Bacterial Production of Hydroxyalkanoates (PHA)

Abstract

The dependence of plastic materials is an increasing problem. Although plastics are very useful for humankind many disadvantages derived from the difficulties linked to recycling and disposal are well known. A feasible alternative is the production and use of bioplastics. These compounds have multiple options at the end of his life that can ensure their safety and efficacy of reuse or recovery. For example, raw materials can be returned to the manufacturer for recycling. Bioplastics synthesized through biotechnology include mainly polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), common lipoidic storage materials accumulated by prokaryotes. Some processes for producing PHAs by fermentation using microorganisms have been developed at a different extent. However, biopolymers (PHA) market is under development, and therefore cannot compete with traditional plastics since manufacturing is still more expensive. In this review we have focused on the study of the production processes of bioplastics where bacteria are present, also describing the scaling to industrial level aspects and future trends.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate Nanoparticles for Pulmonary Drug Delivery: Interaction with Lung Surfactant

“…This bioplastic accumulates in the form of insoluble spherical inclusions or granules as carbon and energy storage materials. Structurally, PHA polymers are composed of up to 150 different monomers of hydroxylated fatty acids at carbon 3 that are linked through esterification of the carboxyl groups with the hydroxyl groups of the subsequent monomers, progressively elongating the molecule [15,16]. PHAs are characterized by being biodegradable, biocompatible, and very versatile, which is why they have been used in different biomedical applications, both for the development of drug delivery systems and in tissue engineering [17,18].…”

Surface-Modified Highly Biocompatible Bacterial-poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate): A Review on the Promising Next-Generation Biomaterial

“…In addition, PHA polymers composed solely of SCL monomer units usually have thermoplastic properties, whereas polymers composed of MCL subunits normally have elastomeric properties [ 47 ]. The mixed chain length PHAs possess a range of physical properties depending on the different monomer composition, with polymers with a low percentage of monomers being more elastomeric [ 8 ].…”

“…Besides their biocompatibility, PHAs have attracted considerable interest due to their biodegradability, sustainability and thermo processability [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], and the degradation of PHAs do not cause tissue response in living organisms [ 7 ]. PHAs are generally produced by microorganisms as intracellular carbon and energy sources under excess carbon [ 8 ]. Nevertheless, the main challenge in large-scale PHA production and commercialisation is the cost of production which is often related to carbon feedstock, production yield and extraction processes [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Statistical Optimisation of Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production in Bacillus Endophyticus Using Sucrose as Sole Source of Carbon

“…In strains like Corynebacterium, Nocardia and Rhodococcus are the only wild type strains reported to synthesize commercially important copolymers from simple carbon sources like glucose, which allowed a decrease in the production cost of the polymer (Kaur and Roy 2015). Decreased yield of the polymer significantly contribute to the overall economy of the polymer as less bioconversion require increased substrate availability to uplift the PHA production (Prados and Maicas 2016). This leads to increase the overall production rate and to avoid this rapid improvement in the economics of PHA production process need to be implemented by incorporating significant process designing and utilization of cheap substrate thereby increasing PHA yield.…”