Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry, Vol. 22, No. 2, 1996, p. 77

Formation of a Polymer with the Glycine Deaminase Activity upon UV Irradiation of Amino Acid Solutions

I. V. Baskakov* and V. L. Voeikov** ¹

Shemyakin–Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya 16/10, Moscow , GSP-7, 117871 Russia

** Moscow State University , Biological Faculty, Vorob’evy Gory, Moscow , V-437, GSP-1, 119899 Russia

Abstract: By chromatography on hydroxylapatite and CM-Toyopearl, it was shown that, after short irradiation of aqueous solutions of a mixture of amino acids (glycine, L-arginine, and L-leucine or glycine, L-lysine, and L-leucine) by ultraweak UV light, products with the adsorption characteristics of polymers are formed. Similar irradiation of the aqueous solution of glycine also resulted in the formation of a substance which, after being concentrated by ultrafiltration on Amicon UM2 and desalted by gel filtration on Sephadex G-10, exhibits deaminase activity upon addition to a freshly prepared solution of glycine.

Key words: deamination, ammonia, reaction of polycondensation, ultraweak UV irradiation