Transforming Poly(butylene adipate--terephthalate) into Protocatechuic Acid via Enzymatic Degradation and Whole-Cell Catalysis.

Poly(butylene adipate--terephthalate) (PBAT) is a biodegradable plastic with increasing applications that degrades rapidly in composting, but its sole degradation limits residual value utilization. Therefore, new strategies for converting PBAT to valuable products are needed. In this study, enzymatic degradation was applied to hydrolyze PBAT, and an engineered strain was constructed and utilized as a whole-cell catalyst to synthesize protocatechuic acid (PCA), a valuable platform compound, from degradation products.

Bioremediation of environmental organic pollutants by Pseudomonas aeruginosa: Mechanisms, methods and challenges.

The development of the chemical industry has led to a boom in daily consumption and convenience, but has also led to the release of large amounts of organic pollutants, such as petroleum hydrocarbons, plastics, pesticides, and dyes. These pollutants are often recalcitrant to degradation in the environment, whereby the most problematic compounds may even lead to carcinogenesis, teratogenesis and mutagenesis in animals and humans after accumulation in the food chain. Microbial degradation of organic pollutants is efficient and environmentally friendly, which is why it is considered an ideal method.

Gold nanoparticles-anchored peptides enable precise colorimetric estimation of microplastics.

Microplastics (MPs, particle size < 5 mm) are an emerging contaminant in aquatic environment, which have attracted increasing attention worldwide. In this study, a colorimetric method for MPs detection was developed based on gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-anchored peptides (LCI or TA2), which are able to specifically recognize and adhere to polypropylene (PP) or polystyrene (PS). The AuNPs-anchored peptides accumulated on the surface of MPs, rendering a color change from red to gray-blue and transforming the surface plasmon absorption intensity and wavelength.