We have shown that cutinase can be used to modify the surface of polyester, polyamide, and acrylic fibers. This enzyme can hydrolyze the esters groups of poly(ethyleneterephthalate) and the vinyl acetate, the comonomer of acrylic fibers. For the first time we have shown that cutinase is able to hydrolyze the amide bonds in polyamide 6.6. Hydroxyl and amine groups are formed at the fiber surface by enzyme action and detected by specific dyeing methods with reactive dyes.

The surface of an acrylic fibre was modified with a commercial nitrilase (EC 3.5.5.1). The effect of fibre solvents and polyols on nitrilase catalysis efficiency and stability was investigated. The nitrilase action on the acrylic fabric was improved by the combined addition of 1 M sorbitol and 4% N, N-dimethylacetamide. The colour levels for samples treated with nitrilase increased 156% comparing to the control samples. When the additives were introduced in the treatment media, the colour levels increased 199%. The enzymatic conversion of nitrile groups into the corresponding carboxylic groups, on the fibre surface, was followed by the release of ammonia and polyacrylic acid. A surface erosion phenomenon took place and determined the "oscillatory" behaviour of the amount of dye uptake with time of treatment. These results showed that the outcome of the application of the nitrilase for the acrylic treatment is intimately dependent on reaction media parameters, such as time, enzyme activity and formulation.

The grapevine VvCAX3 mediates calcium transport in the vacuole and is mostly expressed in green grape berries and upregulated by Ca , Na and methyl jasmonate. Calcium is an essential plant nutrient with important regulatory and structural roles in the berries of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). On the other hand, the proton-cation exchanger CAX proteins have been shown to impact Ca homeostasis with important consequences for fruit integrity and resistance to biotic/abiotic stress. Here, the CAX gene found in transcriptomic databases as having one of the highest expressions in grapevine tissues, VvCAX3, was cloned and functionally characterized. Heterologous expression in yeast showed that a truncated version of VvCAX3 lacking its NNR autoinhibitory domain (sCAX3) restored the ability of the yeast strain to grow in 100-200 mM Ca, demonstrating a role in Ca transport. The truncated VvCAX3 was further shown to be involved in the transport of Na, Li, Mn and Cu in yeast cells. Subcellular localization studies using fluorescently tagged proteins confirmed VvCAX3 as a tonoplast transporter. VvCAX3 is expressed in grapevine stems, leaves, roots, and berries, especially at pea size, decreasing gradually throughout development, in parallel with the pattern of calcium accumulation in the fruit. The transcript abundance of VvCAX3 was shown to be regulated by methyl jasmonate (MeJA), Ca, and Na in grape cell suspensions, and the VvCAX3 promotor contains several predicted cis-acting elements related to developmental and stress response processes. As a whole, the results obtained add new insights on the mechanisms involved in calcium homeostasis and intracellular compartmentation in grapevine, and indicate that VvCAX3 may be an interesting target towards the development of strategies for enhancement of grape berry properties.

Quadruplexn ucleic acids are promising targets for cancert herapy.I nt his study we used af ragment-based approach to create new flexible G-quadruplex( G4) DNA-interactive small molecules with good calculated oral drug-like properties, based on quinoline and triazole heterocycles. G4 meltingt emperaturea nd polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-stopa ssays showedt hat two of these compoundsa re selective G4 ligands, as they were able to induce and stabilizeG 4s in ad ose-and DNA sequence-dependent manner.M olecular docking studies have suggested plausible quadruplex binding to both the Gquartet and groove, with the quinoline module playing the major role. Compounds were screened for cytotoxicity against four cancerc ell lines, where 4,4'-(4,4'-(1,3-phenylene)bis(1H-1,2,3-triazole-4,1-diyl))bis(1-methylquinolin-1-ium) (1d)s howed the greater activity.I mportantly,d ose-response curves show that 1d is cytotoxic in the human colon cancer HT-29 cell line enriched in cancer stem-like cells, as ubpopulation of cells implicated in chemoresistance. Overall,t his study identified a new smallm olecule as ap romisingl ead for the development of drugs targeting G4 in cancer stem cells.

Catalase was immobilized on alumina carrier and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde. Storing stability, temperature and pH profiles of enzyme activity were studied in a column reactor with recirculation and in a batch stirred-tank reactor. The immobilized enzyme retained 44% of its activity at pH 11, 30 • C and 90% at 80 • C, pH 7. The half-life time of the immobilized catalase was increased to 2 h at pH 12, and 60 • C. Acceptable results were achieved when the residual water from the washing process of H 2 O 2 -bleached fabrics was treated with the immobilized enzyme and then reused for dyeing.