Four commercial immobilized lipases biocatalysts have been submitted to modifications with different metal (zinc, cobalt or copper) phosphates to check the effects of this modification on enzyme features. The lipase preparations were Lipozyme((a))TL (TLL-IM) (lipase from Thermomyces lanuginose), Lipozyme((a))435 (L435) (lipase B from Candida antarctica), Lipozyme((a))RM (RML-IM), and LipuraSelect (LS-IM) (both from lipase from Rhizomucor miehei). The modifications greatly altered enzyme specificity, increasing the activity versus some substrates (e.g., TLL-IM modified with zinc phosphate in hydrolysis of triacetin) while decreasing the activity versus other substrates (the same preparation in activity versus R- or S- methyl mandelate). Enantiospecificity was also drastically altered after these modifications, e.g., LS-IM increased the activity versus the R isomer while decreasing the activity versus the S isomer when treated with copper phosphate. Regarding the enzyme stability, it was significantly improved using octyl-agarose-lipases. Using all these commercial biocatalysts, no significant positive effects were found; in fact, a decrease in enzyme stability was usually detected. The results point towards the possibility of a battery of biocatalysts, including many different metal phosphates and immobilization protocols, being a good opportunity to tune enzyme features, increasing the possibilities of having biocatalysts that may be suitable for a specific process.
Lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) and lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) were immobilized on octyl agarose. Then, the biocatalysts were chemically modified using glutaraldehyde, trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid or ethylenediamine and carbodiimide, or physically coated with ionic polymers, such as polyethylenimine (PEI) and dextran sulfate. These produced alterations of the enzyme activities have, in most cases, negative effects with some substrates and positive with other ones (e.g., amination of immobilized TLL increases the activity versus p-nitro phenyl butyrate (p-NPB), reduces the activity with R-methyl mandate by half and maintains the activity with S-isomer). The modification with PEI increased the biocatalyst activity 8-fold versus R-methyl mandelate. Enzyme stability was also modified, usually showing an improvement (e.g., the modification of immobilized TLL with PEI or glutaraldehyde enabled to maintain more than 70% of the initial activity, while the unmodified enzyme maintained less than 50%). The immobilized enzymes were also mineralized by using phosphate metals (Zn(2+), Co(2+), Cu(2+), Ni(2+) or Mg(2+)), and this affected also the enzyme activity, specificity (e.g., immobilized TLL increased its activity after zinc mineralization versus triacetin, while decreased its activity versus all the other assayed substrates) and stability (e.g., the same modification increase the residual stability from almost 0 to more than 60%). Depending on the enzyme, a metal could be positively, neutrally or negatively affected for a specific feature. Finally, we analyzed if the chemical modification could, somehow, tune the effects of the mineralization. Effectively, the same mineralization could have very different effects on the same immobilized enzyme if it was previously submitted to different physicochemical modifications. The same mineralization could present different effects on the enzyme activity, specificity or stability, depending on the previous modification performed on the enzyme, showing that these previous enzyme modifications alter the effects of the mineralization on enzyme features. For example, TLL modified with glutaraldehyde and treated with zinc salts increased its activity using R-methyl mandelate, while almost maintaining its activity versus the other unaltered substrates, whereas the aminated TLL maintained its activity with both methyl mandelate isomers, while it decreased with p-NPB and triacetin. TLL was found to be easier to tune than CALB by the strategies used in this paper. In this way, the combination of chemical or physical modifications of enzymes before their mineralization increases the range of modification of features that the immobilized enzyme can experienced, enabling to enlarge the biocatalyst library.
        
Title: Immobilization of Lipase B from Candida antarctica in Octyl-Vinyl Sulfone Agarose: Effect of the Enzyme-Support Interactions on Enzyme Activity, Specificity, Structure and Inactivation Pathway Souza PMP, Carballares D, Goncalves LRB, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Rodrigues S Ref: Int J Mol Sci, 23:, 2022 : PubMed
Lipase B from Candida antarctica was immobilized on heterofunctional support octyl agarose activated with vinyl sulfone to prevent enzyme release under drastic conditions. Covalent attachment was established, but the blocking step using hexylamine, ethylenediamine or the amino acids glycine (Gly) and aspartic acid (Asp) altered the results. The activities were lower than those observed using the octyl biocatalyst, except when using ethylenediamine as blocking reagent and p-nitrophenol butyrate (pNPB) as substrate. The enzyme stability increased using these new biocatalysts at pH 7 and 9 using all blocking agents (much more significantly at pH 9), while it decreased at pH 5 except when using Gly as blocking agent. The stress inactivation of the biocatalysts decreased the enzyme activity versus three different substrates (pNPB, S-methyl mandelate and triacetin) in a relatively similar fashion. The tryptophane (Trp) fluorescence spectra were different for the biocatalysts, suggesting different enzyme conformations. However, the fluorescence spectra changes during the inactivation were not too different except for the biocatalyst blocked with Asp, suggesting that, except for this biocatalyst, the inactivation pathways may not be so different.
Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive memory loss and cognitive impairment due to a severe loss of cholinergic neurons in specific brain areas. It is the most common type of dementia in the aging population. Although many anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) drugs are already available on the market, their performance sometimes yields unexpected results. For this reason, research works are ongoing to find potential anti-AChE agents both from natural and synthetic sources. In this study, 90 extracts from 30 native and naturalized medicinal plants are tested by TLC and Ellman's colorimetric assay at 250, 125 and 62.5 microg/mL in order to determine the inhibitory effect on AChE. In total, 21 out of 90 extracts show high anti-AChE activity (75-100% inhibition) in a dose-dependent manner. Among them, ethanolic extract from aerial parts of O. vulgare ssp. vulgare shows an IC50 value 7.7 times lower than galantamine. This research also establishes the chemical profile of oregano extract by TLC, HPLC-DAD and LC-MS, and twenty-three compounds are identified and quantified. Dihydroxycinnamic acids and flavonoids are the most abundant ones (56.90 and 25.94%, respectively). Finally, total phenolic compounds and antioxidant properties are quantified by colorimetric methods. The total phenolic content is 207.64 +/- 0.69 microg/mg of extract. The antioxidant activity is measured against two radicals, DPPH and ABTS. In both assays, the oregano extract shows high activity. The Pearson correlation matrix shows the relationship between syringic acids, a type of dihydroxybenzoic acid, and anti-AChE (r(2) = -0.9864) and antioxidant activity (r(2) = 0.9409 and 0.9976). In conclusion, the results of this study demonstrate promising potential new uses of these medicinal herbs for the treatment of Alzheimer's. Origanum vulgare ssp. vulgare and syringic acids, which have anti-AChE activity and beneficial antioxidant capacity, can be highlighted as potential candidates for the development of drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other diseases characterized by a cholinergic deficit.
This review intends to present some of the latest studies on the lipase A from Candida antarctica (CALA). This lipase is among the most stable ones and has some capability to attack the sn-2 position of triglycerides. This makes it a very interesting lipase, especially considering that it is commercially available. The cloning and production of the enzyme together with some structural facts and applications will be discussed in this review. Special focus will be put on the immobilization of the enzyme. The use of the commercially available crosslinked enzyme aggregates of this enzyme will be explained, together with the use of the enzyme in some new trends in enzyme immobilization, such as bio-imprinting of the open form of CALA by detergents and the fixation of the open structure, the design of heterofunctional supports able to take full advantage of the immobilization via interfacial activation but preventing enzyme release, or the design of strategies for the preparation of multiple layers of lipase enzymes (using just CALA or combining CALA with other lipases).
Lipases B from Candida antarctica (CALB), Rhizomucor miehei (RML) and Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) were immobilized on octadecyl methacylate (OM) or octadecyl methacrylate (OMC) beads. Their specific activity and regioselectivity were studied in the synthesis of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) partial glycerides, which presented nutraceutical properties. TLL derivatives were poor catalysts. Novozym 435 was much better than Lipozyme RM IM. RML activity (a GRAS enzyme) was modulated via immobilization. After only 3 h, OM-RML gave the highest CLA conversion (54% at 40 degreeC with 1:3 M ratio of glycerol to CLA). OM-RML reduced by a factor of 3.12 and 1.16 the activation energy of the reaction with Lipozyme RM IM and Novozym 435, respectively. The new GRAS preparation OM-RML brings forth an optimal regioselective preparation of sn-1 mono and sn-1,3 diacylglycerols rich in CLA, with a ratio of sn-1,3/sn-1,2 regioisomers of 21.8, compared to 2.3 for Novozym 435.
In this work, the combined use of ultrasound energy and molecular sieves was investigated for the synthesis of ethyl butyrate, ester with mango and banana notes, catalyzed by the immobilized lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (Lipozyme TL-IM). Initially, the best concentrations of biocatalysts (35%) and butyric acid (0.7M) were tested using ultrasound as an alternative to mechanical agitation. The amount of acid in the reaction could be increased by 2-fold when compared to previous works where mechanical agitation was used. In the next step, substrate molar ratio and reaction temperature were optimized and the best conditions were at their lowest levels: 1:1 (acid:alcohol), and 30 degC, reaching 61% of conversion in 6h. Molecular sieves (3) were added to optimized reaction medium in order to remove the formed water and improve the maximum yield. The reaction yield increased 1.5 times, reaching 90% of conversion in 6h, when 60mg of molecular sieves per mmol of butyric acid was used. Finally, the reuse of Lipozyme TL-IM for the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of ethyl butyrate was verified for 10 batches, without any appreciable loss of activity, whereas in systems using mechanical agitation, the biocatalyst was completely inactivated after 5 batches. These results suggest that the combined use of ultrasound and molecular sieves greatly improve esterification reactions by stabilizing the enzyme and increasing yields.
It is well established that the performance of lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB) as catalyst for esterification reactions may be improved by the use of ultrasound technology or by its immobilization on styrene-divinylbenzene beads (MCI-CALB). The present research evaluated the synthesis of butyl acetate using MCI-CALB under ultrasonic energy, comparing the results against those obtained using the commercial preparation, Novozym 435. The optimal conditions were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) evaluating the following parameters: reaction temperature, substrate molar ratio, amount of biocatalyst, and added water. The optimal conditions for butyl acetate synthesis catalyzed by MCI-CALB were: temperature, 48.8 degrees C; substrate molar ratio, 3.46:1 alcohol:acid; amount of biocatalyst, 7.5%; and added water 0.28%, both as substrate mass. Under these conditions, 90% of conversion was reached in 1.5 h. In terms of operational stability, MCI-CALB was reused in seven cycles while keeping 70% of its initial activity under ultrasonic energy. The support pore size and resistance are key points for the enzyme activity and stability under mechanical stirring. The use of ultrasound improved both activity and stability because of better homogeneity and reduced mechanical stress to the immobilized system.
Two immobilized preparations from Thermomyces lanuginosus lipase (TLL) were compared in the synthesis of butyl butyrate. The commercial Lipozyme TL-IM, and TLL immobilized on styrene-divinylbenzene beads (MCI-TLL) were tested in the esterification reaction using n-hexane as solvent. The variables temperature (30-60 degrees C), substrate molar ratio (1:1 to 5:1), added water (0-1%), and biocatalyst content (3-40%) were evaluated in terms of initial reaction rate for each biocatalyst. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that MCI-TLL had an immobilized enzymatic load twice as high as Lipozyme TL-IM, but with an activity 3-fold higher. MCI-TLL presented high initial reaction rates up to 1.0 M butyric acid, while Lipozyme TL-IM showed a decrease in its activity above 0.5 M. Moreover, MCI-TLL allowed a productivity of 14.5 mmol g(-1) h(-1), while Lipozyme TL-IM 3.2 mmol g(-1) h(-1), both by mass of biocatalyst.
The influence of low-frequency ultrasound (40 kHz) in the esterification reaction between acetic acid and butanol for flavor ester synthesis catalyzed by the commercial immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) was evaluated. A central composite design and the response surface methodology were used to analyze the effects of the reaction parameters (temperature, substrate molar ratio, enzyme content and added water) and their response (yields of conversion in 2.5 h of reaction). The reaction was carried out using n-hexane as solvent. The optimal conditions for ultrasound-assisted butyl acetate synthesis were found to be: temperature of 46 degrees C; substrate molar ratio of 3.6:1 butanol:acetic acid; enzyme content of 7%; added water of 0.25%, conditions that are slightly different from those found using mechanical mixing. Over 94% of conversion was obtained in 2.5h under these conditions. The optimal acid concentration for the reaction was determined to be 2.0 M, compared to 0.3 M without ultrasound treatment. Enzyme productivity was significantly improved to around 7.5-fold for each batch when comparing ultrasound and standard mechanical agitation. The biocatalyst could be directly reused for 14 reactions cycles keeping around 70% of its original activity, while activity was virtually zeroed in the third cycle using the standard mixing system. Thus, compared to the traditional mechanical agitation, ultrasound technology not only improves the process productivity, but also enhances enzyme recycling and stability in the presence of acetic acid, being a powerful tool to improve biocatalyst performance in this type of reaction.
Butyl butyrate is an ester present in pineapple flavor, which is very important for the food and beverages industries. In this work, the optimization of the reaction of butyl butyrate synthesis catalyzed by the immobilized lipase Lipozyme TL-IM was performed. n-Hexane was selected as the most appropriate solvent. Other reaction parameters such as temperature, substrate molar ratio, biocatalyst content and added water, and their responses measured as yield, were evaluated using a fractional factorial design, followed by a central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology. In the fractional design 2(4-1) , the four variables were tested and temperature and biocatalyst content were statistically significant and then used for optimization on CCD. The optimal conditions for butyl butyrate synthesis were found to be 48 degC; substrate molar ratio 3:1 (butanol:butyric acid); biocatalyst content of 40% of acid mass. Under these conditions, over 90% of yield was obtained in 2 h. Enzyme reuse was tested by washing the biocatalyst with n-hexane or by direct reuse. The direct reuse produced a rapid decrease on enzyme activity, while washing with n-hexane allowed reusing the enzyme for five reactions cycles keeping approximately 85% of its activity.
A new biocatalyst of lipase B from Candida antarctica (MCI-CALB) immobilized on styrene-divinylbenzene beads (MCI GEL CHP20P) was compared with the commercial Novozym 435 (immobilized lipase) in terms of their performances as biocatalysts for the esterification of acetic acid and n-butanol. The effects of experimental conditions on reaction rates differed for each biocatalyst, showing different optimal values for water content, temperature, and substrate molar ratio. MCI-CALB could be used at higher acid concentrations, up to 0.5 M, while Novozym 435 became inactivated at these acid concentrations. Although Novozym 435 exhibited 30% higher initial activity than MCI-CALB for the butyl acetate synthesis, the reaction course was much more linear using the new preparation, meaning that the MCI-CALB allows for higher productivities per cycle. Both preparations produced around 90% of yield conversions after only 2 h of reaction, using 10% (mass fraction) of enzyme. However, the main advantage of the new biocatalyst was the superior performance during reuse. While Novozym 435 was fully inactivated after only two batches, MCI-CALB could be reused for six consecutive cycles without any washings and keeping around 70% of its initial activity. It is proposed that this effect is due to the higher hydrophobicity of the new support, which does not retain water or acid in the enzyme environment. MCI-CALB has shown to be a very promising biocatalyst for the esterification of small-molecule acids and alcohols.
Staphylococcus warneri strain EX17 produces three lipases with different molecular weights of 28, 30, and 45 kDa. The 45 kDa fraction (SWL-45) has been purified from crude protein extracts by one chromatographic step based on the selective adsorption of this lipase by interfacial activation on different hydrophobic supports at low ionic strength. The adsorption of SWL-45 on octyl-Sepharose increased the enzyme activity by 60%, but the other lipases were also adsorbed on this support. Using butyl-Toyopearl, which is a lesser hydrophobic support, the purification factor was close to 20, and the only protein band detected on the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis analysis gel was that corresponding to the SWL-45, which could be easily desorbed from the support by incubation with triton X-100, producing a purified enzyme. SWL-45 was immobilized under very mild conditions on cyanogen bromide Sepharose, showing similar activities and stability as for its soluble form but without intermolecular interaction. The effects of different detergents over the activity of the immobilized SWL-45 were analyzed, which was hyperactivated by factors of 1.3 and 2.5 with 0.01% Tween 80 and 0.1% Triton X-100, respectively, while ionic detergents produced detrimental effects on the enzyme activity even at very low concentrations. Optimal reaction conditions and the effect of other additives on the enzyme activity were also investigated.
The bacterial thermoalkalophilic lipases that hydrolyze saturated fatty acids at 60-75 degrees C and pH 8-10 are grouped as the lipase family I.5. We report here the crystal structure of the lipase from Geobacillus thermocatenulatus, the first structure of a member of the lipase family I.5 showing an open configuration. Unexpectedly, enzyme activation involves large structural rearrangements of around 70 amino acids and the concerted movement of two lids, the alpha6- and alpha7-helices, unmasking the active site. Central in the restructuring process of the lids are both the transfer of bulky hydrophobic residues out of the N-terminal end of the alpha6-helix and the incorporation of short side chain residues to the alpha6 C-terminal end. All these structural changes are stabilized by the Zn(2+)-binding domain, which is characteristic of this family of lipases. Two detergent molecules are placed in the active site, mimicking chains of the triglyceride substrate, demonstrating the position of the oxyanion hole and the three pockets that accommodate the sn-1, sn-2, and sn-3 fatty acids chains. The combination of structural and biochemical studies indicate that the lid opening is not mediated by temperature but triggered by interaction with lipid substrate.
Lipases are an enzyme class of a great importance as biocatalysts applied to organic chemistry. However, it is still necessary to search for new enzymes with special characteristics such as good stability towards high temperatures, organic solvents, and high stereoselectivity presence. The present work's aim was to immobilize the lipases pool produced by Penicillium simplissicimum, a filamentous fungi strain isolated from Brazilian babassu cake residue. P. simplissicimum lipases were separated into three different fractions using selective adsorption method on different hydrophobic supports (butyl-, phenyl-, and octyl-agarose) at low ionic strength. After immobilization, it was observed that these fractions' hyperactivation is in the range of 131% to 1133%. This phenomenon probably occurs due to enzyme open form stabilization when immobilized onto hydrophobic supports. Those fractions showed different thermal stability, specificity, and enantioselectivity towards some substrates. Enantiomeric ratio for the hydrolysis of (R,S) 2-O-butyryl-2-phenylacetic acid ranged from 1 to 7.9 for different immobilized P. simplissicimum lipase fractions. Asymmetry factor for diethyl 2-phenylmalonate hydrolysis ranged from 11.8 to 16.4 according to the immobilized P. simplissicimum lipase fractions. Those results showed that sequential adsorption methodology was an efficient strategy to obtain new biocatalysts with different enantioselectivity degrees, thermostability, and specificity prepared with a crude extract produced by a simple and low-cost technology.
Immobilized-stabilized aminated lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL-A) is not easily reactivated after inactivation by incubation in the presence of organic solvents or chaotropic reagents. To improve the recovered activity of this biocatalyst, immobilized TLL-A has been submitted to different modifications. The best results were obtained when the enzyme was coated with a very hydrophilic and inert polymer: dextran modified with glycine (Dx-Gly). This modification did not reduce enzymatic activity while it increased the stability of this already very stable preparation, in thermal and organic solvent induced inactivation (by a 4-fold factor). Simple incubation in aqueous medium at pH 7 and 25 degrees C permitted to fully recover the activity of the immobilized and modified TLL-A enzyme inactivated by incubation in organic solvents or saturated guanidine during 3 cycles, while the non-modified enzyme only recover some activity. When the inactivation was caused by exposition at high temperatures, the reactivation was higher using the modified biocatalyst, but was far for complete (40% after 3 inactivation-reactivation cycles). The determination of the TLL-A activity in the presence of detergents (that helps the opening of active site of the lipase) allowed, in this case, to significantly improve the results, now near to 90% of the initial activity was recovered (using the non-modified enzyme the recovered activity was around 60%). This very hydrophilic and inert polymer, coating the enzyme surface, seems to help the correct positioning of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups of the enzyme, and that way improve both the stability and possibility of reactivation of the enzyme.
Bacillus thermocatenulatus lipase 2 (BTL2) is a thermoalkalophilic lipase that has been reported as an enantioselective biocatalyst for diverse reactions and that heads a group of enzymes that share high resistance towards many inactivation agents (heat, organic solvents, pH etc.). This makes BTL2 an important research target because of its potential industrial applications. BTL2 was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified and concentrated for crystallization using the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method at 291 K. Crystals grew from a mixture of 13% MPD and 0.2 M ammonium acetate in 0.05 M sodium citrate pH 5.5-5.6. The crystals, which belonged to the orthorhombic space group I222 with unit-cell parameters a = 73.07, b = 129.08, c = 127.49 A, allowed the collection of an X-ray data set to 2.2 A resolution.
Lipase immobilization offers unique advantages in terms of better process control, enhanced stability, predictable decay rates and improved economics. This work evaluated the immobilization of a highly active Yarrowia lipolytica lipase (YLL) by physical adsorption and covalent attachment. The enzyme was adsorbed on octyl-agarose and octadecyl-sepabeads supports by hydrophobic adsorption at low ionic strength and on MANAE-agarose support by ionic adsorption. CNBr-agarose was used as support for the covalent attachment immobilization. Immobilization yields of 71, 90 and 97% were obtained when Y. lipolytica lipase was immobilized into octyl-agarose, octadecyl-sepabeads and MANAE-agarose, respectively. However, the activity retention was lower (34% for octyl-agarose, 50% for octadecyl-sepabeads and 61% for MANAE-agarose), indicating that the immobilized lipase lost activity during immobilization procedures. Furthermore, immobilization by covalent attachment led to complete enzyme inactivation. Thermal deactivation was studied at a temperature range from 25 to 45 degrees C and pH varying from 5.0 to 9.0 and revealed that the hydrophobic adsorption on octadecyl-sepabeads produced an appreciable stabilization of the biocatalyst. The octadecyl-sepabeads biocatalyst was almost tenfold more stable than free lipase, and its thermal deactivation profile was also modified. On the other hand, the Y. lipolytica lipase immobilized on octyl-agarose and MANAE-agarose supports presented low stability, even less than the free enzyme.
In this paper, the stabilization of a lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) by a new strategy is described. First, the lipase is selectively adsorbed on hydrophobic supports. Second, the carboxylic residues of the enzyme are modified with ethylenediamine, generating a new enzyme having 4-fold more amino groups than the native enzyme. The chemical amination did not present a significant effect on the enzyme activity and only reduced the enzyme half-life by a 3-4-fold factor in inactivations promoted by heat or organic solvents. Next, the aminated and purified enzyme is desorbed from the support using 0.2% Triton X-100. Then, the aminated enzyme was immobilized on glyoxyl-agarose by multipoint covalent attachment. The immobilized enzyme retained 65% of the starting activity. Because of the lower p K of the new amino groups in the enzyme surface, the immobilization could be performed at pH 9 (while the native enzyme was only immobilized at pH over 10). In fact, the immobilization rate was higher at this pH value for the aminated enzyme than that of the native enzyme at pH 10. The optimal stabilization protocol was the immobilization of aminated BTL2 at pH 9 and the further incubation for 24 h at 25 degrees C and pH 10. This preparation was 5-fold more stable than the optimal BTL2 immobilized on glyoxyl agarose and around 1200-fold more stable than the enzyme immobilized on CNBr and further aminated. The catalytic properties of BTL2 could be greatly modulated by the immobilization protocol. For example, from (R/S)-2- O-butyryl-2-phenylacetic acid, one preparation of BTL2 could be used to produce the S-isomer, while other preparation produced the R-isomer.
A lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) cloned in E. coli has been purified using a very simple method: interfacial activation on a hydrophobic support followed by desorption with Triton. Only one band was detected by SDS-PAGE. The pure enzyme was immobilized using different methodologies. BTL2 adsorbed on a hydrophobic support (octadecyl-Sepabeads) exhibited a hyperactivation with respect to the soluble enzyme, whereas the other immobilized preparations suffered a slight decrease in the expressed activity. The soluble enzyme was very stable, but all immobilized preparations were much more stable than the soluble enzyme, the octadecyl-Sepabeads-BTL2 preparation being the most stable one in all conditions (high temperature or in the presence of organic cosolvents), maintaining 100% of the activity at 65 degrees C or 30% of dioxane and 45 degrees C after several days of incubation. The glyoxyl preparation, the second more stable, retained 80% of the initial activity after 2 days, respectively. The adsorption of this thermophilic lipase on octadecyl-Sepabeads permitted an increase in the optimal temperature of the enzyme of 10 degrees C.
Lipase from Pseudomonas fluorescens (PFL), an enzyme with a great tendency to yield bimolecular aggregates, was immobilized via multipoint covalent attachment on glyoxyl-agarose in the presence of Triton X-100. This strategy permitted to obtain the enzyme with the active center oriented towards the reaction medium. This immobilized enzyme presents the capacity of specifically adsorbing PFL molecules, that can be easily desorbed by the use of detergents. More interesting, the enzyme was also able to adsorb other lipases. That is, the lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) cloned in Escherichia coli was selectively adsorbed on this immobilized enzyme, enabling a very simple purification strategy. Similar results were achieved with some other lipases (those from Rhizomucor miehei (RML), Rhizopus oryzae (ROL), and Humicola Lanuginosa (HLL)). In all cases, the enzyme could be easily desorbed by incubation with Triton X-100. The matrix could be used several cycles without any detrimental effect on the adsorption capacity.
The porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) extracts contain a mixture of several lipases. Their fractioning was performed by sequential adsorption via interfacial activation on supports with different hydrophobicity. A protein of 25 KDa was preferentially adsorbed on octyl-Sepharose, another protein of 33 kDa was mainly adsorbed on octadecyl-Sepabeads support, and the PPL was mainly adsorbed on the support bearing phenyl groups. The different immobilized preparations showed different properties and different response due to change in the experimental conditions. Thus, in the hydrolysis of (+/-)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyric acid ethyl ester [(+/-)-1] to produce the corresponding acid [2], the octyl-25KDa preparation showed the best enantioselectivity (E) value (E = 7) at pH 5 and 25 degrees C, whereas the phenyl-PPL was the most enantioselective (E = 10) at pH 5, 4 degrees C, and 10% dioxane. Using different preparations at different pHs it was possible to resolve (+/-)-2-O-butyryl-2-phenylacetic acid [(+/-)-3] with a high E value (E > 100); for example, with octadecyl-33 KDa enzyme at pH 8.
        
Title: Enzymatic transformations. Immobilized A. niger epoxide hydrolase as a novel biocatalytic tool for repeated-batch hydrolytic kinetic resolution of epoxides Mateo C, Archelas A, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Guisan JM, Furstoss R Ref: Org Biomol Chem, 1:2739, 2003 : PubMed
Studies aimed at immobilization of the Aspergillus niger epoxide hydrolase were performed. The use of conventional approaches, i.e. of commercially available supports and classical methodologies, only led to low stabilisation and unsatisfactory enzymatic activity recovery. Therefore, a new strategy based on the use of a "second generation" type of epoxy-activated supports allowing multi-point covalent immobilization, i.e. Eupergit C, partially modified with ethylene diamine (Eupergit C/EDA), and of an adequate experimental procedure was set up. This allowed us to prepare an immobilized biocatalyst with 70%, retention of the initial enzymatic activity and a stabilisation factor of about 30. Interestingly, this biocatalyst also led to a noticeable increase of the E value for the resolution of two test substrates, styrene oxide 1 and p-chlorostyrene oxide 2. This was improved from about 25 to 56 and from 40 to 100, respectively. A typical repeated batch experiment indicated that the thus immobilized enzyme could be re-used for over 12 cycles without any noticeable loss of enzymatic activity or change in enantioselectivity. This therefore opens the way for the use of an 'heterogeneous catalysis' methodology for achieving the preparation of various enantiopure epoxides via biocatalysed hydrolytic kinetic resolution.
Hydrophobins are fungal proteins that self-assemble spontaneously at hydrophilic-hydrophobic interfaces and change the polar nature of the surfaces to which they attach. This attribute can be used to introduce hydrophobic foci on the surface of hydrophilic supports where hydrophobins are attached by covalent binding. In this paper, we report the binding of Pleurotus ostreatus hydrophobins to a hydrophilic matrix (agarose) to construct a support for noncovalent immobilization and activation of lipases from Candida antarctica, Humicola lanuginosa, and Pseudomonas flourescens. Lipase immobilization on agarose-bound hydrophobins proceeded at very low ionic strength and resulted in increased lipase activity and stability. The enzyme could be desorbed from the support using moderate concentrations of Triton X-100, and its enantioselectivity was similar to that of lipases interfacially immobilized on conventional hydrophobic supports. These results suggest that lipase adsorption on hydrophobins follows an "interfacial activation" mechanism; immobilization on hydrophobins offers new possibilities for lipase study and modulation and reveals a new application for fungal hydrophobins.
        
Title: Regioselective enzymatic hydrolysis of acetylated pyranoses and pyranosides using immobilised lipases. An easy chemoenzymatic synthesis of alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranose acetates bearing a free secondary C-4 hydroxyl group Terreni M, Salvetti R, Linati L, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Fernandez-Lorente G, Bastida A, Guisan JM Ref: Carbohydr Res, 337:1615, 2002 : PubMed
Protected sugars with only one free hydroxyl group are useful building blocks for the synthesis of a large number of glycoderivatives. In order to avoid the problems of the classical chemical synthesis, we studied the regioselective enzymatic hydrolysis of different fully acetylated glycopyranoses and glycopyranosides. The main challenge was to obtain the hydrolysis of the substrates in only one position, with high regioselectivity, while avoiding any further hydrolysis towards partially acetylated sugars. Candida rugosa (CRL) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (PFL) lipases (EC 3.1.1.3) immobilised on octyl agarose afforded regioselective hydrolysis only in the 6- and 1-positions, respectively. Furthermore, a new one-pot chemoenzymatic approach has been developed in order to obtain alpha- and beta-protected glucopyranoses bearing a free secondary C-4 hydroxyl group. For instance, 1,2,3,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranose was easily synthesised in good overall yield (70%) starting from 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranose by regioselective enzymatic hydrolysis in the 6-position, catalysed by CRL, followed by a temperature- and pH-controlled acyl migration.
        
Title: Regioselective hydrolysis of peracetylated alpha-D-glycopyranose catalyzed by immobilized lipases in aqueous medium. A facile preparation of useful intermediates for oligosaccharide synthesis Bastida A, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Fernandez-Lorente G, Guisan JM, Pagani G, Terreni M Ref: Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Lett, 9:633, 1999 : PubMed
Penta-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranose was selectively deacetylated in aqueous media by lipases from Candida cilindracea (CCL) adsorbed on octyl-agarose support. Enzymatic hydrolyses was regioselective at the 4-position under neutral pH and towards the 6 position under acidic conditions. This enzymatic approach allows the one step synthesis of 1,2,3,6-tetra-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoses 1, a useful intermediate in oligosaccharide synthesis.
        
Title: Purification and partial characterization of a novel thermophilic carboxylesterase with high mesophilic specific activity Wood AN, Fernandez-Lafuente R, Cowan DA Ref: Enzyme Microb Technol, 17:816, 1995 : PubMed
An esterase activity obtained from a strain of Bacillus stearothermophilus was purified 5,133-fold to electrophoretic homogeneity with 26% recovery. The purified esterase had a specific activity of 2,032 mumol min-1 mg-1 based on the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl caproate at pH 7.0 and 30 degrees C. The apparent molecular mass was 50,000 +/- 2,000 daltons from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 45,000 +/- 3,000 daltons from gel filtration. Native polyacrylamide gels stained for esterase activity showed three bands. The isoelectric points were estimated to be 5.7, 5.8, and 6.0. Forty amino acid residues were sequenced at the N-terminus. The sequence showed no degeneracy, suggesting that the three esterases are functionally identical carboxylesterases differing by a limited number of amino acids. The enzyme showed maximum activity at pH 7.0 and was very stable at pH 6.0-8.9 with optimum stability at pH 6.0. At this pH and 60 degrees C the half-life was 170 h. Esterase activity was totally inhibited by phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride, parahydroxymercuribenzoate, eserine, and tosyl-L-phenylalanine, but not by ethylendiaminetetra acetic acid. The esterase obeyed Michaelis-Menten kinetics in the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl esters, but both Vmax and KM were protein concentration-dependent. The esterase was able to hydrolyse a number of p-nitrophenyl derivatives (amino acid derivatives and aliphatic acids with different chain lengths).