Aquapreneur » chitosan

Chitosan-based, nanoparticle gene-silencing system blocks production of protein involved in formation of ovarian cancer cell tumor

Admin — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:24:46 +0000

A protein associated with cancer progression when abundant inside of tumors also unexpectedly regulates the creation of new blood vessels that feed the tumor outside, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the August edition of Cancer Cell.

Using a chitosan-based, nanoparticle gene-silencing system to block production of the protein, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center inhibited formation of new blood vessel (angiogenesis) to the tumor and caused a steep reduction in tumor burden in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.

Study senior author Anil Sood, M.D., professor in UT MD Anderson’s departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology and co-author Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D., professor in UT MD Anderson’s Department of Experimental Therapeutics, have developed delivery systems that package siRNA with a fatty ball called a liposome to silence specific genes in cancer cells.

“Those systems are quite effective for delivery to tumors and tumor cells but not as effective for delivery to tumor vasculature,” Sood said. They jointly developed a new delivery system that packages siRNA into chitosan nanoparticles. Chitosan is derived from a chitin, a structural component in the shells of crustaceans.

Chitosan nanoparticles carry a slight positive electrical charge, making them attractive to the mostly negatively charged endothelial cells. The nanoparticles penetrate the tumor by way of its vasculature, so the new system hits both targets.

The nanoparticles accumulate in the cancer cell and vasculature passively as they circulate in the blood stream. Chitosan nanoparticles are so small that they can flow through tiny holes in the tumor vasculature. They also accumulate in other organs, so the researchers are working to add a targeting molecule that will limit nanoparticle uptake to tumors and their vasculature.

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5th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting in Tromso; 23-25th February 2011

Admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:52:56 +0000

The focus in the 2011 conference will be industrial biotech and bioprospecting as a stepping stone towards the bioeconomy.

Target group: Academic and industry researchers, decision makers, regulatory experts, investors and public facilitators.

A number of interesting speakers from the USA, Russia, UK, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway have been invited. In addition there will be a half day pre-conference workshop: ‘Addressing industrial applications’ on 23 February 2011

Delegates are invited to participate with poster presentations, and a number of posters will be selected for oral presentation.

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MDPI Office of the Publisher announces publication of new Marine Drugs issue

Admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:47:33 +0000

MDPI announces publication of the following issue: Mar.
Drugs, Volume 8, Issue 7 (July 2010), Pages 1962-2222 at
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/

Table of Contents:

Jiali Zhang, Wenshui Xia, Ping Liu, Qinyuan Cheng, Talba Tahi, Wenxiu Gu
and Bo Li
Review: Chitosan Modification and Pharmaceutical/Biomedical Applications
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 1962-1987; doi:10.3390/md8071962
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/1962

Feisal Khoushab and Montarop Yamabhai
Review: Chitin Research Revisited
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 1988-2012; doi:10.3390/md8071988
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/1988

Sandra Anne Banack and Paul Alan Cox
Correction: Correction: Banack, S.A. et al. Production of the Neurotoxin
BMAA by a Marine Cyanobacterium. Mar. Drugs 2007, 5, 180–196
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2013; doi:10.3390/md8072013
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2013

Chih-Yang Liu, Tsong-Long Hwang, Mei-Ru Lin, Yung-Husan Chen, Yu-Chia
Chang, Lee-Shing Fang, Wei-Hsien Wang, Yang-Chang Wu and Ping-Jyun Sung
Article: Carijoside A, a Bioactive Sterol Glycoside from an Octocoral
Carijoa sp. (Clavulariidae)
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2014-2020; doi:10.3390/md8072014
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2014

Vítor Ramos and Vítor Vasconcelos
Review: Palytoxin and Analogs: Biological and Ecological Effects
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2021-2037; doi:10.3390/md8072021
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2021

Laurie O’Sullivan, Brian Murphy, Peter McLoughlin, Patrick Duggan,
Peadar G. Lawlor, Helen Hughes and Gillian E. Gardiner
Review: Prebiotics from Marine Macroalgae for Human and Animal Health
Applications
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2038-2064; doi:10.3390/md8072038
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2038

Guoliang Wang, Ge Zhao, Yanbin Feng, Jinsong Xuan, Jianwei Sun, Baotai
Guo, Guoyong Jiang, Manli Weng, Jianting Yao, Bin Wang, Delin Duan and Tao
Liu
Article: Cloning and Comparative Studies of Seaweed Trehalose-6-Phosphate
Synthase Genes
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2065-2079; doi:10.3390/md8072065
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2065

Graziano Guella, Danielle Skropeta, Graziano Di Giuseppe and Fernando Dini
Review: Structures, Biological Activities and Phylogenetic Relationships
of Terpenoids from Marine Ciliates of the Genus Euplotes
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2080-2116; doi:10.3390/md8072080
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2080

Ratih Pangestuti and Se-Kwon Kim
Review: Neuroprotective Properties of Chitosan and Its Derivatives
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2117-2128; doi:10.3390/md8072117
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2117

Scharri J. Ezell, Haibo Li, Hongxia Xu, Xiangrong Zhang, Evrim Gurpinar,
Xu Zhang, Elizabeth R. Rayburn, Charnell I. Sommers, Xinyi Yang,
Sadanandan E. Velu, Wei Wang and Ruiwen Zhang
Article: Preclinical Pharmacology of BA-TPQ, a Novel Synthetic
Iminoquinone Anticancer Agent
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2129-2141; doi:10.3390/md8072129
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2129

Hedi Indra Januar, Ekowati Chasanah, Cherie A. Motti, Dianne M. Tapiolas,
Catherine H. Liptrot and Anthony D. Wright
Article: Cytotoxic Cembranes from Indonesian Specimens of the Soft Coral
Nephthea sp.
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2142-2152; doi:10.3390/md8072142
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2142

Robert J. French, Doju Yoshikami, Michael F. Sheets and Baldomero M.
Olivera
Review: The Tetrodotoxin Receptor of Voltage-Gated Sodium
Channels—Perspectives from Interactions with μ-Conotoxins
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2153-2161; doi:10.3390/md8072153
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2153

Fernando Scala, Ernesto Fattorusso, Marialuisa Menna, Orazio
Taglialatela-Scafati, Michelle Tierney, Marcel Kaiser and Deniz Tasdemir
Article: Bromopyrrole Alkaloids as Lead Compounds against Protozoan
Parasites
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2162-2174; doi:10.3390/md8072162
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2162

Anne-Laure Deniau, Paul Mosset, Frédérique Pédrono, Romain Mitre,
Damien Le Bot and Alain B. Legrand
Review: Multiple Beneficial Health Effects of Natural Alkylglycerols from
Shark Liver Oil
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2175-2184; doi:10.3390/md8072175
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2175

Maria Wiese, Paul M. D’Agostino, Troco K. Mihali, Michelle C. Moffitt
and Brett A. Neilan
Review: Neurotoxic Alkaloids: Saxitoxin and Its Analogs
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2185-2211; doi:10.3390/md8072185
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2185

Liang Guo, Guang Liu, Ruo-Yu Hong and Hong-Zhong Li
Article: Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan Poly(acrylic acid)
Magnetic Microspheres
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(7), 2212-2222; doi:10.3390/md8072212
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/7/2212

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CMP Therapeutics Appoints Dr Neill Moray Mackenzie as CEO

Admin — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 13:22:19 +0000

CMP Therapeutics announces the appointment of Dr Neill Moray Mackenzie to the role of Chief Executive Officer. Dr Mackenzie brings to CMPT a long record of executive board level management within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries at companies including Cambridge Genetics Ltd, Oxford Biomedica plc (an LSE listed company), Avidex Ltd (now Immunocore) and most recently as the SVP for Business Development and Corporate Strategy at Medigene AG (a Borse-listed company) and CEO of Roji Ltd (London). In addition, Dr MacKenzie was formerly a Departmental Head in Vaccine R&D at Wellcome and a Wellcome Lecturer in Immunology at the University of London.

CMPT also announces the injection of a EUR1.5million convertible loan from Inventages Venture Capital to support continuing operations and the upcoming clinical trial of its lead product for the common cold. CMPT has been supported solely by investments from London-based Inventages Venture Capital and New Zealand-based BioPacificVentures since 2005.

CMP Therapeutics, founded in 2004, is a company that develops products for colds, flu and allergy based on b 1-3 N-acetyl glucosamine (chitin). b 1-3 N-acetyl glucosamine is extracted from natural sources. It is processed into micro-particles (Chitin Micro-Particles or CMP) under GMP manufacturing conditions. CMP is the active component. When administered intranasally it has been shown to be safe in man and effective in models of disease, including viral disease and bacterial diseases of the respiratory tract and allergy. CMP Therapeutics has worldwide patents and patent applications covering the uses and the manufacture of CMP for allergy, viral and bacterial disease, and as a vaccine adjuvant.

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Shellfish Waste May Give Us “Vanishing Plastic”

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:53:09 +0000

Prototype biodegradable plastics are possibly just months away, spelling good news for the worsening headache of plastic packaging, which accounts for up to 25 per cent of municipal landfill.

Researchers at Swinburne University have been investigating the use of bioplastics – ingredients from renewable sources – and the properties of biopolymers that determine their ‘compostability’.

These projects have brought together PhD students, Suchetana Chattopadhyay and Cameron Way, who are examining the properties of plastics biopolymers as part of their PhD studies, under the supervision of Associate Professor Enzo Palombo.

Chattopadhyay is using a respirometer – a composting machine – to test novel, chitin-based polymers.

Chitin is the world’s second most abundant organic compound. It is mostly derived from shellfish waste, but also includes the exoskeletons of crustaceans, insects and spiders.

In collaboration with an industry partner, Chattopadhyay has provided the first direct evidence of true biodegradability in novel, chitin-based polymers.

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MDPI Publishes New Marine Drugs Issue: Volume 8, Issue 6

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 19:16:40 +0000

MDPI AG announce the publication of the following issue: Mar.
Drugs, Volume 8, Issue 6 (June 2010), Pages 1731-1961 at
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/

Table of Contents:

Sonia de Caralt, Javier Sánchez-Fontenla, María J. Uriz and Rene H.
Wijffels
Article: In Situ Aquaculture Methods for Dysidea avara (Demospongiae,
Porifera) in the Northwestern Mediterranean
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1731-1742; doi:10.3390/md8061731
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1731

Charles Santhanaraju Vairappan, Takahiro Ishii, Tan Kai Lee, Minoru Suzuki
and Zhan Zhaoqi
Article: Antibacterial Activities of a New Brominated Diterpene from
Borneon Laurencia spp.
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1743-1749; doi:10.3390/md8061743
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1743

Ruth Harris, Elena Lecumberri and Angeles Heras
Article: Chitosan-Genipin Microspheres for the Controlled Release of
Drugs: Clarithromycin, Tramadol and Heparin
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1750-1762; doi:10.3390/md8061750
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1750

João C. Fernandes, Humberto Spindola, Vanessa de Sousa, Alice
Santos-Silva, Manuela E. Pintado, Francisco Xavier Malcata and João E.
Carvalho
Communication: Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Chitooligosaccharides in Vivo
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1763-1768; doi:10.3390/md8061763
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1763

Xiaomei Wei, Tim S. Bugni, Mary Kay Harper, Imelda T. Sandoval, Elizabeth
J. Manos, Jennifer Swift, Ryan M. Van Wagoner, David A. Jones and Chris M.
Ireland
Article: Evaluation of Pyridoacridine Alkaloids in a Zebrafish Phenotypic
Assay
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1769-1778; doi:10.3390/md8061769
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1769

Annarita Poli, Gianluca Anzelmo and Barbara Nicolaus
Review: Bacterial Exopolysaccharides from Extreme Marine Habitats:
Production, Characterization and Biological Activities
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1779-1802; doi:10.3390/md8061779
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1779

Susan Matthew, Ranjala Ratnayake, Mikel A. Becerro, Raphael
Ritson-Williams, Valerie J. Paul and Hendrik Luesch
Article: Intramolecular Modulation of Serine Protease Inhibitor Activity
in a Marine Cyanobacterium with Antifeedant Properties
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1803-1816; doi:10.3390/md8061803
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1803

Li Liu and Kathleen S. Rein
Review: New Peptides Isolated from Lyngbya Species: A Review
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1817-1837; doi:10.3390/md8061817
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1817

Amandine Caillaud, Pablo de la Iglesia, H. Taiana Darius, Serge Pauillac,
Katerina Aligizaki, Santiago Fraga, Mireille Chinain and Jorge Diogène
Review: Update on Methodologies Available for Ciguatoxin Determination:
Perspectives to Confront the Onset of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning in Europe
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1838-1907; doi:10.3390/md8061838
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1838

Bárbara Frazão, Rosário Martins and Vitor Vasconcelos
Article: Are Known Cyanotoxins Involved in the Toxicity of Picoplanktonic
and Filamentous North Atlantic Marine Cyanobacteria?
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1908-1919; doi:10.3390/md8061908
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1908

Chen Zhang and Se-Kwon Kim
Review: Research and Application of Marine Microbial Enzymes: Status and
Prospects
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1920-1934; doi:10.3390/md8061920
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1920

Christine J. Band-Schmidt, José J. Bustillos-Guzmán, David J.
López-Cortés, Ismael Gárate-Lizárraga, Erick J. Núñez-Vázquez and
Francisco E. Hernández-Sandoval
Review: Ecological and Physiological Studies of Gymnodinium catenatum in
the Mexican Pacific: A Review
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(6), 1935-1961; doi:10.3390/md8061935
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/6/1935

5th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting, Tromso, Norway

Admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:47:40 +0000

23-25th February 2011

Registration and preliminary program available in September

BIOPROSP is a leading international biennial conference series on bioprospecting from cold marine environments. These conferences aim to present explorative research and its industrial applications in an integrated fashion. On behalf of the Scientific Committee, you are invited to Tromsø and the BIOPROSP Conference 2011.

The focus in the 2011 conference will be industrial biotech and bioprospecting as a stepping stone towards the bioeconomy.

Target group: Academic and industry researchers, decision makers, regulatory experts, investors and public facilitators.

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Ongoing Project Aims to Recover Nutritional Value From Seafood and Brewing Waste

Admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:47:27 +0000

Preliminary findings from a UK government funded project focused on extracting value from seafood and beverage processing waste shows the process could potentially recover nutritional components such as glucosamine.
The process involves an ionic liquid (IL) extraction process which selectively recovers targeted high value components under mild conditions. Ionic Liquids are clean, inexpensive solvents whose properties can be tailored for recovery of specific target molecules. Recycling of recovered components for applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and chemical markets will deliver both economic and environmental benefits to technology adopters.

C-Tech Innovation, a UK based technology development company, is leading the three year EXCIL project that involves collaboration with key stakeholders including Heineken UK, seafood processor West Coast Sea Products, GlycoMar Ltd., the Sea Fish Industry Authority, waste management firm SITA UK and Imperial College London.

The research is being by funded by a UK government agency, the Technology Strategy Board, with the stated objective being to provide a new approach to solving the environmental and financial costs involved in disposal of food and brewing waste through a sustainable and resource efficient method.

EXCIL is a 3 year project which started in October 2009.

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Chitin in anti-aging formulations

Admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 12:14:14 +0000

Technical paper by author Yash Kamath: Skin aging leads to decline in its functions such as increase in trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL), decrease in the production of collagen,elastin and the extracellular matrix (ECM). The overall effect is the thinning of the skin, dryness, and wrinkling. The ECM acts as a material transport medium for the cellular entities like the keratinocytes in the epidermis and fibroblasts in the dermis. Environmental factors damage the skin chemically by generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) and free radicals.

The protection of skin from these insults requires a group of actives consisting of cell protectants, antioxidants, and immunomodulant compounds. In this technical paper the authors have found that the concoction of these ingredients in the form of an emulsion works much better when chitin nanocrystals (nanofibers) are added. A number of factors indicative of anti-aging effects, such as fibroblast proliferation, collagen increase, ATP production etc. are significantly improved by the addition of chitin. The effect is attributed to the biocompatibility of products of chitin breakdown. It can promote the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. Penetration of chitooligomers generate glucosamine and N-acetyl-glucosamine which are incorporated into the ECM by phosphorylation.

Source: “Cosmetic science in skin aging: Achieving the efficacy by the chitin nano-structured crystallites”, P. Morganti et al., SOFW-Journal, 136, 14-24 (2010)

Bayou La Batre Breaks Ground on Seafood By-Product Processing Facility

Admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:59:10 +0000

Members of the Gulf Coast Agricultural and Seafood Co-op, along with elected officials and guests, break ground today on an eco-friendly seafood by-product processing facility that will ultimately provide products for commercial application to the fertilizer, poultry and pharmaceutical industries. The facility will also create new jobs in Bayou La Batre, Ala.

In 2009, the U.S. Department of Commerce jointly awarded the Alabama Farmers Market Authority and the Mobile County Commission a $3.2 million grant to help pay for the facility. Total cost of the project due for completion in January 2011 is $6 million.

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