Crowding enhances lipase turnover rate on surface-immobilized substrates

Utilizing surface-immobilized synthetic lipid substrates containing the redox-active ferrocene groups, the enzymatic activity of lipase from Thermomyces lanuginosus was measured by the cyclic voltammetry method. The activity was correlated with the surface density of the protein by the ATR-IR spectroscopy and the total internal reflection ellipsometry. It was found that the lipase turnover rate significantly increases with its surface density. Despite expected hindrance effects due to the crowding of the enzyme molecules in the near surface-saturation range of concentrations, the turnover rate was consistently higher compared with the values measured at low concentrations. The effect was explained by the change in the surface arrangement of the enzyme. In the low concentration range, lipase adsorbs onto a surface adopting a predominantly horizontal position. At high concentrations, as the surface density approaches saturation, the enzyme molecules due to crowding are forced into the predominantly vertical position, which is more favorable for the activation of the lipase through the interaction between the "hydrophobic lid" of the lipase and the hydrophobic adsorbate surface.