Investigation of Bioremediation Potential of Laccase Enzyme Immobilized on Silver-Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles

In this study, silver-coated magnetic nanoparticles were synthesized, functionalized with MUA, and covalently immobilized laccase enzyme. FTIR, TEM, EDX, ESR and CV techniques were used for characterization. The optimum pH for free and immobilized laccase was found to be 3.0 while the optimum temperatures were 45 °C and 55 °C, respectively. It was observed that K_m and V_max values decreased at the end of immobilization process. When thermal stability was investigated, it was found that, immobilized enzyme showed higher stability than free. It was observed that the immobilized laccase retained 58.13% of its initial activity after 10 consecutive uses. Additionally, immobilized laccase was used successfully in the removal of some dyes and phenolic compounds. These results showed that the silver-coated magnetic nanoparticles synthesized in this study can be used effectively in enzymatic bioremediation.