Marianne Graber

Alcoholysis catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B in a gas/solid system obeys a Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism with competitive inhibition by the alcohol substrate and water.

The kinetics of alcoholysis of methyl propionate and n-propanol catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B supported onto silanized Chromosorb P was studied in a continuous solid/gas reactor. In this system the solid phase is composed of a packed enzymatic sample and is percolated by nitrogen as carrier gas, which simultaneously carries substrates to the enzyme while removing reaction products. In this reactor the thermodynamic activity of substrates and effectors can be perfectly adjusted allowing kinetic studies to be performed under different operating conditions. The kinetics obtained for alcoholysis were suggested to fit a Ping Pong Bi Bi mechanism with dead-end inhibition by the alcohol. The values of all apparent kinetic parameters were calculated and the apparent dissociation constant of enzyme for gaseous ester was found very low compared with the one obtained for liquid ester in organic medium, certainly due to the more efficient diffusion in the gaseous phase. The effect of water thermodynamic activity was also investigated. Water was found to act as a competitive inhibitor, with a higher inhibition constant than n-propanol. Thus alcoholysis of gaseous methyl propionate and n-propanol catalyzed by C. antarctica lipase B was found to obey the same kinetic mechanism as in other non-conventional media such as organic liquid media and supercritical carbon dioxide, but with much higher affinity for the substrates.

Effect of polyols on fungal alpha-amylase thermostability

The influence of different polyols (ethylene glycol, glycerol, erythritol, xylitol, and sorbitol) on the thermostability of fungal alpha-amylase at 60°C has been studied. The results obtained show a stabilizing effect in the presence of polyols. In the case of 4 m sorbitol solution, the enzyme half-life is 2000-fold longer than in pure water. These polyols have been found as competitive inhibitors for alpha-amylase andtheir stabilizing effect has been correlated to their affinity constant except for sorbitol. The influence of two polyol isomers (arabitol and mannitol) on activity and stability of alpha-amylase has also been investigated.

A Water Molecule in the Stereospecificity Pocket of Candida Antarctica Lipase B Enhances Enantioselectivity towards Pentan‐2‐ol

The effect of water activity on enzyme‐catalyzed enantioselective transesterification was studied by using a solid/gas reactor. The experimental results were compared with predictions from molecular modelling. The system studied was the esterification of pentan‐2‐ol with methylpropanoate as acyl donor and lipase B from Candida antarctica as catalyst. The data showed a pronounced water‐activity effect on both reaction rate and enantioselectivity. The enantioselectivity increased from 100, at water activity close to zero, to a maximum of 320, at a water activity of 0.2. Molecular modelling revealed how a water molecule could bind in the active site and obstruct the binding of the slowly reacting enantiomer. Measurements of enantioselectivity at different water‐activity values and temperatures showed that the water molecule had a high affinity for the stereospecificity pocket of the active site with a binding energy of 9 kJ mol−1, and that it lost all its degrees of rotation, corresponding to an entropic energy of 37 J mol−1 K−1.

Solid/gas bioreactors: powerful tools for fundamental research and efficient technology for industrial applications

Solid–gas biocatalysis appears today to be a promising technology for fundamental research and for the development of new cleaner industrial processes. The use of enzymes or whole cells at the solid–gas interface now appears concurrent to liquid processes and presents some very interesting features since total thermodynamic control of the system can be achieved easily. Moreover, from a technological point of view, solid–gas systems offer very high production rates for minimal plant sizes, allow important reduction of treated volumes and permit simplified downstream processes. These advantages result from the ability to precisely control all the thermodynamic parameters influencing not only the kinetics of the reactions performed, but also the stability of the biocatalysts working with biological catalysts at elevated temperatures. In this article, an overview of some existing systems and application of solid–gas technology to fundamental studies related to the influence of the microenvironment on biocatalysts is given. The potential of this peculiar system, and examples of applications that should benefit from the technology are presented herein.

Alcoholysis catalyzed by Candida antarctica lipase B in a gas/solid system: effects of water on kinetic parameters.

The influence of water on the kinetics of alcoholysis of methyl propionate and n-propanol catalyzed by immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica was studied in a continuous solid/gas reactor. In this reactor, the solid phase is composed of a packed enzymatic sample which is percolated by gaseous nitrogen, simultaneously carrying gaseous substrates to the enzyme while removing reaction products. In this system, interactions between the enzyme and nonreacting molecules are avoided, since no solvent is present, and it is thus more easy to assess the role of water. To this end, alcohol inhibition constant, substrates dissociation constants as well as acylation rate constant and ratio of acylation to deacylation rate constants have been determined as a function of water activity (a(w)). Data obtained highlight that n-propanol inhibition constant and dissociation constant of methyl propionate are a lot affected by a(w) variations whereas water has no significant effect on the catalytic acylation step nor on the ratio of acylation to deacylation rate constants. These results suggest the water-independent character of the transition step.

Molecular Mechanism of the Hydration of Candida antarctica Lipase B in the Gas Phase: Water Adsorption Isotherms and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Hydration is a major determinant of activity and selectivity of enzymes in organic solvents or in gas phase. The molecular mechanism of the hydration of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) and its dependence on the thermodynamic activity of water (aw) was studied by molecular dynamics simulations and compared to experimentally determined water sorption isotherms. Hydration occurred in two phases. At low water activity, single water molecules bound to specific water binding sites at the protein surface. As the water activity increased, water networks gradually developed. The number of protein‐bound water molecules increased linearly with aw, until at aw=0.5 a spanning water network was formed consisting of 311 water molecules, which covered the hydrophilic surface of CALB, with the exception of the hydrophobic substrate‐binding site. At higher water activity, the thickness of the hydration shell increased up to 10 Å close to aw=1. Above a limit of 1600 protein‐bound water molecules the hydration shell becomes unstable and the formation of pure water droplets occurs in these oversaturated simulation conditions. While the structure and the overall flexibility of CALB was independent of the hydration state, the flexibility of individual loops was sensitive to hydration: some loops, such as those part of the substrate‐binding site, became more flexible, while other parts of the protein became more rigid upon hydration. However, the molecular mechanism of how flexibility is related to activity and selectivity is still elusive.

Microbial polysaccharides containing 6-deoxysugars

Microorganisms producing polysaccharides rich in 6-deoxysugars are widely distributed among bacteria, algae and fungi isolated from different environments and having different metabolic capabilities. Culture conditions leading to the screening of microorganisms producing these polysaccharides as well as parameters promoting their production necessitated the use of media containing high carbon-nitrogen ratios. Methods for extracting polysaccharides and for measuring their 6-deoxysugars content are either colorimetric or required the use of analytical chromatography. Successful purification procedures leading to pure 6-deoxysugars included ion-exchange chromatography. Among the different applications of these polysaccharides is their use as substrates in the chemical synthesis of flavoring agents.

Water plays a different role on activation thermodynamic parameters of alcoholysis reaction catalyzed by Lipase in gaseous and organic media

The effect of water on the alcoholysis of methyl propionate and n-propanol catalyzed by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) has been compared in a continuous solid-gas reactor and in an organic liquid medium. The enthalpic and entropic contributions of water to the Gibbs free energy of activation in the gas phase were different from the ones in the organic phase, the inverse trends being observed for the variation of both DeltaH* and DeltaS* with water activity. Different phenomena were identified for their influence on the thermodynamic parameters. When increasing a(w), the enhanced flexibility of the enzyme was predominant in the gas phase whereas substrate-solvent interactions due to an increased polarity of the solvent affected mainly the thermodynamic parameters in the organic phase. The observed variations of DeltaG* with water activity were in accordance with kinetics results previously obtained in both reaction media.

Biochemical Composition and Changes of Extracellular Polysaccharides (ECPS) Produced during Microphytobenthic Biofilm Development (Marennes-Oléron, France)

The main goal of this work was to study the dynamics and biochemical composition of extracellular polysaccharides (ECPS), a fraction of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) produced during the development of a microphytobenthic biofilm in a European intertidal mudflat (Marennes-Oléron Bay, France) during winter. Microphytobenthic biomass was surveyed during four consecutive emersion periods to confirm the biofilm growth. Bacteria abundance was also checked considering the importance of heterotrophic bacteria observed by various authors in the dynamics of EPS. Various colorimetric assays, coupled to biochemical chromatographic analysis, were used to characterize the three main fractions of extracted EPS: colloidal, bound, and residual. The monosaccharide distribution of colloidal ECPS highlighted their role of carbon source for bacteria (>50% of glucose) even if no increase of colloidal carbohydrate amounts was observed during the tidal exposure. Bound ECPS were composed of deoxy or specific sugars (30% rhamnose) and uronic acids (18% galacturonic acid). Their levels and dynamics could be correlated to the development of the microphytobenthic biofilm, enhancing the stabilization of the sediment or increasing binding forces accordingly. Residual fractions, containing refractory bound ECPS and other internal polymeric substances, were composed of various carbohydrates. The high ratio of glucose in these fractions (18% to 43%) was interesting, as it was once attributed to colloidal sugars due to poor extraction procedures. Finally, the presence of inositol (15%) was significant since no author has highlighted it before, knowing that inositol is a major growth factor for heterotrophic bacteria.

Solid/gas biocatalysis: an appropriate tool to study the influence of organic components on kinetics of lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis

The influence of the addition of an extra component in a gaseous reaction medium, on the kinetics of alcoholysis of methyl propionate and n-propanol catalyzed by immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica was studied in a continuous solid/gas reactor. In this reactor, the solid phase is composed of a packed enzymatic sample, which is percolated by gaseous nitrogen, simultaneously carrying gaseous substrates and additional components to the enzyme while removing reaction products. The system permits to set thermodynamic activity of all gaseous components (substrates or not) independently at the desired values. This allows in particular to study the influence of an extra added component at a constant thermodynamic activity value, contrary to classical solid/liquid system, which involves large variations of thermodynamic activity of added solvent, when performing full kinetic studies. Alcohol inhibition constant (K(I)) and methyl propionate and propanol dissociation constants (K(MP) and K(P)) have been determined in the solid/gas reactor in the presence of 2-methyl-2-butanol, and compared with values previously obtained in the absence of added component and in the presence of water. Complementary experiments were carried out in the presence of an apolar compound (hexane) and led to the conclusion that the effect of added organic component on lipase-catalyzed alcoholysis is related to their competitive inhibitory character towards first substrate methyl propionate. The comparison of data obtained in liquid or with gaseous 2-methyl-2-butanol shows that lower K(MP) and K(I) are found in gaseous medium, which would correspond on the one hand to a lower acylation rate k(2), and on the other hand to a higher binding rate k(1) between substrate and free enzyme in gaseous medium.