Cross-linking of β-casein by Trichoderma reesei tyrosinase and Streptoverticillium mobaraense transglutaminase followed by SEC–MALLS

Enzymatic modification of proteins, in order to produce functional materials such as hydrogels, adhesives and films via cross-linked networks or scaffolds of proteins, is a constantly evolving technology to create tailored micro- and nanostructured materials for food, cosmetic, and medical applications. For the successful utilization of oxidoreductases or transferases such as tyrosinases and transglutaminases, respectively, it is crucial to understand the action of these enzymes on protein substrates. In this study, cross-linking of the milk protein β-casein by Trichoderma reesei tyrosinase (TrTyr) was studied using size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) equipped with multi-angle light scattering (MALLS) and ultraviolet/visible (UV/Vis) detectors in order to determine the molecular mass (MM), radius of gyration (RG) and degree of polymerization (DP) of the reaction products. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to detect early polymerization states. The widely used Streptoverticillium mobaraense transglutaminase (Tgase) was used for comparison to tyrosinase from T. reesei. The results showed that cross-linking of β-casein by these two different types of enzymes resulted in the formation of polymerized reaction products with MM ranging from 500 to 1700 kg mol−1 depending on the enzyme dosage and incubation time. The DP varied from 21 to 71, respectively. In the case of TrTyr the polymerized reaction products were slightly colored, and formation of the covalent cross-linking of β-casein could be monitored by UV/Vis as a function of incubation time.