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Most biochemical reactions depend on the pH value of the aqueous environment and some are strongly favoured to occur in an acidic environment. A non-invasive control of pH to tightly regulate such reactions with defined start and end points is a highly desirable feature in certain applications, but has proven difficult to achieve so far. We report a novel optical approach to reversibly control a typical biochemical reaction by changing the pH and using acid phosphatase as a model enzyme. The reversible photoacid G-acid functions as a proton donor, changing the pH rapidly and reversibly by using high power UV LEDs as an illumination source in our experimental setup. The reaction can be tightly controlled by simply switching the light on and off and should be applicable to a wide range of other enzymatic reactions, thus enabling miniaturization and parallelization through non-invasive optical means.
Many photochemical or photobiological applications require the use of high power ultraviolet light sources, such as high-pressure mercury arc lamps. In addition, many photo-induced chemical, biochemical and biological applications require either a combinatorial setting or a parallel assay of multiple samples under the same environmental conditions to ensure reproducibility. To achieve this, alternative, controllable light sources, such as ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV LEDs) with high power and spatial control are required. Preferably, LEDs are arranged in a suitable standardized 96-well microtiter plate format. We designed such an array and established the methods required for heat management and enabling stable, controllable illumination over time.