A flexible microneedle patch that can transdermally deliver liquid-phase therapeutics would enable direct use of existing, approved drugs and vaccines, which are mostly in liquid form, without the need for additional drug solidification, efficacy verification, and subsequent approval. Specialized dissolving or coated microneedle patches that deliver reformulated, solidified therapeutics have made considerable advances; however, microneedles that can deliver liquid drugs and vaccines still remain elusive because of technical limitations. Here, we present a snake fang–inspired microneedle patch that can administer existing liquid formulations to patients in an ultrafast manner (<15 s). Rear-fanged snakes have an intriguing molar with a groove on the surface, which enables rapid and efficient infusion of venom or saliva into prey. Liquid delivery is based on surface tension and capillary action. The microneedle patch uses multiple open groove architectures that emulate the grooved fangs of rear-fanged snakes: Similar to snake fangs, the microneedles can rapidly and efficiently deliver diverse liquid-phase drugs and vaccines in seconds under capillary action with only gentle thumb pressure, without requiring a complex pumping system. Hydrodynamic simulations show that the snake fang–inspired open groove architectures enable rapid capillary force–driven delivery of liquid formulations with varied surface tensions and viscosities. We demonstrate that administration of ovalbumin and influenza virus with the snake fang–inspired microneedle patch induces robust antibody production and protective immune response in guinea pigs and mice.

The respiratory chains of nearly all aerobic organisms are terminated by proton-pumping heme-copper oxygen reductases (HCOs). Previous studies have established that C-family HCOs contain a single channel for uptake from the bacterial cytoplasm of all chemical and pumped protons, and that the entrance of the K C -channel is a conserved glutamate in subunit III. However, the majority of the K C -channel is within subunit I, and the pathway from this conserved glutamate to subunit I is not evident. In the present study, molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize a chain of water molecules leading from the cytoplasmic solution, passing the conserved glutamate in subunit III and extending into subunit I. Formation of the water chain, which controls the delivery of protons to the K Cchannel, was found to depend on the conformation of Y241 Vc , located in subunit I at the interface with subunit III. Mutations of Y241 Vc (to A/F/H/S) in the Vibrio cholerae cbb 3 eliminate catalytic activity, but also cause perturbations that propagate over a 28-Å distance to the active site heme b 3 . The data suggest a linkage between residues lining the K C -channel and the active site of the enzyme, possibly mediated by transmembrane helix α7, which contains both Y241 Vc and the active site crosslinked Y255 Vc , as well as two Cu B histidine ligands. Other mutations of residues within or near helix α7 also perturb the active site, indicating that this helix is involved in modulation of the active site of the enzyme.oxygen reductase | proton pathway | bioenergetics | Vibrio cholerae | cbb 3

Cytochrome cbb (also known as C-type) oxidases belong to the family of heme-copper terminal oxidases which couple at the end of the respiratory chain the reduction of molecular oxygen into water and the pumping of protons across the membrane. They are expressed most often at low pressure of O and they exhibit a low homology of sequence with the cytochrome aa (A-type) oxidases found in mitochondria. Their binuclear active site comprises a high-spin heme b associated with a Cu center. The protein also contains one low-spin heme b and 3 hemes c. We address here the redox properties of cbb oxidases from three organisms, Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Vibrio cholerae and Pseudomonas stutzeri by means of electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. We show that the redox potential of the heme b exhibits a relatively low midpoint potential, as in related cytochrome c-dependent nitric oxide reductases. Potential implications for the coupled electron transfer and proton uptake mechanism of C-type oxidases are discussed.

Lactic acid bacteria were isolated from piglets and chicken and characterized. Lactic acid bacteria showing resistance to low pH and bile, adhesion to intestinal epithelium cells, and the inhibition of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. were identified as Lactobacillus acidophilus. L. acidophilus PF01 survived for 2 h in MRS broth adjusted to pH 2. L. acidophilus CF07 was less resistant than L. acidophilus PF01 to pH 2, but survived at pH 2.5 for 2 h. Both of isolates were able to grow in MRS broth containing 0.3% (w/v) bile, with L. acidophilus CF07 being more tolerant to bile than L. acidophilus PF01. L. acidophilus PF01 and CF07 adhered specifically to the duodenal and jejunal epithelium cells of piglet, and the cecal and duodenal epithelium cells of chicken, respectively. Both of isolates did not adhere to the epithelium cells of the various animal intestines from which they were isolated. When L. acidophilus was cultured with E. coli and Salmonella spp. in MRS broth, MRS broth containing 2% skim milk powder or modified tryptic soy broth at 37°C, L. acidophilus PF01 and CF07 inhibited the growths of E. coli K88 and K99, and S. enteritidis and S. typhimurium, respectively. Both of isolates were found to possess the essential characteristics of probiotic lactic acid bacteria for piglet and chicken. (Asian-Aust.

The respiratory chain of Vibrio cholerae contains three bd-type quinol oxygen reductases as well as one cbb3 oxygen reductase. The cbb3 oxygen reductase has been previously isolated and characterized, however the natural mobile electron donor(s) which shuttles electrons between the bc1 complex and the cbb3 oxygen reductase is not known. The most likely candidates are the diheme cytochrome c4 and mono-heme cytochrome c5, which have been previously shown to be present in the periplasm of aerobically grown cultures of V. cholerae. Both cytochromes c4 and c5 from V. cholerae have been cloned and expressed heterologously in E. coli. It is shown that reduced cytochrome c4 is a substrate for the purified cbb3 oxygen reductase and can support steady state oxygen reductase activity of at least 300 e−1/s. In contrast, reduced cytochrome c5 is not a good substrate for the cbb3 oxygen reductase. Surprisingly, the dependence of the oxygen reductase activity on the concentration of cytochrome c4 does not exhibit saturation. Global spectroscopic analysis of the time course of the oxidation of cytochrome c4 indicates that the apparent lack of saturation is due to the strong dependence of KM and Vmax on the concentration of oxidized cytochrome c4. Whether this is an artifact of the in vitro assay or has physiological significance remains unknown. Cyclic voltammetry was used to determine that the midpoint potentials of the two hemes in cytochrome c4 are 240 mV and 340 mV (vs SHE), similar to the electrochemical properties of other c4-type cytochromes. Genomic analysis shows a strong correlation between the presence of a c4-type cytochrome and a cbb3 oxygen reductase within the β- and γ- proteobacterial clades, suggesting that cytochrome c4 is the likely natural electron donor to the cbb3 oxygen reductases within these organisms. These would include the β-proteobacteria Neisseria meningitidis and Neisseria gonnorhoeae, in which the cbb3 oxygen reductases are the only terminal oxidases in their respiratory chains, and the γ- proteobacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri.