A team of authors from BOKU University’s Institute of Environmental Biotechnology writing in partnership with colleagues from elsewehre in BOKU, plus the University of Genova and the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB) describe how laccase-mediated transformation has been studied in the case of the well known antidepressant trazodone hydrochloride and its associated by-products. Enzyme remediation has been emerging in recent decades as a possible solution to eliminate recalcitrant pharmaceutical pollutants in wastewater or contaminated sites, offering a faster alternative to existing approaches like microbial remediation.
In the new study, published in Renewable Chemistry 2025, 1 (1), 4, up to 5000 mg/L of trazodone hydrochloride and its by-products were enzymatically treated using a laccase-mediator system consisting of the laccase from Trametes hirsuta (ThL) and the mediator 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HBT). The sytudies were carried out in th epresence of varying concentrations of a mixed organic solvent system composed of acetone and isobutyl alcohol in a 1:1 ratio at up to 20% (v/v) to simulate the matrix of a real industrial production waste stream. The enzymatic oxidation was not significantly affected by the varying solvent concentrations, with maximum conversions of 62%, 73% and 62% for trazodone hydrochloride and two key impurities respectively. Liquid chromatography—high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) indicated preferential oxidation of the piperazine group in all three molecules.
Read the full text open-access article in Renewable Chemistry
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