Hydroxylation of benzene by horseradish peroxidase and immobilized horseradish peroxidase in an organic solvent

Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) catalyzed hydroxylation of benzene with an oxidant when benzene was used as the reaction solvent. HRP immobilized on poly(γ-methyl-L-glutamate) also catalyzed the reaction with higher activity than that of free HRP. The results of the reaction using [18O]hydrogen peroxide show that free and immobilized HRP incorporated the oxygen atom of the reactive species into the product, indicating that both forms of HRP can catalyze hydroxylation of benzene in an analogous manner to that of cytochrome P450.