In-line determination of metabolites and milk components with electrochemical biosensors

Electrochemical biosensors for lactate, pyruvate and β-hydroxybutyrate based on oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and NADH sensors coupled with oxidase and dehydrogenase enzymes were developed and used in conjunction with an artificial pancreas in experiments with extracorporeal circulation. Such procedures allow the fate of these species involved in glucose metabolism to be clarified during insulin treatment of diabetic patients. Studies with a glucose oxidase electrode for in-line determination of glucose produced by hydrolysis of cellobiose in a bioreactor are reported; for the determination of glucose in the presence of high concentrations of cellobiose, the purity of glucose oxidase is important in obtaining linear calibration plots. Impurities like amylase, maltase, invertase, and galactose oxidase, which are usually present in commercial preparations of glucose oxidase, must be absent. Another application is the amperometric determination of lactose, lactate and glucose in milk samples by using a hydrogen peroxide sensor coupled with β-galactosidase, lactate oxidase and glucose oxidase. The procedures outlined are simple and the short response times enable milk to be monitored during processing.     

Enhanced Properties and Lactose Hydrolysis Efficiencies of Food-Grade β-Galactosidases Immobilized on Various Supports: a Comparative Approach

In this study, a fungal and two yeast β-galactosidases were immobilized using alginate and chitosan. The biochemical parameters and lactose hydrolysis abilities of immobilized enzymes were analyzed. The pH optima of immobilized fungal β-galactosidases shifted to more acidic pH compared to free enzyme. Remarkably, the optimal temperature of chitosan-entrapped yeast enzyme, Maxilact, increased to 60 °C, which is significantly higher than that of the free Maxilact (40 °C) and other immobilized forms. Chitosan-immobilized A. oryzae β-galactosidase showed improved lactose hydrolysis (95.7%) from milk, compared to the free enzyme (82.7%) in 12 h. Chitosan-immobilized Maxilact was the most efficient in lactose removal from milk (100% lactose hydrolysis in 2 h). The immobilized lactases displayed excellent reusability, and chitosan-immobilized Maxilact hydrolyzed >?95% lactose in milk after five reuses. Compared to free enzymes, the immobilized enzymes are more suitable for cost-effective industrial production of low-lactose milk due to improved thermal activity, lactose hydrolysis efficiencies, and reusability.

     

Simultaneous determination of lactose and glucose in milk using two working enzyme electrodes

Lactose and glucose concentrations were determined simultaneously by using a measuring-cell containing lactose and glucose electrodes made by mixing beta-galactosidase/glucose oxidase and glucose oxidase, respectively, with carbon paste. The glucose electrode responds to glucose alone, while the lactose electrode measures the sum of glucose and lactose. Lactose concentration was calculated by subtracting the glucose concentration from the reading of the lactose electrode. The present dual-working electrode system permitted the determination of lactose and glucose concentrations simultaneously from a single measurement over a linear range of 0.1-2.5 mM. Furthermore, it enabled the determination of lactose concentration in milk in the presence of glucose to be carried out more precisely and with a higher degree of sensitivity than the conventional calorimetric method.     

High Level Production of β-Galactosidase Exhibiting Excellent Milk-Lactose Degradation Ability from Aspergillus oryzae by Codon and Fermentation Optimization

A β-galactosidase gene from Aspergillus oryzae was engineered utilizing codon usage optimization to be constitutively and highly expressed in the Pichia pastoris SMD1168H strain in a high-cell-density fermentation. After fermentation for 96 h in a 50-L fermentor using glucose and glycerol as combined carbon sources, the recombinant enzyme in the culture supernatant had an activity of 4,239.07 U mL^?1 with o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside as the substrate, and produced a total of extracellular protein content of 7.267 g L^?1 in which the target protein (6.24 g L^?1) occupied approximately 86 %. The recombinant β-galactosidase exhibited an excellent lactose hydrolysis ability. With 1,000 U of the enzyme in 100 mL milk, 92.44 % lactose was degraded within 24 h at 60 °C, and the enzyme could also accomplish the hydrolysis at low temperatures of 37, 25, and 10 °C. Thus, this engineered strain had significantly higher fermentation level of A. oryzae lactase than that before optimization and the β-galactosidase may have a good application potential in whey and milk industries.     

Characterization of β-Galactosidase Isoforms from Bacillus circulans and Their Contribution to GOS Production

A β-galactosidase preparation from Bacillus circulans consists of four isoforms called β-gal-A, β-gal-B, β-gal-C, and β-gal-D. These isoforms differ in lactose hydrolysis and galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) synthesis at low substrate concentrations. For this reason, using a selection of the isoforms may be relevant for GOS production, which is typically done at high substrate concentrations. At initial lactose concentrations in between 0.44 % and 0.68 % (w/w), β-gal-A showed the least oligosaccharide formation, followed by β-gal-B and β-gal-C; most oligosaccharides were formed by β-gal-D. The differences in behavior were confirmed by studying the thermodynamics of lactose conversion with isothermal titration calorimetry since especially β-gal-A showed a different profile than the other isoforms. Also during the conversion of allolactose and 4-galactosyllactose at 0.44 % and 0.61 % (w/w), respectively, β-gal-A and β-gal-D showed clear differences. In contrast to above findings, the selectivity of the isoforms did hardly differ at an initial lactose concentration of 30 % (w/w), except for a slightly higher production of galactose with β-gal-A. These differences were hypothesized to be related to the different accessibility of the active sites of the isoforms for different-sized reactants. The initial GOS formation rates of the isoforms indicate that β-gal-A and β-gal-B are the best isoforms for GOS production at high lactose concentrations.     

Spectrophotometric quantification of lactose in solution with a peroxidase-based enzymatic cascade reaction system

A spectrophotometric assay was developed for the quantification of lactose in aqueous solution via a one-pot enzymatic cascade reaction at 25 °C and pH 7.2. Lactose (0.2-1.8 mM), E. coli β-galactosidase (β-Gal), Aspergillus niger glucose oxidase (GOD), horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) were incubated, and the increase in absorbance at 417 nm (A (417)) due to the formation of DAP (2,3-diaminophenazine), the dimeric oxidation product of OPD, was followed. The increase in A (417) was found to depend linearly on the initial lactose concentration via three consecutive but simultaneously occurring enzymatic reaction steps catalyzed by β-Gal, GOD, and HRP. No pre-incubation of lactose with β-Gal is needed with this simple lactose assay.     

Determination of glucose and lactose in food products with the use of biosensors based on Berlin blue

The immobilization of enzymes into polyelectrolyte membranes with the use of organic solvents was applied to the development of the biosensing elements of biosensors. The following domestically produced preparations were used: the enzymes glucose oxidase and β-galactosidase and a perfluorosulfonated polymer. The compositions of mono-and bienzymic polyelectrolyte membranes were optimized. The glucose and lactose biosensors based on Berlin blue (as a signal transducer) and polyelectrolyte membranes exhibited high sensitivity, low detection limits, and fast response. The results of the analysis of milk whey in a flow-injection system that included biosensors completely correlated with measurement data obtained by a standard chromatographic technique.     

Permeabilization of Kluyveromyces marxianus with Mild Detergent for Whey Lactose Hydrolysis and Augmentation of Mixed Culture

Cheese whey is a by-product of cheese-manufacturing industries, and the utilization of whey is a challenging problem either to use it or dispose it, because only few microorganisms can metabolize the whey lactose. Enzymatic hydrolysis of whey lactose to glucose and galactose by β-galactosidase is the approach for biotechnological application. Kluyveromyces marxianus cells were permeabilized with non-toxic, biodegradable, anionic detergent N-lauroyl sarcosine (N-LS) for the enzyme activity. The permeabilization process parameters (N-LS concentration, solvent volume, temperature and incubation time) were optimized. The maximum β-galactosidase activity of 1,220 IU/g dry weight was obtained using permeabilized cells under optimized conditions. Moreover, viability of the permeabilized cells was also evaluated, which showed that cells were alive; however, viability was reduced by two log cycles. The permeabilized cells were evaluated for whey lactose hydrolysis. The maximum lactose hydrolysis of 91 % was observed with 600 mg (dry cell weight/100 mL) in whey powder (5 % w/v) solution at 180-min incubation, pH 6.5 and 30 °C. Further, the hydrolyzed whey was evaluated for amelioration of growth of non-lactose-consuming yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae was able to grow in hydrolyzed whey simultaneously with K. marxianus. The study confirmed that N-LS could be used to permeabilize K. marxianus cells to make available the enzyme activity.     

Enhanced β-Galactosidase Production from Whey Powder by a Mutant of the Psychrotolerant Yeast <Emphasis Type="Italic">Guehomyces pullulans</Emphasis> 17<Emphasis Type="Italic">–</Emphasis>1 for Hydrolysis of Lactose

In order to isolate β-galactosidase overproducers of the psychrotolerant yeast Guehomyces pullulans 17–1, its cells were mutated by using nitrosoguanidine (NTG). One mutant (NTG-133) with enhanced β-galactosidase production was obtained. The mutant grown in the production medium with 30.0 g/l lactose and 2.0 g/l glucose could produce more β-galactosidase than the same mutant grown in the production medium with only 30.0 g/l lactose while β-galactosidase production by its wild type was sensitive to the presence of glucose in the medium. It was found that 40.0 g/l of the whey powder was the most suitable for β-galactosidase production by the mutant. After optimization of the medium and cultivation conditions, the mutant could produce 29.2 U/ml of total β-galactosidase activity within 132 h at the flask level while the mutant could produce 48.1 U/ml of total β-galactosidase activity within 144 h in 2-l fermentor. Over 77.1% of lactose in the whey powder (5.0% w/v) was hydrolyzed in the presence of the β-galactosidase activity of 280 U/g of lactose within 9 h while over 77.0% of lactose in the whey was hydrolyzed in the presence of β-galactosidase activity of 280 U/g of lactose within 6 h. This was the first time to show that the β-galactosidase produced by the psychrotolerant yeast could be used for hydrolysis of lactose in the whey powder and whey.     

Selection of the most effective kinetic model of lactase hydrolysis by immobilized Aspergillus niger and free β-galactosidase

The kinetic model of the hydrolysis of lactose by β-galactosidase from Aspergillus niger immobilized on a commercial ceramic monoliths was estimated in the attendance of lactose and its hydrolysis reaction products galactose and glucose. The aim of this work was to developing kinetic model of lactase hydrolysis by Aspergillus niger. The variables in this study are temperature, pH, enzyme concentration, substrate concentration and final product. The optimum temperature used to achieve the best hydrolysis performance in the kinetic model selection was 55 and 60 °C. The optimum pH used for enzyme activity was about 3.5 to 4. Five kinetic models were proposed to confirm experimental data the enzymatic reaction of the lactose hydrolysis by the β-galactosidase. The kinetics of lactose hydrolysis by both Immobilized and soluble lactases were scrutinized in a batch reactor system in the lack of any mass conduction restriction. In both instance the galactose inhibition kinetic models predicted the experimental data. The model is capable to fit the experimental data correctly in the extensive experimental span studied.     

Application of a novel co-enzyme reactor in chemiluminescence flow-through biosensor for determination of lactose

A novel enzyme reactor with co-immobilization of β-galactosidase and glucose oxidase in calcium alginate fiber (CAF) and amine modified nanosized mesoporous silica (AMNMS) was prepared which incorporate the adsorption and catalysis of AMNMS with the cage effect of the polymer to increase catalytic activity and stability of immobilized enzyme. The enzyme reactor was applied to prepare a chemiluminescence (CL) flow-through biosensor for determination of lactose combined with a novel luminol-diperiodatonickelate (DPN) CL system we reported. It shows that the CL flow-through biosensor possesses long lifetime, high stability, high catalytic activity and sensitivity. The relative CL intensity was linear with the lactose concentration in the range of 8 × 10⁻⁸-4 × 10⁻⁶ g mL⁻¹ with the detection limit of 2.7 × 10⁻⁸ g mL⁻¹ (3σ). It has been successfully applied to the determination of lactose in milk.     

Biosensor analysis of penicillin G in milk based on the inhibition of carboxypeptidase activity

The β-lactam antibiotics, including penicillins, are the most important antimicrobial substances used for mastitis treatment. Consequently, this is also the most frequently occurring type of antibiotic residues in milk. Today, in addition to the traditional microbial inhibitor tests, rapid and sensitive receptor and immunoassays are used in residue control. Due to the limitations in throughput capacity of these tests, recent applications of automated biosensor technology in food analysis are of great interest.A surface plasmon resonance (SPR)-based biosensor (Biacore) was used to design an inhibition assay to detect β-lactam antibiotics in milk. A microbial receptor protein with carboxypeptidase activity was used as detection molecule. One advantage of using this receptor protein over antibodies that are more commonly used is that only the active, intact β-lactam structure is recognized, whereas most antibodies detect both active and inactive forms. In the presence of β-lactam antibiotics the formation of a stable complex between receptor protein and antibiotic inhibits the enzymatic activity of the protein. The decrease in enzymatic activity was measured using an antibody against the degraded substrate and penicillin G in milk samples was quantitatively determined. The limit of detection of the assay for penicillin G was determined to 2.6 μg kg⁻¹ for antibiotic-free producer milk, which is below the European maximum residue limit (MRL) of 4 μg kg⁻¹. The coefficient of variation at 4 μg kg⁻¹ penicillin G, ranged between 7.3 and 16% on three different days.     

Determination of benzylpenicillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin, and dicloxacillin in cows' milk by ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography after precolumn derivatization

A high-performance liquid-chromatographic method has been developed for the determination of five penicillin compounds (benzylpenicillin, phenoxymethylpenicillin, oxacillin, cloxacillin, and dicloxacillin) at trace levels in commercially available milk samples. This method comprises extraction of the lipids with ethyl acetate, clean-up and concentration on a C-18 solid-phase extraction column, and derivatization with 1,2,4-triazole and mercury(II) chloride solution, pH 8, at 65 degrees C for 10 min. The derivatized compounds are eluted from a C-2 column with a mobile phase containing acetonitrile and phosphate buffer loaded with sodium thiosulfate and tetrabutylammonium hydrogen sulfate as ion-pairing reagent. The limit of determination was found to be 4 microg L(-1) milk for benzylpenicillin and 10 microg L(-1) for the others. This meets EU criteria according to decision No. 93/256/EEC.     

Utilization of Cheese Whey Using Synergistic Immobilization of β-Galactosidase and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> Cells in Dual Matrices

Whey is a byproduct of the dairy industry, which has prospects of using as a source for production of various valuable compounds. The lactose present in whey is considered as an environmental pollutant and its utilization for enzyme and fuel production, may be effective for whey bioremediation. The dairy yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus have the ability to utilize lactose sharply as the major carbon source for the production of the enzyme. Five strains were tested for the production of the β-galactosidase using whey. The maximum β-galactosidase activity of 1.74 IU/mg dry weight was achieved in whey using K. marxianus MTCC 1389. The biocatalyst was further immobilized on chitosan macroparticles and exhibited excellent functional activity at 35 °C. Almost 89 % lactose hydrolysis was attained for concentrated whey (100 g/L) and retained 89 % catalytic activity after 15 cycles of reuse. Finally, β-galactosidase was immobilized on chitosan and Saccharomyces cerevisiae on calcium alginate, and both were used together for the production of ethanol from concentrated whey. Maximal ethanol titer of 28.9 g/L was achieved during fermentation at 35 °C. The conclusions generated by employing two different matrices will be beneficial for the future modeling using engineered S. cerevisiae in scale-up studies.     

固相萃取-胶束电动色谱法测定牛奶中的4种β-内酰胺类抗生素

建立了同时分离检测牛奶中的氨苄西林、阿莫西林、青霉素V和头孢氨苄4种β-内酰胺类抗生素的固相萃取-胶束电动色谱法。牛奶样品经沉淀蛋白后,采用HLB固相萃取柱净化浓缩;以含十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)的磷酸盐为缓冲液,胶束电动色谱分离,210 nm波长下检测。分离电压为18 kV,于9 min内达到基线分离。各组分在0.5～20 mg/L范围内呈良好的线性关系,相关系数(r2)为0.9943～0.9976;检出限为0.16～0.20 mg/L;除了阿莫西林外,回收率均大于70%。该方法准确可靠,重复性好,灵敏度高,可以用于牛奶中β-内酰胺类抗生素的定量检测。     

Induction of Cryptococcus laurentii α-galactosidase

The surface activity of Cryptococcus laurentii ??-galactosidase can be significantly (up to 80 times) influenced by a carbon source present in a cultivation medium. Induction of this enzyme is stimulated by the presence of saccharides containing bound galactose. The highest activity observed when the cells grew in a lactose medium was probably a consequence of the absence of cleavage products serving as repressors (glucose). This idea is supported by the poor growth of cells in the medium with lactose as the carbon source. The induction of surface ??-galactosidase was accompanied by increased activities in cytosole. The membrane fraction also contained this enzyme, but the influence of the carbon source was not proportional. The induction of ??-galactosidase may play an important role in galactose metabolism of the genus Cryptococcus with a direct influence on the virulence of these capsular yeasts.     

Effect of mutations to amino acid A301 and F361 in thermostability and catalytic activity of the β-galactosidase from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> VTCC-DVN-12-01

Background

Beta-galactosidase (EC 3.2.1.23), a commercially important enzyme, catalyses the hydrolysis of β-1,3- and β-1,4-galactosyl bonds of polymer or oligosaccharidesas well as transglycosylation of β-galactopyranosides. Due to catalytic properties; β-galactosidase might be useful in the milk industry to hydrolyze lactose and produce prebiotic GOS. The purpose of this study is to characterize β-galactosidase mutants from B. subtilis.

Results

Using error prone rolling circle amplification (epRCA) to characterize some random mutants of the β-galactosidase (LacA) from B. subtilisVTCC-DVN-12-01, amino acid A301 and F361 has been demonstrated significantly effect on hydrolysis activity of LacA. Mutants A301V and F361Y had markedly reduced hydrolysis activity to 23.69 and 43.22 %, respectively. Mutants the site-saturation of A301 reduced catalysis efficiency of LacA to 20–50 %, while the substitution of F361 by difference amino acids (except tyrosine) lost all of enzymatic activity, indicating that A301 and F361 are important for the catalytic function. Interestingly, the mutant F361Y exhibited enhanced significantly thermostability of enzyme at 45–50 °C. At 45 °C, LacA-361Y retained over 93 % of its original activity for 48 h of incubation, whereas LacA-WT and LacA-301Vwere lost completely after 12 and 24 h of incubation, respectively. The half-life times of LacA-361Y and LacA-301 V were about 26.8 and 2.4 times higher, respectively, in comparison to the half-life time of LacA-WT. At temperature optimum 50 °C, LacA-361Y shows more stable than LacA-WT and LacA-301 V, retaining 79.88 % of its original activities after 2 h of incubation, while the LacA-WT and LacA-301 V lost all essential activities. The half-life time of LacA-361Y was higher 12.7 and 9.39 times than that of LacA-WT and LacA-301 V, respectively. LacA-WT and mutant enzymes were stability at pH 5–9, retained over 90 % activity for 72 h of incubation at 30 °C. However, LacA-WT showed a little bit more stability than LacA-301 V and LacA-361Y at pH 4.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrated that the amino acids A301V and F361 play important role in hydrolysis activity of β -galactosidase from B. subtilis. Specially, amino acid F361 had noteworthy effect on both catalytic and thermostability of LacA enzyme, suggesting that F361 is responsible for functional requirement of the GH42 family.

     

Fluorescent Mesoporous Nanoparticles for β-Lactamase Screening Assays

We present a sensitive and rapid screening method for the determination of β-lactamase activity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, by designing a pH-sensitive fluorescent dye-doped mesoporous silica nanoparticle encapsulated with penicillin G as a substrate. When penicillin G was hydrolysed by β-lactamase and converted into penicilloic acid, the acidic environment resulted in fluorescence quenching of the dye. The dye-doped mesoporous nanoparticles not only enhanced the β-lactamase-catalyzed reaction rate but also stablized the substrate, penicillin G, which degrades into penicilloic acid in a water solution without β-lactamase. Twentyfive clinical bacterial samples were tested and the antibiotic resistant and susceptible strains were identified. The proposed method may detect the presence of β -lactamases of clinically relevant samples in less than 1 hour. Moreover, the detection limit of β-lactamase activity was as low as 7.8×10⁻⁴ U/mL, which was determined within two hours.     

Immobilization of the β-galactosidase fromAspergillus niger on chitosan

Crude or purifiedAspergillus niger β-galactosidase preparations were immobilized on chitosan (deacetylated chitin, activated with glutaraldehyde). The most active immobilized systems were obtained withcrude enzyme preparations. The immobilized enzyme hydrolyzed lactose in pure lactose solutions, ultrafiltrate whey permeates, or acid wheys at similar rates. The pH activity profiles and K_m values of the chitosan-bound enzyme were not significantly altered on immobilization, and its stability on repetitive use up to 60°C was increased by reduction with NaBH₄. After 8 weeks on discontinuous operation (8 h use per day), β-galactosidase-chitosan columns were found to retain about 90, 50, or 60% of their initial activities with lactose, ultrafiltrate permeate, or acid whey solutions, respectively. The efficiency of the β-galactosidase-chitosan conjugate appears to be comparable or greater than those of other described systems, and its stability should allow its use on an industrial scale. A preliminary report of this work has already been presented at the 4th International Enzyme Engineering Conference (September 25-30, 1977, Bad Neuenahr, FRG).     

Chromatographic analysis of penicillins in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids

Natural penicillin (benzylpenicillin) is the oldest antibiotic observed by Alexander Fleming in 1928. To broaden its spectrum of activity, natural penicillin was modified, giving rise to a group of antibiotics under the name 'penicillins'. Although an increasing number of bacteria appear to be resistant to them, penicillins are used to treat a variety of bacterial infections including Gram-positive, Gram-negative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Consequently, they are widely used in human and veterinary medicine to prevent and treat diseases. This review covers the analytical methodologies, mainly chromatographic, employed to the penicillins determination in pharmaceutical formulations, biological fluids and in production-scale fermentations reported in the literature. Results of published assays are comparatively presented focusing on sample preparation regarding isolation and purification, chromatographic conditions and method validation. Information on chemical structure, spectrum of activity and action mechanism of common penicillins has also been given.