ABSTRACT MORPHINE BIOTRANSFORMATIONS BY MICROBIAL PHENOL OXIDASES Erdural Korkmaz, Beril M.S., Department of Chemical Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ufuk Bakir Co-Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Ayhan S. Demir January 2006, 96 pages The objective of this study is to perform morphine biotransformation by using phenol oxidases. Syctalidium thermophilum, Thermomyces lanuginosus and Phanerochaete chrysosporium cells and culture fluid were used as microbial intracellular and extracellular phenol oxidases. Besides the phenol oxidases produced in laboratory, commercial pure phenol oxidases, A. bisporus tyrosinase and laccase, T. versicolor laccase and horseradish peroxidase, were also used in the morphine biotransformation reactions. Morphine biotransformation to pseudo-morphine was achieved by using pure T. versicolor laccase, A.bisporous tyrosinase and laccase. Before utilization of phenol oxidases in morphine biotransformations, the time course of microbial phenol oxidase productions were followed. Maximum phenol oxidase activity of S. thermophilum were detected on the 5th day of cultivation as 0.17 U/ml and the 4th day of cultivation as 0.072 U/ml, respectively. On the other hand, maximum laccase activity of P. chrysosporium was detected on the 8th day of cultivation as 78.5 U/ml. Although phenol oxidases which were obtained from S. thermophilum or T. lanuginosus could not catalyze morphine biotransformation, phenol oxidases including a peroxidase of P. chrysosporium transformed morphine to pseudo-morphine and an unknown product.