Recent Advances in Enzymes for the Bioremediation of Pollutants

Abstract

Nowadays, pollution of the environment is a huge problem for humans and other organisms’ health. Conventional methods of pollutant removal like membrane filtration or ion exchange are not efficient enough to lower the number of pollutants to standard levels. Biological methods, because of their higher efficiency and biocompatibility, are preferred for the remediation of pollutants. These cost-effective and environment-friendly methods of reducing pollutants are called bioremediation. In bioremediation methods, enzymes play the most crucial role. Enzymes can remedy different types of organic and inorganic pollutants, including PAHs, azo dyes, polymers, organocyanides, lead, chromium, and mercury. Different enzymes isolated from various species have been used for the bioremediation of pollutants. Discovering new enzymes and new subtypes with specific physicochemical characteristics would be a promising way to find more efficient and cost-effective tools for the remediation of pollutants.

Filamentous fungi for sustainable remediation of pharmaceutical compounds, heavy metal and oil hydrocarbons

“…Fungal laccases and peroxidases are very promising enzymes in degrading polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride ( Temporiti et al, 2022 ). Secreted fungal laccases and peroxidases enzymes can be effectively used for detoxification of heavy metals and pharmaceuticals ( Olicon-Hernandez et al, 2017 ; Mousavi et al, 2021 ).…”

Oxidative dehalogenation of trichlorophenol catalyzed by a promiscuous artificial heme-enzyme

“…The need for sustainable technologies to meet demanding goals, such as the removal of environmental pollutants, is driving the scientic community to nd cutting-edge solutions. 1,2 Nature represents an outstanding guide for its ability to perform complicated chemical processes, using impressive catalytic systems, based on enzyme arrays. Enzymes are the benchmark of sustainability, as they are biocompatible, biodegradable and come from renewable resources.…”

Closing the Carbon Loop in the Circular Plastics Economy

“…Furthermore, bioengineering of biological systems, such as bacteria, fungi, and even insects, holds promise for bioremediation, which is the biodegradation of persistent waste plastics and other organic environmental pollutants by exploiting them as a carbon source for environmentally friendly carbon compounds. [343,[404][405][406][407][408][409] It appears feasible to use metabolic pathways for the degradation of PE once the PE chain length decreases to an acceptable range for enzyme action. [321,408,409] Several reviews have addressed the aspects of design, properties, applications, and biodegradation mechanisms of biodegradable plastics.…”