Immobilized butyrylcholinesterase in the characterization of new inhibitors that could ease Alzheimer's disease

Development of a multidimensional online method for the characterization and quantification of monoclonal antibodies using immobilized flow-through enzyme reactors

Complete characterization and quantification of monoclonal antibodies often rely on enzymatic digestion with trypsin. In order to accelerate and automate this frequently performed sample preparation step, immobilized enzyme reactors (IMER) compatible with standard HPLC systems were used. This allows an automated online approach in all analytical laboratories. We were able to demonstrate that the required digestion time for the model monoclonal antibody rituximab could be reduced to 20 min. Nevertheless, a previous denaturation of the protein is required, which also needs 20 min. Recoveries were determined at various concentrations and were 100% ± 1% at 100 ng on column, 96% ± 7% at 250 ng on column and 98% ± 2% at 450 ng on column. Despite these good recoveries, complete digestion was not achieved, resulting in a poorer limit of quantification. This is 50 ng on column under optimized IMER conditions, whereas an offline digest on the same system achieved 0.3 ng on column. Furthermore, our work revealed that TRIS buffers, when used with an IMER system, led to alteration of the peptides and induced modifications in the peptides. Therefore, the addition of TRIS should be avoided when working at elevated temperatures of about 60 °C. Nevertheless, our results have shown that the recovery is not significantly influenced whether TRIS is used or not (recovery: 96 ± 7% with TRIS vs. 100 ± 9% without TRIS).

Magnetic particles for enzyme immobilization: A versatile support for ligand screening

Enzyme inhibitors represent a substantial fraction of all small molecules currently in clinical use. Therefore, the early stage of drug-discovery process and development efforts are focused on the identification of new enzyme inhibitors through screening assays. The use of immobilized enzymes on solid supports to probe ligand-enzyme interactions have been employed with success not only to identify and characterize but also to isolate new ligands from complex mixtures. Between the available solid supports, magnetic particles have emerged as a promising support for enzyme immobilization due to the high superficial area, easy separation from the reaction medium and versatility. Particularly, the ligand fishing assay has been employed as a very useful tool to rapidly isolate bioactive compounds from complex mixtures, and hence the use of magnetic particles for enzyme immobilization has been widespread. Thus, this review provides a critical overview of the screening assays using immobilized enzymes on magnetic particles between 2006 and 2021.

Macroporous Polymer Monoliths for Affinity Chromatography and Solid-Phase Enzyme Processing

Nowadays, monolithic stationary phases, because of their special morphology and enormous permeability, are widely used for the development and realization of fast dynamic and static processes based on the mass transition between liquid and solid phases. These are liquid chromatography, solid-phase synthesis, microarrays, flow-through enzyme reactors, etc. High-performance liquid chromatography on monoliths, including the bioaffinity mode, represents unique technique appropriate for fast and efficient separation of biological (macro)molecules of different sizes and shapes (proteins, nucleic acids, peptides), as well as such supramolecular systems as viruses.In the edited chapter, the examples of the application of commercially available macroporous monoliths for modern affinity processing are presented. In particular, the original methods developed for efficient isolation and fractionation of monospecific antibodies from rabbit blood sera, the possibility of simultaneous affinity separation of protein G and serum albumin from human serum, the isolation of recombinant products, such as protein G and tissue plasminogen activator, respectively, are described in detail. The suggested and realized multifunctional fractionation of polyclonal pools of antibodies by the combination of several short monolithic columns (disks) with different affinity functionalities stacked in the same cartridge represents the original and practically valuable method that can be used in biotechnology. In addition, macroporous monoliths were adapted to the immobilization of such different enzymes as polynucleotide phosphorylase, ribonuclease A, α-chymotrypsin, chitinolytic biocatalysts, β-xylosidase, and β-xylanase. The possibility of use of immobilized enzyme reactors based on monoliths for different purposes is demonstrated.

Flow-through enzymatic reactors using polymer monoliths: From motivation to application

The application of monolithic materials as carriers for enzymes has rapidly expanded to the realization of flow-through analysis and bioconversion processes. This expansion is partly attributed to the absence from diffusion limitation in many monoliths-based enzyme reactors. Particularly, the relatively ease of introducing functional groups renders polymer monoliths attractive as enzyme carriers. After summarizing the motivation to develop enzymatic reactors using polymer monoliths, this review reports the most recent applications of such reactors. Besides, the present review focuses on the crucial characteristics of polymer monoliths affecting the immobilization of enzymes and the processing parameters dictating the performance of the resulting enzymatic reactors. This review is intended to provide a guideline for designing and applying flow-through enzymatic reactors using polymer monoliths.

A novel on-flow mass spectrometry-based dual enzyme assay

This work describes a new simultaneous on-flow dual parallel enzyme assay based on immobilized enzyme reactors (ICERs) with mass spectrometry detection. The novelty of this work relies on the fact that two different enzymes can be screened at the same time with only one single sample injection and in less than 6 min. The system consisted of two immobilized capillary enzyme reactors (ICERs). More specifically, the ICERs comprised two different enzymes that were accommodated in parallel and were placed between a liquid chromatography (LC) system and a mass spectrometer (MS). The resulting system could be adapted to other types of enzyme reactors with different supports. All the elements in the system were interfaced by means of two 10-port/two-position switching valves. Different tubing dimensions allowed us to monitor the activity of each enzyme independently during the same analysis. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) bioreactors were chosen as proof of concept. Acetylcholine (ACh) was used as substrate; the area of its protonated enzymatic hydrolysis product ion, choline, [M+H]⁺m/z 104.0, was monitored in the presence and absence of the standard cholinesterase inhibitor galantamine. This method proved to be an interesting tool for fast, simultaneous, and independent label-free dual enzyme inhibitor assay.

An improved immobilized enzyme reactor-mass spectrometry-based label free assay for butyrylcholinesterase ligand screening

Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) are key cholinesterase enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis of acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid, an essential process for the restoration of the cholinergic neuron. The loss of cholinergic function in the central nervous system contributes to the cognitive decline associated with advanced age and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Inhibitions assays represent a significant role in the drug discovery process. Herein, we describe an improved label free method to screen and characterize new BChE ligands. The liquid chromatography system uses an immobilized capillary enzyme reactor (ICER) as a low affinity and high selectivity column coupled to a mass spectrometer (MS). The enzyme activity was evaluated by monitoring the choline's precursor ion [M + H]⁺m/z 104 for a brief period. The method was validated using two known cholinesterase inhibitors tacrine and galanthamine. The IC₅₀ values were 0.03 ± 0.006 μM and 0.88 ± 0.2 for tacrine and galanthamine respectively, and Ki was 0.11 ± 0.2 for galanthamine. The efficient combination of the huBChE-ICER with sensitive enzymatic assay detection such as MS, improved the reliable, fast identification of new ligands. Moreover, specific direct quantitation of the product contributes to the reduction of false positive and negative results.

Reprint of: Liquid chromatographic enzymatic studies with on-line Beta-secretase immobilized enzyme reactor and 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo) benzoic acid/5-[(2-aminoethyl) amino] naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid peptide as fluorogenic substrate

High throughput screening (HTS) techniques are required for the fast hit inhibitors selection in the early discovery process. However, in Beta-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors screening campaign, the most frequently used methoxycoumarin based peptide substrate (M-2420) is not widely applicable when aromatic or heterocycle compounds of natural source show auto-fluorescence interferences. Here, in order to overcome these drawbacks, we propose the use of a highly selective 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzoic acid/5-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (DABCYL/1,5-EDANS) based peptide substrate (Substrate IV), whose cleavage product is devoid of spectroscopic interference. HrBACE1-IMER was prepared and characterized in terms of units of immobilised hrBACE1. BACE1 catalyzed Substrate IV cleavage was on-line kinetically characterized in terms of KM and vmax, in a classical Michaelis and Menten study. The on-line kinetic constants were found consistent with those obtained with the in solution fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) standard method. In order to further validate the use of Substrate IV for inhibition studies, the inhibitory potency of the well-known BACE1 peptide InhibitorIV (IC₅₀: 0.19 ± 0.02 μM) and of the natural compound Uleine (IC₅₀: 0.57 ± 0.05) were determined in the optimized on-line hrBACE1-IMER. The IC₅₀ values on the hrBACE1-IMER system were found in agreement with that obtained by the conventional methods confirming the applicability of Substrate IV for on-line BACE1 kinetic and inhibition studies.

Liquid chromatographic enzymatic studies with on-line Beta-secretase immobilized enzyme reactor and 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo) benzoic acid/5-[(2-aminoethyl) amino] naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid peptide as fluorogenic substrate

High throughput screening (HTS) techniques are required for the fast hit inhibitors selection in the early discovery process. However, in Beta-secretase (BACE1) inhibitors screening campaign, the most frequently used methoxycoumarin based peptide substrate (M-2420) is not widely applicable when aromatic or heterocycle compounds of natural source show auto-fluorescence interferences. Here, in order to overcome these drawbacks, we propose the use of a highly selective 4-(4-dimethylaminophenylazo)benzoic acid/5-[(2-aminoethyl)amino]naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid (DABCYL/1,5-EDANS) based peptide substrate (Substrate IV), whose cleavage product is devoid of spectroscopic interference. HrBACE1-IMER was prepared and characterized in terms of units of immobilised hrBACE1. BACE1 catalyzed Substrate IV cleavage was on-line kinetically characterized in terms of KM and vmax, in a classical Michaelis and Menten study. The on-line kinetic constants were found consistent with those obtained with the in solution fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) standard method. In order to further validate the use of Substrate IV for inhibition studies, the inhibitory potency of the well-known BACE1 peptide InhibitorIV (IC50: 0.19±0.02μM) and of the natural compound Uleine (IC50: 0.57±0.05) were determined in the optimized on-line hrBACE1-IMER. The IC50 values on the hrBACE1-IMER system were found in agreement with that obtained by the conventional methods confirming the applicability of Substrate IV for on-line BACE1 kinetic and inhibition studies.

Polymer monoliths as efficient solid phases for enzymatic polynucleotide degradation followed by fast HPLC analysis

Two ribonuclease A bioreactors based on lab-made macroporous monolithic columns and intended for polynucleotide degradation were prepared using in situ free-radical polymerization. Different methods of enzyme immobilization were applied. In the first case, the biocatalyst molecule was attached to the solid surface via direct covalent binding, while in the second bioreactor the flexible-chain synthetic polymer was used as an intermediate spacer. The effect of temperature, substrate flow rate, and loaded sample volume on the biocatalytic efficiency of the immobilized enzyme was examined. The kinetic parameters of the enzymatic degradation of synthetic polycytidylic acid were calculated and compared to those found for hydrolysis with soluble ribonuclease A. The monitoring of substrate splitting was carried out by means of fast anion-exchange HPLC on an ultra-short monolithic column (disk) using off- and on-line analytical approaches.

Human recombinant beta-secretase immobilized enzyme reactor for fast hits' selection and characterization from a virtual screening library

In the present work, a human recombinant BACE1 immobilized enzyme reactor (hrBACE1-IMER) has been applied for the sensitive fast screening of 38 compounds selected through a virtual screening approach. HrBACE1-IMER was inserted into a liquid chromatograph coupled with a fluorescent detector. A fluorogenic peptide substrate (M-2420), containing the β-secretase site of the Swedish mutation of APP, was injected and cleaved in the on-line HPLC-hrBACE1-IMER system, giving rise to the fluorescent product. The compounds of the library were tested for their ability to inhibit BACE1 in the immobilized format and to reduce the area related to the chromatographic peak of the fluorescent enzymatic product. The results were validated in solution by using two different FRET methods. Due to the efficient virtual screening methodology, more than fifty percent of the selected compounds showed a measurable inhibitory activity. One of the most active compound (a bis-indanone derivative) was characterized in terms of IC(50) and K(i) determination on the hrBACE1-IMER. Thus, the hrBACE1-IMER has been confirmed as a valid tool for the throughput screening of different chemical entities with potency lower than 30μM for the fast hits' selection and for mode of action determination.

Immobilized enzyme reactors in HPLC and its application in inhibitor screening: A review

This paper sets out to summarize the literatures based on immobilized enzyme bio-chromatography and its application in inhibitors screening in the last decade. In order to screen enzyme inhibitors from a mass of compounds in preliminary screening, multi-pore materials with good biocompatibility are used for the supports of immobilizing enzymes, and then the immobilized enzyme reactor applied as the immobilized enzyme stationary phase in HPLC. Therefore, a technology platform of high throughput screening is gradually established to screen the enzyme inhibitors as new anti-tumor drugs. Here, we briefly summarize the selective methods of supports, immobilization techniques, co-immobilized enzymes system and the screening model.

Continuous-flow step gradient mass spectrometry based method for the determination of kinetic parameters of immobilized mushroom tyrosinase in equilibrating conditions: comparison with free enzyme

A mass spectrometry (MS)-based methodology for enzymatic assay in equilibrium conditions was designed and evaluated. This on-line assay involves the introduction of a continuous-flow step gradient (CFSG) of a substrate solution in the column containing immobilized enzyme and the simultaneous tracking of the product formation. We showed that the constant concentration of substrate in the entire bioreactor for an appropriate duration ensures the equilibration of the studied enzyme (mushroom tyrosinase). Under these conditions, it was demonstrated also that the kinetic and enzymatic parameters (Michaelis-Menten constant, K(M) , the maximal specific activity, SA(max)) are independent of the flow rate of the mobile phase. The feasibility of the mentioned approach for inhibitory tests was also investigated. The coupling of the mass spectrometer to the bio-reactor allows the selective monitoring of the enzymatic reaction products and increases their detection level. Very high sensitivity, 500 pmol/min/column, and selective monitoring of the products of the enzymatic reaction are allowed by MS detection. The methodology developed here constitutes a sensitive analytical tool to study enzymes requiring long equilibration times.