A Comparative Study on Immobilization of Fructosyltransferase in Biodegradable Polymers by Electrospinning.

Commercial application of biocatalysts depends on the efficiency of the immobilization method and residual enzyme activity. Electrospinning offers a simple and versatile route to immobilize enzymes in submicron-sized fibers and thus improved mass transfer characteristics. Performance of encapsulation of fructosyltransferase from Bacillus subtilis by emulsion, suspension, and coaxial electrospinning was compared. We particularly focused on the effect of hydrophilic properties of a set of biodegradable polymers on support's activity. Bioactivity of electrospun support in aqueous medium increased in order of the matrix hydrophilicity. Additionally, the efficiency of electrospun fibers was compared with Sepabeads®, commercial epoxy-activated resins. In fibers, enzyme loading of 68.1 mg/g and specific enzyme activity of 5.5 U/mg was achieved compared to 49.5 mg/g and 2.2 U/mg on Sepabeads. Fructosyltransferase exhibited high sensitivity towards organic solvents and covalent attachment, respectively. Immobilization of native enzyme in coaxial fibers increased the specific activity to approx. 30 U/mg which corresponds to 24% of that of the free enzyme. Finally, operational stability of fiber supports was examined in a plug-flow reactor and 5% of initial substrate conversion remained after > 2000 cycles. The efficiency of core-shell immobilizates compared to one-dimensional fibers was both in batch and continuous reaction at least 4.4-fold higher.

Ion exchange resins as additives for efficient protein refolding by dialysis.

The most significant drawback of bacterial protein production involving inclusion bodies is the subsequent refolding into bioactive form. Implementation of refolding operations in large-scale applications often fails due to low yields and/or low product concentrations. This paper presents a simple method of integrated refolding by dialysis and matrix assisted refolding that combines advantages of both methods, high product concentrations and high refolding yields. Ion exchange resins (IER) and size exclusion media served as refolding additives and were added to solubilized protein prior to refolding by continuous exchange of dialysis buffer. Refolding experiments were performed with fructosyltransferase (FTF, EC 2.4.1.162) from Bacillus subtilis NCIMB 11871 produced as inclusion bodies. Conventional anion exchangers with gel matrix structure enhanced refolding performance by about 43% with final protein concentration of 9 mg/mL and yield improvement is strictly linear dependent on the mass ratio of resins to protein. With the applied setup refolded protein was self-eluted from resin due to pH and salt concentration shift during dialysis. Macroporous resins and gel filtration media showed a negative effect on refolding yields.

Effects of ionic strength on inclusion body refolding at high concentration.

For commercial applications refolding process must be fast, inexpensive and highly efficient. In the past many strategies for protein refolding were introduced. Still, simple refolding methods with high product concentrations are still rare. Refolding experiments were performed with fructosyltransferase (FTF, EC 2.4.1.162) from Bacillus subtilis NCIMB 11871 produced as inclusion bodies. Solubilizates were refolded with batch dialysis or by continuous exchange of dialysis buffers with variable ionic strength. By employing dialysis with gentle removal of denaturant the dependence of protein concentration and decreasing refolding yields could be overcome compared to batch dialysis and yields were enhanced by 52% at protein concentrations of approx. 10 mg/mL. The average specific activity of refolded FTF was 123 U/mg, 83% relative to standard FTF. Rising ionic strength of refolding buffers to 600 mM leads to complete renaturation of solubilized protein at equal protein concentration. Buffer composition plays a less significant role on renaturation output. The effect might be correlated with ion charge density of co-solvents.