Cellulase containing nanobiocatalysts have been useful as an extraction tool based on their ability to disrupt plant cell walls. In this work, we investigate the effect of nanoparticle composition and chemical linkage towards immobilized cellulase activity. Cellulase nanoconstructs have been prepared, characterized and compared for their loading efficiencies with standard assays and enzyme kinetics and correlate well with the cognate loading efficiencies. Application of the cellulase-immobilized nanoparticles on onion skins results in release of a distinctive composition of polyphenols. The aglycosidic form of quercetin is the dominant product of onion skin hydrolysis affected by cellulase nanobiocatalysts. Chitosan-coated iron oxide nanoparticles with APTES-conjugated cellulase are found to be most effective for polyphenol release and for transformation of glycosidic to aglycosidic form of quercetin. These results shed light on the activity of immobilized cellulase beyond their role in cell wall disruption and are important for the practical application of cellulase nanobiocatalysts.

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Triazole-based compounds as inhibitors and disaggregators of α-synuclein.

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Alpha‐synuclein (α‐Syn), an intrinsically disordered protein (IDP), is associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease (PD or other α‐synucleinopathies. Recent investigations propose the transmission of α‐Syn protein fibrils, in a prion‐like manner, by entering proximal cells to seed further fibrillization in PD. Despite the recent advances, the mechanisms by which extracellular protein aggregates internalize into the cells remain poorly understood. Using a simple cell‐based model of human neuroblastoma‐derived differentiated neurons, we present the cellular internalization of α‐Syn PFF to check cellular uptake and recycling kinetics along with the standard endocytic markers Transferrin (Tf) marking clathrin‐mediated endocytosis (CME) and Galectin3 (Gal3) marking clathrin‐independent endocytosis (CIE). Specific inhibition of endocytic pathways using chemical inhibitors reveals no significant involvement of CME, CIE and caveolae‐mediated endocytosis (CvME). A substantial reduction in cellular uptake was observed after perturbation of actin polymerization and treatment with macropinosomes inhibitor. Our results show that α‐Syn PFF mainly internalizes into the SH‐SY5Y cells and differentiated neurons via the macropinocytosis pathway. The elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanism involved in the α‐Syn PFF internalization will help improve the understanding of α‐synucleinopathies including PD, and further design specific inhibitors for the same.