Transcript Purification and Reengineering of Plastic

Purification and
Reengineering of PlasticDegrading Enzymes
Ming Yan
 Plastic bags are made from polyethylene (PE), a
polymer consisting of long chains of the ethylene
monomer (C2H4).
 Species of bacteria belonging to the Streptomyces
genus are capable of producing polyethylenedegrading enzymes.
Streptomyces
Streptomyces
 Streptomyces viridosporus
 Streptomyces badius
 Streptomyces setonii
How is Biodegradability Measured?
 Weight loss
 Tensile strength loss
 measured stress at fracture of the specimen
 Changes in percent elongation
 extension of material under load
 Changes in polyethylene molecular weight
distribution

polydispersity
Project Ideas
 Aim 1: To purify and characterize the biodegradable
polyethylene-degrading enzyme(s) from bacterium
belonging to the Streptomyces species
 Aim 2: To enhance the biodegradability of the
polyethylene by increasing the efficiency of the
degrading enzymes through protein engineering
techniques
Aim 1
 Inspiration
 Enzymes identified for anaerobic degradation of polyethylene
glycol (PEG)
 Technical Difficulties with the isolation methods
Aim 2
 To enhance the biodegradability of the polyethylene
by increasing the efficiency of the degrading enzymes
through protein engineering techniques
 Methods:
 Score system
 Protein engineering
Protein-Engineering
More Ideas