Enzyme Hydration: How to Retain Resistance in Ionic Liquids

Abstract

Application of ionic liquids (ILs) as media in biocatalysis has enormous potential for synthesizing valuable compounds and bulk products in pharmaceuticals and bioenergy due to their unique solvent properties such as volatility, flammability, and solubility. However, ILs as reaction media are often limited by poor enzymatic activity and stability in ILs. We printed a comprehensive IL–enzyme interaction map by studying 45 molecular observables of 30 lipase A from Bacillus subtilis (BSLA) variants in four ILs and a substitutional landscape with 1504 BSLA variants. The results demonstrated that the enzyme hydration shell is the deciding and independent factor determining the enzyme’s IL resistance. A universal positive correlation (up to R2 = 0.96 in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate ([BMIM][TfO]) and R2 = 0.85 in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl)) was verified, and an experimentally derived ranking of amino acid substitutions is summarized in a list to provide benefits for better protein engineering practice. Hydration-guided engineering yielded a supremely tolerant BSLA variant I12R/D34K/A132K with 8.1-fold, 8.6-fold, 6.6-fold, and 4.6-fold improved tolerance toward [BMIM]Cl, [BMIM]Br, [BMIM]I, and [BMIM][TfO], respectively, when compared to the wild-type BSLA. The obtained knowledge provides a lesson learned on forecasting enzyme stability in ILs and simplifies a rational design of the IL-tolerant enzymes.