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Inspired by the lack of characterization of natural eutectic and deep eutectic (DES) systems, we studied the solid-liquid equilibria (SLE) of binary and ternary mixtures involving choline chloride and sugars. The densities, viscosities and solvatochromic parameters for the binary systems containing choline chloride, [Ch]Cl, were measured at the eutectic composition, and the water impact on these properties was also investigated in order to address the tailoring of their properties using water. Mixtures of sugars are shown to present an ideal behavior, while their binary mixtures with choline chloride present negative deviations to the ideality, particularly in the sugar solubility curve. Aiming to develop a predictive model to design new sugar based DES, the [Ch]Cl + sugars phase diagrams were used to tune the COnductor-like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) parameters, which was after applied in the estimation of the eutectic points of new ternary DES. The predictions quality was checked experimentally, proving that COSMO-RS can be a useful tool for the design of deep eutectic solvents. ; This work was developed in the scope of the project CICECO − Aveiro Institute of Materials, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007679 (ref. FCT UID/CTM/50011/2013) and Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984 (ref. FCT UID/EQU/50020/2013), both financed by national funds through the FCT/MEC and when appropriate cofinanced by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. This work is also a result of project "AIProc-Mat@N2020 - Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020", with the reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). M.A.R.M. acknowledges FCT for her Ph.D. grant (SFRH/BD/ 87084/2012). FCT is also acknowledged for funding the project DeepBiorefinery (PTDC/AGRTEC/1191/2014). J.O. and L.F. thank the financing provided by the Spanish Government, Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), under the project CTQ2012-37114 and the short-stay grant EEBB-I-16-11792. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Excessive sugar intake including high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is implicated in the rise of obesity, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Liver glycogen synthesis is influenced by both fructose and insulin signaling. Therefore, the effect of HFCS on hepatic glycogenesis was evaluated in mice feeding ad-libitum. Using deuterated water: the fraction of glycogen derived from triose-P sources, Krebs cycle substrates, and direct pathway + cycling, was measured in 9 normal-chow fed mice (NC) and 12 mice fed normal chow plus a 55% fructose/45% glucose mix in the drinking water at 30% w/v (HFCS-55). This was enriched with [U-13C]fructose or [U-13C]glucose to determine the contribution of each to glycogenesis. For NC, direct pathway + cycling, Krebs cycle, and triose-P sources accounted for 66 ± 0.7%, 23 ± 0.8% and 11 ± 0.4% of glycogen synthesis, respectively. HFCS-55 mice had similar direct pathway + cycling (64 ± 1%) but lower Krebs cycle (12 ± 1%, p < 0.001) and higher triose-P contributions (24 ± 1%, p < 0.001). HFCS-55-fructose contributed 17 ± 1% via triose-P and 2 ± 0% via Krebs cycle. HFCS-55-glucose contributed 16 ± 3% via direct pathway and 1 ± 0% via Krebs cycle. In conclusion, HFCS-55 supplementation resulted in similar hepatic glycogen deposition rates. Indirect pathway contributions shifted from Krebs cycle to Triose-P sources reflecting HFCS-55-fructose utilization, while HFCS-55-glucose was incorporated almost exclusively by the direct pathway. ; Te authors acknowledge fnancial support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Research Grant FCT-FEDER-02/SAICT/2017/028147). Structural funding for the Center for Neurosciences and Cell Biology and the UC-NMR facility is supported in part by FEDER—European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE Programme, Centro 2020 Regional Operational Programme, and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology through Grants UIDB/04539/2020; POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440; REEQ/481/QUI/2006, RECI/QEQ-QFI/0168/2012, CENTRO-07-CT62-FEDER-002012, and Rede Nacional de Ressonancia Magnética Nuclear. GDB is supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 722619 (Project FOIE GRAS). GDN and ANT are supported by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 721236 (Project TREATMENT). ; Peer reviewed

Abstract In Brazil, there is a growing demand for specialised pharmaceuticals, and the high cost of their importation results in increasing costs, reaching US$ 1.34 billion in 2012 and US$ 1.61 billion in 2013. Worldwide expenses related to drugs could reach US$ 1.3 trillion in 2018, especially due to new treatments for hepatitis C and cancer. Specialised or high-cost pharmaceutical drugs used for the treatment of viral hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, HIV and diabetes are distributed free of charge by the Brazilian government. The glucagon peptide was included in this group of high-cost biopharmaceuticals in 2008. Although its main application is the treatment of hypoglycaemia in diabetic patients, it can also be used with patients in an alcoholic coma, for those patients with biliary tract pain, and as a bronchodilator. Therefore, in order to reduce biopharmaceutical production costs, the Brazilian government passed laws focusing on the development and increase of a National Pharmaceutical Industrial Centre, including the demand for the national production of glucagon. For that reason and given the importance and high cost of recombinant glucagon, the purpose of this study was to develop methods to improve production, purification and performance of the biological activity of recombinant glucagon. Glucagon was recombined into a plasmid vector containing a Glutathione S-transferase tag, and the peptide was expressed in a heterologous Escherichia coli system. After purification procedures and molecular analyses, the biological activity of this recombinant glucagon was examined using in vivo assays and showed a highly significant (p < 0.00001) and prolonged effect on glucose levels when compared with the standard glucagon. The experimental procedure described here facilitates the high level production of recombinant glucagon with an extended biological activity.

The possibility to fabricate marine collagen porous structures crosslinked with genipin under high pressure carbon dioxide is investigated. Collagen from shark skin is used to prepare prescaffolds by freeze-drying. The poor stability of the structures and low mechanical properties require crosslinking of the structures. Under dense CO2 atmosphere, crosslinking of collagen pre-scaffolds is allowed for 16 h. Additionally, the hydrogels are foamed and the scaffolds obtained present a highly porous structure. In vitro cell culture tests performed with a chondrocyte-like cell line show good cell adherence and proliferation, which is a strong indication of the potential of these scaffolds to be used in tissue cartilage tissue engineering. ; The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. KBBE-2010-266033 (project SPECIAL) and from FEDER through POCTEP Project 0330_IBEROMARE_1_P. Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology is also gratefully acknowledged for post-doc grants of J. Moreira-Silva and T.H. ...

University of Nottingham ; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, United Kingdom ; Department for International Development, United Kingdom ; Scottish Government ; Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation ; King Saud University ; King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology ; Peer Review