Penicillin G acylase-based stationary phases: analytical applications

Recognition in the Domain of Molecular Chirality: From Noncovalent Interactions to Separation of Enantiomers

It is not a coincidence that both chirality and noncovalent interactions are ubiquitous in nature and synthetic molecular systems. Noncovalent interactivity between chiral molecules underlies enantioselective recognition as a fundamental phenomenon regulating life and human activities. Thus, noncovalent interactions represent the narrative thread of a fascinating story which goes across several disciplines of medical, chemical, physical, biological, and other natural sciences. This review has been conceived with the awareness that a modern attitude toward molecular chirality and its consequences needs to be founded on multidisciplinary approaches to disclose the molecular basis of essential enantioselective phenomena in the domain of chemical, physical, and life sciences. With the primary aim of discussing this topic in an integrated way, a comprehensive pool of rational and systematic multidisciplinary information is provided, which concerns the fundamentals of chirality, a description of noncovalent interactions, and their implications in enantioselective processes occurring in different contexts. A specific focus is devoted to enantioselection in chromatography and electromigration techniques because of their unique feature as "multistep" processes. A second motivation for writing this review is to make a clear statement about the state of the art, the tools we have at our disposal, and what is still missing to fully understand the mechanisms underlying enantioselective recognition.

Coupling of Bioreaction and Separation via Novel Thermosensitive Ionic Liquids Applied in the Baker's Yeast-Catalyzed Reduction of Ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate

The use of baker's yeast to reduce ethyl 2-oxo-4-phenylbutyrate (EOPB) in conventional biphasic systems is hindered by low productivities due to mass transfer resistance between the biocatalyst and the substrate partitioned into two different phases. To overcome the limitation, a new reaction-separation coupling process (RSCP) was configured in this study, based on the novel thermosensitive ionic liquids (ILs) with polyoxyethylene-tail. The solubility of ILs in common solvents was investigated to configure the unique thermosensitive ionic liquids-solvent biphasic system (TIBS) in which the reduction was performed. [(CH₃)₂N(C₂H₅)(CH₂CH₂O)₂H][PF₆] (c₂) in 1,2-dimethoxyethane possesses the thermosensitive function of homogeneous at lower temperatures and phase separating at higher temperatures. The phase transformation temperature (PTT) of the mixed system of c₂/1,2-dimethoxyethane (v/v, 5:18) was about 33 °C. The bioreaction takes place in a "homogeneous" liquid phase at 30 °C. At the end of each reduction run, the system temperature is increased upon to the PTT, while c₂ is separated from 1,2-dimethoxyethane with turning the system into two phases. The enantiomeric excesses (e.e.) of ethyl (R)-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate ((R)-EHPB) increased about 25~30% and the yield of ethyl-2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate (EHPB) increased 35% in TIBS, compared with the reduction in 1,2-dimethoxyethane. It is expected that the TIBS established in this study could provide many future opportunities in the biocatalysis.

Gel-based Microemulsion Design and Evaluation for Topical Application of Rivastigmine

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present study was to design nanocarriers for the topical application of rivastigmine.

METHODS

The effect of cosurfactants, hydrophilic gel and loading amount on the permeability of rivastigmine through rat skin was evaluated. Skin irritation tests and stability tests were performed to evaluate the utility of tested formulations.

RESULTS

The results showed that the microemulsion formation and characteristics of drug-loaded formulations were related to many parameters of the components. When using microemulsion systems as a vehicle, the permeation rate remarkably increased about 13.2~24.3-fold and the lag time was significantly shortened from 24 h to 4.7 h. Formulations containing a cosurfactant of Diethylene Glycol Monobutyl Ether (DEGBE) showed higher enhancement effect, while increasing the loading dose from 0.5% to 5% further increased the flux about 2.1-fold and shortened the lag time.

CONCLUSION

The drug-loaded experimental formulation did not cause skin irritation and had good stability at 20ºC and 40ºC storage for at least 3 months. The result showed that gel-based microemulsion formulation could be a promising approach for topical administration.

Classical and New Pharmaceutical Uses of Bacterial Penicillin G Acylase

BACKGROUND

β-lactam antibiotics are the most used worldwide for the treatment of bacterial infections. The consumption of these classes of drugs is high, and it is increasing around the world. To date, the best way to produce them is using penicillin G Acylase (PGA) as a biocatalyst.

OBJECTIVE

This manuscript offers an overview of the most recent advances in the current tools to improve the activity of the PGA and its pharmaceutical application.

RESULTS

Several microorganisms produce PGA, but some bacterial strains represent the primary source of this enzyme. The activity of bacterial PGA depends on its adequate expression and carbon or nitrogen source, as well as a specific pH or temperature depending on the nature of the PGA. Additionally, the PGA activity can be enhanced by immobilizing it to a solid support to recycle it for a prolonged time. Likewise, PGAs more stable and with higher activity are obtained from bacterial hosts genetically modified.

CONCLUSION

PGA is used to produce b-lactam antibiotics. However, this enzyme has pharmaceutical potential to be used to obtain critical molecules for the synthesis of anti-tumor, antiplatelet, antiemetic, antidepressive, anti-retroviral, antioxidant, and antimutagenic drugs.

Chromatographic Studies of Protein-Based Chiral Separations

The development of separation methods for the analysis and resolution of chiral drugs and solutes has been an area of ongoing interest in pharmaceutical research. The use of proteins as chiral binding agents in high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been an approach that has received particular attention in such work. This report provides an overview of proteins that have been used as binding agents to create chiral stationary phases (CSPs) and in the use of chromatographic methods to study these materials and protein-based chiral separations. The supports and methods that have been employed to prepare protein-based CSPs will also be discussed and compared. Specific types of CSPs that are considered include those that employ serum transport proteins (e.g., human serum albumin, bovine serum albumin, and alpha1-acid glycoprotein), enzymes (e.g., penicillin G acylase, cellobiohydrolases, and α-chymotrypsin) or other types of proteins (e.g., ovomucoid, antibodies, and avidin or streptavidin). The properties and applications for each type of protein and CSP will also be discussed in terms of their use in chromatography and chiral separations.

Chiral separations

The main goal of this review is to provide a brief overview of chiral separations to researchers who are versed in the area of analytical separations but unfamiliar with chiral separations. To researchers who are not familiar with this area, there is currently a bewildering array of commercially available chiral columns, chiral derivatizing reagents, and chiral selectors for approaches that span the range of analytical separation platforms (e.g., high-performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography, supercritical-fluid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis). This review begins with a brief discussion of chirality before examining the general strategies and commonalities among all of the chiral separation techniques. Rather than exhaustively listing all the chiral selectors and applications, this review highlights significant issues and differences between chiral and achiral separations, providing salient examples from specific classes of chiral selectors where appropriate.

On-line multi-enzymatic approach for improved sequence coverage in protein analysis

The development of a new mixed bioreactor for proteomic studies based on trypsin and chymotrypsin is described. Trypsin and chymotrypsin were simultaneously bonded to an epoxy monolithic silica column (100 mmx4.6 mm id) in a one-step reaction via epoxy-groups. In order to compare the catalytic properties of the two enzymes in the isolated and in the multi-enzymatic approach, two other single enzyme bioreactors based on trypsin and chymotrypsin were prepared following the same immobilization protocol. The kinetic parameters of the multi-enzymatic bioreactor were derived and it was demonstrated that it retains the individual catalytic activity of the two enzymes. To prove the power of this experimental approach the new mixed bioreactor was integrated in an LC-ESI-MS/MS system for digestion, enrichment, separation and identification of the test protein insulin-like growth factor binding-protein 1 (IGFBP-1). The peptide map and protein sequence coverage obtained with the three bioreactors were compared. The results clearly indicate that the proposed multi-enzyme approach can reduce both digestion and analysis time, accelerate data interpretation and increase the confidence degree in protein identification.

Hydrogel coated monoliths for enzymatic hydrolysis of penicillin G

The objective of this work was to develop a hydrogel-coated monolith for the entrapment of penicillin G acylase (E. coli, PGA). After screening of different hydrogels, chitosan was chosen as the carrier material for the preparation of monolithic biocatalysts. This protocol leads to active immobilized biocatalysts for the enzymatic hydrolysis of penicillin G (PenG). The monolithic biocatalyst was tested in a monolith loop reactor (MLR) and compared with conventional reactor systems using free PGA, and a commercially available immobilized PGA. The optimal immobilization protocol was found to be 5 g l⁻¹ PGA, 1% chitosan, 1.1% glutaraldehyde and pH 7. Final PGA loading on glass plates was 29 mg ml⁻¹ gel. For 400 cpsi monoliths, the final PGA loading on functionalized monoliths was 36 mg ml⁻¹ gel. The observed volumetric reaction rate in the MLR was 0.79 mol s⁻¹ m⁻³_monolith. Apart from an initial drop in activity due to wash out of PGA at higher ionic strength, no decrease in activity was observed after five subsequent activity test runs. The storage stability of the biocatalysts is at least a month without loss of activity. Although the monolithic biocatalyst as used in the MLR is still outperformed by the current industrial catalyst (immobilized preparation of PGA, 4.5 mol s⁻¹ m⁻³_catalyst), the rate per gel volume is slightly higher for monolithic catalysts. Good activity and improved mechanical strength make the monolithic bioreactor an interesting alternative that deserves further investigation for this application. Although moderate internal diffusion limitations have been observed inside the gel beads and in the gel layer on the monolith channel, this is not the main reason for the large differences in reactor performance that were observed. The pH drop over the reactor as a result of the chosen method for pH control results in a decreased performance of both the MLR and the packed bed reactor compared to the batch system. A different reactor configuration including an optimal pH profile is required to increase the reactor performance. The monolithic stirrer reactor would be an interesting alternative to improve the performance of the monolith-PGA combination.

Development of an affinity silica monolith containing human serum albumin for chiral separations

An affinity monolith based on silica and containing immobilized human serum albumin (HSA) was developed and evaluated in terms of its binding, efficiency and selectivity in chiral separations. The results were compared with data obtained for the same protein when used as a chiral stationary phase with HPLC-grade silica particles or a monolith based on a copolymer of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA). The surface coverage of HSA in the silica monolith was similar to values obtained with silica particles and a GMA/EDMA monolith. However, the higher surface area of the silica monolith gave a material that contained 1.3-2.2-times more immobilized HSA per unit volume when compared to silica particles or a GMA/EDMA monolith. The retention, efficiency and resolving power of the HSA silica monolith were evaluated using two chiral analytes: d/l-tryptophan and R/S-warfarin. The separation of R- and S-ibuprofen was also considered. The HSA silica monolith gave higher retention and higher or comparable resolution and efficiency when compared with HSA columns that contained silica particles or a GMA/EDMA monolith. The silica monolith also gave lower back pressures and separation impedances than these other materials. It was concluded that silica monoliths can be valuable alternatives to silica particles or GMA/EDMA monoliths when used with immobilized HSA as a chiral stationary phase.

Advances in the design of new epoxy supports for enzyme immobilization–stabilization

Multipoint covalent immobilization of enzymes (through very short spacer arms) on support surfaces promotes a very interesting ‘rigidification’ of protein molecules. In this case, the relative positions of each residue of the enzyme involved in the immobilization process have to be preserved unchanged during any conformational change induced on the immobilized enzyme by any distorting agent (heat, organic solvents etc.). In this way, multipoint covalent immobilization should induce a very strong stabilization of immobilized enzymes. Epoxy-activated supports are able to chemically react with all nucleophile groups placed on the protein surface: lysine, histidine, cysteine, tyrosine etc. Besides, epoxy groups are very stable. This allows the performance of very long enzyme–support reactions, enabling us to get very intense multipoint covalent attachment. In this way, these epoxy supports seem to be very suitable to stabilize industrial enzymes by multipoint covalent attachment. However, epoxy groups exhibit a low intermolecular reactivity towards nucleophiles and hence the enzymes are not able to directly react with the epoxy supports. Thus a rapid physical adsorption of enzymes on the supports becomes a first step, followed by an additional rapid ‘intramolecular’ reaction between the already adsorbed enzyme and the activated support. In this situation, a suitable first orientation of the enzyme on the support (e.g. through regions that are very rich in nucleophiles) is obviously necessary to get a very intense additional multipoint covalent immobilization. The preparation of different ‘generations’ of epoxy supports and the design of different protocols to fully control the first interaction between enzymes and epoxy supports will be reviewed in this paper. Finally, the possibilities of a directed immobilization of mutated enzymes (change of an amino acid by cysteine on specific points of the protein surface) on tailor-made disulfide-epoxy supports will be discussed as an almost-ideal procedure to achieve very intense and very efficient rigidification of a desired region of industrial enzymes.

Development and characterization of beta-secretase monolithic micro-immobilized enzyme reactor for on-line high-performance liquid chromatography studies

beta-Site APP cleavage enzyme 1 (BACE-1) is a transmembrane aspartyl protease that cleaves the amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP), which is abundant in neurons. BACE-1 is required for the generation of amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). It is widely believed that halting the production of Abeta peptide, by inhibition of BACE-1, is an attractive therapeutic modality for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. BACE-1 has never been immobilized before. In the present study, for the first time, human recombinant beta-secretase micro-immobilised enzyme reactor (hrBACE-1-micro-IMER) was prepared by using an in situ immobilisation procedure on an ethylendiamine monolithic convective interaction media (EDA-CIM) disk. The activity and kinetic parameters of the hrBACE-1-micro-IMER were investigated by insertion in a HPLC system with fluorescent and mass detection. The micro-IMER was characterized in terms of units of immobilised hrBACE-1 and best mobile phase conditions for activity, by using as substrate casein-FITC and JMV2236, a peptide mimicking the Swedish-mutated APP (amyloid precursor protein) sequence. The characterization of the hrBACE-1-micro-IMER in terms of number of enzymatic active units after covalent linking to the solid matrix was performed by using the JMV2236 peptide as substrate in a HPLC-MS system. JMV2236 was injected into the hrBACE-1-micro-IMER and enzymatically cleaved; the product of the enzymatic cleavage and the remaining non-cleaved substrate were collected on a C18 column trap and switched to the LC-electrospray ionization MS system for kinetic constants determination. Inhibition studies were carried out. The effect of donepezil and pepstatin A, as BACE-1 inhibitors, was evaluated by simultaneous injection of the compounds with the peptidic substrate. The relative IC(50) values were found in agreement with that derived by the conventional fluorescence method, confirming the applicability of this new IMER for on-line inhibition studies. The main advantages of the hrBACE-1-micro-IMER approach over the conventional methods were found to be the increased enzyme efficiency, stability and the decreased time of analysis.

Enantiomeric separation of 2-aryloxyalkyl- and 2-arylalkyl-2-aryloxyacetic acids on a Penicillin G Acylase-based chiral stationary phase: Influence of the chemical structure on retention and enantioselectivity

The chiral recognition mechanism of Penicillin G Acylase (PGA) was investigated with a set of 18 new chiral acidic compounds. A series of 2-aryloxyalkyl- and 2-arylalkyl-2-aryloxyacetic acids in which the absolute configuration has been reported to exert a strong influence on pharmacological activity, were synthesized and analysed on PGA-based chiral stationary phase (CSP) and 11 racemates were completely resolved with a mobile phase composed of 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0). The influence of structural variations of analytes on retention and enantioselectivity was investigated by application of molecular modelling studies. Docking experiments were also carried out to rationalize the observed enantioselective behaviour. The computation approach revealed to be helpful in elucidating the molecular basis of the enantioselectivity observed on PGA-CSP.

Exploring the molecular basis of the enantioselective binding of penicillin G acylase towards a series of 2-aryloxyalkanoic acids: A docking and molecular dynamics study

In the present paper, molecular modeling studies were undertaken in order to shed light on the molecular basis of the observed enantioselectivity of penicillin G acylase (PGA), a well known enzyme for its industrial applications, towards 16 racemic 2-aryloxyalkanoic acids, which have been reported to affect several biological systems. With this intention docking calculations and MD simulations were performed. Docking results indicated that the (S)-enantiomers establish several electrostatic interactions with SerB1, SerB386 and ArgB263 of PGA. Conversely, the absence of specific polar interactions between the (R)-enantiomers and ArgB263 seems to be the main reason for the different binding affinities observed between the two enantiomers. Results of molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated that polar interactions are responsible for both the ligand affinity and PGA enantiospecificity. Modeling calculations provided possible explanations for the observed enantioselectivity of the enzyme that rationalize available experimental data and could be the basis for future protein engineering efforts.

Penicillin G acylase as chiral selector in CE using a pullulan-coated capillary

In the present study, penicillin G acylase (PGA), an enzyme belonging to the family of hydrolases, has been investigated as chiral selector in CE using the partial filling technique. Owing to the strong disposition of PGA to be adsorbed by the inner capillary wall, permanently coated capillaries were used to diminish both the protein-wall interactions and the EOF. In particular, the silica surface of the capillary was chemically coated by an antiadhesive and an hydrophilic layer of pullulan, a high-molecular-mass homopolysaccharide. The coating procedure consisted in the silanization with glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane and the subsequent coupling of the hydroxyl groups of pullulan onto the silanized capillary. Using this approach, a significant EOF suppression was obtained within a wide pH range (pH 3.0-9.0); this result was very important in order to find the suitable conditions for the application of partial filling technique. The optimization of partial filling was carried out by considering the effects of different experimental conditions (buffer pH, PGA concentration, and loading duration), on the migration time and enantioresolution of rac-ketoprofen. Under the selected conditions as: 100 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 5.5) containing 240 microM of PGA (partial filling of 120 s at a pressure of 50 mbar), a series of acidic compounds resulted to be enantioresolved in about 10 min. The long-term stability of the proposed coating was evaluated; more than 100 injections were performed without significant loss of reproducibility.

Enantiomer separation on monolithic silica HPLC columns using chemically bonded methylated and methylated/acetylated 6-O-tert-butyldimethyl- silylated β-cyclodextrin

A new 2,3-methylated 3*-monoacetylated 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated beta-CD derivative was synthesized and chemically bonded onto aminopropyl derivatized monolithic silica HPLC columns. In this CD derivative, only one of seven methyl groups in 3-position was substituted by an acetyl group. Its applicability as a chiral stationary phase for HPLC was tested and compared with exclusively 2,3-methylated 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated beta-CD immobilized onto aminopropyl-modified monoliths. Thirty-two chiral compounds from different chemical classes and different functionalities were tested under RP conditions. Fourteen compounds were resolved into their enantiomers by methylated 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated beta-CD. By use of methylated/acetylated 6-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylated beta-CD as the chiral stationary phase 7 analytes were successfully stereodifferentiated.

Elucidation of the enantioselective recognition mechanism of a penicillin G acylase-based chiral stationary phase towards a series of 2-aryloxy-2-arylacetic acids

A series of structurally related 2-aryloxy-2-arylacetic acids (1-3, 5-16) together with a thioisostere derivative (4) have been synthesized and characterized by GC-MS and 1H NMR. The designed compounds were analyzed on a Penicillin G Acylase chiral stationary phase (PGA-CSP) and the influence of the structure variations on retention and enantioselectivity was investigated. The chromatographic study includes the direct separation of the enantiomers of the synthesized compounds and the determination of the elution order of selected racemic mixtures. 10 out of 16 racemates were separated; high chromatographic enantioseparation factors (alpha > 2) were achieved for some compounds. For the enantiomers of four compounds whose absolute configuration was known (1, 3, 12, 16), the elution order was R:S with the exception of 2-(4-chloro-phenoxy)phenylacetic acid (1), for which the elution order was reversed. Preliminary molecular modeling studies suggest that both polar and charge-transfer interactions as well as steric effects play an important role in determining the retention factors and the enantioselectivities observed.

Application of immobilized enzyme reactor in on-line high performance liquid chromatography: A review

This review summarizes all the research efforts in the last decade (1994-2003) that have been spent to the various application of immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) in on-line high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All immobilization procedures including supports, kind of assembly into chromatographic system and methods are described. The effect of immobilization on enzymatic properties and stability of biocatalysts is considered. A brief survey of the main applications of IMER both as pre-column, post-column or column in the chemical, pharmaceutical, clinical and commodities fields is also reported.

Novel reactive perstraction system applied to the hydrolysis of penicillin G

The activity of penicillin acylase has been studied in aqueous and organic solvents, as free enzyme as well as immobilized within the membrane of liquid-core capsules. The activity of the enzyme is inhibited by the accumulation of the products of the hydrolysis reaction, namely phenyl acetic acid (PAA). In order to overcome this inhibition a range of organic solvents were tested for use in in situ product recovery. Of these solvents dibutyl sebacate (DBS) was chosen due to the rapid extraction rate, the high logP and to facilitate capsule production. The extraction efficiency at pH 3.5 for PAA was >80% for phase ratios of >50% free solvent with partition coefficients of 8 and 0.7 for PAA and penicillin G (PenG), respectively, thereby showing that PAA could be selectively extracted at pH 3.5 and 25 degrees C. Liquid-core capsules containing DBS were shown to efficiently remove PAA selectively and the PAA could be effectively back-extracted and the capsules re-used in a three-stage process resulting in high product separation. Immobilization of penicillin acylase onto the capsule membranes resulted in increased operational stability of the enzyme and a very high enzyme activity. Over 53.3% of the PAA formed could be recovered in the capsule core with a concentration over sevenfold higher than in the aqueous phase. Higher extraction efficiencies could be obtained by varying the substrate concentration and number of capsules. The enzyme immobilized on capsules could be stored for over 4 months at pH 8 and 4 degrees C with no loss of activity. Over 80% of the initial activity could be recovered over five repeated batch cycles of the bioconversion process. The importance of capsular perstraction and reactive capsular perstraction has been clearly demonstrated.

Applications of silica-based monolithic HPLC columns

The recent invention and successive commercial introduction of monolithic silica columns has motivated many scientists from both academia and industry to study their use in HPLC. The first paper on monolithic silica columns appeared in 1996. Currently about 200 papers have been published relating to applications and characterization of monolithic silica columns, including monolithic capillaries. This review attempts to give an overview covering various aspects of this new column type in the field of high throughput analysis of drugs and metabolites, chiral separations, analysis of pollutants and food-relevant compounds, as well as in bioanalytical separations such as in proteomics. Some of the applications are described in greater detail. The numerous publications dealing with the physicochemical and chromatographic characterization of monolithic silica columns are briefly summarized.