Biodegradable Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Nanocomposite

This work seeks bringing a technological and social contribution by searching blends and composites of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and polyethylene widely used in packaging films, and colloidal silica. The mixtures were prepared by extrusion using a single-screw extruder and were analyzed regarding their thermal and mechanical properties and morphology. The results have shown PHB toughness in the studied compositions, which elongation at break was in the range 5–80% compared to 2% for neat PHB. The small amount (0.2 to 0.4%) of added silica seemed to increase in 20% the tensile strength. The thermal degradation by thermogravimetry from room temperature to 800 °C revealed a mixed behavior for the composites between PHB and polyethylene.     

Poly(lactic acid)/Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Biocomposites with Differently Treated Cellulose Fibers

The growing concern about environmental pollution has generated an increased demand for biobased and biodegradable materials intended particularly for the packaging sector. Thus, this study focuses on the effect of two different cellulosic reinforcements and plasticized poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) on the properties of poly(lactic acid) (PLA). The cellulose fibers containing lignin (CFw) were isolated from wood waste by mechanical treatment, while the ones without lignin (CF) were obtained from pure cellulose by acid hydrolysis. The biocomposites were prepared by means of a melt compounding-masterbatch technique for the better dispersion of additives. The effect of the presence or absence of lignin and of the size of the cellulosic fibers on the properties of PLA and PLA/PHB was emphasized by using in situ X-ray diffraction, polarized optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and mechanical and thermal analyses. An improvement of the mechanical properties of PLA and PLA/PHB was achieved in the presence of CF fibers due to their smaller size, while CFw fibers promoted an increased thermal stability of PLA/PHB, owing to the presence of lignin. The overall thermal and mechanical results show the great potential of using cheap cellulose fibers from wood waste to obtain PLA/PHB-based materials for packaging applications as an alternative to using fossil based materials. In addition, in situ X-ray diffraction analysis over a large temperature range has proven to be a useful technique to better understand changes in the crystal structure of complex biomaterials.     

Melting temperature evolution of non-reorganized crystals. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

In the present study the correlation between the melting behaviour of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) original, non-reorganized crystals and the crystallinity increase during isothermal crystallization is presented and discussed. Since the reorganization processes modify the melting curve of original crystals, it is necessary to prevent and hinder all the processes that influence and increase the lamellar thickness. PHB exhibits melting/recrystallization on heating, the occurring of lamellar thickening in the solid state being excluded. The first step of the study was the identification of the scanning rate which inhibits PHB recrystallization at sufficiently high T_c. For the extrapolated onset and peak temperatures of the main melting endotherm, which is connected to fusion of dominant lamellae, a double dependence on the crystallization time was found. The crystallization time at which T_onset and T_peak change their trends was found to correspond to the spherulite impingement time, so that the two different dependencies were put in relation with primary and secondary crystallizations respectively. The increase of both T_onset and T_peak at high crystallization times after spherulite impingement was considered an effect due to crystal superheating and an indication of a stabilization process of the crystalline phase. Such stabilization, which produces an increase of the melting temperature, is probably connected with the volume filling that occurs after spherulite impingement.     

Gamma Irradiation Effects on Mechanical and Thermal Properties and Biodegradation of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Based Films

Summary: Their biodegradable properties make polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) ideal candidates for innovative applications. Many studies have been primarily oriented to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-valerate) (PHBV) and afterwards to blends of PHAs with synthetic biodegradable polymers, such as poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL). Medical and pharmaceutical devices require sterilization and γ irradiation could provide a proper alternative since it assures storage stability and microbiological safety. This contribution presents the effect of γ irradiation on the mechanical and thermal properties and on the biodegradation of PHB, PHBV and a commercial PHB/PCL blend. Samples, prepared by compression moulding, were irradiated in air at a constant dose rate of 10 kGy/h, from 10 to 179 kGy. Polymer chain scission was assessed by changes in the molecular weight, thermal properties and tensile behaviour. The correlation between absorbed dose and changes in the mechanical properties and biodegradation is discussed in detail. The optimum dose to guarantee microbiological sterilization without damage of the structure or meaningful loss of the mechanical properties is also reported.     

3D Printing of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Porous Structures Using Selective Laser Sintering

Summary: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) 3D porous cubes were successfully built with Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), one of the many existing 3D printing technologies. The resulting cubes presented shape and dimensions very close to the corresponding virtual model. Moreover, they were resistant to handling without presenting any visible damage. The PHB powder did not present variation in thermal properties and chemical composition after 32.15 hours of SLS process as observed by proton nuclear resonance (¹H NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, indicating that it can be re-utilized to print additional structures without affecting the reproducibility of the process.     

氧化石墨烯插层聚β-羟基丁酸酯复合材料的结晶形态与宏观性能

由微生物直接合成的聚β-羟基丁酸酯（PHB）可实现从原料合成到加工成型和回收降解的全周期生态循环, 在生物医用和包装材料等领域有着重要的应用前景. 受制于PHB自身成核能力差导致的球晶尺寸偏大等不利结晶形态特点, 其制品存在抗冲韧性差、 延展率低和易蠕变等缺陷. 本文提出了水相加工和受限成型相结合的制备方法, 将氧化石墨烯（GO）纳米片在水溶液中充分剥离后, 直接包覆于亚微米级PHB微颗粒表面形成PHB@GO复合物, 然后在压力场下受限成型获得GO插层PHB纳米复合材料. 研究结果表明, 即使在极低GO添加量（质量分数0.1%）下, PHB的等温和非等温结晶能力都有显著提高, 并获得晶核密度高且晶体尺寸均一的结晶形态. 插层GO纳米片还促使复合材料发生了脆-韧转变, 使其拉伸强度和延展性均成倍提高, 同时显著增强了动态热力学性能、 抗蠕变性能和热学性能.     

聚(β-羟基丁酸酯)和β-羟基丁酸酯-β-羟基戊酸酯共聚物共混改性研究进展

综述了近年来聚(β-羟基丁酸酯)和β-羟基丁酸酯-β-羟基戊酸酯共聚物经共混改性所得到的共混物的相容性、结晶性、热性能、加工性能、力学性能和生物降解性能。     

Biosynthesis of Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate) under the Control of an Anaerobically Induced Promoter by Recombinant Escherichia coli from Sucrose

Poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) is a polyester with biodegradable and biocompatible characteristics and has many potential applications. To reduce the raw material costs and microbial energy consumption during PHB production, cheaper carbon sources such as sucrose were evaluated for the synthesis of PHB under anaerobic conditions. In this study, metabolic network analysis was conducted to construct an optimized pathway for PHB production using sucrose as the sole carbon source and to guide the gene knockout to reduce the generation of mixed acid byproducts. The plasmid pMCS-sacC was constructed to utilize sucrose as a sole carbon source, and the cascaded promoter P_3nirB was used to enhance PHB synthesis under anaerobic conditions. The mixed acid fermentation pathway was knocked out in Escherichia coli S17-1 to reduce the synthesis of byproducts. As a result, PHB yield was improved to 80% in 6.21 g/L cell dry weight by the resulted recombinant Escherichia coli in a 5 L bed fermentation, using sucrose as the sole carbon source under anaerobic conditions. As a result, the production costs of PHB will be significantly reduced.     

Thermal Degradation and Kinetics of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Organoclay Nanocomposites

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Cloisite30B (PHB/30B) nanocomposites were prepared by solution-intercalation method. The influence of 30B content on the thermal stability of PHB was investigated. With the addition of 3 wt. % of 30B the highest thermal stability of PHB was achieved. The kinetic analysis of the non-isothermal degradation was performed using the isoconversional Friedman method and invariant kinetic parameters method.     

二维傅里叶变换红外(2D FTIR)相关光谱技术研究聚羟基丁酸酯(PHB)的熔融与结晶

应用新型二维傅里叶变换红外(2DFTIR)相关光谱研究细菌合成聚羟基丁酸酯(PHB)在升温时的预熔行为以及降温后的重结晶过程.在25～220℃的变温过程中测得动态红外光谱.着重讨论了在热力学干扰导致红外谱图中羰基峰(1700～1770cm^-1)和醚键(1230～1310cm^-1)吸收强度的波动.结果表明,这种影响来自样品中PHB的结晶态和非晶态之间的相态变化.二维谱图分析表明,在热熔过程中,结晶态的消失并不同时引起完全非晶态的出现,暗示在分子排列高度有序的晶态和非晶态之间存在某种中间态,PHB晶体向非晶态转变时必须经过一个预熔过程.在红外谱图上这个中间态很可能对应着由二维分析显示出来的位于1730cm^-1的吸收峰.同时,在PHB熔体从非晶态逐渐生成晶体的过程中也探测到了中间态的存在.     

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-depolymerase from Pseudomonas lemoignei: catalysis of esterifications in organic media

Lipase catalysis in nonaqueous media is recognized as a powerful tool in organic and more recently polymer synthesis. Even though none of the currently known polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) depolymerases have lipase activity, they do have a catalytic center that resembles that of lipases. Motivated by the above, the potential of using the poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, depolymerase from Psuedomonas lemoignei in organic media to catalyze ester-forming reactions was investigated. The effect of different organic solvents (benzene-d(6), cyclohexane-d(12), and acetonitrile-d(3)) on the activity of the PHB-depolymerase toward propylation of L-lactide was studied. A significant difference in the catalytic rate was observed as a function of solvent polarity. The selectivity of the PHB-depolymerase (P. lemoignei) to catalyze the propylation of a series of different lactones including epsilon-caprolactone, delta-butyrolactone, gamma-butyrolactone, and D, L, meso, and racemic lactides has been studied with the PHB-depolymerase (P. lemoignei) in organic solvents. Important differences in the reactivity of these lactones, as well as selective hydrolysis of stereochemically different linear lactic acid dimers, were observed. Moreover, the ability of the PHB-depolymerase to catalyze the solventless polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone and trimethylene carbonate was investigated.     

Photodegradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

The effect of ultraviolet radiation on the properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was studied. The PHB investigated is produced from microbial fermentation using saccharose from sugarcane as the carbon source to the bacteria. The material was exposed to artificial UV-A radiation for 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks. The photodegradation effect was followed by changes of molecular weight, of chemical and crystalline structures, of thermal, morphological, optical and mechanical properties, as well as of biodegradability. The experimental results showed that PHB undergoes both chain scission and crosslinking reactions, but the continuous decrease in its mechanical properties and the low amount of gel content upon UV exposure indicated that the scission reactions were predominant. Molar mass, melting temperature and crystallinity measurements for two layers of PHB samples with different depth suggested that the material has a strong degradation profile, which was attributed to its dark colour that restricted the transmission of light. Previous photodegradation initially delayed PHB biodegradability, due to the superficial increase in crystallinity seen with UV exposure. The possible reactions taking place during PHB photodegradation were presented and discussed in terms of the infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. A reference peak (internal standard) in the infrared spectra was proposed for PHB photodegradation.     

Nonisothermal crystallization and melting behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and maleated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

Nonisothermal crystallization and melting behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and maleated PHB were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry using various cooling rates. The results show that the crystallization behavior of maleated PHB from the melt greatly depends on cooling rates and its degree of grafting. With the increase in cooling rate, the crystallization process for PHB and maleated PHB begins at lower temperature. For maleated PHB, the introduction of maleic anhydride group hinders its crystallization, causing crystallization and nucleation rates to decrease, and crystallite size distribution becomes wider. The Avrami analysis, modified by Jeziorny, was used to describe the nonisothermal crystallization of PHB and maleated PHB. Double melting peaks for maleated PHB were observed, which was caused by recrystallization during the heating process.     

Evaluation of the transport properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its 3-hydroxyvalerate copolymers for packaging applications

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and ist 3-hydroxyvalerate containing copolymers form a family of fully biodegradable polyesters with many potential applications. In this work, the results obtained in our laboratory concerning carbon dioxide, water and organic solvent transport through PHB and three low 3-hydroxyvalerate copolymers are reviewed. Comparison established between the former results and some data taken from the literature, have revealed that PHB and the above mentioned copolymers show transport properties similar to other common thermoplastics such as PVC and PET, particularly in the case of carbon dioxide and water. Consequently, PHB and copolymers can be catalogued as good barrier materials against these penetrants. On the other hand, these biopolymers show a low barrier character against organic compound permeation. All these features conform a good balance of physicochemical properties for these polyhydroxyalkanoates, which may take them suitable for several applications, including its use in biodegradable packaging materials.     

Characterization and properties of G4X mutants of Ralstonia eutropha PHA synthase for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

Modification of the type I polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase of Ralstonia eutropha (PhaC(Re)) was performed through systematic in vitro evolution in order to obtain improved PhaC(Re) having an enhanced activity of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) synthesis in recombinant Escherichia coli. For the first time, a beneficial G4D N-terminal mutation important for the enhancement of both PHB content in dry cells and PhaC(Re) level in vivo was identified. Site-directed saturation mutagenesis at the G4 position enabled us to identify other mutations conferring similar enhanced characteristics. In addition, the PHB homopolymer synthesized by most G4X single mutants also had higher molecular weights than that of the wild-type. In vitro enzymatic assays of purified G4D mutant PhaC(Re) revealed that the mutant enzyme exhibited slightly lower activity and reaction efficiency compared to the wild-type enzyme. [diagram in text].     

Effect of the Addition of Iron(III) Tetraphenylporphyrin Complex on the Structure of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) Fibers Prepared by Electrospinning

Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry - Ultrathin fibers of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) biopolymer, containing 1–5 wt % iron(III) tetraphenylporphyrin complex, were prepared by electrospinning....     

Enhanced production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate by recombinant Escherichia coli containing NAD kinase and phbCAB operon

With the help of Tn5 transposon technique, gene yfjB encoding NAD kinase in Escherichia coli (E. coli) was inserted into chromosome of recombinant E. coli polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) containing PHB synthesis operon integrated in the host genome. After successful transposition of an extra yfjB gene copy into genome, the selected recombinant named E. coli PHBTY4 showed stronger NAD kinase activity than that of E. coli PHB. Shake flask studies suggested that both cell dry weight and PHB accumulation were significantly increased in E. coli PHBTY4 compared with that of the control. E. coli PHBTY4 produced approximately 23 g/L PHB compared with its control which synthesized only 10 g/L PHB when grown under the same conditions in a 6 L fermentor after 32 h of cultivation. In addition, E. coli PHBTY4 maintained high genetic stability during the cultivation processes. These results revealed a practical method to construct genetically stable strains harboring extra NAD kinase gene to enhance NADP(H)-dependent bio-reactions.