Novel horseradish peroxidase activity

POLY 636

Brian T. L. Smith, smith3bt@cmich.edu1, Kamel Omrane, omranek@clarkson.edu2, Monisha Mandalaywala, mandalmv@cmu.edu3, Krystal James2, Krishna Balantrapu2, and Anja Mueller, muell1a@cmich.edu1. (1) Department of Chemistry, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, (2) Department of Chemistry, Clarkson University, P.O. Box 5814, Potsdam, NY 13699, (3) Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) is a family of plant peroxidases that has functions in cell wall biosynthesis, lignification, ethylene biosynthesis, chlorophyll catabolism, and phytohormone synthesis. HRP is commonly utilized for polymerizations of phenols, always being oxidized by hydrogen peroxide. A novel HRP synthesis is reported: the synthesis of polysaccharides at low pH in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. Poly(glucuronic acid) is a polyether, which does not polymerize via C1. Molecular weights up to 60,000 have been obtained. When performed in the absence of oxygen the polymerization was unsuccessful, signifying that oxygen, not hydrogen peroxide, may serve as the reducing agent in this reaction. The exact mechanism of this reaction has yet to be uncovered, but the discovery that HRP can successfully serve as a catalyst at low pH in the absence of hydrogen peroxide is of general interest and should find applications in numerous fields which currently utilize HRP.
 

Biocatalysis in Polymer Science
1:30 PM-4:45 PM, Wednesday, 13 September 2006 San Francisco Marriott -- Salon 12/13, Oral

Division of Polymer Chemistry

The 232nd ACS National Meeting, San Francisco, CA, September 10-14, 2006