Pharmaceutical applications of bioactive peptides

There is a mounting interest in the therapeutic potential of bioactive peptides which collectively present a cornucopia of bioactivities for exploitation in vivo. Bioactive peptides trigger certain functionalities such as antioxidative, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, cytomodulatory and immunomodulatory activities in the living body system. With research and development, there exists an opportunity to effectively harness these functionalities for the treatment, prevention and mitigation of different medical conditions. This critical review discusses some potential therapeutic applications of bioactive peptides in the light of advances in general biopharmaceutical production based on proteomics and genomics

Process engineering aspects of plasmid-based biopharmaceuticals production : tackling the threatening vaccine shortages to prevent global pandemics

Infectious diseases such as SARS, influenza and bird flu have the potential to cause global pandemics; a key intervention will be vaccination. Hence, it is imperative to have in place the capacity to create vaccines against new diseases in the shortest time possible. In 2004, The Institute of Medicine asserted that the world is tottering on the verge of a colossal influenza outbreak. The institute stated that, inadequate production system for influenza vaccines is a major obstruction in the preparation towards influenza outbreaks. Because of production issues, the vaccine industry is facing financial and technological bottlenecks: In October 2004, the FDA was caught off guard by the shortage of flu vaccine, caused by a contamination in a US-based plant (Chiron Corporation), one of the only two suppliers of US flu vaccine. Due to difficulties in production and long processing times, the bulk of the world's vaccine production comes from very small number of companies compared to the number of companies producing drugs. Conventional vaccines are made of attenuated or modified forms of viruses. Relatively high and continuous doses are administered when a non-viable vaccine is used and the overall protective immunity obtained is ephemeral. The safety concerns of viral vaccines have propelled interest in creating a viable replacement that would be more effective and safer to use

Gene Action of Shelf-Life and other Fruit Quality Traits in a Cross Between a Regular Cultivar and Alc Mutant of Tomato

Prolonged shelf-life and good quality fruit are crucial attributes for the marketing of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L) and thus a major focus for breeding. This study was carried out to explore gene effects, heritability, heterosis and inbreeding depression for shelf-life, fruit quality and some quantitative traits of tomato using six generations derived from a cross between CSIR/CRI-P002 (P1) an adapted variety with good yield and short shelf-life, and Alc-LA3134 (P2), a ripening mutant tomato with long shelf-life but low yield. The P1 , P2 , F1 , F2 , BC1.1 , BC1.2 generations were subjected to generation mean analysis. Mean performance of the F was higher 1 than the mid-parent for all traits except total soluble solids (TSS). Additive and dominance variances were higher than environmental variance for all traits. Apart from shelf-life, the simple additive-dominance (three-parameter) model was inadequate for explaining the gene action for the traits. Using the six parameter model, additive, dominance and epistatic gene effects were found to be significant for most of the studied traits. Duplicate epistasis was detected for all the traits except shelf life. The fixable and non-fixable gene effects exhibited by the traits can be improved through pure line breeding and heterosis, respectively. Keyword: Additive, Non-additive, Genetic variability, Heritability, Inbreeding depressio

Synthesis of peroxidase-encapsulated sodium cellulose sulphate/poly-dimethyl-diallyl-ammonium chloride biopolymer via polyelectrolyte complexation for enhanced removal of phenol

Peroxidases have attracted significant interests in enzymatic wastewater treatment strategies. In this work, jicama peroxidase (JP) was extracted from jicama skin peels and used for the degradation of phenol under free and immobilized conditions. The crude enzyme extract demonstrated enzymatic activity of 1.6 ± 0.1 U mL−1. Sodium cellulose sulphate/poly-dimethyl-diallyl-ammonium chloride (NaCS-PDMDAAC) spherical capsules were synthesized and immobilized with crude JP to generate JP beaded capsules with an average diameter of 5.05 mm ± 0.16 mm. Phenol biodegradation analysis showed that the free and immobilized JP capsules demonstrated optimum working pH values of 7 and 6, respectively, and both systems maintained JP catalytic functionalities over a broad range of H2O2 concentration before H2O2 inhibition. The optimal temperature range for phenol removal was from 25°C to 40°C for both free and immobilized JP with lower removal efficiency above 45°C due to thermal denaturation. Due to diffusive mass transfer limitation, immobilized JP capsules required a longer reaction time of 15 hr for optimal phenol removal efficiency of >95%, whereas free JP achieved the same efficiency in 13 hr. The first order kinetic rate constants for free and immobilized JP capsules were determined to be 1.21 hr−1 and 1.02 hr−1, respectively. JP capsules maintained reusability up to 4 cycles at the highest removal efficiency of >95% with no regeneration

Recent advances in graphene-derived materials for biomedical waste treatment

Untreated biomedical wastes discharged into water bodies, primarily by hospitals and health care facilities; release a wide range of contaminants that poses danger to human health and environmental sustainability. Therefore, developing sustainable and dependable treatment methods for biomedical waste is a top priority. Nano-sized graphene is known to have excellent unique properties including high current density, optical, mechanical, thermal conductivity, high chemical stability, high surface area and chemical stability. Graphene-based nanomaterials and derivatives as a result of their excellent properties have received increased attention in wastewater treatment in recent years. Despite significant progress in the production of graphene at laboratory scale, there is a need to focus on green large-scale graphene synthesis to pave the way for adopting graphene-based technology on an industrial scale. In wastewater treatment, advanced development of pure graphene on various significant functionalization exhibits excellent adsorption efficiency when functionalized when compared to other alternatives. Top-down as well as bottom-up approaches such as chemical vapour deposition, and chemical exfoliation among other approaches can be used for graphene synthesis and functionalization. As a result, the benefits of graphene oxide-based nanomaterials have been unraveled in the treatment of biomedical wastewater. Adsorption and photocatalysis techniques have sparked widespread interest because they allow for the environmentally friendly treatment of biomedical wastewater, and significant progress has been made in recent years. This study examined the graphene synthesis method and the use of graphene oxide-based nanomaterials as adsorbents and photocatalysts in the treatment of biomedical waste. Furthermore, the recyclability, thermal stability, and future perspectives on the directions and difficulties in graphene-based material synthesis are summarized