Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 20, Issue 11, 2016

The most effective approach in controlling infectious diseases and other immune related disorders has been the development and the extensive use of preventive vaccines and vaccine therapies. However, we still need effective vaccines against some of the most threatening infectious agents. The standard costs and approaches in developing and producing a vaccine are dramatically high. In the recent past, the commo Read More

Coupling of a macromolecule such as an enzyme or a receptor to a chromatographic support has revealed a powerful analytical tool to face different aspects related to drug discovery. Chromatographic systems with immobilized macromolecules have been developed to be used for different applications in pharmaceutical analysis including enzyme inhibitor screening, biopharmaceutics structural analysis, chiral separ Read More

Hydrolases are versatile enzymes for synthetic purposes as they are able to catalyze multiple transformations in both aqueous medium and organic solvents. Their easiness of use and lack of cofactor dependency have attracted the attention of many organic chemists, which have successfully applied this family of enzymes in hydrolytic and reverse synthetic reactions. In this review, the authors have focused on the recent appli Read More

Industrial chemical companies have taken advantage of enzymes for the production of pharmaceuticals by means of nonselective and selective transformations. This review covers recently published chemoenzymatic synthesis of important drugs, focusing on the production of the desired targets with high to excellent yields. Remarkably, biocatalysts have allowed the development of asymmetric processes through different Read More

D-amino acids are essential components of the bacterial cell wall and play notable roles in microbiology as regulators, for example in sporulation, biofilm formation or interspecies communication. Racemases are the specific enzymes catalyzing the interconversion of L-amino acids to D-amino acids. While most of racemases are mono-specific, a family of broad-spectrum racemases that can racemize ten of the 19 natural chira Read More

Chemical modification of proteins with bioorthogonal reaction and site-selectivity has been increasingly recognized for exquisite control over homogeneity and geometry, allowing more complex and various applications of proteins. The development of novel bioorthogonal reactions and their adaptation to protein chemistry in the form of genetically encoded non-natural amino acids are fueling widespread use of the so-c Read More

The aldol reactions catalyzed by aldolases are an important tool in the synthesis of different products or building blocks. However, despite its advantages, aldolases, as enzymes, have some troubles as their low activity against synthetic substrates or the low stability, doing difficult their application. There are different tools to improve the properties of this enzyme such as directed mutagenesis, directed evolution or the i Read More

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), in particular those based on iron oxides, have attracted a lot of attention during the last years for their applications in nanomedicine. This is due to their unique physicochemical properties, such as good biocompatibility, their size in the nanoscale and their superparamagnetism, making them useful for drug delivery, MRI, magnetic targeting and magnetic fluid hyperthermia. Due to these pr Read More