Coupled optical rate determinations of amino acid oxidase activity

Methods are described in which liberation of ammonia from amino acid substrates by the D- and L-amino acid oxidases may be coupled with the NADH-dependent reductive amination of 2-oxoglutarate catalysed by exogenous glutamate dehydrogenase (L-glutamate: NAD oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.1.2). The inhibition of D-amino acid oxidase (D-amino acid:O2 oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.3) by ADP needed to activate and stabilise glutamate dehydrogenase was relieved by FAD, and the substrate was D-alanine at approximately 6-fold Km concentration. Neither FAD or FMN were required in the L-amino acid oxidase (L-amino acid:O2 oxidoreductase (deaminating), EC 1.4.3.2) assay; this utilised L-leucine as substrate in a concentration approximately 7-fold the Km value. The methods were reasonably sensitive and precise, and a linear relationship between activity and enzyme concentration prevailed up to an absorbance change of 0.050 per min. They have the advantage of being amenable to automation and to employment of fluorescence techniques should greater sensitivity be required.