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Browsing by Author "Sousa, Ana Catarina"

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  • An enzymatic route to a benzocarbazole framework using bacterial CotA laccase
    Publication . Sousa, Ana Catarina; Piedade, Maria de Fátima M. M.; Martins, Lígia O.; Robalo, Maria Paula
    The CotA laccase-catalysed oxidation of the meta, para-disubstituted arylamine 2,4-diaminophenyldiamine delivers, under mild reaction conditions, a benzocarbazole derivative (1) (74% yield), a key structural motif of a diverse range of applications. This work extends the scope of aromatic frameworks obtained using these enzymes and represents a new efficient and clean method to construct in one step C-C and C-N bonds.
    2015Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Biocatalytic synthesis of 1,2-naphtoquinones derivatives mediated by CotA-laccase
    Publication . Sousa, Ana Catarina; Santos, Iolanda; Martins, Lígia O.; Robalo, Maria Paula
    Catalysis is one of the cornerstones of our present economy and society and the formation of value-added products is many times directly dependent on catalytic technologies. Nowadays, there is a growing need for development of green strategies involving clean organic reactions, which do not use harmful organic solvents and toxic reagents. Amongst the many options available for a synthetic organic chemist, biocatalysis has emerged as one approach with an excellent potential. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions offer a number of advantages compared to the traditional chemistry-catalyzed reactions and biocatalytic methods impart a “greener” character to the synthesis. Laccases (EC1.10.3.2, p-diphenol:dioxygen oxidoreductases) are multicopper oxidoreductive enzymes which have proven to be versatile and highly/efficient biocatalyst for the synthesis of different value-added chemicals and pharmaceuticals.1 A large number of 1,2-naphthoquinones derivatives have been reported to show antitumor activities by inhibit on of multiple enzymes.2 In addition to their anticancer properties, the naphthoquinone framework has significance in the development of new substances with promising biological activities in other diseases like neurodegenerative and viral diseases.3 The formation of naphthoquinone frameworks is quit-well documented and reported methods include various approaches using organic solvents and different chemical oxidants.4 In this context it is still a challenge to explore alternative and more sustainable synthetic routes for these compounds. As a part of our going research program for exploring the catalytic properties of CotA-laccase, a bacterial laccase isolated from the Bacillus subtilis, we describe in the present communication a practical and simple oxidative CotA-laccase mediated eco-friendly method to obtain 1,2-naphthoquinones derivatives using mild aqueous conditions and O2 as oxidant. All compounds were isolated in good yields and fully characterized by FTIR, NMR and ESI techniques.
    2017-09Conference object Restricted access Show more
  • Burden of disease attributable to risk factors in European countries: a scoping literature review
    Publication . Gorasso, Vanessa; Morgado, Joana Nazaré; Charalampous, Periklis; Pires, Sara M.; Haagsma, Juanita A.; Santos, João Vasco; Idavain, Jane; Ngwa, Che Henry; Noguer, Isabel; Padron-Monedero, Alicia; Sarmiento, Rodrigo; Pinheiro, Vera; Von der Lippe, Elena; Jakobsen, Lea Sletting; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Plass, Dietrich; Aasvang, Gunn Marit; Ádám, Balázs; Alkerwi, Ala’a; Arabloo, Jalal; Baltazar, Ana Lúcia; Uysal, Hilal Bektas; Bikbov, Boris; Bolling, Anette Kocbach; Borrell-Pages, Maria; Carreras, Giulia; Castelpietra, Giulio; Chen-Xu, José; Lagarija, Šeila Cilović; Corso, Barbara; Cuschieri, Sarah; De Pauw, Robby; Dhaouadi, Sonia; Dokova, Klara; Dopelt, Keren; Economou, Mary; Emeto, Theophilus I.; Fantke, Peter; Fischer, Florian; Freitas, Alberto; Galluzzo, Lucia; García-González, Juan Manuel; Gazzelloni, Federica; Gissler, Mika; Gkitakou, Artemis; Gubes, Sezgin; Canu, Irina Guseva; Hincapié, Cesar A.; Hynds, Paul; Ilic, Irena; Ilic, Milena; Isola, Gaetano; Kabir, Zubair; Kolkhir, Pavel; Konar, Naime Meriç; Kretzschmar, Mirjam; Kulimbet, Mukhtar; La Vecchia, Carlo; Ladeira, Carina; Lassen, Brian; Lauriola, Paolo; Lehtomäki, Heli; Levi, Miriam; Majer, Marjeta; McDonald, Scott A.; Mechili, Enkeleint A.; Misins, Janis; Monasta, Lorenzo; Laguna, Javier Muñoz; Namorado, Sónia; Nena, Evangelia; Ng, Edmond S. W.; Nguewa, Paul; Niranjan, Vikram; Nola, Iskra Alexandra; Obradović, Marija; O’Caoimh, Rónán; Öztürk, Nazife; Pastorinho, M. Ramiro; Petrou, Panagiotis; Peyroteo, Mariana; Ortiz, Miguel Reina; Riva, Silvia; Rocha-Gomes, João; Santoso, Cornelia Melinda Adi; Schmitt, Tugce; Shigdel, Rajesh; Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig; Soriano, Joan B.; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Sprügel, Maximilian; Steiropoulos, Paschalis; Tozija, Fimka; Unim, Brigid; Vandeninden, Bram; Varga, Orsolya; Vasic, Milena; Viegas, Susana; Vieira, Rafael; Violante, Francesco S.; Wyper, Grant M. A.; Yigit, Vahit; Zaletel, Jelka
    Objectives: Within the framework of the burden of disease (BoD) approach, disease, and injury burden estimates attributable to risk factors are a useful guide for policy formulation and priority setting in disease prevention. Considering the important differences in methods, and their impact on burden estimates, we conducted a scoping literature review to: (1) map the BoD assessments including risk factors performed across Europe, and (2) identify the methodological choices in comparative risk assessment (CRA) and risk assessment methods. Methods: We searched multiple literature databases, including grey literature websites, and targeted public health agencies' websites. Results: A total of 113 studies were included in the synthesis and further divided into independent BoD assessments (54 studies) and studies linked to the Global Burden of Disease (59 papers). Our results showed that the methods used to perform CRA varied substantially across independent European BoD studies. While there were some methodological choices that were more common than others, we did not observe patterns in terms of country, year, or risk factor. Each methodological choice can affect the comparability of estimates between and within countries and/or risk factors since they might significantly influence the quantification of the attributable burden. From our analysis, we observed that the use of CRA was less common for some types of risk factors and outcomes. These included environmental and occupational risk factors, which are more likely to use bottom-up approaches for health outcomes where disease envelopes may not be available. Conclusions: Our review also highlighted misreporting, the lack of uncertainty analysis, and the under-investigation of causal relationships in BoD studies. Development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting BoD studies will help understand differences, and avoid misinterpretations thus improving comparability among estimates.
    2023-06Journal article Open access Show more
  • Burden of non-communicable disease studies in Europe: a systematic review of data sources and methodological choices
    Publication . Charalampous, Periklis; Gorasso, Vanessa; Plass, Dietrich; Pires, Sara M; von der Lippe, Elena; Mereke, Alibek; Idavain, Jane; Kissimova-Skarbek, Katarzyna; Morgado, Joana Nazaré; Ngwa, Che Henry; Noguer, Isabel; Padron-Monedero, Alicia; Santi-Cano, María José; Sarmiento, Rodrigo; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Haagsma, Juanita A; Ádám, Balázs; Alkerwi, Ala’a; Bikbov, Boris; Bølling, Anette Kocbach; Breitner, Susanne; Cuschieri, Sarah; Dahm, Christina C; Eikemo, Terje Andreas; Fischer, Florian; Freitas, Alberto; García-González, Juan Manuel; Gazzelloni, Federica; Gissler, Mika; Hengl, Brigita; Hynds, Paul; Isola, Gaetano; Jakobsen, Lea S; Kabir, Zubair; Knudsen, Ann Kristin; Konar, Naime Meriç; Ladeira, Carina; Liew, Aaron; Majer, Marjeta; Mechili, Enkeleint A; Mevsim, Vildan; Milicevic, Milena Santric; Mitchell, Louise; Monasta, Lorenzo; Mondello, Stefania; Nena, Evangelia; Ng, Edmond S W; Niranjan, Vikram; O'Caoimh, Rónán; O’Donovan, Mark Ryan; Ortiz, Alberto; Pallari, Elena; Petrou, Panagiotis; Ortiz, Miguel Reina; Riva, Silvia; Samouda, Hanène; Santos, João V; Adi Santoso, Cornelia Melinda; Schmitt, Tugce; Skempes, Dimitrios; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Stevanovic, Aleksandar; Terzic, Gerhard Sulo Natasa; Terzic-Supic, Zorica; Todorovic, Jovana; Tozija, Fimka; Unim, Brigid; Van Wilder, Lisa; Varga, Orsolya; Violante, Francesco S; Wyper, Grant M A
    Background: Assessment of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) resulting from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) requires specific calculation methods and input data. The aims of this study were to (i) identify existing NCD burden of disease (BoD) activities in Europe; (ii) collate information on data sources for mortality and morbidity; and (iii) provide an overview of NCD-specific methods for calculating NCD DALYs. Methods: NCD BoD studies were systematically searched in international electronic literature databases and in grey literature. We included all BoD studies that used the DALY metric to quantify the health impact of one or more NCDs in countries belonging to the European Region. Results: A total of 163 BoD studies were retained: 96 (59%) were single-country or sub-national studies and 67 (41%) considered more than one country. Of the single-country studies, 29 (30%) consisted of secondary analyses using existing Global Burden of Disease (GBD) results. Mortality data were mainly derived (49%) from vital statistics. Morbidity data were frequently (40%) drawn from routine administrative and survey datasets, including disease registries and hospital discharge databases. The majority (60%) of national BoD studies reported mortality corrections. Multimorbidity adjustments were performed in 18% of national BoD studies. Conclusion: The number of national NCD BoD assessments across Europe increased over time, driven by an increase in BoD studies that consisted of secondary data analysis of GBD study findings. Ambiguity in reporting the use of NCD-specific BoD methods underlines the need for reporting guidelines of BoD studies to enhance the transparency of NCD BoD estimates across Europe.
    2022-04Journal article Open access Show more
  • Eco-friendly synthesis of indo dyes mediated by a bacterial laccase
    Publication . Sousa, Ana Catarina; Piedade, M. Fatima M.; Martins, Ligia O.; Robalo, Maria Paula
    Several aminoindamine and indoaniline dyes were obtained in good to excellent yields (64-98%) by oxidative cross-coupling between 1,4-phenylenediamine (1), 4-aminophenol (2) or 2,5-diaminotoluene (3) and several meta- and meta, para-substituted couplers (4a-j) using a green biocatalyst, the bacterial enzyme CotA-laccase from Bacillus subtilis, in water and under mild conditions of pH and temperature. Our results show that the enzymatic route described represents an efficient and sustainable alternative to the chemical synthesis of indo dyes, with a potentially high impact in the cosmetic and hair dye industries.
    2016Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Engineering a bacterial DyP-Type peroxidase for enhanced oxidation of lignin-related phenolics at alkaline pH
    Publication . Brissos, Vânia; Tavares, Diogo; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Robalo, Maria Paula; Martins, Lígia O.
    Dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DyPs) are a family of microbial heme-containing peroxidases that show important properties for lignocellulose biorefineries due to their ability to oxidize lignin-related compounds. Directed evolution was used to improve the efficiency of the bacterial PpDyP from Pseudomonas putida MET94 for phenolic compounds. Three rounds of random mutagenesis by error prone PCR of the ppDyP gene followed by high-throughput screening allow identification of the 6E10 variant showing a 100-fold enhanced catalytic efficiency (k(ca)t/K-m) for 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (DMP), similar to that exhibited by fungal lignin peroxidases (similar to 10(5) M-1 s(-1)). The evolved variant showed additional improved efficiency for a number of syringyl-type phenolics, guaiacol, aromatic amines, Kraft lignin, and the lignin phenolic model dimer guaiacylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether. Importantly, variant 6E10 displayed optimal pH at 8.5, an upshift of 4 units in comparison to the wild type, showed resistance to hydrogen peroxide inactivation, and was produced at 2-fold higher yields. The acquired mutations in the course of the evolution affected three amino acid residues (E188K, A142V, and H125Y) situated at the surface of the enzyme, in the second shell of the heme cavity. Biochemical analysis of hit variants from the laboratory evolution, and single variants constructed using site-directed mutagenesis, unveiled the critical role of acquired mutations from the catalytic, stability, and structural viewpoints. We show that epistasis between A142V and E188K mutations is crucial to determine the substrate specificity of 6E10. Evidence suggests that ABTS and DMP oxidation occurs at the heme access channel. Details of the catalytic cycle of 6E10 were elucidated through transient kinetics, providing evidence for the formation of a reversible enzyme hydrogen peroxide complex (Compound 0) barely detected in the majority of heme peroxidases studied to date.
    2017-05Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Hybrid silver(I)-doped soybean oil and potato starch biopolymer films to combat bacterial biofilms
    Publication . Fernandes, Tiago; Costa, Inês F. M.; Jorge, Paulo; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Andre, Vania; Cabral, Rafaela G.; Cerca, N.; Kirillov, Alexander M.
    This study describes the preparation, characterization, and antimicrobial properties of novel hybrid biopolymer materials doped with bioactive silver(I) coordination polymers (bioCPs). Two new bioCPs, [Ag2(μ6-hfa)]n (1) and [Ag2(μ4-nda)(H2O)2]n (2), were assembled from Ag2O and homophthalic (H2hfa) or 2,6-naphthalenedicarboxylic (H2nda) acids as unexplored building blocks. Their structures feature 2D metal–organic and supramolecular networks with 3,6L64 or sql topology. Both compounds act as active antimicrobial agents for producing bioCP-doped biopolymer films based on epoxidized soybean oil acrylate (SBO) or potato starch (PS) as model biopolymer materials with a different rate of degradability and silver release. BioCPs and their hybrid biopolymer films (1@[SBO]n, 2@[SBO]n, 1@[PS]n, and 2@[PS]n) with a very low loading of coordination polymer (0.05–0.5 wt %) show remarkable antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram-negative) bacteria. Biopolymer films also effectively impair the formation of bacterial biofilms, allowing total biofilm inhibition in several cases. By reporting on new bioCPs and biopolymer films obtained from renewable biofeedstocks (soybean oil and PS), this study blends highly important research directions and widens a limited antimicrobial application of bioCPs and derived functional materials. This research thus opens up the perspectives for designing hybrid biopolymer films with outstanding bioactivity against bacterial biofilms.
    2022-06-08Journal article Restricted access Show more
  • Laccases: versatile biocatalysts for the synthesis of heterocyclic cores
    Publication . Sousa, Ana Catarina; Martins, Lígia O.; Robalo, M. Paula
    Laccases are multicopper oxidases that have shown a great potential in various biotechnological and green chemistry processes mainly due to their high relative non-specific oxidation of phenols, arylamines and some inorganic metals, and their high redox potentials that can span from 500 to 800 mV vs. SHE. Other advantages of laccases include the use of readily available oxygen as a second substrate, the formation of water as a side-product and no requirement for cofactors. Importantly, addition of low-molecular-weight redox mediators that act as electron shuttles, promoting the oxidation of complex bulky substrates and/or of higher redox potential than the enzymes themselves, can further expand their substrate scope, in the so-called laccase-mediated systems (LMS). Laccase bioprocesses can be designed for efficiency at both acidic and basic conditions since it is known that fungal and bacterial laccases exhibit distinct optimal pH values for the similar phenolic and aromatic amines. This review covers studies on the synthesis of five- and six-membered ring heterocyclic cores, such as benzimidazoles, benzofurans, benzothiazoles, quinazoline and quinazolinone, phenazine, phenoxazine, phenoxazinone and phenothiazine derivatives. The enzymes used and the reaction protocols are briefly outlined, and the mechanistic pathways described.
    2021-06-18Journal article Open access Show more
  • Medidas para poupança de água – abordagens concretas implementadas no ISEL através do projeto de sustentabilidade MySafeWater
    Publication . Matos, Manuel; Monge, Nuno; Gonçalves Cavaco Mendes, Mário José; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Silva, Hugo; Costa, Alexandra; Barreiros, Ana Maria
    O Projeto MySafeWater pretendeu fomentar o uso eficiente da água através de ações concretas para uma melhor gestão dos recursos hídricos numa escola do Ensino Superior, prevenindo a produção de resíduos, diminuído a pegada ecológica. Tendo por base os objetivos, este projeto assentou em três grandes eixos de atuação que serão descritos em detalhe na comunicação a apresentar e resumidamente descritos de seguida.
    2022-11Conference object Open access Show more
  • Methodological considerations in injury burden of disease studies across Europe: a systematic literature review
    Publication . Charalampous, Periklis; Pallari, Elena; Gorasso, Vanessa; von der Lippe, Elena; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Pires, Sara M.; Plass, Dietrich; Idavain, Jane; Ngwa, Che Henry; Noguer, Isabel; Padron-Monedero, Alicia; Sarmiento, Rodrigo; Majdan, Marek; Ádám, Balázs; AlKerwi, Ala’a; Cilovic-Lagarija, Seila; Clarsen, Benjamin; Corso, Barbara; Cuschieri, Sarah; Dopelt, Keren; Economou, Mary; Fischer, Florian; Freitas, Alberto; García-González, Juan Manuel; Gazzelloni, Federica; Gkitakou, Artemis; Gulmez, Hakan; Hynds, Paul; Isola, Gaetano; Jakobsen, Lea S.; Kabir, Zubair; Kissimova-Skarbek, Katarzyna; Knudsen, Ann Kristin; Konar, Naime Meriç; Ladeira, Carina; Lassen, Brian; Liew, Aaron; Majer, Marjeta; Mechili, Enkeleint A.; Mereke, Alibek; Monasta, Lorenzo; Mondello, Stefania; Morgado, Joana Nazaré; Nena, Evangelia; Ng, Edmond S. W.; Niranjan, Vikram; Nola, Iskra Alexandra; O’Caoimh, Rónán; Petrou, Panagiotis; Pinheiro, Vera; Ortiz, Miguel Reina; Riva, Silvia; Samouda, Hanen; Santos, João Vasco; Santoso, Cornelia Melinda Adi; Milicevic, Milena Santric; Skempes, Dimitrios; Sousa, Ana Catarina; Speybroeck, Niko; Tozija, Fimka; Unim, Brigid; Uysal, Hilal Bektaş; Vaccaro, Fabrizio Giovanni; Varga, Orsolya; Vasic, Milena; Violante, Francesco Saverio; Wyper, Grant M. A.; Polinder, Suzanne; Haagsma, Juanita A.
    Background: Calculating the disease burden due to injury is complex, as it requires many methodological choices. Until now, an overview of the methodological design choices that have been made in the burden of disease (BoD) studies in injury populations is not available. The aim of this systematic literature review was to identify existing injury BoD studies undertaken across Europe and to comprehensively review the methodological design choices and assumption parameters that have been made to calculate years of life lost (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) in these studies. Methods: We searched EMBASE, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the grey literature supplemented by hand-searching, for BoD studies. We included injury BoD studies that quantified the BoD expressed in YLL, YLD, and disability-adjusted life years (DALY) in countries within the European Region between early 1990 and mid-2021. Results: We retrieved 2,914 results of which 48 performed an injury-specific BoD assessment. Single-country independent and Global Burden of Disease (GBD)-linked injury BoD studies were performed in 11 European countries. Approximately 79% of injury BoD studies reported the BoD by external cause-of-injury. Most independent studies used the incidence-based approach to calculate YLDs. About half of the injury disease burden studies applied disability weights (DWs) developed by the GBD study. Almost all independent injury studies have determined YLL using national life tables. Conclusions: Considerable methodological variation across independent injury BoD assessments was observed; differences were mainly apparent in the design choices and assumption parameters towards injury YLD calculations, implementation of DWs, and the choice of a life table for YLL calculations. The development and use of guidelines for performing and reporting of injury BoD studies are crucial to enhance transparency and comparability of injury BoD estimates across Europe and beyond.
    2022-08Journal article Open access Show more