基于肽组装凝胶的超分子模拟酶

模拟酶,或称人工酶,是一类利用有机化学方法合成的比天然酶简单的非蛋白质分子。随着纳米科学和超分子技术的发展,构筑具有生物催化功能的超分子模拟酶材料已经越来越成为科学研究和应用开发领域的热点。肽组装凝胶是以多肽为基本单元,在非共价力驱动下形成的一种新型超分子组装体,相比其他功能性材料,肽凝胶的结构及生物化学性质更接近天然酶,分子本身更利于修饰改造,且生物相容性好,这些特点令其在模拟酶方面具有独特优势。本文总结了近几年肽组装凝胶模拟酶在催化水解反应、Aldol反应和氧化还原反应中的最新研究进展,探讨了肽组装程度、微观结构、超分子结构、活性中心微环境以及pH对模拟酶活性的影响,介绍了肽凝胶模拟酶的应用领域,并对目前肽组装凝胶模拟酶研究中存在的问题与发展方向进行了分析和展望。     

酶的改造及其催化工程应用

酶作为生物催化剂在食品、饲料、化妆品以及医药等诸多领域逐渐发挥重要作用。但是,酶对外界环境如pH和温度等很敏感,而实际的反应条件和生物体的生理环境差异较大,因此酶在实际应用中不稳定、容易失活,催化效率下降。酶的这一特点大大限制了其工业化应用。目前,定向进化、糖基化以及化学修饰等方法被广泛用于酶分子的改造以提高其稳定性、催化效率以及扩大其底物范围。其中,定向进化通过模拟自然进化机制,在体外改造基因从而获得性能优化的酶突变体,已经成为了酶改造的重要技术。在酶的实际应用过程中,介质工程、固定化以及多酶催化体系构建等技术被广泛用于提高酶的催化效率。其中,多酶催化体系由于其底物通道效应可以显著提高级联酶反应的效率而备受关注。本文首先重点介绍了近年酶应用的现状,然后从酶定向进化、糖基化以及化学修饰的角度总结了酶改造的方法,最后从介质工程、酶固定化以及体外多酶催化体系等方面进一步总结了酶实际应用中的催化工程策略。     

生物分子的单分子检测研究

本文评述了生物单分子检测的方法及其在生物大分子结构与功能之间的关系、酶的活性、反应动力学、分子构象、DNA和RNA的转录、蛋白质折叠等生物学重要问题研究上的应用。对生物单分子检测技术这一研究领域的发展趋势作了展望。     

聚合物刷与生物分子相互作用的研究进展

聚合物刷是由一端紧密接枝在一个曲面或平面的聚合物链组成的大分子结构。近年来,随着聚合物制备方法和表面修饰技术的不断发展,聚合物刷的应用范围也在不断拓宽,相关研究已成为功能高分子材料领域的热点之一。具有特殊结构和功能的聚合物刷在生物分子固定、蛋白质分离、酶催化、药物控释等方面具有广阔的应用前景。本文综述了聚合物刷与生物分子相互作用及应用的最新研究进展,并展望了今后的发展方向。     

纳米酶

纳米酶(Nanozymes)是由我国科学家首次提出的新概念,它是一类具有生物催化功能的纳米材料,能够基于特定的纳米结构催化天然酶的底物并作为酶的代替品。自2007年首次报道以来,全球已有来自于55个国家的420多个研究机构证实了纳米酶的普遍规律。纳米酶的发现第一次揭示纳米材料蕴含一种独特的纳米效应——类酶催化效应。纳米酶作为一种新材料,既有纳米材料本身的理化性质,又有类似酶的催化功能,兼具天然酶与人工酶的优势于一身。其中,纳米结构不仅赋予纳米酶高效催化功能,而且使纳米酶比天然酶稳定,易于规模化生产。另外,纳米酶独特的多酶活性将为设计廉价、稳定、各种各样全新的催化级联反应提供功能分子。纳米酶是多学科交叉融合的典范,2022年被IUPAC评为十大化学新兴技术。在全球从事化学、酶学、材料学、生物学、医学、理论计算等多领域科学家的共同推进下,如今纳米酶已经成为新的研究热点。我国科学家在这一新兴领域一直发挥着引领作用,解析了纳米酶的构-效关系,将其催化活性提高了约1万倍,实现了超越天然酶的理性设计,创造了全球首个纳米酶产品,出版了纳米酶学英文专著,发布纳米酶术语及中国/国际标准化。更可喜的是,纳...     

DNA-多肽复合分子的设计、组装与应用

DNA-多肽复合分子作为一类新型的自组装分子受到研究人员的广泛关注。DNA分子具有可编程性、高特异性、功能多样等优点,多肽分子是一类重要的生物小分子,能够通过分子自组装形成具有不同结构的纳米材料,因此,将二者通过共价交联,可以获得具有多级自组装行为的DNA-多肽复合分子,能够实现两类重要生物分子功能的集成优化,合成具有不同结构与功能的超分子自组装材料。此外,通过酶催化、DNA杂化、DNA链置换反应等,还可实现对多肽-DNA复合分子自组装行为的动态调控,进而模拟生命系统中复杂动态的自组装结构,强化相关材料在生物、化学、材料等领域的应用。本文讨论了DNA-多肽复合分子的设计、组装与应用方面的最新进展,最后基于目前DNA-多肽复合分子存在的一些问题对DNA-多肽复合分子的研究做了展望。     

酶复合催化剂原位合成新方法及生物催化应用

工业生物催化面临两大重要挑战,一是可工业应用的酶催化反应类型仍然比较有限,远少于化学催化剂,因此需要拓展酶催化的反应类型;二是酶在苛刻的工业催化反应条件下尤其是在高温、有机溶剂、不适宜的pH等环境下稳定性较差,因此需要提高工业酶催化剂的稳定性.研究者已经开发了很多方法,以解决这两方面难题,例如酶的定向进化、定点突变、酶的计算机从头设计和构建人工金属酶等.本文系统介绍了本课题组开发的酶复合催化剂原位合成方法及其生物催化应用,期望为解决工业生物催化的上述挑战提供新思路.原位合成是构建酶-无机晶体复合催化剂的一种简便、高效、普适的方法.酶-无机晶体复合物中,限域包埋使酶具有高于常规固定化酶的催化活性和稳定性.该方法可以简便拓展至其它多种类型的无机晶体材料,显著提高酶的稳定性.无机晶体的限域包埋对酶分子结构和性能有着重要影响,通过理性设计复合催化剂的结构,可实现对酶的活性、稳定性以及多酶反应级联效率的有效调控.本课题组采用分子模拟和实验相结合的方法阐释了多酶-无机晶体复合催化剂所驱动的级联反应效率提高的关键因素.通过调控原位合成中金属离子和有机配体的浓度,实现了酶分子在缺陷型甚至无定形载体中的包埋.在此基础上,深入探讨了缺陷对酶分子结构和催化活性的调控机制,为酶复合催化剂的理性设计提供了依据.同样基于原位合成方法,本课题组构建了酶-金属团簇复合催化剂,实现了温和条件下酶催化和金属催化的高效耦合和协同.以脂肪酶-钯团簇复合催化剂为例,阐明了酶-金属团簇复合催化剂中二者相互作用对酶分子结构和活性以及金属催化活性的影响机制,为酶催化和金属催化相融合的研究提供了重要基础.我们对这一领域存在的挑战和未来重要的研究方向也进行了讨论,希望本文可以从催化剂工程角度为高效酶催化剂的设计以及生物催化应用领域的拓展提供新思路,推动该领域发展.     

酶复合催化剂原位合成新方法及生物催化应用（英文）

工业生物催化面临两大重要挑战,一是可工业应用的酶催化反应类型仍然比较有限,远少于化学催化剂,因此需要拓展酶催化的反应类型;二是酶在苛刻的工业催化反应条件下尤其是在高温、有机溶剂、不适宜的pH等环境下稳定性较差,因此需要提高工业酶催化剂的稳定性.研究者已经开发了很多方法,以解决这两方面难题,例如酶的定向进化、定点突变、酶的计算机从头设计和构建人工金属酶等.本文系统介绍了本课题组开发的酶复合催化剂原位合成方法及其生物催化应用,期望为解决工业生物催化的上述挑战提供新思路.原位合成是构建酶-无机晶体复合催化剂的一种简便、高效、普适的方法.酶-无机晶体复合物中,限域包埋使酶具有高于常规固定化酶的催化活性和稳定性.该方法可以简便拓展至其它多种类型的无机晶体材料,显著提高酶的稳定性.无机晶体的限域包埋对酶分子结构和性能有着重要影响,通过理性设计复合催化剂的结构,可实现对酶的活性、稳定性以及多酶反应级联效率的有效调控.本课题组采用分子模拟和实验相结合的方法阐释了多酶-无机晶体复合催化剂所驱动的级联反应效率提高的关键因素.通过调控原位合成中金属离子和有机配体的浓度,实现了酶分子在缺陷型甚至无定形载体中的包埋.在此基础上,深入探讨了缺陷对酶分子结构和催化活性的调控机制,为酶复合催化剂的理性设计提供了依据.同样基于原位合成方法,本课题组构建了酶–金属团簇复合催化剂,实现了温和条件下酶催化和金属催化的高效耦合和协同.以脂肪酶-钯团簇复合催化剂为例,阐明了酶-金属团簇复合催化剂中二者相互作用对酶分子结构和活性以及金属催化活性的影响机制,为酶催化和金属催化相融合的研究提供了重要基础.我们对这一领域存在的挑战和未来重要的研究方向也进行了讨论,希望本文可以从催化剂工程角度为高效酶催化剂的设计以及生物催化应用领域的拓展提供新思路,推动该领域发展.     

腈水解酶在医药中间体生物催化研究中的最新进展

腈水解酶是生物催化领域中的一种重要催化剂,可用于羧酸的生物合成,反应过程具有条件温和、催化效率高、选择性突出、工艺绿色环保等特点,在医药中间体的制备中具有重要应用,符合原子经济性和绿色化学的发展方向。相关酶种的挖掘及改造已逐步成为新的研究热点,许多腈水解酶催化剂已被开发应用于医药中间体的合成。随着现代分子生物学技术的进步以及生物催化进入第三次发展浪潮,利用基因工程手段构建的基因工程菌或纯化酶作为催化剂已变得较为普遍,提高催化剂的催化潜力、改善其催化特性以最大程度的体现腈水解酶合成反应的独特优势,将为腈水解酶应用于更多医药中间体的合成奠定基础。本文综述了用于医药中间体合成的腈水解酶的应用与发展现状,并探讨了该领域研究所面临的前所未有的机遇与挑战。     

固定化酶微反应器的制备及应用

固定化酶微反应器是将生物分子固定技术与生化微反应相结合制备的一种固定化催化装置。这种微型化的反应系统由于兼具固定化酶的特异性催化、可重复利用及微分析的低消耗、易分离等优点,在生命科学如蛋白质组学、酶抑制剂的筛选、生物催化等领域具有非常重要的作用。固定化酶微反应器的性能与其制作方法关系密切。本文着重从酶与固定化载体结合方式的角度,对近年来固定化酶微反应器的各种制备方法和应用进行了较为详细的评述。重点讨论了各种方法的优缺点和最新的发展情况,并对其发展前景进行了展望。     

Potent Glycosidase Inhibition with Heterovalent Fullerenes: Unveiling the Binding Modes Triggering Multivalent Inhibition

Glycosidases are key enzymes in metabolism, pathogenic/antipathogenic mechanisms and normal cellular functions. Recently, a novel approach for glycosidase inhibition that conveys multivalent glycomimetic conjugates has emerged. Many questions regarding the mechanism(s) of multivalent enzyme inhibition remain unanswered. Herein we report the synthesis of a collection of novel homo‐ and heterovalent glyco(mimetic)‐fullerenes purposely conceived for probing the contribution of non‐catalytic pockets in glysosidases to the multivalent inhibitory effect. Their affinities towards selected glycosidases were compared with data from homovalent fullerene conjugates. An original competitive glycosidase–lectin binding assay demonstrated that the multivalent derivatives and the substrate compete for low affinity non‐glycone binding sites of the enzyme, leading to inhibition by a “recognition and blockage” mechanism. Most notably, this work provides evidence for enzyme inhibition by multivalent glycosystems, which will likely have a strong impact in the glycosciences given the utmost relevance of multivalency in Nature.     

Fullerene‐sp2‐Iminosugar Balls as Multimodal Ligands for Lectins and Glycosidases: A Mechanistic Hypothesis for the Inhibitory Multivalent Effect

Concerted functioning of lectins and carbohydrate‐processing enzymes, mainly glycosidases, is essential in maintaining life. It was commonly assumed that the mechanisms by which each class of protein recognizes their cognate sugar partners are intrinsically different: multivalency is a characteristic feature of carbohydrate–lectin interactions, whereas glycosidases bind to their substrates or substrate‐analogue inhibitors in monovalent form. Recent observations on the glycosidase inhibitory potential of multivalent glycomimetics have questioned this paradigm and led to postulate an inhibitory multivalent effect. Here the mechanisms at the origin of this phenomenon have been investigated. A D ‐gluco‐configured sp²‐iminosugar glycomimetic motif, namely 1‐amino‐5N,6O‐oxomethylydenenojirimycin (1N‐ONJ), behaving, simultaneously, as a ligand of peanut agglutinin (PNA) lectin and as an inhibitor of several glycosidases, has been identified. Both the 1N‐ONJ–lectin‐ and 1N‐ONJ–glycosidase‐recognition processes have been found to be sensitive to multivalency, which has been exploited in the design of a lectin–glycosidase competitive assay to explore the implication of catalytic and non‐glycone sites in enzyme binding. A set of isotropic dodecavalent C₆₀‐fullerene–sp²‐iminosugar balls incorporating matching or mismatching motifs towards several glycosidases (inhitopes) was synthesized for that purpose, thereby preventing differences in binding modes arising from orientational preferences. The data supports that: 1) multivalency allows modulating the affinity and selectivity of a given inhitope towards glycosidases; 2) multivalent presentation can switch on the inhibitory capacity for some inhitope–glycosidase pairs, and 3) interactions of the multivalent inhibitors with non‐glycone sites is critical for glycosidase recognition. The ensemble of results point to a shift in the binding mode on going from monovalent to multivalent systems: in the first case a typical ′′key–lock′′ model involving, essentially, the high‐affinity active site can be assumed, whereas in the second, a lectin‐like behavior implying low‐affinity non‐glycone sites probably operates. The differences in responsiveness to multivalency for different glycosidases can then be rationalized in terms of the structure and accessibility of the corresponding carbohydrate‐binding regions.     

Profiling of glycosidase activities using coumarin-conjugated glycoside cocktails

Glycosidases are a large subgroup of carbohydrate-processing enzymes that hydrolytically cleave the glycosidic bond. Glycans formed by the action of glycosidases are involved in various biological processes. Genetic abnormalities in glycosidases are associated with inherited diseases. Thus, characterization of the catalytic activities of glycosidases is of great importance. Herein, we describe a simple and rapid approach for determining glycosidase activity profiles using coumarin-conjugated glycoside cocktails. [reaction: see text].     

Sensitive and rapid electrochemical bioassay of glycosidase activity

Here we present a highly sensitive, rapid and simple electrochemical assay for glycosidases based on treatment of the glycosidase with the appropriate p-nitrophenyl glycoside and anodic detection of released p-nitrophenol. The attractive characteristics of the new bioassay should facilitate advanced glycomic research and routine clinical diagnostics since glycosidases are associated with various diseases.     

Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase operates through a covalent sialyl-enzyme intermediate: tyrosine is the catalytic nucleophile

Modified sialic acid substrates have been used to label Trypanosoma cruzi trans-sialidase, demonstrating that the enzyme catalyses the transfer of sialic acid through a covalent glycosyl-enzyme intermediate, a mechanism common to most retaining glycosidases. Peptic digestion of labeled protein, followed by LC-MS/MS analysis of the digest, identified Tyr342 as the catalytic nucleophile. This is the first such example of a retaining glycosidase utilizing an aryl glycoside intermediate. It is suggested that this alternative choice of nucleophile is a consequence of the chemical nature of sialic acid. A Tyr/Glu couple is invoked to relay charge from a remote glutamic acid, thereby avoiding electrostatic repulsion with the sialic acid carboxylate group.     

New glycosidase activated nitric oxide donors: glycose and 3-morphorlinosydnonimine conjugates

[reaction: see text] To achieve site specific delivery of nitric oxide (NO), a new class of glycosidase activated NO donors has been developed. Glucose, galactose, and N-acetylneuraminic acid were covalently coupled to 3-morphorlinosydnonimine (SIN-1), a mesoionic heterocyclic NO donor, via a carbamate linkage at the anomeric position. The beta-glycosides were successfully prepared for these conjugates, while the alpha-glycosidic compounds were very unstable. The new stable sugar-NO conjugates could release NO in the presence of glycosidases. Such NO prodrugs may be used as enzyme activated NO donors in biomedical research.     

Structure-activity relationships in aminocyclopentitol glycosidase inhibitors

Aminocyclopentitol analogs of beta-D-glucose, beta-D-galactose and alpha-D-galactose bearing alkyl substituents as aglycon mimics on the amine function were prepared and tested for inhibition of various glycosidases. N-benzyl-beta-D-gluco derivatives 1-4 and N-benzyl-beta-D-galacto derivative 5 inhibited beta-galactosidase and beta-glucosidase. N-benzyl-alpha-D-galacto aminocyclopentitol 6 strongly inhibited alpha-galactosidase. The inhibitory activities observed were generally stronger compared to those of their primary amine analogs. A structure-activity relationship analysis was carried out including data from thirty-five different aminocyclopentitol glycosidase inhibitors. The strongest inhibitions reported for any enzyme were associated with a perfect stereochemical match between aminocyclopentitol and glycosidase, including the alpha- or beta-configuration of the amino-group corresponding to the enzyme's anomeric selectivity.     

Docking and molecular dynamics studies on the stereoselectivity in the enzymatic synthesis of carbohydrates

Glycosidases constitute a vast family of enzymes that catalyze the breaking and formation of glycosidic bonds. The synthesized oligosaccharides, being crucial to life, are involved in many biochemical processes, particularly in the pharmaceutical and food industries. The proposed catalytic mechanism of retaining glycoside hydrolases (glycosidases) occurs via a double displacement mechanism involving a covalent glycosyl enzyme intermediate. During the transglycosylation reactions, the control of the stereoselectivity for the formation of the new bond remains a complicated problem in the chemical synthesis of oligosaccharides. In this paper, docking and molecular dynamics methods were used to study the second step of the mechanism of transglycosylation in retaining glycosidases from six microorganisms with known stereoselectivity. Using the natural substrates as donor and acceptor molecules, we were able to corroborate and provide structural information about the active site, the trapped monosaccharide acceptor and the bound intermediates during the step that precedes transglycosylation, as well as identify and understand the commonly displayed stereoselectivity by these glycosidases in nature. The information obtained with this procedure helps to recognize, explain and predict the stereoselectivity of the sugars studied. These kind of procedures can be used to improve the efficiency of large-scale industrial synthesis of a specific sugar.     

Combinatorial Heterogeneous Catalysis-A New Path in an Old Field

Combinatorial catalysis is the systematic preparation, processing, and testing of large diversities of chemically and physically different materials libraries in a high-throughput fashion. It also embodies microfabrication, robotics, automation, instrumentation, computational chemistry, and large-scale information management (informatics), and as such carries the promise of a renaissance in catalytic reaction engineering. Significant progress has already been made in demonstrating the speed and economic advantage of combinatorial approaches by the discovery of superior catalytic materials in a matter of hours and days, as opposed to the months and years required using traditional methods. Combinatorial methods can also significantly contribute to our understanding of catalytic function by increasing our chances of discovering totally new and unexpected catalytic materials, and by expediting the recognition of trends and patterns of structure-activity relations, from which new catalytic materials can be designed more efficiently. Combinatorial catalysis undoubtedly will be the new paradigm of catalysis research as the industry faces increasing global competition and pressure for the development of environmentally friendly processes at a time when resources for research are diminishing.     

Functional Liquid‐Crystalline Assemblies: Self‐Organized Soft Materials

In the 21st century, soft materials will become more important as functional materials because of their dynamic nature. Although soft materials are not as highly durable as hard materials, such as metals, ceramics, and engineering plastics, they can respond well to stimuli and the environment. The introduction of order into soft materials induces new dynamic functions. Liquid crystals are ordered soft materials consisting of self‐organized molecules and can potentially be used as new functional materials for electron, ion, or molecular transporting, sensory, catalytic, optical, and bio‐active materials. For this functionalization, unconventional materials design is required. Herein, we describe new approaches to the functionalization of liquid crystals and show how the design of liquid crystals formed by supramolecular assembly and nano‐segregation leads to the formation of a variety of new self‐organized functional materials.