Review
Engineering, Environmental
Zhi-Min Song, Ya-Lan Xu, Jun-Kun Liang, Lu Peng, Xin-Yang Zhang, Ye Du, Yao Lu, Xin-Zheng Li, Qian-Yuan Wu, Yun-Tao Guan
Summary: The presence of trace organic contaminants in wastewater poses concerns for human health. Ozonation and UV/H2O2 are commonly used for their removal, but real-time monitoring of their abatement efficiency is challenging due to the low concentrations of the contaminants. Researchers have turned to using various surrogates to monitor the attenuation of TrOCs during AOPs.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Qi Shi, Zhuo Chen, Fanqin Wei, Yu Mao, Qi Xu, Kuixiao Li, Yun Lu, Hong-Ying Hu
Summary: This study identifies TF, UV254, and cATP concentration as surrogates for predicting microbial inactivation during ozone disinfection, with empirical linear correlations developed for commonly used microbial indicators. TF is considered the most efficient surrogate due to its high sensitivity, accuracy, and reliability, while cATP concentration is an effective supplement for reflecting total microbial counts. The study provides a rapid and reliable approach for evaluating and predicting ozone disinfection efficiency.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Susanne Weininger, Malte Neudorf, Stefan Groeger, Eric Plato, Robert Broneske, Kay Saalwaechter, Ulrich Weininger, Jochen Balbach
Summary: Crystallin proteins in the human eye lenses play a role in maintaining transparency, light refraction, and UV light protection. Imbalance in the interaction between alpha-, beta-, and gamma-crystallin can lead to cataracts. The research looks into the effects of UV-B radiation on gamma D-crystallin, specifically observing changes in the N-terminal domain. It is found that some photoprotective properties remain in extracts from cataract patients. Additionally, a genetic mutation in the eye lens core of infants with cataracts increases sensitivity to UV-B irradiation.
MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Said Abou El Karam, Maxime Ferrand, Mohammed El Jabri, Antoine Vautier, Martine Carlier, Arnaud Germond, Thierry Astruc
Summary: Salted and tumbled pork teres major muscles with different levels of sodium chloride (1.1% to 1.9%) were analyzed using UV fluorescence spectroscopy. The results showed that muscle fluorescence changed due to protein denaturation, and the threshold for significant fluorescence properties alteration was 1.5% NaCl. The changes in muscle fluorescence were not linearly related to salt levels, indicating potential influences from carcass characteristics and muscle physicochemical changes.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Nicolas Walpen, Adriano Joss, Urs von Gunten
Summary: In this study, the suitability of electron-donating capacity (EDC) as an additional control parameter for ozonation of wastewater was evaluated. The results showed that integrating residual EDC values as a second control parameter can improve existing absorbance-based ozonation control systems, particularly for low ozone dose applications.
Article
Chemistry, Applied
S. Samreen, Deepak Devadiga, B. M. Samrudhi, T. N. Ahipa, Kishor Kumar Sadasivuni
Summary: In this study, four new cyanopyridone derivatives with terminal long chain alkyloxy substituents were designed and synthesized. The synthesized compounds were characterized by IR, NMR, and Mass spectrometry, and their optical properties were examined in solution state. The compounds exhibited blue emissive behavior in solution state and yellow fluorescence in solid state. Moreover, one of the compounds showed intriguing fluorescence properties under applied mechanochromic stimuli. A simple grinding-fuming process confirmed the morphological changes and enhanced the emission property of the studied compound.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Madison M. Mann, James D. Tang, Bryan W. Berger
Summary: PFAS are synthetic fluorinated chemicals with surface active and water-repellent properties that accumulate significantly in humans due to widespread use. A fluorescence-based biosensor designed using hLFABP allows for rapid detection of PFAS, demonstrating its usefulness in environmental water samples.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Agronomy
Yumei Peng, Huasen Xu, Zi Wang, Jia Shi, Junfei Lv, Xiang Wang
Summary: This study investigates the changes in the quantity and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in intercropping soil under drought conditions. It finds that intercropping can provide more bioavailable resources and soil carbon inputs, but further data is needed to understand its response to drought.
Article
Food Science & Technology
Zichen Zhao, Renjie Li, Mahesha M. Poojary, Soren B. Nielsen, Marianne N. Lund
Summary: UV-B illumination promotes alpha-lactalbumin aggregation through disulfide bond cleavage and thiol-disulfide exchange reactions, but prolonged exposure may lead to undesired oxidative modifications. Adding tryptophan as a photosensitizer enhances thiol release and aggregation, with lower levels under aerobic conditions due to oxidation of tryptophan..freeze up under UVA/UVB exposure.
Article
Thermodynamics
A. Nugroho, Z. Bo, R. Mamat, W. H. Azmi, G. Najafi, F. Khoirunnisa
Summary: The study on the impact of sonication duration on Al2O3-Polyol ester nanolubricants reveals that an 80-minute sonication has the most optimal effect, leading to improved stability of the samples.
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS IN HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Prithu Roy, Jean-Benoit Claude, Sunny Tiwari, Aleksandr Barulin, Jerome Wenger
Summary: The study demonstrates the use of ultraviolet autofluorescence of tryptophan amino acids to study single proteins without fluorescence labeling. By combining nanophotonic plasmonic antennas, antioxidants, and background reduction techniques, the sensitivity of label-free ultraviolet fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (UV-FCS) is improved to the level of single tryptophan residues. This breakthrough enables the application of UV-FCS to a wide range of label-free proteins.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alice Briole, Berengere Abou
Summary: This study investigates the behavior of molecular rotors in protein solutions and finds that viscosity is no longer the parameter determining rotor response. Instead, the concentration regime of the protein solution determines the sensitivity of the rotor to its environment.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Prithu Roy, Siyuan Zhu, Jean-Benoit Claude, Jie Liu, Jerome Wenger
Summary: Plasmonic optical nanoantennas have been widely studied for their ability to enhance light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. This research focuses on the UV range, which has been overlooked in previous studies. By constructing UV resonant nanogap antennas using rhodium nanocubes, the researchers were able to significantly enhance the UV autofluorescence of proteins and achieve detection at high concentrations. This work expands the applicability of plasmonic nanoantennas to the deep UV range and enables the investigation of label-free proteins at physiological concentrations.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yu Zhou, Shuaidong Huo, Mark Loznik, Robert Goestl, Arnold J. Boersma, Andreas Herrmann
Summary: This study introduces a new method to control protein activity using ultrasound, by engineering protein structures to be sensitive to ultrasound and selectively activating or deactivating them. This concept could potentially serve as a blueprint for remotely controlling other bioactive molecules.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mikhail M. Vorob'ev
Summary: This study investigated the demasking effect during the degradation of beta-lactoglobulin and beta-casein by trypsin. It was found that the secondary masking of intermediate polypeptides restricted the opening of the substrate. Additionally, demasking and secondary masking were shown to compete with each other.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Luis Moroder, Hans-Juergen Musiol
JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE
(2020)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tobias Schneider, Nico Bruessow, Alev Yuvanc, Nediljko Budisa
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nediljko Budisa, Vladimir Kubyshkin, Markus Schmidt
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Huan Sun, Haiyang Jia, Diego A. Ramirez-Diaz, Nediljko Budisa, Petra Schwille
Summary: Mapping and elucidating molecular mechanisms of self-organization in prokaryotic cells using light-mediated assembly of functional protein modules is a promising strategy for creating minimal cells.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Federica Agostini, Ludwig Sinn, Daniel Petras, Christian J. Schipp, Vladimir Kubyshkin, Allison Ann Berger, Pieter C. Dorrestein, Juri Rappsilber, Nediljko Budisa, Beate Koksch
Summary: Organofluorine compounds are toxic to a variety of organisms, but some organisms (such as bacteria) can adapt to fluorinated molecules and utilize them for the synthesis of cellular macromolecules. Experiments with E. coli exposed to fluorinated amino acids revealed the cellular mechanisms behind adaptation to unnatural amino acids.
ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Organic
Vladimir Kubyshkin, Rebecca Davis, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: Fluorinated proline replacements, such as (4R)- and (4S)-fluoroproline, have shown advantages in elevating protein expression speed and yields, as well as improving folding profiles. They are considered useful tools in biotechnological applications and may potentially be used for proteome-wide proline-to-fluoroproline substitutions in the future. Furthermore, laboratory evolutionary methods with fluoroprolines could enable the introduction of fluorine into living cells, potentially creating synthetic cells with artificial biodiversity containing fluorine as a bioelement.
BEILSTEIN JOURNAL OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Erhan Deniz, Luis Valino-Borau, Jan G. Loeffler, Katharina B. Eberl, Adnan Gulzar, Steffen Wolf, Patrick M. Durkin, Robert Kaml, Nediljko Budisa, Gerhard Stock, Jens Bredenbeck
Summary: Vibrational energy transfer (VET) is crucial for protein function, aiding in efficient energy dissipation at reaction sites and connecting to allosteric communication pathways. In this study, a tryptophan zipper was used for experiments to map VET, revealing hydrogen bonds as the dominant pathway even if backbone stretches are cut short in proteins.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nikolaj G. Koch, Peter Goettig, Juri Rappsilber, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: The engineering of PylRS variants capable of incorporating an entire library of aliphatic small-tag ncAAs has been reported. By mutating a specific PylRS, the shortest non-bulky ncAA was successfully designed and incorporated, expanding the range of translationally active small-tag ncAAs.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hsueh-Wei Tseng, Marcus Moldenhauer, Thomas Friedrich, Eugene G. Maksimov, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) is a water-soluble photoreceptor involved in photoprotection of cyanobacteria. By replacing essential residues of the photoactive OCP with non-canonical aromatic analogues, the key contacts with non-canonical amino acids can be controlled and manipulated, altering the state preference of OCP.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Huan Sun, Haiyang Jia, Olivia Kendall, Jovan Dragelj, Vladimir Kubyshkin, Tobias Baumann, Maria-Andrea Mroginski, Petra Schwille, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: In this study, the authors investigated the halogenation of the prokaryotic cell division protein FtsZ and demonstrated its effects on protein structure and dynamics. They provided valuable insights into the mechanism of halogen influence through experiments and theories.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Toshiki Takei, Hideaki Tanaka, Nobuaki Okumura, Toshifumi Takao, Luis Moroder, Hironobu Hojo
Summary: In this study, a polypeptide containing three diselenide bonds was synthesized and compared to its cysteine analog in terms of oxidative folding. The results showed that the substitution of disulfide bonds with diselenide bonds is highly isomorphous.
JOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nisha Mohanan, Michael C. -H. Wong, Nediljko Budisa, David B. Levin
Summary: In this study, genes encoding an intracellular lipase (LIP3), an extracellular lipase (LIP4), and an intracellular PHA depolymerase (PhaZ) were identified in Pseudomonas chlororaphis PA23. These genes were cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and the biochemical and substrate preferences of the enzymes were characterized. The results showed that these enzymes exhibited different properties, but they demonstrated broad substrate specificity and could hydrolyze various polymers, including PHAs, pNP alkanoates, and PLA. Furthermore, the enzymes were able to degrade both biodegradable and synthetic polymers, such as PCL and PES, as evidenced by GPC analyses.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Georg Johannes von Freiherr Sass, Matthew Blain-Hartung, Tobias Baumann, Katrina T. Forest, Peter Hildebrandt, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: Orthogonal translation is an efficient tool for parameterization of structural and dynamic phenomena in proteins. Nitrile-containing tryptophan analogs are useful probes for studying local electrostatics and hydrogen bonding. This study reports the engineering of a tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase variant capable of incorporating 5-cyanotryptophan via orthogonal translation, and demonstrates its utility by inserting it into a photosensor protein.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Peter Goettig, Nikolaj G. Koch, Nediljko Budisa
Summary: Amino acids play crucial roles in organisms, being encoded by genetic code and modified post-translationally to generate various functional amino acids. These non-canonical amino acids are important for protein stability and function, and have wide applications in drug development and biological research.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Vladimir Kubyshkin, Jochen Burck, Oleg Babii, Nediljko Budisa, Anne S. Ulrich
Summary: Circular dichroism is a conventional method for studying the secondary structures of peptides and proteins. The polyproline-II helix, while not exhibiting strictly conserved spectroscopic appearance, is significantly influenced by the surrounding solvent environment. Changes in solvation can lead to shifts and variations in the circular dichroism spectra, with new features potentially emerging in nonpolar environments. Additionally, the transition to a transmembrane state in isotropic liposomes is correlated with specific spectral changes, indicating the importance of considering the solvent environment in assessing circular dichroism spectra.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2021)