Abstract
BackgroundSlow-degrading, fossil fuel-derived plastics can have deleterious effects on the environment, especially marine ecosystems. The production of bio-based, biodegradable plastics from or in plants can assist in supplanting those manufactured using fossil fuels. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is one such biodegradable polyester that has been evaluated as a possible candidate for relinquishing the use of environmentally harmful plastics.ResultsPHB, possessing similar properties to polyesters produced from non-renewable sources, has been previously engineered in sugarcane, thereby creating a high-value co-product in addition to the high biomass yield. This manuscript illustrates the coupling of a Fourier-transform infrared microspectrometer, equipped with a focal plane array (FPA) detector, with multivariate imaging to successfully identify and localize PHB aggregates. Principal component analysis imaging facilitated the mining of the abundant quantity of spectral data acquired using the FPA for distinct PHB vibrational modes. PHB was measured in the chloroplasts of mesophyll and bundle sheath cells, acquiescent with previously evaluated plant samples.ConclusionThis study demonstrates the power of IR microspectroscopy to rapidly image plant sections to provide a snapshot of the chemical composition of the cell. While PHB was localized in sugarcane, this method is readily transferable to other value-added co-products in different plants.
Highlights
Slow-degrading, fossil fuel-derived plastics can have deleterious effects on the environment, especially marine ecosystems
The majority of plastics are obtained from fossil fuels, and as the price of crude oil continues to fluctuate, the price of plastics that are produced from oil feedstocks are expected to oscillate as well
Multivariate imaging, using principal component analysis (PCA), was used to evaluate all of the vibrational modes contained in the spectral data to hone in on the specific differences between the native and modified sugarcane. The motivation of this proof-of-concept research was to evaluate whether Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) microspectroscopy coupled with multivariate imaging could be a valuable tool for the localization of PHB in sugarcane leaves
Summary
Slow-degrading, fossil fuel-derived plastics can have deleterious effects on the environment, especially marine ecosystems. The production of bio-based, biodegradable plastics from or in plants can assist in supplanting those manufactured using fossil fuels. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is one such biodegradable polyester that has been evaluated as a possible candidate for relinquishing the use of environmentally harmful plastics. Fossil fuel-derived plastics degrade slowly in the environment producing deleterious effects, most notably in marine environments [1,2,3]. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biodegradable polyester which possesses similar physical properties to many petroleum-derived plastics [4]. The high production cost of PHB produced by fermentation and the price of starting substrate pose significant drawbacks [6]. The manufacturing of PHB as a value-added co-product in plants, high-biomass-yielding crops such as sugarcane, switchgrass, and maize, has the potential to
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