O plástico tem sido cada vez mais usado em nosso cotidiano em diversos tipos de produtos: garrafas, embalagens, automóveis, etc. Diversas alternativas têm sido buscadas para minimizar o impacto ambiental causado pelos polímeros convencionais. Uma importante alternativa é o uso de polímeros biodegradáveis, que podem ser degradados pela ação de microorganismos, tais como bactérias, fungos ou algas. As aplicações tecnológicas de polímeros biodegradáveis normalmente requerem melhorias nas suas propriedades mecânicas. Neste contexto, novas misturas poliméricas vêm sendo obtidas para aplicações inovadoras e mais baratas. Neste trabalho, será apresentada a metodologia de preparação de novas misturas poliméricas, contendo diferentes teores de amido, com Policaprolactona (PCL), Polihidróxibutirato (PHB) e um copolímero Poli(hidróxibutirato-co-valerato) (PHBV). A resistência à tração das blendas com 50% em massa de amido é 35% e 60% menor do que a dos polímeros PCL e PHBV puros, respectivamente. Quando expostas a microorganismos em lodo ativado, as misturas de PCL ou PHBV com maiores dosagens de amido apresentam maiores taxas de degradação.

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A method is described for unambiguous assignment of cloned genes to Aspergillus niger chromosomes by CHEF gel electrophoresis and Southern analysis. All of the eight linkage groups (LGs), with the exception of LG VII, have previously been assigned to specific chromosomal bands in the electrophoretic karyotype of A. niger. Using a LG VII-specific probe (nicB gene of A. niger) we have shown that LG VII corresponds to a chromosome of about 4.1 Mb. Furthermore, genetic localization of three unassigned genes (glaA, aglA and pepA) in strains in which these genes had been replaced by a selectable marker gene led to a revised karyotype for the chromosomes corresponding to LGs VIII and VI. The revised electrophoretic karyotype reveals only 5 distinct bands. The presence of three pairs of equally sized chromosomes precluded assignment of genes to one specific chromosome in the wild-type strain. However, unambiguous chromosome assignment of cloned genes using CHEF-Southern analysis was demonstrated using a set of A. niger strains with introduced chromosomal size variation. The availability of these tester strains obviates the need to isolate or construct mutant strains for the purpose of chromosome assignment.

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Different proportions of starch were blended with poly(␤-hydroxybutyrate)-co-poly(␤-hydroxyvalerate) (PHB-V) or poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) by extrusion, and the mechanical (maximum tensile strength, elongation at break and Young's modulus) and thermal properties (by differential scanning calorimetry) were determined. The biodegradability of the blends in soil compost was also assessed after thermal aging for 192, 425, and 600 h at different temperatures. The maximum tensile strength of the PCL50 blend (containing 50% starch) was 35% lower than that of PCL and that of the PHB-V50 blend was 60% lower than that of PHB-V without thermal aging. PHB-V blends were more biodegradable than PCL blends. For the blends prepared, only the biodegradation of PHB-V25 was affected by thermal aging.