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Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Light-driven Enzymatic Decarboxylation
Published on: May 22, 2016
Enzymatic oxidative transformation of chlorophenol mixtures
J M Bollag1, Horng-Lun Chu, M A Rao
1Laboratory of Soil Biochemistry, Center for Bioremediation and Detoxification, 129 Land and Water Research Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. jmbollag@psu.edu
Abstract:
Chlorinated phenols are major industrial and agricultural xenobiotics that pollute soil and ground water. It has been shown that laccases catalyze the oxidative coupling of phenolic compounds. Therefore, the transformation of one or a mixture of several chlorinated phenols by a laccase from the fungus Trametes villosa was studied. Generally, if more than one phenol was added, the transformation of chlorinated phenols decreased, and if the concentration of the laccase was increased, the transformation of the phenols was enhanced. There were exceptions to these observations: for instance, the transformation of 0.1 mM 4-chlorophenol incubated with 1 mM 2,4-dichlorophenol in buffered salt solutions was not enhanced if the concentration of the laccase was increased from 2 to 20 DMP units/mL. The reason for the reduced transformation of chlorinated phenols in the presence of additional phenols is still unknown. However, in spite of some limitations, the application of laccase to decontaminate wastewater polluted with chlorinated phenols appears feasible.
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