The
efficient immobilization of haloalkane dehalogenase (DhaA) on carriers
with retaining of its catalytic activity is essential for its application
in environmental remediation. In this work, adsorption orientation
and conformation of DhaA on different functional surfaces were investigated
by computer simulations; meanwhile, the mechanism of varying the catalytic
activity was also probed. The corresponding experiments were then
carried out to verify the simulation results. (The simulations of
DhaA on SAMs provided parallel insights into DhaA adsorption in carriers.
Then, the theory-guided experiments were carried out to screen the
best surface functional groups for DhaA immobilization.) The electrostatic
interaction was considered as the main impact factor for the regulation
of enzyme orientation, conformation, and enzyme bioactivity during
DhaA adsorption. The synergy of overall conformation, enzyme substrate
tunnel structural parameters, and distance between catalytic active
sites and surfaces codetermined the catalytic activity of DhaA. Specifically,
it was found that the positively charged surface with suitable surface
charge density was helpful for the adsorption of DhaA and retaining
its conformation and catalytic activity and was favorable for higher
enzymatic catalysis efficiency in haloalkane decomposition and environmental
remediation. The neutral, negatively charged surfaces and positively
charged surfaces with high surface charge density always caused relatively
larger DhaA conformation change and decreased catalytic activity.
This study develops a strategy using a combination of simulation and
experiment, which can be essential for guiding the rational design
of the functionalization of carriers for enzyme adsorption, and provides
a practical tool to rationally screen functional groups for the optimization
of adsorbed enzyme functions on carriers. More importantly, the strategy
is general and can be applied to control behaviors of different enzymes
on functional carrier materials.