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Search results for: DIPEPTIDES
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The biological role of prolyl oligopeptidase and the procognitive potential of its peptidic inhibitors from food proteins
PublicationProlyl oligopeptidase (POP) is a conserved serine protease belonging to proline-specific peptidases. It has both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activity and is involved in numerous biological processes in the human body, playing a role in e.g., cellular growth and differentiation, inflammation, as well as the development of some neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. This article describes the physiological and pathological...
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Evaluation of Three Peptide Immobilization Techniques on a QCM Surface Related to Acetaldehyde Responses in the Gas Phase
PublicationThe quartz-crystal microbalance is a sensitive and universal tool for measuring concentrations of various gases in the air. Biochemical functionalization of the QCM electrode allows a label-free detection of specific molecular interactions with high sensitivity and specificity. In addition, it enables a real-time determination of its kinetic rates and affinity constants. This makes QCM a versatile bioanalytical screening tool for...
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Human carnosinases: A brief history, medicinal relevance, and in silico analyses
PublicationCarnosine, an endogenous dipeptide, has been found to have a plethora of medicinal properties, such as antioxidant, antiageing, and chelating effects, but with one downside: a short half-life. Carnosinases and two hydrolytic enzymes, which remain enigmatic, are responsible for these features. Hence, here we emphasize why research is valuable for better understanding crucial concepts like ageing, neurodegradation, and cancerogenesis,...
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A universal method for the identification of genes encoding amatoxins and phallotoxins in poisonous mushrooms
PublicationABSTRACT Background. As the currently known diagnostic DNA targets amplified in the PCR assays for detection of poisonous mushrooms have their counterparts in edible species, there is a need to design PCR primers specific to the genes encoding amanitins and phallotoxins, which occur only in poisonous mushrooms. Objective. The aim of the study was testing of PCR-based method for detection of all genes encoding hepatotoxic cyclic...
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Peptide modification with thiomalonoamide moiety
PublicationAbstract: Meldrum acid derivatives under the thermal decomposition are well known source of ketenes. Recently we investigated chemical properties of thiocarbamolyl meldrum acids. We found that 5-(α-alkylamino- α'-sulfhydryl)methylene Meldrum's acids hated in the presence of amines produce thiomalonamides. We used this reaction to the one pot synthesis of series of short peptides containing thiomalonoamide motif.
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Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of 6-sulfo-6-deoxy-D-glucosamine and its derivatives
Publication6-Sulfo-6-deoxy-D-glucosamine (GlcN6S), 6-sulfo-6-deoxy-D-glucosaminitol (ADGS) and their N-acetyl and methyl ester derivatives have been synthesized and tested as inhibitors of enzymes catalyzing reactions of the UDP-GlcNAc pathway in bacteria and yeasts. GlcN6S and ADGS at micromolar concentrations inhibited glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN6P) synthase of microbial origin. The former was also inhibitory towards fungal GlcN6P N-acetyl...
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Poly-L-Lysine-modified boron-doped diamond electrodes for the amperometric detection of nucleic acid bases
PublicationBoron-doped diamond (BDD) is a very promising supporting material used in the construction of biosensors for molecular recognition. The direct immobilization of structurally-organized huge molecules, such as poly-L-Lysine (PLL) provides the possibility of determining organic molecules, e.g. nucleic acid bases (e.g. adenine, guanine) or peptides and proteins. This paper describes the direct method for chemical and electrochemical...
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Determination of long-chain aldehydes using a novel quartz crystal microbalance sensor based on a biomimetic peptide
PublicationThere is an increasingly popular trend aimed at improvement of fundamental metrological parameters of sensors via implementation of materials mimicking biological olfactory systems. This study presents investigation on usefulness of the peptide mimicking HarmOBP7 region as a receptor element of the piezoelectric sensor for selective analysis of long-chain aldehydes. Identification of odorant binding proteins creates new possibilities...
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Selected organophosphorus compounds with biological activity. Applications in medicine
PublicationThe purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the latest applications of organophosphorus compounds (OPs) that exhibit biological activity. A large family of OPs have become popular in recent years. The practical application of OPs in modern medicine has been attributed to their unique properties. In this article, the methods used to select these compounds will be emphasized. This paper will first outline the findings...
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Immunosuppressive properties of amino acid and peptide derivatives of mycophenolic acid
PublicationMycophenolic acid (MPA) was coupled with amino acids and biologically active peptides including derivatives of tuftsin to modify its immunosuppressive properties. Both amino acid unit in the case of simple MPA amides and modifications within peptide moiety of MPA - tuftsin conjugates influenced the observed activity. Antiproliferative potential of the obtained conjugates was investigated in vitro and MPA amides with threonine methyl...
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The Impact of Different Drying Methods on the Metabolomic and Lipidomic Profiles of Arthrospira platensis
PublicationDrying is an inseparable part of industrial microalgae production. In this work, the impacts of eight different drying methods on the metabolome and lipidome of Arthrospira platensis were investigated. The studied drying methods were freeze drying (FD), sun drying (SD), air drying at 40 and 75 °C (AD′ and AD″), infrared drying at 40 and 75 °C (IRD′ and IRD″), and vacuum drying at 40 and 75 °C (VD′ and VD″). Results gathered by...
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Development and evaluation of RADA-PDGF2 self-assembling peptide hydrogel for enhanced skin wound healing
PublicationBackground: Wound healing complications affect numerous patients each year, creating significant economic and medical challenges. Currently, available methods are not fully effective in the treatment of chronic or complicated wounds; thus, new methods are constantly sought. Our previous studies showed that a peptide designated as PDGF2 derived from PDGF-BB could be a promising drug candidate for wound treatment and that RADA16-I...
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Synthetic strategies in construction of organic low molecular-weight carrier-drug conjugates
PublicationInefficient transportation of polar metabolic inhibitors through cell membranes of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells precludes their direct use as drug candidates in chemotherapy. One of the possible solutions to this problem is application of the ‘Trojan horse’ strategy, i.e. conjugation of an active substance with a molecular carrier of organic or inorganic nature, facilitating membrane penetration. In this work, the synthetic...
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Recent Developments in Data-Assisted Modeling of Flexible Proteins
PublicationMany proteins can fold into well-defined conformations. However, intrinsically-disordered proteins (IDPs) do not possess a defined structure. Moreover, folded multi-domain proteins often digress into alternative conformations. Collectively, the conformational dynamics enables these proteins to fulfill specific functions. Thus, most experimental observables are averaged over the conformations that constitute an ensemble. In this...
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Peptide dendrimers as antifungal agents and carriers for potential antifungal agent—N3‐(4‐methoxyfumaroyl)‐(S)‐2,3‐ diaminopropanoic acid—synthesis and antimicrobial activity
PublicationA series of peptide dendrimers and their conjugates with antimicrobial agent FMDP (N3‐(4‐methoxyfumaroyl)‐(S)‐2,3‐diamino‐propanoic acid) were synthesized. The obtained compounds were tested for the antibacterial and antifungal activity. All novel dendrimers displayed much better activity against the tested strains than FMDP itself. Moreover, their conjugates with FMDP also exhibited antimicrobial activity. The most promising molecules...
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Synthesis of amides under microwave irradiation
PublicationAmides belong to the most important carboxylic acid derivatives. They are constituents of natural compounds like peptides and proteins. They found applications in many branches of science and industry, especially in pharmaceutical and polymer science. Conventional procedures for amide preparation involve reaction between amine and carboxylic acid or their more active derivatives such as acid chlorides, acid anhydrides or esters....
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Specific Binding of Cholesterol to the Amyloid Precursor Protein: Structure of the Complex and Driving Forces Characterized in Molecular Detail
PublicationC99 is the C-terminal membrane-bound fragment of the amyloid precursor protein that is cleaved by γ-secretase to release Aβ peptides, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Specific interactions of C99 with cholesterol have been proposed to underlie the recognized role of cholesterol in promoting amyloidogenesis. By using molecular dynamics simulations, we studied cholesterol binding to C99 in a lipid bilayer. We determined...
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Antimicrobial molecular nanocarrier–drug conjugates
PublicationMany antimicrobial drugs are poorly active against pathogenic microbes causing intracellular infections, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Plasmodium falciparum. On the other hand, several known antimicrobial agents are not effective enough because of their limited cellular penetration. A common feature of both challenges is the inability of an active agent to cross the biological membrane(s). One of the possible approaches...
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Amino Acid and Peptide‐Based Antiviral Agents
PublicationA significant number of antiviral agents used in clinical practice are amino acids, short peptides, or peptidomimetics. Among them, several HIV protease inhibitors (e. g. lopinavir, atazanavir), HCV protease inhibitors (e. g. grazoprevir, glecaprevir), and HCV NS5A protein inhibitors have contributed to a significant decrease in mortality from AIDS and hepatitis. However, there is an ongoing need for the discovery of new antiviral...
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Structural changes of a simple peptide—Trpzip-1—in aqueous solutions and the corresponding hydration phenomena under the influence of temperature
PublicationTrpzip-1, a simple β-hairpin, is a rare example of peptide with stable secondary structure and can be a convenient model to study temperature-related processes that potential prion or amyloid proteins undergo. Although its sequence is simple, the exact processes which the peptide undergoes in aqueous solutions are quite complex and not well understood. The selection of well-established experimental (DSC, FTIR) and theoretical methods...
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Therapeutic Potential of Carnosine and Its Derivatives in the Treatment of Human Diseases
PublicationDespite significant progress in the pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, their occurrence and mortality are still high around theworld. The resistance of cancer cells to the drugs remains a significant problem in oncology today,while in the case of neuro-degenerative diseases, therapies reversing the process are still yet to be found. Furthermore, it is important to seek new...
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Anharmonic Infrared Spectroscopy through the Fourier Transform of Time Correlation Function Formalism in ONETEP
PublicationDensity functional theory molecular dynamics (DFT-MD) provides an efficient framework for accurately computing several types of spectra. The major benefit of DFTMD approaches lies in the ability to naturally take into account the effects of temperature and anharmonicity, without having to introduce any ad hoc or a posteriori corrections. Consequently, computational spectroscopy based on DFT-MD approaches plays a pivotal role in...
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Relative quantification of pork and beef in meat products using global and species-specific peptide markers for the authentication of meat composition
PublicationWe used global and species-specific peptide markers for a relative quantitative determination of pork and beef in raw and processed meat products made of the two meat species. Four groups of products were prepared (i.e., minced raw meats, sausages, raw and fried burgers) in order to represent products with different extents of food processing. In each group, the products varied in the pork/beef proportions. All products were analysed...
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DMSO and TMAO—Differences in Interactions in Aqueous Solutions of the K-Peptide
PublicationInteractions between a solvent and their co-solute molecules in solutions of peptides are crucial for their stability and structure. The K-peptide is a synthetic fragment of a larger hen egg white lysozyme protein that is believed to be able to aggregate into amyloid structures. In this study, a complex experimental and theoretical approach is applied to study systems comprising the peptide, water, and two co-solutes: trimethylamide...
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Silica In Silico: A Molecular Dynamics Characterization of the Early Stages of Protein Embedding for Atom Probe Tomography
PublicationA novel procedure for the application of atom probe tomography (APT) to the structural analysis of biological systems, has been recently proposed, whereby the specimen is embedded by a silica matrix and ablated by a pulsed laser source. Such a technique, requires that the silica primer be properly inert and bio-compatible, keeping the native structural features of the system at hand, while condensing into an amorphous, glass-like...
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Phage-Directed Synthesis of Photoluminescent Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles under Benign Conditions
PublicationBiological systems, especially bacteriophages and peptides, are an attractive green alternative to other known methods of nanoparticle synthesis. In this work, for the first time, bacteriophages were employed to synthesize a specific peptide, capable of producing nanoparticles (NPs). Derivatives of M13 bacteriophage exposing a ZnO-binding peptide (TMGA-LGLKWPV) on either pIII or pVIII phage coat protein were constructed and used...
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Cytocompatibility of stabilized black phosphorus nanosheets tailored by directly conjugated polymeric micelles for human breast cancer therapy
PublicationThe novel procedure of few-layer black phosphorus (FLBP) stabilization and functionalisation was here proposed. The cationic polymer PLL and non-ionic PEG have been involved into encapsulation of FLBP to allow sufficient time for further nanofabrication process and overcome environmental degradation. Two different spacer chemistry was designed to bind polymers to tumor-homing peptides. The efficiency of functionalisation was examined...
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Fluorescent analogs of trypsin inhibitor SFTI-1 isolated from sunflower seeds-synthesis and applications
PublicationThis article describes the synthesis and enzymatic study of newly synthesized analogs of trypsin inhibitors SFTI-1 that were fluorescent labeled on their N-terminal amino groups. Two fluorescent derivatives of benzoxazole (3-[2-(4-diphenylaminophenyl) benzoxazol-5-yl]-L-alanine[(4NPh(2)) Ph] Box-Ala and 3-[2-(2', 4', 5'-trimethoxyphenyl) benzoxazol-5-yl]-l-alanine-[2,4,5-(OMe)3Ph] Box-Ala) were used as efficient fluorescent labels....
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Fluconazole resistant Candida auris clinical isolates have increased levels of cell wall chitin and increased susceptibility to a glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase inhibitor
PublicationIn 2009 Candida auris was first isolated as fungal pathogen of human disease from ear canal of a patient in Japan. In less than a decade, this pathogen has rapidly spread around the world and has now become a major health challenge that is of particular concern because many strains are resistant to multiple class of antifungal drugs. The lack of available antifungals and rapid increase of this fungal pathogen provides an incentive...
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Optical fiber aptasensor for label-free bacteria detection in small volumes
PublicationHighly sensitive devices for fast bacteria detection are sought to be developed with the task of quantifying the worldwide problem of pathogenic bacteria and thus helping to take control over spreading bacterial infections. This work concerns a sensing solution based on microcavity in-line Mach-Zehnder interferometer (μIMZI) induced in an optical fiber. Such a device exhibits ultrahigh sensitivity to refractive index changes...
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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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Investigation of the antimicrobial potential and microbiota of bee pollen and bee bread derived from Polish apiaries
PublicationThe phenomenon of resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics is becoming one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. At the same time, the number of new antibiotics introduced into clinical practice is decreasing. This creates the need to search for new, effective, non-antibiotic methods of combating and preventing infectious diseases. Over the last two decades, there has been renewed interest in the antimicrobial potential...
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Pre-treatment of bio fraction waste prior to fermentation processes
PublicationCurrent efforts are taken to increase resource efficiency, close material loops, and improve sustainable waste and by-products management. Thus, networking agro-food by-products and converting them into valuable products completely exhausting the potential of the raw material becomes significant. Model lignocellulosic and starch based biomass were subjected to pre-treatment with the application of acidic compounds, i.e. sulphuric...
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The Effect of Conjugation with Octaarginine, a Cell-Penetrating Peptide on Antifungal Activity of Imidazoacridinone Derivative
PublicationAcridine cell-penetrating peptide conjugates are an extremely important family of compounds in antitumor chemotherapy. These conjugates are not so widely analysed in antimicrobial therapy, although bioactive peptides could be used as nanocarriers to smuggle antimicrobial compounds. An octaarginine conjugate of an imidazoacridinone derivative (Compound 1-R8) synthetized by us exhibited high antifungal activity against reference...
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Paenibacillus alvei MP1 as a Producer of the Proteinaceous Compound with Activity against Important Human Pathogens, Including Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes
PublicationAn emerging need for new classes of antibiotics is, on the one hand, evident as antimicrobial resistance continues to rise. On the other hand, the awareness of the pros and cons of chemically synthesized compounds’ extensive use leads to a search for new metabolites in already known reservoirs. Previous research showed that Paenibacillus strain (P. alvei MP1) recovered from a buckwheat honey sample presented a wide spectrum of...
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Two small RNAs conserved in Enterobacteriaceae provide intrinsic resistance to antibiotics targeting the cell wall biosynthesis enzyme glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase
PublicationFormation of glucosamine-6-phosphate GlcN6P) by enzyme GlcN6P synthase (GlmS) represents the first step in bacterial cell envelope synthesis. In Escherichia coli, expression of glmS is controlled by small RNAs (sRNAs) GlmY and GlmZ. GlmZ activates the glmS mRNA by base-pairing. When not required, GlmZ is bound by adapter protein RapZ and recruited to cleavage by RNase E inactivating the sRNA. The homologous sRNA GlmY activates...
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A fast and convenient method for analysis of collagen hydrolysis products Szybka i dogodna metoda analizy produktów hydrolizy kolagenu
PublicationPolypeptides produced by hydrolysis of collagen from minced animal hide and skin scraps were studied by mass spectrometry (MS) in conjunction with electrophoresis to det. their mol. mass. The degree of peptides ionisation was ca 50+. This allowed for observation of the large polypeptide chains with mass analyzers with a relatively low m/z range. The electrospray and atm. pressure photoionization techniques were used. The polypeptide...
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INFOGEST static in vitro simulation of gastrointestinal food digestion
PublicationDeveloping a mechanistic understanding of the impact of food structure and composition on human health has increasingly involved simulating digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract. These simulations have used a wide range of different conditions that often have very little physiological relevance, and this impedes the meaningful comparison of results. The standardized protocol presented here is based on an international consensus...
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Carbon nanowalls: A new versatile graphene based interface for laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry detection of small compounds in real samples.
PublicationCarbon nanowalls, vertically aligned graphene nanosheets, attract attention owing to their tunable band-gap, high conductivity, high mechanical robustness, high optical absorbance and other remarkable properties. In this paper, we report for the first time, the use of hydrophobic boron-doped carbon nanowalls (CNWs) for laser desorption/ionization of small compounds and their subsequent detection by mass spectrometry (LDI-MS). The...
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Synthesis, Chemical Characterization and Multiscale Biological Evaluation of a dimericcRGD Peptide for Targeted Imaging of αVβ3 Integrin Activity
PublicationCyclic peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence have been shown to specifically bind the angiogenesis biomarker α V β3 integrin. We report the synthesis, chemical characterization, and biological evaluation of two novel dimeric cyclic RGD-based molecular probes for the targeted imaging of α V β3 activity (a radiolabeled version, 64Cu-NOTA-PEG4-cRGD2, for PET imaging, and a fluorescent version, FITC-PEG4-cRGD2, for in...
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Whole-genome sequencing and antimicrobial potential of bacteria isolated from Polish honey
PublicationThe aim of this study was the whole-genome analysis and assessment of the antimicrobial potential of bacterial isolates from honey harvested in one geographical location—the north of Poland. In total, 132 strains were derived from three honey samples, and the antimicrobial activity of CFAM (cell-free after-culture medium) was used as a criterion for strain selection and detailed genomic investigation. Two of the tested isolates...
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Chitosan, Collagen and Gelatin in the design of novel materials with antimicrobial acticity
PublicationMedical devices containing and releasing antiinfective agents directly on the site of injury are a common group of materials available and widely used in treating difficult to heal wounds. Sustained contact of the active agent to the damaged tissue, needed to inhibit infection and preservation of microbiological purity of the wound, is provided by the immobilization antimicrobial agents on the surface of the matrix material or...
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Development of a Peptide Derived from Platelet-Derived Growth Factor (PDGF-BB) into a Potential Drug Candidate for the Treatment of Wounds
PublicationObjective: This study evaluated the use of novel peptides derived from platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB) as potential wound healing stimulants. One of the compounds (named PDGF2) was subjected for further research after cytotoxicity and proliferation assays on human skin cells. Further investigation included evaluation of: migration and chemotaxis of skin cells, immunological and allergic safety, the transcriptional analyses...
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Natural fish oil improves the differentiation and maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells to oligodendrocytes in vitro after interaction with the blood–brain barrier
PublicationThe blood–brain barrier (BBB) tightly controls the microenvironment of the central nervous system (CNS) to allow neurons to function properly. Additionally, emerging studies point to the beneficial effect of natural oils affecting a wide variety of physiological and pathological processes in the human body. In this study, using an in vitro model of the BBB, we tested the influence of natural fish oil mixture (FOM) vs. borage oil...
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Anticancer Properties of Amino Acid and Peptide Derivatives of Mycophenolic Acid
PublicationBackground: Although Mycophenolic Acid (MPA) is applied as prodrugs in clinic as an immunosuppressant, it also possesses anticancer activity. MPA acts as Inosine-5’-Monophosphate Dehydrogenase (IMPDH) inhibitor, where the carboxylic group at the end of the side chain interacts with Ser 276 of the enzyme via hydrogen bonds. Therefore, MPA derivatives with other polar groups indicated high inhibition too. On the other hand, potent...
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Emerging anticancer activity of candidal glucoseamine-6-phosphate synthase inhibitors upon nanoparticle-mediated delivery
PublicationNumerous glutamine analogues have been reported as irreversible inhibitors of the glucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN-6-P) synthase in pathogenic Candida albicans in the last 3.5 decades. Among the reported inhibitors, the most effective N3-(4-methoxyfumaroyl)-L-2,3- diaminopropanoic acid (FMDP) has been extensively studied in order to develop its more active analogues. Several peptide−FMDP conjugates were tested to deliver FMDP to its...
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Structural properties of hydration shell around various conformations of simple polypeptides
PublicationIn this paper we investigate structural properties of water within the solvation shell around the peptide core created by a well-defined conformation of polypeptide chain. The following secondary structures are investigated: linear (straight chain), and three helices PII (polyproline-like), 310, and α. We propose using the two-particle contribution to entropy as a rational measure of the water structural ordering within the solvation...
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Efficient Extraction of Fermentation Inhibitors by Means of Green Hydrophobic Deep Eutectic Solvents
PublicationThe methods for hydrogen yield efficiency improvements, the gaseous stream purification in gaseous biofuels generation, and the biomass pretreatment are considered as the main trends in research devoted to gaseous biofuel production. The environmental aspect related to the liquid stream purification arises. Moreover, the management of post-fermentation broth with the application of various biorefining techniques gains importance....
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Evaluation of Linkers’ Influence on Peptide-Based Piezoelectric Biosensors’ Sensitivity to Aldehydes in the Gas Phase
PublicationRecent findings qualified aldehydes as potential biomarkers for disease diagnosis. One of the possibilities is to use electrochemical biosensors in point-of-care (PoC), but these need further development to overcome some limitations. Currently, the primary goal is to enhance their metrological parameters in terms of sensitivity and selectivity. Previous findings indicate that peptide OBPP4 (KLLFDSLTDLKKKMSEC-NH2) is a promising...
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Bacteriophages as potential tools for use in antimicrobial therapy and vaccine development
PublicationThe constantly growing number of people suffering from bacterial, viral, or fungal infections, parasitic diseases, and cancers prompts the search for innovative methods of disease prevention and treatment, especially based on vaccines and targeted therapy. An additional problem is the global threat to humanity resulting from the increasing resistance of bacteria to commonly used antibiotics. Conventional vaccines based on bacteria...