Zeolite molecular sieves very commonly are used as in situ drying agents in reaction mixtures of enzymes in nonaqueous media. They often affect enzyme behavior, and this has been interpreted in terms of altered hydration. Here, we show that zeolites can also have dramatic acid-base effects on enzymes in low water media, resulting from their cation-exchange ability. Initial rates of transesterification catalyzed by cross-linked crystals of subtilisin were compared in supercritical ethane, hexane, and acetonitrile with water activity fixed by pre-equilibration. Addition of zeolite NaA (4 A powder) still caused remarkable rate enhancements (up to 20-fold), despite the separate control of hydration. In the presence of excess of an alternative solid-state acid-base buffer, however, zeolite addition had no effect. The more commonly used Merck molecular sieves (type 3 A beads) had similar but somewhat smaller effects. All zeolites have ion-exchange ability and can exchange H+ for cations such as Na+ and K+. These exchanges will tend to affect the protonation state of acidic groups in the protein and, hence, enzymatic activity. Zeolites pre-equilibrated in aqueous suspensions of varying pH-pNa gave very different enzyme activities. Their differing basicities were demonstrated directly by equilibration with an indicator dissolved in toluene. The potential of zeolites as acid-base buffers for low-water media is discussed, and their ability to overcome pH memory is demonstrated.

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Salt hydrates very frequently are utilized as in situ water activity buffers in reaction mixtures of enzymes in nonaqueous media. In addition to buffering water activity, there is evidence that salt hydrates also often affect initial rates in other ways. This has been generally overlooked or thought to be related to water transfer effects. Here we show that salt hydrates can have important acid-base effects on enzymes in nonaqueous media. We performed transesterification reactions in n-hexane and in supercritical ethane catalyzed by cross-linked crystals of subtilisin, differing in the method used to set a(W), and confirmed that the presence of salt hydrate pairs significantly affected the catalytic performance of the enzyme. However, in the presence of a solid-state acid-base buffer, salt hydrates had no effect on enzymatic activity. Direct evidence for the acid-base effects of salt hydrates was obtained by testing their effect on the protonation state of an organo-soluble H(+)/Na(+) indicator. The four salt hydrate pairs tested affected the indicator to very different extents. By promoting the exchange of H(+) for Na(+), salt hydrates will tend to affect the ionization state of acidic residues in the protein and, hence, enzymatic activity. In fact, salt hydrates were able to affect the pH memory of subtilisin lyophilized from different aqueous pHs, bringing about up to 20-fold enhancements and up to 5-fold decreases in catalytic activity. The possibility of such acid-base effects need to be considered in all experiments using salt hydrates to control water activity.

We studied the performance of Fusarium solani pisi cutinase, immobilized on a zeolite, in supercritical fluids. The catalytic activity of the enzyme was strongly dependent on water activity, was unaffected by pressure up to 300 bar, and was higher in supercritical ethylene than in supercritical carbon dioxide. The enzyme was very selective toward one of the isomers of 1-phenylethanol, with an enantiomeric excess of virtually 100%, regardless of water activity, pressure, solvent, and temperature. We used the X-ray crystal structure of the enzyme and did a computer modeling of the structures of the transition states formed by the two enantiomers. The differences between these structures helped elucidate the preference for the (R)-enantiomer.

We report on the performance of cross-linked enzyme microcrystals (CLECs) of subtilisin Carlsberg in supercritical fluids (SC-fluids). The catalytic activity of CLECs in SC-ethane was found to be 2- to 10-fold greater than in hexane under the same conditions, using CLECs dried by propanol washing. Air-dried CLECs and lyophilized powders showed much lower activities, reflecting the same hydration hysteresis effects as in organic solvents. Reaction rates were much lower in SC-CO(2), especially at higher water activity, probably as a result of acid-base effects of carbonic acid on the enzyme.

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