“Biodegradation of poly(ester-urethane) coatings by Halopseudomonas formosensis” is the new peer-reviewed and open access scientific publication delivered by Glaukos partners FZJ and I-Coats.
The paper is included in the last Microbial Biotechnology journal issue and is available at this link.
You can download the press release here.
Below a short abstract:
Typically, the surface of plastics is coated with thin layers of polymers to improve and fine-tune the material’s properties. However, coatings increase the complexity of such plastics and thereby pose a hindrance to sustainable end-of-life solutions. In this study, we isolated Halopseudomonas formosensis FZJ from a compost heap due to its ability to metabolize poly(ester-urethane) coatings. We investigated the metabolic pathways of this novel isolate and characterized the identified enzyme that was responsible for coating depolymerization. Our study provides detailed insights into the microbial degradation of coatings and highlights the relevance of the isolated strain for future bio-upcycling processes of coated plastic materials. Thereby, our work contributes to a circular plastics economy that focuses on sustainable end-of-life solutions for the entire plastic material including its coating.
