Purification and some properties of tryptophan-5-monooxygenase from rabbit hindbrain

An affinity chromatography procedure for the rapid purification of tryptophan-5-monooxygenase from rabbit hindbrains was developed using e-aminocaproyl-D-tryptophan methyl ester-Sepharose-4B gels. The precise requirements for the optimal biospecific interaction between the affinity ligand and the ligate (enzyme) was established from a study of the effects of the variation in the length of the "spacer’’ on the affinity properties of the gel. The enzyme preparation isolated by this procedure was found to be essentially homogeneous and was characterized by a molecular weight of 200,000 ±20,000. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the enzyme revealed it to be a dimer, the molecular weight of each subunit being approximately 90,000. The specific activity of the enzyme preparation is approxi-mately 7-10 times that of the crude homogenate, but a further fivefold enhancement in the specific activity could be obtained by limited proteolysis with trypsin. The extreme lability of the enzyme could be circumvented by its immobilization on activated Sepharose or by cross-linking with dimethyl suberimidate. The kinetic properties as well as the advantages of such stabilized enzyme preparations are presented.     

Modulation of molecular and kinetic properties of enzymes upon immobilization

Pea seedling glutamate dehydrogenase(EC 1.4.1.2) and Jack bean urease (EC 3.5.1.5) were immobilized on aminoethyl cellulose by cross-linking in a two-step reaction with glutaral dehyde. Specific activities of the immobilized dehydrogenase and urease were about 14% and 87%, respectively, of the original material in free solution. Both immobilized enzymes show no appreciable change in their pH dependence, whereas a less efficient binding of the substrates is suggested by the increased apparent Michaelis constants (K_m app.). Sigmoid kinetics were observed for both enzymes when reactions were carried out in a packed bed. Diffusional effects are considered responsible for producing these anomalous kinetics. The implications of these perturbations in terms of the catalytic efficiency of the enzymes, as well as the practical problems involved in the analysis of the kinetic data, are discussed.     

Quantitative estimation of the conditions of titrating hydroxyanthraquinones in nonaqueous solvents

In order to determine the optimum conditions of potentiometric titration, an investigation has been made of the relative acidities of 13-hydroxyanthraquinones in water, methanol, acetone (ac), dimethylformamide (DMFA), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) on the basis of a calculation of the indices of the relative acidity constants (pK_a) by Henderson's method. The existence of a relationship between pK_a in water and pK_a in acetone, dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide has been established which is characterized by the linear equations $$pK_a^{DMSO} = 1.54pK_a^{H_2 O} + 11.88$$ , $$pK_a^{DMFA} = 1.38pK_a^{H_2 O} + 8.50$$ , $$pK_a^{ac} = 1.11pK_a^{H_2 O} + 10.26$$ . The sequence of neutralization of the hydroxyls in the titration of polyhydroxy-anthraquinones has been determined from the pK_a values in DMSO and the results of a calculation of electronic structures by the Pariser-Parr-Pople method. A quantitative evaluation of the conditions of titration in the five solvents on the basis of indices of the titration constants (pK_t) has shown that the optimum conditions for the quantitative determination by potentiometric titration are achieved in dimethyl sulfoxide.     

Determination of urea with an ammonia gas-sensitive semiconductor device in combination with urease

An ammonia gas-sensitive Ir/Pd MOS capacitor is used for urea determinations with the aid of urease in two different systems. One combination utilizes a reaction column with immobilized urease in a flow-injection system. The lower limit of urea detection for 150-μl samples was 0.2 μM. Urea in whole blood and blood serum was determined after a 500-fold dilution, and 15 samples per hour could be assayed. The relative standard deviation was 4.6% (n=10). Recovery tests were satisfactory. Values obtained for urea in serum correlated well with those from a spectrophotometric method. The other combination is based on a small flow cell with free urease enclosed between a dialysis membrane and a gas-permeable membrane. Urea was determined in the concentration range 0.01–50 mM. The enzyme probe could be used for up to four days without changes of behaviour.     

Deactivation of jack bean urease in urea hydrolysis

Deactivation studies of jack bean urease immobilized on porous alumina beads in the hydrolysis of urea were conducted in a continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR) at a temperature of 25°C and pH 7.0. Though the mechanism of poisoning of urease by product ammonia is fairly well understood from the literature, the nature of the poisoning of urease by urea is presented in this article. These studies were conducted by adsorbing the ammonia formed in the hydrolysis reaction. The results indicate that, in the presence of the adsorbent Zeolite W, the deactivation rate is reduced by a factor of almost two, and thus provide a technique for prolonging the life of the enzyme. The deactivation model suggests that the free form of the enzyme is most susceptible to attack by the substrate urea. The experimental data suggest that deactivation by combined ammonia and urea is fairly complex.     

Analysis of Urea Nitrogen in the Presence of Ammonia Using an Ammonia Gas Sensitive Electrode

Abstract

This report describes a method for the determination of ammonia and urea in raw sewage samples using an Orion Ammonia Gas-Sensing Electrode. Urea is determined by potentiometrically measuring the ammonia produced following exhaustive hydrolysis by urease and subtracting the amount of ammonia present before enzymatic hydrolysis. The recovery of urea from raw sewage samples using the procedure herein described is shown to be nearly Quantitative.     

Sephadex-bound histamine in the catalysis of ester hydrolysis

Ester hydrolysis by Sephadex-bound catalysts was studied in a flow-through system. Three different immobilized preparations were synthesized and used: histamine-, coimmobilized histamine-octylamine-, and octylamine-Sephadex; octylamine-Sephadex was used as a reference. Immobilization was carried out using water-soluble carbodiimide, which gave amide linkages between carboxymethyl Sephadex and the groups attached. It was found that the coimmobilized histamine-octylamine preparation was three times more efficient than immobilized histamine alone in the hydrolysis of the esterp-nitrophenylcaproate, whereas hardly any difference was found in the hydrolysis of the less hydrophobic substratep-nitrophenylacetate. We attribute this enhancement of the hydrolysis ofp-nitrophenylcaproate to local enrichment of the substrate on the histamine-octylamine matrix caused by the presence of hydrophobic octyl groups.     

Immobilization of urease on modified styrene/polyvinylbenzene matrices

With copolymers of styrene and divinylbenzene containing various modification groups and the use of glutaric dialdehyde for their activation, immobilized forms of urease for watermelon seeds and fromStaphylococcus saprophyticus have been obtained. The properties of the immobilized preparations have been studied: the pH optimum, the temperature optimum and thermal stability, the influence of stabilizing components, kinetic features of the hydrolysis of urea, and work under column and batch conditions. The high stability of the immobilized preparations has been shown.     

Thermal analysis of polymer layered silicate nanocomposites

It has been shown, for three different polymer layered silicate (PLS) nanocomposite systems, how differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) can identify the different reactions of homopolymerisation and of crosslinking that occur in the intra- and extra-gallery regions of these nanocomposites, respectively, and hence how DSC can be used to assess the cure conditions for optimising their nanostructure. The PLS nanocomposites are based upon: (i) diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) cured with a polyoxypropylene diamine; (ii) DGEBA cured with an –NH₂ terminated hyperbranched polymer (HBP); and (iii) tri-glycidyl p-amino phenol (TGAP) cured with a diamine. In each case, the existence of both intra- and extra-gallery reactions in the DSC cure curves, and whether they occur simultaneously or sequentially, and in what order, are identified and correlated with the nanostructure as observed by small angle X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy. In particular, it is shown that the intra-gallery reaction must precede the extra-gallery for significant exfoliation to occur. In accordance with this scenario, the TGAP/diamine system displays the greatest degree of exfoliation, the DGEBA/diamine system the least, with the DGEBA/HBP system intermediate. For those systems in which significant exfoliation occurs, the DSC cure curves also allow the optimum cure conditions, such as the isothermal cure temperature, to be determined.     

Evaluation of the acidic properties of hydroxycoumarins and choice of solvents for performing potentiometric analysis

The relative acidity constants (pK_a) for 17 hydroxycoumarins in water, methanol, acetone (Ac), dimethylformide (DMFA), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) have been determined by Henderson's method. The existence of a linear relationship between pK_a in water and pK_a in acetone, dimethylformamide, and dimethyl sulfoxide has been established. From the pK_a values the sequence of neutralization of the hydroxy groups has been determined: their acidic properties decrease in the sequence 4-OH > 7-OH > 6-OH > 8-OH. A quantitative evaluation of the conditions of titration in five solvents on the basis of the titration constants (pK_t) and of the values of the potential jumps and the shape of the potentiometric titration curves has permitted acetone to be proposed as the optimum solvent for the performance of potentiometric analysis.     

Solute-solvent interactions in acid-base dissociation: nine protonated nitrogen bases in water-DMSO solvents

A titration method utilizing glass electrodes and silver-silver chloride electrodes in a cell without liquid junction has been used to determine the acidic dissociation constants at 15, 25, and 35°C of nine protonated nitrogen bases in mixtures of water and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The mole fraction of DMSO in the mixed solvents was 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8. The cell was calibrated with HCl (molality=0.01 mole-kg^?1) in the mixed solvents, and the ionic strength and chloride molality remained substantially unchanged during the titration with added base. This method minimizes the errors resulting from the formation of AgCl ₂ ^? in the media rich in DMSO. The pK _a of all the protonated bases passes through a minimum at a solvent composition close to that at which H₂O-DMSO mixtures display a maximum solvent structure. The results are discussed in terms of the preferential solvation of ions by the two types of solvent molecules. They are consistent with the hypothesis that increased solvent structure is accompanied by increased desolvation of the cation acids.     

Preparation and characterization of cellulose nanocrystals via ultrasonication-assisted FeCl3-catalyzed hydrolysis

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) was obtained from bamboo pulp via ultrasonication-assisted FeCl₃-catalyzed hydrolysis process, with parameters optimized by response surface methodology. The optimal parameters were reaction temperature: 107 °C, reaction time: 58 min, ultrasonication time: 186 min. The morphological, crystal structural, chemical structural and thermal features of the prepared cellulose nanocrystals were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that the cellulose nanocrystals formed an interconnected network structure and CNC was rod-like with the length of 100–200 nm and the width of 10–20 nm. XRD result revealed that, compared with cellulose pulp, the crystallinity index of CNC increased from 69.5 to 79.4 %, while the cellulose I crystal structure remained. FTIR analysis demonstrated that CNC had the similar chemical structures to that of cellulose pulp, which indicated that the chemical structures of CNC remained unchanged in the presence of FeCl₃-catalyzed hydrolysis process and ultrasonication treatment. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the resulting CNC exhibited relatively high thermal stability. The research shows that ultrasonication-assisted FeCl₃-catalyzed hydrolysis could be a highly efficient method for preparing CNC.     

A bio-imprinted urease biosensor: Improved thermal and operational stabilities

Despite the increasing number of applications of biosensors in many fields, the construction of a steady biosensor remains still challenging. The high stability of molecularly bio-imprinted enzymes for its substrate can make them ideal alternatives as recognition elements for sensors. Urease (urea aminohydrolase, EC 3.5.1.5), which catalysis the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and carbon dioxide, has been used in immobilized form in artificial kidney for blood detoxification. According to one report approximately half a million patients worldwide are being supported by haemodialysis. In this study, the enzyme of urease was first complexed by using a substrate analogue, thiourea, in aqueous medium and then this enzyme was immobilized on gelatin by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde on a glass electrode surface. Similarly, urease noncomplexed with thiourea was also immobilized on a glass electrode in the same conditions. The aim of the study was to compare the two biosensors in terms of their repeatability, pH stability and thermal stability, and also, linear ranges of two biosensors were compared with each other.     

Enzyme and inhibition assay of urease by continuous monitoring of the ammonium formation based on capillary electrophoresis

We present here an easy‐to‐operate and efficient method for enzyme and inhibition assays of urease, which is a widely distributed and important enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of urea to ammonia and CO₂. The assay was achieved by integrating CE technique and rapid on‐line derivatization method, allowing us to continuously drive the sample to the capillary, thus to measure the amount of the product ammonia from the beginning to the end of the reaction. The method exhibits excellent repeatability with RSD as low as 2.5% for the initial reaction rate (n = 5), with the LOD of ammonia of 20 μM (S/N = 5). The enzyme activity as well as the inhibition of urease by Cu²⁺ were investigated using the present method. The results show that Cu²⁺ is a noncompetitive inhibitor on urease, in accordance with the result published in the literature. The enzyme activity and inhibition kinetic constants were obtained and were found to be consistent with the results of traditional off‐line enzyme assays. Our study indicates that the present approach is a reliable and convenient method for analysis of the urease activity and inhibition kinetics by continuous on‐line monitoring of the ammonium formation based on CE.     

Chromatographic Analysis of Suberimidate-Crosslinked Lysine

Abstract

Quantitative analysis of bislysylsuberamidine and monolysylsuberamidinic acid, which are obtained by an acid hydrolysis of protein cross-linked with dimethyl suberimidate, on an amino acid analyzer are described. Both of ninhydrin and fluorometric detection with o-phthalaldehyde were applied and less than 50 pmol of cross-linked lysine was analyzed in the latter case. The first-order rate constant for hydrolysis of amidine bond under standard conditions of acid hydrolysis of protein was found to be 3.4 × 10^?3h^?1.     

Sequential determination of urea and HMTA in the process solution of sol-gel route of advanced nuclear fuel fabrication

Determinations of hexamethylene tetramine (HMTA) and urea in the process solutions are required to optimize their concentrations for obtaining high quality ceramic oxide microspheres, for monitoring the washing procedure and for their subsequent recovery, recycling or waste disposal. Determination of urea in the feed solution by conventional procedures is difficult as it contains HMTA. It is more so in the effluent as it contains hydrolytic products like formaldehyde, methylol derivatives of urea, ammonium nitrate and ammonium hydroxide used for washing the gel microspheres. This work describes a derivative potentiometric method using a microprocessor-based autotitrator. Peaks on the first derivative of the titration plot corresponded to constituents of different basicities. Urea was selectively hydrolyzed at room temperature by the catalytic action of urease enzyme leaving HMTA unaffected. Ammonium hydroxide and ammonium bicarbonate produced from urea and HMTA were sequentially titrated for the analysis of the feed solution to obtain the three corresponding peaks respectively. Two separate titrations were required for the analysis of the effluent solution, which contained free ammonia also. One aliquot was first titrated directly without adding urease (for free ammonia and HMTA) and another aliquot was titrated after treatment with urease. The end points due to the ammonia used for washing and that from urea hydrolysis merged resulting in the appearance of three peaks again. Using this sequential method the relative standard deviations were found to be 0.81% and 1.38% for urea and HMTA, respectively, in eight determinations when the aliquots contained 50 to 75 mg of urea and 75 to 125 mg of HMTA. Feed and effluent solutions of the process stream were analyzed.     

Substoichiometric determination of lanthanum by using EDTA and 8-hydroxyquinoline

The substoichiometric separation of lanthanum was studied on the system EDTA —lanthanum—8-hydroxyquinoline. The optimum conditions for the substoichiometric separation of lanthanum were calculated theoretically and these results were examined experimentally. By using the two chelating agents, EDTA and 8-hydroxyquinoline, lanthanum could be separated substoichiometrically with good accuracy and precision. This method was applied to the determination of lanthanum by activation analysis, and found to be available for the determination of trace amount of lanthanum.     

Adsorption of urease on PE-MCM-41 and its catalytic effect on hydrolysis of urea

Pore-expanded MCM-41 (PE-MCM-41) silica exhibits a unique combination of high specific surface area (ca. 1000 m(2)/g), pore size (up to 25 nm) and pore volume (up to 3.5 cm(3)/g). As such, this material is highly suitable for the adsorption of large biomolecules. The current study focused primarily on the application of PE-MCM-41 material as suitable host for urease (nickel-based large metalloenzyme) in controlled hydrolysis of urea. Urease adsorbed on PE-MCM-41, regular MCM-41 and silica gel (SGA) were used as catalysts for urea hydrolysis reaction. Adsorption studies of urease on these materials from aqueous solution at pH 7.2 revealed that the adsorption capacity of PE-MCM-41 (102 mg/g) is significantly higher than that of MCM-41 (56 mg/g) and SGA (21 mg/g). The equilibrium adsorption data were well fitted using the Langmuir-Freundlich model. Furthermore, the kinetic study revealed that the uptake of urease follow the pseudo-first order kinetics. The in vitro urea hydrolysis reaction on pristine urease and different urease-loaded catalysts showed that the rate of hydrolysis reaction is significantly slower on U/PE-MCM-41 compared to that of bulk urease and urease on MCM-41 and SGA. This technique could be an alternative means to the use of urease inhibitors to control the ammonia release from urea fertilizer.     

Atranes

The hydrolysis of silatranes of the : type (R=alkyl, aryl) in the presence of HCl at 25°C is described by a second-order kinetic equation. The correlation dependence of the log k values on the σ _OR ^* values makes it possible to divide the investigated compounds into two reaction series — 1-alkoxy- and 1-aryloxysilatranes. An investigation of the potentiometric curves and the change in the acid functions of the media during the hydrolysis of the silatranes made it possible to propose a scheme for the mechanism of this reaction. The linear dependence of the v values on [HCl] provides evidence that noncatylic hydrolysis of the silatranes practically does not occur under the investigated conditions. A salt effect is not manifested during the hydrolysis of the silatranes (at KCl concentrations from 0.05 to 0.25 mole/liter). The toxicity of the 1-aryloxysilatranes is basically reduced as their rate of hydrolytic cleavage increases.     

Over-Expression of a Proline Specific Aminopeptidase from Aspergillus oryzae JN-412 and Its Application in Collagen Degradation

A strain that exhibited intracellular proline-specific aminopeptidase (PAP) activity was isolated from soy sauce koji and identified as Aspergillus oryzae JN-412. The gene coding PAP was cloned and efficiently expressed in Escherichia coli BL21 in a biologically active form. The highest specific activity reached 52.28 U mg^?1 at optimum cultivation conditions. The recombinant enzyme was purified 3.3-fold to homogeneity with a recovery of 36.7 % from cell-free extract using Ni-affinity column chromatography. It appeared as a single protein band on SDS-PAGE with molecular mass of approximately 50 kDa. The purified enzyme exhibited the highest activity at 60 °C and pH 7.5. The enzyme activity was inhibited by PMSF and ions like Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺. DTT, β-mercaptoethanol, EDTA, and ions like Co²⁺, Mg²⁺, Mn²⁺, and Ca²⁺ had no influence on enzyme activity, whereas Ni²⁺ enhanced the enzyme activity. By using collagen as a substrate, the purified recombinant prolyl aminopeptidase contributed to the hydrolysis of collagen when used in combination with neutral protease, and free amino acids in collagen hydrolysates was significantly increased.