Multienzyme complexes (MECs) in nature exhibit highly efficient catalytic mechanisms in reaction cascades. Different strategies have been developed to colocalize enzymes on nanocarriers to improve multienzyme catalytic efficiency by mimicking MEC structure and function. Numerous studies have indicated that the spatial arrangement and orientation of multiple enzymes in confined spaces are critical in facilitating cooperative enzymatic activity in multienzyme colocalization. Biomolecule scaffolds based on DNA hybridization have attracted great attention because of their unique effective control of the relative positions of different enzymes in multienzyme colocalization. To demonstrate this concept, glucose oxidase (GOX) and horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were colocalized onto polystyrene nanoparticles via specific DNA hybridization. Colocalization of GOX and HRP was evidenced by Forster resonance energy transfer studies of the dyes labeling the two tag DNAs. Finally, it was observed that colocalization of GOX and HRP via DNA hybridization significantly improved both the overall reaction efficiency and the storage shelf life compared with those of the single enzyme immobilization mixture control. In summary, DNA-directed colocalization of multiple enzymes on nanoparticles is an effective way to control the relative positioning of enzymes to mimic MECs and enhance catalytic activity.
■ INTRODUCTIONEnzymes, which are nature's catalysts, are involved in many reactions that take place in living organisms and have evolved to catalyze various chemical reactions, including multistep reactions. 1−3 Multienzyme complexes (MECs) are composed of multiple enzyme subunits or large polypeptides with defined tertiary and quaternary structures containing compact multiple catalytic centers that are in close proximity to each other. 4,5 When enzymatic catalytic active sites are brought together, reaction intermediates can be transported rapidly among the active sites via a "substrate channeling" effect, which can reduce diffusion losses typically observed in free-enzyme catalytic processes, enabling the maintenance of high local concentrations of intermediates, which is especially critical for unstable intermediates. 6,7 In addition, MECs are known to significantly increase the overall reaction turnover efficiency. 8 These benefits of MECs have inspired researchers to design artificial MECs to mimic the structure and functionalities of MECs. A number of methodologies have been proposed to design artificial MECs, as reported in several recent studies and reviews. 9−15 In this context, enzyme-immobilization-based strategies exhibit great potential because of their economical reusability, enhanced kinetic performance, and higher stability under harsh operating conditions (e.g., extreme pH and temperature). 16,17 In particular, nanoparticles have attracted much attention because of their large surface areas for immobilization and no internal diffusion resistance, in contrast to porous materials. More specifically, polymeric nanoparticles ...