Enzo Laurenti

Oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase: characterization of the reaction mechanism by UV-visible spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

The hydrogen peroxide-oxidation of 2,4-dichlorophenol catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase has been studied by means of UV-visible spectroscopy and mass spectrometry in order to clarify the reaction mechanism. The dimerization of 2,4-dichlorophenol to 2,4-dichloro-6-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-phenol and its subsequent oxidation to 2-chloro-6-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)-1,4-benzoquinone together with chloride release were observed. The reaction rate was found to be pH-dependent and to be influenced by the pK(a) value of 2,4-dichlorophenol. The dissociation constants of the 2,4-dichlorophenol/horseradish peroxidase (HRP) adduct at pH 5.5 and 8.5 were also determined: their values indicate the unusual stability of the adduct at pH 5.5 with respect to several adducts of HRP with substituted phenols.

Oxidative 4-dechlorination of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol catalyzed by horseradish peroxidase.

Abstract The well-known and easily available horseradish peroxidase (HRP) catalyzes the H2O2-dependent oxidative 4-dechlorination of the pollutant 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, which is recalcitrant to many organisms except those producing ligninases. UV-visible spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified the oxidized reaction product as 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone. NMR and IR spectroscopic data further supported the above characterization. Experimental evidence for the elimination of HCl from the substrate was acquired by detecting the decrease in pH of the reaction mixture, and by observing the presence of the β-chlorocyclopentadienone cation fragment in the mass spectrum of 2,6-dichloro-1,4-benzoquinone. Consequently, nucleophilic attack by water on the 2,4,6-trichlorocyclohexadienone cation was proposed to give the final product. Our results indicate an oxidative dechlorination pathway catalyzed by HRP for 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, similar to that by extracellular lignin peroxidases. The relative catalytic efficiency of HRP seems higher than that of lignin peroxidases. The HRP-H2O2 catalytic system could be utilized in the degradation of polychlorinated phenols for industrial and biotechnological purposes.

Oxidative degradation of Remazol Turquoise Blue G 133 by soybean peroxidase

Reactive dyes are widely employed in textile industries and their removal from wastewaters is a relevant environmental problem. In addition to chemical and physical methods, several bioremediation approaches, involving intact micro-organisms or isolated enzymes, have been proposed to decolorize dye solutions. In this paper, we report the complete and fast decolourization of a Cu(II)-phthalocyanine based reactive dye (Remazol Turquoise Blue G 133) by means of the soybean peroxidase/H(2)O(2) system. The oxidative degradation of the dye in aqueous solution at 25°C was studied as function of pH, revealing a quantitative decolourization yield at acidic pH values with a maximum of activity at pH 3.3. The reaction products were identified and characterized by HPLC-diode array detector (DAD)-mass spectrometry (MS), ionic chromatography and EPR techniques. This analysis showed that the enzyme catalyses the breaking of the phthalocyanine ring producing sulfophthalimide as the main degradation product, and the release of stoichiometric amount of ammonium and Cu(II) ions.

Effect of dimethyl sulfoxide on the structure and the functional properties of horseradish peroxidase as observed by spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.

Electrochemical biosensors have found wide application in food and clinical areas, as well as in environmental field. A large number of articles focused on horseradish peroxidase (HRP)-based biosensors have been published in the last decade, due to the capability of HRP to quantitatively detect the presence of hydrogen peroxide produced in a reaction. At present a large body of multi-enzymatic amperometric biosensors are realized by entrapping HRP together with other enzymes into a polymeric matrix; these systems represent a promising example of simple, low-cost electrochemical tools for the analysis of bioanalytes in solution, such as glucose, choline and cholesterol. Due to the fact that polymers used for HRP entrapping are soluble in organic solvents and that many solvents are strong denaturants of aquo-soluble proteins, in this paper we investigate (in particular, by circular dichroism and electron paramagnetic spectroscopies) the effect of dimethyl sulfoxide, one of the organic solvents employed for polymer solubilization, on the structure and the functionality of HRP, in order to determine the effect induced by the solvent concentration on the structure and activity of the hemoprotein. This is relevant for basic and applied biochemistry, HRP being largely employed in bioinorganic chemistry and sensor area.

Tyrosinase-catecholic substrates in Vitro model: kinetic studies on the o-quinone/o-semiquinone radical formation☆

Abstract The mechanism of o-semiquinone production was examined in the tyrosinase and peroxidase catalyzed oxidations of a series of catecholic compounds using the electron spin resonance (ESR) spin-stabilization approach and in the presence of 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH). In the tyrosinase process, the nonenzymatic o-semiquinone formation by inverse disproportion mechanism was clearly confirmed. Mechanistic and kinetic studies of o-semiquinone and o-quinone formation by mushroom tyrosinase were carried out by ESR spin stabilization and optical spectroscopy. Two different types of cyclizable catecholic substrates ( l -dopa and dopamine 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid) together with an uncyclizable substrate (3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid) were examined. The reactive quinones were monitored by measuring the apparent initial rates of the o-quinone-MBTH adducts. The transient behaviour of the o-semiquinone was studied by determining the pseudo first-order formation constants (k values in the range 0.226–0.035 s −1 ), the relative second-order decay kinetic constants (k = 3.3·10 2 M −1 s −1 for dopamine o-semiquinone) and the maximum concentrations of the o-semiquinone complexes formed in situ with Mg 2+ ions. The o-semiquinone formation constants are not directly correlated with their maximum concentrations; in fact, the o-semiquinone maximum concentration of the uncyclizable substrate is comparable with that derived from l -dopa. Furthermore, the secondary semiquinone formation is slow and not competitive with the primary semiquinone generation. Then, in our model the limiting factor for the o-semiquinone formation, is not simply the substrate ability to cyclize, and, therefore, the potential toxicity of the secondary semiquinone is questionable.

SPECTROCHEMICAL AND STRUCTURAL STUDIES ON A ROMAN SAMPLE OF EGYPTIAN BLUE

Abstract A ball of Egyptian blue excavated on the archaeological site of Augusta Praetoria (Aosta, Italy) has been investigated by several techniques. Optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction gave proof of the identity of the pigment, while indicating that silica phases had also been formed because of sand excess in the reaction mixture. No evidence was found of the presence of tin compounds, thus excluding the use of bronze scraps in the preparation of the pigment. The crystal structure of the pigment was refined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction data; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis-NIR reflectance spectroscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to characterize further the pigment. Scanning electron microscopy, coupled with energy dispersive detection of emitted X-rays, was finally used to investigate morphology and determine the composition of representative areas of both pigment and impurities.

Highest optical gap tetrahedral amorphous carbon

The deposition and characterisation of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) with an E optical gap of 3.5 eV and Tauc gap of 04 3 eV is presented. This is the highest optical gap reported in literature for ta-C and was directly measured using photothermal deflection spectroscopy (PDS) and UV-Vis spectrophotometry. Independent PDS, UV-Vis and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) measurements confirmed the high gap. A large Urbach slope of 600 meV was measured, which indicated that there are many tail states. Electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements confirmed that this material has a high spin density of 7.5=10 20 spinsycm . Post-deposition vacuum annealing of the samples to 500 8C resulted in a small increase of the optical gap, E ;3.6 3 04 eV, and a decrease of the defects to 2.7=10 spinsycm . Post-deposition annealing at this temperature did not significantly 20 3

Spectroscopic and binding studies on the interaction of inorganic anions with lactoperoxidase

The interaction of several inorganic species (SCN-, I-, Br-, Cl-, F-, NO2-, N3-, CN-) with bovine lactoperoxidase was investigated through kinetic and binding studies by using UV-Vis spectroscopy. The above ligands form 1:1 complexes with the protein and can be assigned to three different groups, on the basis of the dissociation constant values (KD) of the adducts: (1) SCN-, I-, Br-, and Cl- (KD increases along the series); (2) F- (which shows a singular behavior); (3) NO2-, N3-, and CN- (that bind at the iron site). KD values for the LPO/SCN- adduct appeared to be modified in the presence of other inorganic species; a strong competition between this substrate and all other anions (with the exception of F-) was evidentiated. Binding investigations on the natural substrates SCN- and I-, at varying pH and temperature, showed that their interaction with lactoperoxidase involves the protonation of a common site in proximity of the iron (possibly distal histidine). Michaelis-Menten constants for SCN-, I-, and Br- followed roughly the same trend as KD; KM for hydrogen peroxide is strongly dependent on the cosubstrate. Computer-assisted docking simulations showed that all ligands can penetrate inside the heme pocket.

A theoretical three-dimensional model for lactoperoxidase and eosinophil peroxidase, built on the scaffold of the myeloperoxidase X-ray structure

Abstract Lactoperoxidase (LPO), eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) belong to the class of haloperoxidases, a group of mammalian enzymes able to catalyze the peroxidative oxidation of halides and pseudohalides, such as thiocyanate. They all play a key role in the development of antibacterial activity. The homology in their functional role is emphasized by the striking similarity of their primary structures. A theoretical model for the three-dimensional structure of LPO and EPO has been developed on the basis of the X-ray structure of MPO, a high degree of similarity having been found in their sequences. Evidence supporting the hypothesis of an ester linkage between heme and apoprotein in LPO and EPO, originally proposed by Hultquist and Morrison is discussed.

Waste-derived bioorganic substances for light-induced generation of reactive oxygenated species.

Urban waste-derived bioorganic substances (UW-BOS) have shown promise as chemical auxiliaries for a number of technological applications in the chemical industry and in environmental remediation. In this study, the application of these substances in the photodegradation of organic pollutants is addressed. The experimental work is specifically focused on the photolysis mechanism promoted by AC8, a UW-BOS isolated from a 2:1 w/w mixture of food and green residues, composted for 110 days, using 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) as probe molecule. The production of (⋅)OH and the ¹O₂ is monitored by EPR spectroscopy. The correlation between radical species evolution and photodegradation of 4-CP is investigated. The effect of ¹O₂ and (⋅)OH scavengers on the 4-CP degradation process is also checked. The results suggest that the role of these species in the photodegradation of 4-CP depends on AC8 concentration. AC8 is thereby proven to be a photosensitizer for applications in environmental remediation. The results on AC8 further support the use of urban bio-waste as a versatile source of chemical auxiliaries of biological origin for use in diversified applications.