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Within the field of DNA nanotechnology, numerous methods were developed to produce complex two- and three-dimensional DNA nanostructures for many different emerging applications. These structures typically suffer from a low tolerance against non-optimal environmental conditions including elevated temperatures. Here, we apply a chemical ligation method to covalently seal the nicks between adjacent 5' phosphorylated and 3' amine-modified strands within the DNA nanostructures. Using a cost-effective enzymatic strand modification procedure, we are able to batch-modify all DNA strands even of large DNA objects, such as origami nanostructures. The covalent strand linkage increases the temperature stability of the structures by ∼10 K. Generally, our method also allows a 'surgical' introduction of covalent strand linkages at preselected positions. It can also be used to map the strand ligation into chains throughout the whole nanostructure and identify assembly defects. We expect that our method can be applied to a large variety of DNA nanostructures, in particular when full control over the introduced covalent linkages and the absence of side adducts and DNA damages are required.

The crystal structure of amylomaltase provides insights into the interaction of glycoside hydrolases with their polymeric substrate., Starch is a major carbon and energy source throughout all kingdoms of life. It consists of two carbohydrate polymers, branched amylopectin and linear amylose, which are sparingly soluble in water. Hence, the enzymatic breakdown by glycoside hydrolases (GHs) is of great biological and societal importance. Amylomaltases (AMs) are GHs specialized in the hydrolysis of α-1,4–linked sugar chains such as amylose. They are able to catalyze an intramolecular transglycosylation of a bound sugar chain yielding polymeric sugar rings, the cycloamyloses (CAs), consisting of 20 to 100 glucose units. Despite a wealth of data on short oligosaccharide binding to GHs, no structural evidence is available for their interaction with polymeric substrates that better represent the natural polysaccharide. We have determined the crystal structure of Thermus aquaticus AM in complex with a 34-meric CA—one of the largest carbohydrates resolved by x-ray crystallography and a mimic of the natural polymeric amylose substrate. In total, 15 glucose residues interact with the protein in an extended crevice with a length of more than 40 Å. A modified succinimide, derived from aspartate, mediates protein-sugar interactions, suggesting a biological role for this nonstandard amino acid. The structure, together with functional assays, provides unique insights into the interaction of GHs with their polymeric substrate and reveals a molecular ruler mechanism for minimal ring-size determination of CA products.

Objetivo: Analisar a quantidade de coliformes termotolerantes, Salmonella, Staphylococcus coagulase positva, os teores de nitritos e nitratos, pH e atividade de água, em queijos tipo prato e colonial, com Inspeção Municipal e Estadual do Vale do Taquari-RS. Material e Métodos: Os teores residuais de nitratos e nitritos, pH e atividade de água das amostras foram realizados segundo as metodologias analíticas oficiais previstas na Instrução Normativa n° 20, de 21 de julho de 1999 do Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento. As análises microbiológicas foram realizadas em um laboratório certificado no Ministério da Agricultura. Resultados: Das 24 amostras de queijos 18,2% apresentaram coliformes termotolerantes acima da legislação com Inspeção Municipal e 61,5% das amostras com Inspeção Estadual. O Staphylococcus coagulase positiva não foi encontrado em nenhuma das amostras com Inspeção Municipal, e em 46,2% com Inspeção Estadual. A Salmonella não foi encontrada em nenhuma amostra. As concentrações de nitrato e nitrito encontradas acima do recomendado pela legislação nas amostras foram de 33,3% (p=0,030) e 100% (p

Trichomonas vaginalis is a parasite that resides in the human urogenital tract and causes trichomonosis, the most prevalent nonviral sexually transmitted disease. Nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase), which hydrolyzes extracellular di- and triphosphate nucleotides, and ecto-5′-nucleotidase, which hydrolyzes AMP, have been characterized in T. vaginalis. The aim of this study was to characterize the adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in intact trophozoites of T. vaginalis. A strong inhibition in adenosine deamination was observed in the presence of calcium and magnesium, which was prevented by EDTA. The apparent KM value for adenosine was 1.13 ± 0.07 mM. The calculated Vmax was 2.61 ± 0.054 nmol NH3 min−1 mg−1 protein. Adenosine deamination was inhibited in the presence of erythro-9-(2-hydroxy-3-nonyl)adenine. Semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR experiments were performed and both ADA-related genes ada(125) and ada(231) mRNA were expressed, although ada(231) in higher quantity when compared with the ada(125) : α-tubulin ratio. Furthermore, a phylogenetic analysis showed that the T. vaginalis sequences formed a clade with Entamoeba histolytica and Dictyostelium discoideum sequences, and it strongly suggests homologous functions in the T. vaginalis genome. The presence of ADA activity in T. vaginalis may be important to modulate the adenosine/inosine levels during infection and, consequently, to maintain the anti-inflammatory properties through different nucleoside-signalling mechanisms.

This paper consists of two parts – a detailed experimental investigation on the activity of supported threonine aldolase for use in a microreactor/flow reactor and a generic, explorative outline on potential productivity of enzymatic microreactors; with the need to use data from other enzymes here as well. Threonine aldolase was immobilized on different supports foreseen to be coated or packed within the micro- and millichannels of flow reactors. As enzyme supports, an innovative high-surface area and high-porosity silica (Nanosprings), the commercial Eupergit CM, and polymer membrane materials were used. For Eupergit CM, the share of chemically fixed enzymes and active enzymes were within the reported literature performance for enzyme immobilization. The values of immobilized enzymes on Nanosprings were somewhat lower. However, this is overcompensated by the larger specific surface area of Nanosprings and the availability of a new, second generation flow reactor concept, which involves a tight packing of stacked Nanosprings disks. For the investigated membranes, the density of immobilized enzymes was close to the reported value of capacity. From these experimental results, calculations on (maximally achievable) productivity of microreactors were made. This was combined with results of glucose oxidase immobilization on Nanosprings. The objective was to achieve high enzyme loadings to obtain reasonable space–time yields to ensure cost-effectiveness of the derived chemical reaction processes. These productivities were benchmarked to industrial production needs for two processes – a high-value pharmaceutical intermediate synthesis (towards chiral amino alcohols, using threonine aldolase) and a large-volume fine-chemical synthesis (the gluconic acid synthesis, using glucose oxidase), including suggestions for reactor scale-up. This shows that the present loading performance suffices in the case of high-value products, such as pharmaceuticals, but not for larger-volume, low-cost chemicals; at least under best-performance assumptions such as the avoidance of mass-transfer limitations.

In this study, the mechanism of action of the pro-apoptotic alkaloid lycorine on an amitochondriate cell, the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis, was investigated. The cytotoxicity of lycorine against T. vaginalis was studied from 2.5 to 1000 μM and several important ultrastructural alterations were observed by electron microscopy. Lycorine arrested the T. vaginalis cell cycle, although no hallmarks of apoptosis, such as apoptotic bodies, were observed. Consequently, the underlying mechanism of action fails to completely fulfill the criteria for apoptosis. However, some similarities to paraptotic cell death were observed.

Drug discovery from plants plays an important role in the pharmaceutical therapy field and the alkaloids lycorine and candimine are candidates for this purpose. Trichomonas vaginalis is a parasite that infects the human urogenital tract and causes trichomonosis, the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted disease. Ecto-nucleotidases including nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (NTPDase) members, which hydrolyses extracellular ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and ADP (adenosine diphosphate), and ecto-5′-nucleotidase, which hydrolyses AMP (adenosine monophosphate), have been characterized in T. vaginalis. Because purine nucleotides are released from cells under physiological and stress conditions, the goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of lycorine and candimine on T. vaginalis NTPDase and ecto-5′-nculeotidase activities. The alkaloids (50 to 250 μM) were tested against both long-term-grown and clinical isolates. Specific enzymatic activities were expressed as nmolPi realeased/min/mg protein. The effect of both alkaloids at NTPDase A and B expression levels was investigated. When the alkaloids were added directly to the reaction mixture, no effect on ATP, ADP or AMP hydrolysis was observed. NTPDase and ecto-5′-nucleotidase activities were strongly inhibited by candimine and lycorine on 24 h-treated parasites. This effect was abolished when 24-treated parasites were innoculated in a culture medium without alkaloid. Transcript levels of NTPDase A or B were not altered by the alkaloids. Considering the cytotoxic and proinflammatory roles of ATP besides the anti-inflammatory effects of adenosine, the regulation of extracellular nucleotide levels could be relevant in increasing susceptibility of T. vaginalis to host immune response in the presence of lycorine and candimine.

The membrane location of the local anesthetics (LA) lidocaine, dibucaine, tetracaine, and procaine hydrochloride as well as their influence on phospholipid bilayers were studied by 31 P and 1 H magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR spectroscopy. The 31 P NMR spectra of the LA/lipid preparations confirmed that the overall bilayer structure of the membrane remained preserved. The relation between the molecular structure of the LAs and their membrane localization and orientation was investigated quantitatively using induced chemical shifts, nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy, and paramagnetic relaxation rates. All three methods revealed an average location of the aromatic rings of all LAs in the lipid-water interface of the membrane, with small differences between the individual LAs depending on their molecular properties. While lidocaine is placed in the upper chain/glycerol region of the membrane, for dibucaine and procaine the maximum of the distribution are slightly shifted into the glycerol region. Finally for tetracaine the aromatic ring is placed closest to the aqueous phase in the glycerol/headgroup region of the membrane. The hydrophobic side chains of the LA molecules dibucaine and tetracaine were located deeper in the membrane and showed an orientation towards the hydrocarbon core. In contrast the side chains of lidocaine and procaine are oriented towards the aqueous phase.