benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol

Conditions: temp:0.00; pressure:0.00; stir:; See reaction.notes.procedure_details.

Procedure: The assay of styrene oxide hydrolase activity in the strains PES1-5 and PES1-53 demonstrates the formation from styrene oxide of approximately 1 to 2 nmol of 2-phenyl-2-hydroxyethanol per min and per mg of microsomal proteins. This activity is undetectable in the other strains of the PES1 series. The reductase activity of the strain PES1-53 is comparable to that of the strain PES1-34. The strain PES1-53 transformed with an expression plasmid which codes for cytochrome P450 1A1 is capable, on incubation with benzo(a)pyrene, of hydrolysing the benzo(a)pyrene 7,8-oxide formed in situ to benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol. These activities are demonstrated in FIG. 13, which shows an HPLC separation of the metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene formed on incubation of this pollutant with strains PES1-2, PES1-3 and PES1-53 transformed to express murine cytochrome P450 1A1. Clearly, only the strain PES1-53 permits the formation of benzo(a)pyrene-7,8-diol in large amounts. This molecule is an important intermediate in the degradation of the carcinogenic industrial pollutant, benzo(a)pyrene.