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Topic Review
Screening of Medicinal Plants
Secondary metabolites, used as a single compound or as a mixture, are medicines that can be effective and safe even when synthetic drugs fail. They may even potentiate or synergize the effects of other compounds in the medicine. To meet the positive demands, heterologous expression of the genes involved in the biosynthesis of the potent compound will help in the production on the required scale. Further modifications to enhance the ADME properties of the compounds will have a significant advantage in the drug’s biological activities and bioavailability.
  • 1.0K
  • 30 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Smart Contrast Agents in MRI
Zinc and copper are essential cations involved in numerous biological processes; and variations in their concentrations can cause diseases; such as neurodegenerative diseases; diabetes and cancers. Hence, the detection and quantification of these cations is of utmost importance for the early diagnosis of disease. MRI responsive contrast agents (mainly Lanthanide 3+ complexes), relying on a change in state of the MRI active part upon interaction with the cation of interest e.g. switch ON/OFF or vice versa, have been successfully utilized to detect zinc and are now being developed to detect Copper(II). These paramagnetic probes mainly exploit the relaxation-based properties (T1-based contrast agents), but also the paramagnetic induced hyperfine shift properties (paraCEST and parashift probes) of the contrast agents. The challenges encountered going from zinc to copper(II) detection are discussed. Depending on the response mechanism, the use of fast-field cycling MRI seems promising to increase the detection field while keeping a good response. In vivo applications of cation responsive MRI probes are only at their infancy and the recent developments are described, along with the associated quantification problems.
  • 1.0K
  • 08 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Benchmarking Data Sets
Developing realistic data sets for evaluating virtual screening methods is a task that has been tackled by the cheminformatics community for many years. Numerous artificially constructed data collections were developed, such as DUD, DUD-E, or DEKOIS. However, they all suffer from multiple drawbacks, one of which is the absence of experimental results confirming the impotence of presumably inactive molecules, leading to possible false negatives in the ligand sets. In light of this problem, the PubChem BioAssay database, an open-access repository providing the bioactivity information of compounds that were already tested on a biological target, is now a recommended source for data set construction. Nevertheless, there exist several issues with the use of such data that need to be properly addressed. In this article, an overview of benchmarking data collections built upon experimental PubChem BioAssay input is provided, along with a thorough discussion of noteworthy issues that one must consider during the design of new ligand sets from this database. The points raised in this review are expected to guide future developments in this regard, in hopes of offering better evaluation tools for novel in silico screening procedures.
  • 1.0K
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Peptidyl Fluoromethyl Ketones
Peptidyl fluoromethyl ketones occupy a pivotal role in the current scenario of synthetic chemistry, thanks to their numerous applications as inhibitors of hydrolytic enzymes. The insertion of one or more fluorine atoms adjacent to a C-terminal ketone moiety greatly modifies the physicochemical properties of the overall substrate, especially by increasing the reactivity of this functionalized carbonyl group toward nucleophiles.
  • 1.0K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Supramolecular Hydrogels for Protein Delivery
Therapeutic proteins, such as growth factors (GFs), have been used in tissue engineering (TE) approaches for their ability to provide signals to cells and orchestrate the formation of functional tissue. However, to be effective and minimize off-target effects, GFs should be delivered at the target site with temporal control. In addition, protein drugs are typically sensitive water soluble macromolecules with delicate structure. As such, hydrogels, containing large amounts of water, provide a compatible environment for the direct incorporation of proteins within the hydrogel network, while their release rate can be tuned by engineering the network chemistry and density. Being formed by transient crosslinks, afforded by non-covalent interactions, supramolecular hydrogels offer important advantages for protein delivery applications.
  • 1.0K
  • 04 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Diketopyrrolopyrrole Fluorescent Probes
Diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) organic dyes show an exceptional photophysical features (high-fluorescence quantum yield (FQY), good photochemical and thermal stability) that are essential properties for biological applications. This organic dye pigment of DPP is highly effective as it have shown promising results in various applications of AIE, solid-state emission, bio-imaging, cancer therapy and biorecognition of other essential biological components (biomolecules, proteins, enzymes, mitochondria stains) etc. All these results from the DPPs' high fluorescence quantum yield along with its imperatively low-energy fluorescent probe derivatives. Owing to its outstanding photophysical features, in the last decade numerous research papers have been reported with essentially positive results especially for supramolecular chemistry applications. Therefore in a nutshell, this exciting and attractive research area is presently at its infancy, so great efforts needs to be given to it in order to uncover other potentials which might be hidden that are yet to be known to the scientific communities, especially chemists in order to significantly advance it research horizon higher. 
  • 1.0K
  • 27 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Porphyrins/Chlorins for Viruses Inactivation
The problem of treating viral infections is extremely important both in connection with the emergence of new viral diseases and in connection with the low efficiency of existing approaches to the treatment of known viral infections. This entry is devoted to the use of porphyrins, chlorins, and phthalocyanines for the fight against viral infections using chemical and photochemical inactivation methods. The purpose of this work is to summarize the main approaches developed to date to chemical and photodynamic inactivation of human and animal viruses using porphyrins and their analogs, as well as to analyze and discuss information on viral targets and antiviral activity of porphyrins, chlorins and their derivatives obtained in the last 10-15 years, in order to identify the most promising areas.
  • 1.0K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Potential Photodynamic Diagnosis Targets
Photodynamic diagnosis and therapy (PDD and PDT) are emerging, non/minimally invasive techniques for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Both techniques require a photosensitizer and light to visualize or destroy cancer cells. However, a limitation of conventional, non-targeted PDT is poor selectivity, causing side effects. The bioconjugation of a photosensitizer to a tumor-targeting molecule, such as an antibody or a ligand peptide, is a way to improve selectivity. The bioconjugation strategy can generate a tumor-targeting photosensitizer conjugate specific for cancer cells, or ideally, for multiple tumor compartments to improve selectivity and efficacy, such as cancer stem cells and tumor neovasculature within the tumor microenvironment. If successful, such targeted photosensitizer conjugates can also be used for specific visualization and detection of cancer cells and/or tumor angiogenesis (an early event in tumorigenesis) with the hope of an early diagnosis of cancer.
  • 1.0K
  • 03 Dec 2020
Topic Review
Cholinergic Signaling and Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common brain disorder characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures with neuronal hyperexcitability. Apart from the classical imbalance between excitatory glutamatergic transmission and inhibitory γ-aminobutyric acidergic transmission, cumulative evidence suggest that cholinergic signaling is crucially involved in the modulation of neural excitability and epilepsy.
  • 993
  • 07 May 2021
Topic Review
Macrolides
Macrolides are a diverse class of hydrophobic compounds characterized by a macrocyclic lactone ring and distinguished by variable side chains/groups. Some of the most well characterized macrolides are toxins produced by marine bacteria, sea sponges, and other species. Many marine macrolide toxins act as biomimetic molecules to natural actin-binding proteins, affecting actin polymerization, while other toxins act on different cytoskeletal components. The disruption of natural cytoskeletal processes affects cell motility and cytokinesis, and can result in cellular death. While many macrolides are toxic in nature, others have been shown to display therapeutic properties. Indeed, some of the most well known antibiotic compounds, including erythromycin, are macrolides. In addition to antibiotic properties, macrolides have been shown to display antiviral, antiparasitic, antifungal, and immunosuppressive actions.
  • 993
  • 03 Jun 2021
Topic Review
CNSL as a Source of Alzheimer's Drug Leads
Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL), a natural oil and a byproduct of cashew nut food processing, with a high content of phenolic lipids. The rational modification of their structures has emerged as a successful medicinal chemistry approach to the development of novel anti-AD lead candidates. The biological profile of the newly developed CNSL derivatives towards validated AD targets will be discussed together with the role of these molecular targets in the context of AD pathogenesis.
  • 982
  • 26 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Asymmetric Catalytic Ketimine Mannich Reactions
These ketimines are less electrophilic and thus, arguably, more challenging substrates. 3-Aryl-3-hydroxyisoindolin-1-ones are often employed as stable precursors for the corresponding endocyclic N-carbonyl diaryl ketimines. This class of ketimines is useful synthons to access chiral isoindolin-1-ones that are an important motif found in numerous biologically relevant molecules and natural products.
  • 979
  • 05 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Composition and Industrial Applications of Phytochemical
Phytochemicals are versatile plant secondary metabolites with therapeutic properties. Lemongrass is well-known for its antioxidant, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-mutagenicity, anxiolytic properties, and for its hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activities. Therefore, it is widely used in pharmaceuticals, food, feed, and the cosmetics industry. Lemongrass contains phenolic metabolites (including phenolic acids, flavonoids, stilbenes, and lignans), terpenoids, and alkaloids, which are potent bioactive ingredients. Lemongrass is a precious medicinal plant. 
  • 964
  • 06 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Riboflavin-Induced Photochemistry
Riboflavin (RF), which is also known as vitamin B2, is a water-soluble vitamin. RF is a nontoxic and biocompatible natural substance. It absorbs light (at wavelengths of 380 and 450 nm) in the presence of oxygen to form reactive singlet oxygen (1O2). The generated singlet oxygen acts as a photoinitiator to induce the oxidation of biomolecules, such as amino acids, proteins, and nucleotides, or to initiate chemical reactions, such as the thiol-ene reaction and crosslinking of tyramine and furfuryl groups. 
  • 956
  • 23 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Sensing Tyrosinase Activity
Tyrosinase (TYR, E.C. 1.14.18.1), a critical enzyme participating in melanogenesis, catalyzes the first two steps in melanin biosynthesis including the ortho-hydroxylation of L-tyrosine and the oxidation of L-DOPA. Previous pharmacological investigations have revealed that an abnormal level of TYR is tightly associated with various dermatoses, including albinism, age spots, and malignant melanoma.
  • 955
  • 08 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Proteasome Inhibitors
Proteasome inhibitors have shown relevant clinical activity in several hematological malignancies, namely in multiple myeloma and mantle cell lymphoma, improving patient outcomes such as survival and quality of life, when compared with other therapies. However, initial response to the therapy is a challenge as most patients show an innate resistance to proteasome inhibitors, and those that respond to the therapy usually develop late relapses suggesting the development of acquired resistance. The mechanisms of resistance to proteasome inhibition are still controversial and scarce in the literature.
  • 953
  • 18 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Therapeutic Potential of G-quadruplex Structural Junctions
We analyze further extension of G-quadruplexes by additional structural elements and investigate whether junction of G-quadruplex with duplex, hairpin, triplex or second G-quadruplex motif is favorable for aptamers stability and biological activity. Furthermore, we indicate the specific and pivotal role of G-quadruplex domain and the additional structural elements in the interactions with target molecules. Finally, we consider the potency of G-quadruplex junctions in the future applications and indicate the emerging research area that is still waiting for development to obtain highly specific and effective nucleic acid-based molecular tools.
  • 943
  • 15 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Skin Photoprotection by Polyphenols
Polyphenols are phytochemicals with proven antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. Premature aging and UV-induced skin conditions could be better overcome by topical polyphenols nanoformulations. Further, polyphenols nanoformulations can be of great interest for the cosmetic industries and any individuals who want to improve their skin appearance. Examples in this regard are provided and the potential toxicity issues related to the use of nanomaterials are highlighted.
  • 922
  • 26 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Food Peptides for the Nutricosmetic Industry
Biopeptides are considered interesting for industrial application since they show numerous functional properties (e.g., anti-aging, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties) and technological properties (e.g., solubility, emulsifying, and foaming). Moreover, they have fewer side effects than synthetic drugs. Nevertheless, some challenges must be overcome before their administration via the oral route. The gastric, pancreatic, and small intestinal enzymes and acidic stomach conditions can affect their bioavailability and the levels that can reach the site of action. Some delivery systems have been studied to avoid these problems (e.g., microemulsions, liposomes, solid lipid particles). 
  • 918
  • 31 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Anthocyanins and Hepatoprotection
Anthocyanins are water-soluble, colored compounds of the flavonoid class, abundantly found in the fruits, leaves, roots, and other parts of the plants. The fruit berries are prime sources and exhibit different colors. The anthocyanins utility as traditional medicament for liver protection and cure, and importance as strongest plants-based anti-oxidants have conferred these plants products different biological activities. These activities include anti-inflammation, liver protective, analgesic, and anti-cancers, which have provided the anthocyanins an immense commercial value, and has impelled their chemistry, biological activity, isolation, and quality investigations as prime focus. 
  • 915
  • 11 Mar 2022
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