Engineered biosynthesis of biodegradable polymers. (1st August 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jambunathan, Pooja; Zhang, Kechun
• Is Part Of: Journal of industrial microbiology & biotechnology. Volume 43:Number 8(2016)
• Page Start: 1037
• Page End: 1058
• Publication Date: 2016-08-01
• Subjects: Bioplastics -- Biodegradable polymers -- Polylactic acid (PLA) -- Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) -- Polybutylene succinate (PBS); Industrial microbiology -- Periodicals; 660.62
• DOI: 10.1007/s10295-016-1785-z
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1367-5435

Abstract

Abstract: Advances in science and technology have resulted in the rapid development of biobased plastics and the major drivers for this expansion are rising environmental concerns of plastic pollution and the depletion of fossil-fuels. This paper presents a broad view on the recent developments of three promising biobased plastics, polylactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and polybutylene succinate (PBS), well known for their biodegradability. The article discusses the natural and recombinant host organisms used for fermentative production of monomers, alternative carbon feedstocks that have been used to lower production cost, different metabolic engineering strategies used to improve product titers, various fermentation technologies employed to increase productivities and finally, the different downstream processes used for recovery and purification of the monomers and polymers.