Encouragement of Enzyme Reaction Utilizing Heat Generation from Ferromagnetic Particles Subjected to an AC Magnetic Field

PLoS One. 2015 May 19;10(5):e0127673. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127673. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

We propose a method of activating an enzyme utilizing heat generation from ferromagnetic particles under an ac magnetic field. We immobilize α-amylase on the surface of ferromagnetic particles and analyze its activity. We find that when α-amylase/ferromagnetic particle hybrids, that is, ferromagnetic particles, on which α-amylase molecules are immobilized, are subjected to an ac magnetic field, the particles generate heat and as a result, α-amylase on the particles is heated up and activated. We next prepare a solution, in which α-amylase/ferromagnetic particle hybrids and free, nonimmobilized chitinase are dispersed, and analyze their activities. We find that when the solution is subjected to an ac magnetic field, the activity of α-amylase immobilized on the particles increases, whereas that of free chitinase hardly changes; in other words, only α-amylase immobilized on the particles is selectively activated due to heat generation from the particles.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Enzyme Activation
  • Ferrous Compounds / chemistry*
  • Hot Temperature*
  • Magnetics*
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • alpha-Amylases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Ferrous Compounds
  • alpha-Amylases

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a Grant for the Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities S1101017 organized by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan (http://www.mext.go.jp/english/) and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, 22560209, organized by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (http://www.jsps.go.jp/english/index.html). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.