Publications by authors named "Carolin Buchmann"
Article Synopsis
- Enzymatic degradation can help lessen the environmental damage caused by plastics, yet effective enzymes for breaking down polyurethanes have been elusive despite extensive research.
- Researchers discovered urethanases from a soil metagenome library that had been in contact with polyurethane waste, which can hydrolyze urethane bonds in polyether-polyurethane foams.
- This urethanase was successfully applied in a chemoenzymatic recycling process, allowing for the breakdown of dicarbamates from polyether-polyurethane foam, showcasing its potential for widespread use in recycling various polyurethane wastes.
Due to the promise of more sustainable recycling of plastics through biocatalytic degradation, the search for and engineering of polyester hydrolases have become a thriving field of research. Furthermore, among other methods, halo formation assays have become popular for the detection of polyester-hydrolase activity. However, established halo-formation assays are limited in their ability to screen for thermostable enzymes, which are particularly important for efficient plastic degradation.
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