PEGylation greatly enhances laccase polymerase activity

Abstract

Laccase catalyzes the oxidation and polymerization of phenolic compounds in the presence of oxygen. Herein, we report for the first time that a previous pegylation of laccase enhances the polymerase activity by 3-fold comparing with the native enzyme, as confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The polymerization of catechol increased only 1.5-fold when polyethyleneglycol (PEG) was added to the medium reaction. Molecular dynamic simulations suggest the formation of a miscible complex of polycatechol and PEG, which is responsible to push the reaction forward. In a negative control experiment set, all catalysts were entrapped inside acrylamide gels and here the native laccase showed a relatively higher activity. These results suggest that the mobility of PEG is a key feature for the enhancement of the reaction.