This study involves evaluation of two native cyanobacterial strains Euryhalinema and Desertifilum isolated from a mangrove pond in Haikou (China) for their possible phycocyanin (C-PC) production. Maximal growth rate with highest chlorophyll and C-PC accumulation were observed at 28°C and 60 μmol photons m−2 s−1 photon flux density for Euryhalinema sp., while for Desertifilum sp. at 32°C and 80 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Nitrogen and iron concentration trails revealed that double strength concentration of sodium nitrate and ferric ammonium citrate in original BG11 media increased growth rate and accumulation of C-PC for both strains. Three different C-PC extraction methods were tested. The combined extraction protocol of freeze–thaw and ultrasonication markedly increased the C-PC extraction efficiency and attained the food grade purity (A620/A280 ratio >0.7), whereas a higher C-PC yield was found with Na-phosphate buffer. Furthermore, the clarified crude extract was used to purify C-PC by fractional ammonium sulfate [(NH₄)₂SO₄] precipitation, Sephadex G-25 gel filtration chromatography, and DEAE-sephadex ion exchange chromatography and attained analytical grade purity (A620/A280 ratio >3.9). Taken together, both strains showed their potential to be domesticated for valuable phycocyanin production.

Background: Protein kinase B (Akt) is a serine/threonine-protein kinase that drives the diverse physiological process. Akt is a promising therapeutic target, which involves cancer cell growth, survival, proliferation and metabolism. Objective: The study aims to design highly active Akt inhibitors and to elucidate the structural requirements for their biological activity, we analyzed the key binding features and summarized the structural determinants for their bioactivities. Methods: A series of piperidine derivatives have been investigated employing three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR), molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. Results: The statistics of the comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) model (Q2=0.631, R2=0.951) and the comparative molecular similarity index analysis (CoMSIA) model (Q2=0.663, R2=0.966) indicated that our 3D-QSAR model was accurate and reliable. Besides, the stability of receptor-ligand interactions under physiological conditions was then evaluated by molecular dynamics simulation, in agreement with the molecular docking results. Conclusion: Our study provided valuable insights for the discovery of potent Akt inhibitors.