Bioconversion of Biomass- Derived Phenols Catalyzed by Myceliophthora thermophila Laccase

Biomass-derived phenols have recently arisen as an attractive alternative for building blocks to be used in synthetic applications, due to their widespread availability as an abundant renewable resource. In the present paper, commercial laccase from the thermophilic fungus Myceliophthora thermophila was used to bioconvert phenol monomers, namely catechol, pyrogallol and gallic acid in water. The resulting products from catechol and gallic acid were polymers that were partially characterized in respect to their optical and thermal properties, and their average molecular weight was estimated via solution viscosity measurements and GPC. FT-IR and H-1-NMR data suggest that phenol monomers are connected with ether or C-C bonds depending on the starting monomer, while the achieved molecular weight of polycatechol is found higher than the corresponding poly(gallic acid). On the other hand, under the same condition, pyrogallol was dimerized in a pure red crystalline compound and its structure was confirmed by H-1-NMR as purpurogallin. The herein studied green synthesis of enzymatically synthesized phenol polymers or biological active compounds could be exploited as an alternative synthetic route targeting a variety of applications.