Enzymes

Immobilized Enzymes for Use in an Electrochemical Sensor Wilkins University of New Mexico US 5476776; December 19, 1995 A reusable, miniature, implantable electrochemical sensor and a method for making the sensor and a powder for the system. En- zyme material is immobilized on bulk particulate matter, and a reaction chamber of the sensor is then filled. The sensor is im- planted in an environment where it comes into contact with a specific component of a fluid with which the enzyme material chemically reacts to produce electrical signals for measuring the reaction.

Method of Making Poly(Sugar Acrylates) Using Hydrolytic Enzymes Dordick et al. University of Iowa US 5474915; December 12, 1995 A poly(sugar acrylate) prepared by reacting vinyl acrylate with a sugar in the presence of hydrolytic enzymes to prepare an acryloyl ester of the sugar. This ester is then polymerized to form the poly(sugar acrylate). Useful hydrolytic enzymes include alkaline protease, aminoacylase, fungal amylase, bacterial protease, lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia, and subtilisin. Useful sugars include alpha- or beta alkyl- or alpha- or beta-halo-glycosides, sucrose, fructose, mannose, trehalose, raftinose, lactose, and maltose.

Method for Preparing Immobilized Enzyme Conjugates and the Immobilized Enzyme Conjugates Prepared Brewer et al. Solvay Enzymes, Inc. US 5472861; December 5, 1995 A method for preparing an immobilized enzyme conjugate whereby the enzyme is treated with a polyfunctional amine reac- tive material for forming a treated enzyme-containing adduct be- fore being immobilized on a solid support which has been con- tacted with a solution of a polyamine compound.

Enzymatic Process for Cephalosporins Baldwin University of Oxford US 5472853; December 5, 1995 N-terminal beta, gamma-didehydrovaline di- and tripeptides are reacted with isopenicillin N-synthetase to form 3-exomethylene- cepham-4carboxylic acids, e.g., delta-@-alphaaminoadipoyl)-r_- cysteinyl-o-beta, gamma-didehydrovaline is incubated with the purified enzyme to provide 7 beta-&alpha aminoadipoylamino)- 3-exomethylenecepham4carboxylic acid. The S-exocepham products are useful intermediates to 3-alkoxy-3xephem and the 3-halo-3-cephem antibiotics.

Hemicellulase Active at pH and Temperature Extremes Anderson et al. ChemGen Corporation US 5476775; December 19, 1995 Isolated soil bacteria which produce an enzyme capable of cata- lyzing the degradation of mannan-containing hemicellulose under conditions combining high pH and high temperature. Such bacteria can be cultured or used as sources of genetic information with which to engineer other microorganisms to produce the enzyme. Commercially useful quantities of native or recombinant hemicel- lulase can thus be produced by cultures consisting essentially of microorganisms capable of producing the enzyme.

Method of Enzymatically Measuring Hydrogen Peroxide and Reagent Therefor Kurono et al. Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co. Ltd. US 5474908; December 12, 1995 A method of enzymatically measuring hydrogen peroxide by de- veloping a color with the use of 3-methyl-2benzothiazolinoe- hydrazone as a coupler. This process is in combination with an oxidative color developing reagent with peroxidase. Also de- scribed is a reagent used in the process.

Nucleotide Sequence Encoding the Enzyme I-SCEI and Its uses Choulika et al. Institut Pasteur and University of Paris US 54748967; December 12, 1995 An isolated DNA encoding the enzyme I-SceI. The DNA se- quence can be incorporated in cloning and expression vectors, transformed cell lines, and transgenic animals. The vectors are useful in gene mapping and site-directed insertion of genes.

Bacteria

Chromosomal Expression of Nonbacterial Genes in Bacterial Cells Mascarenhas et al. Celtrix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. US 5470727; November 28, 1995 Compositions and methods for inserting a copy of a heterologous gene into the chromosome of a host cell such as E. coli through the use of a chromosomal transfer DNA, a circular, nonself-replicating DNA carrying a site-specific recombination site such as lambda att P. The host cell chromosome contains a second site-specific re- combination site. When the chromosomal transfer DNA is intro- duced into the host cell, expression of an integration enzyme such as integrase causes the integration of the chromosomal transfer

Richard S. Parr is Editor of the biotechnology patent newsletter BZOTECH Patent News, P.O. Box 4482, Metuchen, NJ 08840.

Enzyme and Microbial Technology 19:626-631, 1996 Q 1996 by Elsevier Science Inc. 655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010

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