Evaluation of intrinsic immobilized kinetics in hollow fiber reactor systems.

Immobilized cell and enzyme hollow fiber reactors have been developed for a variety of biochemical and biomedical applications. Reported mathematical models for predicting substrate conversion in these reactors have been limited in accuracy because of the use of free-solution kinetic parameters. This paper describes a method for determining the intrinsic kinetics of enzymes immobilized in hollow fiber reactor systems using a mathematical model for diffusion and reaction in porous media and an optimization procedure to fit intrinsic kinetic parameters to experimental data. Two enzymes, a thermophilic beta-galactosidase that exhibits product inhibition and L-lysine alpha-oxidase, were used in the analysis. The intrinsic kinetic parameters show that immobilization enhanced the activity of the beta-galactosidase while decreasing the activity of L-lysine alpha-oxidase. Both immobilized enzymes had higher Km values than did the soluble enzyme, indicating less affinity for the substrate. These results are used to illustrate the significant improvement in the ability to predict substrate conversion in hollow fiber reactors.     

Hollow fiber enzyme reactors

Recently there have been some exciting developments in techniques to encapsulate enzymes into hollow fiber membranes. This entrapment protects enzymes from proteolytic and immunochemical attacks and makes possible industrial and medical applications of the immobilized enzymes.     

Microbial hollow fiber bioreactors

Hollow fiber membranes have been used for more than a decade to culture mammalian cells and immobilize enzymes. More recently, hollow fiber bioreactors have shown encouraging potential for culturing microbes but many of the practical aspects of their operation have not been explored.     

Cholesterol oxidation using hollow fiber dialyzer immobilized with cholesterol oxidase: preparation and properties

The surface of polyacrylonitrile hollow fibers were hydrolyzed and covalently bonded with cholesterol oxidase (COD) via glutaraldehyde. The immobilized amount of the COD increased with the concentration of glutaraldehyde. However, COD immobilized with 10% glutaraldehyde had higher activity than with other concentrations. The stabilities of immobilized COD to pH and temperature were higher than those of native enzyme. The immobilized enzyme retained 80% of initial activity after 15 days when stored at 4 degrees C, which was longer than native COD. After being reused six times, the COD-immobilized hollow fiber retained more than 80% of the activity.     

Thermodynamic,kinetic, and operational stabilities of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase in sugar and compatible osmolyte solutions

Thermodynamic, kinetic, and operational stabilities of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) were measured and compared in aqueous solutions containing various sugars (sucrose, glucose, and ribose) and compatible osmolytes (betaine and sarcosine). In the measurement of operational stability, native YADH was entrapped and physically immobilized in an ultrafiltration hollow fiber tube to retain the native characteristics of the enzyme. All the additives tested increased thermodynamic stability and kinetic stability of YADH. The order of the magnitude of stabilization effect among additives was different between thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities. Compared to the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities, the effects of additives were much different in operational stability. Sucrose, glucose, and betaine stabilized YADH substantially while ribose and sarcosine destabilized the enzyme. These results show that the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities do not necessarily guarantee the operational stability of YADH. The coexistence of stabilizing solute was proved effective to increase the productivity of the bioreactor with immobilized YADH.     

Thermodynamic, kinetic, and operational stabilities of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase in sugar and compatible osmolyte solutions

Thermodynamic, kinetic, and operational stabilities of yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) were measured and compared in aqueous solutions containing various sugars (sucrose, glucose, and ribose) and compatible osmolytes (betaine and sarcosine). In the measurement of operational stability, native YADH was entrapped and physically immobilized in an ultrafiltration hollow fiber tube to retain the native characteristics of the enzyme. All the additives tested increased thermodynamic stability and kinetic stability of YADH. The order of the magnitude of stabilization effect among additives was different between thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities. Compared to the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities, the effects of additives were much different in operational stability. Sucrose, glucose, and betaine stabilized YADH substantially while ribose and sarcosine destabilized the enzyme. These results show that the thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities do not necessarily guarantee the operational stability of YADH. The coexistence of stabilizing solute was proved effective to increase the productivity of the bioreactor with immobilized YADH.     

Kinetics studies in a continuous steady state hollow fiber membrane enzyme reactor

Porous hollow cellulose fibers have been used to separate a nonflowing enzyme solution of alkaline phosphatase from a continuous flow of substrate. The porosity of the hollow fiber membrane allows the substrate and product to diffuse freely through the membrane while restricting the permeation of the enzyme. The resulting “immobilized” enzyme system has been shown to behave as a continuous reactor—converting p-nitrophenylphosphate to p-nitrophenol. By varying the concentrations, flow rate, etc., either diffusion or enzyme kinetics can be studied. The continual influx of product and removal of substrate at steady state allows the study of kinetics of relatively short half-life enzymes and unstable systems.     

耦合中空纤维膜超滤分离游离细胞催化合成ATP

对耦合中空纤维膜超滤分离进行游离细胞催化合成ATP过程进行了实验研究,考察了细胞的催化效率和膜组件的操作稳定性。结果显示,中空纤维超滤膜的耦合分离能有效地截留反应液中的游离酶,其中乙醇脱氢酶(ADH)和已糖激酶(HK)的稳态截留效率在95%以上。耦合膜分离的酵母细胞催化ATP合成反应可重复使用2.5～3.0次,酶的利用率比普通分离的细胞提高2.0～2.5倍。中空纤维超滤膜于0.1Mpa工作压力下连续11批耦合分离操作,膜的渗透性无明显下降,过滤速率保持在初速率的95%以上。在稀释速率0.25h-1下,反应体系保持了连续5h的ATP高转化率合成与分离耦合的拟稳态操作。     

Coupling of concanavalin A to cellulose hollow fibers for use in glucose affinity sensor

This article describes a method for the chemical immobilization of concanavalin A (Con A) on the inside wall of a single hollow cellulose fiber for use in glucose affinity sensor. Periodate oxidation of cellulose fiber followed by a spacer for Con A attachment was deemed to be the most optimal procedure for achieving the highest sensitivity of the sensor without compromising its physical integrity. The effects of variables like the duration of periodate oxidation and its concentration and pH of the spacer coupling step and its duration have been examined. The mechanical strength of the hollow fiber as well as its permeability to the analyte (glucose) have been evaluated prior to and after Con A coupling process.It has been demonstrated that Con A bound hollow fiber prepared according to the procedure outlined here can be successfully used to construct glucose affinity sensor for operation in the physiological range of glucose concentrations.     

Model of oxygen transport limitations in hollow fiber bioreactors

Axial and radial oxygen depletion are believed to be critical scale-limiting factors in the design of cell culture hollow fiber bioreactors. A mathematical analysis of oxygen depletion has been performed in order to develop effectiveness factor plots to aid in the scaling of hollow fiber bioreactors with cells immobilized in the shell-side. Considerations of the lumen mass transport resistances and the axial gradients were added to previous analyses of this immobilization geometry. An order of magnitude analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the shell-side convective fluxes on the oxygen transport. A modified Thiele modulus and a lumen and membrane resistance factor have been derived from the model. Use of these terms in the effectiveness factor plots results in a considerable simplification of the presentation and use of the model. Design criteria such as fiber dimensions and spacing, reactor lengths, and recycle flow rates can be selected using these plots. Model predictions of the oxygen limitations were compared to experimental measurements of the axial cell distributions in a severely oxygen limited hollow fiber bioreactor. Despite considerable uncertainty in our parameters and nonidealities in hollow fiber geometry, the cell distribution correlated well with the modeling results.     

Stability and reaction characteristics of reverse-phase evaporation vesicles (REVs) as enzyme containers

The ion-dependent enzymes, activities of which are affected by ions, were entrapped in the inside aqueous phase of reverse-phase evaporation vesicles (REVs) to protect the enzyme activities from inhibitory cations. Their activities were still preserved in the presence of the inhibitory cations because the permeabilities of the inhibitory cations through the lipid membranes of REVs were much lower than those of substrates and products. The REVs were relatively stable in hypertonic condition, while they were unstable in hypotonic condition. Changes in osmotic pressure difference largely affected solute permeabilities of REVs. The shrinking and swelling of REVs resulting from osmotic pressure differences led to these changes in stabilities and solute permeabilities. Although the entrapment of the enzyme into REVs showed good protective effects against divalent cations, it was not effective against univalent cations. The measurements of cation permeabilities revealed that the enzyme trapped in the bilayer regions of REVs acts as a selective channel for the univalent cations. The REVs containing the enzyme could be used without any activity losses in a hollow fiber module.     

Polymethylglutamate as a new matrix for covalently immobilized enzymes: Preparation and properties of urease and uricase

Polymethylglutamate (PMG), a synthetic polypeptide, was used as a new carrier to immobilize urease (EC 3.5.1.5) and uricase (EC 1.7.3.3) by the azide method. The enzymes could be immobilized onto PMG in various forms, such as film, fiber, coating on various beads, and a silicon tube. The retained activities of the immobilized enzymes were excellent (more than 95%), therefore it was possible to immobilized almost all activities of the enzymes added in the coupling mixtures. Heat stabilities of the resulting immobilized enzymes were markedly improved, while the optimal pH and K_m values remained almost unchanged. The urease immobilized on the PMG-coated glass beads packed in a column, was found to retain its activity more than 80% of the initial value, even after the occasional use for a year. In view of the improved retained activities and stabilities of the immobilized enzymes, PMG may therefore be a very versatile matrix for the immobilized enzymes.     

Mammalian cell and protein distributions in ultrafiltration hollow fiber bioreactors

The heterogeneous nature of hollow fiber reactors for cell cultivation requires special considerations for proper design and operation. Downstream concentration of high-molecular-weight proteins has been measured in the shell side of ultrafiltration hollow fiber bioreactors. This distribution resulted from shell-side convective fluxes which caused a concentration polarization of proteins retained by the ultrafiltration membranes (nominal 3 x 10(4) D cutoff). Measurements of the axial hybridoma cell distribution also revealed a downstream concentration of viable cells during the first month of perfusion operation. This is believed to result from the shell-side convective flow and its influence on the inoculum and high-molecular-weight growth factor distributions. The heterogeneous distribution of cells leads to reduced cell numbers and reactor productivities. The mechanisms responsible for these phenomena have been investigated and their implications in process design and operation are considered. The heterogeneous protein and cell distributions on the shell side of hollow fiber bioreactors have been reduced significantly by periodic alternation of the direction of recycle flow and the reactor antibody productivities have been doubled.     

Enzymatic synthesis of UDP-GlcN by a two step hollow fiber enzyme reactor system

UDP-GlcN was synthesized from GlcN and UTP by a two step hollow fiber enzyme reactor method. In step 1, GlcN was converted to GlcN 6-P and then to GlcN 1-P by hexokinase and phosphoglucomutase, respectively, and UTP was used as the phosphate donor. In step 2, GlcN 1-P was converted to UDP-GlcN by UDP glucose pyrophosphorylase. All the enzymes required for the synthesis of UDP-GlcN were enclosed in hollow fiber bundles which allow for the free diffusion of substrates and products across the membranes to and from the enzymes, allow for the reutilization of the enzymes, and simplify the isolation of the product, UDP-GlcN. We show that both UTP and GlcN 6-P are inhibitors of the yeast UDPG pyrophosphorylase and therefore their concentrations must be regulated to obtain maximum yields of UDP-GlcN. The UDP-GlcN produced can be N-acetylated with [14C]acetic anhydride to produce UDP-[14C]GlcNAc. This method can also be used to synthesize [32P]UDP-GlcN and [32P]UDP-GlcNAc from [alpha-32P]UTP and GlcN 1-P.     

Reactive extraction of cephalosporin antibiotics in hollow fiber membrane

Non-dispersive reactive extraction of cephalosporin antibiotics has been studied using hollow fiber membrane modules. Extraction as well as stripping has been studied using a pH swing procedure. Cephalosporin was extracted from an aqueous solution of cephalosporin having a pH above the pK_a2 value to an organic phase containing Aliquat-336 as the extractant and n-heptane as the diluent. The solute was stripped from the loaded organic phase to another aqueous phase of pH maintained well below the pK_a2 value of the cephalosporin. The extraction cum stripping relies on pH dependance of the distribution coefficient of cephalosporin in aqueous phase. Reasonably high solute recovery and mass transfer rate have been achieved in the hollow fiber module. Mass transfer performance of a single module has been evaluated and experimentally observed low value of height of transfer unit (HTU) indicates good prospect of hollow fiber membrane for the extraction duty.     

Operation and pressure distribution of immobilized cell hollow fiber bioreactors

It has been cited in the literature on hollow fiber systems that pressure gradients persist, and the transmembrane flux of the hollow fiber system is dependent on the pattern of the pressure gradients. The pattern can be used to its advantage in immobilized enzyme systems. However, with immobilized living cell systems, the pressure gradients lead to a nonuniform environment within the hollow fiber cartridge and not necessarily favorable results. This article provides pertinent pressure-drop data on hollow fiber cartridges which are in flow configurations typical of immobilized cell culture work. The results illuminate operational problems that may arise in the culture of either anchorage dependent or independent cells. Possible solutions with crossflow systems are suggested.     

Improving the continuous production of lipolyzed butteroil with pregastric esterases immobilized in a hollow fiber reactor

Summary Kid and calf pregastric esterases were semi-purified by micro- and ultrafiltration of a crude tissue preparation. When the resulting solutions were utilized to immobilize these enzymes in a polypropylene hollow fiber reactor, the activities obtained when both techniques were employed were greater than those observed when only microfiltration was performed.     

High conversion in asymmetric hydrolysis during permeation through enzyme-multilayered porous hollow-fiber membranes

We describe a novel porous hollow-fiber support for immobilizing aminoacylase in multilayers. Epoxy-group-containing polymer chains were grafted onto a porous hollow-fiber membrane by radiation-induced graft polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate, and subsequently a diethylamino group as an anion-exchange group was introduced into the graft chain. Aminoacylase was adsorbed in multilayers by allowing the amioacylase buffer solution to permeate through the pores across the hollow fiber; the graft chains provided three-dimensional space for the enzymes because of their electrostatic repulsion. The adsorbed enzyme at a degree of multilayer binding of 15 was cross-linked with glutaraldehyde to prevent leakage. An acetyl-DL-methionine solution was allowed to permeate through the pores surrounded by the aminoacylase-immobilized graft chain. Production of L-methionine was observed at a 4.1 mol/h per L of the fiber for a space velocity of 200 h(-1), defined as the flow rate of the effluent penetrating the outside surface of the hollow fiber divided by the membrane volume including the lumen.     

A single amino acid substitution of Leu130Ile in snake DNases I contributes to the acquisition of thermal stability.

We purified pancreatic deoxyribonucleases I (DNases I) from three snakes, Elaphe quadrivirgata, Elaphe climacophora and Agkistrodon blomhoffii, and cloned their cDNAs. Each mature snake DNase I protein comprised 262 amino acids. Wild-type snake DNases I with Leu130 were more thermally unstable than wild-type mammalian and avian DNases I with Ile130. After substitution of Leu130Ile, the thermal stabilities of the snake enzymes were higher than those of their wild-type counterparts and similar to mammalian wild-type enzyme levels. Conversely, substituting Ile130Leu of mammalian DNases I made them more thermally unstable than their wild-type counterparts. Therefore, a single amino acid substitution, Leu130Ile, might be involved in an evolutionally critical change in the thermal stabilities of vertebrate DNases I. Amphibian DNases I have a Ser205 insertion in a Ca2+-binding site of mammalian and avian enzymes that reduces their thermal stabilities [Takeshita, H., Yasuda, T., Iida, R., Nakajima, T., Mori, S., Mogi, K., Kaneko, Y. & Kishi, K. (2001) Biochem. J.357, 473-480]. Thus, it is plausible that the thermally stable wild-type DNases I of the higher vertebrates, such as mammals and birds, have been generated by a single Leu130Ile substitution of reptilian enzymes through molecular evolution following Ser205 deletion from amphibian enzymes. This mechanism may reflect one of the evolutionary changes from cold-blooded to warm-blooded vertebrates.     

Enzymatic synthesis of glucuronides using lipophilic hollow fiber membranes

A lipophilic hollow fiber membrane preparation was used for the enzymatic glucuronidation of lipophilic aromatic compounds. A crude solubilized microsomal enzyme preparation was circulated on the external side of the lipophilic membrane while the phenol containing buffer solution was circulated through the internal side of the hollow fiber membrane. Phenols, which accumulate in and penetrate the lipophilic membrane, were converted by UDP-glucuronyltransferase to the corresponding glucuronides. During this process the lipophilic compounds are converted to hydrophilic substances, which are not able to rediffuse through the lipophilic membrane into the donor side of the hollow fiber module. The produced glucuronide is separated by means of a coupled dialysis with a module of hydrophilic surface (cellulose acetate), while the enzyme protein is retained.On the stripping side of the dialysing module the glucuronide can be separated by solid phase extraction (Lichroprep RP-18) while a continuous substitution of cofactor into this compartment is possible. UDPGA follows its own concentration gradient and migrates into the enzymatic mixture, where it is utilized. This new technique using hollow fiber modules offers completely new possibilities for long-term high-capacity, highly specific glucuronidation of phenolic compounds. Fields of application are not only the economical production of special glucuronides, but also the specific elimination of phenols from waste fluids or from serum and blood of patients.For the production of glucuronides by this technique the use of highly purified enzymes is not essential. Cheap crude enzyme preparations are quite adequate for an optimal reaction. Using a crude enzyme preparation with a specific batch activity of 13 nMol/min per mg of protein, the activity in the reactor system was observed to be 4.6 nMol/min of 2-naphtol glucuronide formed per mg of protein. This corresponds to 3.6 nMol/h of product formed per mg of protein per cm² of hollow fiber surface.Using a membrane surface of 0.5 m² the production of 18 mMol of glucuronide per h and mg protein can be achieved.