Vladimír Mastihuba

A spectrophotometric assay for feruloyl esterases.

We have developed a spectrophotometric assay for the quantitative determination of feruloyl esterase activity based on release of 4-nitrophenol from a novel substrate, 4-nitrophenyl ferulate in an emulsion of Triton X-100 in aqueous buffer solution. The release of 4-nitrophenol was linear with reaction time at an early stage of the reaction with various esterase preparations. The method proposed here is accurate, rapid, and easy to perform.

Donor specificity and regioselectivity in Lipolase mediated acylations of methyl α-D-glucopyranoside by vinyl esters of phenolic acids and their analogues.

Methyl α-D-glucopyranoside as a model acceptor was acylated by several phenolic and non-phenolic vinyl esters using immobilised Lipolase. Donor specificity and regioselectivity of reaction were investigated. Conversion and rate of acylation by structurally varied donors indicates that the synthetic reactivity of Lipolase corresponds to the hydrolytic activity of feruloyl esterase type A. Lipolase exhibited remarkable regioselectivity for primary position of methyl α-D-glucopyranoside. The acylation occurred exclusively at 6-O primary position when vinyl esters of phenolic acids (hydroxybenzoates, hydroxyphenylalkanoates and hydroxycinnamates) served as acyl donors (5-77%). In addition to the major 6-O-acyl products (52-79%), 2,6-di-O-acylated derivatives were isolated from reaction mixtures (2-13%) when non-phenolic donors were used (vinyl esters of fully methoxylated derivatives of phenolic acids, along with vinyl benzoates, cinnamates or some heterocyclic analogues).

Monitoring of PQQ-Dependent Glucose Dehydrogenase Substrate Specificity for Its Potential Use in Biocatalysis and Bioanalysis

Substrate specificity of 2,7,9-tricarboxypyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent glucose dehydrogenase was investigated in biosensor arrangement for understanding the suitability and the limitations of its use in bioanalysis and bioproduction of chemicals. The study demonstrated a very broad substrate specificity of biosensor utilising soluble form of PQQ-dependent glucose dehydrogenase. Nineteen saccharides out of 31 were oxidised by the sensor. Investigation confirmed strong importance of hydroxyl configuration in the positions 2 and 5 of oxidised saccharides. The broad specificity suggests that the PQQ-dependent glucose dehydrogenase could be utilised for analysis of other sugars than glucose in food samples for various production processes and for biofuel cells. In addition, the results showed that the substrate specificity of enzymes can be effectively and generally studied by biosensor arrangement for research purposes. This layout utilising immobilised enzyme allowed performing comprehensive study using a small amount of enzymes and thus saving the costs and time.

Synthesis of 4-nitrophenyl caffeate and its use in assays of caffeoyl esterases.

We have prepared 4-nitrophenyl caffeate by a combination of standard procedures of organic synthesis and enzymatic deacetylation. Based on hydrolysis of 4-nitrophenyl caffeate, a convenient spectrophotometric assay was developed for specific monitoring of caffeoyl esterase. The method is fast and easy to perform, and it requires no expensive equipment. Its reliability was tested on eight enzyme preparations comprising various combinations of caffeoyl, feruloyl, and acetyl esterase as well as protease activities.

Salidroside, a Chemopreventive Glycoside, Diminishes Cytotoxic Effect of Cisplatin in Vitro

Natural products represent the source or the inspiration for the majority of the active ingredients of medicines because of their structural diversity and a wide range of biological effects. Our aims in this study were (i) to synthesize enzymatically salidroside (SAL), the most effective phenylethanoid glycoside in Rhodiola species; (ii) to examine its antioxidant capacity using cell‐free assays (reducing power, DPPH radicals scavenging and Fe2+‐chelating assays); (iii) to assess its DNA‐protective potential on plasmid DNA (DNA topology assay) and in HepG2 cells (comet assay) damaged by Fe2+ ions and hydrogen peroxide, respectively; and (iv) to investigate the effects of SAL, cisplatin (CDDP) and combined treatments of SAL + CDDP on cell viability (MTT test), level of DNA damage (comet assay), proliferation, cell cycle (flow cytometry) and the expression of signalling molecules associated with cell growth and apoptotic pathways (Western immunoblotting). We found out that SAL manifested low antioxidant and DNA‐protective capacity in all assays used. In both parental A2780 and CDDP‐resistant A2780/CP human ovarian carcinoma cells, SAL itself exerted in fact no impact on the viability, while in combination with CDDP it showed antagonistic effect supporting the chemopreventive activity on the CDDP‐induced cell damage. These results were confirmed by the partial reversal of the cell cycle alterations and the DNA damage level, as well as with partial restoration of cell survival/signalling pathways, when the expression of these molecules partially returned to their proper levels.

Efficient chemoenzymatic synthesis of 4-nitrophenyl β-d-apiofuranoside and its use in screening of β-d-apiofuranosidases.

4-Nitrophenyl β-d-apiofuranoside as a chromogenic probe for detection of β-d-apiofuranosidase activity was prepared in 61% yield from 2,3-isopropylidene-α,β-d-apiofuranose through a sequence of five reactions. The synthesis involves one regioselective enzymatic step-benzoylation of primary hydroxyl of 2,3-isopropylidene-α,β-d-apiofuranose catalysed by Lipolase 100T and stereoselective β-d-apiofuranosylation of p-nitrophenol using BF3⋅OEt2/Et3N. The product was used for screening of β-d-apiofuranosidase activity in 61 samples of crude commercial enzymes and plant materials. Fifteen enzyme preparations originating from different strains of genera Aspergillus display β-d-apiofuranosidase activity. The highest activity was found in Rapidase AR 2000 (78.27 U/g) and lyophilized Viscozyme L (64,36 U/g).

Semicontinual synthesis of alkyl galactosides using β-galactosidase entrapped in polyvinylalcohol hydrogel

Abstract Fungal β-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae was immobilized into polyvinylalcohol (PVA) hydrogel by LentiKats® technology and used for the production of short-chain alkyl glycosides. Ethyl- and propyl-β-d-galactopyranosides were prepared from lactose (100 g/L) and varying initial amounts of alcohol (10–30% v/v) at 40 °C and pH 4.5. The entrapped β-galactosidase preserved 50% of the initial transgalactosylation activity after 25 repeated cycles in the production of ethyl β-d-galactopyranoside. When 5% (v/v) propanol was used as an acceptor, the enzyme activity (30–32 U/g immobilized enzyme) remained constant for 25 repeated batch runs. These findings suggest that entrapped β-galactosidase into LentiKats® has a great potential to be one effective, reusable and easy producible biocatalyst for the production of alkyl glycosides in a large scale.

New assay of α-l-rhamnosidase

Free rutinose was prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis of rutin using defatted seed meal from tartary buckwheat. This disaccharide was used as substrate in spectrophotometric assay of α-l-rhamnosidase. The assay is based on hydrolysis of rutinose and subsequent determination of released glucose by a standard glucose oxidase assay kit. The method is easy to perform and requires no expensive equipment. The assay was applied in α-l-rhamnosidase estimation in ten commercial enzyme preparations and compared with standard assay on chromogenic substrate.Graphical abstract

Effective enzymatic caffeoylation of natural glucopyranosides.

Reaction system was developed for enzymatic caffeoylation of model saccharidic acceptor methyl β-d-glucopyranoside to obtain exclusively methyl 6-O-caffeoyl-β-D-glucopyranoside. Reaction with starting concentration of acceptor 0.2 M provided 73% yield of purified product within 17 days. Reactions with low acceptor concentrations (0.04 and 0.08 M) run to the completion within 7 days. Such highly effective and regioselective reaction was promoted by Lipozyme TL IM in tert-butanol, using vinyl caffeate as acylation donor. The optimized reaction conditions were used in preparative caffeoylation of natural substances-arbutin and salidroside, giving 75% of 6-O-caffeoylated arbutin (robustaside B) and 74% of 6-O-caffeoylated salidroside as the only products after 12 and 16 days, respectively.

Enzymatic synthesis of a chiral chalcogran intermediate

Two lipases, Novozyme 435 (lipase B from Candida Antarctica) and Lipozyme TL IM (Thermomyces lanuginosus) were used successfully for the kinetic resolution of racemic 1-(2-furyl)-3-pentanol, the key intermediate in synthesis of the bark beetle pheromone, chalcogran. The desired S-(+)-enantiomer was prepared in enantiomeric excesses higher than 98 % and with yields of 26.3 % and 32.5 %, respectively. Methyl tert-butyl ether and vinyl acetate were found to be the best reaction media and the acetyl donor to achieve fast and effective resolution.