Viable biotechnological production of industrial methacrylate polymers

一个全球性的挑战是改善人类对商品塑料的消费和处理方式。替代战略，允许生产化学相同的“同类“材料从可持续的生物基原料作为替代现有的石化来源，需要帮助满足改善塑料的消费和处置。Innovate UK的这一申请旨在开发从非化石碳基原料制备聚甲基丙烯酸酯（即有机玻璃）的高效途径。项目合作伙伴将使用最先进的合成生物学方法构建定制细菌，以生产甲基丙烯酸酯中间体。我们将回收并测试中间体在制备和成型璐彩特销售给现有客户的塑料时的实际适用性。

A global challenge is to improve the way in which mankind improves the consumption and disposal ofcommodity plastics. Alternative strategies to permit production of chemically identical “like-for-like”materials from sustainable biobased feedstocks as alternatives to existing petrochemical sources isrequired to help met the improve consumption and disposal of plastics. This application to Innovate UKis seeking to develop highly efficient routes to prepare polymethacrylates (i.e. Perspex) from non-fossilcarbon based feedstocks. The project partners will build bespoke bacteria using state of the art syntheticbiology methods to enable production of methacrylate intermediates. We shall recover and test theintermediates for their practical suitability in preparing and forming the plastics that Lucite sells to itsexisting customers.