Dual, Site-Specific Modification of Antibodies by Using Solid-Phase Immobilized Microbial Transglutaminase.

Microbial transglutaminase (MTG) was stably solid-phase immobilized on glass microbeads by using a second-generation dendronized polymer. Immobilized MTG enabled the efficient generation of site-specifically conjugated proteins, including antibody fragments, as well as whole antibodies through distinct glutamines and, unprecedentedly, also through lysines with various bifunctional substrates with defined stoichiometries. With this method, we generated dual, site-specifically modified antibodies comprising a fluorescent probe and a metal chelator for radiolabeling-a strategy anticipated to design antibodies for imaging and simultaneous therapy. Furthermore, we provide evidence that immobilized MTG features higher siteselectivity than soluble MTG.

Preparation and Applications of Dendronized Polymer-Enzyme Conjugates.

Dendronized polymer-enzyme conjugates are large, water-soluble macromolecular structures built from a linear, fully synthetic, dendronized polymer (denpol), and several copies of enzyme molecules covalently bound to the peripheral functional groups of the denpol. Since denpol chains comprise repeating units with regularly branched side chains (dendrons), denpols have a cylindrical shape and are much thicker than conventional linear polymers. Depending on the dendron generation and chemical structure, denpols may have a large number of functional groups on their surface, exposed to the aqueous medium in which they are dissolved. Enzymes (and also other molecules) can be attached to these functional groups, for example, via a stable bis-aryl hydrazone (BAH) bond. The dendronized polymer scaffold might also serve as a nanoarmor and stabilize the delicate enzymes. One of the denpols which can be used for the preparation of denpol-enzyme conjugates is de-PG2. It has a poly(methacrylate) backbone and consists of second-generation dendrons with four peripheral amino groups in each repeating unit. The synthesis of de-PG2 and the preparation of a de-PG2 conjugate carrying BAH-linked proteinase K (proK), as an example, are described here for applications in the field of enzyme immobilization on solid surfaces. The nanoarmored enzyme-polymer conjugate indicated high stability and retention of enzymatic activity.

Proteinase K activity determination with ß-galactosidase as sensitive macromolecular substrate.

Proteinase K from Engyodontium album (proK) is a relatively unspecific serine endopeptidase which is known to attack proteins yet in their native states. If the attacked protein is an enzyme, even a partial hydrolysis by proK may lead to an inactivation of the enzyme, which can be monitored by measuring the loss of catalytic activity of the attacked enzyme. E. coli ß-galactosidase (ß-Gal) was used in this work as such enzyme. It was found to be a convenient and sensitive macromolecular model substrate for comparing the "native protein-attacking ability" of free and immobilized proK at pH = 7.0 and 23 °C. The ß-Gal activity was measured spectrophotometrically with o-nitrophenyl-ß-galactopyranoside. Reproducible proK determinations were possible for as little as 4.3 ng proK by using a proK analyte solution of 10 nM. Compared to free proK, immobilized proK was much less efficient in inactivating ß-Gal, most likely due to a decreased mobility of immobilized proK and a restricted accessibility of ß-Gal to the active site of proK. Worth noting is, that under conditions at which ß-Gal was completely inactivated by proK, the activity of hen egg lysozyme, horseradish peroxidase, or Aspergillus sp. glucose oxidase remained unaltered.

Enzymatic reactions in confined environments.

Within each biological cell, surface- and volume-confined enzymes control a highly complex network of chemical reactions. These reactions are efficient, timely, and spatially defined. Efforts to transfer such appealing features to in vitro systems have led to several successful examples of chemical reactions catalysed by isolated and immobilized enzymes. In most cases, these enzymes are either bound or adsorbed to an insoluble support, physically trapped in a macromolecular network, or encapsulated within compartments. Advanced applications of enzymatic cascade reactions with immobilized enzymes include enzymatic fuel cells and enzymatic nanoreactors, both for in vitro and possible in vivo applications. In this Review, we discuss some of the general principles of enzymatic reactions confined on surfaces, at interfaces, and inside small volumes. We also highlight the similarities and differences between the in vivo and in vitro cases and attempt to critically evaluate some of the necessary future steps to improve our fundamental understanding of these systems.

Stable and Simple Immobilization of Proteinase K Inside Glass Tubes and Microfluidic Channels.

Engyodontium album proteinase K (proK) is widely used for degrading proteinaceous impurities during the isolation of nucleic acids from biological samples, or in proteomics and prion research. Toward applications of proK in flow reactors, a simple method for the stable immobilization of proK inside glass micropipette tubes was developed. The immobilization of the enzyme was achieved by adsorption of a dendronized polymer-enzyme conjugate from aqueous solution. This conjugate was first synthesized from a polycationic dendronized polymer (denpol) and proK and consisted, on average, of 2000 denpol repeating units and 140 proK molecules, which were attached along the denpol chain via stable bis-aryl hydrazone bonds. Although the immobilization of proK inside the tube was based on nonspecific, noncovalent interactions only, the immobilized proK did not leak from the tube and remained active during prolonged storage at 4 °C and during continuous operation at 25 °C and pH = 7.0. The procedure developed was successfully applied for the immobilization of proK on a glass/PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) microchip, which is a requirement for applications in the field of proK-based protein analysis with such type of microfluidic devices.

Co-immobilization of enzymes with the help of a dendronized polymer and mesoporous silica nanoparticles.

The two enzymes Aspergillus sp. glucose oxidase (GOD) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were co-immobilized on solid silica supports in a spatially controlled way by using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (Hiroshima Mesoporous Materials, HMM) and a polycationic dendronized polymer (denpol). The silica support was first coated with the denpol, followed by the deposition of the mesoporous silica nanoparticles into which - in a next step - GOD was adsorbed. Finally, the GOD-loaded silica nanoparticles were coated with a denpol-HRP conjugate constituting of several HRP molecules which were covalently bound to the denpol via bis-aryl hydrazone (BAH) bonds. The entire immobilization process was followed in real time with quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). The activities and storage stabilities of the co-immobilized enzymes were determined by analyzing a two-step cascade reaction involving the two immobilized enzymes GOD and HRP. d-glucose and o-phenylenediamine (OPD) were used as substrates for GOD and HRP, respectively. The cascade reaction - in which intermediate hydrogen peroxide was formed from d-glucose and dissolved O2 with GOD - was shown to take place. The immobilized enzymes remained fairly stable for at least 2 weeks if stored in contact with an aqueous solution of pH = 7 at 4 °C. If, however, denpol-BAH-GOD coated HRP-loaded mesoporous silica nanoparticles were used (the reversed situation), the cascade reaction was not effective. This was probably due to slow diffusion of hydrogen peroxide from the surface-exposed GOD to the particle-trapped HRP, and/or due to an inefficient loading of active HRP inside the particles. Overall, the combination of two enzyme immobilization methodologies - enzymes adsorbed within mesoporous silica nanoparticles and enzymes adsorbed as denpol-BAH-enzyme conjugates - allows the spatially controlled localization of different types of enzymes in a simple way. Possible applications of the concept are in the field of bioelectrode fabrication.