Chemistry Commons^™

Extracellular Poly(Hydroxybutyrate) Bioplastic Production Using Surface Display Techniques, Kevin Beaver, Ashwini Dantanarayana, Willisa Liou, Markus Babst, Shelley D. Minteer

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Poly(hydroxybutyrate) is a biocompatible, biodegradable polyester synthesized naturally in a variety of microbial species. A greener alternative to petroleum-based plastics and sought after for biomedical applications, poly(hydroxybutyrate) has failed to break through as a leading material in the plastic industry due to its high cost of production. Specifically, the extraction of this material from within bacterial cells requires lysis of cells, which takes time, uses harsh chemicals, and starts the process again with growing new living cells. Recently, surface display of enzymes on bacterial membranes has become an emerging technique for extracellular biocatalysis. In this work, a fusion protein lpp-ompA-phaC …