Abstract

Azo dyes, released by the textile industries causes severe damage to the environment and living organisms. The degradation of azo dyes is widely studied using enzymatic methods. Laccase, is a copper containing enzyme that degrades the azo dyes into less toxic compounds. In this work, Laccase enzyme produced by the alkaliphile Pseudomonas mendocina in the degradation of mixed azo dye showed 0.386 U/Ml activity at pH 8.5. Combination of enzymatic and green synthesised nanoparticle were used in the degradation mixed azo dye. Laccase used in the degradation of mixed azo dyes showed 58.46% in 72 hours while the photocatalytic degradation of mixed azo dyes showed 15.98%. The degradation of azo dyes using copper iodide nanoparticle resulted in 15.835% of mixed azo dye degradation. But it was noticed that combined method removed 62.35% of mixed azo dyes in 60 minutes. Interaction of laccase enzyme with azo dyes using in silico analysis predicted the binding energy of RR (-7.19 kcal/mol), RB (-8.57 kcal/mol) and RBL (-9.17 kcal/mol).