Colorimetric high-throughput assay for alkene epoxidation catalyzed by cytochrome P450 BM-3 variant 139-3.

Cytochrome P450 BM-3 variant 139-3 is highly active in the hydroxylation of alkanes and fatty acids (AGlieder, ET Farinas, and FH Arnold, Nature Biotech 2002;20:1135-1139); it also epoxidizes various alkenes, including styrene. Here the authors describe a colorimetric, high-throughput assay suitable for optimizing this latter activity by directed evolution. The product of styrene oxidation by 139-3, styrene oxide, reacts with the nucleophile gamma-(4-nitrobenzyl)pyridine (NBP) to form a purple-colored precursor dye, which can be monitored spectrophotometrically in cell lysates. The sensitivity limit of this assay is 50-100 microM of product, and the detection limit for P450 BM-3 139-3 is ~0.2 microM of enzyme. To validate the assay, activities in a small library of random mutants were compared to those determined using an NADPH depletion assay for initial turnover rates.