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 (a_w) 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 a_w, until at a_w=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 a_w=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.     

纤维素载体固定化β-葡萄糖苷酶及其在大豆异黄酮水解中的应用

建立纤维素载体固定化β-葡萄糖苷酶系统,用于黑豆浆中大豆异黄酮去糖基化反应,并对该催化系统进行了可行性评价。结果表明,在40 cm3纤维素颗粒上可结合超过40 mgβ-葡萄糖苷酶,并且能有效将4-硝基苯-β-D-葡糖苷酸水解成对硝基苯酚,其反应最适温度为50℃。经动力学测试后可得其米氏常数Km值为(1.38±0.20)mmol/L。将该固定化酶系统用于黑豆浆中大豆异黄酮去糖基化,通过高效液相色谱检测其转化效率,表明该系统可以在30 min内利用40 cm~3含酶载体将50 mL黑豆浆中的异黄酮全部转化为去糖基化形式。该固定化酶催化系统连续化催化稳定性实验表明,在经过15次反应以及15 d之后,该固定化酶系统仍然可维持其60%的催化活性。