Recent Patents on Biotechnology - Volume 12, Issue 3, 2018

Background: Research on natural bioactive compounds has increased exponentially over the last decades. The discovery of new phytochemicals that possess pharmaceutical properties is useful in the development of therapeutic alternatives. The nerolidol (3,7,11-trimetil-1,6,10-dodecatrien-3-ol or 3,7,11-trimetildodeca-1,6,10-trien-3-ol) has been extensively studied for its therapeutic potential because of its pharmacological activities in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Method: All articles and patents regarding nerolidol and its pharmacological properties were revised, focusing mainly on the important properties in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. A thorough search in article databases (Science Direct, MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus and Scielo) and patent database (WIPO, EPO, ESPTO, LATIPAT and INPI) was performed over the course of this study. Results: Several studies stood out for their relevance regarding the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Nerolidol demonstrated anticholinesterasic, antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and anxiolytic activities, thus classifying it as a promising phytochemical for the development of therapeutic drugs. Conclusion: Analysis suggested that nerolidol is a promising target for new drugs and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Background: Chronic diseases are becoming more serious and widely spreading and this carries a heavy burden on doctors to deal with such patients. Although many of these diseases can be treated by bacteriophages, the situation is significantly dangerous in patients having concomitant more than one chronic disease, where conflicts between phages used in treating these diseases are very closer to happen. Method: This research paper presents a method to detecting the Bacteriophage-Bacteriophage Interaction. This method is implemented based on Domain-Domain Interactions model and it was used to infer Domain-Domain Interactions between the bacteriophages injected in the human body at the same time. Results: By testing the method over bacteriophages that are used to treat tuberculosis, salmonella and virulent E.coli, many interactions have been inferred and detected between these bacteriophages. Several effects were detected for the resulted interactions such as: playing a role in DNA repair such as nonhomologous end joining, playing a role in DNA replication, playing a role in the interaction between the immune system and the tumor cells and playing a role in the stiff man syndrome. We revised all patents relating to bacteriophage bacteriophage interactions and phage therapy. Conclusion: The proposed method is developed to help doctors to realize the effect of simultaneously injecting different bacteriophages into the human body to treat different diseases.

Background: Vegetable proteins have widespread application in the food industry as functional ingredients in food formulations according to the recent patents. Requirement to develop less expensive protein-rich supplementary foods has resulted in shift of emphasis towards lesser known wild than popular legumes. Objective: The aim of this study is to expose seeds of two coastal sand dune wild legumes of the Southwest India (Canavalia cathartica and C. maritima) to different doses of electron-beam (EB) irradiation to assess changes in functional attributes. Method: Intact dried seeds were exposed to EB irradiation (2.5, 5, 10, 15 kGy). Protein solubility, gelation concentration, water-absorption capacity, oil-absorption capacity, emulsion properties and foam properties of control and irradiated seeds were assessed by standard methods. Results: Protein solubility of both seed flours attained the highest at 2.5 kGy, followed by gradual dosedependent decrease. The gelation concentration increased in C. cathartica only at 5 kGy, while it decreased in C. maritima at 2.5 kGy without further change at higher doses. The water-absorption capacity of C. maritima was significantly higher than C. cathartica in control sample, while at 15 kGy C. cathartica showed significantly higher absorption capacity than C. maritima. The oil-absorption capacity was significantly higher in C. maritima than C. cathartica in control as well as all doses of irradiation. Emulsion activity of C. maritima was slightly higher than C. cathartica in control and irradiated samples, while both seeds showed similar emulsion stability in control with significant increase in C. cathartica at 10 kGy and 15 kGy. The foam capacity in both seeds was similar up to 2.5 kGy followed by significant increase in C. maritima at 5 kGy and 10 kGy. The foam stability was significantly higher C. cathartica than C. maritima in control as well as in irradiated samples. The foam capacity was higher in C. maritima than C. cathartica in control and irradiated samples, which showed gradual time-dependent decrease in stability with higher stability at 8 hr in C. cathartica than C. maritima. Conclusion: Improved functional properties (protein solubility, emulsion stability and foam capacity) and decreased gelation concentration in seeds of C. maritima irradiated at 5 kGy is advantageous in the production of functional foods. Even though both species of Canavalia grew on the coastal sand dunes and their seeds were exposed to same doses of radiation, they differed in functional attributes confirm that it is species-specific. Canavalia seeds being rich in proteins, carbohydrates, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids and bioactive components, further studies on the impact of EB irradiation helps in optimization of nutraceutical potential as well as functional attributes for future applications.

Background: Polyhydroxyalkanoates are bio-based, biodegradable naturally occurring polymers produced by a wide range of organisms, from bacteria to higher mammals. The properties and biocompatibility of PHA make it possible for a wide spectrum of applications. In this context, we analyze the potential applications of PHA in biomedical science by exploring the global trend through the patent survey. The survey suggests that PHA is an attractive candidate in such a way that their applications are widely distributed in the medical industry, drug delivery system, dental material, tissue engineering, packaging material as well as other useful products. Objective: In our present study, we explored patents associated with various biomedical applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates. Method: Patent databases of European Patent Office, United States Patent and Trademark Office and World Intellectual Property Organization were mined. We developed an intensive exploration approach to eliminate overlapping patents and sort out significant patents.We demarcated the keywords and search criterions and established search patterns for the database request. We retrieved documents within the recent 6 years, 2010 to 2016 and sort out the collected data stepwise to gather the most appropriate documents in patent families for further scrutiny. Results: By this approach, we retrieved 23,368 patent documents from all the three databases and the patent titles were further analyzed for the relevance of polyhydroxyalkanoates in biomedical applications. This ensued in the documentation of approximately 226 significant patents associated with biomedical applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates and the information was classified into six major groups. Polyhydroxyalkanoates has been patented in such a way that their applications are widely distributed in the medical industry, drug delivery system, dental material, tissue engineering, packagingmaterial as well as other useful products. Conclusion: There are many avenues through which PHA & PHB could be used. Our analysis shows patent information can be used to identify various applications of PHA and its representatives in the biomedical field. Upcoming studies can focus on the application of PHA in the different field to discover the related topics and associate to this study.We believe that this approach of analysis and findings can initiate new researchers to undertake similar kind of studies in their represented field to fill the gap between the patent articles and research publications.

Background: Genomic islands (GIs) are discrete segments of mobile DNA with defined boundaries according to recent patents, acquired in the bacterial genome from another organism by horizontal gene transfer during the course of evolution. GIs contribute significantly to virulence, disease development, antimicrobial resistance and metabolic process. Objective: The present study focuses on the development of a vector based genetic tool carrying selectable and counter-selectable markers, in order to flag the GIs in the bacterial chromosome and monitor their stability under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Method: We engineered suicide vectors, pSB40 and pSB41, carrying single or tandem copies of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (cat) and levansucrase (sacB) alleles, respectively. The sacB-cat allele in both the vectors is flanked by several restriction sites. To test the suitability of sacB-cat allele for monitoring GI loss, we introduced the allele in the Vibrio Pathogenicity Island-1 (VPI-1) in Vibrio cholerae genome. Results: The V. cholerae strain carrying sacB-cat allele in VPI-1 element showed resistance to chloramphenicol and sensitivity to sucrose at optimal growth conditions. Loss of VPI-1 element from the V. cholerae genome was simply monitored by growing the cells on selection agar plates supplemented with sucrose. Our results showed that the genetic tool we developed is suitable for monitoring GI stability in the bacterial genome. Conclusion: The present study indicates that pSB40 and pSB41are efficient and sensitive genetic tool that can be used for reverse genetics experiments and monitoring stability of mobile genetic elements in the bacterial genome.

Background: The Eurasian grapevine is the most widespread fruit crop in the world. Numerous studies have focused on clarifying the events of domestication and the geographical areas in which they occurred. Objectives: In order to add upon information on the process of grapevine domestication, the distribution and genetic diversity of a small, wild population localized in Poggio Ghiaccio Forte, an archaeological site in Maremma (Southern Tuscany), were assessed. In a preliminary survey the wild forms of Vitis vinifera L. were identified based on morphological traits. Method: Fourty-two accessions of Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris were collected near the Albegna river and its secondary conduits. As a control, four non-vinifera grapevines (Vitis berlandieri, Vitis riparia Fabre, rupestris Constantia, rupestris H. Goethe) and ten varieties of Vitis vinifera ssp. sativa characterizing the Tuscan grapevine germplasm (Sangiovese, Ciliegiolo, Aleatico, Ansonica, Canaiolo Nero, Trebbiano Toscano, Barsaglina, Malvasia Lunga, Moscato Bianco, Abrusco) were added to the wild population. All fifty-six vines were treated as one population and tested by 10 SSR-based genotyping. Results: According to SSR analysis, the wild population seems to be characterized by a systematic reduction of observed compared to expected heterozygosity due to the tendency of inbreeding and genetic trait fixation. There are a lot of registered patents about different applications involving Vitis vinifera mostly relating to disease resistance, grapevine fitness and novel combinations of antioxidants useful in therapeutic, foodstuff and cosmetic fields.

Background: Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional cytokine that plays a crucial role not only in the immune system but also in numerous biological processes. Elevated IL-6 levels have been observed in many types of cancer and inflammatory diseases. Among the techniques that have been used to quantify IL-6, a Lateral Flow Assay (LFA) is one of the most promising. Objective: The objective of this study was to perform a technological and scientific exploration of the development of an LFA for IL-6. Method: The Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial-INPI (Brazil), European Patent Office – Espacenet, and United States Patent and Trademark Office-USPTO were used for the technological prospection to consider all the patents regarding an LFA for IL-6 detection. For the scientific investigation, the following periodic databases were used: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Scielo, and were monitored from 2007 to May 2017. Results: We found no patents based on the searched keywords, and a limited number of scientific articles were found. Therefore, the development of an LFA sensor for the detection of IL-6 appears to be innovative with significant biotechnological importance, creating a technology transfer to promote economic and industrial growth. Conclusion: The development of lateral flow immunosensors for IL-6 is innovative, as we could not find patents describing such a biosensor. Scientific prospection reported two lateral flow immunosensors. However, the test for IL-6 cannot be completed without using some kind of equipment for detection, such as the one we propose in future developments.