The binding of enzymes to insoluble supports has attracted considerable attention in recent years since immobilised enzymes frequently have superior properties compared with soluble enzymes, rendering them particularly useful for synthetic and analytical purposes. Many methods exist for the immobilization of enzymes,' but usually one of four methods have been used: 1) entrapment, 2) copolymerization, 3) covalent attachment, or 4) physical adsorption, e.g. by hydrophobic forces.We have been using bacteriophage T4 polynucleotide kinase (PNK) to prepare radioactivity labelled nucleotides and find that the immobilized enzyme offers several advantages over the soluble form, e.g., stability and ease of handling. We now report our investigations on the immobilization of PNK on various supports and the stabilities of these preparations. Preliminary studies on the hydrophobic immobilization of PNK have been reported2 but these investigations were part of a wider survey on the hydrophobic immobilization of enzymes and few details were published.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
MaterialsBacteriophage T4 polynucleotide kinase [E.C.2.1.7.78] was supplied as an aqueous solution (SO00 U/M1) containing bovine serum albumin [0.05% (w/v)] by Amersham International plc (Amersham England). Octyland phenyl-Sepharoses and cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose were obtained from Pharmacia Ltd (Milton Keynes, England). The "C,-series" kit for hydrophobic chromatography, consisting of six I-mL bed volume columns containing agarose to which n-alkyl