Why is laccase important?

Laccase is important because it oxidizes both the toxic and nontoxic substrates. It is utilized in textile industry, food processing industry, wood processing industry, pharmaceutical industry, and chemical industry. This enzyme is very specific, ecologically sustainable and a proficient catalyst.

Is laccase extracellular?

Fungal laccases are involved in sporulation, pigment production, fruiting body formation, stress defense, plant pathogenesis, and lignin degradation [27, 28]. Although most purified laccases are extracellular enzymes, wood-rotting fungi also contain intracellular laccases.

Which class of enzymes is currently mostly used in industry?

Among the currently used industrial enzymes, hydrolases, including proteases and lipases, remain the dominant enzyme type, which are extensively used in the detergent, dairy, and chemical industries. Various carbohydrases, primarily amylases and cellulases, represent the second largest group [3, 4, 6].

What is bacterial laccase?

Abstract. Laccases (benzenediol: oxygen oxidoreductase, EC 1.10. 3.2) are multi-copper enzymes which catalyze the oxidation of a wide range of phenolic and non-phenolic aromatic compounds in the presence or absence of a mediator.

What is the substrate of laccase?

The substrates for detecting laccase activity, such as syringaldazine [3], 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) [4] and the 3-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (DMAB) and 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) dye couple [5–7] also serve as substrates for the peroxidases.

How do you calculate laccase enzyme activity using ABTS?

For determination of laccase activities you mix your enzyme solution with an ABTS stock solution at a defined pH (use a buffer solution like e.g. McIlvaine phosphate citrate buffer). ABTS concentration of the mixture should be 0.2 mM. Then you measure absorbance over time at 420 nm.

What are types of enzymes?

The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology assigns each enzyme a name and a number to identify them. Enzymes are classified into six categories according to the type of reaction catalyzed: Oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, ligases, and isomerases.

How are laccases used in the food industry?

Laccase is commonly produced by fungi but also by some bacteria, insects and plants. Due it is capable of using a wide variety of phenolic and non-phenolic substrates, laccase has potential applications in the food, pharmaceutical and environmental industries; in addition, it has been used since many years in the bleaching of paper pulp.

What are the potential uses of laccases in biotransformation?

Laccases have shown high potential in the biotransformation of diverse pollutants using crude enzyme extracts or free enzymes.

When did the discovery of laccase take place?

Discovered in 1883, laccase is one of the first enzymes ever described. Now, after almost 140 years of research, it seems that this copper-containing protein with a number of unique catalytic properties is widely distributed across all kingdoms of life.

When was laccase first used in textile bleaching?

Laccases are also used in textile bleaching, for example, in 1996 Novozyme launched the industrial application of laccase enzyme in denim finishing: DeniLite, which is the first industrial laccase and the first bleaching enzyme acting with the help of a mediator molecule.