Effect of cationic and non-ionic surfactants on the hydrolysis of N-glutaryl-l-phenylalanine catalysed by chymotrypsin iso-enzymes

The hydrolysis of N-glutaryl-l-phenylalanine p-nitroanilide catalysed by various chymotrypsin (CT) iso-enzymes (α-CT, β-CT, δ-CT, and γ-CT) has been studied in the presence of cationic and non-ionic surfactants at concentration higher than the critical micellar concentration. The enzyme activity was tested in the presence of the following surfactants: cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTABr), cetyldimethylethylammonium bromide (CDMEABr), cetyltripropylammonium bromide (CTPABr), Triton X100 (TX100) and polyoxyethylene 9 lauryl ether (PO9). The activity of the iso-enzymes depends on the surfactant concentration and it varies with the surfactant head group dimensions (CTPABr>CDMEABr>CTABr). For all the iso-enzymes, superactivity has been detected only in the presence of CTPABr and CDMEABr. The extent of superactivity depends on the enzyme used (δ-CT>β-CT>γ-CT>α-CT). The observed reaction rate has been compared with the prediction of a theoretical model for enzymatic activity in the presence of surfactant aggregates in aqueous media developed in a previous paper. The results can be explained by introducing an equilibrium relation between the enzyme confined in the free bulk water and in the bound water pseudo-phase, and by allowing for different catalytic behaviours of the two forms of enzyme. eoretical model enables the initial reaction rate to be related to the substrate concentration with an overall Michaelis–Menten equation. Good agreement has been found between experimental and model predicted values of the kinetic parameters.