Abstract: A conductor/insulator/porous film device is provided which is used in electrochemiluminescence methods and instrumentation based on the chemical excitation of label molecules with subsequent measurement of the luminescence in order to quantitate analyte concentrations especially in bioaffinity assays.

Abstract: The present invention provides antimicrobials for efficient therapy of infections caused by bacterial pathogens. The antimicrobials include peptides corresponding to the active site of N-terminal extension of subunits composing specific adhesive organelles of virulence of pathogenic bacteria. These antimicrobial peptides inhibit surface expression of adhesive organelles and thus prevent development of infections caused by pathogenic bacteria. The invention describes also effective methods for screening molecules inhibiting the generation of the adhesive organelles.

Abstract: The invention describes production of an adjuvant with biological activities related to N-acetylglucosaminyl-?1-4-N-acetylmuramyl-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (GMDP), a commonly used enhancer of the immune response. It was found in the present invention that the drawbacks of GMDP can be avoided by replacing it with a peptide that does not have any direct structural relationship with GMDP.

Abstract: The present invention provides structures of small molecules capable of modulating apoptotic cell death. More specifically, the structures relate to the structures of apoptotic active sites of mammalian alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and albumin. Peptides mimicking the active site contain two sequences, Arg-Gly-Asp and Asp-X-X-Asp, wherein X means any amino acid. These sequences are needed in the same molecule for causing a wide range of biological activities. The peptides can be utilized to suppress apoptotic pathways by inhibiting the cytochrome c-mediated caspase activation. Thus, the peptides can be used to inhibit effects of apoptosis induced by oxidative stress, drugs, cytokines, Fas-ligand, alpha-fetoprotein, used to prevent apoptosis in culturing cells, in organ transplantation, in immunological autoimmune disorders and immunodeficiency syndrome induced by viral infection, or to diminish side cytotoxic effects after chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Abstract: The present invention is related to novel bioactive pentapeptides, pentarphins, the main indication of which is enhancing phagocytic activity of macrophages against microbes. In particular, the cyclopentapeptide, cyclo(Val-Lys-Gly-Phe-Tyr), termed cyclopeptarphin, was 100 times more active than tuftsin. Cyclopentarphin was non-toxic even at concentrations 1000 times higher than the minimum active dose, while being non-immunogenic. Furthermore, cyclopentarphin is more stable to enzymatic cleavage in vitro as compared to linear pentarphin and tuftsin and, hence, its life span in vivo is also larger than that of linear peptides. High efficacy and safety of cyclopentarphin enable elaboration of novel drugs that enhance the resistance of human and animal organisms to microbes and micro particles.

Abstract: The present invention provides constructs and methods for increasing the content of selected amino acids by targeted expression or accumulation of a protein enriched with an amino acid sequence entailing said protein in a plant species or in a tissue or an organ of a plant. The increased content is obtained by stable transformation of plants with a recombinant nucleotide sequence construct encoding a carrier protein having in its 3′-terminal end a polyamino acid extension and operably linked with a tissue or an organ specific regulatory sequence. The increased amino acid content in plant tissues, particularly membraneous oil bodies and cell walls of seed provides a composition useful as animal feed.

Abstract: A continuous process for removing nitrates from nitrate containing aqueous solutions having a pH of about 0-7, which comprises: (1) extracting the nitrate containing aqueous solution with an organic amine salt dissolved in an organic solvent phase whereby the nitrate ion goes into the organic solvent, (2) separating the organic phase, (3) stripping the organic extraction solvent phase from the extraction with a stripping salt solution of pH at least 0.