JBC, Vol. 250, Issue 4, 1376-1382, Feb, 1975

The pH dependence of the hydrolysis of benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester in cooled mixed solvents

P. Maurel, G. H. Hoa and P. Douzou

Tables of protonic activity (paH) of a number of buffers, determined in mixed solvents and at subzero temperatures, are reported for the following media: water-1,2-propanediol, water-glycerol, and water-dimethylsulfoxide (50:50, in volume). These data with those previously reported allowed us to study enzymic reactions under these conditions. The paH dependence of the tryptic hydrolysis of benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester has been studied in the presence of organic solvents (methanol, ethylene glycol, 1,2-propanediol, glycerol, and dimethylsulfoxide, all 50% by volume) between 20 and -20 degrees. The results have allowed us to show the validity of our paH scales in mixed solvents. The paH profiles obtained under these conditions are similar to those observed in pure water at 20 degrees. They are shifted nevertheless by both solvent and temperature. Such shifts are interpreted in terms of the effects of solvents and temperature on pKES on the basis of the conclusions drawn from a study of the effect of these variables on small dissociable molecules. The results obtained under these conditions of solvents and temperature are consistent with the presence at the active site of the enzyme of a histidine residue, and thus provide, concerning the solvent effect, a direct verification of the method of Findlay et al. (Findlay, D., Mathias, A. P., and Rabin, B. R. (1962) Biochem. J. 85, 139-144). On the other hand, the large temperature interval provided by the low temperature procedure, allows us to vary significantly the pK of ionizable groups of the enzymes and thus makes possible their identification, on the basis of their enthalpy of ionization.
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