Enzymatic hydrolysis of poly(ethylene furanoate)

Alessandro Pellis*, Karolina Haernvall, Christian Marco Pichler, G Ghazaryan, Rolf Breinbauer, Georg Gübitz

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The urgency of producing new environmentally-friendly polyesters strongly enhanced the development of bio-based poly(ethylene furanoate) (PEF) as an alternative to plastics like poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) for applications that include food packaging, personal and home care containers and thermoforming equipment. In this study, PEF powders of various molecular weights (6, 10 and 40 kDa) were synthetized and their susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis was investigated for the first time. According to LC/TOF-MS analysis, cutinase 1 from Thermobifida cellulosilytica liberated both 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid and oligomers of up to DP4. The enzyme preferentially hydrolyzed PEF with higher molecular weights but was active on all tested substrates. Mild enzymatic hydrolysis of PEF has a potential both for surface functionalization and monomers recycling.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)47-53
JournalJournal of Biotechnology
Volume235
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016

Fields of Expertise

  • Human- & Biotechnology

Treatment code (Nähere Zuordnung)

  • Experimental
  • Basic - Fundamental (Grundlagenforschung)

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