Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Eco-microbiology: discovering biochemical enhancers of PET biodegradation by Piscinibacter sakaiensis

Researchers are working to accelerate the biodegradation of PET plastic by Piscinibacter sakaiensis, a bacterium that naturally evolved to consume this common type of plastic. Using bioactivity screens and degradation tests, they identified a small number of biochemical conditions that more than doubled the PET biodegradation rate. The work provides a foundation for developing a fermentation process that could help address PET plastic pollution at scale.

2025 Applied and Environmental Microbiology 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Enhancing PET Degrading Enzymes: A Combinatory Approach

Scientists worked on improving enzymes that can break down PET plastic, one of the most common plastics in consumer products. Using a combinatory approach, researchers enhanced the performance of a naturally occurring PET-degrading enzyme from the bacterium Piscinibacter sakaiensis. The study suggests that engineered enzymes could eventually help create a circular economy for plastic waste by enabling efficient recycling at the molecular level.

2024 ChemBioChem 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial plastic degradation: enzymes, pathways, challenges, and perspectives.

This review synthesizes current knowledge on microbial plastic degradation, covering the enzymes and metabolic pathways involved in breaking down major synthetic polymers, the challenges limiting efficient biodegradation, and perspectives for engineering improved microbial solutions to plastic waste.

2025 Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR
Article Tier 2

Recent trends in microbial and enzymatic plastic degradation: a solution for plastic pollution predicaments

This review covers recent advances in using microorganisms and their enzymes to break down plastics including polyethylene, PVC, polystyrene, and PET, with techniques like protein engineering being used to boost enzyme efficiency. Microbial degradation offers a sustainable approach to reducing the persistent plastic pollution that generates the microplastics found throughout the environment and human body.

2024 Biotechnology for Sustainable Materials 64 citations
Article Tier 2

Perspectives on the Role of Enzymatic Biocatalysis for the Degradation of Plastic PET

This review discusses the role of enzymatic biocatalysis in PET plastic degradation, examining how the discovery of PETase and subsequent enzyme engineering have advanced biodegradation as an alternative to chemical and mechanical recycling for one of the most produced plastics globally.

2021 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 97 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of Plastic and the Role of Microbial Enzymes in Plastic Waste Management

This review examines how microbial enzymes, particularly PET hydrolases and oxidative enzymes, can depolymerize and break down common plastic polymers through biological degradation. The study suggests that enzymatic approaches to plastic waste management offer a promising complement to mechanical and chemical recycling, though optimizing enzyme activity and scaling up the process remain key challenges.

2026 International Journal of Education Management and Technology
Article Tier 2

Microbial enzymes for the recycling of recalcitrant petroleum‐based plastics: how far are we?

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.

2017 Microbial Biotechnology 788 citations
Article Tier 2

Explorations of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Hydrolase for addressing PET Plastic Pollution

This review explores the biology of PETase enzymes and their potential for addressing PET plastic pollution, covering the discovery of Ideonella sakaiensis and subsequent enzyme engineering efforts. Developing efficient PET-degrading enzymes is a promising biotechnological strategy for reducing plastic pollution at scale.

2019 The FASEB Journal 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Current Knowledge on Polyethylene Terephthalate Degradation by Genetically Modified Microorganisms

This review covers genetically modified microorganisms engineered to degrade polyethylene terephthalate, examining how bioengineering of enzymes such as PETase and enhanced expression systems can overcome the low biodegradation rates of wild-type microorganisms toward this ubiquitous plastic.

2021 Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 92 citations
Article Tier 2

An Overview into Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Hydrolases and Efforts in Tailoring Enzymes for Improved Plastic Degradation

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.

2022 International Journal of Molecular Sciences 120 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic biodegradation: Frontline microbes and their enzymes

Researchers reviewed microbial biodegradation of synthetic plastics — including PE, PP, PS, and PET — cataloguing the insects, bacteria, and fungi capable of breaking down these polymers along with the enzymatic mechanisms involved, and outlining paths forward including metabolic pathway engineering and molecular cloning to improve degradation rates.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 663 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial degradation of plastics in the environment: Mechanisms, enzymatic pathways, and constraints from laboratory studies to environmental reality

Researchers reviewed microbial and insect-mediated plastic biodegradation, finding that while a wide range of bacteria and fungi can degrade common polymers and PETase enzymes have been substantially improved through protein engineering, degradation rates measured in optimized laboratory settings likely overestimate real-world performance under natural constraints like low temperature and nutrient limitation.

2026 Journal of Environmental Management
Article Tier 2

Genes for a Circular and Sustainable Bio-PET Economy

This review examines the genetics of enzymes that can biodegrade PET plastic, exploring how genetic engineering could accelerate the development of organisms capable of breaking down plastic waste. Enzymatic degradation of PET could help address plastic pollution including plastic bottles that break down into microplastics.

2019 Preprints.org 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Microbial and Enzymatic Degradation of Plastic Waste in Water

This review surveys microbial and enzymatic pathways for degrading plastic waste in water, cataloging enzymes such as PETases and cutinases along with the microorganisms that produce them. The authors assess current limitations of biological degradation rates and discuss how enzyme engineering and synthetic microbial consortia could accelerate plastic breakdown.

2024
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in screening and identification of PET-degrading enzymes

Researchers reviewed recent advances in discovering and engineering enzymes capable of breaking down PET plastic, one of the most widely produced and persistent plastic types. They examined screening methods including metagenomic mining and machine learning approaches that have accelerated the identification of promising PET-degrading enzymes. The study suggests that enzymatic recycling could become a viable, environmentally friendly alternative to traditional PET disposal methods.

2024 Environmental Reviews 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Degradation of PET plastic with engineered environmental bacteria

Scientists engineered a soil bacterium to break down PET plastic, one of the most common plastics in food packaging and textiles, by giving it the ability to produce and secrete a powerful plastic-degrading enzyme. This is one of the first demonstrations of a living microorganism that can directly consume PET as a food source, which could lead to more sustainable recycling approaches.

2024 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradation of PET: Current Status and Application Aspects

This review covered the current status of PET biodegradation, focusing on the discovery and mechanism of PET hydrolytic enzymes from Ideonella sakaiensis and the pathway from enzyme identification to potential bioremediation application. The authors assess progress toward commercializing enzymatic PET degradation and identify remaining technical barriers for large-scale plastic waste management.

2019 ACS Catalysis 614 citations
Article Tier 2

Current knowledge on enzymatic PET degradation and its possible application to waste stream management and other fields

This review distinguished between enzymatic PET surface modification (useful for fiber treatment) and enzymatic PET degradation (needed for waste management), cataloguing the hydrolases capable of each function and the conditions required. The authors evaluate the prospects for deploying PET-degrading enzymes in industrial plastic waste streams.

2019 Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 576 citations
Article Tier 2

Determinants for an Efficient Enzymatic Catalysis in Poly(Ethylene Terephthalate) Degradation

This review covers the current state of enzymatic PET degradation, examining which enzymes act on PET, how protein engineering has improved their activity, and what challenges remain before enzymatic recycling can be deployed at industrial scale.

2023 Catalysts 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Enzymatic Degradation of PET plastic

This study tested commercial-grade enzymes for degrading PET plastic and found that enzymatic degradation was effective at laboratory scale but faced challenges for real-world application. Scaling up enzymatic PET recycling could reduce the persistence of plastic waste that eventually fragments into microplastics in the environment.

2023 ARPHA Conference Abstracts
Article Tier 2

Enzymatic Remediation of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)–Based Polymers for Effective Management of Plastic Wastes: An Overview

Enzymatic approaches for remediating PET-based plastic waste were reviewed, covering PETase and related enzymes that can break PET into reusable monomers. Enzyme engineering strategies to improve thermostability and catalytic efficiency are discussed as a pathway to scalable biological PET recycling.

2020 Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 193 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent advances in enzyme engineering for improved deconstruction of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) plastics

This review covers recent progress in engineering enzymes that can break down PET plastic, the material used in water bottles and food containers. While natural enzymes that digest PET have been discovered, they are not yet fast or durable enough for industrial-scale recycling. Advances in protein engineering, directed evolution, and computational design are steadily improving these enzymes, which could eventually provide a sustainable way to recycle PET and reduce microplastic pollution at its source.

2025 Communications Materials 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Development of Enzyme-Based Approaches for Recycling PET on an Industrial Scale

This paper reviews the development of enzyme-based methods for breaking down PET plastic (used in bottles and packaging) at an industrial scale. While enzymatic recycling is a promising solution to plastic waste, current methods are still too slow and costly for widespread use. Improving these technologies could help reduce the enormous amount of PET entering the environment and breaking down into microplastics.

2024 Biochemistry 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Towards synthetic PETtrophy: Engineering Pseudomonas putida for concurrent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) monomer metabolism and PET hydrolase expression

Researchers engineered a soil bacterium to simultaneously break down PET plastic and use its building-block chemicals as food, identifying key bottlenecks in balancing enzyme production with bacterial fitness that will need to be resolved before such microbes can be used for large-scale plastic biodegradation.

2022 Microbial Cell Factories 62 citations