Approaches to the integration of electrochemistry and biotechnology - II. The horseradish peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of 2,4,6-trimethylphenol by electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide

The products from the horseradish peroxidase catalyzed oxidation of 2,4,6-trimethylphenol using in situ electrogenerated hydrogen peroxide are compared with those obtained by the equivalent homogeneous oxidation using commercial hydrogen peroxide. Both procedures can lead to 3,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, 3,5-dimethyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and 2,6-dimethylbenzoquinone, but only the electrochemical procedure leads also to the isolation of 4-(4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethylbenzyloxy)-2,4,6- trimethylcylcohex-2,5-dienone. Moreover, this interesting polyfunctional compound can be formed in chemical yields similar to 50%. (C) 1999 The Electrochemical Society. S0013-4651(98)06-004-2. All rights reserved.