Enzymes ascorbate oxidase

Another approach to improve selectivity is to use an enzyme electrode. The enzyme ascorbate oxidase has been used successfully to remove ascorbate as an interference of in vivo voltammetric electrodes 219,320) Ascorbate oxidase converts the ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbate which is not electroactive in the potential region used for in vivo analysis. 

S / V CONTENTS Preface, Robert W. Hay. Structure and Function of Manganese-Containing Biomolecules, David C. Weather-bum. Repertories of Metal Ions as Lewis Acid Catalysts in Organic Reactions, Junghan Suh. The Multicopper-Enzyme Ascorbate Oxidase, Albrecht Messerschmidt. The Bioinorganic Chemistry of Aluminum, Tomas Kiss and Etelka Farkas. The Role of Nitric Oxide in Animal Physiology, Anthony R. Butler, Frederick Flitney and Peter Rhodes. Index. 

Copper-dependent enzymes, ASCORBATE OXIDASE CATECHOL OXIDASE FERROXIDASE GAACTOSE OXIDASE ACCASE... 

The enzyme ascorbate oxidase (AOD) is immobilized over Clark-type oxygen electrodes. The biocatalyst is attached to polyamide nets with GA (252), cross-linked with collagen-glutaraldehyde (251) or albumin-GA (253), or linked to cellulose acetate membranes (253). 

Cyt c and azurin are structurally and in other respects very well characterized, and in-situ STM can be referred to many other structural, spectral, and kinetic data. No three-dimensional structure of laccase is available, but the structure of the closely related enzyme ascorbate oxidase is available with high resolution and srq ports a view of facile ET through die protein, involving all the copper atoms. 

The high-resolution structure of the blue copper enzyme ascorbate oxidase (AO) prompted several laboratories to examine the internal electron flow from the substrate oxidation site [type 1 Cu(II)] to that of dioxygen reduction. Again, both flash photolysis and pulse radiolysis were employed, providing a comparison of their respective features. 

The oxidation of ascorbic acid in the enzymatically active and, especially, in the mechanically damaged plant tissues (e.g. by peeHng and sHcing) is mainly catalysed by ascorbate oxidase (L-ascorbate 02 oxidoreductase). The loss of vitamin activity in some plant tissues is associated with peroxidases and other enzymes. Ascorbate oxidase oxidises ascorbic acid in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. Generally, the reaction can be described by the following equation, where H2 A is ascorbic acid and A is dehydroascorbic acid ... 

Fresh fruits and vegetables have been shown by Zilva to contain an enzyme, ascorbic oxidase, which contributes to the disappearance of the vitamin when plant products are stored. 

The co-operative effect. That a metal can become much more chemically active after chelation is evident enough in the oxygen-binding properties of haemoglobin and the oxidizing powers of the heme enzymes. Inorganic salts of iron have catalase- and peroxidase-like properties, but these are enormously increased upon incorporation in the porphyrin nucleus attached to a specific protein. Similarly, cuprous ions catalyse the aerial oxidation of ascorbic acid, but this effect is immensely magnified in the enzyme ascorbic oxidase (Table 10.4). 

Enzymes often need for their activity the presence of a non-protein portion, which may be closely combined with the protein, in which case it is called a prosthetic group, or more loosely associated, in which case it is a coenzyme. Certain metals may be combined with the enzyme such as copper in ascorbic oxidase and selenium in glutathione peroxidase. Often the presence of other metals in solution, such as magnesium, are necessary for the action of particular enzymes. 

Catalytic reduction of oxygen directly to water, while not as yet possible with traditional catalyst technology at neutral pH, is achieved with some biocatalysts, particularly by enzymes with multi-copper active sites such as the laccases, ceruloplasmins, ascorbate oxidase and bilirubin oxidases. The first report on the use of a biocatalyst... 

Application of transition metal hexacyanoferrates for development of biosensors was first announced by our group in 1994 [118]. The goal was to substitute platinum as the most commonly used hydrogen peroxide transducer for Prussian blue-modified electrode. The enzyme glucose oxidase was immobilized on the top of the transducer in the polymer (Nation) membrane. The resulting biosensor showed advantageous characteristics of both sensitivity and selectivity in the presence of commonly tested reductants, such as ascorbate and paracetamol. 

Type II copper enzymes generally have more positive reduction potentials, weaker electronic absorption signals, and larger EPR hyperfine coupling constants. They adopt trigonal, square-planar, five-coordinate, or tetragonally distorted octahedral geometries. Usually, type II copper enzymes are involved in catalytic oxidations of substrate molecules and may be found in combination with both Type I and Type III copper centers. Laccase and ascorbate oxidase are typical examples. Information on these enzymes is found in Tables 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3. Superoxide dismutase, discussed in more detail below, contains a lone Type II copper center in each of two subunits of its quaternary structure. 

Table 5.2 contains data about selected copper enzymes from the references noted. It should be understood that enzymes from different sources—that is, azurin from Alcaligenes denitrificans versus Pseudomonas aeruginosa, fungal versus tree laccase, or arthropodan versus molluscan hemocyanin—will differ from each other to various degrees. Azurins have similar tertiary structures—in contrast to arthropodan and molluscan hemocyanins, whose tertiary and quaternary structures show large deviations. Most copper enzymes contain one type of copper center, but laccase, ascorbate oxidase, and ceruloplasmin contain Type I, Type II, and Type III centers. For a more complete and specific listing of copper enzyme properties, see, for instance, the review article by Solomon et al.4... 

This discussion of copper-containing enzymes has focused on structure and function information for Type I blue copper proteins azurin and plastocyanin, Type III hemocyanin, and Type II superoxide dismutase s structure and mechanism of activity. Information on spectral properties for some metalloproteins and their model compounds has been included in Tables 5.2, 5.3, and 5.7. One model system for Type I copper proteins39 and one for Type II centers40 have been discussed. Many others can be found in the literature. A more complete discussion, including mechanistic detail, about hemocyanin and tyrosinase model systems has been included. Models for the blue copper oxidases laccase and ascorbate oxidases have not been discussed. Students are referred to the references listed in the reference section for discussion of some other model systems. Many more are to be found in literature searches.50... 

Copper oxidases are widely distributed in nature, and enzymes from plants, microbes, and mammals have been characterized (104,105). The blue copper oxidases, which include laccases, ascorbate oxidases, and ceruloplasmin, are of particular interest in alkaloid transformations. The principle differences in specificity of these copper oxidases are due to the protein structures as well as to the distribution and environment of copper(II) ions within the enzymes (106). While an in vivo role in metabolism of alkaloids has not been established for these enzymes, copper oxidases have been used in vitro for various alkaloid transformations. 

Many enzymes require additional substances in order to function effectively. Conjugated enzymes require a prosthetic group before they are catalytically active, such groups being covalently or ionically linked to the protein molecule and remaining unaltered at the end of the reaction. Catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), for instance, contains a haem group while ascorbate oxidase (EC 1.10.3.3) contains a copper atom. 

Ascorbic acid Ascorbate oxidase Concanavalin A-conjugated Sepharose (facilitates enzyme replacement or renewal)... 

There are a number of excellent sources of information on copper proteins notable among them is the three-volume series Copper Proteins and Copper Enzymes (Lontie, 1984). A review of the state of structural knowledge in 1985 (Adman, 1985) included only the small blue copper proteins. A brief review of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) work on some of these proteins appeared in 1987 (Hasnain and Garner, 1987). A number of new structures have been solved by X-ray diffraction, and the structures of azurin and plastocyanin have been extended to higher resolution. The new structures include two additional type I proteins (pseudoazurin and cucumber basic blue protein), the type III copper protein hemocyanin, and the multi-copper blue oxidase ascorbate oxidase. Results are now available on a copper-containing nitrite reductase and galactose oxidase. 

The multi-copper oxidases include laccase, ceruloplasmin, and ascorbate oxidase. Laccase can be found in tree sap and in fungi ascorbate oxidase, in cucumber and related plants and ceruloplasmin, in vertebrate blood serum. Laccases catalyze oxidation of phenolic compounds to radicals with a concomitant 4e reduction of O2 to water, and it is thought that this process may be important in the breakdown of lignin. Ceruloplasmin, whose real biological function is either quite varied or unknown, also catalyzes oxidation of a variety of substrates, again via a 4e reduction of O2 to water. Ferroxidase activity has been demonstrated for it, as has SOD activity. Ascorbate oxidase catalyzes the oxidation of ascorbate, again via a 4e reduction of O2 to water. Excellent reviews of these three systems can be found in Volume 111 of Copper Proteins and Copper Enzymes (Lontie, 1984). 

Usually, these metalloproteins contain both type 2 and type 3 copper centers, together forming a triangular-shaped trinuclear active site, such as found in laccase (polyphenol oxidase) [38-41] and ascorbate oxidase (3) [42]. Recent evidence for a related arrangement has been reported for the enzyme particulate methane monooxygenase as well [43], but in this case the Cu Cu distance of the type 2 subunit (2.6 A) appears to be unusually short and the third Cu ion is located far from the dinuclear site. 

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