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Thermal Embedding of Humicola insolens Cutinase: A Strategy for Improving Polyester Biodegradation in Seawater
Summary
Researchers embedded a commercially available enzyme into biodegradable polyester films to accelerate their breakdown in seawater. The study found that these enzyme-embedded films achieved biodegradability equal to or greater than cellulose standards in natural seawater, while maintaining their original physical properties. This approach suggests a practical strategy for reducing the contribution of slow-degrading biodegradable plastics to marine microplastic pollution.
By thermal embedding of the commercially available enzyme Humicola insolens cutinase (HiC), this study successfully enhanced the biodegradability of various polyesters (PBS, PBSA, PCL, PBAT) in seawater, which otherwise show limited environmental degradability. Melt extrusion above the melting temperature was used for embedding HiC in the polyesters. The overall physical properties of the HiC-embedded films remained almost unchanged compared to those of the neat films. In the buffer, embedding HiC allowed rapid polymer degradation into water-soluble hydrolysis products. Biochemical oxygen demand tests showed that the HiC-embedded polyester films exhibited similar or much higher biodegradability than the biodegradable cellulose standard in natural seawater. Thermal embedding of HiC aims to accelerate the biodegradation of plastics that are already biodegradable but have limited environmental biodegradability, potentially reducing their contribution to environmental problems such as marine microplastics.