Flow bioprocessing of citrus glycosides for high-value aglycone preparation

An efficient one-pot, 2-step flow bioprocess for the hydrolysis of hesperidin (HES) and rutin (RT), citrus rutinosyl flavonoids, has been developed for the obtainment of the corresponding aglycones. A commercially available & alpha;-rhamnosidase (RN) and an extremophilic home-made & beta;-glycosidase (HOR) have been co-immobilized on glyoxyl-agarose beads to prepare a high-performing multi-active biocatalyst (imm-RN-HOR). After the optimization of the reaction conditions in batch mode, a "flow switch" was applied, increasing the productivity (>99% m.c., 5 min), cost-efficiency and sustainability of the overall process. Due to the recovery and reuse of all the materials involved in the flow biotransformation, this strategy is effectively a zero-waste process

The rationale for targeting the LOX family in cancer

The therapeutic targeting of extracellular proteins is becoming hugely attractive in light of evidence implicating the tumour microenvironment as pivotal in all aspects of tumour initiation and progression. Members of the lysyl oxidase (LOX) family of proteins are secreted by tumours and are the subject of much effort to understand their roles in cancer. In this Review we discuss the roles of members of this family in the remodelling of the tumour microenvironment and their paradoxical roles in tumorigenesis and metastasis. We also discuss how targeting this family of proteins might lead to a new avenue of cancer therapeutics