Abstract:
D-Phenylglycine aminotransferase expressed by Escherichia coli that contains the
cloned gene from Pseudomonas stutzeri ST-201 catalyzes the stereo-inverting
transamination of L-glutamate and benzoylformate to yield D-phenylglycine and
α-ketoglutarate. In this thesis, the enzyme was immobilized and applied for the synthesis
of enantiomerically pure D-phenylglycine in a single step without the use of any amino
acid racemases. Since the enzyme showed decreased activity with random immobilization,
it was genetically engineered to replace serine 453 at the carboxy terminus with cysteine.
In comparison with the wild type, the modified enzyme showed comparable catalytic
activity and kinetic properties, but could be immobilized onto Thiopropyl Sepharose 6B
via disulfide bond formation at a faster rate and a higher yield. Furthermore, the
immobilized modified enzyme had a higher specific activity than the immobilized wild
type enzyme.
The optimal operating condition for D-phenylglycine synthesis using the
immobilized modified enzyme was 37°C and pH 7.5 in PIPES buffer. Nevertheless, the
reaction was characterized by an unfavorable equilibrium constant and with substrate
inhibition by benzoylformate. To overcome these constraints, a high concentration of Lglutamate
was used to drive the reaction against the unfavorable equilibrium. Also, a
controlled-release system via the use of Amberlite IRA-400-adsorbed benzoylformate was
employed to slowly release benzoylformate during the course of the reaction to minimize
its inhibition effect. Fortunately, the resin did adsorb α-ketoglutarate resulting in the
simultaneous removal of this by-product, and thus, driving the reaction forward.
Furthermore, with this system, a high concentration of D-phenylglycine product could now
potentially be synthesized with no or minimal product inhibition from D-phenylglycine
because when the concentration was higher than its saturation level of 35 mM, the product
would precipitate out of solution. The low solubility of D-phenylglycine offered
advantages in shifting the reaction equilibrium as well as facilitating the recovery of the
pure product. From a 1 ml reaction, which was composed of 1 M L-glutamate and 0.1 M
benzoylformate adsorbed on the resin, an improvement in productivity was achieved to
yield a final D-phenylglycine concentration of 0.068 M (10.25 mg/ml).