35 documents found, page 1 of 4
Internalization of methotrexate conjugates by folate receptor-α
Nogueira, E.; Passos, M.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Antunes, Egipto; Loureiro, Ana; Guimarães, Diana Isabel Pereira; Jennifer Noro; Rollett, AlexandraThe folate antagonist methotrexate is a cytotoxic drug used in the treatment of several cancer types. Methotrexate entry into the cell is mediated by two main transport systems: the reduced folate carrier and membrane-associated folate receptors. These transporters differ considerably in their mechanism of (anti)folate uptake, substrate specificity and tissue specificity. Although the mechanism of action of the...
Two Engineered OBPs with opposite temperature-dependent affinities towards 1-am...
Gonçalves, Filipa Daniela Gomes; Castro, T.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Ribeiro, Artur; Silva, Carla Manuela Pereira Marinho da; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturEngineered odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) display tunable binding affinities triggered by temperature alterations. We designed and produced two engineered proteins based on OBP-I sequence: truncated OBP (tOBP) and OBP::GQ20::SP-DS3. The binding affinity of 1-aminoanthracene (1-AMA) to these proteins revealed that tOBP presents higher affinity at 25°C (kd=0.45M) than at 37°C (kd=1.72M). OBP::GQ20::SP-DS3 showed...
Hair keratin molecular dynamics studies
Antunes, Egipto; Cruz, Célia F.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturBook of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017; [Excerpt] The keratin is a key element of the hair, nails and skin in vertebrates. Understand the keratin features such its assembling in the mentioned structures, its interactions with some compounds or mechanical properties is of great interest in the fight against some diseases or in the development and optimization of cosmetic products. Although molecular dynami...
Permeation of skin with (C60) fullerene dispersions
Sá, M.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Melle-Franco, Manuel; Ribeiro, Artur; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturDispersions in transcutol/isopropyl myristate make C60 fullerene molecules suitable for transdermal delivery. We found that C60 can successfully permeate the skin using pig skin in Franz diffusion cells. Molecular dynamics simulations and transmission electron microscopy confirmed these observations. Basic cosmetic formulations with transcutol/ isopropyl myristate without harsh organic solvents show a high pote...
In vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics analysis of penetrat...
Santos, Laurita dos; Téllez S, Claudio A.; Sousa, Mariane P. J.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Cavaco-Paulo, Artur; Martin, Airton A.; Favero, Priscila P.Objective The purpose of this study is to elucidate the behavior of retinyl acetate in penetrating human skin without the presence of enhancers by using confocal Raman spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. Methods In this study, in vivo confocal Raman spectroscopy was combined with molecular dynamics simulation to investigate the transdermal permeation of the aqueous suspension of retinyl acetate. Res...
Oil-based cyclo-oligosaccharide nanodevices for drug encapsulation
Jennifer Noro; Loureiro, Ana Isabel Sá; Gonçalves, Filipa D.; Azóia, Nuno G.; Jung, Seunho; Silva, Carla; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturNew encapsulation nanodevices were synthesized by emulsification of cyclo-oligosaccharides fully substituted by hydrophobic palmitic chains. These highly hydrophobic compounds, acquire oily-like behaviour at moderate temperatures (50 °C) and when submitted to ultrasounds (US) can undergo emulsification. The improved emulsifying properties of modified cyclo-oligosaccharides are suitable to produce small and narr...
Albumin-based nanodevices as drug carriers
Loureiro, Ana Isabel Sá; Azóia, Nuno G.; Gomes, Andreia C; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturNanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology to medicine, is being increasingly used to improve and exploit the advantages of efficient drug delivery. Different nanodevices have been developed in recent years, among them protein-based nanoparticles which have gained considerable interest. Albumin is a versatile protein carrier with several characteristics that make it an ideal candidate for drug delivery, su...
Hair keratin molecular dynamics studies
Antunes, José Egipto Ferreira; Azóia, Nuno G.; Cavaco-Paulo, ArturEJIBCE 2016 - IV Encontro de Jovens Investigadores de Biologia Computacional Estrutural; The keratin is a key element of the hair, nails and skin in vertebrates. Understand the keratin features such as its assembling in the mentioned structures, its interaction with some compounds or mechanical properties is of great interest in the fight against some diseases or in the development and optimization of cosmetic ...
Hair keratin molecular dynamics models
Antunes, José Egipto Ferreira; Azóia, Nuno G.; Cavaco-Paulo, Artur251st American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition - Computers in Chemistry; The keratin is a key element of the hair, nails and skin in vertebrates. Understand the keratin features such as its assembling in the mentioned structures, its interaction with some compounds or mechanical properties is of great interest in the fight against some diseases or in the development and optimization of cosmetic p...
Molecular dynamics simulations together with experimental studies reveal strong...
Antunes, José Egipto Ferreira; Azóia, Nuno G.; Cavaco-Paulo, Artur251st American Chemical Society National Meeting & Exposition - Computers in Chemistry; Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are generally defined as small cationic peptides with the ability to interact with lipidic membranes, in a process driven by electrostatic and hydrophobic processes. The interaction with CPPs is known to lead to its translocation across the membrane, while wi...