Diketopiperazine gels: New horizons from the self-assembly of cyclic dipeptides

Cyclodipeptides (CDPs) or 2, 5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) can exert a variety of biological activities and display pronounced resistance against enzymatic hydrolysis as well as a propensity towards self-assembly into gels, relative to the linear-dipeptide counterparts. They have attracted great interest in a variety of fields spanning from functional materials to drug discovery. This concise review will analyze the latest advancements in their synthesis, self-assembly into gels, and their more innovative applications

Prevalence of foodborne pathogens in rural pigs and in derived cold pork meats - preliminary report

The rural breeding of one or two pigs and their domestic slaughtering is a significance reality in the Veneto Region, as a consequence of an ancient tradition still surviving in this countryside. In the eastern part of the Venice Province, about 2,500 rural pigs are bred and slaughtered ever year in the period between November and February. Many data are available on mdustnal breeding and processing, whereas very little is known about the prevalence of foodborne pathogens both in live ammals and in denved food, mainly sausage, salami and cold pork meats

Nanomaterials for stimulating nerve growth

Despite recent advances in supportive care for spinal cord injury (SCI), there is a great need for treatments that can improve the neurological outcome (1). After SCI, there is essentially no regrowth of axons beyond the point of the lesion, leaving intact, although nonfunctional, circuits below the site of injury. We discuss the potential for functional recovery from SCI by using nanomaterials to restore these dysfunctional circuits through a combination of artificial connections and devices to help stimulate motor and sensory recovery

Carbon nanotubes and catalysis: the many facets of a successful marriage

Carbon nanotubes have emerged as unique carbon allotropes that bear very interesting prospects in catalysis. Their use is mostly related to that of supports for inorganic metal catalysts, including molecular catalysts, metal nanoparticles, metal oxides or even more complex hierarchical hybrids. However, several reports have shown that they can intriguingly act as metal-free catalysts, with performance often superior to that of other carbon materials, in particular when ad hoc organic functional groups are attached prior to catalytic screening. The range of catalytic reactions is quite wide, and it includes standard organic synthesis, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis as well as other important industrial processes. In the last few years, the energy sector has acquired a dominant role as one of the most sought-after fields of application, given its ever-increasing importance in society

Tripeptide Self-Assembly into Bioactive Hydrogels: Effects of Terminus Modification on Biocatalysis

Bioactive hydrogels based on the self-assembly of tripeptides have attracted great interest in recent years. In particular, the search is active for sequences that are able to mimic enzymes when they are self-organized in a nanostructured hydrogel, so as to provide a smart catalytic (bio)material whose activity can be switched on/off with assembly/disassembly. Within the diverse enzymes that have been targeted for mimicry, hydrolases find wide application in biomaterials, ranging from their use to convert prodrugs into active compounds to their ability to work in reverse and catalyze a plethora of reactions. We recently reported the minimalistic l-His-d-Phe-d-Phe for its ability to self-organize into thermoreversible and biocatalytic hydrogels for esterase mimicry. In this work, we analyze the effects of terminus modifications that mimic the inclusion of the tripeptide in a longer sequence. Therefore, three analogues, i.e., N-acetylated, C-amidated, or both, were synthesized, purified, characterized by several techniques, and probed for self-assembly, hydrogelation, and esterase-like biocatalysis. This work provides useful insights into how chemical modifications at the termini affect self-assembly into biocatalytic hydrogels, and these data may become useful for the future design of supramolecular catalysts for enhanced performance

Assembly of a Tripeptide and Anti-Inflammatory Drugs into Supramolecular Hydrogels for Sustained Release

5siSupramolecular hydrogels offer interesting opportunities for co-assembly with drugs towards sustained release over time, which could be achieved given that the drug participates in the hydrogel nanostructure, and it is not simply physically entrapped within the gel matrix. dLeu-Phe-Phe is an attractive building block of biomaterials in light of the peptide’s inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability. This study evaluates the assembly of the tripeptide in the presence of either of the anti-inflammatory drugs ketoprofen or naproxen at levels analogous to commercial gel formulations. Fourier-transformed infrared (FT-IR), circular dichroism, Thioflavin T fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and oscillatory rheometry are used. Drug release over time is monitored by means of reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and shows different kinetics for the two drugs.openopenKurbasic, Marina; Romano, Chiara Damiana; Garcia Fernandez, Ana Maria; Kralj, Slavko; Marchesan, SilviaKurbasic, Marina; Romano, CHIARA DAMIANA; GARCIA FERNANDEZ, ANA MARIA; Kralj, Slavko; Marchesan, Silvi

Caracterização física, química e anatômica da madeira de Byrsonima orbignyana A. Juss.

EVINCI. Resumo 005

Ganho genético em potencial produtivo do arroz irrigado no Rio Grande do Sul, após o lançamento da cultivar BR-IRGA 409.

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estimar os ganhos genéticos em rendimento de grãos nos últimos 30 anos, ou a partir do lançamento da cultivar BR-IRGA 409, no estado do Rio Grande do Sul, com base no desempenho de cultivares representativas lançadas pela pesquisa

Matéria-prima sustentável: estudo da qualidade e rendimento em madeira serrada de Eucalyptus dunnii.

Este estudo pretende ressaltar a importância de espécies florestais de rápido crescimento como matéria-prima sustentável à construção civil. A razão do estudo deve-se a possibilidade de melhorar o aproveitamento da madeira de eucalipto ampliando o conhecimento sobre espécies menos empregadas. Por meio da aplicação de duas técnicas de campo para a redução de tensões de crescimento, foi avaliado o rendimento em madeira serrada de Eucalyptus dunni com a análise dos defeitos e o aproveitamento após o desdobro. Os resultados demonstraram um bom rendimento total em madeira serrada verde e a técnica de inserção do sabre da motosserra apresentou maior rendimento em madeira sem rachaduras em relação a técnica de anelamento e as toras sem tratamento. Desta feita a técnica de desdobro mostrou-se eficiente em relação ao aproveitamento de matéria-prima de plantios locais o que favorece a minimização dos impactos ambientais. Outros estudos, no entanto, devem complementar as fases de processamento do eucalipto a fim de obter madeira de relativa qualidade.Publicado online