Formulation of the adenylate cyclase toxin of Bordetella pertussis as protein-coated microcrystals.

Adenylate cyclase toxin (CyaA) is an important virulence factor of Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, and, in its detoxified form, a potential component of acellular pertussis vaccines. This study reports the application of a novel technology, formulation of CyaA as protein-coated microcrystals (PCMC), to improve the performance of CyaA as a vaccine component. CyaA is normally stored in a high urea concentration to prevent aggregation and to maintain stability of the protein.

A rapid and direct method for the determination of active site accessibility in proteins based on ESI-MS and active site titrations.

We have developed an electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) technique that can be applied to rapidly determine the number of intact active sites in proteins. The methodology relies on inhibiting the protein with an active-site irreversible inhibitor and then using ESI-MS to determine the extent of inhibition. We have applied this methodology to a test system: a serine protease, subtilisin Carlsberg, and monitored the extent of inhibition by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), an irreversible serine hydrolase inhibitor as a function of the changes in immobilisation and hydration conditions.

Protein-coated microcrystals for use in organic solvents: application to oxidoreductases.

Protein-coated microcrystals (PCMC), a biocatalyst preparation previously demonstrated to display substantially increased transesterification activity of proteases and lipases in organic solvents when compared to their as received counterparts [Kreiner M, Moore BD, Parker MC (2001) Chem. Commun. 12:1096--1097], was applied to oxidoreductases.

DNA-coated microcrystals.

Coprecipitation leads to self-assembly of bioactive DNA on the surface of salt, sugar or amino-acid crystals and provides a rapid inexpensive immobilization method suitable for preparing dry-powder formulations of nucleic acids, useful for storage, imaging and drug delivery.

High-activity biocatalysts in organic media: solid-state buffers as the immobilisation matrix for protein-coated microcrystals.

Recently, we reported a new high-activity biocatalyst for use in organic media termed protein-coated microcrystals (PCMC) (Kreiner et al. [2001] Chem Commun 12:1096-1097). These novel particles consist of water-soluble micron-sized crystalline particles coated with the given biocatalyst(s) and are prepared in a one-step rapid dehydration process.