Self-Assembled Enzymatic Nanowires with a Dry and Wet Interface Improve the Catalytic Performance of Januvia Transaminase in Organic Solvents

The use of organic solvents in enzymatic reactions is advantageous for industrial bioprocesses. However, enzymes tend to denature in organic solvents. To solve this problem, a self-assembled enzymatic nanowire with a unique dry and wet (hydrophobic and hydrophilic) interface was developed in this study. This interface not only enriched hydrophobic substrates but also retained enzyme stability. As a proof-of-concept, Januvia transaminase (JTA) was genetically fused with the self-assembly domain of amyloid protein Sup35 to construct JTA nanowire (JTAnw). The catalytic activity of JTAnw (33.610 +/- 2.406) x 10(-3) s(-1) was higher than that of free JTA (7.088 +/- 0.351) x 10(-3) s(-1), while the time required for 90% conversion was reduced from 24 h for free JTA to less than 4.5 h for JTAnw. JTAnw also showed better thermal stability, pH stability, and organic solvent adaptability than free JTA. This self-assembly strategy provides a convenient approach to improve the enzymatic performance in organic solvents.

Automated summary

The study developed a self-assembled enzymatic nanowire with a unique interface, improving enzyme stability and catalytic activity in organic solvents. By fusing JTA with Sup35 to construct JTAnw, the reaction time in organic solvents was significantly reduced, and the thermal and pH stability of the enzyme was enhanced.