Department of Biotechnology

About: Department of Biotechnology is a government organization based out in New Delhi, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Silver nanoparticle. The organization has 4800 authors who have published 5033 publications receiving 82022 citations.

Nanostructural Reorganization Manifests in Sui-Generis Density Trend of Imidazolium Acetate/Water Binary Mixtures

Abstract: Ionic liquids (ILs) are emerging as a novel class of solvents in chemical and biochemical research. Their range of applications further expands when a small quantity of water is added. Thus, the past decade has seen extensive research on IL/water binary mixtures. While the thermophysical properties of most of these mixtures exhibited the expected trend, few others have shown deviations from the general course. One such example is the increase in density of the 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium acetate ([Rnmim][Ac])-based ILs with the addition of low to moderate concentrations of water. Although such a unique trend was observed for imidazolium cations of different tail lengths and also from independent experiments, the molecular basis of this unique behavior remains unknown. In this study, we examine the nanostructural reordering in [Rnmim][Ac] (n = 2–6) ILs due to added water by means of molecular dynamics simulations, and correlate the observed changes to the sui-generis density trend. Results suggest that th...

Engineering antibiotic producers to overcome the limitations of classical strain improvement programs.

Abstract: Improvement of the antibiotic yield of industrial strains is invariably the main target of industry-oriented research. The approaches used in the past were rational selection, extensive mutagenesis, and biochemical screening. These approaches have their limitations, which are likely to be overcome by the judicious application of recombinant DNA techniques. Efficient cloning vectors and transformation systems have now become available even for antibiotic producers that were previously difficult to manipulate genetically. The genes responsible for antibiotic biosynthesis can now be easily isolated and manipulated. In the first half of this review article, the limitations of classical strain improvement programs and the development of recombinant DNA techniques for cloning and analyzing genes responsible for antibiotic biosynthesis are discussed. The second half of this article addresses some of the major achievements, including the development of genetically engineered microbes, especially with reference to beta-lactams, anthracyclines, and rifamycins.