Native and Modified Subtilisin 72 as a Catalyst for Peptide Synthesis in Media with a Low Water Content

The catalytic efficiencies of native subtilisin, its noncovalent complex with polyacrylic acid, and the subtilisin covalently immobilized in a cryogel of polyvinyl alcohol were studied in the reaction of peptide coupling in mixtures of organic solvents with a low water content in dependence on the medium composition, reaction time, and biocatalyst concentration. It was established that, in media with a DMF content >80%, the synthase activity of modified subtilisins is higher than that of the native subtilisin. The use of N-acylpeptides with a free carboxyl group was found to be possible in organic solvents during the enzymatic synthesis catalyzed by both native and immobilized subtilisin. A series of tetrapeptide p-nitroanilides of the general formula Z-Ala-Ala-Xaa-Yaa-pNA (where Xaa is Leu, Lys, or Glu and Yaa is Phe or Asp) was obtained in the presence of immobilized enzyme in yields of 70–98% in DMF–MeCN without any activation of the carboxyl component and without protection of side ionogenic groups of polyfunctional amino acids.