Biomedical subjects

B Y Tao

Publications and source records attributed to B Y Tao.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

Applications of modified cyclodextrins.

One of the key areas of importance in biotechnology and bioengineering is molecular complexation (MC). MC is useful in selectivity, separation, and solubilization of biomolecules. While many complex, natural MC agents exist, such as proteins and antibodies, relatively few engineered MC materials are available. Inorganic, insoluble MC agents, such as zeolites, are widely used in petroleum catalysis. Carbon Buckminster fullerenes ("bucky balls") can complex small neutral molecules, but are relatively insoluble and difficult to manufacture. Crown ethers have been used for molecular complexation, but are costly to synthesize and have limited capacities. One class of highly useful MC agents are cyclodextrins (CDs). These naturally-occurring, water-soluble cyclic glucans are used in a variety of food, pharmaceutical, and analytical applications. Due to the availability of multiple reactive hydroxyl groups, the functionality of CDs can be greatly increased through chemical modification. A host of new applications are being explored, including enzyme mimicry, molecular recognition, chromatographic separation, and solubilization. This review describes recent applications of modified cyclodextrins in bioprocessing and medicine.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1992

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques for site-directed mutagenesis.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology has revolutionized the process of isolating and amplifying segments of DNA. One powerful application of PCR is its use in precise site-directed mutagenesis (SDM). SDM provides an elegant tool for scientists and engineers to explore biocatalytic mechanisms and processes to understand the structural-functional relationships of enzymes and other proteins. This article reviews techniques and methodology used in site-directed mutagenesis of genes by PCR.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1989

Detection of a covalent intermediate in the mechanism of action of porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase by using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance.

The catalytic mechanism of porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase (1,4-alpha-D-glucan glucanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.1) has been examined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) at subzero temperatures by using [1-13C]maltotetraose as substrate. Spectral summation and difference techniques revealed a broad resonance peak, whose chemical shift, relative signal intensity and time-course appearance corresponded to a beta-carboxyl-acetal ester covalent enzyme-glycosyl intermediate. This evidence supports a double-displacement covalent mechanism for porcine pancreatic alpha-amylase-catalyzed hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages, based on the presence of catalytic aspartic acid residues within the active site of this enzyme.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Neisseria perflava amylosucrase: characterization of its product polysaccharide and a study of its inhibition by sucrose derivatives.

Neisseria perflava amylosucrase forms from sucrose a polysaccharide very similar to glycogen, except that a larger proportion of its D-glucosyl residues are in short branches. Iodine staining of samples taken during polysaccharide formation indicate that the initial product is less branched than that formed at longer times. This glycogen-like polysaccharide has an estimated molecular mass range of 1 MD to 20 MD. Sucrose derivatives modified at C-3 (3-deoxysucrose and alpha-D-allopyranosyl beta-D-fructofuranoside), C-6 (6-deoxysucrose and 6-deoxy-6-fluorosucrose), and both C-4 and C-6 (4,6-dideoxysucrose) were tested as inhibitors of amylosucrase. Derivatives modified at C-6 were potent competitive inhibitors, with Ki values of 6.2 +/- 0.3 mM (6-deoxysucrose) and 0.50 +/- 0.06 mM (6-deoxy-6-fluorosucrose). The KM value of sucrose is 26.5 +/- 4.6 mM. Sucrose derivatives modified at C-3 were not significantly inhibitory over the concentration range tested. 4,6-Dideoxysucrose gave an unusual, non-competitive inhibition, in that, increasing its concentration did not produce a commensurate increase in the level of inhibition, which instead appeared to approach a limit. None of these sucrose derivatives was a substrate for amylosucrase, nor were they glycosyl donors to maltotriose.

Glucosyltransferases↗

PubMed1988

Kinetics and subsite mapping of a D-xylobiose- and D-xylose-producing Aspergillus niger endo-(1----4)-beta-D-xylanase.

A previously described endo-(1----4)-beta-D-xylanase produced by Aspergillus niger was allowed to react with linear unlabeled and labeled D-xylo-oligosaccharides ranging from D-xylotriose to D-xylo-octaose. No evidence of multiple attack or of condensation and trans-D-xylosylation reactions was found. Maximum rates and Michaelis constants were measured at 40 degrees and pH 4.85. The former increased with increasing chain-length from D-xylotriose through D-xylohexaose to approximately 70% of that on soluble larchwood D-xylan, and then decreased slightly for D-xyloheptaose and D-xylo-octaose. Michaelis constants decreased monotonically with increasing chain-length. Bond-cleavage frequencies were highest near the reducing end of short substrates, with the locus of highest frequencies moving towards the middle of larger substrates. These data indicated that the endo-D-xylanase has five main subsites, with the catalytic site located between the third and fourth subsites, counting from the nonreducing end of the bound substrate. The subsite to the nonreducing side of the catalytic site strongly repels its corresponding D-xylosyl residue, while the two subsites farther towards the nonreducing end of the substrate strongly attract their corresponding residues. The subsite to the reducing side of the catalytic site moderately attracts D-xylosyl residues, while the next one towards the reducing end has a high affinity for them. The residual error of the numerical estimation was allocated largely to the Michaelis constants of the different D-xylo-oligosaccharides, whose calculated values were appreciably smaller than measured values, especially for shorter substrates. This suggests that the subsite model cannot fully account for the experimental data. Estimated and measured values of maximum rates, bond-cleavage frequencies, and dissociation constant when the active site is fully occupied by substrate agreed more closely with each other.

Aspergillus niger↗