What are the applications of biodegradable polymer?

Biodegradable polymers have been used for more than 50 years with diverse applications such as surgical sutures, wound dressings, tissue regeneration, enzyme immobilization, controlled drug delivery and gene delivery, tissue engineering scaffold, cryopreservation, nanotechnology, medical implants and devices.

What are industrial applications of enzyme?

Enzymes are used in industrial processes, such as baking, brewing, detergents, fermented products, pharmaceuticals, textiles, leather processing.

Are enzymes biodegradable?

Enzymes are stable and biodegradable. They also work at low temperatures and moderate pH levels. This makes them the most environmentally-friendly catalysts.

What are biodegradable polymers and different types?

Biodegradable polymers represent a growing field. A vast number of biodegradable polymers (eg, cellulose, chitin, starch, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactide, Poly(ε-caprolactone), collagen, and other polypeptides) have been synthesized or are formed in natural environment during the growth cycles of organisms.

Which polymer is a biodegradable polymer?

Natural biodegradable polymers are called biopolymers. Polysaccharides, as starch and cellulose, represent the most characteristic family of these natural polymers. Other natural polymers as proteins can be used to produce biodegradable materials. These are the two main renewable sources of biopolymers.

How are industrial enzymes made?

Ultimately, industrial enzymes are produced by fermentation, similar to the production of beer or wine. The organisms are fermented using a suitable nutrient and controlled conditions to produce the enzymes, through both intracellular or extracellular expression.

How are enzymes produced industrially?

Most of the enzymes are commercially produced by microorganisms through submerged fermentation though some are produced by solid – state fermentation. The major industrial enzymes are produced by GRAS ( generally recognized as safe ) – status microorganisms in large biological reactors called fermenters.

How do enzymes degrade polymers?

The enzymatic degradation occurs in two stages: adsorption of enzymes on the polymer surface, followed by hydro-peroxidation/hydrolysis of the bonds. The sources of plastic-degrading enzymes can be found in microorganisms from various environments as well as digestive intestine of some invertebrates.

What enzymes can degrade plastic?

Cutinase, Lipase and PETase (an Esterase), are some of the most common enzymes associated with the degradation of plastics according to recent research going on in this area (Tokiwa et al., 1977).

What are the 4 main types of degradable polymers?

Various types of biodegradable polymers (e.g., cellulose, starch, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactide, polycaprolactone, collagen, and other polypeptides) have been synthesized and some of them are formed in the natural environment during the growth period of organisms.