Recent Developments in the Immobilization of Laccase on Carbonaceous Supports for Environmental Applications - A Critical Review

Abstract

Τhe ligninolytic enzyme laccase has proved its potential for environmental applications. However, there is no documented industrial application of free laccase due to low stability, poor reusability, and high costs. Immobilization has been considered as a powerful technique to enhance laccase’s industrial potential. In this technology, appropriate support selection for laccase immobilization is a crucial step since the support could broadly affect the properties of the resulting catalyst system. Through the last decades, a large variety of inorganic, organic, and composite materials have been used in laccase immobilization. Among them, carbon-based materials have been explored as a support candidate for immobilization, due to their properties such as high porosity, high surface area, the existence of functional groups, and their highly aromatic structure. Carbon-based materials have also been used in culture media as supports, sources of nutrients, and inducers, for laccase production. This study aims to review the recent trends in laccase production, immobilization techniques, and essential support properties for enzyme immobilization. More specifically, this review analyzes and presents the significant benefits of carbon-based materials for their key role in laccase production and immobilization.

Applications and immobilization strategies of the copper-centred laccase enzyme; a review

“…Biochar is a carbonaceous material obtained from hydrothermal and thermochemical methods of biomass conversion and offers as a large specific surface area, good dispersibility, and biocompatibility for stable and high-load enzyme immobilization [ 513 , 514 , 515 ]. The raw materials used for its production and the production conditions affect the chemical and physical properties of the biochar produced and hence its utilization in enzyme immobilization [ 516 ].…”

“…Since the enzyme immobilization efficiency was dependent on ionic strength and cationic nature of the biochar, biochar from pig manure offered the best support due to its high cationic exchange capacity compared to the wood based biochar [ 426 ]. Immobilization of laccase on biochar has been extensively reviewed elsewhere [ 514 , 517 ].…”

Co-Immobilization of Enzymes and Aptamers to create Self-Regenerating Ultrafiltration Membranes for Toxin Removal

“…We did reproducibly observe that aptamer attachment yield is higher than that of the enzyme, and we hypothesize that this could be a result of the lower steric hindrance of the amine on the aptamer terminus compared to lysine side chains on the surface of the enzyme. 22,23 Nevertheless, we were encouraged by our ability to generate membranes having both nucleic acid and protein functionality.…”

Laccases and Tyrosinases in Organic Synthesis

“…However, most of the proposed applications are still waiting to be used on a larger scale. In the last decade, the properties and uses of Lacs have been summarized in comprehensive reviews [ 17 , 18 , 19 ] and reviews focusing on subtopics such as applications of fungal Lacs [ 20 ], evolution and in vivo functions [ 5 ], biodegradation [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], biosensors [ 25 ], polymer synthesis [ 26 ] and grafting [ 27 ], biorefineries [ 28 ], food industry [ 29 ], wood composite production [ 30 ], immobilization [ 26 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], and biocatalysis in ionic liquids [ 37 ] or Lac mimics [ 38 ]. For background knowledge on Lac (structure, Lac-mediator reactions, applications) we refer to the review by Riva [ 1 ], and for an overview of laccases, their origin, and properties we refer to the review by Baldrian [ 39 ].…”