Innovative Electrochemical Screening Allows Transketolase Inhibitors to Be Identified.

Transketolases (TKs) are ubiquitous thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)-dependent enzymes of the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway. They are considered as interesting therapeutic targets in numerous diseases and infections (e.g., cancer, tuberculosis, malaria), for which it is important to find specific and efficient inhibitors. Current TK assays require important amounts of enzyme, are time-consuming, and are not specific. Here, we report a new high throughput electrochemical assay based on the oxidative trapping of the TK-TPP intermediate. After electrode characterization, the enzyme loading, electrochemical protocol, and substrate concentration were optimized. Finally, 96 electrochemical assays could be performed in parallel in only 7 min, which allows a rapid screening of TK inhibitors. Then, 1360 molecules of an in-house chemical library were screened and one early lead compound was identified to inhibit TK from E. coli with an IC50 of 63 µM and an inhibition constant ( KI) of 3.4 µM. The electrochemical assay was also used to propose an inhibition mechanism.

Thiamine biosensor based on oxidative trapping of enzyme-substrate intermediate.

In the present work, we describe a new thiamine amperometric biosensor based on thiamine pyrophosphate (ThDP)-dependent transketolase (TK)-catalyzed reaction, followed by the oxidative trapping of TK intermediate α,ß-dihydroxyethylthiamine diphosphate (DHEThDP) within the enzymatic active site. For the biosensor design purpose, TK from Escherichia coli (TKec) was immobilized in Mg2Al-NO3 Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) and the electrochemical detection was achieved with the TKec/LDH modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The transduction process was based on the ability of Fe(CN)63- to oxidize DHEThDP to glycolic acid along with ThDP regeneration. The released Fe(CN)64- was re-oxidized at +0.5V vs Ag-AgCl and the reaction was followed by chronoamperometry. The TKec/LDH/GCE biosensor was optimized using the best TK donor substrates, namely l-erythrulose and d-fructose-6-phosphate. ThDP was assayed with great sensitivity (3831mAM-1cm-2) over 20-400nM linear range.

Thin bacteria/Layered Double Hydroxide films using a layer-by-layer approach.

This paper reports the design of thin bacteria/Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) films in which bacterial cells of Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP were assembled alternatively with Mg2Al-NO3 LDH nanosheets by a layer-by-layer deposition method. The UV-Vis spectroscopy was used to monitor the assembly process, showing a progressive increase in immobilized bacteria amount upon deposited cycles. The {ADP/LDH}n film was characterized by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The metabolic activity of immobilized bacteria was determined using chronoamperometry by measuring the biochemical oxygen demand in presence of glucose using an artificial electron acceptor (Fe(CN)6(3-)) at 0.5V/Ag-AgCl. A steady current of 0.250µAcm(-2) was reached in about 30s after the addition of 5mM glucose.

First insight into catalytic activity of anionic iron porphyrins immobilized on exfoliated layered double hydroxides.

Mg-Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) intercalated with glycinate anions was synthesized through co-precipitation and exfoliated in formamide and the single-layer suspension was reacted with aqueous iron porphyrin solutions (Fe(TDFSPP) and Fe(TCFSPP)). The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, UV-vis, and electron paramagnetic resonance and investigated in the oxidation reaction of cyclooctene and cyclohexane using iodosylbenzene as oxidant. The iron porphyrin seems to be immobilized at the surface of the glycinate intercalated LDH. The catalytic activities obtained in heterogeneous media for iron porphyrin, Fe(TDFSPP), was superior to the results obtained under homogeneous conditions, but the opposite effect was observed on the Fe(TCFSPP), indicating that, instead of the structural similarity of both iron porphyrins (second-generation porphyrins), the immobilization of each one produced different catalysts. The best catalytic activity of the Fe(TDFSPP)/Gly-LDH, compared to Fe(TCFSPP)/Gly-LDH, can be explained by the easy access of the oxidant and the substrate to the catalytic sites in the former, probably located at the surface of the layered double hydroxide pillared with glycinate anions. A model for the immobilization and a mechanism for the oxidation reaction will be discussed.

Bacteria encapsulated in layered double hydroxides: towards an efficient bionanohybrid for pollutant degradation.

A soft chemical process was successfully used to immobilize Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP (ADP), a well-known atrazine (herbicide) degrading bacterium, within a Mg2Al-layered double hydroxide host matrix. This approach is based on a simple, quick and ecofriendly direct coprecipitation of metal salts in the presence of a colloidal suspension of bacteria in water. It must be stressed that by this process the mass ratio between inorganic and biological components was easily tuned ranging from 2 to 40. This ratio strongly influenced the biological activity of the bacteria towards atrazine degradation. The better results were obtained for ratios of 10 or lower, leading to an enhanced atrazine degradation rate and percentage compared to free cells. Moreover the biohybrid material maintained this biodegradative activity after four cycles of reutilization and 3 weeks storage at 4°C. The ADP@MgAl-LDH bionanohybrid materials were completely characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning and transmission electronic microscopy (SEM and TEM) evidencing the successful immobilization of ADP within the inorganic matrix. This synthetic approach could be readily extended to other microbial whole-cell immobilization of interest for new developments in biotechnological systems.