Lysozyme data collection

Tests allowing precise determination of the conditions to protect the soluble protein, and of the temperature at which the reaction was slow enough for X-ray data collection, were sought. To ascertain the best conditions for the determination of the structure of a productive lysozyme-substrate complex, the hydrolysis of bacterial cell walls and oligosaccharides was investigated both in high-salt solutions and in mixed solvents. 

Using a cylindrical internal reflectance (CIRcle) cell and GC-IR data collection software, it was determined for both lysozyme and BPN, that most of the enzyme adsorption occurred within ten seconds after injection. Nearly an order-of-magnitude more BPN adsorbed on the hydrophobic surface than the hydrophilic one, while lysozyme adsorbed somewhat more strongly to the hydrophilic Ge surface. Over time periods of about one day, the lysozyme layer continued to increase somewhat in thickness, while BPN maintained its initial coverage. 

Activity is measured by the procedure of Shugar.21 To 2.9-ml cuvettes (1 cm path length), diluted lysozyme (ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 nM) and antibody (ranging from 0.013 to 50 nM) are added to 66 mM potassium phosphate buffer, pH 6.24, and 0.1% bovine serum albumin (BSA) (w/v) to a volume of 900 fil. The solutions are kept at 25° for 1 hr to allow the lysozyme-antibody complexes to come to equilibrium. The activity assays are initiated by the addition of 100 pi Micrococcus lysodeikticus (Sigma Chemical Company) cell walls (2 mg/ml in 66 mM potassium phosphate, pH 6.24) to a final A450 of 0.8 -1.0. Cuvettes are wrapped with Parafilm to prevent evaporation, inverted several times to mix, and placed in a Perkin-Elmer, Norwalk, CT) Lambda 4B spectrophotometer. Reactions are monitored by the decrease in A450 for 70 min with a data point collected every minute. 

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