Search results for "biocatalysis"
showing 10 items of 57 documents
Catalysis in Supramolecular Systems: the Case of Gel Phases
2021
Supramolecular gels are a fascinating class of materials, originated by the self-assembly of low molecular weight molecules. Underpinned by non-covalent interactions, they find application in a diverse range of fields. Among these, supramolecular gels can be considered as organized, non-conventional reaction media, able to influence reactivity in a radically different way, compared with what happens in solution. This short review will focus on this aspect, covering literature from 2010 onwards, addressing the application of supramolecular gels as reaction media. In particular, in the first section we explore organocatalytic reactions in gel phase, with wide synthetic relevance, such as aldo…
Exploring the potential of some yeast strains in the stereoselective synthesis of aldol reaction products and its reduced 1,3-dialcohol derivatives
2013
Abstract The behavior of two yeast strains has been studied under different conditions. Both microorganims catalyzed the aldol reaction between activated aldehydes and acetone when a large amount of the latter was present in the reaction medium producing, with moderate stereoselectivity, the aldol product with the R configuration. No reduction of any of the products present in the medium was detected. On the other hand, the carbonyl group of the racemic aldol was reduced to produce chiral 1,3-dialcohol derivatives when water was employed as the only solvent. In this case, the resolution of the racemic starting material was also possible with one of the biocatalysts, and the aldol was recove…
Secondary structure conformation of hydroperoxide lyase from green bell pepper, cloned in Yarrowia lipolytica, and its activity in selected media
2008
International audience; Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy of secondary structure conformation of the purified green bell pepper hydroperoxide lyase (HPL), cloned in the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, was investigated. The CD spectra of HPL in iso-octane, obtained at 60 °C, in the presence of the reducing agent dithiothreitol showed dramatic increase in α-helix content. The enzyme conformation remained unchanged over a range of pH values of 5.0–7.0. Using 13-hydroperoxide of linoleic acid (13-HPOD) as substrate, the biocatalysis of HPL in organic solvent media, including chloroform, dichloromethane, hexane, iso-octane, octane and toluene, was investigated. The results indicated an increase in…
Modeling caspase-1 inhibition: Implications for catalytic mechanism and drug design.
2019
Abstract The metabolic product of caspase-1, IL-1β, is an important mediator in inflammation and pyroptosis cell death process. Alzheimer's disease, septic shock and rheumatoid arthritis are IL-1β mediated diseases, making the caspase-1 an interesting target of pharmacological value. Many inhibitors have been developed until now, most of them are peptidomimetic with improved potency. In the present study, all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and the MM/GBSA method were employed to reproduce and interpret the results obtained by in vitro experiments for a series of inhibitors. The analysis shows that the tautomeric state of the catalytic His237 impact significantly the performance of the …
Selected cytotoxic gold compounds cause significant inhibition of 20S proteasome catalytic activities
2014
Abstract Six structurally diverse cytotoxic gold compounds are reported to cause profound and differential inhibition of the three main catalytic activities of purified 20S proteasome whilst auranofin , an established gold(I) drug in clinical use, is nearly ineffective. In particular, the gold(I) complex [( pbiH ) Au ( PPh 3 )] PF 6 , turns out to be the most potent inhibitor of all three enzyme activities with sub-micromolar IC 50 values. The present results further support the view that proteasome inhibition may play a major – yet not exclusive – role in the cytotoxic actions of gold based anticancer agents.
Heavy enzymes—experimental and computational insights in enzyme dynamics
2014
The role of protein motions in the chemical step of enzyme-catalyzed reactions is the subject of an open debate in the scientific literature. The systematic use of isotopically substituted enzymes has been revealed as a useful tool to quantify the role of these motions. According to the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, changing the mass of the protein does not change the forces acting on the system but alters the frequencies of the protein motions, which in turn can affect the rate constant. Experimental and theoretical studies carried out in this field are presented in this article and discussed in the framework of Transition State Theory.
Template-Assembled Synthetic G-Quartets (TASQ) hydrosolubles : du ligand de quadruplexes d'ADN et d'ARN à la plateforme catalytique
2013
Natural G-quartets, a cyclic and coplanar array of four guanine residues held together via Hoogsteen H-bond network, have recently received much attention due to their involvement in G-quadruplex-DNA, an alternative higher-order DNA structure strongly suspected to play important roles in key cellular events (chromosomal stability, regulation of gene expression). Besides this, synthetic G-quartets, which artificially mimic native G-quartets, have also been widely studied for their involvement in nanotechnological applications (i.e. nanowires, artificial ion channels, etc.). In contrast, intramolecular synthetic G-quartets, also named template-assembled synthetic G-quartet (TASQ), have been m…
Whole-Cell Biocatalysis in Seawater: New Halotolerant Yeast Strains for the Regio- and Stereoselectivity Reduction of 1-Phenylpropane-1,2-Dione in Sa…
2020
The application of green chemistry concepts in catalysis has considerably increased in recent years, and the interest in using sustainable solvents in the chemical industry is growing. One of the recent proposals to fall in line with this is to employ seawater as a solvent in biocatalytic processes. This involves selecting halotolerant strains capable of carrying out chemical conversions in the presence of the salt concentrations found in this solution. Recent studies by our group have revealed the interest in using strains belonging to Debaryomyces and Schwanniomyces for catalytic processes run in this medium. In the present work, we select other yeasts based on their halotolerance to wide…
Química Sostenible: Naturaleza, fines y ámbito
2013
Green and Sustainable C hemistry: Nature, Aims and Scope Green Chemistry entails a philosophy which is summarized in the twelve principles enunciated by Anastas and Warner, and whose aim is an industrial chemical process based on clean and safe reactions. This philosophy applies as well to other industries and activities which are based on chemical conversions, or on use of chemicals. Study of the industrial chemical process allows the visualization of convenient strategies for its greening, which are to be accomplished by related research or development fields, such as use of renewable source materials, substitution of traditional organic solvents, use of catalytic and biocatalytic procedu…
Evaluation of Antiradical Activity and Reducing Capacity of Synthesised Bispyridinium Dibromides Obtained by Quaternisation of 4-Pyridyl-1,4-dihydrop…
2015
New bispyridinium dibromides based on the 1,4-dihydropyridine (1,4-DHP) cycle were synthesised in the reaction between 4-pyridyl-1,4-DHP derivatives and propargyl bromide. It has been shown that variation of the substituent position on the pyridine as well as small changes in the electronic nature of the 1,4-DHP cycle as a result of the substituent nature at the 3 and 5 positions do not affect the course of the reaction and in all cases the corresponding bispyridinium dibromides 4a–e were formed. The antiradical activity, using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazine as a free radical scavenger, and the reducing capacity using phosphomolybdenum complexes have been evaluated for the newly synthesise…