The catalytic activity enhancement and biodegradation potential of free laccase and novel sol-gel laccase in non-conventional solvents

• Main Authors: Mohidem, Nur Atikah, Mat, Hanapi
• Format: Article
• Published: Elsevier Ltd. 2012
• Subjects: TP Chemical technology
• Online Access: http://eprints.utm.my/id/eprint/47597/; http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2012.02.138
• Institution: Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

The catalytic activity of free laccase and a novel sol-gel laccase (SOLAC) in ionic liquids and organic solvents was demonstrated by using 2,6-dimethoxyphenol (2,6-DMP) as a substrate. The enhancement of the catalytic activity of the SOLAC was observed and compared to the free laccase in both media. The oxidative biodegradation of o-chlorophenol as a model of phenolic environmental pollutants in organic media shows that the degradation was observed only when using water pre-saturated organic solvents or reverse micelle system. The SOLAC gave higher biodegradation rate in either aqueous or organic solvents, in which the optimum temperature was observed at 40 °C for the reverse micelle system as a reaction medium. All results demonstrated the potential use of the SOLAC for biodegradation of phenolic environmental pollutants in non-conventional media.