The Rhizobiaceae bacteria are known for its varied nitrogen metabolism: especially its nitrogen fixation, so called diazotrofia, its capability of symbiosis with plants, or on the contrary plant pathogenesis (genus Agrobacterium). Rhizobium radiobacter R89 (stored in Czech Collection of Microorganism, in Brno as R89-1) is bacteria strain capable of codeine and morphine biotransformation to whole spectrum of pharmacologically significant derivates. This work is focused on purification and characterization of two selected enzymes that catalyze oxidation-reduction reactions, the crucial beginning of morphine skelets biodegradation. At the first, the biotransformational potential of the strain was evaluated and biochemical, molecular biological and bioinformatical approaches were employed to purify the responsible enzymes. Considering unsuccessful purification from Rhizobium radiobacter R89-1, the proteins structural genes were cloned and heterologously expressed in bacterial system and afterward characterized. Found protein sequence and enzyme characterization (basic kinetic measurements, substrate specificity and thermo- stability) have revealed different origin of the enzymes and clarify reasons why the original purification procedure was not successful.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Seven human alcohol dehydrogenase genes (which encode the primary enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism) are grouped into classes based on function and sequence identity. While the Class I ADH isoenzymes contribute significantly to ethanol metabolism in the liver, Class IV ADH isoenzymes are involved in the first-pass metabolism of ethanol. It has been suggested that the ability to efficiently oxidize ethanol occurred late in primate evolution. Kinetic data obtained from the Class I ADH isoenzymes of marmoset and brown lemur, in addition to data from resurrected ancestral human Class IV ADH isoenzymes, supports this proposal--suggesting that two major events which occurred during primate evolution resulted in major adaptations toward ethanol metabolism. First, while human Class IV ADH first appeared 520 million years ago, a major adaptation to ethanol occurred very recently (approximately 15 million years ago); which was caused by a single amino acid change (A294V). This change increases the catalytic efficiency of the human Class IV enzymes toward ethanol by over 79-fold. Secondly, the Class I ADH form developed 80 million years ago--when angiosperms first began to produce fleshy fruits whose sugars are fermented to ethanol by yeasts. This was followed by the duplication and divergence of distinct Class I ADH isoforms--which occurred during mammalian radiation. This duplication event was followed by a second duplication/divergence event which occurred around or just before the emergence of prosimians (some 40 million years ago). We examined the multiple Class I isoforms from species with distinct dietary preferences (lemur and marmoset) in an effort to correlate diets rich in fermentable fruits with increased catalytic capacity toward ethanol oxidation. Our kinetic data support this hypothesis in that the species with a high content of fermentable fruit in its diet possess greater catalytic capacity toward ethanol.

Amyloid beta (Aβ) has been postulated to be the principle initiator of the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Therefore, understanding the underlying mechanisms of Aβ induced neurotoxicity in the early stages of AD would be essential for finding potential therapeutic targets of AD. Aβ-binding alcohol dehydrogenase (ABAD) has been shown to be a mitochondrial binding site for Aβ. Expression of ABAD has been found to be increased in brains of AD sufferers. Two dimensional electrophoresis studies have revealed that endophilin 1 was upregulated in Tg mAPP/ABAD mice brains as compared to Tg mAPP, Tg ABAD and non-Tg mice brains. Increased expression of endophilin 1 has also been found in brains of AD patients as compared to non-demented control brain tissues. Endophilin1 has been reported to regulate c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) activation. In this study, expression of dominant negative forms of endophilin 1 (DN-endophilin 1) in mouse cortical neurons exhibited a significant reduction of Aβ induced JNK activation. Furthermore, using cell counting methods, it was shown that the transfection of DN-endophilin 1 increased neuron survival after Aβ treatment. Aβ has also been proposed to disrupt the interaction of ABAD and Cyclophilin D (CypD), which would trigger mitochondrial permeable transition, thereby leading to neurotoxicity. For fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) analysis of the interaction of ABAD and CypD, a mitochondria targeted, EYFP tagged ABAD plasmid (pMito-ABAD-EYFP) and an ECFP tagged CypD (pCypD-ECFP) plasmid were developed. Positive FRET signals in SK-N-SH cells co-expressing pMito-ABAD-EYFP and pCypD-ECFP indicated that ABAD interacts with CypD in the mitochondria of mammalian cells. RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) has been reported to bind to Aβ and mediate the toxic effects of Aβ peptides on neurons and microglia. It has been shown previously that Tg mAPP/DN-RAGE mice display preserved cognitive function as compared to Tg mAPP mice. To investigate possible mechanisms involved in rescuing cognitive function by RAGE blockage, two dimensional electrophoresis was used to analyze differential protein expression between Tg mAPP and Tg mAPP/DN-RAGE mice cortex. Altered expression of four proteins, including NADH dehydrogenase flavoprotein 2 (NDUFV2), glyoxalase 1 (GLO1), proteasome subunit beta type 4 (PSMB4, or β7 subunit of proteasome) and nitrilase family, member 2 (Nit2) have been observed between Tg mAPP/DN-RAGE mice cortex and Tg mAPP mice cortex. NDUFV2 is a 24kDa subunit of complex 1 which is involved in ATP synthesis. GLO1 is a cytosolic enzyme that plays a role the glutathione-dependent detoxification of α-oxoaldehydes, such as methylglyoxal. PSMB4 is a subunit of the 26s proteosome which is in the degradation of ubiquitinylated proteins. The function of Nit2 is still unclear.

The use of enzymes as catalysts for chemical transformations has emerged as a “greener” alternative to traditional organic synthesis. An issue to solve though, is that enzymes are designed by nature to catalyze reactions in a living cell and therefore, in many cases, do not meet the requirements of a suitable biocatalyst. By mimicking Darwinian evolution these problems can be addressed in vitro by different types of directed evolution strategies. α-Hydroxy aldehydes and α-hydroxy ketones are important building blocks in the synthesis of natural products, fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In this thesis, two alcohol dehydrogenases, FucO and ADH-A, have been studied. Their potentials to serve as useful biocatalysts for the production of these classes of molecules have been investigated, and shown to be good. FucO for its strict regiospecificity towards primary alcohols and that it strongly prefers the S-enantiomer of diol substrates. ADH-A for its regiospecificity towards secondary alcohols, its enantioselectivity and that is has the ability to use a wide variety of bulky substrates. The kinetic mechanisms of these enzymes were investigated using pre-steady state kinetics, product inhibition, kinetic isotope effects and solvent viscosity effects, and in both cases, the rate limiting steps were pin-pointed to conformational changes occurring at the enzyme-nucleotide complex state. These characterizations provide an important foundation for further studies on these two enzymes.   FucO is specialized for activity with small aliphatic substrates but is virtually inactive with aryl-substituted compounds. By the use of iterative saturation mutagenesis, FucO was re-engineered and several enzyme variants active with S-3-phenylpropane-1,2-diol and phenylacetaldehyde were obtained. It was shown that these variants capability to act on larger substrates are mainly due to an enlargement of the active site cavity. Furthermore, several amino acids which are important for catalysis and specificity were identified. Phe254 interacts with aryl-substituted substrates through π-π stacking and may be essential for activity with these larger substrates. One mutation caused a loss in the interactions made between the enzyme and the nucleotide and thereby enhanced the turnover number for the preferred substrate

The metabolism of iron ions is a crucial process in all living organisms and its correct regulation is essential for basic life functions. Homeostasis of iron ions is closely regulated, it usually appears as a component of various proteins and plays role in many oxidation-reduction reactions. Naegleria gruberi is a non-pathogenic, free living protozoon, that serves as a laboratory model for closely related pathogenic Naegleria fowleri. This work focuses on the study of selected metabolites of N. gruberi, that were possible to detect and quantify by the means of modern metabolomic methods, and the influence on culture cultivated in environment with lack of iron ions was shown. The discovery of effect of this condition on the energetic metabolism of this protozoan is an important aspect of understanding the biological processes on cellular level. This method proved a significant influence on certain metabolites and modification of certain metabolic pathways as a direct effect of decreased availability of iron ions. Second part of this work was focused on the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, that was found in the genome of this protozoon. Unusual aspects of this enzyme include a N-terminal mitochondrial presequence, prompting about mitochondrial localization, and utilization of iron ion as a prosthetic...

As lipases têm um papel importante no desenvolvimento da biotecnologia e são empregadas na química orgânica como biocatalisadores com alta regio- quimio- e enantiosseletividade. Além de permitir sínteses mais sustentáveis e que estão em concordância com os princípios da Química Verde. A resolução enzimática de aminas racêmicas tem se mostrado uma maneira eficiente de obter aminas enantiomericamente puras, que podem ser empregadas na síntese assimétrica de fármacos e agroquímicos. Neste trabalho a resolução enzimática de 4 aminas primárias sendo elas 2-amino-heptano 1, 2-metil-cicloexil amina 3, 1-metil-3-fenilpropilamina 2, 1,2,3,4-tetra-hidro-1-naftilamina 4, foram estudadas obtendo-se resultados relevantes. Para a 2-amino-heptano 1 resultados semelhantes aos da literatura foram obtidos com uma redução de 2,4 vezes no tempo reacional quando a resolução cinética foi em hexano na presença de CAL-B e acetato de etila como acilante obteve-se uma conversão na (R)-N-(1-metil-hexil)acetamida 4 de 42% e um excesso enantiomérico de 88% (tempo = 7h). Observaram-se também os efeitos da concentração de lipase no meio reacional, da temperatura e de diferentes solventes frente a 11 lipases. Os primeiros estudos de resolução cinética enzimática com a 2-metilcicloexil-amina 3 são apresentados neste trabalho com conversões de até 98% porém sem excesso enantiomérico. Uma outra característica das lipases é a capacidade de catalisar reações diferentes da sua função natural (promiscuidade), o que permite que elas catalisem reações de adição de Michael, além de suas reações normais que são a hidrólise e esterificação. A adição de Michael catalisada por lipases entre as 4 aminas primárias já citadas e acrilonitrila foi estudada com e sem a influência da irradiação micro-ondas, demonstrando a maior estabilidade de lipases imobilizadas sob irradiação micro-ondas. Os adutos de Michael obtidos (3-[(1-metil-hexil)amino]propanonitrila 9, 3-[(1-metil-3-fenilpropil) amino]propanonitrila 10, 3-[(2-metil cicloexil)amino]propanonitrila 11 e 3-(1,2,3,4-tetra-hidronaftaleno-1-amino)propanonitrila 12) foram sintetizados pela primeira vez com a metodologia onde foi utilizada a água, acrilonitrila e irradiação micro-ondas e os adutos 9, 10 e 11 não são descritos na literatura. Outro viés do trabalho foi a clonagem e expressão da álcool desidrogenase de Bacillus subtilis que foi clonada, expressa e purificada com sucesso. O interesse em tal enzima deve-se a resultados obtidos na literatura onde a utilização de células íntegras de B. subtilis apresentou a redução de cetonas a álcoois com alta enantiosseletividade. / Lipases present an important role in the development of biotechnology and are employed as biocatalysts in organic chemistry with high regio-, quimioand enantioselectivity. Besides allowing more sustainable syntheses that are consistent with the principles of Green Chemistry. The enzymatic resolution of amines has been shown to be an efficient way to obtain enantiomerically pure amines, which can be used in asymmetric synthesis of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. In this work the enzymatic resolution of 4 primary amines them being 2-amino-heptane textbf 1, 2-methyl-cyclohexyl amine 3, 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine 2 1.2 ,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylamine 4 were studied by obtaining relevant results. For the 2-amino-heptane 1 promoted results similar to the literature and were obtained with a 2.4 times reduction of the reactional time when the kinetic resolution was in hexane in the presence of CAL-B and ethyl acetate as acylating obtained a conversion in (R)-N-(1-methyl-cyclohexyl) acetamide 4 by 42 % and an enantiomeric excess of 88 % (time = 7h). We studied the effects of the concentration of lipase in the reaction, temperature and solvent using 11 different lipases. The first studies of enzymatic kinetic resolution with 2-methyl-cyclohexyl- amine 3 are presented in this work with conversions up to 98% but without enantiomeric excess. The ability of lipases to catalyze reactions with different natural function (promiscuity) is an important property, which allows them to catalyze Michael addition reactions beyond their normal reactions, the hydrolysis and esterification. The Michael addition catalyzed by lipases between the four aforementioned primary amines and acrylonitrile was studied with and without the influence of microwave irradiation, demonstrating the greater stability of immobilized lipases under microwave irradiation. The Michael adducts obtained (3 - [(1-methylhexyl) amino] propanonitrile 9, 3 - [(1-methyl-3-phenylpropyl) amino] propanonitrile 10, 3 - [(2 - methyl cyclohexyl) amino] propanonitrile 11 and 3 - (1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-1-amino) propanonitrile 12) were first synthesized with the method where water is used, acrylonitrile and microwave radiation, the adducts 9,10 and 11 are not described in the literature. Another investigation of this study was the cloning and expression of alcohol desidrogrenase of Bacillus subtilis which has been cloned, expressed and purified successfully. Interest in the enzyme due to results in the literature where the use of whole cells of B. subtilis showed the reduction of ketones with high enantioselectivity.

As lipases têm um papel importante no desenvolvimento da biotecnologia e são empregadas na química orgânica como biocatalisadores com alta regio- quimio- e enantiosseletividade. Além de permitir sínteses mais sustentáveis e que estão em concordância com os princípios da Química Verde. A resolução enzimática de aminas racêmicas tem se mostrado uma maneira eficiente de obter aminas enantiomericamente puras, que podem ser empregadas na síntese assimétrica de fármacos e agroquímicos. Neste trabalho a resolução enzimática de 4 aminas primárias sendo elas 2-amino-heptano 1, 2-metil-cicloexil amina 3, 1-metil-3-fenilpropilamina 2, 1,2,3,4-tetra-hidro-1-naftilamina 4, foram estudadas obtendo-se resultados relevantes. Para a 2-amino-heptano 1 resultados semelhantes aos da literatura foram obtidos com uma redução de 2,4 vezes no tempo reacional quando a resolução cinética foi em hexano na presença de CAL-B e acetato de etila como acilante obteve-se uma conversão na (R)-N-(1-metil-hexil)acetamida 4 de 42% e um excesso enantiomérico de 88% (tempo = 7h). Observaram-se também os efeitos da concentração de lipase no meio reacional, da temperatura e de diferentes solventes frente a 11 lipases. Os primeiros estudos de resolução cinética enzimática com a 2-metilcicloexil-amina 3 são apresentados neste trabalho com conversões de até 98% porém sem excesso enantiomérico. Uma outra característica das lipases é a capacidade de catalisar reações diferentes da sua função natural (promiscuidade), o que permite que elas catalisem reações de adição de Michael, além de suas reações normais que são a hidrólise e esterificação. A adição de Michael catalisada por lipases entre as 4 aminas primárias já citadas e acrilonitrila foi estudada com e sem a influência da irradiação micro-ondas, demonstrando a maior estabilidade de lipases imobilizadas sob irradiação micro-ondas. Os adutos de Michael obtidos (3-[(1-metil-hexil)amino]propanonitrila 9, 3-[(1-metil-3-fenilpropil) amino]propanonitrila 10, 3-[(2-metil cicloexil)amino]propanonitrila 11 e 3-(1,2,3,4-tetra-hidronaftaleno-1-amino)propanonitrila 12) foram sintetizados pela primeira vez com a metodologia onde foi utilizada a água, acrilonitrila e irradiação micro-ondas e os adutos 9, 10 e 11 não são descritos na literatura. Outro viés do trabalho foi a clonagem e expressão da álcool desidrogenase de Bacillus subtilis que foi clonada, expressa e purificada com sucesso. O interesse em tal enzima deve-se a resultados obtidos na literatura onde a utilização de células íntegras de B. subtilis apresentou a redução de cetonas a álcoois com alta enantiosseletividade. / Lipases present an important role in the development of biotechnology and are employed as biocatalysts in organic chemistry with high regio-, quimioand enantioselectivity. Besides allowing more sustainable syntheses that are consistent with the principles of Green Chemistry. The enzymatic resolution of amines has been shown to be an efficient way to obtain enantiomerically pure amines, which can be used in asymmetric synthesis of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. In this work the enzymatic resolution of 4 primary amines them being 2-amino-heptane textbf 1, 2-methyl-cyclohexyl amine 3, 1-methyl-3-phenylpropylamine 2 1.2 ,3,4-tetrahydro-1-naphthylamine 4 were studied by obtaining relevant results. For the 2-amino-heptane 1 promoted results similar to the literature and were obtained with a 2.4 times reduction of the reactional time when the kinetic resolution was in hexane in the presence of CAL-B and ethyl acetate as acylating obtained a conversion in (R)-N-(1-methyl-cyclohexyl) acetamide 4 by 42 % and an enantiomeric excess of 88 % (time = 7h). We studied the effects of the concentration of lipase in the reaction, temperature and solvent using 11 different lipases. The first studies of enzymatic kinetic resolution with 2-methyl-cyclohexyl- amine 3 are presented in this work with conversions up to 98% but without enantiomeric excess. The ability of lipases to catalyze reactions with different natural function (promiscuity) is an important property, which allows them to catalyze Michael addition reactions beyond their normal reactions, the hydrolysis and esterification. The Michael addition catalyzed by lipases between the four aforementioned primary amines and acrylonitrile was studied with and without the influence of microwave irradiation, demonstrating the greater stability of immobilized lipases under microwave irradiation. The Michael adducts obtained (3 - [(1-methylhexyl) amino] propanonitrile 9, 3 - [(1-methyl-3-phenylpropyl) amino] propanonitrile 10, 3 - [(2 - methyl cyclohexyl) amino] propanonitrile 11 and 3 - (1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene-1-amino) propanonitrile 12) were first synthesized with the method where water is used, acrylonitrile and microwave radiation, the adducts 9,10 and 11 are not described in the literature. Another investigation of this study was the cloning and expression of alcohol desidrogrenase of Bacillus subtilis which has been cloned, expressed and purified successfully. Interest in the enzyme due to results in the literature where the use of whole cells of B. subtilis showed the reduction of ketones with high enantioselectivity.

The enzymatic method for ethanol measurement can detect very low concentration of ethanol at samples, consequently it can’t be applied for samples with high concentration and implies as very sensitive method at limited range of detection.The alcohol dehydrogenase method is based on oxidation of alcohol in the presence of ADH as enzyme and NAD+ as coenzyme and formation of acetaldehyde and NADH that can be monitored by spectrophotometric measurement at 334,340 or 365 nm wavelengths.Ethanol +NAD+ ADH↔ Acetaldehyde +NADH+H+For optimum conditions of measurements all the parameters that affect the enzymatic reaction including temperature, pH, trapping agent for product and proper mixing need to be optimized.In order to calculate the unknown concentration of ethanol in a sample based on this method,it is crucial to find right mathematical model to calculate the unknown concentrations of ethanol in the sample using a mathematical equation that generalizes relationships among the reactants in the reaction including the reaction products. In most enzymatic reactions many parameters are involved meaning that the reaction seldom follows simple linear relation between concentration and signal. Four-parameter logistic model is well suited for modeling sigmoid relationships frequently found in biology.The aim of this project is determination of ethanol at microdialysis samples and the fundamental reason for developing the present measurement method was to study changes in blood flow in living tissues using wash out of the very dissolvable ethanol as a flow marker using the Microdialysis technique.Result from this measurement technique for microdialysis samples shows that ethanol can be detected at range of 0,5-16mmol/L and whole detected concentration for different samples during one microdialysis test follows the inverse relation of blood flow changes in tissue.Also the reported result from Urea test as general method for studying blood flow changes and ethanol test for microdialysis sample has been compared and leads to this conclusion that ethanol techniques is as reliable tool for studying blood flow changes. / Uppsatsnivå: D

Cost effective production of biofuel from plant biomass (second generation biofuels) is currently a key challenge. To achieve this, accessibility of plant cell wall polysaccharides to chemical, enzymatic and microbial digestion could be improved by altering lignin structure and composition or by reducing lignin content, as lignin is one cell wall component that has already been shown to contribute to biomass recalcitrance. Therefore, this thesis reports the genetic manipulation of lignin biosynthesis through down-regulation of cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD) genes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Barley has been chosen as the target plant for lignin manipulation for a few reasons: it is a major cereal crop that produces large amounts of lignocellulosic plant biomass that can potentially be used as animal feed or to produce second generation biofuels and also because it is a model grass for other bioenergy crops. CAD, as the final enzyme in the lignin pathway, is a perfect target for lignin manipulation. Characterised CAD mutants and transgenics have shown that down-regulation of CAD improves digestibility and does not influence plant growth and fertility. Due to the difficulty and complexity of transformation of monocot species, there are only a few reports describing down-regulation of CAD in monocots, and none in barley. Here, in this thesis, lignin was altered by down-regulating CAD genes using an RNAi construct with part of the HvCAD2 gene, the gene which has the highest expression level of all CAD genes. Transgenic barley plants showed reduced enzyme activity in the T0 generation (31% compared to EV plants) and enzyme activity was reduced even more in the T1 (to 3%) and T2 (to 2%) generations. The HvCAD2 RNAi barley lines had similar or slightly reduced Klason total lignin contents relative to control plants, but lignin structure and composition were altered. The RNAi plants had lower thioacidolysis yields, S/G ratio was reduced (1.59 in the empty vector controls versus 0.96–1.21 in the transgenic barley plants), the relative frequency of S units was reduced by 11–20%, the proportion of G units was increased by 17–32%, there was increased sinapaldehyde accumulation in lignin and ferulic acid abundance was reduced relative to control plants. Analysed transgenic barley plants had an orange stem phenotype. Growth season and conditions hugely affected the intensity of the phenotype. Because lignin plays a major role in culm strength and pathogen resistance, the influence of down-regulation of CAD on these features was characterised. The changed physicochemical nature of cell walls in HvCAD2 RNAi lines does not decrease the strength of the straw and does not decrease the resistance to the biotrophic Blumeria graminis and to the hemibiotrophic Rhynchosporium commune pathogens. The modified cell walls in the HvCAD2 RNAi lines had moderately improved sugar release for biofuel production. This study proves that it is possible to down-regulate CAD in cereal crops in order to change lignin structure and composition in plants without a negative impact on plant growth, fertility or pathogen resistance.

Para a bioeletrocatálise de oxidação de etanol, a alteração da superfície eletródica e a otimização do processo de imobilização enzimática se fazem necessárias. Neste cenário, as fibras flexíveis de carbono (FFC) merecem destaque, pois além de sua superfície ser facilmente modificada devido à presença de carbono sp2, as mesmas possuem alta resistência mecânica e elasticidade, combinadas com a alta condutividade elétrica e térmica. Nesta tese de doutorado, apresenta-se como obter bioeletrodos de FFC modificadas com a enzima álcool desidrogenase (ADH) NAD-dependente, visando também aprimorar a oxidação da coenzima NADH (dinucleotídeo de nicotinamida e adenina). Os resultados mostram que quando as FCF são previamente submetidas a um tratamento oxidativo em meio ácido (KMnO4/H2SO4), obtém-se bioeletrodos estáveis, robustos e com alta área superficial. Além disso, observou-se que esses eletrodos possuem grupos funcionais contendo oxigênio que auxiliam na bioeletrocatálise de oxidação do etanol. Presume-se que presença de grupos quinonas seja responsável por facilitar a regeneração da coenzima, ou seja, estes grupos atuam decisivamente na oxidação do NADH. A alta qualidade dos bioeletrodos possibilitou manter a atividade catalítica da ADH por longo prazo, propriedade essa crucial para o estudo da oxidação do etanol acoplada à espectrometria de massas (DEMS). Devido a este estudo, foi possível observar concomitantemente a regeneração da coenzima (NADH -> NAD+) e a geração de acetaldeído como produto de bioeletroxidação do etanol, ambos em estado estacionário. Em suma, o estudo aqui apresentado introduz uma abordagem que combina não só o desenvolvimento de fibras de carbono tratadas quimicamente para aplicação em bioeletrocatálise, mas também um foco inédito no acoplamento entre a espectrometria de massas e a bioeletroquímica para a resolução de mecanismos enzimáticos. / Regarding the bioelectrocatalysis of the ethanol oxidation, the electrodic surface modification and the optimization of enzymatic immobilization are necessary. In this scenario, the flexible carbon fibers (FCF) are noteworthy, because besides their surface can be modified in an easy way due the presence of carbon sp2, they have high mechanical resistance and elasticity, combined with high electrical and thermal conductivity. In this doctoral thesis, it is presented how to obtain bioelectrodes of FFC modified with the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) NAD-dependent, as well as to improve the oxidation of the coenzyme NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). The results show that when FCF is previously submitted to an oxidative treatment in acidic medium (KMnO4/H2SO4), stable, robust and high surface area bioelectrodes are obtained. In addition, it was observed that these electrodes have oxygen-containing functional groups that improve the bioelectrocatalysis of ethanol oxidation. There is proposed that the presence of quinone groups is responsible for facilitating the regeneration of the coenzyme, i. e., these groups act decisively in the oxidation of NADH. The high quality of the bioelectrodes allowed it to maintain the catalytic activity of the ADH for long term, property crucial for the study of the oxidation of ethanol coupled to mass spectrometry (DEMS). By using DEMS, there were possible to observe coenzyme regeneration and the generation of acetaldehyde as a bioelectrooxidation product of ethanol, both at steady state, which were simultaneously observed. In summary, the present study introduces an to an approach that combines not only the development of chemically treated carbon fibers for application in bioelectrocatalysis, but also an unprecedented focus on the coupling between mass spectrometry and bioelectrochemistry for the resolution of enzymatic mechanisms.