The lipidic cubic phase can be viewed as a molecular sponge consisting of interpenetrating nanochannels filled with water and coated by lipid bilayers. It has been used as a delivery matrix for low-molecular-weight drugs. For those that are water-soluble, release is fast and unregulated. This study seeks to exploit the lipid bilayer compartment as a location within the cubic phase in which to '...

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Recent successes in the crystallographic determination of structures of transmembrane proteins in the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family have established the lipidic cubic phase (LCP) environment as the medium of choice for growing structure-grade crystals by the method termed "in meso". The understanding of in meso crystallogenesis is currently at a descriptive level. To enable an eventu...

Despite recent technological advances in heterologous expression, stabilization and crystallization of membrane proteins (MPs), their structural studies remain difficult and require new transformative approaches. During the past two years, crystallization in lipidic cubic phase (LCP) has started gaining a widespread acceptance, owing to the spectacular success in high-resolution structure deter...

OBJECTIVE Sensorineural hearing loss leads to the progressive degeneration of spiral ganglion cells (SGC). Next to postoperative fibrous tissue growth, which should be suppressed to assure a close nerve-electrode interaction, the density of healthy SGC is one factor that influences the efficiency of cochlear implants (CI), the choice of treatment for affected patients. Rolipram, a phosphodieste...

Lipid nanocapsules (LNC) based on a core-shell structure consisting of an oil-filled core with a surrounding polymer layer are known to be promising vehicles for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs in the new therapeutic strategies in anti-cancer treatments. The present work has been designed as basic research about different LNC systems. We have synthesized-and physico-chemically characterized-t...

Synthesis of lipidic components in anthers, including of the pollen exine, is essential for plant male reproductive development. Plant lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are small, abundant lipid-binding proteins that have the ability to exchange lipids between membranes in vitro. However, their biological role in male reproductive development remains less understood. Here, we report the crucial ro...

Although the accumulation of cholesterol and other lipidic material is unquestionably important in atherogenesis, the reasons why this material progressively accumulates, rather than being effectively cleared by phagocytic cells such as macrophages, are not completely understood. We hypothesize that atheromatous lesions may represent "death zones" that contain toxic materials such as oxysterols...

The zebra mussel is the intermediate host for two digenean trematodes, Phyllodistomum folium and Bucephalus polymorphus, infecting gills and the gonad respectively. Many gray areas exist relating to the host physiological disturbances associated with these infections, and the strategies used by these parasites to exploit their host without killing it. The aim of this study was to examine the ho...

Recently, there is a growing interest towards the development of strategies for invasive seaweed control and exploitation as source of secondary metabolites. Here, we investigated the potential of exploitation in biotechnology and recycling options in eradication programs of the lipidic extract of the Mediterranean invasive seaweed Caulerpa cylindracea (Chlorophyta). The chemical characterizati...