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Challenges and Opportunities for Customizing Polyhydroxyalkanoates

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Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) as an alternative to synthetic plastics have been gaining increasing attention. Being natural in their origin, PHAs are completely biodegradable and eco-friendly. However, consistent efforts to exploit this biopolymer over the last few decades have not been able to pull PHAs out of their nascent stage, inspite of being the favorite of the commercial world. The major limitations are: (1) the high production cost, which is due to the high cost of the feed and (2) poor thermal and mechanical properties of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), the most commonly produced PHAs. PHAs have the physicochemical properties which are quite comparable to petroleum based plastics, but PHB being homopolymers are quite brittle, less elastic and have thermal properties which are not suitable for processing them into sturdy products. These properties, including melting point (Tm), glass transition temperature (Tg), elastic modulus, tensile strength, elongation etc. can be improved by varying the monomeric composition and molecular weight. These enhanced characteristics can be achieved by modifications in the types of substrates, feeding strategies, culture conditions and/or genetic manipulations.

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Abbreviations

PHB:

Polyhydroxybutyrate

PHA:

Polyhydroxyalkanoate

HA:

Hydroxyacids

3HB:

3-Hydroxybutyrate

3HV:

3-Hydroxyvalerate

4HB:

4-Hydroxybutyrate

3H5PV:

3-Hydroxy-5-phenylvaleric acid

3HHp:

3-Hydroxyheptanoate

3HP:

3-Hydroxypentanoate

3H2MB:

3-Hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate

3H2MV:

3-Hydroxy-2-methylvalerate

3HHx:

3-Hydroxyhexanoate

3HHx=:

3-Hydroxyhex-5-enoate

6HHx:

6-Hydroxyhexanoate

3HHpe:

3-Hydroxyheptenoate

3HO:

3-Hydroxyoctanoate

3HN:

3-Hydroxynonanoate

3HNe:

3-Hydroxynonenoate

3HD:

3-Hydroxydecanoate

3HDD:

3-Hydroxydodecanoate

3HDDE:

3-Hydroxydodecenoate

3HHD:

3-Hydroxyhexadecanoate

3HHDE:

3-Hydroxyhexadecenoate

3HTD:

3-Hydroxytetradecanoate

3HTDE:

3-Hydroxytetradecenoate

3HOD:

3-Hydroxyoctadecanoate

3HUD:

3-Hydroxyundecanoate

3HUDE:

3-Hydroxyundecenoate

mcl:

Medium chain length

Mn :

Number average molecular weight

Mw :

Weight average molecular weight

PDI:

Polydispersity index

scl:

Short chain length

Tg :

Glass transition temperature

Tm :

Melting temperature

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Director of CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi and CSIR-WUM (ESC0108), Government of India for providing necessary funds and facilities. M.S. is also thankful to Gargi College, University of Delhi. P.K. is thankful to CSIR for granting Senior Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Gargi College, University of Delhi, Siri Fort Road, Delhi, 110049, India

    Mamtesh Singh

  2. Microbial Biotechnology and Genomics, CSIR - Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi University Campus, Mall Road, Delhi, 110007, India

    Prasun Kumar, Subhasree Ray & Vipin C. Kalia

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  1. Mamtesh Singh
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  2. Prasun Kumar
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  3. Subhasree Ray
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  4. Vipin C. Kalia
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Correspondence to Mamtesh Singh.

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Singh, M., Kumar, P., Ray, S. et al. Challenges and Opportunities for Customizing Polyhydroxyalkanoates. Indian J Microbiol 55, 235–249 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12088-015-0528-6

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