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

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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.