Ascorbate oxidase has been isolated from the green squash Cucurbita pepo medullosa by a new purification method. Furthermore a low-molecular-weight copper protein containing one type-1 copper/20000 Mr could be separated during the purification of the oxidase. The six-step procedure developed improved the yield of ascorbate oxidase by a factor of 2.5. The method is well reproducible and a constant value of 8 Cu (7.95 +/- 0.1/140000 Mr) has been established. By ultracentrifugal and electrophoretic criteria the enzyme preparations have been found to be homogeneous. They exhibited a specific activity of 3930 +/- 50 units/mg protein or 1088 +/- 15 units/microgram copper. 2. The pure enzyme is characterized by the following optical purity indices: A280/A610 = 25 +/- 0.5, A330/A610 = 0.65 +/- 0.05 and A610/A500 = 7.0 +/- 0.25. The molar absorption coeffient of the characteristic absorption maximum at 610 nm (oxidized minus reduced) amounts of 9700 M-1 cm-1 . 3. Computer simulations of the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of the oxidized enzyme reveal the following parameters: for the type-1 (blue) copper gz = 2.227, gy = 2.058, gx = 2.036; Az = 5.0 mT, Ay = Ax = 0.5 mT, for the type-2 (non-blue) copper g parallel to = 2.242, g perpendicular = 2.053; A parallel to = 19.0 mT, A perpendicular 0.5 mT. Out of the eight copper atoms present in the oxidase four are detectable by EPR. Of these, three belong to the type-1 class, and one to the type-2 class, as demonstrated by computer simulations of the EPR spectra. 4. To achieve full reduction of the enzyme, as measured by bleaching of the blue chromophore, four equivalents of L-ascorbate or reductase must be added in the absence of molecular oxygen. Upon reduction of the enzyme the fluorescence at 330 nm (lambda max ex = 295 nm) is enhanced by a factor of 1.5 to 1.75. The reduced enzyme is readily reoxidized by dioxygen, ferricyanide or hydrogen peroxide. It binds two molecules of hydrogen peroxide in the oxidized state (1/type-3 Cu pair), which can be monitored by a characteristic increase of the absorbance around 310 nm (delta epsilon = 1000 +/- 50 M-1 cm-1). Corresponding changes in EPR and fluorescence spectra have not been detected.
