scholarly journals Switches induced by quorum sensing in a model of enzyme-loaded microparticles

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (140) ◽  
pp. 20170945 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamás Bánsági ◽  
Annette F. Taylor

Quorum sensing refers to the ability of bacteria and other single-celled organisms to respond to changes in cell density or number with population-wide changes in behaviour. Here, simulations were performed to investigate quorum sensing in groups of diffusively coupled enzyme microparticles using a well-characterized autocatalytic reaction which raises the pH of the medium: hydrolysis of urea by urease. The enzyme urease is found in both plants and microorganisms, and has been widely exploited in engineering processes. We demonstrate how increases in group size can be used to achieve a sigmoidal switch in pH at high enzyme loading, oscillations in pH at intermediate enzyme loading and a bistable, hysteretic switch at low enzyme loading. Thus, quorum sensing can be exploited to obtain different types of response in the same system, depending on the enzyme concentration. The implications for microorganisms in colonies are discussed, and the results could help in the design of synthetic quorum sensing for biotechnology applications such as drug delivery.

1924 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-452
Author(s):  
John H. Northrop

The rate of hydrolysis of edestin by trypsin at 40° and in the presence of 1 M NaCl has been studied. Under these conditions the enzyme is rapidly inactivated and the equation for the reaction may be written See PDF for Equation in which Et is the concentration of enzyme during the interval (T1–T2). This equation has been tested by determining the enzyme concentration at various times during the reaction and substituting these values in the above equation. The experimental results agree with this formula when the initial enzyme or edestin concentrations are varied. No anomalous results of varying substrate concentrations are apparent. It can further be assumed as a first approximation that the enzyme is decomposing monomolecularly and the equation can then be written See PDF for Equation This equation is also satisfactory provided high enzyme concentrations and low edestin concentrations are used. With high concentrations of edestin and low trypsin the effects of the products of the reaction on the enzyme become too large to be neglected and the formula no longer holds.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1113 ◽  
pp. 305-310
Author(s):  
Qadly Ameen Pahlawi ◽  
Nazlee Faisal Ghazali ◽  
Khairilanuar Mohd Hanim ◽  
Nik Azmi Nik Mahmood

A preliminary study was performed on enzymatic hydrolysis process for treating empty fruit bunch (EFB) fibre. The bioconversion of cellulose hydrolysis was carried out with soluble cellulase from Trichodermareesei as the biocatalyst. Crucial trends such as substrate and enzyme loading influencing the enzymatic reaction were also studied in order to enhance the cellulose conversion. The results indicate that as the enzyme loading was increased, the EFB conversion also increased until it reached 115.63 FPU/g of enzyme concentration, beyond this values, the reverse occurred. On the other hand, as the substrate loading was increased the conversion decreased. Inhibition of enzyme adsorption by hydrolysis products appear to be the main cause of the decreasing conversion at increasing enzyme loading and substrate loading.


1974 ◽  
Vol 32 (02/03) ◽  
pp. 356-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Haverkate ◽  
D. W Traas

SummaryIn the fibrin plate assay different types of relationships between the dose of applied proteolytic enzyme and the response have been previously reported. This study was undertaken to determine whether a generally valid relationship might exist.Trypsin, chymotrypsin, papain, the plasminogen activator urokinase and all of the microbial proteases investigated, including brinase gave a linear relationship between the logarithm of the enzyme concentration and the diameter of the circular lysed zone. A similar linearity of dose-response curves has frequently been found by investigators who used enzyme plate assays with substrates different from fibrin incorporated in an agar gel. Consequently, it seems that this linearity of dose-response curves is generally valid for the fibrin plate assay as well as for other enzyme plate bioassays.Both human plasmin and porcine tissue activator of plasminogen showed deviations from linearity of semi-logarithmic dose-response curves in the fibrin plate assay.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-354
Author(s):  
Qadir Rahman ◽  
Anwar Farooq ◽  
Amjad Gilani Mazhar ◽  
Nadeem Yaqoob Muhammad ◽  
Ahmad Mukhtar

This study investigates the effect of enzyme formulations (Zympex-014, Kemzyme dry-plus and Natuzyme) on recovery of phenolics from Peganum hermala (harmal) leaves, under optimized conditions using response surface methodology. As compared to the other enzyme complexes, the yield (34 g/100g) obtained through Zympex-014-assisted extraction was higher under optimized conditions such as time (75 min), temperature (70°C), pH (6.5) and enzyme concentration (5 g/100 g) using central composite design (CCD). Effectiveness of Zympex-014 towards hydrolysis of P. hermala leaves cell wall was examined by analyzing the control and enzyme-treated leave residues using scanning electron microscope (SEM). GC/MS characterization authenticated the presence of quercetin (1.44), gallic acid (0.23), caffeic acid (0.04), cinnamic acid (0.05), m-coumaric acid (0.23) and p-coumaric acid (0.37 μg/g) as the potent phenolics in Zympex-014 based extract. It can be concluded from the findings of the current work that pre-treatment of P. hermala leaves with Zympex-014 significantly enhanced the recovery of phenolics that supports its potential uses in the nutra-pharamaceutical industry.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iztok Dogsa ◽  
Mihael Spacapan ◽  
Anna Dragoš ◽  
Tjaša Danevčič ◽  
Žiga Pandur ◽  
...  

AbstractBacterial quorum sensing (QS) is based on signal molecules (SM), which increase in concentration with cell density. At critical SM concentration, a variety of adaptive genes sharply change their expression from basic level to maximum level. In general, this sharp transition, a hallmark of true QS, requires an SM dependent positive feedback loop, where SM enhances its own production. Some communication systems, like the peptide SM-based ComQXPA communication system of Bacillus subtilis, do not have this feedback loop and we do not understand how and if the sharp transition in gene expression is achieved. Based on experiments and mathematical modeling, we observed that the SM peptide ComX encodes the information about cell density, specific cell growth rate, and even oxygen concentration, which ensure power-law increase in SM production. This enables together with the cooperative response to SM (ComX) a sharp transition in gene expression level and this without the SM dependent feedback loop. Due to its ultra-sensitive nature, the ComQXPA can operate at SM concentrations that are 100–1000 times lower than typically found in other QS systems, thereby substantially reducing the total metabolic cost of otherwise expensive ComX peptide.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Vallet-Regí

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles are receiving growing attention by the scientific biomedical community. Among the different types of inorganic nanomaterials, mesoporous silica nanoparticles have emerged as promising multifunctional platforms for nanomedicine. Since their introduction in the drug delivery landscape in 2001, mesoporous materials for drug delivery are receiving growing scientific interest for their potential applications in the biotechnology and nanomedicine fields. The ceramic matrix efficiently protects entrapped guest molecules against enzymatic degradation or denaturation induced by pH and temperature as no swelling or porosity changes take place as a response to variations in the surrounding medium. It is possible to load huge amounts of cargo into the mesopore voids and capping the pore entrances with different nanogates. The application of a stimulus provokes the nanocap removal and triggers the departure of the cargo. This strategy permits the design of stimuli-responsive drug delivery nanodevices.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document