified cellulases produced heterologously in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to increase our understanding of the roles of some of these components. CBH1 (Cel7), CBH2 (Cel6) and EG2 (Cel5) were separately produced in recombinant yeast strains, allowing their isolation free of any contaminating cellulolytic activity. Binary and ternary mixtures of the enzymes at loadings ranging between 3 and 100 mg g −1 Avicel allowed us to illustrate the relative roles of the enzymes and their levels of synergy. A mathematical model was created to simulate the interactions of these enzymes on crystalline cellulose, under both isolated and synergistic conditions. Laboratory results from the various mixtures at a range of loadings of recombinant enzymes allowed refinement of the mathematical model. The model can further be used to predict the optimal synergistic mixes of the enzymes. This information can subsequently be applied to help to determine the minimum protein requirement for complete hydrolysis of cellulose. Such knowledge will be greatly informative for the design of better enzymatic cocktails or processing organisms for the conversion of cellulosic biomass to commodity products. (letter)

  10. Enzymatic activity of the cellulolytic complex produced by Trichoderma reesei. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose; Actividad enzimatica del complejo celulolitico producido por Trichoderma reesei. Hidrolisis enzimatica de la celulosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alfonsel, M; Negro, M J; Saez, R; Martin, C

    1986-07-01

    The enzymatic activity characterization of the cellulolytic complex obtained from Trichoderma reesei QM 9414 and the influence of the enzymatic hydrolysis conditions on the hydrolysis yield are studied. Pure cellulose and native or alkali pretreated biomass Onopordum nervosum have been used as substrates. The values of pH, temperature, substrate concentration and enzyme-substrate ratio for the optimum activity of that complex, evaluated as glucose and reducing sugars production, have been selected. Previous studies on enzymatic hydrolysis of 0. nervosum have shown a remarkable effect of the alkaline pretreatments on the final hydrolysis yield. (Author) 10 refs.

  11. Effect of aflatoxin B1 on growth and enzymatic activity of a native strain of Bacillus sp

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Sáez Vega

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The effect of different aflatoxin B1 (AFAB1 concentrations on alkaline protease growth and enzymatic activity was evaluated; a native strain of alkalophilic Bacillus sp cultivated in CSL (Corn Steep Liquor was used. It was found that the effect of AFAB1 on the strain inhibited its growth and enzymatic activity to 1 ppm, showing that the strain is highly sensible to AFAB1, meaning that medium obtained f rom Colombian corn contaminated with this mycotoxin cannot be easily used. Concentrations less than 0.1 ppm did not affect growth and enzymatic activity. Key words: Bacillus, aflatoxin, alkaline proteases.

  12. PARP1 Val762Ala polymorphism reduces enzymatic activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xiaogan; Wang Zhaoqi; Tong Weimin; Shen Yan

    2007-01-01

    Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP1) modifies a variety of nuclear proteins by poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation, and plays diverse roles in molecular and cellular processes. A common PARP1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at codon 762, resulting in the substitution of alanine (Ala) for valine (Val) in the catalytic domain has been implicated in susceptibility to cancer. To characterize the functional effect of this polymorphism on PARP1, we performed in vitro enzymatic analysis on PARP1-Ala762 and PARP1-Val762. We found that PARP1-Ala762 displayed 57.2% of the activity of PARP1-Val762 for auto-poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and 61.9% of the activity of PARP1-Val762 for trans-poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of histone H1. The kinetic characterization revealed that the K m of PARP1-Ala762 was increased to a 1.2-fold of the K m of PARP1-Val762 for trans-poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation. Thus, the PARP1 Val762Ala polymorphism reduces the enzymatic activity of PARP1 by increasing K m . This finding suggests that different levels of poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation by PARP1 might aid in understanding Cancer risk of carriers of the PARP1 Val762Ala polymorphism

  13. Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Oleuropein from Olea europea (Olive Leaf Extract and Antioxidant Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiao-Jiao Yuan

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Oleuropein (OE, the main polyphenol in olive leaf extract, is likely to decompose into hydroxytyrosol (HT and elenolic acid under the action of light, acid, base, high temperature. In the enzymatic process, the content of OE in olive leaf extract and enzyme are key factors that affect the yield of HT. A selective enzyme was screened from among 10 enzymes with a high OE degradation rate. A single factor (pH, temperature, time, enzyme quantity optimization process and a Box-Behnken design were studied for the enzymatic hydrolysis of 81.04% OE olive leaf extract. Additionally, enzymatic hydrolysis results with different substrates (38.6% and 81.04% OE were compared and the DPPH antioxidant properties were also evaluated. The result showed that the performance of hydrolysis treatments was best using hemicellulase as a bio-catalyst, and the high purity of OE in olive extract was beneficial to biotransform OE into HT. The optimal enzymatic conditions for achieving a maximal yield of HT content obtained by the regression were as follows: pH 5, temperature 55 °C and enzyme quantity 55 mg. The experimental result was 11.31% ± 0.15%, and the degradation rate of OE was 98.54%. From the present investigation of the antioxidant activity determined by the DPPH method, the phenol content and radical scavenging effect were both decreased after enzymatic hydrolysis by hemicellulase. However, a high antioxidant activity of the ethyl acetate extract enzymatic hydrolysate (IC50 = 41.82 μg/mL was demonstated. The results presented in this work suggested that hemicellulase has promising and attractive properties for industrial production of HT, and indicated that HT might be a valuable biological component for use in pharmaceutical products and functional foods.

  14. Rapid estimation of compost enzymatic activity by spectral analysis method combined with machine learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Somsubhra; Das, Bhabani S; Ali, Md Nasim; Li, Bin; Sarathjith, M C; Majumdar, K; Ray, D P

    2014-03-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using visible near-infrared (VisNIR) diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) as an easy, inexpensive, and rapid method to predict compost enzymatic activity, which traditionally measured by fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA-HR) assay. Compost samples representative of five different compost facilities were scanned by DRS, and the raw reflectance spectra were preprocessed using seven spectral transformations for predicting compost FDA-HR with six multivariate algorithms. Although principal component analysis for all spectral pretreatments satisfactorily identified the clusters by compost types, it could not separate different FDA contents. Furthermore, the artificial neural network multilayer perceptron (residual prediction deviation=3.2, validation r(2)=0.91 and RMSE=13.38 μg g(-1) h(-1)) outperformed other multivariate models to capture the highly non-linear relationships between compost enzymatic activity and VisNIR reflectance spectra after Savitzky-Golay first derivative pretreatment. This work demonstrates the efficiency of VisNIR DRS for predicting compost enzymatic as well as microbial activity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Binding of Nickel to Testicular Glutamate–Ammonia Ligase Inhibits Its Enzymatic Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    SUN, YINGBIAO; OU, YOUNG; CHENG, MIN; RUAN, YIBING; VAN DER HOORN, FRANS A.

    2016-01-01

    SUMMARY Exposure to nickel has been shown to cause damage to the testis in several animal models. It is not known if the testis expresses protein(s) that can bind nickel. To test this, we used a nickel-binding assay to isolate testicular nickel-binding proteins. We identified glutamate–ammonia ligase (GLUL) as a prominent nickel-binding protein by mass spectrometry. Protein analysis and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that GLUL is expressed in the testis, predominantly in interstitial cells. We determined that GLUL has a higher affinity for nickel than for its regular co-factor manganese. We produced an enzymatically active, recombinant GLUL protein. Upon binding, nickel interferes with the manganese-catalyzed enzymatic activity of recombinant GLUL protein. We also determined that GLUL activity in testes of animals exposed to nickel sulfate is reduced. Our results identify testicular GLUL as the first testicular protein shown to be affected by nickel exposure. PMID:21254280

  16. Immobilization of inorganic pyrophosphatase on nanodiamond particles retaining its high enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodina, Elena V; Valueva, Anastasiya V; Yakovlev, Ruslan Yu; Vorobyeva, Nataliya N; Kulakova, Inna I; Lisichkin, Georgy V; Leonidov, Nikolay B

    2015-12-21

    Nanodiamond (ND) particles are popular platforms for the immobilization of molecular species. In the present research, enzyme Escherichia coli inorganic pyrophosphatase (PPase) was immobilized on detonation ND through covalent or noncovalent bonding and its enzymatic activity was characterized. Factors affecting adsorption of PPase such as ND size and surface chemistry were studied. The obtained material is a submicron size association of ND particles and protein molecules in approximately equal amounts. Both covalently and noncovalently immobilized PPase retains a significant enzymatic activity (up to 95% of its soluble form) as well as thermostability. The obtained hybrid material has a very high enzyme loading capacity (∼1 mg mg(-1)) and may be considered as a promising delivery system of biologically active proteinaceous substances, particularly in the treatment of diseases such as calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition disease and related pathologies. They can also be used as recoverable heterogeneous catalysts in the traditional uses of PPase.

  17. Comparison of the role that entropy has played in processes of non-enzymatic and enzymatic catalysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dixon Pineda, Manuel Tomas

    2012-01-01

    The function that entropy has played is compared in processes of non-enzymatic and enzymatic catalysis. The processes followed are showed: the kinetics of the acid hydrolysis of 3-pentyl acetate and cyclopentyl acetate catalyzed by hydrochloric acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of ethyl acetate and γ-butyrolactone catalyzed by pig liver esterase. The activation parameters of Eyring were determined for each process and interpreted the contribution of the entropy of activation for catalysis in this type of model reactions. (author) [es

  18. Constraints imposed by transmembrane domains affect enzymatic activity of membrane-associated human CD39/NTPDase1 mutants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musi, Elgilda; Islam, Naziba; Drosopoulos, Joan H F

    2007-05-01

    Human CD39/NTPDase1 is an endothelial cell membrane-associated nucleotidase. Its large extracellular domain rapidly metabolizes nucleotides, especially ADP released from activated platelets, inhibiting further platelet activation/recruitment. Previous studies using our recombinant soluble CD39 demonstrated the importance of residues S57, D54, and D213 for enzymatic/biological activity. We now report effects of S57A, D54A, and D213A mutations on full-length (FL)CD39 function. Enzymatic activity of alanine modified FLCD39s was less than wild-type, contrasting the enhanced activity of their soluble counterparts. Furthermore, conservative substitutions D54E and D213E led to enzymes with activities greater than the alanine modified FLCD39s, but less than wild-type. Reductions in mutant activities were primarily associated with reduced catalytic rates. Differences in enzymatic activity were not attributable to gross changes in the nucleotide binding pocket or the enzyme's ability to multimerize. Thus, composition of the active site of wild-type CD39 appears optimized for ADPase function in the context of the transmembrane domains.

  19. Measure of enzymatic activity coincident with 2450 MHz microwave exposure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ward, T R; Allis, J W; Elder, J A

    1975-09-01

    Enzyme preparations were exposed to microwave radiation at 2450 MHz and enzymatic activity was simultaneously monitored spectrophotometrically with a crossed-beam exposure detection system. Enzymes studied were glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase from human red blood cells and yeast, adenylate kinase from rat liver mitochondria and rabbit muscle, and rat liver microsomal NADPH cytochrome c reductase. No difference was found between the specific activity at 25/sup 0/C of unirradiated controls and enzyme preparations irradiated at an absorbed dose rate of 42 W/kg.

  20. ASPECTS CONCERNING THE ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY IN SEVERAL THERMOACTINOMYCETE STRAINS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Dunca

    2003-08-01

    Full Text Available In the thermoactinomycete strains subjected to examination the values of their recorded enzymatic activities (i.e. α-amy lase, protease, exo-β-1,4 – glucanase, endo -β-1,4 – glucanase and β-glucosidase were lower in the stationary cultures as compared to the stirred ones. The strain Thermomonospora fusca BB255 was found to be highly cellulase- producing and at the same time able to synthesize α-amy lases and proteases.

  1. Respiration and enzymatic activities as indicators of stabilization of sewage sludge composting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikaeen, Mahnaz; Nafez, Amir Hossein; Bina, Bijan; Nabavi, BiBi Fatemeh; Hassanzadeh, Akbar

    2015-05-01

    The objective of this work was to study the evolution of physico-chemical and microbial parameters in the composting process of sewage sludge (SS) with pruning wastes (PW) in order to compare these parameters with respect to their applicability in the evaluation of organic matter (OM) stabilization. To evaluate the composting process and organic matter stability, different microbial activities were compared during composting of anaerobically digested SS with two volumetric ratios, 1:1 and 3:1 of PW:SS and two aeration techniques including aerated static piles (ASP) and turned windrows (TW). Dehydrogenase activity, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis, and specific oxygen uptake rate (SOUR) were used as microbial activity indices. These indices were compared with traditional parameters, including temperature, pH, moisture content, organic matter, and C/N ratio. The results showed that the TW method and 3:1 (PW:SS) proportion was superior to the ASP method and 1:1 proportion, since the former accelerate the composting process by catalyzing the OM stabilization. Enzymatic activities and SOUR, which reflect microbial activity, correlated well with temperature fluctuations. Based on these results it appears that SOUR and the enzymatic activities are useful parameters to monitor the stabilization of SS compost. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Ship-borne measurements of microbial enzymatic activity: A rapid biochemical indicator for microbial water quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stadler, Philipp; Loken, Luke; Crawford, John; Schramm, Paul; Sorsa, Kirsti; Kuhn, Catherine; Savio, Domenico; Striegl, Rob; Butman, David; Stanley, Emily; Farnleitner, Andreas H.; Zessner, Matthias

    2017-04-01

    Contamination of aquatic ecosystems by human and animal wastes is a global concern for water quality. Disclosing fate and transport processes of fecal indicator organism (FIO) in large water bodies is a big challenge due to material intensive and time consuming methods used in microbiological water quality monitoring. In respect of utilization of large surface water resources there is a dearth of rapid microbiological methods that allow a near-real time health related water quality monitoring to be implemented into early warning systems. The detection of enzymatic activities has been proposed as a rapid surrogate for microbiological pollution monitoring of water and water resources (Cabral, 2010; Farnleitner et al., 2001, 2002). Methods such as the beta-D-Glucuronidase assay (GLUC), targeting FIO such as E. coli, were established. New automated enzymatic assays have been implemented during the last years into on-site monitoring stations, ranging from ground- to surface waters (Ryzinska-Paier et al., 2014; Stadler et al., 2017, 2016). While these automated enzymatic methods cannot completely replace assays for culture-based FIO enumeration, they yielded significant information on pollution events and temporal dynamics on a catchment specific basis, but were restricted to stationary measurements. For the first time we conducted ship-borne and automated measurements of enzymatic GLUC activity on large fresh water bodies, including the Columbia River, the Mississippi River and Lake Mendota. Not only are automated enzymatic assays technically feasible from a mobile vessel, but also can be used to localize point sources of potential microbial fecal contamination, such as tributaries or storm drainages. Spatial and temporal patterns of enzymatic activity were disclosed and the habitat specific correlation with microbiological standard assays for FIO determined due to reference samples. The integration of rapid and automated enzymatic assays into well-established systems

  3. DNA-Based Sensor for Real-Time Measurement of the Enzymatic Activity of Human Topoisomerase I

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Marcussen, Lærke Bay; Jepsen, Morten Leth; Kristoffersen, Emil Laust

    2013-01-01

    Sensors capable of quantitative real-time measurements may present the easiest and most accurate way to study enzyme activities. Here we present a novel DNA-based sensor for specific and quantitative real-time measurement of the enzymatic activity of the essential human enzyme, topoisomerase I....... The basic design of the sensor relies on two DNA strands that hybridize to form a hairpin structure with a fluorophore-quencher pair. The quencher moiety is released from the sensor upon reaction with human topoisomerase I thus enabling real-time optical measurement of enzymatic activity. The sensor....... The cytotoxic effect of camptothecins correlates directly with the intracellular topoisomerase I activity. We therefore envision that the presented sensor may find use for the prediction of cellular drug response. Moreover, inhibition of topoisomerase I by camptothecin is readily detectable using the presented...

  4. Gamma radiation effect on biological activity and enzymatic properties of snake venoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrera, E.; Yarleque, A.; Campos, S.; Zavaleta, A.

    1986-01-01

    The effect of gamma radiation, from Co-60, on the biological activity and on some enzymatic activities, present in the venoms of Lachesis muta and Bothrops atrox, using samples of dried venom that had been irradiated at a dose of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 Mrad have been studied. Variations in the degree of hemorrhage and local necrosis were observed in albino mice injected subcutaneously with venoms of both types. The reduction of the biological activity was greater for the local hemorrhagic effect and was dependent on the doses of irradiation. The specific activity of various enzymes, present in both venoms, is affected by the gamma radiation, at a dose of 0.1 Mrad the order of increasing inactivation being: exonuclease (4%), phospholipase (24%), caseinolytic enzyme (20%), tamesterase (33%), a thrombine-like enzyme (40%), fibrinolytic enzyme (41%), 5'-nucleotidase (50%) and endonuclease (55%). The enzymatic inactivation was augmented by 0.5 and 1.0 Mrad, without maintaining an arithmetic relation. The enzyme of major resistance to the radiation was exonuclease, whereas 5'-nucleotidase and endonuclease were the most sensitive. No significant changes were observed in the spectrum of UV absorbtion (range 260 to 290 nm) nor in the contents of L-tyrosine in the irradiated venoms

  5. Effect of wheat and Miscanthus straw biochars on soil enzymatic activity, ecotoxicity, and plant yield

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mierzwa-Hersztek, Monika; Gondek, Krzysztof; Klimkowicz-Pawlas, Agnieszka; Baran, Agnieszka

    2017-07-01

    The variety of technological conditions and raw materials from which biochar is produced is the reason why its soil application may have different effects on soil properties and plant growth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of wheat straw and Miscanthus giganteus straw (5 t DM ha-1) and biochar obtained from this materials in doses of 2.25 and 5 t DM ha-1 on soil enzymatic activity, soil ecotoxicity, and plant yield (perennial grass mixture with red clover). The research was carried out under field conditions on soil with the granulometric composition of loamy sand. No significant effect of biochar amendment on soil enzymatic activity was observed. The biochar-amended soil was toxic to Vibrio fischeri and exhibited low toxicity to Heterocypris incongruens. Application of wheat straw biochar and M. giganteus straw biochar in a dose of 5 t DM ha-1 contributed to an increase in plant biomass production by 2 and 14%, respectively, compared to the soil with mineral fertilisation. Biochars had a more adverse effect on soil enzymatic activity and soil ecotoxicity to H. incongruens and V. fischeri than non-converted wheat straw and M. giganteus straw, but significantly increased the grass crop yield.

  6. Oculocutaneous albinism type 1: link between mutations, tyrosinase conformational stability, and enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolinska, Monika B; Kus, Nicole J; Farney, S Katie; Wingfield, Paul T; Brooks, Brian P; Sergeev, Yuri V

    2017-01-01

    Oculocutaneous albinism type 1 (OCA1) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the tyrosinase gene. Two subtypes of OCA1 have been described: severe OCA1A with complete absence of tyrosinase activity and less severe OCA1B with residual tyrosinase activity. Here, we characterize the recombinant human tyrosinase intramelanosomal domain and mutant variants, which mimic genetic changes in both subtypes of OCA1 patients. Proteins were prepared using site-directed mutagenesis, expressed in insect larvae, purified by chromatography, and characterized by enzymatic activities, tryptophan fluorescence, and Gibbs free energy changes. The OCA1A mutants showed very low protein expression and protein yield and are enzymatically inactive. Mutants mimicking OCA1B were biochemically similar to the wild type, but exhibited lower specific activities and protein stabilities. The results are consistent with clinical data, which indicates that OCA1A mutations inactivate tyrosinase and result in severe phenotype, while OCA1B mutations partially inactivate tyrosinase and result in OCA1B albinism. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  7. Chemical Characterization, Antioxidant and Enzymatic Activity of Brines from Scandinavian Marinated Herring Products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gringer, Nina; Osman, Ali; Nielsen, Henrik Hauch

    2014-01-01

    Brines generated during the last marination step in the production of marinated herring (Clupea harengus) were chemically characterized and analyzed for antioxidant and enzyme activities. The end-products were vinegar cured, spice cured and traditional barrel-salted herring with either salt...... or spices. The chemical characterization encompassed pH, dry matter, ash, salt, fatty acids, protein, polypeptide pattern, iron and nitrogen. The antioxidant activity was tested with three assays measuring: iron chelation, reducing power and radical scavenging activity. The enzymatic activity for peroxidase...

  8. Changes in the amino acid profiles and free radical scavenging activities of Tenebrio molitor larvae following enzymatic hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Yujiao; Debnath, Trishna; Choi, Eun-Ju; Kim, Young Wook; Ryu, Jung Pyo; Jang, Sejin; Chung, Sang Uk; Choi, Young-Jin; Kim, Eun-Kyung

    2018-01-01

    Tenebrio molitor (T. molitor) larvae provide food at low environmental cost and contribute positively to livelihoods. In this research, we compared the amino acids compositions and antioxidant activities of various extracts of T. molitor to enhance their quality as food. For the comparison, distilled water extracts, enzymatic hydrolysates, and condensed enzymatic hydrolysates of T. molitor larvae were prepared. Their amino acids (AAs) profiles and antioxidant activities, including ferric-reducing antioxidant power, oxygen radical absorption capacity, and DPPH, hydroxyl radical, and hydrogen peroxide radical scavenging properties assay were analyzed. DW extracts had the lowest AAs contents and antioxidant activity compared with enzymatic extracts. Condensed hydrolysates with a combination of alcalase and flavourzyme (C-A+F) exhibited the highest levels of total free AAs (11.1759 g/100 g). C-A+F produced higher total hydrolyzed AAs (32.5292 g/100 g) compared with the other groups. The C-A+F possessed the strongest antioxidant activity. Notably, the antioxidant activities of the hydrolysates and the total hydrolyzed AAs amount were correlated. Taken together, our findings showed that C-A+F was a promising technique for obtaining extracts of T. molitor larvae with antioxidant activity as potential nutritious functional food.

  9. Effect of enzymatic mash treatment and storage on phenolic composition, antioxidant activity, and turbidity of cloudy apple juice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oszmiański, Jan; Wojdylo, Aneta; Kolniak, Joanna

    2009-08-12

    The effects of different commercial enzymatic mash treatments on yield, turbidity, color, and polyphenolic and sediment of procyanidins content of cloudy apple juice were studied. Addition of pectolytic enzymes to mash treatment had positive effect on the production of cloud apple juices by improving polyphenolic contents, especially procyanidins and juice yields (68.3% in control samples to 77% after Pectinex Yield Mash). As summary of the effect of enzymatic mash treatment, polyphenol contents in cloudy apple juices significantly increased after Pectinex Yield Mash, Pectinex Smash XXL, and Pectinex XXL maceration were applied but no effect was observed after Pectinex Ultra-SPL I Panzym XXL use, compared to the control samples. The content of polymeric procyanidins represented 50-70% of total polyphenols, but in the present study, polymeric procyanidins were significantly lower in juices than in fruits and also affected by enzymatic treatment (Pectinex AFP L-4 and Panzym Yield Mash) compared to the control samples. The enzymatic treatment decreased procyanidin content in most sediment with the exception of Pectinex Smash XXL and Pectinex AFP L-4. Generally in samples that were treated by pectinase, radical scavenging activity of cloudy apple juices was increased compared to the untreated reference samples. The highest radical scavenging activity was associated with Pectinex Yield Mash, Pectinex Smash XXL, and Pectinex XXL enzyme and the lowest activity with Pectinex Ultra SP-L and Pectinex APFL-4. However, in the case of enzymatic mash treatment cloudy apple juices showed instability of turbidity and low viscosity. These results must be ascribed to the much higher hydrolysis of pectin by enzymatic preparation which is responsible for viscosity. During 6 months of storage at 4 degrees C small changes in analyzed parameters of apple juices were observed.

  10. Modelling the Effects of Ageing Time of Starch on the Enzymatic Activity of Three Amylolytic Enzymes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerra, Nelson P.; Pastrana Castro, Lorenzo

    2012-01-01

    The effect of increasing ageing time (t) of starch on the activity of three amylolytic enzymes (Termamyl, San Super, and BAN) was investigated. Although all the enzymatic reactions follow michaelian kinetics, v max decreased significantly (P enzymes and the release of the reaction products to the medium. A similar effect was observed when the enzymatic reactions were carried out with unaged starches supplemented with different concentrations of gelatine [G]. The inhibition in the amylolytic activities was best mathematically described by using three modified forms of the Michaelis-Menten model, which included a term to consider, respectively, the linear, exponential, and hyperbolic inhibitory effects of t and [G]. PMID:22666116

  11. Specific inflammatory response of Anemonia sulcata (Cnidaria) after bacterial injection causes tissue reaction and enzymatic activity alteration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trapani, M R; Parisi, M G; Parrinello, D; Sanfratello, M A; Benenati, G; Palla, F; Cammarata, M

    2016-03-01

    The evolution of multicellular organisms was marked by adaptations to protect against pathogens. The mechanisms for discriminating the ''self'' from ''non-self" have evolved into a long history of cellular and molecular strategies, from damage repair to the co-evolution of host-pathogen interactions. We investigated the inflammatory response in Anemonia sulcata (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) following injection of substances that varied in type and dimension, and observed clear, strong and specific reactions, especially after injection of Escherichia coli and Vibrio alginolyticus. Moreover, we analyzed enzymatic activity of protease, phosphatase and esterase, showing how the injection of different bacterial strains alters the expression of these enzymes and suggesting a correlation between the appearance of the inflammatory reaction and the modification of enzymatic activities. Our study shows for the first time, a specific reaction and enzymatic responses following injection of bacteria in a cnidarian. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Biosensing strategies based on enzymatic reactions and nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez-Buitrago, Beatriz; Briz, Nerea; Liz-Marzán, Luis M; Pavlov, Valeri

    2018-04-16

    Enzymes are pivotal elements in bioanalysis due to their specificity and extremely high catalytic activity. The sensitivity of bioanalytical assays depends mainly on the capacity of an observer to detect the product(s) of a biocatalytic reaction. Both natural and artificial compounds have been traditionally used to evaluate enzymatic activities. The drawbacks of chromogenic and fluorogenic organic enzymatic substrates are their high cost and low stability, resulting in high background signals. We review here state of the art assays in the detection of enzymatic activities using recent advances in nanoscience. Novel methods based on the use of nanoparticles lead to increased sensitivity and decreased costs for bioanalysis based on enzymes as recognition elements and signal amplifiers in Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays (ELISA). Novel approaches toward the detection of enzymatic activities are based on biocatalytic synthesis, modulation, etching, and aggregation of nanoparticles under physiological conditions.

  13. Rapid tryptic mapping using enzymatically active mass spectrometer probe tips

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dogruel, D.; Williams, P.; Nelson, R.W. [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

    1995-12-01

    A method has been developed for rapid, sensitive, and accurate tryptic mapping of polypeptides using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass analysis. The technique utilizes mass spectrometer probe tips which have been activated through the covalent immobilization of trypsin. The enzymatically active probe tips were used for the tryptic mapping of chicken egg lysozyme and the results compared with those obtained using either free trypsin or agarose-immobilized trypsin. A significant increase in the overall sensitivity of the process was observed using the active probe tips, as well as the production of more characteristic proteolytic fragments and the elimination of background signals due to the autolysis of the trypsin. Further, probe tip digestions were found to be rapid and convenient. 19 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

  14. Ebselen inhibits QSOX1 enzymatic activity and suppresses invasion of pancreatic and renal cancer cell lines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanavan, Paul D; Borges, Chad R; Katchman, Benjamin A; Faigel, Douglas O; Ho, Thai H; Ma, Chen-Ting; Sergienko, Eduard A; Meurice, Nathalie; Petit, Joachim L; Lake, Douglas F

    2015-07-30

    Quiescin sulfhydryl oxidase 1 (QSOX1) is a highly conserved disulfide bond-generating enzyme that is overexpressed in diverse tumor types. Its enzymatic activity promotes the growth and invasion of tumor cells and alters extracellular matrix composition. In a nude mouse-human tumor xenograft model, tumors containing shRNA for QSOX1 grew significantly more slowly than controls, suggesting that QSOX1 supports a proliferative phenotype in vivo. High throughput screening experiments identified ebselen as an in vitro inhibitor of QSOX1 enzymatic activity. Ebselen treatment of pancreatic and renal cancer cell lines stalled tumor growth and inhibited invasion through Matrigel in vitro. Daily oral treatment with ebselen resulted in a 58% reduction in tumor growth in mice bearing human pancreatic tumor xenografts compared to controls. Mass spectrometric analysis of ebselen-treated QSOX1 mechanistically revealed that C165 and C237 of QSOX1 covalently bound to ebselen. This report details the anti-neoplastic properties of ebselen in pancreatic and renal cancer cell lines. The results here offer a "proof-of-principle" that enzymatic inhibition of QSOX1 may have clinical relevancy.

  15. An Investigation of the Changes in Enzymatic and Non-Enzymatic Salivary Antioxidants Caused by Exhausting Aerobic Activity in Non-Athletic Men

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yazgaldi Nazari

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background and Objectives: In the present study, the effect of acute aerobic exercise on enzymatic and non-enzymatic salivary antioxidants variations in non-athlete men, was investigated. Methods: In this experimental study, 25 male non-athlete collegiates (age, 21.2±1.6 years; weight, 68.62±10.1kg; body fat, 16.75±2.9%; and Vo2 max, 37.54±2.4ml/kg/min participated voluntarily in this study. Saliva samples were collected in three phases (before, immediately, and 1 hour after running on treadmill according to Astrand test. The activity of peroxidase and catalase, and concentration of uric acid were measured by laboratory methods. Then, to assess the obtained changes, repeated measures statistical test, and in case of significance, post-hoc Bonferroni test were used for pairwise comparing of the measuring phases at the significance level of p≤0.05 used.  Results: The activity of peroxidase significantly increased immediately and 1 hour after exercise compared to the baseline; Also, the concentration of uric acid significantly increased after aerobic exercise, but catalase enzyme activity significantly decreased after aerobic exercise (p<0.05. No significant change was observed in saliva flow rate after exercise. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, aerobic exercise causes the production of free radicals, and salivary antioxidant system increases as the body biological response to neutralize and counteract the damaging effects of free radicals.

  16. Impact of Heavy Metals in Enzymatic Activity of Soils from Hidalgo, Mexico

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes-Ortigoza, A. L.; Reyes-Solis, I. E.; Galicia-Palacios, M. S.; Montiel-Arteaga, S.

    2009-01-01

    The soils from Valle of Mezquital, Hidalgo, Mexico have been irrigated with waste waters from Mexico City for more than 88 years. the present investigation was made in order to know the relationship between heavy metal contents and time of irrigation with waste waters and production of CO 2 and enzymatic activity in soils from Valle Mezquital for knowing the disponibility of nutrients and degradation of soils. (Author)

  17. Common HEXB polymorphisms reduce serum HexA and HexB enzymatic activities, potentially masking Tay-Sachs disease carrier identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallance, Hilary; Morris, Tara J; Coulter-Mackie, Marion; Lim-Steele, Joyce; Kaback, Michael

    2006-02-01

    A DNA-proven Tay-Sachs disease (TSD) carrier and his brother were found to have serum percent Hexosaminidase A (%HexA) enzymatic activities in the non-carrier range, while the leukocyte %HexA profiles clearly identified them as TSD heterozygotes. Both their serum HexA and HexB enzymatic activities were below reference range, suggesting inheritance of mutations in both the HEXA (alpha-subunit) and HEXB (beta-subunit) genes. DNA sequencing revealed that both individuals, carried the common HEXA 1277_1278insTATC mutation, and two common HEXB polymorphisms: [619A>G (+) delTG]. To determine if these HEXB polymorphisms reduce HexA and HexB enzymatic activities, 69 DNA samples from subjects previously screened enzymatically in both serum and leukocytes for TSD carrier status were selected for either high, mid-range or low serum Total Hex (defined as the sum of HexA and HexB) activities and were tested for the HEXB mutations. Further, three additional TSD carriers ascertained by the atypical pattern of normal serum %HexA but carrier leukocyte %HexA, were found to have the [delTG (+) 619A>G] genotype. In addition, the frequency of the [delTG (+) 619A>G] genotype was significantly higher (P G] haplotype in the Ashkenazi Jewish population (approximately 10%), up to 10% of TSD carriers may have normal serum %HexA values with low total Hex. Accordingly, serum %HexA should not be the sole criterion used for carrier status determination. Where total Hex activity is reduced, further testing with leukocyte Hex profiles is indicated.

  18. Influence of season, environment and feeding habits on the enzymatic activity of peptidase and β-glucosidase in the gastrointestinal tract of two Siluriformes fishes (Teleostei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvana Duarte

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The enzymatic activities involved in the digestion of proteins and carbohydrates were compared among three organs of the digestive track of two Siluriformes fish species, and between two areas: a reservoir, and an area downriver of it. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that the digestive organs of species with varied feeding habits have different enzymatic activities, and that the enzymatic activity differs among seasons and environmental conditions. The iliophagous/herbivorous species Hypostomus auroguttatus Kner, 1854 had higher trypsin-like, chymotrypsin-like peptidase and β-glucosidase activity in the intestine when compared with the omnivorous species Pimelodus maculatus Lacepède, 1803, whereas the latter had more hepatic trypsin-like activity than the former. The peak of activity of the three enzymes in H. auroguttatus was recorded in the winter and spring. On the other hand, P. maculatus tended to have the more prominent peptidase and β-glucosidase activity in the summer, and the smallest in the winter. The intestine of H. auroguttatus had higher enzymatic (trypsin, chymotrypsin and β-glucosidase activity than the stomach and the liver. For P. maculatus, the highest β-glucosidase activity was found in the liver. The enzymatic activity of H. aurogutattus did not differ between lotic and lentic systems, whereas P. maculatus had comparatively higher stomach and hepatic trypsin levels and hepatic chymotrypsin-like activities in the reservoir than down in the river. These findings indicate that, in H. auroguttatus, most digestive activity occurs in the intestine, which is long and adapted for the digestion of bottom-river vegetable matter and detritus. The seasons and the type of the system (lentic vs. lotic seem to affect the enzymatic activity for these two species differently, a likely consequence of their different lifestyles.

  19. The enzymatic activity of the VEGFR2 receptor for the biosynthesis of dinucleoside polyphosphates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jankowski, Vera; Schulz, Anna; Kretschmer, Axel; Mischak, Harald; Boehringer, Falko; van der Giet, Markus; Janke, Doreen; Schuchardt, Mirjam; Herwig, Ralf; Zidek, Walter; Jankowski, Joachim

    2013-09-01

    The group of dinucleoside polyphosphates encompasses a large number of molecules consisting of two nucleosides which are connected by a phosphate chain of variable length. While the receptors activated by dinucleoside polyphosphates as well as their degradation have been studied in detail, its biosynthesis has not been elucidated so far. Since endothelial cells released the dinucleoside polyphosphate uridine adenosine tetraphosphate (Up4A), we tested cytosolic proteins of human endothelial cells obtained from dermal vessels elicited for enzymatic activity. When incubated with ADP and UDP, these cells showed increasing concentrations of Up4A. The underlying enzyme was isolated by chromatography and the mass spectrometric analysis revealed that the enzymatic activity was caused by the vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2). Since VEGFR2 but neither VEGFR1 nor VEGFR3 were capable to synthesise dinucleoside polyphosphates, Tyr-1175 of VEGFR2 is most likely essential for the enzymatic activity of interest. Further, VEGFR2-containing cells like HepG2, THP-1 and RAW264.7 were capable of synthesising dinucleoside polyphosphates. VEGFR2-transfected HEK 293T/17 but not native HEK 293T/17 cells synthesised dinucleoside polyphosphates in vivo too. The simultaneous biosynthesis of dinucleoside polyphosphates could amplify the response to VEGF, since dinucleoside polyphosphates induce cellular growth via P2Y purinergic receptors. Thus the biosynthesis of dinucleoside polyphosphates by VEGFR2 may enhance the proliferative response to VEGF. Given that VEGFR2 is primarily expressed in endothelial cells, the biosynthesis of dinucleoside polyphosphates is mainly located in the vascular system. Since the vasculature is also the main site of action of dinucleoside polyphosphates, activating vascular purinoceptors, blood vessels appear as an autocrine system with respect to dinucleoside polyphosphates. We conclude that VEGFR2 receptor is capable of synthesising

  20. The dual effects of Maillard reaction and enzymatic hydrolysis on the antioxidant activity of milk proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, N S; Lee, H A; Lee, J Y; Joung, J Y; Lee, K B; Kim, Y; Lee, K W; Kim, S H

    2013-08-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the enhanced effects on the biological characteristics and antioxidant activity of milk proteins by the combination of the Maillard reaction and enzymatic hydrolysis. Maillard reaction products were obtained from milk protein preparations, such as whey protein concentrates and sodium caseinate with lactose, by heating at 55°C for 7 d in sodium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). The Maillard reaction products, along with untreated milk proteins as controls, were hydrolyzed for 0 to 3h with commercial proteases Alcalase, Neutrase, Protamex, and Flavorzyme (Novozymes, Bagsværd, Denmark). The antioxidant activity of hydrolyzed Maillard reaction products was determined by reaction with 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, their 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity, and the ability to reduce ferric ions. Further characteristics were evaluated by the o-phthaldialdehyde method and sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE. The degree of hydrolysis gradually increased in a time-dependent manner, with the Alcalase-treated Maillard reaction products being the most highly hydrolyzed. Radical scavenging activities and reducing ability of hydrolyzed Maillard reaction products increased with increasing hydrolysis time. The combined products of enzymatic hydrolysis and Maillard reaction showed significantly greater antioxidant activity than did hydrolysates or Maillard reaction products alone. The hydrolyzed Maillard reaction products generated by Alcalase showed significantly higher antioxidant activity when compared with the other protease products and the antioxidant activity was higher for the whey protein concentrate groups than for the sodium caseinate groups. These findings indicate that Maillard reaction products, coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis, could act as potential antioxidants in the pharmaceutical, food, and dairy industries. Copyright © 2013 American Dairy Science Association

  1. EPSPS variability, gene expression, and enzymatic activity in glyphosate-resistant biotypes of Digitaria insularis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galeano, E; Barroso, A A M; Vasconcelos, T S; López-Rubio, A; Albrecht, A J P; Victoria Filho, R; Carrer, H

    2016-08-12

    Weed resistance to herbicides is a natural phenomenon that exerts selection on individuals in a population. In Brazil, glyphosate resistance was recently detected in Digitaria insularis. The objective of this study was to elucidate mechanisms of weed resistance in this plant, including genetic variability, allelism, amino acid substitutions, gene expression, and enzymatic activity levels. Most of these have not previously been studied in this species. D. insularis DNA sequences were used to analyze genetic variability. cDNA from resistant and susceptible plants was used to identify mutations, alleles, and 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) expression, using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In addition, EPSPS activity was measured. We found a decrease in genetic variability between populations related to glyphosate application. Substitutions from proline to threonine and tyrosine to cysteine led to a decrease in EPSPS affinity for the glyphosate. In addition, the EPSPS enzymatic activity was slightly higher in resistant plants, whereas EPSPS gene expression was almost identical in both biotypes, suggesting feedback regulation at different levels. To conclude, our results suggest new molecular mechanisms used by D. insularis to increase glyphosate resistance.

  2. Methods for determining enzymatic activity comprising heating and agitation of closed volumes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, David Neil; Henriksen, Emily DeCrescenzo; Reed, David William; Jensen, Jill Renee

    2016-03-15

    Methods for determining thermophilic enzymatic activity include heating a substrate solution in a plurality of closed volumes to a predetermined reaction temperature. Without opening the closed volumes, at least one enzyme is added, substantially simultaneously, to the closed volumes. At the predetermined reaction temperature, the closed volumes are agitated and then the activity of the at least one enzyme is determined. The methods are conducive for characterizing enzymes of high-temperature reactions, with insoluble substrates, with substrates and enzymes that do not readily intermix, and with low volumes of substrate and enzyme. Systems for characterizing the enzymes are also disclosed.

  3. Effects of lead contamination on soil enzymatic activities, microbial biomass, and rice physiological indices in soil-lead-rice (Oryza sativa L.) system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeng, Lu S; Liao, Min; Chen, Cheng L; Huang, Chang Y

    2007-05-01

    The effect of lead (Pb) treatment on the soil enzymatic activities, soil microbial biomass, rice physiological indices and rice biomass were studied in a greenhouse pot experiment. Six levels of Pb viz. 0(CK), 100, 300, 500, 700, 900 mg/kg soil were applied in two types of paddy soils. The results showed that Pb treatment had a stimulating effect on soil enzymatic activities and microbial biomass carbon (Cmic) at low concentration and an inhibitory influence at higher concentration. The degree of influence on enzymatic activities and Cmic by Pb was related to the clay and organic matter contents of the soils. When the Pb treatment was raised to the level of 500 mg/kg, ecological risk appeared both to soil microorganisms and plants. The results also revealed a consistent trend of increased chlorophyll contents and rice biomass initially, maximum at a certain Pb treatment, and then decreased gradually with the increase in Pb concentration. Pb was effective in inducing proline accumulation and its toxicity causes oxidative stress in rice plants. Therefore, it was concluded that soil enzymatic activities, Cmic and rice physiological indices, could be sensitive indicators to reflect environmental stress in soil-lead-rice system.

  4. Effects of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles and Their Components on the Enzymatic Activity of Lipase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lindhoud, Saskia; Norde, Willem; Stuart, Martien Cohen

    2010-01-01

    The enzymatic activity of Hi-lipase embedded in complexes of poly-2-methylvinylpyridinium-co-poly(ethylene oxide) (P2MVP(41)-PEG(205)) and poly(acrylic acid)(PAA(139)) is studied as a function of the PAA(139) + P2MVP(41) - PEO(205) complex composition. The measurements revealed that there are

  5. Recycle of enzymes and substrate following enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-pretreated aspenwood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mes-Hartree, M.; Hogan, C.M.; Saddler, J.N.

    1987-09-01

    The commercial production of chemicals and fuels from lignocellulosic residues by enzymatic means still requires considerable research on both the technical and economic aspects. Two technical problems that have been identified as requiring further research are the recycle of the enzymes used in hydrolysis and the reuse of the recalcitrant cellulose remaining after incomplete hydrolysis. Enzyme recycle is required to lower the cost of the enzymes, while the reuse of the spent cellulose will lower the feedstock cost. The conversion process studied was a combined enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation (CHF) procedure that utilized the cellulolytic enzymes derived from the fungus Trichoderma harzianum E58 and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The rate and extent of hydrolysis and ethanol production was monitored as was the activity and hydrolytic potential of the enzymes remaining in the filtrate after the hydrolysis period. When a commercial cellulose was used as the substrate for a routine 2-day CHF process, 60% of the original filter paper activity could be recovered. When steam-treated, water-extracted aspenwood was used as the substrate, only 13% of the original filter paper activity was detected after a similar procedure. The combination of 60% spent enzymes with 40% fresh enzymes resulted in the production of 30% less reducing sugars than the original enzyme mixture. Since 100% hydrolysis of the cellulose portion is seldom accomplished in an enzymatic hydrolysis process, the residual cellulose was used as a substrate for the growth of T. harzianum E58 and production of cellulolytic enzymes. The residue remaining after the CHF process was used as a substrate for the production of the cellulolytic enzymes. The production of enzymes from the residue of the Solka Floc hydrolysis was greater than the production of enzymes from the original Solka Floc. (Refs. 14).

  6. Three enzymatically active neurotoxins of Clostridium botulinum strain Af84: BoNT/A2, /F4, and /F5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalb, Suzanne R; Baudys, Jakub; Smith, Theresa J; Smith, Leonard A; Barr, John R

    2014-04-01

    Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by various species of clostridia and are potent neurotoxins which cause the disease botulism, by cleaving proteins needed for successful nerve transmission. There are currently seven confirmed serotypes of BoNTs, labeled A-G, and toxin-producing clostridia typically only produce one serotype of BoNT. There are a few strains (bivalent strains) which are known to produce more than one serotype of BoNT, producing either both BoNT/A and /B, BoNT/A and /F, or BoNT/B and /F, designated as Ab, Ba, Af, or Bf. Recently, it was reported that Clostridium botulinum strain Af84 has three neurotoxin gene clusters: bont/A2, bont/F4, and bont/F5. This was the first report of a clostridial organism containing more than two neurotoxin gene clusters. Using a mass spectrometry based proteomics approach, we report here that all three neurotoxins, BoNT/A2, /F4, and /F5, are produced by C. botulinum Af84. Label free MS(E) quantification of the three toxins indicated that toxin composition is 88% BoNT/A2, 1% BoNT/F4, and 11% BoNT/F5. The enzymatic activity of all three neurotoxins was assessed by examining the enzymatic activity of the neurotoxins upon peptide substrates, which mimic the toxins' natural targets, and monitoring cleavage of the substrates by mass spectrometry. We determined that all three neurotoxins are enzymatically active. This is the first report of three enzymatically active neurotoxins produced in a single strain of Clostridium botulinum.

  7. Blood parameters and enzymatic and oxidative activity in the liver of chickens fed with calcium anacardate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Braga Cruz

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The aim of this research was to evaluate the inclusion of calcium anacardate (CAC as a source of anacardic acid in the diet of broiler chickens on blood parameters, and enzymatic and oxidative activity in the liver. A total of 840 male chicks, one day old, were kept in a completely randomised experimental design, with six treatments and seven replications of 20 birds, totalling 140 birds per treatment. The treatments consisted of feed without the addition of growth promoter (GP, feed with GP, and feed with no GP and the addition of CAC at levels of 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1%. The biochemical blood variables to be analysed were uric acid, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, creatinine, AST, ALT, triglycerides, total erythrocytes, haemoglobin, haematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, total plasma protein, total leukocytes, heterophils, lymphocytes, platelets and heterophil/lymphocyte ratio. The concentrations of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and malondialdehyde were analysed for the enzymatic and oxidative parameters in the liver. There were no significant differences between treatments in the blood parameters or the enzymatic and oxidative activity in the liver of the chickens, demonstrating that the use of calcium anacardate as a source of anacardic acid is non-toxic, and does not affect these parameters.

  8. Plasmin enzymatic activity in the presence of actin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusova E. I.

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To study the changes in the plasmin activity towards substrates with high and low molecular mass in the presence of actin. Methods. The proteins used for this investigation were obtained by affinity chromatography and gel-filtration. The plasmin enzymatic activity was determined by a turbidimetric assay and a chromogenic substrate-based assay. The enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and biotin-avidin-phosphatase system were used to study the interaction of plasminogen and its fragments with actin. Results. It was shown that G-actin causes 1.5-fold decrease in the rate of polymeric fibrin hydrolysis by plasmin and Glu-plasminogen activated by the tissue plasminogen activator. However, actin did not impede plasmin autolysis and had no influence on its amidase activity. We have studied an interaction of biotinylated Glu-plasminogen and its fragments (kringle 1-3, kringle 4 and mini-plasminogen with immobilized G-actin. Glu-plasminogen and kringle 4 had a high affinity towards actin (C50 is 113 and 117 nM correspondingly. Mini-plasminogen and kringe 4 did not bind to actin. A similar affinity of Glu-plasminogen and kringle 1-3 towards actin proves the involvement of the kringle 1-3 lysine-binding sites of the native plasminogen form in the actin interaction. Conclusions. Actin can modulate plasmin specificity towards high molecular mass substrates through its interaction with lysine-binding sites of the enzyme kringle domains. Actin inhibition of the fibrinolytic activity of plasmin is due to its competition with fibrin for thelysine binding sites of plasminogen/plasmin.

  9. Blocked Enzymatic Etching of Gold Nanorods: Application to Colorimetric Detection of Acetylcholinesterase Activity and Its Inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saa, Laura; Grinyte, Ruta; Sánchez-Iglesias, Ana; Liz-Marzán, Luis M; Pavlov, Valeri

    2016-05-04

    The anisotropic morphology of gold nanorods (AuNRs) has been shown to lead to nonuniform ligand distribution and preferential etching through their tips. We have recently demonstrated that this effect can be achieved by biocatalytic oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, catalyzed by the enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP). We report here that modification of AuNRs with thiol-containing organic molecules such as glutathione and thiocholine hinders enzymatic AuNR etching. Higher concentrations of thiol-containing molecules in the reaction mixture gradually decrease the rate of enzymatic etching, which can be monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy through changes in the AuNR longitudinal plasmon band. This effect can be applied to develop novel optical assays for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. The biocatalytic hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by AChE yields thiocholine, which prevents enzymatic AuNR etching in the presence of HRP. Additionally, the same bioassay can be used for the detection of nanomolar concentrations of AChE inhibitors such as paraoxon and galanthamine.

  10. Magnetic Fe3S4 nanoparticles with peroxidase-like activity, and their use in a photometric enzymatic glucose assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, Caiping; Yan, Yinghan; Zhang, Cuiling; Xian, Yuezhong; Xiang, Dongshan

    2016-01-01

    Greigite magnetic nanoparticles (Fe 3 S 4 -MNPs) were prepared and reveal a peroxidase-like activity. Kinetic studies revealed a pseudo-enzymatic activity that is much higher than that of other magnetic nanomaterial-based enzyme mimetics. This finding was exploited to design a photometric enzymatic glucose assay based on the formation of H 2 O 2 during enzymatic oxidation of glucose by glucose oxidase, and the formation of a blue product from an enzyme substrate that is catalytically oxidized by H 2 O 2 in the presence of Fe 3 S 4 -MNPs. Glucose can be detected in the 2 to 100 μM concentration range, and the low detection limit is 0.16 μM. The method was applied to quantify glucose in human serum. In our perception, this enzyme mimetic has a large potential in that it may be used in other oxidase based assays, but also in ELISAs. (author)

  11. Effects of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles and Their Components on the Enzymatic Activity of Lipase

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lindhoud, Saskia; Norde, Willem; Cohen Stuart, Martinus Abraham

    2010-01-01

    The enzymatic activity of Hl-lipase embedded in complexes of poly-2-methylvinylpyridinium-co-poly(ethylene oxide) (P2MVP41−PEO205) and poly(acrylic acid)(PAA139) is studied as a function of the PAA139 + P2MVP41−PEO205 complex composition. The measurements revealed that there are several factors that

  12. Enzymatic digestive activity and absorption efficiency in Tagelus dombeii upon Alexandrium catenella exposure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández-Reiriz, M. J.; Navarro, J. M.; Cisternas, B. A.; Babarro, J. M. F.; Labarta, U.

    2013-12-01

    We analyzed absorption efficiency (AE) and digestive enzyme activity (amylase, cellulase complex, and laminarinase) of the infaunal bivalve Tagelus dombeii originating from two geographic sites, Corral-Valdivia and Melinka-Aysén, which have different long-term paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) exposure rates. We report the effects of past feeding history (origin) on T. dombeii exposed to a mixed diet containing the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella and another dinoflagellate-free control diet over a 12-day period in the laboratory. Absorption efficiency values of T. dombeii individuals that experienced PSP exposure in their habitat (Melinka-Aysén) remained unchanged during exposure to toxic food in the laboratory. In contrast, T. dombeii from a non-PSP exposure field site (Corral-Valdivia) showed a significant reduction in AE with toxic exposure time. This study established that the amylase and cellulase complexes were the most important enzymes in the digestive glands of Tagelus from both sites. The temporal evolution of enzymatic activity under toxic diet was fitted to exponential (amylase and cellulase) and to a logarithmic (laminarinase) models. In all fits, we found significant effect of origin in the model parameters. At the beginning of the experiment, higher enzymatic activity was observed for clams from Corral-Valdivia. The amylase activity decreased with time exposure for individuals from Corral and increased for individuals from Melinka. Cellulase activity did not vary over time for clams from Corral, but increased for individuals from Melinka and laminarinase activity decreased over time for individuals from Corral and remained unchanged over time for Melinka. A feeding history of exposure to the dinoflagellate A. catenella was reflected in the digestive responses of both T. dombeii populations.

  13. Conformational change results in loss of enzymatic activity of jack bean urease on its interaction with silver nanoparticle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponnuvel, Shobana; Subramanian, Balakumar; Ponnuraj, Karthe

    2015-10-01

    Urease is an enzyme produced by microbes such as bacteria, yeast and fungi. Plants also produce this enzyme. Urease action splits urea into ammonia and carbamate. This action is having important implications in agro-chemical, medicinal and environment. Therefore there is always a constant search for new and novel compounds which could inhibit this enzyme. Here we have studied the interaction of jack bean urease (JBU) with silver nanoparticle to analyze the influence of the resultant protein corona formation on the catalytic property of JBU. Several techniques like UV-Vis, gel shift assay and CD spectroscopy have been used to characterize this interaction. Urease activity assay suggests that the protein corona formation inhibits the enzymatic action of JBU. The loss of enzymatic action could be either due to the nanoparticle blocking the active site of JBU or a conformational change in the protein. The CD spectra of JBU-AgNP complexes clearly revealed significant changes in the secondary structural composition of the JBU and this could be the reason for the loss of enzymatic activity of JBU. This study revealed an interesting observation, where the interaction of AgNP with JBU resulted destabilization of hexameric nature of JBU which is otherwise highly stable. The results of the present study could be useful in the development of nanoparticle based material for inhibiting the ureolytic activity of ureases in different fields.

  14. Enzymatic activities produced by mixed Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces cultures: relationship with wine volatile composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maturano, Yolanda Paola; Assof, Mariela; Fabani, María Paula; Nally, María Cristina; Jofré, Viviana; Rodríguez Assaf, Leticia Anahí; Toro, María Eugenia; Castellanos de Figueroa, Lucía Inés; Vazquez, Fabio

    2015-11-01

    During certain wine fermentation processes, yeasts, and mainly non-Saccharomyces strains, produce and secrete enzymes such as β-glucosidases, proteases, pectinases, xylanases and amylases. The effects of enzyme activity on the aromatic quality of wines during grape juice fermentation, using different co-inoculation strategies of non-Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts, were assessed in the current study. Three strains with appropriate enological performance and high enzymatic activities, BSc562 (S. cerevisiae), BDv566 (Debaryomyces vanrijiae) and BCs403 (Candida sake), were assayed in pure and mixed Saccharomyces/non-Saccharomyces cultures. β-Glucosidase, pectinase, protease, xylanase and amylase activities were quantified during fermentations. The aromatic profile of pure and mixed cultures was determined at the end of each fermentation. In mixed cultures, non-Saccharomyces species were detected until day 4-5 of the fermentation process, and highest populations were observed in MSD2 (10% S. cerevisiae/90% D. vanrijiae) and MSC1 (1% S. cerevisiae/99% C. sake). According to correlation and multivariate analysis, MSD2 presented the highest concentrations of terpenes and higher alcohols which were associated with pectinase, amylase and xylanase activities. On the other hand, MSC1 high levels of β-glucosidase, proteolytic and xylanolytic activities were correlated to esters and fatty acids. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the effect of enzymatic activities by yeasts on compound transformations that occur during wine fermentation.

  15. Influence of Different Lignocellulose Sources on Endo-1,4-β-Glucanase Gene Expression and Enzymatic Activity of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B31C

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosangela Di Pasqua

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Conversion of cellulose into fermentable sugars for ethanol production is currently performed by enzymatic hydrolysis catalyzed by cellulases. The cellulases are produced by a wide variety of microorganisms, playing a major role in the recycling of biomass. The endo-1,4-β-glucanase (CelB31C from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B31C, isolated from compost and previously selected on the basis of highest cellulase activity levels among Bacillus isolated, was characterized as being a potential candidate for a biocatalyst in lignocellulose conversion for second-generation bioethanol production. The aim of this work was to evaluate the changes in production of enzymatic activity of the endo-1,4-β-glucanase (CelB31C and the expression of its gene (bglC using a carboxymethylcellulase activity assay and qRT-PCR analysis, respectively, during growth of B. amyloliquefaciens B31C on different cellulose sources: carboxymethylcellulose (CMC, pure cellulose from Arundo donax, pretreated Arundo donax biomass (Chemtex, and microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel. The results showed that both the expression of bglC gene and the enzymatic activity production are related to the type of cellulose source. The strain showed a high enzymatic activity on lignocellulosic biomass and on microcrystalline cellulose. Furthermore, the highest gene expression occurred during the exponential phase of growth, except in the presence of Avicel.

  16. Activation of Hsp90 Enzymatic Activity and Conformational Dynamics through Rationally Designed Allosteric Ligands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sattin, Sara; Tao, Jiahui; Vettoretti, Gerolamo; Moroni, Elisabetta; Pennati, Marzia; Lopergolo, Alessia; Morelli, Laura; Bugatti, Antonella; Zuehlke, Abbey; Moses, Mike; Prince, Thomas; Kijima, Toshiki; Beebe, Kristin; Rusnati, Marco; Neckers, Len; Zaffaroni, Nadia; Agard, David A; Bernardi, Anna; Colombo, Giorgio

    2015-09-21

    Hsp90 is a molecular chaperone of pivotal importance for multiple cell pathways. ATP-regulated internal dynamics are critical for its function and current pharmacological approaches block the chaperone with ATP-competitive inhibitors. Herein, a general approach to perturb Hsp90 through design of new allosteric ligands aimed at modulating its functional dynamics is proposed. Based on the characterization of a first set of 2-phenylbenzofurans showing stimulatory effects on Hsp90 ATPase and conformational dynamics, new ligands were developed that activate Hsp90 by targeting an allosteric site, located 65 Å from the active site. Specifically, analysis of protein responses to first-generation activators was exploited to guide the design of novel derivatives with improved ability to stimulate ATP hydrolysis. The molecules' effects on Hsp90 enzymatic, conformational, co-chaperone and client-binding properties were characterized through biochemical, biophysical and cellular approaches. These designed probes act as allosteric activators of the chaperone and affect the viability of cancer cell lines for which proper functioning of Hsp90 is necessary. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Metabolic regulation analysis of an ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain based on RT-PCR and enzymatic activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martinez Alfredo

    2008-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background A metabolic regulation study was performed, based upon measurements of enzymatic activities, fermentation performance, and RT-PCR analysis of pathways related to central carbon metabolism, in an ethanologenic Escherichia coli strain (CCE14 derived from lineage C. In comparison with previous engineered strains, this E coli derivative has a higher ethanol production rate in mineral medium, as a result of the elevated heterologous expression of the chromosomally integrated genes encoding PDCZm and ADHZm (pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase from Zymomonas mobilis. It is suggested that this behavior might be due to lineage differences between E. coli W and C. Results This study demonstrated that the glycolytic flux is controlled, in this case, by reactions outside glycolysis, i.e., the fermentative pathways. Changes in ethanol production rate in this ethanologenic strain result in low organic acid production rates, and high glycolytic and ethanologenic fluxes, that correlate with enhanced transcription and enzymatic activity levels of PDCZm and ADHZm. Furthermore, a higher ethanol yield (90% of the theoretical in glucose-mineral media was obtained with CCE14 in comparison with previous engineered E. coli strains, such as KO11, that produces a 70% yield under the same conditions. Conclusion Results suggest that a higher ethanol formation rate, caused by ahigher PDCZm and ADHZm activities induces a metabolic state that cells compensate through enhanced glucose transport, ATP synthesis, and NAD-NADH+H turnover rates. These results show that glycolytic enzymatic activities, present in E. coli W and C under fermentative conditions, are sufficient to contend with increases in glucose consumption and product formation rates.

  18. Glycosylation site-targeted PEGylation of glucose oxidase retains native enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritter, Dustin W; Roberts, Jason R; McShane, Michael J

    2013-04-10

    Targeted PEGylation of glucose oxidase at its glycosylation sites was investigated to determine the effect on enzymatic activity, as well as the bioconjugate's potential in an optical biosensing assay. Methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol)-hydrazide (4.5kDa) was covalently coupled to periodate-oxidized glycosylation sites of glucose oxidase from Aspergillus niger. The bioconjugate was characterized using gel electrophoresis, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and dynamic light scattering. Gel electrophoresis data showed that the PEGylation protocol resulted in a drastic increase (ca. 100kDa) in the apparent molecular mass of the protein subunit, with complete conversion to the bioconjugate; liquid chromatography data corroborated this large increase in molecular size. Mass spectrometry data proved that the extent of PEGylation was six poly(ethylene glycol) chains per glucose oxidase dimer. Dynamic light scattering data indicated the absence of higher-order oligomers in the PEGylated GOx sample. To assess stability, enzymatic activity assays were performed in triplicate at multiple time points over the course of 29 days in the absence of glucose, as well as before and after exposure to 5% w/v glucose for 24h. At a confidence level of 95%, the bioconjugate's performance was statistically equivalent to native glucose oxidase in terms of activity retention over the 29 day time period, as well as following the 24h glucose exposure. Finally, the bioconjugate was entrapped within a poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel containing an oxygen-sensitive phosphor, and the construct was shown to respond approximately linearly with a 220±73% signal change (n=4, 95% confidence interval) over the physiologically-relevant glucose range (i.e., 0-400mg/dL); to our knowledge, this represents the first demonstration of PEGylated glucose oxidase incorporated into an optical biosensing assay. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Enzymatic transesterification of used frying oils

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kovacs, S.; Hancsok, J. (Univ. of Pannonia, Veszprem (HU)), Email: hancsokj@almos.uni-pannon.hu

    2009-07-01

    The research of converting used frying oils to less harmful products with much higher value was forced by environmental, human biological and economical reasons. One possible pathway of the transformation is the enzymatic transesterification. Through the research work used frying oils (UFO) and sunflower oils (SO) from different origins were first properly pre-treated. Then the previously mentioned feeds and different mixtures of them were transesterified in the presence of Novozym 435 enzyme catalyst under different process conditions. Characteristics of the produced methyl esters were evaluated according to the requirements of EN 14214:2009 standard. We determined that the transesterification of used frying oils is not expediential in the presence of enzyme catalyst because the significant decreasing of catalyst activity. We have found proper UFO and SO mixtures and combination of process conditions (pressure: atmospheric, temperature: 54 +-1 deg C; methanol to triglyceride molar ratio: 4:1; reaction time: 16 hours) resulting in high (>90 %) yield of monoesters. We clearly established that the best results through the enzymatic transesterification were obtained with the improved sunflower oils containing the highest amount (>88 %) of oleic acid and the used frying oils originated from this source. (orig.)

  20. Quantitative Collection and Enzymatic Activity of Glucose Oxidase Nanotubes Fabricated by Templated Layer-by-Layer Assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shouwei; Demoustier-Champagne, Sophie; Jonas, Alain M

    2015-08-10

    We report on the fabrication of enzyme nanotubes in nanoporous polycarbonate membranes via the layer-by-layer (LbL) alternate assembly of polyethylenimine (PEI) and glucose oxidase (GOX), followed by dissolution of the sacrificial template in CH2Cl2, collection, and final dispersion in water. An adjuvant-assisted filtration methodology is exploited to extract quantitatively the nanotubes without loss of activity and morphology. Different water-soluble CH2Cl2-insoluble adjuvants are tested for maximal enzyme activity and nanotube stability; whereas NaCl disrupts the tubes by screening electrostatic interactions, the high osmotic pressure created by fructose also contributes to loosening the nanotubular structures. These issues are solved when using neutral, high molar mass dextran. The enzymatic activity of intact free nanotubes in water is then quantitatively compared to membrane-embedded nanotubes, showing that the liberated nanotubes have a higher catalytic activity in proportion to their larger exposed surface. Our study thus discloses a robust and general methodology for the fabrication and quantitative collection of enzymatic nanotubes and shows that LbL assembly provides access to efficient enzyme carriers for use as catalytic swarming agents.

  1. Impact of potato cultivation and cattle farming on physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities of Neotropical high Andean Páramo ecosystem soils.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avellaneda-Torres, Lizeth Manuela; León Sicard, Tomás Enrique; Torres Rojas, Esperanza

    2018-08-01

    The Andean Páramos are high mountain ecosystems whose soils are essential for the management of South American water resources, but research on anthropic impacts to these soils is currently minimal and insufficient. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivation and livestock on the physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities that determine the soil quality of the Neotropical high Andean Páramo ecosystem in the Nevados National Natural Park (Nevados NNP) in Colombia. It was hypothesised that sites with potato crops and livestock farming would exhibit significant changes in soil physicochemical parameters and enzymatic activities compared with Páramo sites that have been conserved without agriculture. Samples were collected from soils under potato cultivation, livestock and Páramo (subject to the lowest degree of human intervention possible), on three farms in the El Bosque District at three different altitudes (Buenos Aires, El Edén and La Secreta) during two seasons (dry and rainy). The results showed that none of the physical parameters under study presented statistically significant differences due to the type of use (livestock, potato crop or Páramo), season of sampling (dry or rainy season) or altitude (different farms). The chemical parameters that statistically significantly differed due to land use were organic carbon, cation exchange capacity, calcium, potassium, and ammonium and those that showed statistically significant differences associated with the sampling timing were organic carbon, nitrogen, cation exchange capacity, total carbon, C/N and nitrate. Additionally, there were differences in organic carbon due to the altitude of the farms. With respect to enzymatic activities, those of β-glucosidase, phosphodiesterase and urease significantly decreased in soils under potato cultivation and livestock relative to those of Páramo, but those of acid phosphatase and protease increased

  2. Tunable Enzymatic Activity and Enhanced Stability of Cellulase Immobilized in Biohybrid Nanogels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peng, Huan; Rübsam, Kristin; Jakob, Felix; Schwaneberg, Ulrich; Pich, Andrij

    2016-11-14

    the enzyme. The biohybrid nanogels demonstrated significantly improved stability in preserving enzymatic activity compared with free cellulase. The functional biohybrid nanogels with tunable enzymatic activity and improved stability are promising candidates for applications in biocatalysis, biomass conversion, or energy utilization fields.

  3. Dual role of the carboxyl-terminal region of pig liver L-kynurenine 3-monooxygenase: mitochondrial-targeting signal and enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirai, Kumiko; Kuroyanagi, Hidehito; Tatebayashi, Yoshitaka; Hayashi, Yoshitaka; Hirabayashi-Takahashi, Kanako; Saito, Kuniaki; Haga, Seiich; Uemura, Tomihiko; Izumi, Susumu

    2010-12-01

    l-kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO) is an NAD(P)H-dependent flavin monooxygenase that catalyses the hydroxylation of l-kynurenine to 3-hydroxykynurenine, and is localized as an oligomer in the mitochondrial outer membrane. In the human brain, KMO may play an important role in the formation of two neurotoxins, 3-hydroxykynurenine and quinolinic acid, both of which provoke severe neurodegenerative diseases. In mosquitos, it plays a role in the formation both of eye pigment and of an exflagellation-inducing factor (xanthurenic acid). Here, we present evidence that the C-terminal region of pig liver KMO plays a dual role. First, it is required for the enzymatic activity. Second, it functions as a mitochondrial targeting signal as seen in monoamine oxidase B (MAO B) or outer membrane cytochrome b(5). The first role was shown by the comparison of the enzymatic activity of two mutants (C-terminally FLAG-tagged KMO and carboxyl-terminal truncation form, KMOΔC50) with that of the wild-type enzyme expressed in COS-7 cells. The second role was demonstrated with fluorescence microscopy by the comparison of the intracellular localization of the wild-type, three carboxyl-terminal truncated forms (ΔC20, ΔC30 and ΔC50), C-terminally FLAG-tagged wild-type and a mutant KMO, where two arginine residues, Arg461-Arg462, were replaced with Ser residues.

  4. Enzymatic vegetable organic extracts as soil biochemical biostimulants and atrazine extenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Martínez, Ana María; Tejada, Manuel; Díaz, Ana Isabel; Rodríguez-Morgado, Bruno; Bautista, Juan; Parrado, Juan

    2010-09-08

    The purpose of this study was to gather information on the potential effects of organic biostimulants on soil activity and atrazine biodegradation. Carob germ enzymatic extract (CGEE) and wheat condensed distiller solubles enzymatic extract (WCDS-EE) have been obtained using an enzymatic process; their main organic components are soluble carbohydrates and proteins in the form of peptides and free amino acids. Their application to soil results in high biostimulation, rapidly increased dehydrogenase, phosphatase and glucosidase activities, and an observed atrazine extender capacity due to inhibition of its mineralization. The extender capacity of both extracts is proportional to the protein/carbohydrate ratio content. As a result, these enzymatic extracts are highly microbially available, leading to two independent phenomena, fertility and an atrazine persistence that is linked to increased soil activity.

  5. Chemical interaction of disulfiram with nitrosodimethylamine after in vitro enzymatic activation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tacchi, A.M.; Bertram, B.; Wiessler, M.

    1984-01-01

    The in vitro reaction between disulfiram (DSF) and N-nitroso[ 14 C]dimethylamine [( 14 C]NDMA) was studied. Incubations of DSF with [ 14 C]NDMA were carried out in the presence of rat liver microsomes, control 9000 g (S9) supernatant fraction and phenobarbital-induced S9 fraction. HPLC analysis and liquid scintillation measurement provided evidence for the formation of methyldiethyldithiocarbamate (MeDDTC) as a product of the reaction between diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC), the main active metabolite of DSF and the 'methyl-cation' released by NDMA after enzymatic activation. The amount of MeDDTC found here was consistent with the rate of oxidation of NDMA to formaldehyde. Scintillation counting confirmed that other radioactive peaks, not due to MeDDTC, were unrelated to the methylation of L-cysteine by [ 14 C]NDMA

  6. Enzymatic biodiesel synthesis. Key factors affecting efficiency of the process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Szczesna Antczak, Miroslawa; Kubiak, Aneta; Antczak, Tadeusz; Bielecki, Stanislaw [Institute of Technical Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Technical University of Lodz, Stefanowskiego 4/10, 90-924 Lodz (Poland)

    2009-05-15

    Chemical processes of biodiesel production are energy-consuming and generate undesirable by-products such as soaps and polymeric pigments that retard separation of pure methyl or ethyl esters of fatty acids from glycerol and di- and monoacylglycerols. Enzymatic, lipase-catalyzed biodiesel synthesis has no such drawbacks. Comprehension of the latter process and an appreciable progress in production of robust preparations of lipases may soon result in the replacement of chemical catalysts with enzymes in biodiesel synthesis. Engineering of enzymatic biodiesel synthesis processes requires optimization of such factors as: molar ratio of substrates (triacylglycerols: alcohol), temperature, type of organic solvent (if any) and water activity. All of them are correlated with properties of lipase preparation. This paper reports on the interplay between the crucial parameters of the lipase-catalyzed reactions carried out in non-aqueous systems and the yield of biodiesel synthesis. (author)

  7. Enzymatically active 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetases are widely distributed among Metazoa, including protostome lineage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Päri, Mailis; Kuusksalu, Anne; Lopp, Annika; Kjaer, Karina Hansen; Justesen, Just; Kelve, Merike

    2014-02-01

    2',5'-Oligoadenylate synthetases (OASs) belong to the nucleotidyl transferase family together with poly(A) polymerases, CCA-adding enzymes and the recently discovered cyclic-GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). Mammalian OASs have been thoroughly characterized as components of the interferon-induced antiviral system. The OAS activity and the respective genes were also discovered in marine sponges where the interferon system is absent. In this study the recombinant OASs from several multicellular animals and their closest unicellular relative, a choanoflagellate, were expressed in a bacterial expression system and their enzymatic activities were examined. We demonstrated 2-5A synthesizing activities of OASs from the marine sponge Tedania ignis, a representative of the phylogenetically oldest metazoan phylum (Porifera), from an invertebrate of the protostome lineage, the mollusk Mytilus californianus (Mollusca), and from a vertebrate species, a cartilaginous fish Leucoraja erinacea (Chordata). However, the expressed proteins from an amphibian, the salamander Ambystoma mexicanum (Chordata), and from a protozoan, the marine choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis (Choanozoa), did not show 2-5A synthesizing activity. Differently from other studied OASs, OAS from the marine sponge T. ignis was able to catalyze the formation of oligomers having both 2',5'- and 3',5'-phosphodiester linkages. Our data suggest that OASs from sponges and evolutionarily higher animals have similar activation mechanisms which still include different affinities and possibly different structural requirements for the activating RNAs. Considering their 2'- and 3'-specificities, sponge OASs could represent a link between evolutionarily earlier nucleotidyl transferases and 2'-specific OASs from higher animals. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  8. Antioxidative activities of hydrolysates from edible birds nest using enzymatic hydrolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muhammad, Nurul Nadia; Babji, Abdul Salam; Ayub, Mohd Khan

    2015-09-01

    Edible bird's nest protein hydrolysates (EBN) were prepared via enzymatic hydrolysis to investigate its antioxidant activity. Two types of enzyme (alcalase and papain) were used in this study and EBN had been hydrolysed with different hydrolysis time (30, 60, 90 and 120 min). Antioxidant activities in EBN protein hydrolysate were measured using DPPH, ABTS+ and Reducing Power Assay. From this study, increased hydrolysis time from 30 min to 120 min contributed to higher DH, as shown by alcalase (40.59%) and papain (24.94%). For antioxidant assay, EBN hydrolysed with papain showed higher scavenging activity and reducing power ability compared to alcalase. The highest antioxidant activity for papain was at 120 min hydrolysis time with ABTS (54.245%), DPPH (49.78%) and Reducing Power (0.0680). Meanwhile for alcalase, the highest antioxidant activity was at 30 min hydrolysis time. Even though scavenging activity for EBN protein hydrolysates were high, the reducing power ability was quite low as compared to BHT and ascorbic Acid. This study showed that EBN protein hydrolysate with alcalase and papain treatments potentially exhibit high antioxidant activity which have not been reported before.

  9. Fluoranthene induced changes in photosynthetic pigments, biochemical compounds and enzymatic activities in two microalgal species: Chlorella vulgaris Beijerinck and Desmodesmus subspicatus Chodat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miral Patel

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available The photosynthetic pigments, biochemical and enzymatic activities in two freshwater microalgal species, Chlorella vulgaris and Desmodesmus subspicatus at different fluoranthene concentrations were compared with the control conditions. During 16-days of incubation period when treated with fluoranthene, both microalgal species exhibited variable amount of photosynthetic pigment, biochemical compounds and enzymatic activities. The addition of fluoranthene at concentrations ranged from 1.5 mg l-1; to 10 mg l-1; to microalgal cultures led to changes in all different metabolites but the patterns varied from species to species. Among the two species tested, pigment, biochemical and enzymatic contents were remarkably declined from 7 % to 95% in C. vulgaris. Moreover, all metabolites in D. subspicatus also diminishing significantly by 3% to 88% of fluoranthene doses (10ppm. These results suggest that fluoranthene-induced changes of pigments, biochemical and enzymatic variations in test microalgae, D. subspicatus and C. vulgaris, might reveal its resistance and ability to metabolize PAHs. At the same time, the PAH impact changes on different metabolic activities were higher at 12 and 16 days than at 4 and 8 days in treated microalgae. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ije.v3i1.9941 International Journal of Environment Vol.3(1 2014: 41-55

  10. Enzymatic Browning: a practical class

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Teresa Pedrosa Silva Clerici

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a practical class about the enzymes polyphenol oxidases, which have been shown to be responsible for the enzymatic browning of fruits and vegetables. Vegetables samples were submitted to enzymatic inactivation process with chemical reagents, as well as by bleaching methods of applying heat by conventional oven and microwave oven. Process efficiency was assessed qualitatively by both observing the guaiacol peroxidase activity and after the storage period under refrigeration or freezing. The practical results obtained in this class allow exploring multidisciplinary knowledge in food science, with practical applications in everyday life.

  11. Cryptococcus gattii urease as a virulence factor and the relevance of enzymatic activity in cryptococcosis pathogenesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feder, Vanessa; Kmetzsch, Lívia; Staats, Charley Christian; Vidal-Figueiredo, Natalia; Ligabue-Braun, Rodrigo; Carlini, Célia Regina; Vainstein, Marilene Henning

    2015-04-01

    Ureases (EC 3.5.1.5) are Ni(2+) -dependent metalloenzymes produced by plants, fungi and bacteria that hydrolyze urea to produce ammonia and CO2 . The insertion of nickel atoms into the apo-urease is better characterized in bacteria, and requires at least three accessory proteins: UreD, UreF, and UreG. Our group has demonstrated that ureases possess ureolytic activity-independent biological properties that could contribute to the pathogenicity of urease-producing microorganisms. The presence of urease in pathogenic bacteria strongly correlates with pathogenesis in some human diseases. Some medically important fungi also produce urease, including Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii. C. gattii is an etiological agent of cryptococcosis, most often affecting immunocompetent individuals. The cryptococcal urease might play an important role in pathogenesis. It has been proposed that ammonia produced via urease action might damage the host endothelium, which would enable yeast transmigration towards the central nervous system. To analyze the role of urease as a virulence factor in C. gattii, we constructed knockout mutants for the structural urease-coding gene URE1 and for genes that code the accessory proteins Ure4 and Ure6. All knockout mutants showed reduced multiplication within macrophages. In intranasally infected mice, the ure1Δ (lacking urease protein) and ure4Δ (enzymatically inactive apo-urease) mutants caused reduced blood burdens and a delayed time of death, whereas the ure6Δ (enzymatically inactive apo-urease) mutant showed time and dose dependency with regard to fungal burden. Our results suggest that C. gattii urease plays an important role in virulence, in part possibly through enzyme activity-independent mechanism(s). © 2015 FEBS.

  12. Direct electrocatalytic reduction of coenzyme NAD{sup +} to enzymatically-active 1,4-NADH employing an iridium/ruthenium-oxide electrode

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ullah, Nehar, E-mail: nehar.ullah@mail.mcgill.ca; Ali, Irshad; Omanovic, Sasha

    2015-01-15

    A thermally prepared iridium/ruthenium-oxide coating (Ir{sub 0.8}Ru{sub 0.2}-oxide) formed on a titanium substrate was investigated as a possible electrode for direct electrochemical regeneration of enzymatically-active 1,4-NADH from its oxidized form NAD{sup +}, at various electrode potentials, in a batch electrochemical reactor. The coating surface was characterized by ‘cracked mud’ morphology, yielding a high surface roughness. The NADH regeneration results showed that the percentage of enzymatically-active 1,4-NADH present in the product mixture (i.e. recovery) is strongly dependent on the electrode potential, reaching a maximum (88%) at −1.70 V vs. MSE. The relatively high recovery was explained on the basis of availability of adsorbed ‘active’ hydrogen (H{sub ads}) on the Ir/Ru-oxide surface, i.e. on the basis of electrochemical hydrogenation. - Highlights: • Ir{sub 0.8}Ru{sub 0.2}-oxide coating was formed thermally on a Ti substrate. • Electrochemical regeneration of enzymatically-active 1,4-NADH was investigated. • The 1,4-NADH recovery percentage is strongly dependent on the electrode potential. • A highest recovery, 88%, was obtained at −1.70 V vs. MSE. • The NADH regeneration process involved electrochemical hydrogenation.

  13. E. coli-Derived L-Asparaginase Retains Enzymatic and Cytotoxic Activity In Vitro for Canine and Feline Lymphoma after Cold Storage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackie M. Wypij

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. L-asparaginase is effective in treating canine and feline lymphoma, however chemotherapy poses a significant financial cost to veterinary clients, limiting therapy for many pets. Single dose vials result in significant drug wastage, and drug shortages limit consistent availability for pets. Hypothesis. E. coli-derived asparaginase retains enzymatic and antineoplastic activity in canine and feline lymphoma cells after cold storage. Methods. E. coli-derived asparaginase was cold-stored: refrigeration (7–14 days and freezing (14 days–six months, one to three freeze/thaw cycles. Enzymatic activity of asparaginase was measured via a modified asparagine assay. Effects of cold-stored asparaginase on cell proliferation and cytotoxicity were measured in feline (MYA-1, F1B and canine (17–71, OSW lymphoma cells. Results. Cold-stored E. coli-derived asparaginase retains antineoplastic activity in all four cell lines tested. Cold-stored E. coli-derived L-asparaginase depletes asparagine and retains enzymatic activity. Duration of refrigeration, duration of freezing, and number of freeze-thaw cycles have minimal effect on asparaginase enzyme activity. Conclusions and Clinical Importance. This study establishes a scientific basis for long-term cold storage of reconstituted E. coli-derived asparaginase that may result in better utilization of limited drug resources and improve financial feasibility of E. coli-derived asparaginase as a therapeutic option for pets with lymphoma.

  14. Pressure Modulation of the Enzymatic Activity of Phospholipase A2, A Putative Membrane-Associated Pressure Sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suladze, Saba; Cinar, Suleyman; Sperlich, Benjamin; Winter, Roland

    2015-10-07

    Phospholipases A2 (PLA2) catalyze the hydrolysis reaction of sn-2 fatty acids of membrane phospholipids and are also involved in receptor signaling and transcriptional pathways. Here, we used pressure modulation of the PLA2 activity and of the membrane's physical-chemical properties to reveal new mechanistic information about the membrane association and subsequent enzymatic reaction of PLA2. Although the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on aqueous soluble and integral membrane proteins has been investigated to some extent, its effect on enzymatic reactions operating at the water/lipid interface has not been explored, yet. This study focuses on the effect of HHP on the structure, membrane binding and enzymatic activity of membrane-associated bee venom PLA2, covering a pressure range up to 2 kbar. To this end, high-pressure Fourier-transform infrared and high-pressure stopped-flow fluorescence spectroscopies were applied. The results show that PLA2 binding to model biomembranes is not significantly affected by pressure and occurs in at least two kinetically distinct steps. Followed by fast initial membrane association, structural reorganization of α-helical segments of PLA2 takes place at the lipid water interface. FRET-based activity measurements reveal that pressure has a marked inhibitory effect on the lipid hydrolysis rate, which decreases by 75% upon compression up to 2 kbar. Lipid hydrolysis under extreme environmental conditions, such as those encountered in the deep sea where pressures up to the kbar-level are encountered, is hence markedly affected by HHP, rendering PLA2, next to being a primary osmosensor, a good candidate for a sensitive pressure sensor in vivo.

  15. Analysis of Enzymatic Activity of Matrix Metalloproteinase (MMP) by Collagen Zymography in Melanoma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walia, Vijay; Samuels, Yardena

    2018-01-01

    Protein zymography is the most commonly used technique to study the enzymatic activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their inhibitors. MMPs are proteolytic enzymes that promote extracellular matrix degradation. MMPs are frequently mutated in malignant melanomas as well as other cancers and are linked to increasing incidence of tumor metastasis. Substrate zymography characterizes MMP activity by their ability to degrade preferred substrates. Here we describe the collagen zymography technique to measure the active or latent form of MMPs using MMP-8 as an example, which is a frequently mutated MMP family member in malignant melanomas. The same technique can be used with the modification of substrate to detect metalloproteinase activity of other MMPs. Both wild-type and mutated forms of MMPs can be analyzed using a single gel using this method.

  16. Relationship between Porcine Sperm Motility and Sperm Enzymatic Activity using Paper-based Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuura, Koji; Huang, Han-Wei; Chen, Ming-Cheng; Chen, Yu; Cheng, Chao-Min

    2017-04-01

    Mammalian sperm motility has traditionally been analyzed to determine fertility using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) systems. To develop low-cost and robust male fertility diagnostics, we created a paper-based MTT assay and used it to estimate motile sperm concentration. When porcine sperm motility was inhibited using sperm enzyme inhibitors for sperm enzymes related to mitochondrial activity and glycolysis, we simultaneously recorded sperm motility and enzymatic reactivity using a portable motility analysis system (iSperm) and a paper-based MTT assay, respectively. When using our paper-based MTT-assay, we calculated the area mean value signal intensity (AMV) to evaluate enzymatic reactivity. Both sperm motility and AMV decreased following treatment with iodoacetamide (IODO) and 3-bromopyruvic acid (3BP), both of which are inhibitors of glycolytic enzymes including glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). We found a correlation between recorded motility using iSperm and AMV from our paper-based assay (P Based on this inhibitor study, sperm motility can be estimated using our paper-based MTT-assay.

  17. Enzymatic Activity of the Mycelium Compared with Oospore Development During Infection of Pea Roots by Aphanomyces euteiches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjøller, Rasmus; Rosendahl, Søren

    1998-01-01

    To describe the disease cycle of the root pathogen Aphanomyces euteiches, enzymatic activity in the mycelium was compared with the development of oospores in pea roots. Plants were inoculated with two zoospore concentrations to achieve different disease levels. Hyphae were stained for fungal...

  18. The diversity, extracellular enzymatic activities and photoprotective compounds of yeasts isolated in Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline B. M Vaz

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available The diversity of yeasts collected from different sites in Antarctica (Admiralty Bay, King George Island and Port Foster Bay and Deception Island and their ability to produce extracellular enzymes and mycosporines were studied. Samples were collected during the austral summer season, between November 2006 and January 2007, from the rhizosphere of Deschampsia antarctica, ornithogenic (penguin guano soil, soil, marine and lake sediments, marine water and freshwater from lakes. A total of 89 isolates belonging to the following genera were recovered: Bensingtonia, Candida, Cryptococcus, Debaryomyces, Dioszegia, Exophiala, Filobasidium, Issatchenkia (Pichia, Kodamaea, Leucosporidium, Leucosporidiella, Metschnikowia, Nadsonia, Pichia, Rhodotorula, and Sporidiobolus, and the yeast-like fungi Aureobasidium, Leuconeurospora and Microglossum. Cryptococcus victoriae was the most frequently identified species. Several species isolated in our study have been previously reported to be Antarctic psychophilic yeasts, including Cr. antarcticus, Cr. victoriae, Dioszegia hungarica and Leucosporidium scottii. The cosmopolitan yeast species A. pullulans, C. zeylanoides, D. hansenii, I. orientalis, K. ohmeri, P. guilliermondii, Rh. mucilaginosa, and S. salmonicolor were also isolated. Five possible new species were identified. Sixty percent of the yeasts had at least one detectable extracellular enzymatic activity. Cryptococcus antarcticus, D. aurantiaca, D. crocea, D. hungarica, Dioszegia sp., E. xenobiotica, Rh. glaciales, Rh. laryngis, Microglossum sp. 1 and Microglossum sp. 2 produced mycosporines. Of the yeast isolates, 41.7% produced pigments and/or mycosporines and could be considered adapted to survive in Antarctica. Most of the yeasts had extracellular enzymatic activities at 4ºC and 20ºC, indicating that they could be metabolically active in the sampled substrates.

  19. Warming and organic matter sources impact the proportion of dissolved to total activities in marine extracellular enzymatic rates

    KAUST Repository

    Baltar, Federico; Moran, Xose Anxelu G.; Lø nborg, Christian

    2017-01-01

    Extracellular enzymatic activities (EEAs) are the rate-limiting step in the degradation of organic matter. Extracellular enzymes can be found associated to cells or dissolved in the surrounding water. The proportion of cell-free EEA constitutes

  20. Comprehensive analysis to explain reduced or increased SOD1 enzymatic activity in ALS patients and their relatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keskin, Isil; Birve, Anna; Berdynski, Mariusz; Hjertkvist, Karin; Rofougaran, Reza; Nilsson, Torbjörn K; Glass, Jonathan D; Marklund, Stefan L; Andersen, Peter M

    2017-08-01

    To characterise stabilities in erythrocytes of mutant SOD1 proteins, compare SOD1 enzymatic activities between patients with different genetic causes of ALS and search for underlying causes of deviant SOD1 activities in individuals lacking SOD1 mutations. Blood samples from 4072 individuals, ALS patients with or without a SOD1 mutation, family members and controls were studied. Erythrocyte SOD1 enzymatic activities normalised to haemoglobin content were determined, and effects of haemoglobin disorders on dismutation assessed. Coding SOD1 sequences were analysed by Sanger sequencing, exon copy number variations by fragment length analysis and by TaqMan Assay. Of the 44 SOD1 mutations found, 75% caused severe destabilisation of the mutant protein but in 25% it was physically stable. Mutations producing structural changes caused halved erythrocyte SOD1 activities. There were no differences in SOD1 activities between patients without a SOD1 mutation and control individuals or carriers of TBK1 mutations and C9orf72 HRE . In the low and high SOD1 activity groups no deviations were found in exon copy numbers and intron gross structures. Thalassemias and iron deficiency were associated with increased SOD1 activity/haemoglobin ratios. Adjunct erythrocyte SOD1 activity analysis reliably signals destabilising SOD1 mutations including intronic mutations that are missed by exon sequencing.

  1. Altered enzymatic activity and allele frequency of OMI/HTRA2 in Alzheimer's disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westerlund, Marie; Behbahani, Homira; Gellhaar, Sandra; Forsell, Charlotte; Belin, Andrea Carmine; Anvret, Anna; Zettergren, Anna; Nissbrandt, Hans; Lind, Charlotta; Sydow, Olof; Graff, Caroline; Olson, Lars; Ankarcrona, Maria; Galter, Dagmar

    2011-01-01

    The serine-protease OMI/HTRA2, required for several cellular processes, including mitochondrial function, autophagy, chaperone activity, and apoptosis, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). Western blot quantification of OMI/HTRA2 in frontal cortex of patients with AD (n=10) and control subjects (n=10) in two separate materials indicated reduced processed (active, 35 kDa) OMI/HTRA2 levels, whereas unprocessed (50 kDa) enzyme levels were not significantly different between the groups. Interestingly, the specific protease activity of OMI/HTRA2 was found to be significantly increased in patients with AD (n=10) compared to matched control subjects (n=10) in frontal cortex in two separate materials. Comparison of OMI/HTRA2 mRNA levels in frontal cortex and hippocampus, two brain areas particularly affected by AD, indicated similar levels in patients with AD (n=10) and matched control subjects (n=10). In addition, we analyzed the occurrence of the OMI/HTRA2 variants A141S and G399S in Swedish case-control materials for AD and PD and found a weak association of A141S with AD, but not with PD. In conclusion, our genetic, histological, and biochemical findings give further support to an involvement of OMI/HTRA2 in the pathology of AD; however, further studies are needed to clarify the role of this gene in neurodegeneration.—Westerlund, M., Behbahani, H., Gellhaar, S., Forsell, C., Carmine Belin, A., Anvret, A., Zettergren, A., Nissbrandt, H., Lind, C., Sydow, O., Graff, C., Olson, L., Ankarcrona, M., Galter, D. Altered enzymatic activity and allele frequency of OMI/HTRA2 in Alzheimer's disease. PMID:21163861

  2. The effects of different uranium concentrations on soil microbial populations and enzymatic activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagherifam, S.; Lakziyan, A.; Ahmadi, S. J.; Fotovvat, A.; Rahimi, M. F.

    2010-01-01

    Uranium is an ubiquitous constituent of natural environment with an average concentration of 4 mg/kg in earth crust. However, in local areas it may exceed the normal concentration due to human activities resulting in radionuclide contamination in groundwater and surface soil. The effect of six levels of uranium concentration (0, 50, 100,250. 500 and 1000 mg kg -1 ) on soil phosphatase activities and microbial populations were studied in a completely randomized design as a factorial experiment with three replications. The results showed a significant decrease in phosphatase activity. The result of the experiment suggests that soil microbial populations (bacteria, funji and actinomycetes) decrease by increasing the uranium levels in the soil. Therefore, assessment of soil enzymatic activities and microbial populations can be helpful as a useful index for a better management of uranium and radioactive contaminated soils.

  3. Enzymatic Activity Detection via Electrochemistry for Enceladus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Studemeister, Lucy; Koehne, Jessica; Quinn, Richard

    2017-01-01

    Electrochemical detection of biological molecules is a pertinent topic and application in many fields such as medicine, environmental spills, and life detection in space. Proteases, a class of molecules of interest in the search for life, catalyze the hydrolysis of peptides. Trypsin, a specific protease, was chosen to investigate an optimized enzyme detection system using electrochemistry. This study aims at providing the ideal functionalization of an electrode that can reliably detect a signal indicative of an enzymatic reaction from an Enceladus sample.

  4. New eutectic ionic liquids for lipase activation and enzymatic preparation of biodiesel†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Hua; Baker, Gary A.; Holmes, Shaletha

    2012-01-01

    The enzymatic preparation of biodiesel has been hampered by the lack of suitable solvents with desirable properties such as high lipase compatibility, low cost, low viscosity, high biodegradability, and ease of product separation. Recent interest in using ionic liquids (ILs) as advanced reaction media has led to fast reaction rates and high yields in the enzymatic synthesis of biodiesel. However, conventional (i.e., cation–anion paired) ILs based on imidazolium and other quaternary ammonium salts remain too expensive for wide application at industrial scales. In this study, we report on newly-synthesized eutectic ILs derived from choline acetate or choline chloride coupled with biocompatible hydrogen-bond donors, such as glycerol. These eutectic solvents have favorable properties including low viscosity, high biodegradability, and excellent compatibility with Novozym® 435, a commercial immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B. Furthermore, in a model biodiesel synthesis system, we demonstrate high reaction rates for the enzymatic transesterification of Miglyol® oil 812 with methanol, catalyzed by Novozym® 435 in choline acetate/glycerol (1 : 1.5 molar ratio). The high conversion (97%) of the triglyceride obtained within 3 h, under optimal conditions, suggests that these novel eutectic solvents warrant further exploration as potential media in the enzymatic production of biodiesel. PMID:21283901

  5. Decreased enzymatic activity of 5,10-methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase affects the development of several diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maša Vidmar

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The importance of folates in human physiology is well known, as are various pathologies associated with low folate status. Folate deficiency can occur due to low dietary intake, genetic predisposition or treatment with medicines affecting the folate status. The aim of this paper is to explore the importance of determining genetic polymorphisms which influence the levels of biologically active folate. MTHFR is involved in the transformation of 5,10-methylene-THF to 5-methyl-THF. Polymorphisms of the MTHRF gene are associated with decreased enzymatic activity.Only 9.3 % of the population in Slovenia displays full activity of the MTHFR enzyme; these subjects are non-mutated homozygotes (wild-type alleles. In contrast, the average enzymatic activity in subjects with mutated alleles is between 50 and 60 %. MTHFR polymorphism is associated with an increased risk of hyperhomocysteinemia and cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders and various types of cancer. There is also an increased risk for congenital malformations. Folic acid food fortification was introduced in some countries in order to assure an adequate folate status in the population. However, this approach does not address the decreased activity of MTHFR.Polymorphism in the key enzymes of the folate cycle is common. Determination of the genetic predisposition is therefore plausible in the most vulnerable groups of the population, such as pregnant women and patients receiving medicines influencing the folate cycle in various ways, e.g. 5-fluorouracil, methotrexate and 6-mercaptopurine. Genotyping would allow the identification of patients at high risk for suboptimal folate status.

  6. Real-time ESI-MS of enzymatic conversion: impact of organic solvents and multiplexing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheerle, Romy K; Grassmann, Johanna; Letzel, Thomas

    2012-01-01

    Different enzymatic assays were characterized systematically by real-time electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in the presence of organic solvents as well as in multiplex approaches and in a combination of both. Typically, biological enzymatic reactions are studied in aqueous solutions, since most enzymes show their full activity solely in aqueous solutions. However, in recent years, the use of organic solvents in combination with enzymatic reactions has gained increasing interest due to biotechnological advantages in chemical synthesis, development of online coupled setups screening for enzyme regulatory compounds, advantages regarding mass spectrometric detection and others. In the current study, the influence of several common organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, acetone, acetonitrile) on enzymatic activity (hen egg white lysozyme, chitinase, α-chymotrypsin, elastase from human neutrophils and porcine pancreas, acetylcholinesterase) was tested. Moreover, multiplexing is a promising approach enabling fast and cost-efficient screening methods, e.g. for determination of inhibitors in complex mixtures or in the field of biomedical research. Although in multiplexed setups the enzymatic activity may be affected by the presence of other substrates and/or enzymes, the expected advantages possibly will predominate. To investigate those effects, we measured multiple enzymatic assays simultaneously. For all conducted measurements, the conversion rate of the substrate(s) was calculated, which reflects the enzymatic activity. The results provide an overview about the susceptibility of the selected enzymes towards diverse factors and a reference point for many applications in analytical chemistry and biotechnology.

  7. Photoelectrochemical enzymatic biosensors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Wei-Wei; Xu, Jing-Juan; Chen, Hong-Yuan

    2017-06-15

    Enzymatic biosensors have been valuable bioanalytical devices for analysis of diverse targets in disease diagnosis, biological and biomedical research, etc. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) bioanalysis is a recently emerged method that promptly becoming a subject of new research interests due to its attractive potential for future bioanalysis with high sensitivity and specificity. PEC enzymatic biosensors integrate the inherent sensitivities of PEC bioanalysis and the selectivity of enzymes and thus share their both advantages. Currently, PEC enzymatic biosensors have become a hot topic of significant research and the recent impetus has grown rapidly as demonstrated by increased research papers. Given the pace of advances in this area, this review will make a thorough discussion and survey on the fundamentals, sensing strategies, applications and the state of the art in PEC enzymatic biosensors, followed by future prospects based on our own opinions. We hope this work could provide an accessible introduction to PEC enzymatic biosensors for any scientist. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Biocolloids with ordered urease multilayer shells as enzymatic reactors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lvov, Y; Caruso, F

    2001-09-01

    The preparation of biocolloids with organized enzyme-containing multilayer shells for exploitation as colloidal enzymatic nanoreactors is described. Urease multilayers were assembled onto submicrometer-sized polystyrene spheres by the sequential adsorption of urease and polyelectrolyte, in a predetermined order, utilizing electrostatic interactions for layer growth. The catalytic activity of the biocolloids increased proportionally with the number of urease layers deposited on the particles, demonstrating that biocolloid particles with tailored enzymatic activities can be produced. It was further found that precoating the latex spheres with nanoparticles (40-nm silica or 12-nm magnetite) enhanced both the stability (with respect to adsorption) and enzymatic activity of the urease multilayers. The presence of the magnetite nanoparticle coating also provided a magnetic function that allowed the biocolloids to be easily and rapidly separated with a permanent magnet. The fabrication of such colloids opens new avenues for the application of bioparticles and represents a promising route for the creation of complex catalytic particles.

  9. The effect of chlorsulfurone and MCPB-Na on the enzymatic activity of microorganisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Filimon Marioara Nicoleta

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available herbicides, have a broad spectrum effect on weeds, in relatively low doses and with a much reduced toxicity on livestock. In this study were used two herbicides: dacsulfuron with the active substance chlorsulfuron (0.005 - 0.035 μg/g soil and butoxone with the active substance MCPB-Na (0.005 - 0.035 mg/L/g soil. The samples were collected from a depth of 0-20 cm from chernozem soil. The effect of herbicide was estimated by measuring the activity of catalase, actual and potential dehydrogenase, urease and cellulase activities. All samples being incubated for 10 days at 27°C using Sapp medium for isolation and study of cellulosolytic bacteria. The inhibitory effect of the tested herbicides was the most intense for the urease and dehydrogenase enzymatic activities. The most resistant cellulosolytic bacteria to the effects of dacsulfuron were Cellfalcicula fusca, Cellfalcicula viridis, Cellvibrio fulvus and Fuseaux veris and for butoxone Cellfalcicula mucosa, C. viridis and C. fulvus.

  10. Self-Assembly of Spider Silk-Fusion Proteins Comprising Enzymatic and Fluorescence Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humenik, Martin; Mohrand, Madeleine; Scheibel, Thomas

    2018-04-18

    The recombinant spider silk protein eADF4(C16) was genetically fused either with esterase 2 (EST2) or green fluorescent protein (GFP). The fusions EST-eADF4(C16) and GFP-eADF4(C16) were spectroscopically investigated and showed native structures of EST and GFP. The structural integrity was confirmed by the enzymatic activity of EST and the fluorescence of GFP. The spider silk moiety retained its intrinsically unstructured conformation in solution and the self-assembly into either nanofibrils or nanoparticles could be controlled by the concentration of phosphate. Particles, however, showed significantly lower activity of the EST and GFP domains likely caused by a steric hindrance. However, upon self-assembly of EST-eADF4(C16) and GFP-eADF4(C16) into fibrils the protein activities were retained. In general, the fusion of globular enzymes with the spider silk domain allows the generation of fibrous biomaterials with catalytic or light emitting properties.

  11. Destruction of enzymatic activities of corn and soybean leaves exposed to ozone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leffler, H R; Cherry, J H

    1974-01-01

    Experiments were conducted to determine the effects of a single ozone exposure on selected enzymatic activities and chlorophyll contents of corn and soybean seedlings. Both nitrite reductase activity and chlorophyll content of the seedlings were found to be quite sensitive to ozonation and were seen to decrease as much as 50% after exposure to 80 parts per hundred million (pphm) ozone. After exposure to lower levels of ozone, less-pronounced decreases were observed. Nitrate reductase activity was reduced only after exposure to seedling leaf tissues to high concentrations of ozone. These results are discussed in relation to the concept of a two-phase response to oxidant exposure. The first phase is at the chloroplast level and is quite sensitive to the low as well as the high concentrations of ozone; the second is at the cellular level and is relatively resistant to all but the highest ozone concentrations. 27 references, 2 tables.

  12. Vancomycin analogues containing monosaccharides exhibit improved antibiotic activity: a combined one-pot enzymatic glycosylation and chemical diversification strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer, Desiree A; Wong, Chi-Huey

    2006-09-18

    Many natural products contain carbohydrate moieties that contribute to their biological activity. Manipulation of the carbohydrate domain of natural products through multiple glycosylations to identify new derivatives with novel biological activities has been a difficult and impractical process. We report a practical one-pot enzymatic approach with regeneration of cosubstrates to synthesize analogues of vancomycin that contain an N-alkyl glucosamine, which exhibited marked improvement in antibiotic activity against a vancomycin-resistant strain of Enterococcus.

  13. Multi-Scale Computational Enzymology: Enhancing Our Understanding of Enzymatic Catalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gherib, Rami; Dokainish, Hisham M.; Gauld, James W.

    2014-01-01

    Elucidating the origin of enzymatic catalysis stands as one the great challenges of contemporary biochemistry and biophysics. The recent emergence of computational enzymology has enhanced our atomistic-level description of biocatalysis as well the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of their mechanisms. There exists a diversity of computational methods allowing the investigation of specific enzymatic properties. Small or large density functional theory models allow the comparison of a plethora of mechanistic reactive species and divergent catalytic pathways. Molecular docking can model different substrate conformations embedded within enzyme active sites and determine those with optimal binding affinities. Molecular dynamics simulations provide insights into the dynamics and roles of active site components as well as the interactions between substrate and enzymes. Hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) can model reactions in active sites while considering steric and electrostatic contributions provided by the surrounding environment. Using previous studies done within our group, on OvoA, EgtB, ThrRS, LuxS and MsrA enzymatic systems, we will review how these methods can be used either independently or cooperatively to get insights into enzymatic catalysis. PMID:24384841

  14. Multi-Scale Computational Enzymology: Enhancing Our Understanding of Enzymatic Catalysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rami Gherib

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Elucidating the origin of enzymatic catalysis stands as one the great challenges of contemporary biochemistry and biophysics. The recent emergence of computational enzymology has enhanced our atomistic-level description of biocatalysis as well the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of their mechanisms. There exists a diversity of computational methods allowing the investigation of specific enzymatic properties. Small or large density functional theory models allow the comparison of a plethora of mechanistic reactive species and divergent catalytic pathways. Molecular docking can model different substrate conformations embedded within enzyme active sites and determine those with optimal binding affinities. Molecular dynamics simulations provide insights into the dynamics and roles of active site components as well as the interactions between substrate and enzymes. Hybrid quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM can model reactions in active sites while considering steric and electrostatic contributions provided by the surrounding environment. Using previous studies done within our group, on OvoA, EgtB, ThrRS, LuxS and MsrA enzymatic systems, we will review how these methods can be used either independently or cooperatively to get insights into enzymatic catalysis.

  15. ENZYMATIC AND NON-ENZYMATIC ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE WITH ALZHEIMER DISEASE1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Vaisi-Raygani

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available The etiopathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD is still unclear.  However, long-term oxidative stress is believed to be one of the major contributing factors in progression of neuronal degeneration and decline of cognitive function in AD. In order to assess the presence of oxidative stress in AD, we examined the enzymatic activities of the erythrocyte Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px, catalase (CAT, and plasma level of total antioxidant status (TAS in AD and control groups (age and sex-matched. The results showed that the Cu-Zn SOD activity was significantly higher and the level of GSH-Px and TAS activities were significantly lower in AD subjects than that in the control group (2111 ± 324 U/grHb, 43.7 ± 11.6 U/grHb, and 1.17 ± 0.23 mmol/l compared with 1371 ± 211 U/grHb; t= -2.17, P = 0.036, 56.3 ± 9.5 U/grHb; t=3.8, P = 0.014, and 1.54±0.2 mmol/l; t=11.18, P < 0.001, respectively.  While, the erythrocyte CAT activity was lower in AD subjects compared to the control group, the difference was not statistically significant (t = 1.3, P = 0.15. These findings support the idea that the oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis underlying AD neurodegeneration. In addition, the enzymatic activity of the erythrocyte Cu-Zn SOD and GSH-Px and the plasma level of TAS can be used as a measure of the oxidative stress and a marker for pathological changes in the brain of patients with AD. 

  16. Optimization of enzymatic clarification of green asparagus juice using response surface methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuehong; Xu, Feng; Qin, Weidong; Ma, Lihua; Zheng, Yonghua

    2012-06-01

    Enzymatic clarification conditions for green asparagus juice were optimized by using response surface methodology (RSM). The asparagus juice was treated with pectinase at different temperatures (35 °C-45 °C), pH values (4.00-5.00), and enzyme concentrations (0.6-1.8 v/v%). The effects of enzymatic treatment on juice clarity and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging capacity were investigated by employing a 3-factor central composite design coupled with RSM. According to response surface analysis, the optimal enzymatic treatment condition was pectinase concentration of 1.45%, incubation temperature of 40.56 °C and pH of 4.43. The clarity, juice yield, and soluble solid contents in asparagus juice were significantly increased by enzymatic treatment at the optimal conditions. DPPH radical-scavenging capacity was maintained at the level close to that of raw asparagus juice. These results indicated that enzymatic treatment could be a useful technique for producing green asparagus juice with high clarity and high-antioxidant activity. Treatment with 1.45% pectinase at 40.56 ° C, pH 4.43, significantly increased the clarity and yield of asparagus juice. In addition, enzymatic treatment maintained antioxidant activity. Thus, enzymatic treatment has the potential for industrial asparagus juice clarification. © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists®

  17. ASSOCIATION BETWEEN ENZYMATIC AND NON-ENZYMATIC ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE WITH ALZHEIMER DISEASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Vaisi-Raygani

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The etiopathogenesis of dementia in Alzheimer's disease (AD is still unclear. However, long-term oxidative stress is believed to be one of the major contributing factors in progression of neuronal degeneration and decline of cognitive function in AD. In order to assess the presence of oxidative stress in AD, we examined the enzymatic activities of the erythrocyte Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu-Zn SOD, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px, catalase (CAT, and plasma level of total antioxidant status (TAS in AD and control groups (age and sex-matched. The results showed that the Cu-Zn SOD activity was significantly higher and the level of GSH-Px and TAS activities were significantly lower in AD subjects than that in the control group (2111±324 U/grHb, 43.7±11.6 U/grHb, and 1.17 ±0.23 mmol/L compared with 1371±211 U/gHb; t= -2.17, p=0.036, 56.3±9.5 U/gHb; t=3.8, p=0.014, and 1.54±0.2 mmol/L; t=11.18, P<0.001, respectively. While, the erythrocyte CAT activity was lower in AD subjects compared to the control group, the difference was not statistically significant (t=1.3, P=0.15. These findings support the idea that the oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis underlying AD neurodegeneration. In addition, the enzymatic activity of the erythrocyte Cu-Zn SOD and GSH-Px and the plasma level of TAS can be used as a measure of the oxidative stress and a marker for pathological changes in the brain of patients with AD.

  18. Enzymatic conversion of lignocellulose into fermentable sugars

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Henning; Kristensen, Jan Bach; Felby, Claus

    2007-01-01

    and hemicelluloses but these are not readily accessible to enzymatic hydrolysis and require a pretreatment, which causes an extensive modification of the lignocellulosic structure. A number of pretreatment technologies are under development and being tested in pilot scale. Hydrolysis of lignocellulose carbohydrates...

  19. Tuning of Essential Oil Properties by Enzymatic Treatment: Towards Sustainable Processes for the Generation of New Fragrance Ingredients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvain Antoniotti

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available In this review, several strategies of modification of essential oils by enzymatic treatment are presented. Being either applied before or after the production of the essential oil, enzymatic methods are shown to be particularly adapted to attain the required selectivity, specificity and efficiency in sustainable processes delivering products eligible for the natural grade. Examples dealing with the optimization of the properties of essential oils in terms of biological activity, odor and safety are provided, and it is likely that these strategies will address other type of properties in the future, such as the physico-chemical properties, for example.

  20. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter and microbial enzymatic activity. A biophysical approach to understand the marine carbon cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonnelli, Margherita; Vestri, Stefano; Santinelli, Chiara

    2013-12-01

    This study reports the first information on extracellular enzymatic activity (EEA) combined with a study of DOM dynamics at the Arno River mouth. DOM dynamics was investigated from both a quantitative (dissolved organic carbon, DOC) and a qualitative (absorption and fluorescence of chromophoric DOM, CDOM) perspective. The data here reported highlight that the Arno River was an important source of both DOC and CDOM for this coastal area. CDOM optical properties suggested that terrestrial DOM did not undergo simple dilution at the river mouth but, other physical-chemical and biological processes were probably at work to change its molecular characteristics. This observation was further supported by the "potential" enzymatic activity of β-glucosidase (BG) and leucine aminopeptidase (LAP). Their Vmax values were markedly higher in the river water than in the seawater and their ratio suggested that most of the DOM used by microbes in the Arno River was polysaccharide-like, while in the seawater it was mainly protein-like. © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Urease immobilized polymer hydrogel: Long-term stability and enhancement of enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutcherlapati, S N Raju; Yeole, Niranjan; Jana, Tushar

    2016-02-01

    A method has been developed in which an enzyme namely urease was immobilized inside hydrogel matrix to study the stability and enzymatic activity in room temperature (∼27-30°C). This urease coupled hydrogel (UCG) was obtained by amine-acid coupling reaction and this procedure is such that it ensured the wider opening of mobile flap of enzyme active site. A systematic comparison of urea-urease assay and the detailed kinetic data clearly revealed that the urease shows activity for more than a month when stored at ∼27-30°C in case of UCG whereas it becomes inactive in case of free urease (enzyme in buffer solution). The aqueous microenvironment inside the hydrogel, unusual morphological features and thermal behaviour were believed to be the reasons for unexpected behaviour. UCG displayed enzyme activity at basic pH and up to 60°C. UCG showed significant enhancement in activity against thermal degradation compared to free urease. In summary, this method is a suitable process to stabilize the biomacromolecules in standard room temperature for many practical uses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Enzymatic activity of anthropogenic proto-organic soils in soilless farming

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bireescu, Geanina; Dazzi, Carmelo; Laudicina, Vito Armando; Lo Papa, Giuseppe

    2017-04-01

    In soilless agriculture and horticulture coir is the more used substratum to grow plants because it is widely available and more environmentally friendly than sphagnum or peat. In Italy, soilless agriculture concerns an area of about 1,000 hectares, particularly concentrated in Sicily. The southern coastal belt of this region is the area interested by the most significant experiences in the application of techniques of soilless cultivation that, recently, has been used also for growing table grapes. Starting from the above consideration we suppose that the features of the coconut fiber underlay an evident transformation and that even after few years of table grape cultivation, such organic material undergone to a transformation that allows for the formation of a proto-organic soil (a proto-Histosol, we supposed). If this is true, we believe that, in this case, to speak about soilless cultivation is for sure misleading for the common people, as we should define this cultivation "on anthropogenic soils" instead. To fit the aims of this survey we used a big greenhouse devoted to soilless cultivation of table grape in a farm in the Southern Sicily We have considered the enzymatic activity that characterized the coconut fiber after 3 cycles of cultivation of table grapes. We used as a control the coconut fiber that the farmer used to prepare pots for soilless cultivation and coconut fiber of: 6 pots at the end of the first productive cycle 6 pots at the end of the second cycle and 3 pots at the end of the third cycle. On these organic samples we investigated three enzymes, belonging to oxydoreductase (catalase and dehydrogenase) and hydrolase (urease) classes. Statistical analysis of the investigated enzymes was developed using IBM Statistic SPSS v20 by ANOVA, Tukey test HSD for p ≤ 0.01 and Multivariate Statistical Analysis. Results have shown significant differences in enzymes content and quality among coir tests. The use of the coco fiber, as nutritive substratum

  3. Enzymatic Processes in Marine Biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trincone, Antonio

    2017-03-25

    In previous review articles the attention of the biocatalytically oriented scientific community towards the marine environment as a source of biocatalysts focused on the habitat-related properties of marine enzymes. Updates have already appeared in the literature, including marine examples of oxidoreductases, hydrolases, transferases, isomerases, ligases, and lyases ready for food and pharmaceutical applications. Here a new approach for searching the literature and presenting a more refined analysis is adopted with respect to previous surveys, centering the attention on the enzymatic process rather than on a single novel activity. Fields of applications are easily individuated: (i) the biorefinery value-chain, where the provision of biomass is one of the most important aspects, with aquaculture as the prominent sector; (ii) the food industry, where the interest in the marine domain is similarly developed to deal with the enzymatic procedures adopted in food manipulation; (iii) the selective and easy extraction/modification of structurally complex marine molecules, where enzymatic treatments are a recognized tool to improve efficiency and selectivity; and (iv) marine biomarkers and derived applications (bioremediation) in pollution monitoring are also included in that these studies could be of high significance for the appreciation of marine bioprocesses.

  4. Improved antimelanogenesis and antioxidant effects of polysaccharide from Cuscuta chinensis Lam seeds after enzymatic hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zi-Jun; Wang, Ya-Lan; Li, Qi-Ling; Yang, Liu

    2018-01-01

    Cuscuta chinensis polysaccharide (CPS) was extracted using hot water and enzymatically hydrolyzed C. chinensis polysaccharide (ECPS) was produced by the mannase enzymatic hydrolysis process. The purpose of this research was to investigate the antimelanogenic activity of ECPS and CPS in B16F10 melanoma cells. The in vitro antioxidant activity was assessed by their ferric iron reducing power and DPPH free radical scavenging activities. The molecular mass distribution of polysaccharides was determined using SEC-MALLS-RI. CPS was successfully enzymatically degraded using mannase and the weighted average molecular weights of CPS and ECPS were 434.6 kDa and 211.7 kDa. The results of biological activity assays suggested that the enzymatically hydrolyzed polysaccharide had superior antimelanogenic activity and antioxidant effect than the original polysaccharide. ECPS exhibited antimelanogenic activity by down-regulating the expression of tyrosinase, MITF, and TRP-1 without cytotoxic effects in B16F10 melanoma cells. In conclusion, ECPS have the potential to become a skin whitening product.

  5. Determination of myoglobin based on its enzymatic activity by stopped-flow spectrophotometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Qi; Liu, Zhihong; Cai, Ruxiu

    2005-04-01

    A new method has been developed for the determination of myoglobin (Mb) based on its enzymatic activity for the oxidation of o-phenylenediamine (OPDA) with hydrogen peroxide. Stopped-flow spectrophotometry was used to study the kinetic behavior of the oxidation reaction. The catalytic activity of Mb was compared to other three kinds of catalyst. The time dependent absorbance of the reaction product, 2,3-diamimophenazine (DAPN), at a wavelength of 426 nm was recorded. The initial reaction rate obtained at 40 °C was found to be proportional to the concentration of Mb in the range of 1.0 × 10 -6 to 4.0 × 10 -9 mol L -1. The detection limit of Mb was found to be 9.93 × 10 -10 mol L -1. The relative standard deviations were within 5% for the determination of different concentrations of Mb. Excess of bovine serum albumin (BSA), Ca(II), Mg(II), Cu(II), glucose, caffeine, lactose and uric acid did not interfere.

  6. Mitochondrial intermediate peptidase: Expression in Escherichia coli and improvement of its enzymatic activity detection with FRET substrates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marcondes, Marcelo F.; Torquato, Ricardo J.S.; Assis, Diego M.; Juliano, Maria A.; Hayashi, Mirian A.F.; Oliveira, Vitor

    2010-01-01

    In the present study, soluble, functionally-active, recombinant human mitochondrial intermediate peptidase (hMIP), a mitochondrial metalloendoprotease, was expressed in a prokaryotic system. The hMIP fusion protein, with a poly-His-tag (6x His), was obtained by cloning the coding region of hMIP cDNA into the pET-28a expression vector, which was then used to transform Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3) pLysS. After isolation and purification of the fusion protein by affinity chromatography using Ni-Sepharose resin, the protein was purified further using ion exchange chromatography with a Hi-trap resource Q column. The recombinant hMIP was characterized by Western blotting using three distinct antibodies, circular dichroism, and enzymatic assays that used the first FRET substrates developed for MIP and a series of protease inhibitors. The successful expression of enzymatically-active hMIP in addition to the FRET substrates will contribute greatly to the determination of substrate specificity of this protease and to the development of specific inhibitors that are essential for a better understanding of the role of this protease in mitochondrial functioning.

  7. Mutation of Asn28 Disrupts the Dimerization and Enzymatic Activity of SARS 3CL

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrila, J.; Gabelli, S; Bacha, U; Amzel, M; Freire, E

    2010-01-01

    Coronaviruses are responsible for a significant proportion of annual respiratory and enteric infections in humans and other mammals. The most prominent of these viruses is the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) which causes acute respiratory and gastrointestinal infection in humans. The coronavirus main protease, 3CL{sup pro}, is a key target for broad-spectrum antiviral development because of its critical role in viral maturation and high degree of structural conservation among coronaviruses. Dimerization is an indispensable requirement for the function of SARS 3CL{sup pro} and is regulated through mechanisms involving both direct and long-range interactions in the enzyme. While many of the binding interactions at the dimerization interface have been extensively studied, those that are important for long-range control are not well-understood. Characterization of these dimerization mechanisms is important for the structure-based design of new treatments targeting coronavirus-based infections. Here we report that Asn28, a residue 11 {angstrom} from the closest residue in the opposing monomer, is essential for the enzymatic activity and dimerization of SARS 3CLpro. Mutation of this residue to alanine almost completely inactivates the enzyme and results in a 19.2-fold decrease in the dimerization K{sub d}. The crystallographic structure of the N28A mutant determined at 2.35 {angstrom} resolution reveals the critical role of Asn28 in maintaining the structural integrity of the active site and in orienting key residues involved in binding at the dimer interface and substrate catalysis. These findings provide deeper insight into complex mechanisms regulating the activity and dimerization of SARS 3CL{sup pro}.

  8. Method for the enzymatic production of hydrogen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodward, J.; Mattingly, S.M.

    1999-08-24

    The present invention is an enzymatic method for producing hydrogen comprising the steps of: (a) forming a reaction mixture within a reaction vessel comprising a substrate capable of undergoing oxidation within a catabolic reaction, such as glucose, galactose, xylose, mannose, sucrose, lactose, cellulose, xylan and starch; the reaction mixture also comprising an amount of glucose dehydrogenase in an amount sufficient to catalyze the oxidation of the substrate, an amount of hydrogenase sufficient to catalyze an electron-requiring reaction wherein a stoichiometric yield of hydrogen is produced, an amount of pH buffer in an amount sufficient to provide an environment that allows the hydrogenase and the glucose dehydrogenase to retain sufficient activity for the production of hydrogen to occur and also comprising an amount of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate sufficient to transfer electrons from the catabolic reaction to the electron-requiring reaction; (b) heating the reaction mixture at a temperature sufficient for glucose dehydrogenase and the hydrogenase to retain sufficient activity and sufficient for the production of hydrogen to occur, and heating for a period of time that continues until the hydrogen is no longer produced by the reaction mixture, wherein the catabolic reaction and the electron-requiring reactions have rates of reaction dependent upon the temperature; and (c) detecting the hydrogen produced from the reaction mixture. 8 figs.

  9. Application of enzymatic methods for chia (Salvia hispanica L oil extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norma Ciau-Solís

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Aim. The aim was to evaluate the use of different enzymatic treatments on the oil extraction yield from Chia (Salvia hispanica L. seeds Methods. Enzymatic extraction was performed by treating of whole and degummed chia flours with different conditions of enzyme concentration, pH and temperature. Commercial enzymes were employed: Viscozyme LTM (endo-1,3 (4-betaglucanase derived from Aspergillus aculeatus, with 100 FBG g (Beta Glucanase-unit Fungal and Neutrase0.8LTM, neutral protease with 0.8 AU-NH/g of activity, derived from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. Results. All treatments of enzymatic oil extraction were different (P <0.05 and the maximum oil yield obtained was 9.35%. Conclusion. Oil extraction using enzymatic methods is not a viable for chia seed

  10. Phospholipase C produced by Clostridium botulinum types C and D: comparison of gene, enzymatic, and biological activities with those of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatmawati, Ni Nengah Dwi; Sakaguchi, Yoshihiko; Suzuki, Tomonori; Oda, Masataka; Shimizu, Kenta; Yamamoto, Yumiko; Sakurai, Jun; Matsushita, Osamu; Oguma, Keiji

    2013-01-01

    Clostridium botulinum type C and D strains recently have been found to produce PLC on egg yolk agar plates. To characterize the gene, enzymatic and biological activities of C. botulinum PLCs (Cb-PLCs), the cb-plc genes from 8 strains were sequenced, and 1 representative gene was cloned and expressed as a recombinant protein. The enzymatic and hemolytic activities of the recombinant Cb-PLC were measured and compared with those of the Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin. Each of the eight cb-plc genes encoded a 399 amino acid residue protein preceded by a 27 residue signal peptide. The protein consists of 2 domains, the N- and C-domains, and the overall amino acid sequence identity between Cb-PLC and alpha-toxin was greater than 50%, suggesting that Cb-PLC is homologous to the alpha-toxin. The key residues in the N-domain were conserved, whereas those in the C-domain which are important in membrane interaction were different than in the alpha-toxin. As expected, Cb-PLC could hydrolyze egg yolk phospholipid, p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine, and sphingomyelin, and also exhibited hemolytic activity;however, its activities were about 4- to over 200-fold lower than those of alpha-toxin. Although Cb-PLC showed weak enzymatic and biological activities, it is speculated that Cb-PLC might play a role in the pathogenicity of botulism or for bacterial survival.

  11. Evaluation of Oil Removal Efficiency and Enzymatic Activity in Some fungal Strains for Bioremediation of Petroleum-Polluted Soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fariba Mohsenzadeh

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Petroleum pollution is a global disaster and there are several soil cleaning methods including bioremediation.Methods: In a field study, fugal strains were isolated from oil-contaminated sites of Arak refinery (Iran and their growth ability was checked in potato dextrose agar (PDA media containing 0-10% v/v crude oil, the activity of three enzymes (Catalase, Peroxidase and Phenol Oxidase was evaluated in the fungal colonies and bioremediation ability of the fungi was checked in the experimental pots containing 3 kg sterilized soil and different concentrations of petroleum (0-10% w/w.Results: Four fungal strains, Acromonium sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium sp., were selected asthe most resistant ones. They were able to growth in the subjected concentrations and Alternaria sp. showed thehighest growth ability in the petroleum containing media. The enzyme assay showed that the enzymatic activity was increased in the oil-contaminated media. Bioremediation results showed that the studied fungi were able to decrease petroleum pollution. The highest petroleum removing efficiency of Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium sp.,Alternaria sp. and Acromonium sp. was evaluated in the 10%, 8%, 8% and 2% petroleum pollution respectively.Conclusions: Fungi are important microorganisms in decreasing of petroleum pollution. They have bioremediation potency that is related to their enzymatic activities.

  12. Role of low density lipoprotein in the activation of plasma lysolecithin acyltransferase activity. Effect of chemical and enzymatic modifications of the lipoprotein on enzyme activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subbaiah, P V; Chen, C H; Bagdade, J D; Albers, J J

    1985-01-01

    The effect of various chemical and enzymatic modifications of low density lipoprotein (LDL) on its ability to activate the isolated human plasma lysolecithin acyltransferase (LAT) was studied. Removal of all lipids from LDL resulted in the complete loss of LAT activation. Removal of only neutral lipids by extraction with heptane retained up to 50% of the original activity, which was not increased further by reconstitution of the LDL with the extracted lipids. Hydrolysis of the diacylphosphoglycerides of the LDL with phospholipases resulted in complete loss of LAT activation which was partially restored by the addition of egg lecithin. Hydrolysis of more than 4% of LDL protein by trypsin led to a linear decrease in activity with complete loss of activity occurring when about 25% of the LDL protein is hydrolyzed. Modification of the arginine groups of LDL reversibly inhibited the activation of LAT. Modification of lysine residues of LDL by acetylation, acetoacetylation or succinylation also abolished its ability to activate lysolecithin acylation.

  13. Assessment of Napropamide Dissipation and its Effect on Soil Enzymatic Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirosław Onyszko

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the dissipation of napropamide and its impact on the activity of dehydrogenases, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, and urease in sandy clay loam. The experiment was carried out on soil samples with organic carbon content of 12.08 g·kg-1, total nitrogen content of 0.97 g·kg-1, and pH 5.24 with the following variable factors: (a dose of Devrinol 450 SC formation (containing 450 g of napropamide in dm3: 0 (control, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16-fold hold of field dose; (b day of experiment: 1, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 112. The half-life of napropamide ranged from 33.50 to 71.42 days. The use of napropamide at the dose recommended by the manufacturer and at the dose reduced by half appeared to exhibit low toxicity in relation to enzymes determined. In contrast, the application of elevated napropamide doses decreased the values of biochemical parameters of the soil in most cases. The Pearson correlation coefficients showed statistically significant negative correlation between the content of napropamide residues and the enzymatic activity of the soil.

  14. A novel In-situ Enzymatic Cleaning Method for Reducing Membrane Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. R. Bilad

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available A novel in-situ enzymatic cleaning method was developed for fouling control in membrane bioreactors (MBRs. It is achieved by bringing the required enzymes near the membrane surface by pulling the enzymes to a magnetic membrane (MM surface by means of magnetic forces, exactly where the cleaning is required. To achieve this, the enzyme was coupled to a magnetic nanoparticle (MNP and the membrane it self was loaded with MNP. The magnetic activity was turned by means of an external permanent magnet. The effectiveness of concept was tested in a submerged membrane filtration using the model enzyme-substrate of Bacillus subitilis xylanase-arabinoxylan. The MM had almost similar properties compared to the unloaded ones, except for its well distributed MNPs. The enzyme was stable during coupling conditions and the presence of coupling could be detected using a high-performance anion-exchange chromatography (HPAEC analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR. The system facilitated an in-situ enzymatic cleaning and could be effectively applied for control fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBRs.

  15. Ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hao; Zhu, Junxiang; Diao, Wenchao; Wang, Chengrong

    2014-11-26

    An efficient ultrasound-assisted enzymatic extraction (UAEE) of Cucurbita moschata polysaccharides (CMCP) was established and the CMCP antioxidant activities were studied. The UAEE operating parameters (extraction temperature, ultrasonic power, pH, and liquid-to-material ratio) were optimized using the central composite design (CCD) and the mass transfer kinetic study in UAEE procedure was used to select the optimal extraction time. Enzymolysis and ultrasonication that were simultaneously conducted was selected as the UAEE synergistic model and the optimum extraction conditions with a maximum polysaccharide yield of 4.33 ± 0.15% were as follows: extraction temperature, 51.5 °C; ultrasonic power, 440 W; pH, 5.0; liquid-to-material ratio, 5.70:1 mL/g; and extraction time, 20 min. Evaluation of the antioxidant activity in vitro suggested that CMCP has good potential as a natural antioxidant used in the food or medicine industry because of their high reducing power and positive radical scavenging activity for DPPH radical. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Beneficial effect of mixture of additives amendment on enzymatic activities, organic matter degradation and humification during biosolids co-composting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awasthi, Mukesh Kumar; Wang, Quan; Chen, Hongyu; Awasthi, Sanjeev Kumar; Wang, Meijing; Ren, Xiuna; Zhao, Junchao; Zhang, Zengqiang

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this study was to identify the effect of mixture of additives to improve the enzymatic activities, organic matter humification and diminished the bioavailability of heavy metals (HMs) during biosolids co-composting. In this study, zeolite (Z) (10%, 15% and 30%) with 1%lime (L) (dry weight basis of biosolids) was blended into the mixture of biosolids and wheat straw, respectively. The without any amendment and 1%lime applied treatments were run for comparison (Control). The Z+L addition resulted rapid organic matter degradation and humification with maximum enzymatic activities. In addition, higher dosage of Z+1%L amendment reduced the bioavailability of HMs (Cu and Zn) and improved the end product quality as compared to control and 1%L applied treatments. However, the 30%Z+1%L applied treatment showed maximum humification and low bioavailability of HMs but considering the economic feasibility and compost quality results, the treatment with 10%Z+1%L is recommended for biosolids co-composting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Therapeutic effectiveness of a new enzymatic bleaching dentifrice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forner, Leopaldo; Amengual, José; Liena, Carmen; Riutord, Pere

    2012-01-01

    Research into bleaching focuses on new products in order to minimize undesirable effects. This study evaluated the bleaching effectiveness of a new enzymatic-activated dentifrice. A total of 20 volunteers were bleached with a dentifrice containing 5% lactoperoxidase and 3% carbamide peroxide applied three times a day for two minutes over 21 days. Color was recorded before and after the treatment using a spectrophotometer. CIELAB differences were calculated before and after treatment using the paired t test (P whitening teeth. Enzymatic dental bleaching is able to increase the efficiency of low concentration peroxides, reducing the potential risk of peroxides on oral tissues.

  18. Enzymatic processing of pigmented and non pigmented rice bran on changes in oryzanol, polyphenols and antioxidant activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhu, Ashish A; Jayadeep, A

    2015-10-01

    Bran from different rice varieties is a treasure of nutrients and nutraceuticals, and its use is limited due to the poor sensory and functional properties. Application of enzymes can alter the functional and phytochemical properties. So the effect of endo-xylanase, cellulase and their combination on microstructural, nutraceutical and antioxidant properties of pigmented (Jyothi) and non-pigmented (IR64) rice bran were investigated. Scanning electron micrograph revealed micro structural changes in fibre structures on processing. All the enzymatic processing methods resulted in an increase in the content of oryzanol, soluble, bound and total polyphenols, flavonoid and tannin. It also showed an increase in the bioactivity with respect to free radical scavenging activity and total antioxidant activity. However, extent of the increase in bio-actives varied with the type of bran and enzyme application method. Endo-xylanase showed higher percentage difference compared to controls of Jyothi and IR64 bran extracts respectively in the content of the bound (10 & 19 %) and total (20 & 14 %) polyphenols. Combination of both the enzymes resulted in higher percentage increase of bioactive components and properties. It resulted in greater percentage difference compared to controls of Jyothi and IR64 extracts respectively in the content of soluble (58 & 17 %) and total (21 & 14 %) polyphenols, flavonoids (12 & 38 %), γ-oryzanol (10 & 12 %), free radical scavenging activity (64 & 30 %) and total antioxidant activity (82 & 136 %). It may be concluded that enzymatic bio-processing of bran with cellulose and hemicellulose degrading enzymes can improve its nutraceutical properties, and it may be used for development of functional foods.

  19. Proximity-activated nanoparticles: in vitro performance of specific structural modification by enzymatic cleavage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adam Smith, R; Sewell, Sarah L; Giorgio, Todd D

    2008-01-01

    The development and in vitro performance of a modular nanoscale system capable of specific structural modification by enzymatic activity is described in this work. Due to its small physical size and adaptable characteristics, this system has the potential for utilization in targeted delivery systems and biosensing. Nanoparticle probes were synthesized containing two distinct fluorescent species including a quantum dot base particle and fluorescently labeled cleavable peptide substrate. Activity of these probes was monitored by gel electrophoresis with quantitative cleavage measurements made by fluorometric analysis. The model proximity-activated nanoparticles studied here exhibit significant susceptibility to cleavage by matrix metalloprotease-7 (MMP-7) at physiologically relevant concentrations, with nearly complete cleavage of available substrate molecules after 24 hours. This response is specific to MMP-7 enzyme activity, as cleavage is completely inhibited with the addition of EDTA. Utilization of enzyme-specific modification is a sensitive approach with broad applications for targeted therapeutics and biosensing. The versatility of this nanoparticle system is highlighted in its modular design, as it has the capability to integrate characteristics for detection, biosensing, targeting, and payload delivery into a single, multifunctional nanoparticle structure. PMID:18488420

  20. Screening for Genes Coding for Putative Antitumor Compounds, Antimicrobial and Enzymatic Activities from Haloalkalitolerant and Haloalkaliphilic Bacteria Strains of Algerian Sahara Soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okba Selama

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Extreme environments may often contain unusual bacterial groups whose physiology is distinct from those of normal environments. To satisfy the need for new bioactive pharmaceuticals compounds and enzymes, we report here the isolation of novel bacteria from an extreme environment. Thirteen selected haloalkalitolerant and haloalkaliphilic bacteria were isolated from Algerian Sahara Desert soils. These isolates were screened for the presence of genes coding for putative antitumor compounds using PCR based methods. Enzymatic, antibacterial, and antifungal activities were determined by using cultural dependant methods. Several of these isolates are typical of desert and alkaline saline soils, but, in addition, we report for the first time the presence of a potential new member of the genus Nocardia with particular activity against the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In addition to their haloalkali character, the presence of genes coding for putative antitumor compounds, combined with the antimicrobial activity against a broad range of indicator strains and their enzymatic potential, makes them suitable for biotechnology applications.

  1. Intramolecular epistasis and the evolution of a new enzymatic function.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sajid Noor

    Full Text Available Atrazine chlorohydrolase (AtzA and its close relative melamine deaminase (TriA differ by just nine amino acid substitutions but have distinct catalytic activities. Together, they offer an informative model system to study the molecular processes that underpin the emergence of new enzymatic function. Here we have constructed the potential evolutionary trajectories between AtzA and TriA, and characterized the catalytic activities and biophysical properties of the intermediates along those trajectories. The order in which the nine amino acid substitutions that separate the enzymes could be introduced to either enzyme, while maintaining significant catalytic activity, was dictated by epistatic interactions, principally between three amino acids within the active site: namely, S331C, N328D and F84L. The mechanistic basis for the epistatic relationships is consistent with a model for the catalytic mechanisms in which protonation is required for hydrolysis of melamine, but not atrazine.

  2. Application of photocatalytic cadmium sulfide nanoparticles to detection of enzymatic activities of glucose oxidase and glutathione reductase using oxidation of 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grinyte, Ruta; Garai-Ibabe, Gaizka; Saa, Laura; Pavlov, Valeri, E-mail: vpavlov@cicbiomagune.es

    2015-06-30

    Highlights: • The light-powered nanosensor fabricated by enzymatic reactions was reported. • The sensor use energy of photons for oxidation of chromogenic enzymatic substrates. • Enzymatic assays for glucose oxidase and glutathione reductase were developed. - Abstract: It was found out that semiconductor CdS nanoparticles (NPs) are able to catalyze photooxidation of the well known chromogenic enzymatic substrate 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by oxygen. The photocatalytical oxidation of TMB does not require hydrogen peroxide and its rate is directly proportional to the quantity of CdS NPs produced in situ through the interaction of Cd{sup 2+} and S{sup 2−} ions in an aqueous medium. This phenomenon was applied to development of colorimetric sensitive assays for glucose oxidase and glutathione reductase based on enzymatic generation of CdS NPs acting as light-powered catalysts. Sensitivity of the developed chromogenic assays was of the same order of magnitude or even better than that of relevant fluorogenic assays. The present approach opens the possibility for the design of simple and sensitive colorimetric assays for a number of enzymes using inexpensive and available TMB as a universal chromogenic compound.

  3. Quinolone resistance-associated amino acid substitutions affect enzymatic activity of Mycobacterium leprae DNA gyrase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Tomoyuki; Yokoyama, Kazumasa; Nakajima, Chie; Suzuki, Yasuhiko

    2017-07-01

    Quinolones are important antimicrobials for treatment of leprosy, a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium leprae. Although it is well known that mutations in DNA gyrase are responsible for quinolone resistance, the effect of those mutations on the enzymatic activity is yet to be studied in depth. Hence, we conducted in vitro assays to observe supercoiling reactions of wild type and mutated M. leprae DNA gyrases. DNA gyrase with amino acid substitution Ala91Val possessed the highest activity among the mutants. DNA gyrase with Gly89Cys showed the lowest level of activity despite being found in clinical strains, but it supercoiled DNA like the wild type does if applied at a sufficient concentration. In addition, patterns of time-dependent conversion from relaxed circular DNA into supercoiled DNA by DNA gyrases with clinically unreported Asp95Gly and Asp95Asn were observed to be distinct from those by the other DNA gyrases.

  4. Enzymatic browning and antioxidant activities in harvested litchi fruit as influenced by apple polyphenols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhengke; Huber, Donald J; Qu, Hongxia; Yun, Ze; Wang, Hui; Huang, Zihui; Huang, Hua; Jiang, Yueming

    2015-03-15

    'Guiwei' litchi fruit were treated with 5 ga.i. L(-1) apple polyphenols (APP) and then stored at 25°C to investigate the effects on pericarp browning. APP treatment effectively reduced pericarp browning and retarded the loss of red colour. APP-treated fruit exhibited higher levels of anthocyanins and cyanidin-3-rutinoside, which correlated with suppressed anthocyanase activity. APP treatment also maintained membrane integrity and reduced oxidative damage, as indicated by a lower relative leakage rate, malondialdehyde content, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. The data suggest that decompartmentalisation of peroxidase and polyphenoloxidase and respective browning substrates was reduced. In addition, APP treatment enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione reductase), as well as non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity (DPPH radical-scavenging activity and reducing power), which might be beneficial in scavenging ROS. We propose that APP treatment is a promising safe strategy for controlling postharvest browning of litchi fruit. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Sequence homolog-based molecular engineering for shifting the enzymatic pH optimum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuqiang Ma

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Cell-free synthetic biology system organizes multiple enzymes (parts from different sources to implement unnatural catalytic functions. Highly adaption between the catalytic parts is crucial for building up efficient artificial biosynthetic systems. Protein engineering is a powerful technology to tailor various enzymatic properties including catalytic efficiency, substrate specificity, temperature adaptation and even achieve new catalytic functions. However, altering enzymatic pH optimum still remains a challenging task. In this study, we proposed a novel sequence homolog-based protein engineering strategy for shifting the enzymatic pH optimum based on statistical analyses of sequence-function relationship data of enzyme family. By two statistical procedures, artificial neural networks (ANNs and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso, five amino acids in GH11 xylanase family were identified to be related to the evolution of enzymatic pH optimum. Site-directed mutagenesis of a thermophilic xylanase from Caldicellulosiruptor bescii revealed that four out of five mutations could alter the enzymatic pH optima toward acidic condition without compromising the catalytic activity and thermostability. Combination of the positive mutants resulted in the best mutant M31 that decreased its pH optimum for 1.5 units and showed increased catalytic activity at pH < 5.0 compared to the wild-type enzyme. Structure analysis revealed that all the mutations are distant from the active center, which may be difficult to be identified by conventional rational design strategy. Interestingly, the four mutation sites are clustered at a certain region of the enzyme, suggesting a potential “hot zone” for regulating the pH optima of xylanases. This study provides an efficient method of modulating enzymatic pH optima based on statistical sequence analyses, which can facilitate the design and optimization of suitable catalytic parts for the construction

  6. Contrasting effects of untreated textile wastewater onto the soil available nitrogen-phosphorus and enzymatic activities in aridisol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arif, Muhammad Saleem; Riaz, Muhammad; Shahzad, Sher Muhammad; Yasmeen, Tahira; Buttler, Alexandre; Garcıa-Gil, Juan Carlos; Roohi, Mahnaz; Rasool, Akhtar

    2016-02-01

    Water shortage and soil qualitative degradation are significant environmental problems in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. The increasing demand for water in agriculture and industry has resulted in the emergence of wastewater use as an alternative in these areas. Textile wastewater is produced in surplus amounts which poses threat to the environment as well as associated flora and fauna. A 60-day incubation study was performed to assess the effects of untreated textile wastewater at 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% dilution levels on the physico-chemical and some microbial and enzymatic properties of an aridisol soil. The addition of textile wastewater provoked a significant change in soil pH and electrical conductivity and soil dehydrogenase and urease activities compared to the distilled-water treated control soil. Moreover, compared to the control treatment, soil phosphomonoesterase activity was significantly increased from 25 to 75% application rates, but decreased at 100% textile wastewater application rate. Total and available soil N contents increased significantly in response to application of textile wastewater. Despite significant increases in the soil total P contents after the addition of textile wastewater, soil available P content decreased with increasing concentration of wastewater. Changes in soil nutrient contents and related enzymatic activities suggested a dynamic match between substrate availability and soil N and P contents. Aridisols have high fixation and low P availability, application of textile wastewater to such soils should be considered only after careful assessment.

  7. Visualization of red-ox proteins on the gold surface using enzymatic polypyrrole formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramanaviciene, A.; Kausaite-Minkstimiene, A.; Voronovic, J.; Ramanavicius, A.; Oztekin, Y.; Carac, G.; German, N.

    2011-01-01

    We describe a new method for the visualization of the activity of red-ox proteins on a gold interface. Glucose oxidase was selected as a model system. Surfaces were modified by adhesion of glucose oxidase on (a) electrochemically cleaned gold; (b) gold films modified with gold nanoparticles, (c) a gold surface modified with self-assembled monolayer, and (d) covalent immobilization of protein on the gold surface modified with a self-assembled monolayer. The simple optical method for the visualization of enzyme on the surfaces is based on the enzymatic formation of polypyrrole. The activity of the enzyme was quantified via enzymatic formation of polypyrrole, which was detected and investigated by quartz microbalance and amperometric techniques. The experimental data suggest that the enzymatic formation of the polymer may serve as a method to indicate the adhesion of active redox enzyme on such surfaces. (author)

  8. The Membrane-anchored Serine Protease Prostasin (CAP1/PRSS8) Supports Epidermal Development and Postnatal Homeostasis Independent of Its Enzymatic Activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peters, Diane E; Szabo, Roman; Friis, Stine

    2014-01-01

    The membrane-anchored serine protease prostasin (CAP1/PRSS8) is part of a cell surface proteolytic cascade that is essential for epithelial barrier formation and homeostasis. Here, we report the surprising finding that prostasin executes these functions independent of its own enzymatic activity. ...

  9. Production of xylooligosaccharide from wheat bran by microwave assisted enzymatic hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Tseng-Hsing; Lu, Shin

    2013-06-01

    The effective production of xylooligosaccharides (XOS) from wheat bran was investigated. Wheat bran contains rich hemicellulose which can be hydrolyzed by enzyme; the XOS were obtained by microwave assisted enzymatic hydrolysis. To improve the productivity of XOS, repeated microwave assisted enzymatic hydrolysis and activated carbon adsorption method was chosen to eliminate macromolecules in the XOS. On the basis of experimental data, an industrial XOS production process consisting of pretreatment, repeated microwave assisted enzymatic treatment and purification was designed. Using the designed process, 3.2g dry of purified XOS was produced from 50 g dry wheat bran powder. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Evaluation of oil removal efficiency and enzymatic activity in some fungal strains for bioremediation of petroleum-polluted soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohsenzadeh Fariba

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Petroleum pollution is a global disaster and there are several soil cleaning methods including bioremediation. Methods In a field study, fugal strains were isolated from oil-contaminated sites of Arak refinery (Iran and their growth ability was checked in potato dextrose agar (PDA media containing 0-10% v/v crude oil, the activity of three enzymes (Catalase, Peroxidase and Phenol Oxidase was evaluated in the fungal colonies and bioremediation ability of the fungi was checked in the experimental pots containing 3 kg sterilized soil and different concentrations of petroleum (0-10% w/w. Results Four fungal strains, Acromonium sp., Alternaria sp., Aspergillus terreus and Penicillium sp., were selected as the most resistant ones. They were able to growth in the subjected concentrations and Alternaria sp. showed the highest growth ability in the petroleum containing media. The enzyme assay showed that the enzymatic activity was increased in the oil-contaminated media. Bioremediation results showed that the studied fungi were able to decrease petroleum pollution. The highest petroleum removing efficiency of Aspergillus terreus, Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp. and Acromonium sp. was evaluated in the 10%, 8%, 8% and 2% petroleum pollution respectively. Conclusions Fungi are important microorganisms in decreasing of petroleum pollution. They have bioremediation potency that is related to their enzymatic activities.

  11. Kinetic modelling of enzymatic starch hydrolysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bednarska, K.A.

    2015-01-01

    Kinetic modelling of enzymatic starch hydrolysis – a summary

    K.A. Bednarska

    The dissertation entitled ‘Kinetic modelling of enzymatic starch hydrolysis’ describes the enzymatic hydrolysis and kinetic modelling of liquefaction and saccharification of wheat starch.

  12. Impact of the redox-cycling herbicide diquat on transcript expression and antioxidant enzymatic activities of the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bouetard, Anthony, E-mail: anthony.bouetard@rennes.inra.fr [INRA, UMR INRA-Agrocampus Ouest ESE 0985, Equipe Ecotoxicologie et Qualite des Milieux Aquatiques, 65 rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex (France); Besnard, Anne-Laure; Vassaux, Daniele; Lagadic, Laurent; Coutellec, Marie-Agnes [INRA, UMR INRA-Agrocampus Ouest ESE 0985, Equipe Ecotoxicologie et Qualite des Milieux Aquatiques, 65 rue de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes cedex (France)

    2013-01-15

    The presence of pesticides in the environment results in potential unwanted effects on non-target species. Freshwater organisms inhabiting water bodies adjacent to agricultural areas, such as ditches, ponds and marshes, are good models to test such effects as various pesticides may reach these habitats through several ways, including aerial drift, run-off, and drainage. Diquat is a non-selective herbicide used for crop protection or for weed control in such water bodies. In this study, we investigated the effects of diquat on a widely spread aquatic invertebrate, the holarctic freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Due to the known redox-cycling properties of diquat, we studied transcript expression and enzymatic activities relative to oxidative and general stress in the haemolymph and gonado-digestive complex (GDC). As diquat is not persistent, snails were exposed for short times (5, 24, and 48 h) to ecologically relevant concentrations (22.2, 44.4, and 222.2 {mu}g l{sup -1}) of diquat dibromide. RT-qPCR was used to quantify the transcription of genes encoding catalase (cat), a cytosolic superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-sod), a selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase (gpx), a glutathione reductase (gred), the retinoid X receptor (rxr), two heat shock proteins (hsp40 and hsp70), cortactin (cor) and the two ribosomal genes r18S and r28s. Enzymatic activities of SOD, Gpx, Gred and glutathione S-transferase (GST) were investigated in the GDC using spectrophoto/fluorometric methods. Opposite trends were obtained in the haemolymph depending on the herbicide concentration. At the lowest concentration, effects were mainly observed after 24 h of exposure, with over-transcription of cor, hsp40, rxr, and sod, whereas higher concentrations down-regulated the expression of most of the studied transcripts, especially after 48 h of exposure. In the GDC, earlier responses were observed and the fold-change magnitude was generally much higher: transcription of all target genes increased

  13. From Fed-batch to Continuous Enzymatic Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Price, Jason Anthony; Nordblad, Mathias; Woodley, John M.

    2015-01-01

    In this this paper, we use mechanistic modelling to guide the development of acontinuous enzymatic process that is performed as a fed-batch operation. In this workwe use the enzymatic biodiesel process as a case study. A mechanistic model developedin our previous work was used to determine...... measured components (triglycerides, diglycerides, monoglycerides, free fatty acid and fatty acid methyl esters(biodiesel)) much better than using fed-batch data alone given the smaller residuals. We also observe a reduction in the correlation between the parameters.The model was then used to predict that 5...... reactors are required (with a combined residence time of 30 hours) to reach a final biodiesel concentration within 2 % of the95.6 mass % achieved in a fed-batch operation, for 24 hours....

  14. New Biocatalyst with Multiple Enzymatic Activities for Treatment of Complex Food Wastewaters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Senko

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The cells of filamentous fungus R. oryzae entrapped in the polyvinyl alcohol cryogelare capable of producing various extracellular hydrolytic enzymes (proteases, amylases, lipases and are used for the treatment of complex wastewaters of food industry. Five types of media simulating the wastewater of various food enterprises were treated under batch conditions for 600 h. Fats containing mostly residues of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as casein, glucose, sucrose, starch, soybean flour and various salts were the main components of the treated wastewaters. The immobilized cells concurrently possessed lipolytic, amylolytic and proteolytic activities. The level of each enzymatic activity depended on the wastewater content. The physiological state of immobilized cells was monitored by bioluminescent method. The intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP concentration determined in the granules with immobilized cells was high enough and almost constant for all the period of biocatalyst application confirming thereby the active metabolic state of the cells. The study of mechanical strength of biocatalyst granules allowed revealing the differences in the values of modulus of biocatalyst elasticity at the beginning and at the end of its use for the wastewater treatment. The decrease in chemical oxygen demand of the tested media after their processing by immobilized biocatalyst was 68–79 % for one working cycle.

  15. The influence of conformational fluctuations on enzymatic activity: modelling the functional motion of β-secretase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Neri, M; Cascella, M; Micheletti, C

    2005-01-01

    Considerable insight into the functional activity of proteins and enzymes can be obtained by studying the low energy conformational distortions that the biopolymer can sustain. We carry out the characterization of these large scale structural changes for a protein of considerable pharmaceutical interest, the human β-secretase. Starting from the crystallographic structure of the protein, we use the recently introduced β-Gaussian model to identify, with negligible computational expenditure, the most significant distortions occurring in thermal equilibrium and the associated timescales. The application of this strategy helps us to gain considerable insight into the putative functional movements and, furthermore, allows us to identify a handful of key regions in the protein which have an important mechanical influence on the enzymatic activity despite being spatially distant from the active site. The results obtained within the Gaussian model are validated through an extensive comparison against an all-atom molecular dynamics simulation

  16. Preparation and Enzymatic Degradation of Porous Crosslinked Polylactides of Biomass Origin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuya Kido

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available To understand the enzymatic degradation behavior of crosslinked polylactide (PLA, the preparation and enzymatic degradation of both thermoplastic (linear and crosslinked PLAs that have pore structures with different dimensions were carried out. The porous structures of the linear PLA samples were of micro and nanoporous nature, and prepared by batch foaming with supercritical CO2 and compared with the porous structures of crosslinked PLA (Lait-X created by the salt leaching method. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the porous structures were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy. The morphological analysis of porous Lait-X showed a rapid loss of physical features within 120 h of exposure to proteinase-K enzymatic degradation at 37 °C. Due to the higher affinity for water, enhanced enzymatic activity as compared to the linear PLA porous structures in the micro and nanoporous range was observed.

  17. Modulation of Enzymatic Activities of Dual Functional Peroxiredoxin by Gamma Irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Sung Hyun; Lee, Seung Sik; Park, Chul Hong; Chung, Byung Yeoup

    2012-01-01

    Recently, enzymes have frequently been used as catalysts in various bio-industrial, commercial, and pharmaceutical applications, because they are more stable, more efficient, and less toxic than the synthetic catalysts. However, one of their major disadvantages is their low thermostability, which leads the researchers to develop new forms of industrially important enzymes with increased resistance to inactivation and aggregation. This study describes a strategy for modifying the molecular chaperone activity of peroxiredoxin (Prx) by using gamma irradiation. Prxs are a ubiquitous family of antioxidant enzymes. Upon oxidation of their peroxidatic Cys, the molecules undergo a structural conversion from a low-molecular-weight (LMW) species acting as a peroxidase to a high-molecular-weight (HMW) complex functioning as a chaperone. In the present study, we examined the effect of gamma irradiation on PP1084 with respect to its protein structure and enzymatic function. The use of gamma irradiation as a physical treatment can increase the cohesive strength of the protein by forming cross-links. The aims of the present work were (1) to improve the chaperone activity of PP1084 by gamma irradiation, (2) to identify the 'optimal' intensity of gamma irradiation, and (3) to investigate the influence of gamma irradiation on protein hydrophobicity as related to chaperone function. Following PP1084 treatment with 30 kGy gamma irradiation, the PP1084 chaperone activity enhanced by about 3-4-fold compared with nonirradiated PP1084, while the peroxidase activity decreased. Ongoing research efforts are addressing the physical modifications of PP1084 protein by gamma irradiation

  18. Ectomycorrhizal Fungal Communities and Enzymatic Activities Vary across an Ecotone between a Forest and Field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rúa, Megan A; Moore, Becky; Hergott, Nicole; Van, Lily; Jackson, Colin R; Hoeksema, Jason D

    2015-08-28

    Extracellular enzymes degrade macromolecules into soluble substrates and are important for nutrient cycling in soils, where microorganisms, such as ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi, produce these enzymes to obtain nutrients. Ecotones between forests and fields represent intriguing arenas for examining the effect of the environment on ECM community structure and enzyme activity because tree maturity, ECM composition, and environmental variables may all be changing simultaneously. We studied the composition and enzymatic activity of ECM associated with loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) across an ecotone between a forest where P. taeda is established and an old field where P. taeda saplings had been growing for <5 years. ECM community and environmental characteristics influenced enzyme activity in the field, indicating that controls on enzyme activity may be intricately linked to the ECM community, but this was not true in the forest. Members of the Russulaceae were associated with increased phenol oxidase activity and decreased peroxidase activity in the field. Members of the Atheliaceae were particularly susceptible to changes in their abiotic environment, but this did not mediate differences in enzyme activity. These results emphasize the complex nature of factors that dictate the distribution of ECM and activity of their enzymes across a habitat boundary.

  19. Catabolite regulation of enzymatic activities in a white pox pathogen and commensal bacteria during growth on mucus polymers from the coral Acropora palmata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krediet, Cory J; Ritchie, Kim B; Teplitski, Max

    2009-11-16

    Colonization of host mucus surfaces is one of the first steps in the establishment of coral-associated microbial communities. Coral mucus contains a sulfated glycoprotein (in which oligosaccharide decorations are connected to the polypeptide backbone by a mannose residue) and molecules that result from its degradation. Mucus is utilized as a growth substrate by commensal and pathogenic organisms. Two representative coral commensals, Photobacterium mandapamensis and Halomonas meridiana, differed from a white pox pathogen Serratia marcescens PDL100 in the pattern with which they utilized mucus polymers of Acropora palmata. Incubation with the mucus polymer increased mannopyranosidase activity in S. marcescens, suggestive of its ability to cleave off oligosaccharide side chains. With the exception of glucosidase and N-acetyl galactosaminidase, glycosidases in S. marcescens were subject to catabolite regulation by galactose, glucose, arabinose, mannose and N-acetyl-glucosamine. In commensal P. mandapamensis, at least 10 glycosidases were modestly induced during incubation on coral mucus. Galactose, arabinose, mannose, but not glucose or N-acetyl-glucosamine had a repressive effect on glycosidases in P. mandapamensis. Incubation with the mucus polymers upregulated 3 enzymatic activities in H. meridiana; glucose and galactose appear to be the preferred carbon source in this bacterium. Although all these bacteria were capable of producing the same glycosidases, the differences in the preferred carbon sources and patterns of enzymatic activities induced during growth on the mucus polymer in the presence of these carbon sources suggest that to establish themselves within the coral mucus surface layer commensals and pathogens rely on different enzymatic activities.

  20. PKCθ is required for the activation of human T lymphocytes induced by CD43 engagement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rio, Roxana del; Rincon, Mercedes; Layseca-Espinosa, Esther; Fierro, Nora A.; Rosenstein, Yvonne; Pedraza-Alva, Gustavo

    2004-01-01

    The turnover of phosphoinositides leading to PKC activation constitutes one of the principal axes of intracellular signaling. In T lymphocytes, the enhanced and prolonged PKC activation resulting from the engagement of the TcR and co-receptor molecules ensures a productive T cell response. The CD43 co-receptor promotes activation and proliferation, by inducing IL-2 secretion and CD69 expression. CD43 engagement has been shown to promote phosphoinositide turnover and DAG production. Moreover, PKC activation was found to be required for the activation of the MAP kinase pathway in response to CD43 ligation. Here we show that CD43 engagement led to the membrane translocation and enzymatic activity of specific PKC isoenzymes: cPKC (α/β), nPKC (ε and θ), aPKC (ζ) and PKCμ. We also show that activation of PKCθ resulting from CD43 ligation induced CD69 expression through an ERK-dependent pathway leading to AP-1, NF-κB activation and an ERK independent pathway promoting NFAT activation. Together, these data suggest that PKCθ plays a critical role in the co-stimulatory functions of CD43 in human T cells

  1. Improving enzymatic activities and thermostability of a tri-functional enzyme with SOD, catalase and cell-permeable activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luangwattananun, Piriya; Eiamphungporn, Warawan; Songtawee, Napat; Bülow, Leif; Isarankura Na Ayudhya, Chartchalerm; Prachayasittikul, Virapong; Yainoy, Sakda

    2017-04-10

    Synergistic action of major antioxidant enzymes, e.g., superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) is known to be more effective than the action of any single enzyme. Recently, we have engineered a tri-functional enzyme, 6His-MnSOD-TAT/CAT-MnSOD (M-TAT/CM), with SOD, CAT and cell-permeable activities. The protein actively internalized into the cells and showed superior protection against oxidative stress-induced cell death over native enzymes fused with TAT. To improve its molecular size, enzymatic activity and stability, in this study, MnSOD portions of the engineered protein were replaced by CuZnSOD, which is the smallest and the most heat resistant SOD isoform. The newly engineered protein, CAT-CuZnSOD/6His-CuZnSOD-TAT (CS/S-TAT), had a 42% reduction in molecular size and an increase in SOD and CAT activities by 22% and 99%, respectively. After incubation at 70°C for 10min, the CS/S-TAT retained residual SOD activity up to 54% while SOD activity of the M-TAT/CM was completely abolished. Moreover, the protein exhibited a 5-fold improvement in half-life at 70°C. Thus, this work provides insights into the design and synthesis of a smaller but much more stable multifunctional antioxidant enzyme with ability to enter mammalian cells for further application as protective/therapeutic agent against oxidative stress-related conditions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Coated tube for immunochemical and enzymatic assays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.L.; Lin, W.H.-T.; Woods, J.W.

    1979-01-01

    Containers such as test tubes suitable for use in solid phase immunochemical, enzymatical and particularly radioimmunoassay procedures are described. The lower part of the tube is a polymer, coated with an inert protein to which a biologically active substance eg an antibody to triiodothyronine, thyroxine or digoxin, is attached. (U.K.)

  3. Modulation of the pharmacological effects of enzymatically-active PLA2 by BTL-2, an isolectin isolated from the Bryothamnion triquetrum red alga

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagano Celso S

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An interaction between lectins from marine algae and PLA2 from rattlesnake was suggested some years ago. We, herein, studied the effects elicited by a small isolectin (BTL-2, isolated from Bryothamnion triquetrum, on the pharmacological and biological activities of a PLA2 isolated from rattlesnake venom (Crotalus durissus cascavella, to better understand the enzymatic and pharmacological mechanisms of the PLA2 and its complex. Results This PLA2 consisted of 122 amino acids (approximate molecular mass of 14 kDa, its pI was estimated to be 8.3, and its amino acid sequence shared a high degree of similarity with that of other neurotoxic and enzymatically-active PLA2s. BTL-2 had a molecular mass estimated in approximately 9 kDa and was characterized as a basic protein. In addition, BTL-2 did not exhibit any enzymatic activity. The PLA2 and BTL-2 formed a stable heterodimer with a molecular mass of approximately 24–26 kDa, estimated by molecular exclusion HPLC. In the presence of BTL-2, we observed a significant increase in PLA2 activity, 23% higher than that of PLA2 alone. BTL-2 demonstrated an inhibition of 98% in the growth of the Gram-positive bacterial strain, Clavibacter michiganensis michiganensis (Cmm, but only 9.8% inhibition of the Gram-negative bacterial strain, Xanthomonas axonopodis pv passiflorae (Xap. PLA2 decreased bacterial growth by 27.3% and 98.5% for Xap and Cmm, respectively, while incubating these two proteins with PLA2-BTL-2 inhibited their growths by 36.2% for Xap and 98.5% for Cmm. PLA2 significantly induced platelet aggregation in washed platelets, whereas BTL-2 did not induce significant platelet aggregation in any assay. However, BTL-2 significantly inhibited platelet aggregation induced by PLA2. In addition, PLA2 exhibited strong oedematogenic activity, which was decreased in the presence of BTL-2. BTL-2 alone did not induce oedema and did not decrease or abolish the oedema induced by the 48

  4. Enzymatic- and temperature-sensitive controlled release of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxides (USPIOs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortega Ryan A

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Drug and contrast agent delivery systems that achieve controlled release in the presence of enzymatic activity are becoming increasingly important, as enzymatic activity is a hallmark of a wide array of diseases, including cancer and atherosclerosis. Here, we have synthesized clusters of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxides (USPIOs that sense enzymatic activity for applications in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. To achieve this goal, we utilize amphiphilic poly(propylene sulfide-bl-poly(ethylene glycol (PPS-b-PEG copolymers, which are known to have excellent properties for smart delivery of drug and siRNA. Results Monodisperse PPS polymers were synthesized by anionic ring opening polymerization of propylene sulfide, and were sequentially reacted with commercially available heterobifunctional PEG reagents and then ssDNA sequences to fashion biofunctional PPS-bl-PEG copolymers. They were then combined with hydrophobic 12 nm USPIO cores in the thin-film hydration method to produce ssDNA-displaying USPIO micelles. Micelle populations displaying complementary ssDNA sequences were mixed to induce crosslinking of the USPIO micelles. By design, these crosslinking sequences contained an EcoRV cleavage site. Treatment of the clusters with EcoRV results in a loss of R2 negative contrast in the system. Further, the USPIO clusters demonstrate temperature sensitivity as evidenced by their reversible dispersion at ~75°C and re-clustering following return to room temperature. Conclusions This work demonstrates proof of concept of an enzymatically-actuatable and thermoresponsive system for dynamic biosensing applications. The platform exhibits controlled release of nanoparticles leading to changes in magnetic relaxation, enabling detection of enzymatic activity. Further, the presented functionalization scheme extends the scope of potential applications for PPS-b-PEG. Combined with previous findings using this polymer platform that

  5. Enzymatic- and temperature-sensitive controlled release of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxides (USPIOs).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Shann S; Scherer, Randy L; Ortega, Ryan A; Bell, Charleson S; O'Neil, Conlin P; Hubbell, Jeffrey A; Giorgio, Todd D

    2011-02-27

    Drug and contrast agent delivery systems that achieve controlled release in the presence of enzymatic activity are becoming increasingly important, as enzymatic activity is a hallmark of a wide array of diseases, including cancer and atherosclerosis. Here, we have synthesized clusters of ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxides (USPIOs) that sense enzymatic activity for applications in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). To achieve this goal, we utilize amphiphilic poly(propylene sulfide)-bl-poly(ethylene glycol) (PPS-b-PEG) copolymers, which are known to have excellent properties for smart delivery of drug and siRNA. Monodisperse PPS polymers were synthesized by anionic ring opening polymerization of propylene sulfide, and were sequentially reacted with commercially available heterobifunctional PEG reagents and then ssDNA sequences to fashion biofunctional PPS-bl-PEG copolymers. They were then combined with hydrophobic 12 nm USPIO cores in the thin-film hydration method to produce ssDNA-displaying USPIO micelles. Micelle populations displaying complementary ssDNA sequences were mixed to induce crosslinking of the USPIO micelles. By design, these crosslinking sequences contained an EcoRV cleavage site. Treatment of the clusters with EcoRV results in a loss of R2 negative contrast in the system. Further, the USPIO clusters demonstrate temperature sensitivity as evidenced by their reversible dispersion at ~75°C and re-clustering following return to room temperature. This work demonstrates proof of concept of an enzymatically-actuatable and thermoresponsive system for dynamic biosensing applications. The platform exhibits controlled release of nanoparticles leading to changes in magnetic relaxation, enabling detection of enzymatic activity. Further, the presented functionalization scheme extends the scope of potential applications for PPS-b-PEG. Combined with previous findings using this polymer platform that demonstrate controlled drug release in oxidative

  6. Recent Advances in Enzymatic Fuel Cells: Experiments and Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Ivanov

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Enzymatic fuel cells convert the chemical energy of biofuels into electrical energy. Unlike traditional fuel cell types, which are mainly based on metal catalysts, the enzymatic fuel cells employ enzymes as catalysts. This fuel cell type can be used as an implantable power source for a variety of medical devices used in modern medicine to administer drugs, treat ailments and monitor bodily functions. Some advantages in comparison to conventional fuel cells include a simple fuel cell design and lower cost of the main fuel cell components, however they suffer from severe kinetic limitations mainly due to inefficiency in electron transfer between the enzyme and the electrode surface. In this review article, the major research activities concerned with the enzymatic fuel cells (anode and cathode development, system design, modeling by highlighting the current problems (low cell voltage, low current density, stability will be presented.

  7. Activation of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase but Not of p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathways in Lymphocytes Requires Allosteric Activation of SOS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jun, Jesse E.; Yang, Ming; Chen, Hang; Chakraborty, Arup K.

    2013-01-01

    Thymocytes convert graded T cell receptor (TCR) signals into positive selection or deletion, and activation of extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK), p38, and Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK) mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) has been postulated to play a discriminatory role. Two families of Ras guanine nucleotide exchange factors (RasGEFs), SOS and RasGRP, activate Ras and the downstream RAF-MEK-ERK pathway. The pathways leading to lymphocyte p38 and JNK activation are less well defined. We previously described how RasGRP alone induces analog Ras-ERK activation while SOS and RasGRP cooperate to establish bimodal ERK activation. Here we employed computational modeling and biochemical experiments with model cell lines and thymocytes to show that TCR-induced ERK activation grows exponentially in thymocytes and that a W729E allosteric pocket mutant, SOS1, can only reconstitute analog ERK signaling. In agreement with RasGRP allosterically priming SOS, exponential ERK activation is severely decreased by pharmacological or genetic perturbation of the phospholipase Cγ (PLCγ)-diacylglycerol-RasGRP1 pathway. In contrast, p38 activation is not sharply thresholded and requires high-level TCR signal input. Rac and p38 activation depends on SOS1 expression but not allosteric activation. Based on computational predictions and experiments exploring whether SOS functions as a RacGEF or adaptor in Rac-p38 activation, we established that the presence of SOS1, but not its enzymatic activity, is critical for p38 activation. PMID:23589333

  8. Ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction of phenolics from broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica) inflorescences and evaluation of antioxidant activity in vitro.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Hao; Zhu, Junxiang; Yang, Long; Wang, Ran; Wang, Chengrong

    2015-06-01

    An efficient ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction technique was applied to extracting phenolics from broccoli inflorescences without organic solvents. The synergistic model of enzymolysis and ultrasonication simultaneously was selected, and the enzyme combination was optimized by orthogonal test: cellulase 7.5 mg/g FW (fresh weight), pectinase 10 mg/g FW, and papain 1.0 mg/g FW. The operating parameters in ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction were optimized with response surface methodology using Box-Behnken design. The optimal extraction conditions were as follows: ultrasonic power, 440 W; liquid to material ratio, 7.0:1 mL/g; pH value of 6.0 at 54.5 ℃ for 10 min. Under these conditions, the extraction yield of phenolics achieved 1.816 ± 0.0187 mg gallic acid equivalents/gram FW. The free radical scavenging activity of ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic extraction extracts was determined by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl·assay with EC50 values of 0.25, and total antioxidant activity was determined by ferric reducing antioxidant power assay with ferric reducing antioxidant power value of 0.998 mmol FeSO4/g compared with the referential ascorbic acid of 1.184 mmol FeSO4/g. © The Author(s) 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

  9. Enhancing bioactive peptide release and identification using targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nongonierma, Alice B; FitzGerald, Richard J

    2018-06-01

    Milk proteins have been extensively studied for their ability to yield a range of bioactive peptides following enzymatic hydrolysis/digestion. However, many hurdles still exist regarding the widespread utilization of milk protein-derived bioactive peptides as health enhancing agents for humans. These mostly arise from the fact that most milk protein-derived bioactive peptides are not highly potent. In addition, they may be degraded during gastrointestinal digestion and/or have a low intestinal permeability. The targeted release of bioactive peptides during the enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins may allow the generation of particularly potent bioactive hydrolysates and peptides. Therefore, the development of milk protein hydrolysates capable of improving human health requires, in the first instance, optimized targeted release of specific bioactive peptides. The targeted hydrolysis of milk proteins has been aided by a range of in silico tools. These include peptide cutters and predictive modeling linking bioactivity to peptide structure [i.e., molecular docking, quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR)], or hydrolysis parameters [design of experiments (DOE)]. Different targeted enzymatic release strategies employed during the generation of milk protein hydrolysates are reviewed herein and their limitations are outlined. In addition, specific examples are provided to demonstrate how in silico tools may help in the identification and discovery of potent milk protein-derived peptides. It is anticipated that the development of novel strategies employing a range of in silico tools may help in the generation of milk protein hydrolysates containing potent and bioavailable peptides, which in turn may be used to validate their health promoting effects in humans. Graphical abstract The targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins may allow the generation of highly potent and bioavailable bioactive peptides.

  10. Effect of Different Calcium Sources Application on Antioxidant, Enzymatic Activity and Qualitative Characteristics of Apple (Malus domestic)

    OpenAIRE

    MirHassan Rasouli-Sadaghiani; Mohammad Moghaddas Gerani; Sanaz Ashrafi Saeidlou; Ebrahim Sepehr

    2017-01-01

    In order to determine the effect of different Ca sources, in improving enzymatic activity and some qualitative properties of red apple (Malusdomestica) an experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design. Apple trees were sprayed 5 times with CaCl2, CaO, Ca-EDTA and Ca(NO3)2 salts with an interval of 20 days from late June until early October. After harvesting fruits were kept in cold storage at standard condition for 150 days. Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, ...

  11. Lactose hydrolysis in an enzymatic membrane reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mertens, B; Huyghebaert, A

    1987-10-01

    The enzymatic hydrolysis of lactose in whey permeate with subsequent recuperation of Saccharomyces lactis lactase by means of ultrafiltration was investigated. In whey permeate, S. lactis lactase shows maximal activity at pH 6.5; the optimal temperature was found to be 45/sup 0/C and is limited by strong thermal inactivation beyond this temperature. High activity combined with acceptable thermal inactivation (< 10% after 5 h incubation) was established at 30/sup 0/C. S. lactis lactase also displays considerable activity at low temperature (5/sup 0/C). Enzyme stability is reduced drastically by demineralisation: addition of low concentrations of manganese ions (10/sup -3/ M) considerably enhances stability. Using a DDS Lab-Unit 35 fitted with GR61PP polysulphon membranes (cut-off: 20.000), pilot scale experiments were carried out (pH 6.5; 30/sup 0/C) in which whey permeate was hydrolyzed to a degree of hydrolysis of 82% minimum. Enzyme recuperation amounted to 96.5% per batch, all enzyme activity loss being due to thermal inactivation. Microbiological examination of the enzymatic membrane reactor showed that growth of mcicroorganisms can largely be suppressed by working at lower temperature (5/sup 0/C). Eventually, 50 ppm H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ or sterile filtration will adequately solve microbiological problems without affecting enzyme activity.

  12. Microbial Enzymatic Degradation of Biodegradable Plastics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roohi; Bano, Kulsoom; Kuddus, Mohammed; Zaheer, Mohammed R; Zia, Qamar; Khan, Mohammed F; Ashraf, Ghulam Md; Gupta, Anamika; Aliev, Gjumrakch

    2017-01-01

    The renewable feedstock derived biodegradable plastics are important in various industries such as packaging, agricultural, paper coating, garbage bags and biomedical implants. The increasing water and waste pollution due to the available decomposition methods of plastic degradation have led to the emergence of biodegradable plastics and biological degradation with microbial (bacteria and fungi) extracellular enzymes. The microbes utilize biodegradable polymers as the substrate under starvation and in unavailability of microbial nutrients. Microbial enzymatic degradation is suitable from bioremediation point of view as no waste accumulation occurs. It is important to understand the microbial interaction and mechanism involved in the enzymatic degradation of biodegradable plastics under the influence of several environmental factors such as applied pH, thermo-stability, substrate molecular weight and/or complexity. To study the surface erosion of polymer film is another approach for hydrolytic degradation characteristion. The degradation of biopolymer is associated with the production of low molecular weight monomer and generation of carbon dioxide, methane and water molecule. This review reported the degradation study of various existing biodegradable plastics along with the potent degrading microbes (bacteria and fungi). Patents available on plastic biodegradation with biotechnological significance is also summarized in this paper. This paper assesses that new disposal technique should be adopted for the degradation of polymers and further research is required for the economical production of biodegradable plastics along with their enzymatic degradation. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

  13. Rapid near infrared spectroscopy for prediction of enzymatic hydrolysis of corn bran after various pretreatments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baum, Andreas; Wittrup Agger, Jane; Meyer, Anne S.

    2012-01-01

    Efficient generation of a fermentable hydrolysate is a primary requirement in the utilization of fibrous plant biomass as feedstocks in bioethanol processes. The first biomass conversion step usually involves a hydrothermal pretreatment before enzymatic hydrolysis. The purpose of the pretreatment...... step is to increase the responsivity of the substrate to enzymatic attack and the type of pretreatment affects the enzymatic conversion efficiency. Destarched corn bran is a fibrous, heteroxylan-rich side-stream from the starch industry which may be used as a feedstock for bioethanol production...... release of different levels of arabinose, xylose and glucose from all the differently pretreated destarched corn bran samples. The present study also demonstrates a generic, non-destructive solution to determine the enzymatic monosaccharide release from polymers in biomass side-streams, thereby...

  14. Rotation of nucleotide sites is not required for the enzymatic activity of chloroplast coupling factor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Musier, K.M.; Hammes, G.G.

    1987-09-22

    New heterobifunctional photoaffinity cross-linking reagents, 6-maleimido-N-(4-benzoylphenyl)hexanamide, 12-maleimido-N-(4-benzoylphenyl)dodecanamide, and 12-(/sup 14/C)maleimido-N-(4-benzoylphenyo)dodecanamide, were synthesized to investigate the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis by chloroplast coupling factor 1. These reagents react with sulfhydryl groups on the ..gamma..-polypeptide. Subsequent photolysis cross-links the ..gamma..-polypeptide covalently to ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-polypeptides. The cross-linkers prevent major movements of the ..gamma..-polypeptide with respect to the ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-polypeptides but are sufficiently long to permit some flexibility in the enzyme structure. When approx. 50% of the ..gamma..-polypeptide was cross-linked to a ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-polypeptides, a 7% loss in ATPase activity was observed for the longer cross-linker and a 12% loss for the shorter. These results indicate that large movements of ..cap alpha..- and ..beta..-polypeptides with respect to the ..gamma..-polypeptide are not essential for catalysis. In particular, rotation of the polypeptide chains to crease structurally equivalent sites during catalysis is not a required feature of the enzyme mechanism.

  15. Conferring specificity in redox pathways by enzymatic thiol/disulfide exchange reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netto, Luis Eduardo S; de Oliveira, Marcos Antonio; Tairum, Carlos A; da Silva Neto, José Freire

    2016-01-01

    Thiol-disulfide exchange reactions are highly reversible, displaying nucleophilic substitutions mechanism (S(N)2 type). For aliphatic, low molecular thiols, these reactions are slow, but can attain million times faster rates in enzymatic processes. Thioredoxin (Trx) proteins were the first enzymes described to accelerate thiol-disulfide exchange reactions and their high reactivity is related to the high nucleophilicity of the attacking thiol. Substrate specificity in Trx is achieved by several factors, including polar, hydrophobic, and topological interactions through a groove in the active site. Glutaredoxin (Grx) enzymes also contain the Trx fold, but they do not share amino acid sequence similarity with Trx. A conserved glutathione binding site is a typical feature of Grx that can reduce substrates by two mechanisms (mono and dithiol). The high reactivity of Grx enzymes is related to the very acid pK(a) values of reactive Cys that plays roles as good leaving groups. Therefore, although distinct oxidoreductases catalyze similar thiol–disulfide exchange reactions, their enzymatic mechanisms vary. PDI and DsbA are two other oxidoreductases, but they are involved in disulfide bond formation, instead of disulfide reduction, which is related to the oxidative environment where they are found. PDI enzymes and DsbC are endowed with disulfide isomerase activity, which is related with their tetra-domain architecture. As illustrative description of specificity in thiol-disulfide exchange, redox aspects of transcription activation in bacteria, yeast, and mammals are presented in an evolutionary perspective. Therefore, thiol-disulfide exchange reactions play important roles in conferring specificity to pathways, a required feature for signaling.

  16. Mussel-inspired co-deposition to enhance bisphenol A removal in a bifacial enzymatic membrane reactor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cao, Xiaotong; Luo, Jianquan; Woodley, John M.

    2018-01-01

    were used as the matrix to further exploit the potential of the biocatalytic membranes. such prepared biocatalytic membranes were enzymatically active on both sides, making it possible to construct a bifacial enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) for highly efficient micro-pollutants removal (taking...

  17. Analysis of the link between the redox state and enzymatic activity of the HtrA (DegP protein from Escherichia coli.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Koper

    Full Text Available Bacterial HtrAs are proteases engaged in extracytoplasmic activities during stressful conditions and pathogenesis. A model prokaryotic HtrA (HtrA/DegP from Escherichia coli requires activation to cleave its substrates efficiently. In the inactive state of the enzyme, one of the regulatory loops, termed LA, forms inhibitory contacts in the area of the active center. Reduction of the disulfide bond located in the middle of LA stimulates HtrA activity in vivo suggesting that this S-S bond may play a regulatory role, although the mechanism of this stimulation is not known. Here, we show that HtrA lacking an S-S bridge cleaved a model peptide substrate more efficiently and exhibited a higher affinity for a protein substrate. An LA loop lacking the disulfide was more exposed to the solvent; hence, at least some of the interactions involving this loop must have been disturbed. The protein without S-S bonds demonstrated lower thermal stability and was more easily converted to a dodecameric active oligomeric form. Thus, the lack of the disulfide within LA affected the stability and the overall structure of the HtrA molecule. In this study, we have also demonstrated that in vitro human thioredoxin 1 is able to reduce HtrA; thus, reduction of HtrA can be performed enzymatically.

  18. Enzyme-immobilized SiO2-Si electrode: Fast interfacial electron transfer with preserved enzymatic activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Gang; Yau, Siu-Tung

    2005-12-01

    The enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOx), is immobilized using electrostatic interaction on the native oxide of heavily doped n-type silicon. Voltammetric measurement shows that the immobilized GOx gives rise to a very fast enzyme-silicon interfacial electron transfer rate constant of 7.9s-1. The measurement also suggests that the enzyme retains its native conformation when immobilized on the silicon surface. The preserved native conformation of GOx is further confirmed by testing the enzymatic activity of the immobilized GOx using glucose. The GOx-immobilized silicon is shown to behave as a glucose sensor that detects glucose with concentrations as low as 50μM.

  19. Impacts of dissolved organic matter on aqueous behavior of nano/micron-titanium nitride and their induced enzymatic/non-enzymatic antioxidant activities in Scenedesmus obliquus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xin; Wang, Zhuang; Wang, Se; Fang, Hao; Zhang, Fan; Wang, De-Gao

    2017-01-02

    Freshwater dispersion stability and ecotoxicological effects of titanium nitride (TiN) with particle size of 20 nm, 50 nm, and 2-10 μm in the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) at various concentrations were studied. The TiN particles that had a more negative zeta potential and smaller hydrodynamic size showed more stable dispersion in an aqueous medium when DOM was present than when DOM was absent. Biochemical assays indicated that relative to the control, the TiN particles in the presence of DOM alleviated to some extent the antioxidative stress enzyme activity in Scenedesmus obliquus. In addition, it was found that the TiN with a primary size of 50 nm at a high concentration presented a significant impact on non-enzymatic antioxidant defense in algal cells.

  20. Acid and enzymatic hydrolysis to recover reducing sugars from cassava bagasse: an economic study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woiciechowski Adenise Lorenci

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this work was to study the acid and enzymatic hydrolysis of cassava bagasse for the recovery of reducing sugars and to establish the operational costs. A statistical program "Statistica", based on the surface response was used to optimize the recovery of reducing sugars in both the processes. The process economics was determined considering the values of reducing sugars obtained at laboratory scale, and the operations costs of a cylindrical reactor of 1500 L, with flat walls at the top and bottom. The reactor was operated with 150 kg of cassava bagasse and 1350 kg of water. The yield of the acid hydrolysis was 62.4 g of reducing sugars from 100 g of cassava bagasse containing 66% starch. It represented 94.5% of reducing sugar recovery. The yield of the enzymatic hydrolysis was 77.1 g of reducing sugars from 120 g of cassava bagasse, which represented 97.3% of reducing sugars recovery. Concerning to the time, a batch of acid hydrolysis required 10 minutes, plus the time to heat and cool the reactor, and a batch of the enzymatic hydrolysis needed 25 hours and 20 minutes, plus the time to heat and to cool the reactor. Thus, the acid hydrolysis of 150 kg of cassava bagasse required US$ 34.27, and the enzymatic hydrolysis of the same amount of cassava bagasse required US$ 2470.99.

  1. Enzymatic preparation of "functional oil" rich in feruloylated structured lipids with solvent-free ultrasound pretreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haiping; Zheng, Mingming; Shi, Jie; Tang, Hu; Deng, Qianchun; Huang, Fenghong; Luo, Dan

    2018-05-15

    In this study, a series of functional oils rich in feruloylated structured lipids (FSLs) was prepared by enzymatic transesterification of ethyl ferulate (EF) with triglycerides under ultrasound pretreatment. A conversion of more than 92.7% and controllable FSLs (3.1%-26.3%) can be obtained under the following conditions: 16% enzyme, substrate ratio 1:5 (oil/EF, mol/mol), 85 °C, ultrasound 1 h, pulse mode 3 s/3s (working/waiting), and 17.0 W/mL. Compared to conventional mechanical stirring, the activation energy decreased from 50.0 kJ/mol to 40.7 kJ/mol. The apparent kinetic constant increased by more than 13 times, and the time required for the maximum conversion reduced sharply from 20-60 h to 4-6h, which was the fastest rate for enzymatic synthesis of FSLs. The antioxidant activities of the functional oil significantly increased 1.0- to 8.1-fold more than that of the raw oil. The functional oil could be widely applied in various fields of functional foods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Oxidant and enzymatic antioxidant status (gene expression and activity) in the brain of chickens with cold-induced pulmonary hypertension

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassanpour, Hossein; Khalaji-Pirbalouty, Valiallah; Nasiri, Leila; Mohebbi, Abdonnaser; Bahadoran, Shahab

    2015-11-01

    To evaluate oxidant and antioxidant status of the brain (hindbrain, midbrain, and forebrain) in chickens with cold-induced pulmonary hypertension, the measurements of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, antioxidant capacity, enzymatic activity, and gene expression (for catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutases) were done. There were high lipid peroxidation/protein oxidation and low antioxidant capacity in the hindbrain of cold-induced pulmonary hypertensive chickens compared to control ( P pulmonary hypertension.

  3. Enzymatic Synthesis and Anti-Allergic Activities of Curcumin Oligosaccharides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kei Shimoda

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Curcumin 4‘- O -glucooligosaccharides were synthesized by a two step-enzymatic method using almond β-glucosidase and cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase. Curcumin was glucosylated to curcumin 4‘- O -β-D-glucopyranoside by almond β-glucosidase in 19% yield. Curcumin 4‘- O -β-D-glucopyranoside was converted into curcumin 4‘- O -β-glucooligosaccharides, i.e. 4‘- O -β-maltoside (51% and 4‘- O -β-maltotrioside (25%, by further CGTase-catalyzed glycosylation. Curcumin 4‘- O -β-glycosides showed suppressive action on IgE antibody formation and inhibitory effects on histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells.

  4. Enzymatic network for production of ether amines from alcohols

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palacio, Cyntia M.; Crismaru, Ciprian G.; Bartsch, Sebastian

    2016-01-01

    We constructed an enzymatic network composed of three different enzymes for the synthesis of valuable ether amines. The enzymatic reactions are interconnected to catalyze the oxidation and subsequent transamination of the substrate and to provide cofactor recycling. This allows production...... of the desired ether amines from the corresponding ether alcohols with inorganic ammonium as the only additional substrate. To examine conversion, individual and overall reaction equilibria were established. Using these data, it was found that the experimentally observed conversions of up to 60% observed...... for reactions containing 10mM alcohol and up to 280mM ammonia corresponded well to predicted conversions. The results indicate that efficient amination can be driven by high concentrations of ammonia and may require improving enzyme robustness for scale-up....

  5. Operation variables in transesterification of vegetable oil: an enzymatic catalysis review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés Felipe Rojas González

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the results of a literature review regarding how operating conditions influence vegetable oil enzymatic transesterification yield. The following parameters were studied: temperature and time reaction, alcohol: oil molar ratio, alcohol type, biocatalyst type and concentration, solvent, mixed intensity, reagent purity and free fatty acid and moisture concentration. Yields greater than 90% can be achieved in the enzymatic catalyst of vegetable oil using 35-50°C temperatures, long time reactions (7- 90h and a 3:1alcohol: vegetable oil molar ratio; however, such values would intrinsically depend on the type of lipase and oil u- sed. It was also found that free fatty acid and moisture concentration were parameters which did not require rigorous control due to high enzyme specificity. Lipases immobilised from Pseudomona cepacia bacteria and Rhizopus orizae fungi were most used in vegetable oil enzymatic transesterification.

  6. Enzymatic synthesis of dimeric glycomimetic ligands of NK cell activation receptors

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Drozdová, Anna; Bojarová, Pavla; Křenek, Karel; Weignerová, Lenka; Hensen, B.; Elling, L.; Christensen, H.; Jensen, H.H.; Pelantová, Helena; Kuzma, Marek; Bezouška, Karel; Krupová, Monika; Adámek, David; Slámová, Kristýna; Křen, Vladimír

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 346, č. 12 (2011), s. 1599-1609 ISSN 0008-6215 R&D Projects: GA ČR GP203/09/P024; GA ČR GD305/09/H008; GA ČR GA303/09/0477 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z50200510 Keywords : beta-N-Acetylhexosaminidase * alactosyltransferase * Enzymatic glycosylation Subject RIV: CE - Biochemistry Impact factor: 2.332, year: 2011

  7. Continuous enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass with simultaneous detoxification and enzyme recovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gurram, Raghu N; Menkhaus, Todd J

    2014-07-01

    Recovering hydrolysis enzymes and/or alternative enzyme addition strategies are two potential mechanisms for reducing the cost during the biochemical conversion of lignocellulosic materials into renewable biofuels and biochemicals. Here, we show that enzymatic hydrolysis of acid-pretreated pine wood with continuous and/or fed-batch enzyme addition improved sugar conversion efficiencies by over sixfold. In addition, specific activity of the hydrolysis enzymes (cellulases, hemicellulases, etc.) increased as a result of continuously washing the residual solids with removal of glucose (avoiding the end product inhibition) and other enzymatic inhibitory compounds (e.g., furfural, hydroxymethyl furfural, organic acids, and phenolics). As part of the continuous hydrolysis, anion exchange resin was tested for its dual application of simultaneous enzyme recovery and removal of potential enzymatic and fermentation inhibitors. Amberlite IRA-96 showed favorable adsorption profiles of inhibitors, especially furfural, hydroxymethyl furfural, and acetic acid with low affinity toward sugars. Affinity of hydrolysis enzymes to adsorb onto the resin allowed for up to 92 % of the enzymatic activity to be recovered using a relatively low-molar NaCl wash solution. Integration of an ion exchange column with enzyme recovery into the proposed fed-batch hydrolysis process can improve the overall biorefinery efficiency and can greatly reduce the production costs of lignocellulosic biorenewable products.

  8. Automatic single- and multi-label enzymatic function prediction by machine learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervine Amidi

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The number of protein structures in the PDB database has been increasing more than 15-fold since 1999. The creation of computational models predicting enzymatic function is of major importance since such models provide the means to better understand the behavior of newly discovered enzymes when catalyzing chemical reactions. Until now, single-label classification has been widely performed for predicting enzymatic function limiting the application to enzymes performing unique reactions and introducing errors when multi-functional enzymes are examined. Indeed, some enzymes may be performing different reactions and can hence be directly associated with multiple enzymatic functions. In the present work, we propose a multi-label enzymatic function classification scheme that combines structural and amino acid sequence information. We investigate two fusion approaches (in the feature level and decision level and assess the methodology for general enzymatic function prediction indicated by the first digit of the enzyme commission (EC code (six main classes on 40,034 enzymes from the PDB database. The proposed single-label and multi-label models predict correctly the actual functional activities in 97.8% and 95.5% (based on Hamming-loss of the cases, respectively. Also the multi-label model predicts all possible enzymatic reactions in 85.4% of the multi-labeled enzymes when the number of reactions is unknown. Code and datasets are available at https://figshare.com/s/a63e0bafa9b71fc7cbd7.

  9. The effects of fermentation and enzymatic treatment of pea on nutrient digestibility and growth performance of broilers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodarzi Boroojeni, F; Senz, M; Kozłowski, K; Boros, D; Wisniewska, M; Rose, D; Männer, K; Zentek, J

    2017-10-01

    The present study examined the impacts of native, fermented or enzymatically treated peas (Pisum sativum L.) inclusion in broiler diets, on growth performance and nutrient digestibility. For the fermentation process, Madonna pea was mixed with water (1/1) containing 2.57×108 Bacillus subtilis (GalliPro®) spores/kg pea and then, incubated for 48 h at 30 °C. For the enzymatic treatment process, the used water for dough production contained three enzymes, AlphaGalTM (α-galactosidase), RONOZYME® ProAct and VP (protease and pectinases respectively - DSM, Switzerland) and the pea dough incubated for 24 h at 30°C. Nine corn-wheat-soybean diets were formulated by supplying 10%, 20% and 30% of the required CP with either native, fermented or enzymatically treated peas. Performance was recorded weekly and at the end of the experiment (day 35), apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of CP, amino acids (AA), crude fat, starch, Ca, P and K were determined. Data were subjected to ANOVA using GLM procedure with a 3×3 factorial arrangement of treatments. Both processes reduced α-galactosides, phytate, trypsin inhibitor activity and resistant starch in peas. Increasing levels of pea products up to 300 g/kg diet, reduced BW gain and feed intake (P⩽0.05). Broilers fed diets containing enzymatically treated pea had the best feed conversion ratio at day 35. Different types of pea product and their inclusion levels had no effect on AID of all nutrients. The interaction between type of the pea products and inclusion levels was significant for AID of starch. For native pea diets, 10% group showed similar AID of starch to 20% native pea but it had higher AID than 30% native pea. For fermented and enzymatically treated groups, all three levels displayed similar AID of starch. In conclusion, enzymatic treatment and fermentation could improve the nutritional quality of pea. Inclusion of enzymatically treated pea in broiler diets could improve broiler performance compared with other pea

  10. Identification and enzymatic characterization of the yeasts isolated from Erzincan tulum cheese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Karasu-Yalcin

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available In this study, 146 yeast isolates were obtained from 45 Erzincan tulum cheese samples. By using API ID 32C test system and some complementary morphological, physiological and biochemica tests, 121 of the isolates could be identified at species level, while 12 of them were identified at genus level. The identified yeast isolates belonged to six different genera which were Candida, Geotrichum, Kluyveromyces, Pichia, Saccharomyces and Zygosaccharomyces. The most aboundant species was C. lambica, followed by C. zeylanoides, C. famata var. famata, G. candidum and C. kefyr. Enzymatic characterization of the strains was determined by using API-ZYM test system. All of the isolates had leucin arylamidase activity. Eight strains belonging to S. cerevisiae, Z. mellis, G. candidum and P. fermentans were found to have high leucin arylamidase activities. Most of the isolates had β-galactosidase, acid phosphatase and esterase lipase (C8 activities. Eight investigated C. lambica strains had high acid phosphatase activities. Such enzymatic properties of investigated yeast isolates could be fundamental factor for their application as starter culture candidates in production of Erzincan tulum cheese. It was demonstrated that the strain C. lambica T103 had superior enzymatic characteristics with the potential to be used in further technological investigations as an adjunct starter.

  11. Enzymatic reduction of U(VI) in groundwaters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Addelouas, A.; Gong, W.; Lutze, W.; Nuttall, E.; Fritz, B.; Crovisier, J.L.

    1999-01-01

    The use of enzymatic reduction of U(VI) in remediation of groundwater contaminated with U(VI) is receiving considerable attention. Certain strains of bacteria can combine the oxidation of an organic compound to the reduction of U(VI) to U(IV), which precipitates as uraninite. In the present study, we tested the reduction of U(VI) in groundwaters with various origins and compositions. In all groundwaters u(VI) was reduced by sulfate reducing bacteria that had been activated by ethanol and tri-metaphosphate. The reduction rate of U(VI) depends on sulfate concentration in water and the abundance of bacteria in the system. This work shows that bacteria capable of U(VI) reduction are ubiquitous in nature, and suggests the possibility of a large application of the enzymatic reduction of U(VI) for in situ clean up of groundwaters contaminated with uranium. (authors)

  12. Bacterial Production and Enzymatic Activities in Deep-Sea Sediments of the Pacific Ocean: Biogeochemical Implications of Different Temperature Constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danovaro, R.; Corinaldesi, C.; dell'Anno, A.

    2002-12-01

    The deep-sea bed, acting as the ultimate sink for organic material derived from the upper oceans primary production, is now assumed to play a key role in biogeochemical cycling of organic matter on global scale. Early diagenesis of organic matter in marine sediments is dependent upon biological processes (largely mediated by bacterial activity) and by molecular diffusion. Organic matter reaching the sea floor by sedimentation is subjected to complex biogeochemical transformations that make organic matter largely unsuitable for direct utilization by benthic heterotrophs. Extracellular enzymatic activities in the sediment is generally recognized as the key step in the degradation and utilization of organic polymers by bacteria and a key role in biopolymeric carbon mobilization is played by aminopeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and glucosidase activities. In the present study we investigated bacterial density, bacterial C production and exo-enzymatic activities (aminopeptidase, glucosidase and phosphatase activity) in deep-sea sediments of the Pacific Ocean in relation with the biochemical composition of sediment organic matter (proteins, carbohydrates and lipids), in order to gather information on organic matter cycling and diagenesis. Benthic viral abundance was also measured to investigate the potential role of viruses on microbial loop functioning. Sediment samples were collected at eight stations (depth ranging from 2070-3100 m) along two transects located at the opposite side (north and south) of ocean seismic ridge Juan Fernandez (along latitudes 33° 20' - 33° 40'), constituted by the submerged vulcanoes, which connects the Chilean coasts to Rapa Nui Island. Since the northern and southern sides of this ridge apparently displayed small but significant differences in deep-sea temperature (related to the general ocean circulation), this sampling strategy allowed also investigating the role of different temperature constraints on bacterial activity and

  13. Mechano-Enzymatic Deconstruction with a New Enzymatic Cocktail to Enhance Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Bioethanol Fermentation of Two Macroalgae Species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sameh Amamou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to explore the efficiency of a mechano-enzymatic deconstruction of two macroalgae species for sugars and bioethanol production, by using a new enzymatic cocktail (Haliatase and two types of milling modes (vibro-ball: VBM and centrifugal milling: CM. By increasing the enzymatic concentration from 3.4 to 30 g/L, the total sugars released after 72 h of hydrolysis increased (from 6.7 to 13.1 g/100 g TS and from 7.95 to 10.8 g/100 g TS for the green algae U. lactuca and the red algae G. sesquipedale, respectively. Conversely, total sugars released from G. sesquipedale increased (up to 126% and 129% after VBM and CM, respectively. The best bioethanol yield (6 geth/100 g TS was reached after 72 h of fermentation of U. lactuca and no increase was obtained after centrifugal milling. The latter led to an enhancement of the ethanol yield of G. sesquipedale (from 2 to 4 g/100 g TS.

  14. A singular enzymatic megacomplex from Bacillus subtilis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Straight, Paul D; Fischbach, Michael A; Walsh, Christopher T; Rudner, David Z; Kolter, Roberto

    2007-01-02

    Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), polyketide synthases (PKS), and hybrid NRPS/PKS are of particular interest, because they produce numerous therapeutic agents, have great potential for engineering novel compounds, and are the largest enzymes known. The predicted masses of known enzymatic assembly lines can reach almost 5 megadaltons, dwarfing even the ribosome (approximately 2.6 megadaltons). Despite their uniqueness and importance, little is known about the organization of these enzymes within the native producer cells. Here we report that an 80-kb gene cluster, which occupies approximately 2% of the Bacillus subtilis genome, encodes the subunits of approximately 2.5 megadalton active hybrid NRPS/PKS. Many copies of the NRPS/PKS assemble into a single organelle-like membrane-associated complex of tens to hundreds of megadaltons. Such an enzymatic megacomplex is unprecedented in bacterial subcellular organization and has important implications for engineering novel NRPS/PKSs.

  15. Isoprene Production on Enzymatic Hydrolysate of Peanut Hull Using Different Pretreatment Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumeng Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study is about the use of peanut hull for isoprene production. In this study, two pretreatment methods, hydrogen peroxide-acetic acid (HPAC and popping, were employed prior to enzymatic hydrolysis, which could destroy the lignocellulosic structure and accordingly improve the efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis. It is proven that the isoprene production on enzymatic hydrolysate with HPAC pretreatment is about 1.9-fold higher than that of popping pretreatment. Moreover, through High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC analysis, the amount and category of inhibitors such as formic acid, acetic acid, and HMF were assayed and were varied in different enzymatic hydrolysates, which may be the reason leading to a decrease in isoprene production during fermentation. To further increase the isoprene yield, the enzymatic hydrolysate of HPAC was detoxified by activated carbon. As a result, using the detoxified enzymatic hydrolysate as the carbon source, the engineered strain YJM21 could accumulate 297.5 mg/L isoprene, which accounted for about 90% of isoprene production by YJM21 fermented on pure glucose (338.6 mg/L. This work is thought to be the first attempt on isoprene production by E. coli using peanut hull as the feedstock. More importantly, it also shows the prospect of peanut hull to be considered as an alternative feedstock for bio-based chemicals or biofuels production due to its easy access and high polysaccharide content.

  16. Enzymatic labelling of. gamma. -globulin and insulin with iodine-125

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lucka, B; Russin, K [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Krakow (Poland)

    1979-01-01

    The parameters of enzymatic labelling of proteins with iodine 125 were examined. The manner and sequence of reagent addition, the effects of reagent concentration, reaction time and total Na/sup 125/I activity on the labelling yield were determined.

  17. Non-enzymatic antioxidant accumulations in BR-deficient and BR-insensitive barley mutants under control and drought conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gruszka, Damian; Janeczko, Anna; Dziurka, Michal; Pociecha, Ewa; Fodor, Jozsef

    2017-12-07

    Drought is one of the most adverse stresses that affect plant growth and yield. Disturbances in metabolic activity resulting from drought cause overproduction of reactive oxygen species. It is postulated that brassinosteroids (BRs) regulate plant tolerance to the stress conditions, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. An involvement of endogenous BRs in regulation of the antioxidant homeostasis is not fully clarified either. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the role of endogenous BRs in regulation of non-enzymatic antioxidants in barley (Hordeum vulgare) under control and drought conditions. The plant material included the 'Bowman' cultivar and a group of semi-dwarf near-isogenic lines (NILs), representing mutants deficient in BR biosynthesis or signaling. In general, accumulations of 11 compounds representing various types of non-enzymatic antioxidants were analyzed under both conditions. The analyses of accumulations of reduced and oxidized forms of ascorbate indicated that the BR mutants contain significantly higher contents of dehydroascorbic acid under drought conditions when compared with the 'Bowman' cultivar. The analysis of glutathione accumulation indicated that under the control conditions the BR-insensitive NILs contained significantly lower concentrations of this antioxidant when compared with the rest of genotypes. Therefore, we postulate that BR sensitivity is required for normal accumulation of glutathione. A complete accumulation profile of various tocopherols indicated that functional BR biosynthesis and signaling are required for their normal accumulation under both conditions. Results of this study provided an insight into the role of endogenous BRs in regulation of the non-enzymatic antioxidant homeostasis. © 2017 Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society.

  18. Enzymatic Detoxication, Conformational Selection, and the Role of Molten Globule Active Sites*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honaker, Matthew T.; Acchione, Mauro; Zhang, Wei; Mannervik, Bengt; Atkins, William M.

    2013-01-01

    The role of conformational ensembles in enzymatic reactions remains unclear. Discussion concerning “induced fit” versus “conformational selection” has, however, ignored detoxication enzymes, which exhibit catalytic promiscuity. These enzymes dominate drug metabolism and determine drug-drug interactions. The detoxication enzyme glutathione transferase A1–1 (GSTA1–1), exploits a molten globule-like active site to achieve remarkable catalytic promiscuity wherein the substrate-free conformational ensemble is broad with barrierless transitions between states. A quantitative index of catalytic promiscuity is used to compare engineered variants of GSTA1–1 and the catalytic promiscuity correlates strongly with characteristics of the thermodynamic partition function, for the substrate-free enzymes. Access to chemically disparate transition states is encoded by the substrate-free conformational ensemble. Pre-steady state catalytic data confirm an extension of the conformational selection model, wherein different substrates select different starting conformations. The kinetic liability of the conformational breadth is minimized by a smooth landscape. We propose that “local” molten globule behavior optimizes detoxication enzymes. PMID:23649628

  19. The development of orally administrable gemcitabine prodrugs with D-enantiomer amino acids: enhanced membrane permeability and enzymatic stability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsume, Yasuhiro; Incecayir, Tuba; Song, Xueqin; Hilfinger, John M; Amidon, Gordon L

    2014-04-01

    Gemcitabine prodrugs with D- and L-configuration amino acids were synthesized and their chemical stability in buffers, resistance to glycosidic bond metabolism, enzymatic activation, permeability in Caco-2 cells and mouse intestinal membrane, anti-proliferation activity in cancer cell were determined and compared to that of parent drug, gemcitabine. Prodrugs containing D-configuration amino acids were enzymatically more stable than ones with L-configuration amino acids. The activation of all gemcitabine prodrugs was 1.3-17.6-fold faster in cancer cell homogenate than their hydrolysis in buffer, suggesting enzymatic action. The enzymatic activation of amino acid monoester prodrugs containing D-configuration amino acids in cell homogenates was 2.2-10.9-fold slower than one of amino acid monoester prodrugs with L-configuration amino acids. All prodrugs exhibited enhanced resistance to glycosidic bond metabolism by thymidine phosphorylase compared to parent gemcitabine. Gemcitabine prodrugs showed superior the effective permeability in mouse jejunum to gemcitabine. More importantly, the high plasma concentration of d-amino acid gemcitabine prodrugs was observed more than one of L-amino acid gemcitabine prodrugs. In general, the 5'-mono-amino acid monoester gemcitabine prodrugs exhibited higher permeability and uptake than their parent drug, gemcitabine. Cell proliferation assays in AsPC-1 pancreatic ductal cell line indicated that gemcitabine prodrugs were more potent than their parent drug, gemcitabine. The transport and enzymatic profiles of 5'-D-valyl-gemcitabine and 5'-D-phenylalanyl-gemcitabine suggest their potential for increased oral uptake and delayed enzymatic bioconversion as well as enhanced uptake and cytotoxic activity in cancer cells, would facilitate the development of oral dosage form for anti-cancer agents and, hence, improve the quality of life for the cancer patients. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  20. Effect of topical application of fluoride gel NaF 2% on enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant parameters of saliva.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leite, Mariana Ferreira; Ferreira, Nayara Ferraz D'Assumpção; Shitsuka, Caleb David Willy Moreira; Lima, Amanda Martins; Masuyama, Mônica Miyuki; Sant'Anna, Giselle Rodrigues; Yamaguti, Paula Mochidome; Polotow, Tatiana G; de Barros, Marcelo Paes

    2012-06-01

    The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of topical fluoride gel NaF 2% application on antioxidant parameters of whole saliva from children. The saliva mechanically stimulated with parafilm was collected from 25 children (6-12 years) attending the Clinic of Paediatric Dentistry of Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul, São Paulo, Brazil, before (control group) and immediately after application of neutral fluoride gel NaF 2% (fluoride-gel group), according to the Standards for Research Using Human Subjects, Resolution 196/96 of the USA National Health Council of 10/10/1996. Afterwards, pre-post ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), trolox-equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), uric acid, reduced/oxidised glutathione content (GSH/GSSG) and total peroxidase activity (TPO) were evaluated in whole saliva of both groups. All non-enzymatic antioxidant parameters were augmented by fluoride-gel NaF 2% application, whereas a notable reduction (31%) of peroxidase activity was concomitantly observed in the children's saliva (p ≤ 0.05). Nevertheless, the reducing power of saliva was kept unaltered under these circumstances (p ≤ 0.05). Despite the reduced activity of peroxidase (an important antimicrobial and antioxidant enzyme), the topical fluoride gel NaF 2% favourably stimulated the release of non-enzymatic antioxidant components of saliva, sustaining the reducing power of saliva and the natural defences of the oral cavity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Cerebral ischemia is exacerbated by extracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase via a non-enzymatic mechanism.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bing Zhao

    Full Text Available Intracellular nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (iNAMPT in neuron has been known as a protective factor against cerebral ischemia through its enzymatic activity, but the role of central extracellular NAMPT (eNAMPT is not clear. Here we show that eNAMPT protein level was elevated in the ischemic rat brain after middle-cerebral-artery occlusion (MCAO and reperfusion, which can be traced to at least in part from blood circulation. Administration of recombinant NAMPT protein exacerbated MCAO-induced neuronal injury in rat brain, while exacerbated oxygen-glucose-deprivation (OGD induced neuronal injury only in neuron-glial mixed culture, but not in neuron culture. In the mixed culture, NAMPT protein promoted TNF-α release in a time- and concentration-dependent fashion, while TNF-α neutralizing antibody protected OGD-induced, NAMPT-enhanced neuronal injury. Importantly, H247A mutant of NAMPT with essentially no enzymatic activity exerted similar effects on ischemic neuronal injury and TNF-α release as the wild type protein. Thus, eNAMPT is an injurious and inflammatory factor in cerebral ischemia and aggravates ischemic neuronal injury by triggering TNF-α release from glia cells, via a mechanism not related to NAMPT enzymatic activity.

  2. Identification of Key Residues for Enzymatic Carboxylate Reduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Holly Stolterfoht

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Carboxylate reductases (CARs, E.C. 1.2.1.30 generate aldehydes from their corresponding carboxylic acid with high selectivity. Little is known about the structure of CARs and their catalytically important amino acid residues. The identification of key residues for carboxylate reduction provides a starting point to gain deeper understanding of enzymatic carboxylate reduction. A multiple sequence alignment of CARs with confirmed activity recently identified in our lab and from the literature revealed a fingerprint of conserved amino acids. We studied the function of conserved residues by multiple sequence alignments and mutational replacements of these residues. In this study, single-site alanine variants of Neurospora crassa CAR were investigated to determine the contribution of conserved residues to the function, expressability or stability of the enzyme. The effect of amino acid replacements was investigated by analyzing enzymatic activity of the variants in vivo and in vitro. Supported by molecular modeling, we interpreted that five of these residues are essential for catalytic activity, or substrate and co-substrate binding. We identified amino acid residues having significant impact on CAR activity. Replacement of His 237, Glu 433, Ser 595, Tyr 844, and Lys 848 by Ala abolish CAR activity, indicating their key role in acid reduction. These results may assist in the functional annotation of CAR coding genes in genomic databases. While some other conserved residues decreased activity or had no significant impact, four residues increased the specific activity of NcCAR variants when replaced by alanine. Finally, we showed that NcCAR wild-type and mutants efficiently reduce aliphatic acids.

  3. IMPACT OF ALTITUDES ON SOIL CHARACTERISTICS AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITIES IN FOREST AND FALLOW LANDS OF ALMORA DISTRICT OF CENTRAL HIMALAYA

    OpenAIRE

    B. R. Maurya; Vimal Singh; P. P. Dhyani

    2014-01-01

    Abstract: Altitude is one of the major topographical factors which influence the fertility status of soil. Population explosion has rooted deforestation at different altitudes to bring more area under cultivation leading to fallow lands. Objective of this study was to assess the impact of altitude on electro-chemical properties and enzymatic activities of forest and fallow land soils of Almora district of Central Himalaya. Seventy soil samples were collected from different altitudes of forest...

  4. Localized cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity is required for myogenic cell fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukai, Atsushi; Hashimoto, Naohiro

    2008-01-01

    Multinucleated myotubes are formed by fusion of mononucleated myogenic progenitor cells (myoblasts) during terminal skeletal muscle differentiation. In addition, myoblasts fuse with myotubes, but terminally differentiated myotubes have not been shown to fuse with each other. We show here that an adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, and other reagents that elevate intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels induced cell fusion between small bipolar myotubes in vitro. Then an extra-large myotube, designated a 'myosheet,' was produced by both primary and established mouse myogenic cells. Myotube-to-myotube fusion always occurred between the leading edge of lamellipodia at the polar end of one myotube and the lateral plasma membrane of the other. Forskolin enhanced the formation of lamellipodia where cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) was accumulated. Blocking enzymatic activity or anchoring of PKA suppressed forskolin-enhanced lamellipodium formation and prevented fusion of multinucleated myotubes. Localized PKA activity was also required for fusion of mononucleated myoblasts. The present results suggest that localized PKA plays a pivotal role in the early steps of myogenic cell fusion, such as cell-to-cell contact/recognition through lamellipodium formation. Furthermore, the localized cAMP-PKA pathway might be involved in the specification of the fusion-competent areas of the plasma membrane in lamellipodia of myogenic cells

  5. On-chip enzymatic microbiofuel cell-powered integrated circuits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mark, Andrew G; Suraniti, Emmanuel; Roche, Jérôme; Richter, Harald; Kuhn, Alexander; Mano, Nicolas; Fischer, Peer

    2017-05-16

    A variety of diagnostic and therapeutic medical technologies rely on long term implantation of an electronic device to monitor or regulate a patient's condition. One proposed approach to powering these devices is to use a biofuel cell to convert the chemical energy from blood nutrients into electrical current to supply the electronics. We present here an enzymatic microbiofuel cell whose electrodes are directly integrated into a digital electronic circuit. Glucose oxidizing and oxygen reducing enzymes are immobilized on microelectrodes of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) using redox hydrogels to produce an enzymatic biofuel cell, capable of harvesting electrical power from just a single droplet of 5 mM glucose solution. Optimisation of the fuel cell voltage and power to match the requirements of the electronics allow self-powered operation of the on-board digital circuitry. This study represents a step towards implantable self-powered electronic devices that gather their energy from physiological fluids.

  6. Unraveling the mechanism responsible for the contrasting tolerance of Synechocystis and Synechococcus to Cr(VI): Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gupta, Alka [Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085 (India); Ballal, Anand, E-mail: aballal@barc.gov.in [Molecular Biology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai 400085 (India); Homi Bhabha National Institute, Training School Complex, Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai 40085 (India)

    2015-07-15

    Highlights: • Cr(VI) accumulation generates higher ROS in Synechocystis than in Synechococcus. • Synechococcus exhibits better photosynthetic activity in response to Cr(VI). • Synechococcus has higher enzymatic/non-enzymatic antioxidants than Synechocystis. • Synechococcus shows better tolerance to other oxidative stresses than Synechocystis. • Differential detoxification of ROS is responsible for the contrasting tolerance to Cr(VI) - Abstract: Two unicellular cyanobacteria, Synechocystis and Synechococcus, showed contrasting tolerance to Cr(VI); with Synechococcus being 12-fold more tolerant than Synechocystis to potassium dichromate. The mechanism responsible for this differential sensitivity to Cr(VI) was explored in this study. Total content of photosynthetic pigments as well as photosynthetic activity decreased at lower concentration of Cr(VI) in Synechocystis as compared to Synechococcus. Experiments with {sup 51}Cr showed Cr to accumulate intracellularly in both the cyanobacteria. At lower concentrations, Cr(VI) caused excessive ROS generation in Synechocystis as compared to that observed in Synechococcus. Intrinsic levels of enzymatic antioxidants, i.e., superoxide dismutase, catalase and 2-Cys-peroxiredoxin were considerably higher in Synechococcus than Synechocystis. Content of total thiols (both protein as well as non-protein) and reduced glutathione (GSH) was also higher in Synechococcus as compared to Synechocystis. This correlated well with higher content of carbonylated proteins observed in Synechocystis than Synechococcus. Additionally, in contrast to Synechocystis, Synechococcus exhibited better tolerance to other oxidative stresses like high intensity light and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. The data indicate that the disparity in the ability to detoxify ROS could be the primary mechanism responsible for the differential tolerance of these cyanobacteria to Cr(VI)

  7. D-Amino acid oxidase bio-functionalized platforms: Toward an enhanced enzymatic bio-activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Elisa; Valdez Taubas, Javier; Giacomelli, Carla E.

    2015-11-01

    The purpose of this work is to study the adsorption process and surface bio-activity of His-tagged D-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) from Rhodotorula gracilis (His6-RgDAAO) as the first step for the development of an electrochemical bio-functionalized platform. With such a purpose this work comprises: (a) the His6-RgDAAO bio-activity in solution determined by amperometry, (b) the adsorption mechanism of His6-RgDAAO on bare gold and carboxylated modified substrates in the absence (substrate/COO-) and presence of Ni(II) (substrate/COO- + Ni(II)) determined by reflectometry, and (c) the bio-activity of the His6-RgDAAO bio-functionalized platforms determined by amperometry. Comparing the adsorption behavior and bio-activity of His6-RgDAAO on these different solid substrates allows understanding the contribution of the diverse interactions responsible for the platform performance. His6-RgDAAO enzymatic performance in solution is highly improved when compared to the previously used pig kidney (pk) DAAO. His6-RgDAAO exhibits an amperometrically detectable bio-activity at concentrations as low as those expected on a bio-functional platform; hence, it is a viable bio-recognition element of D-amino acids to be coupled to electrochemical platforms. Moreover, His6-RgDAAO bio-functionalized platforms exhibit a higher surface activity than pkDAAO physically adsorbed on gold. The platform built on Ni(II) modified substrates present enhanced bio-activity because the surface complexes histidine-Ni(II) provide with site-oriented, native-like enzymes. The adsorption mechanism responsible of the excellent performance of the bio-functionalized platform takes place in two steps involving electrostatic and bio-affinity interactions whose prevalence depends on the degree of surface coverage.

  8. Interaction with Single-stranded DNA-binding Protein Stimulates Escherichia coli Ribonuclease HI Enzymatic Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petzold, Christine; Marceau, Aimee H; Miller, Katherine H; Marqusee, Susan; Keck, James L

    2015-06-05

    Single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) bind and protect ssDNA intermediates formed during replication, recombination, and repair reactions. SSBs also directly interact with many different genome maintenance proteins to stimulate their enzymatic activities and/or mediate their proper cellular localization. We have identified an interaction formed between Escherichia coli SSB and ribonuclease HI (RNase HI), an enzyme that hydrolyzes RNA in RNA/DNA hybrids. The RNase HI·SSB complex forms by RNase HI binding the intrinsically disordered C terminus of SSB (SSB-Ct), a mode of interaction that is shared among all SSB interaction partners examined to date. Residues that comprise the SSB-Ct binding site are conserved among bacterial RNase HI enzymes, suggesting that RNase HI·SSB complexes are present in many bacterial species and that retaining the interaction is important for its cellular function. A steady-state kinetic analysis shows that interaction with SSB stimulates RNase HI activity by lowering the reaction Km. SSB or RNase HI protein variants that disrupt complex formation nullify this effect. Collectively our findings identify a direct RNase HI/SSB interaction that could play a role in targeting RNase HI activity to RNA/DNA hybrid substrates within the genome. © 2015 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  9. Interaction with Single-stranded DNA-binding Protein Stimulates Escherichia coli Ribonuclease HI Enzymatic Activity*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petzold, Christine; Marceau, Aimee H.; Miller, Katherine H.; Marqusee, Susan; Keck, James L.

    2015-01-01

    Single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) bind and protect ssDNA intermediates formed during replication, recombination, and repair reactions. SSBs also directly interact with many different genome maintenance proteins to stimulate their enzymatic activities and/or mediate their proper cellular localization. We have identified an interaction formed between Escherichia coli SSB and ribonuclease HI (RNase HI), an enzyme that hydrolyzes RNA in RNA/DNA hybrids. The RNase HI·SSB complex forms by RNase HI binding the intrinsically disordered C terminus of SSB (SSB-Ct), a mode of interaction that is shared among all SSB interaction partners examined to date. Residues that comprise the SSB-Ct binding site are conserved among bacterial RNase HI enzymes, suggesting that RNase HI·SSB complexes are present in many bacterial species and that retaining the interaction is important for its cellular function. A steady-state kinetic analysis shows that interaction with SSB stimulates RNase HI activity by lowering the reaction Km. SSB or RNase HI protein variants that disrupt complex formation nullify this effect. Collectively our findings identify a direct RNase HI/SSB interaction that could play a role in targeting RNase HI activity to RNA/DNA hybrid substrates within the genome. PMID:25903123

  10. STUDY ON QUALITY PARAMETERS AND ENZYMATIC ACTIVITY OF GRAIN MILL PRODUCTS REGION IN TRANSYLVANIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Glevitzky Mirel

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at determining the main quality parameters of grain mill products in the Transylvania region, also studying and emphasizing the enzymatic activity of flour. Determination of quality characteristics of grain mill products entails establishing physical, chemical and sensory parameters and assessing them against the limits imposed by law. Analysis was performed on samples formed by mixing basic medium extracted from different batches. Incremental size, sampling tools, how to extract them, the training sample and laboratory environments, packaging and labeling of samples were performed according to STAS 1068 69. Determination of the fall (Falling Number, an empirical test that relies on the ability of endogenous ?-amylase to reduce viscosity of the treated warm flour suspension is used, large scale milling and bakery industry to predict and assess the Baking quality of flour. In sprouted wheat, characterised by a low Falling number, dextrin produced by the action of ?-amylase leads to a sticky bread core. Experiments suggest that the values fall turnover (FN does not shrink in direct proportion to the percentage of germinating seeds. Amylolytic activity depends on the stage of sprouting of grains. Lack of ?-amylase activity can be corrected by adding malt grain ?-amylase or fungal ?-amylase.

  11. Process technology for multi-enzymatic reaction systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xue, Rui; Woodley, John M.

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, biocatalysis has started to provide an important green tool in synthetic organic chemistry. Currently, the idea of using multi-enzymatic systems for industrial production of chemical compounds becomes increasingly attractive. Recent examples demonstrate the potential of enzymatic...... synthesis and fermentation as an alternative to chemical-catalysis for the production of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. In particular, the use of multiple enzymes is of special interest. However, many challenges remain in the scale-up of a multi-enzymatic system. This review summarizes and discusses...... the technology options and strategies that are available for the development of multi-enzymatic processes. Some engineering tools, including kinetic models and operating windows, for developing and evaluating such processes are also introduced....

  12. The effect of ultraviolet treatment on enzymatic activity and total phenolic content of minimally processed potato slices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teoh, Li Shing; Lasekan, Ola; Adzahan, Noranizan Mohd; Hashim, Norhashila

    2016-07-01

    In this work, potato slices were exposed to different doses of UV-C irradiation (i.e. 2.28, 6.84, 11.41, and 13.68 kJ m -2 ) with or without pretreatment [i.e. ascorbic acid and calcium chloride (AACCl) dip] and stored at 4 ± 1 °C. Changes in enzymatic activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD) and phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), as well as total phenolic content (TPC) were investigated after 0, 3, 7 and 10 days of storage. Results showed that untreated and UV-C treated potato slices at 13.68 kJ m -2 dosage level showed significantly higher PPO, POD and PAL activities. Conversely, untreated potato slices showed the lowest TPC during storage period. Potato slices subjected to AACCl dip plus UV-C at 6.84 kJ m -2 produced lower PPO, POD and PAL activities, as well as maintained a high TPC during storage.

  13. Metabolic activation of pyrrolizidine alkaloids: insights into the structural and enzymatic basis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruan, Jianqing; Yang, Mengbi; Fu, Peter; Ye, Yang; Lin, Ge

    2014-06-16

    Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are natural toxins widely distributed in plants. The toxic potencies of different PAs vary significantly. PAs are mono- or diesters of necine acids with a necine base. On the basis of the necine bases, PAs are classified into three types: retronecine-type, otonecine-type, and platynecine-type. Hepatotoxic PAs contain an unsaturated necine base. PAs exert hepatotoxicity through metabolic activation by hepatic cytochromes P450s (CYPs) to generate reactive intermediates which form pyrrole-protein adducts. These adducts provide a mechanism-based biomarker to assess PA toxicity. In the present study, metabolic activation of 12 PAs from three structural types was investigated first in mice to demonstrate significant variations in hepatic metabolic activation of different PAs. Subsequently, the structural and enzymatic factors affecting metabolic activation of these PAs were further investigated by using human liver microsomes and recombinant human CYPs. Pyrrole-protein adducts were detected in the liver and blood of mice and the in vitro systems treated with toxic retronecine-type and otonecine-type PAs having unsaturated necine bases but not with a platynecine-type PA containing a saturated necine base. Retronecine-type PAs produced more pyrrole-protein adducts than otonecine-type PAs with similar necine acids, demonstrating that the structure of necine base affected PA toxic potency. Among retronecine-type PAs, open-ring diesters generated the highest amount of pyrrole-protein adducts, followed by macrocyclic diesters, while monoesters produced the least. Only CYP3A4 and CYP3A5 activated otonecine-type PAs, while all 10 CYPs studied showed the ability to activate retronecine-type PAs. Moreover, the contribution of major CYPs involved also varied significantly among retronecine-type PAs. In conclusion, our findings provide a scientific basis for predicting the toxicities of individual PAs in biological systems based on PA structural

  14. TRPM7 is required within zebrafish sensory neurons for the activation of touch-evoked escape behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, Sean E.; Amburgey, Kimberly; Horstick, Eric; Linsley, Jeremy; Sprague, Shawn M.; Cui, Wilson W.; Zhou, Weibin; Hirata, Hiromi; Saint-Amant, Louis; Hume, Richard I.; Kuwada, John Y.

    2011-01-01

    Mutations in the gene encoding TRPM7 (trpm7), a member of the TRP superfamily of cation channels that possesses an enzymatically active kinase at its carboxyl terminus, cause the touch-unresponsive zebrafish mutant touchdown. We identified and characterized a new allele of touchdown, as well as two previously reported alleles, and found that all three alleles harbor mutations which abolish channel activity. Through the selective restoration of TRPM7 expression in sensory neurons we found that TRPM7’s kinase activity, and selectivity for divalent cations over monovalent cations, were dispensable for touch-evoked activation of escape behaviors in zebrafish. Additional characterization revealed that sensory neurons were present and capable of responding to tactile stimuli in touchdown mutants, indicating that TRPM7 is not required for sensory neuron survival or mechanosensation. Finally, exposure to elevated concentrations of divalent cations was found to restore touch-evoked behaviors in touchdown mutants. Collectively these findings are consistent with a role for zebrafish TRPM7 within sensory neurons in the modulation of neurotransmitter release at central synapses, similar to that proposed for mammalian TRPM7 at peripheral synapses. PMID:21832193

  15. Modification of chemical properties, Cu fractionation and enzymatic activities in an acid vineyard soil amended with winery wastes: A field study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Salgado, Isabel; Pérez-Rodríguez, Paula; Gómez-Armesto, Antía; Díaz-Raviña, Montserrat; Nóvoa-Muñoz, Juan Carlos; Arias-Estévez, Manuel; Fernández-Calviño, David

    2017-11-01

    The effects of adding two winery wastes, perlite waste (PW) and bentonite waste (BW), to an acid vineyard soil were assessed using some chemical and biological soil properties in a field study that lasted 18 months. The addition of PW (up to 81 Mg ha -1 ) had neither significant nor permanent effects on soil characteristics such as the pH, organic matter content or nutrient concentrations, the amounts of copper or zinc, or the electrical conductivity. Moreover, no persistent negative effects were found on the enzymatic activities after PW application. In contrast, soil that was amended with up to 71 Mg BW ha -1 showed increases in its soil pH values, exchangeable potassium and water soluble potassium and phosphorus contents. In addition, it caused significant increases in the electrical conductivity and water-soluble Cu. In addition, the phosphomonoesterase enzymatic activity decreased significantly (up to 28%) in response to the amendment with 71 Mg BW ha -1 . These results showed that adding BW and PW to the soil may be a good agronomic practice for recycling these types of wastes. However, in the case of PW, its use as a soil amendment must be performed with caution to control its possible harmful effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Role of enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidant in ameliorating salinity induced damage in nostoc muscorum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hend, A.; Abeer, A.; Allah, A.

    2015-01-01

    Presence of high salt concentration in the growth medium adversely affected the plant growth and productivity by altering its metabolic activities. Experiments were conducted on cyanobacteriaum Nostoc muscorum grown in nitrogen free medium supplemented with 250 mM NaCl to evaluate the salt stress induced changes in growth, antioxidants and lipid composition. Salt stress significantly reduced the growth and physio-biochemical attributes. Salt stress increased malonaldehyde content thereby causing alterations in the lipid fraction. Significant reduction in polyunsaturated fatty acids including phosphatidylcholine (PC), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), phosphatidylinositol (PI) and phosphatidylserine (PS) was observed. Where as diacylglycerol, sterol ester and non-esterified fatty acids were increased. Activities of antioxidant enzymes and contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants including glutathione enhanced due to salt stress. An increase in accumulation of proline was also observed. Hence increased activity of antioxidants and altered fatty acid composition was observed in salt stressed Nostoc muscorum. (author)

  17. BSA treatment to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose in lignin containing substrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bin; Wyman, Charles E

    2006-07-05

    Cellulase and bovine serum albumin (BSA) were added to Avicel cellulose and solids containing 56% cellulose and 28% lignin from dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment of corn stover. Little BSA was adsorbed on Avicel cellulose, while pretreated corn stover solids adsorbed considerable amounts of this protein. On the other hand, cellulase was highly adsorbed on both substrates. Adding a 1% concentration of BSA to dilute acid pretreated corn stover prior to enzyme addition at 15 FPU/g cellulose enhanced filter paper activity in solution by about a factor of 2 and beta-glucosidase activity in solution by about a factor of 14. Overall, these results suggested that BSA treatment reduced adsorption of cellulase and particularly beta-glucosidase on lignin. Of particular note, BSA treatment of pretreated corn stover solids prior to enzymatic hydrolysis increased 72 h glucose yields from about 82% to about 92% at a cellulase loading of 15 FPU/g cellulose or achieved about the same yield at a loading of 7.5 FPU/g cellulose. Similar improvements were also observed for enzymatic hydrolysis of ammonia fiber explosion (AFEX) pretreated corn stover and Douglas fir treated by SO(2) steam explosion and for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of BSA pretreated corn stover. In addition, BSA treatment prior to hydrolysis reduced the need for beta-glucosidase supplementation of SSF. The results are consistent with non-specific competitive, irreversible adsorption of BSA on lignin and identify promising strategies to reduce enzyme requirements for cellulose hydrolysis. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Enzymatic determination of rare earth elements using pyrophosphatases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shekhovtsova, T.N.; Pirogova, S.V.; Fedorova, O.M.; Dolmanova, I.F.; Bajkov, A.A.

    1993-01-01

    A highly sensitive(determination limit 8x10 -6 -4x10 -4 μ g/m) and selective enzymatic method for determination of rare earth elements has been developed. The method is based on inhibition action of rare earths on the catalytic activity of pyrophosphates isolated from bakery geast and E.Coli. The mechanism of the rare earth element action, corresponding to competitive inhibition, has been established

  19. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated soybean straw

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Zhong; Wang Qunhui; Jiang Zhaohua; Yang Xuexin; Ji Yongzhen

    2007-01-01

    In order to produce lactic acid, from agricultural residues such as soybean straw, which is a raw material for biodegradable plastic production, it is necessary to decompose the soybean straw into soluble sugars. Enzymatic hydrolysis is one of the methods in common use, while pretreatment is the effective way to increase the hydrolysis rate. The optimal conditions of pretreatment using ammonia and enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean straw were determined. Compared with the untreated straw, cellulose in straw pretreated by ammonia liquor (10%) soaking for 24 h at room temperature increased 70.27%, whereas hemicellulose and lignin in pretreated straw decreased to 41.45% and 30.16%, respectively. The results of infrared spectra (IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis also showed that the structure and the surface of the straw were changed through pretreatment that is in favor of the following enzymatic hydrolysis. maximum enzymatic hydrolysis rate of 51.22% was achieved at a substrate concentration of 5% (w/v) at 50 deg. C and pH 4.8 using cellulase (50 fpu/g of substrate) for 36 h

  20. Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Pretreated Fibre Pressed Oil Palm Frond by using Sacchariseb C6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashim, F. S.; Yussof, H. W.; Zahari, M. A. K. M.; Rahman, R. A.; Illias, R. M.

    2017-06-01

    Enzymatic hydrolysis becomes a prominent technology for conversion of cellulosic biomass to its glucose monomers that requires an action of cellulolytic enzymes in a sequential and synergistic manner. In this study, the effect of agitation speed, glucan loading, enzyme loading, temperature and reaction time on the production of glucose from fibre pressed oil palm frond (FPOPF) during enzymatic hydrolysis was screened by a half factorial design 25-1 using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The FPOPF sample was first delignified by alkaline pretreatment at 4.42 (w/v) sodium hydroxide for an hour prior to enzymatic hydrolysis using commercial cellulase enzyme, Sacchariseb C6. The effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on the structural of FPOPF has been evaluated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis. Characterization of raw FPOPF comprised of 4.5 extractives, 40.7 glucan, 26.1 xylan, 26.2 lignin and 1.8 ash, whereas for pretreated FPOPF gave 0.3 extractives, 61.4 glucan, 20.4 xylan, 13.3 lignin and 1.3 ash. From this study, it was found that the best enzymatic hydrolysis condition yielded 33.01 ± 0.73 g/L of glucose when performed at 200 rpm of agitation speed, 60 FPU/mL of enzyme loading, 4 (w/w) of glucan loading, temperature at 55 □ and 72 hours of reaction time. The model obtained was significant with p-value enzymatic hydrolysis from pretreated FPOPF produce high amount of glucose that enhances it potential for industrial application. This glucose can be further used to produce high-value products.

  1. Enzymatic approaches to rare sugar production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenli; Zhang, Tao; Jiang, Bo; Mu, Wanmeng

    Rare sugars have recently attracted much attention because of their potential applications in the food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical industries. A systematic strategy for enzymatic production of rare sugars, named Izumoring, was developed >10years ago. The strategy consists of aldose-ketose isomerization, ketose C-3 epimerization, and monosaccharide oxidation-reduction. Recent development of the Izumoring strategy is reviewed herein, especially the genetic approaches to the improvement of rare sugar-producing enzymes and the applications of target-oriented bioconversion. In addition, novel non-Izumoring enzymatic approaches are also summarized, including enzymatic condensation, phosphorylation-dephosphorylation cascade reaction, aldose epimerization, ulosonic acid decarboxylation, and biosynthesis of rare disaccharides. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Effect of Enzymatic Hydrolysis on the Antioxidant Properties of Alcoholic Extracts of Oilseed Cakes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek Arct

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to compare changes in the total phenolic, flavonoid and reducing sugar content and antioxidant activity of alcoholic extracts of Oenothera biennis, Borago officinalis and Nigella sativa oilseed cakes before and after enzymatic hydrolysis. Extraction with ethanol and hydrolysis with different commercially available glycosidases: α-amylase, β-glucosidase, β-glucanase and their combinations in a ratio of 1:1:1 were investigated. Total phenolic, flavonoid and reducing sugar content, iron-chelating activity and antioxidant activity according to DPPH and ABTS tests were measured in non-hydrolysed extracts and compared with the results obtained for the extracts after the application of immobilised enzymes. As a result, the hydrolysed extracts had a higher phenolic and reducing sugar content as well as higher iron-chelating and antioxidant activities. Total phenolic content of Oenothera biennis, Borago officinalis and Nigella sativa oilseed cake extracts after enzymatic hydrolysis was higher in comparison with non-hydrolysed extracts, i.e. 2 times (for the enzyme combination, and 1.5 and 2 times (for β-glucanase (p<0.05, respectively. The best results in increasing the flavonoid and sugar content as well as in iron-chelating activity were obtained after enzymatic hydrolysis of oilseed cake extracts by β-glucanase. Oilseed cake extracts after hydrolysis with an enzyme combination in a ratio of 1:1:1 had the highest increase in antioxidant activity.

  3. Comparison of different pretreatment strategies for enzymatic hydrolysis of wheat and barley straw

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosgaard, Lisa; Pedersen, Sven; Meyer, Anne Boye Strunge

    2007-01-01

    In biomass-to-ethanol processes a physico-chemical pretreatment of the lignocellulosic biomass is a critical requirement for enhancing the accessibility of the cellulose substrate to enzymatic attack. This report evaluates the efficacy on barley and wheat straw of three different pretreatment pro...

  4. Impact of the fouling mechanism on enzymatic depolymerization of xylan in different configurations of membrane reactors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mohd Sueb, Mohd Shafiq Bin; Luo, Jianquan; Meyer, Anne S.

    2017-01-01

    In order to maximize enzymatic xylan depolymerization while simultaneously purifying the resulting monosaccharide (xylose), different ultrafiltration (UF) membrane reactor configurations were evaluated. Initial results showed that the two hydrolytic enzymes required for complete depolymerization...... which hindered enzymatic attack in addition to fouling. Reaction with both enzymes followed by UF was found to be the optimal configuration, providing at least 40% higher xylan hydrolysis than the cascade configuration (involving sequential reaction with each of the enzymes separately......) and the simultaneous reaction-filtration with both enzymes, respectively. This study thus confirmed that the reactor configuration has a crucial impact on the performance of both the reaction and the separation process of xylose during enzymatic xylan degradation, and that the type of fouling mechanism varies...

  5. Inhibition of Enzymatic Browning of Chlorogenic Acid by Sulfur-Containing Compounds

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijpers, T.F.M.; Narvaez Cuenca, C.E.; Vincken, J.P.; Verloop, J.W.; Berkel, van W.J.H.; Gruppen, H.

    2012-01-01

    The antibrowning activity of sodium hydrogen sulfite (NaHSO3) was compared to that of other sulfur-containing compounds. Inhibition of enzymatic browning was investigated using a model browning system consisting of mushroom tyrosinase and chlorogenic acid (5-CQA). Development of brown color

  6. Bioconversion and enzymatic activities of neurospora sitophila grown under solid state and submerged fermentation on Sago Hamps

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shojaosadati, S. A.; Vikineswary, S.; Looi, C. C.

    2000-01-01

    N.Sitophila was grown under controlled conditions of solid state and submerged fermentation on Sago Hampas. The optimum conditions of protein enrichment previously established for sugar beet pulp was used for this study. Under this condition the protein content of Sago Hampas under solid state increased from 1.4 to 14.45% (W/W) whereas for Sago Hampas and Sago starch, the protein content under submerged condition increased from 1.4% (W/W) and 0.7% (W/W) to 18.56% (W/W) and 43/16% (W/W) based on dry weight of product respectively. The cellulase, a-amylase and glucoamylase activities of N.Sitophila under solid state condition on Sago Hampas were, 9.0, 0.6 and 11.8 U/g of wet fermented solid respectively. the enzymatic activities were also measured under submerged fermentation using both Sago Hampas and Sago starch as substrate

  7. Topical formulations with superoxide dismutase: influence of formulation composition on physical stability and enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Mambro, Valéria M; Borin, Maria F; Fonseca, Maria J V

    2003-04-24

    Three different topical formulations were supplemented with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and evaluated concerning physical and chemical stabilities in order to determine the most stable formulation that would maintain SOD activity. Physical stability was evaluated by storing the formulation at room temperature, and at 37 and 45 degrees C for 28 days. Samples were collected at 7-day intervals for assessment of rheological behavior. Chemical stability was evaluated by the measurement of enzymatic activity in formulations stored at room temperature and at 45 degrees C for 75 days. The formulations showed a pseudoplastic behavior, with a flow index of less than 1. There was no significant difference in the initial values of flow index, hysteresis loop or minimum apparent viscosity. The simple emulsion and the one stabilized with hydroxyethylcellulose showed decreased viscosity by the 21st day and with higher temperature, but no significant changes concerning the presence of SOD. Although there were no significant changes concerning storage time or temperature, the formulation stabilized with hydroxyethylcellulose showed a marked loss of SOD activity. The addition of SOD to the formulations studied did not affect their physical stability. Simple emulsions or emulsions stabilized with carboxypolymethylene seem to be better bases for enzyme addition than emulsion stabilized with hydroxyethylcellulose.

  8. Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomimetic bacterial cellulose-hemicellulose composites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penttilä, Paavo A; Imai, Tomoya; Hemming, Jarl; Willför, Stefan; Sugiyama, Junji

    2018-06-15

    The production of biofuels and other chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass is limited by the inefficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis. Here a biomimetic composite material consisting of bacterial cellulose and wood-based hemicelluloses was used to study the effects of hemicelluloses on the enzymatic hydrolysis with a commercial cellulase mixture. Bacterial cellulose synthesized in the presence of hemicelluloses, especially xylan, was found to be more susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis than hemicellulose-free bacterial cellulose. The reason for the easier hydrolysis could be related to the nanoscale structure of the substrate, particularly the packing of cellulose microfibrils into ribbons or bundles. In addition, small-angle X-ray scattering was used to show that the average nanoscale morphology of bacterial cellulose remained unchanged during the enzymatic hydrolysis. The reported easier enzymatic hydrolysis of bacterial cellulose produced in the presence of wood-based xylan offers new insights to overcome biomass recalcitrance through genetic engineering. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Enzymatic production of biodiesel from microalgal oil using ethyl acetate as an acyl acceptor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alavijeh, Razieh Shafiee; Tabandeh, Fatemeh; Tavakoli, Omid; Karkhane, Aliasghar; Shariati, Parvin

    2015-01-01

    Microalgae have become an important source of biomass for biodiesel production. In enzymatic transesterification reaction, the enzyme activity is decreased in presence of alcohols. The use of different acyl acceptors such as methyl/ethyl acetate is suggested as an alternative and effective way to overcome this problem. In this study, ethyl acetate was used for the first time in the enzymatic production of biodiesel by using microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, as a triglyceride source. Enzymatic conversion of such fatty acids to biodiesel was catalyzed by Novozym 435 as an efficient immobilized lipase which is extensively used in biodiesel production. The best conversion yield of 66.71% was obtained at the ethyl acetate to oil molar ratio of 13:1 and Novozym 435 concentration of 40%, based on the amount of oil, and a time period of 72 h at 40℃. The results showed that ethyl acetate have no adverse effect on lipase activity and the biodiesel amount was not decreased even after seven transesterification cycles, so ethyl acetate has a great potential to be substituted for short-chain alcohols in transesterification reaction.

  10. Enzymatic extraction of star gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) juice with high antioxidant level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loan, Do Thi Thanh; Tra, Tran Thi Thu; Nguyet, Ton Nu Minh; Man, Le Van Viet

    2017-09-01

    Ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds are main antioxidants in star gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) fruit. In this study, Pectinex Ultra SP-L preparation with pectinase activity was used in the extraction of star gooseberry juice. The effects of pectinase concentration and biocatalytic time on the content of ascorbic acid, phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity of the fruit juice were firstly investigated. Response surface methodology was then used to optimize the conditions of enzymatic extraction for maximizing the antioxidant activity of the star gooseberry juice. The optimal pectinase concentration and biocatalytic time were 19 polygalacturonase units per 100g pulp dry weight and 67 min, respectively under which the maximal antioxidant activity achieved 5595±6 µmol Trolox equivalent per 100g juice dry weight. On the basis of kinetic model of second-order extraction, the extraction rate constant of ascorbic acid and phenolic compounds in the enzymatic extraction increased approximately 21% and 157%, respectively in comparison with that in the conventional extraction. Application of pectinase preparation to the fruit juice extraction was therefore potential for improvement in antioxidant level of the product.

  11. Interaction with Single-stranded DNA-binding Protein Stimulates Escherichia coli Ribonuclease HI Enzymatic Activity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petzold, Christine; Marceau, Aimee H.; Miller, Katherine H.; Marqusee, Susan; Keck, James L. (UW-MED); (UCB)

    2015-04-22

    Single-stranded (ss) DNA-binding proteins (SSBs) bind and protect ssDNA intermediates formed during replication, recombination, and repair reactions. SSBs also directly interact with many different genome maintenance proteins to stimulate their enzymatic activities and/or mediate their proper cellular localization. We have identified an interaction formed between Escherichia coli SSB and ribonuclease HI (RNase HI), an enzyme that hydrolyzes RNA in RNA/DNA hybrids. The RNase HI·SSB complex forms by RNase HI binding the intrinsically disordered C terminus of SSB (SSB-Ct), a mode of interaction that is shared among all SSB interaction partners examined to date. Residues that comprise the SSB-Ct binding site are conserved among bacterial RNase HI enzymes, suggesting that RNase HI·SSB complexes are present in many bacterial species and that retaining the interaction is important for its cellular function. A steady-state kinetic analysis shows that interaction with SSB stimulates RNase HI activity by lowering the reaction Km. SSB or RNase HI protein variants that disrupt complex formation nullify this effect. Collectively our findings identify a direct RNase HI/SSB interaction that could play a role in targeting RNase HI activity to RNA/DNA hybrid substrates within the genome.

  12. Feeding indices and enzymatic activities of carob moth Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller (Lepidoptera: pyrallidae on two commercial pistachio cultivars and an artificial diet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naeimeh Teimouri

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Feeding indices and enzymatic activities of Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Zeller were studied in a growth chamber under controlled conditions (29 ± 2 °C, relative humidity of 70 ± 5% and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D hours on two commercial Pistachio cultivars (Akbari and Kalequchi and an artificial diet. Feeding indices of E. ceratoniae larvae differed significantly on three hosts (P < 0.05. The relative consumption rate was calculated to be 5.36 ± 0.009, 11.10 ± 1.49 and 10.631 ± 0.599 (mg/mg/day on artificial diet, Akbari and Kalequchi cultivars, respectively. Carob moth larvae reared on Akbari cultivar showed the highest efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD (5.64 ± 0.43. The highest amount of efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI was obtained on artificial diet but approximate digestibility (AD was the lowest on this diet. The highest enzymatic activities of alpha-amylase, general proteases and lipase were observed in the midgut of larvae reared on artificial diet. Total protein and lipid value were highest in larvae that were reared on artificial diet.

  13. Protein-Rich Fraction of Cnidoscolus urens (L. Arthur Leaves: Enzymatic Characterization and Procoagulant and Fibrinogenolytic Activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yamara A. S. de Menezes

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Proteolytic enzymes are important macromolecules in the regulation of biochemical processes in living organisms. Additionally, these versatile biomolecules have numerous applications in the industrial segment. In this study we have characterized a protein-rich fraction of Cnidoscolus urens (L. Arthur leaves, rich in proteolytic enzymes, and evaluated its effects on the coagulation cascade. Three protein-rich fractions were obtained from the crude extract of C. urens leaves by precipitation with acetone. Fraction F1.0 showed higher proteolytic activity upon azocasein, and thus, was chosen for subsequent tests. The proteolytic activity of F1.0 on fibrinogen was dose-dependent and time-dependent. The extract demonstrated procoagulant activity on citrated plasma and reduced the APTT, not exerting effects on PT. Despite the fibrin(ogenolytic activity, F1.0 showed no defibrinogenating activity in vivo. The fraction F1.0 did not express hemorrhagic nor hemolytic activities. The proteolytic activity was inhibited by E-64, EDTA and in the presence of metal ions, and increased when pretreated with reducing agents, suggesting that the observed activity was mostly due to cysteine proteases. Several bands with proteolytic activity were detected by zymography with gelatin, albumin and fibrinogen. The optimal enzymatic activity was observed in temperature of 60 °C and pH 5.0, demonstrating the presence of acidic proteases. In conclusion, these results could provide basis for the pharmacological application of C. urens proteases as a new source of bioactive molecules to treat bleeding and thrombotic disorders.

  14. A δ38 deletion variant of human transketolase as a model of transketolase-like protein 1 exhibits no enzymatic activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Schneider

    Full Text Available Besides transketolase (TKT, a thiamin-dependent enzyme of the pentose phosphate pathway, the human genome encodes for two closely related transketolase-like proteins, which share a high sequence identity with TKT. Transketolase-like protein 1 (TKTL1 has been implicated in cancerogenesis as its cellular expression levels were reported to directly correlate with invasion efficiency of cancer cells and patient mortality. It has been proposed that TKTL1 exerts its function by catalyzing an unusual enzymatic reaction, a hypothesis that has been the subject of recent controversy. The most striking difference between TKTL1 and TKT is a deletion of 38 consecutive amino acids in the N-terminal domain of the former, which constitute part of the active site in authentic TKT. Our structural and sequence analysis suggested that TKTL1 might not possess transketolase activity. In order to test this hypothesis in the absence of a recombinant expression system for TKTL1 and resilient data on its biochemical properties, we have engineered and biochemically characterized a "pseudo-TKTL1" Δ38 deletion variant of human TKT (TKTΔ38 as a viable model of TKTL1. Although the isolated protein is properly folded under in vitro conditions, both thermal stability as well as stability of the TKT-specific homodimeric assembly are markedly reduced. Circular dichroism and NMR spectroscopic analysis further indicates that TKTΔ38 is unable to bind the thiamin cofactor in a specific manner, even at superphysiological concentrations. No transketolase activity of TKTΔ38 can be detected for conversion of physiological sugar substrates thus arguing against an intrinsically encoded enzymatic function of TKTL1 in tumor cell metabolism.

  15. Enzymatic synthesis of bioactive compounds with high potential for cosmeceutical application

    OpenAIRE

    Antonopoulou, Io; Varriale, Simona; Topakas, Evangelos; Rova, Ulrika; Christakopoulos, Paul; Faraco, Vincenza

    2016-01-01

    Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products containing biologically active ingredients purporting to offer a pharmaceutical therapeutic benefit. The active ingredients can be extracted and purified from natural sources (botanicals, herbal extracts, or animals) but can also be obtained biotechnologically by fermentation and cell cultures or by enzymatic synthesis and modification of natural compounds. A cosmeceutical ingredient should possess an attractive property such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflamma...

  16. Sexual crossing of thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora heterothallica improved enzymatic degradation of sugar beet pulp

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aguilar-Pontes, Maria Victoria; Zhou, Miaomiao; van der Horst, Sjors; Theelen, Bart; de Vries, Ronald P.; van den Brink, Joost

    2016-01-01

    Background Enzymatic degradation of plant biomass requires a complex mixture of many different enzymes. Like most fungi, thermophilic Myceliophthora species therefore have a large set of enzymes targeting different linkages in plant polysaccharides. The majority of these enzymes have not been

  17. Inhibition of tyrosinase-mediated enzymatic browning by sulfite and natural alternatives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kuijpers, T.F.M.; Vincken, J.P.

    2013-01-01

    Although sulfite is widely used to counteract enzymatic browning, its mechanism has remained largely unknown. We describe a double inhibitory mechanism of sulfite on enzymatic browning, affecting both the enzymatic oxidation of phenols into o‑quinones, as well as the non‑enzymatic

  18. Conformational changes in a hyperthermostable glycoside hydrolase: enzymatic activity is a consequence of the loop dynamics and protonation balance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro C de Oliveira

    Full Text Available Endo-β-1, 4-mannanase from Thermotoga petrophila (TpMan is a modular hyperthermostable enzyme involved in the degradation of mannan-containing polysaccharides. The degradation of these polysaccharides represents a key step for several industrial applications. Here, as part of a continuing investigation of TpMan, the region corresponding to the GH5 domain (TpManGH5 was characterized as a function of pH and temperature. The results indicated that the enzymatic activity of the TpManGH5 is pH-dependent, with its optimum activity occurring at pH 6. At pH 8, the studies demonstrated that TpManGH5 is a molecule with a nearly spherical tightly packed core displaying negligible flexibility in solution, and with size and shape very similar to crystal structure. However, TpManGH5 experiences an increase in radius of gyration in acidic conditions suggesting expansion of the molecule. Furthermore, at acidic pH values, TpManGH5 showed a less globular shape, probably due to a loop region slightly more expanded and flexible in solution (residues Y88 to A105. In addition, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that conformational changes caused by pH variation did not change the core of the TpManGH5, which means that only the above mentioned loop region presents high degree of fluctuations. The results also suggested that conformational changes of the loop region may facilitate polysaccharide and enzyme interaction. Finally, at pH 6 the results indicated that TpManGH5 is slightly more flexible at 65°C when compared to the same enzyme at 20°C. The biophysical characterization presented here is well correlated with the enzymatic activity and provide new insight into the structural basis for the temperature and pH-dependent activity of the TpManGH5. Also, the data suggest a loop region that provides a starting point for a rational design of biotechnological desired features.

  19. ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF SWITCHGRASS AND COASTAL BERMUDA GRASS PRETREATED USING DIFFERENT CHEMICAL METHODS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiele Xu

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available To investigate the effects of biomass feedstock and pretreatment method on the enzyme requirement during hydrolysis, swichgrass and coastal Bermuda grass pretreated using H2SO4, NaOH, and Ca(OH2 at the optimal conditions were subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis using two enzyme combinations: NS 50013 + NS 50010 and Cellic CTec + Cellic HTec. The enzyme loadings were optimized, and correlations between feedstock property, pretreatment strategy, and enzyme usage were evaluated. The results show that pretreatment methods resulting in greater lignin contents in the pretreated biomass were generally associated with higher enzyme requirements. More sugars could be recovered from alkaline-pretreated biomass during enzymatic hydrolysis due to the better carbohydrate preservation achieved at mild pretreatment temperatures. The cellulase enzyme, Cellic CTec, was more efficient in catalyzing the hydrolysis of coastal Bermuda grass, a feedstock more digestible than the pretreated swichgrass, following pretreatment with NaOH or Ca(OH2.

  20. Enzymatic Conversion of CO2 to Bicarbonate in Functionalized Mesoporous Silica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, Yuehua; Chen, Baowei; Qi, Wen N.; Li, Xiaolin; Shin, Yongsoon; Lei, Chenghong; Liu, Jun

    2012-05-01

    We report here that carbonic anhydrase (CA), the fastest enzyme that can covert carbon dioxide to bicarbonate, can be spontaneously entrapped in functionalized mesoporous silica (FMS) with super-high loading density (up to 0.5 mg of protein/mg of FMS) due to the dominant electrostatic interaction. The binding of CA to HOOC-FMS can result in the protein’s conformational change comparing to the enzyme free in solution, but can be overcome with increased protein loading density. The higher the protein loading density, the less conformational change, hence the higher enzymatic activity and the higher enzyme immobilization efficiency. The electrostatically bound CA can be released by changing pH. The released enzyme still displayed the native conformational structure and the same high enzymatic activity as that prior to the enzyme entrapment. This work opens up a new approach converting carbon dioxide to biocarbonate in a biomimetic nanoconfiguration that can be integrated with the other part of biosynthesis process for the assimilation of carbon dioxide.

  1. Production of Fish Hydrolysates Protein From Waste of Fish Carp (Cyprinus Carpio) by Enzymatic Hydrolysis

    OpenAIRE

    Saputra, Dede; Nurhayati, Tati

    2016-01-01

    Fish Protein Hydrolysates (FPH) is the mixed products of polypeptide, dipeptides, and amino acid. It can be produced from materials that contained of protein by acid reaction, base reaction or enzymatic hydrolysis. The objectives of this study were to study the production of FPH from fish carp meat at post rigor phase and viscera by enzymatic hydrolysis, to determine the specific activity of papain enzyme, and to determine the solubility of FPH. Capacity of fish hydrolyzing can be identified ...

  2. Physiological and enzymatic analyses of pineapple subjected to ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Josenilda Maria da; Silva, Juliana Pizarro; Spoto, Marta Helena Fillet

    2007-01-01

    The physiological and enzymatic post-harvest characteristics of the pineapple cultivar Smooth Cayenne were evaluated after the fruits were gamma-irradiated with doses of 100 and 150 Gy and the fruits were stored for 10, 20 and 30 days at 12 deg C (±1) and relative humidity of 85% (±5). Physiological and enzymatic analyses were made for each storage period to evaluate the alterations resulting from the application of ionizing radiation. Control specimens showed higher values of soluble pectins, total pectins, reducing sugars, sucrose and total sugars and lower values of polyphenyloxidase and polygalacturonase enzyme activities. All the analyses indicated that storage time is a significantly influencing factor. The 100 Gy dosage and 20-day storage period presented the best results from the standpoint of maturation and conservation of the fruits quality. (author)

  3. Bioelectrocatalytic NAD+/NADH inter-conversion: transformation of an enzymatic fuel cell into an enzymatic redox flow battery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quah, Timothy; Milton, Ross D; Abdellaoui, Sofiene; Minteer, Shelley D

    2017-07-25

    Diaphorase and a benzylpropylviologen redox polymer were combined to create a bioelectrode that can both oxidize NADH and reduce NAD + . We demonstrate how bioelectrocatalytic NAD + /NADH inter-conversion can transform a glucose/O 2 enzymatic fuel cell (EFC) with an open circuit potential (OCP) of 1.1 V into an enzymatic redox flow battery (ERFB), which can be rapidly recharged by operation as an EFC.

  4. Enzymatic characterization of a human acyltransferase activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akihiko Ozawa

    Full Text Available Non-histone protein acylation is increasingly recognized as an important posttranslational modification, but little is known as to the biochemical properties of protein serine acylating enzymes.We here report that we have identified a metal-stimulated serine octanoyltransferase activity in microsomes from human erythroleukemic (HEL cells. The HEL acylating enzyme was linear with respect to time and protein, exhibited a neutral pH optimum (stimulated by cobalt and zinc, and inhibited by chelating reagents. Hydroxylamine treatment removed most, but not all, of the attached radioactivity. A salt extract of microsomal membranes contained the major portion of enzyme activity, indicating that this acyltransferase is not an integral membrane protein. Sucrose density fractionation showed that the acyltransferase activity is concentrated in the endoplasmic reticulum. In competition experiments, the acyltransferase was well inhibited by activated forms of fatty acids containing at least eight to fourteen carbons, but not by acetyl CoA. The zinc-stimulated HEL acyltransferase did not octanoylate proenkephalin, proopiomelanocortin, His-tagged proghrelin, or proghrelin lacking the amino-terminal His-tag stub of Gly-Ala-Met. The peptides des-acyl ghrelin and ACTH were also not acylated; however, des-acyl ghrelin containing the N-terminal tripeptide Gly-Ala-Met was acylated. Mutagenesis studies indicated a requirement for serine five residues from the amino terminus, reminiscent of myristoyl transferase, but not of ghrelin acylation. However, recombinant myristoyl transferase could not recapitulate the hydroxylamine sensitivity, zinc-stimulation, nor EDTA inhibition obtained with HEL acyltransferase, properties preserved in the HEL cell enzyme purified through four sequential chromatographic steps.In conclusion, our data demonstrate the presence of a zinc-stimulated acyltransferase activity concentrated in the endoplasmic reticulum in HEL cells which is likely

  5. PSA-alpha-2-macroglobulin complex is enzymatically active in the serum of patients with advanced prostate cancer and can degrade circulating peptide hormones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostova, Maya B; Brennen, William Nathaniel; Lopez, David; Anthony, Lizamma; Wang, Hao; Platz, Elizabeth; Denmeade, Samuel R

    2018-08-01

    Prostate cancer cells produce high levels of the serine protease Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA). PSA is enzymatically active in the tumor microenvironment but is presumed to be enzymatically inactive in the blood due to complex formation with serum protease inhibitors α-1-antichymotrypsin and α-2-macroglobulin (A2M). PSA-A2M complexes cannot be measured by standard ELISA assays and are also rapidly cleared from the circulation. Thus the exact magnitude of PSA production by prostate cancer cells is not easily measured. The PSA complexed to A2M is unable to cleave proteins but maintains the ability to cleave small peptide substrates. Thus, in advanced prostate cancer, sufficient PSA-A2M may be in circulation to effect total A2M levels, levels of cytokines bound to A2M and hydrolyze small circulating peptide hormones. Total A2M levels in men with advanced prostate cancer and PSA levels above 1000 ng/mL were measured by ELISA and compared to controls. Additional ELISA assays were used to measure levels of IL-6 and TGF-beta which can bind to A2M. The ability of PSA-A2M complexes to hydrolyze protein and peptide substrates was analyzed ± PSA inhibitor. Enzymatic activity of PSA-A2M in serum of men with high PSA levels was also assayed. Serum A2M levels are inversely correlated with PSA levels in men with advanced prostate cancer. Il-6 Levels are significantly elevated in men with PSA >1000 ng/mL compared to controls with PSA PSA-A2M complex in serum of men with PSA levels >1000 ng/mL can hydrolyze small fluorescently labeled peptide substrates but not large proteins that are PSA substrates. PSA can hydrolyze small peptide hormones like PTHrP and osteocalcin. PSA complexed to A2M retains the ability to degrade PTHrP. In advanced prostate cancer with PSA levels >1000 ng/mL, sufficient PSA-A2M is present in circulation to produce enzymatic activity against circulating small peptide hormones. Sufficient PSA is produced in advanced prostate cancer to alter

  6. Enzymatic Modification of Sphingomyelin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Due to its major role in maintaining the water-retaining properties of the epidermis, ceramide is of great commercial potential in cosmetic and pharmaceuticals such as hair and skin care products. Currently, chemical synthesis of ceramide is a costly process, and developments of alternative cost......-efficient, high yield production methods are of great interest. In the present study, the potential of producing ceramide through the enzymatic hydrolysis of sphingomyelin have been studied. sphingomyelin is a ubiquitous membrane-lipid and rich in dairy products or by-products. It has been verified...... that sphingomyelin modification gives a feasible approach to the potential production of ceramide. The reaction system has been improved through system evaluation and the optimization of several important factors, and phospholipase C from Clostridium perfringens shows higher activity towards the hydrolysis reaction...

  7. Enzymatic modification of starch

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Susanne Langgård

    In the food industry approaches for using bioengineering are investigated as alternatives to conventional chemical and physical starch modification techniques in development of starches with specific properties. Enzyme-assisted post-harvest modification is an interesting approach to this, since...... it is considered a clean and energy saving technology. This thesis aimed to investigate the effect of using reaction conditions, simulating an industrial process, for enzymatic treatment of starch with branching enzyme (BE) from Rhodothermus obamensis. Thus treatements were conducted at 70°C using very high...... substrate concentration (30-40% dry matter (DM)) and high enzyme activity (750-2250 BE units (BEU)/g sample). Starches from various botanical sources, representing a broad range of properties, were used as substrates. The effects of the used conditions on the BE-reaction were evaluated by characterization...

  8. Haematology, genotoxicity, enzymatic activity and histopathology as biomarkers of metal pollution in the shrew Crocidura russula

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanchez-Chardi, A.; Marques, C.C.; Gabriel, S.I.; Capela-Silva, F.; Cabrita, A.S.; Lopez-Fuster, M.J.; Nadal, J.; Mathias, M.L.

    2008-01-01

    Haematological (WBC, RBC, Hgb and Hct) and genotoxicity (MNT) parameters, hepatic enzymatic activities (GST, GPx and GR), and a histopathological evaluation of liver, kidneys and gonads were assessed as general biomarkers of metal pollution in the shrew Crocidura russula inhabiting a pyrite mining area. Specimens exposed to metals presented a few significant alterations when compared with reference animals: GST activity decreased; micronuclei increased; and evident liver alterations related to metal exposure were observed. On the basis of all the parameters studied, age was an important factor that partly explained the observed variation, whereas sex was the least important factor. Significant correlations were also found between heavy metal concentrations and biomarkers evaluated, demonstrating the great influence of these metals in the metabolic alterations. To the best of our knowledge, these data constitute the first measurements of a battery of biomarkers in shrews from a mine site and are among the few available for insectivorous mammals. - Metals from an abandoned pyrite mine produce alterations in haematological parameters, GST, MNT, and histopathology in shrews

  9. Encapsulation and covalent binding of molecular payload in enzymatically activated micellar nanocarriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenbaum, Ido; Harnoy, Assaf J; Tirosh, Einat; Buzhor, Marina; Segal, Merav; Frid, Liat; Shaharabani, Rona; Avinery, Ram; Beck, Roy; Amir, Roey J

    2015-02-18

    The high selectivity and often-observed overexpression of specific disease-associated enzymes make them extremely attractive for triggering the release of hydrophobic drug or probe molecules from stimuli-responsive micellar nanocarriers. Here we utilized highly modular amphiphilic polymeric hybrids, composed of a linear hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) and an esterase-responsive hydrophobic dendron, to prepare and study two diverse strategies for loading of enzyme-responsive micelles. In the first type of micelles, hydrophobic coumarin-derived dyes were encapsulated noncovalently inside the hydrophobic core of the micelle, which was composed of lipophilic enzyme-responsive dendrons. In the second type of micellar nanocarrier the hydrophobic molecular cargo was covalently linked to the end-groups of the dendron through enzyme-cleavable bonds. These amphiphilic hybrids self-assembled into micellar nanocarriers with their cargo covalently encapsulated within the hydrophobic core. Both types of micelles were highly responsive toward the activating enzyme and released their molecular cargo upon enzymatic stimulus. Importantly, while faster release was observed with noncovalent encapsulation, higher loading capacity and slower release rate were achieved with covalent encapsulation. Our results clearly indicate the great potential of enzyme-responsive micellar delivery platforms due to the ability to tune their payload capacities and release rates by adjusting the loading strategy.

  10. Improved enzymatic production of phenolated glycerides through alkyl phenolate intermediate

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Zhiyong; Feddern, Vivian; Glasius, Marianne

    2011-01-01

    This work reported a novel approach for synthesis of dihydrocaffoylated glycerides, consisting of 2 steps: enzymatic synthesis of octyl dihydrocaffeate (as a synthetic intermediate) from octanol and dihydrocaffeic acid (DHCA), and enzymatic interesterification of triglycerides with octyl dihydroc......This work reported a novel approach for synthesis of dihydrocaffoylated glycerides, consisting of 2 steps: enzymatic synthesis of octyl dihydrocaffeate (as a synthetic intermediate) from octanol and dihydrocaffeic acid (DHCA), and enzymatic interesterification of triglycerides with octyl...

  11. Chemo‐enzymatic epoxidation–process options for improving biocatalytic productivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hagström, Anna E. V.; Törnvall, Ulrika; Nordblad, Mathias

    2011-01-01

    The reactor choice is crucial when designing a process where inactivation of the biocatalyst is a problem. The main bottleneck for the chemo‐enzymatic epoxidation has been found to be enzyme inactivation by the hydrogen peroxide, H2O2, substrate. In the work reported here, the effect of reaction...... parameters on the reaction performance have been investigated and used to establish suitable operating strategies to minimize the inactivation of the enzyme, using rapeseed methyl ester (RME) as a substrate in a solvent‐free system. The use of a controlled fed‐batch reactor for maintaining H2O2 concentration...... at 1.5 M resulted in increased productivity, up to 76 grams of product per gram of biocatalyst with higher retention of enzyme activity. Further investigation included a multistage design that separated the enzymatic reaction and the saturation of the RME substrate with H2O2 into different vessels...

  12. Rational design of functional and tunable oscillating enzymatic networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Semenov, Sergey N.; Wong, Albert S. Y.; van der Made, R. Martijn; Postma, Sjoerd G. J.; Groen, Joost; van Roekel, Hendrik W. H.; de Greef, Tom F. A.; Huck, Wilhelm T. S.

    2015-02-01

    Life is sustained by complex systems operating far from equilibrium and consisting of a multitude of enzymatic reaction networks. The operating principles of biology's regulatory networks are known, but the in vitro assembly of out-of-equilibrium enzymatic reaction networks has proved challenging, limiting the development of synthetic systems showing autonomous behaviour. Here, we present a strategy for the rational design of programmable functional reaction networks that exhibit dynamic behaviour. We demonstrate that a network built around autoactivation and delayed negative feedback of the enzyme trypsin is capable of producing sustained oscillating concentrations of active trypsin for over 65 h. Other functions, such as amplification, analog-to-digital conversion and periodic control over equilibrium systems, are obtained by linking multiple network modules in microfluidic flow reactors. The methodology developed here provides a general framework to construct dissipative, tunable and robust (bio)chemical reaction networks.

  13. Positive effects of temperature and growth conditions on enzymatic and antioxidant status in lettuce plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boo, Hee-Ock; Heo, Buk-Gu; Gorinstein, Shela; Chon, Sang-Uk

    2011-10-01

    The contents of two bioactive compounds (polyphenols and flavonoids) and their antioxidant and enzyme activities were determined in the leaves of six lettuce (Latuca sativa L.) cultivars subjected to 4 different day/night temperatures for 6 weeks. The total polyphenol and anthocyanin contents and the corresponding antioxidant activities were the highest at 13/10°C and 20/13°C, followed by 25/20°C and 30/25°C. The enzymatic activities of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) were also the highest at low day/night temperatures, but the peroxidase (POD) activity was decreased at low day/night temperatures and increased at high day/night temperatures. The most significant positive correlation existed between anthocyanin content and PPO activity, total polyphenols and their antioxidant activities. The results showed that at relatively low temperatures, lettuce plants have a high antioxidant and enzymatic status. These results provide additional information for the lettuce growers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Enzymatic conversion of all-trans-β-carotene to retinal by a cytosolic enzyme from rabbit and rat intestinal mucosa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lakshman, M.R.; Mychkovsky, I.; Attlesey, M.

    1989-01-01

    Enzymatic conversion of all-trans-β-carotene to retinal by a partially purified enzyme from rabbit and rat intestinal mucosa was demonstrated. The enzymatic product was characterized based on the following evidence: (i) the product gave rise to its O-ethyloxime by treatment with O-ethylhydroxylamine with an absorption maximum at 363 nm in ethanol characteristics of authentic retinal O-ethyloxime. High-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) of this derivative yielded a sharp peak with a retention time of 7.99 min corresponding to the authentic compound; (ii) the mass spectrum of the O-ethyloxime of the enzymatic product was identical to that of authentic retinal O-ethyloxime; (iii) the specific activity of the enzymatically formed [ 14 C]retinal O-ethyloxime remained constant even after repeated crystallization; (iv) the enzymatic product exhibited an absorption maximum at 370 nm in light petroleum characteristic of authentic retinal. This retinol was enzymatically esterified to retinyl palmitate by rat pancreatic esterase with a retention time of 10 min on HPLC corresponding to authentic retinyl palmitate. Thus, the enzymatic product of β-carotene cleavage by the partially purified intestinal enzyme was unequivocally confirmed to be retinal

  15. Ensiling and hydrothermal pretreatment of grass: Consequences for enzymatic biomass conversion and total monosaccharide yields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ambye-Jensen, Morten; Johansen, Katja Salomon; Didion, Thomas

    2014-01-01

    Ensiling may act as a pretreatment of fresh grass biomass and increase the enzymatic conversion of structural carbohydrates to fermentable sugars. However, ensiling does not provide sufficient severity to be a standalone pretreatment method. Here, ensiling of grass is combined with hydrothermal...... treatment (HTT) with the aim of improving the enzymatic biomass convertibility and decrease the required temperature of the HTT. Results: Grass silage (Festulolium Hykor) was hydrothermally treated at temperatures of 170, 180, and 190°C for 10 minutes. Relative to HTT treated dry grass, ensiling increased...... convertibility). The effect of ensiling of grass prior to HTT improved the enzymatic conversion of cellulose for HTT at 170 and 180°C, but the increased glucose release did not make up for the loss of water soluble carbohydrates (WSC) during ensiling. Overall, sugar yields (C6 + C5) were similar for HTT of grass...

  16. Enzymatic desulfurization of coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boyer, Y.N.; Crooker, S.C.; Kitchell, J.P.; Nochur, S.V.

    1991-05-16

    The overall objective of this program was to investigate the feasibility of an enzymatic desulfurization process specifically intended for organic sulfur removal from coal. Toward that end, a series of specific objectives were defined: (1) establish the feasibility of (bio)oxidative pretreatment followed by biochemical sulfate cleavage for representative sulfur-containing model compounds and coals using commercially-available enzymes; (2) investigate the potential for the isolation and selective use of enzyme preparations from coal-utilizing microbial systems for desulfurization of sulfur-containing model compounds and coals; and (3) develop a conceptual design and economic analysis of a process for enzymatic removal of organic sulfur from coal. Within the scope of this program, it was proposed to carry out a portion of each of these efforts concurrently. (VC)

  17. Graphene paper based bioelectrodes for enzymatic biofuel cells

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Werchmeister, Rebecka Maria Larsen; Shen, Fei; Zhang, Jingdong

    We aim at developing bioelectrodes for enzymatic biofuel cells, where sustainable and renewable enzymes are used for catalyzing the oxidation and reduction of fuel molecules. Here glucose is chosen as fuel molecule and glucose oxidase (GOx) is target enzyme which catalyzes the oxidation of glucose...... of glucose. This indicates that the enzyme has been successfully immobilized and is actively consuming glucose while transferring electrons to the graphene paper-GOx bioanode. Stability and efficiency of the bioelectrodes are under investigation....

  18. Enzymatic biodiesel production: Technical and economical considerations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Munk Nielsen, Per; Brask, Jesper; Fjerbæk, Lene

    2008-01-01

    It is well documented in the literature that enzymatic processing of oils and fats for biodiesel is technically feasible. However, with very few exceptions, enzyme technology is not currently used in commercial-scale biodiesel production. This is mainly due to non-optimized process design...... and a lack of available costeffective enzymes. The technology to re-use enzymes has typically proven insufficient for the processes to be competitive. However, literature data documenting the productivity of enzymatic biodiesel together with the development of new immobilization technology indicates...... that enzyme catalysts can become cost effective compared to chemical processing. This work reviews the enzymatic processing of oils and fats into biodiesel with focus on process design and economy....

  19. Enzymatic determination of cadmium, zinc, and lead in plant materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muginova, S.V.; Veselova, I.A.; Parova, L.M.; Shekhovtseva, T.N.

    2008-01-01

    Prospects are outlined for using the following enzymes (native and immobilized on polyurethane foam) in the rapid and highly sensitive determination of cadmium, zinc, and lead ions in plant materials (wild grass, fresh pea, and grape): horseradish peroxidase and alkaline phosphatases isolated from chicken intestine and Greenland seal small intestine. The analytical ranges of the above metals are 1x10 -3 -25; 7x10 -3 -250, and 3x10 -2 -67 mg/kg dry matter, respectively. The enzymatic determination procedures developed are based on the inhibiting effect of metal ions on the catalytic activity of peroxidase in the oxidation of o-dianisidine with hydrogen peroxide and alkaline phosphatases in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl phosphate. The rates of enzymatic reactions were monitored spectrophotometrically or visually. In the analysis of plant extracts, their high acidity was diminished by choosing optimum dilution factors and pH values for test samples and the nature and concentration of a buffer solution. The interference of iron(III) was removed by introducing a 0.1 M tartaric acid solution into the indicator reaction. The accuracy of the results of the enzymatic determination of cadmium, zinc, and lead in plant materials was supported by atomic absorption spectrometry and anodic stripping voltammetry [ru

  20. Comparison of enzymatic activities in different Candida species isolated from women with vulvovaginitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatahinia, M; Halvaeezadeh, M; Rezaei-Matehkolaei, A

    2017-06-01

    Comparing the activities of secreted enzymes in different fungal species can improve our understanding of their pathogenic role. Secretion of various enzymes by Candida species has been considered for determination of their virulence in different Candida infections including vulvovaginitis. The aim of this study was to determine and compare the activity of secreted enzymes in Candidia strains isolated from women suspected to vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) and referred to some health centers in Khuzestan, Southwestern Iran. The vaginal secretion samples were taken by swap from 250 suspected women with symptoms of vulvovaginal candidiasis and cultured on CHROMagar Candida medium. Identification of the isolated Candida from culture positive samples performed by the color of colonies and some standard mycological procedures. Activities of phospholipase, hemolysin-α, hemolysin-β, esterase and proteinase were measured in vitro by standard laboratory protocols. The enzymatic activity index (EAI) was calculated for each enzyme in accordance to relevant protocols. Totally in eighty cases (32%), a Candida strain was isolated which found to be as 52 (65%) Candida albicans; 12 (15%) C. glabrata; 10 (12.5%) C. dubliniensis; 4 (5%) C. krusei, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis species (each=1; 1.3%). Among C. albicans strains, 89.1% produced all studied enzymes, while 86% of C. glabrata strains failed to produce proteinase and phospholipase. The EAIs in decreasing order were as hemolysin-β=0.2895, hemolysin-α=0.5420, esterase=0.5753, proteinase=0.7413, and phospholipase=0.7446, respectively. Activity of phospholipase, esterase and proteinase secreted by C. albicans and C. dubliniensis were significantly more than those released by C. glabrata and C. krusei, while 86% of C. glabrata strains did not show esterase activity. On the other hand, the activity rates of hemolysin α and β among all studied isolates were almost similar. In the present study, the prevalence

  1. Enzymatic modification of egg lecithin to improve properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asomaning, Justice; Curtis, Jonathan M

    2017-04-01

    This research studied the enzymatic modification of egg yolk phospholipids and its effect on physicochemical properties. Egg yolk lipids were extracted with food grade ethanol and egg phospholipids (ePL) produced by deoiling with acetone. Vegetable oils were used to interesterify ePL utilizing Lipozyme®: sn-1,3 specific lipase. The enzymatic interesterification resulted in a single phase liquid product, whereas simple blending of the ePL and vegetable oil resulted in a product with two phases. In addition solid fat content decreased by 50% at -10°C and 94% at 35°C when compared with egg yolk lipids extract. A decrease in melting temperature resulted from the interesterification process. Interesterification improved emulsion stability index when used as an emulsifier in oil-in-water emulsion and compared to the native and soy lecithin. Enzyme reusability test showed retention of 63% activity after 10 cycles. Overall, the properties of native egg phospholipids were significantly enhanced in a potentially useful manner through interesterification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Warming and organic matter sources impact the proportion of dissolved to total activities in marine extracellular enzymatic rates

    KAUST Repository

    Baltar, Federico

    2017-04-19

    Extracellular enzymatic activities (EEAs) are the rate-limiting step in the degradation of organic matter. Extracellular enzymes can be found associated to cells or dissolved in the surrounding water. The proportion of cell-free EEA constitutes in many marine environments more than half of the total activity. This high proportion causes an uncoupling between hydrolysis rates and the actual bacterial activity. However, we do not know what factors control the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA, nor how this may change in the future ocean. To resolve this, we performed laboratory experiments with water from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia) to study the effects of temperature and dissolved organic matter sources on EEA and the proportion of dissolved EEA. We found that warming increases the rates of organic matter hydrolysis and reduces the proportion of dissolved relative to total EEA. This suggests a potential increase of the coupling between organic matter hydrolysis and heterotrophic activities with increasing ocean temperatures, although strongly dependent on the organic matter substrates available. Our study suggests that local differences in the organic matter composition in tropical coastal ecosystems will strongly affect the proportion of dissolved EEA in response to ocean warming.

  3. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated barley and wheat straw

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rosgaard, Lisa

    2007-01-01

    . The work involved evaluation of 1) possible ways to increase the glucose release from the commercial cellulase product Celluclast by boosting with other enzyme activities to increase the enzymatic hydrolysis, 2) comparing differently pretreated feedstock substrates and 3) evaluating a fed-batch substrate...... mixture resulted in a glucose release corresponding to ~84 % of the glucose release from Celluclast. It was therefore suggested that other enzyme activities than the 4 four main cellulase activities in Celluclast are necessary for optimal hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Even though Celluclast...... is a multicomponent cellulase mixture, there are still possibilities for further improvement in terms of providing the most efficient cellulase mixture for lignocellulose hydrolysis. It was shown that substrates evaluated all had some residual hemicellulose in the solid cellulose fraction after pretreatment...

  4. CuO nanoparticles supported on nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene nanocomposites for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Meixia [Hebei University of Engineering, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering (China); Guo, Qingbin, E-mail: guoqingbinhue@163.com [Hebei University of Engineering, Academic Affairs office (China); Xie, Juan; Li, Yongde; Feng, Yapeng [Hebei University of Engineering, Faculty of Material Science and Engineering (China)

    2017-01-15

    Developing highly active catalysts to promote the electrocatalytic glucose oxidation (EGO) is a crucial demand for non-enzymatic glucose sensing. Herein, we reported the use of nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene (NSG) as a novel support material for anchoring CuO nanoparticles and obtained CuO/NSG was employed as an efficient EGO catalyst for non-enzymatic glucose sensing. The results showed that the NSG endowed the CuO/NSG with large surface area, increased structural defects, improved conductivity, and strong covalent coupling between NSG and CuO. Owing to the significant contribution of NSG and the synergistic effect of NSG and CuO, the CuO/NSG exhibited a remarkably higher EGO activity than CuO and CuO/reduced graphene oxide. The CuO/NSG-based sensor displayed excellent glucose sensing performances with a considerably low detection limit of 0.07 μM. These findings elucidate that the NSG is a promising support material for non-enzymatic glucose detection.

  5. Effect of alkali lignins with different molecular weights from alkali pretreated rice straw hydrolyzate on enzymatic hydrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yun; Qi, Benkun; Luo, Jianquan; Wan, Yinhua

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the effect of alkali lignins with different molecular weights on enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulose. Different alkali lignins fractions, which were obtained from cascade ultrafiltration, were added into the dilute acid pretreated (DAP) and alkali pretreated (AP) rice straws respectively during enzymatic hydrolysis. The results showed that the addition of alkali lignins enhanced the hydrolysis and the enhancement for hydrolysis increased with increasing molecular weights of alkali lignins, with maximum enhancement being 28.69% for DAP and 20.05% for AP, respectively. The enhancement was partly attributed to the improved cellulase activity, and filter paper activity increased by 18.03% when adding lignin with highest molecular weight. It was found that the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis was correlated with the adsorption affinity of cellulase on alkali lignins, and the difference in surface charge and hydrophobicity of alkali lignins were responsible for the difference in affinity between cellulase and lignins. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Scale-up and integration of alkaline hydrogen peroxide pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and ethanolic fermentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banerjee, Goutami; Car, Suzana; Liu, Tongjun; Williams, Daniel L; Meza, Sarynna López; Walton, Jonathan D; Hodge, David B

    2012-04-01

    Alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) has several attractive features as a pretreatment in the lignocellulosic biomass-to-ethanol pipeline. Here, the feasibility of scaling-up the AHP process and integrating it with enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation was studied. Corn stover (1 kg) was subjected to AHP pretreatment, hydrolyzed enzymatically, and the resulting sugars fermented to ethanol. The AHP pretreatment was performed at 0.125 g H(2) O(2) /g biomass, 22°C, and atmospheric pressure for 48 h with periodic pH readjustment. The enzymatic hydrolysis was performed in the same reactor following pH neutralization of the biomass slurry and without washing. After 48 h, glucose and xylose yields were 75% and 71% of the theoretical maximum. Sterility was maintained during pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis without the use of antibiotics. During fermentation using a glucose- and xylose-utilizing strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, all of the Glc and 67% of the Xyl were consumed in 120 h. The final ethanol titer was 13.7 g/L. Treatment of the enzymatic hydrolysate with activated carbon prior to fermentation had little effect on Glc fermentation but markedly improved utilization of Xyl, presumably due to the removal of soluble aromatic inhibitors. The results indicate that AHP is readily scalable and can be integrated with enzyme hydrolysis and fermentation. Compared to other leading pretreatments for lignocellulosic biomass, AHP has potential advantages with regard to capital costs, process simplicity, feedstock handling, and compatibility with enzymatic deconstruction and fermentation. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:922-931. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  7. Enzymatic Inverse Opal Hydrogel Particles for Biocatalyst.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Huan; Gu, Hongcheng; Chen, Zhuoyue; Shang, Luoran; Zhao, Ze; Gu, Zhongze; Zhao, Yuanjin

    2017-04-19

    Enzymatic carriers have a demonstrated value for chemical reactions and industrial applications. Here, we present a novel kind of inverse opal hydrogel particles as the enzymatic carriers. The particles were negatively replicated from spherical colloidal crystal templates by using magnetic nanoparticles tagged acrylamide hydrogel. Thus, they were endowed with the features of monodispersity, small volume, complete penetrating structure, and controllable motion, which are all beneficial for improving the efficiency of biocatalysis. In addition, due to the ordered porous nanostructure, the inverse opal hydrogel particles were imparted with unique photonic band gaps (PBGs) and vivid structural colors for encoding varieties of immobilized enzymes and for constructing a multienzymes biocatalysis system. These features of the inverse opal hydrogel particles indicate that they are ideal enzymatic carriers for biocatalysis.

  8. Enzymatic saccharification of biologically pre-treated wheat straw with white-rot fungi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias, Albino A; Freitas, Gil S; Marques, Guilhermina S M; Sampaio, Ana; Fraga, Irene S; Rodrigues, Miguel A M; Evtuguin, Dmitry V; Bezerra, Rui M F

    2010-08-01

    Wheat straw was submitted to a pre-treatment by the basidiomycetous fungi Euc-1 and Irpex lacteus, aiming to improve the accessibility of cellulose towards enzymatic hydrolysis via previous selective bio-delignification. This allowed the increase of substrate saccharification nearly four and three times while applying the basidiomycetes Euc-1 and I. lacteus, respectively. The cellulose/lignin ratio increased from 2.7 in the untreated wheat straw to 5.9 and 4.6 after the bio-treatment by the basidiomycetes Euc-1 and I. lacteus, respectively, thus evidencing the highly selective lignin biodegradation. The enzymatic profile of both fungi upon bio-treatment of wheat straw have been assessed including laccase, manganese-dependent peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, carboxymethylcellulase, xylanase, avicelase and feruloyl esterase activities. The difference in efficiency and selectivity of delignification within the two fungi treatments was interpreted in terms of specific lignolytic enzyme profiles and moderate xylanase and cellulolytic activities. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Imbalanced nutrient recycling in a warmer ocean driven by differential response of extracellular enzymatic activities

    KAUST Repository

    Ayo, Begoñ a; Abad, Naiara; Artolozaga, Itxaso; Azua, Iñ igo; Bañ a, Zuriñ e; Unanue, Marian; Gasol, Josep M.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Iriberri, Juan

    2017-01-01

    Ocean oligotrophication concurrent with warming weakens the capacity of marine primary producers to support marine food webs and act as a CO2 sink, and is believed to result from reduced nutrient inputs associated to the stabilization of the thermocline. However, nutrient supply in the oligotrophic ocean is largely dependent on the recycling of organic matter. This involves hydrolytic processes catalyzed by extracellular enzymes released by bacteria, which temperature-dependence has not yet been evaluated. Here we report a global assessment of the temperature-sensitivity, as represented by the activation energies (Ea ), of extracellular β-glucosidase (βG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzymatic activities, which enable the uptake by bacteria of substrates rich in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. These Ea were calculated from two different approaches, temperature experimental manipulations and a space-for-time substitution approach, which generated congruent results. The three activities showed contrasting Ea in the subtropical and tropical ocean, with βG increasing the fastest with warming, followed by LAP, while AP showed the smallest increase. The estimated activation energies predict that the hydrolysis products under projected warming scenarios will have higher C:N, C:P and N:P molar ratios than those currently generated, and suggest that the warming of oceanic surface waters leads to a decline in the nutrient supply to the microbial heterotrophic community relative to that of carbon, particularly so for phosphorus, slowing down nutrient recycling and contributing to further ocean oligotrophication. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  10. Imbalanced nutrient recycling in a warmer ocean driven by differential response of extracellular enzymatic activities

    KAUST Repository

    Ayo, Begoña

    2017-06-08

    Ocean oligotrophication concurrent with warming weakens the capacity of marine primary producers to support marine food webs and act as a CO2 sink, and is believed to result from reduced nutrient inputs associated to the stabilization of the thermocline. However, nutrient supply in the oligotrophic ocean is largely dependent on the recycling of organic matter. This involves hydrolytic processes catalyzed by extracellular enzymes released by bacteria, which temperature-dependence has not yet been evaluated. Here we report a global assessment of the temperature-sensitivity, as represented by the activation energies (Ea ), of extracellular β-glucosidase (βG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzymatic activities, which enable the uptake by bacteria of substrates rich in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively. These Ea were calculated from two different approaches, temperature experimental manipulations and a space-for-time substitution approach, which generated congruent results. The three activities showed contrasting Ea in the subtropical and tropical ocean, with βG increasing the fastest with warming, followed by LAP, while AP showed the smallest increase. The estimated activation energies predict that the hydrolysis products under projected warming scenarios will have higher C:N, C:P and N:P molar ratios than those currently generated, and suggest that the warming of oceanic surface waters leads to a decline in the nutrient supply to the microbial heterotrophic community relative to that of carbon, particularly so for phosphorus, slowing down nutrient recycling and contributing to further ocean oligotrophication. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  11. Imbalanced nutrient recycling in a warmer ocean driven by differential response of extracellular enzymatic activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayo, Begoña; Abad, Naiara; Artolozaga, Itxaso; Azua, Iñigo; Baña, Zuriñe; Unanue, Marian; Gasol, Josep M; Duarte, Carlos M; Iriberri, Juan

    2017-10-01

    Ocean oligotrophication concurrent with warming weakens the capacity of marine primary producers to support marine food webs and act as a CO 2 sink, and is believed to result from reduced nutrient inputs associated to the stabilization of the thermocline. However, nutrient supply in the oligotrophic ocean is largely dependent on the recycling of organic matter. This involves hydrolytic processes catalyzed by extracellular enzymes released by bacteria, which temperature dependence has not yet been evaluated. Here, we report a global assessment of the temperature-sensitivity, as represented by the activation energies (E a ), of extracellular β-glucosidase (βG), leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzymatic activities, which enable the uptake by bacteria of substrates rich in carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, respectively. These E a were calculated from two different approaches, temperature experimental manipulations and a space-for-time substitution approach, which generated congruent results. The three activities showed contrasting E a in the subtropical and tropical ocean, with βG increasing the fastest with warming, followed by LAP, while AP showed the smallest increase. The estimated activation energies predict that the hydrolysis products under projected warming scenarios will have higher C:N, C:P and N:P molar ratios than those currently generated, and suggest that the warming of oceanic surface waters leads to a decline in the nutrient supply to the microbial heterotrophic community relative to that of carbon, particularly so for phosphorus, slowing down nutrient recycling and contributing to further ocean oligotrophication. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Combined Enzymatic and Mechanical Cell Disruption and Lipid Extraction of Green Alga Neochloris oleoabundans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dongqin; Li, Yanqun; Hu, Xueqiong; Su, Weimin; Zhong, Min

    2015-01-01

    Microalgal biodiesel is one of the most promising renewable fuels. The wet technique for lipids extraction has advantages over the dry method, such as energy-saving and shorter procedure. The cell disruption is a key factor in wet oil extraction to facilitate the intracellular oil release. Ultrasonication, high-pressure homogenization, enzymatic hydrolysis and the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis with high-pressure homogenization and ultrasonication were employed in this study to disrupt the cells of the microalga Neochloris oleoabundans. The cell disruption degree was investigated. The cell morphology before and after disruption was assessed with scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The energy requirements and the operation cost for wet cell disruption were also estimated. The highest disruption degree, up to 95.41%, assessed by accounting method was achieved by the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and high-pressure homogenization. A lipid recovery of 92.6% was also obtained by the combined process. The combined process was found to be more efficient and economical compared with the individual process. PMID:25853267

  13. Combined Enzymatic and Mechanical Cell Disruption and Lipid Extraction of Green Alga Neochloris oleoabundans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongqin Wang

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Microalgal biodiesel is one of the most promising renewable fuels. The wet technique for lipids extraction has advantages over the dry method, such as energy-saving and shorter procedure. The cell disruption is a key factor in wet oil extraction to facilitate the intracellular oil release. Ultrasonication, high-pressure homogenization, enzymatic hydrolysis and the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis with high-pressure homogenization and ultrasonication were employed in this study to disrupt the cells of the microalga Neochloris oleoabundans. The cell disruption degree was investigated. The cell morphology before and after disruption was assessed with scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The energy requirements and the operation cost for wet cell disruption were also estimated. The highest disruption degree, up to 95.41%, assessed by accounting method was achieved by the combination of enzymatic hydrolysis and high-pressure homogenization. A lipid recovery of 92.6% was also obtained by the combined process. The combined process was found to be more efficient and economical compared with the individual process.

  14. Requirement of lid2 for interfacial activation of a family I.3 lipase with unique two lid structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Maria; Angkawidjaja, Clement; Koga, Yuichi; Kanaya, Shigenori

    2012-10-01

    A family I.3 lipase from Pseudomonas sp. MIS38 (PML) is characterized by the presence of two lids (lid1 and lid2) that greatly change conformation upon substrate binding. While lid1 represents the commonly known lid in lipases, lid2 is unique to PML and other family I.3 lipases. To clarify the role of lid2 in PML, a lid2 deletion mutant (ΔL2-PML) was constructed by deleting residues 35-64 of PML. ΔL2-PML requires calcium ions for both lipase and esterase activities as does PML, suggesting that it exhibits activity only when lid1 is fully open and anchored by the catalytically essential calcium ion, as does PML. However, when the enzymatic activity was determined using triacetin, the activity of PML exponentially increased as the substrate concentration reached and increased beyond the critical micellar concentration, while that of ΔL2-PML did not. These results indicate that PML undergoes interfacial activation, while ΔL2-PML does not. The activities of ΔL2-PML for long-chain triglycerides significantly decreased while its activity for fatty acid ethyl esters increased, compared with those of PML. Comparison of the tertiary models of ΔL2-PML in a closed and open conformation, which are optimized by molecular dynamics simulation, with the crystal structures of PML suggests that the hydrophobic surface area provided by lid1 and lid2 in an open conformation is considerably decreased by the deletion of lid2. We propose that the hydrophobic surface area provided by these lids is necessary to hold the micellar substrates firmly to the active site and therefore lid2 is required for interfacial activation of PML. © 2012 The Authors Journal compilation © 2012 FEBS.

  15. Characterization of Amino Acid Profile and Enzymatic Activity in Adult Rat Astrocyte Cultures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souza, Débora Guerini; Bellaver, Bruna; Hansel, Gisele; Arús, Bernardo Assein; Bellaver, Gabriela; Longoni, Aline; Kolling, Janaina; Wyse, Angela T S; Souza, Diogo Onofre; Quincozes-Santos, André

    2016-07-01

    Astrocytes are multitasking players in brain complexity, possessing several receptors and mechanisms to detect, participate and modulate neuronal communication. The functionality of astrocytes has been mainly unraveled through the study of primary astrocyte cultures, and recently our research group characterized a model of astrocyte cultures derived from adult Wistar rats. We, herein, aim to characterize other basal functions of these cells to explore the potential of this model for studying the adult brain. To characterize the astrocytic phenotype, we determined the presence of GFAP, GLAST and GLT 1 proteins in cells by immunofluorescence. Next, we determined the concentrations of thirteen amino acids, ATP, ADP, adenosine and calcium in astrocyte cultures, as well as the activities of Na(+)/K(+)-ATPase and acetylcholine esterase. Furthermore, we assessed the presence of the GABA transporter 1 (GAT 1) and cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB 1) in the astrocytes. Cells demonstrated the presence of glutamine, consistent with their role in the glutamate-glutamine cycle, as well as glutamate and D-serine, amino acids classically known to act as gliotransmitters. ATP was produced and released by the cells and ADP was consumed. Calcium levels were in agreement with those reported in the literature, as were the enzymatic activities measured. The presence of GAT 1 was detected, but the presence of CB 1 was not, suggesting a decreased neuroprotective capacity in adult astrocytes under in vitro conditions. Taken together, our results show cellular functionality regarding the astrocytic role in gliotransmission and neurotransmitter management since they are able to produce and release gliotransmitters and to modulate the cholinergic and GABAergic systems.

  16. Enzymatic Synthesis of Psilocybin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fricke, Janis; Blei, Felix; Hoffmeister, Dirk

    2017-09-25

    Psilocybin is the psychotropic tryptamine-derived natural product of Psilocybe carpophores, the so-called "magic mushrooms". Although its structure has been known for 60 years, the enzymatic basis of its biosynthesis has remained obscure. We characterized four psilocybin biosynthesis enzymes, namely i) PsiD, which represents a new class of fungal l-tryptophan decarboxylases, ii) PsiK, which catalyzes the phosphotransfer step, iii) the methyltransferase PsiM, catalyzing iterative N-methyl transfer as the terminal biosynthetic step, and iv) PsiH, a monooxygenase. In a combined PsiD/PsiK/PsiM reaction, psilocybin was synthesized enzymatically in a step-economic route from 4-hydroxy-l-tryptophan. Given the renewed pharmaceutical interest in psilocybin, our results may lay the foundation for its biotechnological production. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  17. Enzymatic determination of rare earth elements by use of pyrophosphotases

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shekhovtseva, T.N.; Pirogova, S.V.; Fedorova, O.M.; Dolmanova, I.F.; Bajkov, A.A.

    1993-01-01

    A highly sensitive (determination limit 8 x 10 -6 - 4 x 10 -4 μg/ml) and selective enzymatic method for determination of rare earth elements has been developed. The method is based on inhibition action of rare earths on the catalytic activity of pyrophosphates isolated from bakery geast and E. Coli. The mechanism of the rare earth element action, corresponding to competitive inhibition, has been established

  18. In Situ Enzymatically Generated Photoswitchable Oxidase Mimetics and Their Application for Colorimetric Detection of Glucose Oxidase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Gen-Xia; Wu, Xiu-Ming; Dong, Yu-Ming; Li, Zai-Jun; Wang, Guang-Li

    2016-07-09

    In this study, a simple and amplified colorimetric assay is developed for the detection of the enzymatic activity of glucose oxidase (GOx) based on in situ formation of a photoswitchable oxidase mimetic of PO₄(3-)-capped CdS quantum dots (QDs). GOx catalyzes the oxidation of 1-thio-β-d-glucose to give 1-thio-β-d-gluconic acid which spontaneously hydrolyzes to β-d-gluconic acid and H₂S; the generated H₂S instantly reacts with Cd(2+) in the presence of Na₃PO₄ to give PO₄(3-)-stabilized CdS QDs in situ. Under visible-light (λ ≥ 400 nm) stimulation, the PO₄(3-)-capped CdS QDs are a new style of oxidase mimic derived by producing some active species, such as h⁺, (•)OH, O₂(•-) and a little H₂O₂, which can oxidize the typical substrate (3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzydine (TMB)) with a color change. Based on the GOx-triggered growth of the oxidase mimetics of PO₄(3-)-capped CdS QDs in situ, we developed a simple and amplified colorimetric assay to probe the enzymatic activity of GOx. The proposed method allowed the detection of the enzymatic activity of GOx over the range from 25 μg/L to 50 mg/L with a low detection limit of 6.6 μg/L. We believe the PO₄(3-)-capped CdS QDs generated in situ with photo-stimulated enzyme-mimicking activity may find wide potential applications in biosensors.

  19. Operation and Control of Enzymatic Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Price, Jason Anthony; Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted; Nordblad, Mathias

    This work explores the control of biodiesel production via an enzymatic catalyst. The process involves the transesterification of oils/fats with an alcohol (usually methanol or ethanol), using enzymatic catalysts to generate mono-alkyl esters (the basis of biodiesel) and glycerol as by......-product. Current literature indicates that enzymatic processing of oils and fats to produce biodiesel is technically feasible and developments in immobilization technology indicate that enzyme catalysts can become cost effective compared to chemical processing. However, with very few exceptions, enzyme technology...... is not currently used in commercial-scale biodiesel production. This is mainly due to non-optimized process designs, which do not use the full potential of the catalysts in a cost-efficient way. Furthermore is it unclear what process variables need to be monitored and controlled to ensure optimal economics...

  20. Similar potential ATP-P production and enzymatic activities in the microplankton community off Concepción (Chile) under oxic and suboxic conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    González, Rodrigo R.; Gutiérrez, Marcelo H.; Quiñones, Renato A.

    2007-11-01

    The effects of the oxygen minimum zone on the metabolism of the heterotrophic microplankton community (0.22-100 μm) in the Humboldt Current System, as well as the factors controlling its biomass production, remain unknown. Here we compare the effect of four sources of dissolved organic carbon (glucose, oxaloacetate, glycine, leucine) on microbial biomass production (such as ATP-P) and the potential enzymatic activities involved in catabolic pathways under oxic and suboxic conditions. Our results show significant differences ( p oxygen minimum zone has the same or greater potential growth than the community inhabiting more oxygenated strata of the water column and that malate dehydrogenase is the activity that best represents the metabolic potential of the community.

  1. Eschar removal by bromelain based enzymatic debridement (Nexobrid®) in burns: An European consensus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirche, Christoph; Citterio, Antonella; Hoeksema, Henk; Koller, Ján; Lehner, Martina; Martinez, José Ramón; Monstrey, Stan; Murray, Alexandra; Plock, Jan A; Sander, Frank; Schulz, Alexandra; Ziegler, Benjamin; Kneser, Ulrich

    2017-12-01

    Early debridement and/or eschar removal is regarded as a significant step in the treatment of deep partial and full thickness burns. It aims to control wound bioburden and allows early wound closure by conservative treatment or skin grafting. Preservation of viable dermis accompanied by early wound closure, is regarded as a necessary step to reduce scar related complication, e.g. functional limitations and/or unaesthetic scar formation. Aside from the classical techniques of surgical excision as tangential excision for eschar removal, hydro-surgery, maggot therapy, laser, enzymatic debridement have been described as additional techniques in the burn surgeon's armamentarium. It is widely accepted that early eschar removal within 72h improves the outcome of burn wound treatment by reducing bacterial wound colonization, infection and length of hospital stay. In contrast, the right technique for eschar removal is still a matter of debate. There is increasing evidence that enzymatic debridement is a powerful tool to remove eschar in burn wounds, reducing blood loss, the need for autologous skin grafting and the number of wounds requiring surgical excision. In order to assess the role and clinical advantages of enzymatic debridement by a mixture of proteolytic enzymes enriched in Bromelain (Nexobrid ® ) beyond the scope of the literature and in view of users' experience, a European Consensus Meeting was scheduled. The aim was to provide statements for application, based on the mutual experience of applying enzymatic debridement in more than 500 adult and pediatric patients by the consensus panelists. Issues to be addressed were: indications, pain management and anesthesia, timing of application, technique of application, after-intervention care, skin grafting after enzymatic debridement, blood loss, training strategies and learning curve and areas of future research needs. Sixty-eight (68) consensus statements were provided for the use of enzymatic debridement. The

  2. Pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corredor, Deisy Y.

    The performance of soybean hulls and forage sorghum as feedstocks for ethanol production was studied. The main goal of this research was to increase fermentable sugars' yield through high-efficiency pretreatment technology. Soybean hulls are a potential feedstock for production of bio-ethanol due to their high carbohydrate content (≈50%) of nearly 37% cellulose. Soybean hulls could be the ideal feedstock for fuel ethanol production, because they are abundant and require no special harvesting and additional transportation costs as they are already in the plant. Dilute acid and modified steam-explosion were used as pretreatment technologies to increase fermentable sugars yields. Effects of reaction time, temperature, acid concentration and type of acid on hydrolysis of hemicellulose in soybean hulls and total sugar yields were studied. Optimum pretreatment parameters and enzymatic hydrolysis conditions for converting soybean hulls into fermentable sugars were identified. The combination of acid (H2SO4, 2% w/v) and steam (140°C, 30 min) efficiently solubilized the hemicellulose, giving a pentose yield of 96%. Sorghum is a tropical grass grown primarily in semiarid and dry parts of the world, especially in areas too dry for corn. The production of sorghum results in about 30 million tons of byproducts mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Forage sorghum such as brown midrib (BMR) sorghum for ethanol production has generated much interest since this trait is characterized genetically by lower lignin concentrations in the plant compared with conventional types. Three varieties of forage sorghum and one variety of regular sorghum were characterized and evaluated as feedstock for fermentable sugar production. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-Ray diffraction were used to determine changes in structure and chemical composition of forage sorghum before and after pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis

  3. Protective effects against H2O2-induced damage by enzymatic hydrolysates of an edible brown seaweed, sea tangle (Laminaria japonica).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Pyo-Jam; Kim, Eun-Kyung; Lee, Seung-Jae; Park, Sun-Young; Kang, Dong-Soo; Jung, Bok-Mi; Kim, Kui-Shik; Je, Jae-Young; Ahn, Chang-Bum

    2009-02-01

    Enzymatic hydrolysates of Laminaria japonica were evaluated for antioxidative activities using hydroxyl radical scavenging activity and protective effects against H(2)O(2)-induced DNA and cell damage. In addition, activities of antioxidative enzymes, including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione S-transferase, of the enzymatic hydrolysates from L. japonica were also estimated. L. japonica was first enzymatically hydrolyzed by seven carbohydrases (Dextrozyme, AMG, Promozyme, Maltogenase, Termamyl, Viscozyme, and Celluclast [all from Novo Co., Novozyme Nordisk, Bagsvaerd, Denmark]) and five proteinases (Flavourzyme, Neutrase, Protamex, Alcalase [all from Novo Co.], and pancreatic trypsin). The hydroxyl radical scavenging activities of Promozyme and pancreatic trypsin hydrolysates from L. japonica were the highest as compared to those of the other carbohydrases and proteinases, and their 50% inhibitory concentration values were 1.67 and 317.49 mug/mL, respectively. The pancreatic trypsin hydrolysates of L. japonica exerted a protective effect on H(2)O(2)-induced DNA damage. We also evaluated the protective effect on hydroxyl radical-induced oxidative damage in PC12 cells via propidium iodide staining using a flow cytometer. The AMG and pancreatic trypsin hydrolysates of L. japonica dose-dependently protected PC12 cells against cell death caused by hydroxyl radical-induced oxidative damage. Additionally, we analyzed the activity of antioxidative enzymes such as catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and the phase II biotransformation enzyme glutathione S-transferase in L. japonica-treated cells. The activity of all antioxidative enzymes was higher in L. japonica-treated cells compared with the nontreated cells. These results indicate that enzymatic hydrolysates of L. japonica possess antioxidative activity.

  4. Glucose obtained from rice bran by ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raquel Cristine Kuhn

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available In this work ultrasound-assisted solid-state enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran to obtain fermentable sugars was investigated. For this purpose, process variables such as temperature, enzyme concentration and moisture content were evaluated during the enzymatic hydrolysis with and without ultrasound irradiation. The enzyme used is a blend of amylases derived from genetically modified strains of Trichoderma reesei. Kinetic of the enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran at the constant-reaction rate period were measured. The best results for the ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis was obtained using 3 wt% of enzyme, 60 oC and moisture content of 65 wt%, yielding 0.38 g sugar/g rice bran, whereas for the hydrolysis in the absence of ultrasound the highest yield was 0.20 g sugar/g rice bran using 3 wt% of enzyme, 60 oC and moisture content of 50 wt%. The use of ultrasound-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis of rice bran was intensified, obtaining around 74% more fermentable sugar than in the absence, showing that the use of ultrasound is a promising technology to be used in enzymatic reaction as an alternative of process intensification.

  5. Enzymatic hydrolysis of plant extracts containing inulin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guiraud, J.P.; Galzy, P.

    1981-10-01

    Inulin-rich extracts of chicory and Jerusalem artichoke are a good potential source of fructose. Total enzymatic hydrolysis of these extracts can be effected by yeast inulinases (EC 3.2.1.7). Chemical prehydrolysis is unfavourable. Enzymatic hydrolysis has advantages over chemical hydrolysis: it does not produce a dark-coloured fraction or secondary substances. It is possible to envisage the preparation of high fructose syrups using this process. (Refs. 42).

  6. Pregnancy Exercise Increase Enzymatic Antioxidant In Pregnant Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagey Freddy Wagey

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Pregnancy is a vulnerable condition to all kinds of "stress", resulting in changes of physiological and metabolic functions. This research aims to determine effect of exercise during pregnancy in increasing enzymatic antioxidant marked by increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD, gluthation peroxidase (GSHPx, and catalase (CAT levels. Methods: Randomized pre and posttest control group design was employed in this study. A number of 66 pregnant women were recruited in this study and grouped into two groups, i.e 30 of them as control group and the rest as treatment group. Pregnancy exercise was performed to all 36 pregnant women from 20 weeks gestation on treatment group. The exercise was performed in the morning for about 30 minutes, twice a weeks. On the other hand, daily activities was sugested for control group. Student’s t-test was then applied to determine the mean different of treatment and control group with 5 % of significant value. Results: This study reveals that there were significantly higher increase of (superoxide dismutase (SOD, gluthation peroxidase (GSHPx, and catalse (CAT levels of treatment group compare to control group. These enzymatic antioxidant increase among these two group were around 1.36 mg/gHb for SOD; 1.14 IU/gHb for GSHPx; and 0.97 IU/gHb for CAT, (p < 0.05.  Clinical outcomes, such as strengten of pelvic muscle and quality of life of treatment group were significantly better compared to control group (p < 0.05. Conclusions: This means that exercise during pregnancy ages of 20 weeks increase enzymatic antioxidant levels SOD, GSHPx, and CAT higher compare to control group without exercise.  

  7. Pregnancy Exercise Increase Enzymatic Antioxidant In Pregnant Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wagey Freddy Wagey

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Pregnancy is a vulnerable condition to all kinds of "stress", resulting in changes of physiological and metabolic functions. This research aims to determine effect of exercise during pregnancy in increasing enzymatic antioxidant marked by increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD, gluthation peroxidase (GSHPx, and catalase (CAT levels. Methods: Randomized pre and posttest control group design was employed in this study. A number of 66 pregnant women were recruited in this study and grouped into two groups, i.e 30 of them as control group and the rest as treatment group. Pregnancy exercise was performed to all 36 pregnant women from 20 weeks gestation on treatment group. The exercise was performed in the morning for about 30 minutes, twice a weeks. On the other hand, daily activities was sugested for control group. Student’s t-test was then applied to determine the mean different of treatment and control group with 5 % of significant value. Results: This study reveals that there were significantly higher increase of (superoxide dismutase (SOD, gluthation peroxidase (GSHPx, and catalse (CAT levels of treatment group compare to control group. These enzymatic antioxidant increase among these two group were around 1.36 mg/gHb for SOD; 1.14 IU/gHb for GSHPx; and 0.97 IU/gHb for CAT, (p < 0.05. Clinical outcomes, such as strengten of pelvic muscle and quality of life of treatment group were significantly better compared to control group (p < 0.05. Conclusions: This means that exercise during pregnancy ages of 20 weeks increase enzymatic antioxidant levels SOD, GSHPx, and CAT higher compare to control group without exercise.

  8. Enzymatic hydrolysis (pepsin assisted by ultrasound in the functional Properties of hydrolyzates from different collagens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandra Roseline Vidal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Enzymatic hydrolysis (pepsin assisted with or without ultrasound in the functional properties of hydrolyzates from different collagens were analyzed. Degree of hydrolysis, antioxidant activity (DPPH and antimicrobial activity (MIC were assessed. The treatment that resulted in greater antioxidant activity for the fiber sample was with the use of 4% of enzyme and concomitant ultrasound (40.7%, leading to a degree of hydrolysis of 21.7%. For the powdered fiber sample the hydrolysis treatment with use of 4% of enzyme resulted in lower protein content (6.97mg/mL, higher degree of hydrolysis (19.9% and greater antioxidant activity (38.6%. The hydrolyzates showed inhibitory capacity against gram-negative bacteria Salmonella choleraesuis and gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. It can be concluded that enzymatic hydrolysis concomitant or not with the use of ultrasound increased the functionality of the fiber and powdered fiber samples, for the other samples its use as supplementary treatment was not productive, due to the worse results of antioxidant activity (DPPH reported. However, it provided greater hydrolysis degree.

  9. Electron beam irradiation pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification of used newsprint and paper mill wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A.W.; Labrie, J.-P.; McKeown, Joseph

    1987-01-01

    Electron beam pretreatment of used newsprint, pulp, as well as pulp recovered from clarifier sludge and paper mill sludge, caused the dissociation of cellulose from lignin, and rendered them suitable for enzymatic hydrolysis. A maximum dose of 1 MGy for newsprint and 1.5-2.0 MGy for pulp and paper mill sludge was required to render cellulose present in them in a form which, could be enzymatically saccharified to 90% of completion. Saccharification approaching the theoretical yield was obtained in 2 days with a cellulolytic enzyme system obtained from Trichoderma reesei. As a result of irradiation, water soluble lignin breakdown products, NaOH- soluble lignin, free cellobiose, glucose, mannose, xylose and their polymers, and acetic acid were produced from these materials. (author)

  10. Polyphenol Content, Physicochemical Properties, Enzymatic Activity, Anthocyanin Profiles, and Antioxidant Capacity of Cerasus humilis (Bge. Sok. Genotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suwen Liu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Seven varieties of Chinese dwarf cherries were evaluated and compared with respect to their weight, diameter, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, color, polyphenol contents, ascorbic acid levels, anthocyanin profiles, enzymatic activity, and antioxidant capacity. The fruits are rich in phenolic content (339.07–770.30 mg/100 g fresh weight. Nine anthocyanins were obtained from fruits after chromatographic separation and their structures analyzed using HPLC-ESI-MS/MS. Cyanidin-3-glucoside was the major anthocyanin with 50.36–78.39% concentration. Three anthocyanins were reported for the first time in these cherries. They exhibit low polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities, but their superoxide dismutase activity is high (572.75–800.17 U/g FW. The highest amounts of soluble solid content (15.67 Brix %, total titratable acid (1.90%, ascorbic acid (18.47 mg/100 g FW, and total anthocyanin (152.66 mg/100 g FW were observed. Three methods (DPPH-scavenging ability, oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay, and cellular antioxidant activity assay were employed to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of the phenolic extracts of these cherries. Number 5 has the highest values of ORAC and CAA of 205.68 μmol TE/g DM and 99.67 μmol QE/100 g FW, respectively.

  11. An investigation of nitrile transforming enzymes in the chemo-enzymatic synthesis of the taxol sidechain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilding, Birgit; Veselá, Alicja B; Perry, Justin J B; Black, Gary W; Zhang, Meng; Martínková, Ludmila; Klempier, Norbert

    2015-07-28

    Paclitaxel (taxol) is an antimicrotubule agent widely used in the treatment of cancer. Taxol is prepared in a semisynthetic route by coupling the N-benzoyl-(2R,3S)-3-phenylisoserine sidechain to the baccatin III core structure. Precursors of the taxol sidechain have previously been prepared in chemoenzymatic approaches using acylases, lipases, and reductases, mostly featuring the enantioselective, enzymatic step early in the reaction pathway. Here, nitrile hydrolysing enzymes, namely nitrile hydratases and nitrilases, are investigated for the enzymatic hydrolysis of two different sidechain precursors. Both sidechain precursors, an openchain α-hydroxy-β-amino nitrile and a cyanodihydrooxazole, are suitable for coupling to baccatin III directly after the enzymatic step. An extensive set of nitrilases and nitrile hydratases was screened towards their activity and selectivity in the hydrolysis of two taxol sidechain precursors and their epimers. A number of nitrilases and nitrile hydratases converted both sidechain precursors and their epimers.

  12. Kinetics of enzymatic hydrolysis of methyl ricinoleate

    OpenAIRE

    Neeharika, T. S.V.R.; Lokesh, P.; Prasanna Rani, K. N.; Prathap Kumar, T.; Prasad, R. B.N.

    2015-01-01

    Ricinoleic acid is an unsaturated hydroxy fatty acid that naturally occurs in castor oil in proportions of up to 85–90%. Ricinoleic acid is a potential raw material and finds several applications in coatings, lubricant formulations and pharmaceutical areas. Enzymatic hydrolysis of castor oil is preferred over conventional hydrolysis for the preparation of ricinoleic acid to avoid estolide formation. A kinetics analysis of the enzymatic hydrolysis of Methyl Ricinoleate in the presence of Candi...

  13. Immobilization of proteins onto microbeads using a DNA binding tag for enzymatic assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kojima, Takaaki; Mizoguchi, Takuro; Ota, Eri; Hata, Jumpei; Homma, Keisuke; Zhu, Bo; Hitomi, Kiyotaka; Nakano, Hideo

    2016-02-01

    A novel DNA-binding protein tag, scCro-tag, which is a single-chain derivative of the bacteriophage lambda Cro repressor, has been developed to immobilize proteins of interest (POI) on a solid support through binding OR consensus DNA (ORC) that is tightly bound by the scCro protein. The scCro-tag successfully bound a transglutaminase 2 (TGase 2) substrate and manganese peroxidase (MnP) to microbeads via scaffolding DNA. The resulting protein-coated microbeads can be utilized for functional analysis of the enzymatic activity using flow cytometry. The quantity of bead-bound proteins can be enhanced by increasing the number of ORCs. In addition, proteins with the scCro-tag that were synthesized using a cell-free protein synthesis system were also immobilized onto the beads, thus indicating that this bead-based system would be applicable to high-throughput analysis of various enzymatic activities. Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. [The effect of enzymatic treatment using proteases on properties of persistent sodium current in CA1 pyramidal neurons of rat hippocampus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lun'ko, O O; Isaiev, D S; Maxymiuk, O P; Kryshtal', O O; Isaieva, O V

    2014-01-01

    We investigated the effect of proteases, widely used for neuron isolation in electrophysiological studies, on the amplitude and kinetic characteristics of persistent sodium current (I(NaP)) in hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Properties of I(NaP) were studied on neurons isolated by mechanical treatment (control group) and by mechanical and enzymatic treatment using pronase E (from Streptomyces griseus) or protease type XXIII (from Aspergillus oryzae). We show that in neurons isolated with pronase E kinetic of activation and density of I(NaP) was unaltered. Enzymatic treatment with protease type XXIII did not alter I(NaP) activation but result in significant decrease in I(NaP) density. Our data indicates that enzymatic treatment using pronase E for neuron isolation is preferable for investigation of I(NaP).

  15. Enzymatic synthesis of vanillin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Heuvel, RHH; Fraaije, MW; Laane, C; van Berkel, WJH; Heuvel, Robert H.H. van den; Berkel, Willem J.H. van

    Due to increasing interest in natural vanillin, two enzymatic routes for the synthesis of vanillin were developed. The flavoprotein vanillyl alcohol oxidase (VAO) acts on a wide range of phenolic compounds and converts both creosol and vanillylamine to vanillin with high yield. The VAO-mediated

  16. Enzymatic synthesis of vanillin

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuvel, van den R.H.H.; Fraaije, M.W.; Laane, C.; Berkel, van W.J.H.

    2001-01-01

    Due to increasing interest in natural vanillin, two enzymatic routes for the synthesis of vanillin were developed. The flavoprotein vanillyl alcohol oxidase (VAO) acts on a wide range of phenolic compounds and converts both creosol and vanillylamine to vanillin with high yield. The VAO-mediated

  17. Green-synthesized CdS nano-pesticides: Toxicity on young instars of malaria vectors and impact on enzymatic activities of the non-target mud crab Scylla serrata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sujitha, Vasu; Murugan, Kadarkarai; Dinesh, Devakumar; Pandiyan, Amuthvalli; Aruliah, Rajasekar; Hwang, Jiang-Shiou; Kalimuthu, Kandasamy; Panneerselvam, Chellasamy; Higuchi, Akon; Aziz, Al Thabiani; Kumar, Suresh; Alarfaj, Abdullah A; Vaseeharan, Baskaralingam; Canale, Angelo; Benelli, Giovanni

    2017-07-01

    Currently, nano-formulated mosquito larvicides have been widely proposed to control young instars of malaria vector populations. However, the fate of nanoparticles in the aquatic environment is scarcely known, with special reference to the impact of nanoparticles on enzymatic activity of non-target aquatic invertebrates. In this study, we synthesized CdS nanoparticles using a green protocol relying on the cheap extract of Valoniopsis pachynema algae. CdS nanoparticles showed high toxicity on young instars of the malaria vectors Anopheles stephensi and A. sundaicus. The antimalarial activity of the nano-synthesized product against chloroquine-resistant (CQ-r) Plasmodium falciparum parasites was investigated. From a non-target perspective, we focused on the impact of this novel nano-pesticide on antioxidant enzymes acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities of the mud crab Scylla serrata. The characterization of nanomaterials was carried out by UV-vis and FTIR spectroscopy, as well as SEM and XRD analyses. In mosquitocidal assays, LC 50 of V. pachynema-synthesized CdS nanoparticles on A. stephensi ranged from 16.856 (larva I), to 30.301μg/ml (pupa), while for An. sundaicus they ranged from 13.584 to 22.496μg/ml. The antiplasmodial activity of V. pachynema extract and CdS nanoparticles was evaluated against CQ-r and CQ-sensitive (CQ-s) strains of Plasmodium falciparum. IC 50 of V. pachynema extract was 58.1μg/ml (CQ-s) and 71.46μg/ml (CQ-r), while nano-CdS IC 50 was 76.14μg/ml (CQ-s) and 89.21μg/ml (CQ-r). In enzymatic assays, S. serrata crabs were exposed to sub-lethal concentrations, i.e. 4, 6 and 8μg/ml of CdS nanoparticles, assessing changes in GST and AChE activity after 16days. We observed significantly higher activity of GST, if compared to the control, during the whole experiment period. In addition, a single treatment with CdS nanoparticles led to a significant decrease in AChE activity over time. The toxicity of Cd

  18. Enzymatic hydrolsis of pretreated rice straw

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vlasenko, E.Y.; Shoemaker, S.P. [California Inst. of Food and Agricultural Research, Davis, CA (United States); Ding, H. [California Univ., Davis (Canada). Dept. of Food Science and Technology; Labavitch, J.M. [California Univ., Davis, CA (United States). Dept. of Pomology

    1997-02-01

    California rice straw is being evaluated as a feedstock for production of power and fuel. This paper examines the initial steps in the process: pretreatment of rice straw and enzymatic hydrolysis of the polysaccharides in the pretreated material to soluble sugars. Rice straw was subjected to three distinct pretreatment procedures: acid-catalyzed steam explosion (Swan Biomass Company), acid hydrolysis (U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory), and ammonia fiber explosion or AFEX (Texas A and M University). Standard conditions for each pretreatment were used, but none was optimized for rice straw specifically. Six commercial cellulases, products of Genencor International (USA), Novo (Denmark), Iogen (Canada) and Fermtech (Russia) were used for hydrolysis. The Swan- and the acid-pretreatments effectively removed hemicellulose from rice straw, providing high yields of fermentable sugars. The AFEX-pretreatment was distinctly different from other pretreatments in that it did not significantly solubilize hemicellulose. All three pretreatment procedures substantially increased enzymatic digestibility of rice straw. Three commercial Trichoderma-reesei-derived enzyme preparations: Cellulase 100L (Iogen), Spezyme CP (Genencor), and Al (Fermtech), were more active on pretreated rice straw compared than others tested. Conditions for hydrolysis of rice straw using Cellulase 100L were evaluated. The supplementation of this enzyme preparation with cellobiase (Novozyme 188) significantly improved the parameters of hydrolysis for the Swan- and the acid-pretreated materials, but did not affect the hydrolysis of the AFEX-pretreated rice straw. (Author)

  19. Enzymatic activity of proteases and its isoenzymes in fermentation process in cultivars of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L. produced in southern Bahia, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciane Santos SOUSA

    Full Text Available Abstract The fermentation of cocoa seeds envolves microbial processes and the action of enzymes. To identify the possible differences in the cocoa fermentation process, with regards to proteolysis, this study has the objective of determining protease activity (under predetermined conditions and its isoenzymes in two cocoa cultivars (PH-16 and HRT-1188 in different cocoa fermentation times, in addition to establishing the microbial load (molds and yeasts and aerobic mesophilic. Protease and its isoenzymes were extracted and partially purified and the enzymatic activities determined by spectrophotometry. The results showed that the proteases activity was higher at 66h of fermentation for both cultivars. When the isoenzymes activity was evaluated, the results demonstrated similar activity behavior for both cultivars, with regards to the isoenzymes aminopeptidase and carboxypeptidase, although the behavior of the endoprotease isoenzyme activity proved to be a little different for TSH-1188 cultivar. Concerning microbiological analyses, the results indicate that the period after molds and yeast counting reduction is consistent with the period of protease activity increase.

  20. Enzymatic network for production of ether amines from alcohols

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Palacio, Cyntia M.; Crismaru, Gica Ciprian; Bartsch, Sebastian; Navickas, Vaidotas; Ditrich, Klaus; Breuer, Michael; Abu, Rohana; Woodley, John; Baldenius, Kai-Uwe; Wu, Bian; Janssen, Dick

    We constructed an enzymatic network composed of three different enzymes for the synthesis of valuable ether amines. The enzymatic reactions are interconnected to catalyze the oxidation and subsequent transamination of the substrate and to provide cofactor recycling. This allows production of the

  1. Aldehyde PEGylation of laccase from Trametes versicolor in route to increase its stability: effect on enzymatic activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayolo-Deloisa, Karla; González-González, Mirna; Simental-Martínez, Jesús; Rito-Palomares, Marco

    2015-03-01

    Laccase is a multicopper oxidase that catalyzes the oxidation of phenolic compounds. Laccase can be used in bioremediation, beverage (wine, fruit juice, and beer) processing, ascorbic acid determination, sugar beet pectin gelation baking, and as a biosensor. Recently, the antiproliferative activity of laccase toward tumor cells has been reported. Because of the potential applications of this enzyme, the efforts for enhancing and stabilizing its activity have increased. Thus, the PEGylation of laccase can be an alternative. PEGylation is the covalent attachment of one or more molecules of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (mPEG) to a protein. Normally, during the PEGylation reaction, the activity is reduced but the stability increases; thus, it is important to minimize the loss of activity. In this work, the effects of molar ratio (1:4, 1:8, and 1:12), concentration of laccase (6 and 12 mg/ml), reaction time (4 and 17 h), molecular weight, and type of mPEG (20, 30, 40 kDa and 40 kDa-branched) were analyzed. The activity was measured using three substrates: ABTS, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, and syringaldazine. The best conditions for laccase PEGylation were 12 mg/ml of laccase, molar ratio 1:4, and 4 h reaction time. Under these conditions, the enzyme was able to maintain nearly 100% of its enzymatic activity with ABTS. The PEGylation of laccase has not been extensively explored, so it is important to analyze the effects of this bioconjugation in route to produce a robust modified enzyme. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  2. Recent insights in enzymatic synthesis of fructooligosaccharides from inulin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Ram Sarup; Singh, Rupinder Pal; Kennedy, John F

    2016-04-01

    In the past few years, people are paying more attention to their dietary habits, and functional foods are playing a key role in maintaining the health of man. Prebiotics are considered as a main component of the functional foods which are usually composed of short chains of carbohydrates. Fructooligosaccharides (FOSs) are considered as one of the main group of prebiotics which have recognisable bifidogenic properties. FOSs are obtained either by extraction from various plant materials or by enzymatic synthesis from different substrates. Enzymatically, these can be obtained either from sucrose using fructosyltransferase or from inulin by endoinulinase. Inulin is a potent substrate for the enzymatic production of FOSs. This review article will provide an overview on the inulin as potent substrate, microbial sources of endoinulinases, enzymatic synthesis of FOSs from inulin, commercial status of FOSs, and their future perspectives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Dissipation of S-metolachlor in plant and soil and effect on enzymatic activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wołejko, Elżbieta; Kaczyński, Piotr; Łozowicka, Bożena; Wydro, Urszula; Borusiewicz, Andrzej; Hrynko, Izabela; Konecki, Rafał; Snarska, Krystyna; Dec, Dorota; Malinowski, Paweł

    2017-07-01

    The present study aimed at evaluating the dissipation of S-metolachlor (S-MET) at three doses in maize growing on diverse physico-chemical properties of soil. The effect of herbicide on dehydrogenase (DHA) and acid phosphatase (ACP) activity was estimated. A modified QuEChERS method using LC-MS/MS has been developed. The limit of quantification (0.001 mg kg -1 ) and detection (0.0005 mg kg -1 ) were very low for soil and maize samples. The mean recoveries and RSDs for the six spiked levels (0.001-0.5 mg kg -1 ) were 91.3 and 5.8%. The biggest differences in concentration of S-MET in maize were observed between the 28th and 63rd days. The dissipation of S-MET in the alkaline soil was the slowest between the 2nd and 7th days, and in the acidic soil between the 5th and 11th days. DT 50 of S-MET calculated according to the first-order kinetics model was 11.1-14.7 days (soil) and 9.6-13.9 days (maize). The enzymatic activity of soil was higher in the acidic environment. One observed the significant positive correlation of ACP with pH of soil and contents of potassium and magnesium and negative with contents of phosphorus and organic carbon. The results indicated that at harvest time, the residues of S-MET in maize were well below the safety limit for maize. The findings of this study will foster the research on main parameters influencing the dissipation in maize ecosystems.

  4. Enzymatic cyanide degradation by cell-free extract of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nallapan Maniyam, Maegala; Sjahrir, Fridelina; Latif Ibrahim, Abdul; Cass, Anthony E G

    2015-01-01

    The cell-free extract of locally isolated Rhodococcus UKMP-5M strain was used as an alternative to develop greener and cost effective cyanide removal technology. The present study aims to assess the viability of the cell-free extract to detoxify high concentrations of cyanide which is measured through the monitoring of protein concentration and specific cyanide-degrading activity. When cyanide-grown cells were subjected to grinding in liquid nitrogen which is relatively an inexpressive and fast cell disruption method, highest cyanide-degrading activity of 0.63 mM min(-1) mg(-1) protein was obtained in comparison to enzymatic lysis and agitation with fine glass beads. The cell-free extracts managed to degrade 80% of 20 mM KCN within 80 min and the rate of cyanide consumption increased linearly as the concentration of protein was raised. In both cases, the addition of co-factor was not required which proved to be advantageous economically. The successful formation of ammonia and formate as endproducts indicated that the degradation of cyanide by Rhodococcus UKMP-5M proceeded via the activity of cyanidase and the resulting non-toxic products are safe for disposal into the environment. Further verification with SDS-PAGE revealed that the molecular weight of the active enzyme was estimated to be 38 kDa, which is consistent with previously reported cyanidases. Thus, the utilization of cell-free extracts as an alternative to live microbial in cyanide degradation offers numerous advantageous such as the potential to tolerate and degrade higher concentration of cyanide and total reduction in the overall cost of operation since the requirement for nutrient support is irrelevant.

  5. Enzymatic analysis of Hemiscorpius lepturus scorpion venom using zymography and venom-specific antivenin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seyedian, Ramin; Pipelzadeh, Mohammad Hassan; Jalali, Amir; Kim, Euikyung; Lee, Hyunkyoung; Kang, Changkeun; Cha, Mijin; Sohn, Eun-Tae; Jung, Eun-Sun; Rahmani, Ali Hassan; Mirakabady, Abbas Zare

    2010-09-15

    Hemiscorpius lepturus envenomation exhibits various pathological changes in the affected tissues, including skin, blood cells, cardiovascular and central nervous systems. The enzymatic activity and protein component of the venom have not been described previously. In the present study, the electrophoretic profile of H. lepturus venom was determined by SDS-PAGE (12 and 15%), resulting in major protein bands at 3.5-5, 30-35 and 50-60 kDa. The enzymatic activities of the venom was, for the first time, investigated using various zymography techniques, which showed the gelatinolytic, caseinolytic, and hyaluronidase activities mainly at around 50-60 kDa, 30-40 kDa, and 40-50 kDa, respectively. Among these, the proteolytic activities was almost completely disappeared in the presence of a matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, 1, 10-phenanthroline. Antigen-antibody interactions between the venom and its Iranian antivenin was observed by Western blotting, and it showed several antigenic proteins in the range of 30-160 kDa. This strong antigen-antibody reaction was also demonstrated through an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The gelatinase activity of the venom was suppressed by Razi institute polyvalent antivenin, suggesting the inhibitory effect of the antivenin against H. lepturus venom protease activities. Prudently, more extensive clinical studies are necessary for validation of its use in envenomed patients. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. High-solids loading enzymatic hydrolysis of waste papers for biofuel production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Lei; Templer, Richard; Murphy, Richard J.

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Waste papers have great potential as a feedstock for bioethanol production. ► A wet blending step would significantly enhance enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency. ► High-solids loading saccharification was performed successfully on waste papers. ► Saccharification data were from four types of paper and two enzyme alternatives. ► Enzymatic hydrolysis kinetic models were validated by experimental data. -- Abstract: Waste papers (newspaper, office paper, magazines and cardboard in this study) with 50–73% (w/w oven dry weight) carbohydrate contents have considerable potential as raw materials for bioethanol production. A particle size reduction step of wet blending prior to enzymatic hydrolysis of newspaper was found to increase the glucan conversion efficiency by up to 10%. High-solids loading hydrolysis at 15% (w/w) of four types of paper using two enzyme alternatives, Celluclast 1.5L supplemented with Novozyme 188 and Cellic Ctec 1 (Novozymes A/S, Demark), at various enzyme concentrations were successfully performed in a lab-scale overhead-stirred reactor. This work has identified the relative saccharification performance for the four types of paper and shows office paper and cardboard to be more suitable for producing bioethanol than newspaper or magazine paper. The experimental data were also very well described by a modified, simple three parameter glucan and xylan hydrolysis model. These findings provide the possibility for incorporating this validated kinetic model into process designs required for commercial scale bioethanol production from waste paper resources.

  7. Enzymatically Active APOBEC3G Is Required for Efficient Inhibition of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1▿

    OpenAIRE

    Miyagi, Eri; Opi, Sandrine; Takeuchi, Hiroaki; Khan, Mohammad; Goila-Gaur, Ritu; Kao, Sandra; Strebel, Klaus

    2007-01-01

    APOBEC3G (APO3G) is a cellular cytidine deaminase with potent antiviral activity. Initial studies of the function of APO3G demonstrated extensive mutation of the viral genome, suggesting a model in which APO3G's antiviral activity is due to hypermutation of the viral genome. Recent studies, however, found that deaminase-defective APO3G mutants transiently expressed in virus-producing cells exhibited significant antiviral activity, suggesting that the antiviral activity of APO3G could be disso...

  8. Pyridoxine Supplementation Improves the Activity of Recombinant Glutamate Decarboxylase and the Enzymatic Production of Gama-Aminobutyric Acid.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan Huang

    Full Text Available Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD catalyzes the irreversible decarboxylation of L-glutamate to the valuable food supplement γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA. In this study, GAD from Escherichia coli K12, a pyridoxal phosphate (PLP-dependent enzyme, was overexpressed in E. coli. The GAD produced in media supplemented with 0.05 mM soluble vitamin B6 analog pyridoxine hydrochloride (GAD-V activity was 154.8 U mL-1, 1.8-fold higher than that of GAD obtained without supplementation (GAD-C. Purified GAD-V exhibited increased activity (193.4 U mg-1, 1.5-fold higher than that of GAD-C, superior thermostability (2.8-fold greater than that of GAD-C, and higher kcat/Km (1.6-fold higher than that of GAD-C. Under optimal conditions in reactions mixtures lacking added PLP, crude GAD-V converted 500 g L-1 monosodium glutamate (MSG to GABA with a yield of 100%, and 750 g L-1 MSG with a yield of 88.7%. These results establish the utility of pyridoxine supplementation and lay the foundation for large-scale enzymatic production of GABA.

  9. Enzymatic lipid oxidation by eosinophils propagates coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombotic disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uderhardt, Stefan; Ackermann, Jochen A.; Fillep, Tobias; Hammond, Victoria J.; Willeit, Johann; Stark, Konstantin; Rossaint, Jan; Schubert, Irene; Mielenz, Dirk; Dietel, Barbara; Raaz-Schrauder, Dorette; Ay, Cihan; Thaler, Johannes; Heim, Christian; Collins, Peter W.; Schabbauer, Gernot; Mackman, Nigel; Voehringer, David; Nadler, Jerry L.; Lee, James J.; Massberg, Steffen; Rauh, Manfred; O’Donnell, Valerie B.

    2017-01-01

    Blood coagulation is essential for physiological hemostasis but simultaneously contributes to thrombotic disease. However, molecular and cellular events controlling initiation and propagation of coagulation are still incompletely understood. In this study, we demonstrate an unexpected role of eosinophils during plasmatic coagulation, hemostasis, and thrombosis. Using a large-scale epidemiological approach, we identified eosinophil cationic protein as an independent and predictive risk factor for thrombotic events in humans. Concurrent experiments showed that eosinophils contributed to intravascular thrombosis by exhibiting a strong endogenous thrombin-generation capacity that relied on the enzymatic generation and active provision of a procoagulant phospholipid surface enriched in 12/15-lipoxygenase–derived hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid–phosphatidylethanolamines. Our findings reveal a previously unrecognized role of eosinophils and enzymatic lipid oxidation as regulatory elements that facilitate both hemostasis and thrombosis in response to vascular injury, thus identifying promising new targets for the treatment of thrombotic disease. PMID:28566277

  10. Increased release of fermentable sugars from elephant grass by enzymatic hydrolysis in the presence of surfactants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menegol, Daiane; Scholl, Angélica Luisi; Fontana, Roselei Claudete; Dillon, Aldo José Pinheiro; Camassola, Marli

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Milling is an attractive method to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass. • Surfactants improve the efficiency of lignocellulose enzymatic hydrolysis. • Pretreatment with NaOH, smaller particle size and Tween 80® were more efficient. - Abstract: In the search for renewable energy sources, elephant grass is an alternative substrate for ethanol production, but this substrate must be hydrolyzed by cellulases and xylanases to liberate fermentable sugars. During enzymatic hydrolysis, cellulase activity is reduced by the irreversible adsorption of cellulase onto cellulose, decreasing the rate of hydrolysis. Adding surfactants during hydrolysis can improve the process. The effects of Tween® and Triton® surfactants on the enzymatic hydrolysis of elephant grass were evaluated in this context. The data indicate that pretreatment with sodium hydroxide, along with a smaller particle size (0.075–0.152 mm) and the use of Tween 80®, increased the efficiency of releasing reducing sugars from pretreated elephant grass biomass. Thus, it is possible to reduce grinding costs in second-generation ethanol production through the use of surfactants, as they allow efficient hydrolysis of larger biomass particles

  11. Effect of micro-stirring on enzymatic reaction kinetics inside a biomimetic container

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gozen, Irep; Horowitz, Viva; Chambers, Zachary; Manoharan, Vinothan

    The intracellular environment is dynamic, influenced by the motion of active machinery such as cytoskeleton filaments and molecular motors. To understand whether and how such activity affects the rates of diffusion-limited reactions, we construct a model system consisting of a phospholipid vesicle encapsulating a small number of micro- or nanoparticles, the active motion of which can be induced by chemical or magnetic cues. We aim to determine a relation between active motion of particles and rates of enzymatic reactions in the confined volume. Our findings might illuminate how active motion influences cytoplasmic reaction dynamics, or may have played a role in protocell genetics.

  12. Enzymatic assays for the diagnosis of bradykinin-dependent angioedema.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Federica Defendi

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The kinins (primarily bradykinin, BK represent the mediators responsible for local increase of vascular permeability in hereditary angioedema (HAE, HAE I-II associated with alterations of the SERPING1 gene and HAE with normal C1-Inhibitor function (HAE-nC1INH. Besides C1-Inhibitor function and concentration, no biological assay of kinin metabolism is actually available to help physicians for the diagnosis of angioedema (AE. We describe enzymatic tests on the plasma for diagnosis of BK-dependent AE. METHODS: The plasma amidase assays are performed using the Pro-Phe-Arg-p-nitroanilide peptide substrate to evaluate the spontaneous amidase activity and the proenzyme activation. We analyzed data of 872 patients presenting with BK-dependent AE or BK-unrelated diseases, compared to 303 controls. Anti-high MW kininogen (HK immunoblot was achieved to confirm HK cleavage in exemplary samples. Reproducibility, repeatability, limit of blank, limit of detection, precision, linearity and receiver operating characteristics (ROC were used to calculate the diagnostic performance of the assays. RESULTS: Spontaneous amidase activity was significantly increased in all BK-dependent AE, associated with the acute phase of disease in HAE-nC1INH, but preserved in BK-unrelated disorders. The increase of the amidase activity was associated to HK proteolysis, indicating its relevance to identify kininogenase activity. The oestrogens, known for precipitating AE episodes, were found as triggers of enzymatic activity. Calculations from ROC curves gave the optimum diagnostic cut-off for women (9.3 nmol⋅min(-1⋅mL(-1, area under curve [AUC] 92.1%, sensitivity 80.0%, and specificity 90.1% and for men (6.6 nmol·min(-1⋅mL(-1, AUC 91.0%, sensitivity 87.0% and specificity 81.2%. CONCLUSION: The amidase assay represents a diagnostic tool to help physicians in the decision to distinguish between BK-related and -unrelated AE.

  13. Fabrication of Nickel/nanodiamond/boron-doped diamond electrode for non-enzymatic glucose biosensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dai, Wei; Li, Mingji; Gao, Sumei; Li, Hongji; Li, Cuiping; Xu, Sheng; Wu, Xiaoguo; Yang, Baohe

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Nanodiamonds (NDs) were electrophoretically deposited on the BDD film. • The NDs significantly extended the potential window. • Ni/NDs/BDD electrode was prepared by electrodeposition. • The electrode shows good catalytic activity for glucose oxidation. - Abstract: A stable and sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor was prepared by modifying a boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode with nickel (Ni) nanosheets and nanodiamonds (NDs). The NDs were electrophoretically deposited on the BDD surface, and acted as nucleation sites for the subsequent electrodeposition of Ni. The morphology and composition of the modified BDD electrodes were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, respectively. The Ni nanosheet-ND modified BDD electrode exhibited good current response towards the non-enzymatic oxidation of glucose in alkaline media. The NDs significantly extended the potential window. The response to glucose was linear over the 0.2–1055.4-μM range. The limit of detection was 0.05 μM, at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The Ni nanosheet-ND/BDD electrode exhibited good selectivity, reproducibility and stability. Its electrochemical performance, low cost and simple preparation make it a promising non-enzymatic glucose sensor.

  14. Unravelling the importance of forest age stand and forest structure driving microbiological soil properties, enzymatic activities and soil nutrients content in Mediterranean Spanish black pine(Pinus nigra Ar. ssp. salzmannii) Forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lucas-Borja, M E; Hedo, J; Cerdá, A; Candel-Pérez, D; Viñegla, B

    2016-08-15

    This study aimed to investigate the effects that stand age and forest structure have on microbiological soil properties, enzymatic activities and nutrient content. Thirty forest compartments were randomly selected at the Palancares y Agregados managed forest area (Spain), supporting forest stands of five ages; from 100 to 80years old to compartments with trees that were 19-1years old. Forest area ranging from 80 to 120years old and without forest intervention was selected as the control. We measured different soil enzymatic activities, soil respiration and nutrient content (P, K, Na, Mg, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb and Ca) in the top cm of 10 mineral soils in each compartment. Results showed that the lowest forest stand age and the forest structure created by management presented lower values of organic matter, soil moisture, water holding capacity and litterfall and higher values of C/N ratio in comparison with the highest forest stand age and the related forest structure, which generated differences in soil respiration and soil enzyme activities. The forest structure created by no forest management (control plot) presented the highest enzymatic activities, soil respiration, NH4(+) and NO3(-). Results did not show a clear trend in nutrient content comparing all the experimental areas. Finally, the multivariate PCA analysis clearly clustered three differentiated groups: Control plot; from 100 to 40years old and from 39 to 1year old. Our results suggest that the control plot has better soil quality and that extreme forest stand ages (100-80 and 19-1years old) and the associated forest structure generates differences in soil parameters but not in soil nutrient content. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Release of Antioxidant Capacity from Five Plant Foods during a Multistep Enzymatic Digestion Protocol

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Papillo, V.A.; Vitaglione, P.; Graziani, G.; Gokmen, V.; Fogliano, V.

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed at elucidating the influence of food matrix on the release of antioxidant activity from five plant foods (apple, spinach, walnut, red bean, and whole wheat). To this purpose a protocol based on sequential enzymatic digestion was adopted. The total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of both

  16. Experimental primers containing synthetic and natural compounds reduce enzymatic activity at the dentin–adhesive interface under cyclic loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sousa, Ana Beatriz Silva; de Mattos Pimenta Vidal, Cristina; Leme-Kraus, Ariene Arcas; de Carvalho Panzeri Pires-de-Souza, Fernanda; Bedran-Russo, Ana K.

    2016-01-01

    Objective To evaluate the effect of experimental primers (chlorhexidine, enriched mixture of proanthocyanidins and doxycycline) on the adhesive properties and gelatinolytic activity at dentin-resin interfaces of occlusal Class I restorations. Methods The inactivation of enzymes by the experimental primers was assessed by fluorescence assay and gelatin zymography. To assess the adhesive properties, occlusal Class I cavities were prepared in sound human molars, etched with phosphoric acid and restored with one of the primers and an etch-and-rinse adhesive system (Adper Single Bond Plus - 3M ESPE). After the restorative procedures, the specimens were divided into two subgroups (n = 6) consisting of storage in incubation buffer or axial cyclic loading at 50 N and 1,000,000 cycles. Then, the sectioned and sliced specimens were assigned to in situ zymography assay and microtensile bond strength (TBS) test. Results Fluorescence assay and gelatin zymography revealed that the experimental primers inactivated rMMPs. In situ zymography (2-way ANOVA, Tukey, p 0.05). Significance The use of experimental primers impaired the enzymatic activity at the dentin-adhesive interface after cyclic loading and the activity of rMMPs. Cyclic loading did not have a significant effect on the bond strength. PMID:27524231

  17. Standardization and quality control in quantifying non-enzymatic oxidative protein modifications in relation to ageing and disease: Why is it important and why is it hard?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nedić, Olgica; Rogowska-Wrzesinska, Adelina; Rattan, Suresh

    2015-01-01

    Post-translational modifications (PTM) of proteins determine the activity, stability, specificity, transportability and lifespan of a protein. Some PTM are highly specific and regulated involving various enzymatic pathways, but there are other non-enzymatic PTM (nePTM), which occur stochastically...

  18. Unraveling the enzymatic basis of wine flavorome: a phylo-functional study of wine related yeast species

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ignacio eBelda

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Non-Saccharomyces yeasts are a heterogeneous microbial group involved in the early stages of wine fermentation. The high enzymatic potential of these yeasts makes them a useful tool for increasing the final organoleptic characteristics of wines in spite of their low fermentative power. Their physiology and contribution to wine quality are still poorly understood, with most current knowledge being acquired empirically and in most cases based in single species and strains. This work analyzed the metabolic potential of 770 yeast isolates from different enological origins and representing 15 different species, by studying their production of enzymes of enological interest and linking phylogenetic and enzymatic data. The isolates were screened for glycosidase enzymes related to terpene aroma release, the β-lyase activity responsible for the release of volatile thiols, and sulfite reductase. Apart from these aroma-related activities, protease, polygalacturonase and cellulase activities were also studied in the entire yeast collection, being related to the improvement of different technological and sensorial features of wines. In this context, and in terms of abundance, two different groups were established, with α-L-arabinofuranosidase, polygalacturonase and cellulase being the less abundant activities. By contrast, β-glucosidase and protease activities were widespread in the yeast collection studied.A classical phylogenetic study involving the partial sequencing of 26S rDNA was conducted in conjunction with the enzymatic profiles of the 770 yeast isolates for further typing, complementing the phylogenetic relationships established by using 26S rDNA. This has rendered it possible to foresee the contribution different yeast species make to wine quality and their potential applicability as pure inocula, establishing species-specific behavior. These consistent results allowed us to design future targeted studies on the impact different non

  19. Phytase production by Rhizopus microsporus var. microsporus biofilm: characterization of enzymatic activity after spray drying in presence of carbohydrates and nonconventional adjuvants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sato, Vanessa Sayuri; Jorge, João Atílio; Oliveira, Wanderley Pereira; Souza, Claudia Regina Fernandez; Guimarães, Luis Henrique Souza

    2014-02-28

    Microbial phytases are enzymes with biotechnological interest for the feed industry. In this article, the effect of spray-drying conditions on the stability and activity of extracellular phytase produced by R. microsporus var. microsporus biofilm is described. The phytase was spray-dried in the presence of starch, corn meal (>150 μm), soy bean meal (SB), corn meal (drying adjuvants. The residual enzyme activity after drying ranged from 10.7% to 60.4%, with SB and CM standing out as stabilizing agents. Water concentration and residual enzyme activity were determined in obtained powders as a function of the drying condition. When exposed to different pH values, the SB and CM products were stable, with residual activity above 50% in the pH range from 4.5 to 8.5 for 60 min. The use of CM as drying adjuvant promoted the best retention of enzymatic activity compared with SB. Spray drying of the R. microsporus var. microsporus phytase using different drying adjuvants showed interesting results, being quite feasible with regards their biotechnological applications, especially for poultry diets.

  20. The Enzymatic Oxidation of Graphene Oxide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotchey, Gregg P.; Allen, Brett L.; Vedala, Harindra; Yanamala, Naveena; Kapralov, Alexander A.; Tyurina, Yulia Y.; Klein-Seetharaman, Judith; Kagan, Valerian E.; Star, Alexander

    2011-01-01

    Two-dimensional graphitic carbon is a new material with many emerging applications, and studying its chemical properties is an important goal. Here, we reported a new phenomenon – the enzymatic oxidation of a single layer of graphitic carbon by horseradish peroxidase (HRP). In the presence of low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (~40 µM), HRP catalyzed the oxidation of graphene oxide, which resulted in the formation of holes on its basal plane. During the same period of analysis, HRP failed to oxidize chemically reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The enzymatic oxidation was characterized by Raman, UV-Vis, EPR and FT-IR spectroscopy, TEM, AFM, SDS-PAGE, and GC-MS. Computational docking studies indicated that HRP was preferentially bound to the basal plane rather than the edge for both graphene oxide and RGO. Due to the more dynamic nature of HRP on graphene oxide, the heme active site of HRP was in closer proximity to graphene oxide compared to RGO, thereby facilitating the oxidation of the basal plane of graphene oxide. We also studied the electronic properties of the reduced intermediate product, holey reduced graphene oxide (hRGO), using field-effect transistor (FET) measurements. While RGO exhibited a V-shaped transfer characteristic similar to a single layer of graphene that was attributed to its zero band gap, hRGO demonstrated a p-type semiconducting behavior with a positive shift in the Dirac points. This p-type behavior rendered hRGO, which can be conceptualized as interconnected graphene nanoribbons, as a potentially attractive material for FET sensors. PMID:21344859

  1. Enzymatic biosensors based on the use of metal oxide nanoparticles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Xinhao; Gu, Wei; Li, Bingyu; Chen, Ningning; Zhao, Kai; Xian, Yuezhong

    2014-01-01

    Over the past decades, various techniques have been developed to obtain materials at a nanoscale level to design biosensors with high sensitivity, selectivity and efficiency. Metal oxide nanoparticles (MONPs) are of particular interests and have received much attention because of their unique physical, chemical and catalytic properties. This review summarizes the progress made in enzymatic biosensors based on the use of MONPs. Synthetic methods, strategies for immobilization, and the functions of MONPs in enzymatic biosensing systems are reviewed and discussed. The article is subdivided into sections on enzymatic biosensors based on (a) zinc oxide nanoparticles, (b) titanium oxide nanoparticles, (c) iron oxide nanoparticles, and (d) other metal oxide nanoparticles. While substantial advances have been made in MONPs-based enzymatic biosensors, their applications to real samples still lie ahead because issues such as reproducibility and sensor stability have to be solved. (author)

  2. The mechanism of action of lymphokines. IX. The enzymatic basis of hydrogen peroxide production by lymphokine-activated macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freund, M; Pick, E

    1986-08-15

    The purpose of this study was to elucidate the biochemical basis of the enhanced hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) production by guinea pig peritoneal macrophages (MP) cultured in lymphokine (LK)-containing medium. The markedly augmented H2O2 generation by these cells, demonstrable by the horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-catalyzed oxidation of phenol red, is distinguished by its lack of dependence on a second stimulus. We demonstrate that H2O2 production is truly spontaneous and is not caused by a stimulant present among the H2O2 assay reagents. The principal candidate for such a role was HRP type II (a mixture of five isoenzymes) that was reported to be capable of eliciting an oxidative burst in MP. Four distinct HRP isoenzymes that were found incapable of provoking an oxidative response were nevertheless adequate for demonstrating H2O2 production by LK-activated MP. Blocking the MP receptor for mannose by the addition of mannan to the assay system resulted in enhanced detection of H2O2 by low concentrations of HRP type II and by three out of four HRP isoenzymes. Treatment of MP with LK-containing medium for 72 hr did not result in a significant change in the activity of cellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) compared with MP cultured for the same length of time in control medium. By using the specific inhibitor of copper, zinc-containing SOD, sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), and the universal SOD inhibitor, sodium nitroprusside, we found that the predominant enzyme in guinea pig peritoneal MP is probably manganese-containing SOD. Incubation of LK-activated MP with nitroprusside resulted in almost total inhibition of H2O2 production and a simultaneous switch to superoxide (O2-) liberation. Similar exposure to DDC had no effect. These data indicate that H2O2 produced by LK-activated MP is derived exclusively by enzymatic dismutation of O2- mediated by a manganese-containing SOD. The increase in spontaneous H2O2 production induced by LK is therefore secondary to augmented O2

  3. Efficient production of infectious viruses requires enzymatic activity of Epstein-Barr virus protein kinase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murata, Takayuki; Isomura, Hiroki; Yamashita, Yoriko; Toyama, Shigenori; Sato, Yoshitaka; Nakayama, Sanae; Kudoh, Ayumi; Iwahori, Satoko; Kanda, Teru; Tsurumi, Tatsuya

    2009-06-20

    The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BGLF4 gene product is the only protein kinase encoded by the virus genome. In order to elucidate its physiological roles in viral productive replication, we here established a BGLF4-knockout mutant and a revertant virus. While the levels of viral DNA replication of the deficient mutant were equivalent to those of the wild-type and the revertant, virus production was significantly impaired. Expression of the BGLF4 protein in trans fully complemented the low yield of the mutant virus, while expression of a kinase-dead (K102I) form of the protein failed to restore the virus titer. These results demonstrate that BGLF4 plays a significant role in production of infectious viruses and that the kinase activity is crucial.

  4. Enzymatic sulfation of tocopherols and tocopherol metabolites by human cytosolic sulfotransferases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hashiguchi, Takuyu; Kurogi, Katsuhisa; Sakakibara, Yoichi; Yamasaki, Masao; Nishiyama, Kazuo; Yasuda, Shin; Liu, Ming-Cheh; Suiko, Masahito

    2011-01-01

    Tocopherols are essential micronutrients for mammals widely known as potent lipid-soluble antioxidants that are present in cell membranes. Recent studies have demonstrated that most of the carboxychromanol (CEHC), a tocopherol metabolite, in the plasma exists primarily in sulfate- and glucuronide-conjugated forms. To gain insight into the enzymatic sulfation of tocopherols and their metabolites, a systematic investigation was performed using all 14 known human cytosolic sulfotransferases (SULTs). The results showed that the members of the SULT1 family displayed stronger sulfating activities toward tocopherols and their metabolites. These enzymes showed a substrate preference for γ-tocopherol over α-tocopherol and for γ-CEHC over other CEHCs. Using A549 human lung epithelial cells in a metabolic labeling study, a similar trend in the sulfation of tocopherols and CEHCs was observed. Collectively, the results obtained indicate that SULT-mediated enzymatic sulfation of tocopherols and their metabolites is a significant pathway for regulation of the homeostasis and physiological functions of these important compounds.

  5. Development of a heavy metals enzymatic-based assay using papain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukor, Yunus; Baharom, Nor Azlan; Rahman, Fadhil Abd.; Abdullah, Mohd. Puad; Shamaan, Nor Aripin; Syed, Mohd. Arif

    2006-01-01

    A heavy metals enzymatic-based assay using papain was developed. Papain was assayed using the Casein-coomassie-dye-binding assay. The assay is sensitive to several heavy metals. The IC 50 (concentration of toxicant giving 50% inhibition) of Hg 2+ , Ag 2+ , Pb 2 , Zn 2+ is 0.39, 0.40, 2.16, 2.11 mg l -1 , respectively. For Cu 2+ and Cd 2+ the LOQ (limits of quantitation) is 0.004 and 0.1 mg l -1 , respectively. The IC 50 and LOQ values were found to be generally comparable to several other enzymatic and bioassays tests such as: immobilized urease, 15-min Microtox TM , 48 h Daphnia magna, and 96 h Rainbow trout. The papain assay is xenobiotics tolerant, has a wide pH for optimum activity, is temperature stable, and has a relatively quick assay time. The papain assay was used to identify polluted water samples from industrial sources in Penang, Malaysia. We found one site where the assay gave a positive toxic response. The toxicity of the site was confirmed using Atomic Emission Spectrometry analysis

  6. Temperature induced decoupling of enzymatic hydrolysis and carbon remineralization in long-term incubations of Arctic and temperate sediments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Robador, Alberto; Brüchert, Volker; Steen, Andrew

    2010-01-01

    explored the temperature sensitivity of enzymatic hydrolysis and its connection to subsequent steps in anoxic organic carbon degradation in long-term incubations of sediments from the Arctic and the North Sea. These sediments were incubated under anaerobic conditions for 24 months at temperatures of 0, 10......, and 20 ºC. The short-term temperature response of the active microbial community was tested in temperature gradient block incubations. The temperature optimum of extracellular enzymatic hydrolysis, as measured with a polysaccharide (chondroitin sulfate), differed between Arctic and temperate habitats...

  7. Production of MAG via enzymatic glycerolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamlus, Norul Naziraa Ahmad; Derawi, Darfizzi; Salimon, Jumat

    2015-09-01

    Enzymatic glycerolysis of a medium chain methyl ester, methyl laurate was performed using lipase Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435) for 6 hours at 55°C. The percentage of components mixture of product were determined by using gas chromatography technique. The enzymatic reaction was successfully produced monolaurin (45.9 %), dilaurin (47.1 %) and trilaurin (7.0 %) respectively. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) plate also showed a good separation of component spots. Fourier transformation infra-red (FTIR) spectrum showed the presence of ester carbonyl at wavenumber 1739.99 cm-1 and hydrogen bonded O-H at 3512.03 cm-1. The product is potentially to be used as emulsifier and additive in food industry, pharmaceutical, as well as antibacterial.

  8. Longitudinal changes in PON1 enzymatic activities in Mexican-American mothers and children with different genotypes and haplotypes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huen, Karen; Harley, Kim; Bradman, Asa; Eskenazi, Brenda; Holland, Nina

    2010-01-01

    The paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzyme prevents low-density lipoprotein oxidation and also detoxifies the oxon derivatives of certain neurotoxic organophosphate (OP) pesticides. PON1 activity in infants is low compared to adults, rendering them with lower metabolic and antioxidant capacities. We made a longitudinal comparison of the role of genetic variability on control of PON1 phenotypes in Mexican-American mothers and their children at the time of delivery (n = 388 and 338, respectively) and again 7 years later (n = 280 and 281, respectively) using generalized estimating equations models. At age 7, children's mean PON1 activities were still lower than those of mothers. This difference was larger in children with genotypes associated with low PON1 activities (PON1 -108TT , PON1 192QQ , and PON1 -909CC ). In mothers, PON1 activities were elevated at delivery and during pregnancy compared to 7 years later when they were not pregnant (p < 0.001). In non-pregnant mothers, PON1 polymorphisms and haplotypes accounted for almost 2-fold more variation of arylesterase (AREase) and chlorpyrifos-oxonase (CPOase) activity than in mothers at delivery. In both mothers and children, the five PON1 polymorphisms (192, 55, -108, -909, -162) explained a noticeably larger proportion of variance of paraoxonase activity (62-78%) than AREase activity (12.3-26.6%). Genetic control of PON1 enzymatic activity varies in children compared to adults and is also affected by pregnancy status. In addition to known PON1 polymorphisms, unidentified environmental, genetic, or epigenetic factors may also influence variability of PON1 expression and therefore susceptibility to OPs and oxidative stress.

  9. Lignosulfonate and elevated pH can enhance enzymatic saccharification of lignocelluloses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang ZJ

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Nonspecific (nonproductive binding (adsorption of cellulase by lignin has been identified as a key barrier to reduce cellulase loading for economical sugar and biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass. Sulfite Pretreatment to Overcome Recalcitrance of Lignocelluloses (SPORL is a relatively new process, but demonstrated robust performance for sugar and biofuel production from woody biomass especially softwoods in terms of yields and energy efficiencies. This study demonstrated the role of lignin sulfonation in enhancing enzymatic saccharification of lignocelluloses – lignosulfonate from SPORL can improve enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses, contrary to the conventional belief that lignin inhibits enzymatic hydrolysis due to nonspecific binding of cellulase. Results The study found that lignosulfonate from SPORL pretreatment and from a commercial source inhibits enzymatic hydrolysis of pure cellulosic substrates at low concentrations due to nonspecific binding of cellulase. Surprisingly, the reduction in enzymatic saccharification efficiency of a lignocellulosic substrate was fully recovered as the concentrations of these two lignosulfonates increased. We hypothesize that lignosulfonate serves as a surfactant to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis at higher concentrations and that this enhancement offsets its inhibitive effect from nonspecific binding of cellulase, when lignosulfonate is applied to lignocellulosic solid substrates. Lignosulfonate can block nonspecific binding of cellulase by bound lignin on the solid substrates, in the same manner as a nonionic surfactant, to significantly enhance enzymatic saccharification. This enhancement is linearly proportional to the amount of lignosulfonate applied which is very important to practical applications. For a SPORL-pretreated lodgepole pine solid, 90% cellulose saccharification was achieved at cellulase loading of 13 FPU/g glucan with the application of its

  10. Enzymatic transformation of nonfood biomass to starch

    Science.gov (United States)

    You, Chun; Chen, Hongge; Myung, Suwan; Sathitsuksanoh, Noppadon; Ma, Hui; Zhang, Xiao-Zhou; Li, Jianyong; Zhang, Y.-H. Percival

    2013-01-01

    The global demand for food could double in another 40 y owing to growth in the population and food consumption per capita. To meet the world’s future food and sustainability needs for biofuels and renewable materials, the production of starch-rich cereals and cellulose-rich bioenergy plants must grow substantially while minimizing agriculture’s environmental footprint and conserving biodiversity. Here we demonstrate one-pot enzymatic conversion of pretreated biomass to starch through a nonnatural synthetic enzymatic pathway composed of endoglucanase, cellobiohydrolyase, cellobiose phosphorylase, and alpha-glucan phosphorylase originating from bacterial, fungal, and plant sources. A special polypeptide cap in potato alpha-glucan phosphorylase was essential to push a partially hydrolyzed intermediate of cellulose forward to the synthesis of amylose. Up to 30% of the anhydroglucose units in cellulose were converted to starch; the remaining cellulose was hydrolyzed to glucose suitable for ethanol production by yeast in the same bioreactor. Next-generation biorefineries based on simultaneous enzymatic biotransformation and microbial fermentation could address the food, biofuels, and environment trilemma. PMID:23589840

  11. Radiation degradation and the subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis of waste paper

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamakura, M.; Kaetsu, I.

    1982-01-01

    Various studies have been carried out to find methods for the pretreatment of waste cellulosic materials to make them more susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis. In the work reported here, the effects of preirradiating waste papers on subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis have been studied

  12. Enzymatic biomarkers can portray nanoCuO-induced oxidative and neuronal stress in freshwater shredders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pradhan, Arunava; Silva, Carla O; Silva, Carlos; Pascoal, Cláudia; Cássio, Fernanda

    2016-11-01

    Commercial applications of nanometal oxides have increased concern about their release into natural waters and consequent risks to aquatic biota and the processes they drive. In forest streams, the invertebrate shredder Allogamus ligonifer plays a key role in detritus food webs by transferring carbon and energy from plant litter to higher trophic levels. We assessed the response profiles of oxidative and neuronal stress enzymatic biomarkers in A. ligonifer after 96h exposure to nanoCuO at concentration ranges stress, Cu 2+ released from nanoCuO was quantified and the enzymatic responses to Cu 2+ exposure at similar effective concentrations were compared. The highest activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were observed at concentrations stress at low concentrations (released ionic copper on enzyme activities were concentration-dependent, and led to oxidative stress and even to animal death. The activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was strongly inhibited even at concentrations stress in A. ligonifer. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Immobilization of Lipase using Alginate Hydrogel Beads and Enzymatic Evaluation in Hydrolysis of p-Nitrophenol Butyrate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Shuang; Shang, Wenting; Yang, Xiaoxi; Zhang, Shujuan; Zhang, Xiaogang; Chen, Jiawei [Renmin Univ. of China, Beijing (China)

    2013-09-15

    The immobilization of enzyme is one of the key issues both in the field of enzymatic research and industrialization. In this work, we reported a facile method to immobilize Candida Antarctica lipase B (CALB) in alginate carrier. In the presence of calcium cation, the enzyme-alginate suspension could be cross-linked to form beads with porous structure at room temperature, and the enzyme CALB was dispersed in the beads. Activity of the enzyme-alginate composite was verified by enzymatic hydrolysis reaction of p-nitrophenol butyrate in aqueous phase. The effects of reaction parameters such as temperature, pH, embedding and lyophilized time on the reactive behavior were discussed. Reuse cycle experiments for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenol butyrate demonstrated that activity of the enzyme-alginate composite was maintained without marked deactivation up to 6 repeated cycles.

  14. Optimization of the Enzymatic Saccharification Process of Milled Orange Wastes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Velasco

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Orange juice production generates a very high quantity of residues (Orange Peel Waste or OPW-50–60% of total weight that can be used for cattle feed as well as feedstock for the extraction or production of essential oils, pectin and nutraceutics and several monosaccharides by saccharification, inversion and enzyme-aided extraction. As in all solid wastes, simple pretreatments can enhance these processes. In this study, hydrothermal pretreatments and knife milling have been analyzed with enzyme saccharification at different dry solid contents as the selection test: simple knife milling seemed more appropriate, as no added pretreatment resulted in better final glucose yields. A Taguchi optimization study on dry solid to liquid content and the composition of the enzymatic cocktail was undertaken. The amounts of enzymatic preparations were set to reduce their impact on the economy of the process; however, as expected, the highest amounts resulted in the best yields to glucose and other monomers. Interestingly, the highest content in solid to liquid (11.5% on dry basis rendered the best yields. Additionally, in search for process economy with high yields, operational conditions were set: medium amounts of hemicellulases, polygalacturonases and β-glucosidases. Finally, a fractal kinetic modelling of results for all products from the saccharification process indicated very high activities resulting in the liberation of glucose, fructose and xylose, and very low activities to arabinose and galactose. High activity on pectin was also observed, but, for all monomers liberated initially at a fast rate, high hindrances appeared during the saccharification process.

  15. Effect of the exposure to suspended solids on the enzymatic activity in the bivalve Sinonovacula constricta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guojun Yang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Aquatic animals are susceptible to sudden changes of their living environment but they adopt strategies to cope with adverse environmental challenges. Contamination by suspended solids, often associated with a dramatic change in the concentrations of important water-quality variables is a frequent occurrence in China's coastal waters and estuaries. Here we studied the impact of suspended solids on the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD and catalase (CAT, as well as adenosine triphosphates (including Na+ K+-ATPase, Mg+ +-ATPase, Ca+ +-ATPase and H+ K+-ATPase in the gills and visceral mass tissues of the molluscan bivalve Sinonovacula constricta exposed (4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 days to various concentrations of suspended solids. Our results showed that the antioxidant enzymes cooperated closely to effectively scavenge superoxide anion free radicals and H2O2 (which can ultimately inhibit gill activity through the modification of SOD and/or CAT enzymatic activities. ATPases activity (considered to be a sensitive indicator of toxicity could play an effective role in the maintenance of functional integrity of the plasma membranes as well as some other intracellular functions. After the exposure, a decrease in the Na+ K+-ATPase, Mg+ +-ATPase, and Ca+ +-ATPase activity of the gills was observed suggesting that they were inhibited by the treatments. These results also indicated that, from day 4 to day 16, exposure to high concentrations of suspended solids had an inhibitory effect on the activity of H+-K+-ATPase in the visceral mass of S. constricta. However, after a period of adaptation the H+-K+-ATPase activity was restored to original levels. Our results suggest that long-term exposure to high levels of suspended solids disturb osmoregulation, gastric acid secretion and digestion, cause oxidative damage, as a consequence of antioxidant enzymes inactivation which eventually damages the gills, affect the food intake

  16. Hormonal enzymatic systems in normal and cancerous human breast: control, prognostic factors, and clinical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasqualini, Jorge R; Chetrite, Gérard S

    2012-04-01

    The bioformation and transformation of estrogens and other hormones in the breast tissue as a result of the activity of the various enzymes involved attract particular attention for the role they play in the development and pathogenesis of hormone-dependent breast cancer. The enzymatic process concerns the aromatase, which transforms androgens into estrogens; the sulfatase, which hydrolyzes the biologically inactive sulfates to the active hormone; the 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases, which are involved in the interconversion estradiol/estrone or testosterone/androstenedione; hydroxylases, which transform estrogens into mitotic and antimitotic derivatives; and sulfotransferases and glucuronidases, which, respectively convert into the biologically inactive sulfates and glucuronides. These enzymatic activities are more intense in the carcinoma than in the normal tissue. Concerning aromatase, the application of antiaromatase agents has been largely developed in the treatment of breast cancer patients, with very positive results. Various studies have shown that the activity levels of these enzymes and their mRNA can be involved as interesting prognostic factors for breast cancer. In conclusion, the application of new antienzymatic molecules can open attractive perspectives in the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer.

  17. Isolation and characterization of an Antarctic Flavobacterium strain with agarase and alginate lyase activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lavín Paris

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Several bacteria that are associated with macroalgae can use phycocolloids as a carbon source. Strain INACH002, isolated from decomposing Porphyra (Rhodophyta, in King George Island, Antarctica, was screened and characterized for the ability to produce agarase and alginate-lyase enzymatic activities. Our strain INACH002 was identified as a member of the genus Flavobacterium, closely related to Flavobacterium faecale, using 16S rRNA gene analysis. The INACH002 strain was characterized as psychrotrophic due to its optimal temperature (17ºC and maximum temperature (20°C of growth. Agarase and alginate-lyase displayed enzymatic activities within a range of 10°C to 50°C, with differences in the optimal temperature to hydrolyze agar (50°C, agarose (50°C and alginate (30°C during the first 30 min of activity. Strain Flavobacterium INACH002 is a promising Antarctic biotechnological resource; however, further research is required to illustrate the structural and functional bases of the enzymatic performance observed during the degradation of different substrates at different temperatures.

  18. Effects of treated industrial wastewaters and temperatures on growth and enzymatic activities of duckweed (Lemna minor L.).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basiglini, E; Pintore, M; Forni, C

    2018-05-30

    The efficacy of the removal of contaminants from wastewater depends on physico-chemical properties of pollutants and the efficiency of treatment plant. Sometimes, low amounts of toxic compounds can be still present in the treated sewage. In this work we considered the effects of contaminant residues in treated wastewaters and of temperatures on Lemna minor L. Treated effluent waters were collected, analyzed and used as duckweed growth medium. In order to better understand the effects of micropollutants and seasonal variation, the plants were grown under ambient conditions for seven days in summer and winter. Relative growth rate, pigments and phenolic compounds concentrations were determined, as well as the activities of catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (G-POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO). The pollutant concentrations varied in the two seasons, depending on the industrial and municipal activities and efficiency of treatments. Treated waters contained heavy metals, nitrogenous and phosphorus compounds, surfactants and hydrocarbons. Compared to the control, duckweed growth of treated plants decreased by 25% in summer, while in the winter due to the lower temperatures and the presence of pollutants was completely impeded. The amounts of photosynthetic pigments of treated plants were not significantly affected in the summer, while they were higher than the control in the winter when the effluent had a high nitrogen amount. High CAT activity was registered in both seasons. Treated plants had significantly lower APX activity in the summer (53%) and winter (59%) respect to the controls. The observed inhibition of the peroxidase activities in the exposed plants, confirms the controversy existing in the literature about the variability of enzymatic response in stress condition. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Liquid nitrogen pretreatment of eucalyptus sawdust and rice hull for enhanced enzymatic saccharification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castoldi, Rafael; Correa, Vanesa G; de Morais, Gutierrez Rodrigues; de Souza, Cristina G M; Bracht, Adelar; Peralta, Rosely A; Peralta-Muniz Moreira, Regina F; Peralta, Rosane M

    2017-01-01

    In this work, liquid nitrogen was used for the first time in the pretreatment of plant biomasses for purposes of enzymatic saccharification. After treatment (cryocrushing), the initial rates of the enzymatic hydrolysis of eucalyptus sawdust and rice hull were increased more than ten-fold. Cryocrushing did not modify significantly the contents of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in both eucalyptus sawdust and rice hulls. However, substantial disorganization of the lignocellulosic materials in consequence of the pretreatment could be observed by electron microscopy. Cryocrushing was highly efficient in improving the saccharification of the holocellulose component of the plant biomasses (from 4.3% to 54.1% for eucalyptus sawdust and from 3.9% to 40.6% for rice hull). It is important to emphasize that it consists in a simple operation with low requirements of water and chemicals, no corrosion, no release of products such as soluble phenolics, furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural and no waste generation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass at high-solids loadings – A review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Modenbach, Alicia A.; Nokes, Sue E.

    2013-01-01

    Enzymatic hydrolysis is the unit operation in the lignocellulose conversion process that utilizes enzymes to depolymerize lignocellulosic biomass. The saccharide components released are the feedstock for fermentation. When performed at high-solids loadings (≥15% solids, w/w), enzymatic hydrolysis potentially offers many advantages over conversions performed at low- or moderate-solids loadings, including increased sugar and ethanol concentrations and decreased capital and operating costs. The goal of this review is to provide a consolidated source of information on studies using high-solids loadings in enzymatic hydrolysis. Included in this review is a brief discussion of the limitations, such as a lack of available water, difficulty with mixing and handling, insufficient mass and heat transfer, and increased concentration of inhibitors, associated with the use of high solids, as well as descriptions and findings of studies that performed enzymatic hydrolysis at high-solids loadings. Reactors designed and/or equipped for improved handling of high-solids slurries are also discussed. Lastly, this review includes a brief discussion of some of the operations that have successfully scaled-up and implemented high-solids enzymatic hydrolysis at pilot- and demonstration-scale facilities. -- Highlights: •High solids enzymatic hydrolysis needed for conversion process to be cost-effective. •Limitations must be addressed before benefits of high-solid loadings fully realized. •Some success with high-solids loadings at pilot and demonstration scale

  1. Structural and enzymatic characterization of the phosphotriesterase OPHC2 from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillaume Gotthard

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Organophosphates (OPs are neurotoxic compounds for which current methods of elimination are unsatisfactory; thus bio-remediation is considered as a promising alternative. Here we provide the structural and enzymatic characterization of the recently identified enzyme isolated from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes dubbed OPHC2. OPHC2 belongs to the metallo-β-lactamase superfamily and exhibits an unusual thermal resistance and some OP degrading abilities. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The X-ray structure of OPHC2 has been solved at 2.1 Å resolution. The enzyme is roughly globular exhibiting a αβ/βα topology typical of the metallo-β-lactamase superfamily. Several structural determinants, such as an extended dimerization surface and an intramolecular disulfide bridge, common features in thermostable enzymes, are consistent with its high Tm (97.8°C. Additionally, we provide the enzymatic characterization of OPHC2 against a wide range of OPs, esters and lactones. SIGNIFICANCE: OPHC2 possesses a broad substrate activity spectrum, since it hydrolyzes various phosphotriesters, esters, and a lactone. Because of its organophosphorus hydrolase activity, and given its intrinsic thermostability, OPHC2 is an interesting candidate for the development of an OPs bio-decontaminant. Its X-ray structure shed light on its active site, and provides key information for the understanding of the substrate binding mode and catalysis.

  2. Interrogating the activities of conformational deformed enzyme by single-molecule fluorescence-magnetic tweezers microscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Qing; He, Yufan; Lu, H. Peter

    2015-01-01

    Characterizing the impact of fluctuating enzyme conformation on enzymatic activity is critical in understanding the structure–function relationship and enzymatic reaction dynamics. Different from studying enzyme conformations under a denaturing condition, it is highly informative to manipulate the conformation of an enzyme under an enzymatic reaction condition while monitoring the real-time enzymatic activity changes simultaneously. By perturbing conformation of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) molecules using our home-developed single-molecule total internal reflection magnetic tweezers, we successfully manipulated the enzymatic conformation and probed the enzymatic activity changes of HRP in a catalyzed H2O2–amplex red reaction. We also observed a significant tolerance of the enzyme activity to the enzyme conformational perturbation. Our results provide a further understanding of the relation between enzyme behavior and enzymatic conformational fluctuation, enzyme–substrate interactions, enzyme–substrate active complex formation, and protein folding–binding interactions. PMID:26512103

  3. Oral administration of Saccharomyces boulardii alters duodenal morphology, enzymatic activity and cytokine production response in broiler chickens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yajing; Rajput, Imran Rashid; Arain, Muhammad Asif; Li, Yanfei; Baloch, Dost Muhammad

    2017-08-01

    The present study evaluated the effects of Saccharomyces boulardii on duodenal digestive enzymes, morphology and cytokine induction response in broiler chicken. A total of 200 birds were allotted into two groups (n = 100) and each group divided into five replications (n = 20). The control group was fed basal diet in addition to antibiotic (virginiamycin 20 mg/kg), and treatment group received (1 × 10 8  colony-forming units/kg feed) S. boulardii in addition to basal diet lasting for 72 days. The results compared to control group revealed that adenosine triphosphatase, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase, lipase and trypsin activities were higher, while, no significant improvement was observed in amylase activities in the duodenum of the treatment group. Moreover, morphological findings showed that villus height, width and number of goblet cells markedly increased. Additionally, transmission electron microscopy visualized that villus height, width and structural condensation significantly increased in the treatment group. The immunohistological observations showed increased numbers of immunoglobulin A (IgA)-positive cells in the duodenum of the treatment group. Meanwhile, cytokine production levels of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-10, transforming growth factor-β and secretory IgA markedly increased, and IL-6 statistically remained unchanged as compared to the control group. These findings illustrated that initial contact of S. boulardii to the duodenum has significant impact in improving enzymatic activity, intestinal morphology and cytokine response in broiler chicken. © 2016 Japanese Society of Animal Science.

  4. Evaluation of physical structural features on influencing enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of micronized wood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jinxue Jiang; Jinwu Wang; Xiao Zhang; Michael Wolcott

    2016-01-01

    Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is highly dependent on the changes in structural features after pretreatment. Mechanical milling pretreatment is an effective approach to alter the physical structure of biomass and thus improve enzymatic hydrolysis. This study examined the influence of structural characteristics on the enzymatic hydrolysis of micronized...

  5. Enzymatic saccharification of dilute acid pretreated saline crops for fermentable sugar production

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, Yi; Zhang, Ruihong [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Pan, Zhongli [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, University of California, Davis One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Processed Foods Research Unit, USDA-ARS-WRRC, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, CA 94710 (United States); Wang, Donghai [Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States)

    2009-11-15

    Four saline crops [athel (Tamarix aphylla L), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Jose Tall Wheatgrass (Agropyron elongatum), and Creeping Wild Ryegrass (Leymus triticoides)] that are used in farms for salt uptake from soil and drainage irrigation water have the potential for fuel ethanol production because they don't take a large number of arable lands. Dilute sulfuric acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis were conducted to select the optimum pretreatment conditions and the best saline crop for further enzymatic hydrolysis research. The optimum dilute acid pretreatment conditions included T = 165 C, t = 8 min, and sulfuric acid concentration 1.4% (w/w). Creeping Wild Ryegrass was decided to be the best saline crop. Solid loading, cellulase and {beta}-glucosidase concentrations had significant effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis of dilute acid pretreated Creeping Wild Ryegrass. Glucose concentration increased by 36 mg/mL and enzymatic digestibility decreased by 20% when the solid loading increased from 4 to 12%. With 8% solid loading, enzymatic digestibility increased by over 30% with the increase of cellulase concentration from 5 to 15 FPU/g-cellulose. Under given cellulase concentration of 15 FPU/g-cellulose, 60% increase of enzymatic digestibility of pretreated Creeping Wild Ryegrass was obtained with the increase of {beta}-glucosidase concentration up to 15 CBU/g-cellulose. With a high solid loading of 10%, fed-batch operation generated 12% and 18% higher enzymatic digestibility and glucose concentration, respectively, than batch process. (author)

  6. Human Papillomavirus 16 (HPV-16), HPV-18, and HPV-31 E6 Override the Normal Phosphoregulation of E6AP Enzymatic Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thatte, Jayashree; Banks, Lawrence

    2017-11-15

    The human papillomavirus (HPV) E6 oncoproteins recruit the cellular ubiquitin ligase E6AP/UBE3A to target cellular substrates for proteasome-mediated degradation, and one consequence of this activity is the E6 stimulation of E6AP autoubiquitination and degradation. Recent studies identified an autism-linked mutation within E6AP at T485, which was identified as a protein kinase A phosphoacceptor site and which could directly regulate E6AP ubiquitin ligase activity. In this study, we have analyzed how T485-mediated regulation of E6AP might affect E6 targeting of some of its known substrates. We show that modulation of T485 has no effect on the ability of E6 to direct either p53 or Dlg for degradation. Furthermore, T485 regulation has no effect on HPV-16 or HPV-31 E6-induced autodegradation of E6AP but does affect HPV-18 E6-induced autodegradation of E6AP. In cells derived from cervical cancers, we find low levels of both phosphorylated and nonphosphorylated E6AP in the nucleus. However, ablation of E6 results in a dramatic accumulation of phospho-E6AP in the cytoplasm, whereas nonphosphorylated E6AP accumulates primarily in the nucleus. Interestingly, E6AP phosphorylation at T485 confers association with 14-3-3 proteins, and this interaction seems to be important, in part, for the ability of E6 to recruit phospho-E6AP into the nucleus. These results demonstrate that HPV E6 overrides the normal phosphoregulation of E6AP, both in terms of its enzymatic activity and its subcellular distribution. IMPORTANCE Recent reports demonstrate the importance of phosphoregulation of E6AP for its normal enzymatic activity. Here, we show that HPV E6 is capable of overriding this regulation and can promote degradation of p53 and Dlg regardless of the phosphorylation status of E6AP. Furthermore, E6 interaction with E6AP also significantly alters how E6AP is subject to autodegradation and suggests that this is not a simple stimulation of an already-existing activity but rather a

  7. Plant oligoadenylates: enzymatic synthesis, isolation, and biological activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devash, Y.; Reichman, M.; Sela, I.; Reichenbach, N.L.; Suhadolnik, R.J.

    1985-01-01

    An enzyme that converts [ 3 H, 32 P]ATP, with a 3 H: 32 P ratio of 1:1, to oligoadenylates with the same 3 H: 32 P ratio was increased in plants following treatment with human leukocyte interferon or plant antiviral factor or inoculation with tobacco mosaic virus. The enzyme was extracted from tobacco leaves, callus tissue cultures, or cell suspension cultures. The enzyme, a putative plant oligoadenylate synthetase, was immobilized on poly(rI) . poly(rC)-agarose columns and converted ATP into plant oligoadenylates. These oligoadenylates were displaced from DEAE-cellulose columns with 350 mM KCl buffer, dialyzed, and further purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and DEAE-cellulose gradient chromatography. In all steps of purification, the ratio of 3 H: 32 P in the oligoadenylates remained 1:1. The plant oligoadenylates isolated by displacement with 350 mM KCl had a molecular weight greater than 1000. The plant oligoadenylates had charges of 5- and 6-. HPLC resolved five peaks, three of which inhibited protein synthesis in reticulocyte and wheat germ systems. Partial structural elucidation of the plant oligoadenylates has been determined by enzymatic and chemical treatments. An adenylate with a 3',5'-phosphodiester and/or a pyrophosphoryl linkage with either 3'- or 5'-terminal phosphates is postulated on the basis of treatment of the oligoadenylates with T2 RNase, snake venom phosphodiesterase, and bacterial alkaline phosphatase and acid and alkaline hydrolyses. The plant oligoadenylates at 8 X 10(-7) M inhibit protein synthesis by 75% in lysates from rabbit reticulocytes and 45% in wheat germ cell-free systems

  8. Application of extended Kalman filter to identification of enzymatic deactivation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caminal, G; Lafuente, J; López-Santín, J; Poch, M; Solà, C

    1987-02-01

    A recursive estimation scheme, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) technique, was applied to study enzymatic deactivation in the enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated cellulose using a model previously developed by the authors. When no deactivation model was assumed, the results showed no variation with time for all the model parameters except for the maximum rate of cellobiose-to-glucose conversion (r'(m)).The r'(m) variation occurred in two zones with a grace period. A new model of enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated cellulose deactivation was proposed and validated showing better behavior than the old deactivation model. This approach allows one to study enzyme deactivation without additional experiments and within operational conditions.

  9. The browning kinetics of the non-enzymatic browning reaction in L-ascorbic acid/basic amino acid systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ai-Nong YU

    Full Text Available Abstract Under the conditions of weak basis and the reaction temperature range of 110-150 °C, lysine, arginine and histidine were reacted with L-ascorbic acid at equal amount for 30-150 min, respectively and the formation of browning products was monitored with UV–vis spectrometry. The kinetic characteristics of their non-enzymatic browning reaction were investigated. The study results indicated that the non-enzymatic browning reaction of these three amino acids with L-ascorbic acid to form browning products was zero-order reaction. The apparent activation energies for the formation of browning products from L-ascorbic acid/lysine, L-ascorbic acid/arginine and L-ascorbic acid/histidine systems were 54.94, 50.08 and 35.31kJ/mol. The activation energy data indicated the degree of effects of reaction temperature on non-enzymatic browning reaction. Within the temperature range of 110-150 °C, the reaction rate of L-ascorbic acid/lysine system was the fastest one, followed by that of the L-ascorbic acid/arginine system. The reaction rate of L-ascorbic acid/histidine system was the slowest one. Based on the observed kinetic data, the formation mechanisms of browning products were proposed.

  10. Enzymatically-Mediated Co-Production of Cellulose Nanocrystals and Fermentable Sugars

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    Dawit Beyene

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs can be extracted from cellulosic materials through the degradation of non-crystalline cellulose domains in the feedstock via acid hydrolysis. However, the sugars released from the hydrolysis process cannot be easily recovered from the acid waste stream. In this study, cellulases were used to preferentially degrade non-crystalline domains with the objectives of recovering sugars and generating a feedstock with concentrated CNC precursors for a more efficient acid hydrolysis process. Filter paper and wood pulp substrates were enzyme-treated for 2–10 h to recover 20–40 wt % glucose. Substantial xylose yield (6–12 wt % was generated from wood pulp. CNC yields from acid hydrolysis of cellulases-treated filter paper, and wood pulp improved by 8–18% and 58–86%, respectively, when compared with the original substrate. It was thought that CNC precursors accumulated in the cellulases-treated feedstock due to enzymatic digestion of the more accessible non-crystalline celluloses. Therefore, acid hydrolysis from enzyme-treated feedstock will require proportionally less water and reagents resulting in increased efficiency and productivity in downstream processes. This study demonstrates that an enzymatically-mediated process allows recovery of fermentable sugars and improves acid hydrolysis efficiency for CNC production.

  11. pH catalyzed pretreatment of corn bran for enhanced enzymatic arabinoxylan degradation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agger, Jane; Johansen, Katja Salomon; Meyer, Anne S.

    2011-01-01

    Corn bran is mainly made up of the pericarp of corn kernels and is a byproduct stream resulting from the wet milling step in corn starch processing. Through statistic modeling this study examined the optimization of pretreatment of corn bran for enzymatic hydrolysis. A low pH pretreatment (pH 2......, 150°C, 65min) boosted the enzymatic release of xylose and glucose and maximized biomass solubilization. With more acidic pretreatment followed by enzymatic hydrolysis the total xylose release was maximized (at pH 1.3) reaching ∼50% by weight of the original amount present in destarched corn bran......, but the enzyme catalyzed xylose release was maximal after pretreatment at approx. pH 2. The total glucose release peaked after pretreatment of approx. pH 1.5 with an enzymatic release of approx. 68% by weight of the original amounts present in destarched corn bran. For arabinose the enzymatic release...

  12. Enhancement of enzymatic saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus: steam explosion versus steam treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin-Sampedro, Raquel; Revilla, Esteban; Villar, Juan C; Eugenio, Maria E

    2014-09-01

    Steam explosion and steam pre-treatment have proved capable of enhancing enzymatic saccharification of lignocellulosic materials. However, until now, these methods had not been compared under the same operational conditions and using the same raw material. Both pre-treatments lead to increased yields in the saccharification of Eucalyptus globulus; but results have been better with steam pre-treatments, despite the more accessible surface of exploded samples. The reason for this finding could be enzymatic inhibition: steam explosion causes a more extensive extraction of hemicelluloses and releases a greater amount of degradation products which can inhibit enzymatic action. Enzymatic inhibition is also dependent on the amount and chemical structure of lignin, which was also a contributing factor to the lower enzymatic yields obtained with the most severe pre-treatment. Thus, the highest yields (46.7% glucose and 73.4% xylose yields) were obtained after two cycle of steam treatment, of 5 and 3 min, at 183°C. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Enzymatic Synthesis of Biobased Polyesters and Polyamides

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    Yi Jiang

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, “green” is a hot topic almost everywhere, from retailers to universities to industries; and achieving a green status has become a universal aim. However, polymers are commonly considered not to be “green”, being associated with massive energy consumption and severe pollution problems (for example, the “Plastic Soup” as a public stereotype. To achieve green polymers, three elements should be entailed: (1 green raw materials, catalysts and solvents; (2 eco-friendly synthesis processes; and (3 sustainable polymers with a low carbon footprint, for example, (biodegradable polymers or polymers which can be recycled or disposed with a gentle environmental impact. By utilizing biobased monomers in enzymatic polymerizations, many advantageous green aspects can be fulfilled. For example, biobased monomers and enzyme catalysts are renewable materials that are derived from biomass feedstocks; enzymatic polymerizations are clean and energy saving processes; and no toxic residuals contaminate the final products. Therefore, synthesis of renewable polymers via enzymatic polymerizations of biobased monomers provides an opportunity for achieving green polymers and a future sustainable polymer industry, which will eventually play an essential role for realizing and maintaining a biobased and sustainable society.

  14. Metal nanostructures for non-enzymatic glucose sensing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tee, Si Yin; Teng, Choon Peng; Ye, Enyi

    2017-01-01

    This review covers the recent development of metal nanostructures in electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. It highlights a variety of nanostructured materials including noble metals, other transition metals, bimetallic systems, and their hybrid with carbon-based nanomaterials. Particularly, attention is devoted to numerous approaches that have been implemented for improving the sensors performance by tailoring size, shape, composition, effective surface area, adsorption capability and electron-transfer properties. The correlation of the metal nanostructures to the glucose sensing performance is addressed with respect to the linear concentration range, sensitivity and detection limit. In overall, this review provides important clues from the recent scientific achievements of glucose sensor nanomaterials which will be essentially useful in designing better and more effective electrocatalysts for future electrochemical sensing industry. - Highlights: • Overview of recent development of metal nanostructures in electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. • Special attention is focussed on noble metals, other transition metals, bimetallic systems, and their hybrid with carbon-based nanomaterials. • Merits and limitations of various metal nanostructures in electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. • Strategies to improve the glucose sensing performance of metal nanostructures as electrocatalysts.

  15. Biochemical characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana starch branching enzyme 2.2 reveals an enzymatic positive cooperativity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wychowski, A; Bompard, C; Grimaud, F; Potocki-Véronèse, G; D'Hulst, C; Wattebled, F; Roussel, X

    2017-09-01

    Starch Branching Enzymes (SBE) catalyze the formation of α(1 → 6) branching points on starch polymers: amylopectin and amylose. SBEs are classified in two groups named type 1 and 2. Both types are present in the entire plant kingdom except in some species such as Arabidopsis thaliana that expresses two type 2 SBEs: BE2.1 and BE2.2. The present work describes in vitro enzymatic characterization of the recombinant BE2.2. The function of recombinant BE2.2 was characterized in vitro using spectrophotometry assay, native PAGE and HPAEC-PAD analysis. Size Exclusion Chromatography separation and SAXS experiments were used to identify the oligomeric state and for structural analysis of this enzyme. Optimal pH and temperature for BE2.2 activity were determined to be pH 7 and 25 °C. A glucosyl donor of at least 12 residues is required for BE2.2 activity. The reaction results in the transfer in an α(1 → 6) position of a glucan preferentially composed of 6 glucosyl units. In addition, BE2.2, which has been shown to be monomeric in absence of substrate, is able to adopt different active forms in presence of branched substrates, which affect the kinetic parameters. BE2.2 has substrate specificity similar to those of the other type-2 BEs. We propose that the different conformations of the enzyme displaying more or less affinity toward its substrates would explain the adjustment of the kinetic data to the Hill equation. This work describes the enzymatic parameters of Arabidopsis BE2.2. It reveals for the first time conformational changes for a branching enzyme, leading to a positive cooperative binding process of this enzyme. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

  16. Characterization of Enzymatic profiles of Aedes aegypti strains from the State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renan Flávio de França Nunes

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This study was conducted in four strains of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to evaluate the enzymatic activity profiles in the city of Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, and correlate them with biochemical mechanisms of resistance to insecticides. Mosquitos were used to quantify the following detoxification enzymes: Mixed-Function Oxidase (MFO, PNPA-esterase (PNPA-EST, and Acetylcholinesterase (AChE. The profiles were compared statistically with profiles from the Rockefeller strain, through the Kruskal-Wallis test and Dunn's multiple comparisons (p 15% and 50%. The statistical analysis revealed significant differences in the MFO and AChE profiles, which are fundamental in the determination of profiles of resistance to insecticides. Three populations were classified as “Substantially changed” for MFO. The altered enzymatic activity showed that the changes could have an important role in exposing resistance to insecticides.

  17. Analytical Validation of a New Enzymatic and Automatable Method for d-Xylose Measurement in Human Urine Samples

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Israel Sánchez-Moreno

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Hypolactasia, or intestinal lactase deficiency, affects more than half of the world population. Currently, xylose quantification in urine after gaxilose oral administration for the noninvasive diagnosis of hypolactasia is performed with the hand-operated nonautomatable phloroglucinol reaction. This work demonstrates that a new enzymatic xylose quantification method, based on the activity of xylose dehydrogenase from Caulobacter crescentus, represents an excellent alternative to the manual phloroglucinol reaction. The new method is automatable and facilitates the use of the gaxilose test for hypolactasia diagnosis in the clinical practice. The analytical validation of the new technique was performed in three different autoanalyzers, using buffer or urine samples spiked with different xylose concentrations. For the comparison between the phloroglucinol and the enzymatic assays, 224 urine samples of patients to whom the gaxilose test had been prescribed were assayed by both methods. A mean bias of −16.08 mg of xylose was observed when comparing the results obtained by both techniques. After adjusting the cut-off of the enzymatic method to 19.18 mg of xylose, the Kappa coefficient was found to be 0.9531, indicating an excellent level of agreement between both analytical procedures. This new assay represents the first automatable enzymatic technique validated for xylose quantification in urine.

  18. Enzymatic biosensor of horseradish peroxidase immobilized on Au-Pt nanotube/Au-graphene for the simultaneous determination of antioxidants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Long; Yin, Wenmin; Tang, Kun; Li, Dian; Shao, Kang; Zuo, Yunpeng; Ma, Jing; Liu, Jiawei; Han, Heyou, E-mail: hyhan@mail.hzau.edu.cn

    2016-08-24

    A new electrochemical method has been proposed for the simultaneous determination of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and propyl gallate (PG) in food matrices based on enzymatic biosensors. Spiny Au-Pt nanotubes (SAP NTs) was first synthesized and demonstrated to exhibit intrinsic peroxidase and catalase-like activity. The structure of SAP NTs provides large surface area and favorable medium for electron transfer, on which HRP were immobilized and acted as enzymatic biosensor for the simultaneous detection of BHA and PG. The results revealed that BHA and PG both have well-defined oxidation waves with peak potentials of 624 and 655 mV, respectively. Under the optimal conditions, the method behaved satisfactory analytical performance towards BHA and PG with a wide linear range of 0.3–50 mg L{sup −1} and 0.1–100 mg L{sup −1}, as well as a detection limit of 0.046 mg L{sup −1} and 0.024 mg L{sup −1} (3σ/slope), respectively. Besides, the proposed method exhibits good sensitivity, stability and reproducibility, providing an alternative to fabricate electrode and construct sensitive biosensors. - Highlights: • SAP NTs was synthesized and demonstrated to exhibit intrinsic peroxidase and catalase-like activity. • The structure of SAP NTs provides larger surface area and more favorable medium for electron transfer. • Horseradish peroxidase immobilized on Au-Pt nanotube/Au-graphene acted as enzymatic biosensor. • The simultaneous detection of BHA and PG in food matrices was achieved based on enzymatic biosensors.

  19. Enzymatic oxidative biodegradation of nanoparticles: Mechanisms, significance and applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vlasova, Irina I. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Center for Free Radical and Antioxidant Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (United States); Research Institute for Physico-Chemical Medicine, Federal Medico-Biological Agency, Moscow 119453 (Russian Federation); Kapralov, Alexandr A. [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Center for Free Radical and Antioxidant Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (United States); Michael, Zachary P.; Burkert, Seth C. [Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Shurin, Michael R. [Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15261 (United States); Star, Alexander [Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Shvedova, Anna A., E-mail: ats@cdc.gov [Pathology and Physiology Research Branch, Health Effects Laboratory Division (HELD), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505 (United States); Kagan, Valerian E., E-mail: kagan@pitt.edu [Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Center for Free Radical and Antioxidant Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (United States); Department of Chemistry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States); Departments of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology and Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 (United States)

    2016-05-15

    Biopersistence of carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide (GO) and several other types of carbonaceous nanomaterials is an essential determinant of their health effects. Successful biodegradation is one of the major factors defining the life span and biological responses to nanoparticles. Here, we review the role and contribution of different oxidative enzymes of inflammatory cells – myeloperoxidase, eosinophil peroxidase, lactoperoxidase, hemoglobin, and xanthine oxidase – to the reactions of nanoparticle biodegradation. We further focus on interactions of nanomaterials with hemoproteins dependent on the specific features of their physico-chemical and structural characteristics. Mechanistically, we highlight the significance of immobilized peroxidase reactive intermediates vs diffusible small molecule oxidants (hypochlorous and hypobromous acids) for the overall oxidative biodegradation process in neutrophils and eosinophils. We also accentuate the importance of peroxynitrite-driven pathways realized in macrophages via the engagement of NADPH oxidase- and NO synthase-triggered oxidative mechanisms. We consider possible involvement of oxidative machinery of other professional phagocytes such as microglial cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, in the context of biodegradation relevant to targeted drug delivery. We evaluate the importance of genetic factors and their manipulations for the enzymatic biodegradation in vivo. Finally, we emphasize a novel type of biodegradation realized via the activation of the “dormant” peroxidase activity of hemoproteins by the nano-surface. This is exemplified by the binding of GO to cyt c causing the unfolding and ‘unmasking’ of the peroxidase activity of the latter. We conclude with the strategies leading to safe by design carbonaceous nanoparticles with optimized characteristics for mechanism-based targeted delivery and regulatable life-span of drugs in circulation. - Highlights: • Nanoparticles can be degraded by

  20. Influence of long-term fertilization on soil enzyme activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina Dora SAMUEL

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Soil enzyme activities (actual and potential dehydrogenase, catalase, acid and alkaline phosphatase were determined in the 0–10, 10–20, and 20–30 cm layers of a brown luvic soil submitted to a complex fertilization experiment with different types of green manure. It was found that each activity decreased with increasing sampling depth. It should be emphasized that greenmanuring of maize led to a significant increase in each of the five enzymatic activities determined. The enzymatic indicators of soil quality calculated from the values of enzymatic activities showed the order: lupinus + rape + oat > lupinus > vetch + oat + ryegrass > lupinus + oat + vetch > unfertilized plot. This order means that by determination of enzymatic activities valuable information can be obtained regarding fertility status of soils. There were significant correlations of soil enzyme activities with chemical properties.

  1. Sporothrix schenckii COMPLEX: SUSCEPTIBILITIES TO COMBINED ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ENZYMATIC PROFILES

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    Daniele Carvalho OLIVEIRA

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available SUMMARY Sporothrix schenckiiwas reclassified as a complex encompassing six cryptic species, which calls for the reassessment of clinical and epidemiological data of these new species. We evaluated the susceptibility of Sporothrix albicans (n = 1 , S. brasiliensis (n = 6 , S. globosa (n = 1, S. mexicana(n = 1 and S. schenckii(n = 36 to terbinafine (TRB alone and in combination with itraconazole (ITZ, ketoconazole (KTZ, and voriconazole (VRZ by a checkerboard microdilution method and determined the enzymatic profile of these species with the API-ZYM kit. Most interactions were additive (27.5%, 32.5% and 5% or indifferent (70%, 50% and 52.5% for TRB+KTZ, TRB+ITZ and TRB+VRZ, respectively. Antagonisms were observed in 42.5% of isolates for the TRB+VRZ combination. Based on enzymatic profiling, the Sporothrix schenckii strains were categorized into 14 biotypes. Leucine arylamidase (LA activity was observed only for S. albicans and S. mexicana. The species S. globosaand S. mexicanawere the only species without β-glucosidase (GS activity. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of virulence and resistance among species of the genus Sporothrixin further studies.

  2. Sporothrix schenckii COMPLEX:SUSCEPTIBILITIES TO COMBINED ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ENZYMATIC PROFILES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Daniele Carvalho; de Loreto, Érico Silva; Mario, Débora Alves Nunes; Lopes, Paulo G Markus; Neves, Louise Vignolles; da Rocha, Marta Pires; Santurio, Janio Morais; Alves, Sydney Hartz

    2015-01-01

    Sporothrix schenckii was reclassified as a complex encompassing six cryptic species, which calls for the reassessment of clinical and epidemiological data of these new species. We evaluated the susceptibility of Sporothrix albicans(n = 1) , S. brasiliensis(n = 6) , S. globosa(n = 1), S. mexicana(n = 1) and S. schenckii(n = 36) to terbinafine (TRB) alone and in combination with itraconazole (ITZ), ketoconazole (KTZ), and voriconazole (VRZ) by a checkerboard microdilution method and determined the enzymatic profile of these species with the API-ZYM kit. Most interactions were additive (27.5%, 32.5% and 5%) or indifferent (70%, 50% and 52.5%) for TRB+KTZ, TRB+ITZ and TRB+VRZ, respectively. Antagonisms were observed in 42.5% of isolates for the TRB+VRZ combination. Based on enzymatic profiling, the Sporothrix schenckii strains were categorized into 14 biotypes. Leucine arylamidase (LA) activity was observed only for S. albicans and S. mexicana. The species S. globosa and S. Mexicana were the only species without β-glucosidase (GS) activity. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of virulence and resistance among species of the genus Sporothrix in further studies.

  3. Effect of aflatoxin B1 on growth and enzymatic activity of a native strain of Bacillus sp Efecto de la aflatoxina B1 sobre el crecimiento y actividad proteolítica de una cepa nativa de Bacillus sp

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márquez Edna Judith

    2004-07-01

    Full Text Available The effect of different aflatoxin B1 (AFAB1 concentrations on alkaline protease growth and enzymatic activity was evaluated; a native strain of alkalophilic Bacillus sp cultivated in CSL (Corn Steep Liquor was used. It was found that the effect of AFAB1 on the strain inhibited its growth and enzymatic activity to 1 ppm, showing that the strain is highly sensible to AFAB1, meaning that medium obtained f rom Colombian corn contaminated with this mycotoxin cannot be easily used. Concentrations less than 0.1 ppm did not affect growth and enzymatic activity. Key words: Bacillus, aflatoxin, alkaline proteases.Se evaluó el efecto de diferentes concentraciones de aflatoxina B1 (AFAB1 sobre el crecimiento y actividad enzimática de proteasas alcalinas de una cepa nativa de Bacillus sp Alcalofílico cultivada en LAM (Licor Agotado de Maíz. Se encontró que la cepa inhibe su crecimiento y actividad enzimática a 1 ppm, lo que demuestra una alta sensibilidad de la cepa evaluada a la AFAB1 e imposibilita utilizar fácilmente medios obtenidos de maíz nacional contaminado con esta micotoxina. Las concentraciones inferiores a 0.1 ppm no tienen ningún efecto sobre el crecimiento y la actividad enzimática. Palabras clave: Bacillus, aflatoxina, proteasas alcalinas.

  4. Structural Changes of Lignin after Liquid Hot Water Pretreatment and Its Effect on the Enzymatic Hydrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wen Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available During liquid hot water (LHW pretreatment, lignin is mostly retained in the pretreated biomass, and the changes in the chemical and structural characteristics of lignin should probably refer to re-/depolymerization, solubilization, or glass transition. The residual lignin could influence the effective enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. The pure lignin was used to evaluate the effect of LHW process on its structural and chemical features. The surface morphology of LHW-treated lignin observed with the scanning electron microscopy (SEM was more porous and irregular than that of untreated lignin. Compared to the untreated lignin, the surface area, total pore volume, and average pore size of LHW-treated lignin tested with the Brunner-Emmet-Teller (BET measurement were increased. FTIR analysis showed that the chemical structure of lignin was broken down in the LHW process. Additionally, the impact of untreated and treated lignin on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose was also explored. The LHW-treated lignin had little impact on the cellulase adsorption and enzyme activities and somehow could improve the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.

  5. Effect of enzymatic treatment of extracted sunflower proteins on solubility, amino acid composition, and surface activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conde, José Miñones; Escobar, María del Mar Yust; Pedroche Jiménez, Justo J; Rodríguez, Francisco Millán; Rodríguez Patino, Juan M

    2005-10-05

    Industrial proteins from agriculture of either animal or vegetable origin, including their peptide derivatives, are of great importance, from the qualitative and quantitative point of view, in food formulations (emulsions and foams). A fundamental understanding of the physical, chemical, and functional properties of these proteins is essential if the performance of proteins in foods is to be improved and if underutilized proteins, such as plant proteins (and their hydrolysates and peptides derivatives), are to be increasingly used in traditional and new processed food products (safe, high-quality, health foods with good nutritional value). In this contribution we have determined the main physicochemical characteristics (solubility, composition, and analysis of amino acids) of a sunflower protein isolate (SPI) and its hydrolysates with low (5.62%), medium (23.5%), and high (46.3%) degrees of hydrolysis. The hydrolysates were obtained by enzymatic treatment with Alcalase 2.4 L for DH 5.62 and 23.5% and with Alcalase 2.4 L and Flavorzyme 1000 MG sequentially for DH 46.3%. The protein concentration dependence on surface pressure (surface pressure isotherm), a measure of the surface activity of the products (SPI and its hydrolysates), was obtained by tensiometry. We have observed that the degree of hydrolysis has an effect on solubility, composition, and content of the amino acids of the SPI and its hydrolysates. The superficial activity and the adsorption efficiency were also affected by the degree of hydrolysis.

  6. Phenylpropanoid Glycoside Analogues: Enzymatic Synthesis, Antioxidant Activity and Theoretical Study of Their Free Radical Scavenger Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Munguía, Agustín; Hernández-Romero, Yanet; Pedraza-Chaverri, José; Miranda-Molina, Alfonso; Regla, Ignacio; Martínez, Ana; Castillo, Edmundo

    2011-01-01

    Phenylpropanoid glycosides (PPGs) are natural compounds present in several medicinal plants that have high antioxidant power and diverse biological activities. Because of their low content in plants (less than 5% w/w), several chemical synthetic routes to produce PPGs have been developed, but their synthesis is a time consuming process and the achieved yields are often low. In this study, an alternative and efficient two-step biosynthetic route to obtain natural PPG analogues is reported for the first time. Two galactosides were initially synthesized from vanillyl alcohol and homovanillyl alcohol by a transgalactosylation reaction catalyzed by Kluyveromyces lactis β-galactosidase in saturated lactose solutions with a 30%–35% yield. To synthesize PPGs, the galactoconjugates were esterified with saturated and unsaturated hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives using Candida antarctica Lipase B (CaL-B) as a biocatalyst with 40%–60% yields. The scavenging ability of the phenolic raw materials, intermediates and PPGs was evaluated by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH•) method. It was found that the biosynthesized PPGs had higher scavenging abilities when compared to ascorbic acid, the reference compound, while their antioxidant activities were found similar to that of natural PPGs. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to determine that the PPGs antioxidant mechanism proceeds through a sequential proton loss single electron transfer (SPLET). The enzymatic process reported in this study is an efficient and versatile route to obtain PPGs from different phenylpropanoid acids, sugars and phenolic alcohols. PMID:21674039

  7. Recent advances in the elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis [version 2; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gao-Yi Tan

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available With the successful production of artemisinic acid in yeast, the promising potential of synthetic biology for natural product biosynthesis is now being realized. The recent total biosynthesis of opioids in microbes is considered to be another landmark in this field. The importance and significance of enzymes in natural product biosynthetic pathways have been re-emphasized by these advancements. Therefore, the characterization and elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis are undoubtedly fundamental for the development of new drugs and the heterologous biosynthesis of active natural products. Here, discoveries regarding enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis over the past year are briefly reviewed.

  8. Recent advances in the elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tan Gao-Yi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available With the successful production of artemisinic acid in yeast, the promising potential of synthetic biology for natural product biosynthesis is now being realized. The recent total biosynthesis of opioids in microbes is considered to be another landmark in this field. The importance and significance of enzymes in natural product biosynthetic pathways have been re-emphasized by these advancements. Therefore, the characterization and elucidation of enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis are undoubtedly fundamental for the development of new drugs and the heterologous biosynthesis of active natural products. Here, discoveries regarding enzymatic function in natural product biosynthesis over the past year are briefly reviewed.

  9. Enzymatic cell disruption of microalgae biomass in biorefinery processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demuez, Marie; Mahdy, Ahmed; Tomás-Pejó, Elia; González-Fernández, Cristina; Ballesteros, Mercedes

    2015-10-01

    When employing biotechnological processes for the procurement of biofuels and bio-products from microalgae, one of the most critical steps affecting economy and yields is the "cell disruption" stage. Currently, enzymatic cell disruption has delivered effective and cost competitive results when compared to mechanical and chemical cell disruption methods. However, the introduction of enzymes implies additional associated cost within the overall process. In order to reduce this cost, autolysis of microalgae is proposed as alternative enzymatic cell disruption method. This review aims to provide the state of the art of enzymatic cell disruption treatments employed in biorefinery processes and highlights the use of endopeptidases. During the enzymatic processes of microalgae life cycle, some lytic enzymes involved in cell division and programmed cell death have been proven useful in performing cell lysis. In this context, the role of endopeptidases is emphasized. Mirroring these natural events, an alternative cell disruption approach is proposed and described with the potential to induce the autolysis process using intrinsic cell enzymes. Integrating induced autolysis within biofuel production processes offers a promising approach to reduce overall global costs and energetic input associated with those of current cell disruption methods. A number of options for further inquiry are also discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Optimization of Substrate Feeding for Enzymatic Biodiesel Production

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Price, Jason Anthony; Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted; Nordblad, Mathias

    2013-01-01

    to be effective in mitigating the effects of substrate inhibition. Using enzymatic biodiesel production as a case study, the volumetric productivity of the reactor is increased while minimizing inactivation of the enzyme due to the alcohol. This is done by using a simple optimization routine where the substrate...... (both the vegetable oil and alcohol) feed rate/concentration is manipulated simultaneously. The results of the simulation were tested in the laboratory and are sufficiently positive to suggest the implementation of a feeding strategy for large scale enzymatic biodiesel production...

  11. Moving towards a Competitive Fully Enzymatic Biodiesel Process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Cesarini

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Enzymatic biodiesel synthesis can solve several problems posed by the alkaline-catalyzed transesterification but it has the drawback of being too expensive to be considered competitive. Costs can be reduced by lipase improvement, use of unrefined oils, evaluation of soluble/immobilized lipase preparations, and by combination of phospholipases with a soluble lipase for biodiesel production in a single step. As shown here, convenient natural tools have been developed that allow synthesis of high quality FAMEs (EN14214 from unrefined oils in a completely enzymatic single-step process, making it fully competitive.

  12. Anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating properties of an enzymatic protein hydrolysate from yellow field pea seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ndiaye, Fatou; Vuong, Tri; Duarte, Jairo; Aluko, Rotimi E; Matar, Chantal

    2012-02-01

    Enzymatic protein hydrolysates of yellow pea seed have been shown to possess high anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial activities. The aim of this work was to confirm the anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating activities of an enzymatic protein hydrolysate of yellow field pea seeds. The anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of peptides from yellow field pea proteins (Pisum sativum L.) were investigated in LPS/IFN-γ-activated RAW 264.7 NO⁻ macrophages. The immunomodulating potential of pea protein hydrolysate (PPH) was then studied in a murine model. Pea protein hydrolysate, after a 12 h pre-treatment, showed significant inhibition of NO production by activated macrophages up to 20%. Moreover, PPH significantly inhibited their secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α- and IL-6, up to 35 and 80%, respectively. Oral administration of PPH in mice enhanced the phagocytic activity of their peritoneal macrophages and stimulated the gut mucosa immune response. The number of IgA+ cells was elevated in the small intestine lamina propria, accompanied by an increase in the number of IL-4+, IL-10+ and IFN-γ+ cells. This was correlated to up-regulation of IL-6 secretion by small intestine epithelial cells (IEC), probably responsible for B-cell terminal differentiation to IgA-secreting cells. Moreover, PPH might have increased IL-6 production in IECs via the stimulation of toll-like receptors (TLRs) family, especially TLR2 and TLR4 since either anti-TLR2 or anti-TLR4 was able to completely abolish PPH-induced IL-6 secretion. Enzymatic protein degradation confers anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating potentials to pea proteins, and the resulted peptides could be used as an alternative therapy for the prevention of inflammatory-related diseases.

  13. Enzymatic properties and localization of motopsin (PRSS12), a protease whose absence causes mental retardation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitsui, Shinichi; Yamaguchi, Nozomi; Osako, Yoji; Yuri, Kazunari

    2007-03-09

    Motopsin (PRSS12) is a mosaic protease expressed in the central nervous system. Truncation of the human motopsin gene causes nonsyndromic mental retardation. Understanding the enzymatic properties and localization of motopsin protein in the central nervous system will help identify the molecular mechanism by which the loss of motopsin function causes mental retardation. Recombinant motopsin showed amidolytic activity against the synthetic substrate benzyloxycarbonyl-l-phenylalanyl-l-arginine 4-methyl-coumaryl-7-amide. Motopsin activated the single-chain tissue plasminogen activator precursor and exhibited gelatinolytic activity. This enzymatic activity was inhibited by typical serine protease inhibitors such as aprotinin, leupeptin, and (4-amidinophenyl) methanesulfonyl fluoride. Immunocytochemistry using anti-motopsin IgG revealed that both human and mouse motopsin proteins were distributed in discrete puncta along the dendrites and soma as well as axons in cultured hippocampal neurons. In the limbic system, including the cingulate and hippocampal pyramidal neurons and piriform cortex, high level of motopsin protein was expressed at postnatal day 10, but a very low level at 10-week-old mice. Motopsin and tissue plasminogen activator were co-expressed in the cingulate pyramidal neurons at postnatal day 10 and were distributed along dendrites of cultured pyramidal neurons. In cranial nuclei, a moderate level of motopsin protein was detected independently on the developmental stage. Our results suggest that motopsin has multiple functions, such as axon outgrowth, arranging perineuronal environment, and maintaining neuronal plasticity, partly in coordination with other proteases including tissue plasminogen activator.

  14. Protein phosphatases decrease their activity during capacitation: a new requirement for this event.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janetti R Signorelli

    Full Text Available There are few reports on the role of protein phosphatases during capacitation. Here, we report on the role of PP2B, PP1, and PP2A during human sperm capacitation. Motile sperm were resuspended in non-capacitating medium (NCM, Tyrode's medium, albumin- and bicarbonate-free or in reconstituted medium (RCM, NCM plus 2.6% albumin/25 mM bicarbonate. The presence of the phosphatases was evaluated by western blotting and the subcellular localization by indirect immunofluorescence. The function of these phosphatases was analyzed by incubating the sperm with specific inhibitors: okadaic acid, I2, endothall, and deltamethrin. Different aliquots were incubated in the following media: 1 NCM; 2 NCM plus inhibitors; 3 RCM; and 4 RCM plus inhibitors. The percent capacitated sperm and phosphatase activities were evaluated using the chlortetracycline assay and a phosphatase assay kit, respectively. The results confirm the presence of PP2B and PP1 in human sperm. We also report the presence of PP2A, specifically, the catalytic subunit and the regulatory subunits PR65 and B. PP2B and PP2A were present in the tail, neck, and postacrosomal region, and PP1 was present in the postacrosomal region, neck, middle, and principal piece of human sperm. Treatment with phosphatase inhibitors rapidly (≤1 min increased the percent of sperm depicting the pattern B, reaching a maximum of ∼40% that was maintained throughout incubation; after 3 h, the percent of capacitated sperm was similar to that of the control. The enzymatic activity of the phosphatases decreased during capacitation without changes in their expression. The pattern of phosphorylation on threonine residues showed a sharp increase upon treatment with the inhibitors. In conclusion, human sperm express PP1, PP2B, and PP2A, and the activity of these phosphatases decreases during capacitation. This decline in phosphatase activities and the subsequent increase in threonine phosphorylation may be an important

  15. Enzymatic Synthesis of Esculin Ester in Ionic Liquids Buffered with Organic Solvents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Yifan; Guo, Zheng; Lue, Bena-Marie

    2009-01-01

    The enzymatic esterification of esculin catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozym 435) was carried out in ionic liquid (IL)-organic solvent mixed systems in comparison with individual systems. The reaction behaviors in IL-organic solvents were systemically evaluated using acetone as a model...... in IL-acetone mixtures made it possible to improve the solubility of esculin while the effects of ILs on lipase activity were minimized. Following the benignity of ILs to lipase activity, the anions of ILs were ranked in the order as [Tf2N](-) > [PF6](-) > [BF4](-) > [CF3SO3](-) > [C4F9SO3](-) > [TAF...

  16. Enzymatic synthesis of C-11 formaldehyde: concise communication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slegers, G.; Lambrecht, R.H.D.; Vandewalle, T.; Meulewaeter, L.; Vandecasteele, C.

    1984-01-01

    An enzymatic synthesis of C-11 formaldehyde from C-11 methanol is presented, with immobilized alcohol oxidase and catalase: a rapid, simple procedure, with a high and reproducible yield. Carbon-11 methanol is oxidized to C-11 formaldehyde by passage over a column on which the enzymes alcohol oxidase and catalase are immobilized. The catalase increases reaction velocity by recycling the oxygen, and prevents destruction of the alcohol oxidase by eliminating the excess of hydrogen peroxide. The yield of the enzyme-catalyzed oxidation was 80-95%. A specific activity of 400-450 mCi/μmole was obtained at EOB + 20 min. Various immobilization techniques and the optimal reaction conditions of the immobilized enzymes are investigated

  17. Enzymatic degradation of polycaprolactone–gelatin blend

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, Aditi; Chatterjee, Kaushik; Madras, Giridhar

    2015-01-01

    Blends of polycaprolactone (PCL), a synthetic polymer and gelatin, natural polymer offer a optimal combination of strength, water wettability and cytocompatibility for use as a resorbable biomaterial. The enzymatic degradation of PCL, gelatin and PCL–gelatin blended films was studied in the presence of lipase (Novozym 435, immobilized) and lysozyme. Novozym 435 degraded the PCL films whereas lysozyme degraded the gelatin. Though Novozym 435 and lysozyme individually could degrade PCL–gelatin blended films, the combination of these enzymes showed the highest degradation of these blended films. Moreover, the enzymatic degradation was much faster when fresh enzymes were added at regular intervals. The changes in physico-chemical properties of polymer films due to degradation were studied by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. These results have important implications for designing resorbable biomedical implants. (paper)

  18. Biosynthetic machinery of ionophore polyether lasalocid: enzymatic construction of polyether skeleton.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minami, Atsushi; Oguri, Hiroki; Watanabe, Kenji; Oikawa, Hideaki

    2013-08-01

    Diversity of natural polycyclic polyethers originated from very simple yet versatile strategy consisting of epoxidation of linear polyene followed by epoxide opening cascade. To understand two-step enzymatic transformations at molecular basis, a flavin containing monooxygenase (EPX) Lsd18 and an epoxide hydrolase (EH) Lsd19 were selected as model enzymes for extensive investigation on substrate specificity, catalytic mechanism, cofactor requirement and crystal structure. This pioneering study on prototypical lasalocid EPX and EH provides insight into detailed mechanism of ionophore polyether assembly machinery and clarified remaining issues for polyether biosynthesis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Effect of abscisic acid on biochemical constituents, enzymatic and non enzymatic antioxidant status of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. under varied irrigation regimes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed A. Al Muhairi

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Economically important vegetable crop lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. of family Asteraceae was selected for the present investigation. It is being cultivated in UAE due to its commercial importance. In lettuce cultivation, the major problem is the requirement of large quantities of irrigation water. The present study was aimed to reduce the water consumption of lettuce cultivation; for that, a varied irrigation regime was used with the application of abscisic acid (ABA. The parameters studied were biochemical constituents, antioxidant potential and antioxidant enzymes’ activities in lettuce plants under drought stress and its response to ABA under stress. Drought stress caused an increase in the biochemical constituents like proline and amino acid contents when compared with control and also increased under individual ABA treatments and treatments under drought stress. The non-enzymatic antioxidant molecules like ascorbate and α-tocopherol showed significant increase under drought condition in lettuce. ABA slightly reduced these contents. The antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase showed significant increase under drought condition and ABA caused significant enhancement in these antioxidant enzymes under drought stress and also in unstressed conditions, thereby protecting the plants from the deleterious effects of drought stress. From the results of this investigation, it can be concluded that ABA in 10 mg g−1 can be used as a potential tool to minimise the drought stress effects in lettuce cultivation.

  20. Surfactant-assisted pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of spent mushroom compost for the production of sugars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kapu, N U S; Manning, M; Hurley, T B; Voigt, J; Cosgrove, D J; Romaine, C P

    2012-06-01

    Spent mushroom compost (SMC), a byproduct of commercial mushroom cultivation, poses serious environmental problems that have hampered the growth of this important agro-industry. In an effort to develop new applications for SMC, we explored its use as a feedstock for bioethanol production. SMC constitutes approximately 30%w/w polysaccharides, 66% of which is glucan. Following dilute-acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis, both in the presence of PEG 6000, 97% of glucan and 44% of xylan in SMC were converted into the corresponding monosaccharides. Incorporation of PEG 6000 reduced the cellulase requirement by 77%. Zwittergent 3-12 and 3-14 also significantly increased the efficacy of acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. The use of SMC in bioethanol production represents a potential mitigation solution for the critical environmental issues associated with the stockpiling of the major byproduct of the mushroom industry. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Enzymatic carotenoid cleavage in star fruit (Averrhoa carambola).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischmann, Peter; Watanabe, Naoharu; Winterhalter, Peter

    2003-05-01

    This paper presents the first description of an enzyme fraction exhibiting carotenoid cleavage activity isolated from fruit skin of Averrhoa carambola. Partial purification of the enzyme could be achieved by acetone precipitation, ultrafiltration (300 kDa, 50 kDa), isoelectric focusing (pH 3-10) and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (7.5%). In this way, an enzymatically active protein fraction was obtained, consisting of four proteins in the molecular weight range of between 12 and 90 kDa. Using beta-carotene as substrate, the enzyme activity was detected spectrophotometrically at 505 nm. The main reaction product, detected by GC analysis, was beta-ionone. This proves that the isolated enzymes are closely related to aroma metabolism and release of star fruit. The time constant of the reaction was 16.6 min, the Michaelis Constant K(m)=3.6 micromol 1(-1) and the maximum velocity V(max)=10.5 x 10(-3) micromol l(-1) s(-1) mg((Protein))(-1). The optimum temperature was 45 degrees C.

  2. Radiation pretreatments of cellulose materials for the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ardica, S.; Calderaro, E.; Cappadona, C.

    1985-01-01

    The effect of γ-ray pre-irradiation of cellulose materials such as wood chips, paper, grain straw, hay and kapok on glucose production on enzymatic hydrolysis by cellulase has been investigated. These materials have been irradiated in air, water and acetate buffer solution over the dose range 10 3 to 4 x 10 6 Gy. In the relatively low dose range, up to about 5 x 10 5 Gy, the glucose yields after enzymatic hydrolysis are practically insensitive to radiation. At higher dose levels, up to 1.7 to 2 x 10 6 Gy, the pre-irradiation becomes very effective on enzymatic cellulose conversion. It has been found that the radiation-induced degradation of cellulose into low molecular weight polysaccharides is dependent on the nature and chemical composition of the cellulose materials and on the radiation environmental conditions. Further increases of dose causes radiation-induced structural modifications in polysaccharides previously produced, which can lead to a decrease in glucose production by enzymatic hydrolysis. (author)

  3. Preparation of immobilized growing cells and enzymatic hydrolysis of sawdust

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumakura, M.; Kaetsu, I.

    1984-01-01

    Trichoderma reesei cells were immobilized by radiation polymerization using porous materials such as non-woven material and sawdust, and the enzymatic hydrolysis of sawdust with the enzyme solution from the immobilized growing cells was studied. The filter paper activity, which shows the magnitude of cellulase production in the immobilized cells, was comparable with that in the intact cells. The filter paper activity was affected by addition concentration of monomer and porous materials. The cells in the immobilized cells grew to be adhered on the surface of the fibrous polymers. Sawdust, which was pretreated by irradiation technique, was effectively hydrolyzed with the enzyme solution resulting from the culture of the immobilized cells, in which the glucose yield increased increasing the culture time of the immobilized cells. (author)

  4. Tandem and sequential multi-enzymatic syntheses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kim, B.G.; Ahn, J.H.; Sello, G.; Di Gennaro, P.; van Herk, T.; Hartog, A.F.; Wever, R.; Oroz-Guinea, I.; Sánchez-Moreno, I.; García-Junceda, E.; Wu, B.; Szymanski, W.; Feringa, B.L.; Janssen, D.B.; Villo, L.; Kreen, M.; Kudryashova, M.; Metsala, A.; Tamp, S.; Lille, ü.; Pehk, T.; Parve, O.; McClean, K.; Eddowes, P.; Whittall, J.; Sutton, P.W.

    2012-01-01

    This chapter contains sections titled: Production of Isorhamnetin 3-O-Glucoside in Escherichia coli Using Engineered Glycosyltransferase Multienzymatic Preparation of (−)-3-(Oxiran-2-yl)Benzoic Acid Enzymatic Synthesis of Carbohydrates from Dihydroxyacetone and Aldehydes by a One Pot Enzyme Cascade

  5. Relationship of angiotensinase and vasopressinase enzymatic activities between hypothalamus and plasma in an obese rat model by high-fat diet

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Germán Domínguez-Vías

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available High-fat diets are associated with the development of hypertension. However, a high intake of monounsaturated fat has been proposed to be a dietary factor that can decrease the incidence of hypertension. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS and vasopressin interact to regulate blood pressure at central and peripheral level. In this study, we investigated the effect of different degrees of dietary fatty acid saturation in the control of RAS and vasopressin on brain-blood. To improve our understanding of their interaction and their relationship, we analyzed angiotensin- and vasopressin-metabolizing activities in hypothalamus and plasma, collected from Wistar rats fed during 24 weeks with diets enriched with extra virgin olive oil (monounsaturated fat or butter plus cholesterol (saturated fat compared with a standard diet. As results no angiotensinase and vasopressinase activities were found in hypothalamus and plasma, however significant correlations between enzymatic activities in both regions were noticed. They indicated that our results do not support the beneficial influence of extra virgin olive oil on central and systemic level to regulate blood pressure. Therefore, the substrates hydrolyzed by these activities as well as their functions may be similarly affected and suggest that these studies should be continued because of beneficial of Mediterranean diet, found previously in different works, which may also be an effective tool in the treatment of hypertension.

  6. Enzymatic pH control for biomimetic depostion of calcium phosphate coatings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijhuis, A.W.G.; Nejadnik, M.R.; Nudelman, F.; Walboomers, X.F.; Riet, te J.; Habibovic, P.; Birgani, Z.T.; Li, Y.B.; Bomans, P.H.H.; Jansen, J.A.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.; Leeuwenburgh, S.C.G.

    2014-01-01

    The current study examines the enzymatic decomposition of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia as a means to increase the pH during biomimetic deposition of calcium phospate (CaP) onto implant surfaces. The kinetics of the enzymatically induced pH increase were studied by monitoring pH, calcium

  7. Enzymatic pH control for biomimetic deposition of calcium phosphate coatings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijhuis, A.W.G.; Nejadnik, M.R.; Nudelman, F.; Walboomers, X.F.; Riet, J. te; Habibovic, P.; Tahmasebi Birgani, Z.; Li, Y.; Bomans, P.H.; Jansen, J.A.; Sommerdijk, N.A.; Leeuwenburgh, S.C.G.

    2014-01-01

    The current study examines the enzymatic decomposition of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia as a means to increase the pH during biomimetic deposition of calcium phosphate (CaP) onto implant surfaces. The kinetics of the enzymatically induced pH increase were studied by monitoring pH, calcium

  8. Using temperature-responsive zwitterionic surfactant to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses and recover cellulase by cooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Cheng; Pang, Yuxia; Zhan, Xuejuan; Zeng, Meijun; Lou, Hongming; Qian, Yong; Yang, Dongjie; Qiu, Xueqing

    2017-11-01

    Some zwitterionic surfactants exhibit upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in aqueous solutions. For the zwitterionic surfactant solution mixed with cellulase, when its temperature is below UCST, the cellulase can be recovered by coprecipitation with zwitterionic surfactant. In this work, 3-(Hexadecyldimethylammonio) propanesulfonate (SB3-16) was selected to enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses and recover the cellulase. After adding 2mmol/L of SB3-16, the enzymatic digestibility of eucalyptus pretreated by dilute acid (Eu-DA) and by sulfite (Eu-SPORL) increased from 27.9% and 35.1% to 72.6% and 89.7%, respectively. The results showed that SB3-16 could reduce the non-productive adsorption of cellulase on hydrophobic interface, while it did not significantly inhibit the activity of cellulase. For the solution contained 1wt% SB3-16 and 200mg protein/L CTec2 cellulase, 55.2% of protein could be recovered by cooling. The filter paper activity of the recovered cellulase was 1.93FPU/mg protein, which was 95.8% of its initial activity. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. ETHANOL ORGANOSOLV PRETREATMENT OF BAMBOO FOR EFFICIENT ENZYMATIC SACCHARIFICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiqiang Li,

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Bamboo is a potential lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bioethanol because of its high cellulose and hemicelluloses content. In this research, ethanol organosolv pretreatment with dilute sulfuric acid as the catalyst was studied in order to enhance enzymatic saccharification of moso bamboo. The addition of 2% (w/w bamboo dilute sulfuric acid in 75% ethanol had a particularly strong effect on fractionation of bamboo. It yielded a solids fraction containing 83.4% cellulose in the treated substrate. The cellulose conversion to glucose yield reached 77.1 to 83.4% after enzymatic hydrolysis of the solids fraction for 48 h at an enzyme loading of 15 FPU cellulase/g cellulose and 30 IU β-glucosidase/g cellulose. The enzymatic hydrolysis rate was significantly accelerated as the ethanol organosolv pretreatment time increased, reaching the highest enzymatic glucose yield of 83.4% after 48 h at 50 °C. The concentrations of fermentation inhibitors such as HMF (5-hydroxy-2-methyl furfural and furfural were 0.96 g/L and 4.38 g/L in the spent liquor after the ethanol organosolv pretreatment, which were slightly lower than the concentrations quantified during H2SO4-water treatment. Spent liquor was diluted with water, and more than 87.2% of lignin in raw bamboo was recovered as ethanol organosolv lignin through the filtration process.

  10. THE KINETICS OF THE REACTIONS CATALYZED BY AN ENZYMATIC PREPARATION PRODUCED BY A BACILLUS LICHENIFORMIS STRAIN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MONICA DRAGOMIRESCU

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available Robust immobilization techniques that preserve the activity of biomolecules have manypotential applications. In recent years, a number of new bioimobilisation methods in solgel-derived materials were reported. The interactions between the biomolecule and theinorganic material determine the degree to which the biomolecule retains its nativeproperties. The newer technological developments in the field of immobilizedbiocatalysts can offer the possibility of a wider and more economical exploitation ofbiocatalysts in biological applications, food and feed industry, medicine, and in thedevelopment of bioprocess monitoring devices, like the biosensors.The aim of this study was to obtain immobilized enzymatic preparations by methodswhich affect enzyme conformations and kinetic parameters as less as possible. Weimmobilized the enzymatic preparation with protease activity produced by a Bacilluslicheniformis B 40 local strain by physical bonding on ceramics and entrapment into solgel-derived glasses obtained from tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS, deposited in thin layeron a ceramic support (entrapment/deposition. Both physically adsorbed andentrapped/deposited enzymes follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics, similar with the solubleenzyme. In the case of immobilized enzymes, the apparent Michaelis constant, Km, wasgreater than that of the native one, as it was expected. The kinetic parameters indicatethat the enzymatic preparations adsorbed on ceramic support and entrapped/depositedshow less affinity for the substrate, Km being 1.3 and 2.1 times higher than that of thenative enzyme, respectively. The maximum velocity increased also by 3.5 and 7.9 timesrespectively, compared with the free counterpart (according to Lineweaver-Burklinearization.

  11. Sweetening syrup production by enzymatic hydrolysis of starch variety yam (Dioscorea rotundata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Ramón Vidal Tovar

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Sweeteners syrups produced by enzymatic hydrolysis from starch of hawthorn yam (Dioscorea rotundata. The starch was extracted by a scratched, washed, sedimented and drying; the yield was quantified taking into account the amount of initial raw material and was determined the concentration of starch, amylose, amylopectin, crude fiber, ash, protein, fat and humidity in accordance with the requirements of the AOAC standards, and ICONTEC COVENIN. Enzymatic hydrolysis of starch was conducted using ∂-amylase, glucoamylase and pullulanase in starch solutions at 36 and 46 % w/w varying the order of application of glucoamylase and pullulanase were determined pH, Brix, moisture, reducing sugars (AR, total sugar (TS and the dextrose equivalent (ED in the syrups obtained. In the liquefaction were obtained with an intermediate syrups sweeteners ED 18.81% and 22.15%. Syrups low and medium conversion with an ED between 34-45% in the first saccharification and high conversion syrups with a DE between 75-79% as a final product. The above values allow the use of hawthorn yam starch syrup production for multiple uses in different food industry processes.

  12. The In Situ Enzymatic Screening (ISES) Approach to Reaction Discovery and Catalyst Identification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swyka, Robert A; Berkowitz, David B

    2017-12-14

    The importance of discovering new chemical transformations and/or optimizing catalytic combinations has led to a flurry of activity in reaction screening. The in situ enzymatic screening (ISES) approach described here utilizes biological tools (enzymes/cofactors) to advance chemistry. The protocol interfaces an organic reaction layer with an adjacent aqueous layer containing reporting enzymes that act upon the organic reaction product, giving rise to a spectroscopic signal. ISES allows the experimentalist to rapidly glean information on the relative rates of a set of parallel organic/organometallic reactions under investigation, without the need to quench the reactions or draw aliquots. In certain cases, the real-time enzymatic readout also provides information on sense and magnitude of enantioselectivity and substrate specificity. This article contains protocols for single-well (relative rate) and double-well (relative rate/enantiomeric excess) ISES, in addition to a colorimetric ISES protocol and a miniaturized double-well procedure. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

  13. Enzymatic pH Control for Biomimetic Deposition of Calcium Phosphate Coatings

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nijhuis, A.W.; Reza Nejadnik, M.; Nudelman, F.; Walboomers, X.F.; te Riet, J.; Habibovic, Pamela; Tahmasebi Birgani, Zeinab; Yubao, L.; Bomans, P.H.H.; Jansen, J.A.; Sommerdijk, N.A.J.M.; Leeuwenburgh, S.C.G.

    2014-01-01

    The current study has focused on enzymatic decomposition of urea into carbon dioxide and ammonia as a means to increase the pH during biomimetic deposition of Calcium Phospate (CaP) onto implant surfaces. The kinetics of the enzymatically induced pH increase were studied by monitoring pH, calcium

  14. Production and characterization of enzymatic cocktail produced by Aspergillus niger using green macroalgae as nitrogen source and its application in the pre-treatment for biogas production from Ulva rigida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karray, Raida; Hamza, Manel; Sayadi, Sami

    2016-09-01

    Marine macroalgae are gaining more and more importance as a renewable feedstock for durable bioenergy production, but polysaccharides of this macroalgae are structurally complex in its chemical composition. The use of enzymatic hydrolysis may provide new pathways in the conversion of complex polysaccharides to fermentable sugars. In this study, an enzymatic cocktail with high specificity was first isolated from Aspergillus niger using the green macroalgae Ulva rigida as nitrogen source. The cocktail is rich on β-glucosidase, pectinase and carboxy-methyl-cellulase (CMCase). The highest activity was obtained with β-glucosidase (109IUmL(-1)) and pectinase (76IUmL(-1)), while CMCase present the lowest activity 4.6IUmL(-1). The U. rigida pre-treatment with this enzymatic cocktail showed high rate of reduced sugar release, and could bring promising prospects for enzymatic pre-treatment of the biogas production from U. rigida biomass which reached 1175mLgCODint(-1). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Enzymatic added extraction and clarification of fruit juices-A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Harsh P; Patel, Hiral; Sugandha

    2017-04-13

    Enzymatic treatment for juice extraction is most commonly used now a days. The enzymatic process is claimed to offer a number of advantages over mechanical-thermal comminution of several fruit pulps. Enzymes are an integral component of modern fruit juice manufacturing and are highly suitable for optimizing processes. Their main purposes are: increase extraction of juice from raw material, increase processing efficiency (pressing, solid settling or removal), and generate a final product that is clear and visually attractive. Juice extraction can be done by using various mechanical processes, which may be achieved through diffusion extraction, decanter centrifuge, screw type juice extractor, fruit pulper and by different types of presses. Enzymatic treatment prior to mechanical extraction significantly improves juice recovery compared to any other extraction process. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the cell walls increases the extraction yield, reducing sugars, soluble dry matter content and galacturonic acid content and titrable acidity of the products. Enzymatic degradation of the biomaterial depends upon the type of enzyme, incubation time, incubation temperature, enzyme concentration, agitation, pH and use of different enzyme combinations. We can conclude from the technical literature that use of the enzymes i.e. cellulases, pectinases, amylases and combination of these enzymes can give better juice yield with superior quality of the fruit juice. Pectinase enzyme can give maximum juice yield i.e. 92.4% at 360 minutes incubation time, 37°C incubation temperature and 5 mg/100 g of enzyme concentration. Whereas the combination of two enzymes i.e. pectin methyl esterase (PME) and polygalacturonase (PG) at 120 minutes of incubation time, 50°C of incubation temperature and 0.05 mg/100 gm of enzymatic concentration can give the maximum yield of 96.8% for plum fruits. This paper discusses the use of enzymes in fruit juice production focusing on the juice recovery

  16. Eliminating inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis by lignosulfonate in unwashed sulfite-pretreated aspen using metal salts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao Liu; Junyong Zhu

    2010-01-01

    This study demonstrated the efficiency of Ca(II) and Mg(II) in removing inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis by lignosulfonate through non-productive adsorption of enzymes. Adding 1 mmol/g cellulose of either metal salt restores approximately 65% of the activity lost when a pure cellulose/cellulase solution is spiked with lignosulfonate. Addition of either Ca(II) or Mg(...

  17. High volumetric power density, non-enzymatic, glucose fuel cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oncescu, Vlad; Erickson, David

    2013-01-01

    The development of new implantable medical devices has been limited in the past by slow advances in lithium battery technology. Non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells are promising replacement candidates for lithium batteries because of good long-term stability and adequate power density. The devices developed to date however use an "oxygen depletion design" whereby the electrodes are stacked on top of each other leading to low volumetric power density and complicated fabrication protocols. Here we have developed a novel single-layer fuel cell with good performance (2 μW cm⁻²) and stability that can be integrated directly as a coating layer on large implantable devices, or stacked to obtain a high volumetric power density (over 16 μW cm⁻³). This represents the first demonstration of a low volume non-enzymatic fuel cell stack with high power density, greatly increasing the range of applications for non-enzymatic glucose fuel cells.

  18. Multiple enzymatic profiles of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains isolated from oysters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Albuquerque Costa

    Full Text Available The enzymatic characterization of vibrios has been used as a virulence indicator of sanitary interest. The objective of this study was to determine the enzymatic profile of Vibrio parahaemolyticus strains (n = 70 isolated from Crassostrea rhizophorae oysters. The strains were examined for the presence of gelatinase (GEL, caseinase (CAS, elastase (ELAS, phospholipase (PHOS, lipase (LIP, amilase (AML and DNase. All enzymes, except elastase, were detected in more than 60% of the strains. The most recurrent enzymatic profiles were AML + DNase + PHOS + GEL + LIP (n = 16; 22.9% and AML + CAS + DNase + PHOS + GEL + LIP (n = 21; 30%. Considering the fact that exoenzyme production by vibrios is closely related to virulence, one must be aware of the bacteriological risk posed to human health by the consumption of raw or undercooked oysters.

  19. Visual Snapshots of Intracellular Kinase Activity At The Onset of Mitosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dai, Zhaohua; Dulyaninova, Natalya G.; Kumar, Sanjai; Bresnick, Anne R.; Lawrence, David S.

    2007-01-01

    Summary Visual snapshots of intracellular kinase activity can be acquired with exquisite temporal control using a light-activatable (caged) sensor, thereby providing a means to interrogate enzymatic activity at any point during the cell division cycle. Robust protein kinase activity transpires just prior to, but not immediately following, nuclear envelope breakdown (NEB). Furthermore, kinase activity is required for progression from prophase into metaphase. Finally, the application of selective protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, in combination with the caged sensor, correlates the action of the PKC β isoform with subsequent NEB. PMID:18022564

  20. Understanding of alkaline pretreatment parameters for corn stover enzymatic saccharification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Ye

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous research on alkaline pretreatment has mainly focused on optimization of the process parameters to improve substrate digestibility. To achieve satisfactory sugar yield, extremely high chemical loading and enzyme dosages were typically used. Relatively little attention has been paid to reduction of chemical consumption and process waste management, which has proven to be an indispensable component of the bio-refineries. To indicate alkali strength, both alkali concentration in pretreatment solution (g alkali/g pretreatment liquor or g alkali/L pretreatment liquor and alkali loading based on biomass solids (g alkali/g dry biomass have been widely used. The dual approaches make it difficult to compare the chemical consumption in different process scenarios while evaluating the cost effectiveness of this pretreatment technology. The current work addresses these issues through pretreatment of corn stover at various combinations of pretreatment conditions. Enzymatic hydrolysis with different enzyme blends was subsequently performed to identify the effects of pretreatment parameters on substrate digestibility as well as process operational and capital costs. Results The results showed that sodium hydroxide loading is the most dominant variable for enzymatic digestibility. To reach 70% glucan conversion while avoiding extensive degradation of hemicellulose, approximately 0.08 g NaOH/g corn stover was required. It was also concluded that alkali loading based on total solids (g NaOH/g dry biomass governs the pretreatment efficiency. Supplementing cellulase with accessory enzymes such as α-arabinofuranosidase and β-xylosidase significantly improved the conversion of the hemicellulose by 6–17%. Conclusions The current work presents the impact of alkaline pretreatment parameters on the enzymatic hydrolysis of corn stover as well as the process operational and capital investment costs. The high chemical consumption for alkaline

  1. Enzymatic assay for methotrexate in erythrocytes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schrøder, H; Heinsvig, E M

    1985-01-01

    Methotrexate (MTX) accumulates in erythrocytes in MTX-treated patients. We present a modified enzymatic assay measuring MTX concentrations between 10 and 60 nmol/l in erythrocytes, adapted for a centrifugal analyser (Cobas Bio). About 40 patient's samples could be analysed within 1 h. The detection...

  2. Sugar ester surfactants: enzymatic synthesis and applications in food industry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neta, Nair S; Teixeira, José A; Rodrigues, Lígia R

    2015-01-01

    Sugar esters are non-ionic surfactants that can be synthesized in a single enzymatic reaction step using lipases. The stability and efficiency of lipases under unusual conditions and using non-conventional media can be significantly improved through immobilization and protein engineering. Also, the development of de novo enzymes has seen a significant increase lately under the scope of the new field of synthetic biology. Depending on the esterification degree and the nature of fatty acid and/or sugar, a range of sugar esters can be synthesized. Due to their surface activity and emulsifying capacity, sugar esters are promising for applications in food industry.

  3. ENCAPSULATION OF HORSERADISH PEROXIDASE-GLUCOSE OXIDASE (HRP-GOx IN SILICA AQUAGEL SYNTHESIZED FROM RICE HULL ASH FOR ENZYMATIC REACTION OF GLUCOSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nuryono Nuryono

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the sol-gel technique has attracted increasing interest as a unique approach to immobilize biomolecules for bioanalytical applications as well as biochemical and biophysical studies. In this research, encapsulation of Horseradish peroxidase-Glucose oxidase (HRP-GOx enzymes in silica aquagel from rice hull ash by sol-gel process has been carried out. In addition, the effect of several parameters (weight ratio of HRP to GOx, pH, temperature, sodium ion concentration on enzyme activity was studied, as well. Rice hull ash, which was produced by ashing at 700 °C, was extracted it's silika by NaOH solution 1 M at 100 °C for two hours to produce sodium silikate (Na2SiO3 solution. The Na2SiO3 solution with pH of 13 was added with a strong cation exchanger resin, to produce sol solution with the pH of 4. Encapsulation was emphasized by mixing sol solution and phosphate buffer pH 7 containing HRP-GOx solution at volume ratio of buffer to sol solution 1:5. The mixture was transferred into 96-microwell plate and was aged for 24 hours. Enzymatic reaction was carried out by adding chromogenic solution of phenol and 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AAP and b-D-glucose solution (as substrate into the microwell. Enzymatic activity was examined by measuring absorbance of product solution at 490 nm with ELISA reader. Result of enzymatic activity for encapsulated enzymes (SGE was compared to that for free enzymes (EB. Results showed that at the investigated condition, HRP-GOx enzymes gave high activity at weight ratio of HRP to GOx 10:1 and pH 7 for both SGE and EB. Encapsulation caused the enzymes activity decrease to 53.0±0.2 %. However, SGE was observed to be more stable on pH and temperature changes than EB. Study on the effect of sodium concentration showed that the increase of sodium concentration from 0.10 to 0.37 M decreased the enzymatic activity to 56±0.2%. Reusability test showed that the synthesized SGE was reusable with activity decrease of 60

  4. A novel clot lysis assay for recombinant plasminogen activator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamialahmadi, Oveis; Fazeli, Ahmad; Hashemi-Najafabadi, Sameereh; Fazeli, Mohammad Reza

    2015-03-01

    Recombinant plasminogen activator (r-PA, reteplase) is an engineered variant of alteplase. When expressed in E. coli, it appears as inclusion bodies that require refolding to recover its biological activity. An important step following refolding is to determine the activity of refolded protein. Current methods for enzymatic activity of thrombolytic drugs are costly and complex. Here a straightforward and low-cost clot lysis assay was developed. It quantitatively measures the activity of the commercial reteplase and is also capable of screening refolding conditions. As evidence for adequate accuracy and sensitivity of the current assay, r-PA activity measurements are shown to be comparable to those obtained from chromogenic substrate assay.

  5. Multi-Scale Computational Enzymology: Enhancing Our Understanding of Enzymatic Catalysis

    OpenAIRE

    Rami Gherib; Hisham M. Dokainish; James W. Gauld

    2013-01-01

    Elucidating the origin of enzymatic catalysis stands as one the great challenges of contemporary biochemistry and biophysics. The recent emergence of computational enzymology has enhanced our atomistic-level description of biocatalysis as well the kinetic and thermodynamic properties of their mechanisms. There exists a diversity of computational methods allowing the investigation of specific enzymatic properties. Small or large density functional theory models allow the comparison of a pleth...

  6. Precision Synthesis of Functional Polysaccharide Materials by Phosphorylase-Catalyzed Enzymatic Reactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun-ichi Kadokawa

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In this review article, the precise synthesis of functional polysaccharide materials using phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic reactions is presented. This particular enzymatic approach has been identified as a powerful tool in preparing well-defined polysaccharide materials. Phosphorylase is an enzyme that has been employed in the synthesis of pure amylose with a precisely controlled structure. Similarly, using a phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization, the chemoenzymatic synthesis of amylose-grafted heteropolysaccharides containing different main-chain polysaccharide structures (e.g., chitin/chitosan, cellulose, alginate, xanthan gum, and carboxymethyl cellulose was achieved. Amylose-based block, star, and branched polymeric materials have also been prepared using this enzymatic polymerization. Since phosphorylase shows a loose specificity for the recognition of substrates, different sugar residues have been introduced to the non-reducing ends of maltooligosaccharides by phosphorylase-catalyzed glycosylations using analog substrates such as α-d-glucuronic acid and α-d-glucosamine 1-phosphates. By means of such reactions, an amphoteric glycogen and its corresponding hydrogel were successfully prepared. Thermostable phosphorylase was able to tolerate a greater variance in the substrate structures with respect to recognition than potato phosphorylase, and as a result, the enzymatic polymerization of α-d-glucosamine 1-phosphate to produce a chitosan stereoisomer was carried out using this enzyme catalyst, which was then subsequently converted to the chitin stereoisomer by N-acetylation. Amylose supramolecular inclusion complexes with polymeric guests were obtained when the phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization was conducted in the presence of the guest polymers. Since the structure of this polymeric system is similar to the way that a plant vine twines around a rod, this polymerization system has been named

  7. Expression of the enzymatically active legumain-like cysteine proteinase TvLEGU-1 of Trichomonas vaginalis in Pichia pastoris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reséndiz-Cardiel, Gerardo; Arroyo, Rossana; Ortega-López, Jaime

    2017-06-01

    The legumain-like cysteine proteinase TvLEGU-1 from Trichomonas vaginalis plays a major role in trichomonal cytoadherence. However, its structure-function characterization has been limited by the lack of a reliable recombinant expression platform to produce this protein in its native folded conformation. TvLEGU-1 has been expressed in Escherichia coli as inclusion bodies and all efforts to refold it have failed. Here, we describe the expression of the synthetic codon-optimized tvlegu-1 (tvlegu-1-opt) gene in Pichia pastoris strain X-33 (Mut+) under the inducible AOX1 promoter. The active TvLEGU-1 recombinant protein (rTvLEGU-1) was secreted into the medium when tvlegu-1-opt was fused to the Aspergillus niger alpha-amylase signal peptide. The rTvLEGU-1 secretion was influenced by the gene copy number and induction temperature. Data indicate that increasing tvlegu-1-opt gene copy number was detrimental for heterologous expression of the enzymatically active TvLEGU-1. Indeed, expression of TvLEGU-1 had a greater impact on cell viability for those clones with 26 or 29 gene copy number, and cell lysis was observed when the induction was carried out at 30 °C. The enzyme activity in the medium was higher when the induction was carried out at 16 °C and in P. pastoris clones with lower gene copy number. The results presented here suggest that both copy number and induction temperature affect the rTvLEGU-1 expression in its native-like and active conformation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Molecular requirements for radiation-activated recombination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stevens, Craig W.; Zeng Ming; Stamato, Thomas; Cerniglia, George

    1997-01-01

    % of treated cells) into cellular DNA. The mechanism of radiation enhanced stable gene transfer requires effector proteins to accomplish the recombination. The Ku proteins, which are required for V(D)J recombination, account for at least 90% of radiation induced recombination. There is also an absolute requirement for the Ataxia Telangiectasia gene (ATM) for any radiation induced recombination to occur, although the transfection efficiency in unirradiated cells is unaffected by ATM. Removal of p53 by transfection of E6 (Human Papilloma Virus) significantly inhibits radiation activated recombination, and this is confirmed in nuclear extract recombination assays. Conclusions: Ionizing radiation activates a recombination pathway which may be useful in gene therapy. The molecular mechanism of radiation activated recombination requires a number of DNA-damage-repair proteins

  9. A Sequential Combination of Laccase Pretreatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Glucose Production from Furfural Residues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hailong Yu

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Furfural residues (FRs were pretreated with laccase or a laccase-mediator (1-hydroxybenzotriazole, HBT system to produce fermentable sugar for bioethanol production. Compared to laccase-only pretreatment, laccase-mediator pretreatment dissolved more lignin. Approximately 10.5% of the initially present lignin was removed when FRs were treated with a laccase loading of 100 U/g of dry substrate in 1% (w/w HBT at 48 °C for 24 h in an acetate buffer (pH 4.8. The enzymatic saccharification process was carried out by a combined laccase or laccase-mediator pretreatment without washing of the treated solids. The results showed that active laccase had a negative effect on the rate and yield of enzymatic hydrolysis. Laccase-oxidized HBT seriously reduced glucose yield. However, non-oxidized HBT increased glucose yield when laccase was deactivated at 121 °C for 20 min prior to enzymatic hydrolysis. The highest glucose yield, 80.9%, was obtained from the substrate pretreated with 100 U/g of dry substrate laccase and 1% (w/w HBT at 48 °C for 24 h in an acetate buffer (pH 4.8. Furthermore, the structures of FRs before and after laccase-mediator pretreatment were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR.

  10. Enzymatic activities of the GB virus-B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ranjith-Kumar, C.T.; Santos, Jan Lee; Gutshall, Lester L.; Johnston, Victor K.; Juili, L.-G.; Kim, M.-J.; Porter, David J.; Maley, Derrick; Greenwood, Cathy; Earnshaw, David L.; Baker, Audrey; Gu Baohua; Silverman, Carol; Sarisky, Robert T.; Kao Cheng

    2003-01-01

    The GB virus-B (GBV-B) nonstructural protein 5B (NS5B) encodes an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) with greater than 50% sequence similarity to the hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B. Recombinant GBV-B NS5B was reported to possess RdRp activity (W. Zhong et al., 2000, J. Viral Hepat. 7, 335-342). In this study, the GBV-B RdRp was examined more thoroughly for different RNA synthesis activities, including primer-extension, de novo initiation, template switch, terminal nucleotide addition, and template specificity. The results can be compared with previous characterizations of the HCV RdRp. The two RdRps share similarities in terms of metal ion and template preference, the abilities to add nontemplated nucleotides, perform both de novo initiation and extension from a primer, and switch templates. However, several differences in RNA synthesis between the GBV-B and HCV RdRps were observed, including (i) optimal temperatures for activity, (ii) ranges of Mn 2+ concentration tolerated for activity, and (iii) cation requirements for de novo RNA synthesis and terminal transferase activity. To assess whether the recombinant GBV-B RdRp may represent a relevant surrogate system for testing HCV antiviral agents, two compounds demonstrated to be active at nanomolar concentrations against HCV NS5B were tested on the GBV RdRp. A chain terminating nucleotide analog could prevent RNA synthesis, while a nonnucleoside HCV inhibitor was unable to affect RNA synthesis by the GBV RdRp

  11. Understanding the effects of lignosulfonate on enzymatic saccharification of pure cellulose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hongming Lou; Haifeng Zhou; Xiuli Li; Mengxia Wang; J.Y. Zhu; Xueqing Qiu

    2014-01-01

    The effects of lignosulfonate (LS) on enzymatic saccharification of pure cellulose were studied. Four fractions of LS with different molecular weight (MW) prepared by ultrafiltration of a commercial LS were applied at different loadings to enzymatic hydrolysis of Whatman paper under different pH. Using LS fractions with low MW and high degree of sulfonation can enhance...

  12. Rapid and sensitive enzymatic-radiochemical assay for the determination of triglycerides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khoo, J.C.; Miller, E.; Goldberg, D.I.

    1987-01-01

    An enzymatic-radiochemical method suitable for the determination of triglyceride levels of cells in culture is described. The method is based on the enzymatic hydrolysis of triglycerides to free fatty acids which then complex with 63 Ni. The method is rapid, accurate, and inexpensive. The procedure extends the sensitivity of triglyceride measurement to as low as 0.25 nanomoles

  13. Electrochemical, Chemical and Enzymatic Oxidations of Phenothiazines

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blankert, B.; Hayen, H.; van Leeuwen, S.M.; Karst, U.; Bodoki, E.; Lotrean, S.; Sandulescu, R.; Mora Diaz, N.; Dominguez, O.; Arcos, J.; Kauffmann, J.-M.

    2005-01-01

    The oxidation of several phenothiazine drugs (phenothiazine, promethazine hydrochloride, promazine hydrochloride, trimeprazine hydrochloride and ethopropazine hydrochloride) has been carried out in aqueous acidic media by electrochemical, chemical and enzymatic methods. The chemical oxidation was

  14. Enzymatic saccharification of brown seaweed for production of fermentable sugars.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sandeep; Horn, Svein Jarle

    2016-08-01

    This study shows that high drying temperatures negatively affect the enzymatic saccharification yield of the brown seaweed Saccharina latissima. The optimal drying temperature of the seaweed in terms of enzymatic sugar release was found to be 30°C. The enzymatic saccharification process was optimized by investigating factors such as kinetics of sugar release, enzyme dose, solid loading and different blend ratios of cellulases and an alginate lyase. It was found that the seaweed biomass could be efficiently hydrolysed to fermentable sugars using a commercial cellulase cocktail. The inclusion of a mono-component alginate lyase was shown to improve the performance of the enzyme blend, in particular at high solid loadings. At 25% dry matter loading a combined glucose and mannitol concentration of 74g/L was achieved. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. The influence of Fe2+ on growth and development of cells enzymatically isolated from Porphyra yezoensis blades

    Science.gov (United States)

    Songdong, Shen; Jixun, Dai

    2005-03-01

    Fe2+ acted as an accessorial factor for many cellular enzymatic reactions is very important for seaweed growth and development, but the Fe2+ requirement in nori had not been seen, Porphyra yezoensis cells were separated enzymatically and cultured in a series of sterilized seawater media containing various concentrations of Fe2+. The growth development and cell were investigated in this work. Through this experiment, two biologically-meant concentration scales were found, one is low concentrations, 12.1-102.1 μg/L, 10-100 times than that in seawater, favoring the development of isolated cells of Porphyra and the other was high concentrations, more than 10mg/L inhibiting the cell growth, leading to the deformity and shrinkage of the cells. At the concentration of 50 mg/L, the cells stopped growing and died eventually.

  16. A Networks Approach to Modeling Enzymatic Reactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imhof, P

    2016-01-01

    Modeling enzymatic reactions is a demanding task due to the complexity of the system, the many degrees of freedom involved and the complex, chemical, and conformational transitions associated with the reaction. Consequently, enzymatic reactions are not determined by precisely one reaction pathway. Hence, it is beneficial to obtain a comprehensive picture of possible reaction paths and competing mechanisms. By combining individually generated intermediate states and chemical transition steps a network of such pathways can be constructed. Transition networks are a discretized representation of a potential energy landscape consisting of a multitude of reaction pathways connecting the end states of the reaction. The graph structure of the network allows an easy identification of the energetically most favorable pathways as well as a number of alternative routes. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Enzymatic detection of formalin-fixed museum specimens for DNA analysis and enzymatic maceration of formalin-fixed specimens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Margrethe; Redsted Rasmussen, Arne; Simonsen, Kim Pilkjær

    2016-01-01

    % ethanol. The method was subsequently tested on wild-living preserved specimens and an archived specimen. The protease enzyme used was SavinaseH 16 L, Type EX from Novozymes A/S. The enzymatic screening test demands only simple laboratory equipment. The method is useful for natural history collections...

  18. Starch facilitates enzymatic wheat gluten hydrolysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hardt, N.A.; Boom, R.M.; Goot, van der A.J.

    2015-01-01

    Wheat gluten can be hydrolyzed by either using (vital) wheat gluten or directly from wheat flour. This study investigates the influence of the presence of starch, the main component of wheat, on enzymatic wheat gluten hydrolysis. Wheat gluten present in wheat flour (WFG) and vital wheat gluten (VWG)

  19. The enzymatic activity of CEM15/Apobec-3G is essential for the regulation of the infectivity of HIV-1 virion but not a sole determinant of its antiviral activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shindo, Keisuke; Takaori-Kondo, Akifumi; Kobayashi, Masayuki; Abudu, Aierken; Fukunaga, Keiko; Uchiyama, Takashi

    2003-11-07

    Human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) Vif protein plays an essential role in the regulation of the infectivity of HIV-1 virion. Vif functions to counteract an anti-HIV-1 cellular factor in non-permissive cells, CEM15/Apobec-3G, which shares a cytidine deaminase motif. CEM15/Apobec-3G deaminates dC to dU in the minus strand DNA of HIV-1, resulting in G to A hypermutation in the plus strand DNA. In this study, we have done the mutagenesis analysis on two cytidine deaminase motifs in CEM15/Apobec-3G and examined their antiviral functions as well as the DNA editing activity. Point mutations in the C-terminal active site such as E259Q and C291A almost completely abrogated the antiviral function, while those in the N-terminal active site such as E67Q and C100A retained this activity to a lesser extent as compared with that of the wild type. The DNA editing activities of E67Q and E259Q mutants were both retained but impaired to the same extent. This indicates that the enzymatic activity of this protein is essential but not a sole determinant of the antiviral activity. Furthermore, all the deletion mutants tested in this study lost the antiviral activity because of the loss of the activity for dimerization, suggesting that the entire protein structure is necessary for the antiviral function.

  20. Comparison of mitochondrial and nucleolar RNase MRP reveals identical RNA components with distinct enzymatic activities and protein components.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Qiaosheng; Wierzbicki, Sara; Krasilnikov, Andrey S; Schmitt, Mark E

    2010-03-01

    RNase MRP is a ribonucleoprotein endoribonuclease found in three cellular locations where distinct substrates are processed: the mitochondria, the nucleolus, and the cytoplasm. Cytoplasmic RNase MRP is the nucleolar enzyme that is transiently relocalized during mitosis. Nucleolar RNase MRP (NuMRP) was purified to homogeneity, and we extensively purified the mitochondrial RNase MRP (MtMRP) to a single RNA component identical to the NuMRP RNA. Although the protein components of the NuMRP were identified by mass spectrometry successfully, none of the known NuMRP proteins were found in the MtMRP preparation. Only trace amounts of the core NuMRP protein, Pop4, were detected in MtMRP by Western blot. In vitro activity of the two enzymes was compared. MtMRP cleaved only mitochondrial ORI5 substrate, while NuMRP cleaved all three substrates. However, the NuMRP enzyme cleaved the ORI5 substrate at sites different than the MtMRP enzyme. In addition, enzymatic differences in preferred ionic strength confirm these enzymes as distinct entities. Magnesium was found to be essential to both enzymes. We tested a number of reported inhibitors including puromycin, pentamidine, lithium, and pAp. Puromycin inhibition suggested that it binds directly to the MRP RNA, reaffirming the role of the RNA component in catalysis. In conclusion, our study confirms that the NuMRP and MtMRP enzymes are distinct entities with differing activities and protein components but a common RNA subunit, suggesting that the RNA must be playing a crucial role in catalytic activity.

  1. Cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Budzaki, S.; Miljic, G.; Sundaram, S.; Tisma, M.; Hessel, V.

    2017-01-01

    A cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors using refined sunflower oil is performed in this work. A few enzymatic micro-flow reactors have so far reached a performance close to gram-scale, which might be sufficient for the pharmaceutical industry. This

  2. Characterization of Volatile Flavor Compounds in Chinese Rice Wine Fermented from Enzymatic Extruded Rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Enbo; Long, Jie; Wu, Zhengzong; Li, Hongyan; Wang, Fang; Xu, Xueming; Jin, Zhengyu; Jiao, Aiquan

    2015-07-01

    Enzymatic extrusion, instead of traditional steam cooking, to treat rice is an efficient and alternative pretreatment for Chinese rice wine fermentation. In order to determine the formation of volatiles in enzymatic extrusion-processed rice wine (EE), and to confirm its characteristic flavor compounds, headspace solid-phase micro-extraction followed by GC-MS was used. A total of 66 volatile compounds were identified in EE. During fermentation, most volatiles generated from enzymatic extruded rice had the similar trends with those from steam-cooked rice, but the differences in the concentration of volatiles indicated a changed balance of flavors release caused by enzymatic extrusion. Besides, the concentrations and sorts of volatiles in EEs fermented from different rice particle sizes, were not dramatically different. By principal component analysis, EE could be distinctly separated from other traditional Chinese rice wines according to its characteristic volatiles, namely, 2-heptanol, 1-octen-3-ol, ethyl 4-hydroxybenzoate, methylpentyl 2-propenoate, γ-hexalactone, and 4-vinylguaiacol. Enzymatic extrusion liquefaction has been a popular thermal treatment for cereals, and gradually being applied in fermentation and liquor-making industry all over the world. The characterization of volatile flavor compounds in Chinese rice wine processed by enzymatic extrusion liquefaction pretreatment, might be made use not only for a better understanding of this new-type rice wine, but for the further utilization of enzymatic extrusion in other wine or alcohol production as well. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

  3. Evaluation of a next generation direct whole blood enzymatic assay for hemoglobin A1c on the ARCHITECT c8000 chemistry system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teodoro-Morrison, Tracy; Janssen, Marcel J W; Mols, Jasper; Hendrickx, Ben H E; Velmans, Mathieu H; Lotz, Johannes; Lackner, Karl; Lennartz, Lieselotte; Armbruster, David; Maine, Gregory; Yip, Paul M

    2015-01-01

    The utility of HbA1c for the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes requires an accurate, precise and robust test measurement system. Currently, immunoassay and HPLC are the most popular methods for HbA1c quantification, noting however the limitations associated with some platforms, such as imprecision or interference from common hemoglobin variants. Abbott Diagnostics has introduced a fully automated direct enzymatic method for the quantification of HbA1c from whole blood on the ARCHITECT chemistry system. Here we completed a method evaluation of the ARCHITECT HbA1c enzymatic assay for imprecision, accuracy, method comparison, interference from hemoglobin variants and specimen stability. This was completed at three independent clinical laboratories in North America and Europe. The total imprecision ranged from 0.5% to 2.2% CV with low and high level control materials. Around the diagnostic cut-off of 48 mmol/mol, the total imprecision was 0.6% CV. Mean bias using reference samples from IFCC and CAP ranged from -1.1 to 1.0 mmol/mol. The enzymatic assay also showed excellent agreement with HPLC methods, with slopes of 1.01 and correlation coefficients ranging from 0.984 to 0.996 compared to Menarini Adams HA-8160, Bio-Rad Variant II and Variant II Turbo instruments. Finally, no significant effect was observed for erythrocyte sedimentation or interference from common hemoglobin variants in patient samples containing heterozygous HbS, HbC, HbD, HbE, and up to 10% HbF. The ARCHITECT enzymatic assay for HbA1c is a robust and fully automated method that meets the performance requirements to support the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

  4. Impact of various storage conditions on enzymatic activity, biomass components and conversion to ethanol yields from sorghum biomass used as a bioenergy crop.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rigdon, Anne R; Jumpponen, Ari; Vadlani, Praveen V; Maier, Dirk E

    2013-03-01

    With increased mandates for biofuel production in the US, ethanol production from lignocellulosic substrates is burgeoning, highlighting the need for thorough examination of the biofuel production supply chain. This research focused on the impact storage has on biomass, particularly photoperiod-sensitive sorghum biomass. Biomass quality parameters were monitored and included biomass components, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin, along with extra-cellular enzymatic activity (EEA) responsible for cellulose and hemicellulose degradation and conversion to ethanol yields. Analyses revealed dramatic decreases in uncovered treatments, specifically reduced dry matter content from 88% to 59.9%, cellulose content from 35.3% to 25%, hemicellulose content from 23.7% to 16.0% and ethanol production of 0.20 to 0.02gL(-1) after 6months storage along with almost double EEA activities. In contrast, biomass components, EEA and ethanol yields remained relatively stable in covered treatments, indicating covering of biomass during storage is essential for optimal substrate retention and ethanol yields. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Bioethanol production: Pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tengborg, Charlotte

    2000-05-01

    The enzymatic hydrolysis process can be used to produce bioethanol from softwood, which are the dominating raw material in the Northern hemisphere. This thesis deals with the development of the process focusing on the pretreatment and the enzymatic hydrolysis stages. The influence of pretreatment conditions on sugar yield, and the effect of inhibitors on the ethanol yield, were investigated for spruce and pine. The maximum yields of hemicellulose sugars and glucose were obtained under different pretreatment conditions. This indicates that two-stage pretreatment may be preferable. The added catalysts, H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} and SO{sub 2}, resulted in similar total sugar yields about 40 g/100 g dry raw material. However, the fermentability of SO{sub 2}-impregnated material was better. This pretreatment resulted in the formation of inhibitors to the subsequent process steps, e.g. sugar and lignin degradation products. The glucose yield in the enzymatic hydrolysis stage was affected by various parameters such as enzyme loading, temperature, pH, residence time, substrate concentration, and agitation. To decrease the amount of fresh water used and thereby waste water produced, the sugar-rich prehydrolysate from the pretreatment step was included in the enzymatic hydrolysis of the solid fraction, resulting in a reduction in the cellulose conversion of up to 36%. Different prehydrolysate detoxification methods, such as treatment with Ca(OH){sub 2}, laccase, and fermentation using yeast, were investigated. The latter was shown to be very efficient. The amount of fresh water used can be further reduced by recycling various process streams. This was simulated experimentally in a bench-scale process. A reduction in fresh water demand of 50% was obtained without any further negative effects on either hydrolysis or fermentation.

  6. The enzymatic activities of brain catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and methionine sulphoxide reductase are correlated in a COMT Val/Met allele-dependent fashion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moskovitz, Jackob; Walss-Bass, Consuelo; Cruz, Dianne A; Thompson, Peter M; Hairston, Jenaqua; Bortolato, Marco

    2015-12-01

    The enzyme catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) plays a primary role in the metabolism of catecholamine neurotransmitters and is implicated in the modulation of cognitive and emotional responses. The best characterized single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the COMT gene consists of a valine (Val)-to-methionine (Met) substitution at codon 108/158. The Met-containing variant confers a marked reduction in COMT catalytic activity. We recently showed that the activity of recombinant COMT is positively regulated by the enzyme Met sulphoxide reductase (MSR), which counters the oxidation of Met residues of proteins. The current study was designed to assess whether brain COMT activity may be correlated to MSR in an allele-dependent fashion. COMT and MSR activities were measured from post-mortem samples of prefrontal cortices, striata and cerebella of 32 subjects by using catechol and dabsyl-Met sulphoxide as substrates, respectively. Allelic discrimination of COMT Val(108/185) Met SNP was performed using the Taqman 5'nuclease assay. Our studies revealed that, in homozygous carriers of Met, but not Val alleles, the activity of COMT and MSR was significantly correlated throughout all tested brain regions. These results suggest that the reduced enzymatic activity of Met-containing COMT may be secondary to Met sulphoxidation and point to MSR as a key molecular determinant for the modulation of COMT activity. © 2015 British Neuropathological Society.

  7. Microstructural study of pre-treated and enzymatic hydrolyzed bamboo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Funsho O. KOLAWOLE

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Bamboo was used as biomass feedstock which was pre-treated using dilute acid hydrolysis followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. The bamboo was mechanical ground to particle sizes 212–500µm, followed by pre-treatment with dilute sulfuric acid at a concentration of 0.5 and 1.0 (%v/v at temperatures of 25, 110, 120, 150 and 200°C with time intervals of 2 and 4 hours. Pre-hydrolyzate was later analyzed for reducing sugar using UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Under the above conditions, a maximum glucose yield of 153.1 mg/g was obtained at 200°C and acid concentrations of 1% for 4 hours. Water insoluble solids obtained were subsequently hydrolyzed with Celluclast (Trichoderma reesi and β-glucosidase (Novozyme 188 for 72 hours. Optical Microscope and ESEM images of bamboo samples were obtained at various stages of pre-treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Result reveals a breakdown in the ligno-cellulosic structure of the bamboo during exposure to dilute acid and enzymatic hydrolysis.

  8. Use of [1,2-3 h] testosterone in 5 α- reductase enzymatic activity dosing in dermal fibroblast cultures from polycystic ovarian patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matei, Lidia; Postolache, Cristian; Condac, Eduard

    2003-01-01

    Polycystic ovarian syndrome is an endocrine malady very frequent in women characterized by the presence of ovarian cysts, visible or not by ultrasonography, menstrual cycle deregulation and sometimes by high plasmatic concentrations of androgen hormones. Many cases of polycystic syndrome could not be easily diagnosed or had an erroneous diagnostic. Therefore, is useful to know the plasmatic androgen hormone profile. This profile could indicate the cause for observed clinical manifestations; this cause may be observed in ovarian, suprarenal glands or hypothalamo-hypophysis level. In vitro studies on dermal fibroblasts permit the detail determination of steroid hormones metabolism in target organs and offer important information regarding action mechanism. This study follows the identification of testosterone metabolites in fibroblasts and enzymatic activities of 5α-reductase using testosterone radioactively labeled with tritium. (authors)

  9. Structural changes in lignin during organosolv pretreatment of Liriodendron tulipifera and the effect on enzymatic hydrolysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koo, Bon-Wook; Min, Byeong-Cheol; Gwak, Ki-Seob; Lee, Soo-Min; Choi, Joon-Weon; Yeo, Hwanmyeong; Choi, In-Gyu

    2012-01-01

    Although organosolv pretreatment removed substantial amounts of lignin and xylan, the yield of glucan which is a major sugar source for fermentation to ethanol is more than 90% in most conditions of the organosolv pretreatment. Relative lignin contents of all pretreated biomass were more than 200 g kg −1 , however enzymatic conversions were increased dramatically comparing to untreated biomass. Therefore the correlation between lignin and enzymatic hydrolysis could not be explained just by lignin content, and other changes resulting from lignin removal affected enzymatic hydrolysis. Results on enzymatic conversion and sugar recovery suggested that the critical temperature improving enzymatic hydrolysis significantly was between 120 °C and 130 °C. Microscopic analysis using Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) showed that structural lignin changes happened through organosolv pretreatment. Lignins were isolated from lignin carbohydrate complex (LCC) at the initial stage and then migrated to the surface of biomass. The isolated and migrated lignins were finally redistributed onto surface. These structural changes formed droplets on surface and increased pore volume in pretreated biomass. The increase in pore volume also increased available surface area and enzyme adsorption at initial stage, and thus enzymatic conversion increased significantly through organosolv pretreatment. It was verified that the droplets were mainly composed of lignin and the lignin droplets inhibited enzymatic hydrolysis through adsorption with cellulase. -- Highlights: ► Just lignin contents cannot explain a correlation with enzymatic hydrolysis. ► Several changes resulted from lignin removal must affect enzymatic hydrolysis. ► Droplets are formed by structural changes in lignin during organosolv pretreatment. ► Formation of the lignin droplet increases the pore volume in biomass. ► The increase in pore volume enhances the enzymatic hydrolysis.

  10. Enhanced enzymatic activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase from the cryophilic Saccharomyces kudriavzevii.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveira, Bruno M; Barrio, Eladio; Querol, Amparo; Pérez-Torrado, Roberto

    2014-01-01

    During the evolution of the different species classified within the Saccharomyces genus, each one has adapted to live in different environments. One of the most important parameters that have influenced the evolution of Saccharomyces species is the temperature. Here we have focused on the study of the ability of certain species as Saccharomyces kudriavzevii to grow at low temperatures, in contrast to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We observed that S. kudriavzevii strains isolated from several regions are able to synthesize higher amounts of glycerol, a molecule that has been shown to accumulate in response to freeze and cold stress. To explain this observation at the molecular level we studied the expression of glycerol biosynthetic pathway genes and we observed a higher expression of GPD1 gene in S. kudriavzevii compared to S. cerevisiae in micro-vinification conditions. We observed higher enzymatic activity of Gpd1p in S. kudriavzevii in response to osmotic and cold stress. Also, we determined that S. kudriavzevii Gpd1p enzyme presents increased catalytic properties that will contribute to increase glycerol production. Finally, we evaluated the glycerol production with S. cerevisiae, S. kudriavzevii or a recombinant Gpd1p variant in the same background and observed that the S. kudriavzevii enzyme produced increased glycerol levels at 12 or 28°C. This suggests that glycerol is increased in S. kudriavzevii mainly due to increased V max of the Gpd1p enzyme. All these differences indicate that S. kudriavzevii has changed the metabolism to promote the branch of the glycolytic pathway involved in glycerol production to adapt to low temperature environments and maintain the NAD(+)/NADH ratio in alcoholic fermentations. This knowledge is industrially relevant due to the potential use, for example, of S. cerevisiae-S. kudriavzevii hybrids in the wine industry where glycerol content is an important quality parameter.

  11. Investigation of bi-enzymatic reactor based on hybrid monolith with nanoparticles embedded and its proteolytic characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shangguan, Lulu; Zhang, Lingyi; Xiong, Zhichao; Ren, Jun; Zhang, Runsheng; Gao, Fangyuan; Zhang, Weibing

    2015-04-03

    The bottom-up strategy of proteomic profiling study based on mass spectrometer (MS) has drawn high attention. However, conventional solution-based digestion could not satisfy the demands of highly efficient and complete high throughput proteolysis of complex samples. We proposed a novel bi-enzymatic reactor by immobilizing two different enzymes (trypsin/chymotrypsin) onto a mixed support of hybrid organic-inorganic monolith with SBA-15 nanoparticles embedded. Typsin and chymotrypsin were crossly immobilized onto the mixed support by covalent bonding onto the monolith with glutaraldehyde as bridge reagent and chelation via copper ion onto the nanoparticles, respectively. Compared with single enzymatic reactors, the bi-enzymatic reactor improved the overall functional analysis of membrane proteins of rat liver by doubling the number of identified peptides (from 1184/1010 with trypsin/chymotrypsin enzymatic reactors to 2891 with bi-enzymatic reactor), which led to more proteins identified with deep coverage (from 452/336 to 620); the efficiency of the bi-enzymatic reactor is also better than that of solution-based tandem digestion, greatly shorting the digestion time from 24h to 50s. Moreover, more transmembrane proteins were identified by bi-enzymatic reactor (106) compared with solution-based tandem digestion (95) with the same two enzymes and enzymatic reactors with single enzyme immobilized (75 with trypsin and 66 with chymotrypsin). The proteolytic characteristics of the bi-enzymatic reactors were evaluated by applying them to digestion of rat liver proteins. The reactors showed good digestion capability for proteins with different hydrophobicity and molecular weight. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Characterizing Enzymatic Deposition for Microelectrode Neurotransmitter Detection

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosein, W. K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Yorita, A. M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Tolosa, V. M. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2016-08-12

    The enzyme immobilization process, one step in creating an enzymatic biosensor, was characterized and analyzed as a function of its physical properties. The neural glutamic biosensor is a flexible device, effectively minimizing trauma to the area of implantation. The Multielectrode Array (MEA) is composed primarily of a proprietary polymer which has been successfully implanted into human subjects in recent years. This polymer allows the device the pliability that other devices normally lack, though this poses some challenges to implantation. The electrodes are made of Platinum (Pt), and can range in number from eight to thirty two electrodes per device. These electrodes are electroplated with a semipermeable polymer layer to improve selectivity of the electrode to the neurotransmitter of interest, in this case glutamate. A signal is created from the interaction of glutamate in the brain with the glutamate oxidase (GluOx) which is immobilized on the surface of the electrode by using crosslinking chemistry in conjunction with glutaraldehyde and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA). The glutamate is oxidized by glutamate oxidase, producing α-ketoglutarate and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as a by-product. The production of H2O2 is crucial for detection of the presence of the glutamate within the enzymatic coating, as it diffuses through the enzyme layer and oxidizes at the surface of the electrode. This oxidation is detectable by measurable change in the current using amperometry. Hence, the MEA allows for in vivo monitoring of neurotransmitter activity in real time. The sensitivity of the sensor to these neurotransmitters is dependent on the thickness of the layer, which is investigated in these experiments in order to optimize the efficacy of the device to detecting the substrate, once implanted.

  13. The ultrasound technology for modifying enzyme activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meliza Lindsay

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Enzymes are protein complexes compounds widely studied and used due to their ability to catalyze reactions. The food processing mainly aims the inactivation of enzymes due to various undesirable effects. However, there are many processes that can be optimized by its catalytic activity. In this context, different technologies have been applied both to inactivate or to improve the enzymes efficiency. The Ultrasound technology emerges as an alternative mainly applied to achieve the enzyme inactivation. On the contrary, very few investigations show the ability of this technology under certain conditions to achieve the opposite effect (i.e. increase the catalytic activity of enzymes. The objective of this study was to correlate the ultrasonic energy delivered to the sample (J/mL with the residual enzymatic activity and explain the possible mechanisms which results in the enzymatic activation/inactivation complex behavior. The activity of POD in coconut water was evaluated as a model. The enzymatic activity initially increased, followed by reduction with a trend to enzyme inactivation. This complex behavior is directly related to the applied ultrasonic energy and their direct mechanical effects on the product, as well as the effect in the enzymatic infinite intermediate states and its structural conformation changes. The obtained results are useful for both academic and industrial perspectives.

  14. Adhesion improvement of lignocellulosic products by enzymatic pre-treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Widsten, Petri; Kandelbauer, Andreas

    2008-01-01

    Enzymatic bonding methods, based on laccase or peroxidase enzymes, for lignocellulosic products such as medium-density fiberboard and particleboard are discussed with reference to the increasing costs of presently used petroleum-based adhesives and the health concerns associated with formaldehyde emissions from current composite products. One approach is to improve the self-bonding properties of the particles by oxidation of their surface lignin before they are fabricated into boards. Another method involves using enzymatically pre-treated lignins as adhesives for boards and laminates. The application of this technology to achieve wet strength characteristics in paper is also reviewed.

  15. Enzymatic process development for the extraction of ferulic from wheat bran [abstract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blecker, C.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The agro-industries generate thousands of tons of by-products, such as cereal bran or sugar beet pulps, each year. For instance, in the Walloon Region, wheat transformation industry produces about 200,000 t of bran annually. Most of those by-products are, at best, used for cattle feeding. Through biocracking, this biomass may however constitute a renewable source for various value-added molecules of interest. These include dietary fiber, proteins, antioxidants, etc. The Feruzyme project focuses on ferulic acid, a major example of the hydroxycinnamic acids. These phenolic compounds show excellent antioxidant ability, and are found in relative abundance in cereal bran (about 6.6 mg.g-1, dry basis, in wheat bran. Ferulic acid (along with other hydroxycinnamic acids is in majority (usually about 80% ester-linked to other constitutive elements of the cell wall, namely arabinoxylans. Its enzymatic release depends mainly on the breaking of its ester linkage by Ferulic Acid Esterases (FAE, EC 3.1.1.73, which works in synergy with arabinoxylan-degrading enzymes (hemicellulase, including xylanase. Cellulase and even protease may also help by "unweaving" further the complex, cross-linked structure of bran cell-wall. The aim of our project is to design a process, starting from raw wheat bran to obtain purified ferulic acid, either crystallized or in concentrated solution. Furthermore, this process should be feasible at pilot scale, as it is meant to commercial application. Bran pre-treatment may impact the efficiency of the enzymatic action, by facilitating the access of the enzymes to their substrate (grinding, micronisation, or by modifying cell-wall structure (extrusion, steam-explosion, etc. processes involving non-enzymatic hydrolysis. The composition of the bran may also be altered, for instance by destarching, but also by pearling, this process being able to separate richer layers within the bran. Simpler process, like fine sieving of ground bran, is

  16. Modification of chemical reactivity of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin by ultrasound treatment in dilute alkaline solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Zhuoming; Li, Shujun; Fang, Guizhen; Patil, Nikhil; Yan, Ning

    2016-12-01

    In this study, we have explored various ultrasound treatment conditions for structural modification of enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) for enhanced chemical reactivity. The key structural modifications were characterized by using a combination of analytical methods, including, Fourier Transform-Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ( 1 H NMR), Gel permeation chromatography (GPC), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Folin-Ciocalteu (F-C) method. Chemical reactivity of the modified EHL samples was determined by both 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging activity and their reactivity towards formaldehyde. It was observed that the modified EHL had a higher phenolic hydroxyl group content, a lower molecular weight, a higher reactivity towards formaldehyde, and a greater antioxidant property. The higher reactivity demonstrated by the samples after treatment suggesting that ultrasound is a promising method for modifying enzymatic hydrolysis lignin for value-added applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. The effects of mediator and granular activated carbon addition on degradation of trace organic contaminants by an enzymatic membrane reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Luong N; Hai, Faisal I; Price, William E; Leusch, Frederic D L; Roddick, Felicity; Ngo, Hao H; Guo, Wenshan; Magram, Saleh F; Nghiem, Long D

    2014-09-01

    The removal of four recalcitrant trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), namely carbamazepine, diclofenac, sulfamethoxazole and atrazine by laccase in an enzymatic membrane reactor (EMR) was studied. Laccases are not effective for degrading non-phenolic compounds; nevertheless, 22-55% removal of these four TrOCs was achieved by the laccase EMR. Addition of the redox-mediator syringaldehyde (SA) to the EMR resulted in a notable dose-dependent improvement (15-45%) of TrOC removal affected by inherent TrOC properties and loading rates. However, SA addition resulted in a concomitant increase in the toxicity of the treated effluent. A further 14-25% improvement in aqueous phase removal of the TrOCs was consistently observed following a one-off dosing of 3g/L granular activated carbon (GAC). Mass balance analysis reveals that this improvement was not due solely to adsorption but also enhanced biodegradation. GAC addition also reduced membrane fouling and the SA-induced toxicity of the effluent. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Evaluation of wet oxidation pretreatment for enzymatic hydrolysis of softwood

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Palonen, H.; Thomsen, A.B.; Tenkanen, M.

    2004-01-01

    The wet oxidation pretreatment (water, oxygen, elevated temperature, and pressure) of softwood (Picea abies) was investigated for enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis. The pretreatment was preliminarily optimized. Six different combinations of reaction time, temperature, and pH were applied......, and the compositions of solid and liquid fractions were analyzed. The solid fraction after wet oxidation contained 58-64% cellulose, 2-16% hemicellulose, and 24-30% lignin. The pretreatment series gave information about the roles of lignin and hemicellulose in the enzymatic hydrolysis. The temperature...

  19. Enzymatic activity and gene expression changes in zebrafish embryos and larvae exposed to pesticides diazinon and diuron.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velki, Mirna; Meyer-Alert, Henriette; Seiler, Thomas-Benjamin; Hollert, Henner

    2017-12-01

    The zebrafish as a test organism enables the investigation of effects on a wide range of biological levels from molecular level to the whole-organism level. The use of fish embryos represents an attractive model for studies aimed at understanding toxic mechanisms and the environmental risk assessment of chemicals. In the present study, a zebrafish (Danio rerio) in vivo model was employed in order to assess the effects of two commonly used pesticides, the insecticide diazinon and the herbicide diuron, on zebrafish early life stages. Since it was previously established that diazinon and diuron cause effects at the whole-organism level, this study assessed the suborganismic responses to exposure to these pesticides and the enzymatic responses (biochemical level) and the gene expression changes (molecular level) were analyzed. Different exposure scenarios were employed and the following endpoints measured: acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterase (CES), ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities; and gene expressions of the corresponding genes: acetylcholinesterase (ache), carboxylesterase (ces2), cytochrome P450 (cyp1a), glutathione-S-transferase (gstp1), catalase (cat), glutathione peroxidase (gpx1a) and additionally glutathione reductase (gsr). Significant changes at both the biochemical and the molecular level were detected. In addition, different sensitivities of different developmental stages of zebrafish were determined and partial recovery of the enzyme activity 48h after the end of the exposure was observed. The observed disparity between gene expression changes and alterations in enzyme activities points to the necessity of monitoring changes at different levels of biological organization. Different exposure scenarios, together with a comparison of the responses at the biochemical and molecular level, provide valuable data on the effects of diazinon and diuron on low

  20. Starch: chemistry, microstructure, processing and enzymatic degradation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Starch is recognized as one of the most abundant and important commodities containing value added attributes for a vast number of industrial applications. Its chemistry, structure, property and susceptibility to various chemical, physical and enzymatic modifications offer a high technological value ...

  1. Enzymatic production of polysaccharides from gum tragacanth

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2014-01-01

    Plant polysaccharides, relating to the field of natural probiotic components, can comprise structures similar to human milk oligosaccharides. A method for enzymatic hydrolysis of gum tragacanth from the bush-like legumes of the genus Astragalus, using a combination of pectin hydrolases...

  2. Scale-up of ethanol production from winter barley by the EDGE (enhanced dry grind enzymatic) process in fermentors up to 300 liters

    Science.gov (United States)

    A fermentation process, which was designated the EDGE (enhanced dry grind enzymatic) process, has recently been developed for barley ethanol production. In the EDGE process, in addition to the enzymes normally required for starch hydrolysis, commercial Beta-glucanases were used to hydrolyze (1,3)(1,...

  3. Influence of gamma-radiation on the biological activity of snake venoms in Peru

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yarleque Ch, A.

    1986-03-01

    Effects of Co-60 gamma radiation on enzymatic, haemorragic and necrotic activities of Lachesis muta and Bothrops atrox venoms was studied at several ranges of irradiation lower than 1.0 Mrad. The radiation produced changes on its enzymatic activities. Irradiation at 0.1 Mrad resulted in the partial or complete inactivation of the following enzymes that are listed in order of increasing sensitivity: exonuclease, phospholipase A, caseinolytic enzyme, thrombinolytic enzyme, fibrinolytic enzyme, 5'-nucleotidase and endonuclease. The enzymatic inactivation was increased with 0.5 and 1.0 Mrad although not in a linear manner. Exonuclease was found to be the most radioresistant. The haemorragic activity was decreased to a greater extent than the necrotic activity. The probable mechanism for the changes in the enzymatic, haemorragic and necrotic activities are discussed

  4. Comparison of the suitability of alkaline or enzymatic sample pre-treatment for characterization of silver nanoparticles in human tissue by single particle ICP-MS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vidmar, Janja; Buerki-Thurnherr, Tina; Löschner, Katrin

    2018-01-01

    and their size are required for studying NP accumulation in placental tissue. In the present study, we applied and compared two sample preparation techniques, alkaline and enzymatic treatment, followed by single particle ICP-MS (spICP-MS) analysis, for characterizing AgNPs spiked to human placental tissue. Both...... sample preparation approaches are currently used for AgNPs in biological tissues but have not been directly compared yet. We showed that the method using enzymatic tissue treatment followed by spICP-MS is efficient for determination of mass and number concentration and size distribution of AgNPs in human...... placental tissues. Properties of the AgNPs were preserved during enzymatic digestion and comparable with the primary particles. The matrix effect on the determination of Ag sensitivity and transport efficiency in spICP-MS analysis was systematically evaluated as well. The method was applied to human...

  5. Enzymatic changes in intact leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris following ozone fumigation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dass, H C; Weaver, G M

    1972-01-01

    Enzymatic changes in the intact leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Seaway 65 were studied following ozone fumigation. It was found that peroxidase enzyme increased significantly with the ozone treatment in the first 48 h. Similarly, cellulase enzyme showed significant increase 48 h. following ozone treatment. Lactic dehydrogenase activity was not markedly affected by ozone treatment. Disc electrophoretic studies of peroxidase isoenzymes showed that ozone treatment induced a new band of peroxidase. The role of peroxidase, cellulase and lactic dehydrogenase enzymes is discussed in relation to ozone damage and the bronzing disorder in white beans. 22 references, 1 figure, 1 table.

  6. Enzymatic processes in alternative reaction media: a mini review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansour Ghaffari-Moghaddam

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Biocatalysis is a growing field in the production of fine chemicals and will most probably increase its share in the future. Enzymatic reactions are carried out under mild conditions, i.e., non-toxic solvents, low temperature and pressure, which eliminates most environmental drawbacks associated with conventional production methods. The superiority of chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivity of enzymes exhibit significant advantages over conventional catalysts for production of fine chemicals, flavors, fragrances, agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Enzymes can function both in aqueous and non-aqueous solvents. As a result of the growing scientific and industrial interest towards green chemistry, green solvent systems, which are mainly water, supercritical fluids, ionic liquids, fluorinated solvents, and solvent-free systems have become more popular in biocatalysis. However, the activity and selectivity of an enzyme is heavily dependent on solvent properties. In this review, various green solvents were classified and some of their influential features on enzyme activity were discussed.

  7. Inter-domain Synergism Is Required for Efficient Feeding of Cellulose Chain into Active Site of Cellobiohydrolase Cel7A*

    OpenAIRE

    Kont, Riin; Kari, Jeppe; Borch, Kim; Westh, Peter; Väljamäe, Priit

    2016-01-01

    Structural polysaccharides like cellulose and chitin are abundant and their enzymatic degradation to soluble sugars is an important route in green chemistry. Processive glycoside hydrolases (GHs), like cellobiohydrolase Cel7A of Trichoderma reesei (TrCel7A) are key components of efficient enzyme systems. TrCel7A consists of a catalytic domain (CD) and a smaller carbohydrate-binding module (CBM) connected through the glycosylated linker peptide. A tunnel-shaped active site rests in the CD and ...

  8. Responses of metabolic and antioxidant enzymatic activities in gill, liver and plasma of Catla catla during methyl parathion exposure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B.D. Abhijith

    2016-10-01

    Conclusion: The results of the present investigation suggest that gill is the most sensitive organ to MP toxicity. The alterations of the enzymatic parameters can be effectively used as potential biomarkers for monitoring of the organophosphorus pesticides in aquatic environment. Further, MP should be used with caution in order to protect natural waters and aquatic organisms.

  9. Enzymatic Synthesis of the Flavone Glucosides, Prunin and Isoquercetin, and the Aglycones, Naringenin and Quercetin, with Selective α-L-Rhamnosidase and β-D-Glucosidase Activities of Naringinase

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hélder Vila-Real

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The production of flavonoid glycosides by removing rhamnose from rutinosides can be accomplished through enzymatic catalysis. Naringinase is an enzyme complex, expressing both α-L-rhamnosidase and β-D-glucosidase activities, with application in glycosides hydrolysis. To produce monoglycosylated flavonoids with naringinase, the expression of β-D-glucosidase activity is not desirable leading to the need of expensive methods for α-L-rhamnosidase purification. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was the inactivation of β-D-glucosidase activity expressed by naringinase keeping α-L-rhamnosidase with a high retention activity. Response surface methodology (RSM was used to evaluate the effects of temperature and pH on β-D-glucosidase inactivation. A selective inactivation of β-D-glucosidase activity of naringinase was achieved at 81.5∘C and pH 3.9, keeping a very high residual activity of α-L-rhamnosidase (78%. This was a crucial achievement towards an easy and cheap production method of very expensive flavonoids, like prunin and isoquercetin starting from naringin and rutin, respectively.

  10. Susceptibility to antifungal agents and enzymatic activity of Candida haemulonii and Cutaneotrichosporon dermatis isolated from soft corals on the Brazilian reefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagani, Danielle M; Heidrich, Daiane; Paulino, Gustavo V B; de Oliveira Alves, Karine; Dalbem, Paula T; de Oliveira, Caroline F; Andrade, Zélia M M; Silva, Carolini; Correia, Monica D; Scroferneker, Maria Lúcia; Valente, Patricia; Landell, Melissa Fontes

    2016-12-01

    Candida is a common fungus with the capacity to cause infections in humans. However, most studies have concentrated on clinical isolates and little is known about the identity, ecology and drug resistance of free living species/strains. Here, we isolate eight strains of Candida haemulonii and four strains of Cutaneotrichosporon dermatis from three marine cnidarian zoanthids species (Palythoa caribaeorum, Palythoa variabilis and Zoanthus sociatus) collected from Brazilian coral reefs. Strains were identified by sequencing of the D1/D2 domain LSU rDNA and ITS region. We tested these environmental isolates for their capacity to grow in media with increasing concentration of NaCl, capacity to grow in different temperatures, enzymatic activity and antifungal susceptibility. For C. haemulonii, all strains strongly produced gelatinase, esterase and albuminase and were either able to express lipase, phospholipase and keratinase, but not express urease and DNase. The strains were able to grow at 37 °C, but not at 39 °C, and except for LMS 40, all of them could grow in a 10 % NaCl medium. All isolates were resistant to all antifungals tested, with exception for ketoconazole and tioconazole (MIC = 2 µg/mL). For C. dermatis, all strains could grow at 39 °C and could not express phospholipase, keratinase or gelatinase. However, all were capable of expressing urease, lipase and esterase. Three out of four strains could grow in a 10 % NaCl medium, but none grew in a 30 % NaCl medium. The strains showed high values of minimal inhibitory concentration. LMPV 90 was resistant to tioconazole, terbinafine, fluconazole and posaconazole, and LMS 38 was resistant to all antifungal agents tested. We discuss the characterization of C. haemulonii and C. dermatis as a possible emerging pathogen due to its animal-related enzymatic arsenal and antifungal resistance.

  11. Evaluation of Biological and Enzymatic Activity of Soil in a Tropical Dry Forest: Desierto de la Tatacoa (Colombia) with Potential in Mars Terraforming and Other Similar Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno Moreno, A. N.

    2009-12-01

    Desierto de la Tatacoa has been determined to be a tropical dry forest bioma, which is located at 3° 13" N 75° 13" W. It has a hot thermal floor with 440 msnm of altitude; it has a daily average of 28° C, and a maximum of 40° C, Its annual rainfall total can be upwards of 1250 mm. Its solar sheen has a daily average of 5.8 hours and its relative humidity is between 60% and 65%. Therefore, the life forms presents are very scant, and in certain places, almost void. It was realized a completely random sampling of soil from its surface down to 6 inches deep, of zones without vegetation and with soils highly loaded by oxides of iron in order to determine the number of microorganisms per gram and its subsequent identification. It was measured the soil basal respiration. Besides, it was determined enzymatic activity (catalase, dehydrogenase, phosphatase and urease). Starting with the obtained results, it is developes an alternative towards the study of soil genesis in Mars in particular, and recommendations for same process in other planets. Although the information found in the experiments already realized in Martian soil they demonstrate that doesnt exist any enzymatic activity, the knowledge of the same topic in the soil is proposed as an alternative to problems like carbonic fixing of the dense Martian atmosphere of CO2, the degradation of inorganic compounds amongst other in order to prepare the substratum for later colonization by some life form.

  12. ENZYMATIC CHANGES IN SNAKE ENVENOMATION- AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sidharth Kapoor

    2017-06-01

    case were worked up according to proforma. Both neurotoxic and haemotoxic snakebite cases were included and samples were taken on day 0 and day 4. For comparison, blood samples from healthy persons were be tested for the enzymes like ACP, ALP, AST, ALT, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, serum bilirubin (conjugated and unconjugated to establish a control group. Haemotoxic Cases- Amongst 32 haemotoxic cases in which enzymatic assays were studied on day 0 and day 4 following conclusions were drawn- AST level was elevated significantly on day 0 and it registered a further rise on day 4 as compared to age-matched healthy control. Mean AST levels in 32 haemotoxic cases was 57 IU/L on day 0, but on day 4, the mean AST levels was 94 IU/L as against the control means of 25 IU/L. ALT level was significantly high on day 0. On day 4, a further rise in its level was found as compared to age-matched healthy control. Mean ALT levels on day 0 was 73 IU/L, and on day 4, it was 83 IU/L against the control mean of 23 IU/L. Acid phosphatase showed a rise of about two-fold on day 0, while on day 4, a fourfold rise was there as compared to age-matched healthy controls. Mean acid phosphatase levels on day 0 was showing twofold increase (5.8 KA units, but on day 4, the mean levels rose further to 8.3 KA units; the control mean being 2.4 KA units. Alkaline phosphatase was elevated on day 0, but on day 4, its levels showed a downward trend, although normalisation was not achieved. Mean alkaline phosphatase level on day 0 was 920 IU/L, and on day 4, it was 360 IU/L against the control mean of 179 IU/L. Significant superoxide dismutase activity suppression was found on day 0, but on day 4, this activity were restored to some extent, but normalisation was not achieved. About 38% suppression in mean SOD activity on day 0 (22.37 IU/L, but on day 4, the levels increased and mean SOD activity suppression was only 8% (33.47 IU/L; the control mean being 36.99 IU/L. Significantly, higher levels of

  13. Time-resolved monitoring of enzyme activity with ultrafast Hyper-CEST spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Döpfert, Jörg; Schnurr, Matthias; Kunth, Martin; Rose, Honor May; Hennig, Andreas; Schröder, Leif

    2017-12-23

    We propose a method to dynamically monitor the progress of an enzymatic reaction using NMR of hyperpolarized 129 Xe in a host-guest system. It is based on a displacement assay originally designed for fluorescence experiments that exploits the competitive binding of the enzymatic product on the one hand and a reporter dye on the other hand to a supramolecular host. Recently, this assay has been successfully transferred to NMR, using xenon as a reporter, cucurbit[6]uril as supramolecular host, and chemical exchange saturation transfer with hyperpolarized Xe (Hyper-CEST) as detection technique. Its advantage is that the enzyme acts on the unmodified substrate and that only the product is detected through immediate inclusion into the host. We here apply a method that drastically accelerates the acquisition of Hyper-CEST spectra in vitro using magnetic field gradients. This allows monitoring the dynamic progress of the conversion of lysine to cadaverine with a temporal resolution of ~30 s. Moreover, the method only requires to sample the very early onset of the reaction (Hyper-CEST results correlate with xenon T 2 measurements performed during the enzymatic reaction. This suggests that ultrafast Hyper-CEST spectroscopy can be used for dynamically monitoring enzymatic activity with NMR. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  14. Perspectives for the industrial enzymatic production of glycosides.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Roode, B Mattheus; Franssen, Maurice C R; van der Padt, Albert; Boom, Remko M

    2003-01-01

    Glycosides are of commercial interest for industry in general and specifically for the pharmaceutical and food industry. Currently chemical preparation of glycosides will not meet EC food regulations, and therefore chemical preparation of glycosides is not applicable in the food industry. Thus, enzyme-catalyzed reactions are a good alternative. However, until now the low yields obtained by enzymatic methods prevent the production of glycosides on a commercial scale. Therefore, high yields should be established by a combination of optimum reaction conditions and continuous removal of the product. Unfortunately, a bioreactor for the commercial scale production of glycosides is not available. The aim of this article is to discuss the literature with respect to enzymatic production of glycosides and the design of an industrially viable bioreactor system.

  15. Improving biogas production from microalgae by enzymatic pretreatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passos, Fabiana; Hom-Diaz, Andrea; Blanquez, Paqui; Vicent, Teresa; Ferrer, Ivet

    2016-01-01

    In this study, enzymatic pretreatment of microalgal biomass was investigated under different conditions and evaluated using biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests. Cellulase, glucohydrolase and an enzyme mix composed of cellulase, glucohydrolase and xylanase were selected based on the microalgae cell wall composition (cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and glycoprotein). All of them increased organic matter solubilisation, obtaining high values already after 6h of pretreatment with an enzyme dose of 1% for cellulase and the enzyme mix. BMP tests with pretreated microalgae showed a methane yield increase of 8 and 15% for cellulase and the enzyme mix, respectively. Prospective research should evaluate enzymatic pretreatments in continuous anaerobic reactors so as to estimate the energy balance and economic cost of the process. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. A green and efficient technology for the degradation of cellulosic materials: structure changes and enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of natural cellulose pretreated by synergistic interaction of mechanical activation and metal salt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yanjuan; Li, Qian; Su, Jianmei; Lin, Ye; Huang, Zuqiang; Lu, Yinghua; Sun, Guosong; Yang, Mei; Huang, Aimin; Hu, Huayu; Zhu, Yuanqin

    2015-02-01

    A new technology for the pretreatment of natural cellulose was developed, which combined mechanical activation (MA) and metal salt treatments in a stirring ball mill. Different valent metal nitrates were used to investigate the changes in degree of polymerization (DP) and crystallinity index (CrI) of cellulose after MA+metal salt (MAMS) pretreatment, and Al(NO3)3 showed better pretreatment effect than NaNO3 and Zn(NO3)2. The destruction of morphological structure of cellulose was mainly resulted from intense ball milling, and the comparative studies on the changes of DP and crystal structure of MA and MA+Al(NO3)3 pretreated cellulose samples showed a synergistic interaction of MA and Al(NO3)3 treatments with more effective changes of structural characteristics of MA+Al(NO3)3 pretreated cellulose and substantial increase of reducing sugar yield in enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. In addition, the results indicated that the presence of Al(NO3)3 had significant enhancement for the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Oxidative enzymes activity in sugarcane juice as a function of the planting system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadeu Alcides Marques

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In Brazil, the largest producer of sugarcane in the world, the industrial process transforms this crop into ethanol and/or granulated sugar. Some cultivars exhibit enzymatic browning in the extracted sugarcane juice at levels harmful to the manufacturing process of white granulated sugar. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of sugarcane straw used as soil coverage, the use of different planting systems, and treatments with hydrogel polymer on enzymatic activity. The cultivar RB 86 7515 was sampled for 8 months; the first sample was obtained by cutting the upper portion of the stalk at the internode, which was taken to the laboratory for determination of the enzymatic activity of polyphenoloxidase (PPO and peroxidase (POD. The soil coverage with different forms of straw as well as the planting systems did not change the enzymatic activity of polyphenoloxidase (PPO and peroxidase (POD. The polyphenoloxidase (PPO activity increased with the use of a polymer due to increased polyphenoloxidase (PPO activity in the groove system. The enzymes studied showed changes in activity during the experimental period. The production of sugar at the end of the season (August to November avoids the periods of highest enzymatic activity.

  18. Evaluation of soluble fraction and enzymatic residual fraction of dilute dry acid, ethylenediamine, and steam explosion pretreated corn stover on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qin, Lei; Liu, Li; Li, Wen-Chao; Zhu, Jia-Qing; Li, Bing-Zhi; Yuan, Ying-Jin

    2016-06-01

    This study is aimed to examine the inhibition of soluble fraction (SF) and enzymatic residual fraction (ERF) in dry dilute acid (DDA), ethylenediamine (EDA) and steam explosion (SE) pretreated corn stover (CS) on the enzymatic digestibility of cellulose. SF of DDA, EDA and SE pretreated CS has high xylose, soluble lignin and xylo-oligomer content, respectively. SF of EDA pretreated CS leads to the highest inhibition, followed by SE and DDA pretreated CS. Inhibition of ERF of DDA and SE pretreated CS is higher than that of EDA pretreated CS. The inhibition degree (A0/A) of SF is 1.76 and 1.21 times to that of ERF for EDA and SE pretreated CS, respectively. The inhibition degree of ERF is 1.05 times to that of SF in DDA pretreated CS. The quantitative analysis shows that SF of EDA pretreated CS, SF and ERF of SE pretreated CS cause significant inhibition during enzymatic hydrolysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Lignocellulose pretreatment technologies affect the level of enzymatic cellulose oxidation by LPMO

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rodríguez-Zúñiga, Ursula Fabiola; Cannella, David; de Campos Giordano, Roberto

    2015-01-01

    of the cellulose oxidizing enzyme lytic polysaccharide monooxygenase (LPMO). The highest activity of LPMO was observed for the hydrothermally pretreated biomasses, which also contained the highest level of lignin. All hydrolysis were done at high dry matter levels, using a commercial enzyme preparation containing......Sugarcane bagasse, corn stover, and wheat straw are among the most available resources for production of cellulosic ethanol. For these biomasses we study the influence of pre-treatment methods on the chemical composition, as well as on the subsequent reactions of enzymatic hydrolysis and oxidation...

  20. The ultrasound technology for modifying enzyme activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meliza Lindsay Rojas

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Enzymes are protein complexes compounds widely studied and used due to their ability to catalyze reactions. The food processing mainly a ims the inactivation of enzymes due to various undesirable effects. However, there are many processes that can be optimized by its catalytic activity. In this context, different technologies have been applied both to inactivate or to improve the enzymes ef ficiency. The Ultrasound technology emerges as an alternative mainly applied to achieve the enzyme inactivation. On the contrary, very few investigations show the ability of this technology under certain conditions to achieve the opposite effect (i.e. increase the catalytic activity of enzymes. The objective of this study was to correlate the ultrasonic energy delivered to the sample (J/mL with the residual enzymatic activity and explain the possible mechanisms which results in the enzymatic activation/in activation complex behavior. The activity of POD in coconut water was evaluated as a model. The enzymatic activity initially increased, followed by reduction with a trend to enzyme inactivation. This complex behavior is directly related to the applied ultr asonic energy and their direct mechanical effects on the product, as well as the effect in the enzymatic infinite intermediate states and its structural conformation changes. The obtained results are useful for both academic and industrial perspectives.

  1. Xylanase supplementation on enzymatic saccharification of dilute acid pretreated poplars at different severities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chao Zhang; Xinshu Zhuang; Zhao Jiang Wang; Fred Matt; Franz St. John; J.Y. Zhu

    2013-01-01

    Three pairs of solid substrates from dilute acid pretreatment of two poplar wood samples were enzymatically hydrolyzed by cellulase preparations supplemented with xylanase. Supplementation of xylanase improved cellulose saccharification perhaps due to improved cellulose accessibility by xylan hydrolysis. Total xylan removal directly affected enzymatic cellulose...

  2. Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensing Using Carbon Quantum Dots Decorated with Copper Oxide Nanoparticles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Houcem Maaoui

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Perturbations in glucose homeostasis is critical for human health, as hyperglycemia (defining diabetes leads to premature death caused by macrovascular and microvascular complications. However, the simple and accurate detection of glucose in the blood at low cost remains a challenging task, although it is of great importance for the diagnosis and therapy of diabetic patients. In this work, carbon quantum dots decorated with copper oxide nanostructures (CQDs/Cu2O are prepared by a simple hydrothermal approach, and their potential for electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing is evaluated. The proposed sensor exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards glucose oxidation in alkaline solutions. The glucose sensor is characterized by a wide concentration range from 6 µM to 6 mM, a sensitivity of 2.9 ± 0.2 µA·µM−1·cm−2, and a detection limit of 6 µM at a signal-to-noise ratio S/N = 3. The sensors are successfully applied for glucose determination in human serum samples, demonstrating that the CQDs/Cu2O-based glucose sensor satisfies the requirements of complex sample detection with adapted potential for therapeutic diagnostics.

  3. Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Alkaline Pretreated Coconut Coir

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akbarningrum Fatmawati

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to study the effect of concentration and temperature on the cellulose and lignin content, and the reducing sugars produced in the enzymatic hydrolysis of coconut coir. In this research, the coconut coir is pretreated using 3%, 7%, and 11% NaOH solution at 60oC, 80oC, and 100oC. The pretreated coir were assayed by measuring the amount of cellulose and lignin and then hydrolysed using Celluclast and Novozyme 188 under various temperature (30oC, 40oC, 50oC and pH (3, 4, 5. The hydrolysis results were assayed for the reducing sugar content. The results showed that the alkaline delignification was effective to reduce lignin and to increase the cellulose content of the coir. The best delignification condition was observed at 11% NaOH solution and 100oC which removed 14,53% of lignin and increased the cellulose content up to 50,23%. The best condition of the enzymatic hydrolysis was obtained at 50oC and pH 4 which produced 7,57 gr/L reducing sugar. © 2013 BCREC UNDIP. All rights reservedReceived: 2nd October 2012; Revised: 31st January 2013; Accepted: 6th February 2013[How to Cite: Fatmawati, A., Agustriyanto, R., Liasari, Y. (2013. Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Alkaline Pre-treated Coconut Coir. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 8 (1: 34-39 (doi:10.9767/bcrec.8.1.4048.34-39[Permalink/DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.9767/bcrec.8.1.4048.34-39] | View in  |

  4. Inhibition of peptide aggregation by means of enzymatic phosphorylation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristin Folmert

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available As is the case in numerous natural processes, enzymatic phosphorylation can be used in the laboratory to influence the conformational populations of proteins. In nature, this information is used for signal transduction or energy transfer, but has also been shown to play an important role in many diseases like tauopathies or diabetes. With the goal of determining the effect of phosphorylation on amyloid fibril formation, we designed a model peptide which combines structural characteristics of α-helical coiled-coils and β-sheets in one sequence. This peptide undergoes a conformational transition from soluble structures into insoluble amyloid fibrils over time and under physiological conditions and contains a recognition motif for PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase that enables enzymatic phosphorylation. We have analyzed the pathway of amyloid formation and the influence of enzymatic phosphorylation on the different states along the conformational transition from random-coil to β-sheet-rich oligomers to protofilaments and on to insoluble amyloid fibrils, and we found a remarkable directing effect from β-sheet-rich structures to unfolded structures in the initial growth phase, in which small oligomers and protofilaments prevail if the peptide is phosphorylated.

  5. Pretreatment of corn stover using wet oxidation to enhance enzymatic digestibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varga, Eniko; Schmidt, Anette S; Réczey, Kati; Thomsen, Anne Belinda

    2003-01-01

    Corn stover is an abundant, promising raw material for fuel ethanol production. Although it has a high cellulose content, without pretreatment it resists enzymatic hydrolysis, like most lignocellulosic materials. Wet oxidation (water, oxygen, mild alkali or acid, elevated temperature and pressure) was investigated to enhance the enzymatic digestibility of corn stover. Six different combinations of reaction temperature, time, and pH were applied. The best conditions (60 g/L of corn stover, 195 degrees C, 15 min, 12 bar O2, 2 g/L of Na2CO3) increased the enzymatic conversion of corn stover four times, compared to untreated material. Under these conditions 60% of hemicellulose and 30% of lignin were solubilized, whereas 90% of cellulose remained in the solid fraction. After 24-h hydrolysis at 50 degrees C using 25 filter paper units (FPU)/g of drymatter (DM) biomass, the achieved conversion of cellulose to glucose was about 85%. Decreasing the hydrolysis temperature to 40 degrees C increased hydrolysis time from 24 to 72 h. Decreasing the enzyme loading to 5 FPU/g of DM biomass slightly decreased the enzymatic conversion from 83.4 to 71%. Thus, enzyme loading can be reduced without significantly affecting the efficiency of hydrolysis, an important economical aspect.

  6. CoFactor: Folate Requirement for Optimization of 5-Fluouracil Activity in Anticancer Chemotherapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Wasif Saif

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Intracellular reduced folate exists as a “pool” of more than 6 interconvertable forms. One of these forms, 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolic acid (CH2THF, is the key one-carbon donor and reduced folate substrate for thymidylate synthase (TS. This pathway has been an important target for chemotherapy as it provides one of the necessary nucleotide substrates for DNA synthesis. The fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil (5-FU exerts its main cytotoxic activity through TS inhibition. Leucovorin (5-formyltetrahydrofolate; LV has been used to increase the intracellular reduced folate pools and enhance TS inhibition. However, it must be metabolized within the cell through multiple intracellular enzymatic steps to form CH2THF. CoFactor (USAN fotrexorin calcium, (dl-5,10,-methylenepteroyl-monoglutamate calcium salt is a reduced folate that potentiates 5-FU cytotoxicity. According to early clinical trials, when 5-FU is modulated by CoFactor instead of LV, there is greater anti-tumor activity and less toxicity. This review presents the emerging role of CoFactor in colorectal and nongastrointestinal malignancies.

  7. Kinetic study of enzymatic hydrolysis of acid-pretreated coconut coir

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fatmawati, Akbarningrum; Agustriyanto, Rudy

    2015-12-01

    Biomass waste utilization for biofuel production such as bioethanol, has become more prominent currently. Coconut coir is one of lignocellulosic food wastes, which is abundant in Indonesia. Bioethanol production from such materials consists of more than one step. Pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis is crucial steps to produce sugar which can then be fermented into bioethanol. In this research, ground coconut coir was pretreated using dilute sulfuric acid at 121°C. This pretreatment had increased the cellulose content and decreased the lignin content of coconut coir. The pretreated coconut coir was hydrolyzed using a mix of two commercial cellulase enzymes at pH of 4.8 and temperature of 50°C. The enzymatic hydrolysis was conducted at several initial coconut coir slurry concentrations (0.1-2 g/100 mL) and reaction times (2-72 hours). The reducing sugar concentration profiles had been produced and can be used to obtain reaction rates. The highest reducing sugar concentration obtained was 1,152.567 mg/L, which was produced at initial slurry concentration of 2 g/100 mL and 72 hours reaction time. In this paper, the reducing sugar concentrations were empirically modeled as a function of reaction time using power equations. Michaelis-Menten kinetic model for enzymatic hydrolysis reaction is adopted. The kinetic parameters of that model for sulfuric acid-pretreated coconut coir enzymatic hydrolysis had been obtained which are Vm of 3.587×104 mg/L.h, and KM of 130.6 mg/L.

  8. Novel investigation of enzymatic biodiesel reaction by isothermal calorimetry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søtoft, Lene Fjerbaek; Westh, Peter; Christensen, Knud V.

    2010-01-01

    Isothermal calorimetry (ITC) was used to investigate solvent-free enzymatic biodiesel production. The transesterification of rapeseed oil with methanol and ethanol was catalyzed by immobilized lipase Novozym 435 at 40 °C. The aim of the study was to determine reaction enthalpy for the enzymatic...... transesterification and to elucidate the mass transfer and energetic processes taking place. Based on the measured enthalpy and composition change in the system, the heat of reaction at 40 °C for the two systems was determined as −9.8 ± 0.9 kJ/mole biodiesel formed from rapeseed oil and methanol, and −9.3 ± 0.7 k...

  9. Enhanced enzymatic cellulose degradation by cellobiohydrolases via product removal

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahmadi Gavlighi, Hassan; Meyer, Anne S.; Mikkelsen, Jørn Dalgaard

    2013-01-01

    Product inhibition by cellobiose decreases the rate of enzymatic cellulose degradation. The optimal reaction conditions for two Emericella (Aspergillus) nidulans-derived cellobiohydrolases I and II produced in Pichia pastoris were identified as CBHI: 52 °C, pH 4.5–6.5, and CBHII: 46 °C, pH 4.......8. The optimum in a mixture of the two was 50 °C, pH 4.9. An almost fourfold increase in enzymatic hydrolysis yield was achieved with intermittent product removal of cellobiose with membrane filtration (2 kDa cut-off): The conversion of cotton cellulose after 72 h was ~19 % by weight, whereas the conversion...

  10. Relationship of angiotensin ase and vasopressin ase enzymatic activities between hypothalamus and plasma in an obese rat model by high-fat diet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Domínguez-Vías, G.; Segarra Robles, A.B.; Ramirez-Sánchez, M.; Jiménez Serrano, S.

    2016-01-01

    High-fat diets are associated with the development of hypertension. However, a high intake of monounsaturated fat has been proposed to be a dietary factor that can decrease the incidence of hypertension. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and vasopressin interact to regulate blood pressure at central and peripheral level. In this study, we investigated the effect of different degrees of dietary fatty acid saturation in the control of RAS and vasopressin on brain-blood. To improve our understanding of their interaction and their relationship, we analyzed angiotensin- and vasopressin-metabolizing activities in hypothalamus and plasma, collected from Wistar rats fed during 24 weeks with diets enriched with extra virgin olive oil (monounsaturated fat) or butter plus cholesterol (saturated fat) compared with a standard diet. As results no angiotensinase and vasopressinase activities were found in hypothalamus and plasma, however significant correlations between enzymatic activities in both regions were noticed. They indicated that our results do not support the beneficial influence of extra virgin olive oil on central and systemic level to regulate blood pressure. Therefore, the substrates hydrolyzed by these activities as well as their functions may be similarly affected and suggest that these studies should be continued because of beneficial of Mediterranean diet, found previously in different works, which may also be an effective tool in the treatment of hypertension.

  11. Relationship of angiotensin ase and vasopressin ase enzymatic activities between hypothalamus and plasma in an obese rat model by high-fat diet

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Domínguez-Vías, G.; Segarra Robles, A.B.; Ramirez-Sánchez, M.; Jiménez Serrano, S.

    2016-07-01

    High-fat diets are associated with the development of hypertension. However, a high intake of monounsaturated fat has been proposed to be a dietary factor that can decrease the incidence of hypertension. The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and vasopressin interact to regulate blood pressure at central and peripheral level. In this study, we investigated the effect of different degrees of dietary fatty acid saturation in the control of RAS and vasopressin on brain-blood. To improve our understanding of their interaction and their relationship, we analyzed angiotensin- and vasopressin-metabolizing activities in hypothalamus and plasma, collected from Wistar rats fed during 24 weeks with diets enriched with extra virgin olive oil (monounsaturated fat) or butter plus cholesterol (saturated fat) compared with a standard diet. As results no angiotensinase and vasopressinase activities were found in hypothalamus and plasma, however significant correlations between enzymatic activities in both regions were noticed. They indicated that our results do not support the beneficial influence of extra virgin olive oil on central and systemic level to regulate blood pressure. Therefore, the substrates hydrolyzed by these activities as well as their functions may be similarly affected and suggest that these studies should be continued because of beneficial of Mediterranean diet, found previously in different works, which may also be an effective tool in the treatment of hypertension.

  12. Enzymatic studies on the metabolism of the tetrahydrofurfuryl mercaptan moiety of thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide, 2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujita, Takeshi; Suzuoki, Ziro; Kozuka, Seizi; Oae, Shigeru.

    1973-01-01

    The second step in the enzymatic process responsible for the novel metabolic pathway of foreign mercaptans leading to methylsulfonyl metabolites was shown to be sulfoxidation, subsequent to S-methylation. By using [ 35 S] methyl tetrahydrofurfuryl sulfide (MTFS) and [ 35 S] methyl tetrahydrofurfuryl sulfoxide (MTFSO) as substrates, the occurrence and involvement of both sulfide and sulfoxide oxygenases were demonstrated in rat liver microsomes. Both activities required reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and O 2 . The reaction products were isolated and identified as MTFSO and its sulfone, respectively. The apparent Michaelis constants were 6.7x10 -4 M for MTFS and 9.1x10 -15 M for NADPH with sulfide oxygenase and 5.6x10 -3 M for MTFSO and 5.0x10 -5 M for NADPH with sulfoxide oxygenase, respectively. P-chloromercuribenzoate, P-chloromercuribenzenesulfonate, HgCl 2 , and menadione strongly inhibited both oxygenases. Polyanions, such as inorganic phosphate, pyrophosphate, sulfate, and ATP stimulated both enzyme activities, especially that of sulfoxide oxygenase. One atom of 18 O 2 was incorporated into the products in both enzyme reactions. No appreciable incorporation was observed from H 2 18 O. These results indicate that both enzyme systems are typical monooxygenases. (auth.)

  13. The Anti-sigma Factor RsiV Is a Bacterial Receptor for Lysozyme: Co-crystal Structure Determination and Demonstration That Binding of Lysozyme to RsiV Is Required for σV Activation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica L Hastie

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available σ factors provide RNA polymerase with promoter specificity in bacteria. Some σ factors require activation in order to interact with RNA polymerase and transcribe target genes. The Extra-Cytoplasmic Function (ECF σ factor, σV, is encoded by several Gram-positive bacteria and is specifically activated by lysozyme. This activation requires the proteolytic destruction of the anti-σ factor RsiV via a process of regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP. In many cases proteases that cleave at site-1 are thought to directly sense a signal and initiate the RIP process. We previously suggested binding of lysozyme to RsiV initiated the proteolytic destruction of RsiV and activation of σV. Here we determined the X-ray crystal structure of the RsiV-lysozyme complex at 2.3 Å which revealed that RsiV and lysozyme make extensive contacts. We constructed RsiV mutants with altered abilities to bind lysozyme. We find that mutants that are unable to bind lysozyme block site-1 cleavage of RsiV and σV activation in response to lysozyme. Taken together these data demonstrate that RsiV is a receptor for lysozyme and binding of RsiV to lysozyme is required for σV activation. In addition, the co-structure revealed that RsiV binds to the lysozyme active site pocket. We provide evidence that in addition to acting as a sensor for the presence of lysozyme, RsiV also inhibits lysozyme activity. Thus we have demonstrated that RsiV is a protein with multiple functions. RsiV inhibits σV activity in the absence of lysozyme, RsiV binds lysozyme triggering σV activation and RsiV inhibits the enzymatic activity of lysozyme.

  14. Lignin-based polyoxyethylene ether enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses by dispersing cellulase aggregates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Xuliang; Qiu, Xueqing; Yuan, Long; Li, Zihao; Lou, Hongming; Zhou, Mingsong; Yang, Dongjie

    2015-06-01

    Water-soluble lignin-based polyoxyethylene ether (EHL-PEG), prepared from enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) and polyethylene glycol (PEG1000), was used to improve enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of corn stover. The glucose yield of corn stover at 72h was increased from 16.7% to 70.1% by EHL-PEG, while increase in yield with PEG4600 alone was 52.3%. With the increase of lignin content, EHL-PEG improved enzymatic hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose more obvious than PEG4600. EHL-PEG could reduce at least 88% of the adsorption of cellulase on the lignin film measured by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D), while reduction with PEG4600 was 43%. Cellulase aggregated at 1220nm in acetate buffer analyzed by dynamic light scattering. EHL-PEG dispersed cellulase aggregates and formed smaller aggregates with cellulase, thereby, reduced significantly nonproductive adsorption of cellulase on lignin and enhanced enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocelluloses. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Influence of enzymatic hydrolysis on the allergenic reactivity of processed cashew and pistachio.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuadrado, Carmen; Cheng, Hsiaopo; Sanchiz, Africa; Ballesteros, Isabel; Easson, Michael; Grimm, Casey C; Dieguez, M Carmen; Linacero, Rosario; Burbano, Carmen; Maleki, Soheila J

    2018-02-15

    Cashew and pistachio allergies are considered a serious health problem. Previous studies have shown that thermal processing, pressurization and enzymatic hydrolysis may reduce the allergenic properties of food by changing the protein structure. This study assesses the allergenic properties of cashew and pistachio after thermal treatment (boiling and autoclaving), with or without pressure (autoclaving), and multiple enzymatic treatments under sonication, by SDS-PAGE, western blot and ELISA, with serum IgE of allergic individuals, and mass spectroscopy. Autoclaving and enzymatic hydrolysis under sonication separately induced a measurable reduction in the IgE binding properties of pastes made from treated cashew and pistachio nuts. These treatments were more effective with pistachio allergens. However, heat combined with enzymatic digestion was necessary to markedly lower IgE binding to cashew allergens. The findings identify highly effective simultaneous processing conditions to reduce or even abolish the allergenic potency of cashew and pistachio. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Radiolytic and enzymatic dimerization of tyrosyl residues in insulin, ribonuclease, papain and collagen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boguta, G; Dancewicz, A M [Institute of Nuclear Research, Warsaw (Poland)

    1983-03-01

    Insulin ribonuclease, papain and collagen solutions saturated with nitrogen, N/sub 2/O or air were irradiated with doses of 10 to 640 Gy of gamma rays. Protein solutions were also oxidized enzymatically in a system of horse-radish peroxidase: hydrogen peroxide. Column chromatography (Sephadex G-75 or Sephacryl S-200) of treated protein solutions revealed that they contain protein molecular aggregates. Nitrogen saturation of solution before irradiation was most favourable for radiation-induced aggregation of proteins. Fluorescence analysis of protein solutions resulted in detection of dityrosyl structures in irradiated as well as in enzymatically oxidized proteins. Concentration of dityrosine in proteins studied was determined fluorimetrically in their hydrolysates separated on BioGel P-2 column. In irradiated proteins, dityrosine was present almost exclusively in their aggregated forms. In proteins oxidized enzymatically, dityrosine was also present in fractions containing apparently unchanged protein. Mechanisms which could account for differences in the yield of dityrosine formation in radiolysis and in enzymatic oxidation of proteins are suggested.

  17. Radiolytic and enzymatic dimerization of tyrosyl residues in insulin, ribonuclease, papain and collagen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boguta, G.; Dancewicz, A.M.

    1983-01-01

    Insulin ribonuclease, papain and collagen solutions saturated with nitrogen, N 2 O or air were irradiated with doses of 10 to 640 Gy of gamma rays. Protein solutions were also oxidized enzymatically in a system of horse-radish peroxidase: hydrogen peroxide. Column chromatography (Sephadex G-75 or Sephacryl S-200) of treated protein solutions revealed that they contain protein molecular aggregates. Nitrogen saturation of solution before irradiation was most favourable for radiation-induced aggregation of proteins. Fluorescence analysis of protein solutions resulted in detection of dityrosyl structures in irradiated as well as in enzymatically oxidized proteins. Concentration of dityrosine in proteins studied was determined fluorimetrically in their hydrolysates separated on BioGel P-2 column. In irradiated proteins, dityrosine was present almost exclusively in their aggregated forms. In proteins oxidized enzymatically, dityrosine was also present in fractions containing apparently unchanged protein. Mechanisms which could account for differences in the yield of dityrosine formation in radiolysis and in enzymatic oxidation of proteins are suggested. (author)

  18. Chelating agents improve enzymatic solubilization of pectinaceous co-processing streams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ravn, Helle Christine; Meyer, Anne S.

    2014-01-01

    of different levels of ethylene-diaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), citric acid, oxalic acid, and phosphate was assessed in relation to enzymatic solubilization of isopropanol precipitatable oligo- and polysaccharides from sugar beet pulp, citrus peel, and two types of potato pulp. The two types of potato pulp...... solubilization yields. The effect of the chelating agents correlated to their dissociation constants (pKa values) and calcium binding constants and citric acid and EDTA exerted highest effects. Maximum polysaccharide yield was obtained for FiberBind 400 where the enzymatic treatment in presence of citric acid...

  19. Design of an embedded inverse-feedforward biomolecular tracking controller for enzymatic reaction processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foo, Mathias; Kim, Jongrae; Sawlekar, Rucha; Bates, Declan G

    2017-04-06

    Feedback control is widely used in chemical engineering to improve the performance and robustness of chemical processes. Feedback controllers require a 'subtractor' that is able to compute the error between the process output and the reference signal. In the case of embedded biomolecular control circuits, subtractors designed using standard chemical reaction network theory can only realise one-sided subtraction, rendering standard controller design approaches inadequate. Here, we show how a biomolecular controller that allows tracking of required changes in the outputs of enzymatic reaction processes can be designed and implemented within the framework of chemical reaction network theory. The controller architecture employs an inversion-based feedforward controller that compensates for the limitations of the one-sided subtractor that generates the error signals for a feedback controller. The proposed approach requires significantly fewer chemical reactions to implement than alternative designs, and should have wide applicability throughout the fields of synthetic biology and biological engineering.

  20. THEORY DEVELOPMENT OF ENZYMATIC AROMA RECOVERY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. E. Dubova

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary. The fruit and vegetable pretreatment conditions and subsequent environment in which enzymatic reactions take place can be considered as potential factors in the formation of fresh flavors. The synthesis of aromatic components of fresh grass and green leaves occurs involving vegetable lipoxygenases. The molecules of a precursor-compound can withstand the processing modes, while enzymes and aromatic compounds break down frequently. Vegetable homogenates are potential sources of enzymes which produce natural aromatic substances. Formation of fresh favors is the most perceptible when it occurs as the result of the reaction between poliunsaturated fatty acids of cytoplasmic membranes and lipoxygenases and hydroperoxide lyase of plant material. Pre-treatment of samples positively influences binding energy in the complex of enzyme-substrate. The change of iodine number in treated homogenates, as compared to fresh ones, shows isomerization of flavor precursors. The minimal quantity of homogenates introduced (up to 20 g and the duration of aroma-restoring reaction (from 5 to 7 minutes were defined. Pre-cooling of homogenates activates enzymes, strengthens oxidability of the PUFA, and results in recovery of fresh aroma of plant material. Under conditions of enzyme inactivation, the synthesis of aromas is not possible. Conversely, production of aroma in food glazes and foams is possible in case of interphase activation between a substrate and enzymes.

  1. Enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-pretreated lignocellulosic materials with Trichoderma atroviride enzymes produced in-house

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macrelli Stefano

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Improvement of the process of cellulase production and development of more efficient lignocellulose-degrading enzymes are necessary in order to reduce the cost of enzymes required in the biomass-to-bioethanol process. Results Lignocellulolytic enzyme complexes were produced by the mutant Trichoderma atroviride TUB F-1663 on three different steam-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates, namely spruce, wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse. Filter paper activities of the enzymes produced on the three materials were very similar, while β-glucosidase and hemicellulase activities were more dependent on the nature of the substrate. Hydrolysis of the enzyme preparations investigated produced similar glucose yields. However, the enzymes produced in-house proved to degrade the xylan and the xylose oligomers less efficiently than a commercial mixture of cellulase and β-glucosidase. Furthermore, accumulation of xylose oligomers was observed when the TUB F-1663 supernatants were applied to xylan-containing substrates, probably due to the low β-xylosidase activity of the enzymes. The efficiency of the enzymes produced in-house was enhanced by supplementation with extra commercial β-glucosidase and β-xylosidase. When the hydrolytic capacities of various mixtures of a commercial cellulase and a T. atroviride supernatant produced in the lab were investigated at the same enzyme loading, the glucose yield appeared to be correlated with the β-glucosidase activity, while the xylose yield seemed to be correlated with the β-xylosidase level in the mixtures. Conclusion Enzyme supernatants produced by the mutant T. atroviride TUB F-1663 on various pretreated lignocellulosic substrates have good filter paper activity values combined with high levels of β-glucosidase activities, leading to cellulose conversion in the enzymatic hydrolysis that is as efficient as with a commercial cellulase mixture. On the other hand, in order to achieve good xylan

  2. Influence of enzymatic maceration on the microstructure and microhardness of compact bone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yin Ling; Venkatesan, Sudharshan; Kalyanasundaram, Shankar; Qin Qinghua

    2010-01-01

    The cleaning of fresh bones to remove their soft tissues while maintaining their structural integrity is a basic and essential part of bone studies. The primary issue is how the cleaning process influences bone microstructures and mechanical properties. We cleaned fresh lamb femurs using enzymatic maceration in comparison with water maceration at room temperature. The microstructures of these compact bones were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their porosities were quantified using image processing software. The bone microhardness was measured using a Vickers indentation tester for studying the mechanical properties. The results show that enzymatic maceration of compact bone resulted in a significant microhardness reduction in comparison with water maceration. However, enzymatic maceration did not cause any significant change of porosity in bone structures.

  3. Influence of enzymatic maceration on the microstructure and microhardness of compact bone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yin Ling [School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD 4811 (Australia); Venkatesan, Sudharshan; Kalyanasundaram, Shankar; Qin Qinghua, E-mail: ling.yin@jcu.edu.a [Department of Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200 (Australia)

    2010-02-15

    The cleaning of fresh bones to remove their soft tissues while maintaining their structural integrity is a basic and essential part of bone studies. The primary issue is how the cleaning process influences bone microstructures and mechanical properties. We cleaned fresh lamb femurs using enzymatic maceration in comparison with water maceration at room temperature. The microstructures of these compact bones were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their porosities were quantified using image processing software. The bone microhardness was measured using a Vickers indentation tester for studying the mechanical properties. The results show that enzymatic maceration of compact bone resulted in a significant microhardness reduction in comparison with water maceration. However, enzymatic maceration did not cause any significant change of porosity in bone structures.

  4. Kinetic study of batch and fed-batch enzymatic saccharification of pretreated substrate and subsequent fermentation to ethanol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gupta Rishi

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Enzymatic hydrolysis, the rate limiting step in the process development for biofuel, is always hampered by its low sugar concentration. High solid enzymatic saccharification could solve this problem but has several other drawbacks such as low rate of reaction. In the present study we have attempted to enhance the concentration of sugars in enzymatic hydrolysate of delignified Prosopis juliflora, using a fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis approach. Results The enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out at elevated solid loading up to 20% (w/v and a comparison kinetics of batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out using kinetic regimes. Under batch mode, the actual sugar concentration values at 20% initial substrate consistency were found deviated from the predicted values and the maximum sugar concentration obtained was 80.78 g/L. Fed-batch strategy was implemented to enhance the final sugar concentration to 127 g/L. The batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysates were fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol production of 34.78 g/L and 52.83 g/L, respectively, were achieved. Furthermore, model simulations showed that higher insoluble solids in the feed resulted in both smaller reactor volume and shorter residence time. Conclusion Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis is an efficient procedure for enhancing the sugar concentration in the hydrolysate. Restricting the process to suitable kinetic regimes could result in higher conversion rates.

  5. Kinetic study of batch and fed-batch enzymatic saccharification of pretreated substrate and subsequent fermentation to ethanol

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Enzymatic hydrolysis, the rate limiting step in the process development for biofuel, is always hampered by its low sugar concentration. High solid enzymatic saccharification could solve this problem but has several other drawbacks such as low rate of reaction. In the present study we have attempted to enhance the concentration of sugars in enzymatic hydrolysate of delignified Prosopis juliflora, using a fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis approach. Results The enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out at elevated solid loading up to 20% (w/v) and a comparison kinetics of batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis was carried out using kinetic regimes. Under batch mode, the actual sugar concentration values at 20% initial substrate consistency were found deviated from the predicted values and the maximum sugar concentration obtained was 80.78 g/L. Fed-batch strategy was implemented to enhance the final sugar concentration to 127 g/L. The batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysates were fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and ethanol production of 34.78 g/L and 52.83 g/L, respectively, were achieved. Furthermore, model simulations showed that higher insoluble solids in the feed resulted in both smaller reactor volume and shorter residence time. Conclusion Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis is an efficient procedure for enhancing the sugar concentration in the hydrolysate. Restricting the process to suitable kinetic regimes could result in higher conversion rates. PMID:22433563

  6. High throughput, high resolution enzymatic lithography process: effect of crystallite size, moisture, and enzyme concentration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Zhantong; Ganesh, Manoj; Bucaro, Michael; Smolianski, Igor; Gross, Richard A; Lyons, Alan M

    2014-12-08

    By bringing enzymes into contact with predefined regions of a surface, a polymer film can be selectively degraded to form desired patterns that find a variety of applications in biotechnology and electronics. This so-called "enzymatic lithography" is an environmentally friendly process as it does not require actinic radiation or synthetic chemicals to develop the patterns. A significant challenge to using enzymatic lithography has been the need to restrict the mobility of the enzyme in order to maintain control of feature sizes. Previous approaches have resulted in low throughput and were limited to polymer films only a few nanometers thick. In this paper, we demonstrate an enzymatic lithography system based on Candida antartica lipase B (CALB) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) that can resolve fine-scale features, (<1 μm across) in thick (0.1-2.0 μm) polymer films. A Polymer Pen Lithography (PPL) tool was developed to deposit an aqueous solution of CALB onto a spin-cast PCL film. Immobilization of the enzyme on the polymer surface was monitored using fluorescence microscopy by labeling CALB with FITC. The crystallite size in the PCL films was systematically varied; small crystallites resulted in significantly faster etch rates (20 nm/min) and the ability to resolve smaller features (as fine as 1 μm). The effect of printing conditions and relative humidity during incubation is also presented. Patterns formed in the PCL film were transferred to an underlying copper foil demonstrating a "Green" approach to the fabrication of printed circuit boards.

  7. Structural Characterization and Enzymatic Modification of Soybean Polysaccharides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pierce, Brian; Wichmann, Jesper

    % galacturonic acid, 8% xylose, 3% rhamnose, and 3% fucose. Currently, the majority of this material is disposed of as waste, increasing production costs. Opportunities exist for the develop-ment of novel functional ingredients from this abundant and underutilized ma-terial; however, efforts in this area......The work in this thesis explores the structure of soybean polysaccharides, and examines approaches for the chemical and enzymatic degradation and solu-bilization of this material. Soybean polysaccharides are produced in large quantities globally as a by-product of various soy production processes...... are currently limited by the material’s insol-ubility. A central hypothesis of this work was that by obtaining a more complete understanding of the structure of this material, chemical and enzymatic ap-proaches could be developed to modify the polysaccharides, creating soluble polysaccharide fractions...

  8. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and Its Bioactive Constituents Exhibit Antiviral Activity against HSV-2 and Anti-enzymatic Properties against Urease by an ESI-MS Based Assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Sherif T S; Švajdlenka, Emil; Berchová-Bímová, Kateřina

    2017-04-30

    For decades, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and its phytochemicals have been shown to possess a wide range of pharmacologic properties. In this study, aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (AEHS) and its bioactive constituent protocatechuic acid (PCA), have been evaluated in vitro for their antiviral activity against HSV-2 clinical isolates and anti-enzymatic activity against urease. Antiherpetic activity was evaluated by the titer reduction assay in infected Vero cells, and cytotoxicity was evaluated by the neutral red dye-uptake method. Anti-urease activity was determined by a developed Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS)-based assay. PCA showed potent anti-HSV-2 activity compared with that of acyclovir, with EC 50 values of 0.92 and 1.43 µg∙mL -1 , respectively, and selectivity indices > 217 and > 140, respectively. For the first time, AEHS was shown to exert anti-urease inhibition activity, with an IC 50 value of 82.4 µg∙mL -1 . This, combined with its safety, could facilitate its use in practical applications as a natural urease inhibitor. Our results present Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and its bioactive compound PCA as potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of HSV-2 infection and the treatment of diseases caused by urease-producing bacteria.

  9. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and Its Bioactive Constituents Exhibit Antiviral Activity against HSV-2 and Anti-enzymatic Properties against Urease by an ESI-MS Based Assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherif T. S. Hassan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available For decades, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and its phytochemicals have been shown to possess a wide range of pharmacologic properties. In this study, aqueous extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (AEHS and its bioactive constituent protocatechuic acid (PCA, have been evaluated in vitro for their antiviral activity against HSV-2 clinical isolates and anti-enzymatic activity against urease. Antiherpetic activity was evaluated by the titer reduction assay in infected Vero cells, and cytotoxicity was evaluated by the neutral red dye-uptake method. Anti-urease activity was determined by a developed Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometry (ESI-MS-based assay. PCA showed potent anti-HSV-2 activity compared with that of acyclovir, with EC50 values of 0.92 and 1.43 µg∙mL−1, respectively, and selectivity indices > 217 and > 140, respectively. For the first time, AEHS was shown to exert anti-urease inhibition activity, with an IC50 value of 82.4 µg∙mL−1. This, combined with its safety, could facilitate its use in practical applications as a natural urease inhibitor. Our results present Hibiscus sabdariffa L. and its bioactive compound PCA as potential therapeutic agents in the treatment of HSV-2 infection and the treatment of diseases caused by urease-producing bacteria.

  10. Non-Enzymatic Wearable Sensor for Electrochemical Analysis of Perspiration Glucose.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiaofei; Ju, Yinhui; Chen, Jian; Liu, Deye; Liu, Hong

    2018-05-16

    We report a non-enzymatic wearable sensor for electrochemical analysis of perspiration glucose. Multi-potential steps are applied on a Au electrode, including a high negative pretreatment potential step for proton reduction which produc-es a localized alkaline condition, a moderate potential step for electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose under the alkaline condi-tion, and a positive potential step to clean and reactivate the electrode surface for the next detection. Fluorocarbon-based materials were coated on the Au electrode for improving the selectivity and robustness of the sensor. A fully integrated wrist-band is developed for continuous real-time monitoring of perspiration glucose during physical activities, and uploading the test result to a Smartphone App via Bluetooth.

  11. Effect of room temperature ionic liquid structure on the enzymatic acylation of flavonoids

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lue, Bena-Marie; Guo, Zheng; Xu, Xuebing

    2010-01-01

    Enzymatic acylation reactions of flavonoids (rutin, esculin) with long chain fatty acids (palmitic, oleic acids) were carried out in 14 different ionic liquid media containing a range of cation and anion structures. Classification of RTILs according to flavonoid solubility (using COSMO...... must be struck that maximized flavonoid solubility with minimum negative impact on lipase activity. The process also benefitted from an increased reaction temperature which may have helped to reduced mass transfer limitations. Keywords: Room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs); Biosynthesis; Acylation......; Flavonoids; Lipase; Long chain fatty acids...

  12. A critical switch in the enzymatic properties of the Cid1 protein deciphered from its product-bound crystal structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munoz-Tello, Paola; Gabus, Caroline; Thore, Stéphane

    2014-03-01

    The addition of uridine nucleotide by the poly(U) polymerase (PUP) enzymes has a demonstrated impact on various classes of RNAs such as microRNAs (miRNAs), histone-encoding RNAs and messenger RNAs. Cid1 protein is a member of the PUP family. We solved the crystal structure of Cid1 in complex with non-hydrolyzable UMPNPP and a short dinucleotide compound ApU. These structures revealed new residues involved in substrate/product stabilization. In particular, one of the three catalytic aspartate residues explains the RNA dependence of its PUP activity. Moreover, other residues such as residue N165 or the β-trapdoor are shown to be critical for Cid1 activity. We finally suggest that the length and sequence of Cid1 substrate RNA influence the balance between Cid1's processive and distributive activities. We propose that particular processes regulated by PUPs require the enzymes to switch between the two types of activity as shown for the miRNA biogenesis where PUPs can either promote DICER cleavage via short U-tail or trigger miRNA degradation by adding longer poly(U) tail. The enzymatic properties of these enzymes may be critical for determining their particular function in vivo.

  13. Enzymatic reduction of U(VI) in groundwaters; Reduction enzymatique de U(VI) dans des eaux souterraines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Addelouas, A.; Gong, W. [Center for Radioactive Waste Management, Advanced Materials Laboratory, 1001 University, Albuquerque (United States); Lutze, W.; Nuttall, E. [New Mexico Univ., Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dept. of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering; Fritz, B.; Crovisier, J.L. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 67 - Strasbourg (France). Centre de Sedimentologie et Geochimie de la Surface

    1999-03-01

    The use of enzymatic reduction of U(VI) in remediation of groundwater contaminated with U(VI) is receiving considerable attention. Certain strains of bacteria can combine the oxidation of an organic compound to the reduction of U(VI) to U(IV), which precipitates as uraninite. In the present study, we tested the reduction of U(VI) in groundwaters with various origins and compositions. In all groundwaters u(VI) was reduced by sulfate reducing bacteria that had been activated by ethanol and tri-metaphosphate. The reduction rate of U(VI) depends on sulfate concentration in water and the abundance of bacteria in the system. This work shows that bacteria capable of U(VI) reduction are ubiquitous in nature, and suggests the possibility of a large application of the enzymatic reduction of U(VI) for in situ clean up of groundwaters contaminated with uranium. (authors) 12 refs.

  14. Structure and catalytic activation of the TRIM23 RING E3 ubiquitin ligase: DAWIDZIAK et al.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dawidziak, Daria M. [Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Virginia; Sanchez, Jacint G. [Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Virginia; Wagner, Jonathan M. [Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Virginia; Ganser-Pornillos, Barbie K. [Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Virginia; Pornillos, Owen [Department of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics, University of Virginia, Charlottesville Virginia

    2017-07-24

    Tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins comprise a large family of RING-type ubiquitin E3 ligases that regulate important biological processes. An emerging general model is that TRIMs form elongated antiparallel coiled-coil dimers that prevent interaction of the two attendant RING domains. The RING domains themselves bind E2 conjugating enzymes as dimers, implying that an active TRIM ligase requires higher-order oligomerization of the basal coiled-coil dimers. Here, we report crystal structures of the TRIM23 RING domain in isolation and in complex with an E2–ubiquitin conjugate. Our results indicate that TRIM23 enzymatic activity requires RING dimerization, consistent with the general model of TRIM activation.

  15. Enzymatic modification of natural and synthetic polymers using lipases and proteases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Soma

    Enzymatic modification of natural/synthetic polymers [starch nanoparticles, poly (n-alkyl acrylates) and poly(vinyl formamide)] was studied. Enzymes used for catalysis were lipases and proteases. Starch nanoparticles (40nm diameter) were incorporated into AOT-coated reverse micelles. Reactions performed with the acylating agents vinyl stearate, epsilon-caprolactone and maleic anhydride in toluene in presence of Novozyme-435 at 40°C for 36h gave products with degrees of substitution of 0.8, 0.6 and 0.4 respectively. DEPT-135 NMR spectra revealed that the modification occurred regioselectively at the C-6 position of the glucose units. Infrared microspectroscopy showed that the surfactant coated starch nanoparticles diffuse into pores of Novozyme-435 beads, coming in close proximity with CALB to promote modification. The modified products retained nanoscale dimensions. Catalysis of amide bond formation between a low molar mass amine and ester side groups of poly(n-alkyl acrylates)[poly(ethyl acrylate), poly(methyl acrylate) and poly(butyl acrylate)] was also examined. The nucleophiles were mono and diamines. Among the poly(n-alkyl acrylates) and the lipases studied, poly(ethyl acrylate) was the preferred substrate and Novozyme-435 the most active lipase. Poly(ethyl acrylate) in 80% by-volume toluene was reacted with 1 equivalent per repeat unit of hexyl amine at 70°C in presence of Novozyme-435. The product contained 10.6 mol% amide groups. Attempts to increase the amidation beyond 10--11 mol% by increasing the reaction time or use of fresh enzyme were unsuccessful, showing that poly(ethylacrylate-co-10mol%hexylacrylamide) is a poor substrate for further acylation. When chiral amines ([R,S]-alpha-methyl benzylamine, [R,S]-beta-methyl phenyl amine) were used as nucleophiles, Novozyme-435 enantioselectively catalyzed amidation of poly(ethyl acrylate). Poly(vinyl formamide), P(VfAm) by acid or base-catalyzed hydrolysis leads to poly(vinylamine), P(VAm), and

  16. Production of a carob enzymatic extract: potential use as a biofertilizer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parrado, J; Bautista, J; Romero, E J; García-Martínez, A M; Friaza, V; Tejada, M

    2008-05-01

    In this paper, we describe a biological process that converts carob germ (CG), a proteinic vegetable by-product, into a water-soluble enzymatic hydrolyzate extract (CGHE). The chemical and physical properties are also described. The conversion is done using a proteolytic enzyme mixture. The main component of CGHE extracted by the enzymatic process is protein (68%), in the form of peptides and free amino acids, having a high content of glutamine and arginine, and a minor component of phytohormones, which are also extracted and solubilized from the CG. We have also compared its potential fertilizer/biostimulant capacity on growth, flowering, and fruiting of tomato plants (Licopericon pimpinellifolium cv. Momotaro) with that of an animal enzymatic protein hydrolyzate. CGHE had a significantly beneficial impact, most notably regarding the greater plant height, number of flowers per plant, and number of fruits per plant. This could be due primarily to its phytohormonal action.

  17. Dynamic Simulation, Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of a Demonstration Scale Lignocellulosic Enzymatic Hydrolysis Process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Prunescu, Remus Mihail; Sin, Gürkan

    2014-01-01

    This study presents the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis of a lignocellulosic enzymatic hydrolysis model considering both model and feed parameters as sources of uncertainty. The dynamic model is parametrized for accommodating various types of biomass, and different enzymatic complexes...

  18. Production of Fish Hydrolysates Protein From Waste of Fish Carp (Cyprinus Carpio by Enzymatic Hydrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dede Saputra

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Fish Protein Hydrolysates (FPH is the mixed products of polypeptide, dipeptides, and amino acid. It can be produced from materials that contained of protein by acid reaction, base reaction or enzymatic hydrolysis. The objectives of this study were to study the production of FPH from fish carp meat at post rigor phase and viscera by enzymatic hydrolysis, to determine the specific activity of papain enzyme, and to determine the solubility of FPH. Capacity of fish hydrolyzing can be identified by analyzing the content of dissolved total nitrogen (NTT compared with nitrogen total ingredient (NTB in order to get the value of total soluble nitrogen/total nitrogen material (NTT/NTB. The hydrolysis processes were carried out in 0,26% (w/v papain, 60 οC for 3 hours. The result showed that the specific activity of papain enzyme was about 3.28 U/mg. Solubility of FPH by comparing NTT/NTB was about 0.29% (fish meat and 0.40% (fish viscera. Proximate test of protein content of fish meat was 18.34 ± 0.04 (g/100 g; while viscera was about 0.95±0.04 (g/100 g. The result indicated that product waste of fish carp had potential as a major of source of FPH.

  19. Enteral Tube Feeding Nutritional Protein Hydrolysate Production Under Different Factors By Enzymatic Hydrolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nguyen ThiQuynhHoa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Hydrolysis of proteins involves the cleavage of peptide bonds to give peptides of varying sizes and amino acid composition. There are a number of types of hydrolysis enzymatic acid or alkali hydrolysis. Chemical hydrolysis is difficult to control and reduces the nutritional quality of products destroying L-form amino acids and producing toxic substances such as lysino-alanine. Enzymatic hydrolysis works without destructing amino acids and by avoiding the extreme temperatures and pH levels required for chemical hydrolysis the nutritional properties of the protein hydrolysates remain largely unaffected. In this research we investigate the fat removal and protein hydrolysis from pork meat to produce the enteral tube feeding nutritional protein hydrolysate for patient. Our results are as follows meat moisture 75.1 protein 22.6 lipid 1.71 ash 0.5 vitamin B1 1.384mg100g n hexantreatment at 80oCin 45 minutes and drying 30 minutes in 90oC.Viscosity of the hydrolysate is very low 2.240 0.092 cPand high degree of hydrolysis 31.390 0.138 . The final protein powder has balance nutritional components and acid amines low microorganisms which are safety for human consumption.

  20. Combined subcritical water and enzymatic hydrolysis for reducing sugar production from coconut husk

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muharja, Maktum; Junianti, Fitri; Nurtono, Tantular; Widjaja, Arief

    2017-05-01

    Coconut husk wastes are abundantly available in Indonesia. It has a potential to be used into alternative renewable energy sources such as hydrogen using enzymatic hydrolysis followed by a fermentation process. Unfortunately, enzymatic hydrolysis is hampered by the complex structure of lignocellulose, so the cellulose component is hard to degrade. In this study, Combined Subcritical Water (SCW) and enzymatic hydrolysis are applied to enhance fermentable, thereby reducing production of sugar from coconut husk. There were two steps in this study, the first step was coconut husk pretreated by SCW in batch reactor at 80 bar and 150-200°C for 60 minutes reaction time. Secondly, solid fraction from the results of SCW was hydrolyzed using the mixture of pure cellulose and xylanase enzymes. Analysis was conducted on untreated and SCW-treated by gravimetric assay, liquid fraction after SCW and solid fraction after enzymatic hydrolysis using DNS assay. The maximum yield of reducing sugar (including xylose, arabinose glucose, galactose, mannose) was 1.254 gr per 6 gr raw material, representing 53.95% of total sugar in coconut husk biomass which was obtained at 150°C 80 bar for 60 minutes reaction time of SCW-treated and 6 hour of enzymatic hydrolysis using mixture of pure cellulose and xylanase enzymes (18.6 U /gram of coconut husk).