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BACKGROUND Conventional techniques for corncob hydrolysis were generally based on acid treatment. However, a large number of by-products and undesirable compounds released during acid hydrolysis process may act as inhibitors to xylitol fermentation. To replace acid hydrolysis, SO2-catalyzed hydrolysis was used in this study to improve the fermentability of corncob hemicellulose hydrolysate. RESULTS Based on a central composite design ( CCD), 20 operations were performed to optimize the process of SO2-catalyzed hydrolysis by varying SO2 concentration, temperature and reaction time. The optimum condition found for these parameters was 2.16% (wt), 142 °C, 98 min, with 90.51% of the theoretical xylose yield obtained. In a comparison with sulfuric acid hydrolysis, SO2-catalyzed hydrolysis was proved to be preferable since it resulted in approximately the same sugar yields, but better fermentability. The conversion of xylose to xylitol and volumetric productivity fermented from concentrated SO2-catalyzed hydrolysate ( SCH) were 70.21% and 1.16 g L-1 h-1, respectively, higher than those fermented from concentrated sulfuric acid hydrolysate ( SAH). CONCLUSION Findings suggested that the SO2-catalyzed hydrolysis strategy can be conveniently and effectively applied to xylose and xylitol production. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a key role not only in gene expression but also in DNA repair. Herein, we report the rational design and characterization of a compound named chlordinaline containing nitrogen mustard and 2-aminobenzamide moieties as a DNA/HDAC dual-targeting inhibitor. Chlordinaline exhibited moderate total HDAC inhibitory activity. The HDAC isoform selectivity assay indicated that chlordinaline mostly inhibits HDAC3. Chlordinaline exhibited both DNA and HDAC inhibitory activities and showed potent antiproliferative activity against all the six test cancer cell lines with IC 50 values of as low as 3.1-14.2 μM, which is significantly more potent than reference drugs chlorambucil and tacedinaline. Chlordinaline could induce the apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest of A375 cancer cells. This study demonstrates that combining nitrogen mustard and 2-aminobenzamide moieties into one molecule is an effective method to obtain DNA/HDAC dual-targeting inhibitors as potent antitumor agents. Chlordinaline as the first example of such DNA/HDAC dual-targeting inhibitors could be a promising candidate for cancer therapy and could also be a lead compound for further optimization.