This book explores how nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy may be used for spatial structural elucidation of novel compounds from fungal and synthetic sources. Readers will discover the exciting world of NOE (nuclear Overhauser effect), RDC (residual dipolar coupling) and J-coupling constants, both short- and long range. With emphasis on obtaining structural knowledge from these NMR observables, focus is moved from solving a static 3D structure to solving the structural space inhabited by small organic molecules. The book outlines the development and implementation of two Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation-type NMR experiments, and the 3D structural elucidation of multiple known and novel compounds. In addition, a new method of back-calculating RDCs (allowing for more flexible structures to be investigated), and the synthesis and evaluation of novel chiral alignment media for ab initio determination of absolute stereochemistry of small molecules using RDCs are also included. Challenges that 3D structural generation of small compounds face are also covered in this work.

With numerous methods available for the quantification of nitric oxide (NO), this detailed book explores their advantages and disadvantages in order to provide a foundation for further research in plant nitric oxide. After providing a useful practical guide to choosing a technique for measuring NO from plant materials, the book continues with chapters on chemiluminescence, diaminofluorescence (DAF), EPR spectroscopy, a laser-based method, as well as many other topics. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory methods, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Practical and authoritative, Plant Nitric Oxide: Methods and Protocols serves as a valuable guide to all researchers working and intending to work in the field of plant nitric oxide research.

This book will provide current understandings about two ubiquitously expressed metabotropic GPCRs, G-coupled purinoreceptor type 2 (P2Y) and Takeda G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor 5 (TGR5). G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest family of proteins implicated in majority of cellular responses. The two receptor sub-families play a central role in many physiological functions as well as in many pathological conditions. This book offers up-to-date information on the physiological functions, signaling pathways and regulatory mechanisms of P2Y and TGR5 receptors. In addition, this book provides a comprehensive overview about the abnormalities of P2Y/TGR5 receptors and their contribution in the development and progression of pathological conditions. It also covers the currently available natural, chemical and pharmacological agents targeting these two receptor families and their therapeutic implications in P2Y and TGR5 associated disorders. This book is a valuable source for beginners and researchers to follow the rapidly progressing field of these two GPCR subfamily members.

Published as a companion to Volume 12, the current volume presents the latest advances in electron paramagnetic resonance of iron proteins, metalloproteins, and free radicals. The book features a diskette containing programs for iron ERP spectral simulation and ENDOR analyses.

This volume surveys oxidation activities in key biological systems, including heme proteins and enzymes, oxygenases and oxidases, photosynthetic systems, and cell and tissue damage.

Rice is a vitally important staple food for almost half of the world's population. As the global population increases, the demands for rice are expected to remain high. Since the rice industry will remain sustainable for a long time, the production of rice by-products will remain high. Substantial evidence suggests that rice by-products such as rice husk, rice straw, broken rice, rice germ, rice bran, and brewers' rice may possess beneficial effects against oxidative stress and metabolic disorders. These beneficial effects have been linked to the phytochemicals present in rice by-products such as vitamin E, dietary fiber, -oryzanol, -aminobutyric acid (GABA), and phytosterols. Despite this evidence, the literature pertaining to rice by-products and its derived components has not well been compiled. To this end, Rice By-products: Phytochemicals and Food Products Application provides full coverage of issues pertaining to rice by-products, namely rice demands and rice by-products production, phytonutrients and antioxidant properties of rice by-products, potential health benefits, application in food products, and future prospects. By summarizing all the information in a lucid and comprehensive manner, authors provide a cohesive representation of the literature on the molecular mechanisms involved in the pharmacological effects of the bioactive components that present in rice by-products, as well as plausible means for the prevention of metabolic disorders for readers and allied stakeholders.

Recent advances in genetic engineering and in the chemistry and biochemistry of fruit and vegetables have radically changed our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these processes, and the potential for modification of the products themselves. This is the first book to examine these topics and address the role of fresh fruits and vegetables in a healthy diet and the prevention of cancer and coronary diseases. The main focus is on the secondary metabolites which are responsible for quality characteristics including color, aroma, and flavor, and their nutritional importance and role in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. The book also explores how the post-harvest technological treatments to which these commodities are submitted can cause changes in secondary metabolism, with consequences for the quality of the product.

This book offers a comprehensive overview of the microbiological fundamentals and biotechnological applications of methanotrophs: aerobic proteobacteria that can utilize methane as their sole carbon and energy source. It highlights methanotrophs' pivotal role in the global carbon cycle, in which they remove methane generated geothermally and by methanogens. Readers will learn how methanotrophs have been employed as biocatalysts for mitigating methane gas and remediating halogenated hydrocarbons in soil and underground water. Recently, methane has also attracted considerable attention as a potential next-generation carbon feedstock for industrial biotechnology, because of its abundance and low price. Methanotrophs can be used as biocatalysts for the production of fuels, chemicals and biomaterials including methanobactin from methane under environmentally benign production conditions. Sharing these and other cutting-edge insights, the book offers a fascinating read for all scientists and students of microbiology and biotechnology.

This book addresses chemical and biological aspects related to sesquiterpene lactones (STLs). Experts in different fields have been invited to contribute on this class of compound's chemistry, isolation and identification, biological activities (antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, antitrypanosomal, antileishmanial,antiplasmodial, antiproliferative and antiinflammatory), synthesis, biosynthesis, derivatization and QSAR analysis. Taxonomic and chemotaxonomic aspects related to the Asteraceae family are also contributed. The book begins by describing the chemical characteristics of STLs, their classification in different skeleton types, synthesis, distribution in nature and their most important biological properties. An overview of the group's main representatives, based on their importance for human health, as well as an update of the most recently isolated STLs, follow. The authors also provide an overview of the most common methods described in the literature for the extraction, purification, identification and structure elucidation of STLs, while also highlighting more recently developed methods. Furthermore, experts in the field provide an in-depth discussion of the most commonly employed in vitro and in vivo antiprotozoal assays against the different stages of parasites, as well as STLs' properties as anticancer agents in numerous cancer cell lines and animal models. Lastly, the book presents examples of the in vitro and in vivo activity of STLs and their mechanism of antiprotozoal action, together with an analysis of ultrastructural alterations, observed using TEM techniques. The book is aimed at scientists working on natural products: both those investigating this particular group of compounds and those who wish to further explore its potential as new drugs for medical conditions such as protozoal diseases and cancer.

This fully revised and updated new edition provides a comprehensive look at nitrite and nitrate and their effect on human health and disease. The first section describes the biochemical analysis of nitrite and nitrate and its role in human physiology. The book then shifts to sources of human exposure of nitrite and nitrate, including environmental and dietary. Finally, the last section discusses nitric oxide-based therapeutics and how nitrite and nitrate biochemistry can be safely harnessed to improve human health. Each chapter provides a balanced, evidence-based view and heavily cites the most recent published literature. They follow a strict chapter format which includes keywords, key points, a conclusion highlighting major findings, and extensive references. The second edition contains new chapters on nitrite and nitrate in age medicine, nitrite and nitrate as a treatment for hypertension, and nitrite and nitrate in exercise performance. Additionally, the editors have expanded the biochemistry section to include chapters on nitrate reducing oral bacteria, nitrite mediated S-Nitrosation, epigenetics and the regulation of nitric oxide, and nitrite control of mitochondrial function. Nitrate and Nitrite in Human Health and Disease, 2e, will be of interest to health professionals, nutritionists, dieticians, biomedical scientists, and food scientists.

This detailed volume explores numerous histochemical techniques through a series of lab-tested protocols for the detection of specific molecules or metabolic processes, both at light and electron microscopy. More in detail, the book is divided into six sections covering a variety of chemical targets. It begins with a section on vital histochemistry and continues with chapters on histochemistry as it relates to lectins, proteins, lipids, DNA and RNA, as well as plants. The volume also contains four overview chapters on vital histochemistry, lectin histochemistry, and DNA fluorochromes. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Histochemistry of Single Molecules: Methods and Protocols aims to effectively help scientists in very different research fields to elucidate biological issues though a unique approach to molecular biology in situ.

Nature, by dint of its constitution, harbors many unassuming mysteries broadly manifested by its constituent cohorts. If physics is the pivot that holds nature and chemistry provides reasons for its existence, then the rest is just manifestation. Nanoscience and technology harbor the congruence of these two core subjects, whereby many phenomenon may be studied in the same perspective. That nature operates at nanoscale-obeying the principles of thermodynamics and supramolecular chemistry-is a well understood fact manifested in a variety of life processes: bones are restored after a fracture; clots potentially leading to cerebral strokes can be dissolved. The regeneration of new structures in our system follows a bottom-up approach. Be it a microbe (benign or pathogenic), plant (lower or higher), plant parts/organs, food beneficiaries, animal (lower), higher animal processing wastes, these all are found to deliver nanomaterials under amenable processing conditions. Identically, the molecules also seem to obey the thermodynamic principles once they get dissociated/ionized and the energy captured in the form of bonding helps in the synthesis of a myriad of nanomaterials. This edited volume explores the various green sources of nanomaterial synthesis and evaluates their industrial and biomedical applications with a scope of scaling up. It provides useful information to researchers involved in the green synthesis of nanomaterials in fields ranging from medicine to integrated agricultural management.

Bioremediation refers to the clean-up of pollution in soil, groundwater, surface water, and air using typically microbiological processes. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade, transform or detoxify hazardous substances to human health or the environment. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and action, its application often involves the management of ecological factors to allow microbial growth and degradation to continue at a faster rate. Like other technologies, bioremediation has its limitations. Some contaminants, such as chlorinated organic or high aromatic hydrocarbons, are resistant to microbial attack. They are degraded either gradually or not at all, hence, it is not easy to envisage the rates of clean-up for bioremediation implementation. Bioremediation represents a field of great expansion due to the important development of new technologies. Among them, several decades on metagenomics expansion has led to the detection of autochthonous microbiota that plays a key role during transformation. Transcriptomic guides us to know the expression of key genes and proteomics allow the characterization of proteins that conduct specific reactions. In this book we show specific technologies applied in bioremediation of main interest for research in the field, with special attention on fungi, which have been poorly studied microorganisms. Finally, new approaches in the field, such as CRISPR-CAS9, are also discussed. Lastly, it introduces management strategies, such as bioremediation application for managing affected environment and bioremediation approaches. Examples of successful bioremediation applications are illustrated in radionuclide entrapment and retardation, soil stabilization and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, plastics or fluorinated compounds. Other emerging bioremediation methods include electro bioremediation, microbe-availed phytoremediation, genetic recombinant technologies in enhancing plants in accumulation of inorganic metals, and metalloids as well as degradation of organic pollutants, protein-metabolic engineering to increase bioremediation efficiency, including nanotechnology applications are also discussed.

This volume provides an essential update on fundamental issues, current and new applications, as well as practical protocols to explore the extensive applications of lipases and the potential application of phospholipases. After an overview, the book delves into activity screening and expression, optimization of the biocatalyst production and performances, and applications of lipases, phospholipases, and esterases. Written for the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and accessible, Lipases and Phospholipases: Methods and Protocols, Second Editionserves as an updated reference book for the large scientific community, both seasoned and novice, working with lipases, phospholipases, and related enzymes.

This book comprehensively reviews the state-of-the-art strategies developed for protein-protein interaction (PPI) inhibitors, and highlights the success stories in new drug discovery and development. Consisting of two parts with twelve chapters, it demonstrates the design strategies and case studies of small molecule PPI inhibitors. The first part discusses various discovery strategies for small molecule PPI inhibitors, such as high throughput screening, hot spot-based design, computational approaches, and fragment-based design. The second part presents recent advances in small molecule inhibitors, focusing on clinical candidates and new PPI targets. This book has broad appeal and is of significant interest to the pharmaceutical science and medicinal chemistry communities.

This volume provides practical experimental laboratory protocols for a wide range of steroid bioconversions. The chapters in this book cover topics such as bioconversions and chemical synthesis pathways; strain characterization; bioconversion from sterols to androstenedione and androstadienedione; steroid hydroxylations; biocatalysis; and downstream processes to purify steroid intermediates. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Comprehensive and thorough, Microbial Steroids: Methods and Protocols is a valuable resource for laboratory and industrial professionals. It is also useful for graduate students studying biotechnology, microbiology, genetics, and molecular biology.

This book offers a thorough review of the scientific research that links the consumption of grapes to better health. The book starts with a basic review of grape biology, including the key families of phytochemicals found in grapes, and where they are found. An overview of the rationale for and subsequent creation of a standardized grape powder for use in basic and clinical research provides insight and understanding regarding its widespread use in grape-specific research today. The remaining chapters each thoroughly examine a key area of health, demonstrating a significant scope of impact on well-being. The book examines the role of grapes in supporting heart health under multiple angles: general cardiovascular effects, as well as specific effects directly linked to atherosclerosis and hypertension. Other emerging and important areas of health are examined, ranging from grapes and cancer, where grape consumption has been shown to protect healthy colon tissue; grapes and inflammation, where grapes have been shown to block inflammatory activity in immune cells of fat tissue; to brain health, where a grape-enriched diet has been shown to protect against neuronal damage due to loss of oxygen in the brain, as well as against oxidative stress-related anxiety and resulting memory loss; to grapes and eye health where grape consumption has been shown to protect the retina from damage.

This up-to-date volume includes protocols that illustrate the broad use of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and ChIP-related methods in a variety of biological research areas. The collection also includes protocols designed to improve the performance of ChIP for specific applications. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology series format, chapters include introduction to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, as well as tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and practical, Chromatin Immunoprecipitation: Methods and Protocols features techniques, including bioinformatic analysis of ChIP data, will be of interest to a very broad research community in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology, microbiology, and biomedicine.

This is a cumulative subject index for volumes 40-72 of Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology. This series is intended to bring to light the most recent advances in these overlapping disciplines with a timely compilation of reviews comprising each volume.
This is a cumulative subject index for volumes 40-72 of Progress in Nucleic Acid Research and Molecular Biology. This series is intended to bring to light the most recent advances in these overlapping disciplines with a timely compilation of reviews comprising each volume.

IR spectroscopy has become without any doubt a key technique to answer questions raised when studying the interaction of proteins or peptides with solid surfaces for a fundamental point of view as well as for technological applications.

Principle, experimental set ups, parameters and interpretation rules of several advanced IR-based techniques; application to biointerface characterisation through the presentation of recent examples, will be given in this book. It will describe how to characterise amino acids, protein or bacterial strain interactions with metal and oxide surfaces, by using infrared spectroscopy, in vacuum, in the air or in an aqueous medium. Results will highlight the performances and perspectives of the technique.
Description of the principles, expermental setups and parameter interpretation, and the theory for several advanced IR-based techniques for interface characterisationContains examples which demonstrate the capacity, potential and limits of the IR techniquesHelps finding the most adequate mode of analysisContains examplesContains a glossary by techniques and by keywords

Natural toxins form a major component of the molecular tools used increasingly frequently by the ever growing number of laboratories of various kinds. Evidence for this is provided not only by the increasing number of firms including such toxins in their catalogues but also by the large number of demands received by those who discover new toxins. Twenty chapters survey important aspects of toxin origin, their structure and molecular mechanism, and their cellular and pathogenic effects. In addition, the text provides comprehensive and specific methodology for the application of these toxins in the research laboratory. This begins with the description of the method of extraction, biochemical and pharmacological characterization, and assessment of purity, and continues with methods for chemical modification, e.g. labelling, and eventually describes applications in pharmacological studies in vivo and/or in vitro. The length of this book has been kept reasonable by concentrating on animal toxins,...

This book is a compilation of the latest achievements of leading researchers in marine natural products with extremely diverse structures and biological activities. It presents discussions of isolation, structure elucidation, biosynthesis, total synthesis, and biochemical properties of the compounds with characteristic structures such as macrolides, cyclic depsipeptides, alkaloids, and water-soluble heterocyclic low-molecular-weight compounds, from sponges, bacteria, cyanobacteria, flagellates, and other such organisms. The book especially focuses on heterocyclic natural products as a title in the book series, Topics in Heterocyclic Chemistry.