Compositions and Methods for Degradation of Pollutants – IP 1648

Florida International University (FIU) is seeking a businesspartner to develop and commercialize compositions and methods for thechloroperoxidase-catalyzed degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants inwastewater or other water sources. Pharmaceutical compounds that enter aquatic environmentsmainly come from human and veterinary medicines, such as antibiotics, antidepressants,blood thinners, hormones, and painkillers.There have been certain efforts to prevent improper disposal ofpharmaceuticals, however, they do not effectively capture all drugs that mightbe disposed of in water systems. Severaltypes of wastewater treatment currently exist, such as activated sludge,biological filtration, UV, ozonation, microfiltration, and ultrasound. However,these methods can be costly, insufficient to eliminate all persistentpharmaceutical residues, require further treatment before disposal due to theproduction of secondary byproducts, or are inconsistent because of thecomplexity of pharmaceutical pollutants. Given the increase in pharmaceuticaland personal care product use, it is unclear whether these existing efforts andmethods will be sufficient to combat pharmaceutical water pollution. FIU inventors have developed efficient, economical, andenvironmentally friendly compositions and methods for degrading pharmaceuticalpollutants from water sources. Thecompositions include Chloroperoxidase (CPO), a heme-containing glycoproteinsecreted by the fungus Caldariomyces fumago. CPO catalyzes two major types ofoxidation: one-electron oxidations, and two-electron oxidations, whichfacilitates the use of CPO in the treatment of environmental pollution. Anne Laure Schmitt Olivier aschmitt@fiu.edu 305-348-5948