Formation of enzyme polymer engineered structure for laccase and cross-linked laccase aggregates stabilization.

Laccase and laccase-based cross-linked enzyme aggregates (CLEAs) were stabilized through the formation of a surrounding polymeric network made of chitosan and 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The thermoresistance of the resulting enzyme polymer engineered structures of laccase (EPES-lac) and CLEAs (EPES-CLEA) were more than 30 times higher than that of free laccase and CLEAs at pH 3 and 40 °C. The EPES showed higher residual activity than the unmodified biocatalysts against chaotropic salts (up to 10 times), EDTA (up to 5 times), methanol (up to 15 times) and acetone (up to 20 times).

Laccase immobilization and insolubilization: from fundamentals to applications for the elimination of emerging contaminants in wastewater treatment.

Over the last few decades many attempts have been made to use biocatalysts for the biotransformation of emerging contaminants in environmental matrices. Laccase, a multicopper oxidoreductase enzyme, has shown great potential in oxidizing a large number of phenolic and non-phenolic emerging contaminants. However, laccases and more broadly enzymes in their free form are biocatalysts whose applications in solution have many drawbacks rendering them currently unsuitable for large scale use.