Several aspects concerning the bioconversion of xylose-containing hydrolysates (obtained from Eucalyptus wood) into xylitol were assessed. Debaryomyces hansenii yeast strains were adapted to fermentation media (obtained either by prehydrolysis or autohydrolysis-posthydrolysis of wood) supplemented with low-cost nutrients. Media containing up to 80 g/L xylose were efficiently fermented when the ...

Micropatterning has important applications in a wide range of areas, including microelectronics, optics, information displays, and biotechnology. Herein, we describe a vesicle-array templating approach for the generation of surface patterns of micrometer-sized silica features on the surfaces of silica monoliths. The approach makes use of tetraethyl orthosilicate as silica precursor, a poly(ethy...

The concurrent effects of two enzyme inhibitors have been analysed previously with the Yonetani-Theorell plot to obtain insight into the interactions between bound inhibitors. This procedure, like many other traditional graphical methods in enzymology, is based on the estimation of intersecting tendencies in a family of lines. In a recent paper from this laboratory [Chan (1995) Biochem. J. 311,...

The halogenases are a group of enzymes that have only come to the fore over the last 10 years thanks to the discovery and characterization of several novel representatives. They have revealed the fascinating variety of distinct chemical mechanisms that nature utilizes to activate halogens and introduce them into organic substrates. Computational studies using a range of approaches have already ...

Now, more than ever, enzymology and its development can be considered of vital importance to the progression of the biological sciences. With an increase in the numbers of enzymes being identified from genomic studies, enzymology is key to defining the structural and functional properties of these enzymes in order to establish their mechanisms of action and how they fit into metabolic networks....

Prehydrolysis was used as the first treatment of bamboo materials for producing high dissolving pulp for textile applications. In this paper, green bamboo (Dendrocalamopsis oldhami) was hydrolyzed in water, and the hydrolysis process was optimized. The morphology and super-molecular structures of the raw material and prehydrolyzed material were studied by SEM and XRD, respectively. Based on the...

One of the most intriguing questions in modern enzymology is whether enzyme dynamics evolved to enhance the catalyzed chemical transformation. In this study, dihydrofolate reductase, a small monomeric protein that catalyzes a single C-H-C transfer, is used as a model system to address this question. Experimental and computational studies have proposed a dynamic network that includes two residue...

organophosphorus compounds are highly toxic chemicals that have application in production of warfare agents and agricultural pesticides. detoxification of areas that have been exposed to these types of materials is of vital importance and several approaches have been used for this purpose. biodegradation of organophosphates is one of these approaches that is in the center of attention due to it...

Enzymes are remarkable catalysts that lie at the heart of biology, accelerating chemical reactions to an astounding extent with extraordinary specificity. Enormous progress in understanding the chemical basis of enzymatic transformations and the basic mechanisms underlying rate enhancements over the past decades is apparent. Nevertheless, it has been difficult to achieve a quantitative understa...