Glucose oxidase--often called glucose oxidase-peroxidase for its dual enzymatic purposes--is an oxidoreductase enzyme. This means it catalyzes, or speeds up, a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from one chemical compound to another, oxidizing one of the compounds and reducing the other. In chemistry, an oxidation means that a compound has lost electrons, while a reduction means that a compound has gained electrons. The enzyme reacts with both glucose and oxygen, producing a glucose-derived compound and hydrogen peroxide. There are several commercial applications for glucose oxidase.
Glucose Detection
Glucose oxidase can be used to determine the quantity or concentration of glucose in a serum sample. This is particularly useful in the event that researchers need a way to quickly determine how much glucose remains in a reaction vessel, as described in a 1973 paper published in the scholarly journal, "Clinical Chemistry." Glucose oxidase can also be used to monitor the amount of glucose that remains in a sample in food production. For instance, if a beer maker wishes to determine how much glucose in their beer has been converted to ethanol--a mark of how close to completion the beer is--they can remove a sample of the beer and treat it with glucose oxidase. The strength of reaction indicates the quantity of glucose that remains.
Dough Making
In the baking industry, glucose oxidase helps increase dough consistency and quality. A 2006 article published in "Food Chemistry" notes that addition of glucose oxidase strengthened bread matrix and improved the texture and quality of the bread. This was because the enzyme acted upon gluten, a protein that forms in baking bread, helping to crosslink gluten chains and give bread a doughier, chewier texture. Over addition of glucose oxidase caused the gluten matrix to form too fully, leading to tough bread.
Packaging
Yet another commercial application of glucose oxidase is in removing oxygen from food packaging. Since many bacteria that feed on food products grow best in an environment with oxygen in it, packaging foods under oxygen-free conditions helps inhibit growth of bacteria and spoilage. Glucose oxidase reacts with oxygen, converting it to hydrogen peroxide, which inhibits bacterial growth. A 1964 article in the "Journal of Dairy Science" reports that glucose oxidase can indeed be used to produce anaerobiosis, or oxygen-free conditions, in packaging. This is of significant utility not only in food packaging, but also in labs and facilities needing to control growth of bacteria in isolated air spaces.
References
- "Clinical Chemistry"; Evaluation of a Glucose Oxidase-Peroxidase Method Adapted to the Single-Channel AutoAnalyzer and SMA 12/60; Stanley Miskeiwicz et al; 1973
- "Food Chemistry"; Glucose oxidase effect on dough rheology and bread quality: A study from macroscopic to molecular level; A. Bonet et al; October 2005
- "Journal of Dairy Science"; Anaerobiosis Produced by Glucose Oxidase to Control Growth of Test Bacteria in Antibiotic Assays; R. Ledford et al; July 1964
