How Does Surface Charge Engineering of Bacillus subtilis Lipase A Improve Ionic Liquid Resistance? Lessons Learned from Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Biocatalysis in ionic liquids (ILs) gained substantial interest due to solvent properties of the ILs, such as near-zero vapor pressure, high thermal stability, and wide tunability. Enzymes are often not catalytically active in ILs; therefore, understanding and improving enzyme resistance in ILs are essential to enable efficient biocatalysis in ionic liquids. Surface charge engineering has repeatedly been reported to enhance enzyme resistance toward ILs. However, the molecular knowledge about how substitutions to charged amino acids improve enzyme activity in an IL is far from being understood. Here, we report a comprehensive study to provide some principles of how surface charged amino acid substitutions (negatively and positively) strengthen the IL resistance of the Bacillus subtilis lipase A (BSLA) in [BMIM]Cl. Twenty typical BSLA substitutions (ten beneficial and ten nonbeneficial, obtained from the BSLA-SSM library) were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the [BMIM]Cl system. The BSLA-IL interaction patterns were printed by analyzing several structural- and solvation-based observables. Lessons learned by analyzing the SSM library of BSLA comprise the following: (i) A general trend was found where both negatively and positively charged substitutions increased the essential water molecules locally at the substitution site, thereby contributing to the overall protein hydration shell. (ii) Electrostatic repulsion of both IL ions and the refined hydration shell are ultimately the two main drivers to enhanced IL resistance. The analysis of 20 BSLA substitutions and the identified common interactions reveals that surface charge engineering is very likely to be a general protein engineering strategy to enhance lipase/enzyme activity in ILs. Moreover, this study also suggests that MD is a valuable technique to screen for beneficial substitutions that repel/recruit surface solvation.

Automated summary

Biocatalysis in ionic liquids has attracted significant interest, but enzymes often have low catalytic activity in these solvents. This study investigated the effect of amino acid substitutions on enzyme resistance in ionic liquids using molecular dynamics simulations. The results showed that surface charge engineering can enhance the IL resistance of the enzyme and improve its activity. This research provides insights into enhancing biocatalysis in ionic liquids and demonstrates the potential of molecular dynamics for screening beneficial substitutions.