de Souza Felipe Martins, Gupta Ram K
National Institute for Materials Advancement, Pittsburgh State University, 1204 Research Road, Pittsburgh, Kansas 66762, United States.
Department of Chemistry, Pittsburgh State University, 1701 South Broadway Street, Pittsburgh, Kansas 66762, United States.
ACS Omega. 2024 Feb 12;9(8):8666-8686. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.3c07372. eCollection 2024 Feb 27.
Bioplastics are one of the answers that can point society toward a sustainable future. Under this premise, the synthesis of polymers with competitive properties using low-cost starting materials is a highly desired factor in the industry. Also, tackling environmental issues such as nonbiodegradable waste generation, high carbon footprint, and consumption of nonrenewable resources are some of the current concerns worldwide. The scientific community has been placing efforts into the biosynthesis of polymers using bacteria and other microbes. These microorganisms can be convenient reactors to consume food and agricultural wastes and convert them into biopolymers with inherently attractive properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, and appreciable mechanical and chemical properties. Such biopolymers can be applied to several fields such as packing, cosmetics, pharmaceutical, medical, biomedical, and agricultural. Thus, intending to elucidate the science of microbes to produce polymers, this review starts with a brief introduction to bioplastics by describing their importance and the methods for their production. The second section dives into the importance of bacteria regarding the biochemical routes for the synthesis of polymers along with their advantages and disadvantages. The third section covers some of the main parameters that influence biopolymers' production. Some of the main applications of biopolymers along with a comparison between the polymers obtained from microorganisms and the petrochemical-based ones are presented. Finally, some discussion about the future aspects and main challenges in this field is provided to elucidate the main issues that should be tackled for the wide application of microorganisms for the preparation of bioplastics.
生物塑料是引领社会走向可持续未来的解决方案之一。在此前提下，使用低成本起始材料合成具有竞争特性的聚合物是该行业高度期望的因素。此外，解决诸如不可生物降解废物产生、高碳足迹和不可再生资源消耗等环境问题是当前全球关注的一些问题。科学界一直在努力利用细菌和其他微生物进行聚合物的生物合成。这些微生物可以成为消耗食品和农业废物并将其转化为具有固有吸引力特性（如生物可降解性、生物相容性以及可观的机械和化学性能）的生物聚合物的便利反应器。此类生物聚合物可应用于多个领域，如包装、化妆品、制药、医疗、生物医学和农业。因此，为了阐明微生物生产聚合物的科学，本综述首先通过描述生物塑料的重要性及其生产方法对其进行简要介绍。第二部分深入探讨细菌在聚合物合成生化途径方面的重要性及其优缺点。第三部分涵盖了一些影响生物聚合物生产的主要参数。介绍了生物聚合物的一些主要应用，以及微生物来源的聚合物与石化基聚合物之间的比较。最后，针对该领域的未来发展和主要挑战进行了一些讨论，以阐明为广泛应用微生物制备生物塑料而应解决的主要问题。
