Activity and Stability of Nanoconfined Alpha-Amylase in Mesoporous Silica

Mesoporous silica particles (MSPs) have been studied for their potential therapeutic uses in controlling obesity and diabetes. Previous studies have shown that the level of digestion of starch by α-amylase is considerably reduced in the presence of MSPs, and it has been shown to be caused by the adsorption of α-amylase by MSPs. In this study, we tested a hypothesis of enzymatic deactivation and measured the activity of α-amylase together with MSPs (SBA-15) using comparably small CNP-G3 (2-chloro-4-nitrophenyl alpha-d-maltotrioside) as a substrate. We showed that pore-incorporated α-amylase was active and displayed higher activity and stability compared to amylase in solution (the control). We attribute this to physical effects: the coadsorption of CNP-G3 on the MSPs and the relatively snug fit of the amylase in the pores. Biosorption in this article refers to the process of removal or adsorption of α-amylase from its solution phase into the same solution dispersed in, or adsorbed on, the MSPs. Large quantities of α-amylase were biosorbed (about 21% w/w) on the MSPs, and high values of the maximum reaction rate (V_max) and the Michaelis–Menten constant (K_M) were observed for the enzyme kinetics. These findings show that the reduced enzymatic activity for α-amylase on MSP observed here and in earlier studies was related to the large probe (starch) being too large to adsorb in the pores, and potato starch has indeed a hydrodynamic diameter much larger than the pore sizes of MSPs. Further insights into the interactions and environments of the α-amylase inside the MSPs were provided by ¹H fast magic-angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ¹³C/¹⁵N dynamic nuclear polarization MAS NMR experiments. It could be concluded that the overall fold and solvation of the α-amylase inside the MSPs were nearly identical to those in solution.