Why is it necessary to avoid repeated freezing and thawing of glucose dehydrogenase 9028-53-9 during storage?

Glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), as a key enzyme in glucose metabolism, plays an indispensable role in the field of medical diagnosis. Whether it is blood glucose testing, disease biomarker screening, or personalized medical plan development, the precise catalytic ability of glucose dehydrogenase is the technical core. However, its activity is highly susceptible to storage conditions, especially repeated freeze-thaw cycles, which significantly reduce catalytic efficiency and threaten the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic results.

Molecular damage mechanism of freeze-thaw cycles

The freeze-thaw process damages glucose dehydrogenase molecules through a dual mechanism of physical compression and chemical disturbance. At low temperatures, water molecules crystallize to form ice crystals, directly squeezing enzyme molecules and causing their three-dimensional conformation to change. Meanwhile, the fluctuation of solution ion concentration caused by freeze-thaw can disrupt the electrostatic interactions within enzyme molecules, leading to the breakage of salt bridges between subunits and reducing enzyme stability. This molecular level damage gradually accumulates after multiple freeze-thaw cycles, ultimately leading to complete enzyme inactivation.

glucose dehydrogenase

Chain negative impact on medical diagnosis

In blood glucose testing, glucose dehydrogenase is the core component of a rapid blood glucose meter. The decrease in enzyme activity caused by repeated freeze-thaw cycles can significantly reduce the accuracy of detection, resulting in biased test results. This deviation not only affects the daily blood glucose monitoring of diabetes patients, but also may mislead doctors to adjust insulin dosage and increase the risk of hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia.

In disease biomarker screening, the stability of glucose dehydrogenase activity directly affects detection sensitivity. Enzyme inactivation caused by repeated freeze-thaw cycles may underestimate the concentration of biomarkers and delay early diagnosis. In addition, in personalized medicine, changes in the activity of glucose dehydrogenase may affect the accuracy of metabolomics data, thereby interfering with the development of treatment plans.

More seriously, enzyme inactivation caused by freezing and thawing may trigger medical safety incidents. In emergency situations, if the blood glucose meter provides incorrect data due to enzyme inactivation, it may delay the treatment of critically ill patients. In chronic disease management, long-term use of testing reagents with decreased activity may lead to worsening of the patient's condition and increase the risk of medical disputes.

Scientific Preservation Strategy

1. Short term use of glucose dehydrogenase should be stored at 4 ℃ for refrigeration, at which point the enzyme activity retention rate can reach over 90%. Long term storage requires preventing glucose dehydrogenase from being stored in a low temperature environment of -20 ℃, combined with protective agents such as glycerol, which can significantly improve freeze-thaw tolerance.

2. Packaging and preservation technology is an effective means to reduce the number of freeze-thaw cycles. Dividing glucose dehydrogenase into sterile containers according to a single usage amount can avoid repeated thawing and freezing. In addition, optimizing the buffer system (such as adding stabilizers such as NaCl and trehalose) can enhance the anti freezing and thawing ability of enzymes, by forming a protective hydration layer and reducing the direct damage of ice crystals to enzyme molecules.

3. In medical practice, medical institutions should establish a dynamic monitoring system for enzyme activity, regularly calibrate testing equipment, and ensure the quality of reagents. At the same time, developing new freeze-thaw protectants or exploring directed evolution of enzyme molecules can fundamentally enhance the freeze-thaw stability of glucose dehydrogenase.

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