Laccases and their application in bioremediation of organic pollutants

Abstract

Laccases are present abundantly in many white-rot fungi. They are blue multicopper oxidases, which catalyze the monoelectronic oxidation of a broad spectrum of substrates, such as ortho- and para-diphenols, polyphenols, aminophenols, aromatic, and aliphatic amines coupled with a full, four-electron reduction of O₂ to H₂O. Laccase-assisted reactions have a wide application potential. In particular, they decolorize and detoxify the industrial effluents and help in wastewater treatment. In the presence of specific mediators, they act on both phenolic and nonphenolic lignin-related compounds as well as highly recalcitrant enviro-nmental pollutants. Several techniques have been developed for the immobilization of laccase to preserve their enzymatic activity. In this review, we describe the fungal source of laccases and their application in environmental protection.