An enzymatic system for decolorization of wastewater dyes using immobilized CueO laccase-like multicopper oxidase on poly-3-hydroxybutyrate.

The presence of synthetic dyes in wastewaters generated by the textile industry constitutes a serious environmental and health problem that urges the scientific community on an appropriate action. As a proof-of-concept, we have developed a novel approach to design enzymatic bioreactors with the ability to decolorize dye solutions through the immobilization of the bacterial CueO laccase-like multicopper oxidase from Escherichia coli on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) beads by making use of the BioF affinity tag. The decolorization efficiency of the system was characterized by a series of parameters, namely maximum enzyme adsorption capacity, pH profile, kinetic constants, substrate range, temperature and bioreactor recycling.