Sulfophthalimide as major metabolite formed from sulfonated phthalocyanine dyes by the white-rot fungus Bjerkandera adusta

The reaction products formed during the decolorization of the sulfophthalocyanine textile dyes Reactive blue 15 (RB15) and Reactive blue 38 (RB38) by the white-rot fungus Bjerkandera adusta were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and with liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Sulfophthalimides (SP1: 3 and 4) were identified as major metabolites by comparison with synthesized reference compounds. SP1 was formed from both dyes in fungal cultures and by incubation with its purified manganese peroxidase and lignin peroxidase. Quantitative assessment of the SP1 formed from RB15 accounted for approximately 60%, of the theoretical amount. (C) 2001 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.