Laccase treatment of Norway spruce wood surface improves resistance and copper fixation of treated wood

The effects of laccase from the white-rot basidiomycete fungus Trametes versicolor on Norway spruce wood (Pices abies) surface were studied. Experiments were performed at room temperature and at pH 4.6, without the addition of mediators. Biological, chemical and physical properties of the treated wood surface were examined by a wood decay test, a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and a copper leaching test. Laccase pre-treatment of Norway spruce wood surface was shown to reduce wood decay by brown-rot fungus, Gloeophyllum trabeum and white-rot fungus, Trametes versicolor. SEM images showed expanded wood cell walls, closed pits and a more even surface after laccase treatment. FTIR analysis indicated that laccase not only catalyse depolymerisation of lignin, but also affect other wood cell wall components, such as hemicellulose and cellulose. We showed that laccase treatment altered wood properties in a way that improved wood resistance to decay and prevented leaching of copper from impregnated wood.