Development of sensors for direct detection of organophosphates. Part I: Immobilization, characterization and stabilization of acetylcholinesterase and organophosphate hydrolase on silica supports

Biosensors for organophosphates in solution may be constructed by monitoring the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) or organophosphate hydrolase (OPH) immobilized to a variety of microsensor platforms. The area available for enzyme immobilization is small (< 1 mm2) for microsensors. In order to construct microsensors with increased surface area for enzyme immobilization, we used a sol-gel process to create highly porous and stable silica matrices. Surface porosity of sol-gel coated surfaces was characterized using scanning electron microscopy; pore structure was found to be very similar to that of commercially available porous silica supports. Based upon this analysis, porous and non-porous silica beads were used as model substrates of sol-gel coated and uncoated sensor surfaces. Two different covalent chemistries were used to immobilize AChE and OPH to these porous and non-porous silica beads. The first chemistry used amine-silanization of silica followed by enzyme attachment using the homobifunctional linker glutaraldehyde. The second chemistry used sulfhydryl-silanization followed by enzyme attachment using the heterobifunctional linker N-gamma-maleimidobutyryloxy succinimide ester (GMBS). Surfaces were characterized in terms of total enzyme immobilized, total and specific enzyme activity, and long term stability of enzyme activity. Amine derivitization followed by glutaraldehyde linking yielded supports with greater amounts of immobilized enzyme and activity. Use of porous supports not only yielded greater amounts of immobilized enzyme and activity, but also significantly improved long term stability of enzyme activity. Enzyme was also immobilized to sol-gel coated glass slides. The mass of immobilized enzyme increased linearly with thickness of coating. However, immobilized enzyme activity saturated at a porous silica thickness of approximately 800 nm.     

Decreases in molecularity promote conversion when reactions are catalyzed by enzymes immobilized in slab-shaped beads

Application of Fick's first law to substrate undergoing chemical reaction catalyzed by an enzyme immobilized in a porous slab-shaped bead leads to substrate concentration profiles that are flatter when the ratio of stoichiometric coefficients of product to reactant (x) is lower. Since the actual effectiveness factor decreases when x increases (at approximately the same rate irrespective of the value taken by the Michaelis-Menten parameter), then considerable overprediction of the conversion levels obtained within a given reaction timeframe will occur if the simplistic (and more easily modelled) situation of equimolar counterdiffusion is taken for modelling purposes when x>1.     

Pore-Scale Modeling of Pore Structure Effects on P-Wave Scattering Attenuation in Dry Rocks

Underground rocks usually have complex pore system with a variety of pore types and a wide range of pore size. The effects of pore structure on elastic wave attenuation cannot be neglected. We investigated the pore structure effects on P-wave scattering attenuation in dry rocks by pore-scale modeling based on the wave theory and the similarity principle. Our modeling results indicate that pore size, pore shape (such as aspect ratio), and pore density are important factors influencing P-wave scattering attenuation in porous rocks, and can explain the variation of scattering attenuation at the same porosity. From the perspective of scattering attenuation, porous rocks can safely suit to the long wavelength assumption when the ratio of wavelength to pore size is larger than 15. Under the long wavelength condition, the scattering attenuation coefficient increases as a power function as the pore density increases, and it increases exponentially with the increase in aspect ratio. For a certain porosity, rocks with smaller aspect ratio and/or larger pore size have stronger scattering attenuation. When the pore aspect ratio is larger than 0.5, the variation of scattering attenuation at the same porosity is dominantly caused by pore size and almost independent of the pore aspect ratio. These results lay a foundation for pore structure inversion from elastic wave responses in porous rocks.     

Investigation of the binding mechanism of glucoamylase to alkylamine derivatives of titanium(IV)-activated porous inorganic supports

Glucoamylase (exo-1,4-α-d-glucosidase, EC 3.2.1.3) has been coupled to several porous silica matrices by a new covalent process using alkylamine derivatives of titanium(IV)-activated supports. In order to investigate the interaction of the titanium element with the silanol groups of the inorganic matrices, activation was performed at different times, using titanium(IV) chloride, either pure or as a 15% w/v solution, in 15% w/v hydrochloric acid at 25, 45 and 80°C, followed by washing with sodium acetate buffer (0.02m, pH 4.5) or chloroform. Using pure TiCl₄, the highest activities of all preparations were obtained at 80°C and with acetate buffer washing, resulting from a higher content of titanium coating of the carrier. When activation was performed in aqueous TiCl₄ solution, followed by a drying step, the highest activity was obtained with preparations washed with chloroform, with or without amination. When reacting pure TiCl₄ with controlled pore glass (CPG) and with porous silica (Spherosil), colour formation was observed after reaction of glutaraldehyde with the aminated support. This did not happen when Celite was used as the support. As a criterion for comparison of the different immobilized enzyme preparations, the concept of an ‘instability factor’, which measures the percentage of immobilized enzyme activity due to release of enzyme into solution, is introduced. Instability factors of immobilized enzyme preparations on Celite were always higher than those obtained with the other matrices, confirming that there was no covalent coupling of the enzyme to Celite. However, when the activation was performed with aqueous TiCl₄ solution with drying, Schiff's base formation was observed in all preparations and very stable immobilized enzyme preparations were obtained. The results of the activation of controlled pore glass and porous silica with pure titanium(IV) chloride suggest the existence of a true reaction between the titanium element and the silanol groups of these carriers by formation of a bridge, Si-O-Ti, while with the titanium(IV) chloride solution in hydrochloric acid, a coating of hydrous titanium(IV) oxide is obtained.     

Pore diffusion model for a two-substrate enzymatic reaction: Application to galactose oxidase immobilized on porous glass particles

An analysis of the pore diffusion model involving a two-substrate enzymatic reaction is presented. The resulting equations have been applied to the case of galactose oxidase catalyzed oxidation of galactose when the enzyme is immobilized on porous glass particles. The physical constants of the system were obtained by theoretical predictions and the enzyme concentration in the porous medium was derived from the experimental results. The calculations were performed with the assumption that the kinetic parameters of the enzyme remain unchanged upon immobilization. The theoretically calculated effectiveness factors were compared with the experimental effectiveness factors determined from the batch kinetic experiments and were found to be in agreement. The results are presented as effectiveness factor plots graphed as functions of bulk galactose and oxygen concentrations. The model was extended in order to study the effect of external mass transfer coefficients and pore enzyme concentrations on the effectiveness factors.     

Preparation and activity of carbonic anhydrase immobilized on porous silica beads and graphite rods

Techniques for the immobilization of bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA) on porous silica beads and graphite are presented. Surface coverage on porous silica beads was found to be 1.5 x 10(-5) mmol BCA/m(2), and on graphite it was 1.7 x 10(-3) mmol BCA/m(2) nominal surface area. Greater than 97% (silica support) and 85% (graphite support) enzyme activity was maintained upon storage of the immobilized enzyme for 50 days in pH 8 buffer at 4 degrees C. After 500 days storage, the porous silica bead immobilized enzyme exhibited over 70% activity. Operational stability of the enzyme on silica at 23 degrees C and pH 8 was found to be 50% after 30 days. Catalytic activity expressed as an apparent second-order rate constant K'(Enz) for the hydrolysis of p-nitrophenyl acetate (p-NPA) catalyzed by BCA immobilized on silica beads and graphite at pH 8 and 25 degrees C is 2.6 x 10(2) and 5.6 x 10(2) M(-1)s(-1) respectively. The corresponding K(ENZ) value for the free enzyme is 9.1 x 10(2) M(-1)s(-1). Activity of the immobilized enzyme was found to vary with pH in such a manner that the active site pK, on the porous silica bead support is 6.75, and on graphite it is 7.41. Possible reasons for a microenvironmental influence on carbonic anhydrase pK(a), are discussed. Comparison with literature data shows that the enzyme surface coverage on silica beads reported here is superior to previously reported data on silica beads and polyacrylamide gels and is comparable to an organic matrix support. Shifts in BCA-active site pK(a) values with support material, a lack of pH dependent activity studies in the literature, and differing criteria for reporting enzyme activity complicate literature comparisons of activity; however, immobilized BCA reported here generally exhibits comparable or greater activity than previous reports for immobilized BCA.     

Enzyme immobilization by radiation-induced polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate at low temperatures.

Enzyme immobilization by radiation-induced polymerization of hydrophilic glass-forming monomers, such as 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, was studied. Enzyme radiation damage could be sufficiently retarded at low temperatures. The immobilized enzyme activity yield was markedly higher at low temperature than at higher temperature polymerization. At low temperatures the polymerized composite had a porous structure owing to ice crystallization which depends on the monomer concentration. It was deduced that the enzyme was partially trapped on the polymer surface, partially isolated in the pore, and partially occluded inside the polymer matrix. A decrease in activity caused by enzyme leakage was observed with repeated use in enzyme reactions where the composites had a large porosity. The activity yield showed a maximum at certain optimum porosities, i.e., at optimum monomer concentrations. Continuous enzyme reaction was preferably carried out using immobilized enzyme columns.     

Immobilized enzymes: electrokinetic effects on reaction rates in a porous medium

The effect of the internal diffusion and electrical surface charge on the overall rate of a reaction catalyzed by an enzyme immobilized on a porous medium are examined. Effectiveness factors have been calculated which compare the global reaction rate to that existing in the absence of the internal diffusion and/or the electrical field. The surface charge, assumed to arise from the dissociation equilibria of the acidic and basic surface groups of the enzyme, generates an electrical double layer at the pore surface. The double-layer potential is governed by the Poisson-Boltzmann equation. It is shown that the diffusion potential can be characterized by a modulus which depends upon the surface reaction rate, the charges and diffusivities of the substrate and products, the ionic strength, and the pore dimensions. The flux of a charged species in the pore occurs under the influences of the concentration gradient and the electrical potential gradient. The governing equations are solved by an iterative numerical method. The effects of pH, enzyme concentration, and substrate concentration on the rates of two different hydrolysis reactions catalyzed by immobilized papain are examined. The release of H(+) in one of the reactions causes the lowering of internal pH, and also a constancy of the internal pH when the external pH in creases beyond a certain value. The latter reaction also shows a maximum in the reaction rate with respect to enzyme concentration. The reaction not involving H(+) as a product shows a maximum in the reaction rate with respect to external pH, but a monotonic increase in the reaction rate as the enzyme concentration increases.     

具有中空贯通管结构的磷酸钙骨水泥的制备研究

目前,磷酸钙骨水泥因其具有优良的生物性能已被广泛用于骨组织工程,但它自固化后只是形成具有微孔和封闭气孔的致密块体,其孔径尺寸和连通性仍远达不到骨组织工程的最佳要求.本研究采用α-TCP为原料,以过氧化氢作为发泡剂,使用模具插针法制得一种具有大孔径和中空管的多孔磷酸钙骨水泥材料.孔径达到900μm,孔隙率为50.67%,抗折强度达到5.84MPa.通过扫描电镜照片观察和分析微观结构.结果表明,通过这种方法可以制得具有理想孔径尺寸和连通性的多孔磷酸钙骨水泥,可以说,这为制备用于骨组织工程的多孔磷酸钙骨水泥创造了一种新的方法.     

以环氧乙烷为活性基的多孔颗粒状固定化青霉素酰化酶的制备

报道了用以环氧乙烷为活性基的多孔颗粒状载体（Eupergit-C）制备固定由巨大芽孢杆菌（B．megaterium）产生的青霉素酰化酶的研究。用已二胺,赖氨酸对载体进行化学修饰后制备固定化酶,获得了较好的固定结果。用未修饰的载体制备固化酶,经24h固定反应,酶活力达176．5IU／g（wet）,酶活力总叫率达53．7％,酶蛋白的固定量为19＝7mg/g（dr）,酶蛋白的固定效率达87．5％。游离酶的酶浓度对制备固定化酶的活力无显影响。当加酶量从312IU/g（dry）上升到6250IU／g（dry）时,固定化酶活力从89IU／g(wet）上升到475IU／g（wet）,总收率和固定化效率分别从99％和99％下降到26．5％和32．5％,酶蛋白的固定量从6．9mg/g（dry）上升到112mg/g（dry）,酶蛋白的固定效率从99％下降至80．5％。以酶活力为155IU/g(wet）,酶蛋白固定量为22mg/g(dry）的固定化酶水解青霉素G钾盐,经过20批循环水解后,剩余酶活力为92．5％。     

Comparison of two experimental methods for the determination of Michaelis-Menten kinetics of an immobilized enzyme

For the application of immobilized enzymes, the influence of immobilization on the activity of the enzyme should be Known. This influence can be obtained by determining the intrinsic kinetic parameters of the immobilized enzyme, and by comparing them with the kinetic parameters of the suspended enzyme. This article deals with the determination of the intrinsic kinetic parameters of an agarose-gel bead immobilized oxygen-consuming enzyme: L-lactate 2-monooxygenase. The reaction rate of the enzyme can be described by Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Batch conversion experiments using a biological oxygen monitor, as well as steady-state profile measurements within the biocatalyst particles using an oxygen microsensor, were performed. Two different mathematical methods were used for the batch conversion experiments, both assuming a pseudosteady-state situation with respect to the shape of the profile inside the bead. One of the methods used an approximate relation for the effectiveness factor for Michaelis-Menten kinetics which interpolates between the analytical solutions for zero- and first-order kinetics. The other mathematical method was based on a numerical solution and combined a mass balance over the reactor with a mass balance over the bead. The main difference in the application of the two methods is the computer calculation time; the completely numerical calculation procedure was about 20 times slower than the other calculation procedure.The intrinsic kinetic parameters resulting from both experimental methods were compared to check the reliability of the methods. There was no significant difference in the intrinsic kinetic parameters obtained from the two experimental methods. By comparison of the kinetic parameters for the suspended enzyme with the intrinsic kinetic parameters for the immobilized enzyme, it appeared that immobilization caused a decrease in the value of V(m) by a factor of 2, but there was no significant difference in the values obtained for K(m).     

Enzyme loading in a solid support with nonuniform pore size distribution

The concept of pore size distribution is incorporated into the Clark model of enzyme immobilization in the present study. This refined model predicted that in the case of small harmonic pore radius with the same surface area and porosity of the support, more enzyme could be loaded in a support with nonuniform pores than that with uniform pores. In comparing the enzyme loading efficiency of the support with two different pore size distributions, the one with Gaussian distribution had the greater amount of enzyme immobilized than the other one with Rajagopalan's distribution. Furthermore, more enzyme could be loaded in a support with wider Gaussian pore size distribution than that with narrower distribution. The immobilized enzyme profile in the solid support with pore size distribution displayed a stepwise pattern which differed appreciably from the sigmoidal profile predicted for the support with uniform pore size. This stepwise enzyme distribution profile became sigmoidal with decreasing h(T) or increasing k. The new model could be used for designing protocols for an enzyme immobilization process.     

A Method for Preparing Bead Shaped Immobilized Enzyme

Monomer solution containing enzyme was frozen to a small bead shape by cool solvent and polymerized by Co–60 gamma ray with a dose of 125~850 Krad.

Thus, bead shaped immobilized enzymes with various diameters (0.02 – 15mm) were obtained.

The bead had spongy structure and large surface area. Consequently, even large sized bead shaped immobilized enzyme showed high enzymic activity.

Retained activity of bead shaped immobilized invertase was 16~73% depending on bead size.

Bead shaped lipase (1 mm diameter) showed 13.5~42.5% of retained activity depending on monomer combinations.     

Partial nitrification to nitrite for treating ammonium-rich organic wastewater by immobilized biomass system

This study focused on the characteristics of the partial nitrification and degradation of organics with immobilized biomass beads in the treatment of ammonium-rich organic wastewater. Sodium alginate (SA) was selected as the best entrapment support after comparing partial nitrification rate and adsorption efficiency. The immobilization methods were optimized by an orthogonal experiment. Zeta position and BET surface area were used to explain the adsorption behavior of SA immobilized beads. FT-IR revealed that a SA immobilized biomass bead was not a simply physical mixture of SA and biomass. The porous structure of SA immobilized biomass beads were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which confirmed the porosity of the beads. According to the experimental data, the effects of pH and temperature on partial nitrification and COD removal were evidently weakened in SA immobilized biomass beads due to the “protective” effect of immobilization, whereas the effects of HRT and DO were enhanced.     

The development of an immobilized lactate oxidase system for lactic acid analysis

An enzyme designated as lactate oxidase was purified from Acetobacter peroxydans by using the partition methods of separation. A DE-52 cellulose column was used for the primary purification of lactate oxidase, and the purified enzyme was covalently bound to a porous cellulose bead matrix in which benzoquinone was used as the coupling reagent. The physicochemical properties of the native and immobilized enzymes were determined including molecular weight, cofactor requirements, and optimal reaction conditions. Lactate oxidase was shown not to be subject to product inhibition, and to require Mg(2+) as a metal cofactor. Analysis of an immobilized lactate oxidase packed-bed reactor indicated that this system may not be subject to internal diffusional limitations. Molecular oxygen appeared to be a cosubstrate of the enzyme, and a reaction mechanism was postulated to predict the kinetic behavior of the immobilized reactor system. Applications of the immobilized lactate oxidase reactor for the pulse-flow analysis of lactic acid in whole milk and in a yeast fermentation system were considered.     

Preparation and characterization of urease immobilized onto porous chitosan beads for urea hydrolysis

Urease was covalently immobilized onto porous chitosan beads via primary amine groups connected to the backbone via a six-carbon linear alkyl spacer. The optimum conditions for enzyme immobilization are activating the beads with 1%(w/w) glutaraldehyde, reacting the activated beads in pH 7 buffer with the enzyme, using an enzyme to bead weight ratio of 25, and without lyophilization. Chitosan-bound urease was found to fully retain its specific activity. Properties of the immobilized urease were characterized under batch and flow conditions. Increased optimum reaction temperature, enhanced thermal stability and storage stability, and excellent reusability were found after enzyme immobilization. Continuous hydrolysis of urea solution was studied in a column packed with the enzyme-containing beads for its possible application in regenerating dialysate solution during hemodialysis.     

Restricted diffusion of molecules in porous affinity chromatography adsorbents.

A restricted diffusion model is constructed and solved in order to study the permeability of large adsorbate molecules in the pores of affinity chromatography media, when the adsorbate molecules are adsorbed onto immobilized ligands. The combined effects of steric hindrance at the entrance to the pores and frictional resistance within the pores, as well as the effects of pore size distribution, pore connectivity of the adsorbent, molecular size of adsorbate and ligand, and the fractional saturation of adsorption sites (ligands), are considered. Affinity adsorbents with dilute and high ligand concentrations are examined, and the permeability of the adsorbate in porous networks of connectivity nT is studied by means of effective medium approximation (EMA) numerical solutions. As expected, the permeability of the adsorbate decreases as the size of the adsorbate and/or ligand molecule increases. The permeability also decreases when the fractional saturation of the ligands increases, as well as when the pore connectivity of the network decreases. The dependence of the permeability on the pore connectivity tends to be less marked in adsorbents with concentrated ligand than in porous media with dilute ligand concentration. The conditions are also presented for which the percolation threshold is attained in a number of different systems. The restricted diffusion model and results of this work may be of importance in studies involving the modeling, prediction of the dynamic behavior, design, and control of affinity chromatography (biospecific adsorption) systems employing porous adsorbents. The theoretical results may also have important implications in the selection of a ligand as well as in the selection and construction of an affinity porous matrix, so that the adsorbate of interest can be efficiently separated from a given solution. Furthermore, with appropriate modifications this restricted diffusion model may be used in studies involving the immobilization of ligands or enzymes in porous solids.     

Imaging the distribution and secondary structure of immobilized enzymes using infrared microspectroscopy

Synchrotron infrared microspectroscopy (SIRMS) was used for the first time to image the distribution and secondary structure of an enzyme (lipase B from Candida antarctica, CALB) immobilized within a macroporous polymer matrix (poly(methyl methacrylate)) at 10 microm resolution. The beads of this catalyst (Novozyme435) were cut into thin sections (12 microm). SIRMS imaging of these thin sections revealed that the enzyme is localized in an external shell of the bead with a thickness of 80-100 microm. Also, the enzyme was unevenly distributed throughout this shell. Furthermore, by SIRMS-generated spectra, it was found that CALB secondary structure was not altered by immobilization. Unlike CALB, polystyrene molecules of similar molecular weight diffuse easily throughout Novozyme435 beads. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) images of the Novozyme435 beads showed that the average pore size is 10 times larger than CALB or polystyrene molecules, implying that there is no physical barrier to enzyme or substrate diffusion throughout the bead. Thus, the difference between polystyrene and enzyme diffusivity suggests that protein-matrix and protein-protein interactions govern the distribution of the enzyme within the macroporous resin.     

Immobilization of fungus Aspergillus sp. by a novel cryogel technique for production of extracellular hydrolytic enzymes

Aerobic cells of a fungus isolate Aspergillus sp. CX-1 have been immobilized in macroporous cryoPAG and in different composite cryoPAGs — fibrous adjunct carriers. The productivity of the extracellular enzymes (exo-1.4-β-glucanase, endo-1.4-β-glucanase, β-glucosidase and xylanase), and the viability, growth and ultrastructure of the immobilized fungus have been studied. The enzyme activities and stability during long-term repeated batch cultivation in the immobilized fungus were higher than in free mycelia when batch cultivated. The fungus immobilized in the composite cryoPAG, containing polypropylene non-woven fabric, possessed the highest exo-1.4-β-glucanase activity, the longest durability of enzyme production (85 days) and the most reliable mechanical strength. The fungus immobilized in porous composite cryogel possessed a variety of advantages including easy control of cryogel porosity, improved mechanical strength and durability, simplicity of construction, high enzyme productivity and high stability.