Development of a liquid chromatographic system with fluorescent detection for β-secretase immobilized enzyme reactor on-line enzymatic studies

A novel liquid chromatographic method has been developed for use in throughput screening of new inhibitors of human recombinant β-amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme (hrBACE1). The approach is based on the use of an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) containing the target enzyme (hrBACE1–IMER) and uses fluorescence detection. The bioreactor was prepared by immobilizing hrBACE1 on an ethylendiamine (EDA) monolithic disk (CIM) and a fluorogenic peptide (M-2420) containing the β-secretase site of the Swedish mutation of amyloid precursor protein (APP) was used as substrate. After injection into the hrBACE1–IMER system, M-2420 was enzymatically cleaved, giving rise to a fluorescent methoxycoumaryl-fragment (Rt = 1.6 min), which was separated from the substrate and selectively detected at λexc = 320 and λem = 420 nm. Product and substrate were characterized by using a post monolithic C18 stationary phase coupled to an ion trap mass analyser. A calibration curve was constructed to determine the immobilized hrBACE1–IMER rate of catalysis and kinetic constants. Specificity of the enzymatic cleavage was confirmed by injecting the substrate on a blank CIM-EDA.The proposed method was validated by the determination of the inhibitory potency of five reference compounds with activities ranked over four order of magnitude (four peptidic inhibitors and a green tea polyphenol, (−)gallocatechin gallate). The obtained results were found in agreement with the data reported in literature, confirming the validity and the applicability of the hrBACE1–IMER as a tool for the fast screening of unknown inhibitors (more than 6 compounds per hour). Moreover, the hrBACE1–IMER showed high stability during the analysis, permitting its use for more than three months without affecting enzyme activity.