Exocytosis is the fundamental process by which cells communicate with each other. The events that lead up to the fusion of a vesicle loaded with chemical messenger with the cell membrane were the subject of a Nobel Prize in 2013. However, the processes occurring after the initial formation of a fusion pore are very much still in debate. The release of chemical messenger has traditionally been thought to occur through full distention of the vesicle membrane, hence assuming exocytosis to be all or none. In contrast to the all or none hypothesis, here we discuss the evidence that during exocytosis the vesicle-membrane pore opens to release only a portion of the transmitter content during exocytosis and then close again. This open and closed exocytosis is distinct from kiss-and-run exocytosis, in that it appears to be the main content released during regular exocytosis. The evidence for this partial release via open and closed exocytosis is presented considering primarily the quantitative evidence obtained with amperometry.

We report the synthesis and characterization of bioconjugates in which the enzymes malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and/or citrate synthase (CS) were adsorbed to 30 nm diameter Au nanoparticles. Enzyme:Au stoichiometry and kinetic parameters (specific activity, k_cat, K_M, and activity per particle) were determined for MDH:Au, CS:Au, and three types of dual-activity MDH/CS:Au bioconjugates. For single-activity bioconjugates (MDH:Au and CS:Au), the number of enzyme molecules adsorbed per particle was dependent upon the enzyme concentration in solution, with multilayers forming at high enzyme:Au solution ratios. The specific activity of adsorbed enzyme increased with increasing number adsorbed per particle for CS:Au, but was less sensitive to stoichiometry for MDH:Au. Dual activity bioconjugates were prepared in three ways: (1) by adsorption of MDH followed by CS, (2) by adsorption of CS followed by MDH, and (3) by coadsorption of both enzymes from the same solution. The resulting bioconjugates differed substantially in the number of enzyme molecules adsorbed per particle, the specific activity of the adsorbed enzymes, and also the enzymatic activity per particle. Bioconjugates formed by adding CS to the Au nanoparticles before MDH was added exhibited higher specific activities for both enzymes than those formed by adding the enzymes in the reverse order. These bioconjugates also had 3-fold higher per-particle sequential activity for conversion of malate to citrate, despite substantially fewer copies of both enzymes present.