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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Enzyme-Assisted Circular Additive Manufacturing as an Enabling Technology for a Circular Bioeconomy—A Conceptual Review
ClearMicroplastic biodegradation and environmental safety: From microbial mechanisms to engineered systems and circular bio-based implementation.
This research review summarizes what scientists know about using bacteria and enzymes to break down microplastics—tiny plastic particles smaller than 5mm that contaminate our water, soil, and air. While these biological approaches show promise for removing dangerous plastic pollution from the environment, the methods don't always work completely and may create new harmful byproducts. The findings matter because microplastics can enter our food chain and bodies, so we need safe and effective ways to remove them without creating new health risks.
Bioplastics in the circular bioeconomy: Production pathways, biodegradation mechanisms, and environmental implications
This comprehensive review examines how bioplastics — plastics made from renewable biological sources — fit into a circular economy, covering how they are produced, how microorganisms break them down, and the environmental risks when degradation is incomplete. A key concern is that even bio-based plastics can form microplastics if they do not fully degrade in real-world conditions like marine or soil environments, meaning that simply switching to bioplastics does not automatically solve the microplastic pollution problem.
Rethinking plastics through microbial biodegradation and circular economy innovation – A review
Researchers reviewed emerging biotechnological strategies — including bacterial, fungal, and enzymatic breakdown of plastics — as key tools for transitioning from a throwaway plastic economy to a circular one where plastics are biodegraded or recycled rather than discarded. They identify scalability and regulatory gaps as the main barriers to deploying these solutions at the global level needed to address plastic pollution.
Advancing Biotechnology Toward Pollutant Recirculation and Recovery in a Changing World
This review examines how biotechnology can be applied to pollutant recirculation and recovery in a circular economy framework, discussing microbial, enzymatic, and biosensor-based technologies for detecting and transforming environmental contaminants including microplastics.
Characterization and Optimization of Biocatalysts for New Recycling Technologies
Researchers investigated the characterisation and optimisation of enzymatic biocatalysts capable of degrading synthetic plastics, addressing the limitations of conventional mechanical recycling that has proven largely ineffective at curbing plastic and microplastic accumulation in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The work explores how enzyme engineering and directed evolution can improve the efficiency of biological plastic breakdown as a pathway toward circular plastic recycling.
Sustainable Materials and Technologies for Biomedical Applications
This review covers sustainable biomaterials for medical implants, including 3D-printed devices made from biopolymers, ceramics, and composites. While not directly about microplastics, it is relevant because developing biodegradable alternatives to traditional plastics in medical devices could reduce the amount of plastic waste that eventually breaks down into microplastics. The research highlights how sustainable manufacturing could help address plastic pollution at its source.
Microbial and Enzymatic Biodegradation of Plastic Waste for a Circular Economy
This review summarizes how bacteria and enzymes can break down plastic waste into simpler, reusable materials as a greener alternative to burning or landfilling. While focused on solutions rather than health effects, the research is relevant because reducing plastic waste at its source would decrease the amount of microplastics that ultimately end up in our food, water, and bodies.
Environmental impact and mitigation of micro(nano)plastics pollution using green catalytic tools and green analytical methods
Researchers reviewed the growing problem of microplastics and nanoplastics in the environment, then assessed enzyme-based strategies for breaking them down, finding that enzymes specifically targeting plastic polymer structures offer a promising, sustainable approach to degradation, especially when stabilized on nanomaterials to extend their activity.
Plastic waste impact and biotechnology: Exploring polymer degradation, microbial role, and sustainable development implications
Researchers reviewed how microorganisms and their enzymes can break down different types of plastic waste through both aerobic (oxygen-using) and anaerobic (oxygen-free) pathways. The review highlights biotechnological tools like genetic modification that could accelerate plastic biodegradation, supporting a shift toward a circular economy.
A minireview on the bioremediative potential of microbial enzymes as solution to emerging microplastic pollution
This mini review explores the potential of microbial enzymes as a sustainable solution for degrading microplastics, discussing recent advances in identifying plastic-degrading enzymes and the challenges remaining for practical bioremediation applications.
A concept for the biotechnological minimizing of emerging plastics, micro- and nano-plastics pollutants from the environment: A review.
This review examined biotechnological strategies for remediating plastics, micro-, and nano-plastics from the environment, cataloguing microbial and enzymatic degradation approaches, discussing their mechanistic basis, and proposing an integrated biotechnology framework for minimizing plastic pollution across terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Three-Dimensional Printing of Multifunctional Composites: Fabrication, Applications, and Biodegradability Assessment
This paper is not about microplastics; it is a materials science review of polymer composites used in 3D printing, examining additive types, biodegradation pathways, and the environmental safety of biodegradable biocomposites.
Biotechnological Potential for Microplastic Waste
This article reviews how biotechnology — including engineered microbes and enzymes — can be used to break down microplastic waste. As conventional plastic recycling falls short, biological approaches offer a promising complement to reduce the accumulation of microplastics in the environment.
Chemoenzymatic Synthesis and Degradation of Plastics
This thesis explores using enzymes as biological catalysts to both produce bio-based plastics and break down synthetic polymers under mild conditions. While not directly about microplastic pollution in the environment, the work is relevant because enzymatic plastic degradation could eventually offer a greener way to address plastic waste before it breaks down into microplastics.
Microbial Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Enzymatic Mechanisms, Biotechnological Applications, and Ecotoxicological Perspectives
This review examined the enzymatic mechanisms by which microorganisms degrade plastics and microplastics, covering biotechnological applications and ecotoxicological perspectives. Researchers found that certain bacterial and fungal enzymes can break down persistent plastic polymers, positioning microbial biodegradation as a promising sustainable remediation approach, though scalability and environmental deployment remain challenges.
Harnessing Microorganisms for Microplastic Degradation: A Sustainable Approach to Mitigating Environmental Pollution
This review surveys microorganisms—bacteria, fungi, and other taxa—capable of degrading microplastics, examining the enzymes, metabolic pathways, and environmental conditions involved, and assessing the practical potential of harnessing these organisms for bioremediation of plastic pollution.
Cutting-edge developments in plastic biodegradation and upcycling via engineering approaches
This review examines how engineering approaches from synthetic biology and metabolic engineering can improve both the breakdown and upcycling of plastic waste. Researchers found that various microorganisms and their enzymes can degrade plastics and convert the resulting monomers into valuable products like biosurfactants, bioplastics, and biochemicals. The study suggests that optimizing microbial pathways and using hybrid chemo-biological approaches could help build a more sustainable circular plastic economy.
Fused deposition modelling approach using 3D printing and recycled industrial materials for a sustainable environment: a review
Researchers reviewed the use of fused deposition modelling (FDM) 3D printing as a strategy for repurposing industrial plastic waste, examining how recycled polymer materials can be processed into filaments and printed into new objects to reduce environmental plastic accumulation.
Microbe-assisted Enzymatic Degradation of Microplastic
This review examines microbially assisted enzymatic degradation of microplastics as a promising bioremediation strategy, surveying the microorganisms and extracellular enzymes capable of cleaving plastic polymer chains. The authors assess current progress, limitations, and future prospects for applying this approach to reduce microplastic accumulation in terrestrial and aquatic environments.
Circular economy, bioeconomy, and sustainable development goals: a systematic literature review
Researchers conducted a systematic review of 649 studies examining how circular economy and bioeconomy concepts contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. They found that while these approaches show promise for addressing environmental challenges including plastic waste, most research has focused on a limited set of goals and lacks empirical data. The study identifies key research gaps, including the need for more studies on economic and social impacts in developing countries.
Toward Microbial Recycling and Upcycling of Plastics: Prospects and Challenges
This review examines the prospects and challenges of using microorganisms to recycle and upcycle plastic waste, assessing the current state of microbial degradation research across major polymer types. The authors identify metabolic engineering and synthetic biology as key tools needed to make biological plastic recycling economically viable at scale.
Progressing Plastics Circularity: A Review of Mechano-Biocatalytic Approaches for Waste Plastic (Re)valorization
This review examined mechano-biocatalytic approaches to plastic waste valorization — combining mechanical pre-treatment with enzyme catalysis — and argued that this pairing offers a scalable route to chemical recycling of mixed plastic streams that conventional methods struggle to process.
An Examination of Microplastics: Environmental Impact, Sustainability, and Recyclability Innovation
This paper examined the environmental impact of microplastics, sustainability implications of current plastic use, and recycling options to address the plastic pollution crisis. It called for a transition toward circular economy approaches that reduce primary plastic production and increase recycled content.
Insights into Microbial Enzymatic Biodegradation of Plastics and Microplastics: Technological Updates
This review covers the latest advances in using microbial enzymes and biotechnology to break down plastic and microplastic waste. While some bacteria and fungi can partially degrade certain plastics, the process is slow and limited by factors like the plastic's chemical structure and crystallinity. The research points toward genetic engineering and genome editing as potential tools to speed up plastic degradation, though practical large-scale solutions are still in development.