Thermolysin is used in the industrial synthesis of aspartame. It catalyzes the formation of the peptide bond between aspartic acid and phenylalanine methyl ester, resulting in aspartame.
Both thermolysin and snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) share a similar mechanism of action, utilizing zinc ions to hydrolyze peptide bonds in proteins
Gomis-Rüth FX, Kress LF, Kellermann J, Mayr I, Lee X, Huber R, Bode W. Refined 2.0 A X-ray crystal structure of the snake venom zinc-endopeptidase adamalysin II. Primary and tertiary structure determination, refinement, molecular structure and comparison with astacin, collagenase and thermolysin. J Mol Biol. 1994 Jun 17;239(4):513-44. doi: 10.1006/jmbi.1994.1392. PMID: 8006965.
Adamalysin II, alias proteinase II, a 24 kDa zinc-endopeptidase isolated from the snake venom of the Eastern diamondback rattlesnake Crotalus adamanteus, is a prototype, of the pr
Albumen prints and egg whites…all the rage back in the day…and a few other things
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was published in January 1847 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitabl
Agrin is a large chimeric proteoglycan, a heparan sulfate and chondroitin proteoglycan, whose best-characterised role is in the development of the neuromuscular junction during embryogenesis
Agrin was originally found in the electric organ of Tarpedo california and in the basal lamina at the neuromuscular junction as a protein that di
Zinc, maybe
No proof for the need of zinc in human cells was shown until the late 1930s. More than most ever wanted to know about zinc. A work in progress.
The trefoil knot fold is a protein fold in which the protein backbone is twisted into a trefoil knot shape
“Shallow” knots in which the tail of the polypeptide chain only passes through a loop by a few residues are uncommon, but “deep” knots in which many residue
Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects
Fibroin is an insoluble protein present in silk produced by numerous insects, such as the larvae of Bombyx mori, and other moth genera such as An
Biomining or what I suspect “healthcare” (and much of the “food” industry) has been up to for a very, very long time
Biomining is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using prokaryotes, fungi or plants (phytoextraction also know
Phytoremediation is the use of green plants and the associated microorganisms to remove or render harmless toxic environmental contaminants
Phytoremediation technologies use living plants to clean up soil, air and water contaminated with hazardous contaminants. It is defined as “the use of green plants and th
Phytoextraction is the removal of dangerous elements or compounds from soil or water by plants
Phytoextraction is a subprocess of phytoremediation in which plants remove dangerous elements or compounds from soil or water, most usually heavy metals, metals that have a hig
Cupronickel or copper-nickel (CuNi) is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese
The copper content typically varies from 60 to 90 percent. (Monel is a nickel-copper alloy that contains a minimum of 52 percent nickel.) Despite its high copper content, cupronic
Ferrochelatase catalyses the eighth and terminal step in the biosynthesis of heme, converting protoporphyrin IX into heme B
Protoporphyrin ferrochelatase (EC 4.98.1.1, formerly EC 4.99.1.1, or ferrochelatase; systematic name protoheme ferro-lyase (protoporphyrin-forming)) is an enzyme encoded by th
Transferrins
Transferrins are not limited to only binding to iron but also to different metal ions.
Ceruloplasmin carries more than 95% of the total copper in healthy human plasma and in addition plays a role in iron metabolism. It was first described in 1948.
Ceruloplasmin (or caeruloplasmin) is a ferroxidase enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CP gene. Ceruloplasmin is the major copper-carrying protein in the blood, and in
Sterol carrier proteins (aka nonspecific lipid transfer proteins)
These proteins are different from plant nonspecific lipid transfer proteins but structurally similar to small proteins of unknown function from Thermus thermophilus. This doma
Glucuronic acid is a uronic acid that was first isolated from urine
Glucuronic acid (from Greek γλεῦκος “wine, must” and οὖρον “urine“) is a uronic acid that was first isolated from&nbs