Effect of the pretreatment of lipase with organic solvents on its conformation and activity in reverse micelles.

The activity and conformation of Chromobacterium viscosum lipase-pretreated with various organic solvents were investigated. The pretreatment of lipase led to a substantial increase of enzyme activity in AOT (sodium bis [2-ethyl -1-hexyl] sulfosuccinate)/isooctane/water reverse micelles. Among the organic solvents used, n-hexane was found to be most effective. It was observed that higher hexane content with shorter agitation time and vice versa had almost the same effect on the initial activity of lipase. The kinetic study showed that the Michaelis constant (K m) and the substrate adsorption equilibrium constant (K ad) were reduced by the pretreatment of lipase with hexane, whereas the change in the maximum reaction rate (V max) was insignificant. The two spectroscopic techniques (Fluorescence spectra of lipase encapsulated in RMs and Fourier transform infrared [FTIR] spectra of lipase powders) were performed to detect possible conformational changes in the enzyme caused by the pretreatment. A correlation between the maximum fluorescence intensity and the activity of treated lipase was found as a function of agitation time. The FTIR spectrum of lipase showed a new shape peak corresponding to 1,500 cm-1 as a result of pretreatment with organic solvents.

Improvement in extraction and catalytic activity of Mucor javanicus lipase by modification of AOT reverse micelle.

Reverse micelles are formed in apolar solvents by spontaneous aggregation of surfactants. Surfactant sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) is most often used for the reverse micellar extraction of enzymes. However, the inactivation of enzyme due to strong interaction with AOT molecules is a severe problem. To overcome this problem, the AOT/water/isooctane reverse micellar system was modified by adding short chain polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG 400). The modified AOT reverse micellar system was used to extract Mucor javanicus lipase from the aqueous phase to the reverse micellar phase. The extraction efficiency (E) increased with the increase in PEG 400 addition and the maximum E in PEG 400 modified system was twofold higher than that in the PEG 400-free system. Upon addition of PEG 400, the water activity (a(w)) of aqueous phase decreased, whereas a(w) of reverse micellar phase increased. The circular dichroism spectroscopy analysis revealed that PEG 400 changes the secondary and tertiary structure of lipase. The maximum specific activity of lipase extracted in PEG 400-modified reverse micellar system was threefold higher than that in the PEG-free system.