Karel Komers

Kinetics and mechanism of the KOH — catalyzed methanolysis of rapeseed oil for biodiesel production

The reaction of rapeseed oil with methanol catalyzed by KOH is described by a model consisting of two sequences of consecutive competitive reactions. The first sequence expresses the methanolysis of rapeseed oil to methyl esters (biodiesel) whereas the second sequence describes the always present side reaction-saponification of glycerides and methyl esters by KOH. The proposed chemical model is described (after rational simplifications) by a system of differential kinetic equations which are solved numerically by two independent computing methods. The thus obtained theoretical kinetic and equilibrium results are compared numerically and/or graphically with the experimental parameters. The latter were obtained by the determination of the relevant components in the actual reaction mixture by analytical methods. According to the experimental results, the proposed reaction scheme is fulfilled with the probability of ca. 78%. The optimal average rate constants and equilibrium constants of individual reaction steps of the discussed scheme are introduced. The limitations of the proposed reaction model are discussed.

Biodiesel fuel from rapeseed oil, methanol, and KOH. Analytical methods in research and production

The enumeration of the analytical methods used in the production of biodiesel from rapeseed oil and methanol catalyzed by KOH and published till 1997 is given. Some of our original methods for individual or simultaneous determination of the main components in the reaction mixture are described. All these methods can be also used to analyse the non-equilibrium complex and heterogencous mixture.

Continuous biodiesel production in a cascade of flow ideally stirred reactors.

The continuous methanolysis of rapeseed oil catalyzed by KOH in a cascade of 4 flow stirred reactors at a steady state of 60 degrees C was studied. By comparing of the determined steady state concentrations of rapeseed oil, biodiesel and KOH in the reactors (under various initial concentrations of these components and feeding) with the assumed kinetic model the rate constants of the relevant differential rate equations for rapeseed oil consumption and biodiesel production were calculated.

New Findings about Ellman’s Method to Determine Cholinesterase Activity

The original Ellman’s spectrophotometrical method for cholinesterase activity determination uses 5,5′-dithiobis-2-nitrobenzoic acid (DTNB, Ellman’s reagent) as a chromogen and records the level of cholinesterase activity as an increase of absorbance at 412 nm. Although this procedure usually poses no problem, exceptions arise when the concentration of DTNB is far higher than the concentration of acetylthiocholine (ATCH). It was found that the ratio of concentrations of DTNB/ATCH is an important parameter for the ATCH hydrolysis course: high excess of DTNB decreases the hydrolysis rate resulting in a lower measured enzyme activity. Our experiments indicate that this influence of DTNB concentration can be explained by the inhibition of ATCH hydrolysis by DTNB.

Kinetics of Total Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Acetylcholine and Acetylthiocholine

Kinetics and the mechanism of total in vitro hydrolyses (i.e. up to the exhaustion of substrate) of acetylcholine and acetylthiocholine by acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase were studied in vitro in a batch reactor at 25 °C, pH 8 and ionic strength of 0.11 ᴍ. Every hydrolysis was monitored by 2 - 3 independent analytical methods. All studied types of enzymatic hydrolyses fulfilled the Michaelis - Menten reaction scheme with the irreversible second step. A table of obtained average values of rate constants and estimations of initial molar enzyme concentrations, and discussion of the results are presented.

Half-inhibition Concentrations of New Cholinesterase Inhibitors

The power of chosen carbamates and hydrazinium derivatives (carbazates) to inhibit the hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by butyrylcholinesterase or acetylcholinesterase was tested. The determined pI50 values (= negative logarithm of the molar concentration inhibiting the enzyme activity by 50%) of the tested substances were compared with pI50 values of the commercially used drugs for the Alzheimer’s disease treatment - rivastigmine and galanthamine.

Inhibition of enzymatic reactions. A rapid method to determine the index pI50.

The activity of every substance I inhibiting an enzymatic reaction can be approximately evaluated by the index pI50. This paper describes a simple and fast method of estimate and/or determination of this index. The method is based on the linearity of the dependence of the ratio of reaction rates of uninhibited and inhibited reaction vs. concentration of the inhibitor at constant initial substrate and enzyme concentrations for fully competitive, noncompetitive, uncompetitive and mixed type of inhibition by the one inhibitor. The validity of the method is demonstrated by four inhibitors of hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by butyrylcholine esterase.

Kinetics and Mechanism of Hydrolysis of Acetylthiocholine by Butyrylcholine Esterase

Kinetics and mechanism of hydrolysis of acetylthiocholine by the enzyme butyrylcholine esterase was studied. The spectrophotometric Ellman’s method and potentiometric pH-stat method were used for continuous determination of the actual concentration of the products thiocholine and acetic acid in the reaction mixture. The validity of the Michaelis-Menten (Briggs-Haldane) equation in the whole course of the reaction under used conditions was proved. The corresponding kinetics parameters (Vm and KM) were calculated from the obtained dependences of concentration of thiocholine or acetic acid vs. time and compared. From this comparison the deciding kinetic role of the step producing thiocholine was derived. The values of initial molar concentration of the enzyme and of the rate constants of the kinetic model were estimated.

Kinetics of 13 new cholinesterase inhibitors

Kinetics of hydrolysis of acetylcholine and acetylthiocholine by two types of acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibited by 13 new inhibitors (5 carbamates and 8 carbazates - hydrazinium derivatives) was measured in vitro in a batch reactor at 25 °C, pH 8, ionic strength 0.11 ᴍ and enzyme activity 3.5 U by four nondependent analytical methods. Sevin®, rivastigmin (Exelon®) and galantamin (Reminyl®) served as comparative inhibiting standards. Kinetics of hydrolyses inhibited by all studied carbamates, sevin, carbazates (with exceptions) and rivastigmin (with exceptions) can be simulated by the competitive inhibition model with irreversible reaction between enzyme and inhibitor. Galantamin does not fulfil this model. In positive simulations, the value of inhibition (carbamoylation) rate constant k3 was calculated, describing the reaction velocity between the given enzyme and inhibitor. Physiologically important hydrolyses of acetylcholine catalyzed by acetylcholinesterase from electric eel or bovine erythrocytes and butyrylcholinesterase from horse plasma can be most quickly inhibited by carbamoylation of the mentioned enzymes by the 3-N,N-diethylaminophenyl- N′-(1-alkyl) carbamates 4 and 5. Probably this is due to a long enough hydrocarbon aliphatic substituent (hexyl and octyl) on the amidic nitrogen atom. The tested carbazates failed as inhibitors of cholinesterases. The regeneration ability of the inhibited enzymes was not measured.

Inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by 14 achiral and five chiral imidazole derivates

Homological series of 14 achiral derivates and series of five chiral derivates of imidazole were tested in vitro as inhibitors of hydrolysis of acetylcholine using enzyme preparation of acetylcholinesterase from electric eel. The batch stirred reactor at 25 degrees C, pH 8 (phosphate buffer), ionic strength 0.11 M and catalytic activity of the enzyme preparation 0.14 U ml(-1) of the reaction mixture were used. The temporal dependences of actual concentrations of acetylcholine, choline and acetic acid were determined by an original HPLC method. For all used inhibitors, these time dependences conform with the probability of more than 90% to the model of competitive irreversible inhibition. All kinetic constants including k(3) defining the rate of inhibition (0.38-5.3M(-1)s(-1)) and qualified estimation of the absolute acetylcholinesterase concentration in the reaction mixture (40-110 nM) were determined.