title: Bioconversion of Biomass-Derived Phenols Catalyzed by Myceliophthora thermophila Laccase.
abstract: Biomass-derived phenols have recently arisen as an attractive alternative for building blocks to be used in synthetic applications, due to their widespread availability as an abundant renewable resource. In the present paper, commercial laccase from the thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila was used to bioconvert phenol monomers, namely catechol, pyrogallol and gallic acid in water. The resulting products from catechol and gallic acid were polymers that were partially characterized in respect to their optical and thermal properties, and their average molecular weight was estimated via solution viscosity measurements and GPC. FT-IR and ¹H-NMR data suggest that phenol monomers are connected with ether or C-C bonds depending on the starting monomer, while the achieved molecular weight of polycatechol is found higher than the corresponding poly(gallic acid). On the other hand, under the same condition, pyrogallol was dimerized in a pure red crystalline compound and its structure was confirmed by ¹H-NMR as purpurogallin. The herein studied green synthesis of enzymatically synthesized phenol polymers or biological active compounds could be exploited as an alternative synthetic route targeting a variety of applications.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 5 Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou Campus, Athens 15780, Greece. natassaz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Anastasia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zerva
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 5 Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou Campus, Athens 15780, Greece. nickgmanos@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Manos
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Polymer Technology, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 5 Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou Campus, Athens 15780, Greece. mvuyiuka@central.ntua.gr.
authors.forename: Stamatina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vouyiouka
authors.affiliation: Biochemical and Chemical Process Engineering, Division of Sustainable Process Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå SE-97187, Sweden. paul.christakopoulos@ltu.se.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Christakopoulos
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Laboratory, School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 5 Iroon Polytechniou Str., Zografou Campus, Athens 15780, Greece. vtopakas@chemeng.ntua.gr.|Biochemical and Chemical Process Engineering, Division of Sustainable Process Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå SE-97187, Sweden. vtopakas@chemeng.ntua.gr.
authors.forename: Evangelos
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Topakas
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000201:enzymology; D055162:Biocatalysis; D018533:Biomass; D002396:Catechols / Q000737:chemistry; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005707:Gallic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D042845:Laccase / Q000378:metabolism*; D055620:Optical Phenomena; D010636:Phenols / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D011748:Pyrogallol / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D002396:Catechols; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D010636:Phenols; D011108:Polymers; D011748:Pyrogallol; D005707:Gallic Acid; D042845:Laccase; C034221:catechol
keywords: catechol; enzymatic oligomerization; gallic acid; laccase; pyrogallol