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Advances in amidases and urethanases as depolymerization biocatalysts
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This review paper summarizes existing research on enzymes that break down plastics like PET, nylon and polyurethane by targeting their chemical bonds. It discusses the natural variety of these enzymes, their current limitations, especially for nylon and polyurethane, and approaches like bioinformatics and engineering to improve them.
Stable chemical bonds as well as noncovalent interactions define the properties of industrial chemicals and materials, including polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyamides (nylons) and polyurethanes. The resistance of plastics to hydrolysis contributes to the global issues of waste accumulation and environmental pollution. Recently identified metagenomic enzymes act on highly stable ester, amide and carbamate bonds in small molecules as well as pretreated polymeric materials. However, depolymerization activities, particularly for nylons and polyurethanes, remain too low to facilitate the efficient treatment of plastic waste. This Perspective highlights the natural diversity of different hydrolase superfamilies suitable for deconstructing synthetic polymers and examines their catalytic features. We also discuss strategies for discovering biocatalysts and tailoring their properties by protein engineering-both assisted by bioinformatics and (ultra)high-throughput screening tools. The combination of these approaches and thorough process analyses will be required to advance hydrolase-based depolymerization of plastics beyond the current recycling schemes for PET.
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Tailoring enzymes for polyester-plastic depolymerization.
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Researchers reviewed recent advances in protein engineering of plastic-degrading enzymes targeting PET, polyurethane, PLA, and PBAT, summarizing how directed evolution and computational design have improved thermal stability, catalytic efficiency, and expression yield to make enzymatic plastic recycling more industrially viable.
Microbial enzymes for the recycling of recalcitrant petroleum‐based plastics: how far are we?
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This review examines the progress in identifying microbial enzymes capable of breaking down petroleum-based plastics like polyethylene, polystyrene, polyurethane, and PET. Researchers highlight recent advances in using polyester-degrading enzymes to recover raw materials from PET waste through biocatalytic recycling. The study discusses the potential and remaining challenges of using biological approaches to address the growing global problem of plastic waste accumulation.
Enzymes’ Power for Plastics Degradation
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Researchers surveyed enzymes capable of degrading synthetic plastics, highlighting how biological catalysts—especially cutinases and laccases—can break down polymers like PET and polyurethane under mild conditions, offering a promising complement to mechanical and chemical recycling methods.
An Overview into Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Hydrolases and Efforts in Tailoring Enzymes for Improved Plastic Degradation
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This review examines the discovery and engineering of PET-degrading enzymes including PETase and cutinase variants, discussing protein engineering strategies to improve catalytic efficiency and thermostability for practical biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate plastic waste.
Switched reaction specificity in polyesterases towards amide bond hydrolysis by enzyme engineering
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Researchers engineered enzymes that can break down polyamide plastics like nylon, which are normally very resistant to degradation. This could open new pathways for enzymatic recycling of synthetic fabrics and help address nylon microplastic pollution.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.