Reactivity of trypsin in reverse micelles: pH-effects on the W0 versus enzyme activity profiles

pH-Dependence of hydrolytic activity of trypsin has been studied in cationic reverse micellar system of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) in (50% v/v) chloroform/isooctane using a positively charged substrate N_α-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (BAEE). The pH of the medium was varied from 4.0 to 8.5 with addition of 0.025 M citrate-phosphate buffer containing 1 mM CaCl₂. Optimum pH for maximum enzyme activity, pH_opt in reverse micelles is found to be similar to that observed in bulk aqueous solution (8.0–8.5). However, changes in activity of trypsin (k_cat) as a function of water content W₀ (W₀ = [H₂O]/[CTAB]) in reverse micelles are found to be pH dependent. At low pH (4.0) and low water content (W₀ = 5) the enzyme is more active in reverse micelles than in bulk aqueous solution by a factor of 2. This ‘superactivity’ is lost at higher W₀ values and the k_cat in reverse micelles is found to be similar to that observed in aqueous bulk. At pH 5, the enzyme activity is found to be independent of W₀ while at pH 6.0–6.5 the enzyme activity is low at W₀ 5 and increases with water content to a constant value which is still 50% lower than that in aqueous buffer. Above pH 7, the W_o-activity profile becomes distinctly bell shaped with W₀ optimum around 10–15. The enzyme activity at optimum W₀ is close to that observed in aqueous bulk.