Biotecnología microalgal en Costa Rica: Oportunidades de negocio para el sector productivo nacional

Microalgal biotechnology is presented as a market opportunity for the productive sector. In this review some aspects of the potential and limitations of this biotechnology sector for our region will be detailed. The visualization of this potential goes back more than a decade when the Biotechnology Research Center began the process of selecting and preserving native microalgae strains, and scaling-up their biomass. We will briefly describe some microalgae cultivation and microalgal biomass processing systems that can be used for different markets, including the feeding of humans and animals, biofertilizers, water treatment, CO2 capture and the generation of metabolites of high value. At the same time, progress has been made in the generation of protocols for the scaling of microalgae through the formulation of organic media with agroindustrial residues such as dairy manure, sugar cane vinasse, pig manure and chicken manure. Cultivation has also been developed in different areas of the Costa Rican territory, showing the possibility for adaptation in different climatic regions.La biotecnología microalgal se presenta como una oportunidad de mercado para el sector productivo costarricense. En esta revisión se detallarán algunos aspectos de los potenciales y limitaciones que tiene este sector de la biotecnología para nuestra región. La visualización de este potencial se remonta a más de una década, en donde en el Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología se dio inicio con el proceso de selección y conservación de cepas de microalgas nativas y su escalamiento. Se describirá brevemente algunos sistemas de cultivo de microalgas y de procesamiento, que pueden ser destinadas para diferentes mercados, entre los que se destaca la alimentación de humanos y animales, biofertilizantes, tratamiento de aguas, captura de CO2 y la generación de metabolitos de alto valor. Paralelamente, se ha avanzado en la generación de protocolos para el escalamiento de las microalgas mediante la formulación de medios orgánicos con residuos agroindustriales. También se ha desarrollado el cultivo en diferentes zonas del territorio costarricense, mostrando la posibilidad de adaptación en diferentes regiones climáticas

Identification of New Snake Venom Metalloproteinase Inhibitors Using Compound Screening and Rational Peptide Design

The majority of snakebite envenomations in Central America are caused by the viperid species <i>Bothrops asper</i>, whose venom contains a high proportion of zinc-dependent metalloproteinases that play a relevant role in the pathogenesis of hemorrhage characteristic of these envenomations. Broad metalloproteinase inhibitors, such as the peptidomimetic hydroxamate Batimastat, have been shown to inhibit snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMP). However, the difficulty in having open public access to Batimastat and similar molecules highlights the need to design new inhibitors of SVMPs that could be applied in the treatment of snakebite envenomations. We have chosen the SVMP BaP1 as a model to search for new inhibitors using different strategies, that is, screening of the Prestwick Chemical Library and rational peptide design. Results from these approaches provide clues on the structural requirements for efficient BaP1 inhibition and pave the way for the design of new inhibitors of SVMP