Circular dichroism studies of subtilisin Carlsberg immobilised on micron sized silica particles.

Immobilised enzymes are widely used in industry, but the reasons for loss of activity of such biocatalysts are usually not known. We have used circular dichroism (CD) to investigate the structure of one such system, i.e., subtilisin Carlsberg (SC) immobilised on silica gel particles (60 microm). A number of technical problems have to be overcome in order to obtain appropriate data from which conclusions can be drawn. A rotating cell holder has been developed to avoid sedimentation of the silica particles during the collection of spectra. By moving the cell holder as close as possible to the detector window, the effects of differential scattering can be minimised. However, the effects of absorption flattening limit the extent to which reliable quantitative information on secondary structure content can be obtained from far UV CD studies. We have used an empirical approach based on absorbance units derived from the high-tension voltage to correct for absorption flattening effects. After applying the correction there was satisfactory agreement with the solution spectra. Comparison of the fresh and used (inactive) SC-silica gel spectra in organic media reveals substantial change in the secondary structure. Additional evidence for loss of native conformation is provided by the significant decrease in the near UV CD spectrum. These results for the first time clearly demonstrate the origin of enzyme instability in the immobilised state.

Proteomic methods applied to the analysis of immobilized biocatalysts.

Methods adapted from proteomics can directly characterize proteins present in immobilized biocatalysts. Complete hydrolysis followed by HPLC analysis of Tyr and Phe estimates total protein bound, and is preferable to conventional difference methods, as tested with subtilisin Carlsberg on silica. This new method shows that various treatments give quantitative desorption of proteins immobilized by adsorption. Intact desorbed proteins may be analyzed by electrospray mass spectrometry. The Candida antarctica lipase B from Novozyme 435 was shown to be heavily glycosylated, while the lipase from Lipozyme RM IM was a mixture of four N-terminally truncated forms. Peptides from selective cleavage were analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry, leading to automatic identification of proteins present. A second major protein present in Lipozyme RM IM was thus found to be alpha-amylase from Aspergillus oryzae. These methods should be valuable complements to activity measurements in understanding immobilized enzyme activity and stability.