Coumaphos hydrolysis

Although the inhibition-based biosensors are sensitive, they are poor in selectivity and are rather slow and tedious since the analysis involves multiple steps of reaction such as measuring initial enzyme activity, incubation with inhibitor, measurement of residual activity, and regeneration and washing. Biosensors based on direct pesticide hydrolysis are more straightforward. The OPH hydrolyzes ester in a number of organophospho-rus pesticides (OPPs) and insecticides (e.g. paraoxon, parathion, coumaphos, diazinon) and chemical warfare agents (e.g. sarin) [53], For example, OP parathion hydrolyzes by the OPH to form p-nitrophenol, which can be measured by anodic oxidation. Rainina... 

Most of the older methods of fluorimetric analysis of pesticides involved hydrolysis to form fluorescent anions. Co-ral (coumaphos) [147] was hydrolyzed in alkali to the hydroxybenzopyran, which was subsequently determined by means of its fluorescence. Guthion (azinphosmethyl) was hydrolyzed to anthranilic acid for fluorimetric analysis [148,149]. A method was developed [150] for Maretin (N-hydroxynaphthalimide diethyl phosphate) in fat and meat which involved hydrolysis in 0.5 M methanolic sodium hydroxide followed by determination of the fluorescence of the liberated naphthalimide moiety. Carbaryl (1-naphthyl N-methylcarbamate) and its metabolites have been determined by a number of workers using base hydrolysis and the fluorescence of the resulting naphtholate anion [151-153]. Nanogram quantities of the naphtholate anion could be detected. Zectran (4-dimethylamino-3,5-xylyl N-methylcarbamate) has been determined by the fluorescence of its hydrolysis product [154]. The fluorescence behaviour of other carbamate insecticides in neutral and basic media has been reported [155]. Gibberellin spray used on cherries has been determined fluorimetrically after treatment with strong acid [156]. Benomyl (methyl N-[l-(butylcarbamoyl)-2-benzimidazolyl]carbamate) has been analyzed by fluorimetry after hydrolysis to 2-aminobenzimidazole [157]. 

Organophosphate hydrolysis is frequently observed as the initial reaction for pesticides having organophosphate bonds, such as methyl parathion, chlorpyrifos (9) (eq. 13), diazinon, and coumaphos (19). Several genera of organophosphate-hydrolyzing bacteria have been identified, including... 

OPH catalyzes the hydrolysis of organophosphonates with P-0, P-F, P-S, and P-CN phosphoryl bonds such as those of coumaphos, sarin, VX, and paraoxon. Hydrolysis is facilitated by two metal atoms in the active site and results in the release of two protons (79). In the native dimeric form of the enzyme, zinc is coordinated to histidine residues in the active site. Reconstitution of the apo-entyme with cobalt or cadmium results in higher enzymatic activity than that observed in the zinc-metalloenzyme (20). 

This detection protocol is broad spectrum since any OP will result in a positive signal. In the case of analytes that yield a hydrolysis product with an absorption spectrum such as coumaphos (chlorferon, 348 nm) and paraoxon... 

Organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH, EC 3.1.8.1) is a homodimer with a binuclear metal center. OPH has broad substrate specificity and can hydrolyze organophosphate pesticides such as methyl paradiion, ediyl parathion, paraoxon, chlorpyrifos, coumaphos, cyanophos and diazinoa Table I 9,12-14). The enzymatic hydrolysis rates are 40 - 2450 times faster than chemical hydrolysis at pH 7.0 and the enzyme is reported to be stable at ten ratures of up to 4S-S0°C (3). However, hydrolysis rates varied from very fast for phosphotriesters and phosphothiolester pesticides (P-0 bond) such as paraoxon (ken > 3800s ) and coumaphos (kcat = 800s ) to limited hydrolysis for Diazinon (kcat == 176 s ) and fensulfothion (l a, = 67 s ) (14). 

---