Acceleration of Enzymatic Degradation of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) by Surface Coating with Anionic Surfactants

• DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201802096
• Publication Date: 2018-10-06T10:54:17Z
• Authors: Makoto Furukawa; Norifumi Kawakami; Kohei Oda; Kenji Miyamoto
• Keywords: Cationic polymerization; Degradation; Hydrolase

Enzymatic degradation of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is promising because this process safer than conventional industrial approaches. Recently, a cationic PET hydrolase (PETase) was identified from Ideonella sakaiensis. Pre-incubation low-crystallinity film with anionic surfactants prior to initiating the reaction found improve PETase activity 120-fold. After 36 h at 30 °C, thickness decreased by 22 %. The binding makes surface anionic, thereby attracting PETase. Mutagenesis showed that region formed R53, R90, and K95, which are located on same side as substrate pocket, crucial for efficient acceleration surfactant. Thus, surfactant bound aligns orientation active site surface, resulting in hydrolysis. We believe approach using could be further improved designing molecules more enzymatic degradation.