A miniaturized assay for kinetic characterization of the Na+-translocating NADH:ubiquinone oxidoreductase from Vibrio cholerae

We demonstrate the miniaturization of an enzymatic assay for the determination of NADH oxidation and quinone reduction by the Na+ -translocating NADH quinone oxidoreductase (NQR) in the 96-well plate format. The assay is based on the spectrophotometric detection of NADH consumption and quinol formation. We validated the new method with known inhibitors of the NQR and optimized conditions for high-throughput screening as demonstrated by excellent Z-factors well above the accepted threshold (≥0.5). Overall, the method allows the screening and identification of potential inhibitors of the NQR, and rapid characterization of NQR variants obtained by site-specific mutagenesis.