Band 7, Heft 8

We found that benzothiazole is responsible for enhancing fastness properties of dyes. On comparing the total electronic energies of naphthol tautomers (−1425.16 eV) and its analogs (−2146.59 eV), we found that benzothiazolyl series is more stable than the naphthol series. Frontier Molecular Orbitals (FMOs) also show flow of charge transfer from the donor to the acceptor in benzothiazole-containing compounds, whereas it is absent in plane naphthol series. Among the benzothiazolyl isomers, the hydrazone form is found to be more stable and responsible for fluorescence possession. Highest Occupied Molecular Orbital (HOMO)–Lowest Occupied Molecular Orbital (LUMO) energy band gap also indicates the same. Electrophilicity index and hyper-hardness values of both the series were found to be positive which directly ratifies photostability and reactivity. Benzothiazolyl series was found to be more stable, hence light fastness, enhanced.

Innate immune cells such as natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) are involved in the surveillance and clearance of tumor. Intensive research has exposed the mechanisms of recognition and elimination of tumor cells by these immune cells as well as how cancers evade immune response. Hence, harnessing the immune cells has proven to be an effective therapy in treating a variety of cancers. Strategies aimed to harness and augment effector function of these cells for cancer therapy have been the subject of intense researches over the decades. Different immunotherapeutic possibilities are currently being investigated for anti-tumor activity. Pharmacological agents known to influence immune cell migration and function include therapeutic antibodies, modified antibody molecules, toll-like receptor agonists, nucleic acids, chemokine inhibitors, fusion proteins, immunomodulatory drugs, vaccines, adoptive cell transfer and oncolytic virus–based therapy. In this review, we will focus on the preclinical and clinical applications of NK cell, macrophage and DC immunotherapy in cancer treatment.

HSP90 is observed as one of the copious molecular chaperones that play a key role in mediating appropriate folding, maturation, and firmness of many client proteins in cells. The expression rate of HSP90 in cancer cells is at a level of 2- to 10-fold higher than the 1- to 2-fold of its unstressed and healthy ones. To combat this, several inhibitors to HSP90 protein have been studied (such as geldanamycin and its derivative 17-AAG and 17-DMAG) and have shown some primary side effects including plague, nausea, vomiting, and liver toxicity, hence the search for the best-in-class inhibitor for this protein through in silico . This study is aimed at analyzing the inhibitory potency of oxypeucedanin-a furocoumarin derivations, which have been reported to have antipoliferative activity in human prostrate carcinoma DN145 cells, and three other drug candidates retrieved from the literature via computational docking studies. The results showed oxypeucedanin as the compound with the highest binding energy of −9.2 kcal/mol. The molecular docking study was carried out using PyRx, Auto Dock Vina option, and the target was validated to confirm the proper target and the docking procedure employed for this study.

Integrating a reaction process with membrane separation allows for effective product removal, favorable shifting of the reaction equilibrium, overcoming eventual inhibitory or toxic effects of the products and has the advantage of being energy and space saving. It has found a range of applications in innovative biotechnologies, generating value-added products (exopolysaccharides, antioxidants, carboxylic acids) with high potential for separation/ concentration of thermosensitive bioactive compounds, preserving their biological activity and reducing the amount of solvents and the energy for solvent recovery. Evaluating the effectiveness of such integrated systems is based on fluid dynamics and mass transfer knowledge of flowing matter close to the membrane surface – shear deformation rates and shear stress at the membrane interface, mass transfer coefficient s. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)-based approach for assessing the effectiveness of integrated stirred tank bioreactor with submerged membrane module is compiled. It is related to the hydrodynamic optimization of the selected reactor configuration in two-phase flow, as well as to the concentration profiles and analysis of the reactor conditions in terms of reaction kinetics and mass transfer.

Enzymes as industrial biocatalysts offer numerous advantages over traditional chemical processes resulting on improvements in process economy and environmental sustainability. Because enzymes are extensively used in different industrial areas, the enzyme kinetics is an important factor for industry as it is able to estimate the extent of substrate conversion under known conditions and evaluate reactor performance. Furthermore, kinetic modelling is useful in the analysis, prediction, and optimization of an enzymatic process. Thus, kinetic modelling is a powerful tool for biochemical reaction engineering. In addition to the aforementioned, in the industrial technology, modelling together with simulation play a key role because they help to understand how a system behaves under specific conditions, and thus they allow saving on costs and lead times. Enzymatic conversion of renewable cellulosic biomass into biofuels is at the heart of advanced bioethanol production. In the production of bioethanol from cellulosic biomass, enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose to fermentable sugars accounts for a large portion (∼30%) of the total production costs. Therefore, a thorough understanding of enzymatic hydrolysis is necessary to create a robust model which helps designing optimal conditions and economical system. Nevertheless, it is a challenging task because cellulose is a highly complex substrate and its enzymatic hydrolysis is heterogeneous in nature, and thus the whole process of cellulose conversion to glucose involves more steps than classical enzyme kinetics. This chapter describes the bases of enzyme kinetic modelling, focussing on Michaelis-Menten kinetics, and presents the models classification based on the fundamental approach and methodology used. Furthermore, the modelling of cellulose enzymatic hydrolysis is described, also reviewing some model examples developed for cellulose hydrolysis over the years. Finally, the application of enzyme kinetics modelling in food, pharmaceutical and bioethanol industry is presented.

Urea and thiourea derivatives: 1,3-bis[ ( E )- furan-2-yl)methylene]urea (BFMU) and 1,3-bis[ ( E )- furan-2-yl)methylene]thiourea (BFMT) were synthesized and characterized by spectrometry analyses (UV, IR, 1 H NMR and 13 C NMR). They were screened for antibacterial ( Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Xanthomonas axonopodis and Streptococcus bovis ) and antifungal ( Fusarium oxysporum , Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Cercospora zeae-maydis ) activities. Quantum chemical calculations of frontier molecular orbital energies (E HOMO and E LUMO ), and their associated global parameters were carried out by DFT levels of theory, with complete relaxation in the potential energy surface using 6-31G* basis set (DFT/B3LYP/6-31G*). Azomethine functional groups (C=N) appeared at δ 7.6 ppm and δ 7.0 ppm in the proton spectra, the peaks between δ 105 and δ 160 ppm of 13 C spectra represent the methylene carbons (C=C). BFMU is a better inhibitor of P . aeruginosa and S. bovis , while BFMT is a better inhibitor of S . typhi , S. aureus and X . axonopodis and the fungi isolates ( F. oxysporum , C. gloeosporioides and C. zeae-maydis ) used. The global parameters agreed favorably with the experimental results, indicating the higher activity of BFMT.