Enzymatic degradation of tetracycline by Trametes versicolor laccase in a fluidized bed reactor

Laccase from Trametes Versicolor was successfully immobilized on gelatin beads by a crosslinking reaction with glutaraldehyde. Immobilized laccases showed better stability towards pH and temperature than free laccases. Moreover, the immobilized laccases retained a good relative activity of 85 % after 20 days of storage at 4 °C. The degradation of tetracycline (TC) was studied with immobilized enzymes in both batch and fluidized bed reactors (FBR). The average degradation rate (1.59 mg h-1 Uenzymes-1) estimated over 24 h in the FBR was almost 5 times higher than in the stirred tank reactor. Maximum degradation rate achieved was 72 ± 1 % with a circulation flow rate of 80 mL min-1 and addition of air at a flowrate of 15 mL min-1. Study of the stability of the active beads under reaction conditions, shows that 45 % of the TC was degraded after 5 cycles of 24 h each. The toxicity of the TC solution before and after treatment was also investigated with microtox assays.

Immobilization of laccase on magnetic nanoparticles for enhanced polymerization of phenols

Laccase is an efficient biocatalyst for oxidative polymerization of organic substrates. However, cost of enzyme preparation, low stability and residual protein diminish the efficiency of laccase mediated polymerization. In this work, a series of silicon dioxide coated ferroferric oxide magnetic nanoparticles were modified by different functional groups including γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxy, succinic anhydride, glutaraldehyde and polyethylene imine. Infrared spectra indicated the magnetic carriers have been successfully modified. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) analysis revealed that all of these carriers showed high magnetic responsiveness after the surface functionalization. Laccase from Cerrena sp. HYB07 was then respectively immobilized covalently on these functionalized magnetic carriers. All the immobilized laccases displayed higher thermostability than free laccase and glutaraldehyde functionalized support (named FSNG) immobilized laccase showed better performance. These immobilized laccases all showed higher efficiency than free laccase for oxidative polymerization of catechol and hydroquinone. The immobilized laccases could be separated from the water insoluble polymerization products. The polymerization product of hydroquinone by FSNG immobilized laccase showed the average polymerization degree of the poly(hydroquinone) was six (DP=6). This work provided a comprehensive exploration of laccase immobilization on magnetic carrier for catalyzing polymerization of phenols.

Graphene oxide dispersed mesoporous ZIF-8-encapsulated laccase for removal of toluidine blue with multiple enhanced stability

The extensive use and discharge of toluidine blue have caused serious problems to the water environment. As a green biocatalyst, laccase has the ability to decolorize the dyes, but it is limited by poor reusability and low stability. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a good platform for enzyme immobilization. However, due to the weak dispersion of MOFs, the enzyme activity is inevitably inhibited. Herein, we proposed to use graphene oxide (GO) as the dispersion medium of mesoporous ZIF-8 to construct MZIF-8/GO bi-carrier for laccase (FL) immobilization. On account of the narrower bandgap energy of FL@MZIF-8/GO (4.07 eV) than that of FL@MZIF-8 (4.69 eV), electron transport was enhanced which later increased the catalytic activity of the immobilized enzyme. Meanwhile, the improved hydrophilicity characterized by contact angle and full infiltration time further promoted the efficiency of the enzymatic reaction. Benefiting from such regulatory effects of GO, the composite showed excellent storage stability and reusability, as well as multifaceted enhancements including pH, thermal, and solvent adaptation. On the basis of the characterized synergistic effect of adsorption and degradation, FL@MZIF-8/GO was successfully applied to the degradation of toluidine blue (TB) with a removal rate of 94.8%. Even in actual treated wastewater, the highest removal rate still reached more than 80%. Based on the inner mechanism analysis and the universality study, this material is expected to be widely used in the degradation of pollutants in real water under complex environmental conditions.

Immobilization of laccase on magnetic mesoporous silica as a recoverable biocatalyst for the efficient degradation of benzo[a]pyrene

Laccase is an efficient green biocatalyst, widely used for the degradation of various organic pollutants. However, free laccase is unstable and difficult to recover, which limits its practical application. In this study, a multilayer core-shell magnetic mesoporous silica (Fe3O4@d-SiO2@p-SiO2) microsphere with high specific surface area (275 m2 g-1) was fabricated for immobilization of laccase. The unique structure of Fe3O4@d-SiO2@p-SiO2 enabled the successful immobilization of laccase. Under the optimal immobilization conditions of laccase concentration of 1.5 mg mL-1, immobilization time of 6 h, immobilization pH of 6, the loading capacity of laccase was up to 567 mg g-1. Compared with free laccase, immobilized laccase exhibited remarkable pH stability, thermal stability and storage stability. Moreover, the immobilized laccase was easy to achieve magnetic recovery and possessed excellent reusability, with its activity remaining 58.2% after 10 consecutive reuses. More importantly, immobilized laccase had good degradation performance for benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), which can achieve rapid and efficient degradation of low concentration BaP over a wide range of pH and temperature. The removal efficiency of BaP was up to 99.0% within 1 h, and still exceeded 35.0% after 5 cycles. The removal of BaP by immobilized laccase was achieved through both adsorption and degradation. The degradation products and possible degradation pathways were determined by GC-MS analysis. This study indicated that Fe3O4@d-SiO2@p-SiO2 could effectively enhance the stability and biocatalytic activity of laccase, which is expected to provide a new clean biotechnology for the remediation of BaP contaminated sites.

In-situ encapsulation and construction of Lac@HOFs/hydrogel composite for enhancing laccase stability and azo dyes decolorization efficiency

Enzymes with high catalytic activity and stability have been used for the sustainable development of green chemical applications, such as water remediation. Immobilized laccase can be used to construct a synergistic system for adsorption and degradation, which has great potential for water remediation. Herein, a hydrogen-bonded organic framework was installed onto laccase in-situ to form a net-carboxylate-arranged defective cage, which enhanced its catalytic stability. Thereafter, the CMC/PVA/Lac@HOF-101 hydrogel was fabricated by freeze-thaw cycles using sodium carboxymethylcellulose and polyvinyl alcohol as carriers and copper (II) as a cross-linker. Notably, the MOFs/hydrogel as a protective carrier of laccase maintain long-term recyclability and catalytic stability. After the fifth catalytic cycle, approximately 66.7 % activity of the CP-Lac@HOF-101 was retained. When both free laccase and CP-Lac@HOF-101 were used for decolorization of Acid Orange 7 (AO), the removal rates were 10.9 % and 82.5 % after 5 h, respectively. Furthermore, even in the presence of metal cations, almost 60.0 % of the AO removal efficiency was achieved. The relationship between the structure of the azo dyes and decolorization efficiency of the synergistic system was further investigated. This study offers a method for constructing enzyme@HOF-based composite hydrogels and provides a promising water remediation strategy.

Enhanced stability and catalytic performance of laccase immobilized on magnetic graphene oxide modified with ionic liquids

Graphite oxide (GO) is an excellent laccase immobilization material. However, the electrostatic interaction between graphene leads to the accumulation of GO, as well as the interaction with the surface of enzyme molecules causing protein denaturation and deactivation, which limits its further industrial application. In this study, the ionic liquids (ILs) modification strategy was proposed to improve the stability and catalytic performance of immobilized laccase. The laccase-ILs-MGO exhibited remarkable enzymatic properties, with significant enhancements in organic solvent tolerance, thermal and operational stability. The laccase-ILs-MGO system exhibited a remarkable removal efficiency of 95.5% towards 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) within 12 h and maintained over 70.0% removal efficiency after seven reaction cycles. In addition, the efficient elimination of other phenolic compounds and recalcitrant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons could also be accomplished. Molecular dynamics simulation and molecular docking studies demonstrated that immobilized laccase exhibited superior structural rigidity and stronger hydrogen bond interactions with substrates compared to free laccase, which was beneficial for the stability of both the laccase and substrate degradation efficiency. Therefore, this study proposed a simple and practical strategy for modifying GO with ILs, providing novel insights into developing efficient enzyme immobilization techniques.

Coriolus versicolor laccase-based inorganic protein hybrid synthesis for application in biomass saccharification to enhance biological production of hydrogen and ethanol

In this study, a bio-friendly inorganic protein hybrid-based enzyme immobilization system using partially purified Coriolus versicolor laccase (CvLac) was successfully applied to biomass hydrolysis for the enhancement of sugar production aimed at generating biofuels. After four days of incubation, the maximum CvLac production was achieved at 140 U/mg of total protein in the presence of inducers such as copper and wheat bran after four days of incubation. Crude CvLac immobilized through inorganic protein hybrids such as nanoflowers (NFs) using zinc as Zn3(PO4)2/CvLac hybrid NFs (Zn/CvLac-NFs) showed a maximum encapsulation yield of 93.4% and a relative activity of 265% compared to free laccase. The synthesized Zn/CvLac-NFs exhibited significantly improved activity profiles and stability compared to free enzymes. Furthermore, Zn/CvLac-NFs retained a significantly high residual activity of 96.2% after ten reuse cycles. The saccharification of poplar biomass improved ∼2-fold in the presence of Zn/CvLac-NFs, with an 8-fold reduction in total phenolics compared to the control. The Zn/CvLac-NFs treated biomass hydrolysate showed high biological hydrogen (H2) production and ethanol conversion efficiency of up to 2.68 mol/mol of hexose and 79.0% compared to the control values of 1.27 mol of H2/mol of hexose and 58.4%, respectively. The CvLac hybrid NFs are the first time reported for biomass hydrolysis, and a significant enhancement in the production of hydrogen and ethanol was reported. The synthesis of such NFs based on crude forms of diverse enzymes can potentially be extended to a broad range of biotechnological applications.

Magnetically separable laccase-biochar composite enable highly efficient adsorption-degradation of quinolone antibiotics: Immobilization, removal performance and mechanisms

The tremendous potential of hybrid technologies for the elimination of quinolone antibiotics has recently attracted considerable attention. This current work prepared a magnetically modified biochar (MBC) immobilized laccase product named LC-MBC through response surface methodology (RSM), and LC-MBC showed an excellent capacity in the removal of norfloxacin (NOR), enrofloxacin (ENR) and moxifloxacin (MFX) from aqueous solution. The superior pH, thermal, storage and operational stability demonstrated by LC-MBC revealed its potential for sustainable application. The removal efficiencies of LC-MBC in the presence of 1 mM 2,2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) for NOR, ENR and MFX were 93.7 %, 65.4 % and 77.0 % at pH 4 and 40 °C after 48 h reaction, respectively, which were 1.2, 1.3 and 1.3 times higher than those of MBC under the same conditions. The synergistic effect of adsorption by MBC and degradation by laccase dominated the removal of quinolone antibiotics by LC-MBC. Pore-filling, electrostatic, hydrophobic, π-π interactions, surface complexation and hydrogen bonding contributed in the adsorption process. The attacks on the quinolone core and piperazine moiety were involved in the degradation process. This study underscored the possibility of immobilization of laccase on biochar for enhanced remediation of quinolone antibiotics-contaminated wastewater. The proposed physical adsorption-biodegradation system (LC-MBC-ABTS) provided a novel perspective for the efficient and sustainable removal of antibiotics in actual wastewater through combined multi-methods.

Encapsulated laccase in bimetallic Cu/Zn ZIFs as stable and reusable biocatalyst for decolorization of dye wastewater

Laccase have received extensive attention in pollutant degradation, but its practical viability is largely affected by the poor stability, easy inactivation and difficulty in recycling for the present. Enzyme immobilization offers enhanced enzyme stability and constructs a synergistic system for the efficient adsorption and degradation of pollutants. In this study, bimetallic Cu/Zn ZIFs were synthesized by co-precipitation method as the protective carrier for laccase. Lac@Cu-ZIF-90 exhibited a good protective effect on laccase and showed a high operational stability in various interfering environments. Free laccase was completely inactivated at pH 7.0 but Lac@Cu-ZIF-90 could maintain 50.0 % activity. Benefiting from the encapsulation of laccase and porous structure of Cu-ZIF-90, the Lac@Cu-ZIF-90 exhibited decolorization efficiency for dye wastewater. More importantly, the Lac@Cu-ZIF-90 could be recovered from the dye solution and re-used to adsorb and degrade the synthetic dye for multiple times, its removal rate for reactive deep green was only decreased about 10.8 % after five cycles. This work reveals that the Cu-ZIF-90 provides a favorable environment for laccase and as a protective layer to relieve the conformation change, which provides an efficient strategy to decolorize dye wastewater. Therefore, Cu-ZIF-90 promises applications as enzymes encapsulation has great potential in water remediation.

Plasma polymerized functional supermagnetic Fe3O4 nanostructured templates for laccase immobilization: A robust catalytic system for bio-inspired dye degradation

Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles, synthesized using co-precipitation method, were epoxy functionalized via plasma polymerization of 2,3-epoxypropylmethacrylate (EPMA) precursor. The EPMA-functionalized Fe3O4 nanoparticles (EPMA-f-MN) were employed as templates for facile, one-step covalent immobilization of laccase enzyme at room temperature. Samples were rigorously characterized by FTIR, TGA, SEM, TEM, XRD techniques, while Mössbauer spectroscopy (MöS) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) confirmed the supermagnetic nature of Fe3O4 nanoparticles. Activities of free and immobilized laccase (ImLac) were assayed by spectrophotometrically monitoring the enzymatic reduction of substrate 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylthiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) at 420 nm, corresponding to the λmax of ABTS.+. In addition to possessing higher thermal stability and a broader pH tolerance window compared to free laccase, the supermagnetic property of the Fe3O4 renders the ImLac system conveniently recoverable and recyclable. Practical applicability of ImLac towards catalytic degradation of industrial dyes was also ably demonstrated using Acid Blue 193 (AB 193) as a commercially used model textile dye, which belongs to the family of azo dyes. Over 95% degradation of the dye was achieved within a period of 4 hours. ImLac could be used for more than 10 dye degradation cycles with >90 % of retention in enzyme activity.

A robust biocatalyst based on laccase immobilized superparamagnetic Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2 nanoparticles and its application for degradation of chlorophenols

The presence of chlorophenols in water and wastewater is considered a serious environmental issue. To eliminate these micropollutants, biodegradation of chlorophenols using enzyme-nanoparticle conjugated biocatalyst, is proposed as an economical and eco-friendly method. Herein, amino-functionalized superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-NH₂ nanoparticles with core-shell structure were constructed as a promising carrier for immobilization of laccase from Trametes versicolor. Compared with free laccase, Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-NH₂-Laccase displayed remarkable outcomes in all major areas such as temperature and storage stabilities, and tolerance to organic solvents and metal ions. The biocatalytic performance and reusability of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-NH₂-Laccase were evaluated for the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) in repeated cycles. Even after 10 successive reuses, the degradation rate of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP were found to be 54.9% and 68.7%, respectively. The influences of solution pH, initial chlorophenol concentration, and temperature on the degradation rate of these two chlorophenols were evaluated. The degradation intermediate products including dimers, trimers, and tetramers of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP were identified. Release of chloride ions was observed during the enzymatic degradation of these two chlorophenols. Based on the determination of intermediate products and released chloride ions, the degradation pathway that was involved in dehydrogenation, reactive radical intermediates formation, dechlorination, self-coupling and oligomers/polymers formation was proposed. The toxicity of these two chlorophenols and their intermediates was substantially reduced during the enzymatic degradation. The results of this study might present an alternative clean biotechnology for the remediation of 2,4-DCP and 2,4,6-TCP contaminated water matrices.

Spent grain as a sustainable and low-cost carrier for laccase immobilization

Spent grain is promising lignocellulosic by-product support for laccase immobilization. The waste digestion with two different approaches (HCl/NaOH and H₂SO₄/NaOH) was performed. Different procedures (soaking and dropping), based on chemical and physical reactions, were also used to obtain the highest immobilized activity. Results showed that H₂SO₄/NaOH digestion guaranteed an immobilized activity five times higher than HCl/NaOH digestion. The best immobilization conditions with physical dropping procedure resulted in the highest immobilized activity on digested spent grain (2500 U/Kg). Good reusability (42% of activity retained after four cycles), and lower catalytic efficiency (V_max/K_m) of 0.053 min^-1 than free laccase (0.14 min^-1) with ABTS as substrate, were also obtained. Besides, when 20 mg of biocatalyst (0.02 U) were tested for syringic acid removal, complete oxidation of the phenol was achieved in just 4 h.

Immobilization of laccase onto modified PU/RC nanofiber via atom transfer radical polymerization method and application in removal of bisphenol A

In this study, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) was used as the monomers for surface grafting on electrospun PU/RC nanofiber membrane via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method, and the PU/RC-poly(HEMA) nanofiber membrane was investigated as a carrier for LAC. Free and immobilized LAC was characterized, and efficiency of bisphenol A (BPA) removal was determined. The results indicated that the PU/RC-poly(HEMA)-LAC showed relatively higher pH stability, temperature stability, and storage stability than free and PU/RC-LAC; moreover, more than 60% of the PU/RC-poly(HEMA)-LAC activity was retained after 10 cycles of ABTS treatment. Notably, the BPA removal efficiency of PU/RC-poly(HEMA)-LAC membrane generally ranged from 87.3 to 75.4% for the five cycles. Therefore, the PU/RC-poly(HEMA) nanofiber membrane has great potential as a carrier for the LAC immobilization for various industrial applications and bioremediation.

Immobilization of laccase onto meso-MIL-53(Al) via physical adsorption for the catalytic conversion of triclosan

Due to the abundant binding sites and high stability, a synthesized meso-MIL-53(Al) was selected as the backbone and used for immobilizing laccase (Lac-MIL-53(Al)) to catalytically degrade of TCS. XRD, BET and FTIR analyses proved that the carboxyl groups on PTA of meso-MIL-53(Al) could provide sufficient adsorption sites for physically immobilizing laccase through hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interactions. Although the catalytic efficiency of V_max/K_m slightly decreased from 785 to 607 min^-1 due to the mass transfer limitation upon immobilized, Lac-MIL-53(Al) showed high activity recovery (93.8%) and stability. The conformational analysis indicated the laccase could partially enter into the MOF by conformational changes without impairing laccase, although the laccase molecular (6.5 nm × 5.5 nm × 4.5 nm) was larger than the mesopore sizes of the MOF (4 nm). The kinetics indicated that Lac-MIL-53(Al) could remove 99.24% of TCS within 120 min due to the synergy effect of the adsorption of meso-MIL-53(Al) and catalytic degradation of laccase. Meanwhile, Lac-MIL-53(Al) could remain approximately 60% of activity for up to 8 times reuse without desorption. The GC/MS and LC/MS/MS analyses further confirmed that TCS could be transformed to 2, 4-DCP by laccase via the breakage of the ether bond, or to passivated dimers, trimers and tetramers by the self-coupling and oxidization of the phenoxyl radicals, and finally removed by precipitation. In summary, enzyme-MOF composite might be a potential strategy to control the micropollutants in the wastewater.

A catechol biosensor based on immobilizing laccase to Fe3O4@Au core-shell nanoparticles

This work is directed towards the synthesis of the magnetic nanoparticle in a core and a gold shell with immobilized of laccase on its surface (Fe₃O₄@Au@ Lac). The prepared Fe₃O₄@Au@ Lac core/shell nanoparticles are characterized by means TEM, SEM, DLS, zeta potential, UV-Vis, and TGA. Meanwhile, as an example of the applications, Biosensor activity was investigated by using the oxidation of catechol and recording the UV-Vis absorption in the 402 nm wavelength. The biosensor also demonstrated optimum activity at pH 5.0, reaction time at 40 min, and 35 mg the amount of biosensor. Linear response in the catechol concentration range of 5.0-70.0 μM. The limit of detection and the apparent Michaels-Menten constant (K_m) of the biosensor were 2 μM and 15 μM respectively.

Immobilizing laccase on kaolinite and its application in treatment of malachite green effluent with the coexistence of Cd (П)

Malachite green effluent with the Coexistence of Cd (П) was efficiently decolorized by kaolinite-laccase (Kaolin-Lac). Laccase from Trametes versicolor was immobilized onto the kaolinite through physical adsorption contact. The optimal conditions were 180 min of immobilization time and 0.8 mg/mL of enzyme solution. Kaolin-Lac could obtain a loading efficiency of 88.22%, a loading capacity of 12.25 mg/g, and the highest activity of 839.01 U/g. Moreover, the process of immobilization increased its pH stability and operational stability. Kaolin-Lac retained above 50% of the original activity and nearly 80% decolorization for MG after 5 cycles. In the presence of 3, 5-Dimethoxy-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde (SA), Kaolin-Lac could degrade over 98% of malachite green. The coexistence of Cd (П) was beneficial to the decolorization of malachite green by Kaolin-Lac. The structural and morphological features of kaolinite, Kaolin-Lac and Kaolin-Lac after degradation were determined by scanning electron microscopy-energy spectrum analysis (SEM-EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Cadmium appeared on the Kaolin-Lac after degradation. After immobilization and degradation, the surface groups on kaolinite were changed. Kaolin-Lac showed its more potential continuous employment than free laccase in practical malachite green dyes effluent mixed with Cd (П).

Immobilization of laccase on hollow mesoporous carbon nanospheres: Noteworthy immobilization, excellent stability and efficacious for antibiotic contaminants removal

In this study, the hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (HMCs) were synthesized and modified for laccase (Lac) immobilization, and the structural characteristics of HMCs materials were determined by FESEM, TEM and FTIR etc. The maximum loading of Lac on the HMCs materials could reach 835 mg/g, meanwhile, the immobilized Lac exhibited excellent thermo-stability, pH stability, storage stability and reusability. The antibiotics removal experiments indicated that the immobilized Lac possess efficient removal efficiency for both tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) and ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CPH) in the presence of redox mediator. The synergy of the adsorption by HMCs and the degradation by Lac could be the reasons for the high removal of antibiotics. Meanwhile, for investigating degradation mechanism, the degradation product analysis and molecular docking method had been introduced to this study. According to the degradation products, dehydroxylation and demethylation are major degradation reactions for TCH degradation, and the oxidation of the piperazinyl substituent and hydroxylation are the major degradation for CPH degradation. The docking results showed that some important residues played the key role in the degradation process. This study indicated that the immobilization of Lac on HMCs could be potentially applied in environmental remediation of antibiotics.

Paper waste extracted α-cellulose fibers super-magnetized and chitosan-functionalized for covalent laccase immobilization

Enormous disposal of paper wastes (PW) causing number of environmental problems. PW is efficiently used to extract multifunctional α-cellulose fibers (αCFs). Thus, αCFs extraction from PW, and functionalization with Fe₃O₄ and chitosan were successfully performed for immobilization of laccase. Therefore, in this investigation, PW extracted αCFs were tuned with supermagnetic Fe₃O₄ (M) and functionalized with chitosan (CTA) (M-PW-αCF-CTA). Furthermore, M-PW-αCF-CTA was glutaraldehyde cross-linked for covalent laccase immobilization. The synthesized materials were characterized by FT-IR, TGA, FE-SEM, FE-HR-TEM and VSM analyzes. M-PW-αCF-CTA exhibited magnetic saturation value of 14.72 emu/g. Laccase immobilized on M-PW-αCF-CTA (M-PW-αCF-CTA-Lac) gave 92% of activity recovery and loading capacity of 73.30 mg/g. M-PW-αCF-CTA-Lac showed excellent pH, temperature, and storage stabilities with the exceptional reusability potential. Moreover, M-PW-αCF-CTA-Lac was applied for repeated removal of carcinogenic Direct Red 28 (DR28). Therefore, M-PW-αCF-CTA-Lac is green and economical biocatalyst with extraordinary separation potential can be enforced for environmental pollutants reclamation.

Functional expression, production, and biochemical characterization of a laccase using yeast surface display technology

A Trametes versicolor laccase was functionally expressed on the membrane surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY100. Laccase expression was increased 6.57-fold by medium optimization and surpassed production by the native strain. Maximal laccase and biomass production reached 19 735 ± 1719 Ug^-1 and 6.22 ± 0.53 gL^-1 respectively, after 2 d of culture. Optimum oxidization of all substrates by laccase was observed at pH 3. Laccase showed high affinity towards substrates used with Km (mM) and Vmax (μmol min^-1) values of 0.57 ± 0.0047 and 24.55 ± 0.64, 1.52 ± 0.52 and 9.25 ± 1.78, and 2.67 ± 0.12 and 11.26 ± 0.75, were reported for ABTS, 2, 6-DMP and GUA, respectively. EDTA and NaN₃ displayed none competitive inhibition towards laccase activity. The optimum temperature for activity was 50 °C; however, the enzyme was stable over a wide range of temperatures (25-70 °C). The biologically immobilized laccase showed high reusability towards phenolic substrates and low reusability with non-phenolic substrates. High affinity for a diversity phenolic compounds and great ethanol tolerance substantiates this laccase/yeast biocatalyst potential for application in the production of bioethanol.

Laccase immobilization on the electrode surface to design a biosensor for the detection of phenolic compound such as catechol

Biosensors based on the coupling of a biological entity with a suitable transducer offer an effective route to detect phenolic compounds. Phenol and phenolic compounds are among the most toxic environmental pollutants. Laccases are multi-copper oxidases that can oxide phenol and phenolic compounds. A method is described for construction of an electrochemical biosensor to detect phenolic compounds based on covalent immobilization of laccase (Lac) onto polyaniline (PANI) electrodeposited onto a glassy carbon (GC) electrode via glutaraldehyde coupling. The modified electrode was characterized by voltammetry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The results indicated that laccase was immobilized onto modified GC electrode by the covalent interaction between laccase and terminal functional groups of the glutaraldehyde. The laccase immobilized modified electrode showed a direct electron transfer reaction between laccase and the electrode. Linear range, sensitivity, and detection limit for this biosensor were 3.2 × 10(-6) to 19.6 × 10(-6)M, 706.7 mAL mol(-1), 2.07 × 10(-6)M, respectively.

Laccase immobilization over multi-walled carbon nanotubes: Kinetic, thermodynamic and stability studies

The biocatalytic performance of immobilized enzyme systems depends mostly on the intrinsic properties of both biomolecule and support, immobilization technique and immobilization conditions. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) possess unique features for enzyme immobilization by adsorption. Enhanced catalytic activity and stability can be achieved by optimization of the immobilization conditions and by investigating the effect of operational parameters. Laccase was immobilized over MWCNTs by adsorption. The hybrid material was characterized by Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively). The effect of different operational conditions (contact time, enzyme concentration and pH) on laccase immobilization was investigated. Optimized conditions were used for thermal stability, kinetic, and storage and operational stability studies. The optimal immobilization conditions for a laccase concentration of 3.75μL/mL were a pH of 9.0 and a contact time of 30min (522 Ulac/gcarrier). A decrease in the thermal stability of laccase was observed after immobilization. Changes in ΔS and ΔH of deactivation were found for the immobilized enzyme. The Michaelis-Menten kinetic constant was higher for laccase/MWCNT system than for free laccase. Immobilized laccase maintained (or even increased) its catalytic performance up to nine cycles of utilization and revealed long-term storage stability.

Laccase immobilized manganese ferrite nanoparticle: synthesis and LSSVM intelligent modeling of decolorization

Laccase was immobilized onto manganese ferrite nanoparticle (MFN) and dye decolorization from single and binary systems was studied. The characteristics of laccase immobilized manganese ferrite nanoparticle (LIMFN) were investigated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Direct red 31 (DR31), Acid blue 92 (AB92) and Direct green 6 (DG6) were used. A least square support vector machine (LSSVM) was developed to predict the decolorization efficiency of various single and binary systems based on the obtained laboratory data under different experimental conditions. Statistical and graphical quality measures were also employed to evaluate the performance and accuracy of the developed intelligent models. It is shown that the predictions of the designed LSSVM models are in close agreement with the experimental data. The effects of LIMFN dosage, pH and dye concentration on dye decolorization from single and binary systems were evaluated. Decolorization kinetics followed Michaelis-Menten Model.

Hybrid membrane with TiO2 based bio-catalytic nanoparticle suspension system for the degradation of bisphenol-A

The removal of micropollutant in wastewater treatment has become a key environmental challenge for many industrialized countries. One approach is to use enzymes such as laccase for the degradation of micropollutants such as bisphenol-A. In this work, laccase was covalently immobilized on APTES modified TiO2 nanoparticles, and the effects of particle modification on the bio-catalytic performance were examined and optimized. These bio-catalytic particles were then suspended in a hybrid membrane reactor for BPA removal with good BPA degradation efficiency observed. Substantial improvement in laccase stability was achieved in the hybrid system compared with free laccase under simulated harsh industrial wastewater treatment conditions (such as a wide range of pH and presence of inhibitors). Kinetic study provided insight of the effect of immobilization on the bio-degradation reaction.