Abstract:
Synthetic polymers, commonly known as plastics, are currently present in all aspects of our lives. Although they are useful, they present the problem of what to do with them after their lifespan. There are currently mechanical and chemical methods to treat plastics, but these are methods that, among other disadvantages, can be expensive in terms of energy or produce polluting gases. A more environmentally friendly alternative is recycling, although this practice is not widespread. Based on the practice of the so-called circular economy, many studies are focused on the biodegradation of these polymers by enzymes. Using enzymes is a harmless method that can also generate substances with high added value. Novel and enhanced plastic-degrading enzymes have been obtained by modifying the amino acid sequence of existing ones, especially on their active site, using a wide variety of genetic approaches. Currently, many studies focus on the common aim of achieving strains with greater hydrolytic activity toward a different range of plastic polymers. Although in most cases the depolymerization rate is improved, more research is required to develop effective biodegradation strategies for plastic recycling or upcycling. This review focuses on a compilation and discussion of the most important research outcomes carried out on microbial biotechnology to degrade and recycle plastics.
摘要:
合成聚合物,通常被称为塑料,目前存在于我们生活的各个方面。虽然它们很有用,他们提出了一个问题,那就是在他们的寿命之后如何处理他们。目前有机械和化学方法来处理塑料,但是这些方法,在其他缺点中,在能源方面可能是昂贵的或产生污染气体。更环保的替代方法是回收利用,尽管这种做法并不普遍。基于所谓循环经济的实践,许多研究集中在酶对这些聚合物的生物降解上。使用酶是一种无害的方法,也可以产生高附加值的物质。通过修饰现有酶的氨基酸序列,获得了新的和增强的塑料降解酶,尤其是在他们活跃的网站上,使用各种各样的遗传方法。目前,许多研究集中在实现菌株对不同范围的塑料聚合物具有更大的水解活性的共同目标。虽然在大多数情况下,解聚速率提高,需要更多的研究来开发有效的生物降解策略来回收或再循环塑料。这篇综述的重点是对微生物生物技术降解和回收塑料的最重要研究成果的汇编和讨论。