Enzymatic cross-linking of a phenolic polymer extracted from the marine alga Fucus serratus

We have shown that a phenolic polymer (PP) extracted from Fucus serratus can be cross-linked using a vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidase (BPO). The methanol extracted PP was adsorbed to a quartz crystal sensor and the cross-linking was initiated by the addition of BPO, KBr, and H2O2. The decreased dissipation upon addition of the cross-linking agents, as measured with the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) method, was interpreted as intramolecular cross-links were formed between different phloroglucinol units in the PP. With surface plasmon resonance, it was shown that no desorption occurred from the sensor surface during the cross-linking. UV/vis spectroscopy verified the results achieved with QCM-D that all components, i.e., BPO, KBr, and H2O2, were necessary in order to achieve intramolecular oxidative cross-linking of the polymer.