Biotransformation of 2,4-dinitroanisole by a fungal Penicillium sp.

Insensitive munitions explosives are new formulations that are less prone to unintended detonation compared to traditional explosives. While these formulations have safety benefits, the individual constituents, such as 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), have an unknown ecosystem fate with potentially toxic impacts to flora and fauna exposed to DNAN and/or its metabolites. Fungi may be useful in remediation and have been shown to degrade traditional nitroaromatic explosives, such as 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene and 2,4-dinitrotoluene, that are structurally similar to DNAN.