Nanofibrous poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) membranes functionalized with gelatin and chitosan for lipase immobilization.

Nanofibrous membranes with an average diameter of 100 and 180 nm were fabricated from poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) (PANCMA) by the electrospinning process. These nanofibrous membranes contain reactive groups which can be used to covalently immobilize biomacromolecules. Two natural macromolecules, chitosan and gelatin, were tethered on these nanofibrous membranes to fabricate dual-layer biomimetic supports for enzyme immobilization in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(dimethyl-aminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxyl succinimide (NHS). Lipase from Candida rugosa was then immobilized on these dual-layer biomimetic supports using glutaraldehyde (GA), and on the nascent PANCMA fibrous membrane using EDC/NHS as coupling agent, respectively. The properties of the immobilized lipases were assayed. It was found that there is an increase of the activity retention of the immobilized lipase on the chitosan-modified nanofibrous membrane (45.6+/-1.8%) and on the gelatin-modified one (49.7+/-1.8%), compared to that on the nascent one (37.6+/-1.8%). The kinetic parameters of the free and immobilized lipases, K(m) and V(max), were also assayed. In comparison with the immobilized lipase on the nascent nanofibrous membrane, there is an increase of the V(max) value for the immobilized lipases on the chitosan- and gelatin-modified nanofibrous membranes. Results also indicate that the pH and thermal stabilities of lipases increase upon immobilization. The residual activities of the immobilized lipases are 55% on the chitosan-modified nanofibrous membrane and 60% on the gelatin-modified one, after 10 uses.

Chitosan-tethered poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) hollow fiber membrane for lipase immobilization.

A protocol was used to prepare a dual-layer biomimetic membrane as support for enzyme immobilization by tethering chitosan on the surface of poly(acrylonitrile-co-maleic acid) (PANCMA) ultrafiltration hollow fiber membrane in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC)/N-hydroxylsuccin-imide (NHS). The chemical change of the chitosan-modified PANCMA membrane surface was confirmed with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Lipase from Candida rugosa was immobilized on this dual-layer biomimetic membrane using glutaraldehyde (GA), and on the nascent PANCMA membrane using EDC/NHS as coupling agent. The properties of the immobilized enzymes were assayed and compared with those of the free one. It was found that both the activity retention of the immobilized lipase and the amount of bound protein on the dual-layer biomimetic membrane (44.5% and 66.5 mg/m2) were higher than those on the nascent PANCMA membrane (33.9% and 53.7 mg/m2). The kinetic parameters of the free and immobilized lipases, Km and Vmax, were also assayed. The Km values were similar for the immobilized lipases, while the Vmax value of the immobilized lipase on the dual-layer biomimetic membrane was higher than that on the nascent PANCMA membrane. Results indicated that the pH and thermal stabilities of lipase increased upon immobilization. The residual activity of the immobilized lipase after 10 uses was 53% on the dual-layer biomimetic membrane and 62% on the nascent PANCMA membrane.

Adsorption and activity of Candida rugosa lipase on polypropylene hollow fiber membrane modified with phospholipid analogous polymers.

Efforts have recently been made toward the study of interactions of phospholipid with various enzymes. It seems that phospholipids may be directly involved in regulating the enzyme activity. In this work, three phospholipid analogous polymers (PAPs), containing hydrophobic octyloxy, dodecyloxy, and octadecyloxy groups (abbreviated as 8-PAP, 12-PAP, and 18-PAP, respectively), were tethered on polypropylene hollow fiber microfiltration membrane (PPHFMM) to create a biocompatible interface for lipase immobilization. Lipase from Candida rugosa was immobilized on these PPHFMMs by adsorption. The adsorption capacity, activity, and thermal stability of enzyme on the PAP-modified PPHFMMs were compared with those of enzyme on the nascent ones. It was found that, as for the PAP-modified PPHFMMs, the adsorption capacities of lipase are lower than that of the nascent ones, while the activity retention of immobilized lipase increases from 57.5% to 74.1%, 77.5%, and 83.2% respectively for the 8-PAP-, 12-PAP-, and 18-PAP-modified PPHFMMs. In addition, the experimental results of thermal stability show that the residual activity of the immobilized lipase at 50 degrees C for 2 h is 62% for the 8-PAP-modified PPHFMM, 59% for the 12-PAP-modified PPHFMM, and 66% for the 18-PAP-modified PPHFMM, which are also higher than that of the nascent ones.

Characterization of the lipid-binding domain of the Plasmodium falciparum CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase through synthetic-peptide studies.

Phospholipid biosynthesis plays a key role in malarial infection and is regulated by CCT (CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase). This enzyme belongs to the group of amphitropic proteins which are regulated by reversible membrane interaction. To assess the role of the putative membrane-binding domain of Plasmodium falciparum CCT (PfCCT), we synthesized three peptides, K21, V20 and K54 corresponding to residues 274-294, 308-327 and 274-327 of PfCCT respectively. Conformational behaviour of the peptides, their ability to bind to liposomes and to destabilize lipid bilayers, and their insertion properties were investigated by different biophysical techniques. The intercalation mechanisms of the peptides were refined further by using surface-pressure measurements on various monolayers at the air/water interface. In the present study, we show that the three studied peptides are able to bind to anionic and neutral phospholipids, and that they present an alpha-helical conformation upon lipid binding. Peptides V20 and the full-length K54 intercalate their hydrophobic parts into an anionic bilayer and, to a lesser extent, a neutral one for V20. Peptide K21 interacts only superficially with both types of phospholipid vesicles. Adsorption experiments performed at the air/water interface revealed that peptide K54 is strongly surface-active in the absence of lipid. Peptide V20 presents an atypical behaviour in the presence of phosphatidylserine. Whatever the initial surface pressure of a phosphatidylserine film, peptide V20 and phosphatidylserine entities seem linked together in a special organization involving electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. We showed that PfCCT presents different lipid-dependence properties from other studied CCTs. Although the lipid-binding domain seems to be located in the C-terminal region of the enzyme, as with the mammalian counterpart, the membrane anchorage, which plays a key role in the enzyme regulation, is driven by two alpha-helices, which behave differently from one another.

Cellular localisation of a water-soluble fullerene derivative.

Fullerenes are a new class of compounds with potential uses in biology and medicine and many insights were made in the knowledge of their interaction with various biological systems. However, their interaction with organised living systems as well as the site of their potential action remains unclear. In this work, we have demonstrated that a fullerene derivative could cross the external cellular membrane and it localises preferentially to the mitochondria. We propose that our finding supports the potential use of fullerenes as drug delivery agents as their structure mimics that of clathrin known to mediate endocytosis.