Polymer-Coated Mesoporous Carbon as Enzyme Platform for Oxidation of Bisphenol A in Organic Solvents

Bisphenol A (BPA) is not only a widely used chemical but also a toxic pollutant, and its biodegradation in an aqueous environment is hard due to its near insolubility in water. While the enzyme tyrosinase can oxidize BPA in organic solvents, it does so only very slowly. In the present study, we have found that in toluene the catalytic activity of tyrosinase deposited onto coated mesoporous carbon is significantly enhanced when the support is precoated with polyethylenimine. The resultant enzymatically formed o-quinone is both easily recoverable and potentially useful monomer. As a particular example, the o-quinone readily reacts with diamine in toluene to form poly(amino-quinone) polymers, which are suitable for anticorrosion, energy storage, or biosensor applications.