Polyhydroxyalkanoate Film Formation and Synthase Activity During In Vitro and In Situ Polymerization on Hydrophobic Surfaces

Abstract

In vitro and in situ enzymatic polymerization of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) on two hydrophobic surfaces, a highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM), was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), using purified Ralstonia eutropha PHA synthase (PhaC(Re)) as a biocatalyst. (R)-Specific enoyl-CoA hydratase was used to prepare R-enantiomer monomers [(R)-3-hydroxyacyl-CoA] with an acyl chain length of 4-6 carbon atoms. PHA homopolymers with different side-chain lengths, poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] [P(3HB)] and poly[(R)-3-hydroxyvalerate] [P(3HV)] were successfully synthesized from such R-enantiomer monomers on HOPG substrates. After the reaction, the surface morphologies were analyzed by AFM, revealing a nanometer thick PHA film. The same biochemical polymerization process was observed on an alkanethiol (C18) SAM surface fabricated on a gold electrode using QCM. This analysis showed that a complex sequence of PhaC(Re) adsorption and PHA polymerization has occurred on the hydrophobic surface. On the basis of these observations, the possible mechanisms of the PhaC(Re)-catalyzed polymerization reaction on the surface of hydrophobic substrates are proposed.