8 Abstract Epoxide hydrolases (EHs) demonstrating high degree of enantioselectivity or enantioconvergence are useful biocatalysts for the production of optically active epoxides and vicinal diols, which can serve as chiral building blocks for syntheses of biologically active drugs. EHs can play an important role also in degradations of xenobiotics. Genes encoding EHs Kau2 and Kau8 were expressed in E. coli host strains TOP10 and RE3. Enantioselectivities and regioselectivities of Kau2 and Kau8 in supernatants of desintegrated cells were determined for four substrates: tert-butylglycidyl ether, para-chlorostyrene oxide, para-nitrostyrene oxide, α-methylstyrene oxide. The highest values of enantioselectivity and regioselectivity were achieved with Kau2 and para-nitrostyrene oxide as a substrate. The Kau2 was chosen for further experiments on the basis of these results. Kau2 was overexpressed in the recombinant strain RE3(pSEKau2). We performed two batch cultures and one fed-batch culture in stirred bioreactor. The highest volumetric activity of 4500 U/l was obtained in the case of fed-batch culture. Two phase system consisting of polyethylenglycole 6000 and sodium citrate (pH 7.7) was used for Kau2 purification from the supernatant of desintegrated cells. Purification factor 2.6 +/- 0.3 was achieved and...

Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of: Pharmaceutical Technology Consultant: PharmDr. Ondřej Holas, Ph.D. Student: Michaela Šitnerová Title of Thesis: Protein macromolecules immobilization onto polymer carriers Enzymes are unique biocatalysts because of their properties. They are highly specific, selective and functional even under mild reaction conditions. The method of immobilization is used to increase their operational stability, activity and possible reuse. This process allows the wide use of enzymes in industry, for example in the food industry, analytical chemistry, chemical synthesis and in the pharmaceutical industry. The aim of my thesis was immobilized enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) on the surface pellets of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Used method was simple sorption, immobilization using glutaraldehyde, and TEMPO oxidation using MCC. Well known Ellman's method served to measure the activity of AChE. The absorbance of the solution with the immobilized AChE was measured spectrophotometrically at 412 nm.

Charles University, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of: Pharmaceutical Technology Consultant: PharmDr. Ondřej Holas, Ph.D. Student: Helena Badalcová Title of Thesis: Immobilization of protein macromolecules onto polymer carriers: An overview Since the 70s, the immobilised enzymes have been getting the attention of not only scientific and laboratory workers, but also industrial companies. Enzymes are unique biocatalysts, which are distinguished by their specificity, environment-friendliness and the ability to react under mild conditions can be easily subject of denaturation or inhibition. With regard to the usually high cost of purchase, the use of these enzymes could often be disadvantageous. Immobilization techniques offer an efficient solution to this problem and greatly simplify the use of enzymes in industry and research. Compared to the free forms, immobilized enzymes show greater activity, stability and allow repeated use as well as easier separation from products. This thesis contains an overview of the basic methods of immobilization - physical absorption and covalent bonds to the carrier, entrapment, encapsulation and carrier- free techniques using cross-linking. Finally, we outline possible biomedical applications as well as the use of immobilised enzymes in biosensors.

The human patogen Streptococcus pneumoniae encodes a single copy of eukaryotic-like Ser/Thr protein kinase StkP. StkP regulates virulence, competence, stress resistence, gene expression and plays a role in the regulation of cell division cycle. Analysis of phosphoproteome maps of the wild type and stkP mutant strain of S. pneumoniae showed that in vivo StkP phosphorylates several putative substrates including Mn-dependent inorganic pyrophosphatase PpaC. Mass spectrometry analysis identified two phosphorylation sites in an active site of the protein. Pyrophosphatases are essential enzymes that catalyze hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate produced during various biosynthetic reactions that utilize ATP. Changes in pyrophosphatase activity have been described to have global effects on cell metabolism, growth and division of bacteria. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the phosphorylation of inorganic pyrophosphatase PpaC in S. pneumoniae. Gene ppaC was cloned, expressed in E. coli and protein was purified via affinity chromatography. Phosphorylation of PpaC by StkP was examined in a kinase assay but we did not confirm that PpaC is a direct substrate of StkP in vitro. Further we prepared a set of mutants in ppaC gene. We replaced two presumable phosphoaminoacids identified by mass-spectrometry with...

11 Abstract Penicillin G acylases (PGAs) belong among enantioselective enzymes catalyzing a hydrolysis of stable amide bond in a broad spectrum of substrates, often having high application potential. PGAEc from Escherichia coli and PGAA from microorganism Achromobacter sp. CCM 4824 were used to catalyze enantioselective hydrolyses of seven selected N-phenylacetylated (N-PhAc) α/β-amino acid racemates. The PGAA showed higher stereoselectivity for three (S) enantiomers: N-PhAc-β-homoleucine, N-PhAc-α-tert- leucine and N-PhAc-β-leucine. We have constructed a homology model of PGAA that was used in molecular docking experiments with the same substrates. In-silico experiments reproduced the data from experimental enzymatic resolutions confirming validity of employed modeling protocol. We employed this protocol to evaluate enantiopreference of PGAA towards seven new substrates with application potential. For five of them, high enantioselectivity of PGAA was predicted for. PGAA was further studied in kinetically controlled syntheses of β-lactam antibiotics (SSBA). The PGAA was significantly more efficient at synthese of ampicillin and amoxicillin (higher S/H ratio and product accumulation) compared with PGAEc . Analogously to prediction of enantioselectivity of PGAA towards new substrates this protocol was applied...

This diploma thesis deals with dynamic of accumulation of non-structural carbohydrates and activity of Rubisco enzyme at elevated concentration of CO2 on beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). Three years old seedlings of beech were cultivated in minisphere with ambient (385 µmol•mol-1, variant A), and with elevated concentration CO2 (700 µmol•mol-1, variant E) for four months. In every variant the first half of plants was fertilized by nitrogen (variant N+) and the second half was control (variant N-). Plants used for experiment were at first adapted for darkness for 12 hours. Subsequently tested leaves were cut off, leafstalk including short segment of branch (approximately 1 cm) was inserted into 0.7 M solution of sucrose (variant S) or water (variant V) and exposed to radiation 200 mol•m-2•s-1 for 0, 30, 60, 120, 180 minutes. Then leaf area and fresh mass of leaf blade were established, samples were fixed in liquid nitrogen and stored in deep freezer to analysis in –70 °C. Rubisco content was determined by SDS-PAGE method, Rubisco activity spectrofotometrically and content of non-structural carbohydrates by anthrone method and HPLC method. Rubisco content was significantly lower in the N- variant than in N+ variant. Rubisco content was also significantly lower in E than in A variant, which is an evidence of down-regulation. Rubisco activity is moderately stimulated at E variant with time, but differences between variant A and E are not statistically significant. Influence of sucrose feeding to Rubisco activity was not proved. Significant differences were detected by anthrone method in non-structural carbohydrates content between variants S and V, but not between variants A and E. Statistically significant increase of sucrose content with time was detected by HPLC method at variant AS, but not at variant ES.

This Ph.D. thesis addresses the structure-function relationship of the multimeric oxidoreductase WrbA with the principal aim being the explanation of the unusual kinetics of this enzyme in molecular terms, and thus getting an insight about its physiological role in bacteria. WrbA is a multimeric enzyme with FMN as a co-factor, catalyzing the oxidation of NADH by a two electrons transfer. Structure and function analysis of WrbA places this enzyme between bacterial flavodoxins and eukaryotic oxidoreductases in terms of its evolutionary relationship. The kinetic activity of WrbA was studied under varying conditions such as temperature, pH etc, and its kinetic mechanism was evaluated from parameters KM and Vmax and confirmed by product inhibition pattern experiments. Crystallization and proteolytic experiments also underpin the functional importance of the multimeric nature of WrbA and aid the understanding of the physiological role of this enzyme in molecular terms.