Radiation-induced polymerization for the immobilization of penicillin acylase

The immobilization of Escherichia coli penicillin acylase (EC 3.5.1.11) was investigated by radiation-induced polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate at low temperature. A leak-proof composite that does not swell in water was obtained by adding the cross-linking agent trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate to the monomer-aqueous enzyme mixture. Penicillin acylase, which was immobilized with greater than 70% yield, possessed a higher Km value toward the substrate 6-nitro-3-phenylacetamidobenzoic acid than the free enzyme form (Km = 1.7 X 10(-5) and 1 X 10(-5) M, respectively). The structural stability of immobilized penicillin acylase, as assessed by heat, guanidinium chloride, and pH denaturation profiles, was very similar to that of the free-enzyme form, thus suggesting that penicillin acylase was entrapped in its native state into aqueous free spaces of the polymer matrix.