Research Initiation: Analysis of Kinetics and Application of Enzymes in Organic Solvents

本研究的目的是评估和直接比较有机介质中酶催化的内在，非扩散限制动力学与水溶液中机制相同的反应。通过阐明在新环境中控制酶活性的变量，本研究将扩展酶在有机介质中作为有效催化剂的实际应用。这将消除有机介质中酶催化对现象学研究的持续依赖，并使酶活性的定量评估得以进行。特别是，辣根过氧化物酶催化对茴香胺氧化将被用作模型反应，定量评价有机溶剂对酶催化效率的影响。通过将酶固定在固体载体上和在单相有机溶剂中剧烈搅拌，可以消除扩散限制。辣根过氧化物酶催化苯酚在有机介质中的聚合可能是传统酚醛树脂的可行替代品。酶法具有反应选择性高、不含甲醛等优点。从长远来看，过氧化物酶生产的酚醛聚合物既可以用作一般的聚合物树脂或溶解树脂，也可以用于更具体的用途，如色谱支撑、分子量标准、半导体塑料、聚合物染料和显影剂树脂。

The objectives of this research are to evaluate and directly compare the intrinsic, non-diffusion limited kinetics of enzymatic catalysis in organic media to mechanistically identical reactions in aqueous solutions. This study should extend the practical utilization of enzymes as effective catalysts in organic media by elucidating the variables which control enzymatic activity in novel environments. This should eliminate the continued dependence of enzymatic catalysis in organic media to phenomenological investigations and enable quantitative evaluations of enzymatic activity to be performed. In particular, horseradish peroxidase-catalyzed oxidation of p-anisidine will be used as a model reaction to quantitatively evaluate the effect of organic solvents on enzymic catalytic efficiency. Diffusional limitations will be eliminated by immobilization of the enzyme to solid supports and by vigorous agitation in a monophasic organic solvent. Horseradish peroxidase - catalyzed polymerization of phenols in organic media may represent a viable alternative to conventional phenol-formaldehyde resins. The enzymatic approach offers the attractive alternatives of high reaction selectivity and the absence of formaldehyde. In the long term, peroxidase-produced phenolic polymers may find use both as general movolak or resole resins and for more specific uses such as supports for chromatography, molecular weight standards, semiconductor plastics, polymeric dyes, and developer resins.