I-Corps: Biodegradable plastics that incorporate plastic degrading enzymes

这个I-Corps项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力是制造环保塑料。可堆肥塑料是该领域发展最快的创新之一，有望实现循环材料经济。不幸的是，目前在全国范围内难以获得工业堆肥，而且建设基础设施成本高昂。我们的技术简化了这一降解过程，只需要水和热，就可以生产出易于堆肥的小分子，或转化为高质量的塑料。全球塑料市场规模为2340 B美元，成功的商业化可以对环境的可持续性产生积极影响，同时满足工业对维持现代生活质量的需求。该技术可用于从工业化学到能源生产再到生物技术等广泛应用的解决方案。该I-Corps项目支持翻译一类称为随机杂聚物（RHP）的材料。RHP有效地稳定了外源环境中的酶，如有机溶剂或塑料。酶是自然界的化学家，在细胞内以无与伦比的效率和特异性进行化学转化。然而，酶通常是脆弱的，一旦从细胞中取出，即使有，也表现不佳。拟议的RHP技术使酶能够覆盖在纳米级的外壳中，使其免受环境的影响，而不会损害其功能。RHP可用于将降解塑料材料的酶嵌入塑料内部。一旦触发，塑料会迅速完全生物降解，不会留下任何微塑料。这些单体可以被重新捕获并重新用于制造新的塑料或作为堆肥处理。这些材料也可以使用当前的制造技术进行加工。总而言之，这提供了一个机会，可以生产满足工业需求的材料，同时以最少的基础设施投资提供更好的寿命。更广泛地说，RHP提供了天然或工程酶的功能，并将塑料作为一种新的方法。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to make environmentally friendly plastics. Compostable plastics, one of the fastest growing innovations in the space, promises to enable a circular materials economy. Unfortunately, there is currently poor access to industrial compost nationally, and building infrastructure is costly. Our technology streamlines this degradation process, requiring only water and heat, to produce small molecules than can be readily composted, or turned back into high quality plastics. The global plastic market is $234 B, and successful commercialization could positively impact environmental sustainability while meeting the needs of industry to maintain modern quality of life. The technology can potentially be used for solutions across a breadth of applications, ranging from industrial chemistry to energy generation to biotechnology.This I-Corps project supports efforts toward translation of a class of materials called random heteropolymers (RHPs). RHPs effectively stabilize enzymes in foreign environments, such as organic solvents or within plastics. Enzymes are nature’s chemists, performing chemical transformations with unparalleled efficiency and specificity within cells. However, enzymes are typically fragile and perform poorly, if at all, once removed from the cell. The proposed RHP technology enables enzymes to be covered in a nano-scale shell that shields them from the environment without harming their function. RHPs can be used to embed the enzymes that degrade plastic materials inside of the plastics. Upon triggering, the plastics biodegrade rapidly and completely, leaving behind no microplastics. The monomers can be recaptured and reused to make new plastics or disposed of as compost. The materials can also be processed using current manufacturing techniques. Altogether, this provides an opportunity to produce materials that meet the needs of industry while providing a better end of life with minimal investment in infrastructure. More broadly, RHPs offer the functionality of natural or engineered enzymes with the utility of plastics as a novel approach.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.