Studies on the methods of nanoparticle (NP) synthesis, analysis of their characteristics, and exploration of new fields of their applications are at the forefront of modern nanotechnology. The possibility of engineering water-soluble NPs has paved the way to their use in various basic and applied biomedical researches. At present, NPs are used in diagnosis for imaging of numerous molecular markers of genetic and autoimmune diseases, malignant tumors, and many other disorders. NPs are also used for targeted delivery of drugs to tissues and organs, with controllable parameters of drug release and accumulation. In addition, there are examples of the use of NPs as active components, e.g., photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy and in hyperthermic tumor destruction through NP incorporation and heating. However, a high toxicity of NPs for living organisms is a strong limiting factor that hinders their use in vivo. Current studies on toxic effects of NPs aimed at identifying the targets and mechanisms of their harmful effects are carried out in cell culture models; studies on the patterns of NP transport, accumulation, degradation, and elimination, in animal models. This review systematizes and summarizes available data on how the mechanisms of NP toxicity for living systems are related to their physical and chemical properties.

We determined the enzymatic characteristics of an industrially important biocatalyst, ␣-ketoglutaratedependent L-isoleucine dioxygenase (IDO), which was found to be the enzyme responsible for the generation of (2S,3R,4S)-4-hydroxyisoleucine in Bacillus thuringiensis 2e2. Depending on the amino acid used as the substrate, IDO catalyzed three different types of oxidation reactions: hydroxylation, dehydrogenation, and sulfoxidation. IDO stereoselectively hydroxylated several hydrophobic aliphatic L-amino acids, as well as L-isoleucine, and produced (S)-3-hydroxy-L-allo-isoleucine, 4-hydroxy-L-leucine, (S)-4-hydroxy-L-norvaline, 4-hydroxy-L-norleucine, and 5-hydroxy-L-norleucine. The IDO reaction product of L-isoleucine, (2S,3R,4S)-4-hydroxyisoleucine, was again reacted with IDO and dehydrogenated into (2S,3R)-2-amino-3-methyl-4-ketopentanoate, which is also a metabolite found in B. thuringiensis 2e2. Interestingly, IDO catalyzed the sulfoxidation of some sulfur-containing L-amino acids and generated L-methionine sulfoxide and L-ethionine sulfoxide. Consequently, the effective production of various modified amino acids would be possible using IDO as the biocatalyst.Hydroxy amino acids are unusual hydroxylated amino acids and are ubiquitous in nature. They exist as secondary metabolites and components of peptides and proteins. Free amino acids are mostly found in higher plants (3,29), and also, free threo-3-hydroxy-L-asparagine has been found in human urine (25) and free 3-hydroxy-

The stereo-specific L-isoleucine-4-hydroxylase (L-isoleucine dioxygenase (IDO)) was cloned and expressed in an Escherichia coli 2Δ strain lacking the activities of α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (EC 1.2.4.2), isocitrate liase (EC 4.1.3.1), and isocitrate dehydrogenase kinase/phosphatase (EC 2.7.11.5). The 2Δ strain could not grow in a minimal-salt/glucose/glycerol medium due to the blockage of TCA during succinate synthesis. The IDO activity in the 2Δ strain was able to "shunt" destroyed TCA, thereby coupling L-isoleucine hydroxylation and cell growth. Using this strain, we performed the direct biotransformation of L-isoleucine into 4-HIL with an 82% yield.