The Indus3Es Project: New technologies for Utilization of Heat Recovery in Large Industrial Systems

The Indus3Es project received funding under H2020-EE-18-2015: New technologies for utilization of heat recovery in large industrial systems, considering the whole energy cycle from heat production to transformation, delivery and end use. Funded under the Grant Agreement 680738, the main objective of the project is to develop an economically viable solution for industry, appropriate for existing plants and adaptable to various industrial processes, consisting on the technology of Absorption Heat Transformer. The developed system will be demonstrated in real environment in Tu¨pras, the main petrochemical industry in Turkey, enabling to analyze besides integration aspects, operational and business issues. Indus3Es System will be defined and optimized for different specificities in different sectors and industrial processes, for which up-scaling of the demonstrated technology and replication studies will be performed.Indus3Es is a project funded by the European Commission. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program under Grant Agreement n° 680738

The Indus3Es Project: New technologies for Utilization of Heat Recovery in Large Industrial Systems

Abstract -The Indus3Es project received funding under H2020-EE-18-2015: New technologies for utilization of heat recovery in large industrial systems, considering the whole energy cycle from heat production to transformation, delivery and end use. Funded under the Grant Agreement 680738, the main objective of the project is to develop an economically viable solution for industry, appropriate for existing plants and adaptable to various industrial processes, consisting on the technology of Absorption Heat Transformer. The developed system will be demonstrated in real environment in Tüpras, the main petrochemical industry in Turkey, enabling to analyze besides integration aspects, operational and business issues. Indus3Es System will be defined and optimized for different specificities in different sectors and industrial processes, for which up-scaling of the demonstrated technology and replication studies will be performed

High-level HIV-1 Nef transient expression in Nicotiana benthamiana using the P19 gene silencing suppressor protein of Artichoke Mottled Crinckle Virus

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In recent years, different HIV antigens have been successfully expressed in plants by either stable transformation or transient expression systems. Among HIV proteins, Nef is considered a promising target for the formulation of a multi-component vaccine due to its implication in the first steps of viral infection. Attempts to express Nef as a single protein product (not fused to a stabilizing protein) in transgenic plants resulted in disappointingly low yields (about 0.5% of total soluble protein). In this work we describe a transient expression system based on co-agroinfiltration of plant virus gene silencing suppressor proteins in <it>Nicotiana benthamiana</it>, followed by a two-step affinity purification protocol of plant-derived Nef.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The effect of three gene silencing viral suppressor proteins (P25 of Potato Virus X, P19 of either Artichoke Mottled Crinckle virus and Tomato Bushy Stunt virus) on Nef transient expression yield was evaluated. The P19 protein of Artichoke Mottled Crinckle virus (AMCV-P19) gave the highest expression yield in vacuum co-agroinfiltration experiments reaching 1.3% of total soluble protein, a level almost three times higher than that previously reported in stable transgenic plants. The high yield observed in the co-agroinfiltrated plants was correlated to a remarkable decrease of Nef-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) indicating an effective modulation of RNA silencing mechanisms by AMCV-P19. Interestingly, we also showed that expression levels in top leaves of vacuum co-agroinfiltrated plants were noticeably reduced compared to bottom leaves. Moreover, purification of Nef from agroinfiltrated tissue was achieved by a two-step immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography protocol with yields of 250 ng/g of fresh tissue.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We demonstrated that expression level of HIV-1 Nef in plant can be improved using a transient expression system enhanced by the AMCV-P19 gene silencing suppressor protein. Moreover, plant-derived Nef was purified, with enhanced yield, exploiting a two-step purification protocol. These results represent a first step towards the development of a plant-derived HIV vaccine.</p

Structure-based design and experimental engineering of a plant virus nanoparticle for the presentation of immunogenic epitopes and as a drug carrier

<div><p>Biomaterials research for the discovery of new generation nanoparticles is one of the most active areas of nanotechnoloy. In the search of nature-made nanometer-sized objects, plant virus particles appear as symmetrically defined entities that can be formed by protein self-assembly. In particular, in the field of plant virology, there is plenty of literature available describing the exploitation of plant viral cages to produce safe vaccine vehicles and nanoparticles for drug delivery. In this context, we have investigated on the use of the artichoke mottled crinkle virus (AMCV) capsid both as a carrier of immunogenic epitopes and for the delivery of anticancer molecules. A dual approach that combines both <i>in silico</i> tools and experimental virology was applied for the rational design of immunologically active chimeric virus-like particles (VLPs) carrying immunogenic peptides. The atomic structures of wild type (wt) and chimeric VLPs were obtained by homology modeling. The effects of insertion of the HIV-1 2F5 neutralizing epitope on the structural stability of chimeric VLPs were predicted and assessed by detailed inspection of the nanoparticle intersubunit interactions at atomic level. Wt and chimeric VLPs, exposing on their surface the 2F5 epitope, were successfully produced in plants. In addition, we demonstrated that AMCV capsids could also function as drug delivery vehicles able to load the chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic predictive and empirical research addressing the question of how this icosahedral virus can be used for the production of both VLPs and viral nanoparticles for biomedical applications.</p></div