Immobilization of cytochrome P450 enzymes onto magnetic beads: An approach to drug metabolism and biocatalysis

Abstract

Cytochrome P450 (CYP, P450) presents a wide range of applicability in drug metabolism studies and in biocatalysis as a great alternative to synthesizing compounds. Nonetheless, their lack of stability is one of their major drawbacks. Aiming the possibility of enhancing the catalytic activity and promoting higher stability, liver microsomal fractions have been immobilized on magnetic beads (Mb). The immobilized procedure was modulated by using rat liver microsomal fractions (RLM-Mb). The optimal condition achieved was further employed for the immobilization of the human microsomal fractions on magnetic beads (HLM-Mb). In vitro metabolism assays were conducted using albendazole (ABZ) as a model drug, and the formation of albendazole sulfoxide (ABZSO) was monitored. Biotransformation reactions applying the produced HLM-Mb were examined for the best temperature to increase the production of metabolites and their reuse cycles. A kinetic study was carried out for HLM-Mbs monitoring the production of ABZO by the oxidation reaction of ABZ by CYP3A4. The Km value was 25.6 µmol L−1 and Vmax was 121.0 µmol L−1. Inhibition assays were conducted in the presence of ketoconazole and the production of ABZSO decreased by 46.8 ± 2.5%. Enzymatic activities for CYP2C9 and CYP2D6 on HLM-Mbs were evaluated by monitoring the hydroxylation reactions of diclofenac and bufuralol as substrates. The immobilization of CYP P450 on magnetic beads increased not only the production of ABZSO metabolites but also the stability of CYP. The use of HLM-Mbs jointly with immobilized glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH-Mbs) as a unique dual generator system to produce NADPH has established the one-pot conditions for biocatalysis in a greener approach with reuse of the biocatalyst (G6PDH-HLM-Mbs). To this end, the herein reported HLM-Mbs and G6PDH-HLM-Mbs are excellent analytical tools to be explored either in biocatalysis reactions or in in vitro metabolism studies.