Exploiting polyhydroxyalkanoate as bioplastic: Problems and prospectives

4^th International Conference on Bioprocess and Bio Therapeutics

October 20-21, 2016 Houston, USA

Mamtesh

University of Delhi, India

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Bioproces Biotechniq

Abstract :

Major issues involved in the large scale production in economic ways and production of processable biopolymer similar to the synthetic plastic are still hindering polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) to be the userâ��s choice. These issues are majorly attributed to substrate cost and unfavourable properties associated with certain monomeric compositions e.g. homopolymers polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Properties determining the processability of PHAs e.g. thermal properties: Melting point, glass transition temperature and mechanical properties: Crystallinity, youngâ��s modulus, elongation to break and tensile strength are affected by monomer composition and molecular weight. PHA production is the outcome of metabolic capabilities of bacteria, thus the critical step is to select the suitable bacteria followed by other steps such as choosing the substrate, feeding strategies and conditions accordingly. PHA synthases (PhaC) present in the bacteria having specificities for particular HAs chain length as substrate determines the type of PHA produced. Other interconnected pathways e.g. glycolysis, TCA cycle, �²-oxidation of fatty acids, fatty acid biosynthesis etc. also adds to the diversity of the monomers added. It has been observed that polymer with favourable properties can be obtained as the monomer composition becomes more diverse and the non-3HB content increases. Thus the basic approach to customize the polymer for desirable properties is to select a bacteria having PhaC able to incorporate non-3HB into polymer e.g. Bacillus and Pseudomonas, a cheap substrate such as bio-waste that bacteria can utilize efficiently in different metabolic pathways e.g. agro and oil industry waste, feeding strategies and conditions promoting the incorporation of non-3HB into polymer.

Biography :

Email: s.mamtesh@yahoo.com