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Related Experiment Videos

Photoresponsive polymer-enzyme switches.

Tsuyoshi Shimoboji1, Edmund Larenas, Tim Fowler

  • 1Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; and Genencor International, Inc., Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 18, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Enzyme activity can be controlled with light using smart polymers. This photo-regulation enables on/off switching for applications in diagnostics and bioprocessing, even in microfluidic devices.

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Area of Science:

  • Bioconjugation Chemistry
  • Polymer Science
  • Enzyme Engineering

Background:

  • Controlling enzyme activity is crucial for advanced biotechnological applications.
  • Developing methods for reversible enzyme activity modulation is an ongoing challenge.
  • Photoresponsive materials offer potential for non-invasive control mechanisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To demonstrate the photoregulatory control of enzyme activity using conjugated "smart" polymers.
  • To investigate the mechanism of light-induced substrate access modulation.
  • To assess the functionality of photoresponsive polymer-enzyme conjugates in solution and immobilized states.

Main Methods:

  • Conjugation of photoresponsive polymers to enzymes.
  • Utilizing changes in polymer size and hydration upon light exposure.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Assessing enzyme activity via substrate conversion measurements.
  • Employing magnetic beads for immobilization studies.

    • Main Results:

    • Photoinduced changes in polymer coil size and hydration reversibly modulated enzyme activity.
    • The polymer-enzyme conjugates exhibited light-dependent "on" and "off" states.
    • Activity regulation was observed for both free and immobilized conjugates.
    • The system demonstrated potential for sequential bioprocessing and diagnostic assays.

    Conclusions:

    • Smart polymer conjugation provides an effective strategy for photoregulating enzyme activity.
    • This approach offers precise, reversible control over enzyme function using optical signals.
    • The developed system is versatile, applicable in solution and on solid supports, including microfluidics.