The present invention provides a composition of nanoparticles comprising a biological mimetic base component that forms the structure of the nanoparticle. By interacting with the functional groups of the base component, the half-life of a bioactive molecule is extended.

The invention relates to cancer, and in particular to novel pharmaceutical compositions, therapies and methods for treating, preventing or ameliorating cancer, and especially metastatic disease. The invention also relates to diagnostic and prognostic methods for cancer and metastatic disease, and biomarkers for these conditions.

A cyclic polypeptide, derivative or analogue thereof, comprising an amino acid sequence derived from the C-terminus of acetylcholinesterase (ACh E), or a truncation thereof.

Embodiments of the invention provide at least one polymer covalently conjugated to an esterase. The at least one polymer includes a plurality of oxime functional groups.

Embodiments of the invention provide at least one polymer covalently conjugated to an esterase. The at least one polymer includes a plurality of oxime functional groups.

A system that can assess red blood cell AChE activity to provide warning of exposure and possibly inform treatment with medical countermeasures is disclosed. A portable, ideally hand-held, in vitro diagnostic point of care system capable of electrochemically-based detection of red blood cell acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity from an undiluted whole blood sample provides a real-time pre-symptomatic warning of exposure to organophosphorus nerve agent or other poison, such as a pesticide, which informs treatment with medical countermeasures. One preferred version of the invention provides a system that uses highly stable test strips and a lightweight, low power hand-held potentiostat detector. The disclosed invention provides a real-time quantitative assessment of cholinesterase (ChE) enzymatic activity directly from a small whole blood sample for indication of exposure to ChE inhibiting substances (i.e., chemical warfare nerve agents or carbamate pesticides), thereby allowing immediate assessment of a blood sample in the field during the pre-symptomatic window.

An enzymatic method for selective catalytic preparation of 4-octyl itaconate is provided, which belongs to the fields of biochemical engineering and enzymatic catalysis. The method uses a lipase or an enzyme preparation with a catalytic triplet structure (Ser-His-Asp or Ser-His-Gly) as a catalyst, itaconic acid and n-octanol or n-octanol-derived ester as raw materials to selectively catalyze the synthesis of 4-octyl itaconate in a solvent system or a solvent-free system. Compared with chemical synthesis routes of 4-octyl itaconate, the present method has the advantages of green, safety, and environmental protection. The obtained 4-octyl itaconate is one of the new small molecule compounds with anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties.

Materials and methods for generating protein-polymer conjugates on solid supports are provided herein. The methods can include, for example, reversibly immobilizing a protein on a solid support, modifying the protein by adding polymer subunits, and releasing the protein-polymer conjugate from the solid support.

The invention relates to novel peptides, compositions, therapies and methods for treating neurodegenerative disorders, for example Alzheimer's disease.

A method of creating crystals of insect acetylcholinesterase. A polynucleotide is obtained that encodes for acetylcholinesterase in a targeted insect. The polynucleotide contains a catalytic core sequence. A recombinant DNA construct is formed by adding a fusion protein and a polyhistidine tag to the catalytic core sequence. The recombinant DNA construct can be further modified by adding known mutations for resistance to insecticides. A growth medium is transfected with the recombinant DNA construct. A polypeptide encoded by the recombinant DNA construct is separated from the growth medium to form a concentrate. The polyhistidine tag is removed from the concentrate. The concentrate is exchanged into a buffer to create a buffered concentrate. Crystals, suitable for X-ray crystallography are then grown with the buffered concentrate.