Further stabilization of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase of an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus, by a suppressor mutation method.

We succeeded in further improvement of the stability of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IPMDH) from an extreme thermophile, Thermus thermophilus, by a suppressor mutation method. We previously constructed a chimeric IPMDH consisting of portions of thermophile and mesophile enzymes. The chimeric enzyme is less thermostable than the thermophile enzyme. The gene encoding the chimeric enzyme was subjected to random mutagenesis and integrated into the genome of a leuB-deficient mutant of T. thermophilus. The transformants were screened at 76 degrees C in minimum medium, and three independent stabilized mutants were obtained. The leuB genes from these three mutants were cloned and analyzed. The sequence analyses revealed Ala-172-->Val substitution in all of the mutants. The thermal stability of the thermophile IPMDH was improved by introducing the amino acid substitution

Design of a microwave array hyperthermia applicator with a semicircular reflector

The design of a hyperthermia applicator for heating biological tissues is presented in which the applicator consists of an array antenna surrounded by a perfect electrically conducting reflector. The heat hazard to superficial tissues is reduced by the introduction of a dielectric protecting layer over them. A method of moments formulation is applied to approximate the electric field within the biological medium and a closed form expression is presented for the electromagnetic coupling problem, which enables an optimisation procedure to be performed. The applicator enhances both penetration and focusing: deep tumours, close to the bone region, are heated and the percentage of biologically healthy tissue exposed to a specific absorption rate (SAR) hazard level diminishes by 53.8%