This invention is a process for detecting salmonellae as well as a fluorescing detection molecule that can be used for detecting salmonellae. This procedure enables the rapid, sensitive, and specific detection of salmonellae. A major advantage of this invented technology is that the salmonellae biosensor described here requires no additional devices aside from a fluorescence reading device, and does not require any specially trained technical experts.
The work, published this week in Nature Communications, details how electronic properties at the edges of organic molecular systems differ from the rest of the…
New research shows that butterflies in Greenland have become smaller in response to increasing temperatures due to climate change.
The approach was developed in the lab of Bruce Hay, professor of biology and biological engineering at Caltech, and is described in the October 5 issue of Current Biology…
Lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous in devices all over the world, ranging from cell phones to laptop computers and electric cars. But there may soon be a new…
“Rock from 3.4 billion years ago showed that the ocean contained basically no free oxygen,” says Clark Johnson, professor of geoscience at UW-Madison and a…
Researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) have developed a prototype of a new microscope technology that could help surgeons work with a greater degree of…
Drivers have to be ready to react quickly to the unexpected, especially in busy traffic. For Fraunhofer IAO project manager Frederik Diederichs, the same…
The new 10G Ethernet MAC IP-core is one of the fastest IP-cores currently available on the market. It was specifically designed to achieve minimal latency as…
The method now published in Nature Communications can be applied to assess geoengineering impacts as well as global effects of local extreme weather events,…
According to the common doctrine detection of THC metabolites in hair is regarded as an incontestable proof of cannabis consumption. Experimental studies…
As the first dedicated camera for the E-ELT, MICADO will equip the giant telescope with a capability for diffraction-limited imaging at near-infrared…
Inspired by insects
To further improve the overall emissions characteristic of a diesel engine it is not sufficient to ensure the perfect functioning of the emission control…
Background
The biotechnological production of 25-OH Vitamin D3 is of great importance, as this inactivated position 25 within vitamin D3 is hardly achievable by means of organic synthesis, especially in terms of a regio- and stereoselective manner.
Within the human body, 25-OH vitamin D3 is converted into the biological active form of vitamin D3 which is important for the Ca2+ deposit into bones. Furthermore, in case of hepatic cirrhosis, its substitution is essential. It has anti-carcinogenic effects and acts protective in terms of autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases.
25-OH vitamin D3 is also used as a standard in clinical laboratory diagnostics. Altogether, 25-OH vitamin D3 is valuable concerning biotechnology, pharmacy and medicine.
Invention
Biochemists of Saarland University identified and optimized two cytochrome P450 systems which are capable of performing a regio- and stereoselective hydroxylation of vitamin D3 in one step, transferring vitamin D3 to 25-OH and other hydroxyl- derivatives of vitamin D3. The enzymes belong to the CYP109 family.
One of these enzymes is capable of synthesizing 25-OH vitamin D3 as a major product and three side products in vitro producing a yield of 26 mg/l/24h.
The second one gives rise to 25-OH vitamin D3 as the only product producing a yield of 5 mg/l/24h.
Advantages
• Synthesis of 25-OH vitamin D3 and other hydroxyl-derivatives in high yields
o 25-OH vitamin D3 and three side products→ 26 mg/l/24h
o 25-OH vitamin D3 → 5 mg/l/24h
• Low production costs
• No toxic side products as in classical organic synthesis
Background
Biocatalysts that can perform stereo- and regioselective hydroxylation of steroids are of great interest, since these molecules are among the most strongly marketed compounds of the pharmaceutical industry.
Especially the human metabolites 16-ß-OH-Testosterone and Androstendion are desired products, as they have a wide application as food, dietary supplements and medical products or in terms of diagnostics.
Testosterone can be metabolized by various human microsomal cytochrome P450 systems to the corresponding 16-ß-OH metabolite. So far, these enzymes are not capable of a regio- and stereoselective hydroxylation of testosterone. More than that, mammalian P450 systems are characterized by low stability and activity as well as an unpleasant expression level when compared to bacterial P450 systems.
Invention
Biochemists and pharmaceutical biologists of Saarland University have developed an effective recombinant biotransformation system based on a Bacillus megaterium strain that is capable of performing both stereo- and regioselective hydroxylation of non-activated carbon atoms of testosterone giving rise to 16-ß-OH-Testosterone in one step. The biocatalyst can further be applied in the synthesis of Androstendion using testosterone as a starting material.
Advantages
• Very fast and cost-efficient synthesis of steroid derivatives
• One step transformation of testosterone into 16-ß-OH testosterone
• No side products
• High yield
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