We describe the construction of enzymatic nanoreactors through noncovalent envelopment of a glycoprotein by amphiphilic linear-dendritic AB or ABA copolymers. The synthetic procedure is based on the regioselective adsorption of dendritic poly(benzyl ether)-block-linear poly(ethylene glycol)-block-dendritic poly(benzyl ether) or linear poly(ethylene oxide)-block-dendritic poly(benzyl ether) copolymers onto the oxidative enzyme laccase from Trametes versicolor in aqueous medium. The complexes formed have improved catalytic activity compared with the native enzyme (77-85 nkat/mL vs 60 nkat/mL, respectively) and are more stable at elevated temperatures up to 70 degrees C. Experiments with deglycosylated laccase confirm that the glycoside fragments in the native enzyme serve as the anchor sites for the linear-dendritic copolymers. The enzymatic nanoreactors are able to effectively oxidize series of substrates: phenolic compounds (syringaldazine) and hydrophobic polyaromatic hydrocarbons (anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene) under "green" chemistry conditions.

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Soda pulping catalyzed by anthraquinone (AQ) or 2-methylanthraquinone (MAQ) can produce hardwood chemical pulps similar to kraft pulps in all respect but for bleachability. Results accumulated in our laboratory suggest that the residual lignin in pulps from anthraquinone catalyzed processes is less reactive toward bleaching chemicals than that in kraft pulps. Analyses of pulps by periodate and permanganate oxidations suggest that the residual lignin from the non-sulfur processes contained more condensed structures than kraft residual lignin. The low reactivity of these structures is believed to be responsible for the lower brightness of bleached soda-AQ (SAQ) pulps. Pulping and bleaching trials with hardwood chips demonstrated that shortening of the cooking time and/or increasing the alkalinity is one strategy for improving bleachability of SAQ pulps. When sugar maple (Acer saccharum) chips were SAQ cooked for 1.0 and 2.0 h at 165 • C, the higher kappa number pulp produced after 1.0 h of cooking bleached to a significantly higher brightness with a small increase in the chlorine dioxide application.

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