Frontiers Science Center for Synthetic Biology, Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (MOE), Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300350, P. R. China.
Advanced Materials Research Center, Petrochemical Research Institute, PetroChina Company Limited, Beijing 102206, P.R. China.
J Am Chem Soc. 2021 Nov 24;143(46):19486-19497. doi: 10.1021/jacs.1c08888. Epub 2021 Nov 14.
Plastics play important roles in modern life and currently the development of plastic recycling is highly demanding and challenging. To relieve this dilemma, one option is to develop new sustainable bioplastics that are compatible with the environment over the whole material life cycle. We report a sustainable bioplastic made from natural DNA and biomass-derived ionomers, termed as DNA plastics. The sustainability involves all aspects of the production, use, and end-of-life options of DNA plastics: (1) the raw materials are derived from biorenewable resources; (2) the water-processable strategy is environmentally friendly, not involving high-energy consumption, the use of organic solvents, and the production of byproducts; (3) recyclable and nondestructive use is achieved to significantly prolong the service lifetime of the plastics; and (4) the disposal of waste plastics follows two green routes including the recycling of waste plastics and enzyme-triggered controllable degradation under mild conditions. Besides, DNA plastics can be "aqua-welded" to form arbitrary designed products such as a plastic cup. This work provides a solution to transform biobased hydrogel to bioplastic and demonstrates the closed-loop recycling of DNA plastics, which will advance the development of sustainable materials.
塑料在现代生活中扮演着重要的角色，目前对塑料回收的发展需求和挑战都很高。为了解决这一困境，一种选择是开发新的可持续生物塑料，使其在整个材料生命周期内与环境兼容。我们报告了一种由天然 DNA 和生物质衍生的离聚物制成的可持续生物塑料，称为 DNA 塑料。可持续性涉及 DNA 塑料生产、使用和生命周期结束选择的所有方面：（1）原材料来自生物可再生资源；（2）水加工策略环保，不涉及高能耗、有机溶剂的使用和副产物的产生；（3）可回收和无损使用可显著延长塑料的使用寿命；（4）废弃塑料的处理遵循两种绿色途径，包括废弃塑料的回收和在温和条件下酶触发的可控降解。此外，DNA 塑料可以“水焊接”形成任意设计的产品，如塑料杯。这项工作为将生物基水凝胶转化为生物塑料提供了一种解决方案，并展示了 DNA 塑料的闭环回收，这将推动可持续材料的发展。
