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Search results for: MEMBRANE ACTION
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Analytical approach for membrane action in laterally-restrained reinforced concrete square slabs under uniformly distributed loads
PublicationLaterally-restrained reinforced concrete slabs can mobilise compressive membrane action and subsequent tensile membrane action under extreme loading conditions, thereby enhancing the load resistance under uniformly distributed loads. Previous analytical study focuses primarily on tensile membrane action in simply-supported slabs. This paper describes an analytical approach for membrane action in laterally-restrained square slabs....
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Membrane Sterols Modulate the Binding Mode of Amphotericin B without Affecting Its Affinity for a Lipid Bilayer
PublicationMembrane-active antibiotics are known to selectively target certain pathogens based on cell membrane properties, such as fluidity, lipid ordering, and phase behavior. These are in turn modulated by the composition of a lipid bilayer and in particular by the presence and type of membrane sterols. Amphotericin B (AmB), the golden standard of antifungal treatment, exhibits higher activity toward ergosterol-rich fungal membranes, which...
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Novel therapeutic compound acridine–retrotuftsin action on biological forms of melanoma and neuroblastoma
PublicationPURPOSE: As a continuation of our search for anticancer agents, we have synthesized a new acridine-retrotuftsin analog HClx9-[Arg(NO2)-Pro-Lys-Thr-OCH3]-1-nitroacridine (named ART) and have evaluated its activity against melanoma and neuroblastoma lines. Both tumors develop from cells (melanocytes, neurons) of neuroectodermal origin, and both are tumors with high heterogeneity and unsatisfactory susceptibility to chemotherapies....
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How do sterols determine the antufungal activitiy of amphotericin B? Free energy of binding between the drug and its membrane targets.
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is a well-known polyene antibiotic used to treat systemic fungal infections. It is commonly accepted that the presence of sterols in the membrane is essential for the AmB biological activity, that is, for the formation of transmembrane ion channels. The selective toxicity of AmB for fungal cells is attributed to the fact that it is more potent against fungal cell membranes containing ergosterol than against...
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Are the short cationic lipopeptides bacterial membrane disruptors? Structure-Activity Relationship and molecular dynamic evaluation
PublicationShort cationic lipopeptides are amphiphilic molecules that exhibit antimicrobial activity mainly against Grampositives. These compounds bind to bacterial membranes and disrupt their integrity. Here we examine the structure-activity relation (SAR) of lysine-based lipopeptides, with a prospect to rationally design more active compounds. The presented study aims to explain how antimicrobial activity of lipopeptides is affected by...
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Cell-penetrating peptides – mechanism of transduction and synthesis – short review
PublicationPotential antimicrobial agents may be effective if they are delivered efficiently to their site of action. In many cases, lack of permeability through the cell membrane is the main problem. One of the possible solutions could be a novel intracellular delivery system involving cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), which may improve the efficiency of many new biophar-maceuticals. Among other things, CPPs are capable of trans-porting...
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Influence of a lipid bilayer on the conformational behavior of amphotericin B derivatives - A molecular dynamics study.
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is an effective but very toxic antifungal antibiotic. In our laboratory a series of AmB derivatives of improved selectivity of action was synthesized and tested. To understand molecular basis of this improvement, comparative conformational studies of amphotericin B and its two more selectivederivatives were carried out in an aqueous solution and in a lipid membrane. These molecular simulation studies revealed...
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Strategy towards the use of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis for industrial water recovery and reuse as part of the Green Deal Implementation
PublicationIn line with the European Parliament’s Resolution of February 10th, 2021 on the new action plan for a closed economy, most of the activities undertaken in the wastewater treatment process should focus on the search for new technologies that use wastewater as a source of water and nutrients. The paper reviews the concept of water reuse in industrial installations, with special emphasis on the use of membrane technologies for this...
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Does the chemical modification of Nystatin A1 affect the drug's ability to overcome the multidrug resistance of fungi?
PublicationAlthough the contemporary medicine keeps moving forward, disseminated infections caused by fungal pathogens are an emerging challenge. The dramatic rise of fungal diseases, especially the most life-threatening systemic mycoses is associated with a permanently growing number of immunodeficient patients. Undoubted difficulties in the treatment of fungal infections are caused by lack of highly effective and selective antifungal drugs,...
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Mathematical modelling of implant in an operated hernia for estimation of the repair persistence
PublicationThis paper presents mathematical modelling of an implanted surgical mesh used in the repair process of the abdominal hernia. The synthetic implant is simulated by a membrane structure. The author provides a material modelling of the implant based on the dense net model appropriate for technical fabrics. The accuracy of the proposed solution is evaluated by comparing the simulations of the dynamic behaviour of the system with the...
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Comparative molecular modelling of biologically active sterols
PublicationMembrane sterols are targets for a clinically important antifungal agent – amphotericin B. The relatively specific antifungal action of the drug is based on a stronger interaction of amphotericin B with fungal ergosterol than with mammalian cholesterol. Conformational space occupied by six sterols has been defined using the molecular dynamics method to establish if the conformational features correspond to the preferential interaction...
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Xanthone synthetic derivatives with high anticandidal activity and positive mycostatic selectivity index values
PublicationWith the current massive increases in drug-resistant microbial infection as well as the significant role of fungal infections in the death toll of COVID-19, discovering new antifungals is extremely important. Natural and synthetic xanthones are promising derivatives, although only few reports have demonstrated their antifungal mechanism of action in detail. Newly synthetized by us xanthone derivative 44 exhibited strong antifungal...
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Strongly anisotropic surface elasticity and antiplane surface waves
PublicationWithin the new model of surface elasticity, the propagation of anti-plane surface waves is discussed. For the proposed model, the surface strain energy depends on surface stretching and on changing of curvature along a preferred direction. From the continuum mechanics point of view, the model describes finite deformations of an elastic solid with an elastic membrane attached on its boundary reinforced by a family of aligned elastic...
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The Effect of Sterols on Amphotericin B Self-Aggregation in a Lipid Bilayer as Revealed by Free Energy Simulations
PublicationAmphotericin B (AmB) is an effective but toxic antifungal drug, known to increase the permeability of the cell membrane, presumably by assembling into transmembrane pores in a sterol-dependent manner. The aggregation of AmB molecules in a phospholipid bilayer is, thus, crucial for the drug’s activity. To provide an insight into the molecular nature of this process, here, we report an atomistic molecular dynamics simulation study...
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Role of size scale of ZnO nanoparticles and microparticles on toxicity toward bacteria and osteoblast cancer cells
PublicationThe specific role of size scale, surface capping, and aspect ratio of zinc oxide (ZnO) particles on toxicity toward prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells was investigated. ZnO nano and microparticles of controlled size and mor- phology were synthesized by wet chemical methods. Cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells was studied using a human osteoblast cancer cell line and antibacterial activity using Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia...
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Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Acridine/Acridone Analogs as Potential Anticancer Agents
PublicationAcridine and acridone analogues were prepared by Ullmann condensation and then cyclization reaction. As a result of nucleophilic substitution reaction 1-nitro-9-phenoxyacridine or 1-chloro-4-nitro-9(10H)-acridone with the corresponding peptides, the planned acridine derivatives (10a-c, 12, 17-a-d, 19) have been obtained. The cytotoxic activity of the newly obtained analogs were evaluated against melanotic (Ma) and amelanotic (Ab)...
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Antifungal Activity and Synergism with Azoles of Polish Propolis
PublicationThe aim of our work was to check if one of the products of natural origin, namely honey 19 bee propolis may be an alternative or supplement to currently used antifungal agents. The activity 20 of 50 ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEPs), harvested in Polish apiaries, was tested on a group of 69 21 clinical isolates of C. albicans. Most of the EEPs showed satisfactory activity, with minimum 22 fungicidal concentrations (MFC) mainly...
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Structural and dynamic changes adopted by EmrE, multidrug transporter protein—Studies by molecular dynamics simulation
PublicationEmrE protein transports positively charged aromatic drugs (xenobiotics) in exchange for two protons and thus provides bacteria resistance to variety of drugs. In order to understand how this protein may recognize ligands, the monomer and asymmetric apo-form of the EmrE dimer embedded in a heterogeneous phospholipid (POPE + POPG) membrane were studied by molecular dynamics simulations. Dimer is regarded as a functional form of the...
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Phospholipids as potential prevention factor in carcinogenesis
PublicationPhospholipids are a group of complex lipids, which can be used in cancer chemoprevention. Glicerophospholipids are composed of fatty acids esterified to a glycerol backbone, a phosphate group and a hydrophilic residue such as: cho- line, ethanoloamine, serine or inositol. In the sn-2 position of glicerophospholipid usually there are unsaturated fatty acids, i.e. linolenic acid, while in the sn-1 position more typi- cal are saturated...
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Nanoparticles and nanofiltration for wastewater treatment: From polluted to fresh water
PublicationWater pollution poses significant threats to both ecosystems and human health. Mitigating this issue requires effective treatment of domestic wastewater to convert waste into bio-fertilizers and gas. Neglecting liquid waste treatment carries severe consequences for health and the environment. This review focuses on intelligent technologies for water and wastewater treatment, targeting waterborne diseases. It covers pollution prevention...
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Ribes nigrum L. Extract-Mediated Green Synthesis and Antibacterial Action Mechanisms of Silver Nanoparticles
PublicationSilver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) represent one of the most widely employed metal-based engineered nanomaterials with a broad range of applications in different areas of science. Plant extracts (PEs) serve as green reducing and coating agents and can be exploited for the generation of Ag NPs. In this study, the phytochemical composition of ethanolic extract of black currant (Ribes nigrum) leaves was determined. The main components...
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Lipopolysaccharides: regulated biosynthesis and structural diversity
PublicationThe cell envelope of Gram-negative bacteria contains two distinct membranes, an inner (IM) and an outer (OM) membrane, separated by the periplasm, a hydrophilic compartment that includes a thin layer of peptidoglycan. The most distinguishing feature of such bacteria is the presence of an asymmetric OM with phospholipids located in the inner leaflet and lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) facing the outer leaflet. The maintenance of this...
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The Action Mechanisms, Anti-Cancer and Antibiotic-Modulation Potential of Vaccinium myrtillus L. Extract
PublicationHerbal medicinal products containing Vaccinium myrtillus L. (bilberry) fruits and fruit extracts are widely available in the market. Although bilberry leaves and stems are considered as bio-waste, they contain much higher levels of phenolic compounds than fruits. The study aimed to investigate the antimicrobial and anticancer potential of aerial part extracts from Vaccinium myrtillus L. (V. myrtillus, VM) plants harvested at high...
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Pilicides effectively hinder chaperone-usher interactions in all Gram-negative bacteria
PublicationThe chaperone-usher pathway of adhesive structures biogenesis is highly conserved in all Gram-negative bacteria. Pili are polymers of thousands protein subunits that possess conserved immunoglobuline-like structure denoted by lack of the seventh G strand. The effect of this structural defect is a hydrophobic acceptor cleft. The folding of protein subunits is strictly dependent on the action of specific periplasmic chaperone protein...