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This work investigated the enzymatic degradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) (ArticlesI and II) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) (Article III). Physical or chemical degradation of plastic polymers is often performed under extreme conditions like high temperatures or pressure. In comparison to that, recycling of plastics with enzymes can be carried out at ambient temperatures and neutral pH. Enzymes themselves are non- toxic, environmentally friendly, and have been used successfully in a variety of industrial processes.
Enzymatic degradation of polyesters is well studied. Their heteroatomic backbone, which is connecting monomers via ester bonds offers a target for an enzymatic attack. Especially PET, one of the most common polyesters, has been in the focus of research. The first enzyme capable of degrading the polymer was found in 2005. Since then, researchers discovered several enzymes with similar functions and subjected them to enzyme engineering. Improving the enzyme's substrate affinity, activity, and stability aims at making PET recycling more efficient. Article I provides an overview of limitations that enzymatic PET recycling is still facing and the research carried out to overcome them. More precisely, enzyme−substrate interactions, thermostability, catalytic efficiency, and inhibition caused by oligomeric degradation intermediates are summarized and discussed in detail.
Article II further addresses one of the above-mentioned limitations, namely product inhibition of PET hydrolyzing enzymes. We elucidated the crystal structure of TfCa, a carboxylesterase from Thermobifida fusca (T. fusca), and applied semi-rational enzyme engineering. The article discusses the structure-function relationship of TfCa based on the apo-structure as well as ligand-soaked structures. Furthermore, it compares the structures of TfCa and MHETase, another PET hydrolase helper enzyme. Lastly, we determined the substrate profile of the carboxylesterase based on terephthalate-based oligo-esters of various lengths and one ortho-phthalate ester. In a dual enzyme system, TfCa degraded intermediate products derived from the PET hydrolysis of a variant of PETase hydrolase from Ideonella sakaiensis (I. sakaiensis). The dual enzyme system utilized PET more efficiently in comparison to solely PETase due to relieved product inhibition. Since TfCa successfully degraded oligomeric intermediates, the reaction not only released terephthalic acid as the sole product but also increased the overall product yield.
While PET contains an ester bond that can be attacked and hydrolyzed by esterases or lipases, PVA consists of a homoatomic C-C-backbone with repeating 1,3-diol units. The polymer is water soluble with remarkable physical properties such as thermostability and viscosity. PVA is often described as biodegradable, but microbial degradation is slow and frequently involves cost-intensive cofactors. In this study, we present an improved PVA polymer with derivatized side chains and an enzyme cascade that can degrade not only modified but also unmodified PVA in a one-pot reaction. The enzyme cascade consists of a lipase, an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), and a Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase (BVMO). In comparison to the scarcely published research on PVA degradation with free enzyme, this cascade is not only independent from the frequently required cofactor pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) but, in principle, contains an in vitro cofactor recycling mechanism.
Die Behandlung des trockenen Auges erfolgt hauptsächlich symptomatisch mit Tränenersatzmitteln. Eine Vielzahl an Benetzungsmitteln mit unterschiedlichen Wirk- und Zusatzstoffen zum Ausgleich des Tränenmangels und zum Schutz der Schleimhaut wurde entwickelt. In einem standardisierten Zellkulturmodell wurde die protektive Wirkung verschiedener Präparate untersucht. Als Indikator zur Erfassung vitaler Zellen wurde Alamar blue genutzt. Nach Inkubation der Zellkulturen mit den Benetzungsmitteln wurden vier Austrocknungszeiten unter einem konstanten Luftstrom eingehalten. Anschließend wurde der Redoxindikator appliziert und nach vier Stunden Inkubation wurde die Absorption von Alamar blue mit dem ELISA-Reader bestimmt. Mit zunehmender Austrocknungszeit kam es bei allen Benetzungsmitteln zum Verlust vitaler Zellen in den geprüften Zellkulturen. Das Präparat mit einer Kombination der Wirkstoffe PVA und PVP zeigte einen signifikant besseren Schutzeffekt auf die Zellkulturen. Die mit Benzalkoniumchlorid konservierten Mittel führten zum höchsten Verlust vitaler Zellen. Hier konnten Präparate mit dem Konservierungsmittel Oxyd bessere Ergebnisse erzielen.