Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Fabienne Bachtiger, Thomas R. Congdon, Christopher Stubbs, Matthew I. Gibson, Gabriele C. Sosso
Summary: Understanding ice recrystallisation is crucial for improving current cryopreservation technologies. The authors combine experiments and simulations to reveal the atomistic details of the ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) activity of poly(vinyl)alcohol-the most potent biomimetic IRI agent.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Xianbao Sun, Rui Guo, Yuxing Kou, Hong Song, Taijie Zhan, Jinhong Wu, Lihua Song, Hui Zhang, Fan Xie, Jiangmei Wang, Zibo Song, Yan Wu
Summary: This study found that tamarind seed polysaccharide (TSP) effectively inhibits ice recrystallization. Lowering the molecular weight of TSP enhances its activity and adding TSP to water reduces the melting temperature of ice. Raman spectra indicate that TSP disrupts the hydrogen bond network of water. These findings suggest the potential of TSP as a novel food cryoprotectant and contribute to a better understanding of the antifreeze mechanism of natural polysaccharides.
CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Zhihong Wang, Min Li, Tao Wu
Summary: Ice recrystallization inhibitors, including antifreeze proteins, polymers, nanomaterials, and small molecules, have been found to effectively reduce freezing damage in cryopreservation. This study reveals that bile salts, a group of small biological molecules, also possess potent ice recrystallization inhibition activity. The activity increases with a decrease in the number of hydroxyl groups in bile salts. These findings expand the range of materials with ice recrystallization inhibition properties.
JOURNAL OF COLLOID AND INTERFACE SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lewis D. Blackman, Yue Qu, Peter Cass, Katherine E. S. Locock
Summary: Biofilms, formed by the vast majority of bacteria and fungi at interfaces, have detrimental impacts on various industries and daily life aspects, and their high tolerance towards conventional antimicrobial agents poses challenges in their removal. Innovative antibiofilm materials utilizing aqueous-soluble macromolecules have shown promising abilities to inhibit biofilm formation or eradicate organisms within established biofilms.ButtonTitles: Biofilms are complex structures formed by bacteria and fungi, posing challenges in their removal due to their high tolerance towards antimicrobial agents. New innovative antibiofilm materials utilizing aqueous-soluble macromolecules show promise in inhibiting and removing biofilms.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Nan Zhang, Yue-Ting Du, Pei-Qi Yao, Hui-Yi Huang, Li-Rong Zhang, Feng-Shou Zhang, Jun-Jie Liu
Summary: This study used molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the inhibition of natural methane hydrate growth by hyperactive insect antifreeze protein (TmAFP) and its mutants. The simulations revealed that the synergistic effect of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups in threonine residues played a crucial role in binding to hydrates and inhibiting their growth. This study provides guidance for the design of more effective hydrate inhibitors.
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY B
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ruben M. F. Tomas, Akalabya Bissoyi, Thomas R. Congdon, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of a synthetic macromolecular cryoprotectant for efficient cryopreservation of cell monolayers, simplifying cell handling processes and improving research efficiency and quality.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Natalia Czaplicka, Dominik Dobrzyniewski, Szymon Dudziak, Chunqing Jiang, Donata Konopacka-Lyskawa
Summary: This research investigates the impact of organic substances containing hydroxyl groups on the reduction of NH3 escape and the improvement of CO2 capture during the precipitation of calcium carbonate. The addition of neopentyl glycol (NPG) has been found to be the most effective in reducing NH3 escape and increasing CO2 capture efficiency.
JOURNAL OF CO2 UTILIZATION
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yogesh M. Gangarde, Anirban Das, Jainu Ajit, Ishu Saraogi
Summary: By synthesizing a small library of oligopyridylamide foldamers decorated with different hydrophobic side chains, a hit molecule BPAD2 was identified with an IC50 value of 0.9 μM for inhibiting insulin aggregation. Mechanistic analyses showed that BPAD2 mainly inhibited secondary nucleation and elongation processes during aggregation, highlighting the importance of structure-activity relationship studies in understanding protein aggregation at a molecular level.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mohammed Alrouji, Debarati DasGupta, Ghulam Md. Ashraf, Anwar L. Bilgrami, Fahad A. Alhumaydhi, Waleed Al Abdulmonem, Moyad Shahwan, Abdulrhman Alsayari, Akhtar Atiya, Anas Shamsi
Summary: This study evaluates the inhibitory potential of Huperzine A (HpA), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (AChEI), on MARK4. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation show that the complex formed by HpA and MARK4 is structurally stable, and HpA effectively inhibits the kinase activity of MARK4.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carmine Marco Morgillo, Antonio Lupia, Alessandro Deplano, Luciano Pirone, Bianca Fiorillo, Emilia Pedone, F. Javier Luque, Valentina Onnis, Federica Moraca, Bruno Catalanotti
Summary: FAAH is a key enzyme in controlling cannabinoid signaling, and research on the mechanism of action of the non-competitive inhibitor TPA14 has provided a theoretical basis for the design of effective drugs for the treatment of neuropathic pain and chronic inflammation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Zhi Li, Yue Zhang, Yimao Shen, Liwei Cheng, Bei Liu, Kele Yan, Guangjin Chen, Tianduo Li
Summary: The synergistic mechanism of KHIs and THIs in preventing methane hydrate formation involves three stages, with gas adsorption playing a dominant role. The addition of THIs to solutions containing KHIs enhances methane attraction and weakens the driving force for hydrate formation. It is suggested that the methane adsorption capacity of hybrid inhibitors should be considered in future development.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Mohd Adnan, Debarati Dasgupta, Saleha Anwar, Anas Shamsi, Arif Jamal Siddiqui, Mejdi Snoussi, Fevzi Bardakci, Mitesh Patel, Md Imtaiyaz Hassan
Summary: This study showed that galantamine, an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, binds to MARK4 with strong affinity and significantly inhibits its kinase activity. These results suggest that galantamine could be a potential inhibitor of MARK4 and a promising therapeutic target for AD.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Flavia Melo Cunha de Pinho Pessoa, Caio Bezerra Machado, Emerson Lucena da Silva, Laudreisa da Costa Pantoja, Rodrigo Monteiro Ribeiro, Maria Elisabete Amaral de Moraes, Manoel Odorico de Moraes Filho, Raquel Carvalho Montenegro, Andre Salim Khayat, Caroline Aquino Moreira-Nunes
Summary: The increasing numbers of cancer cases and high mortality rates of certain tumor subtypes lead to questioning the effectiveness of current cancer management protocols and efforts to improve patient prognoses. Traditional chemo-immunotherapy focuses on using cytotoxic agents and boosting the immune system, while precision medicine and targeted molecular therapies have gained interest for their specificity and positive clinical outcomes. This article presents clinical trials utilizing kinase inhibitors as monotherapy or in combination with other agents to treat solid tumors in the past 5 years, reporting varying levels of efficacy.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Jihong Shi, Maxwell Fulford, Hui Li, Mariam Marzook, Maryam Reisjalali, Matteo Salvalaglio, Carla Molteni
Summary: This study investigates the pre-melted quasi-liquid layers (QLLs) on ice surfaces using molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that different order parameters give qualitatively similar trends for the behaviors of the QLLs with temperature. The thickness of the QLLs on the ice surface increases gradually as the temperature increases.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Manish Gore, Aditya Narvekar, Advait Bhagwat, Ratnesh Jain, Prajakta Dandekar
Summary: Cryopreservation utilizes safe and effective macromolecular cryoprotectants to store mammalian cells at low temperatures, reducing toxicity and risks associated with conventional CPAs. These agents provide cryoprotection through various mechanisms involving macromolecular crowding, influencing the dynamics of freezing medium and cells. Understanding the structures and properties of macromolecular CPAs is crucial for enhancing cell preservation processes and encouraging their use in research.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY B
(2022)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Corey A. Stevens, Matthew Gibson, Harm-Anton Klok
Article
Cell Biology
Chiara Tersigni, Muhammad Furqan Bari, Shijei Cai, Wei Zhang, Neva Kandzija, Alice Buchan, Fabrizio Miranda, Nicoletta Di Simone, Christopher W. Redman, Claire Bastie, Manu Vatish
Summary: In normal pregnancy, placental release of STBEVs carrying apoE may target liver cells and increase lipid synthesis, potentially meeting the nutritional needs of the growing foetus.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Peter W. Horby, Guilherme Pessoa-Amorim, Natalie Staplin, Jonathan R. Emberson, Mark Campbell, Enti Spata, Leon Peto, Nigel J. Brunskill, Simon Tiberi, Victor Chew, Thomas Brown, Hasan Tahir, Beate Ebert, David Chadwick, Tony Whitehouse, Rahuldeb Sarkar, Clive Graham, J. Kenneth Baillie, Buddha Basnyat, Maya H. Buch, Lucy C. Chappell, Jeremy Day, Saul N. Faust, Raph L. Hamers, Thomas Jaki, Edmund Juszczak, Katie Jeffery, Wei Shen Lim, Alan Montgomery, Andrew Mumford, Kathryn Rowan, Guy Thwaites, Marion Mafham, Richard Haynes, Martin J. Landray
Summary: In patients hospitalized with COVID-19, aspirin was not associated with reductions in 28-day mortality or in the risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death, but was associated with a small increase in the rate of being discharged alive within 28 days.
Article
Polymer Science
Panagiotis G. Georgiou, Collette S. Guy, Muhammad Hasan, Ashfaq Ahmad, Sarah-Jane Richards, Alexander N. Baker, Neer Thakkar, Marc Walker, Sarojini Pandey, Neil R. Anderson, Dimitris Grammatopoulos, Matthew Gibson
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of innovative biosensing, diagnostic, and surveillance platforms. This study demonstrates that glycosylated, polymer-stabilized, gold nanorods can bind to the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and correlate with the presence of the virus in COVID-19 clinical samples. The use of polymer tethering of glycans shows promise for plasmonic biosensors in infection detection.
Review
Cell Biology
Abi G. Yates, Ryan C. Pink, Uta Erdbrugger, Pia R-M. Siljander, Elizabeth R. Dellar, Paschalia Pantazi, Naveed Akbar, William R. Cooke, Manu Vatish, Emmanuel Dias-Neto, Daniel C. Anthony, Yvonne Couch
Summary: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a critical role in maintaining the homeostasis of normal physiological systems, but our current understanding mainly comes from studying them in disease. Analyzing EVs in clinical samples can improve our understanding of their role in disease. However, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms by which they contribute to pathogenic processes is needed for therapeutic intervention.
JOURNAL OF EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Akalabya Bissoyi, Ruben M. F. Tomas, Yanan Gao, Qiongyu Guo, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: This study successfully cryopreserved hepatocyte spheroids using macromolecular cryoprotectants added to DMSO solutions, which significantly improved post-thaw recovery and minimized cryo-injury related membrane damage. Adding polyampholytes also rescued reduced actin polymerization, potentially linked to intracellular ice formation. This research may facilitate access to off-the-shelf and ready-to-use frozen spheroids, reducing the need for in-house culturing and the number of in vivo experiments.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Marta M. P. S. Neves, Sarah-Jane Richards, Alexander N. N. Baker, Marc Walker, Panagiotis G. G. Georgiou, Matthew I. I. Gibson
Summary: Glycoforms of proteins can indicate disease state, making it crucial to develop new tools for detecting protein glycosylation. This study presents a sandwich bio-assay approach using antibodies immobilised on biolayer interferometry sensors to select proteins, and gold nanoparticles functionalised with lectins to identify specific glycoforms. The nanoparticles significantly enhance the signal, allowing the detection of glycoforms at low concentrations without the need for enrichment or manual steps. Proof of concept using prostate specific antigen shows the potential of glycoform analysis in distinguishing cancerous and non-cancerous status.
NANOSCALE HORIZONS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicola Judge, Panagiotis G. Georgiou, Akalabya Bissoyi, Ashfaq Ahmad, Andreas Heise, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) are found in extremophile organisms and have various (bio)-technological applications. This study investigates the use of high molecular weight polyproline as an ice recrystallization inhibitor (IRI) and demonstrates the potential of non-vinyl-based polymers in inhibiting ice recrystallization.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lukas Eickhoff, Mira Kessler, Christopher Stubbs, Jakob Derksen, Martina Viefhues, Dario Anselmetti, Matthew I. I. Gibson, Berthold Hoge, Thomas Koop
Summary: This study explores the relationship between the molecular size of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and its ice nucleation activity. The experiments show that the ice nucleation activity of shorter PVA chains significantly decreases with a decrease in molar mass. The results support the view that PVA polymers and oligomers act as heterogeneous ice nucleators.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Huba L. Marton, Peter Kilbride, Ashfaq Ahmad, Matthew I. Gibson, Antonia P. Sagona
Summary: Bioprocessing and biotechnology utilize microorganisms for various applications, but bacteriophage contamination poses a challenge to product quality and requires extensive decontamination. We demonstrate that poly(acrylic acid) can prevent phage-induced killing of bacterial hosts and replication, without affecting recombinant protein expression. This simple, low-cost additive offers a practical solution to reduce phage contamination.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kathryn A. Murray, Yanan Gao, Christopher A. Griffiths, Nina L. H. Kinney, Qiongyu Guo, Matthew I. Gibson, Thomas F. Whale
Summary: 3D cell assemblies, such as spheroids, are more accurate in replicating in vivo conditions compared to traditional 2D cell monolayers, making them valuable tools for reducing or replacing animal testing. However, current cryopreservation methods are not well-suited for complex cell models, limiting their usage. By utilizing soluble ice nucleating polysaccharides, researchers have significantly improved spheroid cryopreservation outcomes, providing better cell protection compared to using DMSO alone. The extracellular function of these nucleators reduces the formation of fatal intracellular ice and prevents ice propagation between adjacent cells, potentially revolutionizing the banking and deployment of advanced cell models.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Callum Pritchard, Melissa Ligorio, Garrett D. Jackson, Matthew I. Gibson, Michael D. Ward
Summary: The presentation of glycans in multiple forms enhances their binding capacity to lectins. Current materials used as scaffolds for multivalent glycan arrays have limited reproducibility and predictability due to their intrinsic dispersity. In this study, self-assembled metal coordination cages with predictable ligand arrays were used to assemble a monodisperse library of glycoclusters displaying a range of valencies. The synthetic route was tolerant of biologically relevant glycans, and the glycocluster series demonstrated increased binding to lectins with increasing glycans. This strategy offers an alternative for controlling the valency of 3-D glycan arrays and has potential applications in sensing, imaging, and basic biology.
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yanan Gao, Akalabya Bissoyi, Nina L. H. Kinney, Thomas F. Whale, Qiongyu Guo, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: Spheroids are better at mimicking 3-D tissue niches than standard cell cultures, but cryopreserving them is challenging due to the limitations of conventional cryoprotectants. This study demonstrates that chemically-programmed extracellular ice nucleation combined with proline pre-conditioning can significantly improve post-thaw recovery of spheroids. This highlights the importance of identifying compounds and materials to address both biochemical and biophysical damage pathways beyond standard cryoprotectants.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Huba L. Marton, Peter Kilbride, Ashfaq Ahmad, Antonia P. Sagona, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: Bioprocessing and biotechnology rely on microorganisms for the production of various products. However, phage contamination poses a significant challenge. In this study, we found that poly(acrylic acid) can prevent phage-induced killing and replication of bacteria without affecting recombinant protein expression. This simple and cost-effective additive offers a practical solution to reduce phage contamination.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Ruben M. F. Tomas, Robert Dallman, Thomas R. Congdon, Matthew I. Gibson
Summary: This study demonstrates the use of soluble ice nucleator materials for the cryopreservation of hepatocyte-derived cell lines and primary hepatocytes, aiming to facilitate high-throughput screening in drug discovery and development. The method preserves cell integrity, viability, and functionality, with higher recovery rates and a more convenient storage format compared to commercial cryopreserved hepatocytes.
BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
