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Narh JK, Casillas-Vega NG, Zarate X. LL-37_Renalexin hybrid peptide exhibits antimicrobial activity at lower MICs than its counterpart single peptides. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2024; 108:126. [PMID: 38229302 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-023-12887-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/25/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
An alarming global public health and economic peril has been the emergence of antibiotic resistance resulting from clinically relevant bacteria pathogens, including Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species constantly exhibiting intrinsic and extrinsic resistance mechanisms against last-resort antibiotics like gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, colistin, and standard ampicillin prescription in clinical practices. The discovery and applications of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antibacterial properties have been considered and proven as alternative antimicrobial agents to antibiotics. In this study, we have designed, produced, and purified a recombinant novel multifunctional hybrid antimicrobial peptide LL-37_Renalexin for the first time via the application of newly designed flexible GS peptide linker coupled with the use of our previously characterized small metal-binding proteins SmbP and CusF3H+ as carrier proteins that allow for an enhanced bacterial expression, using BL21(DE3) and SHuffle T7(DE3) Escherichia coli strains, and purification of the hybrid peptide via immobilized metal affinity chromatography. The purified tag-free LL-37_Renalexin hybrid peptide exhibited above 85% reduction in bacteria colony-forming units and broad-spectrum antimicrobial effects against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria clinical isolates at a lower minimum inhibition concentration level (10-33 μM) as compared to its counterpart single-AMPs LL-37 and Renalexin (50-100 μM). KEY POINTS: • The hybrid antimicrobial peptide LL-37_Renalexin has been designed using a GS linker. • The peptide was expressed with the carrier proteins SmbP and CusF3H+. • The hybrid peptide shows antibacterial potency against clinical bacterial isolates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julius Kwesi Narh
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico
| | - Nestor G Casillas-Vega
- Departamento de Patologia Clinica, Hospital Universitario Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, 64460, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico.
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Gomez-Lugo JJ, Casillas-Vega NG, Gomez-Loredo A, Balderas-Renteria I, Zarate X. High-Yield Expression and Purification of Scygonadin, an Antimicrobial Peptide, Using the Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP. Microorganisms 2024; 12:278. [PMID: 38399682 PMCID: PMC10893511 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms12020278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Producing active antimicrobial peptides with disulfide bonds in bacterial strains is challenging. The cytoplasm of Escherichia coli has a reducing environment, which is not favorable to the formation of disulfide bonds. Additionally, E. coli may express proteins as insoluble aggregates known as inclusion bodies and have proteolytic systems that can degrade recombinant peptides. Using E. coli strains like SHuffle and tagging the peptides with fusion proteins is a common strategy to overcome these difficulties. Still, the larger size of carrier proteins can affect the final yield of recombinant peptides. Therefore, a small fusion protein that can be purified using affinity chromatography may be an ideal strategy for producing antimicrobial peptides in E. coli. (2) Methods: In this study, we investigated the use of the small metal-binding protein SmbP as a fusion partner for expressing and purifying the antimicrobial peptide scygonadin in E. coli. Two constructs were designed: a monomer and a tandem repeat; both were tagged with SmbP at the N-terminus. The constructs were expressed in E. coli SHuffle T7 and purified using immobilized metal-affinity chromatography. Finally, their antimicrobial activity was determined against Staphylococcus aureus. (3) Results: SmbP is a remarkable fusion partner for purifying both scygonadin constructs, yielding around 20 mg for the monomer and 30 mg for the tandem repeat per 1 mL of IMAC column, reaching 95% purity. Both protein constructs demonstrated antimicrobial activity against S. aureus at MICs of 4 μM and 40 μM, respectively. (4) Conclusions: This study demonstrates the potential of SmbP for producing active peptides for therapeutic applications. The two scygonadin constructs in this work showed promising antimicrobial activity against S. aureus, suggesting they could be potential candidates for developing new antimicrobial drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica J. Gomez-Lugo
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (J.J.G.-L.); (A.G.-L.); (I.B.-R.)
| | - Nestor G. Casillas-Vega
- Departamento de Patologia Clinica, Hospital Universitario Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Monterrey 64460, Mexico;
| | - Alma Gomez-Loredo
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (J.J.G.-L.); (A.G.-L.); (I.B.-R.)
- Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y Nanotecnologia, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Parque de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica, Km 10 Autopista al Aeropuerto Mariano Escobedo, Apodaca 66629, Mexico
| | - Isaias Balderas-Renteria
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (J.J.G.-L.); (A.G.-L.); (I.B.-R.)
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Avenida Universidad s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (J.J.G.-L.); (A.G.-L.); (I.B.-R.)
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Perez-Perez DA, Villanueva-Ramirez TDJ, Hernandez-Pedraza AE, Casillas-Vega NG, Gonzalez-Barranco P, Zarate X. The Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP Simplifies the Recombinant Expression and Purification of the Antimicrobial Peptide LL-37. Antibiotics (Basel) 2021; 10:antibiotics10101271. [PMID: 34680851 PMCID: PMC8532731 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics10101271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: The cathelicidin peptide LL-37 is a prominent molecule with many biological activities, including antimicrobial. Due to its importance, here, we describe the production of LL-37 tagged with SmbP, a relatively new carrier protein that improves the production of recombinant proteins and peptides in Escherichia coli. We present an alternative method for the rapid expression, purification, and antimicrobial evaluation of LL-37, that involves only one purification step. (2) Methods: A DNA construct of SmbP_LL-37 was transformed into E. coli BL21(DE3); after overnight expression, the protein was purified directly from the cell lysate using immobilized metal-affinity chromatography. SmbP_LL-37 was treated with Enterokinase to obtain the free LL-37 peptide. The antimicrobial activity of both SmbP_LL-37 and free LL-37 was determined using the colony forming unit assay method. (3) Results: SmbP_LL-37 was observed in the soluble fraction of the cell lysate; after purification with IMAC, protein gel electrophoresis, and analysis by ImageJ, it showed 90% purity. A total of 3.6 mg of SmbP_LL-37 was produced from one liter of cell culture. SmbP_LL-37 and free LL-37 both showed inhibition activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. (4) Conclusions: The SmbP fusion protein is a valuable tool for producing biologically-active LL-37 peptide. The production method described here should be of interest for the expression and purification of additional cationic peptides, since it cuts the purification time considerably prior to determination of antimicrobial activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Perez-Perez
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Av. Universidad s/n, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (D.A.P.-P.); (T.d.J.V.-R.); (P.G.-B.)
| | - Teresa de J. Villanueva-Ramirez
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Av. Universidad s/n, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (D.A.P.-P.); (T.d.J.V.-R.); (P.G.-B.)
| | - Adriana E. Hernandez-Pedraza
- CHRISTUS—LATAM HUB Center of Excellence and Innovation, S.C., Lazaro Cardenas 2321, San Pedro Garza Garcia 66260, Mexico;
| | - Nestor G. Casillas-Vega
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Departamento de Patologia Clinica, Hospital Universitario Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez, Monterrey 64460, Mexico;
| | - Patricia Gonzalez-Barranco
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Av. Universidad s/n, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (D.A.P.-P.); (T.d.J.V.-R.); (P.G.-B.)
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Av. Universidad s/n, Cd. Universitaria, San Nicolas de los Garza 66455, Mexico; (D.A.P.-P.); (T.d.J.V.-R.); (P.G.-B.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +52-818-329-4000 (ext. 3444)
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Montfort-Gardeazabal JM, Claudio PCMS, Casillas-Vega NG, Zarate X. Expression and Purification of the VpDef Defensin in Escherichia coli using the Small Metal-Binding Proteins CusF3H+ and SmbP. Protein Pept Lett 2021; 28:108-114. [PMID: 32520670 DOI: 10.2174/0929866527666200610133407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2019] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The heterologous production of antimicrobial peptides in bacterial models can produce insoluble proteins due to the lack of proper folding. Fusion proteins have been used to increase the expression and solubility of these types of proteins with varying degrees of success. OBJECTIVES Here, we demonstrate the use of the small metal-binding proteins CusF3H+ (9.9kDa) and SmbP (9.9kDa) as fusion partners for the soluble expression of the bioactive antimicrobial peptide VpDef(6.9 kDa) in Escherichia coli. METHODS The recombinant VpDef (rVpDef) peptide was expressed as a translational fusion with CusF3H+ and SmbP in Escherichia coli SHuffle under different small-scale culture conditions. The best conditions were applied to 1-liter cultures, with subsequent purification of the recombinant protein through IMAC chromatography. The recombinant protein was digested using enterokinase to liberate the peptide from the fusion protein, and a second IMAC chromatography step removed the fusion protein. The purified peptide was tested against two Gram-positive and two Gram-negative bacteria. RESULTS The use either of CusF3H+ or of SmbP results in recombinant proteins that are found in the soluble fraction of the bacterial lysate; these recombinant proteins are easily purified through IMAC chromatography, and rVpDef is readily separated following enterokinase treatment. The purified rVpDef peptide exhibits antimicrobial properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative. CONCLUSION Use of the fusion proteins CusF3H+ and SmbP results in production of a soluble recombinant protein containing the antimicrobial peptide rVpDef that is correctly folded and that retains its antimicrobial properties once purified.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Pilar C Morales-San Claudio
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL 66455, Mexico
| | - Nestor G Casillas-Vega
- Departamento de Patologia Clinica, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Hospital Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez, Monterrey, NL 64460, Mexico
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL 66455, Mexico
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Gomez-Lugo JJ, Santos BD, Perez-Perez DA, Montfort-Gardeazabal JM, McEvoy MM, Zarate X. Expression and Purification of Recombinant Proteins in Escherichia coli Tagged with the Metal-Binding Proteins SmbP and CusF3H. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2178:329-44. [PMID: 33128759 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0775-6_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register]
Abstract
The bacterium Escherichia coli is still considered the first option as a microbial cell factory for recombinant protein production, and affinity chromatography is by far the preferred technique for initial purification after protein expression and cell lysis. In this chapter, we describe the methodology to express and purify recombinant proteins in E. coli tagged with the first two metal-binding proteins proposed as fusion partners. They are the small metal-binding protein SmbP and a mutant of the copper resistance protein CusF3H+. There are several advantages of using them as protein tags: they prevent the formation of inclusion bodies by increasing solubility of the target proteins, they enable purification by immobilized metal-affinity chromatography using Ni(II) ions with high purity, and because of their low molecular weights, excellent final yields are obtained for the target proteins after cleavage and removal of the protein tag. Here we also describe the protocol for the production of proteins in the periplasm of E. coli tagged with two SmbP variants that include the PelB or the TorA signal sequences for transport via the Sec or the Tat pathway, respectively. Based on these methods, we consider CusF3H+ and SmbP excellent alternatives as fusion proteins for the production of recombinant proteins in E. coli.
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Perez‐Perez DA, Pioquinto‐Avila E, Arredondo‐Espinoza E, Morones‐Ramirez JR, Balderas‐Renteria I, Zarate X. Engineered small metal-binding protein tag improves the production of recombinant human growth hormone in the periplasm of Escherichia coli. FEBS Open Bio 2020; 10:546-551. [PMID: 32049439 PMCID: PMC7137794 DOI: 10.1002/2211-5463.12808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Revised: 01/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Fusion proteins play an important role in the production of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. They are mostly used for cytoplasmic expression since they can be designed to increase the solubility of the target protein, which then can be easily purified via affinity chromatography. In contrast, fusion proteins are not usually included in construct designs for periplasmic production. Instead, a signal sequence is inserted for protein transport into the periplasm and a C-terminal his-tag added for subsequent purification. Our research group has proposed the small metal-binding protein (SmbP) isolated from the periplasm of Nitrosomonas europaea as a new fusion protein to express recombinant proteins in the cytoplasm or periplasm of E. coli. SmbP also allows purification via immobilized metal affinity chromatography using Ni(II) ions. Recently, we have optimized the periplasmic production of proteins tagged with SmbP by exchanging its native signal peptide with one taken from pectate lyase B (PelB), substantially increasing the amount of protein produced. In this work, we have expressed and purified soluble bioactive human growth hormone (hGH) tagged with PelB-SmbP and obtained the highest periplasmic production reported for this protein so far. Its activity, tested on Nb2-11 cells, was equivalent to commercial growth hormone at 50 ng·mL-1 . Therefore, we strongly recommend the use of PelB-SmbP as a protein tag for the expression and purification of hGH or other possible target proteins in the periplasm of E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Perez‐Perez
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
| | - Elizeth Pioquinto‐Avila
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
| | - Eder Arredondo‐Espinoza
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
| | - Jose Ruben Morones‐Ramirez
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasCentro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y NanotecnologiaParque de Investigacion e Innovacion TecnologicaApodacaMexico
| | - Isaias Balderas‐Renteria
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasCentro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y NanotecnologiaParque de Investigacion e Innovacion TecnologicaApodacaMexico
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasSan Nicolas de los GarzaMexico
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo LeonFacultad de Ciencias QuimicasCentro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y NanotecnologiaParque de Investigacion e Innovacion TecnologicaApodacaMexico
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Santos BD, Morones-Ramirez JR, Balderas-Renteria I, Casillas-Vega NG, Galbraith DW, Zarate X. Optimizing Periplasmic Expression in Escherichia coli for the Production of Recombinant Proteins Tagged with the Small Metal-Binding Protein SmbP. Mol Biotechnol 2019; 61:451-460. [PMID: 30997666 DOI: 10.1007/s12033-019-00176-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
We have previously shown that the small metal-binding protein (SmbP) extracted from the gram-negative bacterium Nitrosomonas europaea can be employed as a fusion protein for the expression and purification of recombinant proteins in Escherichia coli. With the goal of increasing the amounts of SmbP-tagged proteins produced in the E. coli periplasm, we replaced the native SmbP signal peptide with three different signal sequences: two were from the proteins CusF and PelB, for transport via the Sec pathway, and one was the signal peptide from TorA, for transport via the Tat pathway. Expression of SmbP-tagged Red Fluorescent Protein (RFP) using these three alternative signal peptides individually showed a considerable increase in protein levels in the periplasm of E. coli as compared to its level using the SmbP signal sequence. Therefore, for routine periplasmic expression and purification of recombinant proteins in E. coli, we highly recommend the use of the fusion proteins PelB-SmbP or CusF-SmbP, since these signal sequences increase periplasmic production considerably as compared to the wild-type. Our work, finally, demonstrates that periplasmic expression for SmbP-tagged proteins is not limited to the Sec pathway, in that the TorA-SmbP construct can export reasonable quantities of folded proteins to the periplasm. Although the Sec route has been the most widely used, sometimes, depending on the nature of the protein of interest, for example, if it contains cofactors, it is more appropriate to consider using the Tat route over the Sec. SmbP therefore can be recommended in terms of its particular versatility when combined with signal peptides for the two different routes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan D Santos
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico
| | - Jose Ruben Morones-Ramirez
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y Nanotecnologia, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Parque de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica, 66629, Apodaca, NL, Mexico
| | - Isaias Balderas-Renteria
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y Nanotecnologia, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Parque de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica, 66629, Apodaca, NL, Mexico
| | - Nestor G Casillas-Vega
- Departamento de Patologia Clinica, Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Hospital Universitario Dr. Jose Eleuterio Gonzalez, 64460, Monterrey, NL, Mexico
| | - David W Galbraith
- School of Plant Sciences and BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Xristo Zarate
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, 66455, San Nicolas de los Garza, NL, Mexico.
- Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia y Nanotecnologia, Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Parque de Investigacion e Innovacion Tecnologica, 66629, Apodaca, NL, Mexico.
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