International Journal of Waste Resources

Laccase immobilization as a sustainable approach toward environmental applications

World Congress on Sustainable Waste Management

June 21, 2023 | Webinar

Yaaser Qaaed Almulaiky

University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Int J Waste Resour

Abstract:

Statement of the problem: Water pollution has become a severe environmental problem as a result of the continued development of industry since industrial effluents including organic and inorganic contaminants are routinely released into waterways. It is essential to remove these organic pollutants from water and wastewater before releasing them into the environment due to their challenging biodegradability and potential for long-lasting detrimental impacts on ecological safety and even human health. Human health and the environment are negatively affected by endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), such as bisphenol A. Therefore, the development of appropriate remediation methods is important for the efficient removal of phenolic compounds from aqueous solutions. Enzymatic biodegradation is a potential biotechnological approach for addressing water pollution in a responsible fashion. With its high catalytic efficiency and few by-products, laccase is an eco-friendly biocatalyst with significant promise for biodegradation. Methodology & theoretical orientation: Two novel materials supporting were fabricated via the functionalization of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer using ethylene diamine and reinforced with graphene followed with glutaraldehyde (NH2-PMMA and NH2-PMMA-Gr). NH2-PMMA and NH2-PMMA-Gr were utilized for laccase immobilization. The morphological and structural properties of polymer composites were studied, and the biochemical properties of the enzyme were investigated. The immobilized enzymes were used for BPA degradation. Findings: NH2-PMMA@laccase and NH2-PMMA-Gr@laccase improved in stability by up to 3.9 and 4.6-fold, when stored for 30 days at 4 °C, and preserved up to 80.5% and 86.7% of relative activity after ten cycles of reuse. The degradation of BPA was achieved using NH2-PMMA@laccase and NH2-PMMA-Gr@laccase. After five cycles, NH2-PMMA@laccase and NH2-PMMA-Gr@laccase showed that the residual degradation of BPA was 77% and 84.5% using 50 μm of BPA. This study introduces a novel, high-performance material for organic pollution remediation in wastewater. A broader temperature range of 40-50 °C was noted for both immobilized laccases compared to a value of 40 °C for free form. Additionally, it was reported that immobilized laccase outperformed free laccase in terms of substrate affinity and storage stability. Conclusion: Laccase is a potential biocatalyst for purifying water and removing pollutants. However, substantial immobilization is required for laccase to have a major catalytic impact. A novel amino-functionalized PMMA polymer was fabricated and reinforced via graphene for utilization as material support for the laccase enzyme. Laccase stability is improved by immobilization in terms of temperature, pH, storage, and reusability. Compared to free laccase, immobilized laccase is more effective in removing BPA, with good recyclability. Immobilized laccase maintained better relative activity in the presence of solvents and showed greater solvent tolerance. This novel-developed fabricated-based biocatalyst can be utilized effectively for a variety of prospective biotechnological applications.

Biography :

Yaaser Qaaed Almulaiky is Associate professor of biochemistry at University of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He has published extensively on environmental pollution, nanoparticles and applied in enzymology, health, production and immobilization of enzymes. Participate in a mission on 2014 for One WEEK at fraunhofer institute for molecular biology and applied ecology, Aachen, Germany. He published over 60 articles and over 90 reviews for several journals. He has belonged to the editorial board of the Journal of International Journal of Food Science and Biotechnology, Nanoparticle Journal, Scientific Journal Biology and Life Science, Current Trends in Veterinary and Dairy Journal, and Journal of Environmental & Life Sciences.