Diniz Matheus Silva da Fonseca, Mourão Murilo Moraes, Xavier Luciana Pereira, Santos Agenor Valadares
Laboratory of Biotechnology of Enzymes and Biotransformations, Institute of Biological Sciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém 66075-110, Brazil.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Nov 14;15(22):4405. doi: 10.3390/polym15224405.
Petroleum-derived plastics are materials of great importance for the contemporary lifestyle, and are widely used commercially because they are low cost, resistant, malleable, and weightless, in addition to their hydrophobic character. However, some factors that confer the qualities of these materials also cause problems, mainly environmental, associated with their use. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated these impacts due to the high demand for personal protective equipment and the packaging sector. In this scenario, bioplastics are environmentally positive alternatives to these plastics due to their applicability in several areas ranging from packaging, to biomedicine, to agriculture. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable biopolymers usually produced by microorganisms as an energy reserve. Their structural variability provides a wide range of applications, making them a viable option to replace polluting materials. PHAs can be applied in various biotechnology sectors, such as producing drug carriers and scaffolds for tissue engineering. This review aimed to survey works published in the last five years on the study and biotechnological application of PHAs in the biomedical sector, exploring the versatility and advantages of their use and helping to understand how to enhance their application.
石油衍生塑料对于当代生活方式而言是非常重要的材料，并且由于其成本低、耐用、可塑、重量轻以及具有疏水性，在商业上被广泛使用。然而，赋予这些材料这些特性的一些因素也会引发问题，主要是与它们的使用相关的环境问题。由于对个人防护装备和包装行业的高需求，新冠疫情加剧了这些影响。在这种情况下，生物塑料因其在从包装到生物医学再到农业等多个领域的适用性，成为这些塑料在环境方面的积极替代品。聚羟基脂肪酸酯（PHA）是通常由微生物作为能量储备产生的可生物降解生物聚合物。它们的结构可变性提供了广泛的应用，使其成为替代污染材料的可行选择。PHA可应用于各种生物技术领域，如生产药物载体和组织工程支架。本综述旨在调查过去五年发表的关于PHA在生物医学领域的研究和生物技术应用的文献，探索其使用的多功能性和优势，并有助于了解如何加强其应用。
