Quinizarin diester is used as a fluoro-chromogenic substrate of the activity of lipase supported in poly(methylmetacrylate) beads (CALB, Novozym® 435) dispersed in organic solvents. The monoester and diester of quinizarin are both non-fluorescent species contrasting with the enzymatic product quinizarin that shows optical absorption in the visible region and strong fluorescence signal. The enzymatic conversion is accomplished by spectroscopic measurements and it follows a sigmoid curve from which the mean reaction time of the enzymatic process can be determined. This parameter indicates the enzyme activity of the immobilized lipase. Its dependency with the amount of lipase allowed the determination of the ratio of the catalytic rate and the Michaelis constant (kc/Km) and the experimental value found was (1.0 ± 0.1) × 10-2 mg-1/min in the case of quinizarin diacetate.
Keywords: enzyme kinetics; fluorochromic substrate; lipase assay; quinizarin diester.