A reusable support system for the immobilization of lipases is developed using hybrid polymer-inorganic core shell nanoparticles. The biocatalyst core consists of a silica nanoparticle. PMMA is grafted from the nanoparticle as polymer brush via ARGET ATRP (activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization), which allows defining the surface properties by chemical synthesis conditions. Lipase B from Candida antarctica is immobilized on the hybrid particles. The activity and stability of the biocatalyst are analyzed by spectroscopic activity analysis. It is shown that the hydrophobic PMMA brushes provide an activating surface for the lipase giving a higher specific activity than the enzyme in solution. Varying the surface structure from disordered to ordered polymer brushes reveals that the reusability of the biocatalyst is more effectively optimized by the surface structure than by the introduction of crosslinking with glutaraldehyde (GDA). The developed immobilization system is highly suitable for biocatalysis in non-native media which is shown by a transesterification assay in isopropyl alcohol and an esterification reaction in n-heptane.
Lipases are ubiquitously used in chemo-enzymatic synthesis and industrial applications. Nevertheless, the modulation of the activity of lipases by organic solvents still is not fully understood at the molecular level. We systematically investigated the activity and structure of lipase A from Bacillus subtilis in binary water-organic solvent mixtures of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile (ACN), and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) using activity assays, fluorescence spectroscopy, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, and FRET/MD analysis. The enzymatic activity strongly depended on the type and amount of organic solvent in the reaction media. Whereas IPA and ACN reduced the activity of the enzyme, small concentrations of DMSO led to lipase activation via an uncompetitive mechanism. DMSO molecules did not directly interfere with the binding of the substrate in the active site, contrary to what is known for other solvents and enzymes. We propose that the His156-Asp133 interaction, the binding of organic molecules to the active site, and the water accessibility of the substrate are key factors modulating the catalytic activity. Furthermore, we rationalized the role of solvent descriptors on the regulation of enzymatic activity in mixtures with low concentrations of the organic molecule, with prospective implications for the optimization of biocatalytic processes via solvent tuning.
Detergents are commonly applied in lipase assays to solubilize sparingly soluble model substrates. However, detergents affect lipases as well as substrates in multiple ways. The effect of detergents on lipase activity is commonly attributed to conformational changes in the lid region. This study deals with the effect of the nonionic detergent, poly(ethylene glycol) dodecyl ether, on a lipase that does not contain a lid sequence, lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (BSLA). We show that BSLA activity depends strongly on the detergent concentration and the dependency profile changes with pH. The interaction of BSLA with detergent monomers and micelles is studied using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy, time-resolved anisotropy decay, and temperature-induced unfolding. Detergent-dependent hydrolysis kinetics of two different substrates at two pH values are fitted with a microkinetic model. This analysis shows that the mechanism of interfacial lipase catalysis is strongly affected by the detergent. It reveals an activation mechanism by monomeric detergent that does not result from structural changes of the lipase. Instead, we propose that interfacial diffusion of the lipase is enhanced by detergent binding.
Title: Fluorescence spectroscopic analysis of the structure and dynamics of Bacillus subtilis lipase A governing its activity profile under alkaline conditions Kubler D, Ingenbosch KN, Bergmann A, Weidmann M, Hoffmann-Jacobsen K Ref: Eur Biophysical Journal, 44:655, 2015 : PubMed
Because of their vast diversity of substrate specificity and reaction conditions, lipases are versatile materials for biocatalysis. Lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (BSLA) is the smallest lipase yet discovered. It has the typical alpha/beta hydrolase fold but lacks a lid covering the substrate cleft. In this study, the pH-dependence of the activity, stability, structure, and dynamics of BSLA was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. By use of a fluorogenic substrate it was revealed that the optimum pH for BSLA activity is 8.5 whereas thermodynamic and kinetic stability are maximum at pH 10. The origin of this behavior was clarified by investigation of ANS (8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid) binding and fluorescence quenching of the two single tryptophan mutants W31F and W42F. Variations in segmental dynamics were investigated by use of time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy. This analysis showed that the activity maximum is governed by high surface hydrophobicity and high segmental mobility of surface loops whereas the stability optimum is a result of low segmental mobility and surface hydrophobicity.
