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Catalytic and interfacial aspects of enzymatic polymer synthesis in reversed micellar systems
Author(s) -
Rao A. Madhusudhan,
John Vijay T.,
Gonzalez Richard D.,
Akkara Joseph A.,
Kaplan David L.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
biotechnology and bioengineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.136
H-Index - 189
eISSN - 1097-0290
pISSN - 0006-3592
DOI - 10.1002/bit.260410505
Subject(s) - catalysis , polymer , chemistry , enzyme catalysis , enzyme , organic chemistry , chemical engineering , engineering
The enzyme horseradish peroxidase, when encapsulated in reversed micelles, is capable of catalyzing the synthesis of phenolic and aromatic amine polymers. The synthesis of polyethylphenol is specifically considered in this article and is found to be extremely feasible in the micellar system. Polymer chain growth can be controlled to some degree by manipulating the ability of the solvent to sustain chain solubility; this is effectively done by adjusting the surfactant concentration. This results in a degree of control of polymer molecular weight. The synthesized polymer drops out of solution and can be easily recovered. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.