Protein conformation plays a crucial role in determining both the catalytic efficiency and the chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivity of enzymes, thus eventually influencing their exploitability in biotechnological applications. Inevitably, immobilisation processes alter the natural molecular environment of enzymes, and quite often affect their catalytic activity through different mechanisms such as reduced accessibility of the substrate to the catalytic active centre, loss of the enzyme dynamic properties and alteration of the conformational integrity of the enzyme. This tutorial review outlines first the most common spectroscopic techniques used for investigating the conformation of immobilized proteins, and then examines how protein loading and polar and hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions with the carrier affect the structural and dynamic features of enzymes. The nanoscale-level studies in which protein conformational changes, determined either by experimental approaches or by homology modelling, are correlated with the size and shape of the support are also discussed. Altogether, these results should provide useful information on how supports and/or enzymes have to be tailored to improve biocatalyst performance.

The effects of ionic liquid media on the activity of Candida antarctica lipase B in a simple transesterification reaction were studied. In ionic liquids containing alkylsulfate, nitrate and lactate anions, which dissolved CaLB, the reaction was at least ten times slower than in [BMIm][BF₄]. Only [Et₃MeN][MeSO₄] was an exception, as dissolved CaLB maintained its activity in this solvent. By means of FT-IR spectroscopy, denaturation of CaLB was observed upon dissolution in ionic liquids in which the activity was low, whereas the conformation of enzyme dissolved in [Et₃MeN][MeSO₄] closely resembled the native one.

This review presents some of the hottest topics in biotechnological applications: proteases in biocatalysis. Obviously, one of the most relevant areas of application is in the hydrolysis of proteins in food technology, and that has led to a massive use on proteomics. The aim is to identify via peptide maps the different proteins obtained after a specific protease hydrolysis. However, concepts like degradomics are also taking on a more relevant importance in the use and study of proteases and will also be discussed. Other protease applications, as seem in cleaning (detergent development), the pharmaceutical industry, and in fine chemistry, will be analyzed. This review progresses from basic areas such as protease classification to a discussion of the preparation of protease‐immobilized biocatalysts, considering the different problems raised by the use of immobilized proteases due to the peculiar features of the substrates, usually large macromolecules. Production of bioactive peptides via limited hydrolysis of proteins will occupy an important place in this review.

Enormous interest in biocatalysis in non-aqueous phase has recently been triggered due to the merits of good enantioselectivity, reverse thermodynamic equilibrium, and no water-dependent side reactions. It has been demonstrated that enzyme has high activity and stability in non-aqueous media, and the variation of enzyme activity is attributed to its conformational modifications. This review comprehensively addresses the stability and activity of the intact enzymes in various non-aqueous systems, such as organic solvents, ionic liquids, sub-/super-critical fluids and their combined mixtures. It has been revealed that critical factors such as Log P, functional groups and the molecular structures of the solvents define the microenvironment surrounding the enzyme molecule and affect enzyme tertiary and secondary structure, influencing enzyme catalytic properties. Therefore, it is of high importance for biocatalysis in non-aqueous media to elucidate the links between the microenvironment surrounding enzyme surface and its stability and activity. In fact, a better understanding of the correlation between different non-aqueous environments and enzyme structure, stability and activity can contribute to identifying the most suitable reaction medium for a given biotransformation.

The present study demonstrates the antibacterial potential of a phage endolysin against Gram-negative pathogens, particularly on A. baumannii multidrug resistant strains. We have cloned, heterologously expressed and characterized a novel endolysin (ABgp46) from Acinetobacter phage vb_AbaP_CEB1 and tested its antibacterial activity against several multidrug-resistant A. baumannii strains. LC-MS revealed ABgp46 is an N-acetylmuramidase, that is also active at a broad pH range (4.0-10.0) and up to 50°C. Interestingly, ABgp46 has intrinsic and specific anti-A. baumannii activity, reducing up to 2 logs of multidrug resistant strains, in a 2 hour-time frame. By combining ABgp46 with several organic acids that act as outer membrane permeabilizing agents, it is possible to increase and broaden its antibacterial activity to other Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Especially in the presence of citric and malic acid, ABgp46 reduces A. baumannii below detection limit (> 5 log) and more than 4 logs P. aeruginosa and Salmonella Typhimurium strains. Overall, this globular endolysin presents a broad and high activity against Gram-negative pathogens, that can be enhanced in presence of citric and malic acid, and be used in human and veterinary medicine.