Overview Of Currently Emerging Biotechnologies

Emerging nanoparticles therapeutics: Advanced diagnostic methods will provide the information that will allow new intervention strategies to provide new therapeutics. Nanotechnology is providing new types of therapeutics for cancer. Most of the patients are died from drug resistance and metastasis disease. So the ultimate goal of cancer therapies is to treat them at early stages. In general it is very advantageous to develop strayegies that could be applicable at every stage of the dangerous disease. Targeted nanoparticles have the potential to provide therapies not achievable with any other drug modalities. By adjusting the size and the surface properties of the particle it is possible to make the drug reach to those sites that are otherwise impossible. Nanoparticles are very large they can accommodate 2000 si RNA drug molecule. They are sufficiently large enough to have multiple targeting ligands that can bind with multiple binding sites to the cell receptor surfaces. They can accommodate multiple types of drug molecules. They can bypass multiple drug resistance mechanisms.

For example: DOX, IT 101, DOXIL, TAXOL etc. They reach the target site by passing the leaky vasculature that would otherwise wont allow the particles to get in if it is normal. These particles accumulate there and actively targeting the ligands to provide the most effective therapy.

Proteomics a new perspective for cancer: Proteomics indicates the total set of proteins encoded by genome. Proteomics involves the total protein composition of a cell or the whole organism. The structure, interaction of function of the proteins are determined by different methods of protein measurement. That will reveal important biological information in the form of biomarkers. An important indicator of cancer status are biomarkers so this emerging field will provide the knowledge needed for the identification of these biomarkers. The advent of this oncoproteomics has provided the 5hope of discovering novel biomarkers use for screening, early diagnosis and prediction of response to therapy. Malignant transformation involves alteration in the protein expression with subsequent clonal proliferation of altered cells. Protein signatures in cancer provides valuable information that may be ab aid to more effective diagnose. Most tumor marker identification was done by observing Abnormal precipitation in multiple myeloma to the generation of antibodies against epithelial cancer cell lune.

Conventional methods to discover markers are ELISA, GEL electrophoresis etc. Proteomic systems has been developed thay use tumor lysates or antibody arrays that can determine many or potentially active kinases in tumors. Identification of specific kinase can be inhibited by specific kinase inhibitors in ordwr to inhibit its proliferation. Mass spectrometry can identify markers predictive for the aggressiveness and rhe metastatic behaviour of the tumor. Protein array: Protrin array is a nitrocellulose coated glass slide having different molecules of protein bonded at different locations. Protein arrays use antibodies of different affinity and specification. This allows the observation of biochemical activity of hundreds of proteins prior knowledge is required here. Identify distinct proteins and detecting the disease pathogenesis. Discovering these specific biomarkers allow the distinction between normal and diseased one. And it is also helpful in predicting the response of therapy.

Protein design for pathway engineering: Different and many enzymes in a pathway can introduce complicated set of obstacles. Metabolic engineering has made great efforts in order to get the desired product but the inherent characteristics of enzymes may interfere there. So protein engineering proves helpful in metabolic and pathway engineering. This will describe the strategies to apply protein design to pathway engineering. Proteins can be engineered to alter substrate, specificity etc. Proteins can be engineered by three different methods:

• Direct evolution.
• Rational design.
• Combined method.

Direct evolution involves error prone PCR, which involves the random mutation. To identify improved mutants from it is by screening methods developed as colorimetric assay, colony sized based growth assays and fluorescent activated cell sorting. Major advantage of this is no prior information is required here.

Rational design prior information is required beside using it to modify the existing protein we can use it to create new one. Detailed information about catalytic activity required, transition states and reaction ontermediates we can create a new one.

Combination method is now in use by scientists they use both methods to get the results. Firstly doing directed mutation amd then applying these rational methods on specific mutated sites. All the methods are in use to improve the specificity and selectivity to improve the pathway performance. By protein engineering we can eliminate side reactions. Another engineering where the utilization of NADPH is abolished as a result of which carbon flux shifted to the desired product.

Allergen detection: Food allergy has been defined as the adverse immune response when exposed to the specific allergen. One of the method to detect the allergen is lateral flow devices although the work on it was started in 1980 but the approved kit was released in 1997 for peanut allergy. This method works on the principle of antigen antibody bind8ng and the allergen detected whan it is higher then the normal limit. ELISA ( enzyme linked immunosorbent assay) is a specific method for allergen detection based on the specific binding of the antigen to antibody in the wells of microtitre plates. This method is more accurate because of it rapidness, sensitivity and specificity.

Environmental applications of biosurfactants / recent advances: Biosurfactants are diverse group of surface active substances produced by microorganisms. Biosurfactants are ampiphilic which are comprised 9f two ends hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends. Extensive production and use of hydrocarbon has resulted in widespread environmental contamination. Hydrocarbons are there for need to be cleaned from the environment. As they are hydrophobic organic compounds, they wont solublize in the ground water and tend to partition in the soil matrix. This accounts to 90-95 % increase in contamination mass as a result hydrocarbons show moderate to poor recovery by physio chemical method. They can enhance hydrocarbon bioremediation by two steps. First by increasing the bioavailabilty of substrate to the microorganism and second by increase the hydrophobicity of the compound toh associate more close to bacterial cell. By decreasing the surface and interfacial surface tension and biosurfactants increase themobility and bioavailability of hydrocarbons. Rhamnolipid foam used to remediate Cd and Ni from sandy soil. This was made when biosurfactant was made a good constant with the contaminant and move through porous plates. Rhamnolipid foam increases the efficiency. Besides doing mobilization, emulsifocation etc. Biosurfavtants can do entrapping of the Trivalent chromium in micelles and they are in resistant bacteria. According to the study chromium 6 was first converted to chromium 3 by environmental reductase and then entrapped in micelles. Organic and inorganic components can be degraded by biosurfactants but they are limited because of there high production cost.

References:

1. Nanotechnology and cancer – james R heath, Mark E Davis, annu rev med 2008.
2. Proteomics a new perspective of cancer – Basavaradhya sahukar shruthi, Palani Vinodhkumar, Selvamami, 2016.
3. Protein design for pathway engineering-Daun T Erikson, Jiazhang Liau, Huimin, Feb-2014.
4. Ebaluation of food allergen detection method and cleaning validation yest-Rachel C Courtney, 2016.
5. Environmental applications of biosurfactants recent advances- Magdalena Pacwa, Sawaranjit Singh, 2011.