Question

Biphasic systems may be stabilized by the use of __________

(a) deuterated water

(b) sugar

(c) co-factors

(d) co-enzymes

This question was posed to me by my college director while I was bunking the class.

Question is from Recent Advances in section Recent Advances in Enzyme Technology of Enzyme Technology

Answer 1

Right answer is (a) deuterated water

Easy explanation: Biphasic systems may be stabilized by the use of deuterated water (D2O) as it reduces the rate of thermal inactivation. But it does cause an increase in the pKas of ionizing groups by about 0.4 with the associated changes in the pH-activity and pH-stability relationships. Though, the cost of deuterated water is high, the small amount necessary and the ease with which it may be recovered at the end of a catalytic process makes it useful to be used in biphasic systems.