Biotechnology Letters 24: 20832087, 2002.

2002 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

2083
Oxidative enzymes possess catalytic activity in systems with ionic liquids
Glen Hinckley
1
, Vadim V. Mozhaev

, Cheryl Budde
2
& Yuri L. Khmelnitsky
Biosciences Division, Albany Molecular Research Inc., 601 E. Kensington Rd., Mount Prospect, IL 60056, USA
1
Current address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
2
Current address: Department of Biochemistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA

Author for correspondence (Fax: +847 506-2006; E-mail: dima.mozhaev@albmolecular.com)

Received 1 October 2002; Revisions requested 3 October 2002; Revisions received 14 October 2002; Accepted 16 October 2002
Key words: enzyme catalysis, ionic liquids, laccase, mediators, peroxidase
Abstract
Oxidative enzymes, laccase C from Trametes sp. and horseradish and soybean peroxidases, catalyzed oxidation re-
actions in systems with ionic liquids whose content varied fromseveral volume percent to almost total non-aqueous
ionic liquids. Similar to the effects produced by standard organic solvents used in non-aqueous enzymology, cat-
alytic activity of the enzymes was decreased by adding a water-miscible ionic liquid, 4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium
tetrauoroborate, or by suspending the enzyme in a water-immiscible ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimdizaolium
hexauorophosphate. For the oxidation of anthracene, catalyzed by laccase C and assisted by a number of medi-
ators, addition of 4-methyl-N-butylpyridiniumtetrauoroborate, instead of tert-butanol, increased the yield of the
oxidation product several-fold.
Introduction
Ionic liquids are non-aqueous solvents composed of an
organic cation (most often an alkyl-substituted imida-
zolium or pyridinium cation) and an inorganic anion.
Similar to polar solvents such as dimethyl formamide
and dimethyl sulfoxide, ionic liquids can dissolve a
wide range of organic compounds. Ionic liquids are
not ammable and they do not have a detectable vapor
pressure, which makes them attractive from a safety
and environmental standpoint. They are established
as convenient green solvents, capable of replacing or-
ganic solvents as a reaction medium in a number of
organic synthetic and biocatalytic reactions (Sheldon
2001). Hydrolytic enzymes, such as lipases, proteases,
and glycosidases can catalyze hydrolysis, transesteri-
cation, peptide synthesis, and transglycosylation in
ionic liquids reaction systems (Sheldon 2001). More-
over, in some ionic liquids systems, enzymes have
higher catalytic activity (Eckstein et al. 2002), regio-
and enantio-selectivity (Park & Kazlauskas 2001) and
stability (Lozano et al. 2001) than in non-ionic or-
ganic solvents. Whole cell catalysts have also been
shown to retain biological activity in ionic liquids
(Cull et al. 2000). Potentially, synthetic applications
of ionic liquids can expand towards the development
of green biocatalytic processes with the participation
of enzyme and cell catalysts (Kaftzik et al. 2002).
The goal of the present study was to investigate the
feasibility of using ionic liquids as a reaction medium
for oxidative enzymes. We have shown for the rst
time that two types of oxidases, laccase and per-
oxidases, are catalytically active in reaction systems
containing ionic liquids.
Materials and methods
Enzymes and chemicals
Ionic liquids, 4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium tetrauo-
roborate [(4-MBP)BF
4
], and 1-butyl-3-methylimdi-
zaolium hexauorophosphate [(BMIM)PF
6
], were
obtained from Solvent Innovation (Germany) and
Sachem (Austin, TX), respectively. Laccase C from
Trametes sp. was purchased from ASA Spezialen-
zyme (Germany) as a lyophilized powder (13.6
2084
mg protein g
1
powder, 1322 U g
1
). Syringal-
dazine and guaiacol were obtained from Aldrich.
The following compounds were used as media-
tors in the laccase reaction: 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-
3,6-disulfonic acid, disodium salt hydrate (Aldrich),
1-hydroxybenzotriazole, N-hydroxyphthalimide, 2,2

-
azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) di-
ammonium salt, violuric acid (all from Sigma).
Horseradish peroxidase and soybean peroxidase were
obtained from Sigma. tert-Butyl hydroperoxide (70%
v/v in water) (Aldrich) was used as an oxidant in
the peroxidase reaction. All other chemicals were ob-
tained fromSigma and Aldrich and were of the highest
purity grade.
Catalytic activity assays
Laccase
The activity of laccase was assayed spectrophotomet-
rically using syringaldazine as a substrate (Milstein
et al. 1989) in 80 mM sodiumcitrate-phosphate buffer,
pH 5.6, or in the presence of 20% (v/v) tert-butanol
or 1075% (v/v) (4-MBP)BF
4
. The change in ab-
sorbancy at 520 nm was recorded for 5 min and
the catalytic activity was determined by measuring
the slope of the initial linear portion of the kinetic
curve. For laccase activity measurements in nonaque-
ous ionic liquid, (BMIM)PF
6
was saturated overnight
with the aqueous buffer. After mixing the reaction
components, the reactions were incubated on a rotary
shaker at 300 rpm and room temperature. At speci-
ed time intervals, 0.1 ml aliquots were taken from
the reaction mixture and diluted with 0.9 ml acetoni-
trile, and the absorbance was measured at 520 nm.
Values of V
max
and K
m
were calculated by tting the
data to a standard Michaelis-Menten equation using
SigmaPlot software and the extinction coefcient of
oxidized syringaldazine 65 000 l mol
1
cm
1
.
Peroxidase
The activity of peroxidase was measured spectropho-
tometrically using guaiacol as a substrate (Maehly
& Chance 1954) in aqueous buffer (0.1 M sodium
phosphate, pH 6), or in the presence of 25% (v/v)
acetonitrile or 25% (v/v) (4-MBP)BF
4
.
Laccase-mediator reactions
(4-MBP)BF
4
, 25% (v/v), or tert-butanol, 20% (v/v),
both in sodium phosphate buffer, 50 mM, pH 6, were
used as solvents for the laccase-mediator reactions.
Table 1. Enzyme activity of laccase C determined in the re-
action of syringaldazine oxidation (25

C, pH 5.6) at differ-
ent concentrations of 4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium tetrauo-
roborate, [(4-MBP)BF
4
].
(4-MBP)BF
4
, Initial rate of syringaldazine oxidation
% (v/v) (nmol min
1
mg
1
enzyme)
0 529
10 217
20 58
25 22
50 1.9
75 0
a
a
The enzyme precipitates in this solvent system.
Stock solutions of mediators (10 mM) and the sub-
strates, veratryl alcohol and anthracene (both at 5 mM)
were prepared in these solvents. Sonication was ap-
plied to facilitate compound dissolution. All mediators
and veratryl alcohol were soluble in both solvent sys-
tems, while anthracene was not completely soluble
and was used as a suspension. Reactions were car-
ried out in a 96-well plate with 2 ml wells. Each
well contained 2 mg laccase C powder and 0.1 ml
of each of the mediator and substrate stock solutions.
The plate was sealed and placed on a rotary shaker
operating at 250 rpm and room temperature. After an
overnight incubation (15 h) the reactions were stopped
by adding 0.2 ml acetonitrile to each well. The precipi-
tated protein was removed by centrifugation at 3000 g
and the supernatants were analyzed by HPLC with a
photodiode array detector (SPD-M10A) using a 3 m
Supelcosil ABX+ column (Supelco, 4.6 150 mm)
and a water/acetonitrile linear gradient program (10
100% acetonitrile over 12 min at 1 ml min
1
ow
rate). The eluant was monitored at 275 nm for veratryl
alcohol and at 250 nm for anthracene. Conversions
were calculated based on normalized areas of substrate
and product peaks.
Results and discussion
Laccases are multi-copper oxidases that are wide-
spread in fungi and plant sources and participate in
reactions of lignin synthesis and decomposition. These
ubiquitous enzymes have received increasing attention
as synthetic catalysts after a recent discovery that in
combination with certain low-molecular weight com-
pounds, called mediators, laccases can oxidize a large
variety of both phenolic and non-phenolic compounds
2085
Table 2. Kinetic parameters for syringaldazine oxidation catalyzed by laccase C in reaction
systems with different ionic liquids at 25

C.
Kinetic Aqueous tert-Butanol (4-MBP)BF
4
a
(BMIM)PF
6
b
parameter buffer buffer 20% (v/v) 25% (v/v) water-saturated
V
max
(nmol min
1
mg) 510 420 42 5.7 10
3
K
m
(M) 0.9 5.0 21 40
a
4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium tetrauoroborate.
b
1-butyl-3-methylimdizaolium hexauorophosphate.
Table 3. Substrate conversions (in percent of the initial substrate concentration after 15 h of the reaction) in the
mediator-assisted oxidation reactions (25

C, pH 6) catalyzed by laccase C (10 mg ml

1
). The substrates and
mediators were present in the reaction mixture at concentrations of 2.5 mM and 5 mM, respectively.
Mediator tert-Butanol, (4-MBP)BF
4
a
,
20% (v/v) 25% (v/v)
Veratryl alcohol Anthracene Veratryl alcohol Anthracene
None 1 <1 <1 2
1-Nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic 1 <1 32 4
Acid, disodium salt
1-Hydroxybenzotriazole 94 <1 70 15
N-Hydroxyphthalimide 99 3 86 7
2,2

-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline 49 2 16 5
-6-Sulfonic acid) diammonium salt,
Violuric acid 41 3 50 12
a
4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium tetrauoroborate.
(Bourbonnais & Paice 1990). In this work we explored
the effect of ionic liquids on laccase-catalyzed oxi-
dations both in the absence and in the presence of
mediators.
Oxidation of syringaldazine catalyzed by laccase
C from Trametes sp. does not require the presence
of mediators (Milstein et al. 1989). The results of
catalytic activity measurements of laccase in this re-
action (Table 1) show that the enzyme tolerates mod-
erate concentrations of a water-miscible ionic liquid
(4-MBP)BF
4
. Increasing concentrations of this sol-
vent resulted in a decrease of the laccase activity,
causing enzyme precipitation at concentrations of (4-
MBP)BF
4
above 50% (v/v) (Table 1). A detailed
analysis of kinetic data revealed that the decrease
in the laccase activity was a result of a simultane-
ous decrease in V
max
and increase in K
m
(Table 2).
Similar laccase behavior was previously observed in
water-organic cosolvent systems and was rational-
ized in terms of cosolvent-induced denaturation of the
enzyme (Khmelnitsky et al. 1991).
Enzymes have been shown to retain catalytic activ-
ity in ionic liquids at very low water contents (Sheldon
2001). In order to explore the feasibility of using this
type of reaction systems as a medium for laccase-
catalyzed reactions, we measured the catalytic activity
of laccase C suspended in a water-immiscible ionic
liquid (BMIM)PF
6
. While the enzyme did not show
a measurable activity in anhydrous (BMIM)PF
6
, the
oxidation of syringaldazine was observed in the ionic
liquid saturated with aqueous buffer. The values of
kinetic parameters V
max
and K
m
determined for this
reaction are given in Table 2, showing that the ob-
served catalytic activity of laccase in (BMIM)PF
6
is
several orders of magnitude lower than the aqueous
activity of the enzyme, which is typical for catalysis
by enzymes in nonaqueous solvents with low water
content (Klibanov 2001). Further optimization of re-
action conditions in nonaqueous ionic liquids may be
required in order to achieve higher catalytic activi-
ties, using approaches previously developed for differ-
ent types of biocatalytic systems in organic solvents
(Klibanov 2001).
The feasibility of ionic liquids as solvent media
for mediator-assisted reactions catalyzed by laccase
was tested using the oxidation of veratryl alcohol to
veratryl aldehyde (Majcherczyk et al. 1999) and the
oxidation of anthracene to anthraquinone (Johannes
2086
Fig. 1. Product accumulation (in relative units) in the reaction of
guaiacol oxidation (25

C, pH6) catalyzed by peroxidases from soy-

bean (A) and horseradish (B). () Aqueous buffer; () 25% (v/v)
acetonitrile; () 25% (v/v) 4-methyl-N-butylpyridinium tetrauo-
roborate.
et al. 1996) in the presence of different mediators (Ta-
ble 3). Both veratryl alcohol and anthracene are poorly
soluble in water, and therefore the presence of a non-
aqueous solvent was required to increase the solubility
of these substrates. To this end, a water-miscible ionic
liquid (4-MBP)BF
4
was used as a nonaqueous com-
ponent of the reaction system and compared with tert-
butanol, which was previously shown to be a preferred
organic solvent for mediator-assisted laccase reactions
(C. Budde & Y.L. Khmelnitsky, unpublished results).
In both solvent systems practically no reaction was ob-
served in the absence of mediators (Table 3). Addition
of mediators in most cases resulted in signicant ox-
idation of veratryl alcohol to veratryl aldehyde both
in the presence of the ionic liquid and tert-butanol.
However, the replacement of tert-butanol with (4-
MBP)BF
4
resulted in a considerable improvement in
the conversion of veratryl alcohol with 1-nitroso-2-
naphthol-3,6-disulfonate as a mediator (Table 3). Even
more signicant improvement in observed conversions
was obtained in the oxidation of anthracene in the
presence of 1-hydroxybenzotriazole, where practically
no reaction was detected when tert-butanol was used
as a cosolvent (Table 3).
In a further series of experiments, an ionic liquid
was tested as a reaction medium for another type of
oxidative enzyme, peroxidases. In a standard perox-
idase assay with guaiacol (Maehly & Chance 1954),
soybean and horseradish peroxidases showed signif-
icant catalytic activity in the presence of 25% (v/v)
of water-miscible ionic liquid (4-MBP)BF
4
. Specif-
ically, it was found that the initial rate of guaiacol
oxidation in the reaction system with the ionic liquid
was comparable to that observed in the presence of a
water-miscible organic solvent acetonitrile (Figure 1).
In conclusion, enzymes from the class of oxi-
dases (peroxidases and laccase) were shown for the
rst time to possess catalytic activity in a num-
ber of systems containing ionic liquids. This nding
opens up promising perspectives for applying these
environmentally benign solvents to a broad range of
synthetically important oxidative biotransformations.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr H. Meckler and
Dr P. C. Michels for their critical comments and
suggestions to the paper.
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