On-line coupling of immobilized cytochrome P450 microreactor and capillary electrophoresis: A promising tool for drug development

• A novel cytochrome P450 2C9 IMER based on the magnetic microparticles was prepared.
• The IMER was further integrated into inlet part of the capillary of CE system.
• The IMER-CE provides full automatization with the repetitive enzyme use.
• On-line kinetic and inhibition studies of cytochrome P450 2C9 were conducted.
• The methodology has great potential in the early stage of a new drug development

In this work, the combination of an immobilized enzyme microreactor (IMER) based on the clinically important isoform cytochrome P450 2C9 (CYP2C9) with capillary electrophoresis (CE) is presented. The CYP2C9 was attached to magnetic SiMAG-carboxyl microparticles using the carbodiimide method. The formation of an IMER in the inlet part of the separation capillary was ensured by two permanent magnets fixed in a cassette from the CE apparatus in the repulsive arrangement. The resulting on-line system provides an integration of enzyme reaction mixing and incubation, reaction products separation, detection and quantification into a single fully automated procedure with the possibility of repetitive use of the enzyme and minuscule amounts of reactant consumption. The on-line kinetic and inhibition studies of CYP2C9’s reaction with diclofenac as a model substrate and sulfaphenazole as a model inhibitor were conducted in order to demonstrate its practical applicability. Values of the apparent Michalis–Menten constant, apparent maximum reaction velocity, Hill coefficient, apparent inhibition constant and half-maximal inhibition concentration were determined on the basis of the calculation of the effective substrate and inhibitor concentrations inside the capillary IMER using a model described by the Hagen–Poisseulle law and a novel enhanced model that reflects the influence of the reactants’ diffusion during the injection process.