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Carboxylato-type transition metal complexes with agaric acid, a bioactive natural compound derived from citric acid, were prepared, and tested in vitro for their antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity. The products as well as agaric acid itself are amphiphilic compounds containing a hydrophilic head (citric acid moiety) and a hydrophobic tail (non-polar alkyl chain). The putative composition of the carboxylates was assigned on grounds of elemental analysis, infrared (IR) and high-resolution mass spectra (HR-MS), as well as in analogy with known complexes containing the citrate moiety. The metal carboxylates showed interesting activity in several microbial strains, especially against S. aureus (vanadium complex; MIC = 0.05 mg/ml). They were also tested for their cytotoxic activity in hepatocytes, the highest activity having been found in the copper(II) and manganese(II) complexes. Further research based on these preliminary results is needed in order to evaluate the influence of parameters like stability of the metal complexes in solution on the bioactivity of the complexes.

Background The present study describes the production of biosurfactant (BS) and emulsifier (BE) by the filamentous fungus Mucor hiemalis UCP 0039, as well as the characterization and stability of the both biomolecules for environmental or industrial applications. Results Biosurfactants and bioemulsifiers are amphiphilic compounds and are produced as extracellular molecules. The results showed that bioproduct obtained by shaker condition reduced the water surface tension of 72 to 32 mN/m and reached an emulsification index of 96%, while the static cultivation resulted in a biomolecule with a surface tension of 40 mN/m and an emulsification index of 96%, suggesting the production of a biosurfactant and bioemulsifier, respectively. The compounds showed glycolipid nature but the biosurfactant presented cationic charge, while the bioemulsifier, anionic charge. Thus, the results confirmed that M. hiemalis produced two distinct biomolecules under different parameters and in the same culture medium. Conclusions It is the first time that biosurfactant and emulsifier production has been described in the same medium and under different physical conditions by Mucor hiemalis. Both biomolecules showed thermal stability, as well as have significant effect on the viscosity of hydrophobic compounds, indicating the excellent potential for environmental safety or industrial applications to improve the efficiency of sustainable and economic technologies. How to cite Ferreira INS, Rodriguez DM, Campos-Takaki, GM, et al. Biosurfactant and bioemulsifier as promissing molecules produced by Mucor hiemalis isolated from Caatinga soil. Electron J Biotechnol 2020; 47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2020.06.006 .

The Lacinutrix genus was discovered in 2005 and includes 12 Gram-negative bacterial species. To the best of our knowledge, the secondary metabolite production potential of this genus has not been explored before, and examination of Lacinutrix species may reveal novel chemistry. As part of a screening project of Arctic marine bacteria, the Lacinutrix sp. strain M09B143 was cultivated, extracted, fractionated and tested for antibacterial and cytotoxic activities. One fraction had antibacterial activity and was subjected to mass spectrometry analysis, which revealed two compounds with elemental composition that did not match any known compounds in databases. This resulted in the identification and isolation of two novel isobranched lyso-ornithine lipids, whose structures were elucidated by mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Lyso-ornithine lipids consist of a 3-hydroxy fatty acid linked to the alpha amino group of an ornithine amino acid through an amide bond. The fatty acid chains were determined to be iso-C15:0 (1) and iso-C16:0 (2). Compound 1 was active against the Gram-positive S. agalactiae, while 2 showed cytotoxic activity against A2058 human melanoma cells.

We present a series of cationic membrane-targeted azobenzene molecules, with the aim to understand how variations in molecular architecture influence the relative optical and biological properties. 1,4-Amino-substituted azobenzene was chosen as the switching unit while the number of linked alkyl chains and their cationic end-group were systematically varied. Their photophysics, membrane partitioning, and electrophysiological efficacy were studied. We found that the polar end group is a key-factor determining the interaction with the phospholipid heads in the plasma membrane bilayer and consequently the ability to dimerize. The monosubstituted photoswitch with a pyridinium-terminated alkyl chain was found to be the best candidate for photostimulation. This study provides a structure-property investigation that can guide the chemical engineering of a new generation of molecular photo-actuators.

Organoselenium compounds are well-known glutathione peroxidase (GPx) mimetics that possess antioxidants/prooxidant properties and are able to modulate the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), preventing oxidative stress in normal cells or inducing ROS formation in cancer cells leading to apoptosis. The purpose of this study was the synthesis of potent GPx mimics with antioxidant and anticancer activity along with improved bioavailability, as a result of good solubility in protic solvents. As a result of our research, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) mimetics in the form of water-soluble benzeneseleninic acid salts were obtained. The procedure was based on the synthesis of 2-(N-alkylcarboxyamido)benzeneselenenic acids, through the oxidation of benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-ones or analogous arenediselenides with an amido group, which were further converted to corresponding potassium salts by the treatment with potassium tert-butanolate. All derivatives were tested as potential antioxidants and anticancer agents. The areneseleninic acid salts were significantly better peroxide scavengers than analogous acids and the well-known organoselenium antioxidant ebselen. The highest activity was observed for the 2-(N-ethylcarboxyamido)benzeneselenenic acid potassium salt. The strongest cytotoxic effect against breast cancer (MCF-7) and human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cell lines was found for 2-(N-cyclohexylcarboxyamido)benzeneselenenic acid potassium salt and the 2-(N-ethylcarboxyamido)benzeneselenenic acid, respectively. The structure&ndash, activity correlations, including the differences in reactivity of benzeneseleninic acids and corresponding salts were evaluated.

International audience; Small Conductance Calcium (Ca 2-)-activated potassium (K-) channels (SKCa) are now proved to be involved in many cancer cell behaviors such as proliferation or migration. The SIG channel isoform was particularly described in breast cancer where it can be associated with the Orai 1 Ca 2-channel to form a complex that regulates the ca 2-homeostasis during tumor development and acts as a potent mediator of bone metastases development in vivo. Until now, very few specific blockers of Orail and/or SIG have been developed as potential anti-metastatic compounds. ln this study, we illustrated the synthesis of new families of lipophilic pyridine and tetrahydropyridine derivatives designed as potential modulators of SK3 channel. The toxicity of the newly synthesized compounds and their migration effects were evaluated on the breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-435s. Two molecules (7a and toc) demonstrated a significant decrease in the SK3 channel-dependent migration as well as the SK3/Orai1-related Ca 2-entry. Current measurements showed that these compounds are more likely SK3-selective. Taken all together these results suggest that such molecules could be considered as promising anti-metastatic drugs in breast cancer.

Amphiphilic molecules have been actively explored as promising materials in the field of bio and nanotechnology. These molecules are constituted by a polar head and a lipophilic tail and in an aqueous medium are self-assemble to form different types of macromolecular structures such as micelles, monolayer vesicles, bars, sheets and tubes. In this work, a convergent synthetic approach for the synthesis of two new amphiphilic compounds based on a versatile amino polar head, a tetraethylene glycol spacer and a lipophilic tail derived from oleic acid has been developed. Subsequently, after a self-assembly process in aqueous medium, nanostructures as micelles have been obtained and characterized. Finally, a procedure for the inclusion of the highly lipophilic drug Dexamethasone has been carried out in order to study the ability of these micelles to act as nanovectors for drug delivery. Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MEC) CTQ2016- 78580-C2-2-R

The direct esterification of palmitic acid with L-(+)- arabinose has been carried out. The use of Candida antartica lipase B as the catalyst and the choice of suitable solvent and experimental conditions allowed carrying out the reaction successfully. In particular 10% dimethyl-sulfoxide in tert-butanol was found to be the optimal solvent. The product has been fully characterized by means of FTIR, ESI-MS, DSC, mono and bidimensional H-1 and C-13 NMR. These techniques confirm that only the primary alcoholic group was involved in the esterification reaction. (C) 2017 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

A part of the importance of fats and oils derives from the functional properties that they confer to the foods. This is a consequence of their chemical nature and structural features. Lipids are relatively insoluble in water because their large non-polar region. However, they also contain groups with some degree of polarity. The combination of these polar and non-polar groups and their variations is what gives the range of functional properties observed and what made them so valuable. This issue of Grasas y Aceites reviews some of the functional properties of fats and oils. The Editors hope that the studies included will provide an state of the art reference volume of present knowledge and applications in these areas.La importancia de los aceites y grasas se deriva de la funcionalidad que los mismos pueden conferir, debido a sus características químicas y estructurales. Una propiedad clave de los lípidos es su relativa insolubilidad en agua, gracias a su larga región no polar. Sin embargo, los lípidos también contienen grupos con una cierta polaridad. La combinación de estas características de compuestos simultáneamente polares y no polares, así como los diferentes grados de las mismas que pueden encontrarse, son las que les confieren el amplio rango de propiedades funcionales que poseen y su extraordinario valor. En este volumen de Grasas y Aceites se revisan algunas de estas propiedades funcionales. Los Editores esperan que esta edición especial de la Revista constituya una referencia obligada en relación con el estado actual de los conocimientos y las aplicaciones de los temas que se han incluido.

A series of new amphiphilic pyrrolidines containing dodecyl and oleyl apolar side chains were prepared and evaluated for their ability to inhibit the growth of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cells in vitro. The new compounds are shown to exhibit anticancer activity at concentrations in the μM range.

The conformational properties of the hybrid amphiphile formed by the conjugation of a hydrophobic peptide with four phenylalanine (Phe)residues and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol), have been investigated using quantum mechanical calculations and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations. The intrinsic conformational preferences of the peptide were examined using the building-up search procedure combined with B3LYP/6- 1G(d) geometry optimizations, which led to the identification of 78, 78, and 92 minimum energy structures for the peptides containing one, two, and four Phe residues. These peptides tend to adopt regular organizations involving turn-like motifs that define ribbon or helicallike arrangements. Furthermore, calculations indicate that backbone ··· side chain interactions involving the N-H of the amide groups and the π clouds of the aromatic rings play a crucial role in Phe-containing peptides. On the other hand,MD simulations on the complete amphiphile in aqueous solution showed that the polymer fragment rapidly unfolds maximizing the contacts with the polar solvent, even though the hydrophobic peptide reduce the number of waters of hydration with respect to an individual polymer chain of equivalent molecular weight. In spite of the small effect of the peptide in the hydrodynamic properties of the polymer, we conclude that the two counterparts of the amphiphile tend to organize as independent modules.