Laccase-Assisted Cues: State-of-the-Art Analytical Modalities for Detection, Quantification, and Redefining “Removal” of Environmentally Related Contaminants of High Concern

This chapter focuses on state-of-the-art analytical modalities with reference to laccase-assisted cues to detect, quantify, and redefine “removal” of emerging contaminants (ECs) of high concern. The controlled or uncontrolled discharge and long-term persistence of ECs such as micro-pollutants, endocrine disruptors (EDs), pharmaceuticals, hormones, and toxins all pose environmental threats and considerable risks to human health and aquatic life, alike. Thus, there is a dire need to engineer new tools and adopt strategic measures since the conventional wastewater treatment technologies are proved ineffective to detect or remove ECs. The current boom in biotechnology and environmental engineering offers opportunities to engineer biosensing and biocatalytic prototypes, for various applications, to yield requisite measurements to meet specific requirements. Such prototypes can further help in real-time and in situ monitoring of environmental pollutants. Besides that, on-site monitoring can also reduce the excessive consumption of potentially hazardous chemicals and harsh reagents prior to release into the environment. Thus, the current advancement in designing and developing biosensing prototypes and biocatalytic cues have gained high research interest and inevitably focused on enzymes. Laccase-assisted sensing prototypes and biocatalytic cues have gained attention and can be an excellent fit for monitoring, quantification, and removal of ECs. This chapter extend the current knowledge on new modalities to detect, quantify, and treat the samples efficiently. Useful information is also given on laccase-assisted sensors, immobilized laccase-based cues, and their role in the pollution detection and redefining “removal” processes. In-depth understanding of critical emergencies and their needful alternatives to preserve the inherent physicochemical, structural, and functional features of the engineered sensing cues is essential for success.