Development of Improved Methods for Low Template DNA Analysis

We investigated on the crystallographic, morphological and magnetic characteristics of barium ferrite-SiO2/Si films prepared by sol-gel dip coating method. It is found that the sol obtained at 80°C for 90 min. is the most suitable for coating. The particles formed in the films prepared by heat treatment at 800°C for 3 hours exhibits needle-like particles placing parallel to substrate. The saturation magnetization increases as thickness increases, and its maximum value is 260 emu/cm3. The direction of easy-magnetization in the films has tendency to vary from perpendicular to parallel to substrate as thickness increases

Computer-aided identification of Trypanosoma brucei uridine diphosphate galactose 4 '-epimerase inhibitors:toward the development of novel therapies for African sleeping sickness

Trypanosoma brucei, the causative agent of human African trypanosomiasis, affects tens of thousands of sub-Saharan Africans. As current therapeutics are inadequate due to toxic side effects, drug resistance, and limited effectiveness, novel therapies are urgently needed. UDP-galactose 4'-epimerase (TbGalE), an enzyme of the Leloir pathway of galactose metabolism, is one promising T. brucei drug target. We here use the relaxed complex scheme, an advanced computer-docking methodology that accounts for full protein flexibility, to identify inhibitors of TbGalE. An initial hit rate of 62% was obtained at 100 microM, ultimately leading to the identification of 14 low-micromolar inhibitors. Thirteen of these inhibitors belong to a distinct series with a conserved binding motif that may prove useful in future drug design and optimization