A suitable and effective stepwise oxidative refolding procedure for highly-cationic tetrameric avidin in nucleic acid free conditions.

Optimized conditions are needed to refold recombinant proteins from bacterial inclusion bodies into their biologically active conformations. In this study, we found two crucial requirements for efficient refolding of cationic tetrameric chicken avidin. The first step is to eliminate nucleic acid contaminants from the bacterial inclusion body. The electrostatic interactions between the remaining nucleic acids and proteins strongly enhanced protein aggregation during the refolding process. The cysteine specific reversible S-cationization procedure was successfully employed for large-scale preparation of nucleic acid free denatured protein without purification tag system. The second step is the intramolecular disulfide formation prior to refolding in dialysis removing denaturant. Disulfide intact monomeric avidin showed efficient formation of biologically active tetrameric conformation during the refolding process. Using this optimized refolding procedure, highly cationic avidin derivative designed as an intracellular delivery carrier of biotinylated protein was successfully prepared.

Influence of an external electric field on removal of protein fouling on a stainless steel surface by proteolytic enzymes.

Enzymatic cleaning is a potentially useful method for removing proteinaceous fouling from solid surfaces under mild conditions. Herein, the influence of an external electric field on the enzymatic cleaning of a metal surface fouled with a protein was investigated. The model fouling protein (BSA; lysozyme) was prepared on a stainless steel (St) surface, and the resulting surface subjected to enzymatic cleaning with an electric potential being applied to the St plate. Trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, and thermolysin were used as model proteases. The amounts of protein remaining on the plate before and during the cleaning process were measured by means of a reflection absorption technique using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. In the case for BSA fouling, the cleaning efficiency of the protease tended to increase at more negative applied potentials. Whereas, there was an optimum applied potential for removing the lysozyme fouling. Atomic force microscopy analyses indicated that applying an adequate range of electric potential enhanced the enzymatic removal of protein fouling inside scratches on the St plate surface. These findings suggest the existence of two modes of electrostatic interactions for the external electric field, one with protease molecules and the other with digested fragments of the fouling protein.

The use of a proteinaceous "cushion" with a polystyrene-binding peptide tag to control the orientation and function of a target peptide adsorbed to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface.

In immobilizing target biomolecules on a solid surface, it is essential (i) to orient the target moiety in a preferred direction and (ii) to avoid unwanted interactions of the target moiety including with the solid surface. The preferred orientation of the target moiety can be achieved by genetic conjugation of an affinity peptide tag specific to the immobilization surface. Herein, we report on a strategy for reducing the extent of direct interaction between the target moiety and surface in the immobilization of hexahistidine peptide (6His) and green fluorescent protein (GFP) on a hydrophilic polystyrene (PS) surface: Ribonuclease HII from Thermococcus kodakaraensis (cHII) was genetically inserted as a "cushion" between the PS-affinity peptide tag and target moiety. The insertion of a cushion protein resulted in a considerably stronger immobilization of target biomolecules compared to conjugation with only a PS affinity peptide tag, resulting in a substantially enhanced accessibility of the detection antibody to the target 6His peptide. The fluorescent intensity of the GFP moiety was decreased by approximately 30% as the result of fusion with cHII and the PS-affinity peptide tag but was fully retained in the immobilization on the PS surface irrespective of the increased binding force. Furthermore, the fusion of cHII did not impair the stability of the target GFP moiety. Accordingly, the use of a proteinaceous cushion appears to be promising for the immobilization of functional biomolecules on a solid surface. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:527-534, 2016.

On the preparation of indoxyl red from indican and some new characteristics.

An indole compound with a strong purple-red color was produced by boiling a solution of indican under acidic conditions and purified by chromatographies on DEAE-650S Toyopearl TSK-gel and silica-gel columns. The purple-red compound purified was identified as indoxyl red, on the basis of FAB Mass, (13)C NMR, (1)H NMR, UV-visible spectra, and IR spectra. Although indoxyl red was first synthesized by Seidel(9) 70 years ago, very little information has been available on its characteristics. We repot here that the compound was purple-red colored at acidic pH and green at pH 13, and showed antiproliferative and cytotoxic activities to the mouse B cell lymphoma cell line NSF202.

Purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis that can hydrolyze N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids as well as N-short-chain-acyl-L-amino acids.

We report here on the purification, characterization, molecular cloning, and expression of a new aminoacylase, initially isolated from the supernatant of Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-AA). Purified wild-type Sm-AA was found to be a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 55 kDa. The cloned gene of Sm-AA contained an ORF of 1,383 bp, encoding a polypeptide of 460 amino acids. A BLAST search revealed that Sm-AA belongs to the peptidase M20 family, with identities to a hypothetical protein from Streptomyces pristinaespiralis, a putative peptidase from Streptomyces avermitilis, peptidase M20 from Frankia sp., succinyl-diaminopimelate desuccinylase from Hemophilus influenzae, and aminoacylase-1 from porcine kidney at 89, 88, 67, 29, and 25% respectively. The Sm-AA gene was subcloned into an expression vector, pSH19, and was expressed in Streptomyces lividans TK24. The amount of the recombinant Sm-AA expressed in the S. lividans cells was approximately 42-fold higher than that of Sm-AA found in the supernatant of S. mobaraensis. Sm-AA showed high hydrolytic activity towards various N-acetyl-L-amino acids and N-(middle/long)-chain-fatty-acyl-L-amino acids, with a preference for the acyl derivatives of L-Met, L-Ala, L-Cys, etc. with an optimum pH and temperature for reaction of about 7.5 and 50 degrees Celsius (at pH 7.5).

Temperature scanning FTIR analysis of interactions between sugar and polymer additive in amorphous sugar-polymer mixtures.

The impact of a polymer additive (polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP) on hydrogen bonding in amorphous sugar matrices as well as on the glass transition temperature, T(g), were examined by temperature scanning Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TS-FTIR). An amorphous sugar matrix containing PVP was prepared by air-drying an aqueous solution of a sugar-PVP mixture. The hydrogen bonds in the sugar-PVP mixture (sugar-PVP and sugar-sugar hydrogen bonds) were analyzed from the IR peak positions corresponding to the stretching vibration of C==O groups of PVP and O--H groups of the sugar and the temperature dependence of the peak position of the O--H stretching vibration band. The addition of PVP to amorphous mono and disaccharides significantly lowered the extent of hydrogen bond formation while interactions between sugars and the PVP tended to prevent the disruption of hydrogen bonds due to increasing temperature, the magnitude of which was larger for larger oligomers. The T(g) value for the amorphous sugar was increased by the addition of PVP in many cases. As the size of sugar molecule became larger, the relative magnitude of the increased T(g) by PVP to the difference between the T(g) values for sugar alone and PVP alone became larger and then reached a certain level; it was slight in the case of glucose. Collectively, these results demonstrate that the magnitude of the impact of PVP on an amorphous sugar matrix strongly vary and are dependent on the types of sugar.

TPR domain of Ser/Thr phosphatase of Aspergillus oryzae shows no auto-inhibitory effect on the dephosphorylation activity.

A Ser/Thr phosphatase gene cloned from Aspergillus oryzae, aoppt, revealed that the tetratricopeptide repeat (TPR) and catalytic domains of the full-length AoPPT are located at the N- and C-terminal regions, respectively, similar to those of human Ser/Thr phosphatase 5 (PP5) and yeast Ppt1. Four different regions of AoPPT, namely, a full-length polypeptide, the catalytic domain, the catalytic domain plus C-terminal 15 amino-acid residues and the TPR domain were expressed in Escherichia coli and their roles in dephosphorylation activity were examined, using p-nitrophenyl phosphate as the substrate. The full-length AoPPT showed the highest dephosphorylation activity while the catalytic domain had the lowest activity. The activity of the catalytic domain was not inhibited by the presence of the TPR domain and arachidonic acid did not increase the activity of the full-length enzyme. These findings suggest that the integrity of the entire enzyme would be necessary for its full activity to be expressed.

Cloning and characterization of penicillin V acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis.

We report on the molecular cloning and characterization of penicillin V acylase (PVA) from an actinomycete, Streptomyces mobaraensis (Sm-PVA), which was originally isolated as an acylase that efficiently hydrolyzes the amide bond of various N-fatty-acyl-l-amino acids and N-fatty-acyl-peptides as well as capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide). In addition, the purified Sm-PVA hydrolyzed penicillin V with the highest activity (k(cat)) among the PVAs so far reported, penicillin G, and 2-nitro-5-phenoxyacetamide benzoic acid. The BLAST search revealed that the Sm-PVA precursor is composed of a polypeptide that is characteristic of enzymes belonging to the beta-lactam acylase family with four distinct segments; a signal sequence (43 amino acids), an alpha subunit (173 amino acids), a linker peptide (28 amino acids), and a beta subunit (570 amino acids). The mature, active Sm-PVA is a heterodimeric protein with alpha and beta subunits, in contrast to PVAs isolated from Bacillus sphaericus and B. subtilis, which have a homotetrameric structure. The amino acid sequence of Sm-PVA showed identities to PVA from S. lavendulae, N-acylhomoserine lactone-degrading acylase from Streptomyces sp., cyclic lipopeptide acylase from Streptomyces sp., and aculeacin A acylase from Actinoplanes utahensis with 68, 67, 67, and 41% identities, respectively.

Protein-protein interaction analysis using an affinity peptide tag and hydrophilic polystyrene plate.

A sandwich ELISA method using peptide tags showing a specific affinity to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface (PS-tags), PS 19 composed of RAFIASRRIKRP and KPS19R10 of KRAFIASRRIRRP and a hydrophilic polystyrene (phi-PS) plate was used to analyze protein-protein interactions. An Escherichia coli cysteine synthase complex, in which serine acetyltransferase (SAT) interacts with O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase-A (OASS) was used as a model system. When the interaction was detected by the conventional sandwich ELISA method using a hydrophobic polystyrene (pho-PS) plate, for the exclusive use of ELISA, the signal intensity was barely detectable due to conformational change of the ligand protein, OASS in the adsorbed state. On the contrary, when OASS, genetically fused with PS19 (OASS-PS19) or chemically conjugated with KPS19R10 (OASS-KPS19R10), was immobilized on the phi-PS plate, a high signal intensity was detected. Furthermore, by applying the two-step sandwich ELISA, in which OASS-PS19 or OASS-KPS19R10 formed a complex with SAT in the blocking solution before immobilization on the phi-PS plate, the signal intensity was further increased with a much shorter operational time, because SAT in the blocking solution formed a complex with OASS-PS19 or OASS-KPS19R10 without any steric hindrance.

Development of a one-step ELISA method using an affinity peptide tag specific to a hydrophilic polystyrene surface.

Glutathione S-transferase genetically fused with an affinity peptide tag, PS19 (RAFIASRRIKRP) having a specific affinity for a hydrophilic polystyrene (PS) surface, was preferentially immobilized on a hydrophilic PS (phi-PS) plate without suffering from interference by coexisting protein molecules. Furthermore, rabbit IgG chemically conjugated with a peptide, KPS19R10, in which (10)Lys in PS19 was replaced with Arg and one Lys residue was added at the N-terminus as a coupling site for glutaraldehyde, showed a higher immobilization affinity to the phi-PS plate than that conjugated with the PS19 peptide. On the basis of these findings, the use of a phi-PS plate and peptide tag-linked ligand proteins permitted a one-step or two-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be achieved, resulting in a substantial reduction in operational time compared with the conventional ELISA method using a hydrophobic PS (pho-PS) plate, while maintaining a high sensitivity. Furthermore, the sensitivity was increased to a greater extent compared to the conventional ELISA meihod when the one-step ELISA was applied to the detection of bovine insulin in a sandwich mode, due to the reduced number of washing and incubation steps. The method proposed here would be a versatile method for use in various ELISA techniques such as sandwich and competitive ELISAs using an antigen, an antibody and streptavidin that are genetically fused or chemically conjugated with the PS-specific affinity peptide as the ligand protein.

Effects of the supporting electrolyte on the kinetics of the removal of proteins adsorbed on a stainless steel surface by H2O2-electrolysis.

The effects of different types of supporting electrolytes on the removal of beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) after being adsorbed to a stainless steel surface by a H2O2-electrolysis treatment was investigated. In this process, hydroxyl radicals (*OH), generated by the electrolysis of hydrogen peroxide, decompose the substances adhering to the surface. The removal of the adsorbed protein from the stainless steel surface during the treatment was monitored in situ by ellipsometry. The apparent first-order removal rate constants, k(cl), for 17 types of supporting electrolytes were determined, as well as the current corresponding to the rate of generation of *OH. The k(cl) and generated current values for LiCl, NaCl, KCl, KNO(3), K(2)SO(4), CH(3)COOK, and K(2)CO(3) were all similar. Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) strongly suppressed the removal of the adsorbed protein. The presence of ammonium compounds led to an increase in k(cl) and current values. In H2O2-electrolysis in the presence of potassium phosphate, the removal was extremely rapid, and an apparent increase in the thickness of the adsorbed layer was observed. The mechanisms responsible for the peculiar effects of calcium, magnesium, phosphate, and ammonium compounds were investigated by means of a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic analysis, as well as by the characteristics of the removal under different treatment conditions.

Protease susceptibility of beta-lactoglobulin adsorbed on stainless steel surface as evidence of contribution of its specific segment to adsorption.

beta-Lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) is a major constituent of fouling deposits in the dairy industry. To determine the interaction between beta-Lg and stainless steel surfaces, beta-Lg irreversibly adsorbed on stainless steel particles was subjected to lysyl endopeptidase treatment and the course of fragmentation was compared with that observed for beta-Lg in solution. The results showed a distinct difference between the courses of fragmentation: a fragment (residues 102-135) was liberated readily from beta-Lg in solution but scarcely from beta-Lg irreversibly adsorbed on stainless steel particles. This result strongly suggests that residues 102-135 include a segment primarily responsible for the interaction of beta-Lg with stainless steel surfaces. This supports our previous results [Sakiyama et al., J. Biosci. Bioeng., 88, 536-541 (1999)] that showed that residues 125-135 of beta-Lg have a strong affinity toward stainless steel surfaces and probably a major contribution to the adsorption of beta-Lg.

Screening and characterization of affinity peptide tags specific to polystyrene supports for the orientated immobilization of proteins.

Dodecapeptides that exhibit a high affinity specific to a polystyrene surface (PS-tags) were screened using an Escherichia coli random peptide display library system, and the compounds were used as a peptide tag for the site-specific immobilization of proteins. The various PS-tags obtained after 10 rounds of biopanning selection were mainly composed of basic and aliphatic amino acid residues, most of which were arranged in close proximity to one another. Mutant-type glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) fused with the selected PS-tags, PS19 (RAFIASRRIKRP) and PS23 (AGLRLKKAAIHR) at their C-terminus, GST-PS19 and GST-PS23, when adsorbed on the PS latex beads had a higher affinity than the wild-type GST, and the specific remaining activity of the immobilized mutant-type GSTs was approximately 10 times higher than that of the wild-type GST. The signal intensity detected for GST-PS19 and GST-PS23 adsorbed on hydrophilic and hydrophobic PS surfaces using an anti-peptide antibody specific for the N-terminus peptide of GST was much higher than that for the wild-type GST. These findings indicate that the mutant-type GSTs fused with the selected peptide tags, PS19 and PS23, could be site-specifically immobilized on the surface of polystyrene with their N-terminal regions directed toward the solution. Thus, the selected peptide tags would be useful for protein immobilization in the construction of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) systems and protein-based biochips.

Cloning, overexpression, purification, and characterization of O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase-B from Escherichia coli.

O-Acetylserine sulfhydrylase-B (OASS-B, EC 2.5.1.47) is one of the two isozymes produced by Escherichia coli that catalyze the synthesis of L-cysteine from O-acetyl-L-serine and sulfide. The cysM gene encoding OASS-B was cloned and the enzyme was overexpressed in E. coli using pUC19 with a lacUV5 promoter. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity, as evidenced by SDS-PAGE. Approximately 300 mg of purified OASS-B was obtained from 1600 mL of culture broth with a purification yield of 60% or higher. The purified OASS-B was characterized and its properties compared with OASS-A. OASS-B did not form a complex with E. coli serine acetyltransferase (SAT, EC 2.3.1.30) and showed a wide range of substrate specificity in nonproteinaceous amino acid synthesis.

A novel acylase from Streptomyces mobaraensis that efficiently catalyzes hydrolysis/synthesis of capsaicins as well as N-acyl-L-amino acids and N-acyl-peptides.

A novel enzyme that catalyzes efficient hydrolysis of capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) was isolated from the culture broth of Streptomyces mobaraensis. The enzyme consisted of two dissimilar subunits with molecular masses of 61 and 19 kDa. The enzyme was activated and stabilized in the presence of Co2+. It showed a pH optimum of about 8 and was stable at temperatures of up to 55 degrees C for 1 h at pH 7.8. The specific activity of the enzyme for the hydrolysis of capsaicin was 10(2)-10(4) times higher than those for the enzymes reported to date. In an aqueous/n-hexane biphasic system, capsaicin analogues such as octanoyl, decanoyl, and lauroyl vanillylamides were synthesized from the corresponding fatty acids and vanillylamine at yields of 50% or greater. In addition, the enzyme catalyzed the deacylation of N-lauroyl-L-amino acids and N-lauroyl-L-dipeptides and the efficient synthesis of Nalpha-lauroyl-L-lysine, Nepsilon-lauroyl-L-lysine, and various N-lauroyl-peptides in aqueous solution in both the absence and the presence of glycerol.

On the interaction site of serine acetyltransferase in the cysteine synthase complex from Escherichia coli.

Cysteine synthase from Escherichia coli is a bienzyme complex comprised of serine acetyltransferase (SAT) and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase A. The site of interaction of a SAT molecule was investigated by gel chromatography and surface plasmon technique using various mutant-type SATs, to better understand the mechanism involved in complex formation. The C-terminus of SAT, Ile 273, along with Glu 268 and Asp 271, was found to be essential for complex formation. The effects of O-acetyl-L-serine and sulfide on the affinity for the complex formation were also studied using a surface plasmon technique.

Adsorption characteristics of various organic substances on the surfaces of tantalum, titanium, and zirconium.

Adsorption characteristics of carboxylic acids, amines, an octapeptide composed of four L-alanine and four L-aspartic acid residues (Peptide-A4D4), and beta-lactoglobulin (beta-Lg) on tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), and zirconium (Zr) particles were examined at 30 degrees C and in some case, were compared with their adsorption onto SUS316L stainless steel particles (S6L). The adsorption isotherms on the Ta, Ti, and Zr particles could usually be expressed either by a Langmuir-type equation for reversible adsorption or by a modified Langmuir-type adsorption equation including terms for both reversible and irreversible adsorption. The adsorption equilibrium of benzoic acid, benzylamine, and m-xylylenediamine on all the metal surfaces followed a Langmuir-type equation, while those of phthalic acid, mellitic acid, and Peptide-A4D4 could be fitted to the modified Langmuir-type adsorption equation. The adsorption characteristics of different adsorbates on the different surfaces were discussed particularly with reference to the pH dependencies of the q(irrev), q(rev), and K values and the electrostatic properties of the oxidized surface of the metal particles. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic analyses using a reflection/absorption technique (RA-IR) indicated that phthalic acid and mellitic acid are adsorbed in similar adsorption states irrespective of the type of metal. beta-Lg was adsorbed onto the surfaces principally in an irreversible manner. The desorption behavior of beta-Lg from Ta, Ti, and S6L surfaces was examined, in order to evaluate the extent of interaction between beta-Lg and the metals.

Effects of carboxyl groups on the adsorption behavior of low-molecular-weight substances on a stainless steel surface.

The adsorption isotherms of various carboxylic acids and several amines on a stainless steel surface were taken as a function of pH and the ionic strength of the solution at 30 degrees C. In particular, the effect of the number of carboxyl groups on the adsorption behavior was investigated. Monocarboxylic acids such as benzoic acid and n-butyric acid were reversibly adsorbed on the stainless steel particles and showed a Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm, i.e., Q=KqmC/(1+KC), where Q and C are, respectively, the amount of adsorbate adsorbed and the equilibrium concentration in the bulk solution, qm, the maximum adsorbed amount, and K is the adsorption equilibrium constant. Carboxylic acids having plural carboxyl groups had much higher affinity to the surface and were adsorbed in both reversible and irreversible modes. The adsorption isotherms for the carboxylic acids having plural carboxyl groups could be expressed by a modified Langmuir-type adsorption isotherm, i.e., Q=q(irrev)+Kq(rev)C/(1+KC), where q(irrev) and q(rev) are, respectively, the maximum amounts adsorbed irreversibly and reversibly. The K and q(irrev) values increased with an increase in the number of carboxyl groups except for isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid. On the basis of the pH dependencies of K, qm, q(irrev), and q(rev) as well as the surface properties of the stainless steel, both reversible and irreversible adsorptions were considered to occur through the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged carboxyl groups and the positively charged sites on the surface. The dependency of the q(irrev) value on ionic strength was discussed on the basis of the differences in their adsorbed state with the interaction forces to the surface and repulsive forces among the adsorbed molecules. The adsorption of amine components was quite weak. The RA-IR and molecular dynamics calculation were done to investigate the adsorption states of phthalic acid, trimellitic acid, and mellitic acid.

Production of nonproteinaceous amino acids using recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing cysteine synthase and related enzymes with or without the secretion of O-acetyl-L-serine.

Beta-(pyrazol-1-yl)-L-alanine (beta-PA), a model nonproteinaceous amino acid, was specifically synthesized by two methods using recombinant Escherichia coli cells that express cysteine synthase, comprising serine acetyltransferase (SAT) and O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase-A (OASS-A) and related enzymes from E. coli. In the first method (method A), recombinant cells that express wild-type SAT, OASS-A, acetate kinase (AK), and phosphotransacetylase (PTA) showed the highest beta-PA production. beta-PA was produced at 140 mM from 200 mM L-serine and 200 mM pyrazole under optimum conditions. Using the cells expressing SATDeltaC20 (truncated SAT), OASS-A, AK, and PTA, beta-PA was produced at a level of only 80 mM, whereas O-acetyl-serine (OAS) was found to be secreted into the broth. Under optimum conditions, OAS accumulated at levels of around 105 mM from 300 mM L-serine. Thus, in the second method (method B), the secreted OAS was used as the substrate for the syntheses of beta-PA and beta-(triazol-1-yl)-L-alanine (beta-TA). The OAS that accumulated in the broth was efficiently converted to beta-PA and beta-TA at levels of around 90 mM from 105 mM OAS using free OASS-A. In both methods A and B, the addition of glucose was essential for the efficient production of beta-PA and OAS, respectively.

Contribution of acidic amino residues to the adsorption of peptides onto a stainless steel surface.

The role of the acidic amino acid residues in the adsorption of peptides/proteins onto stainless steel particles was investigated using a peptide fragment from bovine beta-lactoglobulin, Thr-Pro-Glu-Val-Asp-Asp-Glu-Ala-Leu-Glu-Lys (T5 peptide), which has a high affinity to a stainless steel surface at acidic pHs, and its mutant peptides substituted with different numbers of acidic amino acid residues. The adsorption behavior of the mutant peptides as well as the T5 peptide were studied at pH 3 with respect to concentration and ionic strength dependencies and the reversibility of the adsorption process. The behavior of the peptides was generally characterized as two distinct irreversible adsorption modes, Mode I and Mode II. In Mode I, the amounts adsorbed lay on the ordinate at zero equilibrium concentration in the solution, while in Mode II, the amount adsorbed increased with increased equilibrium concentration. The area occupied by the peptides was predicted by molecular mechanics and molecular dynamics. The state of the peptides, when adsorbed, was investigated using FT-IR analysis. The FT-IR analyses revealed that the side carboxylic groups of the peptides adsorbed on the stainless steel surface were ionized, while they were unionized in the solution at pH 3. Thus, the interactions between the carboxylic groups of the peptide and the stainless steel surface can be considered to be largely electrostatic. The peptide having four acidic amino acid residues took a maximum adsorbed amount, the reason for which is discussed.