Recent advances of metabolomics in plant biotechnology

Biotechnology, including genetic modification, is a very important approach to regulate the production of particular metabolites in plants to improve their adaptation to environmental stress, to improve food quality, and to increase crop yield. Unfortunately, these approaches do not necessarily lead to the expected results due to the highly complex mechanisms underlying metabolic regulation in plants. In this context, metabolomics plays a key role in plant molecular biotechnology, where plant cells are modified by the expression of engineered genes, because we can obtain information on the metabolic status of cells via a snapshot of their metabolome. Although metabolome analysis could be used to evaluate the effect of foreign genes and understand the metabolic state of cells, there is no single analytical method for metabolomics because of the wide range of chemicals synthesized in plants. Here, we describe the basic analytical advancements in plant metabolomics and bioinformatics and the application of metabolomics to the biological study of plants.     

Recent advances in azasteroids chemistry

Modified steroids have attracted a great deal of attention these last years. Their preparation is a stimulating challenge to the organic chemist, often demanding development of new and generally useful reactions. Moreover, the biological properties of modified steroids have proved to be of interest. The recent development in the partial and total syntheses of azasteroids is herein described.     

Recent advances in oxasteroids chemistry

The continuous interest in the field of oxasteroids mainly arises from the fascinating aspects associated with their peculiar stereochemical features and their promising and sometimes unexpected biological activities. The recent development in the partial and total syntheses of oxasteroids are herein described.     

Recent advances in thiasteroids chemistry

Since it has been proven these last years that the introduction of a heteroatom in the steroidal moiety could have a biological impact, there has been progress in the field of thiasteroids. The recent development in the partial and total syntheses of thiasteroids are herein described.     

Recent advances in isocyanide-based multicomponent chemistry

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) provide a powerful tool towards the one-pot synthesis of diverse and complex compounds on the one hand and small and 'drug-like' heterocycles on the other hand. No other single synthesis technology enables chemists to search such large chemical spaces as provided by MCRs. MCRs that involve isocyanides are by far the most versatile reactions in terms of scaffolds and number of accessible compounds.     

Recent advances in bioinorganic chemistry of bismuth

Bismuth has been used in medicine for over two centuries for the treatment of various diseases, in particular for gastrointestinal disorders, owing to its antimicrobial activity. Recent structural characterization of bismuth drugs provides an insight into assembly and pharmacokinetic pathway of the drugs. Mining potential protein targets inside the pathogen via metallomic/metalloproteomic approach and further characterization on the interactions of bismuth drugs with these targets laid foundation in understanding the mechanism of action of bismuth drugs. Such studies would be beneficial in rational design of new potential drugs.     

Leukemia inhibitory factor: Recent advances and implications in biotechnology

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) is a pleiotropic cytokine with several functions in health and disease ranging from inflammation to cancer. LIF is also a potential target and/or therapeutic agent for diseases such as multiple sclerosis, stroke and even psychological disorders, where the function of LIF as a neurotrophic factor has only recently been explored. In recent years, a limited number of LIF clinical trials have been completed, which partially explains the shortage of effective applications as a therapeutic agent. With the increasing interest from biotechnology companies producing recombinant LIF, this status quo will certainly change, and the potential impact of LIF in terms of disease diagnosis, treatment and management will be realized.     

工业生物技术的过程科学研究概况及发展趋势

简述了工业生物技术领域在过程科学方面的研究现状及发展趋势,从"细胞群体效应及过程放大原理"、"工业生物过程物质和能量传递与生物转化规律"、"工业生物过程优化新方法"等3个方面介绍了我国工业生物技术过程科学的重点进展和在国际上的地位,最后从"生物原料高效转化"、"生物转化过程物质和能量协调和匹配"、"生物过程强化"、"生物过程系统集成"等方面提出了工业生物技术在过程科学研究方面未来的战略方向。     

生物技术生产虾青素研究的最新进展

虾青素是一种具有极强的生物抗氧化性的酮式类胡萝卜素在医药,食品,化妆品等方面有着极广阔的应用前景。对目前生物技术生产虾青素的两种主要方法：即雨生红球藻(haematococcus pluvialis)培养法和红发夫酵母(xanthopltyllomyces dendrorhous,formedy Phaffia raodazyma)发酵法的最新研究进展,包括采用的微生物的生理代谢特性、虾青素合成途径、生产技术特点、工程菌种的构建等方面进行了系统的总结。针对天然虾青素生产技术研究中存在的问题和不足,提出了建议和解决的方法。     

Recent applications of starch derivatives in nanodrug delivery

Starch has found use in industries as diverse as food, textiles, cosmetics, plastics, adhesives, paper, and pharmaceuticals. From a pharmaceutical standpoint, starch finds its value in solid-oral dosage forms, where it has been used as a binder, diluent, and disintegrant. However, only recently has the use of starch in nanotechnology started to make significant advances in biomedical applications, including newer drug delivery techniques. There has been a considerable effort to develop biodegradable nanoparticles as effective drug delivery systems. Being cheap, non-toxic, renewable, biodegradable and compatible with many other materials for industrial applications, starch is attracting the interest of drug delivery scientists. We have put together in a short and concise format, recent applications of starch derivatives in the emerging field of nanodrug delivery with the conclusion that a lot still needs to be done.     

Recent advances in the biology and chemistry of the flavaglines

The flavaglines are a family of plant natural products that induce potent anticancer and neuroprotective activities. This review summarizes recent synthetic approaches to flavaglines and the current status of their pharmacological properties.     

Recent advances in the chemistry of certain blood constituents

Reviews of Physiology, Biochemistry and Pharmacology -     

Recent advances in plant biotechnology and genetic engineering for production of secondary metabolites

For a long time people are using plants not only as crop cultures but also for obtaining of various chemicals. Currently plants remain one of the most important and essential sources of biologically active compounds in spite of progress in chemical or microbial synthesis. In our review we compare potentials and perspectives of modern genetic engineering approaches for pharmaceutical biotechnology and give examples of actual biotechnological systems used for production of several promising natural compounds: artemisinin, paclitaxel and scopolamine.     

Recent advances in natural antifungal flavonoids and their derivatives

The resistance of pathogenic fungi and failure of drug therapy increased dramatically. Numerous studies have reported the individual or synergistic antifungal potency of natural and synthesized flavonoids, especially against drug-resistant fungi. This brief review summarizes the structure and individual or synergistic antifungal activity of natural and synthesized flavonoids (literatures mainly cover the past 10 years 2009–2019), with a special focus on the antifungal spectra, structure–activity relationship and mechanisms of actions. These may contribute to a better understanding of flavonoids as multi-target agents in the treatment of mycoses and provide some ideas on the development of novel flavonoids-based antifungals.