Photodynamic Effect of Hypericin on the Conformation and Catalytic Activity of Hemoglobin

Hypericin, extracted from H. perforatum, can induce the generation of reactive oxygen species by visible light irradiation, which may consequently induce the conformational change of hemoglobin. We have not only employed UV-vis spectroscopy to observe the changes of UV-vis spectra of the protein, which reveals the conformational changes of the protein, but also employed electrochemical method to obtain its enhanced peroxidase activity. The photodynamic effect of hypericin on the conformation and catalytic activity of the protein has also been proven to be strongly dependent on the irradiation time, the hypericin concentration and the presence of oxygen. This work is beneficial not only to the fabrication of more sensitive hydrogen peroxide biosensor, but also to the guidance of the usage of this medicinal herb molecule, since the conformational change of the protein and the enhanced peroxidase can be easily obtained only by visible light irradiation on hypericin, the process of which is so common to happen

Study of Drug Metabolism by Xanthine Oxidase

In this work, we report the studies of drug metabolism by xanthine oxidase (XOD) with electrochemical techniques. Firstly, a pair of stable, well-defined and quasi-reversible oxidation/reduction peaks is obtained with the formal potential at −413.1 mV (vs. SCE) after embedding XOD in salmon sperm DNA membrane on the surface of pyrolytic graphite electrode. Then, a new steady peak can be observed at −730 mV (vs. SCE) upon the addition of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) to the electrochemical system, indicating the metabolism of 6-MP by XOD. Furthermore, the chronoamperometric response shows that the current of the catalytic peak located at −730 mV increases with addition of 6-MP in a concentration-dependent manner, and the increase of the chronoamperometric current can be inhibited by an XOD inhibitor, quercetin. Therefore, our results prove that XOD/DNA modified electrode can be efficiently used to study the metabolism of 6-MP, which may provide a convenient approach for in vitro studies on enzyme-catalyzed drug metabolism