ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to investigate the influence of acetone and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on acetylated cashew gun (aCG) nanoparticles parameters and to assess their antimicrobial activity. C1 nanoparticles presented smaller size (81.3 nm) than compared to C2 (115.7 nm). Although, acetone formed particles with lower PDI value. Both C1 and C2 presented negative zeta potential (-39.8 and -31.7 respectively). Particle tracking analysis showed that C1 was slightly more concentrated than C2. No statistical differences (p < 0.05) between the same samples after 5 months were found. Both samples did not exert inhibitory effect on E. coli, on the contrary S. aureus, in which both C1 (36.9%) and C2 (19.9%) provided important inhibitory effect. C1 presented a more pronounced antifungal effect (81.2%), compared to C2 (18.8%), indicating a promising platform to be used in several biomedical application.

Abstract Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most important crops in the world, and it is considered the primary source of nutritional layout in developing countries in Asia. The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) superfamily confers to rice protection against biotic and abiotic stress, and herbicide resistance. However, the three-dimensional structure of a GST Tau class, is unsolved. The objectives of this work were to develop a reliable comparative model for the s-transferase glutathione class Tau 4 from rice, and simulate docking interactions, against herbicides bentazon and metsulfuron. Results showed that the predicted model is reliable and has structural quality. Ramachandran plot set 91.9% of the residues in the most favored regions. All complexes showed negative binding energies values; and metsulfuron docked to the glutathione tripeptide, and it represents a possible insilico evidence of glutathione conjugation with this herbicide.

The aim of this study was to develop a theoretical model using Anopheles gambiae GSTE2 structure as template for Aedes aegypti GSTE2 by homology modeling Docking simulations were performed for both the enzymes against usnic acid in neutral and anionic forms. Ramachandran plot revealed that 93.9% of the GSTE2 model residues were located on most favored regions. Model evaluation was made by the ANOLEA and GROMOS analysis. Docking results indicated that the enzymes were able to form glutathione-conjugate with usnic acid in both the forms (anionic and neutral).