We have succeeded in preparing semi-synthesized proteins bound to Sc(3+) ion which can promote an epoxide ring-opening reaction. The Sc(3+) binding site was created on the surface of [(gp5βf)(3)](2) (N. Yokoi et al., Small, 2010, 6, 1873) by introducing a cysteine residue for conjugation of a bpy moiety using a thiol-maleimide coupling reaction. Three cysteine mutants [(gp5βf_X)(3)](2) (X = G18...

We report on the peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-directed design of a DNA-nicking system that enables selective and quantitative cleavage of one strand of duplex DNA at a designated site, thus mimicking natural nickases and significantly extending their potential. This system exploits the ability of pyrimidine PNAs to serve as openers for specific DNA sites by invading the DNA duplex and exposing on...

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is a complex process because of a number of inhibition and enzyme inactivation reactions which happen during hydrolysis. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are very effective in developing predictive models for processes involving complex reaction kinetics that would otherwise be difficult to be modeled by more traditional deterministic approaches. The present i...

The cDNAs of lactate dehydrogenase b (LDH-b) from both deep-sea and shallow living fish species, Corphaenoides armatus and Gadus morhua respectively, have been isolated, sequenced and their encoded products overproduced as recombinant enzymes in E. coli. The proteins were characterised in terms of their kinetic and physical properties and their ability to withstand high pressures. Although the ...

Swinging arms are a key functional component of multistep catalytic transformations in many naturally occurring multi-enzyme complexes. This arm is typically a prosthetic chemical group that is covalently attached to the enzyme complex via a flexible linker, allowing the direct transfer of substrate molecules between multiple active sites within the complex. Mimicking this method of substrate c...

Myoglobin has recently emerged as a promising biocatalyst for catalyzing carbene-mediated cyclopropanation, a synthetically valuable transformation not found in nature. Having naturally evolved for binding dioxygen, the carbene transferase activity of this metalloprotein is severely inhibited by it, imposing the need for strictly anaerobic conditions to conduct these reactions. In this report, ...

A thermally stable and alkalophilic xylanase, XynCDBFV, from Neocallimastix patriciarum was overexpressed in Escherichia coli as a recombinant protein fused to the N-terminus of oleosin, a unique structural protein of seed oil bodies. As a result of the reconstitution of the artificial oil bodies (AOBs), the immobilization of active xylanase was accomplished. Response surface methodology (RSM) ...

Although DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) is commonly encountered as an artificially-synthesized plasticizer with potential to impair fertility, we confirm that it can also be biosynthesized as microbial secondary metabolites from naturally occurring filamentous fungi strains cultured either in an artificial medium or natural water. Using the excreted crude enzyme from the fungi for catalyzing a vari...

The unraveling of sphingolipid metabolism and function in the last 40 years relied on the extensive study of inherited human disease and specifically-tailored mouse models. However, only few of the achievements made so far would have been possible without chemical biology tools, such as fluorescent and/or radio-labeled and other artificial substrates, (mechanism-based) enzyme inhibitors, cross-...

The first synthesis of pure Rh1-x Cux solid-solution nanoparticles is reported. In contrast to the bulk state, the solid-solution phase was stable up to 750 °C. Based on facile density-functional calculations, we made a prediction that the catalytic activity of Rh1-x Cux can be maintained even with 50 at % replacement of Rh with Cu. The prediction was confirmed for the catalytic activities on C...