Journal
POLYMERS
Volume 13, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/polym13060860
Keywords
polymer degradation; microparticles; PLA; PBS; enzymes; specificity; thermal profile; activation energy
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Funding
- European Union' s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program [860407]
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Bio-based polymers are being considered as a solution to combat the build-up of microplastics in the environment. An improved pH Stat titration assay has been proposed as a rapid and reliable method to determine the biodegradability of polymers under environmental conditions. The study showed that proteolytic enzymes hydrolyzed PLA while lipase was more effective on PBS, with different hydrolysis rates observed at varying temperatures.
Bio-based polymers have been suggested as one possible opportunity to counteract the progressive accumulation of microplastics in the environments. The gradual substitution of conventional plastics by bio-based polymers bears a variety of novel materials. The application of bioplastics is determined by their stability and bio-degradability, respectively. With the increasing implementation of bio-based plastics, there is also a demand for rapid and non-elaborate methods to determine their bio-degradability. Here, we propose an improved pH Stat titration assay optimized for bio-based polymers under environmental conditions and controlled temperature. Exemplarily, suspensions of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) microparticles were incubated with proteolytic and lipolytic enzymes. The rate of hydrolysis, as determined by counter-titration with a diluted base (NaOH), was recorded for two hours. PLA was hydrolyzed by proteolytic enzymes but not by lipase. PBS, in contrast, showed higher hydrolysis rates with lipase than with proteases. The thermal profile of PLA hydrolysis by protease showed an exponential increase from 4 to 30 degrees C with a temperature quotient Q(10) of 5.6. The activation energy was 110 kJ center dot mol(-1). pH-Stat titration proved to be a rapid, sensitive, and reliable procedure supplementing established methods of determining the bio-degradability of polymers under environmental conditions.
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