• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.394-408
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• 2015

Spectroscopy is an emerging technology for the quality assessment of pharmaceutical samples, from tablet manufacturing to final quality assurance. The traditional methods for the quality management of pharmaceutical tablets are time consuming and destructive, while spectroscopic techniques allow rapid analysis in a non-destructive manner. The advantage of spectroscopy is that it collects both spatial and spectral information (called hyperspectral imaging), which is useful for the chemical imaging of pharmaceutical samples. These chemical images provide both qualitative and quantitative information on tablet samples. In the pharmaceutics, spectroscopic techniques are used for a variety of applications, such as analysis of the homogeneity of powder samples as well as determination of particle size, product composition, and the concentration, uniformity, and distribution of the active pharmaceutical ingredient in solid tablets. This review paper presents an introduction to the applications of various spectroscopic techniques such as hyperspectroscopy and vibrational spectroscopies (Raman spectroscopy, FT-NIR, and IR spectroscopy) for the quality and safety assessment of pharmaceutical solid dosage forms. In addition, various chemometric techniques that are highly essential for analyzing the spectroscopic data of pharmaceutical samples are also reviewed.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.541-546
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• 1999

When we compared the chitinase activity of various plant sources using colorimetric or active gel-staining assay methods, the specific activity of pumpkin leaves was the highest among the samples we analyzed. The highly active chitinase from pumpkin leaves (designated PL-ChtIII) was purified to homogeneity using affinity chitin gel and HPLC Mono-Q anion-exchange cloumn chromatographies. In contrast to other members of the class III chitinase family, PL-ChtIII showed a strong binding affinity to the regenerated chitin gel column. The apparent molecular weight of PL-ChtIII was estimated to be 29 kDa on SDS-PAGE gel, while its optimum pH and temperature were shown to be pH 6.0 and $60^{\circ}C$, respectively. Analyzing the reaction products of PL-ChtIII with swollen chitin as substrate, the dimer and tetramer of N-acetylglucosamine were produced as major products in the first hour of the enzymatic reaction along with a small amount of monomers and trimers. As the reaction time increased, dimeric N-acetylglucosamine became the predominant form of reaction product.

• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 1995

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) synthetase was purified to homogeneity from soybean (Glycine max) axes. The enzyme was purified 216-fold with a 1.5% yield by ammonium sulfate fractionation, acetone fractionation, ion exchange chromatography with DEAE-sephacel, gel filtration with Sephacryl S-300, and afffinity chromatography with ATP-agarose. The enzyme activity reached a maximum 3 days after germination. SAM synthetase had a subunit molecular weight of 57,000 daltons from a silver stained single band on SDS-PAGE. The molecular weight of the enzyme was 110,000 daltons from Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration. The enzyme was composed of two identical subunits. The $K_m$ values of the enzyme for L-methionine and ATP were 1.81 and 1.53 mM, respectively. The enzymatic activity was not affected by polyamines, agmatine, or SAM analogues, but was inhibited by SAM. The inhibition pattern was showed non-competitive for L-methionine and uncompetitive for ATP. The activity of SAM synthetase was inhibited by thiol-blocking reagents. The enzyme was induced by treatment with $10^{-3}$ M putrescine at germination. Experimental data revealed a possible novel regulation mechanism of polyamine biosynthesis through several endogenous intermediates.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.399-404
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• 1998

In order to gain further insight on the relationship between structure and function of glutathione S-transferase (GST), the six active-site mutants, R13T, K44T, Q51A, Q64A, S65A, and D98A, of human GST P1-1 were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to electrophoretic homogeneity by affinity chromatography on immobilized GSH. The active-site mutants showed marked differences in substrate specificity. The substitution of Gln51 with threonine resulted in a drastic decrease in the specific activities to <10% of the wild-type value. The substitution of Arg13 with threonine resulted in more decreased specific activity toward cumene hydroperoxide and in the $I_{50}$ values of S-(2,4-dinitrophenyl) glutathione and benanstatin A. These results suggest that the substitution of Arg13 with threonine changes the conformation of the active site to increase the affinity for the product or electrophilic substrate. Lys44 seems to be in the vicinity of the H-site of hGST P1-1 or may contribute to some extents to the electrophile binding.

• Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.235-240
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• 1998

The myristoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) specific thioesterase from Iris tectorum was purified to a considerable homogeneity and characterized. The enzyme was eluted with a considerable stability by double-gradients using Triton X-100 and low ionic KCl or Na-phosphate through DEAE-52, Octyl-Sepharose, Q-Sepharose, and hydroxyapatite chromatoraphy. SDS-PAGE analysis showed a single band of 39 kDa. The native molecular weight was estimated to be 82 kDa by Sephacryl S-200 chromatography, indicating that the enzyme was a dimer. The thioesterase showed a chain-length specificity to myristoyl-ACP in preference to other-ACPs. The enzyme activity decreased by 1.0 mM myristate to about 27% of the original activity, whereas the remaining activity with decanoate was about 90%. The purified thioesterase was inhibited by myristoyl-CoA more than by myristate, suggesting that the myristoyl-AGP thiolesterase might be controlled by myristic acid and/or a subsequent product myristoyl-CoA. In addition, some biochemical characteristics of the enzyme were described.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.242-250
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• 2001

A Gram-positive bacterium (strain JB-13) that was isolated from soil as a producer of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase (CGTase) [EC 2.4.1.19] was identified as Panibacillus sp. JB-13. This CGTase could catalyze the transglucosylation reaction from soluble starch to L-ascorbic acid (AA). A main product formed by this enzyme with ${\alpha}-glucosidase$ was identified as $2-O-{\alpha}-D-glucopyranosyl{\;}_{L}-ascorbic$ acid (AA-2G) by the HPLC profile and the elemental analysis. CGTase was purified to homogeneity using ammonium sulfate fractionation, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Seohadex A-50, and gel chromatography on Sephacryl S-200HR. The molecular weight was determined to be 66,000 by both gel chromatography and SDS-PAGE. The isoelectric point of the purified enzyme was 5.3. The optimum pH and temperature was PH 7.0 and $45^{\circ}C$ respectively. The enzyme was stable in the range of pH 6-9 and at temperatures of $75{\circ}C$ or less in the presence of 15 mM ${CaCl_2}.\;{Hg^2+},\;{Mn^+2},{Ag^+},\;and\;{Cu^2+}$ all strongly inhibited the enzyme's activity.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.119-125
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• 1990

A Potent inhibitor of trypsin and other various serine proteases including chymotrypsin, elastase, kallikrein, plasmin and subtilisin, has been purified to homogeneity from chick skeletal muscle by convendonal chromatographic procedures. The Inhibitor has an apparent molecular weight of 66, 000 dalton as determined by gel filtration. When the purified inhibitor was electrophoresed in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, there appeared rwo protein bands having molecular weights of 66, 000 and 64, 000 dalton. The 64, 000 dalton protein seems to be the product of 66, 000 dalton protein by a lin'ited proteolysis during the purification procedure or in viuo. Thus, it seems to consist of a single polypeptide. The inhibitor appeared to be glycoprotein and have an isoelectric point of 7.4. It contains relatively large amount (8.33 mole%) of cysteine residues.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.24 no.11
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• pp.1525-1535
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• 2014

The xynC gene, which encodes high molecular weight xylanase from Paenibacillus sp. DG-22, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The xynC gene comprised a 4,419bp open reading frame encoding 1,472 amino acid residues, including a 27 amino acid signal sequence. Sequence analysis indicated that XynC is a multidomain enzyme composed of two family 4_9 carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs), a catalytic domain of family 10 glycosyl hydrolases, a family 9 CBM, and three S-layer homologous domains. Recombinant XynC was purified to homogeneity by heat treatment, followed by Avicel affinity chromatography. SDS-PAGE and zymogram analysis of the purified enzyme identified three active truncated xylanase species. Protein sequencing of these truncated proteins showed that all had identical N-terminal sequences. In the protein characterization, recombinant XynC exhibited optimal activity at pH 6.5 and $65^{\circ}C$ and remained stable at neutral to alkaline pH (pH 6.0-10.0). The xylanase activity of recombinant XynC was strongly inhibited by 1 mM $Cu^{2+}$ and $Hg^{2+}$, whereas it was noticeably enhanced by 10 mM dithiothreitol. The enzyme exhibited strong activity towards xylans, including beechwood xylan and arabinoxylan, whereas it showed no cellulase activity. The hydrolyzed product patterns of birchwood xylan and xylooligosaccharides by thin-layer chromatography confirmed XynC as an endoxylanase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.619-622
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• 2006

Biotransformation is a good tool to synthesize regioselective compounds. It could be performed with diverse sources of genes, and microorganisms provide a myriad of gene sources for biotransformation. We were interested in modification of flavonoids, and therefore, we cloned a putative O-methyltransferase from Bacillus cereus, BcOMT-2. It has a 668-bp open reading frame that encodes a 24.6-kDa protein. In order to investigate the modification reaction mediated by BcOMT-2, it was expressed in E. coli as a His-tag fusion protein and purified to homogeneity. Several substrates such as naringenin, luteolin, kaempferol, and quercetin were tested and reaction products were analyzed by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). BcOMT-2 could transfer a methyl group to substrates that have a 3' functional hydroxyl group, such as luteolin and quercetin. Comparison of the HPLC retention time and UV spectrum of the quercetin reaction product with corresponding authentic 3'-methylated and 4'-methylated compounds showed that the methylation position was at either the 3'-hydroxyl or 4'-hydroxyl group. Thus, BcOMT-2 transfers a methyl group either to the 3'-hydroxyl or 4'-hydroxyl group of flavonoids when both hydroxyl groups are available. Among several flavonoids that contain a 3'- and 4'-hydroxyl group, fisetin was the best substrate for the BcOMT-2.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.800-805
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• 2007

Two endoglucanases with processive cellulase activities, produced from Fomitopsis palustris grown on 2% microcrystalline cellulose(Avicel), were purified to homogeneity by anion-exchange and gel filtration column chromatography systems. SDS-PAGE analysis indicated that the molecular masses of the purified enzymes were 47 kDa and 35 kDa, respectively. The amino acid sequence analysis of the 47-kDa protein(EG47) showed a sequence similarity with fungal glycoside hydrolase family 5 endoglucanase from the white-rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium. N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences of the 35-kDa protein(EG35), however, had no homology with any other glycosylhydrolases, although the enzyme had high specific activity against carboxymethyl cellulose, which is a typical substrate for endoglucanases. The initial rate of Avicel hydrolysis by EG35 was relatively fast for 48 h, and the amount of soluble reducing sugar released after 96 h was $100{\mu}g/ml$. Although EG47 also hydrolyzed Avicel, the hydrolysis rate was lower than that of EG35. Thin layer chromatography analysis of the hydrolysis products released from Avicel indicated that the main product was cellobiose, suggesting that the brown-rot fungus possesses processive EGs capable of degrading crystalline cellulose.