Abstracts


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Baculovirus expression systems for recombinant protein production in insect cells
Hitchman R.B., Possee R.D., King L.A

Baculoviruses are lethal pathogens of insects, predominantly of the order Lepidoptera. These viruses have a biphasic life cycle, which greatly facilitates their use for biotechnological applications. They were exploited initially as biocontrol agents, and then engineered as protein expression vectors. The baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS) is now widely used for recombinant protein production. More recently they have become a popular choice for development as gene delivery and expression vectors in mammalian cells. This article reviews some of the major developments and patents relating to baculoviruses since their initial use as an expression tool and investigates current technologies alleviating bottlenecks in recombinant gene expression in insect cells.


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Use of fullerenes in cosmetics
Lens M

As cosmetic technology advances, there is an increasing need to use new active ingredients in the development of cosmetic products. In the last few years application of fullerene C(60) and its derivates in cosmetics has been intensively tested. Fullerenes display a wide range of biological activities. Potent scavenging capacities against radical oxygen species (ROS) and excellent potential as biological antioxidants made fullerenes suitable active compounds in the preparation of skin rejuvenation cosmetic formulations. Currently published evidence on biological activities of fullerenes relevant for their cosmetic use and examples of published patents to illustrate application of fullerenes in cosmetic technology are presented. Future trends in the development of cosmetic formulations including fullerenes are discussed.


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Glutathione transferases: Emerging multidisciplinary tools in red and green biotechnology
Chronopoulou E.G., Labrou N.E

Cytosolic glutathione transferases (GSTs) are a diverse family of enzymes involved in a wide range of biological processes, many of which involve the conjugation of the tripeptide glutathione (GSH) to an electrophilic substrate. Detailed studies of GSTs are justified because of the considerable interest of these enzymes in medicine, agriculture and analytical biotechnology. For example, in medicine, GSTs are explored as molecular targets for the design of new anticancer drugs as a plausible means to sensitize drug-resistant tumors that overexpress GSTs. In agriculture, GSTs are exploited in the development of transgenic plants with increased resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Recently, selected isoenzymes of GSTs have found successful applications in the development of enzyme biosensors for the direct monitoring of environmental pollutants, such as herbicides and insecticides. This review article summarizes recent representative patents related to GSTs and their applications in biotechnology.


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Therapeutic antibodies and other proteins obtained by molecular display technologies
Shibasaki S., Ueda M

Since the approval of antibodies as therapeutic agents more than 20 years ago, a large about of research conducted by pharmaceutical companies and other institutes has been focused on the development of therapeutic antibodies. Antibody-based drugs have higher specificity and are more effective than chemical reagents in depletion of target cells, particularly diseased cells such as tumor cells, viral-infected cells, and other pathogenic cells. However, as compared to synthetic agents, they are generally more expensive and accelerating expansion of budgets on medicine. Hitherto, genetic engineering techniques, especially molecular display technology, have played an important role in the development of various active therapeutic antibodies. To reduce the expenditure associated with the production of these antibodies, the selection of candidate molecules- an upstream process must be optimized for efficiency. This review article summarizes recent representative patents related to therapeutic antibodies and molecular display techniques that have been used for their production.


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Production and application of bacteriophage and bacteriophage-encoded lysins
Dorval Courchesne N.M., Parisien A., Lan C.Q

The widespread resistance to antibiotics among pathogenic bacteria has made development of alternatives to antibiotics a pressing public concern. Extensive studies have established      bacteriophages (phages) and phage-encoded lytic enzymes (virolysins) as two of the most promising families of alternative antibacterials for the treatment and prophylaxis of bacterial infections. They have shown great potential in veterinary and human medicine for the treatment and prophylaxis of infections. Technologies have also been patented employing phages and virolysins in other pathogen related applications including detection and decontamination.


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High throughput in biotechnology: From shake-flasks to fully instrumented Microfermentors
Marques M.P.C., Cabral J.M.S., Fernandes P

This review provides a broad overview of recent patents and developments in the field of small scale bioreactors. The scope of the work will focus on vessels from about 500 ml down to the submilliliter scale. This field of research is of acknowledged relevance, since the rational use of these devices is contributing to speeding up several areas of bioprocessing, in particular due to their intrinsic capability for high throughput. Within such framework, small scale bioreactors are currently used for a wide array of applications, from cell screening to process optimization. Small scale bioreactors are available in different working volumes, configurations and architectures, each of those presenting advantages and limitations. These issues will be tackled in the present work, which will thus address both shaken vessels, such as Erlenmeyer and microtiter plates, as well as miniature bioreactors, which are literally scaled down versions of bench/pilot scale reactors. Reference will be made to commercially available platforms that allow for parallel operation. Considerations will also be made on the necessary requirements for the effective use of the data gathered using these devices in bioprocess development.


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Biomaterials and mesenchymal stem cells for regenerative medicine
Zippel N., Schulze M., Tobiasch E

The reconstruction of hard and soft tissues is a major challenge in regenerative medicine, since diseases or traumas are causing increasing numbers of tissue defects due to the aging of the population. Modern tissue engineering is increasingly using three-dimensional structured biomaterials in combination with stem cells as cell source, since mature cells are often not available in sufficient amounts or quality. Biomaterial scaffolds are developed that not only serve as cell carriers providing mechanical support, but actively influence cellular responses including cell attachment and proliferation. Chemical modifications such as the incorporation of chemotactic factors or cell adhesion molecules are examined for their ability to enhance tissue development successfully. E.g. growth factors have been investigated extensively as substances able to support cell growth, differentiation and angiogenesis. Thus, continuously new patents and studies are published, which are investigating the advantages and disadvantages of different biomaterials or cell types for the regeneration of specific tissues. This review focuses on biomaterials, including natural and synthetic polymers, ceramics and corresponding composites used as scaffold materials to support cell proliferation and differentiation for hard and soft tissues regeneration. In addition, the local delivery of drugs by scaffold biomaterials is discussed.


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Development of sol-gel hybrid materials for whole cell immobilization
Desimone M.F., Alvarez G.S., Foglia M.L., Diaz L.E

The development of a good biocompatible matrix for immobilization of cells is very crucial for improving the performance of functional biohybrids. The synthesis of solid inorganic materials from alkoxide, aqueous and polyol-modified silanes routes, as well as the incorporation of organic polymers, are further areas being developed to improve the viability of encapsulated cells. This emerging field of material science has generated considerable and increasing interest during the past decade. Recent advances in the field involving biomaterials, biohybrids, and functional nanomaterials provided novel materials, which have gained the attention of the scientific community, Governments and industrial companies. Overall, this review is intended to give an overview on the current state of the art of the patents associated to the immobilization of whole living cells in sol-gel derived hybrid materials and to describe the major challenges to be addressed in the forthcoming years.


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Termites as functional gene resources
Matsui T., Tokuda G., Shinzato N

Termites (Dictyoptera, Isoptera) comprise a complex assemblage of diverse species, roughly divided into so-called lower and higher termites. Lower termites harbor a dense and diverse population of prokaryotes and flagellated protists (single-cell eukaryotes) in their gut. Higher termites comprise only one apical family (Termitidae) but more than three-quarters of all termite species. While they also harbor a dense and diverse array of prokaryotes, higher termites typically lack flagellated protists. Although termites are regarded as harmful because of the ability to decompose cellulosic materials such as houses made of wood. Classical enrichment culture technique and recent metagenomic approach showed that the termites and/or their symbionts are potentially good resource of functional genes for industrial applications. Recent papers and patents showed termites and its symbionts have not only cellulolytic or lignin decomposition activity but also aromatic hydrocarbons degradation. These functions would be useful for biomass utilization, environmental remediation, and fine-chemicals production. In this review, along with the current patents of termite derived biochemical functions, future prospects for practical application based on the recent progress in metagenomic research are discussed.


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Three-dimensional tissue models for drug discovery and toxicology
Pampaloni F., Stelzer E.H.K., Masotti A

Launching a new drug on the market is an extremely time-consuming and expensive process. The total costs from the lab bench to the patient's bedside are in the range of $800 million for each new compound. Innovative pre-clinical assays are urgently needed to select the most promising drug candidates. High-throughput molecular screening does not provide information on the effects on cellular functions. Testing on animals is expensive, ethically controversial, and poorly predictive of the response in humans. Conventional two-dimensional (2D) cellular assays do not accurately reflect the drug response in vivo. To overcome these limitations, biotechnologists are developing three-dimensional (3D) cultures. 3D cultures provide more accurate compound screening and can eliminate toxic and ineffective substances at an early stage. Moreover, 3D cultures can accomplish the 3R agenda (refinement, reduction, and replacement) for the replacement of toxicity testing on animals. We provide an up-to-date overview on the patents in the field.