Dispersion Enzyme kinetics

This chapter describes the different types of batch and continuous bioreactors. The basic reactor concepts are described as well as the respective basic bioreactors design equations. The comparison of enzyme reactors is performed taking into account the enzyme kinetics. The modelhng and design of real reactors is discussed based on the several factors which influence their performance the immobilized biocatalyst kinetics, the external and internal mass transfer effects, the axial dispersion effects, and the operational stabihty of the immobilized biocatalyst. 

The quantitative treatment of kinetic data is based on the pseudophase separation approach, i.e. the assumption that the aggregate constitutes a (pseudo)phase separated from the bulk solution where it is dispersed. Some of the equations below are reminiscent of the well-known Michaelis- Menten equation of enzyme kinetics [101]. This formal similarity has led many authors to draw a parallel between micelle and enzyme catalysis. However, the analogy is limited because most enzymatic reactions are studied with the substrate in a large excess over the enzyme. Even for systems showing a real catalytic behavior of micelles and/or vesicles, the above assumption of the aggregate as a pseudophase does not allow operation with excess substrate. The condition... 

Aerodynamic technique has been studied and used for a variety of applications in liquids, dispersions, and polymers [Pinheiro, 2000], Limited research works have been reported to acceleration of enzyme kinetics through aerodynamic system [air pressure] to improve the reaction of substrate and enzyme binding to high quality and standardization of process parameters [Xia and Li, 2009], The aerodynamic system of enzyme acceleration has great potential in industrial processes as it offers reduction in cost, time, energy, and effluents. 

When the water-miscible ionic liquid [MMIM][MeS04] was used as a neat medium for the enzymatic transformations, however, poorer performance was observed. For the kinetic resolution of mc-l-phenylethanol by transesterification with vinyl acetate with a set of different lipases dispersed in the pure ionic liquid, it was found that [MMIM][MeS04] was among the poorest media for the enzymes (291). It has been recognized that some water-miscible ionic liquids in the pure form are denaturants (27), but, when they are used in the presence of excess water, their tendency to... 

The design of real reactors, taking into account the diffusion, axial dispersion and enzyme inactivation effects, is described in the following sections, considering Michaelis-Menten kinetics as a model. These models are veiy important in predicting and simulating bioreactor performance and in modeling future processes. Also, for control purposes they are indispensable. 

Zinc increases the rate of dimerization 21, 65, 66) however, Apple-bury and Coleman 48) showed that zinc is not necessary for dimerization to occur. Starting at a high pH and slowly lowering the pH they found that all of the zinc is lost by the time the pH reaches 4.0, yet the molecule though inactive is still dimeric. However, upon increasing the pH of a solution of monomers, the dimer reforms by pH 5.0, yet the zinc does not bind completely until pH 6.0. Also, the optical rotatory dispersion (ORD) spectrum is the same for dimer at pH 8.0 and monomer at pH 4.0, but a spectral change occurs for the monomer at pH 2.0 48, 67). Applebury and Coleman 48) reasoned that there must be a kinetic barrier which prevents any rapid equilibration of the dimer monomer system at intermediate pH values and that the same barrier exists in the hysteresis loop involved in the titration of carboxyl groups on the enzyme 21, 67). 

The rapid development of biotechnology during the 1980s provided new opportunities for the application of reaction engineering principles. In biochemical systems, reactions are catalyzed by enzymes. These biocatalysts may be dispersed in an aqueous phase or in a reverse micelle, supported on a polymeric carrier, or contained within whole cells. The reactors used are most often stirred tanks, bubble columns, or hollow fibers. If the kinetics for the enzymatic process is known, then the effects of reaction conditions and mass transfer phenomena can be analyzed quite successfully using classical reactor models. Where living cells are present, the growth of the cell mass as well as the kinetics of the desired reaction must be modeled [16, 17]. 

Ideally, PFV requires a film of active molecules (monolayer or submonolayer) that behave independently of each other and homogeneously with regard to their electrochemical and catalytic properties. Interactions between centres in neighbouring molecules are naturally minimised by the surrounding polypeptide and ensure that PFV is relatively free from complications induced by intermolecular interactions of the type that frequently distort the voltammetry of surface-confined small molecules. Usually, however, peak widths are larger than expected due to inhomogeneity (dispersion). The activity of enzyme molecules with dispersed and poor interfacial electron-transfer kinetics (low will distort the voltammogram and complicate analysis. 

All ingredients are present in the reaction mixture, which is added to a lipid film, and liposomes are prepared containing all macromolecules (enzymes and DNA or RNA templates) as well as all substrate molecules (nucleotides, for example). Consequently, this procedure has to be performed very quickly otherwise, the enzymatic reaction would mainly occur outside the liposomes and a distinction between product molecules synthesized inside from those produced outside and entrapped later would be difficult to draw. After the formation of liposomes, the enzymes outside the liposomes have to be inhibited by potent inhibitors (inhibitors that do their job even in the presence of substantial amounts of phospholipids) or the liposomal dispersion has to be treated by digestive enzymes. This strategy has basically been applied in the case of the RNA replication by QP replicase inside oleic acid/oleate liposomes" and in the case of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) inside POPC or POPC/PS liposomes." In the former case, EDTA was added after the formation of the liposomes to inhibit the non-entrapped enzymes (and the kinetics was followed after addition of the EDTA molecules), in the latter case, the non-entrapped DNA template molecules were digested by DNase I before the temperature was raised to 95°C and the polymerization started. 

The separation of the products from the IL catalytic mixture can be performed in various cases by simple decanting and phase separation or by product distillation. In this respect, a continuous-flow process using toluene as extractant has been appHed for the selective Pd-catalyzed dimerization of methyl acrylate in ILs [136]. However, in cases where the products are retained in the IL phase, extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide can be used instead of classical liquid-liquid extractions that necessitate the use of organic solvents, which may result in cross-contamination of products. This process was successfully used in catalyst recycling and product separation for the hydroformylation of olefins employing a continuous-flow process in supercritical carbon dioxide-IL mixtures [137]. Similarly, free and immobilized Candida antarctica lipase B dispersed in ILs were used as catalyst for the continuous kinetic resolution of rac-l-phenylethanol in supercritical carbon dioxide at 120°C and 150°C and 10 Mpa with excellent catalytic activity, enzyme stability and enantioselectivity levels (Fig. 3.5-11). 

Roberts MS, Rowland M. Correlation between in vitro microsomal enzyme activity and whole organ hepatic elimination kinetics analysis with a dispersion model. J Pharm Pharmacol 1986a 38 177 181. 

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