Detergent permeabilized yeast cells as the source of intracellular enzymes for estimation of biomolecules.

The feasibility of using permeabilized whole cells as a source of intracellular enzymes instead of isolated expensive enzymes for the estimation of biomolecules has been studied. Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), hexokinase (HK), and beta-galactosidase (beta-GAL) activities of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-permeabilized whole yeast cells were employed to estimate ethyl alcohol, glucose, and lactose. The method using permeabilized cells was comparable to that of isolated enzymes and was applicable for the estimation of these analytes in complex samples such as blood, milk, and fermented samples. The usefulness of permeabilized cells as a single source of more than one enzyme required for coupled enzyme assays was demonstrated.