Physicochemical studies of novel sugar fatty acid esters based on (R)-3-hydroxylated acids derived from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates and their potential environmental impact.

Sugar fatty acids esters are popular compounds widely used in both the nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries due to their amphiphilic structure and consequent ability to reduce the surface tension of solutions. Furthermore, an important aspect in the implementation of any additives and formulations is their environmental impact. The properties of the esters depend on the type of sugar used and the hydrophobic component. In this work, selected physicochemical properties of new sugar esters based on lactose, glucose and galactose and hydroxy acids derived from bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates are shown for the first time. Values for critical aggregation concentration, surface activity and pH make it possible that these esters could compete with other commercially used esters of similar chemical structure. The investigated compounds showed moderate emulsion stabilization abilities presented on the example of water-oil systems containing squalene and body oil. Their potential environmental impact appears to be low, as the esters are not toxic to Caenorhabditis elegans even at concentrations much higher than the critical aggregation concentration.

In Search of Effective Anticancer Agents-Novel Sugar Esters Based on Polyhydroxyalkanoate Monomers.

Cancer is one of the deadliest illness globally. Searching for new solutions in cancer treatments is essential because commonly used mixed, targeted and personalized therapies are sometimes not sufficient or are too expensive for common patients. Sugar fatty acid esters (SFAEs) are already well-known as promising candidates for an alternative medical tool. The manuscript brings the reader closer to methods of obtaining various SFAEs using combined biological, chemical and enzymatic methods. It presents how modification of SFAE's hydrophobic chains can influence their cytotoxicity against human skin melanoma and prostate cancer cell lines. The compound's cytotoxicity was determined by an MTT assay, which followed an assessment of SFAEs' potential metastatic properties in concentrations below IC50 values. Despite relatively high IC50 values (63.3-1737.6 µM) of the newly synthesized SFAE, they can compete with other sugar esters already described in the literature. The chosen bioactives caused low polymerization of microtubules and the depolymerization of actin filaments in nontoxic levels, which suggest an apoptotic rather than metastatic process. Altogether, cancer cells showed no propensity for metastasis after treating them with SFAE. They confirmed that lactose-based compounds seem the most promising surfactants among tested sugar esters. This manuscript creates a benchmark for creation of novel anticancer agents based on 3-hydroxylated fatty acids of bacterial origin.

Hollow silica microspheres as robust immobilization carriers.

Hollow silica microspheres provide an ideal solid support for enzyme immobilization. We tested one of the newest development, namely MATSPHERES®, a silica openwork material as a carrier for the covalent immobilization of enzymes used to synthesize bioactive compounds. Two model enzymes - ethylbenzene dehydrogenase and EL070 lipase - were considered. They belong to two different enzyme classes and catalyse reactions taking place in various environments (aqueous and non-aqueous, aerobic and anaerobic). The enzymes were immobilized by covalent bonds (via divinyl sulfone and glutaraldehyde) on new silica material. Effectiveness of immobilization processes on the spheres grafted with amine groups and on the analogues without functionalization was determined for both enzymes. Microspheres were characterized morphologically and also their mechanical stability was examined during exposure to varying physical conditions. It was shown that MATSPHERES® due to their openwork structure and relative stability under batch and flow conditions can be a competitive SBA support for enzyme immobilization and production of bioactive compounds.