Innovation of enzymatic reaction field with nanoparticle catalysts

Project Gist

Innovation of enzyme reaction field by interdisciplinary fusion

Keywords

Nanoparticle, Enzyme, Dephosphorylation

Background and Purpose

The three purposes of this project are 1) to elucidate the mechanism by which cubic silica nanoparticle including rosin acid-coated calcium carbonate activates the enzyme which catalyzes the pyrophosphohydrolase reaction releasing pyrophosphate group from a compound including triphosphate, 2) to examine the applicability of the nanoparticle to other enzymes catalyzing similar reaction releasing pyrophosphate from other compounds, and 3) to examine the activation by immobilizing the enzyme catalyzing sulfidation on silica nanoparticles. Through the experiments to assess these tasks, we aimed to clarify the potential of nanoparticle catalysts on enzyme reaction fields and enhance the functionality of the nanoparticle.

Project Achievements

Through this SPIRITS project, we could propose a mechanism activating pyrophosphohydrolase enzyme by the nanoparticle, which has been set as our first goal. In addition, based on the interdisciplinary seminars carried out by this project, a new joint research was started. The collaborative research resulted in the identification of an additional enzyme that is activated by the nanoparticle. The results led by this cooperative research also achieved the second goal. Furthermore, many competitive research grants have been acquired with proposals created based on results of this project and discussion in seminars which were carried out by this project.

Future Prospects

In the future, we will write papers based on results which have not been reported yet and publish them. We will also examine whether the proposed activation mechanism is precise or not. In addition, the team formed in this project will search for opportunities to apply for appropriate competitive research grant.

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Principal Investigator