Genetically and chemically tuned haemoglobin-albumin trimers with superior O2 transport efficiency

Epistemology of synthetic biology: a new theoretical framework based on its potential objects and objectives

Synthetic biology is a new research field which attempts to understand, modify, and create new biological entities by adopting a modular and systemic conception of the living organisms. The development of synthetic biology has generated a pluralism of different approaches, bringing together a set of heterogeneous practices and conceptualizations from various disciplines, which can lead to confusion within the synthetic biology community as well as with other biological disciplines. I present in this manuscript an epistemological analysis of synthetic biology in order to better define this new discipline in terms of objects of study and specific objectives. First, I present and analyze the principal research projects developed at the foundation of synthetic biology, in order to establish an overview of the practices in this new emerging discipline. Then, I analyze an important scientometric study on synthetic biology to complete this overview. Afterwards, considering this analysis, I suggest a three-level classification of the object of study for synthetic biology (which are different kinds of living entities that can be built in the laboratory), based on three successive criteria: structural hierarchy, structural origin, functional origin. Finally, I propose three successively linked objectives in which synthetic biology can contribute (where the achievement of one objective led to the development of the other): interdisciplinarity collaboration (between natural, artificial, and theoretical sciences), knowledge of natural living entities (past, present, future, and alternative), pragmatic definition of the concept of "living" (that can be used by biologists in different contexts). Considering this new theoretical framework, based on its potential objects and objectives, I take the position that synthetic biology has not only the potential to develop its own new approach (which includes methods, objects, and objectives), distinct from other subdisciplines in biology, but also the ability to develop new knowledge on living entities.

Research Progress in Oxygen Carrier Design and Application

Ischemia or hypoxia can lead to pathological changes in the metabolism and function of tissues and then lead to various diseases. Timely and effective blood resuscitation or improvement of hypoxia is very important for the treatment of diseases. However, there is a need to develop stable, nontoxic, and immunologically inert oxygen carriers due to limitations such as blood shortages, different blood types, and the risk of transmitting infections. With the development of various technologies, oxygen carriers based on hemoglobin and perfluorocarbon have been widely studied in recent years. This paper reviews the development and application of hemoglobin and perfluorocarbon oxygen carriers. The design of oxygen carriers was analyzed, and their application as blood substitutes or oxygen carriers in various hypoxic diseases was discussed. Finally, the characteristics and future research of ideal oxygen carriers were prospected to provide reference for follow-up research.

Zinc Substituted Myoglobin-Albumin Fusion Protein: A Photosensitizer for Cancer Therapy

Myoglobin combined with human serum albumin (Mb-HSA) can be produced using yeast Pichia pastoris as a host strain, with secretion into the culture medium. This Mb-HSA fusion protein possesses identical O₂ binding affinity to that of naked Mb. The Mb unit is reconstituted with a zinc(II) protoporphyrin IX, yielding (zinc substituted Mb)-HSA, ZnMb-HSA. The photophysical property and singlet O₂ generation ability of ZnMb-HSA are equivalent to those of ZnMb. In vitro cell experiments revealed that ZnMb-HSA acts as a superior photosensitizer for photodynamic cancer therapy. It is noteworthy that ZnMb-HSA shows long circulation lifetime in vivo.