https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-56492-6
"The accumulation of microplastics in various ecosystems has now been well
documented and recent evidence suggests detrimental effects on various
biological processes due to this pollution. Accumulation of microplastics in
the natural environment is ultimately due to the chemical nature of widely used
petroleum-based plastic polymers, which typically are inaccessible to
biological processing. One way to mitigate this crisis is adoption of plastics
that biodegrade if released into natural environments. In this work, we
generated microplastic particles from a bio-based, biodegradable thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU-FC1) and demonstrated their rapid biodegradation via direct
visualization and respirometry. Furthermore, we isolated multiple bacterial
strains capable of using TPU-FC1 as a sole carbon source and characterized
their depolymerization products. To visualize biodegradation of TPU materials
as real-world products, we generated TPU-coated cotton fabric and an injection
molded phone case and documented biodegradation by direct visualization and
scanning electron microscopy (SEM), both of which indicated clear structural
degradation of these materials and significant biofilm formation."
Via Diane A.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
