Abstract
The polymer and plastic sectors are under the urge of mitigating their environmental impact. The need for novel and more benign catalysts for polyester synthesis or targeted functionalization led, in recent years, to an increasing interest towards cutinases due to their natural ability to hydrolyze ester bonds in cutin, a natural polymer. In this review, the most recent advances in the synthesis and hydrolysis of various classes of polyesters and polyamides are discussed with a critical focus on the actual perspectives of applying enzymatic technologies for practical industrial purposes. More specifically, cutinase enzymes are compared to lipases and, in particular, to lipase B from Candida antarctica, the biocatalyst most widely employed in polymer chemistry so far. Computational and bioinformatics studies suggest that the natural role of cutinases in attacking natural polymers confer some essential features for processing also synthetic polyesters and polyamides.
Highlights
There is robust evidence that the generation of polyesters and polyamides calls for a change of standard aiming at mitigating the environmental impact and natural capital cost of polymer production and processing in general [1,2]
Due to their remarkable selectivity and catalytic efficiency under mild conditions, enzymes are an attractive and sustainable alternative to toxic catalysts used in the polycondensation of functional monomers such as itaconic acid, which suffer from isomerization or cross-linking under the harsh conditions required by conventional chemical processes that employ organo-catalysts [3]
In the light of the most relevant advances of the last five years achieved through the application of cutinases to polymer chemistry, we present an analysis that extends the focus to the hydrolysis and functionalization of various classes of polyesters and polyamides
Summary
There is robust evidence that the generation of polyesters and polyamides calls for a change of standard aiming at mitigating the environmental impact and natural capital cost of polymer production and processing in general [1,2]. A closer integration between chemistry and biotechnologies is expected to boost the change of the scenario Due to their remarkable selectivity and catalytic efficiency under mild conditions, enzymes are an attractive and sustainable alternative to toxic catalysts used in the polycondensation of functional monomers such as itaconic acid, which suffer from isomerization or cross-linking under the harsh conditions required by conventional chemical processes that employ organo-catalysts [3]. The possibility to use enzymes for the polyester synthesis has been known since the 1990s and has been industrially applied by Baxenden Chemicals (UK) for the production, later dismissed, of highly regular structures of polymers. In the light of the most relevant advances of the last five years achieved through the application of cutinases to polymer chemistry, we present an analysis that extends the focus to the hydrolysis and functionalization of various classes of polyesters and polyamides. A frank analysis of future perspectives for the practical application of these biocatalysts for productive processes is presented
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