Controllable enzymatic superactivity of α-chymotrypsin activated by the electrostatic interaction with cationic gemini surfactants

Surfactant plays a critical role in enzymatic multi-functionalization processes. However, a deep understanding of surfactant-enzyme interactions has been lacking up until now due to the extreme complexity of the mixed system. This work reported the effect of cationic gemini surfactants, alkanediyl-α,ω-bis(dimethyldodecylammonium bromide) (C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2), S = 2, 6, and 10) on the enzymatic activity and conformation of α-chymotrypsin (α-CT) in phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.3). The enzymatic activity was assessed by the rate of 2-naphthyl acetate (2-NA) hydrolysis measured by UV-vis absorption. The superactivity of α-CT in the presence of C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2) appears in the concentration region below the critical micelle concentration (cmc) of the surfactant, and its maximum superactivity is correlated to the spacer length of C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2). Subtle regulation of the charge density of headgroups of the cationic surfactant can be achieved through partial charge neutralization of cationic headgroups by introducing inorganic counterions or oppositely charged surfactant, demonstrating that the electrostatic interaction plays the crucial role for emergence of the superactivity. The interaction between C(12)C(S)C(12)Br(2) (S = 2,6, and 10) and α-CT was characterized by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), and the obtained endothermic enthalpy change indicates that the interaction induces the change in conformation and enzymatic superactivity. The methodologies of fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) show that the gemini surfactants with different spacer lengths induct and regulate the secondary, tertiary and even fourth structures of the protein. The present work is significant to get deeper insight into the mechanism of the activation and denaturation of enzymes.